[Elecraft] 160 meter first (?), accomplished by K2

[Trail Fox]

Speaking of 160 meters, and K2's, I have been on a quest that began in 1999 right after building my K2.  It has taken eight years of listening mostly...


Five Watt QRP Worked All Continents on TOP BAND

North America: 

    * numerous contacts

Africa:

    * CN8WW Morocco 28 November 1999 - after working them QRO with my call sign, KT5X, and they were rising to S-9 at their grayline, I decided to give it a try QRP using the club call sign of which I am trustee, W5YA.  They came right back.  

Oceania:

    * FO/DL1AWI Marquesas Island 13 February 2001

    * VK9DNX Norfolk Island 16 February, 2007 even though they were weak while running a KW, I tried them QRP, and they came right back to me

    * Numerous other contacts, mostly Hawaii.

South America: 

    * 3G0Y Easter Island 8 March 2001 - I listened to their signal rise and fall like waves on the ocean, and a large pile-up of US stations calling them.  One time, the rise was almost S-9, and at that crest I dropped in a QRP call using W5YA.  They came back to the very first call excitedly asking if I was QRP which I was.  The op was a friend of the op at CN8WW and unknown to me until after was actively listening for me!

    * HC8N Galapagos Island worked QRP in contests quite a few times in different years.  they have good ears out on the ocean like that.

Europe:

    * R1FJT Franz Josephland 26 October 2006 0232z - I thought Europe was going to be impossible.  Main Europe signals are never over S-6 here at the best of times.  Franz Josephland is actually the closest Europe I might have found.  On that evening, they were on their grayline for over an hour as the sun circled just below their horizon.  I worked them QRO with my KT5X callsign, then just listened to them working stations, mostly Europeans that I could not hear.  After about forty-five minutes, their signal made a distinct rise in strength, they had no American caller that I could hear, and I gave them a try QRP with W5YA.  They responded instantly with the call sign correct from the start!  I absolutely fell out of my chair with excitement.  With this contact only one continent was left, and I have been trying at my dawn on most weekends since.

Asia:

    I have tried many times for years to make this contact.  Several times the Asian station, usually on a northern island of Japan, would send me a QRZ, but each time it failed.  I knew I needed a station with Beverages, and I expect this was true.  But today !!!

    * JH4UYB Japan 16 February 2007 1310z

    * JA3YBK Japan 16 February 2007 1322z

    * JH2FXK Japan 16 February 2007 1340z


Call sign: W5YA

Rig: K2

Antenna: fifty foot tower wired as a folded unipole, sixty assorted length ground wires.

QTH: Santa Fe, New Mexico.

OP:  Fred, KT5X

Life is too long for QRO    8^D