Scarborough Reef

[AF3Y]

Hey Vince!  If this keeps up( http://dx-world.net/2012/scarborough-reef-stand-off/ ), you may get your wish of getting rid of Scarborough.    In any case, it sure does not sound like it will be a "resort area" any time Soon.  Gene AF3Y

[KA3NRX]

 

V
KA3NRX

[N4NYY]

OMG. I just saw the the pics from 2007. Those guys have a set of balls! I could not even imagine what they had to go thru. I hope they brought sunscreen! LOL

[W2IRT]

You should see the video! Martti Laine (OH2BH) presented it and took questions at our club and the backstory of how they managed to get the blessings from both BY and DU governments was nothing short of astounding. He told of how it almost got called off three times but finally got the greenlight after one offical's objections were overcome.

The NA pileups were insane but I'm not sure if they were any tougher to get through than Yemen's. 7O6T was extremely strong to the northeast (often well over S9), so they had many more statesiders calling them. BS7H was very light to NA; it took aluminum high up to hear them and brute force (and more than a little luck) to work them, but since big guns had less competition, it might have been a tad easier. I wouldn't have wanted to be a wire/100 Watter trying to get through to BS7, though I'm sure some did.

[KD8MJR]

I was amazed that they had to walk through the Dead Coral every day and often times fell into holes in the dead coral, the deep scratches on their legs looked very unpleasant.

 I can only imagine what must have been going through their minds every night when the Ops looked out into the dark abyss all alone on the rock realizing that with the roar of the generator and the muffling of the headphones that it was pretty easy for a  Canoe with a pirate on board to sneak up on him at any time just to steal the gear do harm and make off to make a quick buck back in the Philippines.

[N3ZC]

I could hear BS7H on my BigIR vertical..but I had no amp and the 100W I had didn't get it at the time..was an exercise in futility

                      73'..Tom N3ZC

[W2IRT]

Well, that's the one thing missing a major top-10 operation teaches: where your system failures are and what you need to work on for next time. For most of us it's antenna shortcomings; dipoles at 25' and verticals nowhere near salt water just don't cut it for these. For those who can hear the DX loud and clear but can't bust the pileup then it's probably the fact your 100W can't compete with all the guys running 1500W (not the mention the huge numbers running a lot more than 1500W). If you've got power and aluminum then you need to work on your technique! QRM too extreme? You may need a radio that offers tighter filtering, or learn how to better use your preamp/RF-gain controls.

There's a lot of soul searching when it comes to missing one of these big ops, that's for sure. To this day I curse myself for missing four majors: P5, XR0X and the MicroLite Penguins VP8G/S ops. I didn't have a good enough station to work the P5 and didn't know anybody who's station I could use. For XR0X, I was too inexperienced and convinced a pipsqueak like I was at the time couldn't possibly work a big DXpedition. The VP8G/VP8S stations didn't even hit my radar as being rare so I never bothered. All four of these haunt me every time I look through my stats, and they're the difference between my being on the Honor Roll and not. Those were bitter lessons to learn, but learn I did!  simply hadn't learned one important "CASS" lesson: BE A BELIEVER!

To those who didn't make it into the 7O log, my condolences. I feel your pain. But now Dayton Deal-time is two days away and antenna season is just beginning. Get ready for Next Time, whatever "next-time" winds up being. It'll come sooner than you expect!

[KF7BBJ]

The sad fact is that most hams live in a restricted community.  I was one of them so I know exactly the feeling.  Obviously it's possible for a person with an attic antenna to reach the honor roll.  But chances are the magic 300 mark is reserved for those with a decent tower and an understanding XYL 

In a nutshell, most wanna-be DX'ers are not always successful at working all the dxpeditions due to circumstances beyond their control.  Moving is a major decision and it involves sacrifices in other things that affect quality of life.

73,
Jonathan W6GX

[W2IRT]

Perhaps most hams in the southwest do, but certainly not in the northeast and midwest. There are very few CC&R restricted communities in this part of the world (thankfully!). I'd rather eat bugs than live in a HOA-controlled subdivision. Screw That.

[AD9DX]

The sad fact is that most hams live in a restricted community.  I was one of them so I know exactly the feeling.  Obviously it's possible for a person with an attic antenna to reach the honor roll.  But chances are the magic 300 mark is reserved for those with a decent tower and an understanding XYL 

In a nutshell, most wanna-be DX'ers are not always successful at working all the dxpeditions due to circumstances beyond their control.  Moving is a major decision and it involves sacrifices in other things that affect quality of life.

73,
Jonathan W6GX

I agree with that one...  I was a homeowner at 20 years old and didn't become a ham until I was 28.  The next house will be out in the sticks.  My dream is to have enough land to have a beverage or two for 160.

[N1UK]

Perhaps most hams in the southwest do, but certainly not in the northeast and midwest. There are very few CC&R restricted communities in this part of the world (thankfully!). I'd rather eat bugs than live in a HOA-controlled subdivision. Screw That.

I agree with you there Peter. I may have snail paced internet and no cable tv but that is a small price to pay for my personal freedom.

HOA harassment isn't limited to antennas. You soon find that your winter grass is the wrong color for the local  HOA loonies who will expect you to grow grass in the winter and fine you if you do not comply with their crazy demands. I have seen this happen to work colleagues.

Mark N1UK

[WB3CQM]

I remember BS7H 2007 quite well. I was not expecting such a dxpedition to happen. Not prepared for what followed. But my station was ok. A 2 el Quad at 35 feet and a KW.

I could not hear them on any band strong enough to work them, other than 20 meters.

The window opening  East Of route 487 in Pa was maybe 20 or 30 min. I could hear them for about 1 hour well enough on 20 meters to work them , if only every ham would stand by while I tried , lol, . This was in the am just pass sunrise and then their signal would peak  for  about 20 min, which  they would be a solid S 9 signal .

Oh but what  a pile up ! 50 KC wide and very deep . I opened my filter to 1.5 khz to listen wider and deeper. The key of course is to be on the listening freq of the dx and find it as fast as you can. Of course you can sit on one freq and wait for the dx to find you. But that is not and never was my style of operating.

I found the QSX on day one or two . I made my call and they came back with one wrong letter. I sent my call again with no rst. I heard nothing as I waited. Then I sent my call again. Then repeated shortly . But BS7H went on. My friend told me we had a perfect double two times. I was very sick over it. I was a nervous wreck, it is only a hobby . But then again this maybe be a once in life time for me to work BS7H .

Next day same prop. Could not bust through the wildest pile up I have ever been in. 

Next day , I found the secret spot at that moment in time. And I worked BS7H for a new one .

By far the most stressful contact I have ever made in the biggest wildest pile up to my thinking. I will be happy never to see such a pile up for such a rare entity during a poor sun spot time with little window opening.

Thank you to All you Great Operators that go to these DX entities   and operate to give me and other hams this  great DXing Joy to work a new one or new band/ mode.

73 JIM 
 

[W2IRT]

I found the QSX on day one or two . I made my call and they came back with one wrong letter. I sent my call again with no rst. I heard nothing as I waited. Then I sent my call again. Then repeated shortly . But BS7H went on. My friend told me we had a perfect double two times. I was very sick over it. I was a nervous wreck, it is only a hobby . But then again this maybe be a once in life time for me to work BS7H .

Since you said "with no RST" I'm going to assume that was a CW contact. That's a good reason to look into operating full break-in! I've been meaning to get the QSK adapter for my AL-1200; one of these years, I guess!

[NU4B]

I remember BS7H 2007 quite well. I was not expecting such a dxpedition to happen. Not prepared for what followed. But my station was ok. A 2 el Quad at 35 feet and a KW.

I could not hear them on any band strong enough to work them, other than 20 meters.

The window opening  East Of route 487 in Pa was maybe 20 or 30 min. I could hear them for about 1 hour well enough on 20 meters to work them , if only every ham would stand by while I tried , lol, . This was in the am just pass sunrise and then their signal would peak  for  about 20 min, which  they would be a solid S 9 signal .

Oh but what  a pile up ! 50 KC wide and very deep . I opened my filter to 1.5 khz to listen wider and deeper. The key of course is to be on the listening freq of the dx and find it as fast as you can. Of course you can sit on one freq and wait for the dx to find you. But that is not and never was my style of operating.

I found the QSX on day one or two . I made my call and they came back with one wrong letter. I sent my call again with no rst. I heard nothing as I waited. Then I sent my call again. Then repeated shortly . But BS7H went on. My friend told me we had a perfect double two times. I was very sick over it. I was a nervous wreck, it is only a hobby . But then again this maybe be a once in life time for me to work BS7H .

Next day same prop. Could not bust through the wildest pile up I have ever been in. 

Next day , I found the secret spot at that moment in time. And I worked BS7H for a new one .

By far the most stressful contact I have ever made in the biggest wildest pile up to my thinking. I will be happy never to see such a pile up for such a rare entity during a poor sun spot time with little window opening.

Thank you to All you Great Operators that go to these DX entities   and operate to give me and other hams this  great DXing Joy to work a new one or new band/ mode.

73 JIM 
 

Great story, Jim. Congrats on the contact. And how long did it take to finally touch ground again? 

[K0YHV]

But chances are the magic 300 mark is reserved for those with a decent tower and an understanding XYL 

7O6T was number 319 for me, at 100 watts without a tower, so it can be done.  I have used small beams now and then on roof tripods, but did 7O and ST0R last year on a dipole.  Yes, my XYL is very understanding, though.

John AF5CC