Author - Charles M0OXO

After a short delay due to the trip to Ramsey Island, I am now back on top of Qsl Card and WFF Award issuing.

This week alone I have prepared and am ready to mail 54 various award certificates from GFF.

Thanks for all the support and requests and once more, please accept my apologies for the slight delay.

Thanks to Cezar VE3LYC for the latest Qsl cards that arrived from his trip to the two very rare IOTA’s last year;

Gonzalo Island, IOTA SA-097 and

Herschel Island, IOTA SA-041 both very rarely activated and therefore new for my collection.

The Diego Ramírez Islands are a small group of lesser islands located in the southernmost extreme of Chile about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Cape Horn and 93 km (58 mi) Sse of Ildefonso Islands, stretching 8 km (5 mi) north-south. The Chilean Navy established a meteorological station above Caleta Condell, a small cove on the northeast side of Isla Gonzalo (Gonzalo Island), in 1957 and resupply it several times each year.

These two new ones bring MØOXO to #506 IOTA.

Ramsey Island 2Ø11; Trials & Tribulations

The Strumble Head team met at the Club House on Tuesday giving us time to test, prepare and pack the items needed for this year. As before, we always try to be more efficient and to take only the essential items to the island but also with consideration that we may have to stay longer than anticipated should the weather turn poor.
Sea and weather conditions were forecast to be very poor for the crossing on the Thursday morning but what a surprise to awake at 04:45 to see a beautiful morning on the Pembrokeshire Coast. The vehicles were loaded and we arrived at the Lifeboat Slipway around 07:30 where shortly afterwards the ‘Thousand Island Boat Charters’ arrived and we were on the Island by 08:00, amazing. (Click here for You Tube video of the boat crossing).

After heaving all the gear to the top of the ‘harbour’ we then had the massive climb to the top of the Island where we bunk in a Barn (complete with broody Chickens!). Carrying 2 x Acom 1000 Amplifiers, 2 x FT1000MPs and worst of all the Kenwood TL922 to the accommodation is always a huge challenge. Fortunately the RSPB Warden and his wife (Greg & Lisa) are very accommodating and helped us up the hill with the Quad and trailer for which we are always very grateful.

We got off to a good start and as always, no one sets their stations up until all antennas are fully up and we work together to achieve this. The 2 x G3TXQ Hexbeams (built by Ant MW0JZE) were the first up and then we worked on the Windom for 40 and 80M. Everything ran as a well oiled machine and shortly after lunch, all three antennas were up and we moved inside to set up the stations.

Around 15:30 local we had all three stations on air and were qrv from ‘IOTA EU-124 Ramsey Island’. Chris G1VDP started the Digi station on the Windom working 30M, Ant MW0JZE started up on 20 SSB and Tim M0URX worked 15m SSB. Pile ups were pretty fast, the World Flora Fauna reference helping to boost them as well 😉 .
Almost immediately the station used by Chris suffered a major problem when lights on the FT1000MP flashed and the dedicated PSU and TL922 also shutting down. Then worse to come was that dreaded smell – something was on fire. A subsequent check showed a hole on a transistor within the PSU and sadly totally  n-repairable for here at least. We were now down to two stations.

We worked very well and most stations had solid pile ups until late in the evening. Conditions weren’t brilliant and most of the traffic was from EU with Yuri A65CA from Asia and a few stations from North America. Tim had a good run into SA and also the Caribbean but again, conditions definitely down. We had over  1000 in the log and with the two stations we were happy at that.

The next morning we all woke early after a terrible storm kept most of us awake during the night and we got started. We worked early on 40M SSB and then 20M SSB using both Acoms and running 300/400 watts. Rob MW0RLJ and Charles M0OXO decided to take a boat to the mainland to take the faulty equipment back and to collect a spare rig to replace it. The guys continued to work well and on their return the qso count was 2500.

It became very obvious that conditions were giving us some Sporadic E propagation so they started pushing the higher bands (17, 12, 10 & 6) to give the Island IOTA to as many that required it. We had an amazing time, many stations commenting on how pleased they were to get EU-124 onto the new bands and in particular many ‘G’s that needed it as a new DXCC Band slot. Ant had been slogging away on 6M for a long time with a huge pile up and handed the Mic to Charles to continue. 6M continued to be very good and in total we finished with well over 396 qso’s & 29 Countries on one run on 6m, the better one maybe CN in Morrocco? Before we left we set ourselves  a target of 4000q’s for the whole trip and by midnight we closed on 4035 q’s, amazing and very pleased but that was to be short lived.

Charles got up the following morning (Day3) to find a problem. We had Voltage issues and it seemed the current was poor and not enough Ampage to run even the radio. We traced the problem to not  just one but both our generators had gone down, who would believe that? The black cloud descended over us and we spiralled into depression. We worked several theories for several hours and eventually decided to run the spare ‘Robin’ generator only and to run 100w only. We never gave up the fight and tried many theories were explored over a pot of Porridge (thanks Jane!) and we came up with a plan! Greg (RSPB Warden) kindly offered to allow us yet another Generator which could give us 6Kva so the mood lightened and again, we weighed up our options over a chat until 0930………

Time moved on and by 1130 we were on air again. Conditions were ok and by 1.00pm we were running well as we approached 1300 and the beginning of the World Flora Fauna’ GreenDay’ event, We used all bands from 40m thro 10m and as we were using 12 & 17m, we were not in a ‘contest’ but just an ‘event’! All continued OK with runs predominantly into EU but with the odd DX station thrown in the mix. When 1500 came the bands just died with barely a trace of anyone on 20 thro 10m. In a few hours this eased and we pushed on on 20m, 17 and 40M. 40M was running very well with Chris on the Mic running 100w from the FT890 but only 20 and 17 really had any decent propagation to EU. As the evening moved along we had another good run with many JA stations on 20M and a few down into OC with VK. We closed at 0030, filled the generator and after a few hours stargazing we slept………but not well!

We were kept awake most of the night with the predicted ‘bad weather’. Sadly it was worse than expected. Torrential rain was hammering at the windows of the barn and roof and the wind was tremendous. First light at 0400 saw 2 x Hexbeams both leaning to the side and getting buffeted by the very strong wind. There was little we could do, they were unusable in that state so after a chat (again over a bowl of porridge) we decided they needed to be taken down to prevent damage. We all donned out wet weather gear and got stuck in. Taking them down took 15 minutes for each Hexbeam with us all working on the same antenna at the same time before moving on to the other. It initially appeared that the fault was either the rotators not being up to the strain of the wind or the strain on the stub mast and clamps were too weak. Another thought for another day but they were all down and we left the Windom in place. We spent the remainder of the morning inside the barn, we dismantled all the equipment and packed it away just leaving the Elekraft K3 and the Windom to use later in the afternoon with a view to making the few required qso’s which would give us 6000 contacts.

The afternoon was poor but we worked through trying our best but pretty soon we ran out of time. We had the now (now traditional) ‘Party’ looming with invited guests joining us for supper and a few drinks. By the time 7pm came we had 11 people for supper including Greg & Lisa, Nia,Mike & Nicola. We must not forget the now famous Border Collie ‘Dewi’, now a celebrity after his debut on the BBC’s ‘Countryfile’! After a lovely meal provided by Jane, we all had a few drinks (some more than others!) and spirits 😉 were high. Some of us were in a bit of a tacking by 0030, and with an empty bottle of Famous Grouse, one of Romiel and several bottles of red wine, we turned in for the night. At that point it seemed extremely unlikely that we would wake in 6 hours feeling well but Charles did and fired up the generator for a quick blast. Another 60 stations were logged on 40m which brought us to a final total of 6024 q’s and the end of the 2011 trip. We got the gear down to the slip and from that point it took us 50 minutes to load the boat, do the crossing, unload at the Lifeboat Slip, carry the gear up to St. Justinians and to load the Van for the trip back to the farm.

It just leaves me with a few thoughts and thanks for the help we received this Year. Greg & Lisa Morgan (RSPB Wardens) were once again invaluable in help, planning, advice and in allowing us on the Island, two people who’s performance, committment and drive is outstanding and a major asset to the RSPB. ‘Thousand Island Expeditions’ once more gave their personal service to us and were extremely kind, a service recommended by us. Mike Chant and his crew aboard the ‘Gower Ranger’ also pulled out the stops with their prompt and personal service. Good luck to Nia Stephens (Assistant RSPB Warden) in her future career and not forgetting Mike and Nicola who give their time as RSPB volunteers. Finally a big thanks to all of you that worked us whilst on Ramsey Island. We were very pleased to give so many of you the new Band Slots, IOTA and WFF areas. I guess almost all stations on 6 meters would have been very pleased to get IO71hu in their logs so a good job all round. Some stations worked us on 7 band slots and many more with 6 contacts which was remarkable. Of course we wouldn’t be without the odd negative comments either. Some made good points and others were well, just pathetic but all in all, a great trip to Ramsey in 2011.

Thanks to everyone from the Strumblehead DX Group; Rob MW0RLJ, Charles M0OXO, Tim M0URX, Chris G1VDP, Ant MW0JZE and of course Jane (our Support Staff 😉 ) who kept us fed with over 120 meals, doing this with 2 small gas rings on a Baby Belling stove and little facilities was a great & welcomed achievement!

Thanks to Pierre ZS8M for the latest confirmations that arrived in the mail this weekend.

I was pleased to see that all contacts were confirmed despite a few months of worry!

For a long while after he went QRT from Marion Island, the on-line log failed to shown my 10M qso. I am pleased to say that all is now rectified – Phew!

Something is happening this month which will help you to open your eyes in the morning, even better than coffee –

Four bright planets are aligning in the morning sky.

Look out any east-facing window about a half hour before sunrise. If you have a clear view of the horizon, you’ll see Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter clustered together in a patch of sky less than 10^o wide. If you wanted to, you could hide them all behind your outstretched hand—but don’t. The view is too good hi!

May 11th is just the beginning. Throughout the month, the quartet of worlds will rearrange themselves on a daily basis, forming different shapes in the pre-dawn sky.

Keep an eye on Venus in particular. As the sun rises and the sky fills with morning blue, the ‘Goddess of Love’ does not fade away. You can actually see Venus in broad daylight if you know where to look.

On May 20th, a new triangle will appear. This time the vertices are Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Observing tip: Mars is not as bright as the others. Binoculars may be required to help you find and fully appreciate the red planet in morning twilight.

The show comes to an end on May 30th when an exquisite crescent Moon joins the four planets for a Grand Finale–five heavenly lights dotting the eastern sky all at once.

What a way to begin the day!!!!

**Dont rush the NASA video (click above image), if you think it has stopped just give it a few seconds and it will continue.

Solar activity is low, but it’s not zero. Just look at what happened yesterday.

On May 20th, an enormous filament of hot plasma and magnetism reared up from the edge of the sun and …. (click on the image) …it jumped!

The magnificent leap spanned more than 200,000 km of fiery starscape.

This is the sort of thing that happens routinely when a 10²⁷ton nuclear explosion (a star) is “quiet.”

Kevin MØTNX will be activating Hilbre Island (IOTA EU-120) over the next few days, the second Island on his recent IOTA trips.

Hilbre Island is based in the mouth of The Dee estuary, part of the beautiful Wirral Penninsula and Country Park. This is on the North West coast of the United Kingdom, approximately 10 Km south from Liverpool and 15 Km North of the ancient City of Chester.

Hilbre is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Island is unique with it’s chain of three islands, Hilbre, middle and little eye. They are composed of Bunter Sandstone. Hilbre can only be accessed at certain times of the day due to its tidal position.

Kev will be qrv today (Friday 20th), tomorrow (Saturday 21st) and Sunday (22nd) from this rare Island.

Check out the GB2HI Website for more information – GB2HI.co.uk

Qsl via MØOXO ……………….Please give Kevin your support!

For anyone wondering about their ‘Royal Wedding’ Cards ordered from ‘UX5UO‘, I am informed that he is making good progress with the orders and they will be mailed soon.

Most of the cards ‘managed by MØOXO’ have arrived and all direct requests will be answered today and mailed on Monday (23rd May). Qsl cards for the ‘Royal Wedding’ event that were requested by MØOXO OQRS system will also be done next week and will go with the next batch to RSGB Bureau. Stations from Japan will receive their cards pretty quick as they will be all done en mass and sent direct to JARL in the next 10 days.

Thanks for your support during the event, reports on my activities can be seen here.

….. and tnx to Tony GR4UZN for the copyright above 😉