Greetings ADXA Folks!

Contrary to rumors you may have heard, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, gone MIA or SK! It is good to be back home and somewhat caught up after being away pretty much the entire month of June. It seems everything I have a hand in these days decided to cram two years of Covid lockdown catching up into the month of June! The first week of June I was on the west coast on business, then in Europe for 12 days on personal and IARU business then immediately to the east coast on business the last week of June. Kim and I were glad to finally be home June 30 but just in time to get ready for my side of the family's big annual get-to-gather at our place on July 4.

I have been in catch up mode this week and can finally sit down, take a breath and turn on a radio for the first time in a while. I was keeping up with the reflector traffic and it appears I have missed some nice DX, but very please to see the ADXA folks in the hunt knocking off some new ones......and a BIG CONGRATS to Steve, W5KI, for completing FFMA!!

So, I'm "blowing the dust" off the radio tonight getting ready for the IARU HF World Championship contest that starts tomorrow morning (Saturday) at 1200 UTC and runs for 24 hours, ending Sunday morning at 1200 UTC. This contest takes place on both phone and CW and is the contest where the World Radio Team Championship (WRTC) takes place every four year. It will occur next year, 2023, however there will be teams together this weekend practicing and warming up, just without the special callsign they will use next year. Your exchange will be your ITU zone, NOT your CQ zone. Here in Arkansas your ITU zone is 7. I have the privilege on being a unique multiplier. As IARU Secretary I get to send "AC" for Administrative Council. Its pretty neat to run a contest as a special mult. There will be a lot of DX on both modes so get in there and nail some, or just enjoy running some stations. W1AW will be on as an IARU member society headquarters station multiplier signing W1AW/3. W3LPL, K3LR, AA1K and others in "3 land" will have the callsign active on all bands and all modes. NU1AW, the callsign of the International Amateur Radio Union, will be on the air from the W1AW station at ARRL HQ ramrodded by Bob, W5OV, and Bart W9JJ with a host of ops.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a more detailed update on things but for now I am alive and well. A special thanks to Pat, W5VY, and everyone who arranged a very nice and successful 2nd Quarterly ADXA meeting.

73 Joel W5ZN