Worked South Sudan - Z81D

For some reason, I thought I had already worked South Sudan before. When Z81D showed up on my FT8 screen, I was wondering why it was in the dark purple color.  I gave a few calls and was able to work him and get him in the log. Later after a little review, I realized I was mistaken and South Sudan was indeed a new DXCC entity for me!

South Sudan is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa.  It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest and the Central African Republic to the west.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Worked St. Barthelemy - FJ/WW1X

I was pleased to see FJ/WW1X in St. Barthelemy show up on the DX cluster.  They were spotted on 20m SSB. St Barthelemy was a new DXCC Entity for me.  I was able to work them easily and put them in the log. 

WW1X

After working the station, I found that Rockwell-WW1X seemed like a pretty cool guy.  He's involved in POTA, SOTA, DXpeditions, and RemoteHamRadio.com.  It would be nice to meet him on the air or even in person at some point.  Very inspirational!

 St. Barthelemy is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. Often abbreviated to St-Barth in French, and St. Barths or St. Barts in English, the island lies about 22 miles south-east of the Dutch-country Sint Maarten and north-east of the Dutch islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius, and the independent country of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Worked Kenya - 5Z4/G3AB

While working 20m FT8, I saw 5Z4/G3AB in Kenya show up.  The deep purple color in WSJT-X let me know it was a new country for me.  So I gave some calls and got it in the log!  Andy is resident in Kenya for the next few years and is working with the temporary call 5Z4/G3AB until his full 5Z4 call is assigned.

At over 7,900 miles away, Kenya is  is a country in Africa with 47 semiautonomous counties governed by elected governors. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Making Your First Ham Radio QSO Contact

W4LSG describes some basics for making your first ham radio QSO contact.  How do you find and access a repeater (frequency, offset, PL tone)?  How do you join a ham radio QSO?  How do you start a QSO on a repeater not in use?  How do you call for a ham on a repeater?  How do you know when to ID during a QSO? How do you make a simplex ham radio call?

Getting Started in Ham Radio

W4LSG describes some basics for getting into ham radio.  Starting with listening to scanners and SDRs, HT radios, mobile radios, power supplies, and antennas.

What is Ham Radio?

What is amateur radio or ham radio?  A brief explanation of what ham radio is, who uses ham radio, what ham radio can be used for.

Worked Palestine - E44RU

After some antenna troubles in customs, the Russian Robinson Club finally was on the air as E44RU.  I was lucky enough to make a QSO with them on 40m FT8.

At 6,300+ miles away, Palestine is a de jure sovereign state in Western Asia claiming the West Bank (bordering Israel and Jordan) and Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and Egypt) with East Jerusalem as the designated capital, although its administrative center is currently located in Ramallah. The entirety of territory claimed by the State of Palestine has been occupied since 1948, first by Egypt and Jordan and then by Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk