TX7EME – Moorea, Tahiti – 144MHz EME DXpedition

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Hi!

A long dream of mine is about to come true.

Being a professional Tour Operator, focused on the pacific ocean area (see www.kiaoraviaggi.it ) I’ve always wanted to have a go at EME from the other side.

French Polynesia had to be the natural choice, and here we are!

It take a good deal of effort to organize an EME Dxpedition, lots of stuff to bring abroad, careful planning for dates and location, and technical skill in order to reach a good result.

Looking at the best in the business (A Team) I started to plan everything since november 2014, trying to match the family, professional and hamradio requirements.

Basing on the VY good “Moonsked” software from GM4JJJ I selected the timeframe between 3 and 10 of september 2015 to be active, with good declination and skynoise, paying attention to the max EU window possible, since the location on FO allows only a little time for common moon window.

graph

Next step, of course, had to be the choice of the location.

Several contraints applied:

1) Good Take off, especially at moon rise

2) AC available 24/7

3) Reachable from Tahiti International Airport not only by flight (weight contraints)

4) Internet Connection

The choice has fallen over Moorea Island, precisely at Moorea Golf Lodge where a beach front bungalow has been booked.

Here is the exact location.

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Moon rises a few degrees north of Tahiti Island, right over the ocean.

Once asked and obtained the license from ANFR, I really started to put plans into action.

The aerial will be composed by two 9 elements crossed yagi I3DLI design, over an alu/fiberglass crossboom, on a 3 mt high alu mast.

Tracking will be dealt with by pstrotator, driving a nice AZ/EL rotor .

Polarization switching will be manual, and I will be using an ITALAB amplifier for the necessary power.

I am working on the LNAs, RIG will be an Elecraft K3 with internal transverter.

 

To be continued on the blog during the DXpedition…….