It’s all in the cards! QSL cards from Tanzania

All images courtesy of DX Engineering.

Republic of Tanzania QRV in September 2024

The 5H1WX Tanzania DXpedition by OK2WX is scheduled for September 18th to October 6th from Mafia Island (IOTA-AF-054) on 80-10M in CW, SSB and Digital modes. Mafia Island, known as Chole Shamba in Swahili, is the third largest in Tanzania’s oceanic territory (152 square miles) and has a population of over 66,000.

Before we discuss some Tanzania QSL cards from the DX Engineering team, let’s take a closer look at this unique East African country: one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas on the planet.

With an area of ​​930,000 square kilometers, Tanzania is larger than Texas (670,000 square kilometers) but smaller than Alaska (1,450,000 square kilometers), which ranks it 13th.^and largest African nation and the 30^and largest in the world. According to one source, its population of over 67.4 million inhabitants makes it the 23rd^rd most populous country in the world, sandwiched between South Africa and Thailand. It is the fifth most populous African country after Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Egypt. Its population density of 180 people per square mile puts it at 147^and among countries in the world. The highly biodiverse country contains one-fifth of Africa’s warm-blooded animal species, including the world’s largest population of lions.

More than 100 languages ​​are spoken in the heavily agricultural country, which relies on harvests of maize, cassava, beans, bananas, rice and other crops. Travel and tourism also contribute significantly to the country’s economy. Although the country has no official language, 10% of Tanzanians speak the national language Swahili as a first language and 90% speak it as a second language. The name is a combination of the two states that merged to form the country in 1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar (see QSL cards).

As detailed in this article about the Yasme FoundationTanganyika was part of the groundbreaking DXpedition “Mountains of the Moon” in 1948. Tanzania (5H) is ranked 164th^and Most Wanted DXCC Entity according to Clublog.

QSL cards

The active hams at DX Engineering have had a lot of success contacting Tanzania over the years (a good reason to contact them for help with your equipment if you want to do the same). Here are a few QSL cards from their collections.

Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, contacted 5H1Z on 20M SSB in January 2011. The DXpedition was from Zanzibar Island (IOTA AF-032).

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Tom, KB8UUZ, Technical Writer for DX Engineering, reached 5H8TL from Tabora, Tanzania, the capital of the Tabora Region (population 227,000). With streets lined with mango trees and markets teeming with local produce, Tabora is known as the fruit capital of western Tanzania.

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George, K3GP, DX Engineering Customer/Technical Support Specialist, achieved 5I3A from Yambe Island in July 2000 and 5H1HS from Zanzibar in 2009. Yambe Island is a protected, uninhabited island east of the city of Tanga, Tanzania. It is the largest island in the Tanga region and home to medieval Swahili ruins hidden in the forests that have yet to be excavated.

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Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering Customer/Technical Support Specialist, reached 5H3RK in November 2008 on 30M CW.

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Both Dave, N8NB, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, and Tom, KB8UUZ, contacted 5H3EE from Dar es Salaam (the name comes from the Arabic for “abode of peace”). It is Tanzania’s largest city (population: 7.4 million) and its financial centre, the sixth largest city in Africa and one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

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Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering Customer Support/Technical Support Specialist, created this vintage map of 5H3JR when Tanzania was still called Tanganyika.

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Editor’s Note: Each month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. To highlight upcoming DXpeditions, we’ll feature a few of our favorite cards, along with details about what it took to make those contacts. We’re excited to share a few of the special cards we’ve pulled from the thousands of cards we’ve received over the years. We can’t wait to see your cards, too!