Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. Some of our favorites are displayed on the cover and inside our 2018 Fall/Winter Catalog, along with stories 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!
Record an ATNO from Africa this April
This month we’re highlighting QSL cards from two DXCC entities from the continent of Africa that will be active in April: Burkina Faso and Djibouti. The avid DXers at DX Engineering have had great success over the years making these locations All Time New Ones or filling needed bands. Here’s information about the DXpeditions, plus a few QSL cards we’ve collected over the years.
Djibouti, East Africa
The Djibouti IOTA (Islands on the Air) J20DX DXpedition is scheduled for April 16-21, with activity on 80-10M CW and SSB. The Djibouti team, Col MM0NDX, Jonathan MM0OKG and Christian EA3NT, plan to employ a combination of verticals on both Moucha Island (AF-053) and, hopefully, the ultra-rare Sept Freres (AF-059). Click here for updates on the team’s progress. Sept Freres, known in English as “The Seven Brothers Islands,” is made up of six volcanic islands spanning a line of 6.2 miles between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Moucha Island, population 20, is a small coral atoll (1.5 square miles) off the coast of Djibouti. As of March, Djibouti stood as the 132nd most-wanted DXCC entity.
Since 1964, the IOTA program has enriched the Ham Radio hobby and drawn attention to the diverse islands of the world by encouraging individuals to contact island stations around the globe. Here’s IOTA’s official website.
Burkina Faso, West Africa
Burkina Faso, a landlocked country with a population of more than 19.7 million, will be QRV on all bands and in all modes from April 17-25 thanks to the holiday-style DXpedition of Max DK1MAX, who will be operating as XT2MAX. Burkina Faso, formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, was the 142nd most-wanted DXCC entity as of March.
Want to upgrade your DXing capabilities? Find everything you need at DX Engineering, including transceivers, antennas, amplifiers, headsets, and more.
Coming up next month: QSL cards from three island entities: Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and St. Vincent.
