DL7DF		 Sigi Presch - DL7DF and Crew DXpeditions

DXpeditioning since 1993
 
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H44G &
H40T		   Solomon Islands & Temotu Islands - March 2013 - News Page
     
Rules

  
Be patient and polite: Wait for the DX station to end a contact before you continue to call. H44G & H40T are **not** monitoring the cluster. No "PSE" or "TNX" or "WORKED" or "WHEN" or "WHY NOT" and no fake DX Cluster spots (some samples...). More spots = more QRM. - Do you want more QRM?
We all can make it better! Some thoughts to think about.
DXing gets worse. One of the reasons are too many DX Cluster spots. More spots definitely mean more QRM. That's a fact.
Let's take the recent Clipperton DXpedition TX5K (it can be any other DXpedition). TX5K was an expensive Mega DXpedition with 114,000 QSOs and 24 operators. DXSummit shows 7,130 TX5K spots, that is 6.3% of all QSOs! And that is almost 800 spots per day, 33 spots each single hour and one spot each two minutes. No human being is able to process so much data anymore! A SHOW/DX 20 just shows the last 20 spots over a period of just 10 minutes.
Quality counts and not quantity.
DX spots should contain useful information interesting for anyone and you should spot only stations you can hear and not stations that you wish to work. Further analyzing the spots shows that at least (!) 1,800 of those TX5K spots are totally useless and that is 25% of all spots. You will find out the same percentages with the H44G and H40T spots. Useless spots contain the keywords PSE, TNX, TU, WHY, WHEN etc. You certainly were happy working the DX but noone else - be sure - is interested in this information if you spot a TU message that has just been spotted a thousand times before on the same band and mode.
Before sending a DX spot ask yourself: Is my spot useful for others? Will my spot have additional information that was not posted before? Or do I only want to let anyone else in the world know that I, me and myself have worked the DX or that I am unhappy with the DXpedition?
And people really start to believe that there is internet access on every remote island like Peter I, Malpelo and Clipperton and that the operators got nothing else to do than monitoring cluster spots? And people tend to set the same expectations to a smaller DXpedition with less resources like H44G and H40T as they tend to set for a 24 OP mega DXpedition. We can never fulfil all your expectations. There are unexpected problems, flight delays, illness, storms, rain, hot weather, earthquakes, power blackouts, CME's, aurora, bad band conditions and warm beer etc. We have had it all!
     
Log   H44G online log search | H40T online log search
     
News   Wednesday, September 25, 2013
    The log files have been uploaded to the LoTW.
     
  Sunday, June 30, 2013
    An Online QSL Request Service (OQRS) is now available.
     
    Sunday, May 19, 2013
   
 
    The QSL cards have arrived from the printer and we have started processing the huge batch of direct QSL requests. Please do not send any requests asking whether your QSL letter has arrived or not. QRX, mailing is in full progress. As soon as the batch is finished we are going to open the OQRS here.
     
    Sunday, April 7, 2013
    An Online QSL Request Service (OQRS) will be available here as soon as the cards are printed. Please stay tuned.
     
    Monday, March 25, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    H44G is QRT after almost 31,000 QSOs and 14,175 QSOs as H40T. The team is now on the way back home via Brisbane, VK4.
     
    Sunday, March 24, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    All antennas were taken down in torrid heat except for the 40m and 30m antennas. The team will be one more night (the last night) on 40m and 30m. A lot of equipment has to be packed: six K2, two FT857, six amplifiers, two Spiderbeams, four masts and two 6m yagis, koax and other antennas, computers etc. A lot of excess baggage. We don't manage that in the heat of the day. We'll pack the rest in the morning and upload the final online log.
     
    Saturday, March 23, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The H40T group returned to Honiara, Solomons. This time without any problems. Two more days on the Solomons. The entire H44G online log is updated as well as the H40T online log.
     
    Friday, March 22, 2013 14:00 UTC (updated by DF3CB)
    H40T went QRT at 13:38 UTC after 14175 QSOs. The team tries to get a few hours sleep and to catch the early morning flight back to the Solomons and H44G.
     
    Friday, March 22, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    Last day and last night at H40T. The flight back to the Solomons will be rather early. That's why we are going to take down the beam and R7 antenna at daylight today. We will however keep the low band antennas until sunrise and will be on 80m, 40m and 30m.
     
    Thursday, March 21, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The H40T group is making efforts to do more SSB as soon as the signal levels get louder and they also continue to work more RTTY. We'll do our best!
    Weather is sunny and hot. Local circumstances are very basic, there is no air condition in the radio shack and there is a lot of sweating. However, the local support is really excellent. We are still hit by several little aftershocks as a result of Tuesday's earthquakes.
    We have no news (and log updates) from the H44G group as they have no internet cconnection.
     
    Tuesday, March 19, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    Earthquakes on Santa Cruz Island, Temotu, today! The first one happened at 21:15 local time (10:15 UTC), the second an hour and ten minutes later and a third one at 22:41. First thought was someone is knocking on the door and can't get in. Then the ground begins to shake and there is a hell lot of noise and you think the house collapses. And - all of the sudden - it's quiet again, totally quiet... The quake was followed by a strong storm ten minutes later. We were afraid of our antennas but they all survived.
   

It was a shock but local life returns again to normal, people are back on the streets. It's going to be an exciting night anyway.
    Pictures of Santa Cruz Island, Temotu, added.
     
    Monday, March 18, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    H44G: Manfred, DK1BT, has left the Solomons and is on the way home (Georg, DK7LX, had to return to Germany already last week). The rest of the H44G group consists of DL7UFN, SP3CYY and DL7KL. There was a good 6m opening into KH6, VK8 and JA with 155 QSOs. There are difficulties with the H44G online log updates so there might be no online log updates in the next days.
    H40T: There are occasional power blackouts but also "regular" ones - electricity has to be pre-paid on H40. The electricity meter has to be charged from time to time with a code using the telephone.
    Both teams are trying 160m and 80m but conditions seem to be poor as they say. Please keep in mind that this is not a dedicated low band DXpedition.
     
    Sunday, March 17, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
   
    H40T location. The Spiderbeam @ 10m height, the R7 and the 30m loop. Not on the pictures is the 160/80m vertical, the 40m loop and the 6m antenna.
     
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The Temotu team (DL4WK, DL7DF, DL7UFR and SP3DOI) has arrived on Santa Cruz Island, H40, after some delays due to bad weather and other things. The first two antennas were built upon arrival - partially interrupted by heavy rainfall - and H40T came on the air. Building the antennas will be continued in the morning time. All three transceivers, each equipped with an amplifier, and the 6m radio work well. The rest of the group (DK1BT, DL7UFN, SP3CYY, DL7KL) stays on the Solomons and continues as H44G.
   
    H44G Team: SP3DOI, DK1BT, DL4WK, DL7DF, DL7UFN, SP3CYY, DL7KL, DL7UFR
    Wednesday, March 13, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    We were on 160m last night, have had a couple of QSOs but no real opening. We will continue to switch between 80 and 160m back and forth. That’s however rather dangerous. We have had the first sunny day today but it’s raining cats and dogs each evening. The property here is totally wet and muddy, not illuminated and the vertical stands at the edge of a cliff. We don’t want to risk it to let anyone break his bones. Please understand, stay tuned, there are more nights and chances.
    We have occasional power failures every day for several hours. Usually at our daytime at times of smaller pileups but we have had one today at our evening prime time. There is no auxiliary power generator available here at the hotel.
     
    Tuesday, March 12, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The latest news from the Solomon Airlines are not good. We got bookings for Saturday, March 16, but were asked to confirm them again on Friday. This messes up our original plans because some of the team members are bound to fixed return flight dates. The new H40T team will be DL4WK, DL7DF, DL7UFR and SP3DOI.
    160m ist operational now and we will be on Topband tonight for the first time. We have to switch the antenna between 80m and 160m so we will be either on 80 or 160.
     
    Monday, March 11, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    We actually wanted to prepare the luggage for Temotu today. Just to go sure about our flight to H40 we called the airline and had to learn that we definitely cannot fly to Santa Cruz Island tomorrow as originally scheduled. Several flights had to be cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. There is a backlog of waiting passengers. We can't exactly tell when we'll get a flight to H40. We will visit the airline again tomorrow and will also discuss our excess baggage.
    No news today about 160m activity.
     
    Sunday, March 10, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The first online log is uploaded as well as new pictures. H44G was not on 40m on March 9 evening UTC time.
    The 80m antenna is erected. The 40m antenna is moved to a better place and plays very well. The rainfall propability is 99% and the ground is wet and muddy. We'll continue to build the 160m antenna tomorrow but same weather forecast for tomorrow.
   
     
   
    The first QSOs - Leszek SP3DOI und Frank DL7UFR
     
    Saturday, March 9, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    We came on the air today at 0700 UTC after building the antennas all day long. The Quad loops for 40m and 30m were ready but the work on the antennas had to be interrupted because of rain. It even got worse - we were then hit by a cyclone and had to seek shelter very suddenly right when we were about to erect the first beam antenna. The Quad elemnts and bamboo poles were whirled through the air. The bamboo broke the Spiderbeam, several fiberglass poles were broken. Seems everythings is against us but we never give up. The 30m antenna is running again as well as the Spiderbeam. This has taken so much time that we couldn't finish work on the 80m and 160m antennas. We'll finish these tomorow. The property is demanding plus the heavy and intense rain make things difficult.
    The first QSO's are in the log and we'll upload the first online log tomorrow. Everything slowly becomes normal.
   
     
    Friday, March 8, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The team arrived on the Solomons today at 11 UTC after some delays.
   
    Sigi, Maggi, Georg, Jan, Leszek, Jan, Frank, Wolf, Reiner
     
    Thursday, March 7, 2013 (updated by DF3CB)
    The team is just on the way from Dubai to Brisbane after a lot of trouble and delays with domestic flights in Germany. But everything is still on schedule and they are supposed to arrive in Honiara as planned.
     
    Friday, Feb 15, 2013 (updated by DL7UFR)
    We have contact with our friends in the capital Honiara and the Santa Cruiz islands.
    Every thing is fine. We are optimistic about being able to perform our DXpedition H40T.
   
  Wednesday, Feb 06, 2013 (updated by DL7UFR)
    A tsunami was triggered by a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near 33 kilometres west-southwest of Santa Cruz Island, just after 01:00 UTC. Up to six people were confirmed dead and others still missing after a deadly tsunami hit coastal villages on Santa Cruz island, Temotu Province.
    We are in contact with our friends in the capital Honiara. They are all safe.
    About Temotu there is no reliable information. We try our best.
   
  Thursday, Dec 20, 2012 (updated by DL7UFR)
    Now we have our licenses in our hands.
   
  Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 (updated by DL7UFR)
    Today we got our licenses. We will be active from Temotu Islands as H40T and from the Solomon Islands as H44G.
   
  Sunday, Sep 29, 2012 (updated by DL7UFR)
    IOTA-News: Location at Solomon Islands (H44) is OC-047 Guadalcandal.
Location at Temotu (H40) Islands is OC-100 Nendo.
   
  Sunday, Sep 23, 2012 (updated by DL7UFR)
    Where do we go next? The answer is: Solomon (H44) and Temotu (H40) Islands.
 
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    visitors since Sep 19, 2004 | Last updated: Oct 5, 2013