Over the weekend I took part in the CQ World Wide WPX Contest.

I had a family/friends Easter lunch on Saturday, so I did not get into the radio shack until late Saturday afternoon.

I initially was not going to participate in the contest and for the first few hours, Marija VK5MAZ and I just hunted around the bands looking for new DXCC entities/slots. But on Saturday evening when I heard the 20m band so good into North America, I decided to get involved as a participant.

Despite a late start to the contest, I logged 853 QSOs with a claimed score of 1,286,662 points.

I ran N1MM logging during the contest.

Below is a map of the world showing my QSOs during the contest.

I worked a total of 87 different DXCC entities:

1. Alaska
2. Andorra
3. Argentina
4. Asiatic Russia
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Belarus
8. Belgium
9. Belize
10. Bonaire
11. Bosnia-Herzegovina
12. Brunei Darussalam
13. Bulgaria
14. Canada
15. Chile
16. China
17. Colombia
18. Costa Rica
19. Croatia
20. Cuba
21. Curacao
22. Cyprus
23. Czech Republic
24. Denmark
25. Dominican Republic
26. East Malaysia
27. England
28. Estonia
29. European Russia
30. Federal Republic of Germany
31. Finland
32. France
33. Georgia
34. Greece
35. Hawaii
36. Hong Kong
37. Hungary
38. India
39. Indonesia
40. Ireland
41. Italy
42. Japan
43. Kazakhstan
44. Kenya
45. Latvia
46. Liechtenstein
47. Lithuania
48. Luxembourg
49. Madeira Island
50. Malta
51. Martinique
52. Mauritius
53. Mexico
54. Morocco
55. Nepal
56. Netherlands
57. New Caledonia
58. New Zealand
59. Norway
60. Ogasawara
61. Oman
62. Paraguay
63. Philippines
64. Poland
65. Portugal
66. Puerto Rico
67. Romania
68. Saint Kitts & Nevis
69. Saint Lucia
70. Saint Vincent
71. Scotland
72. Serbia
73. Slovak Republic
74. Slovenia
75. Spain
76. Suriname
77. Sweden
78. Switzerland
79. Taiwan
80. Thailand
81. Turks & Caicos Islands
82. Ukraine
83. United Arab Emirates
84. United States
85. Vietnam
86. Wales
87. West Malaysia

The majority of my QSOs were on the 20m band.

Short path 20m conditions on Saturday night into the North America, and again on Sunday night, were excellent. The map below shows my contacts into the USA & Canada.

Long path propagation on 20m into Europe/UK was very good on Sunday afternoon. The map below shows my contacts into Europe & the UK.

One of the interesting contacts I made during the contest was with Nate N7NWT who was in the cockpit of an Airbus A321 flying over Louisiana, USA.

Our next activation for Saturday 25th November 2023 was the Harcourt Bushland Reserve VKFF-4295. The park is located about 9km northeast of Castlemaine and about 125 km northwest of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Harcourt Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.

The first European settler in the Harcourt district was Dr WIlliam Barker who ran the Mount Alexander pastoral run. He built a homestead alongside Barkers Creek at Harcourt North. The township of Harcourt was surveyed in 1853 at the junction of the roads to Bendigo and Castlemaine, near Barkers Creek. The town was named in honour of Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt (b. 1827. d. 1904), English Chancellor of the Exchequer.

A school was opened at Harcourt in 1859, followed by a railway station in 1863 when the railway line was opened between Kyneton and Bendigo. A Methodist church was opened in 1863. (Victorian Places 2024)

The Harcourt Bushland Reserve is also referred to as Barkers Creek Bushland Reserve. The reserve is about 36 hectares in size and was established on the 26th day of February 2002. (CAPAD 2022)

Above:- An aerial view of the Harcourt Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.

Several mineshafts can be found in the reserve from the 1850 gold rush period. The original mineshafts were round. When the Cornish miners arrived at the goldfields in 1852, they commenced creating oblong shafts, and their example was followed by subsequent miners.

We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation. I used the special call of VI10VKFF. Band conditions were quite good apart from some loud static crashes on 40m.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3BEL
2. VK3SPX
3. VK1CHW/p (Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve VKFF-0833)
4. VK3MIJ
5. VK5FBIC/p
6. VK1RF/p (Molonglo Gorge Nature Reserve VKFF-0991)
7. VK2PKT/p (South West Woodland Nature Reserve VKFF-2724)
8. VK3YV/p (Tyers Park VKFF-3570)
9. VK3PF/m
10. VK3KAI/m
11. VK5DW/p (Moorook Game Reserve VKFF-1729)
12. VK2MOE/p (Coolah Tops National Park VKFF-0111)
13. VK3PF/p (Traralgon South Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2464)
14. VK2IO/p (Cuumbeun Nature Reserve VKFF-1920)
15. VK5HS/p (Cooltong Conservation Park VKFF-0823)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3BEL
2. VK3SPX
3. VK1CHW/p (Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve VKFF-0833)
4. VK3MIJ
5. VK5FBIC/p
6. VK1RF/p (Molonglo Gorge Nature Reserve VKFF-0991)
7. VK2PKT/p (South West Woodland Nature Reserve VKFF-2724)
8. VK3YV/p (Tyers Park VKFF-3570)
9. VK3PF/m
10. VK3KAI/m
11. VK3MCK
12. VK5FANA
13. VK5KVA
14. VK5DW/p (Moorook Game Reserve VKFF-1729)
15. VK5HYZ
16. VK3ZS
17. VK7XX
18. VK3ZSC
19. VK3HJW
20. VK1AO
21. VK2MET
22. VK3FA
23. VK5IS
24. VK2MOE/p (Coolah Tops National Park VKFF-0111)
25. VK3SO
26. VK3PF/p (Traralgon South Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2464)
27. VK5FB
28. VK3SQ
29. VK2BD
30. VK3MTT
31. VK2EXA
32. VK3CEO
33. VK2LEE
34. VK5PE/m
35. VK2IO/p (Cuumbeun Nature Reserve VKFF-1920)
36. VK5HS/p (Cooltong Conservation Park VKFF-0823)
37. VK3IDM
38. VK3OY

I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4EW
2. VK4NH
3. VK4DXA
4. VK1AO
5. VK2MET
6. VK4EMP
7. VK4TI
8. VK4VCO/m
9. ZL3MR
10. VK4FO

References.

1. Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2024].‌
2. http://www.victorianplaces.com.au. (n.d.). Harcourt | Victorian Places. [online] Available at: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/harcourt [Accessed 2 Apr. 2024].‌