 |
The Monteverde Contest Group, best-
known for its D4C contest superstation,
used call sign D41CV to make the first-
ever terrestrial transatlantic contact on
144 MHz. |
Speaking of first-evers, the
Monteverde Contest Team in the Cape Verde Islands has achieved a long-sought
goal of making a transatlantic contact on the 2-meter band. According to
Newsline,
D41CV used 500 watts and six stacked dipole antennas to make an FT8 contact
with FG8OJ in Guadeloupe on June 16, at a distance of nearly 2398 miles. FG8OJ
was running 100 watts to a 14-element Yagi. The group in Cape Verde – best known
for its D4C contest superstation – followed up with another FT8 contact with
WP4G in Puerto Rico, at a distance of 2700 miles, then made additional contacts
with Martinique and another station on Guadeloupe.
The ARRL Letter reports that
the contacts will not qualify for the Irish Radio Transmitters Society's Brendan
Trophies because they require transatlantic 2-meter contacts to be between
Europe and the Americas. It was noted, however, that the distances covered by
these contacts were greater than the distance between Ireland and Newfoundland,
the shortest path that would qualify for the award.
