What about A25/DL7CM and A25/DM2AYO?

1. Licensing

It was rather difficult to find out the new way, but now you can use them. I have sent a lot of mails to BTC, than to the BTA. No answer. Just a mail to the big boss helped. Than it runs.

Forget all what you find in the internet. It's old. 2002 a new organization was founded, called BTA (Botswana Telecommunication Authority), which regulate all licenses and permitions. Look for www.bta.org.bw but there you will not find any spreankle about amateur radio.

Address: BTA Headquarters                 postal: Privat Bag 00495
Plotnumber 206/207
Independence Ave
Gaborone, Botswana

The Executive Chairmen for amateur radio licences is Ms. Cynthia Jansen 
email: [email protected]
Tel: 267-3957755  Fax: 267-3957976

Costs of licence (guest permittion for half year):
50 Pula, if you pick up the licence personally in Gaborone
150 Pula, if you like to get by fax and postal way  (abt US$ 33)

Way to get:
I have sent by email a copy of my licence to Cynthia. I got back a bill for paying by my bank
That's all !!! After receiving the money there, it take one week, I got by fax the A2-licence und 2 month later (seamail) via postal way

2. Propagation

Oftenly I was asked: "Why  you are so weak?". There are some simple answers:

1. We are in a minimum of sunspots

2. We caught extremly bad propagation during our time

3. It's real DX with more than 8000 km distance for NA, EU and AS.
Here is nobody in front of the door, not like dxpeditions to Caribik (with USA) or North Africa (with EU). 5Z4DZ and 9G5 are on the half way. We heard them working EU, but didn't hear this EU by ourself

4. The way to EU goes only via land (bad reflexion). There is not any spreankle of salt water like with an island operation

5. Openings to the north for about one hour each band one after another, so that it was rather impossible to work with 2 stations at the same time or the sec. station was extremly light with you (there in the north, not in the south, but who is there)

Opening time in GMT to the north: 

Band 80 40 30 20 17 15 12/10
GMT 00-04 22-23 20-22 18-19 17-18 13-16 11-13
sometimes       06-08 08-10 10-11  

Times are plus/minus, sometimes a band was cloused atall like 20mtr in the evening.
160 was disturbed till midnight by s9-level. Possible to work around 03 to 04z in the morning, but nobody heard me with my 100 watts

6. Both PA's were broken. We found the mistake and could repair one with the result of a freuency depended power output: max 500w on 17mtrs, but on the top (160/10) bands 100w only.
This has been a big handicap for the lowbands I wished to work in the main

 

3. Accomodation

There are a plenty of  wilderness lodges around the Okavango-Delta but unsure about electricity, accomodation for a longer time and willcommness at all. Just about Riley's Hotel I found some in the internet. It is an 4 (african) star hotel. I ordered a chalet for a good price (300 Pula). As we saw this chalet,  we decide, here we would not survive the next 2 weeks. So we had to take an expensive hotel room for 750 Pula (=US$ 167). In the latest end of garden we could install our antennas well. But there is no place for beverages.

Some later we could have a look for some other accomodations which have been more acceptable:

SEDIA -Hotel, 6 km from airport, quiet,  double room 545 Pula,  great pool, place enough for antennas, also beverage
www.sedia-hotel.com  email  [email protected]   Tel: +267 6860177 Internet cafe at the corner

ALFA Accomodation, 4 km from airport, double room 335 Pula, we havn't seen inside
email: [email protected]   Tel: +267-6864689

Island Safari Lodge, 12 km north of Maun, abt 300 Pula, 
www.africansecrets.net   email: [email protected]   Te.:  +267-6860300    

 

4. Staying there

It was said you have to catch your licence in Gaborone personally. So first plan was to go to Gaborone via Cape Town. Because of several reasons it must be the month of April. But just in April LTU do not fly to Cape Town. As I had the licences by fax It was not necessary to go to Gaborone. I looked for another way. LTU it should be already because LTU take amateur radio equipment as sport baggage without additional costs. We flow to Windhoek/Namibia International Airport and from there to Maun by Kalahari Air Service. This has been a fine 10 people Beechcraft King 200 enchine with lunch paket. It's the shortest way to go to Botswana.

Maun is the 3rd greatest town in Botswana. A very friendly people living there. You can walk on the street without any problems. You get all what you need in the shops and at each corner is an internet cafe (a quarter 15 Pula).

In Maun there are no sightseeings but Maun is called as the gate to the Okavango-Delta in the north. You can make trips there in and enjoy ... or not. We have made a one day trip to the Moremi Reservat. Now I have seen it. It must not be once more.

You can visit a crocodile farm but don't expect too much ... and so on...

 

5. Resumee

It has been the most expensive dxpedition with the lowest number of qso's.

Direction North, that's the direction were here the sun is looking to you, that means more exactly NNW for NA, N for EU, NNE for JA.

It is terrible to seat in front of the gear and no other band for you is open while your patner is working on this only one. You are calling CQ despaired on the neighbour band but only blanc noise. After a quarter a KH6 is answering with a s9 plus signal! Direction North is cloused and nobody is in the rest of world.

In this poor time of sun spots you should go with only one station plus amplifier and 3 om's. So the station can work around the clock in shift work, you have enough baggage dummies and 2 om's can organize, repair, install or sight seeing.