Twenty hams from Germany, Austria, and Poland plan to operate two sites on Timor-Leste in November, including activity during the CQ WW DX CW Contest, November 25-26. This Southeast Asian country, also known as East Timor and officially as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, has a population of around 1.3 million and comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor. The western half of Timor (West Timor) is administered by Indonesia. Timor (11,883 square miles) is the largest of the Lesser Sundra Islands and sits at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia about 310 miles from Mainland Australia, separated by the Timor Sea.
Per the 4W8X DXpedition website, the first of the team’s operators are scheduled to arrive on November 5 and be on the air (a few hours a day) on or around November 6. This will include Multi/Single participation in the WAEDC RTTY Contest, November 11-12.
Around-the-clock operating shifts on CW, SSB, RTTY, and FT4/FT8 are anticipated to commence once the complete 4WX8 team arrives on Timor-Leste around November 12. They have also planned EME operation on 50 MHz, 144 MHz, 432 MHz, and 1296 MHz, including participation in the ARRL EME Contest (50 to 1296 MHz) on November 25-26. Get complete and up-to-date details at the 4W8X website. Timor-Leste is the 112th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog.
The DXpedition is being sponsored by DX Engineering, which has provided 4W8X with its TFS4 Series B Transmit Four-Square Hybrid Controller Systems for 80 and 40 meters (below), COMTEK ACB-4 Hybrid Four-Square System, and Phased Array Quarter Wave Tuned Cables.
More About Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste measures 5,743 square miles, about the size of Connecticut. Its capital city of Dili serves as the country’s main economic hub and chief port. In 1999, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory, and on May 20, 2002, Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. The country has two official languages—Portuguese and an Austronesian language known as Tetum, which is primarily spoken on the island of Timor.
QSL Cards
The active hams at DX Engineering have had great success contacting Timor-Leste 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.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, received this card from 4W/N1YC. It features a Hustler BTV vertical antenna along with DX Engineering 17M and 12M add-on kits. Find all available 4-band, 5-band, and 6-band Hustler BTV antenna packages, add-on kits, and accessories at DXEngineering.com, including the 64-page Hustler BTV Instruction Manual written by this entry’s featured DXer, KB8UUZ.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, made QSOs with 4W6A in September 2011 on 20/17/15M SSB. The DXpedition was from Atauro, a 54.1-square-mile island north of Dili. This island municipality of Timor-Leste has a population of around 9,200—by far the smallest among Timor-Leste’s 14 municipalities.
Dave, K8DV, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, worked 4W6R on 20M CW in June 2008.
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached 4W1BK in May 2003 on 20M SSB and CW.
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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!
