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.

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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.

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(Pictures from the previous DXpedition to Market Reef by LB5SH)

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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.

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Bands and modes

80-4m, SSB, FT8, CW

We are also considering some activity on 2m.
If the conditions for 160m are good we might give it a try, but it’s currently not a priority.

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Band plan, calendar

Coming soon.

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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.