QRT as of May 25th 1700Z
May 20th – May 27th. Four operators, 80-4m, SSB/FT8/CW.
Table of contents:
Market Reef
Market Reef, or Märket, is a small reef with a lighthouse on the Swedish/Finnish border, just outside Åland in the Baltic sea. The border zig-zags through the island, making it a special DX entity. The OJ0 callsign prefix was issued in 1973, and has since that day been wanted in the logbooks of many DXers. At the time of writing, it currently holds the #162 on ClubLog’s DXCC most wanted list.
In May 2023 a team of four Norwegian operators will activate the entity once again, and hopefully give many operators world-wide a new (or maybe ATNO) contact with OJ0.
Dates
May 20th-27th 2023
Please note that if the sea is too rough, the departure will be postponed. Any more than 4-5 meters per second means it’s almost impossible to disembark safely. The same goes for our return, we’ll follow the weather forecast, and may adjust the dates accordingly.
Given that the weather gods are kind to us, we will start setting up the antennas immediately after arrival, and expect to be on the air sometime during that evening.
Latest updates
[Thursday, May 31st]
The team agreed to use Pedro, EA5GL, as QSL manager for the DXpedition.
Please forward all requests for QSL cards to him.
We are working on TQSL certificates for the remaining operators, which is needed to upload the logs to LoTW.
[Friday, May 26th]
The team made it home safely. Tired and exhausted after driving a total of 1700 km, but very happy with the outcome, desipte the fact that we were two days shorter than expected.
Logs will be uploaded shortly, however some operators are still awaiting their callsign certificates from LoTW (ARRL). The remaining logs will be submitted as soon as they arrive.
A rough estimate of QSOs is about 12,000 on FT8, SSB, and CW.
Shoutouts to everyone who called in and otherwise helping us out in one way or another. We truly appreciate your efforts. Thank you, each and every one of you!
[Thursday, May 25th]
Unfortunately, due to bad weather forecast, the team needs to leave the reef tonight.
We have begun dismantling some antennas, will keep two stations operating 15m and 17m FT8 for as long as possible. When these are gone, we are QRT.
[Wednesday, May 24th]
We received word from the boat captain that we have to return one day earlier than planned, meaning that we will begin taking down our antennas Friday afternoon in order to be ready to be picked up around 16:00Z.
As for activity, the HF conditions hasn’t been the best today. For those wondering why we only are active on certain bands, it can be boiled down to a single word: conditions. We work what we can, given the challenges with aurora, QSB, RF interference, fluctuating propagation … and sadly some DQRM.
FT8 is worked on all bands, top to bottom. SSB is currently mostly usable on 40m, 20m, and 17m. It has been very difficult to work phone on 15m and 10m bands, but we’ll keep trying until we head home.
On the flip side, the 6m conds were great today, just ask OJ0/LA1UW Bjørn who celebrated loudly after logging 3B, and many other interesting DX stations.
We are not keeping an exact count, but are closing up on the 10k mark.
[Tuesday, May 23rd]
Approaching 7,000 QSOs on FT8, SSB, and CW modes. WRX is fine and all operators are doing well.
We humbly request that if you have worked on an operator on a certain band/mode combo before, please give others a chance. Clublog stream is intermittent due to unstable internet connection, so there are “holes” in the stream and we are aware. Logs for QSLs will eventually be available online.
We also kindly encourage our FT8 callers to watch out for when the F/H mode is used; please call above 1000Hz as hound, or we are unable to read you.
[Monday, May 22nd]
Our first 2m FT8 QSO completed by OJ0/LB0VG! 4m and 6m is monitored for openings.
Unfortunately the battery charger for the VHF/UHF station just released its magic smoke, we are working on a fix to continue 2m and SAT activity.
Antennas for 160m and 60m are deployed and ready, will be put to use later today on all modes.
[Sunday, May 21st]
All antennas are up and working. Two verticals 80-10m, Windom 80-6m, 6m/4m yagi, 2m yagi. Pictures are uploaded in the gallery further down this page.
Conditions for 10m haven’t been great, but the minute we get an opening we will be on the air on that band as well.
We are approaching 2500 QSOs.
[Saturday, May 20th]
We have arrived and are now working on getting our antennas up! Stay tuned!
Update: now on the air, but the antennas need more work tomorrow. We are very tired after staying up for almost 48 hrs and working hard. Livestream links updated, other operators will follow shortly.
[Thursday, May 18th]
The car is now locked and loaded, packed to the brim with radios, amplifiers, coaxial cable and all the gear required for operation. The journey towards southern Sweden begins tomorrow night.
[Friday, May 12th]
Only one week left, and we just paid the room rent for the lighthouse. Current weather forecast is looking very promising, 9 degrees C with only small winds from south-east. Strong winds from north-east is bad. If the prediction holds water (no pun intended) we’ll arrive as planned, sometime in the early/mid afternoon the 20th. We have lots of daylight giving us time to start preparing our antennas and install the equipment on day one.
[Tuesday, May 9th]
Updated the page with shack info. It’s not many days left now. We are paying close attention to the weather forecast, keeping our fingers crossed.
[Tuesday, May 2nd]
The final HF antenna, Butternut HF-6V (80-10m) has been tested, measured, and is good to go.
[Saturday, April 29th]
Today we met up to test and measure our antennas. The DX Commander Classic was set up and tested, and works flawlessly. A little tuning is required on 20m and 10m, but we decided to do the final work when we arrive. We also assembled and tested the 6m/4m yagi, as well as the 9el 2m yagi.
[Monday, April 17th]
The team met up to discuss the equipment list, and potential locations for the aerials on Market Reef. More equipment has been purchased, and the puzzle is almost complete.
Another meetup is scheduled for April 29th, where we will install and test our antennas. They will be measured properly, and we will run some QSOs to get real-life experience before packing them down again.
The team will have at least three HF antennas up at all times: DX Commander vertical, Butternut 80-10m, EFHW sloper 80-10m. VHF 6m/4m/2m yagis. We will also probably deploy a 160m dipole, and sporadic satellite activity on our breaks.
Operators
OJ0/LA1UW – Bjørn
Bjørn got his license in 1977, and spent about four years on Svalbard (JW) and contributed to establishing the JW5E ham radio club. Recently retired, he has now a growing interest in VHF, particularly 6m and 4m, as well as digital modes on all bands, including HF. Years of experience as a janitor will come in very handy.
OJ0/LA3WAA – Tor
Tor has been licensed since 1980, and is a highly skilled CW operator. Loves DX and contests, all modes, and is a major contributor to the local ham club LA2T. Metal worker by trade, solution-oriented, with years of practical experience that is invaluable for the team.
OJ0/LB5SH – Stian
Stian was licensed in 2016, with a keen interest in DX and contesting. Despite being wet behind the ears, he has pulled off a couple of small DXpeditions to JW, OY, OH0, and OJ0, as well as activating a few IOTAs.
OJ0/LB0VG – Kristoffer
Kristoffer got his license in 2015. He has been an active member of LA1K, as well as a board member, with many activities on his resumé such as field days, portable events, and many contests. Kristoffer also has a high interest and competence in electronics, both theoretical and practical.
QSL
Please forward your requests via our QSL manager, Pedro Monsell (EA5GL).
Bands and modes
Main focus on 80-4m. Modes SSB, FT8, CW.
Shack 1:
Radio: Yaesu FT-950
Amplifier: Ameritron AL-80B
Antenna: DX Commander Classic, 40-10m, with inv-L for 80m
Shack 2:
Radio: ICom IC-7300
Amplifier: Expert 2k-FA
Antenna: Butternut HF-6V, 80-10m
Shack 3 (mainly VHF):
Radio: ICom IC-7300
Amplifiers: Expert 1k-FA, Gemini 4
Antennas: 6m/4m yagi, 2m yagi, Windom 80-10m
VHF/UHF SAT Shack:
Radio: Yaesu FT-857D + additional SDR-receiver
Antenna: Arrow II 146-437-10WBP
Battery: 24Ah LiFePo4
A dipole for 160m might be deployed during the stay. With a choke it will gladly tune 60m too.
Power is limited by two 10A breakers. When all three stations are active, two will run with reduced power.
Band plan, calendar
Predicting propagation and bands is challenging, but we will post or frequencies on this page and have a livestream to Clublog.org going at all times.
OJ0/LB5SH Livestream on Clublog.org
OJ0/LA3WAA Livestream on Clublog.org
Thank you:
Big thanks to Callum, M0MCX, for helping us out with the DX Commander Classic antenna. We are impressed with the build quality, robustness, of course the light-weight of the pole, as well as the excellent support and express delivery — it took about 24 hours (!!) from the order was placed until it was delivered in Norway!
We are looking forward to deploying this fantastic antenna on the reef!
The DX Shop has provided high-priority delivery for the Gemini 4 power amplifier, almost two months earlier than expected. We highly appreciate the outstanding service and are greatly thankful for understanding our urgency! The Gemini 4 will definitely lift serious weight off our radios, and allow us to log more contacts on the 4 meter band.
LB5SH.no 