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VP8STI & VP8SGI South Sandwich Isl. & South Georgia Isl.
25 November 2015
From VP8STI & VP8SGI Facebook page:
“All of the VP8STI/VP8SGI equipment has been loaded aboard the R/V Braveheart by Nigel Jolly and his crew. In a few days, they will begin their long and arduous voyage to the Falkland Islands, where they will meet the Intrepid-DX Group’s VP8STI/VP8SGI team on January 9th.”
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17 November 2015
Paul N6PSE Co-Leader, VP8 Team informs DxCoffee Readers:
“The VP8STI-South Sandwich, VP8SGI-South Georgia and VP8IDX (Falklands & /MM) licenses have been issued and are in hand. In just six short weeks, the team will be making their voyage to South Sandwich Island. Our ship, the venerable RV Braveheart is being prepared and loaded for her long voyage halfway around the world to meet the team in the Falkland Islands.We expect to land at South Sandwich and begin operations sometime on January 17th if sea conditions and weather permit. After ten days at South Sandwich, we will break camp and voyage three days to South Georgia. We expect to land and be on the air on February 1st.This is a “Pure DX” Dxpedition. The team is not mountain climbing or collecting specimens, our sole focus is getting you in our logs! We will work very hard to do that!To date, we have raised $153,500 from the global DX Community. The 14 team members have contributed $210,000 towards our entire budget of $425,000. If your club or you yourself have not already donated will you please consider a donation? We cannot get there without you!The Intrepid-DX Group is an IRS approved 501.C.3 non-profit organization and your US contributions are tax deductible.Please watch for updates and announcements in The Daily DX, DX-World, DX Coffee and DX News.
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1 November 2015
VP8STI/VP8SGI Team informs DxCoffee Readers:
At this time, we would like to announce several new aspects of the VP8STI/VP8SGI Dxpeditions:
Youth & Community Participation
Since the early 1990’s, the Intrepid DX-Group’s leadership, David (K3LP), Paul (N6PSE) and other team members, have led our effort to incorporate “Youth Development and Community Involvement” in our Amateur Radio DXpeditions. Those included were the ET3AA Addis Abba University in 2011, 3D2R Rotuma Youth Project in 2011, Dorothy Grant Elementary School Amateur Radio Club (K6DGE) and School Students in 2010-present, YI9PSE Iraq, T33C Banaba, ST0R S. Sudan in 2013, XZ1J Myanmar in 2013, 8P6R in 2005, 3D2DC in 2004, VU3RWO in 2006, J6R, J6/K3LP in 1997-2003, A61AF Dubai Men’s College/A61AJ 1996-1998 and many others.
During the South Sandwich and South Georgia Island DXpedition, our Honorary School this trip is the trusted Dorothy Grant Elementary School in Fontana, CA. Teacher Beverly Matheson’s (WA6BK) 4th Grade Class students have prepared a DGES Flag that will travel to and from the islands. In addition, the students have prepared a small weather tracking experiment for the DXpedition to participate. We hope to continue to ignite the interest of these students in Amateur Radio.
Dxpedition Pilot Program:
Our regional Dxpedition Pilot Program will be led by experienced Dxpeditioner Antonio Gonzalez-EA5RM. Antonio will communicate with each of our regional Pilot stations to ensure that we are satisfying the needs of the global DX Community and that we are aware of propagation and other issues. Our regional Pilots are as follows:
EU/Chief Pilot-EA5RM Antonio Gonzalez
US East Coast-W2IRT-Peter Dougherty
US West Coast-AA6G Chuck Vaughn
JA/Asia-JR4OZR Harumi Kukita
VK/ZL & Oceania-VK4MA Paul Richards.
You can contact them via our website by clicking on their photograph on the main page of our website at http://ift.tt/1SjyOG9 Our pilots are entrusted to help us meet your needs as best as they can. Our pilots will not have access to our logs and all logging issues will be addressed by our QSL Manager following the conclusion of both activations.
At this time, all plans are moving forward and we expect to be QRV on January 17th as VP8STI.
Please watch for updates and announcements in The Daily DX, DX-World, DX Coffee and DX News.
Thank you,
Paul N6PSE
Co-Leader, VP8 Team
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15 October 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
The activations of South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands as VP8STI and VP8SGI in January-February 2016 are the next major Dxpeditions to take place.The decision to activate VP8-South Sandwich and VP8-South Georgia was made upon seeing how well FT4TA, FT5ZM and K1N were funded.That gave us the confidence to go forward activating these two rare and remote islands on the same trip. We are now finding ourselves with a significant funding shortfall. By adding South Georgia to our itinerary we added fifteen days at $8,000 per day or $120,000 onto the cost to activate South Sandwich.Our analysis of our funding shows us that while our individual donations have exceeded all expectations, our club donations have not. We are seeing that many Clubs that gave FT5ZM or K1N $1000-$2000 are giving us $500 or a fraction of what they gave to these other Dxpeditions. Some clubs have decided not to make any donation to us that gave quite generously to other recent Dxpeditions.While we appreciate each and every donation, we can tell you that a Club donation to us of $500 amounts to a donation of $250 for the activation of each of these rare and remote islands. With a budget of $425,000 we are making small incremental steps when leaps and bounds are needed.As you know, upfront donations are critical for a Dxpeditions success. Each member of the Intrepid DX Group has contributed $15,000 of their personal funds to move the VP8STI-South Sandwich and VP8 South Georgia Dxpeditions forward. These are two ten day Dxpeditions to two top ten DXCC entities back to back. (#3 and #8)To date, we have raised $142,000 above the team contribution of $210,000. We still have a deficit of $73,000 that we need to fill as much as we can.It is only through the generosity of Club donations such as yours that we can make this DXpedition possible.We would love to realize sufficient support so that the Intrepid-DX Group could plan the future activation of another top five island entity after the VP8STI/VP8SGI Dxpedition. Without sufficient funding, we cannot make those kinds of plans for the future.At this time, we are asking for those Foundations and Clubs that have not yet made a donation to please consider doing so. We cannot make it there on our own.Please watch for updates and announcements on The Daily DX, DX-World, DX Coffee and DX News. We hope that you will consider a donation today,
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10 September 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
The South Sandwich Islands are a cold and inhospitable place. At 59 degrees south, Southern Thule Island is one of the most remote places on Earth.Southern Thule is closer to the polar circle and the South Pole than either Bouvet Island or Heard Island. To get there, we will voyage the Drake Passage and brave strong winds and high seas. Our sole focus is to get you in our logs.The Intrepid DX Group is pleased to announce that all of our plans are moving forward very well. We are pleased to report that all of our gear has arrived in Tauranga, New Zealand. It has been fumigated and is now being stored before it is loaded onto the RV Braveheart for her long voyage to meet the team in the Falkland Islands.At this time, we wish to inform the Global DX Community of our intended QRV dates from each island. We will depart Stanley, the Falkland Islands on January 9th, 2016. Approximately five days later, we will arrive in King Edward Point, South Georgia where we will meet with the Government of South Sandwich and South Georgia and undergo a safety and biodiversity briefing. We will then voyage three more days south to Southern Thule Island in the South Sandwich chain of Islands.We expect to arrive at South Sandwich on January 17th however, that is dependent on the weather and sea conditions. Our ship Captain tells us that it is common to encounter rough seas on the way to South Sandwich and that rough seas and bad weather can prevent our landing by several days. We plan to be on South Sandwich for ten days operating as VP8STI. We will then break down our camp and voyage three days back to Husvik Bay, South Georgia where we expect to land and set up operations on or about February 1st. We will operate from South Georgia Island as VP8SGI.Our main priority is to make a great impact to the need for South Sandwich contacts and we will sacrifice our time at South Georgia to ensure that we make that impact from South Sandwich.We expect to return to Stanley, the Falkland Islands on February 14th. We will be QRV from Stanley as VP8IDX until our flights home on February 20th.When our voyage starts, you can see our location in real time on a map on our website. You will know when we are about to land or are departing one island for the other. We will be in daily satellite communications with our Pilots, and support team. You can get a feel for propagation as we will be QRV as VP8IDX/MM on the way to and from the islands.Our plan is to be at each of these top ten entities for ten days. To effectively do that, we need your support.We are seeking more support from the many DX Clubs of North America, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia that have yet to make a donation.To date, our Club & Individual donations by continent are as follows:North America: 77%Europe: 14%Asia: 8%Oceania 1%Middle East & Africa: 0%Central & South America: 0%So, please consider a generous contribution to this project. To have your club or organization’s logo included with the QSL card, please contribute $250 or more. Individual contributions of $150 or more will be listed with the QSL card. All donors of $25 or more will receive an early LoTW upload. Everyone who supports the Dxpedition will be listed and properly recognized on our website.We encourage you to visit our website (http://ift.tt/1SjyOWr) and donate via the PayPal link. It’s easy and free to donate. Alternatively, you can mail a check or money order to the address listed below:Payable to: Intrepid-DX GroupC/O David Jorgensen-WD5COV, CFO/Treasurer18645 Cortez Rd SE, Deming, NM 88030 USAThank you,The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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10 September 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
“We are pleased to report that our VP8STI/VP8SGI equipment has arrived in Tauranga, New Zealand. It has been fumigated and has cleared Customs. It is now being stored by the RV Braveheart crew in preparation for their long voyage to the Falkland Islands to meet the team in January.Facebook page at: http://ift.tt/1kT21x0Let the voyage begin!”
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31 July 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
“The Intrepid DX Group is pleased to announce that all of our plans are moving forward very well. We are pleased that we have been able to add World-Class CW Maestro Dmitri Zhikharev RA9USU to our team.We have now shipped all of our equipment to New Zealand at considerable expense. Our container contents will be loaded aboard the RV Braveheart and will meet us in the Falkland Islands in January.This will be a “Pure DX” event. We have assembled a team of World-Class experienced operators, including two DX Hall of Fame members. Our sole focus is on getting you in our logs!When our voyage starts, you can see our location in real time on a map on our website. You will know when we are about to land or are departing one island for the other. We will be in daily satellite communications with our Pilots, and support team. You can get a feel for propagation as we will be QRV as VP8IDX/MM on the way to and from the islands.Our plan is to be at each of these top ten entities for ten days. To effectively do that, we need your support.The fourteen members of the VP8STI/VP8SGI team have committed to paying $210,000 of the $425,000 needed to carry out this Dxpedition. To date, we have raised $118,000 in club and individual donations. . We still have a significant deficit of $97,000. The VP8STI/VP8SGI asks for more support from the DX Clubs of North America, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia to support our plans. Many well established clubs have yet to donate.To date, our Club & Individual donations by continent are as follows:North America: 80%Europe: 13%Asia: 6%Oceania 1%Middle East & Africa: 0%Mexico/South America: 0%So, please consider a generous contribution to this project. To have your club or organization’s logo included with the QSL card, please contribute $250 or more. Individual contributions of $150 or more will be listed with the QSL card. All donors of $25 or more will receive an early LoTW upload. Everyone who supports the Dxpedition will be listed and properly recognized on our website.We encourage you to visit our website (http://ift.tt/1SjyOWr) and donate via the PayPal link. It’s easy and free to donate. Alternatively, you can mail a check or money order to the address listed below:Payable to: Intrepid-DX GroupC/O David Jorgensen-WD5COV, CFO/Treasurer18645 Cortez Rd SE, Deming, NM 88030 USAThank you,”The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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15 July 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
“The Intrepid DX Group is pleased to announce that all of our plans are moving forward very well. We are testing and re-testing our gear one last time before it goes into a container next week and makes its voyage to meet the RV Braveheart in New Zealand.This will be a “Pure DX” event. We have assembled a team of World-Class experienced operators, including two DX Hall of Fame members. We are not doing any mountain climbing, creature collection or software development. Our focus is on getting you in our logs!At this time, we wish to announce that we are adding 6 meters as well as 60 meters to our plans. We will make a solid effort to be QRV and to give out contacts on these bands as well as 10-160 meters.We wish to clarify our operating strategy: We will be QRV on 6-160 meters with six stations and we invite you to work us on all bands and modes. We will also select a band that is propagating for the most hours of the day, and we will be QRV on that band for the duration of our activity. This is a means to increase the number of unique call signs in our logs and to give everyone a chance to work us. We will be looking to give ATNO contacts at every opportunity.Our goal is to conduct two 8-10 day DXpeditions to each of these top ten entities. To effectively do that, we need your support.The fourteen members of the VP8STI/VP8SGI team have committed to paying $210,000 of the $425,000 needed to carry out this Dxpedition. To date, we have raised $315,000 which includes our team contribution. We still have a significant deficit of $110,000. The VP8STI/VP8SGI team needs the support of the worldwide DX Community to help us make this Dxpedition a success.While donations from North America were strong initially, we would greatly appreciate more support from North America, Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. To date, our donations by continent are as follows:North America Clubs & Foundations: 84%Europe: 13%Asia: 3%Middle East & Africa: 0%South America: 0%Oceania: 0%Japan will be our most challenging area to work and we are fully committed to make a major effort to work all regions of the globe.So, please consider a generous contribution to this project. To have your club or organization’s logo included with the QSL card, please contribute $250 or more. Individual contributions of $150 or more will be listed with the QSL card. Everyone who supports the Dxpedition will be listed and properly recognized on our website.We encourage you to visit our website (http://ift.tt/1SjyOWr) and donate via the PayPal link. It’s easy and free to donate. Alternatively, you can mail a check or money order to the address listed below:Payable to: Intrepid-DX GroupC/O David Jorgensen-WD5COV, CFO/Treasurer18645 Cortez Rd SE, Deming, NM 88030 USAThank you,”The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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11 May 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
The last major operations from South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands were in 2002. Since that time, these islands have steadily climbed the most wanted list. South Sandwich is currently the #3 most wanted DXCC entity, while South Georgia is the #8 most wanted entity.Our goal is to conduct two 8-10 day DXpeditions to each of these top ten entities. To effectively do that, we need your support.The fourteen members of the VP8STI/VP8SGI team have committed to paying $210,000 of the $425,000 needed to carry out this Dxpedition. To date, we have raised $315,000 which includes our team contribution. We still have a significant deficit of $110,000. The VP8STI/VP8SGI team needs the support of the worldwide DX Community to help us make this Dxpedition a success.While donations from North America were strong initially, we would greatly appreciate more support from North America, Europe, Asia and South America. To date, North America Clubs & Foundations have provided 87% of our support, while 12% comes from Europe and less than one percent from Asia.Both David (K3LP-Co Team Leader) and I think our plans for the low bands, which include a four-square for 40 meters, 2 phased verticals for 80 meters and 2 phased verticals on 160 meters plus a robust 4 station beverage system warrants a higher level of commitment from the DX community in general.A dual rare Dxpedition like this warrants the same level of financial contribution as other recent major DXpeditions. We are all in financially at this point and need your assistance no matter what level of donation you can make.So, please consider a generous contribution to this project. To have your club or organization’s logo included with the QSL card, please contribute $250 or more. Individual contributions of $150 or more will be listed with the QSL card. All donors of $25 or more will receive an early LoTW upload. Everyone who supports the Dxpedition will be listed and properly recognized on our website.Our plans are moving forward in all aspects. We have just made our second installment of $113,000 to the Braveheart. Next month, we will ship a container to Auckland, New Zealand where its contents will be loaded about the Braveheart in October. In March, we will ship our equipment home when the Braveheart arrives in Cape Town, South Africa. The shipping of our equipment is our second greatest costs behind the vessel charter.We encourage you to visit our website (http://ift.tt/1SjyOWr) and donate via the PayPal link. It’s easy and free to donate. Alternatively, you can mail a check or money order to the address listed below:Payable to: Intrepid-DX GroupC/O David Jorgensen-WD5COV, CFO/Treasurer18645 Cortez Rd SE, Deming, NM 88030 USAThank you,The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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11 May 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee readers:
“The Intrepid DX Group’s VP8SGI/VP8STI team is pleased to announce our operating strategy which will allow us to work as many unique callers as possible during each of these activations.During our voyage to South Sandwich, which is the first island that we will activate, we will use our newly donated BGAN terminal to access solar data. We will also check in with our US, EU and JA Pilots to determine which bands are currently propagating well. We will then select a band; possibly 20, 17 or 15 meters and we will be QRV with one station on this band for the duration of the Dxpedition. This will give everyone a chance to work us at least once on the selected band.In addition, during our final 24 hours of QRV from each island, we will announce and only accept contacts from new-first time stations on this selected band. Those chasing band slots can work us 10-160 meters on the other bands; however we feel that it is of critical importance that our primary strategy includes a means for everyone to make at least one contact with these rare islands.We are pleased to announce our “Early Donor” program for donations prior to departure to the Islands.For all donations of $25 or more, we will perform an early LoTW upload and we will include all $25 or more donors in the first batch of QSL processing. Our OQRS will be live during the Dxpedition. Direct QSL cards and bureau QSL cards will be processed last.Our plans are moving forward in all aspects. We are about to make our second installment of $113,000 to the Braveheart. The Dxpedition Team has committed to paying half the costs of this Dxpedition and our Team’s contribution is $210,000.To date, we have raised $105,000 towards our goal of raising $215,000. This puts us at 47% of our target. We would welcome additional support from the many DX Clubs around the globe.At the time of our activations, South Sandwich will be the #3 most wanted entity, while South Georgia will be the #7 most wanted DXCC entity.All information about our plans can be found on our website: http://ift.tt/1SjyOWrLastly, many of the VP8STI/VP8SGI Team members will be attending the 2015 Hamvention this weekend in Dayton, Ohio. We look forward to meeting and sharing our plans with everyone interested in VP8STI/VP8SGI.”Thank you,The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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12 April 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee readers:
“The Intrepid DX Group’s VP8SGI/VP8STI team is pleased to announce our “Early Donor” program for donations prior to departure to the Islands.For all donations of $25 or more, we will perform an early LoTW upload and we will include all $25 donors in the first batch of QSL processing. We will have more news on this feature soon!We are extremely pleased that DX Engineering has become a major equipment sponsor for this Dxpedition. This saves the team considerable funds that can be used elsewhere to improve the quality and performance of the Dxpedition team. “DX Engineering has always supported us but on this effort they have really stepped up in a big way-this is a real shot in the arm for our team and enables us to perform at higher levels” said Team Co-Leader David Collingham-K3LP.We are delighted to report that our QSL Cards are being sponsored and printed by Tony-LZ1JZ. LZ1JZ Print Service has an outstanding reputation for printing the finest QSL cards and we are very grateful to have this sponsorship.Our plans are moving forward in all aspects including our team’s first $54,000 installment being paid to the Braveheart.To date, we have raised $95,000 towards our goal of raising $215,000. This puts us 44% of our target. We would welcome additional support from the many DX Clubs around the globe, particularly those in Europe and Asia who have not yet supported our efforts.We are seeking a Sponsor for our Inmarsat-BGAN Internet terminal lease and satellite time. “It will cost us $1200 to lease the BGAN terminal and another $500 is projected for satellite air time” Said Dxpedition Co-Leader Paul Ewing-N6PSE. The BGAN terminal is essential for us to upload our logs to Clublog on a daily basis. We would welcome a corporate, club or individual sponsor of our Clublog upload capability.At the time of our activations, South Sandwich will be the #3 most wanted entity, while South Georgia will be the #7 most wanted DXCC entity.All information about our plans can be found on our website: http://ift.tt/1SjyOWrLastly, many of the VP8STI/VP8SGI Team members will be attending the 2015 International DX Convention in Visalia this weekend. If you’ll be in Visalia, please visit us at our Dxpedition Tent inside the Convention Center and say hello.”Thank you,Paul N6PSEThe Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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8 April 2015
DX Engineering for VP8STI & VP8SGI
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30 March 2015
The Intrepid-DX Group informs DxCoffee Readers:
News from the Intrepid DX Group
We are pleased to announce that the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands has issued our Dxpedition call signs. We will useVP8STI from South Thule Island (South Sandwich). We will use VP8SGI from South Georgia Island.
In addition, the team will use VP8IDX (Intrepid DX Group) from Stanley and during our voyage to South Sandwich and South Georgia. We will be passing through rare grid squares on the way to and from these islands. The DXpedition will take place in January/February 2016. We will be on each island for ten days.
We are pleased to announce that Force 12 Antennas will provide complete sponsorship of our Dxpedition antennas including three element Yagi antennas for the high bands including WARC bands as well as a custom set of low band vertical antennas for 30,40,80 & 160 meters.
All of these antennas are being designed to sustain high winds that we anticipate having on South Sandwich and South Georgia.
Our plans are moving forward in all aspects including our team’s first $54,000 installment to the RV Braveheart being paid on April 1, 2015.
To date, we have raised $90,000 towards our goal of raising $215,000. This puts us 40% of our target. We would welcome additional support from the many DX Clubs around the globe, particularly those in Europe and Asia who have not yet supported our efforts.
At the time of our activations, South Sandwich will be the #3 most wanted entity, while South Georgia will be the #7 most wanted DXCC entity.
All information about our plans can be found on our website: http://ift.tt/1SjyOWr
Thank you,
The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team
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3 March 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
Press Release-An update from the Intrepid-DX Group VP8 DXpedition Team
The Intrepid-DX Group is very pleased to receive a major grant of $50,000 from the Northern California DX Foundation to support our plans to activate South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands in January/February 2016. At the time of these activations, they will be the #3 and #7 most wanted entities.It is only through the generosity of amateur organizations such as the NCDXF that we can make this Dxpedition possible. This grant by the NCDXF gives us the foundation with which we can solidify our plans and move forward with successful activations of these rare islands.Our destination is very remote and costly to reach. Our Braveheart charter is $310,000. Our fourteen team members will contribute $210,000 towards our goal of $425,000. We are very appreciative of all of those Clubs, Associations and individuals that have supported us thus far and we welcome and appreciate each and every donation that helps us move forward with our plans.Our objective is to be on each island for ten days with eight full days QRV. We ask each DX Club or Association to please consider supporting our efforts to make this an effective, enjoyable and safe Dxpedition for everyone!You can view our website at http://ift.tt/1SjyOWrThank you,The Intrepid-DX Group VP8 Team.
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9 February 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee Readers:
Press Release #3
“Dear friends of the DX Community:The Intrepid-DX Group announced our plans to activate South Sandwich and South Georgia in mid-December.With the activation of Navassa, these Islands become the #3 and #8 most wanted entities world-wide.The activation of these two rare islands will be very expensive. The 14 team members are contributing $210,000 towards the $425,000 total cost of the DXpedition.The team has a critical decision to make. We have a non-refundable deposit of $54,000 due to pay for our vessel charter.We fully intend to go forward with our plans however we need indications from the global DX Community that you support our plans.While we are pleased with the support of some individuals and a few clubs so far, we are now asking those of you who have not yet done so to please consider donating to our fund, or pledge a donation. We ask that the DX Clubs and Associations of the global DX community lend us their support.We must feel confident that we can successfully raise enough funds for this exciting endeavor before we can commit to the non-refundable charter deposit.You can see how to make a donation here: http://ift.tt/1kT23oBIf you cannot donate at this time, but wish to make a pledge, please let us know: intrepiddxgroup@gmail.comIf you wish your donation to be US tax deductible, consider making a directed donation through the Northern California DX Foundation: www.ncdxf.orgWithout significant support from the global DX Community, we will not be able to go forward with our plans.Sincerely,”The Intrepid-DX Group VP8/S and VP8/G Team
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21 January 2015
Paul N6PSE informs DxCoffee readers:
Press Release #2
The Intrepid-DX Group, led by Paul Ewing-N6PSE and David Collingham-K3LP, is pleased to announce that we have received our Landing/Camp Permit for South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands for our January 2016 DXpeditions.South Sandwich is currently the #4 most wanted entity while South Georgia is currently the #9 most wanted entity.We will be on each island for ten days and we plan for eight full days of radio.At this time, we are seeking Foundation, Club and individual support to help us offset our significant costs to activate these two rare islands. Our vessel charter is in excess of $310,000 USD and our total budget is $425,000. Without significant support from the global DX Community we will not be successful in making these very rare activations.Our primary objective is to activate South Sandwich and South Georgia with a goal of providing as many Dxers as possible a “new one” with these rare DXCC entities and, as a secondary objective; we will focus on low-band contacts. We will use proven techniques to help ensure that everyone has a fair chance to work us. We will not be using the Club Log “Leaderboard”. It is our hope that we can perform an upload to LoTW during or just after the Dxpedition.
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16 December 2014
VP8 South Sandwich Island & South Georgia Island – VIDEO
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14 December 2014
Paul N6PSE & David K3LP informs DxCoffee readers:
Press Release #1
The Intrepid-DX Group, led by Paul Ewing-N6PSE and David Collingham-K3LP, is pleased to announce our next Dxpedition. In January 2016, a multi-national team of fourteen operators will converge in Stanley, the Falkland Islands and start a 34 day voyage aboard the R/V Braveheart to the #4 most wanted DXCC, South Sandwich Island and the #9 most wanted DXCC, South Georgia Island.
The team will set up and operate from each island for approximately eight days, weather and sea conditions permitting.Our primary objective is to activate South Sandwich and South Georgia with a goal of providing as many Dxers as possible a “new one” with these rare DXCC entities and, as a secondary objective; we will focus on low-band contacts.The team consists of fourteen operators including:Paul Ewing-N6PSE Co-LeaderDavid Collingham-K3LP Co-LeaderBill Beyer-N2WBArnie Shatz-N6HC Team PhysicianDmitri Zhikharev-RA9USUJun Tanaka-JH4RHFKrassimir Petkov-K1LZDavid Jorgensen-WD5COVAl Hernandez-K3VNCraig Thompson-K9CTJay Slough-K4ZLEKevin Rowett-K6TDStephen Wright-VE7CTMark Stennett-NA6MThe group plans to have six stations on the air from 10 through 160 meters with SSB, CW and RTTY. The radios will be the venerable Elecraft K3 while the amplifiers will be the Elecraft KPA500, 600 watt amplifiers. We will also use an Acom 1500 on the low bands. There will be low band receive antennas and every effort will be made to utilize the propagation on all bands to all population areas.Our QSL Managers will be Bob Schenck N2OO and Steve Wheatley KU9C working with the QSL team from the South Jersey DX Association. We will have OQRS, we will accept direct and bureau QSL cards. We plan to upload our logs to Club Log on a daily basis where conditions permit. The Club Log Leaderboard feature will not be activated for this Dxpedition.You can find out more about our plans at our website: http://ift.tt/1SjyOWrThank you,Paul N6PSEDavid K3LP
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