Crete QRV in June 2024
The 6M/4M SV9 DXpedition by DK5EW was scheduled to end June 20. Were you able to put the mountainous Greek island of Crete in your logbook by making some magic on 6 meters? We hope so.
About the size of Puerto Rico at 3,260 square miles, Crete ranked as the 274th Most Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of June, 2024.
While not exactly a rare entity, this popular tourist locale is certainly one of the most thrilling, featuring archaeological sites, a Venetian castle, stunning islands, and Europe’s largest natural palm forest. It’s no wonder that DXpeditioners find it a welcome spot to set up shop and reach out to the world.
Today we’ll be looking at a few of the QSL cards the active hams at DX Engineering have earned over the years from both permanent and temporary operations on Crete.
Crete’s QSO Machine
Crete is home to Michael Dimitrikakis, SV9CVY, who is widely recognized as the island’s most active ham. Appropriately nicknamed “The Big Gun of Crete,” he commands four impressive antenna towers covering 160 to 2M from his QTH near Rethymno (population of around 39,000). SV9CVY is one of approximately 200 to 3oo amateur radio licensees on the island.
Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached SV9CVY in March 2007 on 20M SSB and in February 2018 on 160M FT8.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, received the card below from SV9CVY. As a paraplegic, SV9CVY raises awareness by including this important message on his QSL cards: “Help the Handi-Hams Near You. They need your support.”
As noted on his QRZ.com page, SV9CVY graduated from the City University of New York in 1988 with a degree in electrical engineering, worked in New York and New Jersey for a few years, and moved to Greece in 1993. He received his amateur radio license the following year. Here he is featured on the cover of the April 2018 issue of QST magazine.
He wrote on QRZ.com,“The very best part of this hobby is the PEOPLE you meet and the longtime close friendships that happen as a result of the common interest in Amateur Radio.”
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Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received the card below from SV9/OH9MM.
For all your DXing, contesting, or rag-chewing needs—whether you’re a Big Gun, Little Pistol, or somewhere in between, visit DXEngineering.com for transceivers, amplifiers, antennas, headsets, and so much more.
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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!
