DXCC #79 Most Wanted
IOTA: OC-047
CQ ZONE 28
LOCATOR: TBA
A team of Western Washington DX Club amateur radio operators will activate Solomon Islands in November 2023. Updates will follow.
Getting equipment to Solomon Islands for a first-class result is both challenging and expensive. We will have 3 stations, 1.5k amps, VDAs, BuddiHex, DX Commander, 2 CrankIRs, and 80/160 antennas. Our power source will be generators. We have a passion to give the DX world needed slots. We GREATLY appreciate your participation in our pre-DXpedition convenience plan for automatic uploads and QSL card for those who want them. Thank you so much!
September 28, 2023
All six members of the team met at Brian N9ADG's home to set up our N1MM logs and network our computers. We tested our Club Log Livestream.
September 18, 2023
We received a generous $300 unsolicited donation from the LA DX Group. We thank them very much for their confidence in our ability to execute a quality project with the best possible chances for excellent results!
We are awaiting news of our containers being released from customs in Honiara as we plan packing for our checked baggage.
August 29, 2023
We mailed 8 containers via UPS to our air cargo provider in Souther California. Two of the bin lids were severely damaged but Fiji Freight replaced and repacked them for us. Today we made payment for the air freight one-way to Honiara. We expect our cargo to fly to Fiji today and on to Honiara Sunday, where it will be received by our customs agent and our duties paid. The rest of our gear--antennas, radios, amps, tools, masts, etc. will be checked baggage by each team member. Each team member is responsible for 3 checked bags and 2 carry-ons.
Project Costs to Date
Big thank you to DX Engineering for donating coax, crimpers, and connectors to our project! Our project costs to date in USD are as follows:
Fiji Airways checked baggage (One-way): $4,020 (We will pay again coming home).
Fiji Freight (One-way): $2,354
Generator rental: $1,046
Misc. items, license, extension cords, etc: $1,149
Website costs: $447
Personal costs include:
Deposit on remote accommodations: $4,848 (balance to be paid before project starts)
Airline tickets: approximately $2,500 per team member
This does not include our capital costs of a new Buddihex, new laptops, 80/160 antenna, masts. Excluding new capital costs, collectively we have already spent close to $29,000. We still have to finish paying our accommodations and food, ground transportation, and return checked baggage. Plus, we will be paying a 10% import duty on the value of our air cargo shipment, about $500 on our $5,000 value. We will be responsible for paying our QSL manager his fees. And we have to pay our customs agent for its services. By the time we are finished this will likely be a $40,000+ project. Those who know us understand we go all out in planning and preparation to bring you the best possible results. We are bringing tens of thousands of dollars of equipment on the airplane with us.
To help with our project costs and benefit your QSL convenience, you can participate in our pre-DXpedition QSL convenience plan as explained below. $10 now for unlimited automatic uploads and cards where you don't have to type in all your QSO data. After DXpedition starts, it is $5 for unlimited uploads, but you must do all the typing of your QSO data. All additional contributions to this project are greatly appreciated.
Thank you to all who have contributed before we leave!
Until early November 2023, Individuals donating $10 USD or more before start of DXpedition:
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Convenience of automatic uploads and QSL cards.
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Use green form to provide call sign and mailing address for LoTW automatic uploads and QSL card.
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From your PayPal account send USD to:
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The green form is needed to identify and match your donation. Thank you for taking that extra step.
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A list of donors will be provided to M0URX, our QSL Manager.
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There will be no full log uploads.
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See Sponsors page