[50mhz] 6m EME DXpedition to T8 and V6 - PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

[Lance Collister, W7GJ]

Happy New Year Magic Banders!

This email is just to give you plenty of advance time to get ready to work a new one  
(or two)  on 6m ;-)   I just got airline tickets to arrive in T8 (Palau) on August 17 
for 10 nights.  That corresponds with the optimum days of the month for 6m EME, and 
includes days with windows to moonset in eastern North America and moonrise in 
western Europe. I am hoping to be able to get to an internet cafe from time to time 
to provide updates while I am in Palau. I am still looking for a good site to use in 
Palau. I also am still awaiting the license, and will send out another announcement 
with the exact grid locator and callsign and upload a web page for T8 when I receive 
the license.  In the meantime, here is the tentative operating schedule from T8:

http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/T8%20Schedule.xls 
<http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/T8%20Schedule.xls>

Since I missed  contacts with so many of you last summer, I am going back to V6M for 
a short trip. Yep, I must be a glutton for punishment!  But the deserving got left 
hanging last August, so I will provide another chance ;-) I have already arranged for 
renewal of my V6M license, and been assured I will have it before August, so that is 
a done deal.  Hopefully I will be able to operate for 5.5 moon passes this time 
around.   The times chosen include an optimum time of the month for 6m EME, as well 
as good windows for moonset in eastern North America and moonrise in western Europe.  
I am hoping that is enough time to catch up with the stations I should have worked 
last summer.   I have not developed a web site yet for V6M in 2016, but you can refer 
to the previous one for most of the same details, the grid locator, the QTH, all the 
procedures, etc.:

http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Micronesia2015.htm

The tentative operating schedule from V6M next August is here:

http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/V6M%20Schedule.xls

Right now, I don't have any expectation for any internet access from V6M, but please 
look for me based on the above schedule. As you can see, it will be a very hectic 
trip, with 4 days devoted to set up and tear down and almost twice that many spent in 
traveling and/or waiting for flights. However, I don't plan to do V6M again in the 
foreseeable future, so if you still need it, please gear up and be ready for the 
short window coming up at the end of August and beginning of September!

When I get the websites up, I will also include pdf versions of the above schedules 
in case anyone still hasn't dowloaded the free Excel spreadsheet viewer or Open Office.

I am not sure my use of the KX3 was responsible for missing any contacts last summer, 
but I am going to try to use a different rig this time just to make sure none of us 
have any question about the stability of the signal.

Please be forewarned that both those areas experience high TEC in the ionosphere 
overhead  for many of the hours of the day.  Last summer, the most challenging TEC 
conditions at V6M seemed to be during my moonrise, with the best EME cndx on my 
moonset.   I think this summer the cndx from V6M will be more favorable during my 
moonrise, with my moonset possibly being more subject to ionospheric interference.   
I have exceptional moonset from V6M, though, so I am not so worried about lack of 
success toward EU.

I will be operating from T8 enough days to give both moonset and moonrise directions 
different times of day, which I hope will provide enough variety to work around any 
possible TEC problems.

Stay tuned for future updates!   If you want to be sure to receive future updates, 
please make sure you are subscribed to receive the Magic Band EME emails....

GL and VY 73, Lance

-- 
Lance Collister, W7GJ
(ex WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX, 3D2LR, 5W0GJ, E6M, TX5K, KH8/W7GJ, V6M)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT   59834-0073
USA
TEL: (406) 626-5728
QTH: DN27ub
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
Skype: lanceW7GJ
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815

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