Dialing America from the Spanish Plateau

SALAMANCA, CASTILLA Y LEÓN – In a city famous for its golden sandstone, Romanesque architecture, and one of the oldest universities in Europe, it might surprise some to find a dedicated cluster of radio amateurs meticulously charting their progress across the 50 states of America. But at the heart of Salamanca’s amateur radio community, the EA1RCC section of URE is doing just that—with a uniquely Iberian efficiency.

At the helm is Luis I. Sánchez Abarca (EA1CXJ), a pharmacist by profession and, evidently, a cartographer by radio obsession. His section’s digital bulletin offers more than local updates; it offers tactical wisdom for chasing the coveted WAS (Worked All States) diploma—an award cherished by DXers for completing confirmed contacts with every U.S. state.

Strategy Behind the Static

Most casual operators may wait passively for a call sign from Indiana or Montana to float by. Not so in Salamanca. With a reference map pinned to their operating desks, members of EA1RCC know that if Indiana is missing from their log, they ought to tune their ears to American call signs with the number 9—the numeral that includes Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois. It's the kind of signal intelligence that wouldn’t be out of place in a NATO listening post.

In this methodical approach to the American heartland, EA1RCC embodies the spirit of Spanish amateur radio: learned, strategic, and persistently curious. Here, even a simple QSO becomes a lesson in geography and numerology.

Salamanca’s Signals

Yet Salamanca’s radio club is not merely an echo chamber for DX dreams. It is, like many of Spain’s provincial clubs, a haven of tradition and friendship—a group that finds equal joy in discussing sunspot cycles and sharing coffee after a contest.

They may not boast a tower of stacked Yagis or world championship titles, but in their quiet pursuit of clean logs and carefully planned contacts, they reveal a deeper truth: that the best radio signals are those made with intent and shared with warmth.

From the rooftop terraces of Salamanca to the far-flung fields of Illinois, EA1RCC’s signal carries more than watts. It carries the weight of community, curiosity, and craft.