6m EME DXpedition by W7GJ to South Cook Islands

I wanted to announce this DXpedition as far in advance as possible, in order to provide adequate time for people to gear up for it in the event they are interested in working E51 (previously ZK1).  Please mark your calendars! 

Bob Sutton ZL1RS (2m) and W7GJ (6m) are meeting in Rarotonga at the end of March to activate E51 on EME on both bands. More station details will be announced as we get closer to departure. 

FREQUENCY, CALLSIGN AND LOCATOR

Unless otherwise indicated after we get there, the 6m operation will take place on 50.190.  My callsign will be E51SIX and the grid is BG08dr.  Here is the QTH.

COORDINATION/ COMMUNICATION

We do not expect to have an internet connection, but hope to get into town to an internet cafe to confirm when we plan to be QRV, or if we are having weather or equipment problems.  Please watch the MMM on VHF, ON4KST 6m and JT65 chat pages on the internet for news from us.  Or to be safe, watch 50.190 during our moonrises.  Please also spot E51SIX on the DX Cluster if you copy, in order to let people know that we are active at that time.

TYPE OF OPERATION/CONTRIBUTIONS

Most 6m operation is expected to be on random.  However, skeds will be made available to those who contribute to the DXpedition. Contributions are graciously being accepted. Many thanks to the following for their very thoughtful contributions to help make this operation possible:

K2LZQ
K2ZD
W1JJ
K6MYC
M2 Antennas
E51CG

QSO PROTOCOL

E51 will always transmit during the first sequence, using JT65A mode.  Please use the internet to coordinate among yourselves to spread out when you call.  I suggest that you send calls and reports if you hear me calling CQ - that will allow me to select stations to answer who are copying at that particular time, and should result in more efficient use of our limited ground gain windows.  Of course, if we I reply to someone answering our CQ's, I will still send calls and reports, and look for RO in return.  The standard EME protocol requires one station to receive final RRR before the contact is complete.

OPERATION DATES

We expect that the earliest possible activity would be on our moonrise on Thursday March 26, and the last 6m activity will probably be our moonrise window on Saturday April 4 GMT. 


EQUIPMENT

We plan to use a newly designed M 2  8 element 6M8GJ yagi with a 43' long boom, fed with 75' of Times Microwave LMR600 coaxial cable, for a feedline loss of .4 dB.  
The receiver will be a K3 with the PR6 preamp.

OPERATION TIMES

The best 6m window is with the EU stations, since our moonrise is also moonset in northern EU (so even horizon-only stations in EU have excellent windows with us).  Furthermore, the moonset in EU is mostly in the evenings, so EU operators should be able to get on the air for most of our moonrise windows. Most of the 6m operation is anticipated to take place after our moonrise and up to the  EU moonset.

Note that our moonrise is also our best chance to work USA stations who have elevation, and since that is the time that we are sure to be active.  It appears that we are pretty much looking out over the ocean for the first 2 or 3 hours after our moonrises, and we will try to be active during this period every day that it is possible to get on the air .

After that, we are pointing over a very developed area with many residences, at a fairly low antenna elevation, and it may not be possible to operate successfully.  We will try to see how close to moonset we can operate, although there also are houses that direction (as well as a very high horizon due to mountains). 

If it is possible for us to operate near our horizon, we will be looking for horizon-only stations in the northern USA and Canada near our moonset (our higher ground gain lobes also line up with your lower ground gain lobes on your moonset). Horizon-only stations in the southern USA will need to work us while we are elevated.  We anticipate that, depending on activity levels,  we may only be active during the USA moonsets over the weekend .

If you are unsure about your potential windows, please download GJTRACKER to assess the best days and plan your activity: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/GJTRACKER.zip

The moon positions for E51SIX are shown here.  A map prepared by ZL1RS showing the azimuths from our E51 QTH toward moonrise is shown here.

TEP

We also expect to enjoy some TEP openings, at least to KH6, in the late afternoons.  If you hear me on CW or SSB, please be aware that I may still be limited to transmitting during the even minutes (first sequence) to avoid QRM with the 2m EME station.

E51SIX QSL'S

Please QSL direct to W7GJ with self addressed envelope with stamp (from USA) or USD$ 1.00 (from foreign) or IRC for postage.:

E51SIX/W7GJ
Lance Collister
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT   59834-9973
USA

GL and we hope to complete with many of you! 
VY 73,
Lance, W7GJ

Source: ZL Kiwi DXlist