Clipperton Island 2013 - Feb. 28 to Mar. 10

The next big DX'pedition to Clipperton Island will soon be operational.  Their ship, the Shogun, is expected to leave San Diego today.  There are 25 radios operators on this trip and they plan to operate 10 complete HF stations - all using Elecraft K-3 radios. Antennas for HF will all be verticals.

Of special note, Lance, W7GJ, will be setting up a dedicated station well away from the main operation, specifically for 6-M.  Lance will have a K-3 and an Alpha 8406 6-M amp with his own generator.  The antenna will be an M2 6M8GJ.  Look HERE to see Lance's description of this antenna.  You can also look at Lance's web page describing his part in the TX6Koperation HERE.  That page describes his plans for his 6-M operation from Clipperton including frequencies and his EME (moon-bounce) plans.  An email from Lance today pointed out that he ". . . will be beaconing toward NA on 50.190 JT65A daily from 1800-1900Z . . ."  if he is not on the moon or there is other prop.  Otherwise, he will be beaconing in various directions on 50.117 as explained on his web page.

If you are interested in the planning that goes into such a large undertaking, you can access the "Project Description" as a PDF file from their document page HERE.  In that document you will find that the total budget for this DX'pedition is just under $235,000.  Each operator put up $6,500 each plus his airfare to San Diego or Cabo San Lucas.

One major feature of this operation will be the implementation of an internet application which will allow stations to see what is happening in near real time.  Here is how this system is described on their web site:

DXA is an innovative website that allows DXers to view the QSO log and the status and activities of the DXpedition in near-real-time. Within a few minutes after making a contact with the DXpedition, the DXer is able to see confirmation of that contact. Information such as the callsigns logged in the last minute and in the last hour, and the bandmodes currently being worked by the DXpedition, are displayed in a simple, automatically-updated interface. The entire application runs within a standard browser--no software needs to be downloaded or installed. The image below [at left here] is a screenshot of a simulation of the DXA interface as it will appear for the TX5K operation.

This should be really cool to watch your screen show (with a green square) confirmation of your QSO within a minute!  Plus, this will prove that you actually worked TX5K and not a Pirate as only TX5K can activate the green squares.  The DXA page can also be used as the Log Search for your call or other calls.

Here are links to other web pages concerning this operation:

The main web page for the TX5K operation is HERE.  

The link to connect to the DXA application is HERE.

And, a link to the "Quick Tips" page that will show you what is available from and on the main page is HERE.

The Team's Blog is located HERE.

 

There is also a mention that the team may update on various social media web sites so if you are on those, keep an eye out for TX5K's postings.