First contact on the 40 MHz band between Ireland and South Africa - 21st April 2022

Congratulations to Phil, EI9KP, for a remarkable contact on the 8m band.

The following is a quote from John's website at www.ei7gl.blogspot.com.

"A little bit of radio history was made on the 21st of April 2022 with the first contact ever between Ireland and South Africa on the 40 MHz band. Phil, EI9KP in the west of Ireland, managed to complete two-way contacts with Jan, ZS6OB in South Africa on 40.680 MHz using the FT8 and FT4 modes, a distance of about 9,570 km. EI9KP writes: "For me, a first band opening to South Africa, logged ZS6OB from 1044z till 1420z. To my delight, we managed a 2-way contact on 40.680MHz using FT8 and FT4 modes." EI9KP used 25-watts from an ICOM IC-7300 to a homebrew 2-element Yagi for the 8m band. ZS6OB used in the region of 30-50 watts."