XE2/WD9EWK - 29 December 2000 to 1 January 2001

Updated 26 September 2008

I have had an open invitation to visit my friend in Mexicali, Baja California, Alex XE2BSS and spend time there. After a few conversations and e-mails, we decided that the New Year holiday would be a good time for me to go out there. The weekend would be clear of big RTTY contests (contests are one item my XE permit does not allow) and I would have more equipment with me this time (IC-706Mk2 with KAM98 TNC, plus an IC-707 and Alex's HTX-10 for 10m work).

Getting the XE permit
I have a separate page with details on how to obtain a Mexican ham-radio permit, and other useful information and advice.

My HF operating time
I operated more than I had expected, and it was fun. I did not do a DXpedition type of operation (not allowed under my XE permit) and I did not want to be at the radios 24/7. I made 96 QSOs from Mexicali over the weekend, and I am happy with that. Here is a brief summary of my activity....

Breakdown by mode:
AM: 1 (to W0)
FM: 20 (to CO, JA, KH6, KL7, W's 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 0)
Pactor: 2 (to W3 & W4)
RTTY: 50 (to DL, EA, F, FM, I, LA, LX, OK, PJ2, PY, PZ, all W areas except W3)
SSB: 23 (to KH6, KL7, LU, VE6, VK3, XE, W's 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)

Breakdown by band:
10m: 54
15m: 9
20m: 20
40m: 13

I worked 34 US states and 21 DXCC countries. I worked one country that I have not even worked from home (LX) and enjoyed seeing good activity on 10m to Europe in the mornings (1500-1900 UTC) every day except the last morning (Monday, 1 January) there. The 40m dipole above the house did not want to cooperate with the radio and tuner on 15m, but near the end of the weekend we found that the A-99 10m vertical would work well on 15m. Too bad I did not discover this earlier, so I could have had more QSOs on that band. Nights were not so good, so I spent mostly daylight hours working the radio (unlike my May 2000 trip where I worked more in the evenings than daytime).

In addition, I was able to help a ham in Washington state (and myself) have a log entry at 0001 UTC on 1 January (or, 01/01/01 0001 UTC). At first, this did not seem like a big deal. Now, it seems like a nice thing to have in the log book - and eventually with a QSL card. I worked Tom NW7US on 10m SSB Saturday afternoon, and he mentioned that he was hoping to make a QSO at that time just into the new year/millennium. Almost without thinking, I suggested that I could be that QSO, and he liked that - the thought of not only making a QSO at that time, but to have it with a DX station. We made plans, including a backup plan (which we had to use), and we were successful. In addition to the obligatory QSL card, I made a certificate for the first QSO in my log for the new year and "real" start of the new millennium. (65K JPG, opens in another window - smaller than the actual certificate I printed for Tom, which was on a standard 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper)

Need a QSL from XE2/WD9EWK?
QSL cards for all of my QSOs were mailed by 6 January 2001, in advance of the increase in postal rates in the USA. Cards going to W/VE/XE addresses were sent with SASEs, and cards going to other countries have one or two green stamps enclosed along with a label I printed with my home address on it. In addition, I sent cards through the ARRL outgoing QSL bureau for QSOs with non-W/VE/XE stations. My log search page now has the QSOs from this weekend.

If you worked XE2/WD9EWK and want to send me a QSL card through the bureau, please send your card via WD9EWK. If sending a card direct, use:

Patrick STODDARD
P.O. Box 1934
Scottsdale AZ 85252-1934
U.S.A.

And please do NOT write callsigns on the outside of the envelope.

Comments or questions?
If you have any other questions or comments about my XE trips, please feel free to contact me.

WD9EWK/VA7EWK - XE2/WD9EWK - QSL VIA WD9EWK