The team from the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia (HARAOA) that’s planning a November 3 – 13 DXpedition to Willis Island (VK9HR) has expanded by one, and the DXpedition planning is on schedule. A vessel to take the team to Willis Island has been chartered to leave Australia on November 3, returning on November 13. Willis ranks #38 on Club Log’s DXCC Most Wanted List. The group announced earlier that it had put off plans to include a stint from Mellish Reef, last activated in 2017. The ham radio team will be just in time to celebrate the centennial of the island’s meteorological facility.
“With time away from jobs a consideration for the operators, Mellish is being put off to 2022,” said team leader John Chalkiarakis, VK3YP. While the call sign VK9HR is expected to be renewed in August, Chalkiarakis is trying to get VK9W. “VK9IR will be an additional call sign to be allocated,” he said. VK9IR and VK9HR were used for HARAOA’s 2011 DXpedition to Lord Howe Island.
Team members for this fall’s DXpedition will hail from Australia and New Zealand. They’re in the process of obtaining a permit from Parks Australia, which is “required to ‘camp’ at these Australian Coral Sea marine parks.” Chalkiarakis said the most important document is the landing permit, also from Parks Australia. No permit is required to visit these coral sea islands for non-commercial purposes, but a permit application is needed to set up a campsite and to stay overnight on the island.
The now eight-operator team plans to use verticals on 160, 80, 40, and 30 meters, while VDAs (vertical dipole arrays) will be used on 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters. Operation on 6 meters is under consideration. Activity is expected on SSB, CW, and FT8 on 160 through 10 meters. The equipment complement is expected to be Kenwood TS-590S and Icom IC-7300 transceivers with amplifiers on all.
A DXpedition website and logo are in the works. Home to a meteorological station, Willis Island is in the Coral Sea, off the northeast coast of Australia.
Chalkiarakis also said that he and some friends have been trying to obtain a landing permit for Macquarie Island (VK0M), which is #12 on Club Log’s DXCC Most Wanted List, but he conceded that it’s nearly impossible to get permission from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service because Macquarie is a protected nature reserve. — Thanks to The Daily DX
Plans Proceeding for Fall 2021 Willis Island DXpedition
The team from the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia (HARAOA) that’s planning a November 3 – 13 DXpedition to Willis Island (VK9HR) has expanded by one, and the DXpedition planning is on schedule. A vessel to take the team to Willis Island has been chartered to leave Australia on November 3, returning on November 13. Willis ranks #38 on Club Log’s DXCC Most Wanted List. The group announced earlier that it had put off plans to include a stint from Mellish Reef, last activated in 2017. The ham radio team will be just in time to celebrate the centennial of the island’s meteorological facility.
“With time away from jobs a consideration for the operators, Mellish is being put off to 2022,” said team leader John Chalkiarakis, VK3YP. While the call sign VK9HR is expected to be renewed in August, Chalkiarakis is trying to get VK9W. “VK9IR will be an additional call sign to be allocated,” he said. VK9IR and VK9HR were used for HARAOA’s 2011 DXpedition to Lord Howe Island.
Team members for this fall’s DXpedition will hail from Australia and New Zealand. They’re in the process of obtaining a permit from Parks Australia, which is “required to ‘camp’ at these Australian Coral Sea marine parks.” Chalkiarakis said the most important document is the landing permit, also from Parks Australia. No permit is required to visit these coral sea islands for non-commercial purposes, but a permit application is needed to set up a campsite and to stay overnight on the island.
The now eight-operator team plans to use verticals on 160, 80, 40, and 30 meters, while VDAs (vertical dipole arrays) will be used on 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters. Operation on 6 meters is under consideration. Activity is expected on SSB, CW, and FT8 on 160 through 10 meters. The equipment complement is expected to be Kenwood TS-590S and Icom IC-7300 transceivers with amplifiers on all.
A DXpedition website and logo are in the works. Home to a meteorological station, Willis Island is in the Coral Sea, off the northeast coast of Australia.
Chalkiarakis also said that he and some friends have been trying to obtain a landing permit for Macquarie Island (VK0M), which is #12 on Club Log’s DXCC Most Wanted List, but he conceded that it’s nearly impossible to get permission from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service because Macquarie is a protected nature reserve. — Thanks to The Daily DX
