XRØY XR0Y Rapa Nui 2009

Just uploaded the very last XR0Y videoblog entry that has been entirely shot at Rapa Nui Island. Every story has its end… Sad but true…

XR0Y – part 8 from SQ8X on Vimeo.

We are also proud to announce that one of XR0Y team members – Aart PA3C donated his Yaesu FT767GX to Radio Club de Chile during our stay in Santiago. The transceiver will be used for many purposes at the club station CE3AA. Hope there will be many new Chilean ham radio operators getting a good training with it. See some pictures posted at: http://www.ce3aa.cl/

XR0Y team is pleased to announce all log check inquires received up to date have been scanned, checked and replied. A new log with corrections have been uploaded to the ClubLog. If you still miss some QSO(s) and you have a proof your QSO took a place indeed, don’t hesitate to drop us an email at rapanui.xr0y [at] gmail.com. All emails will be read and QSO inquires checked as soon as possible.

We also want to inform that we updated our PayPal profile and now “it speaks” English instead of Polish (Polish was the  language of the account by default). We also added some more QSO fields to fit more slots for OQRS submissions. Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences caused.

Meanwhile Stan SQ8X, while in Patagonia – South America, scans thousands of photos taken at Rapa Nui Island to find the best ones that could fit our 3D cards. He says it sometimes feels like a Sisyphus’ work and he sometimes took  like 200-250 pictures of every single Ahu platform (those platform that Moai statues stand on). The reason there are so many pictures is that the 3D technology requires very exact matching of progressive images frames used to create 3D imaginary. Stan will also prepare a huge photo gallery update once he’s back home by December.

The Chilid Company in Poland starts to scan all HD video recordings taken at the island by Stan SQ8X. Additionally Stan will take back to Poland another huge portion of HD videos to be used in the forthcoming XR0Y documentary.

All documents regarding XR0Y DXCC validation wait for their approval at the ARRL DXCC Desk now.

More news coming sooner than you think :-)

Another videoblog entry shot at Rapa Nui Island during the XR0Y DXpedition.

XR0Y – part 7 from SQ8X on Vimeo.

The XR0Y team just decided all premium QSL online requests will also be answered with LoTW confirmation by December’09.

All log check inquires should be done by next 7 days. Stay tuned for updates.

XR0Y is over now and belongs to DXers’ history.

We went QRT at 2009-11-14 22:41:35. The very last, lucky station logged was SP7FAH. Weather conditions became very nasty again and we decided to put all antennas down 10 hours earlier than we planned. This DXpedition has been a mixture of bad events & lucky events that created a picture far different from tropical islands’ stereotype and the trip taught us that especially flexibility and fast decision making is so crucial during enterprises like this.

The DXpedition had been set for approx 14 days of operation on the air. After series of issues with severe weather conditions with wind gusts reaching 100km/h, constant, “horizontal” rainfall lasting for 5 days and electricity blackouts our activity on bands has been reduced to approx 9 complete days. Well, one could say: you can’t always get what you want :-) But we’ve been trying to do our best. While dealing with issues we managed to log 22281 QSOs with 2 stations. Our simple verticals worked surprisingly well. We received signal reports from different, distant parts of the world as strong as 59+30db sometimes.

We also had a fantastic opportunity to visit most of island’s unique locations. Unlike regular, massive tourists, we had a fantastic opportunity to meet local Rapa Nui community and to become a part of it for a short while. Without help provided by native islanders, our DXpedition could not take a place. This is why we decided to dedicate our DX enterprise to the people of Rapa Nui. We must also thank Radio Club de Chile and numerous hams in Santiago for their outstanding, generous support. We decided each premium QSL card will consist of a special 3D card and double folded card. Each and every premium QSL request will also be replied with a special souvenir – a smallish bag of Rapa Nui’s sand. Visit http://oqrs.rapanui2009.org/ to submit your online QSL request.

We plan to release a documentary introducing some of our important events during the DXpedition. Thank you for calling us and sharing your emotions with us. Sending out reports from Rapa Nui Island has been an unforgettable experience. Now, another DX plan for the future starts to form its shape…

Greetings from Santiago de Chile. Now heading for 2 weeks to Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego…

Stan SQ8X

P.S. The team uploaded their complete log but keep in mind there will be minor corrections to be done. If you’re missing a Q or so, don’t panic. All log inquires will be checked within next 7 days. Then, after further notice, a final log update will be posted. A special videoblog entry will be released in approx. 2 weeks inc. more Rapa Nui footage.

We offer you Online QSL requesting service. You are able to order QSL card through online form. After we process your request QSL manager will send you direct QSL card.
There are two types of QSL cards available:

• standard QSL card (minimum of 4 Euro)
• premium QSL card (minimum of 7 Euro) – special 3D photo QSL card will be supplied

There is no need to send QSL card after you request it through OQRS. Thank you!

The target of our expedition is of course to make qso with the operators from all over the world. In order to do it we’re taking the whole set of equipment…. Enjoy this second special entry on XR0Y by Chilid.

To watch video click here

What is amateur radio? Why it’s so special and absorbing? Who might be part of this? Check out special videoblog entry from Chilid, where Stan SQ8X is talking about his passion.
To watch video click here

You can find more info about amateur radio on: www.pzk.org.pl

Here are some audio recordings of XR0Y taken by Igor RA3CQ. The recordings include XR0Y on 30m CW, 80m CW and 40m SSB. Enjoy listening :)

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30m CW

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80m CW

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40m SSB

Weather at Rapa Nui finally stabilizes. It’s much warmer and there are less showers. Winds also start to calm down. We managed to install our spiderbeam at last. It was a very tough operation as we couldn’t take any telescopic mast with us. So we had to put the spider on top of a water pipe mast while standing at the top of a roof of our cabin. Believe me, it wasn’t easy. But after 3 hours the antenna has been risen up and working. Today we made first RTTY contacts on it and it confirmed it works very well. We must only re-check 12 & 10m elements as SWR isn’t good there yet.
Somebody in our neighborhood turns a device that produces massive QRM on top bands. It makes working on those bands extremely difficult but we get along with it. This is the reason we must ask for repeating calls several times. We hope it will be gone asap!

Easter Island is not on the top 100 most wanted list but pileups seem they don’t end at all. It’s a distant place from here and we used to assume it wouldn’t be that easy to get into the log. We are surprised with signals from Europe and interest we receive. Some important notes have been passed by our pilots. Once our operating became more regular we can pay more attention to ie. QRPs or difficult paths from here. We also adjusted our bandplan frequencies so that people with basic class licenses in the US would be able to work us. Please keep in mind our vertical for 160m is the one for 80m band as well. This is why we cannot operate on 160/80 simultaneously. We will swap these 2 bands each other day. Important: in 2 or 3 days we will announce a special window for the most difficult, antipode location in the world to work us – Central Asia. This will probably take a place on 80 meters. We also want to dedicate the same day for non NA, EU, JA areas. Stay tuned for further announcement.
An important notice regarding digital modes: please spread out when calling us in RTTY. Pileups are HUGE and it’s easier for us to pick up takers if you don’t keep on calling just 1 up. We will try some PSK one day, too.

We finally had a chance to see something of cultural heritage of the island. Yesterday we visited to unique sites related to Moai’s cult: Rano Raraku and probably the most famous Moai site – Tongariki. It’s been a really, really jaw-dropping experience. You can always see some of pics in advance before coming here, so one could expect how things look like here. But seeing those huge stone statues in person is something totally behind seeing them. You really feel a presence of something more here. Something hidden, unveiled and hard to express… Now we understand why native Rapa Nui people say that the island has its force. And landscapes are outstanding and can be hardly compared to any other place in the world. See some pictures with post along thins text!

Since we lost like 5 days of sightseeing because of very bad wx conditions, we decided we will take one day off next week to rent a car and to tour the island. It will be reserved for daylight hours only. So please understand we will disappear for like 12 hours some time in the second week of the DXpedition – we really want to see the island as the team as well. Thanks for understanding!
The following decision regarding QSL cards has been taken by Stan SQ8X. – We first expected the expedition at such a place as Rapa Nui would be quite easy to organize. When some totally unexpected issues stroke, we received a huge feedback with so positive words from the ham radio community – says XR0Y team leader Stan SQ8X. – This is why I decided our premium card will be something more than a regular, folded, multipage card. The card will be printed in 3D technology and it’s gonna be really something special. This is a way I really want to come back with after this avalanche of good vibrations sent to us from all over the world – adds Stan. Apart from the premium 3D card, even regular, bureau cards will be something more than just a card. We are also going to pick up random persons that will receive some volcanic sand or small rockies from the island. They will be collected out of nature reservations, of course – adds Stan.

On Saturday 7th Marco CE6TBN left for mainland Chile. Seems like he´s the lucky one to work us on bands, too :-)

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