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!
Republic of Botswana QRV in May
You still have a chance to log this landlocked southern African country thanks to the ongoing A25VR DXpedition operated by VE7VR, which is scheduled to be QRV in the HF bands until May 26. Botswana ranked as the 118th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of April.
With almost three-fourths of the country composed of the Kalahari Desert, Botswana ranks as one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries in terms of density. While it ranks as the globe’s 47th largest country in land area (224,610 square miles, compared to France at 210,000 square miles), its population of just over two million places it as the 235th densest country out of 248. Now consider that France has a population of 67.3 million.
Once considered one of the world’s poorest countries, it now boasts one of the fastest-growing economies and ranks just out of the top-100 nations on the Global Innovation Index, which ranks countries by their capacity for, and success in, technological innovation. Both English and the Bantu language of Setswana are widely spoken in Botswana. Popular sports in the country include soccer (the national team qualified for the 2112 Africa Cup of Nations), cricket, softball, tennis, rugby, handball, track and field, and golf. Botswana cuisine is largely meat-based, including seswaa—its national dish made from leftover pieces of pounded beef or goat meat.
QSL Cards
Here are a few of the QSL cards from Botswana collected by the active operators at DX Engineering over the years.
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, contacted A22ME in December 1983.
Dave, N8NB, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached the A22/JA4ATV DXpedition from Gaborone in January 2007 on 20M CW. Named after Chief Gaborone of the Tlokwa tribe, Gaborone is Botswana’s capital and largest city (population 231,600).
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, earned cards from the 4×4 African Country DXpedition in December 2013 and multi-operator A25FC DXpedition in April 2011.
David, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached A25NW on 40/20/15M CW in November 2006.
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