First 23cm EME QSL's - KB7Q & DK3WG

After completing 50 "Initial" QSO's (contacts with 50 "different" stations) in just 2 days of operation, I was really looking forward to receiving some 23cm EME QSL's.  Well, Gene, KB7Q, was the first to satisfy that "itch" by sending me his QSL (See above.  You can click on the image to see it larger.)  What a THRILL!  This is my FIRST EVER QSL for 1296 MHz and my first EVER for an EME contact on that band.  WOW!  Thanks so much Gene.

I should also mention that over the past several months I have leaned heavily on Gene for advice on putting together my 23cm EME station.  He has always been there for me with the answer to nearly every question I posed.  So, a BIG THANK YOU, Gene for being my mentor on this new adventure.  I really appreciate your efforts.

Then, just 4 days later, I received a direct mailed QSL from Germany!  DK3WG even sent me a SAE plus $2 US currency for the return of my QSL!  Of course I will send the $2 back to him when I mail him my new 23cm EME QSL.  It's fun to feel like you are rare DX!!!

But, sadly, just 2 days after I received the above QSL from Jürgen his son sent me an email telling me that his father had passed away last week at the age of 82 due to a heart attack!  What a loss!

23cm EME Project - SUCCESS!

WHEEEEEE!  My efforts on building the 23cm EME station have been rewarded in a spectacular manner.  I am now active on 23cm EME for the VERY first time.  Over the last 37 years I have made EME QSO's on 6m, 2m, and 70cm but now with a 2.4m Sub-Lunar folding dish, I have managed my first EME contacts on this new (to me) band.  I was only able to be on for the 2nd night of the October ARRL contest weekend (2025-10-12) but managed 37 contacts, all new initials, in 17 DXCC's with OE9ERC, OK1DFC, RD4D, OK1UGA, K0PRT, G4YTL, N1AV, SP5GDM, HB9Q, OK1KIR, SM6CKU, ES3RF, OK2AQ, DF2VJ, KB2SA, YO2LAM, OK1USW, DK3WG, PA3FXB, GM0PJD, UA1ALD, WA3RGQ, DL0SHF, OH3LWP, SP3YDE, G4CCH, PA0TBR, AA6I, CT1FFU, KH6FA, W3TI, N0AKC, OH1LRY, AC2AC, K5N, W2ZQ, and JJ3JHP.  I had 7 decodes of PYØFBS as strong as -23 and 12 consecutive decodes of HL2/LY3UM (4 of those at -23) but no QSO's resulted with either of these fine DX'peditions. 

Operating Position on my Driveway

Because my QTH is blocked by trees to the East, my operating location is "portable" on my driveway.  The equipment is kept on a 3-shelf rolling cart which I wheel out of the garage to operate.  I am not able to see the moon until it clears my roof at about 22° elevation but I can see it almost down to the western horizon.  My QTH is EM98al in the state of West Virginia (WV).  

My equipment consists of: a 2,4m Sub-Lunar folding dish, OK1DFC Lightweight Septum Feed, Sub-Lunar SL-1 Az-El Rotors, N8CQ's WinTrack, IC-9700 w/Leo Bodnar GPSDO, AG6EE preamp, 200-watts from an AG6EE Power Amplifier, and 6,5m feed lines from Messi & Paoloni in Italy. However, since the station is "portable" there is the possibility that I can operate from other locations.  

I operated the next Saturday (2025-10-18) and made 16 QSO's including 13 more Initials: G0LBK, CX9BT, DL4DTU, PA0PLY, KA1GT, I2FAK, KB7Q, NY1V, OK1VUM, N5TM, F5KUG, VK2JDS, and XE1XA.  That brings me up to 53 QSO's, 50 Initials, and 22 DXCC's after only 2 days of operation on the moon.  Boy, am I fired up with those results!  I know I worked at least a couple of stations using 1,5m "Solar-Cooker" dishes and I worked KB2SA with his 1,0m dish, TWICE!  On the first KB2SA QSO reports were: Sent -21 / Rcvd -24. And, I easily completed a Q65-15A QSO with KA1GT, Sent -17 / Rcvd -15. 

With the overnight temperatures around 7°C both times, I have now ordered a portable hunting shelter to keep the operating position a bit more comfortable!  But, it has now occurred to me that I can actually operate the station remotely from INSIDE the house!  I will be working on that idea next.

Even though I have made hundreds of moonbounce QSO's over nearly 4 decades, the THRILL is still there!  Had any of my neighbors been awake at 12:45 a.m. when I made that first 23cm EME contact, I'm sure they would have heard my yell as I jumped up and down on the driveway!  WHOPEEE!

2,700 Challenge Points Reached

With a QSL received from JD1BMH yesterday for 20-M and 17-M contacts, I have now reached the 2,700 point level on the DXCC Challenge.  This is 4-2/3 years after I hit the 2,500 level (https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2020/03/finally-reached-2500-level-on-arrl.html).  The further you go up this "ladder", the harder it is to contact New Ones. (Click on any image to see a larger view.)

 

I wonder if I can order a 2,700 Medallion from ARRL?

Clipperton Island Confirmed on 6-M

 

What a THRILL to get this entity confirmed on 6-M.  I spent a fair amount of my time on Clipperton (FOØXX) in 1985 trying to make even a single 6-M QSO.  We set schedules with California KW stations to no avail.  Not a single Magic Band QSO was made in our 8 day operation of 30,958 QSO's.  (Click on any image to see it larger.)

W8TN as FOØXX from Clipperton in 1985

 

This year's TX5S operation made a total of 226 QSO's on 6-M including EME.
 
In 2013 TX5K made 329 QSO's on 6-M including 56 on EME by W7GJ. 

In 2000 FOØAAA made 139 QSO's on 6-M.

In 1992 FOØCI made 279 QSO's on 6-M.

Those four Clipperton Island operations may have produced all the Magic Band contacts EVER made on 6-M with Clipperton Island - 973 QSO's!  A RARE QSL indeed.

This contact now gives me confirmations on 10-Bands and 3-Modes with Clipperton Island.  Maybe someone will operate 2-M EME from there in the near future?

And, to make this contact even more memorable, I worked ZL7DX, Chatham Island, less than one hour before I worked Clipperton Island.  WOOF!  Some days the Magic Band is truly MAGIC!

These LoTW confirmations bring me to 157 All-Time Entities confirmed on 6-M.  WOW!  I never dreamed of reaching such a level on 50 MHz.

ZC4RH - British Military Bases, Cyprus - 2-M EME

Today I received a QSL for my QSO with ZC4RH on 2-M EME!  This is my 63rd Country confirmed on 2-M EME with one more worked but not confirmed (VK.)  (Click on any image to see it larger.)

Chris, PA2CHR, Jos, PA3FYC, and Dave, ZC4RH, set up and operated an EME station on three VHF bands in November 2022 from an extremely rare location.  The British Bases on Cyprus occupy only about 98 square miles so it's quite small.  This operation took at least a year of planning, on-site visits, pre-shipment of all equipment by UPS/DHL, and loads of preparation.  Many difficulties had to be overcome but the final result was a huge success.

The ZC4RH operation ended with: 144 MHz:  213 QSO's    /     432 MHz:    54  QSO's   /    1296 MHz:   32  QSO's

For 2-M the ZC4RH station consisted of: FT857, SSPA, LNA and 2 x 10/10 ele x-pol yagis (16 dBd).  My own 800-watts and 2 x 14/14 XPOL InnovAntennas was sufficient to finally make the QSO - just moments before their MoonSet on the final day of 2-M operation.

 

I am just SO excited to have added this very, very rare entity to my list of countries worked and confirmed via 2-M EME!  Opportunities to work such stations come along seldom so to check this one off is a HUGE satisfaction to me. My sincere THANKS to Chris, Jos, and Dave for all their efforts in making this happen!

Previously I have worked Chris, PA2CHR, and Jos, PA3FYC, from TD9FYC (2018) and VP2EMB (2019) as both New Countries for me.  I'm anxiously waiting to see where they go next!

Z66X, Rep. of Kosovo, Confirmed on 6-M

Between June 28 and July 4, 2022, Adrian, KO8SCA, Martti, OH2BH, Ville, OH2MM, Driton, Z61DX Enver, Z61EK, and Naim, Z62NS, carried out an activity from the Republic of Kosovo.  Their plan was to concentrate on 6-M to hand out the most recent DXCC entity, Z6, to as many as possible.  Their plan was also to concentrate on stations in the USA and Japan.  They took an Elecraft K3S, an SPE amplifier and a 7-element InnovAntenna (LFA-2) with an 8.9m boom.

Of course, I was primed and ready to try and work them as this would be a New Country for me on the Magic Band.  Day after day I was sitting at the radio with my antenna headed toward Kosovo but no signals were received.  In fact, from what I could see on PSK Reporter, there was no one in the U.S. copying Z66X.  Then on June 30th I saw PSK Reporter spots showing that Z66X was being copied in the USA.  (Click on any image below to see it in a larger size.)

However, the opening seemed to favor the South East part of the country and not me. Note there was 1-1/2 hours between that first spot (on the left) and the ones on the right.  This was good information.  It told me not to give up if an opening seemed to be short lived.

As the days wore on, it seemed that almost no one in the U.S. was working Z66X.  I was there, in the chair, every morning - just in case.  That patience was rewarded on July 3rd when I had my first decode of Z66X:

The bad news is that was a "one and done" decode.  Nothing else was copied from Kosovo for some 2-1/2 hours.  Still, I remembered what had happened three days earlier so I stuck with it.  That effort was rewarded almost 3 hours after my first decode when I again began decoding Z66X.  I began to call and call and after many transmissions, made a good QSO:

 

 

There was a lot of jumping up and down and many "YA HOOO"s taking place in my shack after that!  A VERY RARE New One had been added to my 6-M Entities Worked.  Just 16 days later I was rewarded with an LoTW Confirmation and today, a beautiful QSL arrived in the mail:

 

When I found the following recap on Twitter, it really put into perspective the magnitude of my QSO:

KOSOVO Z66X 6M DX-PEDITION RECAP

Many have wondered about the delay on publishing the Z66X QSO statistics and log updates for the variety of databases such as ClubLog and LoTW.

The truth is that Martti, OH2BH was diagnosed with COVID following the Z6 trip and he is still suffering of it. The other Z66X team members, Adrian, KO8SCA and Ville, OH2MM have shown no symptoms yet and they are assisting with the log process. In total some 3572 QSOs were made, out of which 44 QSOs on 6M FT8 were made with North America. Please QRX for a few more days for the log update.

Meanwhile, Champ, E21EIC had the entire Siam DX Group present in the temple to talk to Buddha about Martti’s case. The message was loud and clear: “Buddha says that the DX-ers never die!”

You can also delight Martti, OH2BH with your “get well” wishes by email.

73 Al 4L5A

 6-M is always the "Magic Band" but sometimes you have to "make your own magic" with planning, patience, and perseverance!

Ham Radio STILL Gives Me a Thrill!

Last night provided me with a thrill in Ham Radio that just never seems to get old.   Snagging that elusive DX on a New Band.  Working a New One is only surpassed by working an All-Time New One (ATNO) and it seems several in the West Virginia DX Association (WVDXA) scored one of those "rarest of the rare" contacts with this DX'pedition to A2, Botswana.  CONGRATULATIONS to all those folks!  Hopefully you got your piece of pie as a reward for scoring that QSO!!!

I am reminded of how it was "back in the day" when a New One was worked.  Back then there were no WARC bands (30-M, 17-M and 12-M) so the record keeping was a "little" easier.  Still, it meant having separate PAPER DXCC lists for each band AND for each mode!

Note: at the beginning of my DX'ing career, I had only ONE DXCC List because there were no 5-Band awards.  If I worked A2 on one band, that was all I needed in my mind.  And, if I worked them on SSB, I made no effort to work them on CW let alone RTTY (digital.)

Since there was no PacketCluster spotting system back then, you found the DX by simply tuning your radio and checking out EVERY signal you heard until you could identify that station.  If you happened to run across a pileup on the band, you had to then physically check your list(s) to see if that was a New One.  But I can tell you that if it was an ATNO, that list was kept in your brain and you knew instantly you had never worked that country before!

There were check-boxes in your paper logbook to let you record if a QSL had been sent or received.  But you still needed to keep paper records to record when you sent for a QSL, where you sent for it (bureau, manager, direct, etc.), and what you enclosed ($$$, SAE, etc.)  All this paper-shuffling made you feel more like an accountant than a ham radio operator.  That data can now be easily recorded in your logging program and instantly available to you.  It is simply amazing what an improvement that is.

Plus, today with the PacketCluster, computer logging, Club Log and LoTW - that record-keeping "burden" has been removed.  Today you don't need to tune the bands looking for DX, your logging program will take the incoming PacketCluster spots, check them against your log, then color-code them for you to tell you not only what stations have been spotted but whether or not it is a New One or an ATNO for YOU personally!

On the image at the upper-right, you can see that there are three spots from the PacketCluster that are color-coded Blue.  (Click on any image to see a larger version.) These spots are displayed in my logging program's BandMap.  Those are New Ones for ME.  If they were Red, those would be ATNO's.  If I hover my mouse over any of those (like I did with AP2HA in the above screenshot) I get a pop-up (shown in Yellow) with tons of detail.  BOY, that's so much of an improvement over the "old days" that you just can't believe it unless you were there.

The Green square shown just to the left of most of those calls indicate that station is an LoTW user, as does the "+" sign in the Yellow pop-up.  LoTW has improved the DX'ing hobby beyond measure.  At one time I waited 13 YEARS to get a QSL from an ATNO!  And, when that card came, it was still an ATNO as I had never worked that country again in all those years.  Today, you can sometimes get an LoTW confirmation while the DX'pedition is STILL UNDERWAY!  WOW!

All one needs to do is to click on any spot in the above BandMap and your radio jumps to the exact frequency and mode for the spotted station plus the callsign gets placed in the Call field of the logging program and is ready to be logged once the station is worked.

Your logging program can also tell you where you have and have not worked that particular entity (band/mode/QSL Rcvd or not.)  In the screenshot on the left, I have A2, Botswana, Confirmed (shown in Red text) on 10-M and 20-M SSB plus 30-M and 40-M CW.  The two Yellow "DIG" fields show that I have "Worked" (Blue not Red text) A25RU on 17-M and 30-M Digital Modes.  They are Yellow since I typed A25RU into the Call field to see these Worked/Confirmed records and the Yellow says I have worked "A25RU" (not some other A2 station) on those Bands/Modes.  If I had just typed "A2" in the box, there would have been no Yellow boxes, just the Mode shown in Blue text since it was not confirmed on those QSO's.  Plus the Yellow box for 80-M CW indicates my QSO from last night (as recorded in my log.)  It is SO easy to check what bands/modes you need an entity on now, just enter the prefix for the entity and your Worked/Confirmed window will display all that data!  No need to shuffle through all those PAPER DXCC lists!

From this data I can easily see that from this A25RU DX'pedition I have added two New Bands to my A2 list of stations worked as well as one New Mode.  And, it also shows a gaping hole for 12-M which is one I still need.

If I want to check when I worked those stations, I can just click on any of the above boxes and get a pop-up with my log data.  For instance, if I click on the Red SSB for 20-M, what I see is shown above.

Are you kidding me?  1973 for that A2 QSO?  WOW!  Some of you reading this may still have been in diapers or not even born then!

Still, the way things used to be, you were never 100% sure your QSO made it into the DX Station's log until you got his QSL (or not) which would always take 6-months or more and sometimes YEARS!  Today, you just need to check out an online log to see if the DX has recorded your QSO.  Below on the right is a screenshot of Club Log for the log of the A25RU DX'pedition checked against my own call.

Bingo!  All my A25RU QSO's made the log!  That is SUCH a benefit that you can't imagine.  Years ago I was certain I had worked A5, Bhutan, for my very last country.  That would have put me on the Top of the Honor Roll.  Two of my friends heard the QSO and congratulated me on the contact.  BUT, almost a year later I got back a "Not in Log" to my QSL request.  I was CRUSHED!  If I had been able to check online at that time for my contact and seen it was not there, I would have tried for another.

Finally, my logging program, Logger32, even tracks my progress toward various awards.  Looking at my confirmations for Mixed DXCC I can see my totals in the screenshot at the bottom of this Post.

That 80-M QSO with A25RU last night gave me 240 entities worked on 80-M All-Time and 237 Current since I have 3 Deleted entities worked on 80-M.  You can see two Yellow boxes with a "W" in them.  That indicates that A2, Botswana, has been "Worked" on those Bands but not yet Confirmed.

The Green boxes with a "G" in them indicate those QSO's have been Confirmed AND Credit for them has been "Granted" by ARRL.  The Orange "C" box tells me that QSO is "Confirmed" but not yet Granted toward my DXCC.  

This table is a HUGE help in trying to confirm your contacts.  Just scroll through the list and see what contacts are "Worked" but not "Confirmed."  Click on the "W" box and a pop-up will give you the log information on that entity/band QSO.  Below is what I see if I click on the Yellow box for 80-M on the A2, Botswana line.  This gives me the information for ANY station marked as "W" (Worked and NOT Confirmed.)  That will allow me to track when (or if) I sent for a QSL and give me access to all the information regarding that QSO.  Using these tools you can stay up to date on your QSL'ing.  And, we all know, the QSL is supremely important.  Without a QSL or an LoTW Confirmation, you have NO Credit for working that entity.  Anyone can "claim" they worked anything but if you can PROVE it, that makes all the difference.

The Red boxed text in the image below simply shows I've been DX'ing for a LONG time.  I have Worked and Confirmed 18 entities which no longer count for DXCC!  Some of those countries I have worked on as many as 3 modes and NINE bands!  But, none of those QSO's count anymore because those entities have been DELETED from the ARRL DXCC List.  BUMMER!

 

 

Below is the list of countries/entities I have Worked and Confirmed in the past that no longer count for DXCC:

  1.  Abu Ail Is.
  2.  Yemen Arab Republic
  3.  Saudi Arabia/Iraq Neutral Zone
  4.  Germany
  5.  German Democratic Republic
  6.  Bajo Nuevo
  7.  Serrana Bank & Roncador Cay
  8.  Kingman Reef
  9.  Canal Zone
10.  Czechoslovakia
11.  Territory of New Guinea
12.  Bonaire, Curacao (Neth. Antilles)
13.  Sint Maarten, Saba, Saint Eustatius
14.  Malyj Vysotskij Island
15.  Southern Sudan
16.  Aldabra
17.  Penguin Islands
18.  Walvis Bay


So, even though I have been DX'ing for over 50 years, I probably enjoy it now more than I ever have.  That is because of all the new technology that makes the hobby easier to enjoy.  For me, this thrill of contacting some far-off country on a band where I have never worked them before, is STILL powerful!  It just does NOT get old!

Please remember this history when your QSO does not show up in an online log as fast as you expect.  Or when you think it is taking too long for LoTW to update after your upload.  Today things are so much better than before so please - have a little patience!  Remember, I waited 13 YEARS for one country to be confirmed!!!  Just enjoy what we have now and keep working the New Ones!

FINALLY! Reached the 2,500 Level on the ARRL Challenge

Thirteen years after I first achieved the basic ARRL DXCC Challenge Award with 1,000 confirmations, I have now reached the 2,500 confirmation plateau.  When the envelope arrived with my 2,500 Medallion, it was a feeling quite a bit more exciting than receiving the QSL for an All-Time New One! (See photo of my 2500 Medallion at left - Click on any photo to see a larger image.)

Once I took the photo on the left, I pealed off the 3M backing tape and affixed the 2,500 Medallion to my DXCC Challenge Award.  You can see the on the right.  This plaque hangs right on the wall as you enter my shack!

The way this award is figured is by counting your CONFIRMED "Band-Points."  Each "Band-Point" is earned by working a country on one band and getting it CONFIRMED.  Since this award applies only to the 10 bands from 160 through 6-M (60-M does not count), and since only "Current" countries (entities) are counted, when you multiply those 10 bands by the current maximum number of countries (340) you find that the maximum number of "Band-Points" you can achieve is 3,400.  But, to reach that level, you would need to work (and CONFIRM) each and every country in the world on each of those 10-bands.  Imagine trying to confirm 340 countries on 6-M!

Below is the basic rules statement for the DXCC Challenge Award as found on the ARRL web site:

"The DXCC Challenge Award is earned by working and confirming at least 1,000 DXCC band-points on any Amateur bands, 160 through 6 meters (except 60 meters). Certificates are not available for this award however, there is a distinctive wall plaque available to display your achievement. Plaques can also be endorsed in increments of 500 additional band points. Deleted entities do not count for this award."

Should you manage to reach the rarefied height of having 3,000 Confirmations, your "Medallion" would look like the photo on the left.  It is difficult for me to imagine my achieving that level but, as I make this post, I have 2,513 Confirmed and am waiting on another another 13 QSL's for stations already Worked.  So, only 474 more to go - Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

QSO Today Podcast with W8TN

QSO Today is an audio podcast created by Eric Guth, 4Z1UG / WA6IGR.  It consists of audio interviews with hams from around the world.  As the host of the QSO Today Podcast, Eric poses questions to those being interviewed about their own personal ham radio story.  He asks questions about how the person being interviewed got started in ham radio, about their first rig, their Elmers, about what affect ham radio has had on their career, their family life, what they see as the most exciting aspect of ham radio today and a host of other things.

Each interview runs about an hour and can be listened to online or can be downloaded on Apple Podcasts.  Episode 200 is an interview with Eric himself as the subject.  All prior episodes can be accessed and a list of all the interviews is available HERE.

Eric has been doing this for 4-1/2 years as a way to document the stories and ham radio history for hundreds of individuals in our hobby.  As of today, November 23, 2019, Eric has produced 277 episodes.

Today's Episode 277 is with me, W8TN. The interview was conducted over Skype on November 10, 2019.  The image at the right is from the Skype app during the recording.

I consider many of those who have already been interviewed as being absolutely at the pinnacle of this hobby.  Looking at the list of hams who have already been interviewed, I am extremely honored and humbled to be included here.

Using the embedded player below you can listen to this Episode right from this Blog. Note there are buttons to rewind 30 seconds or skip ahead 30 seconds.

ARRL Triple Play Award Received

WOW, what a nice looking award!  (Click on any image to see it in a larger size.)  The ARRL Triple Play Award (http://www.arrl.org/triple-play) is issued for confirmation of QSOs with each of the 50 U.S. states on voice, CW, and digital modes - those confirmations MUST be recorded on LoTW.  Contacts must be made after 0000Z on January 1, 2009, to be considered for this award.

My great friend, John, W8WEJ, achieved the ARRL Triple Play Award  on March 4, 2009, and was given Award No. 191 !!!  WOW!  At that time I started to think about trying for it myself.  However, it wasn't until the W1AW/portable operations from all the U.S. States in 2014 that I began to get serious about trying to accumulate the 150 necessary LoTW confirmations.  By the end of the W1AW/ program, I had acquired most of the necessary confirmations but not enough.

This spring I checked my records and found that I needed only four more states to reach the 150 total:

Georgia - Phone and Digital
Minnesota - Digital
Washington - CW

I actually posted a note on my computer monitor with the above information but it stayed there for several months before I did anything about it.

On 26-July-2018 I got an email from N1ADM asking if I could give him a CW QSO from WV as one of the last two he needed to complete his Triple Play.  In his email he said:

"I don’t have much to offer in return, except for my gratitude. Georgia isn’t very tough to work for awards, but I am happy to work skeds with anyone who needs my grid or county."


HEY, this dude's in GEORGIA - and I need GEORGIA on Phone and Digital.  What a match!

We worked that night on all three modes and N1ADM now only needed ND on CW to complete his award and I only needed MN on Digital and WA on CW.  BTW, N1ADM scored a ND QSO only 1 hour later and received his Triple Play Award (No. 2073) the next day.

Now that I was only 2 QSO's away, I finally got busy looking for MN on Digital.  Using FT8 I called "CQ MN" on 20-M for awhile - no response, then again on 17-M - no response.  When I moved to 30-M, before I could start calling CQ, I saw WBØN calling CQ from EN34.  A quick look to QRZ and YES - he was in Minnesota!  In 2 minutes we had completed and he quickly uploaded to LoTW.  Now I only needed ONE more - Washington on CW.

I looked around the Internet and found WR7K was a station in Washington and I decided to email him.  Guy, WR7K, promptly replied with his phone number and I set a sked with him for the next evening via a follow-up email.  When the sked time came I telephoned him but got his answering machine.  I called him on the sked for 5 minutes with no response.  I then noticed on QRZ that Guy was born in 1939 so I thought he might have fallen asleep on the couch!

The next day he emailed to say he was out at the sked time and we should try the next night.  Well, a half-hour before the sked time, Guy, WR7K, called me on the phone to say 40-M sounded a little noisy at his end but we could still try if I wanted.  The sked had been set for 11:30 p.m. EDT so I was not ready and had to turn on all the equipment.  When I got on frequency, there he was calling me with his 100-watts.  BINGO!  A CW QSO with Washington was made.  I telephoned him and got the machine again so I left him a message and he phoned right back.  By the time I hung up the phone and uploaded to LoTW, his QSL was already there!  That gave me the needed 150 QSL's and I applied for the Triple Play award right then.

Many awards only require you to work a certain number of QSO's (like 100 for DXCC out of 340 countries) but the Triple Play Award requires you to work ALL of the U.S. States on three different modes.  Getting them confirmed on LoTW is usually a lot easier than getting QSL cards.  Since they are all recorded on LoTW, it's a snap to apply for the award - you do it all online!

I'm very pleased to have finally completed this award.  And, it's a VERY NICE looking award as well.

Year-End EME Report

2017 turned out to be a VERY good year for me on EME!  I finished the year (after only 2 months on EME) with better results than I thought I would have after a FULL YEAR on the moon!  AMAZING!

Here are my totals as of 2017-12-31:

Total EME QSO's  -  121  /  Initial Contacts  -  116
DXCC's Worked  -  33  /  Confirmed  -  23
Grids Worked via EME  -  99
States Worked via EME  -  22

These results make all the work I did to get this station operational totally worthwhile.  Below are the countries I have worked so far:

 1. DL1KDA  Federal Republic of Germany
 2. EB5EEO  Spain   
 3. EA6VQ   Balearic Islands
 4. EA8DBM  Canary Islands
 5. ES3RF   Estonia
 6. F5AQX   France
 7. G4CDN   England
 8. GM6JNJ  Scotland
 9. HA6NQ   Hungary
10. HB9Q    Switzerland
11. HSØZIL  Thailand
12. IW4ARD  Italy
13. JHØBBE  Japan
14. K9MRI   USA
15. NH6Y    Hawaii
16. KL7UW   Alaska
17. LY2IJ   Lithuania
18. LZ1KU   Bulgaria
19. OH4LA   Finland
20. OK1UGA  Czech Republic
21. ON4KHG  Belgium
22. PA5Y    Netherlands
23. RX9AT   Asiatic Russia
24. S52LM   Slovenia
25. SM4GGC  Sweden
26. TF3T    Iceland
27. UA3PTW  European Russia   
28. UX5UL   Ukraine
29. V31EME  Belize
30. VK5APN  Australia
31. YL2GD   Latvia
32. YO3DDZ  Romania
33. ZS4TX   Republic of South Africa

I am SOOOO looking forward to what the New Year will bring!

ARRL EME Contest Results

BOY, OH, BOY - This EME Contest was a LOT of FUNNNNNN!

I was not trying for a score in the contest, I just wanted to work folks off the moon and this contest is a good time to do that.  Over the first two nights that I was operational on the moon, I made a total of 10 QSO's which I felt was pretty neat.  Well, in the ARRL EME Contest, I bettered that number by a good bit.  I made a total of 16 QSO's the first night!  And, EIGHTEEN the second! WHEEEEEE!

Several times I heard Roger, KD8BZY, who is quite close to me, working stations with his single 12-element yagi and I know he worked some that I didn't and I might have worked some that he didn't.  I'll bet if we pooled our individual QSO's we'd really have a list.

For the most part, everything worked as it should.  I found an issue or two that I'll need to look at but overall, things just purred along like a well-oiled machine. 

By 7:20 a.m. I only had 8° of moon left and not much that I coule hear to work so I decided to hit the sack for some Z-Z-Z-Z-Z's.  It is interesting to note that some of the stations I heard in the first weekend of the ARRL EME Context last month when I could only receive,  I was not able to copy them this night when I knew they were on the moon.  This EME stuff is not as easy as you might think [grin].

Anyway, on the left is a log of the completed QSO's I made last night.  The K9MRI station I had worked previously but all the others are New Ones.  Click on the image to get a larger view.

You know, I can't come up with a big enough adjective to describe my elation at being back on-the-moon.  In some respects it is just MIND-BLOWING!

I worked SEVEN stations via EME my first night on the moon.  THREE more the second night.  SIXTEEN the third night and EIGHTEEN on the third night!  I've only  been on-the-moon for 4 nights and I have made 44 EME QSO's.  I never thought I could do this well.

Of those 44 QSO's, 42 were what is called "Initials."  The first time a contact is made with a new station, this is known as an "Initial" on EME. Sometimes stations change callsigns or move.  If a station moves his location into another grid or square then they can be counted as separate "Initials."  However if a station changes his callsign (for instance G6ZTU became GØRUZ), this does not count as a new initial.

The second night was again - "Good News" and "Bad News."  Early in the evening I tried calling CQ (for 1 hour and 10 minutes) with my antennas headed directly into the trees behind the house.  I was answered and made a QSO with YL2GD, RK3FG, and RX1AS.  This is HUGE to know that I can beam east and make QSO's off the moon!  In fact, my first QSO was made with the moon at an elevation of only 4.7° (although the station I worked, HB9Q, was a Super Station running a 45' dish antenna!

The first "Bad News" was that for 4 hours (from 0130-0530 GMT) I could not buy a QSO!  I could see on the Chat page that Roger, KD8BZY, was making contacts during that period.  I am going to assume that Roger has his antenna vertically polarized and I was locked out of working stations because the majority of the signals were coming in on that polarization.  I called many stations but had no response.  Later in the evening I spent an hour calling WO7R in Arizona with no luck.  At one time he did come back to me but could never get my report.  He had one of the strongest signals I copied on the band but he had problems with his "horizontal" receiving and just could not work a lot of stations.  I saw Roger trying for him many times but don't think he worked him either.  I also called K6MYC with a Big-Time signal but he could not hear me.

This difference in polarization can be huge.  If your antennas are not in the same polarization as the signal coming in from the moon, you either get a very weak signal or no signal at all.  I ran with PAØJMV for awhile and he commented on the Chat page:

05Nov 04:50   W8TN/2X13H/KW Clark ur sigs -19 solid here.... ====== {PA0JMV Joop xx JO21pm 82.95.154.122}
05Nov 04:58   W8TN Clark, u have local QRM on this freq?  audio copy u ====== {PA0JMV Joop xx JO21pm 82.95.154.122}

For him to receive me at -19 dB means he has a GREAT signal from me.  For him to actually HEAR my signal in his speaker is HUGE.  But, at that time, I had zero traces from him.  Nothing, Nada, Zip, Zero, Zilch, . . . you get it - a blank screen.  I think he felt since I was a "newbie" that I had something wrong with the receive side of my system.  However, while running with him, I copied a CQ from an Argentine station and was called by (and worked) K5LA in Texas while running with PAØJMV.  Sort of like an HF pileup!

I think PAØJMV realized we had one-way propagation at that point.  However, no too much later we ran again and in short order completed the QSO. 

I called CQ again for about an hour and worked: W2DBL (the guy who just finished working 1,000 initials), ON4KHG and N1DPM.  I'm very pleased with how the CQ'ing thing was working for me.

On the right is my log from the Second Night of the EME Contest. Click on any image to see a larger view.

My first night on the moon, Paul, W2HRO said:

02Nov 04:33 Clark - you'll have 100 QSO B4 the end of the year.  Good station and ur a good OP - GL ====== {W2HRO/2X28XP/1K Paul NJ FN20ll}

Since there are only two months left in the year, I did not think Paul was going to be right on that call.  However, with 44 QSO's in my first FOUR nights, he just might be right.  And, I'll need ALL that experience to have a shot at working 3YØZ, Bouvet Island, via EME.

Then I saw one of the stations I worked on the second night of the ARRL EME Contest posted the following on the Moon-Bounce reflector:

Last night  I worked my 1000 Initial after 8 years with a modest 4x9 setup and 1KW.  I am very happy , my wife thinks I am nuts.

Thanks for all the fun.

73
W2DBL (W2LPL)
Les

WOW!  That's 1,000 DIFFERENT EME stations.  Super COOL!

Of my 44 QSO's, I now can report the following "stats":

38 Grids
15 Fields
20 DXCC entities

And, here is my list of DXCC's worked:

DXCC Countries Worked via EME

DL8II    Federal Republic of Germany
EB5EEO   Spain
EA8DBM   Canary Islands
G4CDN    England
HB9Q     Switzerland
IK4ADE   Italy
JHØBBE   Japan
K9MRI    USA
NH6Y     Hawaii
KL7UW    Alaska
LY2IJ    Lithuania
LZ1KU    Bulgaria
OK1UGA   Czech Republic
ON4KHG   Belgium
PA5Y     Netherlands
S52LM    Slovenia
SM4GGC   Sweden
UA3PTW   European Russia
UX5UL    Ukraine
YL2GD    Latvia

12 of those 44 contacts have already been confirmed via LoTW and I have picked up SIX new entities confirmed on 2-M !  WHEEE!

All in all, I'm Super pleased with how this has gone.  I know that the first 20 countries come pretty easily but, at lest it is a start and I can just build on that.  But first, I need to get back on a "Sleep at Night" schedule instead of "Stay Up All Night and Sleep in the Day."