EI2KC Anthony featured on The History Channel

I had the pleasure of being featured on The History Channel in the USA this week. I have written a book about ancient Ireland called 'Island of the Setting Sun - In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers' and was invited to feature as a Newgrange expert on the popular series 'Ancient Aliens'. I can be seen from 11 minutes onwards in the above clip. Hope you enjoy! I suppose it proves that there's more to life than amateur radio!!

Now they've busted my call on 40m !!!!!

I worked T32C on 40m CW this morning. They were very weak, just on the very edge of audibility, on 7.001.5 and I worked them up 1 but of course I couldn't be sure I heard my complete call coming back. This evening I find that EI2KC is NOT in the log but EI2CC is for 40m CW. Oh no, is this going to be another long-running saga?

I might have to get up early again tomorrow and try to work them a second time . . .

The long-running saga continues: T32C worked on 10m again

I worked T32C for the fourth time on 10m CW tonight. So far they have busted my call three times. They have me in the log as EI3KC, EI2KM and EI2CC. I must admit that the QSB and polar flutter on their signal can be something serious. So it is not surprising, and I won't blame it on bad operators, that my call might not have been perfectly clear. Indeed I was not certain at any stage that I heard EI2KC coming back. On the third QSO I heard EI2 ending with C and it turns out they had EI2CC. So tonight I am hoping to finally get that slot in the log properly.

The first three QSOs were at 7.01pm local, 7.23pm local and on the second day 6.31pm local. Tonight was much later, at 7.57pm. They had been very weak, only coming up occasionally out of the noise, but all of a sudden I could hear "T32C UP". So I gave it a blast and got them pretty much first call. But when they gave me the "5NN" and turned it back to me I was careful to slow down my CW and send back "EI2KC, KC, KC, EI2KC 5NN". I am pretty sure they gave me "EI2KC TU" back but I couldn't be 100% sure, so this saga could continue to run for a while yet !!

UPDATE: I am in the log, finally, for 10m CW!!!

Bad news - third time unlucky, they busted it again!

T32C does not have EI2KC in the log for 10m CW. They do, however, as of this morning, have EI2CC in the log for 10m CW. Looks like I will never get in there on 10m CW. It's so frustrating.

T32C and 10m - third time lucky?

Christmas Island

It would be ungrateful of me not to thank the propagation gods for significant lifts on 12 and 10 metres in recent weeks. Conditions have been fantastic at times, with lots of new entities making it into the log on those bands. I just recently passed 100 DXCC worked on 10m, standing now at 109. I am at 140 worked on 12m.

T32C, the Dxpedition to Christmas Island, has been a challenge but nevertheless I have them on six band slots and lots of EIs have made it into their log.

When I saw them spotted on 10 metres CW the other evening I couldn't resist a listen. It was grey line time here, just after sunset. They were there alright, fluttery and weak, but there all the same. They were working split. Within a minute of calling I could hear a very flutter EI2KC or something resembling it coming back through the murk. So I gave my call a couple of times and a 599 and heard 599 TU. I punched the air. A new and rare DXCC in the log on 10 metres.

But something was niggling at me. I hadn't heard my full call coming back. I heard EI and something that sounded like 2KC. So I decided to try to work them again just to be sure. About 20 minutes later I heard EI2 coming back again and gave them my call twice and a 599 and punched the air again.

The next morning I checked their online log only to find they had busted my call - TWICE!! I was not in the log for 10m, but rather there were two similar calls, EI3KC and EI2KM. I was gutted.

Just now, a short time ago, with the sun below the horizon here, I worked T32C for the third time on 10 metres CW. As usual he was split, listening up 2. Now I can't be 100% sure that I'm in the log properly this time, except that I know they asked for "EI2?" and when they gave my call and report it ended with "C" so I am keeping the fingers crossed.

Hopefully this is a case of third time lucky and not Murphy's law . . .

Guatemala makes it 100 DXCCs worked on 10 metres!

It has taken a long time, almost two years in fact, but about five minutes ago I finally broke the 100 "DXCCs worked" target on 10 metres. TG9AGM in Guatemala was the 100th DXCC worked. I had been on 97 for the past week and needed only three more. Another of those was VK4CT in the Oceania contest. Australia was a brand new DXCC for me on 10m. It took me a while to get through but I got there after about 10 minutes trying with about 90 watts into my Cushcraft MA5B. A few minutes after TG9 I worked H77REX in Nicaragua, making it 101 DXCCs worked!

My DXCC worked total on 12 metres, meanwhile, continues to climb. T32C Christmas Island (also Kirimitati in native language) made it 137 countries worked on that band, and I managed to nab them on both phone and CW.

I look forward to getting more DXCCs into the log on 10 metres. Conditions have been fabulous on the higher bands of late, with 12 metres often open to the USA until 10 and 11 at night. So we will continue to try and harvest those conditions.

Two band new DXCC in the log!

Yesterday proved to be a successful day of hunting on the bands. I worked 3D2R on Sunday morning on 17m CW having spent about half an hour trying. 3D2R is a dxpedition to Rotuma Island in the south Pacific.

This was followed yesterday evening by T32C, Christmas Island, also in the Pacific, and also on 17m CW. They were calling EU and were very, very light, but I managed to get through after just a short time. I was beaming north with my MA5B.