Namibian DXpedition on air from 9th January

Hal Lund, ZS6WB, reports that arrangements for the Namibian VHF and Satellite DXpedition are on track.

There are still a few loose ends that need to be taken care of before the team leaves on Tuesday morning, the 6th of January. This puts the team one day behind schedule for the start, but should have little overall impact on the DXpedition.

Based on a two-day drive and one full day to assemble at least part of the equipment, the team should be pumping out some RF on the 9th of January.

SA AMSAT has set up a fund to handle contributions towards the cost of the expedition.
Individual radio amateurs and clubs are urged to make contributions to ensure that the Namibian event is a great success.

Sponsorships can be paid into the SA AMSAT account at ABSA account number 560 153 171. The branch code is 632 005. All sponsorships will be acknowledged on www.amsatsa.org.za.

The expedition includes operation on a number of VHF bands and modes. The team will be led by HB9CRQ, one of Europe's top EME operators, and will include moon bounce operation on 50, 144, 432 and 1 296 MHz.

January is also one of the peak months for tropospheric ducting propagation in the South Atlantic Ocean and experienced tropo operators will be making a serious attempt to complete the first ever 144 MHz contact spanning the Atlantic Ocean.

Dave, N7BHC, a native of Port Elizabeth, runs a 144 MHz beacon from the east coast of the U.S. beamed towards Europe.

Satellite operation is also planned, and even using the low earth-orbiting satellites, the location should give good coverage including all of Africa and much of the eastern portion of South America.

Source: The South African Radio League

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