TX5S

[IK0ZCW]

The Perseverance DX Group's DXpedition to Clipperton Island (18 January - 1 February 2024) will have two operating camps: one for CW/Digital/Satellite/EME and one for SSB/Digital. "The camps will be separated by about 500 meters, with CW located at the main campsite and SSB being the distant camp. The combination of distance, bandpass filters, horizontal and vertically polarized antennas at both camps will enable simultaneous operation on the same band". The power grid will consist of six generators (five units on-line 24/7 and one spare); WiFi networking will link the camps and TX5S will have at least one Starlink terminal online 24/7, so logs will be uploaded to M0URX.com at least once per day.
The nineteen person team consists of sixteen experienced radio operators, one scientist each from the University of French Polynesia and the University of Orleans, and one environmentalist from the Association la Passion-Clipperton (France).
The fundraising campaign is underway: "our goal is always to split the expedition funding approximately equally between the expedition operators and the DX community - organizations and individuals. At the moment we still have a long way to go to reach that goal", the team's Press Release #5 states. As most bills must be paid before the team sails, donations are gratefully accepted: see https://clip.pdxg.net/donate/. You can also follow TX5S on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tx5s2024.

[IK0ZCW]

The Perseverance DX Group's DXpedition to Clipperton Island (18 January - 1 February 2024) will have two operating camps: one for CW/Digital/Satellite/EME and one for SSB/Digital. The equipment plan
(transceivers, amplifiers, antennas) for 8 operating positions + a satellite position has been finalized, as well as the information for satellite, 6m EME and 23cm operations.
The fundraising campaign is underway: "the long standing DXpedition funding model is to split the DXpedition cost equally between the expedition team and the DX community, i.e. organizations and individuals. TX5S donations are only at about 40% of the goal. No doubt a sign of today's inflationary
impact. But the fact remains - DXpeditions are expensive and the teams need your help. The cash flow challenge is real, we must pay the bills before we sail", the team's Press Release #6 states. "We ask those of you who have not yet processed a donation to consider supporting the project before we sail on 11 January 2024": see https://clip.pdxg.net/donate/. You can also follow TX5S on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tx5s2024.

[IK0ZCW]

Francesco, IK0FVC has joined the operating team of the DXpedition to Clipperton Island (18 January - 1 February 2024).
Clipperton is now #26 Most Wanted in Europe, and remains #37 Most Wanted globally. "Our team is well balanced with experienced CW, SSB and digital DXpedition and contest operators, with an operating schedule that will keep them busy".
An account has been created at Groups.io for interested people to post comments about the operation and to communicate with the Pilots; they will consolidate the information from their region and send it to the Chief Pilot, who will be in touch with the team on the island. The team will not be monitoring Groups.io, nor will the Pilots have access to the log - so no requests for log checks, busted calls, not in log, or schedules should be submitted: https://groups.io/g/Clipperton-2024.
The fundraising campaign is underway, but donations so far are only at about 44% of the goal: "the cash flow challenge is real, we must pay the bills before we sail, we need your help", the team's Press Release #7 states. "We ask those of you who have not yet processed a donation to consider supporting the project before we sail on 11 January 2024": https://clip.pdxg.net/.
You can also follow TX5S on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tx5s2024.

[IK0ZCW]

The equipment for the Perseverance DX Group's DXpedition to Clipperton Island (18 January-1 February) is packed and ready for the voyage.
The team will begin assembling in San Diego on 8 January, and will depart on 11 January. Weather permitting, they expect a 6-day voyage each way; you will be able to follow the "Shogun" at https://share.garmin.com/TX5S.
* Camp setup will take approximately 1.5-2 days.
* There will be two Starlink terminals on the island. Club Log's Live Stream will be available at https://clublog.org/livestream/TX5S. Logs will be uploaded at least once a day to both Club Log and M0URX's website (https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php), where the OQRS will be enabled shortly after the team leaves the island.
* QSOs made with early donors will be uploaded to LoTW while the team is on the island. "Not in Log" and "busted calls" will be investigated by submitting the form on M0URX's website.
* FT8 Operation: unless otherwise noted, TX5S will use WSJT-X in Fox/Hound mode, which means that you must transmit above 1000hz.
* Two propagation tools are available free of charge on the DXpeditions' website: https://clip.pdxg.net/: click on "K6TU Propagation Tools" and "DR2W Propagation Tool".
* The pilot team will use Groups.io to collect input from the DX community: subscribe to the forum by going to https://groups.io/g/Clipperton-2024.
You may also e-mail the pilots with your reports, although Groups.io is the preferred method.
* The fundraising campaign is underway, but donations so far are only at about 53% of the goal: "while adding a donation to your OQRS request is always appreciated, the cash flow challenge is real, the bills must be paid before we sail", the team's Press Release #9 states. "We ask those of you who have not yet processed a donation to consider supporting the project before we sail on 11 January".

[IK0ZCW]

The team departed from San Diego on 11 January at 20 UTC, destination Clipperton Island. During the crossing, both on the outward and return legs, they will be active as N6WM/mm from various ocean grids, which will be duly noted on the QSL cards. QSL via M0URX's OQRS (available shortly after they return to San Diego, currently scheduled for 6 February). Follow the "Shogun" at https://share.garmin.com/TX5S.

[IK0ZCW]

The "Shogun" arrived at Clipperton Island a few hours later than expected due to rough seas. By late afternoon local time on 18 January, nine team members had landed on the island, but they did not yet have any radios yet. The remaining equipment will be brought onshore starting around 7 am on 19 January. "There's a lot of work yet to be done", Gene K5GS says. No additional updates will be provided until the whole team is on the island and the campsite is set up. Clipperton is UTC -8 hours.

[IK0ZCW]

Operations from Clipperton Island started on 20 January at 02.13 UTC. At that time there was only one station running CW on 17 metres, as landing on the island was very challenging, and the team had to stop sending over equipment when the seas became too dangerous. The camp itself had to be redesigned on the fly to a smaller footprint.
The weather forecast indicates that the team will need to depart the island earlier than originally planned. The objective is to safely navigate over the reef, which requires cooperation between the tides and winds. Therefore, the current plan is for TX5S to begin tear down on 27 January. All nonessential equipment and HF antennas will be removed, but there may be some low band operation during the local night between Saturday and Sunday. On 28 January, all DXpedition equipment and personnel will be removed. The Shogun will depart for San Diego on 29 January for a voyage lasting 7 or 8 days.
QSOs are being uploaded to Club Log and M0URX.com, those with early donors are being uploaded to LoTW within 24 hours. "Not in Log" and "busted calls" will be investigated by submitting the form on M0URX's website.

[IK0ZCW]

After a last effort by three stations during the local night between Saturday and Sunday, the "Shogun" departed Clipperton Island on 28 January at 21.30 UTC. As of 2 February, the log contained 113,739 QSOs
(51.73% Digital, 25.98% CW, 22.29% SSB) made with 23,830 unique callsigns.
The OQRS for both TX5S and N6WM/mm (there are no /mm operations on the return voyage to San Diego) is now up and running on M0URX's website: https://www.m0urx.com/oqrs/logsearch.php.