VP6R - Pitcairn Island - News

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VP6R Pitcairn Island DX Pedition
Nodir, EY8MM Tahiti Island

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VP6R News 10 October 2019
I experienced a sudden and relatively severe, acute illness and was hospitalized for a number of days. I am recovering at home, but the risk of compromising the DXpedition to Pitcairn Island is too great for me to make the trip with the team. My friend Glenn, W0GJ, will take on my responsibilities and the DXpedition will proceed as otherwise planned.

Most team members will have begun their travels within the next 24-48 hours. The October 15th flight to Mangareva and boarding of the Braveheart remain on schedule.

This is a great disappointment for me, but the show will go on. I thank all of you for your past encouragement and support. I have great confidence in all of our team members; they will give this DXpedition their all.

Ralph – K0IR

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VP6R Pitcairn Island News

" WHERE'S HALDO?"

I will be taking along my Garmin Satellite tracker once again on this DXpedition... so if you are interested, you may follow along with this adventure in near real time at this website:

https://share.garmin.com/vp6r

This might also be a great opportunity to introduce a young person to ham radio by sharing a map, geography or history lesson as we travel to Pitcairn Island out in the South Pacific.

The tracker should show me leaving Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday, October 12, flying to Atlanta then LAX then Papeete, Tahiti where our entire team will meet for the first time on the 13th.

We will then fly from Papeete to Mangareva (ever hear of it?) on the 15th where we board the Braveheart and prepare for our one day sail arriving at Pitcairn Island on the 16th.

You should be able to watch our track as the long boats take us from the Braveheart onto Pitcairn island and as the quads take us up the 300+ meters to the top of Pitcairn and the home of our host Andy Christian. Here we will be erecting our antennas and stations and hope to be on the air as VP6R by the 18th or 19th barring any unforeseen issues.

So join the fun, share this link and follow along... Oh, and keep your fingers crossed there is no mutiny this time! LOL.

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VP6R Pitcairn Island DX Pedition News 30 September 2019.

Sept. 29, 2019: We are pleased to announce our pilot station network for the Pitcairn Island DXpedition. Our pilot station system is in place to relay your reports, concerns, and advise to us through our pilot stations. Initially, the information most important to us will be when we are being heard in your area. This is especially true if there are openings to more than one geographical area at the same time and one of those areas has strong signals that obscure stations calling from the other areas. We need to attend to those weaker signals and your reports will help us do that.

With time your band and mode needs will be relayed to us through our system. Constructive criticism is welcome as well.

Our system is somewhat “Eurocentric,” with north, south, east, and western Europe each having a representative in our system. We do this because needs for a VP6 contact are greater in Europe and European signals may be “under” stronger signals from other geographical areas.

Our chief and North American pilot is Jerry, WB9Z. He will be supported by JJ3PRT, OG2M, R7LV, G3XTT, EA3AKP, IK0FVC, NP4G, ZS1C, and ZL3IO. Please go to our Pilots and Off-Island Team Members page for more details.
We want you in our log and we want you to have fun working us.

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VP6R Pitcairn Island DX Pedition News 17 September 2019.
As planned, our gear is now safely stowed at our primary operating site on Pitcairn Island. It's ready for us to unpack and start assembling stations as soon as we arrive. Here are some images of "our stuff."

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The RV Braveheart stopped at Pitcairn Island on September 6. After waiting out a torrential rain, the crew unloaded all of the VP6R DXpedition team's gear. Everything for the upcoming October Dxpedition is now ashore on Pitcairn and safely stored.

When the roads dry out everything will be moved to the team's station sites. This will save the team lots of time and enable us to get on the air faster. All we need to take ashore when we arrive in October will be our personal bags.

The team also has the official VP6R license in hand. In due time we will get photos of the unloading operation on our website and Facebook pages.

73 --
Ralph - K0IR

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VP6R - Pitcairn Island DXpedition News 15 August 2019.

All of the Pitcairn Island DXpedition's (VP6R) gear is now aboard the Braveheart; antennas, generators, fuel, coax, radios, amplifiers, computers, personal luggage everything!
The vessel will depart New Zealand early next week and not return until late April or early May.

Our gear will be on Pitcairn before we are. The Braveheart will offload our equipment on Pitcairn on September 6th. It will be stored safe, dry, and ready for us when we arrive on approximately October 17. We will depart on approximately October 31. The team is elated that we've cleared this hurdle.

We have some financial challenges ahead of us, and if you'd consider helping us meet them, that would be super. Whatever the case, we will do this thing and let's have some fun.

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VP6R Pitcairn Island News 24 July 2019.
Say hello to our other new team member -- Allan, EA3HSO. Allan brings the zeal, interest, and energy of a new DXpeditioner along with a background of pileup management and technical skills. Allan will be taking the place of Jerry, WB9Z, who developed some serious knee problems.

It is always a thrill to bring new people into our team. When they come with the background and personality of Allan, well, it doesn't get any better.

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VP6R News 22 July 2019
The European DX Foundation is one of the premier DX organizations of Europe. They are meticulous in their vetting of DXpeditions; requiring ethics and appropriateness in QSL'ing, log uploading, DXpedition planning, team members, and equipment to name a few of their standards.

We, the members of the Pitcairn Island DXpedition, are pleased to have their support. Thank you, EUDXF!

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When it rains, it pours. The demands of time and business obligations have claimed one more of our DXpedition team members. Jim, N9TK, has also had to drop out. Jim has contributed an enormous amount of time, energy, and materials to the Pitcairn trip. We will miss him.

In Jim's place we welcome an old friend and fellow traveler, Hawk - SM5AQD. Hawk brings another voice and set of ears tuned to Europe. In addition, Hawk is a great person and terrific operator. Welcome aboard, Hawk.