Rotuma Island QRV in November/December 2024
Mark your ham radio calendar! The Pacific Islands DXpedition Group, in conjunction with Youth on the Air, is offering hams an excellent opportunity to make contact with Rotuma, the 63rd Most Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of October.
The six-operator, youth-oriented 160-6M 3D2Y Rotuma DXpedition is scheduled to run from November 15 to December 4 from this volcanic island located 401 miles north of Fiji. We’ll have much more about this DX Engineering-sponsored DXpedition in tomorrow’s OnAllBands post.
For now, let’s take a look at this unique island and check out some of the QSL cards from past activations.
About Rotuma
Known for its natural beauty, Rotuma is an 8.1-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide island in the South Pacific Ocean about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It is the largest and only permanently inhabited island (about 1,600 people) of the Rotuma Group—a dependency of Fiji which includes Rotuma and several significantly smaller islands.
Comparatively, Rotuma is only the 12th largest of the Fiji Islands, which leads us to today’s geography question. The Republic of Fiji is comprised of more than 300 islands, 110 of which are inhabited, along with 500 smaller islets.
Can you name the largest of Fiji’s islands?
Rotuma is a self-governing heptarchy, meaning it is divided into seven districts (“hepta” from the Greek for “seven”), each with its own chief. Along with these chiefs, elected district representatives make up the Rotuma Island Council. On May 13, Rotumans celebrate Rotuma Day, the anniversary of the island’s cession to the United Kingdom in 1881. This marked its governance as part of the Colony of Fiji. Rotuma took on the status of a self-governing dependency after Fiji’s independence from British rule in 1970.
According to Rotuma.net, the island’s fertile land helps Rotumans cultivate a range of crops, including taro, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, breadfruit, bananas, pineapples, coconuts, papayas, and mangos.
Despite the economic prospects of opening up Rotuma to visitors, around 85% of Rotumans voted in 1985 against allowing organized tourism, citing the impact the influx of people would have on the land’s traditions and culture.
QSL Cards
The active hams at DX Engineering have had great success contacting Rotuma over the years (a good reason to contact them for help with your gear if you’d like to do the same). Here are a few of the QSL cards from their collections.
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, earned this card from 3D2XX back in October 1988. It was the first activation of the island after being recognized as a new DXCC entity. Working three stations on 160-6M from the thatched hut pictured on the card, the four-operator 3D2XX DXpedition recorded more than 34,600 QSOs with amateurs in 173 DXCC entities during their 15-day stay. The fascinating text on the back of the QSL card concludes:
“We were sad to leave the beauty, the people, and the DX pileups of Rotuma—but we don’t miss the bugs!”
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, logged both FT8 and CW QSOs with the solar-powered 3D2AG/p station located in the Fapufa village of Rotuma.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, made multiple SSB contacts with 3D2AG/p from 2012-15.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached the multi-national 3D2R DXpedition in September/October 2011. The 19-operator, eight-day operation netted more than 66,000 SSB, CW, and Digital QSOs across 160-6M.
On the trip, the 3D2R team introduced amateur radio to students from Rotuma High School, providing training to teachers and students along with equipment for a school station.
I’ll take “Fiji Islands” for $1,000, Ken.
Today’s featured DXCC entity, Rotuma, ranks as the 12th largest Fiji island. Can you name the largest?
If you said “Viti Levu,” enjoy a coconut and mango smoothie on the house! The 4,011-square-mile island has a population of around 740,000 and ranks as the world’s 75th largest island. Viti Levu contains Fiji’s capital and largest city, Suva.
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For all your DXing, contesting, or rag-chewing needs—whether you’re a Big Gun, Little Pistol, or somewhere in between, visit DXEngineering.com for transceivers, amplifiers, antennas, headsets, and so much 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!
