OnAllBands is rounding out our QSL card posts for the month with a brief look at several entities that will be active in May, along with QSL cards from the team of avid DXers at DX Engineering.
Stay tuned because in a few weeks we’ll be featuring cards from Glorioso Islands, one of the rarest of them all (#7 globally and #2 on the west coast of North America per Clublog). Marek, FH4VVK, using the call sign FT4GL, is scheduled to be operating from Grande Glorioso, the largest of the Glorioso Islands, from May 24 to June 19 on 160-6M in SSB, RTTY, and FT4/FT8. Look for more at OnAllBands about this exciting ATNO opportunity in the days to come.
Ogasawara
The JD1BMH DXpedition by JG7PSJ from Chichijima (IOTA AS-031) is scheduled to run until May 4. The 30 subtropical and tropical islands comprising Ogasawara Islands, also known as Bonin Islands, lie 540 miles south of Tokyo. There are about 2,000 people living on Chichijima, one of only two inhabited islands in the archipelago. Ogasawara is the 125th Most Wanted DXCC Entity according to Clublog as of April.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached JD1BLY in December 2011 on 30/15M CW.
Rwanda
The 9X2AW DXpedition by DF2WO from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital and largest city (population 1.7 million), is scheduled for May 2-17. The Republic of Rwanda—a landlocked, east-central African country just 75 miles south of the equator—ranked as the 159th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of April.
Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received this QSL card for reaching 9X0VB on 15M CW in June 2007.
Botswana
The A25SHD holiday-style operation by HB9SHD is scheduled to run until May 13. The landlocked southern African country of Botswana, one of the world’s most sparsely populated locales (the Kalahari Desert comprises nearly three-fourths of the country), ranked as the 147th Most Wanted DXCC entity per Clublog as of April. Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached the multi-operator A25FC DXpedition in April 2011 on 15M SSB. The hippopotamus, featured on the card, can be found by rivers, floodplains, and swamps in Botswana.
British Virgin Islands
W5GI as VP2V/W5GI is scheduled to be active from Anegada in the British Virgin Islands from May 22 to June 3. This British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean consists of four main islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke), along with 50 smaller cays, 16 of which are uninhabited. Fifteen-square-mile Anegada, the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands, has a population of 285 according to a 2010 census, but this number nearly doubles on a typical day during tourist season. The British Virgin Islands was the 111th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of April.
K8DV contacted VP2V/AA7V in November 2012 on 160M CW.
Barbados
The 8P9CB DXpedition by WA7RAR (20-10M SSB/CW) is scheduled to run from May 14-26. As of April, Barbados was the 245th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog. KB8UUZ made contact with 8P5A in March 2002.
Want to upgrade your DXing capabilities? Find everything you need at DX Engineering, including transceivers, amplifiers, antennas, headsets, and more.
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!
