Russian Robinson Club will celebrate the 200 years of Discovery of Antarctica. Starting Jan. 1^st through March 31^st the most important Russian Club (RRC) will be on air using a special callsign R2ØØANT (WAP-3Ø4) – QSL via RZ3EC.
Special RRC Award and special Plaque  (see pics  below) will be issued for this event; rules will come later

History: The military sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny” set off for the first Antarctic expedition from Kronstadt in 1819. The main task of the campaign was to prove the existence of the sixth continent. The captain of “Vostok” Faddey Bellingshausen led the expedition. “Mirny” was commanded by Mikhail Lazarev. On January 27, 1820 ships crossed the Antarctic Circle. During the sailing, “Vostok” and “Mirny” circled around the entire Antarctic continent, discovered and marked on the map many new islands and lands, and collected a unique ethnographic collection.

A special WAP reference WAP-3Ø4 has just been issued to R2ØØANT which operation falls into the WAP  Antarctic Activity Week (http://www.waponline.it/antarctic-activity-week/aaw-2020/) 10-17 Febr. 2020. A great opportunity for the Antarctic chasers to celebrate the 2ØØ anniversary  of discovery Antarctica together with the brothers of Russian Robinson Club and log something new !

TNX Eugene Shelkanovtsev, RZ3EC

A good choice has been taken by Mehdi F5PFP, for many years Antarctic chaser, Expeditionners and launcher of the Antarctica List mail box hosted at Yahoo.com, to share and alert Hams on the new operation from Arctic and Antarctic lands.

Mehdi wrote: -Some of you experienced problems to connect the Yahoo Antarctica list. It is now an obsolete tool that will maybe disappear soon according to several sources, that’s why we decided to QSY before a possible final shut down. Feel you free to join us on the Facebook Polar DX Group-.

Starting from Jan.2020, Antarctica list mail box will not be fed  by new information.  the suggestion is to sign into the new Facebook page to join the group as already done by several Hams and chasers WW,  and set it in your quick links

Polar DX Group is at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1961114967367742/

TNX Mehdi F5PFP

On February 2017,  British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has successfully relocated Halley VI Research Station (WAP GBR-37) to its new home on the floating extension of the grounded ice sheet  of Brunt Ice Shelf at 75°34’05”South, 25°30’30”West.

The “Moving Halley project” (Start date 5 April 2015-End date 6 April 2018) begun with the study and planning of feasibility and it took 13 weeks to move the world’s first fully relocatable research facility,  23 km across the ice from its original site which was at 75°36’56”South, 26°07’52”West.

See a nice video report, filmed by Stuart Holroyd, British Antarctic Survey at:

Being the actual position set 23 km away the previous one, WAP (as well as Antarctic Challenge of Mehdi F5PFP) will consider it eligible to get a brand new WAP reference. At the light of this evidence, WAP-WADA directory will be updated as follow:

Halley VI Base remains WAP GBR-37 while Halley VI-a  Base starting April 2018 will entering as WAP GBR-4Ø.
VP8HAL is actually active from Halley VI-a; this operation will enter into the new reference.
Read more at: https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/moving-halley/

Thanks and credit British Antarctic Survey (BAS)

We’re proud to publish two pages written by a keen  Antarctic chaser, François Bergez F8DVD,  shown on the January issue of the French REF magazine .
François is joining the Antarctic Activity Week since the first edition and he is continuing since then .

By sending the magazine he said: -I am happy to send you the article I have written for the 17^th Antarctic Activity Week, of next February.  Hope it will be a great event as usual !-

All my best regards  and Best wishes for a Merry Christmas for all WAP enthusiasts’ !

François  F8DVD -TM70TAAF-TM17AAW

F8DVD will be on the air in January 2020, signing TM7ØTAAF (WAP-301) to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the TAAF (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) QSL via F8DVD

(See: http://www.waponline.it/tm7otaaf-wap-301/)

Some TAAF official publications about TM7ØTAAF can be seen at :

https://www.facebook.com/228612687183039/posts/2813477258696556/?d=n

and….

https://twitter.com/TAAFofficiel/status/1207652711757426690?s=08

TNX F8DVD

While the international Team of the Summer Campaign 2019-2020 at Concordia Station sends Merry Christmas & Season’s greetings, Marco (IK5SQX/DK5SQX) has just informed that he will try today Sunday Dec. 22, to be on air from this rare spot in Antarctica: Concordia Station a French-Italian multinational Base in Antarctica (WAP MNB-Ø3).

He will use IAØ/DK5SQX callsign and will be on 20 mts (indicatively 14.285 +/-) starting 12:00 GMT,  to test condition.

In a message, Marco said to have has just work HSØZMY;  he also said to have heard many stations mostly from Asia, but they didn’t copy him. He will try again at 17,00 UTC on 14285. The problem is that he has to walk 20 minutes from where he lives to the Radio room plus 10 min to dress and undress (outside temp.  is -40°C.)

Marco (pic to the right) sends few pics of the Radio room and equipments as well as the antenna, all managed by a touch screen as trasnsmitter and antenna are in a remote site.

We wish to thank immensely the Base Leader to allow Marco working on HF bands, sure that this few hours of TX-RX  could also be a kind of tech test to perform, in a remote site of Antarctica  

Wishing all the Hams Antarctic chasers good luck , hope you can shortly put IAØ/DK5SQX in the log.

QRX for following sked
TNX Marco IAØ/DK5SQX

Marco IK5SQX (the one with yellow & black dress in the picture aside) has left Casey Base this morning and he’s just arrived at Concordia Station after 4 hours fly  aboard of the Chinare Balser plane.

Having lost his baggage at Hobart, he is just dressed with the AAD colors while waiting someone will find the bags and send it to Concordia Station

-At the moment I have various things to do and am unable to tell you when I will start radio operations- he said in a message.

A couple of days to get organized and he will try to show up on the air. Marco has access to the radio in post-working hours;  (QRX for  sked times)

There is an inverted Vee antenna down there, and he must check it before, to see that everything works fine. He will also inform us which equipment is available over there.

More info to follow

TNX Marco IAØ/IK5SQX

Update received 16th Dec. at 15:00 GMT. Marco is in Antarctica now, but he still stands at Casey Base (WAP AUS-Ø2). The Basler plane that should have taken him to Concordia, couldn’t fly due to adverse weather conditions and strong wind in the area.

In the meantime, while waiting for better weather to fly, Marco (who sent us some pics of Casey) will ask permission to operate the Radio equipment at the Base; he said: -I noticed inverted Vee antennas in a kind of remote Camp little far away the Base- .

Trying  IK5SQX/VKØ should be a great opportunity … he will try to do his best and for sure the Hamradio world will be grateful to the Base expedition leader if Marco will be allowed to use the equipment and be on air even for a short time.

More info to follow.

TNX IK5SQX actually at the Australian Casey Base, Antarctica

IAØ/IK5SQX-IAØ/DK5SQX Concordia Station WAP MNB-Ø3
Marco is in Antarctica now. He sent a picture showing the plane flying on the Icy Continent (See picture received from him). Marco did land at the Australian Casey Base;  at the moment he should be already at Concordia Station. Marco promised to let the chasers know when he can operate  (he expects to have some spare time to operate). He’s in Antarctica to install a LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) system but

VP8HAL Halley VI Base  WAP  GBR-37
In spite of the sked frequency suggested by himself (14305 & 7170) Seba did show up on 14240 and 7182 and has been worked in EU and USA as well. Yesterday Seba indicated he will be working out in the field for the next 5 or so days away from Halley VI (TNX K4MZU).

ZS7ANT Whichaway Camp WAP MNB-11
Oleg has been reported operating on 30 & 40 meters bands. No ways to reach him so far  in order to set skeds; see what we can do shortly.

DP1POL Neumayer III Base WAP DEU-Ø8
Felix DL5XL should be on the air at any time

KC4USV McMurdo Station WAP USA-22
Chris Cianflone W2RTO, is signing  KC4USV at McMurdo Station, mostly operating FT8 on 14.075 MHz. He heads home on February 21. QSL via K7MT

KC4AAC Palmer Station WAP USA-23
Operator sporadically active , but no more reports since last November

8J1RL Syowa base WAP JAP-Ø3
Operator in active on Digi modes only. QSL via Bureau or direct to JG2MLI

ZL5A Scott base WAP NZL-Ø1
ZL4ASC Adam Campbell was last reported working FT8 on sept-2019. No more info since then.

Marco , IK5SQX-DK5SQX has  just informed that he’s  still at Hobart waiting  to fly to the coastal Casey Base, WAP AUS-Ø2 (picture aside) and from there, with a Basler plane to Concordia, but all depends on the weather; scheduling are updated every 16 hours  so everyone can imagine how the weather  condition can modify the plans.

Hobart is currently the home airport for the AAD intercontinental Antarctic air link service

The previewed trip with the I/B Astrolabe to Base Prud’Homme   was cancelled due to some tech issues of the Icebreaker , so the program has been rescheduled and changed. On the changing program, all of its baggage has been  lost and last night he was at Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) to find something to dress.

Marco will inform when he will reach Concordia  (WAP MNB-Ø3) and when he will be be ready to operate  from there; callsign will not be IAØDC but probably IAØ/DK6SQX or IAØ/IK5SQX.

That’s all for the moment,  stay tuned and turn the antenna to the South

TNX Marco IK5SQX-DK5SQX

Sebastian Gleich, SQ1SGB is at Halley VI Base (WAP GBR-37) since the last Dec. 5^th. He did try to find a way to hang antenna between the stations modules, but length between modules was too small to hang 40m Inverted Vee. Finally Seba was able to hang it , just 3m up on small container. 1,5 SWR on 40m but high SWR on 20m; after lots of adjustments also 20mts works ok.

Yesterday  dec. 12th,  he sent a message explaining to be active on 7.170 MHz and 14.305 MHz each day at  01:00 AM UTC for 1 hour.

Seba has a lot of field work out of the base, but for time to time he can be active. Skeds are set as follow:

10:00 UTC 7170 LSB, 16:30-17:00 UTC 14305 USB and again 22:00 UTC on 7170 MHz.

Good hunting!

TNX Seba SQ1SGB/VP8HAL & Gabry IK1NEG.

A ceremony on board the I/B Almirante Irizar begun with the Argentine National Anthem, then the chaplain Luis Eduardo Scrinzi made a religious invocation to bless the unit crew members who will be part of the next Antarctic mission.

Then, the  Antarctic Joint Commander, Gen. Francisco Treviranus, took the floor and said: “Once again, battered by the steel of this magnificent ship and under the protection of the glorious wings of the Fatherland, we prepared to begin a new Antarctic Campaign”

I/B Almirante Irizar sailed from the Naval Apostadero Buenos Aires under the command of Frigate Captain Maximiliano Mangiaterra, bowed towards the white continent to support scientific activities; resupply the Argentine Antarctic bases of food, materials and replace personnel.

On November 26, 2019, the icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar, began the download at the Esperanza Base (WAP ARG-Ø4), then continuing with the Petrel (WAP ARG-17), Marambio (WAP ARG-21), Carlini Station (WAP ARG-2Ø),  Orcadas (WAP ARG-15), Belgrano II (WAP ARG-Ø6), San Martín (WAP ARG-Ø8), Brown (WAP ARG-Ø2) and Primavera Base (WAP ARG-Ø).

The Video below shows the supply of Esperanza Base (WAP ARG-Ø4) from I/B ARA Almirante Irízar.

Read more at:

http://www.marambio.aq/cav201920.html?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=12&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Boletin_de_Noticias_Diciembre_Enero

TNX Fundacion Marambio  (info@marambio.aq)

The eight main Argentina’s bases are ready for a new 2019-2020 Antarctic Campaign;  at the moment we don’t know if among the personnel there are Ham Radio operators to be active on HF, or if eventually the official callsign of the Bases will be on the air …let’s keep our finger crossed!