FT4JA Juan de Nova confirmed on LoTW and gives me my 300th DXCC confirmed on CW!

The recent FT4JA Juan de Nova dxpedition, which gave me my 320th DXCC worked, has now confirmed my 11 QSOs with them via Logbook of the World. That's fantastic service! It was a great dxpedition. I'm happy that I worked them on RTTY as well as SSB and CW.

As you can see from the above EI2KC account status on LoTW, FT4JA was my 300th entity confirmed on CW, which is also very nice.

The next ATNO? - TX3X Chesterfield Islands coming on air

Chesterfield Islands, in the Pacific Ocean three days' sailing from New Caledonia, are being activated beginning, hopefully, tonight, by the TX3X team. This is potentially an All-Time New One (ATNO) for me, if of course I can get them into my log. I'm looking forward to giving them a call. I'm sure the pile-ups will be huge.

Chesterfield Islands, with the DXCC designator FK/C, is the 21st most wanted DX entity, according to Clublog. It's just behind Glorioso (FT/G) and just ahead of KP1 Navassa, which fell considerably in the most-wanted rankings following the K1N dxpedition there earlier this year.

PQ0T Trindade & Martim Vaz worked in a jiffy - new country - #313!!

This is my QSO with PQ0T, Trindade & Martim Vaz, an All-Time New One for me (ATNO), on 20 metres CW. This is the easiest new rare DXCC that I ever worked! I started calling him when I put the video camera on. As you can see, I got into his log very quickly. Initially he had me as EI3KC but I had no difficulty getting it corrected. Trindade becomes the 313th current entity in my log, coming hot on the heals of yesterday's news that I had reached 300 DXCC confirmed on LoTW.

Update: I was trying on and off for several hours this afternoon on 10 metres CW, where the pile-up was almost 30Khz wide, without success!!

Will we ever work KH5K Kingman Reef again?

Kingman Reef (KH5K) pictured in 2003

A disturbing report from Dx-world.net suggests that most of Kingman Reef, an isolated reef in the Pacific Ocean and one of the rarest DXCC entities with the designator KH5K, is now almost completely submerged. The eighth most wanted DXCC is now mostly under water, and probably too dangerous to visit.

Quoting Rich KY6R and citing a report from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, DX-world.net reports that much of the reef is awash, and that the two land masses making up the reef lie only three feet above water level:

The U.S. F&W report suggests that Kingman Reef is now too dangerous to visit:

“The work site on the reef flat was very shallow with water depths of 1 to 7 feet at high tide, and just a few inches of water at low tide. The two small rubble islands that comprise the only land masses at Kingman Reef lie merely 3 feet above sea level. They are frequently awash by waves and offered no shelter during removal operations. The severe sea state and environmental conditions at Kingman Reef are unpredictable, and forecasts are relatively unreliable at the isolated central Pacific reef. Such uncertainty constrained safe operations, and the team determined that mobilizing the full shipwreck removal team and all floating assets, including the 185-foot barge and large crane, from Palmyra to be staged at the Kingman removal site, presented an unacceptable risk to crew and resources. Instead, a subset of the crew traveled to Kingman Reef from Palmyra Atoll on the tugboat Sarah C with a transport scow in tow.”

Rich told DX-world.net that he thinks it's now "time that DXAC seriously consider deleting Kingman Reef."
Kingman reef was last activated in the year 2000 by the K5K dxpedition. There is some doubt right now about whether it will ever be activated again.

Amsterdam Island has become DXCC #303 in my log

My perseverance has paid off. I have been at the radio on and off for prolonged periods trying to work FT5ZM Amsterdam Island all day. First it was 10m SSB. No joy. Then 12m CW. No success. Then I QSY'd down to 15m SSB, where my friend Don EI6IL worked them but they faded out soon after. I then tried 17m CW, where the pile-up was 20 Khz wide!! No success there either. So finally I hit 20m CW, and long into the darkness they were still a good signal here on my hexbeam.

At long last, just eight minutes ago, I heard what sounded like my callsign coming from FT5ZM. He gave "I2KC 5NN". I replied: "DE EI2KC EI2KC 5NN BK" and he said "EI TU". Brilliant stuff. That's DXCC #303 in my log. Chuffed.

Above is a video showing the signal strength from FT5ZM immediately after I worked them.

At least two, and possibly three, new DXCC today!

Despite suffering wind damage during a storm, the hexbeam was still proving its worth this morning when I pulled in two distant rare DX signals and nabbed the latest brace of DX entites for the EI2KC log. I saw VK9XS on Christmas Island spotted on 21 Mhz CW on the cluster. I sat on his QRG and could hear nothing. Not to be disappointed, I checked that the beam was pointing at him and then busied myself doing other things at the computer while still keeping an ear on the radio.

Marshall Islands, from where V73NS was transmitting
on 15m CW when I worked him as a new one.

A while later, I heard a weak CW signal coming up out of the noise. Pretty soon I could hear 'VK9XS UP', so I put the split on and tried to listen where he was working. It was difficult, because the pile was big and I wasn't hearing some of the Europeans he was coming back to. But eventually I had it bang on and pretty soon I heard 'EI?'. He had me as EI12KC initially but after a number of overs he came back with 'EI2KC 5NN' and I had a new DXCC in the log.

Less than 40 minutes later I started hearing V73NS from Marshall Islands, also on 15m CW, and gave him a call with 400 watts. He was very weak with a lot of QSB but pretty soon I was in his log too, making two new ones in less than an hour.

Also worked today with the hexbeam were VK8CAW (Australia) on 15m CW, DU3/N0QM (Philippines) on 15m cw, VK9XS (Christmas Island again) this time on 17m CW, and a couple of 9M2s, a couple of 9M6s and a DS4 in Korea. Nice!

I am grateful to Tony EI4DIB and Pat EI2HX for helping me make repairs to the hexbeam, and to Tony for his persistence in uncovering the cause of a fluctuating SWR. Thanks gents!!

Tonight there is a Z60K team on the air, from Kosovo. This is not a DXCC entity, at least not yet. I worked them on 20m SSB on the basis of 'work now, worry later'. If Kosovo becomes an entity any time soon, I will have it in the log!!