On Wednesday the 29th of April 2020, EI4GNB in Ireland managed to complete a digital FT8 contact with LY2YR on 40.220 MHz on the new 8-metre band. Not only was this an EI-LY first but it was also the very first contact made between any two countries on the band.
EI4GNB was located in IO63WE while LY3YR was in KO24OS. The distance was approximately 2,039 kms and the mode of propagation was Sporadic-E.
Tim – EI4GNB was using a YAESU FT 857D with about 30 watts through a low pass filter for 8-metres. The antenna was a 2-element Quad about 8 metres above ground level.
Gintas – LY2YR was using an ICOM IC7100 and a Hexbeam for 50 MHz.
EI4GNB reports that there was quite an amount of fading on the signals and they were just able to complete the contact on FT8. …. READ FULL ARTICLE
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