VP8ORK is the latest DXpedition on the HF bands, working from South Orkney Island, which is (sort of) between Chile and Antarctica way out in the ocean. Whoever said ham radio wasn't good for your geography? The VP8ORK team are mostly American operators, but the group includes a Canadian, a Singaporian (if there is such a word) and even a Tajik operator, Nodir EY8MM.
They have been QRV since January 27th and will be on the air, all going well, until February 8th. I thought I had ended the weekend with VP8ORK (DXCC VP8O) in my log three times, but upon checking their online log today I find that the 30m CW QSO I thought I had with them yesterday evening is not quite there. What do I mean by "not quite there?" I hear you ask, disdainfully?
Well, I checked for EI2KC and found I'm there twice - for QSOs on 15m SSB and 20m CW, but NOT for 30m CW. So then I searched the EI leaderboard on Clublog and in there I found EI2CC, which is possibly/probably my 30m CW QSO. Basically, they busted my callsign! And worse still, I didn't realise they did it! I'll put it down to lack of experience HI!
I tried them again this evening but they were weaker on 30 tonight than last night, so no luck. And 40m CW is just a mess. Here's some of the DX cluster spots which will give you some idea as to what's happening on that band:
