Update June 14, 2023: Yesterday low band vertical was installed too. Will be spending time on the lower bands during the coming nights. Quite strong wind blows during the night. Hopefully antennas will withstand it.

This is the ideal place for the DX-pedition. Antennas are on the coast, close to the saltwater, plenty of space. Appartment is very good, the cook is a pro.

The departure is postponed to June 20, will be on the air until June 19.

Only 44 QSOs on the 6m band - no conditions there.
VU7W.

Update June 11, 2023:  Spiderbeam is up.

Update June 9, 2023: Yesterday around 8 PM local time arrived to the hotel on the Minicoy island. Getting from the ship to the shore was a bit of adventure. Many passengers on the ship, and smaller boats were used to bring them from the ship to the shore together with luggage. It was raining time to time and some waving of the sea as well.

Did manage to put up vertical antenna in the evening and made the first QSOs. This morning installed 6m yagi, but the band is empty so far. Today will install Spiderbeam.

Internet connection is very weak. Can not open email or Clublog. So uploading logs to Clublog is under question.
Evening update: didn't manage to install Spiderbeam yet. Will proceed tomorrow. This QTH is more distant from the local village than the previous QTH in April on the other island, so hopefully less man made noise on the bands.

Update June 8, 2023: Yuris started his activity. So far he has been reported on 17 and 30m in FT8.

Update June 5, 2023: Yuris started his journey to Minicoy in the Lakshadweep islands on June 2nd.

Update May 27, 2023: Dates for the new operation of YL2GM as VU7W set to June 6-18, 2023

Update May 20, 2023: DX-World publishes: With a significant financial support from 26 Japanese HAMs, Yuris will go to VU7 again in June 2023. The focus this time will be on the 6m band, however other bands will also be used. QTH this time will be on Minicoy Island, IOTA AS-106. All VU7W April QSOs are uploaded to LoTW already.

Update April 29, 2023: VU7W is now QRT.

Update April 28, 2023: Today is the last day of this VU7W DX-pedition. Spiderbeam and the low band vertical were already taken down this morning. One vertical antenna is left up and will be used until sunset.

Also today Yuris will have a sightseeing trip around the island, followed by packing and closing dinner in the evening.

Update April 26, 2023: Yuris was on 160m FT8 the past night with good signal in Europe. Unfortunately he is not receiving very well due to high noise in his location. He was also on 3565 kHz with even better signal level despite working in 3 parallel streams. He says he will be on 60m band some time on April 26.

Update April 25, 2023:  Today the low band vertical was erected. Yuris will spend more time on low bands the next 3 nights. The antenna dismantling will start on local Friday (April 28) morning, because the ship leaves the island on early Saturday (April 29) morning. Yuris also had a meeting with local HAM Mr. Aboobacker (VU3EBX).

Update April 22, 2023:  The last two days Yuri made 60 QSOs on 6m band. Few EU, 4X, BY, JA6.
Few CW and SSB QSO due to the high noise he has from LED lights. 

The island is densely populated (more than 10k inhabitants on 6 square km). I am located in the 3-floor hotel. As almost everywhere in the modern world, it is full of colorful LEDs, air-conditioner devices and other electronics, which emit radio interference in wide spectrum.

I will probably disappoint many of those who are waiting for SSB QSOs, but this is the reality.

Update April 18, 2023: Internet is weak and only available in the reception area, so I will upload the logs to Clublog every couple days.

I haven't given up on building the low band vertical. The owner of the place is very forthcoming, and I hope to agree with him on usage of a spot in adjacent area to place it. Villagers are walking through the territory in the dark, so radial and guy wires are problematic on the ground level.

The noise floor is high here. Lots of LED lamps around.

I will pay special attention to W1 and W6 as propagation windows are short to these areas. I am using VOACAP for propagation predictions.

Metal tower and solar panel frame detunes the Spiderbeam, especially on the upper bands. Power amplifier fails to tune on 17,12 and 10m bands due to high SWR of the antenna. Unfortunately, it is not possible to lift up the Spiderbeam any higher. Internet is weak and only available in the reception area, so I will upload the logs to Club Log every couple days.

YL2GM/VU7W.

Update April 17, 2023: The Spiderbeam antenna is now up and on the hotel roof. Low band vertical is next on the list of “to be done” tasks.

Update April 16, 2023: Yuris  has set up the EFHW and the 6m yagi antennas. He also started to assemble the Spiderbeam but it is not easy to get it up on the roof. There is no internet in the shack, only in some places of another floor of the building.

Update April 14, 2023: The journey has started. 4 flight legs plus ship in one direction with 100 kg of luggage.
73s VU7W, YL2GM.

Update April 9, 2023: On 6m he will use a 3 elem. beam.

YL2GM/VU3FZC and VU2CDP.VU7W will be QRV on HF Bands and 6m as VU7W from Lakshadweep Islands on April 15 - 29, 2023.

QSL via ClubLog OQRS and LOTW.