From February 2nd until February Feb 7th, a group of four operators will be active from Cocos Island, using the callsign TI9A.
The QTH will be Chatham Bay, which is the only suitable location for Europe.
The license is confirmed and they have all necessary permits from Parque Nacional Isla de Coco, to land and stay on Cocos Island during the above mentioned period. They will travel with the vessel Okeanos Aggressor which will depart Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, on January 30th (PM) and expect to reach Cocos Island 35-40 hours later, depending on sea conditions. Antenna installations will take place on February 1st, and operation will start the day after, at 0000 UTC on February 2nd.
The team consists of RA9USU (Team-Leader), UA3AB, RM2D (SM6LRR) and TI2JV.
They will run 3 stations simultaneously 24/7.
Main modes will be CW, SSB and FTx.
The team anticipates that there will be a high demand for FTx contact. There plan is to have 2 multi channel stations active, using Fox and Hound Mode.
The dedicated CW ops with also good SSB skills, will ensure that the three CW/SSB stations will maximize the operation and yield high rates and focus on the challenging EU path.
The team will carry 5 complete stations to the island including TS590 and K3 radio’s, and Expert 1.3, ACOM1010 and JUMA1000 amplifiers
Antennas:
160 meter: Inverted L on 18 m Spiderbeam + radar tower high fixing point
80 meter: 1/4-wave vertical on 18 meter Spiderbeam pole
40 meter: 4-Square
30 meter: 4-Square
20/15/10 meters: RQUAD RR-33 yagi, possibly fixed 3 element array to EU
30/17/12 meters : RQUAD RR-33 yagi, possibly fixed 3 element array to EU
RX Beverages in main directions, if needed in this low noise environment
They will start using Clublog OQRS after the return from Cocos Island to mainland Costa Rica. There will be no Internet access on Cocos Island.
All QSL via OQRS.
LOTW will be uploaded after approximately 1 month to sponsors
LOTW for the rest of the log 12 months from the end of the expedition.
Our QSL manager is UA3DX:
Nick I. Averyanov
Cvetnoj bul, 9-130,
Vlasikha, Mosk. obl. 143010
Russia