[50mhz] [Wswss] TX5K 6m summary

Fri Mar 29 13:54:36 EDT 2013

Well done, Lance. To bad we were not able to be among the TEP QSOs.

73,

On Fri, Mar 29, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Lance Collister, W7GJ <w7gj at q.com> wrote:

> Thanks to the generous contributions from many 6m DXers, I was able to
> join the TX5K team to add a serious, dedicated 6m operation to that
> DXpedition.  Unfortunately, the period scheduled for the Clipperton
> operation was over the worst week of the month for 6m EME.  Of that time,
> the better EME days at the beginning and end of the operation were
> eliminated by our reaching the island a day later than expected, and our
> having to tear down earlier than expected. However, as expected, there was
> TEP to South America every evening, which provided most of our 6m contacts,
> and KF4ZZ made many of those.  And half of the EME contacts were made on
> the first night, so I sure am glad I was able to get everything going for
> that first moonrise!
>
> The 92' Shogun sportfishing boat was to transport the gear and team
> members to the island.  Some of us boarded the Shogun in San Diego but the
> boat picked up  most of the European team members in Cabo San Lucas.   The
> Shogun was comfortable, the crew was great, and the food was plentiful and
> surprisingly good.  However, the 10 day trip from San Diego to Clipperton,
> and the 7 day return trip, became rather tedious.   The highlight of the
> trip for me was the magical approach to Clipperton Island on the evening of
> Wednesday, February 27.   The full moon was rising over the calm sea, and
> porpoises were escorting us next to the bow as the faint outlines of
> scattered palm trees loomed on the dark horizon.
>
> The last day of February was spent circling the island, searching for the
> most suitable place to land.   The dangerous surf was high all around the
> island, and changed with the tide, which was extreme due to the full moon.
>  By afternoon, a sit was selected and zodiac shipments to shore were begun
> at dawn Friday.  I was able to go ashore with my 6m gear late morning on
> Friday, March 1.   I immediately began carting all my equipment (along with
> the generator, operating tent, sleeping tent, table, chairs, water and
> gasoline, etc.)  360m south of the main camp and landing zone, trying to
> gain enough distance from all the other generators, radios, computers,
> lights, fans, etc. of the main HF camp to get a location quiet enough for
> weak signal work.  I first selected a spot for the antenna, just 50m from
> the pounding surf.  Then, I marked out a place for the operating tent at an
> azimuth of 325 degrees from the antenna, a direction between JA and W6,
> where I would never be aiming the antenna.   The generator tent was located
> an additional 50' beyond the operating tent in the same direction. in order
> to minimize any electrical noise.    I started out setting up the 8'x8' 6m
> operating tent so I would a safe place for all the equipment, which was
> sitting out in the open, surrounded by hundreds of masked boobies.   I was
> very grateful for the assistance of LouPhi Locke, who came by to help me
> stand up the frame and install the cover over the tubular metal frame of
> the small structure.   I then proceeded to set up the generator tent and
> the generator. Late in the afternoon, I rushed to assemble the 6M8GJ before
> sunset, and finally got it set up just as night fell.   I had packed an LED
> Coleman lantern, and was able to set up the equipment, including installing
> the transformer in the Alpha 8406 amplifier, by headlamp and lantern light.
>   I tied down the antenna securely aimed at moonrise and began calling
> OH2BC, whose moon was just about to set.   I never copied anything from
> Kari, but at 0536Z March 2,  completed the first contact from the 2013
> Clipperton Island DXpedition by working G8BCG.   I stayed up all that night
> working stations under the rapidly degrading EME conditions.  My last
> contact of that 25 contact session was 9 hours later with N6BBS as my moon
> was setting.
>
> I was incredibly fortunate to be able to visually aim the antenna on all
> but the very last days (after the sun rose and the faint sliver of a moon
> was no longer visible in the daylight).  Although I did have my calibrated
> aiming circle installed at the base of the rotating mast, it was always
> reassuring to be able to confirm that the elevation was also correct and
> that the antenna was right on target!   We also were very lucky in only
> having three VERY brief rain episodes, each lasting only a few minutes.
>  And the effort to establish the remote 6m operating site so far to the
> south of the HF camps really paid off - we had absolutely NO noise at all!
>  At least not ELECTRICAL noise.   KF4ZZ measured the ambient audio levels
> from the constant wind and hungry boobies as being between 75 and 80 dB.
> To give you some idea of the din, we had trouble hearing the generator rev
> up when we went into transmit mode. But the boobies were great neighbors,
> and stayed away from the antenna.   The rats (except for one stubborn one
> that had to be eliminated) usually scampered away as you approached them to
> tie down the antenna.   And our totally sealed sleeping tents provided more
> than adequate protection from the  the ubiquitous crabs.
>
> However, the continuous salt spray from the pounding surf did take its
> toll on the antenna and equipment.  The antenna receive performance seemed
> to degrade a bit every day.  On March 7, I went back to hand logging TEP
> contacts when I found that I could no longer type numbers on my laptop
> computer.   And on the next to last day of operation, March 8, the 100w
> module in my K3 stopped working between EU moonset and the start of NA
> moonset.   No longer being able to drive the Alpha 8406, I quickly
> dismantled the Alpha amp and packed it up to make space on the operating
> table for my switching power supply and 6M1000 solid state amp, which
> fortunately only requires 3w of drive.    The open antenna relays in the
> 6M1000 were not as reliable in the salt air as the vacuum relays in the
> Alpha amp, but did provide a couple more EME contacts and a number of
> additional TEP contacts.
>
> The final 6m results were 317 overall contacts (212 SSB, 53 CW and 52
> JT65A).  JT65A was used to contact XE2AT on D layer scatter and LU5FF on
> TEP; the other 50 JT65A contacts were EME.  The EME contacts with 21
> countries were broken down as follows: One contact each with ES, F, FK, GM,
> GW, I, LA, OH, SP and UT.  Two contacts with HA, OK, SM, VE and ZL,  Three
> contacts with G, ON, S5, and OZ. There were seventeen contacts with USA
> stations.  23 additional stations were copied on EME but unfortunately not
> worked.
>
> Eleven additional DXCC were added via terrestrial mode, bringing the total
> DXCC count up to 32.   TEP and Es added CE, CP, CX, HC, HK, LU, OA, PY, XE,
> YS and ZP.  I worked only one station in the USA on Es, and that was with
> K5RK during an Es opening with a very small footprint.  I did complete with
> K9SM on what sounded like a meteor burst, but the only locations close
> enough for meteor scatter were in Mexico, so I am assuming he was either
> operating portable there or via a remote station.
>
> I have been invited to join the T33A DXpedition to the remote Banaba/Ocean
> Island next November, to provide a serious 6m operation from T33.    I hope
> to be able to raise enough money through contributions from 6m DXers by the
> end of May to join that team. With the growing number of 6m EMEers around
> the world, I am confident I could complete with more stations next time via
> EME, and would certainly be beaconing for potential F2.  See you on 6m!
>
> I will post a final complete report with photos and lists of contacts on
> my web page in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, some photos are posted
> on my FACEBOOK page, which is open to the public.   VY 73, Lance
>
> --
> Lance Collister, W7GJ
> (ex WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX, 3D2LR, 5W0GJ, E6M)
> P.O. Box 73
> Frenchtown, MT   59834-0073
> USA
> TEL: (406) 626-5728
> QTH: DN27ub
> URL:http://www.bigskyspaces.**com/w7gj <http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj>
> Windows Messenger:W7GJ at hotmail.com
> Skype: lanceW7GJ
> 2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815
>
> Interested in 6m EME?  Ask me about subscribing to the Magic Band EME
> email group, or just fill in the request box at the bottom of my web
> page (above)!
>
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-- 
Jack, W6NF/HC2UA
Shelley, K7MKL/HC2UB
Ballenita, Ecuador
EI97