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| AN OPERATION TO ACTIVATE ANOTHER
DXCC FOR THE FIRST TIME ON 6M EME Pro Temotu
Province is the most eastern part of the
Solomon Islands. It has never been
activated on EME (Earth-Moon-Earth, or
"Moonbounce") on any band, and remains
quite rare around the world on the 6m
Amateur Band.
INTRODUCTION
Continuing in the effort to provide
the first ever 6m EME contacts from rare DXCC,
this is destination provides the added attraction
of never having been contacted by anyone in North
America on the 6m band by any means of
propagation. Although this time of year is not
optimum for ionospheric propagation, the dates
chosen are expected to afford good conditions for
EME. This operation period does
include the lowest EME Degradation days of
the month and during a time of year when
interference from ionospheric effects is
less likely. I am also pleased that
there are times during which my EME
operation will be during the middle of the
night my local time, which is
the ideal time to avoid high TEC
interference when operating EME
from locations so close to the
geomagnetic equator. And I have
included operation over two weekends,
so callers will not have to take time
off from work! LOGISTICS
As you know, a
good location can mean everything to the success
of one of these DXpeditions. Ideally, the site
must be quiet, provide enough open space to erect
and operate the large antenna and - especially
from a location as distant from potential contacts
as H40 - must provide a good view of the moon
rising and setting. Site selection in tropical
regions is often quite difficult due to dense
jungle growth. I am hoping this site on the north
end of Pigeon Island will provide a large enough
clearing in the jungle to permit the antenna to be
aimed at the moon during periods of lowest
Degradation. Although there will not be a negative
horizon toward moonrise, the very low
horizon should provide adequate clearance for some
ground gain lobes in that direction. A
negative horizon out over the ocean toward the
west should provide excellent ground gain at low
elevations in that direction. Ability to rotate
the antenna south for ionospheric contacts is not
anticipated and I will be beaming through trees in
all directions. The location on the northeast tip
of the island is shown on the map above. The other maps show where in the world
this remote place is located. I hope you
will make the effort to look for me! 
EQUIPMENT
As you can see from reviewing the results from my previous 6m EME DXpeditions, many contacts were made with single yagi horizon-only stations. The smallest station contacted from all the 6 EME DXpeditions so far was N3CXV with his single 6M5X yagi. If you have a good yagi, good ground gain, a quiet QTH, good power and lots of patience, we should be able to complete! This is especially true in the situations in which we both have ground gain at the same time! A complete description of all the equipment being used on this DXpedition can be found here. OPERATING SCHEDULE
My tentative
operating schedule as an Excel spreadsheet
is here.
The H40 local time is UTC +11
hours. My
ability to elevate between 45 and 65
degrees will depend on whether I
will have enough space in the
antenna clearing to utilize my full
24' high mast. I know that many of
the NA moonset windows will require
me to elevate quite high. On
the tentative EME operating
schedule, I have only shown that I
will not be available when the moon
is over 65 degrees high; please
check on this page and the ON4KST
EME CHAT page for updates regarding
my activity and ability to elevate.
Otherwise, please
just keep watch on 50.223 and I
will try to stick to the
published schedule as closely as
I can. A file with my moon
positions during the trip is here.
If you copy me, please spot me on the DX Cluster so people will know the correct grid locator, as well as the frequency and my status. I will diligently try to be QRV during all my moonrises and moonsets as published on the operating schedule. The antenna should have a good view of the moon through the trees at a height of around 50' over the ocean, and it will soon become clear after a few moonpasses which elevations are best for my ground gain lobes. Please watch the ON4KST EME page and/or the DX Cluster for updates on what people are copying and when. CONTACT INFORMATION
I do not expect to have real-time access to the internet while i am operating. However, I hope to be able to periodically take my laptop to an internet access point sometime during local daylight hours. At that time, I will upload a report on my status and updated log of stations worked. Please watch the MAGIC BAND EME email list for updated information. Please also share any updates with others on the ON4KST EME CHAT page. If there is some question regarding a contact, please DO call again. However, once you have confirmed a contact with me, please do not call for a second contact - some of the common moon windows are very limited, and many stations are expected to be calling at certain times! QSL INFORMATIONSorry,
no eQSL or other newfangled ways of confirmation.
I will upload all contacts to LOTW upon my return
home. Please let me know of any logging
discrepancies, as I can correct any errors by
referring to my paper logbooks as well as the
WSJT-X ALL.TXT file. I also will be printing photo
QSL cards. If we have
completed an EME contact, I plan to send you
a QSL card direct to your QRZ.com mailing
address after I return home. Other stations,
please QSL DIRECT
with SASE (foreign stations include $5 USD or via
PayPal for postage) direct to:
Lance Collister, W7GJ P.O.Box 73 Frenchtown, MT 59834-0073 USA FREQUENCY, MODE AND SEQUENCE For EME, I
plan to operate at 1500 Hz on 50.223 MHz. I will always transmit in the
first sequence Q65-60A using "Q65 Pileup"
mode. Please call me using either
Q65-Pileup or NA VHF Contest Mode from
the most recent version of WSJT-X .
Please DO NOT
call me using any other modes. I
will not be sending signal reports - in
NA Contest Mode, only the grids are
exchanged! So if you want to get in the
log, make sure to spread the word to get
on WSJT-X and operate in NA VHF CONTEST
mode, which is the most sensitive for me
to decode with Q65 Pileup mode on my
end, and also results in faster
contacts. And
this will NOT work well with
compound callsigns!!
That is why I will have the H40GJ
callsign and I suggest that you just
send me your standard callsign and grid,
even if you are operating portable. Do
NOT call me with a /P or /R or /# after
your callsign - your grid will show
where you are!
Here is the link to download the most recent version of WSJT-X: https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx.html Often, more frequent updates are included in the WSJT-X IMPROVED version, which is what I use and can be found here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wsjt-x-improved/ Here is my step-by-step checklist to setting up Q65-60A for success on EME: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Q65SETUP.pdf And here is a more detailed explanation of the DXpedition procedure I am using: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/DXpedition%20Procedure%20with%20Q65.pdf I will be using Q65-60A in the "Q65 Pileup" mode in the most recent version of WSJT-X IMPROVED. Please keep calling me even if you copy me working someone else. As long as you are not on the same frequency as the other station, you will not be interfering with them. This mode averages callers on their particular offset frequencies, so NEVER change your transmit frequency after you start calling - pick a clear frequency nobody else is using and stay on it! With Q65 Pileup, it is very important for me to decode you so you will then go into the current version of my "Active Stations List" so I can decode you during other sequences with maximum sensitivity. Please coordinate your calling frequency with others on the ON4KST EME chat or HB9Q LOGGER pages to prevent interfering with each other - ideally, stations should be spread out every 100 Hz (remember that your doppler shift can be up to 100 Hz during your moonrise and moonset). I will try to contact any callers I can copy, but first priority will be given to people who are copying at that particular time, contributors, and stations with shorter common moon windows. Remember, PLEASE, DO NOT USE A SINGLE RR73 to try to complete a contact with me! Change your messages so you send RRR instead, for as long as it is needed! (Just double click on message # 4 to toggle back and forth between RR73 and RRR). Please check the ON4KST EME CHAT page for news from other hams in case I have to change this frequency due to receiver birdies at my end ! It is very inconvenient for me to switch modes while I am calling CQ or working EME stations, so please do not call me on CW or SSB or FT8 and expect me to switch over to answer you. If you should copy me on some ionospheric mode while I am pointed at the moon and am calling CQ on Q65-60A mode, please answer me in that mode and let's make a quick contact! Please do NOT call me on anything other than EME unless I am calling CQ! Please only contact me once and do NOT interrupt me if I have already contacted you before! Please check my on-line log to make sure you are in it! As previously explained, favorable EME conditions have primarily determined the timing for this DXpedition. However, when I am not aimed up at the moon, I will be monitoring 50.313 on FT8 mode. For this DXpedition, I plan to take a small battery so I can monitor the band with the antenna on the horizon, even when there is no generator power. Therefore, please take the initiative to call my direction when you think there may be ionospheric propagation. If propagation is good and there are many callers, I may switch to FT4 or FT8 F/H on a frequency to be announced. QSL INFORMATIONSorry,
no eQSL or other newfangled ways of
confirmation. I will upload all contacts to LOTW
upon my return home. Please let me know of any
logging discrepancies, as I can correct any
errors by referring to my paper logbooks as well
as the WSJT-X ALL.TXT file. I also will be
printing photo QSL cards. If we
have completed an EME contact, I plan to
send you a QSL card direct to your QRZ.com
mailing address after I return home. Other
stations, please QSL DIRECT
with SASE (foreign stations include $5 USD or
via PayPal for postage) direct to:
Lance Collister, W7GJ P.O.Box 73 Frenchtown, MT 59834-0073 USA CONTRIBUTIONS It is extremely
expensive to haul a 6m EME station halfway around
the world to this location. Too many times, we hear DXpedition
stations say they can't take a 6m beam and/or amp
because "they are already overweight and cannot
afford the excess baggage fees". If you want
to do a good job and are committed to going
halfway around the world to succeed pm 6m EME,
this unfortunately is a large part of the
necessary expense. Although I always keep my
costs as low as possible, my travel, excess
baggage and lodging costs for this operation will
be overwhelming. And there are no amateur radio
clubs or associations that provide funds for EME
DXpeditions (they only support HF DXpeditions).
Therefore, any contributions toward this
DXpedition are greatly appreciated!
If you would like to contribute, please send your contribution by check or cash to my QRZ.com mailing address, or directly via PayPal using the "FRIENDS AND FAMILY" option to my email address, which is my current PayPal account. I am only able to do these long distance 6m EME DXpeditions every year because of the continued generous support from the 6m community and I am extremely indebted to you for your continued support! I have the time and equipment to go more often than once a year to new rare DXCC, but I just don't have the finances available. Many thanks to the following hams who have already very generously contributed to this DXpedition: PHOTOS AND UPDATES(more photos and updates may be
available on my FACEBOOK
page) |
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SUMMARY OF RESULTS
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| FOLLOWING ARE THE
LOGGED 6M CONTACTS DURING the
ZD9GJ DXPEDITION |
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Reef
Islands, Temotu Province
This page last revised on 19 February, 2025
