Maidenhead grid squares are a popular way to divide up a geographic area for VHF/UHF activity and now more commonly via the FT8 digital mode. The FT8 Digital Mode Club sponsors the Worked US Grid Square Award for those operators who contact American stations in at least 25 grid squares. You can chase additional certificates […]
Here are a few of the more interesting QSL cards to come my way in the last couple of months. A glimpse into how I keep my QSL Cards safe and secure once I get possession. My sentry cat Oliver is hard at work, as always. I had confirmed contacts with Sao Tome and Principe […]
For administrative purposes, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) divides up the world into three different zones. Amateur Radio’s International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) organizes itself along similar lines. These zones consist of: ITU Zone Area 1 Europe (including the part of Russia that lies in Asia) and Africa 2 North America and South America 3 […]
The FT4 Digital Mode Club (FT4DMC) issues for the Grid Square Award (GSA) for working stations in at least 100 different Maidenhead Grid Squares around the world. You must make all contacts using the FT4 digital mode. After working 100 grids for the initial award you can obtain additional awards for working 500, 1000, 2000, […]
The Valley of the Moon Amateur Radio Club (VOMARC) has hosted the North Bay’s best Amateur Radio swapfest for years now. The event would not be possible without the help of many of the club’s members. Here are some photos of the 2025 edition of Sonoma Hamfest. Tickets for breakfast and information were available at […]
The world gets divided up in many ways. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) carves up the world into three regions for administrative purposes. Region 1 consists of the continents of Europe (including the Asian portion of Russia) and Africa. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) sponsors the Worked Region 1 Award (WR1A) for working Ham Radio stations in the countries of […]
The lands around the Baltic Sea in Europe have a rich history that includes Vikings and Teutonic Knights. The Activity Group of Belarus (AGB) issues the Baltic Sea Award for Ham Radio operators who make a certain number of contacts with countries that border the historic sea. There are three overall classes of the award. Each class requires a […]
Here are a few of the more interesting cards that I’ve received in the last couple of months. I’ve worked a few Namibian stations over the years. But I have not had great luck in getting confirmations. So I was happy to work V55LA on 20M, 17M and 12M using CW and SSB and getting […]
The Canadaward is the Radio Amateurs of Canada‘s (RAC) answer to Worked All States. To obtain the award you need to work one Amateur Radio operator in each of the country’s provinces and territories. That amounts to a total of 13 separate contacts. In addition to the standard all modes and bands basic award, there […]
Japan has one of the largest populations of Amateur Radio operators in the world and FT8 is now one of the most popular operating modes. Combining these two facts, the FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers the Japanese Stations Award (JSA) for working as many Ham Radio stations in the Land of the Rising Sun […]