The 172 countries I have confirmed QLSs for through LoTW

The following is a list of the countries which I have received confirmed QSLs for through ARRL's Logbook of the World. It makes for interesting reading. I have worked a total of 218 entities so to have 172 of those confirmed is a great delight for me.

AFGHANISTAN	T6JC
ALAND ISLAND	OG0Z
ALASKA	KL7J
ALBANIA	ZA3HA
ANDORRA	C37N
ANTARCTICA	RI1ANC
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA	V25WY
ARGENTINA	LU5FF
ARUBA	P49Y
ASCENSION ISLAND	ZD8RH
ASIATIC RUSSIA	UA0BA
AUSTRALIA	VK7ZE
AUSTRIA	OE5FIN
AZERBAIJAN	4K9W
AZORES	CU3/CT1FMX
BAHAMAS	C6AKX
BAHRAIN	A92IO
BALEARIC ISLAND	EA6TS
BANGLADESH	S21YZ
BARBADOS	8P9NX
BELARUS	EV1R
BELGIUM	ON5LGS
BOLIVIA	CP1FF
BONAIRE	PJ4A
BONAIRE,CURACAO (NETH ANTILLES) (DELETED)	PJ4NX
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA	E73XL
BRAZIL	PY2XB
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLAND	VP2V/G3PHO
BULGARIA	LZ1GL
CAMEROON	TJ9PF
CANADA	VX9HF
CANARY ISLAND	EA8OM
CAPE VERDE	D4C
CEUTA & MELILLA	ED9M
CHAGOS ISLAND	VQ9LA
CHILE	CE3DNP
CHINA	VO1AU/BY1RX
COLOMBIA	HK1KYR
CORSICA	TK/F5JSD
CRETE	SV9CVY
CROATIA	9A4WY
CURACAO	PJ2T
CYPRUS	P33W
CZECH REPUBLIC	OK2PAY
DEM. REP. OF THE CONGO	9Q50ON
DENMARK	OZ1HDF
DJIBOUTI	J28AA
DOMINICA	J79M
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	HI3TEJ
EAST MALAYSIA	9M6XRO/P
EGYPT	SU9VB
EL SALVADOR	YS3CW
ENGLAND	G3VAO
ESTONIA	ES2MA
EUROPEAN RUSSIA	RV3QH
FALKLAND ISLANDS	VP8LP
FAROE ISLANDS	OY2J
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY	DL0WFF
FINLAND	OH3LQK
FRANCE	F4FJH
FRENCH GUIANA	FY5LH
GABON	TR8CA
GEORGIA	4L0A
GIBRALTAR	ZB2CN
GREECE	SV1CQN
GREENLAND	OX3XR
GUADELOUPE	FG4NO
GUAM	KH2/N2NL
GUATEMALA	TG9IRP
GUERNSEY	MU0FAL
HAWAII	KH6MB
HONDURAS	HR2/NP3D
HONG KONG	VR2C
HUNGARY	HA3NU
ICELAND	TF3Y
INDIA	VU2NKS
INDONESIA	YB1ALL
IRAQ	YI9PSE
IRELAND	EI7CC
ISLE OF MAN	MD6V
ISRAEL	4Z4DX
ITALY	I4HRH
ITU HQ	4U1ITU
JAN MAYEN	JX5O
JAPAN	JA3AOP
JERSEY	MJ0ASP
KALININGRAD	UA2FR
KAZAKHSTAN	UN7JZ
KERMADEC ISLAND	ZL8X
KUWAIT	9K2HN
LATVIA	YL2EC
LEBANON	OD5PY
LIECHTENSTEIN	HB0/OU4U
LITHUANIA	LY7M
LUXEMBOURG	LX7I
MADEIRA ISLANDS	CT3MD
MALAWI	7Q7BP
MALDIVES	8Q7QX
MARKET REEF	OJ0B
MARTINIQUE	FM5DN
MAURITIUS ISLAND	3B8MM
MEXICO	XE2WWW
MOLDOVA	ER3DX
MONACO	3A2MW
MONGOLIA	JT5DX
MONTENEGRO	4O3A
MONTSERRAT	VP2MDG
MOROCCO	5C5W
NAMIBIA	V55DLH
NEPAL	9N7DX
NETHERLANDS	PD1RO
NEW ZEALAND	ZL4RUGBY
NICARAGUA	YN2EA
NORTHERN IRELAND	GI4SNA
NORWAY	LA5YJ
OMAN	A45XR
PALESTINE	E4X
PANAMA	HP1/IZ6BRN
PARAGUAY	ZP6CW
PERU	OA1F
PHILIPPINES	DU1/JJ5GMJ
POLAND	SQ8LSC
PORTUGAL	CR6K
PUERTO RICO	KP4BD
REPUBLIC OF KOREA	HL5NLQ
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA	ZS1EL
REVILLAGIGEDO	4A4A
ROMANIA	YO2ADQ
RWANDA	9X0TL
SABA & ST EUSTATIUS	PJ5/K1XM
SAINT BARTHELEMY	TO7ZG
SAINT HELENA	ZD7XF
SAINT KITTS & NEVIS	V47NT
SAINT PIERRE & MIQUELON	FP/K9OT
SAN MARINO	T77GO
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE	S9DX
SARDINIA	IM0/IK0FMB
SAUDI ARABIA	7Z1HL
SCOTLAND	GM0OAA
SENEGAL	6W2SC
SERBIA	YU1CC
SINT MAARTEN	PJ7E
SLOVAK REPUBLIC	OM4EX
SLOVENIA	S57TW
SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS	VP8ORK
SOV MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA	1A0KM
SPAIN	EA2KC
SUDAN	ST2AR
SURINAME	PZ5RA
SVALBARD	JW8HGA
SWEDEN	SM1IRS
SWITZERLAND	HB9CQL
TAJIKISTAN	EY8MM
TANZANIA	5I3A
THAILAND	HS0ZEE
TOGO	5V7TT
TUNISIA	3V8SS
TURKEY	TC07DX
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS	VP5/W5SL
U K BASES ON CYPRUS	ZC4VJ
UGANDA	5X1NH
UKRAINE	UY2ZA
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	A65BP
UNITED NATIONS HQ	4U1UN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA	WA2C
URUGUAY	CX6VM
US VIRGIN ISLANDS	KP2B
VATICAN CITY	HV0A
VENEZUELA	YV5/N4NX
VIET NAM	3W6C
WALES	MW0ZZK
WEST MALAYSIA	9M2TO
ZIMBABWE	Z21BB

IRTS 2 metres counties contest

This is the portable 8el beam I will use.

Tomorrow, Sunday August 28th, the IRTS autumn 2 metres counties contest takes place. The contest will run from 2pm to 4pm local time. I will be participating in the contest as EI2KC/P from Bellewstown Hill in County Meath. I plan to use an 8 element beam and my Yaesu FT-897 although I am not yet decided on which section of the contest to enter. Previously, I have entered high power fixed from the home QTH but this will be my first portable effort.

The aim of the contest is to work as many Irish Counties as possible. Stations in GI the rest of the UK can participate also, and indeed their points are very welcome !

For contest rules, visit the IRTS website.

Hopefully as many EIs as possible will be active during the contest, if not to win, at least to give out some points. It is very enjoyable to hear the activity on the band, and to work various counties, so even the non-competitive ops among us can have a bit of fun. I hope to get you into the log sometime tomorrow afternoon. Good luck.

PS: Thanks to Pat EI2HX for a loan of one of his portable antenna tripods.

The little mini beam antenna that works the world . . .

I am in no doubt now whatsoever that the Cushcraft MA5B minibeam is far outstripping the Butternut HFV6 vertical for working DX on HF. Just perusing the log for the past few days it becomes obvious that the DX is coming in much better and easier than before.

The latest DXCC confirmed on eQSL is South Korea.Total now 122

My very latest QSO as I write this was with Ian VK3MO in Australia. I beamed him long path while he was beaming short path and he picked me up out of the pile. Just before that I had worked KP3A on 15m CW. Here is a list of the nice DX worked in the past few days, all on the MA5B (and all with 100 watts):

S79DO (Seychelles) 20m CW (New one on 20)
YB3JBJ (Indonesia) 20m CW
KH6MB (Hawaii) 17m CW (New one on 17)
D9A (South Korea) 17m CW (New one on 17)
JG1SIS (Japan) 17m CW (I got lots of JA on 17m this week)
HP1/IZ6BRN (Panama) 17m CW
CE2/VE7SV (Chile) 17m CW
VK2GWK (Australia) 17m CW (New one on that band)
9K2HN (Kuwait) 17m CW (New one on 17)
T6MO (Afghanistan) 17m CW (New one on 17)
BD1BYV (China) 17m CW
D9A (Korea) 20m CW
TL0A (Central African Republic) 12m SSB (New DXCC on 12)

And the list goes on . . .

The MA5B is a minibeam, a compromise antenna. Mine is at least ten years old. It had a burnt out trap. It is a bit dirty. It's not up high enough, standing at about 25 feet, not even clearing the rooftops!! And it's not resonant on 15m. But it's doing a great job. If I could say anything to other hams out there with small properties, it's this : "Don't despair - you can work great DX with modest equipment".

Here's wishing you all great DX in the coming weeks. 73 for now.

PS: D9A have me as EA2KC in their log for my 17m QSO. There are only four EIs who have worked them so far. All of us have one QSO each but I should have two.

Combining two loves: stars and radio

On Friday night it was beautiful outside. For the first time in about three months we are starting to have dark nights, now that the longest days of the year are over and we move towards autumn equinox. It was so beautiful outside in the garden that I brought my camera out to take a few photos. Of course now that I have so many antennas it is difficult to get a photo of the stars without some metal intrusion!!

The above photo is probably the best of those that I took. The bright star behind the MA5B minibeam is Vega in the constellation Lyra. Together with two other stars, Deneb and Altair, Vega forms what we astronomers know as the "Summer Triangle". It's a familiar and beautiful sight at this time of the year, being directly overhead in the summer months. If you look closely at the image, you can see Deneb at the top of the image, just to the left of centre, at the top of the cross-shaped Cygnus (the swan) constellation. Altair is on the extreme left of the photo. It is the bright star of the constellation Aquila, the eagle.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photo. The MA5B is doing a great job for me working the DX. I've had lots of contacts into Japan, China and other parts of Asia with it. It is not resonant on 15m and is a problem on that band, but on 20m, 17m, 12m and 10m it is doing great. Admittedly 10 hasn't been open enough to test it properly. I am surprised and delighted with its performance on 17m, where it has bagged me lots of DX, most recently Afghanistan which is a new one for me on that band. On 17m the MA5B is only a rotary trap dipole - with no parasytics!! Would you even believe it? Maybe not if you could look at my log and see all the great DX I've worked with it. I am very happy so far . . .

DX nets - are they of any use? (Rhetorical question)

I suppose that not everyone in the ham radio sphere thinks that DX nets are of any constructive use. Perhaps some people like the idea of working DX off their own bat without the assistance of an intermediary. Having worked a few difficult ones in a DX net I am beginning to think that these nets are very very useful.

I am talking specifically about the 40m DX net run by Roger, ON7TQ, almost on a nightly basis. Roger has a beam which gives him direction on 40m, something most of us would give our right arm for. (Well, maybe not. But we'd all like the real estate and the hard cash for such a setup!)

I have made three very nice contacts on 40m recently, two of which were new countries for me on that band, one of which was a new country overall, thanks to Roger's DX net.

The first QSO was with TZ6TR, Tom in Mali, Africa, which was a brand new country for me, never worked before. I was thrilled to get Tom into the log and I'm not sure in a pile-up situation that I would have ever made it through. But with the DX net, each station who wants to work the DX gives the last two letters of their call and when there's about ten callers, the DX net controller invites each one in turn to call the DX station.

In this way, it is possible for smaller stations like mine to work the DX without the obstruction of the heavy QRM one would expect if the DX station was just calling CQ on simplex.

Norman VK7AC at his station

This contact with Mali convinced me of the merits of Roger's DX net. So a week or so later I heard Roger on again, booming as usual, and this time he had VK7AC, Norman in Tasmania, on frequency. I was surprised to see Norman sitting at a signal 7, and with a relatively quiet band (it was sunrise in VK7 and almost sunset in EI) I decided to throw my "Kilo Charlie" into the list. As it happens I had already spoken with Norman on 40m SSB using my Butternut vertical but I wanted to try him on my new inverted V. He gave me a 5 and 7 and while we were chatting he peaked at 5 and 8. He heard me no problem. Another nice QSO.

Just last night I joined in again with Roger's net. This time though conditions were strange. Roger was only 5 and 7 at times instead of his usual 20 over but crucially I could hear the DX station, in this case CE3EEA, Edgar in Chile. So when it came down the line to "Kilo Charlie" I called Edgar and, to my delight, he came back to me with a 5 and 3 report and I gave him 5 and 5. I never worked Chile on 40m before, so it was a new country for me on that band.

So thanks Roger for running your DX net. It has helped me get a couple of new ones into the log. I shall be listening with interest on a regular basis from now on.

Guam, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia and Tanzania all worked

Above is a video showing KH2/N2NL on Guam in the Pacific working a pile-up into Europe. Moments before this video was taken, I had worked him, making only my second ever contact with Guam and a new one for me on 15m. I had worked the same station back in April on 10 metres during a brilliant opening, also on CW.

I was surprised at how strong David was coming in. I had been pointing my MA5B minibeam towards the north-northeast but when I beamed south-southwest he came up stronger and it was in that direction that I worked him. It took me about ten minutes of calling but eventually he gave "EI ? EI?" and I gave my call a couple of times and he came back with EI2KC and my progressive number. He was working the WAE Worked All Europe contest. As you can see from the video, he was a 579, quite strong for the pacific on a minibeam which is only up about 25 feet.

The WAE is one of those great contests which gives operators like myself a chance to work some good DX. Yesterday I worked 5H3EE on 20m CW, a new country on that band. I worked two stations in Australia, VK2IM on 20m and VK4CT on 40m. I was particularly proud of the 40m contact. In between those I had worked YB1ALL on 40m CW, a new country on that band. But then I worked ZM1A in New Zealand on 40m, which was the highlight of the weekend so far. I have only ever worked ZL on 20m so to get a ZL on 40 was a great achievement. I'm thrilled. All the 40m contacts were worked with 100 watts and my homebrew inverted V. On the higher bands it was my Cushcraft MA5B and 100 watts that did the trick.

There's still a good few hours of the contest left to run, so I will see if I can pick up any more interesting DX. You should do the same!

Addendum: I also managed to nab T6MO, a new one on 40m (CW),  KH7X on 20m CW, a few Japan stations on 20m CW,  VE7CC in western Canada (he came back to my CQ!), FM5CD and CE3FZ and also PJ2M.

Photos of the Shanwick receive antennas at Ballygirreen

As promised, here are some photos of the Shanwick receive antennas at Ballygirreen, County Clare, Ireland. These photos were taken by my XYL Ann and artistically enhanced by me using Adobe Photoshop. I hope you enjoy.

The Shanwick receive antenna array at Ballygirreen, Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland, not far from the Atlantic.

Antenna at Ballygirreen, Co. Clare, part of the Shanwick receive aerial array.

On a miserable wet Irish day it was hard to know whether to leave the colour in the images or not.

You can have a better look at the Ballygirreen antenna system using Google Maps Street View below:


View Larger Map

You can explore the Ballygirreen antennas on Google Maps at this link.

For those of you who listen to Shanwick radio, you might be interested to learn that there is a plan for increased use of HF, and indeed for the provision of additional HF frequencies in 2011. This is from the Irish Aviation Authority website:

Shanwick Radio keeps in contact with all flights in Oceanic Airspace mainly by means of High Frequency Radio (HF), but also uses VHF (Very High Frequency) and Satellite Phone (SATPHONE). HF can provide global coverage because of its ability to bounce off the ionosphere and can span the globe in a series of skips. VHF coverage, on the other hand, is limited to line-of-sight range. Shanwick Radio uses over 20 HF frequency channels and 2 VHF. At peak times it handles in excess of 1400 aircraft in a 24 hour period. In 2008, the station handled in excess of 1 million messages from 422,086 aircraft. To cater for the growth in HF frequency activity it is planned to introduce additional frequencies during 2011. Read more here.