Dear DXers and friends of ham radio

During a scouting trip late last year, Bac Ai XV2A, the President of the Vietnamese Radio Amateurs Association, and I met personally with the island officials representing the military, People’s Committee and the telecom authorities. At this time, the structure and goals of the DXpedition were discussed, three operating sites were selected (headquarters/CW/SSB), the financial terms were worked out and a contract covering these activities was signed. With this information, Bac Ai then successfully applied for and obtained the 3W6C license with the national telecom authorities for operation at the three operating sites. We thought we had anticipated every contingency.

Upon our arrival on the island, we immediately started setting up our stations, including the Spiderbeams, 4 squares and verticals. Just as we were nearing completion of this stage, on the Monday of our first week, high-ranking provincial military and telecom authorities came from the mainland and made an inspection of the operating sites. The military was very surprised by the extensive scope of our activities and by the sophisticated antennas we had erected at what they still consider sensitive areas. They were extremely uncomfortable with our activities, especially given that Con Co Island is still categorized as a strategically important military outpost. They also determined that the local commander had overstepped his authority when he originally agreed to let us conduct our operations at the two remote sites.

As a result, the military instructed us to abandon the remote CW and SSB sites and restrict our activities to the headquarters area, which is located in the middle of a training area and where they could easily keep an eye on us. This was very disturbing because we had spent three exhausting days erecting sophisticated, efficient antennas at those two remote sites, and we were just about to begin 24-hour 2-station operation in CW and SSB. Instead, given the new constraints in terms of available space and the time available to us to construct and erect antennas – we had to get back on the air as quickly as possible and make contacts – we were forced to cut the number of stations in half (one CW and one SSB), operate with antennas that were not nearly as efficient as those we had previously set up and give up any hope of low-band operating. Over time we attempted to set up some better antennas but were again hindered in this effort. We ended up working with several “3W6C multiband vertical dipoles”.

In conclusion, given that Con Co Island consists almost entirely of a military outpost, we can first of all say that we were extremely fortunate to have been permitted to operate on Con Co Island in any form at all. We followed all the official procedures we were told were necessary to conduct our DXpedition. However, the military felt uncomfortable with the scope of our activities and instructed us to scale back our operations considerably. Under the circumstances, we did the best possible job and even so were able to make just under 20,000 contacts around the globe.

We cooperated with the authorities to the fullest extent and conducted ourselves with the greatest possible diplomacy so as to leave a positive impression of ourselves, our home countries and ham radio and hopefully make it possible for future amateur-radio operations to take place from this QTH.

Vy 73 de Hans-Peter, HB9BXE

After breakfast we said our farewells to the owner of the restaurant and her husband. They had enjoyed the change in routine. With just simple kitchen equipment they had prepared interesting typical Vietnamese dishes for us. To cook for Westerners was something new for both of them. But now they'll return to the normal way of life.

Right on schedule, the locals brought our luggage to the harbor on hand carts where the ship of the People's Committee was waiting at its berth. At 08.00 we departed on schedule. There were plenty of seats for everyone, which was a luxury this time across. The trip took just over two hours on calm seas. We arrived at the harbor of Dong Ha close to the large traffic bridge. Here Michal XV9DX said good-bye to the team and was picked up for the drive to his home in Hanoi.

A bus brought us to the the Me Kong hotel, which we had stayed at before. During the afternoon, everyone had free time to explore Dong Ha. We were quite fascinated with the local marketplace. What takes place there simply can't be described, for a Western European it's a completely different world.

In the early evening we said good-bye to Eddy, XV1X, Torsten, XV9TH and his wife Huong. They took a taxi to Hue and from there flew home to Hanoi.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

3W6C wraps up its operations, prepares for departure

We are now QRT, and preparations begin for our return to the mainland. A short ceremony with the local officials takes place this afternoon. We look forward to returning home

At 0700 local time (0000 GMT), the 3W6C DXpedition went QRT on schedule. We were able to operate during the entire 10 days as originally planned. However, due to considerable unexpected military restrictions, we were limited to just one CW station and one SSB station, both at the same operating location, meaning that only one station could be on any given band at one time. In addition, we were quite limited in terms of the antennas we were able to erect.

Even given these circumstances, we were able to log almost 20,000 QSOs on CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31 on the HF bands along with a handful of 6m contacts.

Today is being devoted to tearing down the antennas and stations, packing the materials and loading the transport ship. Early tomorrow morning we depart by high-speed passenger ship for the mainland. All of us are healthy and looking forward to completing our work so we can relax for a few days. We’re also looking forward to a nice, big piece of meat when we get home.

We also have a special visitor, a reporter from the Vietnamese military press, who is conducting interviews and taking photographs of our operation to write a story for his publication. We have been told that we will be given a link to the final report he publishes.

Late this afternoon there will be a short ceremony where the 3W6C DXpedition will meet with the island’s People’s Committee to hand over one of our generators and to thank them for their generosity in allowing us to conduct this operation on the island.

Should all things go according to plan, the DXpedition members will depart from Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday evening and then take the 13-hour flight from Singapore to Zurich, arriving home on Monday morning. This, of course, depends on the situation with the volcano in Iceland, something that is in the back of everyone’s mind while we are occupied with the packing/loading activities.

This is our final report from Con Co Island. Our thanks go out to the officials on the island, who gave us permission to operate under these unique circumstances; to all of our sponsors, who helped make this project possible; to our home-base support team including the webmaster, QSL manager and Pilot team, who have kept you up with the current news and helped us optimize our operations; and to the international DX community for its support;

vy 73, tnx et BCNU

The 3W6C Team

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

Providing training for two Vietnamese radio amateurs: Bac Ai XV2A and Huy XV2B.

Team leader Hans-Peter HB9BXE celebrated his birthday. We continue to operate one CW station, one SSB station and since Friday evening also a RTTY station. Two of our Vietnamese ham colleagues get some training.

Hans-Peter HB9BXE was greeted at breakfast with Happy Birthday pennants and a string of colorful lights.

One of the expressed goals of the DXpedition was to help train Vietnamese hams in new modes and improve their skills in familiar modes as well as to provide support to the national ham-radio organization. The president of this organization, Bac Ai XV2A, spent some time operating the SSB station side by side with an experienced operator. The person who will soon step into his shoes as the new president of the organization, Huy XV2B, took the opportunity to gather some experience in designing and erecting antennas as well as in RTTY operation. All telecommunications activities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam fall under the control of the state. Young people are making tentative efforts to set up their own Internet radio programs. Some 40% of the 85 million inhabitants are younger than 15.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

There was a reasonably good opening on 40m to Europe, and I was running stations pretty nicely and listening for the next one when the power suddenly dropped out all around me. I went out with our resident generator expert, Friedhelm HB9JBI, who happened to be running the SSB station (on its own generator) at the time. We went out and saw that the oil lamp was on and also spotted a pool of oil underneath the generator. We suspect that something must have happened when the locals transported it from the previous CW site, loading it onto a hand cart that was then pulled by a motorcycle. In any case, in the driving rain we dragged a spare generator to where the oil tanks are, which was easy to do so on a paved surface but not so easy when we got further to soft ground for the last stretch. With some grunting and groaning (and swearing), the two of us finally got it into place. We then improvised an oil spout from a used plastic drink bottle and topped off the oil in this replacement generator.

With the power back on, it was time to turn on the rig and the amplifier, reboot the PC and get the logging software running again. That took a few minutes, but I was soon back on the air, but my nice opening to Europe had disappeared and only a few stations answered CQ. I apologize to those stations that I had previously left hanging, but I hope you now understand that the circumstances are sometimes different than you might imagine. Sometimes we have no choice when we go off the air for a while!

The fun, however, didn’t end when my shift ended at 4.00 p.m. I was tired and chilly, so where was my replacement operator, who would bring the motorcycle with which Friedhelm and I could ride back to the Guest House? A few minutes late, no big deal, but after half an hour and then three-quarters of an hour later, still no new operator. The previous day, with the rush to meet our deadline to clear the previous CW and SSB sites by dusk by order of the military, had left us all pretty exhausted. No wonder my replacement slept through his alarm.

What to do? Only one real choice unless we wanted to hang around until the end of the next shift at 8.00 a.m. – one of us (me) had to walk through the driving rain and strong winds to the Guest House, wake him up, and get him to bring the motorcycle so Friedhelm could also get to bed. The only problem is that there is no power on the island after 11 p.m., not even for streetlights or other ancillary lighting, and given the weather it was as pitch black as you can imagine. There’s basically only one major road around the island, but even with a good flashlight it was tough to follow it. In fact, I focused on the left shoulder of the road so as to not take a wrong turn, and instead I missed the right-hand turn to the Guest House and ended up down the street. When I saw the harbor, I knew I had gone too far, but at least I had a good point of orientation, even in the dark. I finally made it to the Guest House just as dawn was starting to break (where was this daylight when I really needed it?), woke up the operator for the next shift and finally got into bed and under the covers at around 6 a.m.

This is just one of the many, many anecdotes our operators have to tell. Being on Con Co is a real experience that requires lots of flexibility, a great ability to improvise and team spirit. Rest assured that we’re doing our very best to make it possible for as many as you to make a contact with 3W6C.

73, Paul, AA1MI/HB9DST

The team members keep themselves busy with various tasks. We start RTTY operation on 30m from the Guest House

During the course of the night it got relatively cool for the island, and the morning brought drizzle and light rain. Even though the temperature was 24 deg C it felt cool due to a drop of 10 degrees from the previous days. Given that along with humidity of 85% and an uncomfortably strong breeze, we unpacked our jackets and whatever other foul-weather gear we had been smart enough to bring.

The wind was blowing through the headquarters site, and the heavy seas breaking on shore made an impressive sound. Today the bands were poor for the most part. A new 40m vertical we had intended to set up at the nearest highest point – close to a memorial tower – had to be removed immediately by military request.

Military personnel used a truck to transport all the heavy equipment such as scaffolding, steel antenna support pipes and mast bases from the previous CW and SSB sites to the logistics/packing area in the Guest House. Several team members sorted and organized these and other items that are no longer needed for our current operations, and these are being prepared to load onto the transport ship next Monday. We expect to sell the remaining diesel fuel and a generator on the island. A few Vietnamese hams have also expressed an interest in acquiring some of our equipment after the DXpedition.

Today we could devote some time setting up a RTTY station – in the Guest House, where the only available space was in an unused toilet room (so we jokingly refer to poor band conditions as “crappy”). We erected a 30m vertical on the porch roof of the Guest House. In our first evening of operation we were able to log 35 stations, but we had to go QRT at 23.00 local time because the island’s diesel generator is shut down and it is not practical to set up our own generator near the Guest House where we would disturb not only team members but many of the local population and soldiers who live nearby.

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

Daily life and vegetation on the island

The jungle vegetation on Con Co just doesn’t appear from nowhere. It rains quite often. Due to the high humidity, only clothes in a closed suitcase remain dry. Around the island there is a paved roadway that we are permitted to use. The main civilian settlement is located on the south of the island, and the soil is very rich. We had to stop operating and wait for new instructions from the authorities.

The vegetation consists of low-growing often thick jungle vegetation with palm trees, banana plants, miscanthus (elephant grass), all types of weed-like plants and many flowering plants. All around are large black basalt boulders on the shores. The humidity is typically around 85%. Dragonflies and butterflies are everywhere in the air. Crickets chirp and birds sing with songs that seem strange to us. Swallows are the only birds with which we are familiar. Luckily, there are no pestering mosquitoes. We only need to be cautious of snakes. Barking dogs make for noise at night.

Island life is centered around the southern tip. In the harbor a better system of docks is being constructed. From there, the main street leads to the inhabited area. Here there’s plenty of construction going on. A billboard shows what the new guest house will look like. In the “main intersection” there is a billboard that shows Ho Chi Minh and his country’s workers.

There is electricity between 9 to 11 am on weekdays and between 5 and 11 pm every day. At 6 o’clock in the morning – when construction work starts – loudspeakers start broadcasting martial music followed by messages; the same happens again at 5 p.m.

Besides the military, a few families live here voluntarily. Their small houses are provided free of charge by the government. Those who have children must return to the mainland when their children reach six years of age so those children can attend school. At the moment, six children from ages one to four attend a kindergarten on Con Co. Because the soil is so rich, the inhabitants grow their own vegetables. To help in their self-sufficiency, they also keep a few chickens and ducks.

For us, the restaurant has become our meeting point. From here we run our motorcycle shuttle service to the operating sites. For breakfast there is noodle soup in a beef broth, omelettes and loaves of commercial spongy, sweet bread. Supplies of bread must be kept limited because in this heat, mold will grow quickly even in the packaging. Lunch and dinner consists of rice with vegetable side dishes, fish, modest amounts of mean, tofu and egg soup. At our request, the next ship from the mainland also brought some milk, yoghurt, packaged cheese, fruit and wine.

The owner of the restaurant offers a laundry service which we have been happy to take advantage of, and the charge is roughly CHF 0.50 per piece of clothing. However, the clothing comes back somewhat damp, and it’s difficult to get anything completely dry in this weather.

Today’s events

At 12 noon, we were instructed to halt all radio operations pending information from the authorities. We used the time for our group photos at the headquarters.

When we eventually returned to the restaurant, in the backyard there was a piglet on an improvised spit ready for grilling – so the meat lovers among us had a bit more to enjoy.

Wednesday, 14 April

At an 8 a.m. meeting we get the official word: we can no longer operate from Site 2 (CW) and Site 3 (SSB).

Using motorcycles and attached hand carts, we moved all valuable materials to the headquarters site or into the Guest House. Overnight, one of our local assistants kept guard at the bunkers where the rest of the materials remain temporarily. We set up emergency antennas at the headquarters site and set up CW and SSB stations. During the afternoon we once again get on the air.

Thursday, 15 April

We get some bad news: by dusk, we must remove all our antennas from the originally planned CW and SSB sites. A few team members work extremely hard to get this done by the deadline.

We received the instructions that all antennas must be removed from the CW and SSB sites by dusk, and all materials must be cleared out.

Because of the high tide, the 4-square antenna at the SSB site is in water, and there’s a quite strong groundswell along the shore. Even so, we must get this 30m 4-square down, and some of the workers go into water up to their armpits. We also must dismantle the 80m vertical on the extremely rocky shore as well as the Spiderbeam on the bunker roof. We only have a few short ladders at our disposal because the full-sized one had broken under heavy use. At the CW site, the 80m vertical and other antennas were brought down. The final remaining materials are brought to the headquarters site or the Guest House using a handcart attached to a motorcycle.

Meanwhile, operations continue with one CW station and one SSB station at the headquarters site.

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

For reasons of security and policy, the local authorities have requested that we no longer operate from the remote CW and SSB sites and that we move all our operations to the headquarters building, which was originally intended for RTTY.

Thus, the day was spent transporting rigs, antennas and other equipment from the remote sites. We’re been working at full speed because we’re all anxious to get behind the mike/key and work the huge pileups we’ve seen ever since we started last Friday.

At this moment, our array of antennas, which we erected as quickly as possible so as to get back on the air, consists of the following: a 20/17/15m vertical dipole; a 15/12/10m vertical dipole; a 40m ground plane vertical; and a 30m inverted Vee. Unfortunately, we have not yet had time to move our 80m and 160m antennas to the headquarters site. In any event, we are QRV on all bands from 10m to 40m – which will allow us to reach hams around the world.

Should there be a change in the situation that allows us to once again use the larger antennas we had already erected – which we have left standing for the time being – we will inform the ham community immediately.

The stations returned to around-the-clock operation just before noon local time on Wednesday (0500 GMT). Please follow the DX spots to find out where you can find us for making a contact.

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

Dear DXers and friends of ham radio

We had to turn off the CW and the SSB sites yesterday April 13 at 0500 UTC due to political reasons. 3W6C is now back again since 0500 UTC, with 1 CW station and 1 SSB station, located at the HQ site.

The HQ site permits a limitated antenna layout only. So we can transmit from 40m to 10m in CW and SSB. Not possible at this time are 160m, 80m, RTTY and satellites.

The 3W6C team works hard to transfer the necessary equipment from the other two sites to the HQ site. They do their best in the current situation to make a QSO with AS-185 possible to as many DXers as possible.

We keep you up to date via our web site and Twitter if there are any further changes of the situation.

Tnx for your understanding and cooperation.

Vy 73 de Hans-Peter, HB9BXE
3W6C Team Leader

The shifts start operating, transport during the night is arranged.

Today a small team erected antennas in high heat and humidity. There are no chilled beverages on the island during the day because the refrigerator in the restaurant has too little space and there is electricity only between 17.00 and 23.00 (and 07.00 to 11.00 on workdays). But by the time we have dinner, the beer is nice and cool.

The three operating sites are distributed along the island’s 5-km circumference road. From the Guest House to the RTTY station is takes 10 minutes by foot, to the CW station it’s  about15 minutes more and to the SSB station it’s a total of 20 minutes. The operators sit two at a time on motor scooters to move back and forth between the stations for shift changes, and those being relieved bring the bikes back to the central gathering area at the Guest House. Wearing a helmet is mandatory. The island police have issued us a special exemption that allows us to travel for shift changes between 23.00 and 05.00.

The food, which is served between 07.30 and 08.30, 11.30 and 12.30 and 19.30 to accommodate shift changes, consists of rice with a wide range of other ingredients and side dishes: cabbage, Vietnamese sweet potatoes, shrimp, tofu cubes along with plenty of vegetables and fish and modest amounts of meat.

Monday 12 April

A visit from the local authorities

Early this morning, a group of early risers completed the infrastructure of the RTTY site (headquarters). There was a certain amount of urgency because a delegation consisting of the military, Minister of Communications, representative of the People’s Committee and customs officials toured the various camps. They were hosted by team leader Hans-Peter HB9BXE and Bac Ai XV2A, president of the Vietnamese Amateur Radio Society. The members of the delegation spent the following night on the island and traveled with a military speedboat back to Dong Ha the following morning.

Our headquarters site is closest to the Guest House and the restaurant, but the wooden cottage that serves as the HQ and the RTTY site lies on a romantic seaside location.

Saturday 10 April

At the SSB bunker a 4 square antenna was erected. The beach is not sandy but rather is made up of large black stones of lava. A few of the local inhabitants helped us with the antennas.

Friday 9 April

In the SSB camp, Hans Ruedi HB9BHW and Rolf HB9TVR went on the roof of the concrete bunker to set up a 5-band Spiderbeam. A few soldiers from the island garrison helped with setting the support lines. The 18-year old soldiers spend 18 months on the island.

The SSB bunker, which shows some damage from shelling during the war, nonetheless makes a comfortable impression now that it has been cleared of goat droppings, all sorts of dirt and grime and pieces of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling. All it took was some time with an improvised broom.

During Friday evening we could make our first QSO:
•  SSB: RU9UD, 13.01 UTC
•  CW: JA2JRW, 13.21 UTC

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

This turned out to be a military river boat about 20m long and with a top speed of approximately 11 or 12 knots. For an hour we cruised down the Hue River until we reached the South China Sea. The remainder of the journey lasted roughly 3-1/2 hours. The seas were somewhat choppy with swells of roughly 3 feet, and whitecaps were starting to form. Even though the boat was motoring almost directly into the wind, the waves coming towards the port side resulted in some rolling. Thus, a few of the 3W6C crew members (and also one or two of the ship’s crew, who apparently are more accustomed to motoring on the river than the open sea) got a bit green around the gills, and a couple even more than green

At about 12.30 p.m. we arrived at the small harbor in Con Co – which is Vietnamese for “small grass island”. The island is making the transition from a military base to a tourist destination, so there is plenty of construction at this time.

After having lunch, we started moving our materials off the ships and to the three operating sites as well as moving the baggage to the Guest House where we are staying. With that done, we started by setting up our generators – there is public power only part of the day on Con Co – and then started organizing the rest for a big day of antenna assembly tomorrow. With our goal of going on the air tomorrow at 8 p.m. local time, we have much ahead of us!

Here’s an amusing aside: The Vietnamese people have a fascination with Buddha. When they see a statue of the “happy Buddha”, who is recognizable from his rather large belly, they rub his belly to bring them good luck. Just about all the Vietnamese we have seen are quite slender; being overweight is apparently not a problem here. Now consider that one of our team members, Matthias HB9JCI, has a few pounds on his bones, enough to bring stares and smiles to the faces of people who see him. In fact, he started noticing right away that strangers, especially children and women, would approach him timidly to rub his belly for good luck! Mathias is a very easygoing fellow and is more than happy to oblige, all the time with a big smile. So we now look upon him as the 3W6C Buddha who will bring us much luck in having a very successful DXpedition, and in allowing us to have a QSO with you, too.

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

The first order of business was to check into the hotel, and the taxi ride amazed us all with the absolute chaos on the streets with seemingly thousands of scooters, all driving without any seeming rules and weaving in and out in all direction – but without any accidents.

After relaxing for an hour or two and a quick lunch, those who did not take a nap visited the War Remnants Museum, which is dedicated to the suffering of the Vietnamese people during the War during the 1960s and 70s.

The day concluded with a dinner to which we invited the local radio amateurs. First were presentations by Team Leader Hans-Peter HB9BXE to Bac Ai, XV2A, President of the Vietnamese Amateur Radio Assoc; the gifts consisted of pennants from USKA and the SDXF, a pair of SDXF patches, a SBB railway wristwatch as well as a specially made 3W6C pocket knife from Victorinox that went to all the visitors in attendance as a keepsake of the event. The local hams, for their part, gave Hans-Peter a special ivory-laid picture thanking him for his involvement, and each team member received a smaller version for themselves. Of special interest for us was the chance to meet Bac Ai and Huy XV2B, both of whom are coming to the island. We were treated to a special meal consisting of a bowl of boiling water into which a whole fish was put into cook along with local vegetables and spices.

Finally, after roughly 32 hours of being awake, we were able to enjoy some sleep – but not very much, because the taxis to the airport for the next leg of the journey left at 4.30 a.m. This was to catch a flight to Hue and a subsequent bus ride to Dong Ha, where we checked into the hotel before noon and got ready for the next stage of the DXpedition. At this point, we met up with Eddy XV1X, Michal XV9DX, Thorsten XV9TH and his XYL Huong. A truck/driver had driven down the day before from Hanoi, where the equipment shipped from Switzerland had been in storage; the trip through 2-lane highways took 13 hours.

Today we are examining the ships that will transport us to the island, doing last minute shopping for large amounts of water, beer and snacks to keep the operators happy (also on the shopping list: the Guest House on the island, besides having no electricity except from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., has no towels and no toilet paper). Another group is doing a final check into the coax feedlines that have been prefabricated for the various stations.

Meanwhile, everyone is healthy – not a single case of upset stomachs or sickness due to the severe change in climate and food.

If all goes according to plan, we finish loading our equipment on the ship and embark for Con Co before noon. Our next report will come from the island…

Check out the pictures in our web album.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH

Media/reader contact:
in English: Paul Schreier, AA1MI / HB9DST, Tel: +41 79 662 63 87.
in German: Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW.
contacts preferred via e-mail: comm[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch

DXpedition web site: www.3w6c.qrv.ch

	Read this Press Release in PDF Format: English, German. Download the official 3W6C Logo (1289x962: JPG, 819 kB; TIFF 3724 kB).
	Keep yourself up to date about 3W6C DXpedition by subscribing to our RSS feed: just click on the RSS link at the top right corner of the web site.
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All the pieces are falling into place

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, 23 February 2010  –  Distance to Switzerland: 9345 km; azimuth: 318°; locator OK37QD; CQ Zone 26; ITU Zone 49; IOTA AS-185; time difference in April: +5 hours.
These data apply to Con Co Island in mid-Vietnam. As the date draws closer for the Easter Monday departure of the 3W6C DXpedition to Vietnam, preparations are moving into high gear for the final stages. Airline tickets have been purchased and team members are taking care of their visa applications. The brand new A380 scheduled to soon start flying from Zurich to Singapore will be able to take on board all of the team and its baggage.

The team has either found people to either donate or loan us all the necessary equipment and antennas, and we have purchased the remaining accessories. Later this month the Spiderbeam Team will devote two days to assembling, tuning, dismantling and repacking the antennas for shipment to Vietnam so they can be quickly put into service when we reach the island. Early in March the final shipment of equipment will head out towards Vietnam.

We've completed the configuration of all our laptop logging computers and installed the software. Now the necessary interface cables are being assembled. We're also making sure that we have our transceivers equipped with the latest firmware revisions.

Financial support continues to flow in from private individuals, corporations and DX clubs around the world. We extend our grateful thanks to all of them. There are too many to list on this press release, but we invite you to check them out on our website at www.3w6c.qrv.ch/sponsoring/

Thanks to our webmaster Markus HB9DIZ, our website continues to add content that will be important during our operation. He is setting up a link to the online Club Log service so that DXers around the world will be able to verify that they are in the log. Another Swiss ham, Andre HB9BIG, has prepared propagation forecasts to help everyone know which bands should be the most productive during our stay. We have also published the 3W6C bandplan so DXers will know where they can look for us on each band.

We have also lined up propagation pilots to work with our head pilot in Switzerland (Kurt Wetter HB9AFI) – two for North America (Alex AI2Q on the East Coast and Steve W7QC on the West Coast) as well as Ciro PY7ZY in Brazil to help us with South America and Joe JA1LZR to cover Japan and Asia. HB9AFI will receive daily reports from them, summarize the key points and get this information to the team on the island so we can optimize our operations to meet the needs of the international DX community.

The 3W6C DXpedition

The international 3W6C DXpedition will be on the air from Côn Có Island (IOTA AS-185) in Vietnam from 10 through 18 April 2010. They will operate four stations 24/7 with an emphasis on low-band operation and targeting the US and Europe. For full information about the DXpedition go to www.3w6c.qrv.ch. The team would be most grateful for any financial support, in any amount; information for making donations is available on the web site.

Media/reader contact:
in English: Paul Schreier, AA1MI / HB9DST, Tel: +41 79 662 63 87.
in German: Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW.
contacts preferred via e-mail: comm[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch

DXpedition web site: www.3w6c.qrv.ch

	Read this Press Release in PDF Format: English, German. Download the official 3W6C Logo (1289x962: JPG, 819 kB; TIFF 3724 kB).
	Keep yourself up to date about 3W6C DXpedition by subscribing to our RSS feed: just click on the RSS link at the top right corner of the web site.
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Antennas tested, and first shipment of equipment arrives in Vietnam

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, 28 December 2009 – The logistics of a major DXpedition such as this one rival those of a military operation: countless of pieces of equipment and materials must be gathered, examined/tested and shipped so they are on hand when the operation begins. During the past month, the 3W6C team has tested the 4-square antennas and has sent its first batch of materials to Vietnam. The team has thus worked out the procedures necessary to ship the bulk of the equipment, which will take place roughly a month prior to the actual DXpedition.

The 3W6C DXpedition will run four stations continually on SSB and CW on all HF bands with a fifth devoted to RTTY and 6m; besides all the rigs and amplifiers, we need 18 separate antennas, some of which are 4-squares, which obviously require four masts each. Add to this guy lines, coax, connectors and miscellaneous material and you have some idea of the scope of the operation.

Our team must gather all these items – whether donated, loaned or purchased – from a variety of places and bring it into a central location for disposition. Here each piece is examined, inventoried and individually labeled so we know for which shack or antenna it is intended to make setup run smoothly. Then the equipment must be packed and shipped to Vietnam. This entire process is very time intensive and requires extensive coordination.

This phase of our operation is headed up by Shipping Manager Hans-Peter HB9EHP with the help of many team members. In mid December, the first "shipping party" was conducted. A number of antenna masts along with miscellaneous materials were prepared for air shipment. A week and a half later, the materials arrived in good condition in Vietnam, where they were put into storage until it's time to transport them by truck to the ship that will take the entire crew and all the materials/supplies to Côn Có Island.

With this exercise under our belts, we are confident that we can get the bulk of the equipment to Vietnam without any problems in time for the DXpedition.

As a further step in the preparations for the DXpedition, in late December the 4-square team conducted an "antenna party". Thanks to the members of the HB9VC club, we had plenty of land for the antennas and a shack for warming up. Also on hand was Hermann HB9CRV, who has generously provided us with antenna materials and his expertise.

With the help of all these supporters, Hansruedi HB9BHW, Friedhelm HB9JBI, Rene HB9BQI, Hans-Jürg HB9DKZ und Rolf HB9TVR put a 40m 4-square into operation despite freezing temperatures of minus 10 deg C and a snowstorm. The signal reports were very convincing; switching between the front and back ends made a difference of 20 dB both when transmitting and receiving. Towards the end of the day, all the masts, boxes, wire and accessories were labeled by the 4SQ team and prepared for shipment this coming March.

Pilots sought for South America, Asia/Japan

The 3W6C team is looking for a few DXers who can make a major contribution to our success from the comfort of their homes by acting as pilots. While pilots have already been arranged for Europe (Kurt, HB9AFI, chief pilot) and for Eastern North America (Alex, AI2Q), we have a great need for pilots especially in South America and Asia/Japan. For instance, South America is very often forgotten by DXpeditions because getting strong signals into SA can be a challenge and because any signals are difficult to read due to strong DX activity from the rest of the world.

The role of a pilot is to monitor 3W6C's signals personally as well as accept reports from fellow DXers in his geographical region by telephone, e-mail or in other ways. Each pilot notifies the chief pilot about the best time for DX openings to his area; Kurt then gathers these reports and sends a daily summary to our team leader on Côn Có. When the team leader sees that a particular destination can be heard – a country that is normally difficult to work from Vietnam because of propagation or QRM – he can instruct the DXpedition operators to make a concerted effort to work hams in those countries such as by calling "CQ only SA" or "SA only".

Those who would be willing to serve as pilots in SA or AS/JA should get in touch with our team leader Hans-Peter via e-mail (hb9bxe[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch).

The 3W6C DXpedition

The international 3W6C DXpedition will be on the air from Côn Có Island (IOTA AS-185) in Vietnam from 10 through 18 April 2010. They will operate four stations 24/7 with an emphasis on low-band operation and targeting the US and Europe. For full information about the DXpedition go to www.3w6c.qrv.ch. The team would be most grateful for any financial support, in any amount; information for making donations is available on the web site.

At the first shipping party in mid-December, Paul HB9DST (left) and Shipping Manager Hans-Peter HB9EHP place protective plastic bands around a box containing collapsible masts for the 3W6C antennas. Others in attendance at this event were Hans-Peter HB9BXE and Friedhelm HB9JBI.

The completely erected 40m 4-square antenna. We expect the conditions on Côn Có Island to be somewhat warmer than during this session where we gained experience with setting up and tuning this special type of antenna.

At the present time (status as of 22 December 2009), we are still looking for sponsors to help us with the following equipment:

• 1x, 5-band Spiderbeam
• 1x, 26m Spider mast
• 3x, HF transceiver
• 3x, HF amplifier, 1 kW

Go to the current list.

Anyone who is able to support us in these efforts can get in touch directly with the team member responsible for sponsoring: Matthias Schumacher, e-mail hb9jci@3w6c.qrv.ch.

Loaned equipment must be made available to the DXpedition for its preparatory work at least by the beginning of February 2010. Following the DXpedition, the loaned equipment will be returned to the person who provided the equipment in the same state as we received it. The sponsor can also dictate that following the DXpedition that 3W6C can dispose of the equipment in any way its sees fit. For instance, in agreement with a sponsor, it will also possible for us to leave equipment with the Vietnamese ham radio operators, and in this way sponsors can support ham-radio activity in Vietnam with donations of equipment.

The 3W6C team extends its grateful thanks to all our sponsors for their donations and loans!

Media/reader contact:
in English: Paul Schreier, AA1MI / HB9DST, Tel: +41 79 662 63 87.
in German: Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW.
contacts preferred via e-mail: comm[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch

DXpedition web site: www.3w6c.qrv.ch

	Read this Press Release in PDF Format: English, German. Download the official 3W6C Logo (1289x962: JPG, 819 kB; TIFF 3724 kB).
	Keep yourself up to date about 3W6C DXpedition by subscribing to our RSS feed: just click on the RSS link at the top right corner of the web site.
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Elaborate antennas to optimize contacts with the Americas, Europe on 80m/160m

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, 24 November 2009  –  There is a great demand for low-band (80m and 160m) contacts from Vietnam as evidenced by the modest number of QSOs made on those bands during past and recent DXpeditions in the region. Several had only a handful, and very few were lucky to log a total of more than a couple thousand QSOs on 80m and 160m, and with very few to the Americas and Europe. In contrast, the low-band fanatics among the 3W6C DXpedition crew are taking great measures to vastly improve these numbers. For 80m (as well as 40m), we will erect 4-square antennas, a sophisticated and elaborate design that provides a level of gain and directivity unusually high for these frequencies; for 160m, we will transmit over a 32m vertical with radials in the ocean. In addition, we have found sites on the island that offer us unobstructed propagation over the ocean to our target QTHs. Finally, we will be making a concerted effort to hear stations from the Americas and Europe.

For those not familiar with it, a 4-square antenna consists of four verticals, each 1/4 wavelength in height, and positioned at the vertices of a square whose side length depends on the operating frequency, in this case roughly 20m. Further, the individual radiators are phase-fed through specially cut lengths of coax. All four verticals are switched by a phasing coupler so the signal can be easily switched to any one of the square's vertices to create a directional antenna with a takeoff angle close to 17 degrees.

Our QTH on Côn Có Island provides ideal conditions for setting up these antennas. We will be erecting them in/on saltwater close to our beach-side shacks to make the radials very efficient. Given all these technical considerations, including the exact positioning of each radiator, it is obvious how much effort it takes to set up and tune such antennas; we estimate that a 3-person team will require an entire day for each one.

The results should be well worth it. For the 4-squares, we are grateful to have technical and material support from Franz DF6QV, who built such systems for the TS7N and 5A7A DXpeditions. In fact, using this 4-square design, 5A7A in November 2006 achieved more than 18,000 QSOs on 80m, which was a world record until early in 2008 when the VP6DX DXpedition broke it with just several hundred more.

With these antennas we can ensure that our signal gets out as best as possible, but successful QSOs also require good receiving conditions at the DXpedition end. In this regard we are fortunate that power is generated for the Côn Có general population only for three hours in the evening so we are assured that there will be almost no QRM in the local vicinity. As for combating tropical QRN, we will likewise erect specialized low-band receiving antennas.

The 3W6C DXpedition

The international 3W6C DXpedition will be on the air from Côn Có Island (IOTA AS-185) in Vietnam from 10 through 18 April 2010. They will operate four stations 24 / 7 with an emphasis on low-band operation and targeting the US and Europe. For full information about the DXpedition go to www.3w6c.qrv.ch. The team would be most grateful for any financial support, in any amount; information for making donations is available on the web site.

A 4-square antenna consists of four ¼-wave verticals which are steered by a phased network controller. It provides directivity in low-band antennas where it is impractical to construct Yagis or similar high-gain antennas.

(Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Media/reader contact:
in English: Paul Schreier, AA1MI / HB9DST, Tel: +41 79 662 63 87.
in German: Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW.
contacts preferred via e-mail: comm[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch

DXpedition web site: www.3w6c.qrv.ch

	Read this Press Release in PDF Format: English, German. Download the official 3W6C Logo (1289x962: JPG, 819 kB; TIFF 3724 kB).
	Keep yourself up to date about 3W6C DXpedition by subscribing to our RSS feed: just click on the RSS link at the top right corner of the web site.
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Scouting trip reports that the 3W6C DXpedition can emphasize US, European and low-band operations

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, 15 October 2009  –  In late September, Team Leader Hans-Peter HB9BXE flew to Vietnam and met with two of our Vietnamese crew members, Bac Ai XV2A and Eddy XV1X along with Eddy's XYL Hang. Together they braved an oncoming typhoon and chartered a boat to travel to Côn Có Island to meet with local officials and perform a site survey in preparation for the big event in April. The result: there are no hurdles standing in the way of a successful operation.

Côn Có Island (IOTA AS-185), with a land surface of just 2 square kilometers, is 32 km off the central coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Because of rapidly approaching Typhoon Ondoy − which was strong enough to make it impossible for the recent Russian XV3RRC/XV7RRC DXpedition to land on any islands of the AS-185 group − the weekly scheduled commercial ship to the island was cancelled. Thus it was necessary for our crew to charter a private boat to take them to Côn Có. In fact, at one point the impending storm prompted the local military officials to tell the crew members to leave the island. They warned our scouting team that the typhoon would soon reach the mainland, and our crew members arrived safely back just a few hours before the full storm hit. Further, the Swiss crew members had to wait an extra three days before they could find another flight back home. The bright side of all this inconvenience is that we have all the approvals required for the DXpedition and have begun detailed work on the logistics.

Comments Team Leader Hans-Peter, "It was a very good thing that we had the two native Vietnamese Hang and Bac Ai with us. Without their help, especially serving as translators and interpreters, we never would have been able to meet with the local officials and conduct a successful site survey. It's quite difficult and complicated to get all the necessary approvals needed to even land on Côn Có."

The scouting team also gained some invaluable knowledge. For instance, a 36 kW generator provides power on Côn Có each day only from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This fact has advantages as well as disadvantages. On the down side, our DXpedition must rely solely on portable generators. On the positive side, there will be very little QRM, and so our scouting team is very encouraged about the prospects of making plenty of low-band QSOs.

In addition, they found sites on the island that will be very suitable for the various operating shacks. For both the SSB and CW stations they have located unused concrete structures that will serve quite well in this capacity, and they are close to the shore where we will have plenty of room for large antennas. They also believe we can set up antennas that will enable the largest number of QSOs possible in the direction of Europe and the USA.

The 3W6C DXpedition

The international 3W6C DXpedition will be on the air from Côn Có Island (IOTA AS-185) in Vietnam from 10 through 18 April 2010. They will operate four stations 24 / 7 with an emphasis on low-band operation and targeting the US and Europe. For full information about the DXpedition go to www.3w6c.qrv.ch. The team would be most grateful for any financial support, in any amount; information for making donations is also available on the web site.

Caption
The 3W6C DXpedition scout team (left) meets with officials on Côn Có Island to explain ham radio and get their approvals for our activities − which they were kind enough to give.

Media/reader contact:
in English: Paul Schreier, AA1MI / HB9DST, Tel: +41 79 662 63 87.
in German: Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW.
contacts preferred via e-mail: comm[ät]3w6c.qrv.ch

DXpedition web site: www.3w6c.qrv.ch

	Read this Press Release in PDF Format: English, German. Download the official 3W6C Logo (1289x962: JPG, 819 kB; TIFF 3724 kB).
	Keep yourself up to date about 3W6C DXpedition by subscribing to our RSS feed: just click on the RSS link at the top right corner of the web site.
	Zum News Board auf Deutsch wechseln.

Swiss radio amateurs receive official license,  start detailed planning for DXpedition to Côn Có Island

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, 15 September 2009  –  Scheduling their activities for April 2010, an international group of amateur radio operators plan to conduct a "DXpedition" (DX being ham-radio talk for "long distance") to a remote island off the coast of Vietnam. During their 2-week stay, they will make radio contacts with as many ham radio operators as possible around the globe. Running four stations 24 hours a day, they hope to reach 60,000 hams in that period.

In addition, the Vietnam telecom authorities have issued an official amateur radio license as required for any such activity; in this case, the call sign under which all radio communications will take place is 3W6C.

The multinational project, being coordinated by Swiss ham-radio operators, consists of roughly 20 individuals including one woman with members not only from Switzerland but also from Vietnam, Germany, USA and Japan.

The team members are starting to make the extensive preparations necessary for such a DXpedition. Côn Có Island, with a land surface of just 2 square kilometers, is 32 km off the central coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. The island has a population of approximately 400 people. For many years it was a restricted military zone, but today the Vietnamese government is working to turn this idyllic location into a tourist and vacation destination.

What is of special interest to ham operators is that this island has rarely seen any radio activity. And because it belongs to the popular Islands of the Air program (designation: AS-185), and the fact that Vietnam itself is high in the list of most-wanted countries for radio contacts, the DXpedition expects very high interest from the amateur radio community around the world.

The goal is to make contacts on as many different frequencies as possible, even in the 80 meter and 160 meter bands, which makes this DXpedition very special. But this goal also means that the group must transfer considerable amounts of equipment – including radios, antennas, power generators, computers, and various ancillary supplies – with them to the island.

The need for sponsors

In order to conduct such an extensive operation requires considerable financial resources. And while the team members are all making personal financial sacrifices to make this DXpedition possible, they are also dependent upon donations from many sources, whether individuals, ham-radio clubs or commercial sponsors. They would be most grateful for any financial support, in any amount; information for making donations is available on the DXpedition website at www.3w6c.qrv.ch.

Caption
The Vietnamese island Côn Có is the destination for an amateur-radio DXpedition scheduled to take place in April 2010. (Image adapted from The World Factbook, 2009.)

That's the surface area of our Earth. So amateur radio operators looking for an interesting travel destination for a DXpedition have plenty of possibilities from which to choose. But 71% of this surface is water and so doesn't come into consideration. And of the total that is dry land, there are a very large number of places where ham radio is widespread, so going there would be like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Our goal: Côn Có

Out of the many remaining possibilities, for our DXpedition we have selected 2 square kilometers just off the coast of Vietnam. The island Côn Có is something special from the standpoint of ham radio. It is located in the southern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, and in the IOTA Islands Program it belongs to Group AS-185, which among all Asian island groups is the second most sought after by ham radio operators. Although Vietnam loosened up its regulations concerning ham radio a few years ago, even so this country still belongs to the list of the 100 most needed DXCC countries. For these reasons and more, hams around the world will be very excited about the possibility of making radio contacts with our DXpedition. From April 10 - 18, 2010, including two full weekends, we will be operating from the island using the call sign 3W6C.

The driving force behind this DXpedition to Côn Co comes from Hans-Peter Blättler, HB9BXE, a DXer known around the world and who brings extensive experience to this project thanks to his activity both as a participant and team leader in various DXpeditions in the past. He has put together a team that consists primarily of Swiss hams, and joining it will be some local hams from Vietnam.

Mysterious and exciting: Vietnam

Vietnam is a mysterious, aspiring country that is open to new things and ideas. Tourism is being developed at many places such as on Côn Có. The island was previously a top secret military base and played a key role in the Vietnam War. Only recently have tourists been welcome to visit the island. It will take some time before it becomes a true vacation paradise, but before long everyone will certainly hear about the enchanting regions along the Vietnamese coast.

With our visit, we would like to support this development. Thanks to our DXpedition, Côn Có will soon be a location recognized by a large number of amateur radio operators -- through numerous radio contacts, the QSL cards and our web site. At the conclusion of our DXpedition, we plan to make as much of our equipment as possible available permanently to our Vietnamese ham radio friends. In this way, we will help make it easier for them to gain access to the latest technology, to learn about it and to get experience working with it. In this way, Vietnamese radio amateurs will continue to be heard throughout the world.

Focus on low-band operation

A DXpedition, with its extremely large number of radio contacts, makes it possible to try many things. And we would like to take on some projects that will have concrete benefits for everyone in our hobby. Besides putting special modes on the air, we also want to spend plenty of time activating the low-frequency bands including 80m and 160m. This certainly involves more effort and expense, but we are convinced that our DX friends will appreciate it. We are hoping that this will be a rousing success!

The starting gun for sponsors and donors at the Ham Radio exhibition in Germany

There's always plenty to say about a DXpedition. Our primary communications medium will be this web site. At the moment what we have here is quite modest, but it will soon expand with much more information because there will always be something new to report as we keep you abreast of our activities. In this way we want to, above all, keep our sponsors and donors up to date. The Ham Radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from June 26 - 28, 2009, is the official launch of our search for sponsors. This fascinating and wide-ranging DXpedition program unfortunately exceeds our personal financial resources. We thus hope to receive support in terms of equipment and funds from equipment manufacturers, other companies involved in the ham radio community, clubs as well not only DXers but all hams. For any person or organization with an interest in sponsoring us or making a donation, we have prepared a flyer in both English and German with additional information.

•    Download the sponsorship flyer: English. German. 

In advance, we would like to extend our grateful thanks for your interest, your goodwill and your generosity -- all these will make it possible for us to carry out an exciting and wide-ranging DXpedition to Côn Có!

Vy 73 de 3W6C

Markus Schuler, HB9DIZ
Communications Team

The Vietnamese island Côn Có is located at the southern end of the Gulf of Tonkin, 32 kilometers off the coast.