[amsat-bb] AO-40 DX Record...

[k0blt@juno.com]

 Greetings to all,I may have what should be one of the most "footprint stretching" DX QSOs via AO-40.  A group of German fellows made a DX-pedition to Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 2003.  Their grid locator was NH87 and my grid was DN81.  I heard them only once and it was on a day near the end of their operation.  I was hearing a few fellows on the West Coast working them but I couldn't hear a "peep" from the DX station.  All of the sudden they were there, Q5.  I couldn't believe my ears!  We exchanged the usual 5NN on CW as with most all expedition signal reports.  My Elmer, Joe, K0VTY, and I had often talked of stretching the footprint but it never occured to me that I'd have the opportunity to do just that.  As I recall, there were less than 5 degrees, according to InstaTrack, for me to make the contact before LOS at both ends.  I always blamed the giant Elm tree just accross the street from me for preventing my hearing much that appeared on the low western horizon.  After I collected my senses, I went outside and had a look at that "cursed" tree.  To my suprise my antennas were pointed at a "hole" in that tree no bigger than a bushel basket.  Obviously that hole provided me the one in a thousand shot I had at working VK9CD on the 20th of Oct., 2003.  I have been a DXer for over 50 years and I've had many memorable and lucky DX QSOs but VK9CD ranks right up there near the top of my list.  I wish that we still had a bird in orbit that would allow such "thrills" but alas.......73 to everyone and we can continue to hope....  Frank, K0BLT
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