Monday September 25

Degradation was -6.7 dB, Kp index was 2.3.  A REAL long shot! I copied AL7RT at -18 dB and W7EW at -20 dB, but failed to complete with anyone.  The final tally still stands at 86 6m EME contacts.  I will take down the antenna today.  Hope to see many more of you from VK9X starting next week!

Went snorkeling at Trannie's Beach, Spotted turtles at the old jetty at the north tip of West Island. Went to the old barge art gallery and interacted with baby red footed boobie. Indoctrinated to Hash House Harriers.

Wednesday October 4 - Degradation - 2, Kp = 0

I found that I do have some sharp ground gain lobes starting around zero degrees elevation, although it seems the ground gain from closer terrain does not appear that significant.  On moonrise today, I completed with KJ9I, W6XU, K7AD, KR7O, K6EME and JG2BRI.  I also copied W5ADD, N3XX, KG7H, KD7DCR, N9IW, W6SR, W7MEM, K6IJ, NJ6P, N6JV, and N7NW.  I took a break between 1430 and 1630Z, because the moon was too high for me.

Upon returning at 1630Z, the moon was quickly coming down from its zenith.  I completed contacts with ZL3NW, SM7FJE, GD0TEP, OZ4VV, US0LW, G4FUF, HA0DU and OH7KM.  Copied but now worked were OH3SR, OZ1DJJ, SM5AQD, PA5Y, GM3POI, VK5PO, LZ2WO, VP8EME and S51DI.

By my moonset, the Degradation was down to 1.6 dB and the Kp was still under 1.  Often in the conditions where both stations are in the dark and the Kp index is very low, the polarity changes very slowly, if at all.  Such was the situation often today with Europe, where stations seemed to be either in for extended periods of time or simply no signals at all were copied for very long periods.  But when the polarity did line up to be reciprocal, signals were great and contacts were fast ;-)  That is why it is so important to follow the special DXpedition QSO procedure explained on my website.  It was obvious which stations were failing to do this, and they probably thought that I was not copying them when in fact I seem to be receiving extraordinarily well!

Oh, almost forgot to mention the Robber Crab incident!   Imagine my shock when I returned to the ham shack after adjusting the antenna position to find my headlamp illuminating a HUGE Robber Crab waiting for me at the open doorway!  These are the world's largest crustaceans and the front legs are each about a foot long, with the main body part the size of a large coconut.  I closed the door rather than have him sneak into the shack and snip cable with his claws (the size of my hand)!  They are a protected species here on Christmas Island.

Oh, and then there was the poisonous 6" long centipede right outside my door on another trip to the antenna! I had been asked to destroy these if I encountered any, so I pounded him into parts with a hammer...

All the equipment is becoming covered in a film of salt from the strong never ending winds here on the mountain top.  Please don't wait until the last possible day on the schedule to try to contact me - the equipment may not last :-( 

Thursday October 5 - Degradation = -2.3 dB, Kp=0.3

No visual tracking possible tonight.  During moonrise, I worked KG7H, W9JN, N7NW, KD7DCR, and N6JV.  I took a 2 hour break before EU moonrise.  When I returned, I worked, LY2BAW, SM5AQD, OH3SR, PA5Y, G8VR, OZ1DJJ, SM6LPF, S51DI and S59P.  I also copied, but did not work, FK8CP, 4O6AH, 9A8A, JR1LZK, G3WOS and VP8EME.  The low Kp and the fact that both ends of the EME contact were in the dark meant that the polarity rotation was going to be slow, and it certainly did seem stuck for long periods.

By moonset, the total 6m EME contacts after 3 moonpasses was 50.

Friday October 6 - Degradation = -2.7 dB, Kp-1.7

In the clouds again and rainy up here on the mountain tonight, so no visual tracking.  What a shame to have such a big bright full moon and not be able to see it!

Moonrise has moved more to the north, so I no longer beam down the road during moonrise, but out over dozens of modular units used for refugee housing.  I have been worried about noise there, with some type of workers using power tools and all the flickering lights and air conditioning running in the housing, which is said to be no longer used.  However, as the moon rises after dark now, it seems there isn't any worry about power tools. 

I still had been worried about the ground clutter from all the various units breaking up the reflections contributing to ground gain.  Obviously I worry a lot on these operations...  Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised tonight to find that the flat metal rooftops they have installed over all the modular housing units seem to make great reflectors for ground gain!  As they say over here, "No worries, Mate! She'll be right!".

I started out decoding AC0RA when the moon was just a fraction of a degree above the horizon.  Then I worked AC0RA, NR0X, W9GA, K0EGQ, K9TVG, N9IW, and K6QXY.  I also copied N3XX, K4PI, W5ADD, NU0P, and W6SR before elevating the antenna. After elevating the antenna, I worked NJ6P and copied K6IJ.  While the moon was too high, I took a break until 1730Z.

When I came back at 1730Z, the moon was close enough to due north that I could elevate up as high as it would go and the rear elements were in between the SE and SW guy lines.  That was good because it was raining at that point, and the guy lines were dripping wet Dacron ropes. The SWR stayed low even during periods of heavy rain...I guess that is one reason to be thankful for the high winds up here blowing all the raindrops away ;-) The poisonous centipede here in the ham shack hid before I could attack him with a tool big enough to safely defend myself.

As the moon was coming down, I worked DK2PH, UB7K, 9A8A & G3WOS .  I copied PA9RX, FK8CP, 406AH, VK5PJ & HA7TM. The total 6m EME stations worked now stands at 62.

Although around 5 degrees now, my horizon on moonset does become lower as the moon moves further north. Hope to see more of you in the log this coming weekend! 

Saturday October 7  Kp index=0.7 Degradation=-3.4 dB

Even though this weekend is the ARRL EME Contest weekend, cndx for 6m were not ideal.  In addition, the low Kp index and both stations being in the dark for both NA and EU as well as here on Christmas Island meant that the polarity changed very little.  Lots of "one-way" propagation and seeming to be "locked out" for long periods. 

During moonrise, I completed with KB8RQ and JH2COZ.  I copied but did not work K7CW, K6IJ, K4PI, and N3XX.

After the NA window, I took a nap from 1600-1800Z.  When I got up again I found a poisonous centipede inside and got him this time!  I then proceeded to work OZ7OX, IW5DHN, LZ2WO, LZ2CC, PA9RX, LZ2JE & 4O6AH.   I also copied but did not work UT3MD, FK8CP, G4BWP, LZ8SIX, JR1LZK

The total 6m EME contacts after today is 71.

Sunday October 8 - 5th Moon Pass   Degradation=3.1  Kp index=0.3

The car wouldn't start, but a very helpful Australian Federal Policeman gave me a lift up to the operating site.  Then I couldn't get the 6m station to work.  But I finally reset everything and started everything back up before the moon reached 1 degree.  LOTS of QSB from sequence to sequence and stations would disappear :-(  

During my moonrise, I worked K8OM, KC0SKM, N7IP, NU0P,& W6UC. I copied W8PAT, K4PI, N3XX, W7JW, N8RR, K0DAS, K7RWT & VE5UF. When the moon was too high, I took a break from 1745-1845Z.

Starting when the moon was due north and then descending,I worked S51V, VK5PJ, SP7VC,   I copied FK8CP, G4BWP, VK8MS,JR1LZK and WW2DX.

The total now stands at 79 stations worked on 6m EME.

Saturday October 14

Degradation was -1.0 dB and Kp Index was down to 3. On my moonrise, I worked N8JX, W7KNT, N0NLO, and K6IJ.  I also copied K2ZD, W5ADD, N3XX, W6SR and VK5PO.

As the moon passed overhead, I worked DK8NE and S51ZO.  I copied KL7HBK again, but we did not complete.

As the moon sank in the west, I copied HA7TM, JR1LZK and KA1R, but made no contacts.

At the end of this pass, there were 100 6m EME stations in the VK9XGJ log.  I am planning on 2 more moon passes after this.  This was the weekend of good 6m EME conditions that I extended the trip for.  I hope the Kp comes down!

At moonrise, the Kp index was down to 2.0 and the Degradation was still only -1.8 dB.  Conditions for 6m EME looked very encouraging!  During moonrise, I worked W9RM and copied N3XX, K7CW, W6SR and W7MEM.  I also killed my third centipede outside the door to the ham shack in the early pre-dawn hours!

After the NA moonset, I copied KL7KY and F5LNU but only completed with HA7TM and HA8CE. At the time of the final contacts, the Degradation was still only -1.0 dB and the Kp Index was down to 1.7.

After shutting down the EME operation, the total 6m EME contacts from VK9X stood at 106.  The best DX (measured over the face of the Earth) from VK9XGJ was W5ADD in EN40wl at a distance of 10,722 miles (17,255 km).  The best DX from VK9CGJ was K2ZD in FN21nr at a distance of 10,335 miles (16,632 km).  Contacts with stations on the opposite side of the Earth are really tough on EME because both stations need very low antenna lobes and excellent horizons!

Thanks to all who made this DXpedition such a success.  I would think that the high Kp index and geomagnetic disturbances during the best days of the month for EME would have had an impact, but I don't think they really did, since we had other days with good conditions.  I know that some stations in Region 2 were handicapped by the very short (or non-existent in some cases) common moon windows, and I apologize for that.  However, there is nothing I can do about the geometry that makes these islands so far from many spots in Region 2. To those who would say that EME is too easy, I suggest that there are also many other physical, ionospheric and astronomical considerations that do make it quite a challenge! I wish you all success in the current 3DA0MB DXpedition, and also in the upcoming 6m EME DXpeditions.  I hope to see you all - including those I missed this time - from another rare DXCC at some point in the not-too-distant future! 

Those of you who followed me on the TX5K DXpedition to Clipperton Island may be interested in seeing the professional video done for French public television, which is finally now available:

http://wp.cdxc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TX5K.mp4

MNI TNX, GL and here's to much more Magic Band DX! VY 73, Lance