Five amateur radio operators from Oahu will activate the county of Kalawao on the island of Molokai from Thursday August 25 through Monday August 29, 2011.
This web page details the arragenments prior to departure, and the results after the DXpedition. During the Dxpedition, the participants will not have real-time access to the Internet to update this page.
The DX-pedition is sponsored by the Koolau Amateur Radio Club.
The Location
Kalawao County on the island of Molokai in Hawaii is the site of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park and Kalaupapa Settlement where Hawaii residents and others afflicted with leprosy (which today is called Hansen's disease) were exiled for treatment. Today, it is administered by the State of Hawaii Department of Health and access to the county is by invitation and administrative arrangements only. There are about 11 patients remaining and 25 staff resident on the peninsula.
Access to the peninsula is via twin-engine light aircraft, or via a mule trail that descends 1,600 feet to the base of the sea cliffs that isolate the community from the rest of Molokai.
There has been no resident HF amateur radio operators since the 1960s, and combined with the limited access, Kalawao County has been the most sought after county in the US by amateur radio operators for years.
The DXPedition
Five operators from Oahu will travel to the Kalaupapa, Molokai peninsula and Kalawao County. The operators arrive via a chartered twin engine aircraft on Thursday morning, August 25, 2011 local time and will depart at 4:00 pm on Monday afternoon, August 29, 2011.
Kalawao County will be activated for the Hawaii QSO Party, August 27-28th 2011. There will be some operating before and after the contest as conditions permit.
Plans are for operating two HF stations on 10-40 meters using SSB and CW in the Hawaii QSO Party. Before and after the contest they may be on WARC bands as time permits. Call sign during the contest will be KH7Q, and the individual operators may use their own call at other times.
The Operators
The operators for the event are:
- AH0A - Joe Speroni Email link
- WH6GS - Jim Yuen Email link
- AH6NF - Bev Yuen Email link
- AH6RH - Ron Hashiro Email link
- KH7U - Kimo Chun Email link
AH6NF and AH6RH have previously operated from Kalaupapa in 2004.
The Hawaii QSO Party
The Hawaii QSO Party was the brainchild of Richard LaChance, WH6T. Richard wanted to promote an annual event giving amateur radio operators outside of Hawaii a chance to experience the thrill of making contact with Hawaii/KH6. 2011 marks the 12th anniversary of the event.
You may find the contest rules for the Hawaii QSO Party at this link.
You can also get additional information on the Hawaii QSO Party at this link.
The Stations
The primary station will be:
- Kenwood TS-480 100 Watt HF Transceiver
- Elecraft KPA 500 500 watt amplifier
- StepIR vertical antenna
The secondary station will be:
- Kenwood TS-480 100 Watt HF Transceiver
- Vertical wire dipoles or end-fed verticals on telescoping fiberglass poles
The Schedule
The preliminary schedule of events is summarized in the following table.
| Date | HST | GMT | Activity | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, August 25, 2011 | 07:30 am | 25 17:30z | Depart from Honolulu International Airport. 35 minute flight. New departure time. | |
| Thu, August 25, 2011 | 12:00 pm | 25 22:00z | Set up station and antennas. | |
| Daily | 6:00-7:00 am | 16:00-17:00z | Break for breakfast meal. | |
| Daily | 11:00 am-12 noon | 21:00-22:00z | Break for lunch meal. | |
| Daily | 3:45-4:15 pm | 01:45-02:15z | Break for dinner meal. | |
| Fri, August 26, 2011 | morning | Daytime orientation to the peninsula. | ||
| Fri, August 26, 2011 | 06:00 pm | 27 04:00z | Start of the Hawaii QSO Party. | |
| Sun, August 28, 2011 | 12:00 pm | 28 22:00z | End of the Hawaii QSO Party. | |
| Mon, August 29, 2011 | Disassemble stations and antennas. | |||
| Mon, August 29, 2011 | 04:00 pm | 30 2:00z | Depart from Kalaupapa Airport. | |
QSL Information
QSL via AH6NF or follow the operator's instructions.
APRS
The group will attempt APRS operations from Kalaupapa. It is not known at this time if the sea cliffs at Kalaupapa will block the reception of the APRS packets to the Diamond Head and Mt. Haleakala digipeaters. You can click on this link for an APRS map of the island of Molokai.
You can click on this link for the lastest APRS activity from KH7Q.
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July 31, 2011. Updated: August 24, 2011 DISCLAIMER: Ron Hashiro Web Site is not responsible for the content at
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