TO9W

30 November - 13 December 2024

 

December 14th, 2023 TO9W Update

The team has returned safely home.   We finished with close to 28,000 QSOs on all bands 6 through 160.  OQRS is open and ready for your QSL requests.  It will be a few weeks before we have QSLs printed.  All QSOs have been uploaded to LOTW.  There is no charge for LOTW or Bureau cards.

The team has already decided to return again in 2024, from 30Nov-13Dec.

A full report with statistics will be published soon.

 

November 3, 2023 TO9W Update

Today we had our final team meeting before we depart for Saint Martin. All equipment was tested, all computers networked and tested and new antenna masts were inspected and packed. We are very excited to be returning to Saint Martin with the enhanced band conditions. We will attempt to set up a 6m monitoring station. Two of us will arrive late on November 25th and begin antenna assembly and limited participation in the CQWW CW contest. The other two ops arrive on November 28th. If you have requests or comments, please send them to our pilot and QSL team at TO9W2023@gmail.com.

 

May 7, 2023 News Release

We are pleased to announce our next TO9W activity from the beautiful island of Saint Martin.   Activity will take place November 26th to December 8th, 2023.   The 2023 team will include K9NU, N9EP, FS4WBS, W9AP and K9EL.  Our goal is to make as many QSOs as possible on all bands and modes, with special emphasis on CW.   We normally give priority to the 160, 80, 40 bands in that order, but with the increased sunspot activity, we will establish band priorities based on conditions at that time.  Bob, W9AP, and John, K9EL, will arrive late on November 25th and will participate in the CQWW CW contest as time allows.  Paul, K9NU and Ed, N9EP will arrive on November 28th.  Antenna installation has priority, so first few days will be dedicated to the installation of antennas for all bands.  We will operate during breaks and in the evenings until all antennas are installed.   We will likely do more FT8 the first few days.  We plan real-time uploads using the Club Log Live Stream software for Expeditions assuming a steady Internet connection.   John, W9ILY, is our QSL Manager and will upload our logs to LOTW daily.  TO9W will be well supported by the excellent pilot team of K9NB, W9MK, AA9A, N9AOL and W9ILY.   All requests for information, schedules, QSO verification and general comments should be addressed to TO9W2023@gmail.com.  Updates and photos will be published on our TO9W Facebook page.  For more details about TO9W, please go to our website: http://www.k9el.com/TO9W/TO9W.htm.

 

THE TEAM

TO9W 2023 operators include:

 

TO9W 2023 pilots:

All pilots have previously operated from Saint Martin, so they know our operating conditions.    We also want to acknowledge the wonderful support for TO9W from our friend Guy, VE2BWL.

 

EQUIPMENT

Equipment will consist of three Elecraft K3 transceivers with three Elecraft KPA500 amplifiers.   Accessory gear includes MicroHam interfaces plus laptop computers.

 

ANTENNAS

160: 60 foot top loaded Vertical

80: Full Size Dipole

40: Quarter wave vertical

30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10: Dipoles

6: 3 element Yagi

Low Band Receive: BOG

 

OPERATING

We plan to operate all bands 6 through 160, depending on conditions and demand.  We will operate CW, SSB, FT8, FT4 and RTTY.  FT8 operation will be on DXpedition frequencies if there are many callers.  We will also operate on 60 meters as time permits. 

 

LOG SEARCH

https://clublog.org/logsearch/TO9W

If you do not find your call in the log, please email TO9W2023@gmail.com

 

QSL INFO

W9ILY will handle all QSL requests. All QSOs will be posted on LOTW daily at no charge.   QSL cards will be available but please use the Club Log OQRS online system for both direct and bureau cards.   Direct cards may also be requested - send an addressed envelope and a minimum of  US$2.50 to W9ILY. Unfortunately IRCs cannot be accepted. Bureau cards are always welcome.  Bureau cards are free.

 

DONATIONS

Financial donations are not required nor solicited.   However, we will gladly accept any voluntary donations.

 

CONTACT

During the operation please send all reports, schedule requests, log checks and comments to TO9W2023@gmail.com.  You may contact our pilot stations directly: Nick, K9NB - k9nb@arrl.net;  John, W9ILY - w9ily@arrl.net; Mike, W9MK - mikew9mk@gmail.com.

 

PREVIOUS TO9W ACTIVATIONS

TO9W2022

TO9W2021

TO9W2019