The one thing I like best about ham radio is probably chasing DX, or trying to work someone in a different country. The best is working a new one, a country that I haven't worked before. If you  are a DX'er you know what I am talking about. If you're not, well, it's like hunting for something that may pop up at any time, on any amateur band, and may only pop up once every few years or longer. The  really rare countries are easy to find when they are on the air because of the huge pileups they generate. Of course that makes them harder to work after you find them. The not so rare ones don't attract as  much attention and the pileups are smaller so you have to hunt a little more to find them. On the other hand you have a better chance of breaking the pileup and making the contact. Then all you have to do is  get the QSL card. Sometimes that can be harder to do than working the station in the first place. I have a list of countries that I have worked that I haven't received a card for, and a list of the stations  I worked. They would be the only confirmation of that country for me so if you check the list and see one that you know the QSL route for let me know. Most of these contacts are around 10 years old, so it is  getting harder and harder to track down the person that has the logs and get the cards. After I get the list up, check my needed QSLs to see if you can help me get one.

I don't have a high country count,  just in the mid range now. So far I have worked 181 countries and have 128 confirmed. I know that doesn't sound that impressive, but I did that in a three year period when I was working and going to school,  and then there was the year the I spent recovering from surgery to repair a really busted up ankle. I really didn't play a lot of radio then. Out of the 181 worked, 120 or so were worked with a Heathkit 50  watt cw rig. The most power I have ever used is 100 watts with a Kenwood TS-140s. The antennas were a combination of wire antennas. The main ant is a large loop, about 250 feet by 50 feet that points almost  due north. At different times I have used a 250 foot long wire and folded dipoles on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters.

After being off the air for around 8 years I got the antennas back up and got back on the  air. I had to do it quick too, before 26 September, 2000 when I had back surgery to do a disc fussion. After that I would not be working on anything for several months. I got everything up and ready before  the surgery so I could play radio while I was laying in the bed recovering from the surgery. I was able to chase DX and play in the contest this year from the bed.

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