CQ 40 … MHz, Not Meters

Hams in three European countries – Ireland, Slovenia and Lithuania – now have access on a secondary basis to frequencies in the 40-MHz, or 8-meter band. According to EI7GL's blog (ei7gl.blogspot.com), Irish hams have had permission to operate on the band since 2018, but were limited to crossband contacts with amateurs in other countries. With Slovenia and Lithuania coming aboard, actual DX on the band became possible. The first international contact was in late April of this year, between EI4GNB in Ireland and LY2YR in Lithuania. That was followed by a QSO on June 13 between LY2YR and S50B in Slovenia, and a June 15 contact between EI4GNB and S50B, using FT4, JT65 and single sideband. The latter QSO followed a 6-meter opening between Europe and North America.