Glad to help... thanks for calling in!  Hopefully low band conditions will be better over the CW weekend so we have a shot for 80m.  I put in a lot of effort to install a new long (1100ft) Beverage toward NA that's deep in the jungle and is very quiet.  Unfortunately low band conditions were not good last weekend so I didn't get to use it much.

-Dave

What Gene said.  George AA7JV is a low band nut - he really enjoys the challenge and the propagation which is still not fully understood.  12 hours on 160m is what drives him and which is why he's going - the rest is gravy.  To put it another way, he probably wouldn't be going (nor would he have gone to VK9, etc) without having the 160m bug.  As a low band fanatic, I understand this fully but I know why others could be baffled.

You should read the web site blog which explains how George swam between islands to find a quiet location for remote RX antennas - amazing!  They should be very workable even on 160.

HA7JV runs guys like crazy and does a great job filling on on the other bands.  This will be a great DXpedition and lots of guys will make it into the log for a new one - just don't expect to get every band mode (this won't be a Clublog top 100 listing competition)

If I ever end up going to KH9 it would probably be a similar situation - lower band focus (perhaps not as much as PT0S) and 99% CW.  Sorry - it's a hobby and it's the aspect that interests me.

73, Dave

Thanks all for the QSOs - I recognize quite a few calls here as those who called in over the weekend.  I really prefer CW to SSB but had to do one of these seriously while here on Guam.  Ended up with about 6,500 Qs in the log so I'm very happy.  Amazing stateside runs but Europe was a bit of a struggle due to all the QRM coming out of zone 24.  10m is trashed with BY person-to-person AM and FM radios splattering across the entire band, often S9+10db.  At least on CW you can use narrow filters to pick through it, but there is no way to escape it on SSB.

Just uploaded the log to LOTW so the hits should show up as soon as the LOTW robot processes it.

Already looking forward to doing this again next month - hopefully the low bands behave much better and that the high bands stay as good or better than this past weekend.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL (NH2T)

I for one really appreciate the W3LPL spots.  It has helped me many times to locate new ones on 80/40/30m - Caribbean stations that get on in the middle of the night in NA when no one is on stateside (early evening here), and otherwise would not have been spotted.  It is also a propagation indicator, granted one with very good antennas.

I feel that guys get too uptight about packet.  There is a ton of garbage spotted - broken calls, a DX spot announcing "QSL card received", ETC.  The W3LPL robot for the most part does a very good job spotting valid DX, better than many human spotters.  Why do the LPL spot haters hate the LPL spots?  Because it got tricked by a human?  You and I both know HK0NA and T32C are not QRV - so why get spun up when someone messes around?  Just ignore the bad spots.  If it's because you have alarms set up with your needs, and you got woken up at 3AM for a bogus spot, then I think you may have another problem all together

Too many guys rely too heavily on packet spots.  Click, point, and shoot - no listening required.  This is one reason the pileups have gotten so chaotic.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

JD/M (Minami Tori Shima) was known as Markus Island back in the day.  It is a very small island that hosted a small contingent of USCG personnel who ran the loran station there.  Many years ago (over a decade ago now?) the loran transmitter was turned over to the JMSDF (Japanese self defense forces) who run the facility today.  There is not much there, but there is sometimes a ham (presumedly with JMSDF connections) that activates the island.  They seem to focus their time for Europe (late afternoon/evenings) - likely after the work day when they are off duty.  JF7MTO/JD1 is currently active from there sporadically, perhaps a couple times a week, usually on CW. 

JD/O (Ogawarara) is a small group of islands that have a resident civilian polulation.  It is a tourist destination for the Japanese domestic market, and seems to be somewhat more readily available on the bands from what I can tell from this part of the world.  There are a couple JA hams who operate there for a few days in late December - over our Christmas holiday - I presume while on vacation.  That is probably your best shot for working this entity.

JD/M should be the rarer entity.  If the base ever closes, it will become much more difficult to work.  Not sure if that would happen any time soon given the currently issues between China and Japan.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

5U6E seems to spend all his time on CW, and I have heard him spending a lot of time listening for VK/ZL and W6/7.  Often the Europeans keep calling, frustrating him and at times driving him to go QRT. 

5U5U does seem to be focusing on RTTY, and my experience mirrors the other poster, was easier to work than 5U6E who had a significantly larger pileup.

Best of luck!
-Dave KH2/N2NL

Pete,

All good points!  I know exactly what you speak of, and feel your pain.  I grew up and was licensed in Central NJ, so I know first hand the challenges.  From here in Guam, if I am lucky, I will get a handful of decent openings into W1/2/3 on 160m and most that I work are the big guns I've worked before.  80m is less challenging, but similar story.  From here the heading is about 030 degrees, and directly through the magnetic north pole.  To Europe, the path is similar in heading (degrees from north) and length, but I find it open more because this path is not blocked by the magnetic north pole.

Most of those places you list deal with the same AU oval that I do, to a greater extent being further west.

From here, the biggest challenge are places like CY9 and FP.  Neither KH2L or I were able to work the recent CY9 DXpedition on any band/mode and it was not for a lack of trying.  Similarly challenging are some of the European countries, most notably SV/A.  When they listen in this direction it is usually for JA and they are crazy for DX, piling up like crazy. 

I can be frustrating being a DXer, but part of me knows that it wouldn't be as fun if it were easy!

73, Dave

The common problem with all of these locations is that most are densely populated areas.  9V and XX both have high ambient noise and space is extremely limited.  9V1YC is QRV from the small rooftop available at his QTH.  He does very well but obviously suffers on the low bands without adequate space.

Minami Torishima is a JMSDF military base - the operators are all members of the military or work at the weather station there. 

Ogasawara on the other hand is pretty well represented on the bands IMO.

Most operations from T8 are from the rental shacks, which are located in very populated, noisy areas.  Infrastructure is not like it is in the states - power lines are noisy!  It makes low band operation difficult and frustrating.  In some ways, uninhabited islands are preferrable for DXpeditions because you don't have to worry about power line QRN and more importantly, nosy people. 

Another commonality with these places is that there is enough activity from them to keep them down the most-needed list.  As a result, the big DXpedition crews look elsewhere when deciding where to go next.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

I've heard VK9XM on somewhat regularly from my part of the world, but he seems to have a definite European focus.  I've only seen him working that part of the world in our local afternoons and early evenings when the bands are open in that direction.  Hopefully he'll shift focus somewhat to give those of you in NA a shot.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

Peter - please drop me a note to my email address listed on QRZ.COM.  80m should not be any problem at all at your SR.  I get out very well and have good ears on this band.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

Ed KH2L is a very good friend of mine and we exchange emails daily with band reports and have lunch often.  He is semi-retired and spends a lot of time on the bands handing out Guam on all three modes.  He is a DXer who really enjoys giving folks a new one.  He is a very responsible QSLer and manages the KH2 buro.  He has a very good station in a good location - a Steppir yagi with 40m add-on kit and an 80m vertical he base loads on 160m.

On the other hand, I've been quite busy (not to say that Ed isn't) - father of 3 school age kids and an active duty member of the US Coast Guard.  I also chase DX heavily, but really don't have the time (unfortunately) to run pileups during the work week.  I focus on serious contest efforts hiding behind the NH2T call sign.  My real interest is CW on the low bands.  I am fortunate to have unlimited space for receive antennas (I live adjacent to the jungle) and have several 900-1000ft Beverages.  For 80/160m I have a top loaded vertical with 90 radials - you can see more at my blog http://www.n2nl.net/.  You'll probably find me spending a lot of time on 80/160m this winter to help with demand there since I tend to hear a little better than KH2L on these bands.  I also use LOTW and my QSL manager W2YC turns cards around in a day or two at most.  I am scheduled to transfer in 2013 but have requested a one-year extension to stay until the summer of 2014.

KG6DX is another local ham who has been here for decades.  Joel has big long boom yagis for 6 and 10m.  He usually plays around on 6M and either 10 or 15m single band during contests.  Danny KH2JU is a SSB op who gets on the air from time to time - he seems to like 20m when the band is open stateside.  He rents his station to Guam ham visitors.  WH2X is a SSB contest who lives down the street from me.

There are other hams who live on Guam but none are very active on HF.  Guam is a major tourist destination for the Japanese and many JA hams get on the air from Guam, either with JAXXXX/KH2 or with their US call/KH2.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

I have not landed on KP1 but have been past it a couple times during my duties in the USCG.  Navassa is a very different place from Desecheo.  KP5 is visible from Puerto Rico and was visited regularly by dive charters - not to land but to dive the waters around the island.  There is supposedly a minor threat from UXO but I know Coast Guard members regularly stop there and explore the island for an afternoon of liberty and have for years.

Navassa on the other hand is due south of Haiti, and is regularly occupied by extremely poor Haitian fishermen.  They are not very friendly.  Additionally, the island is right along a major drug route from Jamaica into Hispaniola.  There is a real threat to a DXpedition team's safety at KP1, unlike Desecheo, and I believe this threat increased greatly starting in the mid to late 90's.

I too need KP1 as one of my last to have them all, but I suspect activation will be significantly more difficult than from KP5.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

I see a lot of complaints by hams at why the FWS and the Military will not allow DXPeditions to various entities under their control, such as KH5K or KH9.

The bottom line is this:  Why would they want to assume any sort of liability for allowing a bunch of hams on the island?

I mean absolutely no disrespect to N6PSE - but why would the base commander of Wake Island allow a group of civilians operate from a relatively secure military facility?  I truly do not chastise him for trying; it never hurts to ask.  Granted the airfield is probably not used like it was in previous years, but I would not be surprised if there was satcom and other facilities there that would need to remain secure.  What should happen if someone got a heart attack while on this DXpedition?  Ultimately, it would fall under the base commander's responsibility to get him medevaced, prior agreements aside.  Basically, the Commander of Wake has very little to gain and a lot to lose should something go wrong.

The same could be said for FWS.  Their mandate is to protect these islands as natural resources.  The best way to do that is to keep humans away.  Same thing is in play here - what if something should happen to the team during this DXpedition.  What is the risk/benefit for the FWS person who authorized the DXpedition?  I'm talking Federal agencies here - organizations and people who can not accept compensation in exchange for services.

What is to blame here ultimately?  Lawyers and the Nation of Lawsuits.

I'm an Active Duty Commissioned Officer in the USCG - and I can't get a response from KH9 or the resident ham there.  In the course of my duties, I've operated as KG4NL, been to KP5 and KP1 (just offshore), and currently support Cutters that frequently visit KH5K, KH3, and most of the other rare KH's.  Why not hop along for one of these trips?  I'd love to, but I think I'd frustrate more people than I'd help during the short afternoon stays we make at these islands, which are usually for morale and beach cleanup purposes.  I can just imagine the packet insults hurled my way for activating one of these places for a single afternoon. "Please beam EU!"

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

I use a set of Yamaha CM500's and prefer them to the Heil proset.

For CW, I prefer a very low tone - about 360 hz.  A signal separation of 30 Hz is more discernible at 400hz than 800hz - the percent of difference is greater.  I often can generate decent sized pileups from here, and it is easier to separate signals at low frequency than high (at least for me).

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

I've been involved with a couple drug interdictions between KP1 and HH (US Coast Guard) and I also know that AA7JV sailed past the island on his way back from HK0 and George had photos of some hard looking (unfriendly) people watching from shore.  The one opportunity I had to see Navassa during the daylight was when I was down with dengue fever I had gotten in Port Au Prince.  All-in-all, not a very friendly location for a DXpedition.  Uninhabited islands are difficult enough without having unfriendly natives to deal with.

I do with those who are trying to go there luck.  I potentially see the best opportunity would be to tag along with a NPS survey team, assuming the NPS still has interests there.

-Dave
PS:  Originally from Lambertville NJ, but no desire to return there.  In my case, the grass was greener on the other side of the fence!