Editor’s Note: All of us at DX Engineering and OnAllBands—on behalf of amateur operators around the world—express our most sincere thanks to the entire 3Y0J team for making this incredibly rare opportunity possible by undertaking this complex and risk-filled operation in the spirit of the countless ham radio adventurers who have preceded them.
Most importantly, all of us wish the operators and crew good health, the safest possible operation, and worry-free travels as they finish their time on Bouvet and safely return to tell their amazing stories.
73!
DX Engineering
OnAllBands
DX Engineering has been honored to join other ham radio providers—along with scores of amateur clubs and individual supporters—in playing a part in making the 3Y0J Bouvet Island 2023 DXpedition a reality. It has taken a brave and experienced team, months of planning, and a community of hams pulling in the same direction to make this rare activation possible. Of course, it has also required a boatload of amateur radio gear, everything from guy rings to satellite radios, top-grade coaxial assemblies to vertical antennas. That’s where DX Engineering comes into the picture.
As DX Engineering has done for other major DXpeditions (2018 Baker Island, KH1/KH7Z, 2018 Ducie Island, VP6D, 2019 Pitcairn Island, VP6R, et. al.), the company—made up of active operators and avid DXers—has been committed to maintaining the vitality of the hobby by helping to put these entities within reach of operators everywhere by providing the high-quality equipment that translates into more QSOs and, oftentimes, ATNOs for those trying to work the world. DX Engineering worked closely with the 3Y0J team to make sure they received exactly what they needed for the trip.
Here’s just some of the DX Engineering-provided equipment that made its way across the South Atlantic Ocean aboard the 101-foot-long Marama, which sailed from Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to cold and isolated Bouvet.
DX Engineering Gear
- DX Engineering ATK65A Telescoping Aluminum Antenna Tubing Kit. The kit includes stainless steel band clamps and a set of five guy rings. DX Engineering also provided a 6 foot, 7/8 inch O.D. section of aluminum tubing.
- Stainless Steel Element Clamp Kits
- Guy Rings
- COMTEK 40VA 40 Meter Vertical Antenna
- COMTEK 30VA 30 Meter Vertical Antenna
- DVA Dual Vertical Array System 40M (includes Phasing Relay Unit and Directional Control Console)
- DVA Dual Vertical Array System 30M (includes Phasing Relay Unit and Directional Control Console)
- Phase Array Quarter Wave Tuned Cables for 40M and 30M
- Coaxial RF Connector Adapters
- Rope Guying Earth Anchors
- RPA-2 Modular Receive Preamplifier
- Vertical Antenna Fixed Base Assembly
- Radial Plates
- Silver Plated Female SecureMount Bulkhead Connector Kit
- Feedpoint Wire Assembly for Ground-Mounted Vertical Radiators
- ISO-PLUS Ethernet RF Filters, Set of 10
- Ferrite Toroids and Snap-On Beads
- Extra-Wide Footswitch
- RG-400 Coaxial Cable
- Slit Aluminum Tubing
Icom Satellite Radios
DX Engineering provided the 3Y0J team with two Icom PTT IC-SAT100M push-to-talk satellite radios, as well as satellite airtime and activation fee, which are allowing them to communicate with each other and the world. These rigs have proved vital to 3Y0J’s mission, as media officer and NA East Coast Pilot Steve Hass, N2AJ, wrote on the 3Y0J Facebook page last week during setup: “The Starlink internet terminal has been disconnected. Internet communications with team members will not be possible again until the camp is established and Starlink set up. Team Co-Leader Ken LA7GIA has asked that we be patient while they work. The satellite radios are being used to coordinate activities between the camp and the boat and must be kept open for that purpose.”
Other Gear from Manufacturers Carried by DX Engineering:
- Rohn 44-Foot Telescoping Mast
- Mastrant Rope
- Alpha Delta Antenna Hardware Kits
- Jet-Lube SS-30 Pure Copper Anti-Seize
- Amphenol Connectors
Check into OnAllBands for more 3Y0J articles in the days ahead. And as you try to make this rare QSO, read this article on past Bouvet Island QSL cards from the DX Engineering team.
