Over the weekend, I came across a shoebox full of old QSL cards that contained the QSLs I submitted for DXCC credit over the years. I have DXCC credit for 291 "countries" in mixed modes, 268 in voice mode, and 210 on 10 meters, but I have not been actively chasing DX since the mid-1980s, which coincides with the birth of my daughter. Can there be a connection?
Looking through the cards was a trip down memory lane as I could clearly recall some of the contacts. Like the time I worked 3V8AA in Tunisia on Christmas morning in 1981. While I was trying to get that new country in the log, my family was downstairs "urging" me to join them so that they could start unwrapping Christmas presents.
Or the time I was the very first stateside station to work the 1981 K6LPL DXpedition to Juan Fernandez Island (CE0). K6LPL ran into some difficulties with the local government, which was threatening to shut down the operation before it even started. As the first USA station K6LPL contacted, I was enlisted to make telephone calls to his Dad to help straighten out the mess.
After perusing the lot, I was curious as to the rarity of some of the countries I worked. What was rare in 1985 is not necessarily rare in 2013 and vice versa. I Googled up a couple of "Most Wanted" lists: DX Magazine's Most Wanted Survey, updated in January 2013 and Club Log's DXCC Most Wanted List for August 2013. Since the latter was current, I used that list to compare it to my list.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I have QSL cards and DXCC credit for 8 of the top 10 most wanted entities, 16 of the top 25, and 35 of the top 50.
Until next time, good DX and keep on surfin'!
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