11/09/2023

On November 4, 2023, Al Ward's, W5LUA, 38-year quest to contact all 50 states
on the 33-centimeter band ended when he received the first-ever Worked All
States[1] (WAS) certificate for (902 - 928 MHz). Ward started collecting states
on the band shortly after it was opened in 1985.

"I am extremely grateful to Peter Van Horne, KA6U, for his EME
[Earth-moon-Earth] efforts. I was able to work Wisconsin for my last state [on]
the 33-centimeter band on October 21. At the end of September, I was sitting at
32 states confirmed with cards and/or the Logbook of The World (LoTW), when Van
Horne went on a 25-state expedition providing my last 18 states," said Ward. In
recent expeditions, Brian McCarthy, NX9O, and Jason Baack, N1AV, also provided
several states that were needed.

Ward's station consists of a 5-meter dish with 400 W of power obtained from two
300 W Motorola amplifiers in parallel. His feed is a dual polarity patch feed.

ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Information Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, was one
of the first people to congratulate Ward on his accomplishment.

Jahnke stated, "Hearty congratulations! It's my privilege to confirm the ARRL
Awards Department has received your WAS application, plus Card Checker
document, and we have issued the 33-centimeter (902 - 928 MHz) Worked All
States Award number 1 to you in culmination of your 38-year quest to contact
all 50 states on the 33-centimeter band."

Other stations on the hunt for the 33-centimeter WAS certificate that are
nearing completion include AC0RA, K0DAS, and N1AV.

In 1985, the Federal Communications Commission allocated the frequency band
between 902 and 928 MHz to Part 18 industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM)
equipment. In that proceeding, the band was also allocated to the Amateur Radio
Service on a secondary basis, meaning amateurs could use the band if they
accepted interference from and did not cause interference to primary users.

[1] https://www.arrl.org/was

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