Awards – N4MI Ham Radio

Possibly My Last DXCC Endorsement (But I Sure Hope Not)

This week I finally achieved a DXCC milestone I have been chasing for several years. I finally got 275 countries confirmed in LoTW. When I reached 25o a few years ago, I figured that I would not go much higher. The station upgrades are paying off. I have been mostly focused on making SSB and CW contacts, but will certainly still work FT8 for ATNOs and band-slot fillers!

As all DXCC award chasers know, once you reach 200 the ATNOs become more difficult and less frequent. This makes each one more exciting and meaningful. With the current solar cycle on the decline, I don’t know whether I will reach 300 or higher, but I will certainly keep trying!

LoTW DXCC Credit Analyzer Updated

I have continued to work on this app. This was a labor of love, really, to help me in my pursuit of ATNOs and band/slots for DXCC awards and endorsements. I have shared it in several venues hoping that other hams with similar pursuits would find it helpful. I have also received some excellent feedback to add features and improvements.

LoTW DXCC Credit Analyzer

I Vibe-Coded a Web App!

LoTW DXCC Credit Analyzer

I’ve been reading a lot about vibe-coding, and thought I would give it a try. I have been off-and-on trying to learn Python. Maybe someday I will get it.

I have always wanted an app that would perform analysis of the DXCC Award Credit Matrix from Logbook of the World. There is no option to download the table as a spreadsheet. So, I thought I would try to cook something up myself using AI coding.

I used Lovable, which is an AI-powered, no-code app builder designed to create web applications and websites from simple text prompts. It enables users to rapidly build functional, production-ready apps—such as project management tools, calculators, or landing pages—by generating code and UI through conversational AI.

I create a web app called “LoTW DXCC Credit Analyzer” for DXCC entity, band-slot and mode analysis. The analysis does not include deleted entities. Also, I could not completely automate the process because of the way LoTW displays the DXCC Award Credit Table (no option to download the table as a spreadsheet or CSV file). I included instructions in the app for creating a spreadsheet from LoTW’s DXCC Award Credit Table, which can then be loaded into the app. Feel free to give it a try!

Finally Got 150 Confirmed on Phone

I have been working a lot more SSB since I added the hexbeam and amplifier to the station. The majority of my confirmed DXCCs has been on digital modes FT8, and before that JT65), so I have been making more of an effort to confirm DXCCs on CW and phone. DXpeditions over the past few months have helped tremendously. I have reached 273 DXCCs on LoTW, so the going will be very tough from here. Hopefully I can continue to add to the CW and phone totals!

5BWAS & 5BDXCC Plaques

Ever since I got my ham radio license, just over 6 years ago, I have been interesting in DXing, contesting, and awards. I started out at the bottom of a solar cycle, which helped me learn how to make contacts under less than ideal conditions. I’m not as much into the competition with other hams, but it’s satisfying to set and achieve my own personal goals. Now that band conditions are starting to become more favorable, I was recently able to achieve two longtime goals, which are the 5 Band Works All States (WAS) and 5 Band DXCC awards.

The last band I needed for both WAS and DXCC was 10 meters. The band conditions improved enough over the past few months to make that possible. I was also able to add endorsements for 30 meters, 17 meters and 12 meters. I still need Alaska and Hawaii for WAS on 6 meters, and Hawaii for WAS on 160 meters. Maybe someday!

I was able to complete the Triple Play WAS award a few years ago.

10M WAS and DXCC, Finally!

The conditions on 10 meters have finally become favorable for me to get enough confirmations to complete WAS and DXCC on that band, and those were also what I needed to complete 5BWAS and 5BDXCC. I received the 5BWAS certificate, and applied for the 5BDXCC certificate. I also have WAS and DXCC on 30M, 17M and 12M. All of these were completed using 100 watts and omnidirectional antennas. The key has been persistence, and some luck to be on the radio when the bands are open.

It’s time for me to get going on 160M and 6M.

New antenna for 10 meters

This afternoon I installed a new antenna for 10 meters. The antenna is a HF-28 Rectangle from PAR Electronics. It’s light (2.5 lbs.) and compact (approximately 8′ X 4′). It was very easy to build and took me about a half hour following the included instructions. I have the antenna mounted on a Max-Gain Systems MK-6 fiberglass push-up mast. The SWR was near perfect right away, but there are instructions included to tune the antenna if necessary. According to the manufacturer, the antenna is not perfectly omni-directional, but it has a pattern that does not require a rotator.

The antenna seems to work very well. The conditions on 10 meters were not great today, but right away I was able to work several FT8 stations on the west coast and in South America. I can’t wait to see how it performs in good band conditions. Hopefully this antenna will help me finally work Alaska on 10 meters to finally complete a 5BWAS and get closer 10 DXCC for 10 meters!

The antenna is mounted on the mast I had previously used for a 6 meter Ringo vertical, which you can see leaning up against the fence.

I still need to do some work on the guy ropes, but the antenna and mast are very sturdy.

I only need 9 more countries for DXCC on 10 meters!

New VUCC and WAS Award Milestones Reached!

Due to work obligations, I haven’t had much time to spend on the radio, or to update this blog. Since my last update, QSOs with several stations have been confirmed in Logbook of the World, allowing me to reach a achieve a couple of new awards.

I recently received a LoTW confirmation for a QSO on 6 meters that took place in July. This confirmation was number 300 on 6 meters, and an endorsement for the 50 MHz VUCC Award.

It took a while, but I finally confirmed 300 grids!

Also, on November 28th, I had a FT8 QSO on 12 meters with a station in Alaska, which gave me my 50th state for the Worked All States Award on 12 meters. I still need to work Alaska on 10 meters for a 5 Band WAS, so hopefully the band conditions will continue to improve!

Alaska on 12 meters, finally! Now hoping for 10 meters!

I am getting close to WAS on all HF bands!

New DXCC on 20 Meters – Hong Kong

I haven’t been on the radio much over the past week, but this morning I had some time and found that 20 and 30 meters were open to the Far East. It took a bunch of tries, but I was able to complete a FT8 QSO on 20 meters with VR2XRW in Hong Kong. That’s a new DXCC entity for me, and he confirmed the QSO on Logbook of the World in just a few minutes! The new DXCC entities are becoming fewer and further between, and it’s always special to work a new one!

A few good FT8 and FT4 QSOs on 20 and 30 meters

VR2XRW confirmed our QSO on Logtbook of the World within minutes!

N1ADM’s DXCC Account Status as of August 15th, 2020

New VUCC Endorsement Stickers

Some new VUCC 50 MHz endorsement stickers for 150, 175, 200, 225 and 250 grids arrived in the mail today. I am currently at 291 grids confirmed in Logbook of the World, so hopefully I’ll be applying for the 275 and 300 stickers soon.