Albania QRV in November
If you’d like to add the Republic of Albania to your list of DXCC conquests, there’s still a chance to reach DL7UCS, who has been operating as ZA/DL7UCS from Saranda since mid-October. The DXpedition from this 214th Most Wanted DXCC Entity (as of November 2024) is scheduled to end on November 21, so the window is closing on this opportunity to reach him on 17 or 10M.
Located in southeast Europe, 11,100-square-mile Albania (slightly smaller than Maryland) is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. It is situated in the Balkans on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea. Albania’s population of 2.4 million ranks it as the 34th most populated among European nations. Its land size places it at number 35 in Europe, just behind Belgium.
Quick Facts About Albania
- Albania’s government has undergone great change over its history, including a period of being ruled by a monarchy, decades of living under a communist regime, and its current status as a sovereign parliamentary constitutional republic.
- Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in November 1912—a struggle that dates back to the 15th century. Albanian Independence Day is celebrated on November 28.
- Located at the southern tip of Albania, Saranda, the QTH of the ZA/DL7UCS DXpedition, stretches along the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast and rests near the remains of the ancient city of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Saranda has a population of around 22,000, who are fortunate to bask in a temperate Mediterranean climate that yields more than 300 sunny days a year. (Compare this to DX Engineering’s QTH near Akron, Ohio, which averages around 167 sunny days annually, making it one of the most solar-deprived cities in the U.S.)
This leads us to the OnAllBands Geography Question of the Day. Can you name the world city that records the fewest number of sunshine hours each year? Stumped? Okay, try this one: Name the city blessed with the most sunny days based on average annual sunshine hours. Here’s a hint: It’s about 2,100 miles southwest of DX Engineering headquarters.
- The Albanian national flag, first raised after the country established its independence, shows a silhouetted black double-headed eagle—a symbol that was used in the 19th and 20th centuries during the country’s campaign for independence. The golden eagle is Albania’s national animal.
- While Albanian athletes have competed in the Olympics since 1972, the 2024 Paris summer games marked the first time they had medaled. Both Chermen Valiev and Islam Dudaev won bronze medals in men’s freestyle wrestling.
Ham Radio QSL Cards from Albania
The active hams at DX Engineering have had great success contacting Albania over the years (a good reason to contact them for help with your gear if you’d like to do the same). Here are a few of the QSL cards from their collections.
George, K3GP, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached ZA/OK1JR, operating from the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Tirana, on 15M RTTY in March 2000. Tirana is Albania’s capital and largest city, with a population around 600,000. It is one of Europe’s sunniest cities, boasting more than 2,500 hours of sunshine per year.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached ZA1DX in June 2004. The QSL card highlights the first Albania DX Convention, newly licensed amateur operators from the Polytechnic University of Tirana, generous donations of transceivers from Icom and Yaesu, and world-class instruction provided by notable hams including Martti Laine, OH2BH.
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, contacted ZA1B in April 2003. The QSL card features a statue of Gjergj Kastrioti in Tirana. Commonly known as Skanderbeg, he was a 15th century feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
Scott, N3RA, DX Engineering sales manager, received the QSL card below from ZA/IK2RLM for his 17M FT8 QSO.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, made contact with ZA1TC in February 2012 on 20M SSB and Dik, ZA1E—traditionally one of Albania’s most active operators—in July 201o on 20M SSB.
Scotty, KG9Z, received this QSL card in December 2017 from ZA1WW, a joint low-band effort during the CQWW CW contest among hams from Albania, Kosovo, and Finland.
I’ll take “Sunny and Cloudy Cities” for $1,000, Ken.
Sun-drenched Saranda in Albania makes all of us in gloomier locales want to scramble for a sun lamp as winter approaches. But it’s not the sunniest city on the planet. Can you name the world city that experiences the most sunshine hours and the one that suffers through the least? Cue “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles…the answer is Yuma, Arizona, which gets more than 4,000 hours of sunlight per year. Guinness World Records has crowned it the “Sunniest City on Earth.”
On the dark side (cue “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers), the city that claims the title of Cloudiest Spot on Earth is Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, according to worldatlas.com. The Faroe Islands experience only 840 sunshine hours annually. See Faroe Islands QSL cards here.
No matter what the weather forecast, visit DXEngineering.com for transceivers, amplifiers, antennas,
headsets, and so much more for a sunnier outlook on your DXing capabilities.
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!
