VP6D

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"We are now in the implementation phase of the project", the VP6D Team reported on 16 April. "Equipment is being consolidated in Fremont, California. Customs brokers in the USA and New Zealand have been selected, and the New Zealand Government issued us an import/export license to ship the equipment to and from the country". The budget for the Ducie Island DXpedition Project is about USD 175,000, and the fundraising campaign is underway. "With the final payment for the "Braveheart" due on 1 September, the next most expensive line item is equipment shipping budgeted at USD 20,000. We need your help to keep our DXpedition team's investment at a reasonable level". See https://www.vp6d.com/ for the latest information from the team and details on how to contribute. [TNX K5GS]

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NEWS UPDATE - The VP6D – Ducie Island 2018 project is on schedule. At Visalia and Dayton we had the pleasure of meeting many of our supporters and equipment sponsors, including: DX Engineering, Elecraft, SteppIR and Arlan Communications (RadioSport headsets). Several of team attended Europe’s Ham Radio event conducted at Friedrichshafen, Germany where we met with corporate, EU club and foundation sponsors, many EU DXers and other DX-pedition operators.

Joining the Pilot Team is Mason KM4SII from Clemmons, South Carolina. Mason, an avid DXer, is 15 years old. In 2017 he operated from Iceland as TF/KM4SII, in July 2018 he will operate from Curacao as PJ2/KM4SII. Mason will work with NA and Chief Pilot Glenn KE4KY.

Joining our list of corporate sponsors is Rig Expert Ukraine Ltd (https://rigexpert.com/). Rig Expert is a recognized leader in the development, production and global sales of antenna analyzers, transceiver interfaces, ARDF equipment and amateur radio software. Rig Expert donated 2 Model AA-55 Zoom antenna analyzers to the project. We appreciate the support of our corporate sponsors.

Our current fundraising campaign is underway; you may see the progress at our website. We appreciate the donations and equipment support we’ve already received. Our final payment for the Braveheart is due on September 1 st. Please keep in mind, boat/tent/generator DX-peditions incur similar expenses whether or not you make a contact. Team members have booked their travel to meet the Braveheart at Mangareva, French Polynesia. This is not a VP6D project expense; each team member pays travel expenses from personal funds.

Financial transparency allows the major sponsors to better understand the costs associated with a DXpedition and how we spend their money. Consistent with our previous DX peditions, we will send club and foundation sponsors a VP6D financial summary.

We need your help to keep our DX-pedition team’s personal investment to a reasonable level. Please consider making a donation at: vp6d.com

Good luck to the KH1/KH7Z DX-pedition team, we’ll see you in the pile-ups.

73, Team Ducie – 2018

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So far there have been no surprises, everything is on schedule.

As you may recall, we are using the same Elecraft radios and amplifiers as the recently completed KH1/KH7Z Baker Island DX-pedition. Some people were concerned that the short turnaround time could be a problem. We’re happy to report the following:

On Friday, July 20th the Baker Island Elecraft equipment was delivered to the factory in California. Elecraft will inspect, test, and refurbish the 8 K3s / KPA 500 stations.

We will also have 4 team owned high power amps for use primarily on the low bands. We will collect the equipment from Elecraft on about August 3rd. Our other equipment is already in California or will be brought to California by K3EL and K5GS.

On August 2nd Gene K5GS, Dave K3EL, Walt N6XG, Steve W1SRD, Mike WA6O and Chris N6WM will meet in Northern California to begin the process of integrating the equipment, testing and packaging for shipment to Braveheart in New Zealand. We will use the same shipping cases as KH1/KH7Z.

We will meet with members of the Baker Island team to discuss their experience, especially with FT8.

We will have 3 BGAN terminals on the island thanks to the Intrepid DX Team (Paul Ewing N6PSE) for loaning us their Hughes 9201 BGAN. The lineup will be one Wideye Sabre 1 BGAN and two Hughes 9201 units. We will integrate and test the BGANs in California. Bob Schmieder KK6EK (Cordell Expeditions) is also loaning us equipment for the project, including all the laptop computers which have been refurbished by Steve W1SRD.

While underway aboard Braveheart we will send position reports using our Garmin inReach device. From the island we’ll be posting regular updates to Twitter / Facebook, and sending Press Releases to the DX bulletins. We think the use of Twitter / Facebook will minimize the usual Internet rumors.

Unless they bring their own satellite device, team members will not have access to their personal e-mail accounts while on the ship or the island. Team member families and the Chief Pilot will have our private BGAN e-mail address during the project. We expect to send some photographs from the island but the cost of about $6(USD) per megabyte will limit the number (size) of the images.

VP6D was issued a permit by the Pitcairn Island government to collect plant and soil specimens that will be sent to the National Antarctic Scientific Centre of Ukraine for their climate change research.

Financial support continues to build, with many DX foundations and clubs already onboard. We’re still waiting for a few clubs and foundations to respond to our request for support. If your club / foundation is not on our sponsorship list (VP6D.com) please contact the officers and ask for their support of VP6D.

In the next few weeks we will be announcing some exciting project details.

Thanks for your continued interest in VP6D.

Team Ducie 2018

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"The Ducie Island 2018 project is on schedule", the team reported on 22 July, and "the fundraising campaign is underway" (see the progress on https://www.vp6d.com). VP6D will use the same equipment as KH1/KH7Z. On 20 July the Baker Island radio equipment was returned to Elecraft for inspection, testing and refurbishing. The equipment will be shipped to New Zealand on about 15 August, then ZL3CW will transfer the shipment to the 'Braveheart'.
"There's no question that the Baker team had considerable success with FT8.
However, a large percentage of the callers weren't prepared for the challenges of this new mode". One of VP6D's announced goals is an "extensive digital operation" using RTTY and FT8, so it is essential to read and understand the latest revision of the 'FT8 DXpedition Mode User Guide',
which is now available in several different languages at http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html.
"It will be in everyone's best interest if callers use the most recent software version, correctly configure their equipment, call VP6D above 1000 Hertz and in the correct sequence. If you are unsure of your configuration please seek assistance before calling".

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NEWS UPDATE - We are honoured to have received a grant from the ARRL’s Colvin Award Committee. The Colvin Award is funded by an endowment established by Lloyd D. Colvin, W6KG (SK). More information can be found here – We appreciate the ARRL’s confidence in and support of VP6D.

We’re pleased to announce that Rob Fanfant N7QT has joined the VP6D team. Rob is a DX-pedition veteran whose most recent project was VK9MA Mellish Reef in 2017. Previous projects include: VK9WA Willis Island, Manihiki E51MQT, Montserrat VP2MQT, Austral Islands (TX5Z), Christmas Island, Australia(VK9AN), San Andres (5J0X , HK0/N7QT), Sint Maarten (PJ7/N7QT), Saba (PJ6/N7QT), Austral Islands TX5D), Saint Lucia (J6/N7QT), Saint Lucia (J6/N7QT). We think you will agree that Rob is well qualified for the project and we are happy to add him to the team.

As we march towards our departure date of October 16th the project is on schedule. A VP6D working group is currently in Northern California preparing the equipment for shipment to Braveheart in New Zealand. On August 3rd we had the pleasure of meeting Eric Swartz WA6HHQ at the Elecraft factory where we were introduced to the Elecraft team and toured the factory. We then accepted 8 complete K3s stations for use at VP6D. Thanks to Elecraft and all our corporate sponsors for their ongoing support.

Today we are continuing the tasks of integrating the radios, computers, software, configuring the network and preparing the shipping cases. We plan an end to end test, from the keyboard to the BGAN to the log server in the cloud. We expect to have the equipment ready for the customs broker by Weds, Aug 7th.

Thanks for your continued interest and support of VP6D.

73, Team Ducie – 2018

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VP6D Equipment Arrives at Braveheart

On Thursday August 30th Nigel accepted the VP6D equipment that was shipped from San Francisco. Other DX-pedition equipment was already in Nigel's warehouse: tents, generators, tables, chairs, bunks,and supporting equipment.

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"The Ducie Island 2018 project is on schedule", the VP6D team reported on 2 September, and "the equipment is now at Tauranga, New Zealand, stored in the Braveheart's warehouse.
A real challenge for DXpedition teams on uninhabited islands is knowing where in the world they're being heard. The usual pilot reports tell us what happened, not what's happening, propagation predictions tell us what might happen.
We understand that propagation may produce only short openings from Ducie Island to many locations around the world. For example, it's not unusual for an EU opening to occur but EU callers are covered up by callers from other geographies. Until propagation changes for the better the EU stations can't get through.
We have therefore augmented our pilot process to quickly identify these openings and get this information to the VP6D operators so they can exploit them. We're confident this new capability will result in more timely coverage of difficult paths.
No one likes to be continually asked for donations. Today's reality is DXpeditions to ecologically sensitive and restricted entities are expensive.
Our boat and the freight invoices to New Zealand are now paid, the team is hoping to cover ~50% of the project cost.
Our fund raising target plus projected OQRS income should cover the remaining 50%. These bills must be paid whether or not you make a QSO. We have a team of A1 operators who have been working on this project for 17 months, they can use your help". See https://www.vp6d.com/. [TNX K5GS]

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Press Release #9

18. 09. 12

The VP6D – Ducie Island 2018 project is on schedule. The equipment is now at Tauranga, New Zealand, stored in the Braveheart’s warehouse.

A real challenge for DX-pedition teams on uninhabited islands is knowing where in the world they’re being heard. The usual pilot reports tell us what happened, not what’s happening, propagation predictions tell us what might happen.

We understand that propagation may produce only short openings from Ducie Island to many locations around the world. For example, it’s not unusual for an EU opening to occur but EU callers are covered up by callers from other geographies. Until propagation changes for the better the EU stations can’t get through.

We have therefore augmented our pilot process to quickly identify these openings and get this information to the VP6D operators so they can exploit them. We’re confident this new capability will result in more timely coverage of difficult paths.

No one likes to be continually asked for donations. Today’s reality is DX-peditions to ecologically sensitive and restricted entities are expensive. Our boat and the freight invoices to New Zealand are now paid, the team is hoping to cover ~50% of the project cost.

Our fund raising target plus projected OQRS income should cover the remaining 50%. These bills must be paid whether or not you make a Q. We have a team of A1 operators who have been working on this project for 17 months, they can use your help.

Look for another announcement in the next press release on or about Sept 21st.

73,
Team Ducie – 2018

Late Breaking: The equipment is now loaded on Braveheart, preparing to sail by month end September.

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18. 09. 20

Hello 6m DXers!

As you have undoubtedly heard, VP6D is planning to be QRV on 6m EME starting next month. EME CNDX look relatively good every day of their trip, and the days after October 30 include the best days of the month (lowest Degradation) for EME.

Operation is planned for 50.200, with VP6D transmitting during the first period JT65A mode. If local QRM from the HF stations requires any change from this frequency, it will be announced on the ON4KST EME CHAT page.

http://www.on4kst.info/chat/login.php?band=5

They will be using a 6M8GJ yagi and >1000w output. Since they will be using their K3's on FT8 when on HF, they are currently expecting to be using WSJT-X for their JT65A mode operation. For the convenience of those of us still using WSJT10 for JT65A, they are planning to use an offset of 1270 Hz. This is their first time to use JT65A on EME, and the first time to use it during a pileup situation, so please be patient with them! Because of this, it is especially important to coordinate your calling frequencies on the ON4KST EME CHAT page, so the callers will be spread out. Ideally, please try to space yourselves out every 200 Hz to make it easier for them to decode individual callers. They will be using the W7GJ EME DXpedition procedure, so please familiarize yourself with that before calling them!

http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/DXpedition%20Procedure.pdf

They will be operating horizon-only, and will be primarily concentrating on each moonrise, which will provide a clear shot directly out over the ocean to their east. Look for them to be QRV starting then their moon is -2 degrees elevation and possibly as high as 20 degrees. After their first few days, we all will have a better idea exactly where they have the best ground gain lobes. Because there are a number of days during low Degradation when their moonset is to the northwest, there is a good possibility that they also will be able to be QRV during certain moonsets with the moon setting out over the ocean. Moonset operation will largely depend on the final siting of all the various operating stations and antennas.

Updates on their anticipated moonset operation, as well as confirmation of their upcoming moonrise status and a list of stations worked will be provided on a daily basis. They will not have real time internet access, but this information will be relayed on the ON4KST EME CHAT page. There will be a number of opportunities for horizon-only station in Region 1 to contact them on the Ducie moonrise, although stations in western EU will need elevation to catch them during their moonrise. While most East Coast NA stations in Region 2 will need elevation to contact them during their moonrise, many horizon-only stations in Region 2 will be able to contact them during their shared moonsets with Ducie. Region 3 stations will need elevation to contact them during Ducie moonsets.

Many MANY thanks to the VP6D team for undertaking this limited 6m EME operation ;-) With the excellent EME CNDX during their trip, and the spectacular siting of their 6m yagi overlooking the ocean, it will be very interesting to see how many small stations end up in their log!

GL to all and VY 73,
Lance W7GJ

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Press Release #10

18. 09. 26

We are excited to announce the availability of DXA during VP6D. Bob Schmieder KK6EK of Cordell Expeditions offered the use of DXA and we gladly accepted.
By pointing your browser to http://www.dxa3.org/vp6d/ DXA allows anyone with an ordinary browser to see VP6D activity, in near real time. Within 60 seconds of your contact with VP6D, the browser page is automatically updated to show your call sign, this confirms that your contact is in the log (DXA reads the VP6D log). This process eliminates the need for duplicate contacts on the same band / mode and minimizes the confusion caused by pirates or other DX-peditions operating at the same time.
During our equipment consolidation weekend in California we performed an end to end DXA test: N1MM => BGAN => Inmarsat satellite => DXA3 server => laptop. We are confident that DXA will significantly reduce, or eliminate, the hundreds of e-mails asking for “log checks”. If you see your call sign on DXA you’re in the log. Thanks to Bob KK6EK, Pete W6OP and the DXA team for their support.
Speaking of logs, we will upload the log every day to the VP6D.com - Log Search tab. We do not use Clublog and there is no Leaderboard.

With the loan of a portable 6m EME antenna - Lance W7GJ - has prepared the VP6D team to put Ducie Island on 6 EME for the first time ever. Operation will be on 50.200 JT65. We intend to be active at Ducie moonrise on most days and occasionally during moonset. Watch our Twitter feed for up to the minute information.

Follow us on Twitter / Facebook for updates from the island. We installed and tested a bridge between our Garmin inReach =>Twitter =>Facebook.

The cost of this project is ~$175,000(USD). To date, we are at 87% of our donation target. Our goal is all donations plus OQRS income will cover 50% of the project cost, with the team members paying the remaining 50%. There’s still time for you to join the hundreds of DXers, and many foundations, clubs and corporate entities already on the list.

There will be at least 3 DX-peditions operating in the Pacific during Oct / Nov. Please make sure you’re working and logging the correct DX-pedition – VP6D operating frequencies are listed on the website. DXA will enable you verify your VP6D contact(s).

73,
Team Ducie – 2018
Website: vp6d.com, Twitter and Facebook
Please direct questions to: info@vp6d.com

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"After 18 months of intensive planning we will soon begin our long journey to Ducie Island", the VP6D reported on 10 October. "This is a team effort and you are part of the team. Please help us to work you by reviewing this important information.
1. You can follow our progress as we sail to and from Ducie Island. https://share.garmin.com/VP6D tracking will be available on 16 October as we depart Mangareva.
2. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook - updated from the ship and island.
3. As time permits, we'll send Press Releases to the DX bulletins and upload photos to https://vp6d.com/ from the island.
4. Your only email route to VP6D is through the pilot team.
5. The pilots do not have the logs. Please don't ask them about NIL busted calls, skeds, etc. Do send them helpful suggestions.
6. There is no access to personal email while on the ship or on the island.
7. The log will be uploaded daily, OQRS will be available on the website shortly after we leave the island.
8. The process for reporting busted/missing QSOs will be available when OQRS opens.
9. We are uploading the log only to the website - there is no Leaderboard.
10. We plan to use WSJT-X Version 1.9.1 as a Fox on all bands except 160 where we will not use DXpedition mode. VP6D FT8 operating guidelines posted on the website.
11. DXA at http://www.dxa3.org/vp6d/ will update about 3 minutes after your contact. Check here to see if you are in our log.
12. The log may show FT8 dupes even if you didn't dupe us, we will resolve dupes after the DXpedition.
13. Thanks to Lance W7GJ our plan to activate 6m EME is a first for Ducie Island.
There will be at least 3 DXpeditions operating from the Pacific during Oct/Nov. Ensure you are in the correct pileup for the DX you are trying to work.
If you see your contact on VP6D's DXA that contact is in our log.
Please consider a donation at VP6D.com to help offset the team's significant investment to put Ducie Island on the air. Those who process a donation on VP6D.com before we sail on 16 October will receive their LoTW confirmation while we're on the island.
We wish everyone the best of luck in getting in the log, we'll do our best to get you the QSOs you want".
[TNX K5GS]

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The first QSO in the log was made on 20 October at 04:16 UTC. The latest statistics update (8 UTC on 26 October) shows 51827 QSOs made on CW (28743), SSB (13520), FT8 (8916), RTTY (646) and PSK (2) with 15453 unique stations (29.82 %) located in North America (56.84 %), Europe (24.94 %), Asia (13.12 %), rest of the world (5.1%). The most productive bands so far are 20m and 40m (13375 and 11377 QSOs respectively).
"We know Ducie is an ATNO for many DXers", the team on the island says.
"However, we are seeing far too many dupes. People are working us and a few minutes later working us again, the operators are getting a bit frustrated. DXA availability depends on two Ducie Island networks that are subject to intermittent outage. If either network drops out DXA does not do a refresh to pick up missing calls". So "do not rely on what may show on DXA, but check the 'Logsearch & OQRS' page on https://www.vp6d.com for the official record of your contact". The team knows that "some FT8 QSOs are not in the log yet", but they are "working that problem". For busted calls, not in log, etc., follow the guide on the website's 'QSL Information' page.