Jarvis Island DXpedition postponed

The DXpedition to Jarvis Island (OC-081) organized by Radio Expeditions Inc has been postponed until November 2011.

During the first half of 2010 the US Fish Wildlife Service developed a draft "Compatibility Determination for Amateur Radio Operations at the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge". This document contains the rules and constraints for DXpeditions at Jarvis and was made available on 21 Jun 2010 for public comments to arrive not later than 5 July.

The FWS Honolulu office staff reviewed the comments, made a number of changes and submitted a final draft for approval at their regional office in Portland, Oregon. The final version was released on 28 July and revised applications for a permit were accepted until 25 August.

The constraints in the Compatibility Determination required a radical restructuring of Radio Expedition Inc's plans, reducing both the number of stations and the time on the air.

Since more than one amateur radio group submitted an application which met the requirements of the compatibility determination, a lottery among the qualified groups was held at the FWS Honolulu office by the refuge manager on 30 August. Radio Expeditions Inc was fortunate to be
selected.

However, due to the time required to establish the rules for amateur radio operations from Jarvis, the late selection date, and the lead time required to schedule and prepare the MV Braveheart, the expedition has been postponed one year.

November remains the best month to visit Jarvis Island from a propagation standpoint, with the largest combination of openings predicted to Europe on both 160/80m and 12/10m.

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