TT8KO - DX news and calendar

Added/updated

October 27, 2018

Callsign(s)

TT8KO

Start-end dates

October 9, 2018 - October 18, 2018

Utilities

Tracking & stats

Recent spots

DX Atlas

Propagation calculator

DXCC

TT - Chad

CQ zone

WEB page

http://la7gia.com/Chad/index.html

Planned modes

CW, SSB

Planned bands

160 m, 80 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m, 10 m

Source

LA7GIA & DX-World

Log search

https://www.m0oxo.com/oqrs/logsearch.php

Information

Update Oct,27: I arrived home today. What a feeling! Thanks to the Norwegian Embassy who resolved the issue quickly, very well done. All equipment arrived as well. I also managed to work Ducie as atno earlier today, so a great day.

I have decided that full log of 2135 Qs will be uploaded to LoTW asap, you should find your confirmation soon in LoTW. M0OXO will handle the OQRS through his system, QSL will be printed soon.

If any of the upfront sponsors want a refund, let me know.

If somebody wants to help me cover the extra costs (1800-2000 USD) I had when rebooking flights twice and extending the stay, I very much appreciate a donation to my paypal kenneth@opskar.no

The authorizathion was sent to ARRL in August, so don’t worry about that.

73 Ken LA7GIA

Update Oct,24: I RECEIVED THE NEWS THAT I CAN LEAVE CHAD IMMEDIATELY. I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TRANSMIT. ALL ANTENNAS ARE TO BE TAKEN DOWN TODAY BEFORE SUNSET BECAUSE THERE IS A PRESIDENTIAL EVENT AT THE HOTEL TOMORROW, AND HE WILL BE HERE. HOTEL IS NOW PACKED WITH VIPS, POLICE AND MILITARY PERSONNEL. I AM DONE WITH THE SIGHTSEEING SO MY FLIGHT IS BOOKED FOR TOMORROW.

Update Oct,23: KEN EXPLICITLY ASKED NOT TO SHARE ANY NEWS UPDATES VIA THE TT8KO FACEBOOK PAGE. THIS IS TO PREVENT HIS FAMILY FROM WORRYING MORE.

THERE ISN’T MUCH PROGRESS. YESTERDAY’S MEETING WAS FAKE NEWS – IT NEVER HAPPENED. THE NORWEGIAN EMBASSY IS WORKING ON THE CASE. WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE CASE TO BE PROCESSED BY SECURITY POLICE. ALL MY ANTENNAS ARE STILL LOCKED DOWN. THE BEAM, DIPOLES AND BEVERAGE STILL UP. 80M ANTENNA FELL DOWN DURING A LOCAL TT PARTY, BUT IS NOW PACKED IN THE BAG. I AM SAFE AND IN THE HOTEL COMPOUND DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL EMAILS, I READ ALL OF THEM. ALSO THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO SPEND 5 MIN OR EVEN HOURS CHATTING WITH ME, IT REALLY KEEPS THE SPIRIT UP.

Update Oct,22: Lots of people have been asking how is Ken and what’s latest news. At this time Ken is ok and still in Chad. Had he been fully operational as TT8KO, his return home would have been yesterday; as such he is overdue. Ken stated he will give an update later today.

Update Oct,18: LAST NIGHT I WAS INFORMED THAT A POLICE ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED PREVENTING ME FROM LEAVING CHAD, EVEN W/O EQUIPMENT. STATUS OF MY RETURN FLIGHT HAS CHANGED TO “OPEN”. THE NORWEGIAN EMBASSY AND FOREIGN MINISTRY IS NOW WORKING ON THE ISSUE. I GET MANY EMAILS EVERY DAY FROM DXERS AROUND THE WORLD WITH KIND WORDS – IT KEEPS THE SPIRIT UP – THANKS! HOTEL STAFF ALSO VERY SUPPORTIVE. STILL WAITING.

Update Oct,17: THIS MORNING I CHANGED MY RETURN TICKET SO WILL LEAVE CHAD ON THURSDAY 18TH – WITHIN 24H FROM NOW. HOWEVER, I AM STILL NOT ALLOWED TO DISASSEMBLE THE EQUIPMENT UNTIL INSPECTION IS COMPLETED AS EVERYTHING MUST REMAIN AS IS. I INTEND TO TAKE MY ELECRAFT K3 RADIO AND ANTENNAS WITH ME, BUT I DON’T HAVE MORE INFO THAN THAT. WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED IF ANY CHANGE. THANKS FOR ALL KIND WORDS.

Update Oct,16: Kenneth has again been in touch to say he will give a final update later today. He’s still waiting on security police. QRX..

Update Oct,13: I HAVE BEEN THROUGH 2 INTERROGATIONS BY THE SECURITY POLICE. MORE ABOUT THAT LATER. MY GEAR HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED. THE ANTENNAS ON THE ROOF ARE LOCKED DOWN, I CANNOT ACCESS THEM EVEN FOR VISUAL INSPECTION OR MAINTENANCE. I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH ANYTHING. AND I MEAN ANYTHING. WHEN I DID IT WAS REPORTED. EVERYTHING HAS TO REMAIN IN THE SAME POSITION, NO ALTERATIONS ARE ACCEPTED, NOT EVEN TO TIGHTEN A LOOSE NUT. THE BEAM FAILED ONCE DURING THE FIRST 24 HOURS WHICH I MANAGED TO FIX WITH A SPARE PART. FROM GROUND LEVEL I CAN NOW SEE THE REFLECTOR ELEMENT IS OUT OF POSITION, AS YESTERDAY WE HAD A BRIEF STORM.

THIS MORNING I ALSO SAW MY RED BEVERAGE WIRE BEING HIT BY APPARENTLY A COLOUR BLIND BIRD DURING LANDING – VERY POOR LANDING SKILL ! THE SECURITY POLICE HAVE – THROUGH THEIR INVESTIGATION – CONCLUDED THAT ALL MY DOCUMENTS ARE OK – AND I HAVE DONE ALL CORRECTLY. HOWEVER, WHAT NOW CAUSES THE DELAY IS THE FACT THAT ARCEP, WHO ISSUED ALL DOCUMENTS, DID NOT INFORM THE SECURITY POLICE. THE POLICE DO NOT ISSUE AUTHORIZATIONS, BUT SUPERVISE THE NATIONAL SECURITY. THE POLICE ARE NOW AFTER ARCEP, NOT ME. STILL, EVEN AFTER LOTS OF MEETINGS, BELIEVE ME, I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING, THEY CAN’T SAY WHEN THEY WILL INFORM ME.

SO, WHILE WAITING FOR THE POLICE – THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING MORE TO BE DONE. I MIGHT GET A PHONE CALL IN 5 MIN OR NEVER. I DON’T KNOW. IF THERE IS NO DECISION BY THE POLICE VERY SOON – I WILL RETURN HOME. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING ME – MY SAFETY HERE IS NO PROBLEM!Update Oct,12: WAITING FOR THE PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF TCHAD (IDRISS DEBY) TO RETURN TO THE COUNTRY AT 15:00 UTC TODAY. AFTER THAT THE CHIEF OF NATIONAL SECURITY POLICE, WHO IS WITH THE PRESIDENT, WILL PERSONALLY CHECK THE RADIO HIMSELF. IT’S NO JOKE. THEY SAY I PROBABLY CAN CONTINUE TODAY, BUT NO PROMISES. IF THIS DELAY CONTINUES EVEN MORE I WILL RETURN HOME.

Update Oct,11: THE INSPECTION OF THE EQUIPMENT BY THE NATIONAL SECURITY POLICE HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL TOMORROW. NO TIME GIVEN. EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED. THE HEAD OF THE POLICE HIMSELF IS TRAVELLING WITH THE PRESIDENT, AND WHEN THEY RETURN FROM ABROAD TOMORROW, THE HEAD OF POLICE WILL CHECK THE EQUIPMENT PERSONALLY WITH HIS TECHNICIANS. ALL PAPERS ARE OK AND ISSUED BY MINISTRY. APART FROM THAT, ALL IS OK HERE.

UNTIL THEN I CATCH UP WITH SOME SLEEP, IT WAS A VERY INTENSE FIRST 24H COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION AND BEING ON THE AIR SAME TIME WITH 2135 QS. THE HOTEL IS REALLY GREAT, FANTASTIC TAKE-OFF. THE BEVERAGE IS ALSO WORKING VERY WELL. YESTERDAY THE MOSLEY BEAM FAILED, BUT I REPLACED ONE INDUCTOR THIS MORNING.
I WAS RUNNING ON THE 40M DIPOLE ON 15M LAST 30 MIN YESTERDAY. FANTASTIC SIGNALS FROM NA ON 15 AND 40M! UNTIL THEN THE LOG FOR THE FIRST 24H HAS BEEN UPLOADED TO CLUB LOG.

Update Oct,10: SECURITY POLICE SHUT DOWN THE STATION THIS EVENING. TT8KO IS TEMPORARY QRT UNTIL TOMORROW 10 UTC WHEN THEY WILL DECIDE IF I CAN CONTINUE. I THINK THIS IS TEMPORARY UNTIL ALL LICENSE AND EQUIPMENT ADMISSION DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY SECURITY POLICE TOGETHER WITH MINISTRY, FOLLOWED BY A CW DEMO. SO FAR 2150 QS IN LOG FIRST 24 HOURS. ALL ANTENNAS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED EXCEPT 160M VERTICAL.

Update Aug,23: Callsign confirmed TT8KO

Info from Kenneth LA7GIA: Republic of Chad Single-op DXpedition, 09 - 21 Oct 2018

DXpedition booked for 12 days. Finally I obtained the VISA which took me some time. Usually getting a VISA is "easy", but this time my professional VISA agent had to go to their European Embassy twice to obtain it!

Chad is ranked pretty high up worldwide on lower bands, even higher for NA west coast. It's been a few years since the last single-op activation, and some more years since a group activated this entity.

Planning the QTH has also been challenging. There are unfortunately not many suitable and quiet locations (noise wise). The first hotel refused to host any of my antennas due to security reasons. However, I have permission from another hotel which has an equally great location, but it is limited to one beverage space wise, but much more space for other RX antennas. I also plan to avoid the static season.

QTH: N'Djamena

I will use the following equipment.

1 x Radio Elecraft K3 (upgraded)
1 x Radio KX3 as backup
1 kW amplifier
My favourite 2 el Mosley beam: 20-17-15-12-10m up abt 25 meter
80m antenna, toploaded vertical - SPIDERBEAM POLE
Various backup TX antennas for different bands.
Various RX antennas: K9AY, BOG and beverage, some homebrew and some sponsored by Remoteqth.com

TBD - still planning

40/30m dipole or possible 2 el wire beam? up 25-30 meter.
160m antenna, toploaded vertical. Abt 28-30m vertical section.
backup, backup, backup ..

Modes: CW (+ maybe SSB)

QRX until next month for more info.

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