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3D2Y Rotuma Island

3D2Y Team will be active from Rotuma Island, IOTA OC - 060, 15 November - 4 December 2024.
Team - W6IZT, W8HC, K4NHW, KD9LSV, LY7J and others.
Recent DX Spots 3D2Y
3D2Y Log search They will operate on HF Bands, including activity in CQ WW DX CW Contest, 23 - 24 November 2024.
They will use 3D2Y call not 3D2Z as announced earlier.

Rotuma Island: breathtaking views and expensive budget vacations


Rotuma Island is one of the hundred inhabited islands of Fiji. It is located in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and is north of the main island of the country with the capital Suva. The distance is about 500 kilometers. The island's nearest major neighbor is New Zealand.

3D2Y Rotuma IslandRotuma Island. Author - sunshinesimis.

Colonial past


The lands of Rotuma Island were first discovered by Europeans in 1719. At that time, representatives of Great Britain landed on its land territory. Subsequently, almost a century later, they declared the island their own possession and remained here as masters until the second half of the last century.

Economic present


The territory of the island is small. It has an area of 43 square kilometers. Another 3 square kilometers are accounted for by smaller surrounding islands. The total population: a total of 2002 people.

The main source of income for the locals is the extraction and processing of copra. A small number of tourists, who prefer a secluded vacation, also bring money to the treasury.

3D2Y Rotuma Island DX Pedition Logo3D2Y. Rotuma Island DX Pedition. Logo.

Rotuma for tourists: ascetic conditions and a pleasant experience


The main means of transportation on the island are two roads. One of them is a country road stretching from village to village. There is also an equipped coastal strip.

The island is divided into seven administrative parts. Each settlement has its own coasts and beaches with white sand and blue water.

The largest settlements on the island are the administrative center of Ahau and the small settlement of Motusa, which at the same time acts as the port of Rotuma.

The island of Rotuma is interesting to walk around. The land is of volcanic origin and has a corresponding relief. The mountain slopes attract all fans of hiking or long treks.

The vegetation of the wildlife and the crops cultivated by the local population have a clear distinction and it is visible to the naked eye.

The few local people live their own measured lives and welcome the occasional tourist. They allow you to see their way of life.

Despite the smallness of life, the quietness and tranquility of the visitors are so attractive that many people do not want to leave.

Living conditions on the island of Rotuma are very modest. There are no hotels. As accommodation for visiting guests are offered small houses with the decoration of the budget plan. It is difficult to get qualified help in case of a serious problem. There are no official services.

3D2Y Rotuma Island Tourist attractions spotRotuma Island. Author - John Game.

Problematic and expensive communication


Vacationing on Rotuma Island is not a cheap activity. Despite the average level of service and ascetic conditions for vacationers, the flight to the island lands is expensive. Three-hour air journey through the capital of Fiji, the city of Suva, will cost almost 800 euros.

At the same time, airplanes fly to Rotuma Island erratically. Flights, as a rule, weekly and following the schedule depends on weather conditions. It is not uncommon that after rains, planes do not depart to the small Rotuma airport due to flooding of the runway. Scheduled flights are also easily canceled on holidays, and passengers may not be informed in advance.

Another way to get to the island is by sea. Every month a cargo ship docks to the shores of Rotum. It is often used by regular passengers as well.

Favorable climate


The climate on the island of Rotuma is humid tropical. There is a pronounced wet season, which lasts from November to March. The period from May to October is arid, with almost no rainfall.

The average temperature is between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius.

Unique language of Rotum

The language of the local population belongs to the unique languages, which are distinguished by linguists around the world. According to the rules, the last vowel in a word in some cases changes with the standing last consonant.

Rotuma Day in Fiji


Among the public holidays in Fiji is Rotuma Day, which is celebrated annually on May 13. The reason for the celebration is the incorporation of the island into the state.

Previously, this holiday was celebrated exclusively by local islanders. But today it is celebrated outside of Rotuma on other islands of Fiji. The holiday is celebrated with great fanfare. This format of celebration is due to the fact that many people who used to live on Rotuma have moved away and settled in other provinces and cities of the state.

As a rule, on Rotuma Day, the Fijian authorities visit the island itself to conduct the ceremonial part of the event, inform the people about their programs and express their wishes.

3D2Y. Where is Rotuma Island located. Map.

3D2Y Rotuma Island. Sunrise 12-02-2024 at 17:35 GMT sunset at 06:26 GMT
3D2Y Rotuma Island comments forum

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15 Comments

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Rating: 5 of 5
Jamie Williams
  • Callsign: M0SDV
  • 2024-11-21 00:05:14
3D2Y Rotuma Island News 21 November 2024 It is now 6 days since we arrived in Rotuma. We have ongoing challenges concerning electricity here in Rotuma. We have a number of power solutions, which we are implementing, however none of them are flawless and we ask for patience if we are off air or operating a reduced capacity. We are aware of band openings and when we need to be QRV for the different areas, we are bringing in additional resources at these times and so far we have seen an increase in our performance to these areas. Since our arrival we have made great progress in getting most of the antennas up and have even made some QSOs on 6m, however, we are still waiting for a tree climber to put a pulley in the tree for 80/160m antenna. We anticipate this happening before CQWW CW. The team is finding it challenging to complete antenna work during the day due to the extreme and oppressive temperatures. Over the last couple of days we documented in excess of 30°C and 88% Humidity causing the temperature to feel much higher. Band conditions have been tough. From 20:00 UTC time the bands flat line for a few hours until we can work Asia in our late mornings. Signal from Europe are best from 08:00 UTC onwards and North America a few hours after that. We have had some incredible rate from Europe with super loud signals. These have been very enjoyable and high rate pile ups and we hope they can continue over the coming weeks. We are on Rotuma for 2 more weeks so there is plenty of time to work us. The CW ops on our team will operate in CQWW CW this weekend. We will run Multi Single, High power. We will maintain a presence on WARC bands and 6m throughout the contest.
100%
Rating: 5 of 5
Jamie
  • Callsign: M0SDV
  • 2024-11-16 00:19:41
3D2Y Rotuma Island News 15 November 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 16, 2024 Contact: Jamie Williams M0SDV Noa’ia from Rotuma, Yesterday on Friday 15th November 2024, we woke up at 4am to depart Fiji bound for Rotuma. We arrived in Rotuma approximately 10:00 local time. Greeted by our host we made the short drive to our QTH where we participated in Mamassa, a traditional ceremony which welcomes us to the island. Soon after we got to work on the station. The weather here is hot, which makes working during the middle of the day very challenging. Nevertheless, we’ve been able to make extraordinary progress on the station build in a short amount of time. We spent some time organising the equipment, staging antennas and building the shack on the inside, and by 15:00 local time we were on air with one of our NexGen RiB’s, shortly followed by two local stations on 15m and 12m. We immediately made a number of test QSOs, experiencing our first Rotuma pile ups. During our testing phase we became aware of some issues with the live log uploads which we are addressing and you can expect to see this issue corrected by tomorrow. Up to this point we have been able to put up vertical dipole antennas for 20m up to 10m, and 2x RiB antennas. These have been situated on the beach front that runs along the length of our QTH. We will be working on 160-30m and 6m antennas in the coming days, using the enormous palm trees around the property which are taller than any pole we had packed, enabling us to review our antenna options for maximum efficiency. The commercial power here on Rotuma is provided by a generator which covers the entire district. Due to this we have to known down time which we’d like you to be aware of. At 13:00 hours local time, (01:00 UTC) we are without power for 1 hour. Rather than running a generator during this hour, we have decided to use this time as a daily maintenance window where we can focus on repairs, updates, log uploads etc.. we will also use this time to hold team discussions so we can continue to develop throughout our stay here. The team is in good spirits and we are excited to get on air at maximum capacity as soon as we are able to. You can see our progress, photos and real time updates by following our social media. Follow Rotuma 2024 on Facebook. 73, Jamie M0SDV, On behalf of 3D2Y
100%
Rating: 5 of 5
Al
  • Callsign: 4L5A
  • 2024-08-26 14:38:41
3D2Z News 26 August 2024 We are pleased to announce that our good friends at Elecraft are a major sponsor of the 3D2Z Rotuma DxPedition scheduled for November 2024. Elecraft has now joined DX Engineering, and the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) as a “Premier” sponsor supporting this unique DXpedition. This DXpedition is a partnership with Youth on the Air (YOTA) encouraging youth participation and will feature 3 young operators who will be active from 3D2Z on the Island while there will also be 60 or more hams operating 3D2Z remotely using W6IZT’s NexGenRiBs over Starlink. Elecraft co-founders Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ, and Wayne Burdick, N6KR, have once again demonstrated their commitment to DXPeditioning and support of youth involvement in our hobby. The K4 provided by Elecraft has been incorporated into a NexGenRiB and will showcase the K4s remote capabilities. We are extremely thankful for the support from Elecraft. In addition, we are grateful to the following DX clubs and associations for their generous support of the 3D2Z project enabling DXPeditioning for the next generation of amateur radio operators: Southeastern DX Club Southwest Ohio DX Association Long Island DX Association Twin City DX Association HamJam – North Fulton Amateur Radio League RSGB Western Washington DX Club Oklahoma DX Association EUDXF Madison DX Club CDXC The UK DX Foundation Lone Star DX Association Eastern Iowa DX Association German DX Foundation INDEXA North Alabama DX Club West Virginia DX Association Northern Ohio DX association Inc. Swiss DX Foundation Funding efforts continue for the November DXpedition. Please consider supporting the 3D2Z
100%
Rating: 5 of 5
Al
  • Callsign: 4L5A
  • 2024-07-27 01:45:28
3D2Z Rotuma Island News 26 July 2024 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 26, 2024 Contact: Hal Turley, W8HC email: w8hc@aol.com DX Engineering (DXE) is Major Sponsor of the 3D2Z Rotuma DXpedition We are pleased to announce that our good friends at DX Engineering (DXE) are a major sponsor of the 3D2Z Rotuma Dxpedition scheduled for late November. DXE has now joined the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) as a “Premier” sponsor supporting this unique DXpedition. This DXpedition is a partnership with Youth on the Air (YOTA) encouraging youth participation and will feature 3 young operators who will be active from 3D2Z on the Island while there will also be 30 or more YOTA operators operating 3D2Z remotely using W6IZT Radio in a Box stations (RiBs) over Starlink. DX Engineering CEO Tim Duffy, K3LR has once again demonstrated his commitment and support of youth involvement in our hobby not only with this, DXE’s 3D2Z sponsorship, but is once again opening up his world-class K3LR Contest station to the young operators of the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure as they participate this weekend as K3Y in the RSGB IOTA Contest. “Thank you” to DX Engineering and “Very 73 es GL” to the K3Y Contest Team!! In addition to the NCDXF, we are grateful to the following DX clubs and associations for their generous support of the 3D2Z project enabling DXpeditioning for the next generation of amateur radio operators: • Southeastern DX Club • Southwest Ohio DX Association • Long Island DX Association • Twin City DX Association • Lone Star DX Association • RSGB • Western Washington DX Club • Oklahoma DX Association • EUDXF • CDXC The UK DX Foundation • North Alabama DX Club • Eastern Iowa DX Association Funding efforts continue for the November DXpedition. Please consider supporting the 3D2Z Rotuma DXpedition by visiting our website for details
100%
Rating: 5 of 5
Team
  • Callsign: 3D2Z
  • 2024-05-21 08:36:44
PRESS RELEASE May 21, 2024 Pacific Islands DXpedition Group, Inc. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Hal Turley, W8HC email: w8hc@aol.com November 3D2Z Rotuma DXpedition to Partner with Youth on the Air (YOTA) Americas; Young Amateur Operators to Participate in DXpedition via Remote Radio In the interest of bringing more young amateur radio operators into DXpeditioning, the Pacific Islands DXpedition Group, Inc. (PIDXG) and Youth on the Air (YOTA) Americas are pleased to announce a partnership involving the upcoming 3D2Z DXpedition to Rotuma in November. Youth on the Air is a program for and by young amateur radio operators with the expressed goal of building skills and fostering lasting friendships and mentors with younger operators. Rotuma DXpedition organizer Gregg, W6IZT will be taking two of his NexGenRiBs as a complement to the 6 member DXpedition on-island team. Gregg says, "Following the success with the remote radio used at the recent CBØZA Juan Fernandez DXpedition, we will have two remote stations available to young amateur operators through YOTA on Rotuma. It is our hope that 75% of the remote contacts made from 3D2Z will be made by the youth participants." Nineteen year old YOTA member Kees, WØAAE will coordinate the scheduling and operation by the remote YOTA operating team. A freshman aerospace engineering major at Iowa State University, Kees was the 2023 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award recipient. He coordinated participation in the Americas for December YOTA Month and is active with remote operation for young hams through RHR. YOTA Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG said that he welcomes this partnership with the youth members of the YOTA organization and the PIDXG DXpedition to Rotuma. "I think this is a great opportunity for our young operators to experience a DXpedition and enjoy operating in pileup conditions." The 3D2Z DXpedition is scheduled for November 15 to December 4. In addition to the young operators who will be involved with the remote-side of the operation, one of the on-island team members is 23-year old Jamie, MØSDV, who was one of the members of the recent 8R7X DXpedition to Guyana. Additional members of the 3D2Z team include veteran DXpeditioner Hal, W8HC; Nathan K4NHW; and Mike, WØVTT. Gregg says that they are awaiting word on the sixth member of the team, another young amateur operator who will be named soon.