The next meeting of the Amateur Radio Experimenter’s Group will be the our Annual General Meeting, to be held on Friday August 19th. Proceedings will start at 8:00pm ACST (8:30pm AEST, 6:30pm AWST, 1030UTC).
Our guest speaker for the evening is Adrian KO8SCA, one of the team members of the 3Y0J Bouvet Island DXpedition, who will join us via Zoom from his home in New York. Adrian will take us through the challenges facing the 3Y0J team and preparatory work that has been completed so far for this epic adventure.
About the Bouvet January 2023 Expedition
We are a team of 13 international amateur radio operators who, in January 6, 2023, will be sailing to, and operating from, Bouvet Island with the goal of making over 200K QSOs.
Bouvet Island is a small Norwegian inactive volcanic island, half the size of Manhattan, covered almost entirely by snow and ice. Because of its remoteness, it has rightfully gained the title of: The Most Remote Uninhabited Island on Earth. Bouvet Island is listed in the ClubLog DXCC at position #2, making it, for the ham radio world, the equivalent of the Mount Everest of the DXCC entities.
Our DXpedition, with the callsign 3Y0J, will start its journey in the Falkland Islands, and we anticipate sailing for 12 days through the treacherous waters of the South Atlantic Ocean before setting up camp, and operating from, Bouvet Island for 22 days. At the conclusion of our DXpedition, we will then sail another 12 days to the end point of the DXpedition: Cape Town, South Africa
Our goal is to set up and operate simultaneously from 12 stations, with full legal power (1500W), on 10M through 160M in CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8, but our main focus will be on the “human” modes.
The preparations for this complex endeavor are well underway. The 3 Norwegian co-leaders together with the team members have been working tirelessly for the past 2 years with the Norwegian Polar Institute as well as with experts and consultants who have already visited Bouvet Island or are knowledgeable about overcoming the difficulties of getting to, landing on, setting up camp and operating from Bouvet Island, an island battered by over 300 storms per year and by winds that often reach 100 miles an hour.
So that every DX operator in our part of the world can take part, we will be relaying the meeting via Hayden VK7HH’s HamRadioDX YouTube Channel so everyone can learn of the extraordinary efforts being made to activate this most wanted entity. In addition, AREG members will have the opportunity to directly interact with Adrian during the event.
After the main presentation, the formal AREG AGM will follow with the reports and elections of office bearers for the coming year.
Financial Support Request for 3Y0J Bouvet Island DXpedition
DXpeditions of this nature are very complex and expensive endeavors. Please consider the following from the 3Y0J team!
The 3Y0J team are very close to raising the necessary funds to cover our estimated budget of $690,000. The vast majority of these funds will be used to cover the expense of their chartered boat, the 101-foot Oceanic Ketch, named Marama, which will take them to and from Bouvet Island. Each 3Y0J team member is contributing $20,000 toward this budget.
NCDXF (Northern California DX Foundation) with $100,000 and INDEXA (International DX Association) with $15,000 have already showed their amazing support to the project and made their largest donations ever. Many other organizations and clubs around the world have followed suit
Please visit the 3Y0J website: http://www.3Y0J.com to donate, to read more about their project, the team, the latest news or to learn about the complex preparations the team is engaged in to ensure a successful and safe project.
The 3Y0J team thanks you in advance for your support and looks forward to working you from the most remote uninhabited island on Earth!
Regards,
3Y0J Team