Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. Usually we showcase ones from entities that are currently active or will soon be QRV. However, with so many DXers homebound these days and the number of DXpeditions reaching all-time lows, we’ve altered the rules. Until things change, you can expect a bit of everything from our stockpiles of QSL cards, including the rarest of the rare, personal favorites, and recent QSLs of historical significance.
South Orkney Islands QSL Cards Have Arrived!
DXers from around the world, including the Hams at DX Engineering, were thrilled to receive their QSL cards in June from the VP8PJ South Orkney DXpedition. During their 15 days on Signy Island (February 22 to March 7), operators from the Perseverance DX Group made 83,724 contacts with 20,530 unique call signs. Fighting large pileups, amateurs from 168 DXCC entities made contact with the experienced team of DXpeditioners operating 160-10M on SSB, CW, RTTY, and FT8 about 375 miles north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The DXpedition marked the first major activation of South Orkney Islands since VP8ORK’s “DXpedition of the Year” undertaken in January/February 2011. For more details about VP8PJ, visit the team’s official website. Before the DXpedition, South Orkney Islands was the 16th Most Wanted DXCC entity in North America per Club Log. In June 2020, it ranked at number 44—a testimony to the number of Hams who logged All-Team New Ones and filled bands for this rarely visited spot.
DX Engineering was pleased to play a mission-critical role in helping operators reach South Orkney. The VP8PJ team used this DX Engineering gear:
- Premium Antenna Wire
- Phased Array Quarter Wave Tuned Cables
- Pre-Assembled Radial Wire Kits
- RG-8/U 50-ohm Bulk Coaxial Cable
- Next Generation Crimp/Solder 8U PL-259 Connectors
- RG-8X PL-259 Low-Loss 50-ohm Coaxial Cable Assemblies
- RG-6U 75-ohm Standard Quad-Shield Coaxial Cable
This QSL card below belongs to Melanie, K8KSU, DX Engineering merchandising and inventory analyst, who reached the island on 17M SSB. Other DX Engineering staff who made contact include Scott, N3RA, sales manager (17M SSB; 80, 40, 30M CW; and 80, 40, 30, 20, 17M FT8); Teri, K8MNJ, special projects and promotions coordinator (17M SSB); and Tom, KB8UUZ, technical writer (17M SSB).
