3B7RF Dxpedition by
George
Wagner, K5KG
How
everything began
Prologue by Karl Graetzer, HB9JAI: "Ten years ago I visited
Mauritius for the first time. The beauty of the island and its friendly
multi-cultural inhabitants left me with delightful memories. In 1996 I resumed
my former links with the intention to celebrate my 75th anniversary and 50
years of Ham activity in a special way: I was thinking about an expedition to
the St. Brandon Islands!"
Prior to our 3B7RF operation, St. Brandon was number 17 on the DXCC’s most wanted list. There had never been a large DXpedition from this location, and the most recent operation was in 1991 by Jacky Mandary, 3B8CF, operating as 3B8CF/3B7. In recent years Amateur Radio licenses have not been issued to "outsiders" for operation in St. Brandon.
The
team
Karl
initially put together a DXpedition team to operate from St. Brandon with
members of HB9RF, the Zug Amateur Radio Club. They were Hanspeter Blaettler,
HB9BXE, Joe Meier, HB9AJW, René Schmitt, HB9BQI, Christine Tororitschnig,
HB9BQW and Eric Seidl, HB9ADP. At the 1996 Dayton Hamvention, Karl invited
George Wagner, K5KG, and later Willy Ruesch, HB9AHL, Kurt Wetter, HB9AFI, Urs
Hadorn, HB9ABO, Hugo Huber, HB9AFH, Yuuji Yoshitani, JA3IG, Walter Marshall,
W7SE and Jacky Mandary, 3B8CF joined the crew.
Planning
and preparations
By mid-1997 a budget was established and the group began logistical and
technical planning and a search was commenced for sponsors. In September 1997
Karl spent three weeks in Mauritius to obtain a license and charter a ship. By
the time he returned to Switzerland, Karl had obtained written permission for a
landing at Rafael Island in St. Brandon and a verbal promise from the Mauritius
Telecommunications Authority for a 3B7 Ham license! That's how it all began.
Mauritius
On 03 May, Mauritius welcomed the crew with humid and warm air, wind and
clouds. Karl, HB9JAI, René, HB9BQI, and George, K5KG, went one week ahead of
the rest of the crew with 500 kg of freight to secure the radio license and
make last minute preparations for the ship and supplies. When the crew arrived
on Sunday, they got their first look at the Umbrina II, the vessel that they
would get to know all too well in the weeks ahead. Built 1935 in Glasgow, reconstructed
1955, the Umbrina II was an old but noble lady. She was a cruising yacht with a
length of about 30 meters and equipped with two 250 HP Diesel engines. There
was sufficient stowing room, modern navigation aids and an experienced crew of
four who gave the crew confidence in the venture ahead.
In
rough seas
Monday
morning, 04 May, the Umbrina II was loaded at the pier in Port Louis. Radio
equipment and food were stowed on the lower deck and the antennas, masts and
generators were put on the upper deck. All gear was securely lashed down for
the expected rough seas, a move that paid off handsomely. Kitchen equipment,
food and water, procured by the advance team in Mauritius, were also stowed on
the lower deck. The last items of fresh food, procured that morning, were also
stowed below.
The crew left the solitude and security of Mauritius mid-day with 470 km
ahead to Rafael Island. At first, it was pleasant to sit on the upper deck and
enjoy the sunshine. However, after a few drenchings with sea water, the group
quickly realized that the salon on the main deck was the only place to be, and
the only thing to do was lay low for the long trip ahead. During the night the
seas grew to 6-7 meters, and the ups and downs and heavy heel-overs were
endless. The Umbrina II made 10 knots, and most of those aboard were seasick.
There was no change in the rolling and pitching until more quiet waters were
reached on the lee side of the St. Brandon archipelago.
An
expected trip of 24 hours actually turned into 30 hours, and the crew finally
anchored off Rafael Island on Monday at sunset (1730 hours local time). With
darkness imminent, the camp equipment and food was transferred into small boats
belonging to Rafael Island fishermen to make the remaining 500 meters to the
flat sandy shore. The fishermen helped us offload the boats, and the the camp
was erected in total darkness and a hasty meal was prepared. The final
destination had been reached!
Bringing
life to 3B7RF
Early
the next day the heavy equipment, antennas, radios, two diesel generators, and
a large supply of fresh water were brought ashore. We decided to concentrate on
getting the CW stations operational as rapidly as possible. The CW tent, two
stations and one generator were assembled along with two triband yagis.
Following some last minute work to eliminate RF from the laptops, and a few
introductory QSOs by Karl to announce our presence to the world, the CW
operators plunged into the pile-ups, which lasted around the clock for the next
eleven days. That evening Joe placed the first-ever telephone call from St.
Brandon using the Inmarsat satellite telephone.
Installation
of the SSB tent and the SSB stations was completed the next day. The Cushcraft
X-7 antenna was erected by our now well-trained crew (in total they erected 6
Cushcraft yagis on 10 meter steel telescoping masts). Because of its weight,
the X-7 was installed at a height of only 7 meters. Prior to commencing full
operation of the four stations, the crew took time out for a short meeting to
discuss the daily routine that would continue for the next eleven days. By
Friday, 08 May, all four stations were fully operational, and by Saturday the
crew was QRV on RTTY and PACTOR.
Station
equipment
The stations were comprised of four Yaesu FT-1000MP transceivers, one
FT-920, two Yaesu VL-1000 power amplifiers and two Ameritron AL-80BX power
amplifiers. ICE bandpass filters were used to combat interstation interference.
Antennas consisted of six Cushcraft yagis, one Battle Creek Special, one TitanX
80 and one 40 Meter full wave loop. Compaq laptops running CT 9.36 were used
for logging and two 5.5 KVA diesel generators provided power for the operation.
Equipment failures were minimal and antenna failures were non existent.
Operating
Our
task was to operate two CW stations and two SSB stations around the clock for
11 days with 14 operators. In addition, we had one RTTY station to keep on the
air as much as possible. A four hour operating shift was chosen and each day’s
operating plan was laid out by first determining which bands were to be covered
by time of day for each of the four primary stations. A propagation study done
by Bob Brown, NM7M, and Walter, W7SE, formed the basis of the frequency plan,
along with operating results from the prior day.
Each
operator selected his desired station and shifts, with our operations manager,
Hans Peter, filling in the blanks.
We
tried to operate with a split window of up to 15 KHz to give us the ability to
work the weak stations. However, we often had difficulty in extending the split
window beyond 2-3 KHz. Over and over we asked our audience for a wide split by
broadcasting "pse qsx up 5 to 20". Those stations who got the message
were easily worked. When tuning back to 5 kHz up, however, there was always an
unimaginable crowd of stations calling. Under those circumstances only the big
guns were able to pound through the QRM.
One day, 14 May, was chosen as the RTTY day. We reallocated a power amp
from one of the SSB stations to the RTTY station and concentrated on RTTY for a
24 hour period to meet the demand. On at least two different days we heard a
pirate signing 3B7RF. It's hard to say how many stations were tricked by the
pirate.
Band
selection
It proved to be a
challenge to give sufficient coverage to all nine of the HF bands. In general,
propagation conditions were quite good throughout our stay, and there were
always several bands were open simultaneously with stations waiting for us. It
really was a coin toss as to which band would yield the best rates to Japan, Europe
or North America. We constantly reviewed the log statistics and the propagation
plans when developing the next day’s operating plan in order to equalize band
coverage. In our planning, we decided to not work SSB on 160 or 75 Meters, as
these would yield relatively low rates.
Pilot
stations
Our
pilots were Albert Mueller, HB9BGN, Kurt Bindschedler, HB9MX, Gerald Smith,
W6TER, Ferdinando Bermasconi, 4F3CV, and Kimihiro Okubo, JH3GRO. HB9MX watched
the DX scene in Europe and HB9BGN kept in touch with us via Inmarsat. The
pilots compiled hundreds of email messages that came in from all over the world
and passed the most relevant comments to us daily. Each evening we sent the
logs of the day’s operation via Inmarsat to HB9BGN, who relayed them to W6TER for
posting to the 3B7RF and VE7TCP web sites.
During the expedition the usefulness of the pilots became obvious. We
received suggestions every day from the rest of the Ham world as to what we
could do to improve, at what times which band is best suited for a specific
region and so on. On the second day we were told that we should not work QSOs
on our own transmitting frequency! This "slap in the face" impressed
us so thoroughly that this mistake never recurred. We were "scolded"
on more than one occasion, and rightly so, for attempting to work split with
the VFOs on transceive, which caused us to "chase ourselves" up the
band. This was a surprisingly easy mistake to make with the FT-1000MPs
Every
day life on Rafael
During
spare time, the crew slept, took photos, had endless eyeball QSOs and swam in
the lagoon, although swimming in deep water was avoided due to sharks. A very
easy walk around the island took at most half an hour. As there was no map of
the island, Urs surveyed the island by means of GPS satellite navigation and a
compass. Drinking water, brought here by ship was scarce and rain water was
collected into barrels. Sea water was used for daily baths and laundry.
Good
bye Rafael
SSB operations ceased on Saturday, 16 May, and the equipment was disassembled
and packed. On Sunday, CW operations were completed, and all of the equipment
was loaded aboard the Umbrina II by nightfall. The last dinner on Rafael was a
celebration. We had as our guests the kitchen crew of the fishermen who had
done our cooking and the officers from the meterological station. Karl
conducted a little ceremony with a speech about our successful efforts, his
dream coming true, the good team spirit, and the kindness of the fishermen. A
few bottles of whiskey and Swiss Army knives with our call sign engraved were
given as gifts. After the speeches, our cook surprised us with a lively Sega
performance, the island music of Mauritius.
Rough
seas again
Beginning
at 0500 local time on Monday personal gear was packed and we prepared for embarking
once again on Umbrina II. Once on the ship, however, we were faced with bad
news. Due to bad weather we are unable to start our trip back. After some
discussion it was decided to go to the Île du Sud, the southernmost island of
the archipelago. We had no problems on the two hour trip as we were on the
leeward side of the reefs. The captain continued for a few miles into the open
sea, but had to return due to high seas and strong gusts. Twice we were hit by
a so called double wave, which made the vessel roll as much as 40 degrees! We
anchored on the west of the Île du Sud for an overnight stay.
The
next morning at 0730 we received the latest weather report. A high pressure
area to the south and a low pressure system stalled to the north were the reasons
for the bad weather. The previous night there were gusts up to 55 knots, almost
100 km/h. The weather had not changed since yesterday! "Bad weather"
in this context meant sunshine, slightly cloudy, temperature around 28°C, but a
strong wind that blew apart the white crests of the high seas within the reef.
In
the seemingly endless hours of waiting, Eric and helpers repaired the ship’s
onboard Raytheon HF transceiver with lots of improvisation. A defective
inverter within an integrated circuit was replaced by a transistor scavenged
from an old sonic depth finder. The ship’s crew was ecstatic when they realized
their HF radio was working again. Now contact with Port Louis was again possible, and
we were able to receive weather reports. The weather bulletin at 1100 hours was
unchanged and we remained stuck. Our captain conducted a crew briefing where he
explained the weather situation with a carefully prepared chart. There were
proposals to return to Rafael as food on board was becoming scarce.
Some insatiable Hams among us mounted a 40 Meter dipole between the main
mast and the flag pole and an FT-847 was installed on the table on the
quarter-deck. Shortly before launching a CQ, we debated about going QRV. Our
3B7RF license expired two days earlier! Jacky's 3B8CF license was not valid in
any moving vehicle or vessel, and our home country licenses (/MM) were invalid
because we were in the territorial waters of Mauritius. Not wanting to
jeopardize our successful 3B7RF operation or violate any regulations, we
relegated ourselves to being SWLs. Short wave broadcasts telling about the
world’s catastrophes, such as India setting off an underground nuclear test
earlier in the week, told us that we were about to leave our peaceful life on
St. Brandon and return to the real world.
The
stormy weather remained all night. By dawn it became a bit more calm and the
captain decided to depart. Still in the lee side of the island, we enjoyed a
breakfast with only moderate rolling and shaking. After this meal there were
only biscuits and water on board. The third night on board was a long one and
the ship rolled and pitched heavily until we reached the waters off Maurititus
which, by then, was a welcome sight.
On
Thursday, 21May at 1100 Umbrina II stopped her engines at the pier in Port
Louis. The manager of Rafael Fishing Co. treated us with sandwiches and coffee
which we eagerly gobbled up after three days on a very limited menu. Unloading
equipment, transport to the airport and clearing customs occupied the balance
of the day. The first fresh water shower back in the St. George’s Hotel after
14 days of sea water was just great! Dinner in a Chinese restaurant was
delightful and finally there was enough cold beer for everyone!
KN
Reprinted from WORLDRADIO
A LETTER TO TONY, WB2HFT
Hi
Tony, EARLY BIRD TONY, that is! The WAG Sunday Morning Net on 40 meters
was “whipped into shape and rounded up”
by Tony, WB2HFT before 7:30 AM, on 7.289kc. Don’t ask me what time it was? When
I got on the air about 7:30 AM Tony was turning over his list of early bird
check-ins to Jim, W2WDD Bedford, VA. I was always “tail in charley” or rather
“tail end” Emmet, WD4GOL from sunny, sunny, Casselberry, FL.
Tony,
you were a fixture on the early birds. The only times I can remember you not
being there was when you had company occupying your radio room or your visits
to your son in NC. Even an early round of golf did not keep you from your
appointed task of calling the early birds on Sunday mornings from your QTH in
Greenville TN. I don’t know how much power you were running, but it was enough
to raise early birds from RI to FL and you sometimes raised a Grumman Ham who
was working in Texas. Wonder whatever happened to him? But I digress. Bad
habit. I’m always digressing.
But,
Sunday morning is just not the same Tony since you had your accident in
Maryland. We all miss that cheerful voice.
Mike,
KJ6XE, from the crossroads of SC, does a good stand-in job. Thank Goodness! The
summer and now the fall of 2003 has him fighting sun spots and magnetic storms
and QRM from Hams tuning up on the frequency without listening first to see if
it is occupied. Why do they do that? In 2003 we have had some good ones, nets
that is, and bad ones too. The Sunday after FD. Don’t quote me on that. Jim,
W2WDD, had to just close down the net after just fifteen minutes of fighting
the poor conditions.
Back
to you Tony. Your good XYL PHYLLIS, has reported on your excellent progress in
your therapy. So keep those golf clubs shined up. May God speed your recovery.
And best wishes from all the Sunday Morning WAG’er’s.
May
God Bless,
Emmett, WD4GOL
Tony
Bacchi’s address is:
1510
Crestwood Drive
Greenville,
TN 37743
GRUMMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING – 11/19/03
by Gordon, KB2UB
KE2LJ
opened meeting at 5:43 PM at the UL facility in Melvillle.
Treasurer
and Secretary were on travel and not present. KB2UB took minutes.
Pat
read treasurers report. Finances are OK.
Pat
reported on our relationships with the Recreation Association and how they
support certain club finances.
KB2UB
reported Bethpage repeater went back on line on 11/11 but was shut off while
some tests were being run on the roof of Building 14. Should be back in service
by Friday. Effort continues to locate a 3 db 10 watt attenuator so we can match
our repeater output to our amplifier input and get the power levels up where we
want them.
W2ILP
reported that there were no candidates at the last session but we will continue
the program as scheduled as long as there are VE's willing to show up.
Pat
reported on rooftop activities.
Nets –
Zac,
WB2 PUE gave net report. 40 meter net on Sundays is well attended. The last
Thursday net on 2 meters also went well.
NN2C
Marty conducted elections as Committee
Chairman. The incumbent executive officers were re-elected, i.e.
Masterson, Sammis, Lovelock, Rapelje.
There were two two-year Board slots open and three candidates.
Elected were Jack Cottrell WA2PYK and Bob W2ILP.
Jack WB2BED gave a talk on his visit to his almamater, West Point, and on
some veterans activities in Muttontown.
Meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.