A group of 10 DX enthusiasts led by OM Guenter, DL2AWG, will activate Lord Howe Island (LHI; IOTA OC-004) as VK2LHW between May 24th and June 7th, 2027. They have received a firm confirmation for accommodations on the island, and all flights have been booked.

Elmar, DF4GV, reports: "Lord Howe Island is subject to strict restrictions on visitor numbers (a maximum of 400 people at any one time), and the island is a popular destination for honeymooners and similar groups. The island offers very few accommodations for larger groups like ours and is usually fully booked at least a year in advance. As a result, it is rarely visited by large DXpedition groups like ours, but mostly only by individual operators or small 'holiday style' groups. The last major Dxpedition to Lord Howe took place in 2014 (100k QSOs).

Our team will consist of 10 operators – 9 from Germany and one from Spain. Seven participants are experienced DXpeditioners, and three operators are participating for the first time to a major DXpedition (though they are experienced contest operators). One of the three newcomers is also our youngest participant – 28 years old.

Members of our team have participated to various DXpeditions in the past (e.g. 3D2, 4S7, 5R8, 5W, 6W, A3, C2, CT3, FG, FM, H44, J79, KH8, MD, S7, T31, T32, TI7, TI9, TX5, VK9C, VK9X, V6, V7, W8S Swains, XR0, XX9, YJ, Z6, ZK1, ZK3, Z6). Our most recent DXpedition took us to Austral Islands (TX5) last March (TX5EU, 59k QSOs).

Our amateur radio license is available, but our call sign for Lord Howe Island has not yet been finalized. Since 2023, the Australian regulatory agency ACMA has stopped issuing VK9 call signs for Lord Howe and now issues VK2 call signs instead (the ARRL DXCC Desk continues to use the old prefix VK9L for Lord Howe Island in its lists). Our callsign will therefore be a VK2 callsign: either VK6IJ/2 (which is the callsign of my Australian license) or a specific VK2 callsign yet to be determined (unfortunately, VK2LHI is not available…)."

PLEASE NOTE: It was announced today by ADXO, that their callsign will be VK2LHI.

Here is some preliminary information (by DF4GV):
  • They will arrive on LHI on the afternoon of May 24th (local time) and stay for two weeks.

  • Their DXpedition ends on the morning of June 7th (local time).

  • They will operate four (possibly five) stations 24/7, all with power amplifiers, on CW, SSB, FT8, and RTTY.

  • Planned antennas: 20m – 6m Hexbeam, 160m vertical, 80m vertical, 40m – 10m DX Commander vertical, 30m J-Pole vertical, 20/15m rhombic, 17/12m rhombic.

Operators mentioned are: Guenter/DL2AWG, Elmar/DF4GV, Rainer/DL2AMD, Harald/DL2SAX, Frank/DL1KWK, Nick/DL6RY, Valentin/DL4VK, Olaf/DJ7TO, Peter/EA5GVH and Georg/DL4SVA.

QSL via ClubLog's OQRS, LoTW or via DL2AWG.