ZS8C ZS8Z Marion Island

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ZR6CWI e ZS1BCE saranno attivi da Marion Island Maggio 2013 - Aprile 2014 come ZS8C e ZS8Z
Trasmetteranno sulle Bande HF principalmente SSB e Modi Digitali
QSL via ZS1HF

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UPDATE: Carson ZS8C and David ZS8Z are departing Cape Town on 10 April 2013 at 14.00 SAST for Marion Island. Expect them to be QRV around mid-May once the ship departs with the old team back to Cape Town.

Carson’s girlfriend, Nadia, and the team’s diesel mechanic, Marius, will be writing the RAE on the island. Pierre ZS1HF has arranged with the SARL to invigilate the exam. This means there will eventually be four active hams on Marion Island during the next year.

March 5, 2013 – Two radio amateurs are part of an over-wintering Scientific team and will be active on Marion Island from May 2013 to April 2014.

ZS8C Carson (ZR6CWI) has been appointed as the Space Weather Engineer and is employed for the next year by the SA National Space Agency (SANSA).
ZS8Z David (ZS1BCE) has finally been appointed as the radio technician. His appointment was delayed due to a clerical error.
Expected modes will mainly be SSB and digital.

They may only use the existing commercial broadband HF antenna, and their QSL Manager is ZS1HF

More info will be posted on their respective qrz.com sites once they have been created. (We expect this info to be made available within the next 2 weeks).

All enquiries via ZS1HF at this stage.

*Take note: bands expected are 40 to 10m only. No 160 or 80m due to severe QRM from electrical system in the base.

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UPDATE - Pierre, ZS1HF ( ex ZS8M ) mentions that David ZS8Z has been briefly active recently, while Carson ZS8C is still to QRV. Both are very busy with tasks so when less frantic they should be on air more often.

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UPDATE – Pierre, ZS1HF informs that both ZS8C and ZS8Z will soon have an online log up and running once their on-island duties relax a little. David ZS8Z has been active recently, while Carson ZS8C is still to QRV.

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UPDATE – New YL op Nadia ZS8A will soon be active. Meanwhile, propagation and busy working schedules have meant David and Carson operating on limited time.

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Carson, ZS8C updates operators with the following info:

"I have managed to move my radio into my office, making HAM activities much simpler (I used to have it installed in our emergency base which can get a bit cold!). Recently I have started becoming more active on the air, and I am hoping to make a lot more contacts in the coming weeks and months. My preferred method of making contacts is to arrange a “private” sked between a couple of HAMs. Please note that my signal is a bit weak due to my set-up, so you might have to listen very closely. Due to island rules, I cannot upgrade my antenna, so I am stuck with what I’ve got. If you would like to arrange a sked, please pop me an email [zs8c(at)hamcity.co.za]. I look forward to meeting as many HAMs as I can. Thank you to everyone who has made contact with me. It is always exciting meeting different people from around the world, which is one of the things I enjoy the most!"

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Carson, ZS8C updates operators with the following info:

"There have been a couple of new developments on the island. On 15/11/2013 ZS8Z and I ran a new transmission line up to my antenna. This new line has significantly less loss, so my effective radiated power should have increased! Yesterday I was working 10m, and I acually got a 59+20 signal report from someone in Europe! Unbelievable! But keep in mind my rig is still only 100W, so I doubt I will get signals like this to the USA.

I have also been made aware that I do not have DXCC accreditation yet. Apologies to anyone who was hoping to apply for their DXCC awards in the immediate future. I am trying to sort this out, and I wil post here when it has been fixed. Once this is sorted I will also be uploading my log to LoTW. So be patient, I will get this all sorted.

Other than that, thanks to everyone I have made contact with so far. I have really been enjoying it. I am still working through the skeds, so don’t worry if I have not replied yet. 73′s!

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UPDATE – ZS8C now uploading to LoTW. Carson is also now active on CW – keep keying speed slow

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Carson, ZS8C will leave Marion Island on 2 May. However, the ship is due to arrive in early April, and "while the ship is here, I will have no time available for Ham Radio. This means that I only have one month left!" Look for Carson around 13-16 UTC on either 21360 or 28650 kHz. QSL via the OQRS on Club Log and LoTW; traditionl direct cards should be sent to Carson McAfee, P.O. Box 1585, Allens Neck, 1737, Roodespoort, Johannesburg, South Africa.