All images courtesy of DX Engineering.
Republic of Tanzania QRV in September 2024
The 5H1WX Tanzania DXpedition by OK2WX is scheduled to run from September 18 to October 6 from Mafia Island (IOTA-AF-054) on 80-10M in CW, SSB, and Digital modes. Mafia Island, known as Chole Shamba in Swahili, is the third largest in Tanzania’s ocean territory (152 square miles) and has a population of more than 66,000.
Before we discuss some of the Tanzania QSL cards from the DX Engineering team, let’s take a closer look at this unique East African nation—one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas on the planet.
At 365,756 square miles in area, Tanzania is larger than Texas (261,914 square miles) but smaller than Alaska (570,641 square miles), ranking it as the 13th largest African nation and the 30th largest in the world. Per one source, its population of over 67.4 million ranks it as the 23rd most populated country in the world, sandwiched between South Africa and Thailand. It stands as the fifth most-populated African country behind Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Its population density of 180 inhabitants per square mile places it at 147th among nations of the world. The highly biodiverse country contains one-fifth of the species of African warm-blooded animals, including the world’s largest population of lions.
More than 100 languages are spoken in the heavily agriculturally based country, which is dependent on harvesting maize, cassava, beans, bananas, rice, and other crops. Travel and tourism also contribute a healthy portion to the country’s economy. While the country has no official language, 10% of Tanzanians speak its national language of Swahili as a first language and 90% speak it as a second language. Its name is a combination of the two states that merged to form the country in 1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar (see QSL cards).
As detailed in this article about the Yasme Foundation, Tanganyika was part of the seminal “Mountains of the Moon” DXpedition in 1948. Tanzania (5H) ranks as the 164th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog.
QSL Cards
The active hams at DX Engineering have had great success contacting Tanzania 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.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, made contact with 5H1Z in January 2011 on 20M SSB. The DXpedition was from Zanzibar Island (IOTA AF-032).
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Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached 5H8TL from Tabora, Tanzania, the capital of the country’s Tabora region (population 227,000). With its streets lined with mango trees and markets brimming with local produce, Tabora is known as the Fruit Capital of Western Tanzania.
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George, K3GP, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached 5I3A from Yambe Island in July 2000 and 5H1HS from Zanzibar in 2009. Yambe Island is a protected, uninhabited island east of the city of Tanga in Tanzania. It is the largest island in the Tanga Region and home to medieval Swahili ruins—hidden in its forests—that have yet to be excavated.
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Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached 5H3RK in November 2008 on 30M CW.
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Both Dave, N8NB, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, and Tom, KB8UUZ, made contact with 5H3EE from Dar es Salaam (the name comes from the Arabic for “Abode of Peace”). It is Tanzania’s largest city (population 7.4 million) and financial center, the sixth-largest city in Africa, and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
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Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, produced this vintage card from 5H3JR when Tanzania was known as Tanganyika.
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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!
