[South Florida DX Association] Peter I Island Dxpedition 2005

[William F. Beyer Jr.]

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3Y0X UPDATE # 6:

Thursday, October 7, 2004

From: Bob Allphin - K4UEE and Ralph Fedor - K0IR

The Atlanta 3Y0X Team Meeting:

Mission Accomplished! September 23rd –26th, thee following 3Y0X team members 
assembled in Atlanta, GA. K0IR, K3NA, N4GRN, K4UEE, K4SV, NP4IW/6, K5AB, 
N6OX, NK7C, W0RUN, F2JD, AND LA6VM After an evening barbecue hosted by K4UEE 
and his wife, Mary, team members rolled-up their sleeves, put on their sweat 
bands, and went to work for the rest of the week.

Securing our shelters quickly and dependably is vital in the fast changing 
Antarctic environment of Peter I. Our first order of business was a drill in 
which two of the group's polar shelters were erected. Sleeping cots, 
operating tables, and kitchen supplies were assembled in the shelters to 
simulate the working space available. The base frames and floor sections of 
all six shelters were color coded for fast, error-free assembly on Peter I.

We then turned our attention to our power grid. Generators were fired up and 
output voltages and currents measured under the load of our ALPHA 99 
amplifiers and ICOM 756 PRO II transceivers. Voltage drop in our power lines 
was measured and fuel consumption rates were estimated. Our conclusion was 
that we needed more generator power for our nine-station operation. We have 
since secured two additional generators to assure that we have adequate 
generator power and back up.

We have chosen 2 element SteppIR beams for our directional antennas on 20 to 
10 meters. These will complement our Force 12 verticals. We assembled one of 
the 2el SteppIRs and used it the CQ WW RTTY Contest during the weekend. We 
were impressed with the ease of assembly and flexibility and feel these 
antennas will perform well on Peter I.

To wrap up our work with the hardware of the DX'pedition, we planned the 
packing, staging, loading, and deployment of our equipment. In a few weeks 
we will be packing our sea container for shipment to Punta Arenas, Chile.

Our final day was spent with formal presentations on safety, search and 
rescue techniques, appropriate clothing, goals of the DX'pedition, 
propagation, networking, logging, and operating procedures. Twelve of the 
twenty-one team members attended the Atlanta meeting. Everyone came away 
with a feeling of accomplishment and knowing that we are well prepared. But, 
everyone also left knowing that this will be a very challenging endeavor 
that will test everyone of us.

If you would like to learn more about the Peter I DXpedition scheduled for 
Jan. 21-Feb.4, 2005, check out their website at www.peterone.com. The team 
is actively soliciting support from the DX foundations, DX Clubs and 
individuals. Contributions may go via K4UEE, JA1ELY, F2JD or ZL2AL.

www.peterone.com



73

Bill Beyer/N2WB