In Honiara we encountered on 1st February with Bernhard, DL2GAC. He spends since years his "time-out" in the Solomon’s archipelagos. Bernhard has a treasure trove of information about this part of the pacific.

After a longer deliberation he join our DXpedition into the Temuto archipelagos for two weeks. We want to remain in any case longer in order to give also the ""little pistols"" a chance. On the next day we sit again in the department for work and transportation, in order to submit an application for the special callsign H40T (Temuto). Everyone of us has still a personal call. Babs is H40YL, Bernhard has since years H40MS and I am H40ZG.

On 10th February 2002, after a three hours flight, we jolt with the small propeller machine over the grass airstrip on Nendo Island. Sultry heat receives us. Our planned accommodation which is the Luelta guesthouse is in a desolate state. At the guest house to seem not to have gone the events of the last years in a without a trace way past. There were ethnic conflicts which were delivered to the part quite violently in the entire archipelago. The Foreign Ministry warned us therefore to do a trip into this area. Our own determination with the German Fee consul in Honiara showed, however, that the situation had relaxed after the election in December 2001. Our first visit in Honiara was therefore also to visit our German fee consul Mr. Stenzel, whom we thank for his support..

As long as the conditions stays, we have to overcome a gigantic "Pileup". It is necessary to change the operator on a hourly basis. Around 02.30 local time the spook is over and everyone crawls under his mosquito net. Three hours later the 40m-band rises to Europe. What a hum on that 7088 ! They all shout. I move onto 20 m and leave the excited "Pileup" to himself.

With a slingshot we fire fishing rod - sinker of lead over the trees. With the tightened cables a Wire-beam is put up for 10/15/20m. The preferred route is north. On the following day strong signals are reported to us from Europe.

Additional the Triple Leg is well posted and can unfold the full field strength down the inclination. At the evening I finished with the long wire and we can test 160 m and 80 m. We compare the other bands against the triple-leg antenna and the wire-beam. Every antenna has his "chocolate part". I am not surprised seeing that we hear well with this relatively small antenna expenditure. The correct antenna at the correct site - that is the prescription ...

I am again on that 40 m-band. I succeed to call on 7088 "CQ" before the EU-Net starts. I hear 5 to 10 kHz higher. At these morning around 100 stations coming into our log. I hear daily on 80 m during the grayline-time. Unfortunately the evening noise level is too high for Europe. It remains to have just short excursions onto the 80m-band.

On the late morning it continues with the South- and North-American stations, the Japanese stations comes through almost the whole day on the upper bands. We remain many hours on the same band up to the time, that the signals disappear in the noise due to the finish of the propagation conditions.

We suffer very much from the mosquitoes. The arms and legs of Babs look like she would have gotten the measles. Because we have to reckon with medical-resident malaria, we spray our rooms several times a day. The life plays itself with ample of "small animal life". I like mainly the geckos. When I am lying on the bed, I observe them, as they stick head over heels to the ceiling and snatch the annoying insects.

We occupy our lunch daily separately in order to hold the station permanently on air. In this time the US-westcoast comes through. In the ARRL blemish list of the DXCC H40 stands under the 20 most wanted DXCC-entities . The crush is corresponding.

We built up 2 stations. But we practise, however, to be on air with only one station. On the second transceiver we connect the long wire during the day. We use it as a monitor in order to observe band openings. Due to weight reasons we have only one lap-top. We had to let a part of our outfit back in Honiara, because our baggage was limited to16 kg per person for the small propeller machine. Due to this reason we had to limit also the 6m beacon equipment. Another possibility is the ship, but unfortunately it goes only once a month and than mostly not in time and very uncertainly.

The evening brings us fabulous 10m openings to Europe. I do 20 kHz split operation. The range is like a single grumping. It has also to mention the behaviour of some of the "Big Guns". Every day they must call right in the "pileup"" again and again in order to prove to themselves and to the other ones that they are the "Biggest and Strongest". On our side they make strong QRM, take away precious band opening time some QRP-stations and with their chances to make a QSO with us. A QSO per band and mode should appertain anyway to the self-imposed Hamspirit.

After 5 days we have about 10 000 QSO’s in RTTY, PSK31 and SSB in the log. The transceivers were cooled with additional small 12V fans and they run really 24 hours a day. Bernhard, DL2GAC left us in order to activate some other rare IOTA islands in Papua New Guinea. We have constantly power failures. I go with my multimeter onto fault tracing. Only few houses in the Lata village are connected onto the electricity. I localise a rid link at an overground mast. Without using a ladder and the interruption of circuit from the generator we can not go on. Ultimately, after a 10-hours activity we have again power and found a new friend - the village electrician.

Unfortunately also the diesel of the generator goes to the end. New diesel fuel is supposed to come with the next ship ...maybe! Our target of 30.000 QSO’s lie suddenly in a wide distance.

On the small village marketplace we meet our electrician again. He told us, that he got diesel from somewhere and promises us for this evening a few hours with "power". After the arrival in the guesthouse we switch on the 230 V fan and the ceiling fitting, in order not to miss the feeding of the voltage. In the evening we can do 3 hours activity. Around 21.30 local time everything is again dark and we to crawl disappointed under the mosquito nets. It has no sense to stay much longer here. Our penultimate day start. All take part, that we can not transmit anymore. Andrew, the Deputy Provincial Secretary informs us in the morning, that we could have today once more full power. Who presumably helped out with this diesel?

On Saturday morning, Babs and I disassemble the antennas and the radios. Today we will be have no more power and tomorrow morning the aeroplane will arrives. Together with the QSO’s in Honiara we are coming nevertheless still on around 30300 QSOs (without duplicated).

At 9.00 o'clock a Pick-up arrives which will bring the whole baggage to the airfield. Mikel, who do the check-in and cradles every person including their baggage, announces proudly that our airplane has started half an hour earlier than expected in Honiara. Around the washed-out small building half of the village inhabitants convene. We must joggle many hands and promise soon to come back again. Andrew presents us some fruits as provisions for our trip back as is here usual during the departure of friends. We feel us sad. We could take many insights into the life of these hospitable people during our three weeks on the island.