Update May 1, 2021: The VP8PJ has been awarded the "2021 DXpedition of the Year" by The Southwest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) .
Each year the Southwest Ohio DX Association presents the DXpedition of the Year Award at the annual DX Dinner. Their goal is to recognize excellence in DXpedition planning and execution from Most Wanted entities. DXpeditions that completed from March 2020 through February 2021 are eligible for this year’s award. Winners of the DXpedition of the Year award have overcome significant access, licensing and logistical challenges to deliver a large number of contacts to a broad swath of the global amateur community. They represent the pinnacle of DXpeditioning.
Update September 14, 2020:"We have closed the books on the VP8PJ DX-pedition to the South Orkney Islands. Due to the global pandemic our equipment was returned to California about two months later than planned. Nothing was missing or damaged during the extended journey. Thanks to the worldwide clubs / foundations, the DX community and our corporate sponsors, the project met all operational and financial goals. We appreciate the continued support from the DX community.
Consistent with our commitment to upload the complete VP8PJ log to LoTW six months following the DXpedition, Tim M0URX will upload the complete log on 15 September. Planning for our next project is underway. Exact timing will depend on lifting of the global travel restrictions, issuance of the landing permit and ship scheduling, early 2022 is the plan.
Watch for press releases as this new project unfolds.
73, VP8PJ Leadership Team"
Update July 19, 2020:"The DX-pedition is over, but the work continues! Several team members have gathered in California to empty the cargo container that arrived back from Chile. The process of sorting and returning the equipment to its proper owners will take a few days, this being one of the last major tasks tackled by the VP8PJ team.
We wish to state again... Thank you for your interest, support and enthusiasm during this project. This could not have happened without your help!"
Update May 3, 2020:Chile is still under a Covid-19 lockdown. Civil unrest continues. Our equipment is still at the Agunsa warehouse.
About 10 days ago we received an e-mail that indicated they were trying to get it moving, no update since. Still unpaid are the return shipping bills, and port fees for our March 12th arrival back to Punta Arenas. There will be bills for equipment repair / replace, still an unknown, and some misc items not yet billed.
The QSL cards are printed and being shipped to Tim M0URX. We expect a shipping delay because of the limited number of airline flights and a few days delay at Customs. Tim is ready to affix the labels and stuff envelops. The stuffing process is usually done by Tim, M0OXO and a helper. With the UK in lockdown Tim will do this himself.
Nigel said the medical condition that prevented him from joining us is now resolved. Braveheart was allowed to refuel at Papeete, Tahiti. They arrived at 7AM and departed at 2PM on the same day. They arrived back in NZ on April 26th. NZ imposed a 14 day quarantine, therefore the 10 day journey from Papeete to NZ was 14 days. They slowed to 6 knots for the journey to NZ.
After some negotiation by Nigel, Esau (crew) was issued a visitor visa to enter NZ, he stayed with Nigel for a few days and is now in Auckland with family. He must wait until the first week of June to return to Tonga, and even that is questionable. All things considered, we were very lucky to have succeeded in conducting the DX-pedition and getting out of Chile before the lock down. Cheers, GS K5GS.
Update April 13, 2020: On Friday, April 10th the VP8PJ QSL card design was sent to Max (ON5UR QSL Print Service) for review and setup. After our final review is complete the cards will be printed and shipped to Tim M0URX for distribution. Thousands of QSO and mailing labels have already been processed and are ready for placement on QSL cards and direct mail envelops. Buro cards will be placed in the system in early 2021.
Of the 83783 QSOs in the log, 30548 have been claimed and processed for placement on QSL cards. LoTW is current, and there are no busted call requests in the work queue – to date, all 731 have been investigated and answered by M0URX.
Let’s be realistic, the Covid-19 crisis has disrupted the world. Businesses are closed and every facet of our life has been upended. Please be patient, the cards will be mailed as soon as possible. OQRS and LoTW are processed daily. There is no need to send e-mails asking about the QSL cards.
73, Gene K5GS.
Update April 11: Available a film about Matt Jolly, Master of the RV Braveheart by VP8PJ team member, Vadym UT6UD.
Update March 17: "Thanks for the pileups! We have all left Punta Arenas and are either home or another location of choice.
Several of us left Punta Arenas sooner than planned because of the Coronavirus situation and possible airline chaos. Fortunately, of those I've heard from, we had no problem buying a new ticket and getting to our final destination.
On Sunday when Rob and I arrived at LAX the Immigration and Customs area was empty, so no delays. All our flights were uneventful and on time.
After being away for 5 weeks we need to get our personal affairs in order and will work on DX-pedition related tasks as time is available. So please be patient, we have all have other life responsibilities.
If you have a Not in Log or suspected busted call, Do 'not' send e-mails, and please 'don't' send screenshots or log files unless requested. Follow the Not in Log procedure
Sending unsolicited e-mails slows the process, Tim works the Not in Log queue in the order received, unsolicited e-mails waste our time and will not be processed.
I'll be posting some photographs on the website. We're disappointed that the major conventions have been canceled, and hope that the worst of Coronavisus comes to an end soon. We're still planning Friedrichshafen in late June, maybe that one will happen.
Last I talked with Tim he's making good progress with Not in Log issues, and is regularly uploading LoTW, although I did see he had a computer failure and acquired a new machine.
We appreciate the kind words from the Group and in personal e-mails from the community.
Many of you have 'suggested' the next DX-pedition location, we've already had those discussions before and during VP8PJ.
73, GS K5GS"
Update March 7: Reported by Pilot Glenn, KE4KY at 2:12am (EST), that the VP8PJ team has left Signy Island. During the mid day, logs for the VP8PJ operation were uploaded to: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ
The team went QRT on March 6th, at 0100z. Current statistics show (as this is being written), as of 1708z March 7th, VP8PJ work 82232 total QSOs with 20657 Unique callsigns. QSO Modes: 40222/CW, 13979/SSB, 27128/FT8, 1/PSK and 2440/RTTY. By Continent: 766/AF, 1/AN, 5393/AS, 44110/EU, 29133/NA, 601/OC and 3754/SA.
Update March 6: Most of the equipment has now been transferred from the island to the Braveheart, with only a few items left to ferry over. Many team members are already on the Braveheart, the remaining team will be aboard within the next two hours. It has been raining most of the day with cold gusty winds. We are all very tired! Everyone will sleep well aboard the Braveheart tonight.
Update March 4: After consultation with the Braveheart skipper this morning, we will now leave Signy Island on Saturday March 7th.
Improving weather and sea conditions are more favorable for a later departure.
We will extend our on air operations by another full day. We will now operate through most of Thursday March 5th.
Please disregard the earlier notice on the end of operations being later today..
Update March 4: This morning’s activities are centered on removing nonessential items off the island. We hope to have this task over with quickly so that we can continue the effort to make ourselves available on the bands.
Update March 2: Major winds swept through again overnight. The 40 meter 4-square is now a single vertical. Other verticals damaged again as well, but quickly repaired. Standing at 55,000+ total Qs.
Depending on weather and sea conditions, we anticipate the following schedule:
Radio operations will continue through March 4th.
Teardown remaining equipment / camp on March 5th.
Depart Signy Island on March 6th.
Should this schedule change, it will be immediately announced.
Update March 1: The team remains in good spirits. We’re continuing to make ourselves available on the bands. Heavy winds returned last night and today. Several of the verticals have been damaged, the team is out repairing them now. Approaching 51,000 total QSOs in the log. Next log update possibly in the next 24 hours.
Update February 29: After a storm blew through we’re currently experiencing the weather conditions we expected. The antennas are staying up, with only some challenges with the larger verticals. The WeatherPort buildings have performed as expected, even with occasional wind gusts that we estimate at 75 – 80 kph, or higher.
We have reports of missing FT8 QSOs, we can not fix that on the island; Tim M0URX will handle the missing contacts once he has all the FT8 files.
Update February 29: Schedule: We must depart the island by the afternoon of Thursday, MAR 6th. Depending on the weather, we expect to begin tearing down the camp on Weds, MAR 4th. We estimate (with reasonable weather) MAR 4 - 5 for the tear down, load the ship & be ready to sail on Thursday.
Estimated time at sea is 5 full days, and arrive at the entrance to the harbor on the evening of MAR 11th. We will unload the ship on MAR 13 and turn to equipment over to our Customs Broker. Braveheart will leave Punta Arenas on MAR 15th.
Update February 29: We'll be working the gray line across the USA on 160m CW tonight..... We'll be working the gray line across the USA on 160m FT-8 tomorow night.... VP8PJ Team
Update February 27: Unable to go back to boat today, snow storm and very cold wind. Maybe tomorrow for log upload.
That message was received using Garmin inReach. The team can only send logs from the Braveheart as the terrain on the island blocks the path to the satellite.
Update February 26: For all the 160m fans. Attention was given to the 160m antenna by the team yesterday. Additional radials were added and other adjustments performed.
Update February 25: We are having spotty success getting an adequate signal from the satellite, even from the ship. We’ve been in contact with the service provider and we all agree that the problem is the terrain and the satellite’s low angle in the sky.
That said, we’re here to work DX and will deal with the usual challenges all DX-peditions to the Southern Ocean tend to experience. One of the ship’s crew asked “they make a contact on the radio and need to Internet to confirm they made the contact?”. Interesting observation from a fellow that knows little about ham radio.
We ask that people do not send us or the pilots e-mails asking about logs, if we can get uploads done, we will. If not you’ll have to do your best to get a contact. This is an experienced DX-pedition and Contest team, if you hear them repeat your call you’re in the log.
The pileups have been what we expected, always energetic, sometimes chaotic but no surprises. The team is working under very cold and windy weather conditions, with snow at night. Doing any work outside is challenging anytime and can not be done at night.
Have patience.
Update February 23: We are unable to find a solid satellite connection on the island. We are waiting to change to a different satellite, but it’s not clear there will be any difference. We know it is not a hardware problem because we have 3 satellite terminals of this model and one of another model. If we can not find a solid connection we will try to upload logs from the ship every day, and even that path to the satellite is very poor.
They are are continuing to install additional antennas today. It’s cold and difficult to use hand tools in the wind.
Update February 22: Look for VP8PJ to become active on 20m, 40m, and possibly 160m in the following hours (info at 2210z). Operating positions will slowly come online as antennas and station configurations are completed. In the earliest hours of the operation, there will be NO real-time logging available. Announcement on the real-time logging being active will follow.
Update February 21: The ice has cleared enough to get the equipment ashore. Twelve team members on the island moving equipment to our preferred site. Two team members on the ship assisting with the off loading. It will take today and tomorrow to set up camp. It’s cold, light winds, but dry at the moment.
@1530: The process of assembling the camp continues and is going well, but will continue throughout today and tomorrow.
At this juncture, we anticipate being “on the air” sometime on Sunday the 23rd. Announcements regarding this will be forthcoming.
Update February 20: After initial survey, we’re waiting for a wind change which is expected tomorrow. If the ice situation does not change significantly, we’ll try an alternate site tomorrow. Currently, cold with occasional snow flurries.
Update February 19: The Braveheart is on schedule with the team reporting relatively smooth seas. Arrival to Signy Island expected later today. Operations to go ashore expected to commence early tomorrow.
Update February 18: Good progress being made. Seas appear decent.
@17h UTC: Approx 350 miles to run. Few icebergs in the vicinity.
Update February 17: The team power on towards South Orkney. Winds / seas seem reasonable.
Update February 14:Everything looks to be in good order and the crew is busily stowing the equipment in a particular sequence so we can reverse the process and offload in a priority sequence.
We're on schedule for Saturday afternoon departure.
Cheers, GS K5GS / Team VP8PJ
Update February 14: Last minute update from K5GS before going to print on February 14th: "This morning's schedule was reversed due to late arriving fuel trucks. We loaded the team's equipment first and will take on fuel this afternoon. Everything looks to be in good order and the crew is busily stowing the equipment in a particular sequence so we can reverse the process and offload in a priority sequence. The weather is cool, with some periods of rain. We had coffee with Skipper Matt and owner Nigel, then outside to watch the loading process. We're on schedule for Saturday afternoon departure."
Update February 13: Gene, K5GS, reported on the following updates: "The entire team has now arrived in Punta Arenas. We are planning our departure for Saturday, exact time to be determined. We'll have immi gration and customs formalities and ship clearance, we'll put out a bulletin at departure time."
"Braveheart arrived Punta Arenas on Thursday morning. She'll be assigned a dock on Friday morning, take on fuel, supplies and generator petrol. Customs, Immigration and health inspections will follow.
DX-pedition equipment will be loaded on Friday afternoon. DX-pedition team will board the ship Saturday morning. We plan to leave Punta Arenas 3PM - 4PM on Saturday."
Update February 12: The team will use callsign ZL1NA/MM during the voyage between Punta Arenas to Signy Island. QSL also via M0URX. In addition, Nigel Jolly arrived Punta Arenas. He contacted the freight agent and arranged to load the Braveheart on Friday morning. Team still on schedule to leave for Signy on Saturday.
Update February 11: So far, all on schedule. Most of team arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile with the longest travel time being 40 hours: Perth, Australia => Sydney => Auckland => Santiago, Chile => Punta Arenas. Remainder of the team due on Wednesday. Braveheart expected in on Feb 13th or 14th, we load the ship on the 14th and depart for Signy Island on Feb 15th. Depending on the weather, 6 days travel time to the island.
Update February 2: Press Release #11. Team members will begin arriving in Punta Arenas on 9 February. The "Braveheart" is scheduled to depart for Signy Island, South Orkneys (AN-008) on 15 February. Shortly before she leaves Punta Arenas, the Garmin inReach personal locator will be activated. You will be able to follow her journey during the estimated six days at sea to and from the island by going to https://sorkney.com/ (click on the "Follow Braveheart" tab). * BAND PLAN: it can be found on the DXpedition's website (click "Operating Plan" in the dropdown menu under the "Island Operations" tab). Unless otherwise announced by the operator, all radio operations will be split. FT8 will use Fox/Hound mode on all bands except 60m. * PROPAGATION: Stu, K6TU has made available his "Propagation As a Service" tool at no cost to you. Accessed from the DXpedition's website (click on the "K6TU Propagation Tools" tab), the tool is configured with VP8PJ's station and antenna specifications; all you have to do is to enter your Maidenhead Locator and your antenna configuration, and the tool will generate your customized propagation charts. * REFLECTOR: it is available at Groups.io (https://groups.io/g/VP8PJ) for you to provide thoughtful and helpful information to the team (no requests for log checks, busted calls, not in log, or schedules). The pilots will monitor the reflector and summarize pertinent information by region. They will still perform their normal functions, though, so feel free to contact your regional pilot as found on https://sorkney.com/pilot-team/ should you wish not to post to the reflector. * LOG SEARCH: assuming a stable satellite connection, QSOs will be uploaded to the log server in near real-time. You can monitor logging activity at https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php?dxcallsign=VP8PJ. The OQRS will be available within ten days after the team leaves the island, as they need time to validate the logs. The QSL manager (M0URX) will work on Busted Calls and Not in Log issues after the log is validated. Please use the form on Tim's OQRS site, and do not send e-mails. * FUNDRAISING: 55 clubs/foundations, over 600 individual donors and 73 Premier Sponsors have supported the project so far. Early donors (those who donate before 15 February) will receive their LoTW confirmation(s) usually within 24 hours of the contact(s). All other donors will receive their LoTW confirmation(s) when OQRS opens.
All donations are appreciated and will help offset the project's estimated cost of about 310,000 USD. "With the 'Braveheart' and freight bills paid and the equipment in Chile", the team says, "our last remaining major expenses are shipping the equipment back home, generator fuel , port fees, general surcharges, fuel surcharge and a few smaller but still significant
expense items. It's not unusual for unexpected fees and other charges to materialize so we remain vigilant with the budget management". [TNX K5GS]
Update January 29: From DX-World: "After a stop at the Panama Canal for transfer to a different ship, our sea container arrived in Coronel, Chile on December 25th. It was then placed on a coastal barge, arriving Punta Arenas on January 13th. Equipment is now secure storage at a local warehouse."
Update January 21:Permits
Landing and camping at South Orkney requires permission from several government agencies. This multi step process takes months to complete.We recently receivedour final approval, the“Antarctic Conservation Act Permit” from the National Science Foundation. Other agencies in the process were: the US Department of State and the Environmental Protection Agency. We appreciate the cooperation and assistance we received from these agencies to complete and submit the detailed applications and other required documentation.
New Corporate Sponsor
Joining the list of corporate sponsors is The DX Store, a supplier of quality products for the amateur radio market.
Equipment Status
After 8 weeks our sea container arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile on January 13, 2020.
Operating Schedule
The team will follow a rotating 4 hours on and 8 hours off schedule. In their off-time they’ll catch up on sleep, perform equipment / campsite maintenance, operate from positions available for roving operators, or (weather permitting) go back to Braveheart for a shower and hot meal.
Island Assignments
Each team member is assigned tasks while on the island. Major activities are prioritized and staffed accordingly. The Braveheart crew will help with the heavy lifting and other setup activities. After landing, designated teams will first erect the WeatherPort shelters, install the power grid, and furnish the sleeping and operating shelters. Meanwhile the antenna teams will install the HF antennas, followed by the low band antennas.Weather permitting, setup is expected to take approximately two days.
Fundraising
We appreciate the support from the worldwide DX and amateur radio community. With the addition of Japan’s Nara DX Association, The Spokane DX Association and W4DXCC By SEDCO Convention, we currently have fifty-twoclubs / foundations signed on, over 500individuals and 60Premier Sponsors who each donated $200(USD), or more. We continue to make progress towards our goal of the radio team paying 50% of the project cost with sponsorships paying the remainder. Is your DX club listed on our website?
Thanks for your continued interest and support of our project, we’ll publish one more press release before leaving home in early February. Good luck in the pileups.
Update January 3: We are pleased to announce the call sign for the Perseverance DX Group’s expedition South Orkney 2020 will be changed to VP8PJ.
In past years it was relatively easy to get a preferred VP8 call sign for the British Antarctic Territory. After a licensing administrative change, we were unable to obtain a VP8 call sign for operation from South Orkney and were advised to use /VP8. Alan, VK6CQ, a recent addition to the team, holds the call sign VP8PJ that was issued to him for operations from the British Antarctic Territory. After submission of a copy of Alan’s license, ARRL has issued us a new LoTW certificate for the use of this call from South Orkney for the duration of our expedition.
Update December 3:Team Staffing:
We’re sorry to report that Dave WD5COV had to leave the project, replacing Dave is: Alan Cheshire VK6CQ. Originally from Scotland, Alan has lived in Perth, Western Australia for many years and was first licensed as G4EEL in 1975 whilst studying for his commercial Merchant Marine Radio Officer ticket. He holds degrees in Physics & Telecoms Engineering and is a consultant telecom engineer in the offshore oil and gas industry. Has over 5 years Antarctic and sub-Antarctic experience with the British Antarctic Survey, Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions and Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions and has over-wintered four times with the call signs VP8PJ and VKØLD. Other DX calls over the years: A4XYF, VS5AC, V85AC, P29AC, VK8AC, 9V1DX, 9VØA, CE9/VKØLD. An A1 CW Op, he gave many an all time new one as VKØMM from Macquarie Island over the year 2000 and was also a member of the 2016 VKØEK Heard Island team. When not pounding away on a Morse key, Alan plays a mean bluegrass banjo.
Equipment Shipping:
After a short delay the equipment was accepted by our freight agent, placed on pallets, shrink wrapped and loaded into a sea container. The container was trucked to Oakland, California and after US Customs formalities it began its journey to Coronel, Chile. Expected arrival is December 21 st . Subsequently, the shipment will be taken to Punta Arenas, Chile.
Fundraising:
The estimated cost of this project is $310,000 – $325,000(USD), with the most expensive line items being the ship, freight and cold weather shelters. We expect fuel prices to remain within the contracted range, with minimal foreign exchange fluctuation. Our bills are paid in: US and New Zealand Dollars and Euros, we closely follow currency trends. We appreciate the support from the worldwide DX and amateur radio organizations. Forty-nine clubs / foundations have signed on, and equally important are the over 400 individuals who have already supported the project, especially our 47 Premier Sponsors who each donated $200(USD), or more. While we still have a long way to go, we continue to make progress towards our goal of the radio team paying 50% of the project cost with sponsorships paying the remainder.
The corporate sponsors:
Elecraft, DX Engineering, WIMO, RadioSport, Low Band Systems, Spiderbeam, Rig Expert, Mastrant and Clamcleat are instrumental to the success of this project. We know that Max at ON5UR Print, working with our QSL manager Tim M0URX, will deliver a high quality QSL card. Our next major milestones include finalizing the radio operating schedule and assigning team member responsibilities for camp setup, radio and antenna installation.
Thanks for your continued interest and support of our project. Good luck in the pileups.
73, Team VP8/VP8DXU
Update November 2: During the week of October 21 – 27, 2019 team members and helpers met in Placerville and Los Altos Hills, California to consolidate, test and repack the equipment to be used during the South Orkney Island DX-pedition.
On Friday, October 25th we visited the Elecraft factory to receive 8 K3s stations, including amplifiers, pan adapters and other supporting equipment. During the week antennas were assembled, tuned, tested and marked for easy transport and reassembly.
All software was loaded on Lenovo laptops, QSOs were entered into N1MM and test logs were uploaded to our log search server over the Inmarsat BGAN satellite network.
Photos of the week are posted here
Thanks to all who participated and to the equipment suppliers that are supporting the project, a complete list at: https://sorkney.com/corporate-sponsors/
Noticias DX y calendario DX: VP8PJ
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