DL7DF
Sigi Presch - DL7DF and Crew DXpeditions
DXpeditioning since 1993
Our next DXpedition goes to Botswana, A25. We will be on the air between Sep 23, 2008 and Oct 06, 2008.
Our callsign is A25/DL7DF. We will be active with several stations on 160m through 10m on CW, SSB. One station will be exclusively dedicated to RTTY, PSK31 and SSTV. Please check our News Page.
Our equipment consists of 4 transceivers (2 x K2, 1 x IC 735, 1 x IC7000), 3 x kW linears , 3 x 18 m Lowband Vertical, a 4 square for 40, a 4 square for 30, a Hexbeam for 20/17/15/12/10, a Spiderbeam for 20/17/15/12/10, some Beverage antennas as well as some laptop computers.
Our experienced crew includes:
DK1BT, Manfred
DL4WK, Wolf
DL5CW, Andy
DL7DF, Sigi and XYL Sabine
DL7UFR, Frank
SP3DOI, Leszek
Sigi Preschor via the German QSL bureau DARC to DL7DF.
DL7DF
Wilhelmsmuehlenweg 123
D-12621 Berlin
Germany
Postage needed for 1 envelope with 20 Gramm (FYI):
Botswana
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| Country name: | Republic of Botswana (short form: Botswana) |
| National capital: | Gaborone |
| Location: | Southern Africa, north of South Africa, bordering to the countries Namibia 1.360 km, South Africa 1.840 km and Zimbabwe 813 km |
| Area: | total: 600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
| Land boundaries: | 4.013 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers |
| Terrain: | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
| Natural resources: | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver |
| Population: | 1.842.323 (July 2008 est.) |
| Ethnic groups: | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
| Religions: | Christian 71.6%, Badimo 6%, other 1.4%, unspecified 0.4%, none 20.6% (2001 census) |
| Languages: | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census) |
| Independence: | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
| Economy: | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic growth rates since independence in 1966, though growth slowed to 4.7% annually in 2006-07. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country in 2007. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for 70-80% of export earnings. Tourism, financial services, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially was 23.8% in 2004, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the second highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. An expected leveling off in diamond mining production overshadows long-term prospects. |
| Reference: | CIA - The World Factbook -- Botswana |
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