Just upgraded to General last month and finally got my end-fed antenna up this weekend. Decided to tune around 20 meters this afternoon and heard a loud CQ from Chile. Heart was beating so fast but I took a breath and gave him a call with my KG5ABC. Got a solid 5-9 report and we chatted for 20 minutes about my new dipole setup.

The DX bug has officially bitten me! Never thought I'd work South America with 100 watts and some wire. This hobby is absolutely incredible.

Congrats on the first DX contact! That first time working another continent is something special. 20 meters has been wide open to South America lately - perfect time to be getting on HF.

I remember my first HF contact too - hands were shaking so much I could barely hold the mic! Welcome to the HF world, you're gonna love it. What radio are you running?

That's awesome! I'm still working up the courage to call CQ on HF. Been listening for weeks but haven't pressed the PTT yet. Your story gives me hope that it's not as scary as I'm making it out to be.