18 Days on Christmas Island: The VK9XY DXpedition

I'm joined by Max Freedman N4ML and Gregg Marco W6IZT to talk about VK9XY, an unusually ambitious DXpedition to Christmas Island—and one designed to put the next generation of serious operators in charge. Max is leading a 12-person team with 10 operators under the age of 26, representing six countries and five continents. From November 16 through December 4, VK9XY plans to operate around the clock with a particular emphasis on 160, 80, and 40 meters. They'll bring four FlexRadio Aurora 520s, two Flex 6700s, two PGXL amplifiers, remote operating capability, and an EME station. They'll even take on CQ Worldwide CW from the island. The logistics are nearly as interesting as the operating. Getting gear from Perth to Christmas Island is complicated, baggage space is uncertain, and after landing the team will have only about four hours of daylight to start building stations. Then there’s the uniquely Christmas Island complication: the annual red crab migration, when some 40 million crabs make their way from the forest to the ocean to spawn. Gregg is hoping the team won’t have to contend with it. But Max has a different measure of success than simply putting a huge number in the log. He wants to hear afterward from the ham who worked VK9XY QRP from a park or from a mobile station. And with experienced DXpeditioners Gregg Marco W6IZT and Glenn Johnson W0GJ deliberately giving the younger operators room to lead, VK9XY is also about what happens after Christmas Island: who takes this experience and leads the next big expedition. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.