After working Rwanda on 17m SSB, I opened WSJT-X and tuned my rig to the 20m FT8 frequency and leisurely worked some stations while I watched a little TV and had a QSO on 2m FM. That's one of the great things about FT8...you can multitask! Right in mid-sentence on my 2m QSO, I saw 3B9RUN Rodriquez Island show up in the WSJT-X window. I actually had no idea where that island was, which is usually a good indication that I wanted to work them!
I was able to work them pretty quickly, unlike the New Caledonia station that I called for a long time and never worked. After we had completed the FT8 exchange all the way to the 73s, I logged him and looked up the island.
3B9RUN is the first DXpedition experience of the FR4KM team and will be active from Rodrigues Island May 11-16, 2018.
At over 10,000 miles from my QTH, I was glad to get them logged since they are only active for a short time!
Rodriguez island is a 42 square mile autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 350 miles east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands which include Mauritius and Réunion. It is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reef, and just off its coast lie some tiny uninhabited islands.
73 and good DX de KG4LST sk
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