NOTE: New information will be added to the TOP of this each day, as it is available..... ******************* Apr 9 2001 Update 2000Z **************** Below is information received from WA4FFW, the QSL MGR. I asked him if Chuck had made contact with him yet, and have they decided what to have on the cards yet? /////// //////////// ///////// ///////// Yes we have met. No we have not decided and are even awaiting for some of the pictures to be processed. It will be some time, as a matter of fact it might be early fall before the cards are out. I hope we beat that but it will be a while for sure. ******************* Mar 6 2001 Update 2000Z **************** Received the following information from Chuck today: All people and gear safely aboard the Norwegian Ship Lance and steaming for Capetown,South Africa....arrival 0600 Z on the 12th of March--- logs are Dry !!! ******************* Mar 4 2001 Update 1500Z **************** 3Y0C is now QRT from Bouvet. The RV Lance is at Bouvet loading equipment at this time. Chuck is onboard getting warmed up, and eating some real food. They will depart as soon as they are loaded, and head for Cape Town. Chuck will rest up, and do some visiting in Cape Town, then fly back to the US, and see his family after a LONG cold 2 1/2 months. I take my hat off to Chuck. At the beginning, when the antennas were at normal height, his signals were very good on all bands. After the first big storm hit, Chuck's work really started. Between his official duties on the island, operating Ham Radio, and repairing and erecting repaired antennas, he was able to squeeze in a few hours sleep most nights. All this was done in a environment worse that being in a freezer with a high speed fan blowing on you 80% of the time. He did things to try to improve the signal, that most multi operator DXpeditions would not bother with. I salute you Chuck, Job well done! We are all wondering what the next surprise will be...... ******************* Mar 2 2001 Update ********************* The beam antenna has been taken down and packed along with other equipment. The Icom IC-756PRO and dipoles is the only equipment remaining in operation until 3Y0C terminates transmissions this weekend. The batteries will be fully charged to allow operation as long as possible after the generator is packed. They are watching the weather to determine when the group can be picked up. They will try to pick a safe time for the landing party to evacuate the personnel and equipment from the island. The window of opportunity is narrow and may present itself on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. The exact date of departure is dependent on the weather now. ******************* Feb 28 2001 Update ********************* The RV Lance is making better time now that it is out of the ice, and should arrive at Bouvet 1 day earlier. Expected pick up date is now March 3, and arrival at Cape Town March 9. ******************* Feb 26 2001 Update ********************* Chuck asked that all be informed that his departure date will be Mar 4, from Bouvet. The RV Lance will continue on from Bouvet, to Cape Town, and arrive around Mar 10. Every thing else is still about the same. Chuck has been very active the last week, and will continue to do so as much as possible. Hopefully the SFI will make its normal turn, and head back to near 160-170 area the last week. Good luck to all.... ******************* Feb 22 2001 Update ********************* Good news to all the operators who have not worked Chuck. The ship coming from picking up another crew in Antarctica, then pick up the guys on Bouvet, is being delayed by pack ice. The date of departure from Bouvet, which was going to be between February 20 and March 2, will be later now. Will advise of the dates as we get more information as the ship gets closer. I asked Chuck to take some more pictures when the weather clears some. He said he will try to take a set of pictures for a panoramic view. ******************* Feb 13 2001 Update ********************* Chuck has spent almost all night the last few nights with out being very fruitful on 80 and 160m. He has used up all the available mast trying to get the dipoles up as high as possible. The vertical, and then later the long wires were destroyed in prior storms. (The dipoles are all that's left to use on the low bands) After spending all this time with very poor results, Chuck has decided to spend the remaining time on the other bands, unless they get the PW1 amp working properly. Today, the winds were 75 knots (aprox 90 mph) with sleet. The Hex beam is still doing fine, but since the mast have been broken several times, the beam is only at about 15 ft (4m) high. The weather forecast is calling for more of the same, so do not expect much antenna work at this time. ******************* Feb 10 2001 Update ********************* Things have not changed a whole lot since the update on February. 3rd. Chuck has been staying busy with his mission duties, trouble shooting equipment, and installing/repairing antennas. He put up a 600 ft long wire to use on the low bands, with counterpoise for for 160,80 and 40m. These were destroyed by a storm the following day. Today, he completed installing dipoles for the low bands and will see if they will stay up. The Amp is still being worked on, and more information is expected from Japan on Monday to help determine what the problem is, and a fix or work around for it. Chuck has worked many on RTTY, but is taking a short break from it now since the equipment he is using on RTTY is having troubles. No update on the pick up date yet, so it still planed for the last part of February, and up to March 2nd. Will update as soon as I have anything more concrete. Chuck has been spending more time on the WARC bands lateley. He was on 12m with a HUGE EU pile up today. Chuck said he will be on 17m tomorrow. he will try the low bands tonight. Maybe the storms will allow the low band antennas to stay up more than one day. Chuck is still working CW by request only, on the same frequency as he is operating on SSB. ******************* Feb 3 2001 Update ********************* It's rare that there is good news from Bouvet lately, but today is the day. The diesel generator is "FIXED". Chuck said they found a problem with the compression release. He will continue to collect info about the propane conversion just in case of more trouble. They will be able to get back to normal now, and will be putting up new wire antennas for the low bands, and some RTTY with a fully charged laptop. The other things that this affects, is Chuck will be able to operate for more hours a day now, instead of 30 minutes to a hour at a time because of weak batteries. Good Luck to all in the pile ups..... The Icom PW1 amp is still dead. ******************* Feb 1 2001 Update ********************* 0100z Well, it seems that Chuck is keeping him self very busy trying to keep every thing running on Bouvet. The generator has developed troubles again. The amount of running time they can get is not enough to charge the laptop battery. Until he gets this fixed, or a way to work around the problem, Chuck can only use the laptop for about 15 minutes on RTTY. Will advise when any thing changes. GL.... Added: 13:50Z The main generator on Bouvet is a 9 KW Diesel, and this is the one that is inoperative at this time. They do have a small generator as backup, but this is very small, and uses gasoline. Since gasoline is very flammable, they did not bring very much of it with them. They have 2 ways to fix the problem. They can try to fix the diesel generator, or convert the small generator over to propane. They have plenty of propane. They are working on both options. **************** January 31 2001 Update ******************* First good news in a long time. Chuck is now operational in RTTY. He has been working on some problems with the software, and it all came together Monday evening. K4AU was the first to work Chuck on RTTY, followed by several others. Chuck will be on the normal RTTY frequencies. The generator has developed another problem, but they are able to work around it. The engine is a diesel, and like all diesels, requires the intake manifold to be heated with a glow plug. The glow plug system has decided to stop working. The generator is in a small shed, just slightly larger than it, and they are heating the shed with a portable heater prior to starting the generator, and this is working fine. The Hexbeam is still doing just fine. The mast that supports it has been broken several times, and the antenna will now have to spend the remainder of the time at about 16 ft. (5 mtrs) The other antennas are all history. Chuck has hung a lowband vertical off the cliff that is directly behind them in the pictures. They are still working on the PW1 amp with the technicians in Japan providing input. No luck yet.... **************** January 28 2001 Update ******************* Chuck and all the support guys have been very busy trying to solve all the problems that Chuck has been having. The support guys have been in daily contact with the Icom reps in Japan trying to find the problem on the PW1 amp. They are sending information back and forth daily on the results of many test. The next item is the RTTY. Chuck has been very busy in the little spare time he has, trying to get going on RTTY. They have narrowed the problem down, and it looks good for RTTY within the next 2 days. It looks like Chuck has one more glitch in the software to correct. Chuck is still trying to make up some new antennas. The Hexbeam is the only one of the originals to be in one piece. It has been repaired, but the vertical was not repairable. He did get some low band wire antennas up, and will work on more as time permits. Saturday was a very active day on the radio for Chuck. He worked many in Europe on 10m starting at 1600Z, many in Oceania on 15m. Chuck was on 20m from 2300-2400 with family and the support guys, then he moved to 14250 and worked many, including West coast. He was still working the pile up at 0300z, 5-5 to 5-9 with no amp in to Tennessee. He worked some on 75m, and then went to 30m. The pile up was tremendous! **************** January 24 2001 Update ******************* Seems that the the guys must have been catching up on the work on Bouvet. Yesterday a barbecue, and now Chuck & the leader Bjorn Krafft ( many thanks Bjorn ) worked on repairing the beam & Chuck was heard 5-9 and 5-9+ from Bouvet today a short time after 1800Z. He was heard working the middle east, an area which is difficult to get into from 3y, and many in Europe. The Icom PW1 amp is still not working, but the beam is repaired, and back up, Chuck was 5-9 on 20m for 1 hour on 20m from 2300-2400Z Tuesday, and again from 0030-0130z Wednesday morning. **************** January 21 2001 Update ******************* The Hex beam has stood up well to several storms on Bouvet, but the last storm did it in. The antenna has never been damaged by the wind directly, it has been from the mast breaking, and the antenna damaged from hitting the ground. After 4 times, it is no longer usable as a beam. Chuck is going to make use of the antenna parts the best he can, and make some dipoles from it. The 40/80m vertical and the G5RV were damaged and even the small 10m vertical he had, was broken. The last storm was well in excess of 120 mph. They are still working on the problem with the Icom PW1 amp. Chuck is only able to get 150 watts out of the amp on all bands, except 80 and 160. He is getting 300 out on them. They are narrowing the problem down. The support guys have now got a set of schematics for the PW1, and are talking Chuck through many steps to determine the problem, and see if it can be corrected, or a work around figured out. Chuck is also working on getting the RTTY setup now. As soon as he has the other problems under control, he will be active on RTTY. Look for it to happen after this coming week. Don't expect much activity from Chuck, if any, over the next few days as he works on these problems. **************** January 20 2001 Update ******************* The time set aside to listen for Asia and Oceania paid off today near 0600Z on 20m. Chuck worked many JAs and VKs today. He will try this for the next few days. Good luck. **************** January 19 2001 Update ******************* Another big storm hit the island yesterday and snapped the antenna mast and smashed the beam. Chuck managed to repair the beam and erect it on the shortened mast. He will try to get the beam higher into the air today. I had asked Chuck to take a series of pictures from the top of the shack to make a panoramic view from it. Chuck tried to take the photographs from the roof of the shack, but the wind speed is so high that he cannot stand upright on the roof. He will try again when the weather improves. The Pirates have struck Bouvet... Several people have reported working Chuck on the CW portions of the bands. Up to this point, Chuck has only worked CW on the same frequency he was operating on prior in SSB. This prevents the chance of someone else coming on with his call. Asia and Oceania remain the low number in the percent worked by Chuck, so he will make a added effort to work them over the next few days. This will start at 0600Z on 18.130 > 21.295 > 28.495 > 14.195 MHz Listen to Chucks directions..... Some RTTY operations will begin next week. Follow directions... **************** January 18 2001 Update ******************* The generator engine has caused much problem lately. The engine is not designed for extreme weather conditions and has allowed the crankshaft bearing seals to freeze and loose their sealing ability. The lubricating oil leaks past the seal and slowly drains the sump They took enough oil for maintenance functions, not for leaks. This is the reason for engine oil running low, while there is sufficient diesel fuel for the expedition duration, with limitations The leaking oil is now captured, strained and returned to the engine. About 95% of the oil is being recovered. Battery charging is thus extended from 2 hours to 4 hours at a time and the batteries are able to receive a full charge. This turn of events takes the pressure off the oil reserves. The time that the generator has not been run because of the oil leak, has also reduced the worries about the fuel consumption. This bring up the other problem. Chuck reports the very unfortunate failure of his solid-state linear amplifier. The unit is an Icom PW1 and is a highly complex device. Chuck has been unsuccessful in locating the fault and will continue to use the Icom IC-756PRO transceiver at 100W. Fortunately, the beam antenna is operational. If you are knowledgeable in the workings of the PW1, please get in touch with Joe at n4ol@mindspring.com If he can resole the problem on the PW1 amp, Chuck will be able to operate QRO for the full time that the generator runs now, if work allows. **************** January 13 2001 Update ******************* Murphy has struck again at Bouvet. They had a avalanche there this week along with the other bad weather, that killed a lot of the seals. That put there already very busy schedule on over load. The other news is they have been informed that the ship will be back to pick them up earlier than planed. They were given the date of March 2 as the latest pick up date, but it could be as much as 2 weeks earlier than this. **************** January 9 2001 Update ******************* To date 7th JAN, Chuck has workd 10,000 stations of which 70 - 80 % with Europe. The balance is USA & the rest of the world. He is now looking towards the far east, VK & ZL more. Chuck is spending as much time on the radio as he can, and in several short sessions, so be patient please. If you look at the pictures, you will see the small tents that they are living in. The one building is where they store there equipment for the things that took them to Bouvet in the first place, and they were able to squeeze in the ham gear. Chuck is still working on the generator problem. Remember, Chuck is giving it his all, and propagation WILL improve as we move closer to the Equinox. GL... **************** January 7 2001 Update ******************* Chuck has been able to repair the Vertical, and the beam is back to normal now also. The biggest problem is still the generator. The generator is only able to be operated for about 45 minutes at a time now. This gives Chuck very little time for full power operation, and more important, very little time to recharge the batteries that he uses to operate the radio on. Chuck was on for the longest time period so far, on Saturday Eve/Sunday Morning (Zulu time) on 14252, 14260 and 14195. He went QRT only to conserve the batteries to be able to return on 40m latter. Chuck will do some experiments on one of the LEO satellites on Sunday, so you may start seeing Chuck on some of the birds and 6M as he tries to cover more of the operating bands/modes when he can squeeze in the time. Please keep in mind that this is not a DXP, and Chuck may be only able to operate for a short 15 -30 minutes session while in between task that he has to do on the island. **************** January 5 2001 Update ******************* Bouvet has had a very bad storm come across it again, and the antennas suffered some damage. This compounds the problems that Chuck has been working on already. He still has generator problems, and the amp will only work in manual operation, and then, only when the generator is running, and working properly. Lights can be used, and batteries charged if the generator is not working perfectly, but can not operate a $6,000 amp on it. **************** January 4 2001 Update ******************* Chuck has been having some problems with the communications between the 756 and the PW1 amp. This prevents the amp from following the radio on band changes, etc. He has had to use it manually lately, and still having some problems with the amp. He is working on it with his support crew in the US. Another problem that has raised its head again, is generator trouble. This is hurting full power operations since the generator needs to be running properly to use the amp, and preventing full charge of the batteries to be used during the day. He is working on this also. **************** January 2 2001 Update ******************* Chuck will on 7.095 MHz at 02:00 to 03:00Z if he is still awake after operating 14 MHz. The vertical antenna is only operating on 7 MHz after breaking in a storm. The wind speed has been recorded at 160 km/h with snow and sleet. Chuck will send photographs of four gigantic icebergs floating past the island. **************** December 29 2000 Update ******************* Chuck came on 28495 at aprox 1320Z today. He has the beam antenna up, and doing testing. It is 2-4 S units stronger in all areas. IF it is able to withstand the winds, we will be able to work him much easier now. GL The beam antenna covers 14-28mhz. **************** December 28 2000 Update ******************* Chuck is a one man show as far as radio goes. He has virtually no help in trying to get the antennas up. He has put up the beam twice and it has been torn down by the wind before he could use it and now it is a wreck and we really have strong reservations as to it ever getting up. He has been successful in getting up one short vertical for 10 meters. He has a 160, 80, 40 vertical that is working very well even on 15 and 20 meters, better than the G5RV. It stayed up until yesterday and it crashed. He was able to get it back up. It has not been damaged thus far. We hope it holds up. We are trying to help him put something that will work out of the salvaged remains of the beam so as to at least get something up that is directional. Here are a few points that all need to consider: 1- It is a one man operation 2- It is not a full time dxpedition as he has not only medical responsibilities but also research duties. 3- The Sat-Comm unit he took will not hit the satellite from there and their only link is Ham Radio 4- Weather conditions are harsh, much less than desirable. Winds and temperatures impede antenna work. 5- People breaking in on his skeds delays the skeds and thus prolongs any real air time. 6- He has less than 6 hours of darkness. Most of his operating is in between duties throughout the daylight hours. 7- Some of this time is spent trying to get various things working or putting up antennas or putting them back up. This would eventually take it's toll on anyone and I just hope he don't decide it is useless and to much to achieve. 8- Sleeping schedule for the crew is from 2000 to 0400 Zulu. therefore if there is any skeds or contacts within those hours it is at the expense of him losing sleep as he must get up and on with work with the others on their schedule. 9- He has managed only 2 to 3 hours of sleep a day since arriving as he has tried to appease everyone's request. 10- He is using paper logs. There will be no published log on the internet during or after the trip. 11- He has no way to receive email so email to him is useless. 12- Please do NOT ask to have Chuck check to see if you are in the log on a certain band. He does not have a computer log, nor does he have the time to do it. Let him use the very little spare time that he does have working people, rather than doing log searchs. Chuck is a nice guy and he really will do his best under the conditions that he is under to be as active as possible. Everyone needs to be considerate and patient. Good Luck/73.... **************** December 24 2000 Update ******************* 3Y0C is still going through the process of trying to do his job on Bouvet, and get the equipment all set up. They have done some basic testing, and have calculated that they will only be able to run the generator for 3-4 hours a day at present fuel consumption. The Antenna situation is slowly improving. He was on 14195 Sunday morning Zulu, with a GREAT signal. This is from a vertical that he has erected for the low bands, but using on 20 and 15m also. It is much stronger than the dipole. Chuck also has the amplifier on line now. Chuck will try to get the beam antenna ready on Christmas day. Chuck will continue working on assembling the beam antenna, when weather allows. Look for him on 10, 12, 15,17, 20, and 40m on the announced frequencies. As he gets the equipment set up, and his job on Bouvet under control, he should be on for longer stretchs. Another thing to look at, is we are now heading towards the Equinox, and that alone will help his signals tremendously. Good luck in the pile-ups. **************************** Dec 20 2000 ************************** The year 2000 has been an exciting year in the world of DX. As of mid December five of the top ten DXCC Entities (BQ9P, A5, 7O, E3, FR/T) have been on the air. It’s now time for a 6th top ten DXCC Entity to become active to last into next year! Astronaut Chuck Brady, N4BQW, landed a few days ago with a group of South American scientists and a Norwegian team leader on the remote island of Bouvet. This Norwegian island (54° 26’ South 3° 24’ East) is located 2574 kilometers (1,600 miles) South South West of Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in the South Atlantic Ocean. It measures 6 by 9 kilometers and is engulfed in over 90% ice. The island was discovered by Jean-Baptiste Lozier Bouvet, a Frenchmen, on January 1, 1739. It wasn’t until 1823 that the first landing took place by an American expedition. On December 1, 1927 Lars Christensen, a Norwegian, landed an expedition and claimed the island for Norway. In 1971 a Royal Decree was made declaring the island as a nature reserve. The island’s only inhabitants are seals, penguins and other sea birds. Landing on the extinct volcano island can be extremely difficult as the island has many steep cliffs and high seas. The only safe area to set up camp is on the westcoast of the island. Bouvet ranked # 8 on the ARRL DXCC Most Wanted list in 1999. Past operations from this rare island included LH4C (1962), 3V1VC and 3Y3CC (1977), 3Y1VC and 3Y5DQ (1978-79) and 3Y5X (1990). Barry Fletcher, ZS1FJ, advises that Chuck will be on the island for 3 months and is expected to be very active on the air. Due to a terrible storm the team had a horrific time getting all the equipment to the island. Chuck immediately set up a wire antenna, which ZS1CM, from Cape Town, made and donated to Chuck. Many ZS stations reported working 3Y0C on 14195 on Saturday around 0730Z. For the moment he is limited to 15 and 20 meters only but expects to be QRV on all bands from 6 through 160 meters once the antennas are in place. Chuck operates mostly SSB on his operations but can and will do CW. Suggested SSB frequencies are as follows: Band Frequency Split ------ ---------- -------------------------- 6 Meters 50120 listen for instructions 10 28495 500-510 15 21295 300-310 17 18145 150-155 20 14195 200-210 20 14260 265-270 (Alt Freq) 40 7095 listen for instructions 80 3795 listen for instructions Dennis Wells, ZS1AU, has been selected as the pilot for this operation and Deon Erwin, ZR1DQ, will have a web page soon at http://www.qsl.net/zr1dq. This information provided to you by W3UR at the Daily DX. http://www.dailydx.com/ ////////////////////////// END ////////////////////////