Last up date 12/30/2014

 

  

NAVASSA ISLAND

K1N

 
To see the link to K1N click on the picture to get the lates on Navassa DX project

 

  News / Updates

 

17 January 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  

From The KP1-5 project

RE: K1N Navassa Island DXpedition

  

Navassa: A once in 32 year opportunity!

Within two weeks the K1N Navassa DXpedition should be QRV with up to 7-8 stations.  Our exact departure date will be decided at the last moment by USFWS and weather windows.  The team will be arriving at our staging point a few days before the earliest possible window and will be ready for a rapid deployment.  As soon as USFWS has landed on the island and declared it is safe to proceed, we will start the helicopter flights and commence operations.  We hope to have a basic camp established by the end of the first day and if things go extremely well, we hope to have several stations on the air by nightfall on the second day.  Helicopter deployment will continue for a total of three days before the camp is fully established.  A boat landing is not possible this time of year and also helicopter sling loads off our standby vessel are impossible.  So, additional equipment and supplies will be moved ashore with manpower.  This will not be an easy project!

  

The K1N operation is your only opportunity in 32 years to work this #1 Most Wanted Entity.  It has been 22 years since the last operation and USFWS will not permit another operation for at least ten years.  For these reasons, and in the spirit of worldwide cooperation and good will, we ask that if you already have QSOs with Navassa on certain bands from a previous operation, PLEASE DO NOT CALL US ON THAT BAND!  ClubLog Leader Board will be turned off for obvious reasons.

  

The latest details and pictures can be found at www.navassadx.com.  This web page is now available in 44 languages, including, of course, Klingon!  We are leaving no one out of this DXpedition because of its rarity.  Our stations will be at "the usual" DX frequencies, listening up, but in some cases, down, for certain parts of the world's band plan.  It is absolutely necessary to listen to the instructions of the DXpedition operator.  We have a Facebook page to watch and a Twitter feed (@navassa2015) to follow for instant updates.  We will be listening in the U.S. General/Advanced bands.

  

Band modes will be somewhat limited in an all-out effort to work the bands down to the last station (and Klingon) for this unique opportunity.  At least one station will be on 20 meters 24 hours/day.  160M and 12M will be CW only and 10M will be SSB only.  Other bands will in some pattern, alternating CW & SSB.  At least one station will always be on RTTY, and we will operate RTTY on no more than three bands. N2OO Bob, is our chief pilot.  HK1R Jorge, is our South American pilot, JA1ELY Toshi, (assisted by Yuki JH1NBN) for Asia, MMØNDX Col, for Europe, V51B Andre, for Africa and ZL2AL Lee, for Oceania.  Nodir EY8MM is our deep Asia pilot where propagation will be weakest.  Our U.S. pilots are K2SG Tony, and KF5NYQ Brandon, is our youth pilot.  You can contact your pilot via email; each pilot's address is on his team bio page on our website.  Pilots are your way to provide important feedback to the team on the island.  Be concise and make your comments pertinent.  The worldwide feedback will be prioritized, summarized and forwarded to the Island.  Pilots will attempt to answer questions if they are able to do so.  Pilots will NOT have access to the logs so do not ask about busted calls, log entries, etc.  Logs will be uploaded several times daily to ClubLog.

  

As you can see in the following propagation prediction diagram for North America, we will have high grade communication on several bands 24 hours daily.  The same is true for South America.

  

Contrast this to the predicted propagation to Japan and India:

  

Europe has some variability, but Poland shows an "average" propagation for the European continent.  There should be 24 hours of daily propagation to Europe…on some band!

  

You should be grateful to have others standby while we work YOU for an All Time New One.  It is only fair to ask that YOU stand by while work others for an All Time New One.  As can be seen on the European diagram, we ask for patience in Europe while we work into deep Asia and other areas, as the band openings are nearly simultaneous.  Please LISTEN to the operator's instructions.  We will not work stations from outside the area we are calling.  With cooperation, everyone will get into our logs FASTER!

  

Deliberate QRM has been a major hindrance on both ends of the pileups in recent years and is worsening.  There is a tab on our website where you can help us identify QRMing stations.  This tab will not be active until the DXpedition comes on the air.  By entering the data requested, and if enough data is entered, even with crude or rough beam headings, a "heat map" can be produced with mathematical analysis of the data.  This was covertly tested during the recent FT4TA Tromelin DXpedition and even with limited data input; several deliberate QRMing stations could be identified within a very small area!  Again, the more data that is provided the more accurate the "heat" can be put on offending stations.  The QRM problem is one reason we are not publishing our operating frequencies, but we will be on or near the "usual" DXpedition frequencies.  If we do experience QRM, we have planned tactics to minimize the malicious interference.  Hint: Listen, LISTEN and LISTEN MORE for us….we might try to "wiggle" out of it!  We will also try hard to keep our splits narrow as possible to avoid annoying non-DXers who have been known to "bother" a pileup.

  

K1N QSL information/manager:

  

Bob Schenck, N2OO

P.O. Box 345

Tuckerton, NJ 08087 USA

  

U.S.A. Direct: Minimum S.A.S.E. (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope)

  

World Direct: S.A.E. (Self-Addressed Envelope) plus minimum $2 or 1 IRC

  

OQRS Direct and bureau: via CLUBLOG

  

Regular Bureau: via N2OO c/o the W2 QSL Bureau

  

LOTW: Sooner rather than later.

  

We greatly appreciate the generous contributions from individuals and DX clubs around the world!  We are just shy of meeting our transportation obligations and have yet to meet the cost of "the rest" of the DXpedition.  As always, we encourage contributions to help meet the uncovered expenses.  The team has contributed basically half of the entire cost and would appreciate any possible help.  U.S. donations could be tax-deductible through NCDXF.  (See instructions on our website.)

  

The next press release will be when the landing operations commence.  After that, daily progress and pictures will be posted on the website.

  

From the K1N Navassa Team:

Bob K4UEE, Glenn WØGJ, Mike NA5U, George AA7JV, Ralph KØIR, John K6MM, Craig K9CT, Tomi KT4TTT, Lou N2TU, George N4GRN, Mike N6MZ, Jeff NM1Y, John W2GD, Gregg W6IZT & Jerry WB9Z

  

….we hope to see you in the logs!!!

  

30 December 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  

From The KP1-5 project

RE: K1N Navassa Island DXpedition

  

It is now about four weeks before K1N goes on the air.  The exact date of departure from the staging area will be dependent upon a combination of the date U.S. FWS transportation is available and upon weather windows.  It is looking like K1N will be QRV the first two weeks of February.

  

Most of the team have their bags packed and are ready to go.  Because of the helicopter logistics, this will be a no-frills-minimum-comfort operation for the team.  Meals will be MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).  The container has been organized for a quick camp setup and quick radio/antenna setup to take advantage of every moment.  It is estimated there will be two full days of helicopter shuttles to get everything needed to start operations.  A small team of FWS personnel will accompany us, including armed Federal Law Enforcement Officers.

  

Efficiency is not just for the team, but also for the DX community.  It has been over 22 years since Navassa was activated and USFWS will not allow another operation for at least ten more years.  This is a ONCE IN 32 YEARS opportunity to work Navassa!  Everyone can make the most of this opportunity by LISTENING to the operator's instructions and following the cadence of the operator.  We will not be working all modes on all bands, but limiting most bands to a specific mode, so that we can work the pileups down to the last little pistol.

  

Fund raising has been going well.  The team has contributed about half of the total budget.  For those in the U.S., it is possible to make a year-end tax-deductible donation, directed through the Northern California DX Foundation.  See www.navassadx.com/ncdxf.htm.

  

We have a Facebook page to watch and a Twitter feed (@navassa2015) to follow along.

  

For the KP1-5 Project,

Bob Allphin K4UEE

Glenn Johnson WØGJ

Mike Thomas NA5U

  

20 December 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  

From The KP1-5 project

RE: K1N Navassa Island DXpedition

  

The KP1-5 Project Team would like to report progress in preparations for a late January landing on Navassa is coming along very well!  A container is being shipped from Atlanta, GA, to our staging point in the Caribbean.

  

Bob N2OO is our chief pilot and has organized an excellent worldwide team to collect reports and suggestions from our target areas.  Feedback will be prioritized, filtered and/or condensed to pass along to the team at least daily.  We have a very special pilot, Brandon KF5NYQ.  Brandon is 11 years old and one of the youngest hams ever to have achieved DXCC!!!  Brandon will be collecting feedback from young hams.  On our website, www.navassadx.com, check out “Our Team” and scroll down to see your pilot.  Click on their picture to see their bio and contact information.

  

We are now on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!!!

  

    Check out our Facebook page: Navassa 2015 K1N and invite your ham (and non-ham) friends to follow us!

  

    For Twitter: You can Google Twitter and open an account.  Then, when it's open within the Twitter program, search for @navassa2015.  Then follow K1N.

  

Team co-leader, Glenn WØGJ, was interviewed by DokuFunk Radio earlier this week.  You can hear the entire interview (14 minutes) at www.dokufunk.org/navassa-e.  DokuFunk has an extremely well documented history of amateur operations from Navassa.  Pictures and video will give you a preview of what the team will see and experience.

  

This week the team paid the first half of the nearly $200,000 helicopter transportation contract.  The second half is due to be paid February 10th.  By the end of this month, in order to progress with the operation, we must pay the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service $95,000 - $97,000 for the transportation of the Law Enforcement team who must accompany us.  We will know our exact dates when our payment is due at the end of December.  We will have a press release when we know our exact dates.

  

The cost of the K1N operation is very high and the time to raise the money needed to fully fund the project is exceptionally short.  Inherent risks of a water landing on Navassa have dictated using a helicopter to transport men and materials to avoid the risk of scaling the 5-10 meter high cliffs during the period of rough seas (January – February).

  

The 15 operators have collectively contributed $157,500 toward the K1N operation, roughly half of what it will cost.  DX Foundations, Radio Clubs, and Individuals have been exceptionally generous in their financial support of the K1N operation (see the list of donors at www.navassadx.com under the Sponsors tab).  Team members are paying all of their own expenses to and from the staging point.

  

But the K1N Team still needs to raise a significant amount of additional money BEFORE> the operation commences in late January..... to ensure payment for the extraordinary transportation costs.  Final payment for helicopter services is due just before completion of the operation.

  

Contributions have been lagging from the Most Needed target areas of Europe and Asia.  Our North American support has been doing quite well, where Navassa is much further down the Most Needed List.

  

If you are in the U.S., consider making a generous year-end tax-deductible donation.  The link below explains a simple process that allows you to achieve tax deductible status via the Northern California DX Foundation.

  

Follow this link: www.navassadx.com/ndxf.htm.

  

If you are not in the U.S. or don’t need to take advantage of a tax-deductible contribution, you can click on the donate button on the bottom of our home page.

  

Time is short and K1N will be active within six weeks!

  

....thank you for your consideration and support.

  

For the KP1-5 Project:

Bob Allphin, K4UEE

Glenn Johnson, WØGJ

  

  

  

 

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