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<H1>Vietnam DXpedition - very rare IOTA</H1>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>An international group of operators are now active as
<STRONG>3W6C</STRONG> from Con Co Island (AS-185) until April 18th. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>This multi-national project, being coordinated by Swiss
ham-radio operators, consists of roughly 20 individuals including one woman and
members not only from Switzerland but also from Vietnam, Germany, USA and
Japan.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>During their stay they plan to have 4 stations on the air.
Their goal is to make contacts on as many different frequencies as possible,
even on the 80 meter and 160 meter bands which makes this DXpedition very
special.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The team will also be on the satellites. <BR>The following
satellite will be used: AO-07*, AO-51*, <BR>HO-68*, SO-50 and SO-67 (*first
priority - not all overflights and sats will be used). Please note that only
AO-07 will be activated in the SBB/CW-mode. All other satellites are in the
FM-mode.<BR>The main areas in the footprint are: East-Asia, Japan, China, India,
Australia and eastern part of Russia. <BR><BR>Suggested frequencies are
available at: </FONT><A href="http://www.3w6c.qrv.ch/frequencies"
target=_blank><FONT
face=Tahoma>http://www.3w6c.qrv.ch/frequencies</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face=Tahoma>Complete details about the 3W6C operation are available at:
</FONT><A href="http://www.3w6c.qrv.ch/" target=_blank><FONT
face=Tahoma>http://www.3w6c.qrv.ch</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Alex, AI2Q, will serve as East Coast pilot station and
Steve,<BR>W7QC, will be the West Coast pilot. <BR>Alex informs readers that "Con
Co Island is one of Vietnam's 14 islands and is located 32 km from the mainland
of Quang Tri Province in the southern part of the Gulf of Tonkin. <BR>In the
IOTA (Islands on the Air) program, it belongs to the group AS-185, which among
all Asian islands is the second-most sought after group. The island also has a
lighthouse that qualifies for the 'World Lighthouse On The Air' program (WLOTA
#2557). </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"In the past the island was a top secret military base in
the Vietnam War. The island continues to have a military base. The SSB and CW
stations will use former above-ground military bunkers. The RTTY station will be
a small wooden bungalow which will also serve as the headquarters and general
meeting point for the team who will sleep in the island's only guest house.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"The CW, SSB and RTTY sites are set far apart to minimize
interference among them. From a practical standpoint this means that team
members must travel 1 to 2 km to get from the headquarters to their assigned
station when it is time to operate." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Fonte: OPDX</FONT><BR></P></BODY></HTML>