Saturday, April 28, 2018

2-M Worked All Continents Completed

My 2-M Digital EME activities started on November 1, 2017.  Less than 4 months later, on February 21, 2018, I managed to make my first QSO with South America by working PY2GN.  There are not very many EME stations active in South America so this was a "big deal" for me because it was the last continent I needed to work to be able to apply for the Worked All Continents (WAC) award.  The WAC is sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), and isissued for working and confirming all six continents. These are North America, South America, Oceania, Asia, Europe and Africa.

The very next day after that QSO, I sent PY2GN a self-addressed envelope with $2 U.S. to cover the return postage.  I also emailed him and told him how excited I was to work him and how much I would appreciate his QSL.  Just a few days over 2 months later, on April 27th, 2018, I received his QSL which you can see on the right (click on any image for a larger view.)

In order to not let any grass grow before I applied for that WAC award, I downloaded and prepared the WAC application and asked WVDXA Member, Hal, W8HC, who is an ARRL Card Checker, if I could drive by his house and get those 6 QSL's checked.  Hal was most gracious and said, "Come ahead!" When I got to Hal's QTH, it was really easy to see where I was going to get my cards checked!  (See image at the left.)  THANKS, HAL!

So, I have managed to complete the requirements for the Worked All Continents Award including making QSO's on 144 MHz with the six required continents, acquiring the necessary QSL cards for those contacts, completing the application, and getting the QSL's checked.  The application is now in the hands of the U.S. Post Office on its way to Newington, CT.  Once I receive the award, I will post a photo of it here. 

As of the date of this Post, I have now worked 52 DXCC Entities on 2-M (by EME) and have 39 of those confirmed.  That puts me well on the way toward the DXCC Award but, as you all know, the first 50 are by far the easiest!

Below are my totals as of 2018-04-28, after less than SIX Months on the moon:
Total EME QSO's  -  200  /  Initial Contacts  -  190
DXCC's Worked  -  52  /  Confirmed  -  39
Grids Worked via EME  -  154
States Worked via EME  -  30

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