Ranked as the 27th Most Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of September, Swains Island will be the hot spot for DX chasers the world over when this rarely visited U.S. territory is activated by the 10-ham W8S DXpedition in October. The W8S team is scheduled to operate from Swains Island October 4-17. For the latest information about the DXpedition, visit the W8S website and Facebook page.
You can expect significant pileups as this group of experienced DXpeditioners from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States operate six stations around the clock from this privately owned island (part of American Samoa) in the South Pacific Ocean. In addition to HF operation on CW, SSB, RTTY, and FT8, the team will employ an additional dedicated station set up for 6M with EME capabilities—the first time EME will be available from Swains Island.
For many more details about Swains Island and the W8S venture, enter “Swains Island” above to read an excellent OnAllBands articleby W8S operator Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA.
DX Engineering is a proud equipment sponsor of Swains Island W8S, providing the following gear:
QSL Cards
Unlike many DXCC entities that have seen numerous amateur operators arrive on their shores to install antennas and log QSOs, Swains Island has only been an official part of the DXCC program since 2006. Consequently, there have only been a handful of DXpeditions from this uninhabited, coconut-tree-covered coral atoll situated in the Tokelau Islands. As you might expect, the avid DX chasers at DX Engineering have been immersed in the pileups the few times that Swains Island has been on the air.
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received this card from the six-operator inaugural activation of Swains Island in late July 2006. KH8SI operators logged a total of 16,390 QSOs.
Scotty Meyer, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, was one of several DX Engineering team members to reach the highly successful N8S DXpedition in April 2007. The card notes that the island had a population of 37 at the time. There has been no permanent population there since 2008, though it has been visited by members of the Jennings family, who have owned it since 1856, as well as scientific researchers and amateur radio operators. N8S operators made an impressive 117,205 QSOs during their 13-day stay on the island. Among those also reaching N8S was DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist Dave, K8DV (20/17/15M SSB and CW).
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached the September 2012 18-operator NH8S DXpedition to Swains Island, which was sponsored by DX Engineering. Team members recorded 105,455 QSOs during their time on the island.
Want to upgrade your DXing capabilities? Find everything you need at DX Engineering, including transceivers, amplifiers, antennas, headsets, CW keys and paddles, coaxial cables, and more.
Editor’s Note: Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. To highlight upcoming DXpeditions, we’ll be displaying a few of our favorite cards along with details about what it took to make these contacts. We’re excited to share some of the special cards pulled from the thousands we’ve received over the years. We look forward to seeing your cards as well!
