Update 10 – April 13
VP6G QRT now. Due to rain I had to dismantle the antenna’s a little earlier. However, with nearly 16,000 QSO’s I acomplished more than I had set as a target. I will work on the QSL card and hope that Charles M0OXO can soon start processing the direct QSL cards.
Update 9 – April12
Had several comments that there is a problem with FT8 transmission. Not sure what the cause is but will not fix it here. Sorry for the inconvenience it give for you.
Tomorrow April 13, I will take the Hexbeam down late afternoon. I need people to assit me to bring the heavy metal tube don and get the Hexbeam off, so I disassemble.
Update 8 – April 10
Whole day rain. It is causing a problem with the Hexbeam, as water is collecting inbetween the two aluminum tubes that form the feedline. Result is high SWR. I have now used the tuner of the SPE. Every now and then I go outside on the balcony to kick the mast which will cause the water to fall down from the antenna (and feedline).
Update 7 – April 8
Nice graphic made by 4F1EDB. Thanks!
Update 6 – April7
I was advised to make changes to the announced frequencies for FT8.
Now it is: 14086 kHz and 24924 kHz.
Update 5 – April 5
The DX Commander and Hexbeam are installed. Unfortunately I could not place the antenna’s to far apart.
Update 4 – April 1
When I was planning this trip, I built-in time buffers, just for the worst case. Well the worst case happened. In Los Angeles I learned that one of my suitcases was still in Paris. The trackers I placed in the suitcases also showed one still in CDG airport. What I had in LAX was one suitcase with SPE amplifier, DX Commander materials and a power supply. The golf bag contained the Spiderpole for the DX Commander, the HexBeam and 100 meters of coax. The suitcase that was missing contained all the radio’s, cabling, power supply, tools, etc. plus my personal stuff.
When talking with Air France in LAX, they told me the missing suitcase would be on the same flight with me to Papeete. When I arrived in Papeete, the suitcase was not there. So again I went to Air France. Now I was told that it would arrive the next day at 05:30 LT. My next flight with Air Tahiti to Mangareva will depart at 06:30 LT so there is a big challenge. Air Tahiti will try to get my suitcase from the AF flight into their plane. If they don’t succeed or AF arrives late, I have to cancel the whole trip. I hope for the best.
In the meantime, heavy storms surround Pitcairn Island and even caused some damage to the chalet I have booked.
Update 3 – March 15
Finally I closed the suitcases and golf bag and took the weight. All between 23 and 24KG, so that should work out well when checking in at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.
Update 2 – March 14
I received 100 meters of ExtraFlex 7 Bury coax cable from my sponsor Messi & Paoloni, including PL259 7 EVO connectors. I have cut this into pieces of 30 meters and 70 meters. This 100 meters of coax weights just 6 KG and can handle up to 1450 Watts on 28 MHz. It is the lightest coax with that power handling, so ideal using for a DXpedition where weight is a limiting factor. I coiled the cble like on the picture, so it would best fit into the golf bag.
All materials have been selected and packed. I have now 2 suitcases (each 23KG) and one golf bag (also 23KG). It has been a challenge to manage the max 23KG and has resulted in leaving some less important items out or replace it with lighter versions. The weight limit is specifically with the flight from Papeete to Mangareva where they use smaller planes.
Update 1 – March 5
Currently I’m testing the setup of the radio’s and laptops and configuration of the software. Antenna’s have been tested and packed already. Further I’m considering what to bring with me and what not, this to fit in my two suitcases and golf bag and keeping within the weight limits of the airlines.