Last weekend (March 4 - 5, 2023) was the phone segment of the ARRL International DX Contest.

Although the deadline to submit logs is 2359Z on March 12, preliminary numbers already show an increase in submissions compared to the same period last year. Conditions were favorable for much of the world, and many operators took to social media to talk about their wins.

Italian ham Chris Diemoz, IX1CKN, wrote in to express his gratitude for the contest, saying, "I haven't come back to the US since 2001, but... I [count last] Sunday afternoon [as] a true trip to the States, from east to west." Diemoz made 80 contacts in the US.

From his parked car in Ozein, Itally, Diemoz operated during the contest using QRP power from a Xiegu G90 transceiver and an Outback-1899 HF antenna. He enjoyed making a lot of contacts on 10 and 15 meters, which are opening due to Solar Cycle 25. He made a video with some of his QSOs and posted it to YouTube. Click on the screenshot above or click here to view the YouTube video.