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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
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VP6A will be on the air from Ducie Island (OC-182) from June 10 to June 24, 2023 (actual dates will be subject to WX). There will be five stations on the air on all bands from 160 to 6 meters, working CW, SSB and FT8.
Following the successful test of remote operations at FO/AA7JV, where over 11,000 remotely operated QSOs were made by five remote operators, VP6A will apply this concept to a full rare island DXPedition. A total of 14 operators based in North America, Europe and Asia will operate land based remote controlled stations around the clock. There will only be three local operators at Ducie: W6IZT, KN4EEI and AA7JV. This small team will set up and maintain the stations and operate locally from the nearby boat. They will visit the island once a day to refuel the generators and do any necessary maintenance. In line with the minimum foot-print concept, there will be no camping on the island.
This will be the first full DXpedition utilizing the RIB concept that features a large number of remote operators with a small footprint on a remote island. Four RIBs (Radio In a Box) will provide a total of 5 stations capable of 24/7 operation on 10 bands.
The RIBs feature complete stations capable of up to 1 kW in a weather-tight housing that allow remote operation. These RIBs were developed with support from Northern California DX Foundation. The goal is to enable a new, minimum impact operating mode for environmentally sensitive areas. RIBs also speed up the installation of stations. This will enable our small three-person team to build the five stations, including antennas, in a relatively short time.
All donations should be made to the Northern California DX Foundation (www.ncdxf.org).
Ducie island is No 56 on ClubLog’s most wanted list. On the 6 meter band it is No. 26, therefore given we will be active during the E season, a special focus will be placed on 6 meter operation with gain antennas and a power amplifier.
Additional details and the list of operators, as well as regular updates will be posted on the VP6A QRZ.compage.
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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
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Please be aware that all mains-powered electrical appliances kept at the club shack in Cyprus Hall will be powered down this afternoon (Wednesday 10th May) probably until Friday 12th May evening (club night) as they will be undergoing PAT testing - a safety requirement I'm sure most of you will be familiar with.
If I get any more information, or hear of any rescheduling etc, then I'll be sure to let you know. This will clearly affect both the Flex radio and the Kiwi SDR.
Berni M0XYF
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This weekend is the superb Mills On The Air event. You may have seen from previous years (search for it here on the website) that we always have glorious weather guaranteed, and it's one of the best places on Earth to be on a sunny May weekend - but add a little radio fun into the mix and you'd be hard pushed to top it at any price.
We'll be there on the Saturday only this year. Please try to give us your support on site (these events always require membership support, so if you haven't told Stella of your intention to attend, then please do so ASAP, as planning is near impossible otherwise).
Hopefully we'll be in the grounds of Jill Mill itself, but if not we'll be in the public car park. You won't miss us, we'll have our radio trailer 'Arrow' in tow (literally) and a big old vertical antenna up. If the antenna is already up by the time you arrive, then you should have been there a bit earlier - those things are hard to manage in 40mph winds! (...sorry, definitely NO WINDS this Saturday).
Jill Mill is a lovely attraction in itself, and you can get hot drinks, cakes and other goodies from the mill shop in the base of the windmill on this special open weekend.
If you can't make it in person, then be sure to find our Special Event Station GB0JAJ on the bands and get yourself in the log. You can also check out the background to 'Mills' at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB).
Greetings and thanks also to the overall organisers of Mills On The Air, Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society.
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Another quick one from me.
I've been lucky enough to have a bona fide professional DPO (Data Protection Officer) look over the club's Privacy Policy this week, and they've identified an area that needed tightening up, which was to do with the identification of our Data Controllers and Data Processors. That I have now done, along with a basic review in advance of the latest legislation coming our way - the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill, which is currently at the Committee Stage in the House of Commons. It's likely that something very similar to the currently proposed bill will eventually make it into law, so it's worth paying attention especially if you're a poor old Webmaster.
For those that are interested in such things (and it will significantly impact everyone's rights, not that many will even notice its implementation) there is an interesting briefing on what it might mean for large and small companies, individuals and data professionals here: https://www.ecase.co.uk/event/the-2023-dp-bill-what-it-means-for-dp-and-the-public-sector.
As far as club members are concerned, the club will deem the amended policy to have been accepted by each member if they have not raised their concerns within 14 days of today, 5th May 2023. You can read the updated policy here: Privacy Policy
If you made it this far, then well done!
Regards,
Berni M0XYF
