The just-ended Heard Island VK0EK DXpedition logged more than 75,000 contacts, but the under-the-radar, contemporaneous VK0LD operation also put a new one into a few more logs. VK0EK logistics team member Mike Coffey, KJ4Z, operated as VK0LD from California, remotely controlling one of the VK0EKElecraft K3S operating positions. He used a K3/0-Mini and the freeRemoteHams.com RCForb client and remote server software to work 41 stations on 20 meters.
“More than a year before the Braveheart set sail, I knew I wanted to try to operate a remote ham radio station from Heard Island during the VK0EK DXpedition,” Coffey said. “Co-organizers Bob Schmieder, KK6EK, and Rich Holoch, KY6R, were enthusiastic and gave me the green light.” From Tennessee, Coffey, who was off the air from 2003 until 2014, is once again active from California, and, he said on his QRZ.com profile, “eager to make up for lost time.”
Lacking the expertise to set up and configure the equipment and connection for the remote operation, Coffey approached Elecraft, which supplied the K3S transceivers for VK0EK. Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ, and Brandon Hansen, KG6YPI, introduced him to the Elecraft K3/0-Mini remote control panel — basically a K3 front panel sans radio — combined with Hansen’s RemoteHams.com software. Leading up to the DXpedition he conducted tests from Elecraft to verify that operation with a satellite connection and the Remote Hams RCForb client software was possible.
On April 4, VK0LD transmitted its first CQ from Heard Island on 20 meter CW, with Coffey at the helm from his home in Palo Alto. “Over the course of the next 50 minutes, VK0LD logged 41 QSOs across Asia and then Europe as the band began to open up,” he recounted. Alan Cheshire, VK6CQ, is the licensee of VK0LD.
On DX Summit, one Australian station declared VK0LD to be a pirate. “NOT a pirate!” KY6R posted in response.
“Finally, control was handed back over to regular VK0EK operations,” Coffey said. “But for 50 minutes, I was having the amazing, incredible experience of working a pileup from a Top 10 DXCC entity on the other side of the world.” Coffey said the K3/0 setup made it “almost like being there.”
“I was sorry to stop,” he said. “I would have happily worked the pileup for hours.”— Thanks to Elecraft via Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ
Source:ARRL
Kenia Giuseppe IK2YDJ will be active from Kenia (Rongo) until 20 July 2016 as 5Z4/IK2YDJ. Working on 40 – 6m. QSL via home call. Read more
More
![The New HRO in Milwaukee! [ Video Tour ]](https://qrznow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/HRO-Milwaukee-Exterior-90x60.jpg)
![Super Versa Xseries Antenna [ Japan ] 11 and 8 elemets HF Antenna](https://qrznow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/408xmain-90x60.jpg)
Contest University (CTU) is holding a Virtual Propagation Summit on Saturday, January 23. The Zoom-platform event will get under way with introductory... Read more
FCC Notice: What You CAN And CANNOT Do With Ham Radio Read more
An Oggie asks why his radio draws so much more power than the 100 watts it puts out. The answer lies in using linear final power amps in the Class A,... Read more
Testing My Mini 64:1 Half-Wave End-Fed Antenna Transformer. Read more
Orlando HamCation has announced it will sponsor the HamCation QSO Party over the February 13 – 14 weekend (UTC), “to create a fun way for amateurs to... Read more
For over 100 years amateur radio and ARRL — the National Association for Amateur Radio® — have stood for the development of the science and art of com... Read more
“In a bizzare warning issued by the FCC and followed by a warning from the Association for Amateur Radio, The ARRL, ham are warned on a Sunday m... Read more
Full Title: Warning: Amateur and Personal Radio Services Licensees and Operators May Not Use Radio Equipment to Commit or Facilitate Criminal Act... Read more
Here is a brief information release regarding Radio SL8SUB, the 1st Submarine Flotillas official military amateur radio call sign: The 1st Submarine F... Read more
Firmware update for the IC-705, IC-7300 and IC-9700* offers smoother FT8 operation. One touch FT8 mode preset, Scroll mode and other updates for each... Read more
More
Contest University to Host Propagation Summit on January 23
FCC Notice: What You CAN And CANNOT Do With Ham Radio
How Your Radio’s Final Amp Class Affects Efficiency
Testing My Mini 64:1 Half-Wave End-Fed Antenna Transformer.
HamCation QSO Party Set
ARRL on the Purpose of Amateur Radio
![FCC Warns Amateur Radio Operators To Not Commit Crimes [ VIDEO]](https://qrznow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FCC-seal-2020_5-190x122.jpg)
FCC Warns Amateur Radio Operators To Not Commit Crimes [ VIDEO]
Amateur & Personal Radio Users Reminded Not to Use Radios in Crimes
SL8SUB – 1st Submarine Flotillas official military amateur radio call sign
Smoother FT8 Mode Operation with Constantly Evolving Firmware (IC-705/IC-7300/IC-9700)
Warning: file_get_contents(https://plusone.google.com/_/+1/fastbutton?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqrznow.com%2Fthe-other-heard-island-dxpedition-vk0ld%2F): failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.0 404 Not Found in /home/qrznow/public_html/wp-content/themes/goodnews5/framework/functions/posts_share.php on line 151
