French Polynesia
TX0T
Tatakoto Atoll (OC-298)
29 OCT - 5 NOV
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NEWS
17 January 2021
I uploaded several photos in the Gallery section. 17 December 2020 All direct QSLs for stations from United States and overseas were mailed late afternoon today from Spring Brook, NY. Direct cards for Canadian stations were mailed yesterday from Kingston, ON. Any direct requests received after Dec 14 were and will be mailed from Canada. 22 November 2020 This operation was timely accepted toward OC-298 credits, and QSL cards were shipped from Sicily on Friday Nov 20. Huge thanks to Alfio (IT9EJW) for his sustained effort to design, print, plasticize, and have the cards shipped to me in record time. He was strongly committed to have it done even earlier, but I was very busy during the week following my return back home, so that additional delay was entirely on me. Direct QSL cards will be mailed shortly after they'll arrive here from the printing house. Meanwhile, all QSOs made by those stations that requested direct QSL cards or provided support for this project and made the log will be uploaded to LoTW on Dec 5, and enabled for QSO matching. Keep checking this website for future updates. 06 November 2020 - 19 UTC Travel in times of covid-19 can be full of surprises. During my stay on the island, Air Canada seemed to have cancelled my connection flight from San Francisco to Toronto, which was supposed to take-off 3 hours after my arrival in San Francisco. As such, in their amazing wisdom, they decided to book me on a flight that was supposed to leave San Francisco half an hour earlier than our landing from Papeete! They must have gambled on the fact that Air Canada is always late out of San Francisco, hi. In any case, the United Airlines agent in Papeete was not allowed to issue me a boarding pass for a flight that couldn't have been physically taken had the plane been on time! It took them about 1.5 hours of collaboration with the United representative in the States to re-route me to Ottawa through Newark (NY) and Montreal. The only drag is that I have to wait for 14 hours in San Francisco and then take a red-eye flight to Newark, but everything else will be fine. However, they did allow me to check in very early, so at least I'm not hauling those large and heavy suitcases around anymore. I received all the support from the locals on Tatakoto, except being allowed to use the internet. I made several attempts, but neither one of the locals whom I leaned that had internet or the mayor's secretary didn't allow me access to it. The locals were generally pretty concerned with this pandemic, because they didn't have any infection on the island so far and are aiming to keep it this way. My extension cord caught fire upon plugging it into the outlet, despite displaying a clear mark indicated that it was rated well above the respective voltage. It took me a while to fix in a way that I could use it for my North American plugs. The space for the antenna wasn't ideal, but it worked. Unfortunately, the first morning on the island, just after sunrise, one of the dogs in the neighborhood which was roaming around entangled itself in one of the antenna's radials. In an effort to free itself, the animal brushed hard the thin rope holding the radial to an anchor rock against it and broke the rope. As a result, the fiberglass mast fell onto a steel gate and and got damaged. I had a spare mast with me, but given all hazards around, I decided to attempt repairing it. It took a while, but I was pretty happy with the job I did, hi. I'm reading now quite a few messages from chasers who were convinced that I had internet access, despite the fact that I clearly mentioned on this website that I won't have internet access at my residence, and it was uncertain that I will be allowed to use it at the mayor's office. In any case, it is a little surprising to see that many chasers continue to mistrust my knowledge of the propagation conditions, and the ability to make reasonably good decisions. The use of the 30 m band at sunrise or sunset was very time limited, because either 20 or 40 m band, respectively, would take over quickly. This being said, it is worth reminding everyone that each of the bands behaved a little differently each day, with variable results from one day to another. Not only that I experienced the same situation when I operated previously from that general region of the Pacific (e.g., E51LYC, TX0A, TX0M), but I always prepare carefully propagation tables for all the areas of the worked, and keep them on the table next to the station at all times, not to mention that I also constantly compare them during an operation with the actual propagation results. 06 November 2020 - 06 UTC I made it to Papeete in time, and I'm waiting for my flight to San Francisco to be open for check-in in a few minutes. The log is now available at Club Log. However, I won't be able to attend to any inquiries until I'll return back home and have a good sleep, hi. I know that some chasers couldn't make the log, and I am truly sorry for it. This being said, I hope that those I was able to copy and log have lived this adventure just as intensely as I did. Thank you all for the pileups! 29 October 2020 - 16:45 UTC All my luggage is now checked in with big 'Fragile' stickers - just over 60 kg, hi. Boarding is at 18:30 UTC. 28 October 2020 - 16:30 UTC I am now at the guesthouse in Papeete. The arrival in Tahiti was uneventful, except that the passengers found themselves under a torrential rain pouring in just as they put foot on the tarmack. I managed to sleep for four hours during the flight, which allowed me to get here a bit refreshed. The covid-19 test clinics open at 8 am, and I'll have to find the closest one to go to right away. 28 October 2020 - 05:30 UTC I arrived in time at the Air Tahiti check-in desk on the Los Angeles airport. Upon verification that I do have the correct and valid covid-19 type test, Air Tahiti issued me a new ticket from LA to Papeete. I am currently waiting for boarding, which will start momentarily. I haven't eaten much today, so I'm waiting for the 'dinner on the plane', hi. I don't know what other adventure awaits me in French Polynesia, but I hope that I left all mishap here in North America. I will arrive in Papeete at 05:05 am local time, after which I will go straight to the hotel. At 8 am I need to be at one of the local covid-19 test centers to take another test required for the travel to Tatakoto. 27 October 2020 - 21:00 UTC Back on track, for the time being! After an extensive search, I was able to find a pharmacy which promised to do the regular test in record time, for a fee. The regular RT-PCR test is mandatory for travel to French Polynesia, the 'rapid' test is not accepted. I was able to change my itinerary from Washington DC - SF to Washington DC - LA. This gives me a chance to pick up the 11:55 pm flight from LA to Papeete. Unfortunately, my ticket with United is now useless, because the flight is with Air Tahiti, and they have no agreement between them. I didn't purchase the new ticket, because Air Tahiti recommended me to do it at the check-in, just in case my flight to LA is delayed and I cannot make their flight. The new one-way ticket is $2k, which I don't want to waste. If my flight arrives on time in LA, I would have about 1h 45min to recover my luggage, move from Terminal 7 to the International Terminal and get to the check-in. They close the check-in 1h before the flight, but I would like to be there at least 15-20min earlier. Air Tahiti knows of my situation. Also, United Airlines have been helpful to put me in a very front seat, so that I can get out of the plane right away upon arrival. It will be a rather physically demanding run with heavy luggage, but there is a chance to make it. 27 October 2020 - 12:30 UTC Bad news... United Airlines (UA) wanted to see a covid-19 test result dated no later than Oct 24. Despite my explanation that I have only one ticket, from Ottawa to Papeete, despite email correspondence that I had with the Ministry of Health of French Polynesia which clearly showed that they are OK with my testing as done, the airline was firm in not allowing me to board. The head of the respective UA team indicated that he is absolutely convinced, based on the information I provided that French Polynesia authorities will allow me into the country. However, UA have their rules, and they can be fined if they don't respect them! Even if he will allow me to board, it is highly possible that his counterpart in San Francisco won't, and if so he will be blamed for making the decision to board me in the first place. I have searched the internet and there is only one pharmacy, relatively close to the airport, which offers 'rapid covid testing', and it opens at 9 am. I will phone them in half an hour to see if I can get my results before 3-4 pm. If so, I will take the test, wait for the result, make sure that it is negative, and attempt to re-book my travel to Papeete with American Airlines (AA) if there are still seats available. AA have a flight to Los Angeles late afternoon, and from there to Papeete, but I cannot book and pay for them unless I have the test in hand. If I cannot get the result sufficiently fast, so that I can be at the airport by no later than 4:15 pm local time (20:15 UTC), or if there is no seat availability to Los Angeles or from there to Papeete, I have no choice other than to return back home. 26 October 2020 I made it to Washington DC, along with all the bags. I'll spend the night here and depart very early tomorrow morning. 24 October 2020 Good news: the result of the covid-19 test I undertook yesterday was posted today on the specialize website and it is negative! 22 October 2020 All equipment is now packed and ready to go. I will have two large suitcases, a computer bag, and a long bag with the telescopic poles. 21 October 2020 In order to comply with current entry requirements of French Polynesia, I need to take a covid-19 test on Friday, three days in advance of my departure flight. I am scheduled for it at 9:50 am. There is no such thing here as a 'rapid' test, so the results are not guaranteed to be available by Monday morning, but I was told that most of them come within 24 to 48 hours. Fingers crossed! 14 October 2020 All equipment has been tested and performed as designed. While I do not intend to operate FT8 if propagation conditions allow for CW/SSB contacts, I have included a contingency for it, in case of unforeseen major solar disturbance that would seriously affect communication using these modes. 11 October 2020 Accommodation in Washington DC and Papeete was booked and paid for. All components for the CW/SSB activity were tested and found to operate as designed. 10 October 2020 The operation will be conducted from CH02SP grid square (~17.3428 S, 138.4500 W), which you should use when checking the forecast for propagation conditions at your location. 30 September 2020 All donors will automatically by mailed QSL cards directly if they made the log. Additionally, they will benefit from their contacts being uploaded and available for QSO matching 30 days after the expedition. I will be working with Alfio (IT9EJW), who will do the QSL design and printing, to ensure that direct QSL requests will be mailed by early January 2021. Meanwhile, the respective contacts will also be uploaded and available for QSO matching within 60 days of the operation. 26 Septembre 2020 ANFR, the authority of French Polynesia, issued me the temporary operating radio amateur license, the documentation required for temporary importation of radio equipment, as well as the special callsign I requested. I have purchased the return plane tickets for Ottawa - Papeete, and Papeete - Tatakoto. 19 Septembre 2020 Located about 1200 km east of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, Tatakoto is an atoll of about 14 km by 3.5 km, with a fully enclosed lagoon. It includes one large island and 65 islets (motu). The large island hosts the village of Tumukuru, which is home to about 260 residents. Tatakoto is the only counter of OC-298 IOTA reference, which still awaits its first operation after being designated a new group in June 2019. 
Map of the French Polynesia
I will drive to Ottawa and then board a flight to Washington DC, overnight there. Then, I will continue my travel to San Francisco, and from there to Papeete. I am required to take a Covid-19 test in Canada 72 hours prior to boarding the flight out of Ottawa. Then, I am required to undertake another Covid-19 test in Papeete, prior to traveling to Tatakoto. There are only four flights to Tatakoto for the rest of this year. The one on Oct 29 is the first and the only one which will allow me to remain on the island less than 2 weeks. I will return to Papeete on Nov 5, after which I will fly to San Francisco, Toronto, and Ottawa.
My goal is to make 4000 QSOs with at least 2500 unique stations located on six continents. I will operate primarily on 17, 20, 30, and 40 m, using CW and SSB. |
SPONSORS & DONORS
This list includes those who provided support before the expedition. 
5B4MF - Spyros 7K3EOP - Noriko 7K4VPV - Nob 9A2AA - Tom AA5JF - Andy AB6QM - Mel AD1C - Jim CT4NH - Luis DJ3XG - Rug DK6NJ - Helmut DL1BKI - Brigitte DL1BKK - Werner DL4BBH - Friedrich DL4FCS - Wolf DL4KQ - Frank DL4MN - Marco DL5MX - Mike DL6KVA - Axel DS4DRE - Sung DS5ACV - Lee E72U - Vedad E73Y - Boris EA3JL - Victor EA8AKN - Tony EI7CC - Peter F4WBN - Christian G3YBO - Roger G3ZAY - Martin G4BWP - Fred G4MFX - Graham HS0ZIV - Helmut I2YDX - Joe I4GAD - Enrico I4GAS - Gastone I4MKN - Maurizio I8XTX - Pasquale IK1AIG - Franco IK8DDN - Nino IK8TWV - Tony IZ8GCP - Maurizio JA1BPA - Icko JA1EY - Don JA1SKE - Isao JA3UCO - Koh JA4GXS - Ken JA5IU - Yoshi JA6FIO - Sai JA6WJL - Yasu JA7BWT - Aki JA8COE - Taka JA8MS - Mom JA9GPG - Shige JA9IFF - Jim JA9TWN - Katsu JE1CPI - Masa JE7JIS - Hiro JF1SEK - Hide JF4VZT - Yuu JF7RJM - Nao JH1OAI - Aki JH4DYP - Keizo JH7VHZ - Ume JI3DST - Take JI3MJK - Toshi JJ8DEN - Yoshi JM1PXG - Toshi JM2LEI - Nori JN6RZM - Shu JO1CRA - Hide JP7EIP - Ned JR1WCT - Takao JR7DXE - Shige K1NU - Len K1OA - Scott K3EST - Bob K6FW - Frank K8NA - Ted K9OT - Paul KB9LIE - Peg KC6AWX - Bob KD1CT - Bob LA8DW - Karl MD0CCE - Bob N4WW - Doc N6FX - Chuck N6JV - Norm N6NO - Merv N7RO - Dick N9EAJ - John OE1WEU - Wolfgang OE3EVA - Ernst OE3GCU - Guenter OE3KKA - Karl OE3RPB - Reinhard OE3SGA - Gus OE3WWB - Willy OE6IMD - Michael OH2BCK - Ulf OM2VL - Laci ON4IZ - Doc ON4VT - Danny OZ1HPS - Lars PA2LO - Gert PT7WA - Luciano R9OK - Pavel S58N - Mike SM4CJM - Hans SM5AQD - Hakan SM5ELV - Kent SM5FWW - Leif SM5LNE - Jan SM6CVX - Hans SP5APW - Jacek UA0CID - Oleg VE3JV - Wayne VE7DP - Frank VE7JH - Gabor VE7QCR - Pat VK3GA - Graham VK3QI - Peter VK5CE - Craig VK8NSB - Stuie W1JR - Joe W1NG - Ken W2FB - Steve W2NWU -Doug W4FOA - Tony W4PID - Dick W5GAI - Skip W5PF - Paul W5VFO - Charles W5VY - Howard W5ZPA - Mike W7BEM - Chip W8JRK - Joe W9ILY - John WB2YQH - Bob WD8PKF - Alan WI8A - Rod WL7CG - Alan YT7DX - Jaro |
