We are near the bottom of our solar cycle. This makes good, efficient low band operation a must for every DXpedition. The Pitcairn Island DXpedition team takes this very seriously, and we bring one of the most experienced teams to the island to meet this challenge.
We have carefully selected our equipment, both for transmitting and for receiving. We will use the high efficiency 28 meter tall vertical antenna which DX Engineering specially designed for the rigors of Bouvet. Since we were unable to land on Bouvet, this will be the first on-the-air test for this antenna. We think it is going to perform very well on 160. The 80 and 40 meter bands will be covered by two full-sized verticals for each band. This will allow simultaneous CW/Digital and phone operation on each band.
Our receive antenna systems have been provided by RA6LBS. The systems can be deployed in a variety of ways to meet existing landscape and terrain conditions. Changes from Beverage to flag or DHDL configurations are all possible. We want to hear you!
We will have a consistent operating policy and pattern. We will be on the low bands all the time during the hours of darkness. If we are not making QSO’s we will still be there, waiting, so we do not miss an opening. We will dedicate sunrise and sunset times to areas with the minimum common darkness. We are aware of low band needs in Europe and Asia, particularly zones 16 and 17.
We are planning some FT8 operation on the low bands, but it will not be our primary mode. However, we hope to use this mode to maximize the number of QSO’s possible for low band DXers.
Our pilots will be providing us with feedback on a daily basis. We will do our utmost and maximize our efforts to get your call in our log.
Nodir – EY8MM