Why Mellish ?
When ?
Why such a short trip ?
Why not stay longer ?
Why and how are you going to survey the reef ?
Can I e-mail a sked request ?
What bands are you active on ?
What modes are you active on ?
Why no WARC bands this trip ?
Why no Satellite this trip ?
Why no RTTY or PSK31 this trip?
Why then are you bothering with a 6M station and not two HF stations?
What antennas are you taking ?
How much RF power will the stations be running ?
What are you using for power there ?
Why don't you take more fuel with you ?
What if the generator dies ?
When was Mellish Reef last activated ?
How many different ways can baked beans be prepared ?
Will
e-QSLs be available?
Can I leave some comments in the Guest Book ?
Why
Isn't There An e-mail Mailing List To Announce News?
When will the bigger DXpedition take place? ?
What will the big DXpedition cost ?
How many operators and stations will there be on the big DXpedition?
How can I help/Donations ?
I'm interested in going on the next DXpedition, what do I do ?
Why Mellish?
Mellish Reef is a territory of Australia, so access is relatively easy for the Australian team both in terms of geography and bureaucracy.
It is also number 37 on the ARRL
Most Wanted List and number 16 according to N4AA's "The DX
Magazine" survey conducted in October 2000, so reasonably desirable.
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When?
The timing is of this trip has to fit in with existing
sailing commitments for the boat and sailing crew. There is a yacht race at
Easter time each year from Brisbane (capital of Queensland) to Gladstone, an
industrial port about 300 nautical miles North of Brisbane. As soon as the
race is over the DXpedition crew will meet up with the "Bach and Byte"
and prep her for the journey out to Mellish Reef.
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Why a short trip with so few operators?
This trip serves two purposes.
1) To survey the reef to help with the planning of a return DXpedition in 2002.
2) Whilst the survey is taking place we will activate the reef in a limited fashion -
mainly 15/10M and 6M. Hey, why not as we're already there!
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You're
already there, why not stay longer than four days?
Four days of operating along with six or seven days of sailing fits comfortably
within the two weeks off work some team members are taking. Storage space
for necessary fuel also becomes an issue if we stay any longer. As we are
sailing there and back and in the hands of Mother Nature a buffer zone either
side has been built in if adverse weather conditions prevail and affects the
schedule.
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Why
and how are you going to survey the reef?
As there have been a number of cyclones through the area since the last
DXpedition we need to see if the reef is still above sea level! The "Bach and Byte"
being a catamaran has no keel and can virtually land right up onto the beach,
however shallow coral reefs can make landing a conventional mono-hull sail boat
or a larger vessel impossible. Accurate charts are required for a
subsequent larger landing.
The non-amateur members of the crew will perform this task by using the latest
marine charts, sonar, wandering around with a GPS, in a dinghy, and using scuba
gear!
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Can
I e-mail a sked request?
NO, these will be ignored... sorry! Unfortunately
we do not have
the luxury of time nor facilities to accommodate individual sked requests, so
please don't clutter up the inbox with these requests. They will be deleted.
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What
bands are you active on?
40/20/15/10M and 6M. Refer to
the Frequency Table. If
conditions are not that good at any given time on 20/15/10M then that station
will operate on 40M during our local night time. Refer to the Sunrise/Sunset
page for times.
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What
modes are you active on?
Only SSB and CW.
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What
if I need Mellish Reef on a specific band or mode?
Be patient! As the solar flux is relatively high at the moment we will
be giving priority to 15M & 10M as well as 6M. You would have no
trouble working Mellish on lower bands at any time of the cycle. The next
(bigger) trip to Mellish plans to operate all bands and all modes.
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Why no WARC
bands this trip?
Simply, not enough operators to run WARC bands simultaneously. The 43' catamaran has a finite load capacity and
as the
team has to be 100% self sufficient on the reef, there needs to be enough room for everyday basics that are taken for granted
at home. That means a minimum configuration with rigs, antennas, computers, etc.
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Why no
satellite this trip?
Same as for WARC.
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Why no PSK31 or
RTTY this trip?
Same as for WARC.
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Why then are you bothering with a 6M station and
not more HF stations?
Working VK9ML on 6M from within the Pacific rim should be relatively easy and is a great opportunity to give these amateurs a new
(and rare on 6M) entity. The solar cycle has just gone through it's peak and
enhanced conditions of the "Equinox season" should prevail in April.
Also, a 6M yagi is more compact and lighter than another tribander.
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What
antennas are you taking?
One tribander for 20/15/10M, one wire dipole for 40M and one 5 element 6M
yagi.
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How
much RF power will the stations be running?
Barefoot 100 watts out on HF and barefoot 100W out on 6M. No linears this time.
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What
are you using for power there?
One Honda 1kVA petrol generator will be taken and should be more than
adequate for two rigs and general lighting. The generator consumes about 1
litre of fuel per hour, and as we are taking 100 litres of fuel we expect around
100 hours of continuous operation.
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Why
don't you take more fuel with you?
Simple, three reasons;
1) Safety. Risk of explosion and limitation of suitable stowage areas
aboard the cat.
2) Weight. At around 100kg this is equivalent to a man and his gear.
If an extra man goes then additional overheads such as extra water and more baked beans will be required etc etc.
at extra weight, and strict weight limits do apply.
3) Four days of operating along with six or seven days of sailing fits comfortably within the two weeks off work some team members are taking.
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What
if the generator dies?
A large 12V battery aboard the
catamaran which has a solar trickle-charge system will be put into
service. Car batteries are messy and weight becomes a significant factor
when many would be required to back up the generator. If extra
batteries were taken then a means of charging them would also be required, at
extra weight. Likewise, there is insufficient space for a second
generator.
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When was Mellish Reef last activated?
To the best of our knowledge Mellish Reef has been activated on the
following occasions;
October 1995 Steve, AA6LF, active for 4 days as VK4ALF/9. (Info from ARRL)
September 1993 VK9MM - Team: VK4CRR, P29DX, V73C, VK2BJL/4, WA4DAN, K5VT, G3WGV, VK2BEX, VK4DHM (See A.R.A. Dec `93 issue)
January 1989 VK9ZM - Team: KJ9I, NM2L, VE3IEO, JR1RCQ, ZF2KN, VE3CPU, KD2HE,
October 1984 VK9MR - Team: VK2WU, VK3CE, VK5ARO, VK2CIA (See A.R.A. Vol 7 Issue 4,8,9)
October 1982 VK9ZR - Team: DJ9ZB, EA8AK, VK3DHT, VK2BJL, KB7NW
October 1978 VK9ZR - Team: VK2CK, VK2BJL, JA1KSO, WA8MOA
Above - Mellish 1978 operating tent. Note the damaged tri-bander! Picture by Harry Mead
1972 - Exact details unknown
As you can see there has been only seven activations in the last thirty years!
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How
many different ways can a meal based on baked beans be prepared?
Ask us after we get back!!! VK4APG, our gourmet chef can answer this one!
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Can
I e-mail a QSL request?
No. Please refer to the QSL Information and QSL
Policy.
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Will
e-QSLs be available?
No. At this stage e-QSLs are not accepted
by the ARRL, and we would like your contact with VK9ML to count towards
something, so a "normal" QSL card will be available. Refer to the QSL Information and QSL
Policy.
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Can
I leave some comments in the Guest Book?
YES, please do! - NO SKED REQUESTS though
- We are seeking comments from you, the DXer. There is a limitation of how
many characters can be in each posting, so keep your
comments brief and to the point. Guest Book page.
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Why
isn't there an e-mail Mailing List facility to announce News?
We found from establishing an e-mail mailing list facility for the VK9WI
Willis Island DXpedition that many subscribers (including us) were receiving
spam e-mail as a result. This is very annoying! We figure that if
you're on the internet anyway then just check the website instead, and no chance
of getting spammed !!!
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When will the bigger DXpedition take place?
At this stage we envisage that it will occur later in 2001 or within the first half of
2002, however we will have to avoid sailing out during the cyclone season
between November - March. There is much pre-planning to do before a firmer time-table
can be specified.
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What will a big DXpedition cost?
Heaps!!! Just to charter a suitable vessel from a nearby Queensland port
alone will cost up to AUD$65,000. Support (both direct contributions and equipment donation) is absolutely vital if this
all-band/all-mode DXpedition is to eventuate. Donations go to our QSL
Manager. See QSL Info for his details.
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How
many operators and stations will there be on the return DXpedition?
This largely depends on what feedback we get from this trip. You have
been asked to leave brief comments in the VK9ML
Guest Book. You can also vote on pre-determined questions when you visit the Voting
Booth. We would plan on being active 24 hours a day
simultaneously on HF CW and SSB, as well as having a 6M station and a WARC
station. It's likely there would be a dedicated RTTY/PSK31 station too.
If there is sufficient interest in activating Mellish on satellite then that
will be considered too. Looking at a maximum
of around 15 people.
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How can I
help/Donations?
1) Contact your local DX association and see if they would be willing to support the
VK9ML DXpeditions.
They in turn should
with details on how they could help.
2) You can donate directly to our QSL Manager. See QSL
Info for his details.
3) If you worked us on this trip you could include a donation over and above
standard return QSL expenses. (Next trip will have more stations, more modes,
and more bands active - the one's you didn't get on this trip?)
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I'm interested in going on the
return DXpedition in 2002, what do I do?
To register your interest simply
Please include a brief CV detailing you amateur activities and skills, and how
you might be best utilized on such a trip.
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