Worked South Orkney Islands - VP8PJ & ZL1NA/MM

One night while working 20m FT8, I ran across ZL1NA/MM.  I usually look up /MM callsigns on QRZ to see if I can tell anything about them.  I was surprised to find out ZL1NA/MM was the station aboard the RV Braveheart on the way to South Orkney Island for the VP8PJ DXpedition.  While waiting for them to arrive and get setup, I found this video from the 4 years ago.  I was impressed with the video and very excited to work VP8PJ once they were QRV. 

I saw some spots on the DX cluster just to find out that they were not real.  Watching for updates from the Perseverance DX Group via twitter, I waited for the real stations to be on the air.

I finally found them on 14.185mHz USB QSX 5-10 up.  I pointed my Mosley in their direction, switched on the VL-1000 and began calling.  I could hear them very well so I continued calling for over an hour.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a response and then the band went quiet.

The next day, I found them on 20m FT8 and 17m FT8, but was unable to make contact.  Finally, I again heard them calling CQ on 14.185mHz USB QSX 14.195mHZ. I gave 1 call and got an immediate response...well they replied "Whiskey 4 Lima Sierra you're 5 9."  Worried, they didn't copy my whole call, I called again and said "Whiskey 4 Lima Sierra Golf...Lima Sierra Germany, you are 5 9 in GA".  Their reply was obscured with QRN but I believe they copied 100% and then said QRZ again.

Thus far, they have not uploaded logs. So I'll keep checking and try to work them on another band/mode as well.  I tried for quite a while to work them on 7.056mHz FT8 F/H, but didn't get a reply.  I want to make sure I get them confirmed in my log!

W4LSG to VP8PJ South Orkney Islands DXpedition

The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about 375 miles north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and 524 miles south-west of South Georgia Island. They have a total area of about 240 square miles. The islands are claimed both by Britain (as part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962, previously as a Falkland Islands Dependency), and by Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

[UPDATE 2/26/2020]
VP8PJ uploaded their logs and my contact has been confirmed!

[UPDATE 3/2/2020]

I was able to work VP8PJ again over the weekend on 80m and 60m FT8!

Worked Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) - TU5PCT

A little bit earlier, I was trying to make contact with Norfolk Island on 17m but I never could get a reply.  When they suddenly disappeared from 17m, I went to 20m to see if they relocated there. I didn't see them, but I did find something interesting.  I saw TU5PCT show up in WSJT-X in deep purple from Cote D'Ivoire.  I knew it was something I needed to work! I couldn't pronounce the name and naturally had no idea where it was.  Those always make the best contacts Hi Hi!  I had a bit of trouble working them for some reason.  I would call a few times and get a reply, but then it would fall apart before we could finish the contact. This happened 3 times, but finally on the 4th try I was able to complete the contact and get them in the log!

Ivory Coast is a country located on the south coast of West Africa. Ivory Coast's political capital is Yamoussoukro in the center of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Worked South Sudan - Z81D

For some reason, I thought I had already worked South Sudan before. When Z81D showed up on my FT8 screen, I was wondering why it was in the dark purple color.  I gave a few calls and was able to work him and get him in the log. Later after a little review, I realized I was mistaken and South Sudan was indeed a new DXCC entity for me!

South Sudan is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa.  It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest and the Central African Republic to the west.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Worked St. Barthelemy - FJ/WW1X

I was pleased to see FJ/WW1X in St. Barthelemy show up on the DX cluster.  They were spotted on 20m SSB. St Barthelemy was a new DXCC Entity for me.  I was able to work them easily and put them in the log. 

WW1X

After working the station, I found that Rockwell-WW1X seemed like a pretty cool guy.  He's involved in POTA, SOTA, DXpeditions, and RemoteHamRadio.com.  It would be nice to meet him on the air or even in person at some point.  Very inspirational!

 St. Barthelemy is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. Often abbreviated to St-Barth in French, and St. Barths or St. Barts in English, the island lies about 22 miles south-east of the Dutch-country Sint Maarten and north-east of the Dutch islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius, and the independent country of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk

Worked Kenya - 5Z4/G3AB

While working 20m FT8, I saw 5Z4/G3AB in Kenya show up.  The deep purple color in WSJT-X let me know it was a new country for me.  So I gave some calls and got it in the log!  Andy is resident in Kenya for the next few years and is working with the temporary call 5Z4/G3AB until his full 5Z4 call is assigned.

At over 7,900 miles away, Kenya is  is a country in Africa with 47 semiautonomous counties governed by elected governors. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

73 and good DX de W4LSG sk