"Firsts" on 50 MHz from South Africa Last updated 2011-12-16 This list is an attempt to assemble the "firsts" from South Africa with each of the countries (or "entities") on the DXCC list. Because the contacts span more than half a century (the earliest listed contact is in 1947!), many operators have died or otherwise left the scene. I am therefore under no illusion about the completeness or even correctness of the list. Received inputs will be gratefully received, and amended on an ongoing basis. I published a first version in 2000-05, based on inputs from ZS6AXT, ZS6WB and others. The first version was a trial run to solicit more definite inputs. Some such inputs did arrive, and many claims have subsequently been updated. Three dozen countries have subsequently been worked from South Africa for the first time, including many that were previously not allowed on 50 MHz and even a few that did not exist before. These claims are obviously a lot more likely to have been accurate. It has been my policy to publish the earliest contact of which details are known, even where it is known that earlier contacts took place. Such cases are marked with "***" or "???". The key is shown at the bottom of this document. I've had insight mainly into contacts by ZS6WB, ZS6AXT, ZS6BMS and ZS6PJS, so their callsigns are likely to predominate. The intention is not to publish false claims, but rather to encourage the true claimants to come forward. There are notes with several entries. In some cases, the existence of a contact has been claimed verbally or in writing, but no date or other information is available. In other cases, contacts are known to have taken place in previous solar cycles, but no information is to hand. Any help with any of these contacts will be especially appreciated. "(DXv)" indicates that the claim has been verified with the DX station's operator or from the original log, to ensure that no other stations made it into that station's log before the claimed one. Clearly, it is possible in some cases that other stations may have been active previously from the country concerned. Please let me know if you spot discrepancies. In the case of the former Yugoslavia, the DXCC start dates for the newly-formed countries are noted. Contacts with YU2, 3, 4 and 5 stations prior to the start dates count as Yugoslavia. No contacts are known to have taken place with YU4 and YU5 stations prior to their prefix changes (to T9 and Z3 respectively). Finally, several countries are known to have produced contacts before legal licencing was introduced. These rogue contacts can only be identified with cooperation from the DX end, and replaced with their legitimate counterparts. Known suspect contacts have been marked as such. In cases where an official start date is known (e.g. Spain), the start date is listed and only contacts after that date are shown. I will continue to make intermittent updates as information is received, and publish the document at the URL listed below: http://zs6ez.org.za/lists/50zs1st.txt Perhaps one fact deserves to be emphasised: The amazing level of achievement of the leading individuals. If one takes into account that this list includes every country known to have been worked from South Africa, and that in several cases the countries were not worked from Gauteng at all, the fact that two stations (ZS6WB and ZS6AXT) have missed no more than 15 of the total countries worked must surely rate as remarkable! Chris R. Burger ZS6EZ Box 4485 Pretoria 0001 South Africa Country ZS stn Date UTC DX Station (operators in brackets) 1A SMOM ZS6WB 1990-04-28 11:01 1A0KM (Op. I0JX) 3A Monaco ZS6PJS 2000-07-04 16:21 3A/OH2BC 3C Equatorial Guinea ZS6AXT 1998-10-07 19:10 3C5I (Op. KB2WF) (DXv) 3D Fiji *** ZS6AXT 1991-03-29 20:21 3D2PO 3DA Swaziland ZS6WB 1988-12-31 05:00 3DA0/ZS6BCR (ZS6EZ) (DXv) Footnote 1 3V Tunisia ZS6WB 2000-11-15 17:56 TS7N 4L Georgia ZS6AXT 2002-03-13 10:20 4L5O 4O Montenegro ZS6NK 2011-10-16 18:19 4O4A (DXv) 4U ITU HQ Geneva ZS6WB 1991-03-10 11:30 4U1ITU (Op. G3SDL) (DXv) 4X Israel ??? ZS6WB 1991-02-07 18:01 4X1IF 5A Libya ZS6PJS 2000-08-31 17:06 5A1A (DXv) 5B Cyprus ZS6LN 1979-03-02 16:35 5B4AZ 5H Tanzania *** ZS6WB 1990-04-29 06:07 5H1HK (Op. JE3MAS) 5N Nigeria *** ZS6AXT 1989-03-25 14:10 KH6HSS/5N0 5R Madagascar ZS6WB 2000-10-21 18:?? 5R8FU 5V Togo ??? ZS6WB 1991-09-28 16:15 5V7JG (Op. F2JD) 5W Western Samoa ZS6WB 1992-04-19 20:29 5W1KF (Op. ZL2TPY) 5X Uganda ZS6KO 1959-04-15 ??:?? VQ5FS 5Z Kenya *** ZS6XJ 1982-03-04 19:39 5Z4CS (Op. JE1JKL) Footnote 6 7P Lesotho *** ZS6WB 1990-04-22 05:40 7P8EN (Op. ZS4TX) (DXv) Footnote 1 7Q Malawi *** ZS6WB 1990-09-10 19:09 7Q7JA (Check date 90-04) 7X Algeria *** ZS6WB 1989-08-30 17:20 FD1NLQ/7X 8R Guyana ZS6AXT 1991-10-28 16:18 G4SMC/8R1 9A Croatia ZS6WB 1991-08-11 18:10 YU2EZA Start date 1991-06-26 9G Ghana ZS6AXT 2000-03-27 20:40 9G5ZW (Op. OK2ZW) 9H Malta ZS6WB 1988-03-09 17:32 9H1BT 9J Zambia *** ZS6AXT 1991-09-26 15:12 9J2HN (Op. JK1UWY) 9K Kuwait *** ZS6AXT 1992-03-30 14:58 9K2ZR (Op. WA8MOA) 9Q DRC ZS6WB 1989-10-14 19:34 9Q5EE (Op. WA9INK) 9U Burundi ZS6PJS 2000-03-05 16:43 9U5D (Op. SM5DIC) 9X Rwanda ZS6AXT 1991-10-05 19:22 9X5NH (Op. DK5SY) A2 Botswana ZS6WB 1987-07-18 13:35 A22KZ (Op. G4EKZ/ZS4TX/ZS6EZ)(DXv) Note 1 A4 Oman ZS6AXT 2000-11-03 16:20 A45ZN A6 UAE ZS6AXT 1999-02-22 18:50 A61AH A7 Qatar ZS6NK 2002-10-30 15:49 A71AW A9 Bahrain ZS6NK 2011-03-11 19:17 A92IO (Op. G3SDL) (DXv) AP Pakistan ZS6AXT 1999-03-28 12:06 AP2WAP BV Taiwan ZR1L 2000-04-29 09:30 BV2DP (Op. DXv) C3 Andorra ZS6PJS 2000-05-08 15:39 C31HK C9 Mozambique ZS6WB 1993-07-17 04:45 C93BB (Op. ZR6REV) CE Chile ??? ZS6AXT 1991-04-26 14:32 CE8ABF CN Morocco *** ZS6WB 1990-10-26 13:37 CN2CW CP Bolivia ??? ZS6AXT 1991-04-27 12:55 CP6BY QSOs in cycle 21 CT Portugal *** ZS6WB 1988-09-14 16:49 CT1LN Footnote 5 CT3 Madeira ZS6BMS 1989-11-15 19:21 W6JKV/CT3 CU Azores *** ZS6WB 1990-09-29 17:22 CU1EZ CX Uruguay ZS6XJ 1982-04-25 13:23 CX8BE D6 Comores ZS6WB 1991-03-10 19:12 D68KN (Op. JG4CLV) DL Germany ZS6WB 1989-02-23 11:26 DL8HCZ (Legality not confirmed) E3 Eritrea ZS6WB 2001-10-30 19:07 E30NA (Op. DL5NAM) E7 Bosnia-Herzegovina ZS6BTE 2000-04-04 : T97V EA Spain ??? ZS6WB 1992-07-12 15:37 EH3ADW Start date 1992-07-10 EA6 Balearic Islands ??? ZS6WB 1992-08-28 17:02 EH6ET Start date 1992-07-10 EA8 Canary Islands ??? ZS6WB 1998-10-16 19:21 EH8BPX Start date 1992-07-10 EA9 Ceuta and Melilla ??? ZS6AXT 1992-10-11 12:00 EH9IB Start date 1992-07-10 EI Ireland ??? ZS6LN 1980-04-04 11:10 EI6AS EK Armenia ZS6AXT 1998-04-06 10:19 EK6AD ER Moldova ZS6EZ 1999-05-16 14:40 ER1AAZ ES Estonia ZS6LN 1992-05-13 14:42 ES6QB ET Ethiopia ZS6AXT 2000-10-09 17:57 ET3VSC EU Belarus ZS6AXT 1999-03-17 11:41 EU5R EY Tajikistan ZS6AXT 2000-03-07 11:45 EY8CQ F France ZS6WB 1988-04-21 14:30 F5GZ FM Martinique ZS4S 1991-11-23 14:28 FM5WD FR Reunion *** ZS6WB 1991-10-15 15:03 FR5QT FR/E Europa and Juan de Nova ZS6WB 2003-12-?? ??:?? TO4E G England ZS1B 1947-11-06 12:30 G5BY GD Isle of Man ZS6BMS 1989-02-25 12:16 GD3AHV GI Northern Ireland ZS6XJ 1989-02-22 11:36 GI8YDZ GJ Jersey ZS6XJ 1988-08-28 17:17 GJ4ICD GM Scotland ZS6WB 1988-10-18 11:51 GM3WOJ GU Guernsey ZS4NS 1989-03-26 12:33 GU2FRO GW Wales ZS4TX/6 1988-10-08 16:05 GW4EAI HA Hungary ZS6NK 2006-12-27 11:41 HA3UU EME by WSJT Footnote 7 HB Switzerland ??? ZS6XJ 1990-03-18 13:36 HB9SJV (DXv) Footnote 5 HB0 Liechtenstein ZS6PJS 2000-08-31 17:12 HB0/DF0FA HV Vatican ZS6PJS 1998-11-06 13:05 HV5PUL HZ Saudi Arabia *** ZS6WB 1990-10-13 17:21 HZ1AB (some doubt about legality) I Italy ZS6LN 1990-04-01 14:26 I0AKP IS0 Sardinia ZS6WB 1990-06-11 16:03 IM0/IK2GSO J2 Djibouti ZS6EZ 2000-10-07 18:14 J28NH (DXv) JA Japan ZS1SW 1958-05-15 10:25 JA1AXE JX Jan Mayen ZS6NK 2002-02-26 12:11 JX7DFA (Op. LA7DFA) JY Jordan ZS6WB 1998-09-06 15:41 JY9NE (Op. N3FNE) K USA ??? ZS6LN 1980-11-05 16:10 K8EFS QSOs in cycle 19? KH0 Northern Marianas ZS6NK 2005-05-16 14:28 KH0/KH2K (Op. JA1JRU) EME by WSJT KH2 Guam ZS6NK 2005-01-02 01:14 KG6DX EME by WSJT KH6 Hawaii ??? ZS6LN 1981-04-14 07:20 KH6JJL QSOs in cycle 19? KL Alaska ZS6NK 2004-11-26 00:15 NL7Z EME by WSJT KP2 US Virgin Islands ZS6BMS 1989-11-15 15:58 KP2A LA Norway ZS6LN 1989-02-25 11:07 LA8WF LU Argentina ??? ZS6LN 1981-04-11 15:35 LU6HFI (possible earlier with LU3EX) LX Luxembourg ZS6PJS 1990-09-21 15:35 LX1JX LY Lithuania ZS6WB 1999-07-05 16:37 LY2BA LZ Bulgaria ZS6PJS 1998-04-09 14:33 LZ1DP OD Lebanon ??? ZS6WB 1992-03-06 16:38 OD5SK OE Austria ZS6WB 1990-02-15 12:03 OE6AHD OH Finland *** ZS6WB 1989-02-25 10:55 OH1YP OH0 Aland Islands ZS6NK 2005-08-27 01:16 OH0/SM5HJZ EME by WSJT Footnote 3 OK Czech Republic ZS6EZ 1998-10-10 16:44 OK1FFD OM Slovakia ZS6AXT 1999-06-03 16:13 OM1TL ON Belgium ZS6AXT 1990-02-27 16:57 ON4KST OX Greenland ZS6NK 2005-03-28 02:15 OX3LX (Op. OZ1DJJ) EME by WSJT OY Faroe Islands *** ZS6WB 1991-08-07 17:21 OY/G4PIQ OZ Denmark ZS6AXT 1990-02-24 10:11 OZ4VV (DXv) PA Holland ZS6HS 1947 PA0UN PY Brazil ZS1EK 1991-04-06 11:39 PY5CC (DXv) QSOs in cycle 21? PY0F Fernando de Noronha ZS6AXT 1991-04-28 11:59 PY0FF PY0T Trinidade ZS6NK 2002-03-03 17:15 PW0T (Op. PY5CC) RA1 European Russia ZS6AXT 2000-02-20 10:34 RN6HW S0 West Sahara ZS6WB 1991-03-29 15:23 S01A Footnote 1 S5 Slovenia ZS6WB 1991-07-21 16:26 YU3AN Start date 1991-06-26 S7 Seychelles ZS6WB 1989-03-27 16:37 S79M (Op. JI3ERV) S9 Sao Tome ZS6PJS 2000-03-02 19:41 S92AT (Op?) SM Sweden ZS6BMS 1989-03-19 12:28 SM7BAE SP Poland ZS6AXT 1998-08-28 18:45 SP4MPB SU Egypt ZS1T 1947 MD5KW (Op. G5KW) SV Greece ZS6XJ 1980-05-12 21:14 SZ2DH (Op. SV1DH) SV5 Dodecanese Islands ??? ZS6AXT/WB 1998-08-29 16:51 SV5BYR SV9 Crete ZS6PJS 1993-10-14 16:32 SV9ANJ T7 San Marino ZS6BMS 1989-02-25 16:22 T77C TA Turkey ZS6WB 1989-09-29 17:06 TA4/G3SDL (DXv) TJ Cameroon ZS6WB 1998-09-27 18:39 TJ1GD (Op. SP---- Darek) TK Corsica ??? ZS6WB 1989-08-02 16:15 TK/PA0ERA (doubt about legality) TL Central African Rep ??? ZS6AXT/WB 1991-02-18 19:45 TL8MB (Op. F1JKK) TR Gabon ??? ZS6WB 1989-03-07 19:55 TR8CA TT Chad ZS6WB 2000-11-19 20:04 TT8DX TU Cote d'Ivoire ??? ZS6WB 1991-04-05 13:43 TU2MA UJ Uzbekistan ZS6WB 2001-02-25 10:41 UK9AA (DXv) UN Kazakhstan ZS6WB 1992-04-06 12:00 UL7GCC UT Ukraine ZS6PJS 1998-05-05 14:36 UR5ZEL V2 Antigua ZS6BMS 1989-11-15 16:01 V29OA (Op. W7LUU) V5 Namibia ??? ZS6WB 1986-12-28 03:10 ZS3Z (Op. ZS6EZ) (DXv) QSOs in cycle 19 VE Canada ??? ZS6GX 1947-11-13 ??:?? VE1AYL VK Australia ??? ZS6LN 1981-05-15 09:22 VK6RO Footnote 4 VK9X Christmas Island ZS6AXT 1991-04-04 07:15 VK9X/VK6BFV VP8 Falklands ZR5ADQ 2000-04-16 13:52 VP8DBL (Op. G3WOS) (DXv) VR Hong Kong ZR5ADQ 2001-03-24 14:?? VR2XMT VU India ZS6AXT 2002-02-21 15:06 VU2LO YB Indonesia *** ZS6WB 1989-04-04 07:05 YC2EMK YI Iraq ZS6NK 2002-09-04 15:20 YI9OM YK Syria ZS6WB 2001-02-11 18:50 YK9A (Op. N7RO) (DXv) Footnote 1 YL Latvia ZS6PJS 1999-10-16 16:09 YL2JN YO Romania *** ZS6AXT 1990-09-21 19:19 YO2IS YU Yugoslavia ZS6WB 1991-03-10 12:00 YU3EA (Now S56A) YV Venezuela *** ZS6WB 1991-04-27 12:41 YV4DDK QSOs in cycle 21 Z2 Zimbabwe *** ZS6BMS 1989-04-01 16:48 Z23JO QSOs in cycle 21 Z3 Macedonia ZS6AXT 1998-10-17 16:32 Z31JA ZA Albania ZS6WB 1991-10-05 11:21 ZA1A (Op. OH2BH) Footnote 1 ZB Gibraltar ZS6WB 1979-10-16 17:10 ZB2BL ZC4 British Cyprus ZS6XJ 1989-08-25 18:22 ZC4MK (Op. G0KOM) (DXv) Footnote 1 ZD7 St Helena ZS6XJ 1982-04-06 19:33 ZD7BW ZD8 Ascension ZS6XJ 1982-04-06 21:50 ZD8TC ZL New Zealand ZS6NK 2002-09-02 05:55 ZL3TY EME by WSJT ZP Paraguay ??? ZS6AXT 1991-04-27 14:11 ZP6XDW QSOs in cycle 21 ZS8 Marion ZS2BE 1989-12-08 17:04 ZS8MI (Op. ZS6PT) (DXv) Footnote 1 [152 countries, not including ZS] Deleted: -------- OK Czechoslovakia *** ZS6AXT/WB 1992-02-04 13:40 OK2PZW PJ8 Netherlands Antilles ZS6WB 1991-11-23 13:52 PJ7/W6JKV ZS0 Penguin Islands ZS6WB 1990-12-02 00:00 ZS9Z/ZS1 (ZS6EZ) (DXv) Footnote 1 ZS9 Walvis Bay *** ZS6AXT 1990-09-29 18:41 ZS9A (later V51C, now Silent Key) [4 countries] Key: *** means the claimed QSO might not be the first. ??? means the claimed QSO is definitely not the first--info needed! DXv means the claim was verified with DX (non-ZS) station's operator as the first ZS worked Leading South African stations ------------------------------ 58 ZS6WB Hal Lund 31 ZS6AXT Ivo Chladek 25 ZS6NK (ex ZS6PJS) Paul Smit 9 ZS6LN Jack de Villiers (Silent Key) 9 ZS6XJ Leroy Dale 7 ZS6BMS Arnold Mynett (G3HBS, now EA8BLL) 3 ZS6EZ Chris R. Burger 2 ZR5ADQ Mike Parker 1 ZR1L Chris F. Muller ZS1B Denis Richardson (Silent Key) ZS1EK Bill Dewey ZS1SW Albert Solomon (Silent Key) ZS2BE Hannes Vorster? ZS4NS Nico Schoonwinkel ZS4S Dave Jones (now ZS5DJ) ZS4TX Bernie van der Walt ZS6BTE Ian Roberts ZS6GX ? ZS6KO Bill Ingleson Note: ZS6AXT and ZS6WB worked three "firsts" (SV5, TL and OK) in close succession, and it is not known who actually made the first contact. These countries are not included in the totals shown. Thanks for contributions (in alphabetical order): ------------------------------------------------- G0KOM (ex ZC4MK), G3HBW (ex ZS6BMS), G3SDL (4U1ITU, A92IO, TA4/G3SDL), G3WOS (ex VP8DBL), HB9AOF, JI1CQA, JE1JKL, KB2WF (3C5I), ON9BGP, S56A, ZS4NS, ZS5DJ, ZS6AXT, ZS6NK (ex ZS6PJS), ZS6WB, ZS6XJ. ZS6NK (then ZS6PJS) did considerable research in old magazines and in ZS6LN's QSL collection, unearthing quite a few new ones in the process. Thanks, Paul! Footnotes: ---------- 1: First ever known 50 MHz QSO, world-wide, with this country! 2: ZR6VE (later ZS6VER, now ZS6DX) has claimed contacts with 4J, 4L, 7X, 9K, A7, A9, D2, EU, HB0, HZ, RA2, RA9, UJ, UN and VQ9. He was licenced during the lull between cycles 22 and 23. All of these countries would have been firsts from ZS for this solar cycle, and only four of the 15 countries had ever been worked from South Africa. At least four of these countries might well prove to be world firsts. Unfortunately, despite at least a dozen requests, Rudi has not produced dates, times or callsigns for these contacts, to allow us to show the necessary respect... 3: ZS6YA (now ZS6Y) claimed a much earlier contact with OH0. Unfortunately, no further information could be obtained despite several requests. 4: In 2000, information came to light (via VK3OT) about contacts between VK3FA and ZS6 stations in cycle 19. Once dates, times and callsigns have been found, the new claim will be included in the list. 5: CT1CO is known to have been heard regularly in ZS6 in the late Fifties. HB9BZ is known to have worked many ZS6 stations in the same period. Stations who were active in ZS6 include ZS6AJH (now ZS6AK), ZS6APS, ZS6ASO, ZS6AVK, ZS6AVP, ZS6ET, ZS6IO, ZS6JW and ZS6KO. Anyone who can provide some dates and times, or some clarity on the legality of the European stations, must please let me know! 6: JE1JKL reports that there were some contacts before his, notably between 5Z4YV and unknown ZS stations. Further information would be appreciated. 7: ZS6AXT worked HA6ZB on 2001-03-13 at 14:28, but it is most unlikely that this station's 50 MHz operation was legal. [end]