DX
In the February 2019 DX Column, I discussed the top 10 entities on the Club Log “most wanted list,” and why they are so rare. Not much has changed on the list since then. The only notable change is that VKØ/Macquarie has dropped from being #9 back in February to #12 as of June 21, 2019. This moved up both 3YØ/Peter I (#11 to #10) and FT/G Glorioso (#12 to #11), so really not much has changed. Macquarie moved down mainly due to activity by VKØAI (op Norbert, VK5MQ; see Photos A and B). He apparently went QRT in March 2019. His primary mode of choice was FT8, running an IC7300 at 5 watts. I do not know how many QSOs he made. He did not use Club Log. However, he did use LoTW and eQSL. He has a nice QSL card available. QSL via VK5MQ. So, let’s dig into the second tier of the most wanted list, numbers 10 through 20 (see Table 1). I’m including #10 (Peter I) since it was #11 back in February and was not reviewed. Please note that my research may not be 100% accurate and if anyone has newer or better information, please pass it along to me.
Number 10 (Drum Roll, Please…)
This is one of the toughest places on Earth to go to. It is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea located 280 miles from Antarctica. It is approximately the size of Staten Island in New York at 6.8 x 11.8 miles or 60 square miles. A glacier covers nearly covers the entire island and it is surrounded by pack ice most of the year, making it inaccessible during these times. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and there has been an automated weather station on the). Safely landing on Peter I requires near perfect weather and helicopters. So, this needs to be considered only by highly experienced Sub-Antarctic DXpedition teams. I would guess that at some point in the next cycle, someone will probably attempt to activate this tough one. It WILL be an expensive one.
