H44IOTA Solomon Islands

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Dominik, SQ9KWW team member of the upcoming H4-IOTA tour informs their website is now available http://h44iota.com/

The group begin to publicise their expedition via Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/H44-IOTA-DXpedition/136003426577924 and Twitter https://twitter.com/h44iota accounts, too.

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UPDATE: Preliminary dates for each island visited and activated have been released.

http://h44iota.com/projects/h44-iota-ham-radio/

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UPDATE: Ralph, 5W0W is now heading back to the Solomon Islands and plans to be QRV again as H44RK – possibly as early as April 30th from Honiara – and no later than May 6th from Liapari (OC-149).

Ralph and Penny are preparing the boat for the long awaited H44/40 IOTA tour which will see the team travelling in their Sailing Vessel Hafskip from the western provinces of S.I to the far east reaches of Temotu. The team will be activating several IOTA’s on their voyage including the much sought after OC-285 (Sikaiana Island) as well as providing needs & assessment stops on some of the most remote islands in the Solomon Islands.

The team, in conclusion, will be setting up a VHF Marine Safety System for the Nendo island group, as a joint venture with Oceans Watch NZ. Donations and Sponsorship are urgently needed for this Project that will help save lives of the people of Temotu.

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UPDATE: The H44IOTA Team informs that plans to activate IOTA OC-285 between June 4-7, 2013 by H44S & H44AJ are not associated with H44IOTA DXpedition nor The Pacific C3 Project. The H44IOTA Team continues their plans as scheduled. We’re really looking forward to make contacts with IOTA chasers from all islands as planned.
http://h44iota.com/

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The team, currently signing H44IOTA/MM, expect to arrive OC-168 in two days. Seas are heavy.

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FLASH NEWS – Bad news coming from the H44IOTA Team. After a severe storm with high swell, the yacht’s engine stopped. The boat is drifting approx 75 nautical miles SW of Honiara, Solomon Islands.

The off-island team is intensively organizing spare parts replacement now. Due to the circumstances, the team declares no time period when they would be back on schedule.

Next expected contact with the team is scheduled for June 11 at 06:00 UTC.

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H44IOTA update via Stan KH6CG who recently spoke with Ralph, H44RK on board the Hafskip

"I just talked with Ralph H44IOTA/MM. They hooked up a salt water pump temporarily and are making way at 2-5 knots. ETA at Russel Is is tomorrow morning, Solomon Islands time. All well on the boat, although some of the crew are seasick. Seas are 2-3 meters. Electric power is marginal on the boat – they are using a 2KW Honda generator to run the radio. He is also having some SWR problems on the boat with a tuner issue. His signal here was 57 and periodically lost comms with the tuner problem. He should be on 14.178 around 0600z and each 30 mins after looking to pass on some messages to mainland stations."

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UPDATE: As you are all aware the H44IOTA DXpedition has suffered significant delays due to weather conditions and boat maintenance.

The weather looks to be offering a good window for our next leg to OC-158 now and all maintenance has been completed, however such delays have taken their toll on the team.

Both Dom and Tom cannot risk possible future delays (they have jobs to get back to on time), so unfortunately they will not be continuing on our journey. Maggie also will remain in Honiara as her family and church commitments are currently placing demands on her.

Consequently we will now have to omit the activation of OC-285. All other planned activations will continue.

Ralph and Penny will now re-stock and re-fuel to be ready for their departure to Roderick Bay in the Florida Islands (OC-158) on the 21st of June and anticipate being active on the 23rd.

Please bear in mind Ralph will be the only operator from this point on and he will need to sleep and eat occasionally, therefore he will not be on air 24/7. However he will be on air several hours a day, determined by propagation.

Weather conditions will determine the duration and timing of this activation and all others. We understand that this is an inconvenience; however safety is our most important consideration

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Current H44IOTA operations

Many thanks to all stations who have made contacts with us on our multi-island tour of the Solomon’s. We regret to inform those stations that made contact with us on OC-168, that a validation for this IOTA may not be possible due to computer hardware failure and human error. We are seeking your understanding while we do the best we can to retrieve what is possible. In the meanwhile, please wait with sending cards.