Sound starts after calling up the next slide

Perseverance DX Group (PDXG) DXpedition to Ducie Island (OC-182) October-November 2018

Why Ducie? The plot was hatched at Visalia 2017… #19 Clublog Most Wanted DXCC list, 2018 Last DXpedition VP6DX Oct, 2008 Potential interest from previous transportation partners Potential for good propagation worldwide: Big Radio Fun!

DXpedition Goals ATNO to as many as possible Make lotsa Q’s! Band fills are good!! Larger team/longer duration than previous PDXG trips RTTY / FT8 – ride the digi wave 6 m EME – something new for PDXG

Where is Ducie? Map from National Geographic expeditions

Ducie Island Geography Approximately 500 km east of Pitcairn Coral atoll built up on volcanic seamount 1 .5 x 2 km Acadia is main island, 3-5 m ASL Surface mostly coral rubble Gaps in reef provide possible landing sites or entry points 

View south-west across the Ducie lagoon Coral bench, lagoon-side. This was our route between the camps.

Ducie Island History - Discovery Although Polynesians lived on Pitcairn and nearby Henderson Island for several centuries there is no evidence of habitation on Ducie, which lacks fresh water. European discovery of Ducie 26th Jan 1606, by expedition of Pedro Fernandez de Quirós – “A small island of about two leagues, level with the sea, well wooded… There was a sandy beach all around it” - Fray Martin de Munilla. Next recorded visit was by HMS Pandora in 1791 on a mission to hunt down the Bounty mutineers First landing in 1827 by Hugh Coming on the Discoverer – “low coral lagoon islands not 10 feet above the level of the sea: has a number of trees and a small stunted grass…”

Ducie Island History – Wreck of the Acadia 5th June, 1881, in calm seas and with a bright moon, the brig Acadia ran aground on the northern reef at Ducie Island The crew took to the boats, and reached Pitcairn two weeks later – two of them later went back to Pitcairn to live

Acadia anchor, now at Bounty Bay, Pitcairn Memorial plaque for the Acadia, north shore, Ducie Island

Ducie Residents – Murphy’s petrel Estimated 250,000 pairs on Ducie (!) 90 % of the world’s population

Ducie Residents – White terns, frigate birds

Ducie Residents – Boobies

Ducie Residents – Crabs

THE VIDEO WAS TOO HUGE, IN THIS PPP IS IT EREASED Sharks video

Middle: Rob, N6QT – Gene, K5GS – Les, W2LK Rear: Steve, W1SRD – Laci, HA0NAR – Walt, N6XG – Vadym, UT6UD – Ricardo, PY2PT – Mike, WA6O – Dave, K3EL Middle: Rob, N6QT – Gene, K5GS – Les, W2LK Front: Heye, DJ9RR – Jacky, ZL3CW – Chris, N6WM – Arnie, N6HC

Planning and Logistics – Permissions Request to visit approved by the Pitcairn Island Council, 11th July 2017 List of team members and copies of passports required for formal landing document Excerpt from Island Council meeting minutes

Planning and Logistics – License Radio license also handled through Pitcairn List of operators and copies of their licenses needed – ops are listed on the license document

Planning and Logistics – Transportation Stoney Creek Shipping has lots of experience working with the Pitcairn Islanders Repositioning costs split between us and birding trip immediately afterwards… made the Braveheart affordable

Planning and Logistics – Equipment Preparation at N6XG QTH Packed and ready to ship! Steve W1SRD – network setup Dave K3EL, Eric WA6HHQ, Madelyn Gomez @ Elecraft

VP6D Station Configuration station-in-a-box

Planning and Logistics – Antennas To maximize # of QSOs, use two separate camps with full set of antennas at each (minimize interactions between stations) Island is perfect for “team vertical” style operation CW (plus digi) camp 160 m inv-L, 80 m vertical 40, 30 m 4-sq 20 m switchable VDA, 17-10 m monoband rotatable VDAs Beverage RX SSB (plus digi) camp 40 m 4-sq 30 m vertical (added for digital operations) 2-ele 10-20 m Steppir 6 m Yagi (EME – moonrise only)

Rotary and Switchable VDAs

Planning and Logistics – Loading Braveheart, Tauranga, NZ

Team Assembles in Tahiti

Travel to Mangareva Air Tahiti: Papeete – Hao – Mangareva

Braveheart at Mangareva

Life Aboard

VP6D/MM

Arrival at Ducie

Landing and Making Camp

Sleeping tents

Main Camp

Preparing lunch

Sleeping tents

The weather was not always great…

Other facilities… Outdoor shower View from “the throne”

CW (plus digi) camp 160, 80 m verticals 40, 30 m 4-sq 20 m switchable VDA, 17-10 m monoband rotatable VDAs Beverage RX SSB (plus digi) camp 40 m 4-sq 30 m vertical (added for digital operations) 2-ele 10-20 m Steppir 6 m Yagi (EME – moonrise only)

SSB camp: 20 m SVDA, 15 and 17 m VDAs

SSB camp: 17 m VDA 15 m VDA 20 m SVDA 12 m VDA 40 m 4-sq 30 m vertical

10-20 m Steppir at the SSB camp

SSB camp: 40 m 4-sq

CW camp: 40 m 4-sq

CW camp: 80 m vertical 15 m VDA

CW camp: 160 m inv-L

6 m EME 28 EME QSOs Moonrise only N6XG working on the 6 m beam 6 m beam – 8M6GJ 28 EME QSOs Moonrise only Tnx to W7GJ for advice and loan of the antenna

Screenshot of 6 m EME QSO with HA0DU

Operating schedule – 2x4-hour shifts per day LOCAL UTC Dave Chris Arnie Jacky Laci Walt Mike Les Vadym Rob Heye Steve Gene Ricardo   8 1 9 2 10 3 11 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

CW Camp HA0NAR ZL3CW DJ9RR

Thanks to KK6EK, W6OP and KY6R for allowing us to use DXA and supporting us while on-island

SSB Camp K5GS N6HC and N6XG

Time to leave Ducie…

THE VIDEO WAS TOO HUGE, IN THIS PPP IS IT EREASED Departure video

Farewell BBQ Aboard Braveheart

Time to Leave the Braveheart

VP6D Statistics 112,042 QSOs 24,944 Unique Calls (22.3%) 24,469 FT8 or JT65; 5,685 RTTY

VP6D Contacts by Continent

VP6D Top-10 Countries

Corporate Sponsors

1600+ Individual donors

Over 3,500 Individual Donors thru VP6D.com, Cash or OQRS

Pilot Team

Thanks to the Global DX-community that made this project possible!

© N6QT – Gene WA6O – Dave W1SRD – Laci © Presentation Management Dokumentationsarchiv Funk www.dokufunk.org office@dokufunk.org Tonaufzeichnung und Post production: Christoph Hubner und Jakob Mohl