Archive - February 2024

Today (22 February 2024) myself, Charles (M0OXO) and Tim (M0URX) met at Tim’s house to prepare their QSL bureau mailing. We box or envelope each bureaus cards ready to go to the Royal Mail sorting office in Coventry the following day. Below are the numbers taken from Tim’s website.

QSL cards have been posted to World Bureaus – Friday 23rd February 2024.
This mailing is a joint mailing between M0OXO Charles & M0URX Tim. (also thanks W3KX Frank & G1VDP Chris)
I would very much appreciate feedback from you when the QSL cards start arriving at World Bureaus or received by hams around the world?
Delays are due to issues caused by the World Customs Organisation regulations. Please remember that with the new customs tax we cannot guarantee that the parcels will get through to your bureau. We now suggest sending only direct QSL route. All bureau requests are at your own risk.
The parcels are sent by Priority Business Mail to get to the Bureaus quickly.

Total amount of QSL cards dispatched: 19,584
Via M0URX 4,887, Via M0OXO 14,697.
Total Weight: 91.586 kg gross weight
Total Shipping Cost £478.60: £5.22per kg. (91.586 kg gross weight)
Average postage cost 3p per QSL card. Dispatch listed below in grams to each destination.
The below volumes are measured in grams per parcel,

UK United Kingdom 3,020

Europe
Andorra 7
Austria 2,400
Belgium 1,400
Bosnia 48
Bulgaria 373
Croatia 685
Cyprus 7
Czech Republic 1,590
Denmark 145
Estonia 92
Finland 700
France 2,440
Germany 17,000
Greece 390
Gibraltar
Hungary 1063
Italy 5,690
Ireland 319
Latvia 76
Netherlands 2,260
Malta
Norway 328
Poland 2,440
Portugal 309
Romania 269
Slovenia 530
Slovakia
Spain 3,330
Sweden 1,010

Rest Of The World
Algeria
Argentina 387
Armenia
Aruba
Australia 238
Barbados
Belarus 40
Bermuda
Brunei
Bosnia Herzegovina
Brazil 207
Canada 555
Chile 12
China 343
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Faroe Islands
Falkland Islands
Guatemala
Georgia
Honduras
Hong Kong
Iceland
India 13
Indonesia 295
Iran
Israel 88
Japan 14,160
Jordan
Kazakhstan 73
Kyrgyzstan
Kuwait 13
Lebanon
Liechtenstein 9
Lithuania 205
Luxembourg 210
Macau
Macedonia 21
Malaysia 10
Mexico 36
Moldova 7
Monaco
Mongolia
Namibia
New Caledonia
New Zealand 44
Nicaragua
Oman
Kazakhstan
Panama 8
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar 6
Russian Fed 1,310
Saudi Arabia
Serbia 254
Singapore 10
South Africa 29
South Korea 332
Sri Lanka
Switzerland 600
Taiwan 28
Tajikistan
Thailand 98
Trinidad
Tunisia
Turkey 11
United Arab Emirates
Ukraine 895
Uzbekistan
Uruguay 8
Venezuela 7
Fiji

USA W0, W1, W2 W3, W4, WW4 W5, W6, W7, W8, W9 4,990g
WP3
WL7
WH6
KP2

After not having any multiband antenna to chase DX on bands other than 12M, I finally took the plunge and bought a Sigma SE HF X-80 vertical. This arrived on Wednesday morning and with having the day off work was in the air within 30 minutes of starting. I have mounted it on a metal clothes post so the base is about 6 feet off the ground. It is a compromise antenna covering 80 through to 6M, although it does need an external AMU to allow it to be used in the recommended bands. I have found that the internal tuner of the Icom IC7300 will work and pull in the antenna on 30M to 6M, and it seems to be working well.

One of the main DXpeditions that are taking place at the moment is to Guyana by 4 young amateurs including a friend of ours, Jamie (M0SDV), and they are doing very well. They have been on all bands and have made over 24,000 contacts since starting on Wednesday (14th February 2024). Praise from all quarters as to how they have controlled the pile ups. Even my little signal has made it through the crowds, these guys are the future of our hobby and long may they continue. 

This team are not the only ones at the minute. There is also a group who are on from Robinson Crusoe Island, part of the Juan Fernandez Islands group (IOTA; SA-005), using 3 calls – CB0ZA, CB0ZW, and CB0ZEW. The CB0ZEW call is one of the latest innovations within the hobby where a full station is set up so it can be operated remotely. In other words I could sit here at home and operate using the equipment on the island over the internet. Not a good way in my opinion, but again this looks like it could be the way to go for DXpeditions to some of these remote places on our planet.

The amateur radio community is mourning a true gentlemen, DXer, and DXpedition Organiser today. Last night (10/02/2024) the news came out that Bob Alphin, K4UEE, had become a silent key. Many tributes have been paid to him on social media and DX sites. Myself I can only echo the sentiments made by others. I first met Bob at one of the HF Conventions at Wyboston Lakes, he had returned earlier in the year from 3Y0X, Peter 1st Island, in the Antarctic region and gave a presentation of this expedition. We then shared a couple of beers and chatted in the bar later that evening. As I say a true gent as he regaled stories with myself and Tim, M0URX, two people who he had only just met face to face.

RIP Bob, until we meet again.