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!
Central African Republic DXpedition for April Canceled
DXers who were hoping to make contact with the Central African Republic in April will have to wait until a later date. The TL8AA Italian DXpedition Team, which would have been operating four stations on 160-6M in SSB, CW, RTTY, and FT8 from April 1-9, announced the cancelation of the DXpedition due to cases of meningitis in Bangui that prevented their departure from Milano Malpensa.
Check in for up-to-date details on the TL8AA website. The Central African Republic ranked as the 98th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of March.
About the Operators
While the TL8AA DXpedition was postponed, let’s take a moment to recognize the Italian team that has had such success helping hams fill bands and record ATNOs over the years. Team leader Silvano Borsa, I2YSB, and other members of the Italian DXpedition Team were inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 2o19 along with Joe Taylor, K1JT. In receiving this honor, the Hall noted that the group has conducted 20 major DXpeditions, mostly to Africa, where its members have activated a dozen rare countries and recorded nearly 1.4 million QSOs. The team also arranged for the donation of two ambulances to Somalia, one of the countries it has activated. Other team members honored were Alfeo Caputo, I1HJT; Vincio Ravizza, IK2CIO; Angelo Selva, IK2CKR; Marcello Cassinelli, IK2DIA; Stefano Casari, IK2HKT; Angelo Gino Zambaiti, IK2RZP; Mac Shimamoto, JA3USA.
Their previous activations include Guinea Bissau J5T/J5HKT 2021; Tanzania 5I5TT/5I4ZZ 202o; Liberia A82Z/A82X 2019; Uganda 5X3C/5X3E 2019; Rwanda 9X0T/9X0Y 2018; and Cameroon TJ2TT 2018.
About the Central African Republic
This landlocked country consisting mostly of savannas has a population of around 4.7 million and a square mileage of 240,000 (for comparison’s sake, Texas is 268,000 and France is 210,000 square miles), ranking it area-wise as the 21st largest country in Africa. The country formally received independence from France in August of 1960. Visitors there will find an abundance of wildlife, including forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, leopards, lions, cheetahs, and rhinos. Its capital city, Bangui, has a population of 890,000. Its name comes from the Ubangi River (ubangi is the Bobangi word for “rapids”). Travel there and you’ll find restaurants offering pumpkin, squash, cassava, rice, okra, and the grilled meats that make up Centrafican cuisine.
QSL Cards
Here are a few of the QSL cards from the Central African Republic collected by the active operators at DX Engineering over the years.
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, produced this card from TL8RC, which he reached on 15M SSB in 1981.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, and customer service/technical support specialists George, K3GP, and Mark, W8BBQ, all earned this QSL card from TL0A.
David, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached Carl, TL8SC using his old call, NW4P, on 15M SSB in March 1991.
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