ST0R Southern Sudan

ST0R from the newest country finally made it onto the General portion of 20 meters. I was beginning to think they were going to miss us. I came downstairs tonight and they were on 14.145/14.245. Not very loud here in Kansas but loud enough. I was afraid the band would drop out while I was waiting for the amp to warm up so I gave him a call with 100 watts he came back to me on the second call and he was in the log about the time the amp finished it's warm-up.
Their website seems to be down tonight for maintenance hopefully they are uploading logs. 73.

The bands are improving

The sunspot numbers are increasing and so is the DX. I've been hearing more DX lately and with the CQWW WPX contest coming next weekend it may prove to be one of the best we've had in years!

I worked I2VRN in Italy Thursday morning at 03:20Z on 40 meters. He was 5-8 here in Wichita and he gave me a 5-7. Huge pileup, lots of very loud stations especially from the East.

You don't have to be a big time contester to have some fun in these events. The international contests are a great way to add some new countries to your log, so get on and see what's available. These are stations that usually have a pretty good antenna system and can hear really well. So it doesn't take a mega station to work them. The first night and part of the next day can be pretty busy but after that the pileups get smaller and they are begging for contacts. Give them a shout and add a new country to your log.