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V6D - Micronesia

Updated: Oct 1


V6D Update (Oct 01)


Conditions on the high bands are slowly improving again, but there is some news that will not please most people. It concerns 160 m. Our 18 m high vertical antenna for 80 and 160 m is about 15 m away from the shack and the raised radial is 12 m. It performs very well on both bands and is rather good as a receiving antenna too.


The K4 transceivers are excellent. However, when transmitting on 160 m, there is extreme RF interference on the touch panel display of the other K4s, which then become somewhat confused and can no longer be operated. This happens at power levels of just over 100 watts and only on 160 m. Everyone knows how sensitive touch switches are to RF. Perhaps Elecraft could provide a way to disable the touch function of the display for this special case with multiple transmitting stations during a DXpedition and instead use only an RF mouse connected via USB on the front panel, as with a laptop?


We are well aware of how important 160 m is and how many people are waiting for a New One there. We will try to be on 160 m in FT8 tonight, especially from 11 to 13 for USA and from 17 to 19 UTC for Europe. Frequency 1839, 1840 or 1844 kHz.



V6D Update (Sep 30)


After a week's delay, we were able to pick up our missing luggage at TKK airport. The wire beam and the fifth station were set up on the same day. Unfortunately, the good conditions on the high bands now seem to be over.


All antennas have good takeoff to Europe, the USA, Central America, and Japan. Out of consideration for other guests at the resort, however, the antennas had to be set up in a very confined space, which sometimes causes interference between them. This is particularly disruptive in poor conditions.


We are QRV on all bands from 160 to 6 m (except 60 m). At the halfway point after one week, we have logged over 50,000 QSOs. The team is in good spirits. However, we are unable to respond to the many emails with log inquiries, comments, and requests. Please note that the livestream does not replace the log at Club Log. After a QSO, please wait at least 24 hours for the next correct log update.



V6D Update (Sep 25)


After three days, we have over 20,000 QSOs in the log, even though we are not yet QRV on all bands. Unfortunately, the missing luggage with the two-element wire beam and the fifth station has not yet arrived. We check with TKK Airport on Chuuk every day. That's why we improvised today and set up additional single-band wire antennas for 160, 17, and 10 m using our spare equipment. We will try 160 m tonight. The weather is hot and humid with occasional storms and heavy rain.


Our log is online at Club Log and is updated at least once a day. Most of the time, the V6D livestream runs with all four stations. The QSOs currently being made are displayed with a delay of a few seconds. https://clublog.org/livestream/V6D. One station is used most of the day for CQ in FT8 on 50.313 MHz. We are very pleased with the good openings on 6 m towards Japan and China. 80 m is also working quite well.


The team is in good shape and highly motivated, and is still hoping for the arrival of the missing radio equipment. The two pieces of luggage are at Tokyo Haneda Airport. It is not easy to organize forwarding from here.


Rolf, DL7VEE



V6D Update (Sep 23)


Our team arrived on Weno Island on September 22 as planned. However, there was a hacker attack on BER Airport and other airports. As a result, not all flights could be processed electronically, and two of our suitcases got stuck in transit in Helsinki. These included the two-element wire beam and technical equipment. Hopefully, they will be delivered in two days. The temperatures are very hot and sweaty. The QTH is comfortable with air condition, but self-catering. Shopping in the few village stores with a rental car on very bad roads is a challenge.


Nevertheless, we were able to set up four stations and install and calibrate the first single antennas using the 12 and 14 m high fiberglass Spiderbeam masts. A 30-meter loop, a 40-meter triple leg, and loops for 15 and 6 meters. Other bands were not used on the first day. The signals from all over the world were good. At the same time, we are working with a livestream from Club Log. Today, the planned 80-meter vertical is to be set up during the day. In addition, please don’t spam us with emails about the log. No corrections during the expedition please simple work us again.


Rolf, DL7VEE



V6D Update (Sep 10)


We are currently in the final stages of distributing luggage to team members throughout Germany. Our well-organized, “light” DXpedition to Micronesia begins in 10 days. But what does “light” mean? We will not be shipping any luggage or containers in advance. Each participant will carry well over 20 kg of radio equipment. Since it is warm in V6, this means only about 6 kg of personal luggage. Our group is flying from Berlin via Helsinki, Tokyo and Guam to Chuuk. All members have received their ESTA authorization, which is a required for entry into Guam.


We are very pleased to have received support for the DXpedition from Elecraft. We will now mainly use the excellent K4 transceivers as our station transceivers. Apart from the support for the DXpedition, several team members have invested heavily in upgrading their equipment. Most of the extensive technical equipment is privately owned by the team members.


This time, we are bringing one of the flexible 18 m long Spiderbeam fiberglass masts for the 80 m and 160 m antennas. We will therefore switch between 80 m and 160 m at night. The remaining low-band antennas will be implemented with robust 12 m and 14 m long fiberglass poles from Spiderbeam for wire loops and verticals. The 6 m antenna will also be mounted on one of these masts.The high-band antenna (20 m to 10 m) is our full-size 2-element wire antenna LZAW10-5 from LZ ANTENNA. With the LBS Pentaplexer, we can operate 3 to 4 high bands simultaneously with up to 400 watts.


As you know, we always try to provide attractive QSL cards. We aim to print these within four weeks after the expedition. We expect to start QSL traffic sometimes in November. Requests via OQRS are preferred, with paid direct cards being processed first. Free bureau cards can also be requested via QQRS. However, these requests will be processed after the direct applications. Of course, we also use LoTW. Direct LoTW requests will be processed immediately, the complete log will be uploaded to LOTW 6 months after the DXPedition. Hams who donate 10 USD or € will automatically publish on our homepage and receive their QSL as soon as the cards are printed.


All team members are looking forward to the DXpedition and to bringing you many QSOs on all bands and modes. See you on the bands!



V6D


Ops: DG2RON, DJ7TO, DJ9KH, DK5WL, DL1KWK, DL2RNS, DL4SVA, DL7JOM & DL7VEE


Bands: 6M - 160M


Modes: CW, SSB, RTTY & FT8


Qsl Info: QSL via DL4SVA or ClubLog OQRS


Start Date - End Date: Sep. 22 - Oct. 06



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