The DXing year is ending with a flurry of activity. Today, we’re featuring more November activations from around the globe, along with QSL cards from the operators at DX Engineering who have spent a lifetime fighting through the pileups and are here to help you find the right equipment so you can do the same.
In fact, DX Engineering’s sales/technical support team has a combined 1,000-plus years of experience, just one reason why operators from everywhere trust DXE for honest, informed advice on everything to upgrade their stations.
Ready for some fun? Check out these DXpeditions coming soon:
Bhutan
The A52AA activation by AB1F from Thimphu is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 25-Dec. 5 on 40-10M (maybe 160/80M) in SSB.
The Kingdom of Bhutan, a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India, has a population over 775,000 and an area roughly the size of Maryland. Thimphu is Bhutan’s capital and largest city, with a population of around 114,000.
The country’s rich animal life includes Bengal tigers, sloth bears, clouded leopards, and the Himalayan marmot below. The species hibernates, on average, for seven and a half months. When the soil conditions are favorable, they live in underground colonies that can accommodate up to 30 families. Sorry, no QSL cards featuring this fascinating house-cat-sized critter, but here’s a pic anyway:
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received this card from A52AB, who was operating in October 2011 from Paro, Bhutan. Among other equipment, A52AB employed a microHAM CW keyer. microHAM products are available at DXEngineering.com.
Paro is home to Bhutan’s only international airport as well as many sacred sites and historical buildings, including the Taktsang Palphug Monastery shown on the front of the QSL card. Also known as the Tiger’s Nest, the monastery, finished in 1692, is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site built into a precarious rocky cliffside above the Paro valley.
Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached A52PP from Pora in October 2011 on 20M RTTY. The Rinpung Dzong (Buddhist monastery) on the front of the card includes 14 shrines and temples and is the site of the annual festival of Tshechu held in March or April. For several days, the festival features monks telling religious stories by performing traditional mask dances.
Lesotho
The 7P8EA DXpedition by HB9CCS from Thaba-Tseka is scheduled to continue until Nov. 27 on 15M SSB and CW (maybe 17/12/10M). The Kingdom of Lesotho lies entirely within the borders of South Africa.
This leads us to the OnAllBands Geography Question of the Day: Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, earning it the distinction of being an “enclaved” country. At 11,600 square miles, it is the largest of only three enclaved countries in the world. Can you name the other two and the country which surrounds them both? Buona fortuna!
George, K3GP, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received this scenic QSL card after contacting the 2016 7P8C DXpedition on 20 meters SSB.
Cambodia
The multi-operator XU7RRC DXpedition from Ta Kiev (IOTA AS-133) is scheduled for Nov. 25-Dec. 3 on 80-10M CW, SSB, and FT8. The team will be operating from 2.6-square-mile Ta Kiev, an island which includes a small fishing village and a base of the Cambodian Navy.
George, K3GP, reached XU7MDY in October 2007 on 20M CW. XU7MDY’s QTH was Kampong Saom, also known as Sihanoukville—a coastal city of 90,000 people on the Gulf of Thailand.
Dave, K8DV, reached XU7ACY in April 2008 on 20M SSB.
San Andrés Island
The 5J0EA DXpedition from IOTA NA-003 is scheduled to run Nov. 20-30. You can try to reach the multi-operator team on 160-10M in CW, SSB, and Digital.
Politically part of Colombia, San Andrés (commonly referred to as “El Centro”), is a 10-square-mile tourist destination ringed by stunning beaches, cays, coves, and coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea. It is home to about 75,o00 mainly Spanish-speaking islanders—two-thirds of whom are people from the mainland of Colombia (470 miles from San Andrés). Its other two official languages are English and San Andrés-Providencia Creole, an English-based Creole language spoken by native Raizals.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, earned this QSL card from 5J0B.
George, K3GP, contacted HK0GU, on 10M CW in November 2001:
I’ll take “Enclaved Countries” for $2,000, Ken.
Lesotho is the largest of three enclaved countries in the world. Can you name the other two? Hint: They’re both within Italy’s borders. Got it yet? Drum roll, please! The answer is…San Marino (23.6 square miles) and Vatican City (0.19 square miles), the smallest independent state in the world. It is surrounded by Rome and home to lifelong Chicago White Sox fan Pope Leo XIV.
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!
