Cezar, VE3LYC inform dxnews.com, that he will be active as TX0T from Tatakoto Atoll, IOTA OC - 298, French Polynesia, 29 October - 5 November 2020.
Recent DX Spots TX0T
He will operate on 40, 30, 20, 17m, CW, SSB, FT8.TX0T Log search
Equipment:
-Two ICOM IC-7000 transceivers (one for spare)
-Two multiband verticals (one for spare)
-Two telescopic fiberglass masts (one for spare)
-One Elecraft KPA500 amplifier
-Power supply
-Laptop
QSL via VE3LYC direct, ClubLog OQRS, LOTW.
Ads for direct QSL:
Cezar Trifu, 4986 Bath Road, Bath, ON, K0H 1G0, Canada.
DXCC Country - French Polynesia, FO.
Information from Cezar:
Tatakoto is an atoll of about 14 km by 5 km, with a fully enclosed lagoon and lots of motu. The village has about 260 residents, and covers an area of about 1.5 x 0.5 km. It is the only counter of OC-298 IOTA reference, which still awaits its first operation after becoming a "New One” in June 2019.
I will drive my own car to Ottawa and park it at the airport parking lot. Subsequently, I will fly from Ottawa to Washington DC and 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. Local Covid-19 regulations in French Polynesia and the fact that there is no testing facility on the little atoll makes is necessary for me to arrive in Papeete 6 days prior to my flight to Tatakoto. There are only four flights to Tatakoto this year, with 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. Tatakoto is not a touristic
destination within French Polynesia, but I will be exceptionally provided with accommodation and food by the village during my stay on the island.
I am scheduled to arrive at Tatakoto on Oct 29, and depart on Nov 5. Following the return to Papeete, I will depart that evening to San Francisco, and from there will fly to Toronto and then Ottawa, from where I will pick up the car and return home.
Alain Claverie, F2HE was active from Tatakoto Atoll as FO0CLA.
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll News 27 October 2020
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 farmacy, 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.
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll 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.
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll News 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!
TX0T News 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!
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll News 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.
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll 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.
TX0T Tatakoto Atoll News 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.
