On November 4, 2023, Al Ward’s, W5LUA, 38-year quest to contact all 50 states on the 33-centimeter band ended when he obtained the first-ever Labored All States (WAS) certificates for (902 – 928 MHz). Ward began gathering states on the band shortly after it was opened in 1985.
“I’m extraordinarily grateful to Peter Van Horne, KA6U, for his EME [Earth-moon-Earth] efforts. I used to be capable of work Wisconsin for my final state [on] the 33-centimeter band on October 21. On the finish of September, I used to be sitting at 32 states confirmed with playing cards and/or the Logbook of The World (LoTW), when Van Horne went on a 25-state expedition offering my final 18 states,” mentioned Ward. In current expeditions, Brian McCarthy, NX9O, and Jason Baack, N1AV, additionally offered a number of states that have been wanted.
Ward’s station consists of a 5-meter dish with 400 W of energy obtained from two 300 W Motorola amplifiers in parallel. His feed is a twin polarity patch feed.
ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Data Supervisor Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, was one of many first folks to congratulate Ward on his accomplishment.
Jahnke acknowledged, “Hearty congratulations! It is my privilege to verify the ARRL Awards Division has obtained your WAS utility, plus Card Checker doc, and now we have issued the 33-centimeter (902 – 928 MHz) Labored All States Award number one to you in end result of your 38-year quest to contact all 50 states on the 33-centimeter band.”
Different stations on the hunt for the 33-centimeter WAS certificates which can be nearing completion embody AC0RA, K0DAS, and N1AV.
In 1985, the Federal Communications Fee allotted the frequency band between 902 and 928 MHz to Half 18 industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) gear. In that continuing, the band was additionally allotted to the Novice Radio Service on a secondary foundation, that means amateurs might use the band in the event that they accepted interference from and didn’t trigger interference to main customers.
