First HF Contact!

[srd84]

I had my first HF QSL on 20m tonight! Spoke briefly with a dude in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from my home in Woodbridge, VA. All the more amazing since I have a Hustler 20m mobile antenna on a mag mount stuck on two 5' crossed pieces of rat wire outside my sliding glass door in the grass with about 6 10' radials stuck under the magnet. He said I was loud and clear! I literally ran around the house for about 5 min telling everyone and called people to tell them. What a great feeling. It actually worked! That's about 1300 miles from my house. Sweet!

Steve
KJ4LAZ

 

[smason]

Congrats! It's always cool to make a long distance contact like that.

I worked Japan from Alberta on an 8' fiberglass whip on a mag mount on the tool shed outside my basement apartment. That was probably my longest contact, but then I've never had anything better than that for an antenna.

 

[elk2370bruce]

Be sure to request a QSL from your first real contact. It will be an valued treasure you will display with pride. Now that you've got your feet wet and lost your dx virginity, keep at it. Its a blast.

 

[N6RDC]

What kind of rig was that with?
Bob
N6RDC

 

[srd84]

It was with a Yaesu FT-857D

Steve
KJ4LAZ

 

[DaveNF2G]

I have the FT-857D, too, and use a vertical HF antenna in the back yard. I don't operate HF very often, and this is my first serious HF station in 28 years of being a ham, so the thrill of DX contacts is fresh for me, too. Enjoy!

 

[SCPD]

I can't remember

Be sure to request a QSL from your first real contact. It will be an valued treasure you will display with pride. Now that you've got your feet wet and lost your dx virginity, keep at it. Its a blast.

Unfortunatly, my first HF was on a sweepstakes weekend. Have no idea who or where. I can tell you it was a Yeasu FT310SD with a G5RV Jr. about 20 feet off the ground. I can remember my first rig and antenna, at least. My first overseas contact was into France.

 

[newsphotog]

Another ham in my area had a QSO with a gentleman from Guantanamo Bay as well. They must have a really good station down there!

 

[eorange]

Congrats Steve - we all know exactly how you feel. Your post is what ham radio is all about!

 

[N9JCQ]

Congrats!!!

It's a blast, isn't it? Especially based on the antenna you described. Hope to hear you on the bands!
Best 73
Joe, N9JCQ

 

[kc4jgc]

Congrats on getting KG4. Hopefully you have the QSL info. As far as I know there are no current resident hams there. There are a couple hams in my area that travel to KG4 once a year, usually centered around a big contest weekend. I have CO (Cuba) confirmed on 10m but not KG4 yet.

 

[srd84]

I have the info. KG4CN at 0140 Zulu 18 Apr 09. He's listed on qrz.com, I'm going to send him a SASE and ask him to please send me a QSL. I want to frame it.

73
Steve
KJ4LAZ

 

[tekshogun]

Congrats, I hope to join you on that adventure very soon!

 

[nexus]

WTG srd84.. You'll want that QSL for sure. Who knows how much longer Gitmo will be opened, and when it closes, it'll probably become a DELETED ENTITY and therefore will no longer count as a separate country from Cuba. So everyone who works Gitmo should try to get a card if possible.

Because one day in the future people won't have that chance. A lot of people in the dx comunity think that they're going to close the base and give the property back to cuba and therefore on a dx standpoint would take that callsign prefix away, and the entity would become deleted.

Good deal on making your 1st HF contact, hope you make many more.

 

[jmp883]

Congrats on your first HF QSO! I just recently had my first 'real' HF QSO as well. I've been operating HF for 2 years or so using an Icom 756 and a Comet UHV-6 mobile antenna mounted on a permanently mounted window air conditioner. Performance with that antenna is marginal, at best, so that really limited my time on HF. When I did go on HF it was usually on contest weekends. Technically those are QSO's but a quick exchange of callsign/signal/location doesn't qualify in my book as a 'real' QSO. Earlier this spring I started operating with a home-built HF antenna on 15, 20, and 40m that just blows away the Comet. This antenna hears signals that the Comet can't. Back on April 5 of this year I finally made my first 'real' HF QSO. It was on 40m with a station in North Carolina. We chatted for about 20-25 minutes and it was very enjoyable.

Now I'm on HF much more than just during contests.

 

[jaymatt1978]

Congrats on your first HF contact!! I'll never forget mine, it was on 20 Meter PSK into Minnesota! I actually got the card before I even made up my own QSL cards

 

[Twister_2]

Congratulations on your contact! I remember my first contact. We talked for a while. Now, 4 months later, I made 150+ contacts on HF via SSB, PSK31, etc.
You will have fun. There are many things to like in HAM radio. Even I like it at such a young age, 14.

 

[gcgrotz]

I worked him too on 40, it seems he was very active. Lives right there in Northern VA too. Definitely get a QSL for your first DX!

 

[C138NC]

I had my first HF QSL on 20m tonight! Spoke briefly with a dude in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from my home in Woodbridge, VA. All the more amazing since I have a Hustler 20m mobile antenna on a mag mount stuck on two 5' crossed pieces of rat wire outside my sliding glass door in the grass with about 6 10' radials stuck under the magnet. He said I was loud and clear! I literally ran around the house for about 5 min telling everyone and called people to tell them. What a great feeling. It actually worked! That's about 1300 miles from my house. Sweet!

Steve
KJ4LAZ

Contact with Guantanamo bay? did you mention anything about Harold and Kumar escaping from Guantanamo bay? lol jk.

I think as i get older im going to invest into more communications equipment.

Was at a meeting the other night and i just drolled at the set up i saw, i just wanted to sit in the chair and talk talk talk to the world.

First contact i heard was from the south pacific or Australia.

Amazing we got HAM and radio communications :d kudos to the first inventor of the radio communications unit.

What would be the best rig to get on the market now?

 

[RagnarD]

First person I worked on HF was across town and it was a CW contact on 15 meters. It was the guy that dad bought the gear from for me (a 2 piece Heathkit; Cheyenne and Comanche).

I worked him on a 100 watt light bulb screwed into a porcelin light socket that I used for a dummy load (no joke and this arrangement makes for great, inexpensive dummy loads unless you are operating QRO!)

That was back in 1976 at the ripe old age of 10, man I'm getting old.

daditdadit dadaditda daditdadit dadaditda "CQ CQ, the mating call of novices"

RagnarD