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 (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.