ah1a op manual

W0CP Home Sponsor Proposal

AH1A Operators Manual

24-DEC-92 KH1/93 ---- Operator's Manual

DXpedition to Howland Island

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ITINERARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

TRAVEL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Jim Smith's Article from QRZ DX 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chod Harris Article for CQ Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Weather conditions by F&WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Boat Information - 67 ft Schooner "Machias" . . . . . . . . . . .4

Legal Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ecosystem - Prohibited Items - Conditions of Use Permit . . .5

OPERATING INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Callsign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Operator Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 6

Frequencies . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Station Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . 11

Beam Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Polar Chart - appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

QSL info ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Computer and Software Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Maritime Mobile Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Sponsor Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Video/Slide show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

PERSONAL ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Checklist from Captain Austin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Recommended Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Medical . . . 17

Sun protection suggestions . . . . . . . 17

A note on hearing loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Flashlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Swimming gear . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Equipment and Radios . . . . . . 18

Things not to bring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES . . . . . . . 19

Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Passports and Visas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 19

Landing Permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Travel and Lodging . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Personal Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

FINANCE AND BUDGET. . . 20

Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

OPERATOR LISTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 20

APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 1

DXpedition to Howland Island

INTRODUCTION

The KHI'93 DXpedtion was conceived by K9AJ and W0RLX. Their interest in this DXCC spot was timely, indeed. KHI was just ranked Europe 's second most needed country by "The DX Magazine." The increased interest in KHI has created both problems and opportunities for us. There is more support than we could otherwise have expected, and there is more pressure on us to do a first class job.

As a member of the KHI team, you are about to embark on one of the top DXpeditions of the decade, and one of the most exciting adventures of your life. Our goal is to set a new standard in organization, operating excellence, and signal strength. We want nothing less than to remove Howland/Baker from the ranks of the most needed. We have all trained many years for this moment. Many of us have direct experience on DXpeditions to other rare DXCC countries. Our challenge is to come together as a team and make the best of this magnificent opportunity.

This Manual will answer some of the questions relating to operating and personal issues. It is not intended to be all inclusive, but, hopefully, we haven't left out too much.

Please look it over carefully. If you notice anything else that needs to be addressed, please bring it to the attention of the organizers.

ITINERARY

December 12-18, 1992 K9AJ and WORLX will be in Hawaii to make final arrangements and load gear onto the ship "Machias."

January 5, 1993 Last date that equipment shipped to Hawaii can be loaded on the ship in Hawaii .

January 16 Team meets in Honolulu .

January 19 Team flies to Christmas Island (T32) to meet the ship.

January 26 Anticipated first day of seven day operation

February 3 Last day of operation February 8 Arrival in Tarawa

February 9 Fly to Honolulu (cross date line-gain one day)

February 8 Arrive Honolulu

February 22 Ship Machias returns with equipment to Honolulu from Tarawa

24-DEC-92 KH1/93 ---- operator's Manual page 2

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Information from Jim Smith's Article from ORZ DX 1987

Baker and Howland Islands , by Jim Smith VK9NS (edited for conciseness)

Baker and Howland Islands lie a few minutes north of the Equator at longitude 176 degrees West. They are north of the Phoenix group and about 1650 miles southwest of Honolulu.

These days the islands are uninhabited, but are visited on a fairly regular basis by personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The islands provide a habitat for a large number of seabirds.

Howland Islands was discovered in 1822 by Captain Worth of the whaler OENO out of Nantucket . It originally bore the name Worth Island , but was renamed Howland Island (possibly after the sailor who first sighted it) some 20 years later when the whaler ISABELLA visited in September, 1842. The island is about 20 feet above sea level and one and a half miles long by half a mile wide.

Like many of these remote Pacific Islands , Howland has had a checkered career -- first claimed by the U.S. Guano Company in 1858. Then in 1895 the American Guano Company landed on Howland. For several years both companies hotly contested the right to dig for guano. It appears that American Guano won out in the end. Many tons of guano were then taken until late 1878 when the company representative, his wife, children, and 43 laborers left and returned to Honolulu .

It was further occupied from 1886 until 1891 by the John T. Arundel Company and with the aid of some 100 natives more guano was removed.

It was in March of 1935, however, that things really got going on Howland Island . American "colonists" arrived and a small settlement named Itascatown was built (named after the U.S. Coast Guard cutter which brought them to the island). The attempts of the settlers to establish themselves make interesting reading.

In 1937 an airfield was hurriedly constructed to handle a possible landing by Amelia Earhart on route from New Guinea to Oahu . As events later proved she and her navigator disappeared enroute. The beacon lighthouse on Howland Island was then named the "Amelia Earhart Light" in her honor.

Of course in the Pacific during WWII things were never quite the same again. on nearby Baker Island some 120 officers and 2000 men soon had a major airstrip built, an incredible 5750 feet long and 150 feet wide. This runway along with taxi ways, ammunition and fuel dumps, and other facilities took up most of the island. The runway was completed in early October 1943 and after being used briefly was evacuated in March 1944.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- operator's Manual page 3

In due course, the islands were left alone. However, a number of factors have kept interest in the islands alive. They harbor a unique group of birds and visits showed they were in serious trouble due to a strong feral cat population (courtesy of the former inhabitants). The cats had achieved one thing, they had eaten all the rats, and were turning more and more to birds for food. In addition, with the passing of the years many of the war time fuel drums were rusting through. As the fuel drained away, the birds started to use them as nesting sites. They often fell in and were trapped.

In recent years a massive cleanup operation has been undertaken. The sheer volume of hard work involved in dealing with hundreds of old fuel drums makes impressive reading. It is to the credit of these dedicated people that so much has now been achieved. The cat population has been drastically reduced and a real possibility of complete eradication exists.

In visiting these islands some 44 years after the evacuation of the military there will be much to search for. We are looking forward to this visit to one of the rarest areas of the Pacific and, of course, we hope that the propagation will allow many to hear and work us on Howland and possibly Baker also.

[QRZ editor's note: The HIDXA DXpedition will probably be the first amateur radio operation from either Baker or Howland since WWII. our request for information about these two islands yielded answers from Bob, K4PDV, who operated from Howland,island during 1940 as KF6SJJ and Jan, N6AW, who found the following cards in the W6AM QSL collection: K6BAZ (Howland Isl. 1938) and KF6PUL (Baker lsl. 1939).

Evidently, all post-World War II activity from the American Phoenix Islands was from Canton island (KB6 and KHI). Thanks to N6AW, K4PDV, N4SU, W5HTX, and K4FK for info.]

END

Chod Harris Article for CQ Magazine - appendix Weather conditions by F&WS

Only a limited number of weather observations have been made on Howland. However, the few existing records do indicate a fairly uniform climate with little seasonal

change except variation in amount of rainfall. Records of observations made during the 1935 to 1942 colonization and the 1943 to 1945 military occupation show Howland as having

a mean annual temperature of 83 degrees F with monthly means not more than I degree F above and below. Slight seasonal variations in temperature do occur with the warmest temperature in September (extreme mean maxima of 89 degrees recorded then) and the coolest in March (when the extreme

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 4

mean maxima of 86 degrees were recorded; mean minima are always near 79 degrees F). Extremes recorded are 101 degrees and 71 degrees. Humidity readings are low generally but show a slight rise at night (from 55 to 86 percent relative humidity.)

The sea water temperature ranged between 86 and 87 degrees F during a four day period in October, 1963.

Howland is located in the south equatorial current zone where the currents are from east to west. Cloud cover is most frequently stratocumulus with maximum clouds occurring from November to May.

Information on precipitation is scant and inconclusive but available records do show the annual rainfall to be extremely variable. Sometimes more than a year may elapse with little or no rain at all, as in 1859-1860.

END

Boat Information - 67 ft Schooner "Machias"

Mailing address for items shipped to the boat:

Burt Myers/ Howland Island Trip

c/o Bob Farrow

4767 Farmers Road

Honolulu , HI 96816

Legal Authority

When we are aboard ship, the captain is the legal authority. He is responsible for our safety and welfare, and we are responsible to obey any legal directive from him. Please respect the ship and its crew and do your best to help, not hinder, its,mission.

When on Howland/Baker we are under the authority of the US government. Two scientists, Beth Flint and Dave Woodside, from the Fish and Wildlife Service will be accompanying us on our expedition. Dave Woodside is a veteran of many expeditions to remote islands, including AH3C/Jarvis.

The F&WS doesn't have the budget to travel to Howland and Baker as much as they would like, and are taking this opportunity to hitch-hike with us. They are there to observe the local bird population, not us. It is their job, however, to protect the wildlife and the environment of the island. Please be sensitive to this and do your best to avoid putting our mission in conflict with theirs. We must do our best to minimize the impact of our operation on the plants and wildlife of the island, and to leave the island in the same condition we found it. Please police yourself as we proceed, so that we do not have a major cleanup job at the end.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 5

Ecosystem - Prohibited Items - Conditions of use Permit

1. Camp and Antenna Placement

The site of camp and antenna placement will be determined by the F&W Service staff. Permittees will be restricted to the general area of the camp and a trail to and from the landing area unless approved by Service staff. Disturbance to wildlife and habitat will be minimized.

2. Authority of F&W Service to halt activity

The Service staff will have the power to halt any activity which they feel constitutes excessive

disturbance to the wildlife, the habitat, or the reef ecosystem.

3. Importation of Harmful Items

All clothing, gear and materials taken onto the island must be inspected and found free of foreign

plants, seeds, animals, and insects prior to entry onto the island. Fumigation with an insecticide should be

used on all non-sensitive gear. Tomato seeds, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, alfalfa seeds, and mustard seeds are specifically prohibited.

4. Fishing is Prohibited

Fishing from the island or within the limits of the Refuge boundary (three miles from the island) is prohibited. This includes the contract vessel.

8. Restoration of the Island

KHI'93 is responsible for removing all signs of their presence on the island. All equipment and debris should be removed.

9. Removal of Indigenous Material Is Prohibited

The taking of any animal, vegetable, or mineral matter, except as authorized by the Refuge Manager or representative, is prohibited. Disturbance to any wildlife, except as authorized by the Service staff, is also prohibited.

10. Fish and Wildlife Service Officer-in-charge

Beth Flint is the Wildlife Refuge's Officer-in-Charge during this expedition.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 6

OPERATING INFORMATION

Callsign

The callsign for the trip will be AH1A. This call will used only from the island. Operator calls will be used from the boat. We will use the AH1A callsign only for QSO's that qualify for Baker/Howland country credit in our official log, in order to avoid confusion. The organizers will announce the callsign at the appropriate time. Do not announce the call to the general public yourself, as we wish to minimize the possibility of pirates.

Operator Guidelines General

We have a commitment to our corporate and foundation sponsors to maintain the highest standards of personal and technical conduct. Previous expeditions have been marred when the operators, frustrated with unruly and uncooperative pile-ups, have lost their temper and threatened to pull the plug. There have also been instances of malicious interference, which has severely disrupted the operations and caused ill-will toward DXers in general and the expedition operators in specific. We want to avoid these situations. If you feel you are losing control over a pile-up, get another operator, QSY, or QRT. There will be lids, cops, and jammers. O ur job is to stay above the messes and not to get pulled into them. Our success or failure at doing this will be one of the primary measures that the DX community will use to judge the professionalism of our operation. Stay cool!

General Guidelines:

Do not ragchew or debate with anyone while running a pile use pilot stations to alert you to openings.

MHDXA has appointed certain stations to be "pilots." These stations will monitor the jamming, policing, rates, openings, etc. They will also keep tabs on European and east coast Dxer's so that we can get constructive criticism (or compliments) promptly. We will have a daily sked with the pilot coordinator, who will pass along input from the DX community.

Use the rf gain and attenuators to peel off the strongest stations

Announce the callsign every 3 minutes at minimum

Don't try to go too fast-adjust the speed of exchanges according to conditions. HA5BUS and Romeo have both received complaints of going too fast. Shouldn't be a problem when you are loud.

Be polite, it will help make to pile more polite, too.

Standby occasionally to listen for tough propagation paths.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 7

Also, remember to take advantage of the grey line propagation twice each day. Don't be caught working USA or JA on the grey line, you can work them anytime. Use these opportunities to work the antipodal stations, as these are the two times each day that propagation will favor them. Low band stations should keep and eye on the DXedge and work the USA sunrise grey line on 160 and 80 meters by calling CQ as the line moves west. High band stations should use DXedge to monitor the grey line as it moves across Europe . Work USA only after the high bands have closed to Europe . Let the USA and JA stations know what you are doing and why, to gain their cooperation.

When working split, don't keep moving up the band - limit your spread. Set a pattern, so that the discerning operator will know where to call. one approach would be to move up the band for l0kHz or so, then come back down and start moving up again. If you keep moving up the band too far, you will inevitably cause QRM and disrupt QSO's, which would result in ill will toward our expedition or even retribution through jamming. Should you encounter excessive jamming or policing, move your transmit frequency down slightly. The policemen and jammers will be left bickering among themselves while the sharp operators will quickly find you on the new frequency. Use the least amount of spread necessary, especially on 20M!

if you use a call area strategy, be sensitive to propagation.

High band propagation (10, 15, and 20m) will remain open to the west coast about 3 hours longer than to the east. Work the west after the east coast propagation has closed. Watch the DXedge and follow the grey line starting with east coast call areas 1, 2, 3, and 4; then go to 5, 8, 9, and 0; then to 6 and 7. You can take these one at a time or in groups, depending on the size of the pile. Stay on the 1,2,3,and 4 group as long as propagation holds up, then move to the next group. Let the pile know what you are doing.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- operator's Manual page 8

Do occasionally make announcements what other frequencies we are on.

When we will be on certain bands and modes where to send QSLs

What equipment we are using

How long we will be on the island

What our normal daily operating schedule is Nets

Do not run stations on nets! Checking into nets is permissible for the purpose of disseminating information about the expedition only.

Modes

Try to limit the qsx range to no more than 10khz

If the pile-diminishes, slow down a bit - not everyone can copy 40wpm

Send call and qsl info slower when possible

Use CT as much as possible for sending to reduce error resend the call, as shown below, if call is broken initially

SSB

Try to limit QSX to no more than 15khz of the band (good luck)

Never use more than 15khz of qsx on 20 meters (good luck agn)

Announce the qsl route every 15 minutes at minimum

Be friendly to the pile, make personal comments where possible

Do not give out cw qsols on ssb frequencies

Request full calls. do not request "last two letters." recommended ssb exchange when conditions are tough (his call at end) AHIA: ...... QRZ

Sample exchange:

K0EU: ...... K0EU

AHIA: ...... K0echo uniform FIVE NINE;

K0EU: ...... THIS IS K0EU UR FIVE NINE

AHIA: ...... K0EU, THANK YOU, ALPHA HOTEL ONE ALPHA

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 9

Digital, VHF, and Satellite RTTY

1. Be Patient. RTTY is a slow mode, especially with large pileups. The qso rate will be around 60 to 100 per hour. Not exactly a high rate of QSO'S, so be patient.

2. We must work RTTY split. This should really go without saying, since we are planning to work SSB and CW split. A recent rare operation tried to work them on his own frequency. His QSO rate was around 20 per hour. It was very difficult copy, with everyone calling on top of each other - an unbelievable mess!

3. Do not attempt other digital modes for DXing. Baudot RTTY (45 baud) is still the standard for

RTTY DXing. Good old standard Baudot is still the only digital mode used on DXpeditions. ASCII just never caught on and of course AMTOR would slow the rate way down since we would have to connect to each station first.

4. DXpedition operating frequencies. The standard seems to be around .080-.085, listening up 5. So, the DXpedition transmit frequencies should be 28.085, 21.085 and 14.085. Amtor is from 070-080, Baudot RTTY from 080-095 and Packet from 095-100.

5. Call areas vs free-style. Call areas don't work too well on RTTY. It just seems to slow down the QSO rate. However, if the pileups are too deep, you may have to go with it.

6. Try to keep to a standard RTTY operating time. This will keep both us and the RTTY community

happy. They will know when we will be operating -on RTTY and we won't have as many people asking us on SSB and CW. Someone will know, if they miss us one day, we will be back on the same RTTY frequency the next day. People will become far less frustrated if they know our schedule.

7. Europe and USA East Coast propagation. KHI is no.2 in Europe and no.8 on the east coast. There are a large number of European RTTY DXers and we will be very popular an RTTY in Europe . It will be rough working Europe and East Coast due to their respective locations. Long path openings may be the best bet.

6 meter and satellite - we have a specialist with us. See him.

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 10

Frequencies

Authorized frequencies

Region 3 allocations

The allocations and band plans are the same as in the USA , except on 40m, as noted below. Note that 7100 to 7300 is NOT available to.,Pacific islands outside of region 2, including Baker and Howland.

1800-2000

3500-4000

7000-7100 (CW: 7.000-7.100; RY: 7.035-7.040; SSB 7.075-7.100)

14000-14350 21000-21450 28000-29700 10m- 28777 12m- 24983

USA sub-bands (SEE APPENDIX)

Announced operating frequencies:

SSB 
10m- 28475 qsx 430-500 (USA novice op's cannot go above 28500) 
12m- 24935   qsx  940-950
15m- 21295   qsx  300-310
17m- 18115   qsx  120-130 
20m- 14195   qsx  200-210; (for USA general class, qsx 240-250) 
40m- 7080    qsx  230-240; (+-QRM) Europe qsx UP 
75m- 3795    qsx  3800-3810 (3635-3650 for restricted) European band edge is 3800,
so listen for Europe simplex at 3795 or, if you want to work split, listen down. Some coutries,
incl. USSR and Italy are restricted; see  appendix.

CW
10m-  28023  qsx  up 3
12m-  24893  qsx  up 
15m-  21023  qsx  up 
17m-  18073  qsx  up 
20m-  14023  qsx  up
30m-  10103  qsx  up
40m-    7023 qsx  up
80m-    3503 qsx  up
160m- 1833   qsx  up

RTTY 
10m-  28085  qsx up 5
12m-  24925  qsx up 5
15m-  21085  qsx up 5
17m-  18105  qsx up 5
20m-  14085  qsx up 5 
40m-    7085 qsx up 5;  7040 (dx)

24-DEC-92 KHI/93 ---- Operator's Manual page 11

Secret frequencies

These frequencies are for family and friends only. Use your own callsign (Foreign hams use a USA callsign). Regulations do not require you to sign portable KH1 (unless you are using a foreign callsign), so don't do it or you will spoil the usefulness of these frequencies.

15m- 21444; 17m- 18160; 20m- 14277

40m- 7080 QSX 7199

USA Novice/Tech frequencies

Hopefully, things will never slow down, but if they do, use the opportunity to work a few novices/techs. These are the entry level USA