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W8S - Swains Isl.


W8S Update (Jan 02)


QSL update


Our QSL Manager Charles M0OXO has processed 2425 letters and these will get into the mail tomorrow. In the next 10 days he will process and mail the remainder of the requests. That will complete all the current requests.



W8S Update (Dec 15)


The W8S QSL is coming.



Charles M0OXO his desk working on the W8S QSL cards. So, not only the Holidays are coming… watch your mailbox.



W8S Update (Oct 20)


Perfect continental split…..


Now that the team is on its return trip and the dust clouds are slowly but surely settling, we have time to take a leisurely look at the results of this DXpedition:

89530 QSOs in the log

If we look at the distribution over the continents we see a beautifully even distribution over the three largest ones:



If we look at the band/mode distribution we see a picture we don’t often see anymore at DXpeditions: 38% CW:



Judging by the reactions, the team made a lot of amateurs happy with this. If you have a lot of one, there is automatically less left for the other, so maybe the 14% SSB is disappointing for another group.


The Club Log Impact On Users statistics really shows what this DXpedition has meant. Among Clublog users 16.1% an ATNO:



Speaking of success…..




W8S Update (Oct 18)


The team arrived safely back in Pago Pago

The team arrived safely in Pago Pago, after a 21-hour boat trip. Now the team awaits a logistical challenge to re-pack the equipment into the boxes ready for shipment for the long way back to the Netherlands. Only 24 hours to organize this before the team gets on the plane to Hawaii.






W8S Update (Oct 17)


QRT

As we all noticed W8S Swains2023 is QRT. With a QSO number of almost 90K we can safely say this goal is met.



Here we have the team, tired but satisfied, having their final meeting in base camp on the island.



W8S Update (Oct 16)


Breaking News: The EXIT plan


Exit plan:

Blue camp is down, Red camp is still functioning fully tonight local time and tomorrow during the day.

Red camp dismantling will start bit by bit Monday LT during the day. To be finished end of the day on Monday LT.

On Tuesday morning LT we will leave the Swains Island.

LT Swains = UTC/GMT -11 hours



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W8S: an SSB Pile-up




W8S Update (Oct 15)


W8S International Team of operators


L to R: USA: KO8SCA NG7M – Netherlands: PA5X PG2M PA3EWP PA4WM PA2KW – Germany: DL2AMD DL6JGN DJ9RR


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The magic continues on 6m

After a very nice opening to Japan the team had another moonpass for 6m EME. A succesfull moonpass resulting in the first ever EME QSOs made from Swains:




3 succesfull QSOs via the moon in the log, all with NA.


But the magic continues as later in the day signals from VK were heard and after turbine the beam there a few VK made the W8S log.



A very nice day on the magic band



W8S Update (Oct 14)


The magic of 6m also on Swains

A few days ago the first 6m QSO was made from Swains. Below videos will show how this was experienced by the team:


(The videos are in the link)



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Preparation pays off

The extensive preparation of the W8S Team pays off in reaching the goals of the Swains DXpedition.

The VOACAP predictions have been studied as part of the preparation and each operator had the following 2 sheets at their operating position. One with the bandplan and essential settings, one with the VOACAP predictions to plan their activity.

Also pictured here is the custom made ‘cooling fan bar’. These cooling fans are mounted on an aluminum angle bar and provide additional cooling for the SPE Expert amps in the extreme heat on Swains.




W8S Update (Oct 13)


W8S Team presenting an Award and Commemorative Plaque to Alex Jennings



In order to commemorate the presence of the W8S Swains DX pedition on Swains Island in 2023, the Team had prepared a special award and plaque for Alex Jennings (the representative of the family who own Swains Island).



Today during a small ceremony held on Swains Island, the W8S Team presented both the award and stainless steel plaque, which will remain on Swains Island, for the next DX pedition / visitors to see.



W8S Update (Oct 12)


Live can be full of surprises….

Timestamp: 2023 10 12 at 02:43 UTC

It was the start of the shift of Operator Johannes PA5X, when he started calling CQ on the DX pedition frequency 14.181 on 20m SSB. As most of the time nobody is scrolling on the bands anymore and for minutes W8S Swains DX pedition called CQ without any response.

In need for a cluster spot, Johannes turned the dial to 14.188 where he heard someone with the call EA5JZ 20dB over S9 having a conversation with another Ham. The conversation was, believe it or not, EA5JZ (Paul Thomson) wanting to work the Swains DX pedition and telling to the other Ham that it was an ATNO for him. It was at that time that W8S OM Johannes PA5X started to call EA5JZ and told him that he was the luckiest Ham of the moment, with the DX pedition calling him and asking for a cluster spot.

EA5JZ Paul couldn’t believe his ears and was wondering if the W8S call was genuine. Assuring EA5JZ that this was really W8S, Paul was a really happy OM and was able to log W8S as an ATNO! The cluster spot was made and the pile-up started! Thank you Paul! 73 de W8S




W8S Update (Oct 11)


Topband, Greyline and 6m EME


The latest news from Swains:

Top Band: The weather gods are in favor of the W8S Team today! Lots of overcast make it possible for the Team to work with 4 operators (off-duty) on the 160m vertical. While others are operating some of the operators take some time from their scheduled rest to built up the last antenna! The 160m vertical stands and is ready for action.




6m EME: The first attempts on 6m were unsuccessful. There was a one-way copy and that is not enough. There will be another attempt in a few hours if there is a moon pass suitable for Europe. The team is confident that their learning curve will result in QSOs.


Greyline: The team is aware that this morning they missed the last hour of the European grey line and the first hour of the East Coast grey line on 80m. This was necessary because they all had to do antenna work. Since all antennas are now up and working, expect full attention during the greyline on 80m and top band.


The team is fully aware that not everything is going as expected and therefore the expectation cannot be fully met yet. Despite the extreme conditions in which to work, the ambition is as high as ever and the team is doing everything possible to meet expectations.


They have published a large gallery of photos that you can see in the source link.



W8S Update (Oct 10)


Live video stream from W8S

This is Swains:




W8S Update (Oct 09)


6M EME….. antenna issues

Questions are asked about 6m EME. Logical, we had big plans but found Murphy on our way! Update:

  • one element of the boom screw was broken we had to fix that

  • The intended way of setting up the yagi was not possible so we have to improvise, sandbags are used for all other antennas but won’t hold the 6m EME antenna

  • we had the antenna up with the support of the Team, but guy stakes were not holding

  • we were promised suitable guy stakes by the support team, that did not work out either.

  • today 09 October 2023 is our last chance to get it up!

  • it’s easy to judge from the side line, more difficult when you’re in the middle of it….

To be continued….


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On the Island challenges

Although the images of the island look very tropical and idyllic, the reality is different. Temperatures around 40 C and very high humidity make conditions particularly tough. Building the station required a great deal of effort from the entire team. This is also one of the reasons why the construction of the stations took a little longer than hoped. Unfortunately, due to the necessarily changed location of the blue camp, the PC network between the camps is not yet fully functional. This is the main reason for the delayed first log upload and also an obstacle for communication between the operators and the pilot team. The feedback the Pilots get from you will be collected and shared with the team. It is not that the situation can be changed “on the spot” but this will be taken into account in the planning of the comming days.

This is a DXpedition with a lot of demand from all over the world. So yes, the attention will be spread all over the world with where possible extra attention for the more difficult areas. Finally, some images of Swains, but believe me it is not a vacation outing.





They have published a large gallery of photos that you can see in the source link.



W8S Update (Oct 08)


Team Update 07 October 2023

The Team continued to set up antennas in the simmering heat. By times it is unbearable, the heat is so strong that we have to take many breaks, which slows down the progress. Furthermore a lot of work has been done on the station setup and the High Power Bandpass filters have been setup. We had a good run on various bands and try to maintain an even balance over the various bands.

The 40m phased array was setup today and works great! Tomorrow the last antennas for 80m and 160m as well as 2x K9AY RX antennas will be setup. The Team is in good spirit, but also exhausted from all the hard work in the heat. Since today we’re fully operational with 4 stations on at all times. We’re now working in our rotating schedule, which comprises of shifts of 3,4 and 5 hrs. We’re doing our best to work as many as possible of you!




W8S Update (Oct 07)


Short update from Swains

Yesterday end of local morning we landed on Swains.



We offload all materials in 4 separate runs from Landing craft to shore, it took till mid afternoon






We offload all materials in 4 separate runs from Landing craft to shore, it took till mid afternoon



We split up in red camp and blue camp teams and started building up antennas. We got 6 antennas up between half afternoon and sunset, conditions were tough with heat, heavy rain and mosquitoes. We started running 30m CW last night (local time) and afterwards we continued on 30m + 20m FT8. This local morning again 30m CW and now 12m CW and 20m FT8. In the mean time were setting up more antennas and will soon start up the 2nd camp (blue camp)






Worked lot of EU + AS this early morning around 15:00-19:00 UTC 07 October 2023 on both 20m + 30m.

To be continued….


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W8S is on the bands…

Short report from the team: We are QRV this evening!! The 30m CW reports are genuine. Good hunting !!!



W8S Update (Oct 06)


Latest W8S spots



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Update 2130 UTC October 6

Update 2130 UTC October 6: The whole team has just landed on the island. First signals to be expected this Swains evening after 06.00UTC


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Update 16:00UTC 6 October

Update 16:00UTC 6 October: Manu’atele arrived ar Swains Island. Still pitch black an waiting for sunrise and high tide to start off loading.



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Message from the team on the ‘Manu’atele’

Update 04:38 UTC 6 October We are now at 40% of the trip to Swains. We are doing well and no seasicknesses anymore. Spirit is high. Good support from Alex Jennings and his team.




W8S Update (Oct 05)


W8S on the way to Swains!

After a slight delay, the W8S Swains Team is finally on the way to Swains! The vessel ‘Manu’atele’ sailed out the Port of Pago Pago (American Samoa) on October 5, 2023 at 09:00 UTC with the W8S Swains Team onboard!



The initial schedule was slightly delayed by the inclement weather and due to other commitments of the Government operated vessel, serving the local island communities.


After a decisive meeting with the local Port Authorities, which was attended by some of the W8S Swains Team members, the final go-ahead was given and the W8S Swains Team was allowed to board the ‘Manu’atele’ en route to Swains on Wednesday evening LT.


After departure from American Samoa and on the way to Swains, the ‘Manu’atele’ will drop some cargo at the neighbouring island of Manu’a and afterwards sail directly to Swains. A 30 hour journey lies ahead for the W8S Swains Team and the supporting crew.


Upon arrival at Swains, the W8S Swains Team and support crew will offload the ‘Manu’atele’ at high tide and go ashore with a landing craft, sailing up and down several times to offload all the cargo.


After the landing, the W8S Swains Team will start working in the simmering heat to set up the 2 operating camps and start operating hopefully during the local night, beginning on October 7, 2023 at 06:00 UTC.


You can track the ‘Manu’atele’ here: https://share.garmin.com/w8s. As soon as the W8S Swains Team are on the island, a Starlink internet connection will be set up to keep the DX community updated, but more importantly the radio stations will be installed asap to start working you all!


Below a little view on the hectic day the team had today prior to setting sail with the Manu’atele.


They have published a large gallery of photos that you can see in the source link.



W8S Update (Oct 03)


Team W8S meets 93KHJ

Today started early for the team. They were invited at 7am for the morning show at the local radio station 93KHJ. Together with Alex Jennings the Swains2023 adventure was presented to the listeners.

A small impression of this nice and usefull intermezzo:






W8S Update (Oct 02)


Breaking news

Due to adverse weather, the Government operated vessel Manu’atela, which will bring the W8S Team to Swains, is delayed by 24 hrs. The Manu’atela will supply the island of Manu’a today and return for loading the items of the W8S Team tomorrow on American Samoa, weather permitting. The W8S Team will continue their preparations and hope to depart the day after tomorrow (04 October 2023) for Swains, delaying the start date of the activation by 1 day to the 5th of October 2023.

Stay tuned for more updates.



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Logsearch and OQRS information:

So, you made the QSO but like to check it to be sure…. Logs will be send from the island on regular bases to the QSL Manager M0OXO. Charles uploads the logs to his own OQRS system and to Clublog. See below direct links to the logsearch and OQRS:

NOT IN LOG Requests:


Click this button on M0OXO OQRS to report a Missing Qso from the Log




W8S Update (Oct 01)


W8S meets E51D

During their stay on KH8 some of the Team members met with Tamas HA7RY and Gabi HA5YG. Tamas and Gabi had just returned to KH8 from their E51D RIB DX-Pedition with George AA7JV and Michael KN4EEI.




W8S Update (Sep 30)


A hard days work @ KH8/W8S…..

The ToDo list for the stay in American Samoa before boarding the ship is impressive. Today, many of these ToDo’s could be ticked off after a very productive day at the hardware store and in the workshop. An impression of the teams’ work in and around Pago Pago:





You can see more pictures in the link of the source.



W8S Update (Sep 29)


We are getting close…..

The team arrived in American Samoa and enjoyed a (healthy) late night welcome snack in the Pago Pago Hotel with our host Alex Jennings….




W8S (Sep 28)


Ops: DJ9RR, DL2AMD, DL6JGN, KO8SCA, NG7M, PA2KW, PA3EWP, PA4WM, PA5X & PG5M


Bands: 6M - 160M


Modes: CW, SSB, RTTY & FT8


Qsl Info: Qsl via M0OXO


Start Date - End Date: Oct. 04 - Oct. 17




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