All of us at OnAllBands and DX Engineering would like to offer our hearty congratulations to Marek, FH4VVK, and his support team for the successful one-operator activation (FT4GL) of the Glorioso Islands.
This French-controlled atoll in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar ranked as the 7th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog when the DXpedition began from Grande Glorioso Island in May. When it wrapped up on June 18, FH4VVK had logged more than 60,000 QSOs, with HF contacts made in all modes used (only 160M was “not satisfactory,” per the FT4GL blog). QSOs included ATNOs for smaller stations who were given preference in the latter stages of the operation.
Among those vying for this rare contact were the avid DXers from DX Engineering, including customer/technical support specialist and DXCC Honor Roll member (first place, mixed modes) Wayne, K8FF. He reached FT4GL on 20/15/12M FT8, adding to his growing list of digital contacts.
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist and owner of the Nine-Band DXCC, 160M WAS, and other honors, also filled multiple bands on FT8 in Fox/Hound mode. He called FT4GL a “great one-man operation.”
“We warmly and from the bottom of our hearts thank all the people who have shown their gratitude and trust in us throughout this adventure. Numerous messages and emails of encouragement helped Marek and the whole team to continue so that this activity went as smoothly as possible, and the pilots who were very responsive in informing the community of the correct news.”
The FT4GL team from the FT4GL Facebook page
Here’s a sampling of the outpouring of positivity from online posters:
“Absolutely outstanding, Marek. The DX community is forever grateful for activating a very rare entity for us, and for such an extended period of time. 73 and safe travels from all of us at K4TOR.”
Tor Langvand
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“Glad that Marek was able to activate FT4/G. ATNO for me and many others. Great job mate!”
Wesley Beck
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“He did a fantastic job. I met my goal, which was an FT8 and SSB contact. As for the lids that interfered: Those who can, do, those that can’t try to take out their lack of ability and knowledge on those that can. These people are a special kind of lid.”
Steve Fetter
***
Not sure what constitutes a “lid” in the ham radio world? Read this article from Mark, K8MSH, “The Five Types of Operators You Don’t Want to Be.”
Unfortunately, as the comment above and the FT4GL team noted, Marek was not immune to some of the bad actors who have become all too commonplace during rare activations. Pirate stations, music broadcasters, and other interference turned this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity into an “intense and sometimes difficult experience” not representative of “the OM spirit,” per the FT4GL blog.
Read this OnAllBands article on the DQRM (Deliberate QRM) that plagued 3Y0J Bouvet Island 2023 and other high-profile DXpeditions.
Sharing in the Glory
DX Engineering was proud to supply Marek with VA6AM 150W PEP HF Band Pass Filters for 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10M to help make more QSOs possible. These high-quality, multi-stage inline passive band pass filters are specifically designed to limit the transmitting and receiving RF passband to a single amateur band.
Next Up—Jarvis Island and St. Paul Island DXpeditions
DX Engineering was also pleased to provide two August 2024 DXpeditions with mission-critical gear:
- The 100% RIB (Rig in a Box) N5J operation from the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge, one of the rarest DXCC entities on the planet, is scheduled for August 5-20.
Going along for the trip will be DX Engineering DXE-ATK65A Telescoping Aluminum Antenna Tubing Kits, DX Engineering 400MAX Type N Low-Loss 50-Ohm Coax Assemblies, Mastrant-R Support and Guy Line Rope, and more.
- The 10-operator CY9C DXpedition team is scheduled to put St. Paul on the air August 26 to September 5 from the windswept and treeless Northeast Island site, just off the coast of Nova Scotia.
DX Engineering has contributed equipment for a beverage antenna: DX Engineering Beverage Antenna System, DX Engineering RPA-2 Modular Receive Preamplifier, and DX Engineering Beverage Termination Resistors.
