The early bird does indeed catch the worm!

This is my QSO with TX5K, Clipperton Island, on 80 metres CW at shortly after 6am this morning! I started recording just as I started calling them, and as you can see from this very short video, I got through after just three calls!!

Although his signal doesn't seem to be very strong, bear in mind that I was using my old Butternut vertical antenna! I was giving him 400 watts from the Acom 1000. He was calling EU only. I am absolutely delighted to get this rare one into the log on the low bands. That brings my total number of slots up to eight.

I had heard them on 80 CW at 8.30am yesterday, but it was bright here and it was too late. However, Ark EI9KC had told me to try around 5-6am so that's what I did. Thanks Ark !

And here it is . . . the DXA online log system for TX5K confirms
that I have worked them on 80m CW, among others!

TX5K Clipperton update - seven slots now

From having just one lowly slot early Monday morning, I finished Monday with a total of seven. Having worked TX5K on 40m CW yesterday morning, I came home from work yesterday evening and got busy! I spent an hour trying on 15m CW without success. I had to go and do some shopping around 8.45pm. I came back a short time later and worked them on 17m SSB with two calls! Then I went back to 15m CW and they were stronger than before! I worked them after a few calls.

This is the DXA online log for TX5K. Looks pretty cool! Here's my seven slots.

The big surprise of the night was to hear them strong on 12m CW at 9.30pm local time. To my astonishment, I worked them with my first call. Soon after that I had bagged them on 20m CW too, plus I managed a QSO on 30m, where I worked them just one KC up from their frequency.

This morning, I didn't get to the radio until about 8.40am and although TX5K was audible on 80m CW, it was perhaps a little too late for trying. Hopefully they will be on that slot again in the coming days and I will try to get them earlier.

Hats off to John EI7BA who has no fewer than SIXTEEN slots so far! Wow!

PS: Today is the third anniversary of my callsign EI2KC. Delighted that I've hit 285 DXCC.... now the drive towards 300 begins!!

Clipperton Island in the log - twice! DXCC #285

I am delighted to report that I have worked TX5K, Clipperton Island. I managed to nab them after about 20 minutes of trying on Sunday on 17 metres CW. They had a big signal, but of course the European pile-up was huge. I had tried for ten minutes before dinner but didn't get through. Immediately after dinner I was back at the rig again and figured out his listening pattern. After about ten minutes I heard the magic "EI2KC 5NN" coming through, and confirmed the QSO with "RR EI2KC 5NN TU".

This morning, Monday, I was trying on 40m CW. This operator had a different pattern. He kept going up, by about half a KC each time, until he was about 10kc up, and then he would come back down again, in increments. I had just about figured out his pattern when it was time to go to work. I switched everything off and went to wait for my lift. However, I got a text message saying he was running 15 minutes late, so I went straight back into the shack and switched on the radio and the linear and went back to calling him again. After about five minutes the magic was happening again . . . "EI2KC 5NN". I was delighted to get through, particularly because of the width of the pile-up and the number of EU ops calling him.

TX5K is an international dxpedition to Clipperton Island (official DXCC designator FO-C). It's my 285th DXCC worked. I am particularly delighted because tomorrow, Tuesday, will be the third anniversary of receiving my EI2KC callsign.

The next target - Clipperton Island !

The next big target for DXers around the globe (excuse the pun!) is highlighted above, on my shack globe. Clipperton Island is due to come on air on Thursday, thanks to an international team which will use the callsign TX5K. Clipperton Island is the 40th most wanted DXCC according to Clublog's updated most wanted list. If I can work it, it will be a new country for me. The official DXCC designator for Clipperton is FO-C. According to the team's website, they are on schedule to land on February 27th and to begin operations as planned on 28th.

You can read more about Clipperton, an uninhabited coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, at this link.

To all those who intend to try to work this rare entity, best of luck. See you in the pile-ups!!

Some serious QRM on 10 metres in Slovenia

S57S Aleksander demonstrates some pretty awful QRM on the 28 Mhz (10 metre) band on his Kenwood TS-850SAT. The source appears to be to his east, and he says it is occurring daily. The signal strength of the QRM is sometimes 50dB over s9. Serious stuff...

V63ZM Micronesia makes it two new DXCC in 24 hrs

This is a short video clip showing V63ZM in Micronesia on 17 metres CW shortly after I worked him as a a brand new DXCC. His signal had actually dropped when I took this video - he was stronger when I worked him. That was DXCC #283 for me, following hot on the heels of 9U4U Burundi which I worked yesterday evening on 20m SSB as a brand new DXCC (#282). I also worked 9U4U on 17m CW and 15m SSB this morning so I now have three slots. Even without great sunspot numbers (10 metres is dead) there is still good DX to be worked on the bands.

Rotuma Island on 20m CW with 100 watts!

I've just worked 3D2RO in Rotuma, South Pacific, on 20 metres CW. I was surprised to be able to work him after just three calls using 100 watts, while waiting for the linear amplifier to warm up.

I didn't expect to get him so quickly, but could hear that he was working Gs and GMs and generally west and northwestern Europe. I only had Rotuma (3D2-R) on 17m CW, so it's a rare one here.

The operator is N7OU, Bill Vanderheide, who is active until February 21st on that island with W7YAQ (3D2RX).