Nov 14

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

UPDATE! We’re experiencing major power problems. Our main generator and both backup generators are having issues, so we’ve had to switch to battery power.

For now, we’ll be QRV on 30 m and 60 m in FT8 only. With an RTTY contest this weekend, operating on 20 m at low power isn’t practical.

We’re doing everything we can to resume normal operations. We’re sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. The situation is beyond our control.

Nov 14

Report from Lac du Koba #3

Report #3

We’ve resolved the issue with FT8 QSOs reaching the Clublog livestream. We’re still seeing a lot of dupes even though the livestream is working. We upload the full log to Club Log every day to catch any QSOs that may have been missed by the livestream.

We’ve put up an additional Beverage receive antenna that can be shared between 60, 80, and 160 metres. We also spread out the radials for the 160 m vertical more evenly across the ground, so we had to retune the antenna.

Today we were off the air for a few hours because of a generator problem. Yesterday, a short circuit in the air conditioner caused an explosion in the shack. Fortunately, we got the fire under control quickly. It gave us quite a scare, but the team is still in good spirits.

Nov 13

Report from Lac du Koba #2

Report #2

Today we installed all the antennas apart from the 6 m Yagi. We’re still working on the 40 m four-square control box. Until it’s repaired, we can’t switch beam directions.

Propagation was poorer today than on our first day on the air.

We’re still investigating why our FT8 QSOs aren’t uploading reliably to Club Log Livestream. We upload the log to Club Log every day.

  • 40 m four-square has an issue we’re working on.
  • 80 m vertical is operational.
  • 160 m vertical is operational.
  • 6 m beam is not ready yet.

Thanks for your patience, and see you on the bands!

Nov 12

Report from Lac du Koba #1

Report #1

It’s been a tough couple of days for the team. The trip from Conakry to Lac de Koba took longer than planned, but five stations are now on the air.

  • Two HEX beams are operational.
  • 60 m vertical is operational.
  • 30 m phased verticals are operational.
  • 40 m four-square has an issue we’re working on.
  • 80 m vertical is scheduled for tomorrow.
  • 160 m vertical is scheduled for tomorrow.
  • 6 m beam is scheduled for tomorrow.

We’re aware of a network issue that’s preventing some QSOs from appearing in Club Log Live Stream. If you’ve already worked us and your QSO is missing from the live stream, please wait for the daily log upload before calling us again. We’ll upload the full log to Club Log every day.

Thanks for your patience, and see you on the bands!

Nov 04

Stations setup

Stations Organigram

Attached is an overview of our station setup, exactly as we tested it.

Station 6 is dedicated to monitoring the 6-meter band, using PSK Reporter to detect potential band openings and monitor propagation conditions.

During suitable moon windows, we will also be operating EME (Earth-Moon-Earth), making EME QSOs exclusively.

Oct 31

The Final Packing Day!

Final packing day!

Today was the final day of packing all our equipment for the 3X4U DXpedition. Every suitcase was weighed and prepared for shipment.

All PCs were reset to ensure that no QSOs remained in DXlog, and the MSHV logs were also cleared.

Afterwards, the complete setup of our five stations was dismantled and carefully packed away.

On Thursday, Marc (ON4AMX) will collect all the suitcases so that everything can be transported to the airport on Tuesday, November 10.

We're almost ready to go!

Oct 26

Home made 7 element LFA yagi by Marc, ON4AMX

6 meter EME Yagi

Marc, ON4AMX, took the time to build a homemade 6-meter Yagi antenna for our upcoming DXpedition. This monster has a boom length of no less than 9.85 meters!

We even had to extend the supporting mast just to get the Yagi reasonably high off the ground...

We’re all eager to see how this beast performs on air!

Oct 26

Hamset sponsors headsets and T-shirts for the team

HamSet headsets sponsored for the Rockall Dxpedition group!

Today, we received several Bose headsets for our operators, kindly provided by HamSet Italy.

We have used these headsets on previous Rockall DXpeditions and have always been very satisfied with their performance. The audio quality is excellent!

A big thank you to Alessandro, IU2IBU, from HamSet, one of our valued corporate sponsors, for his generous support.

Alessandro also provided us with our official 3X4U team T-shirts!

For more information about these headsets, visit: https://www.hamset.com/

Oct 18

Another productive day of preparations!

Another productive day!

Yesterday was another productive day of preparations for 3X4U – Guinea 2026!

We reorganized our luggage to significantly reduce transportation costs. Oversized baggage measuring between 158 and 200 cm is manageable, but anything exceeding 200 cm becomes considerably more expensive.

We also started configuring communication between DXlog and our Elecraft K3 transceivers. The K3S models connect directly to DXlog, while the standard K3 models use microKEYER interfaces.

Next time, we'll perform our final RF checks before completing the packing process.

Yesterday’s preparation session brought together ON4FF, ON4IA, ON5TN, ON6CC, ON6DX, PA3EWP and PA7DX.

Casper (PA7DX) will be one of the operators on the upcoming DX-Adventure DXpedition to Somalia (6O6X) in February 2027.

And yes, we're already up to 43 cases! More pictures can be found at this link

Oct 14

Monitoring 6 meters constantly with SDR

SDR monitoring 6 meters constantly!

Thanks to Filip, ON4FF, we'll have an SDR running throughout our DXpedition, continuously monitoring the 6-meter band for possible openings. Our 7th PC is dedicated for this job.

As you know, an opening on 6 meters can sometimes last as little as 30 minutes, so being able to spot activity on the band and react quickly can make all the difference!

With our smart FT8 monitoring setup, we'll know almost immediately when the band starts to open and it's time to get on the air.

This way, we hope to make the most of every opportunity on the Magic Band!