Editor’s Note: Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. To highlight upcoming DXpeditions, we’ll be displaying a few of our favorite cards along with details about what it took to make these contacts. We’re excited to share some of the special cards pulled from the thousands we’ve received over the years. We look forward to seeing your cards as well!
Montserrat QRV in January
Ranked at 162 on Clublog’s DXCC Most-Wanted List, the mountainous Caribbean island of Montserrat (IOTA NA-103) drew the attention of many hams when it became active January 9 thanks to W2APF, who is operating there on 80-10M in CW and SSB. Scheduled to run until February 18, the VP2MDF DXpedition from this British Overseas Territory (part of the Leeward Islands) is using a combination of Delta Loop, Hexbeam, and Buddipole antennas to help operators fill bands and record ATNOs.
For those unfamiliar with Montserrat, its nickname of the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” comes from its many inhabitants of Irish ancestry as well as how much it resembles coastal Ireland.
The population of the ten-mile-long, seven-mile-wide island was reduced dramatically between 1995-2000—the result of the eruption of the dormant Soufriere Hills Volcano, which buried its capital city, Plymouth, under 39 feet of mud and forced two-thirds of the population, or 7,000, to flee (mostly to the United Kingdom), leaving only 1,200 people on the island by 1997. A pyroclastic surge from the volcano on June 25, 1997, killed 19 people in the Streatham village area and burned several others. The population today stands around 4,600. Because the volcano—inactive for centuries until its eruption on July 18, 1995—is still active, visitors are not permitted in the southern half of Montserrat, which has been designated as an exclusion zone. Located in the northern part of the island, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory is led by scientists who monitor volcanic and seismic activity, perform research, advise and educate the public.
QSL Cards
Here are a few of the QSL cards from Montserrat collected by the active operators at DX Engineering over the years.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached VP2MDG in 2011.
David, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached VP2MDG on 10M SSB in October 2010 and 20M SSB in October 2011.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached VP2MDY on 20 and 15M SSB in March 2005. Tom has made 15 contacts with Montserrat stations over the years.
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