Time flies by, and at the time of writing it’s exactly eleven days until we set foot on Svalbard. On the hour.

Airplane tickets, hotel room, shack rental are booked and paid for.

I’ve come to the realization that I need a lightweight power amplifier. The Ameritron AL-80B is a beast and a work horse like no other, but towing 30kg of extra luggage isn’t just physically demanding and impractical to carry around, it’s also quite expensive to bring along. It’s size is also inconvenient, and does not fit in traditional suit cases. Thankfully, one of my friends is a hobbyist carpenter and he agreed to build me a custom crate for this boat anchor. *)

Let’s just hope the loading crew doesn’t place my amp on either side of the plane, or we might end up flying around in circles for hours. **)

Anyway, as I’ve previously mentioned, we’re also attending the WAE DX SSB contest this time. ***) Propagation is key here – if the conditions are poor, we might focus on activity outside of the contest instead. And vice versa. Keep in mind that Svalbard is known for its plethora of aurora borealis, so.. yeah. There might be some challenges ahead. Keep an eye on the clusters to see if you can hear our whispers from the far, far north.

Things are looking good and we’re both eager to get on the air.

As always: I’m always open for skeds, especially for operators with difficulties working JW in the first place. Low power, QRP, or very DX? Send me a message and we’ll find a time and frequency that suits us both. Worst case for me is wasting a couple of minutes; best case for you might be an ATNO or a new band/mode for JW.

^{_{*) I don’t mean to bad mouth the AL-80B. I love it, I really do. But it’s not your average /P amp now, is it.
**) Obligatory wink-nudge to dealers or manufacturers of lightweight amplifiers: “call me!” *phone-hand-gesture*
***) Yes, I know I said I wouldn’t attend a contest on my next DXpedition to JW Svalbard. Yes I am an idiot. Stop reminding me.}}