• [NEWS UPDATE] by OH2BH

While waiting for an answer from the local authorities that issued our permit, the SV1GA/A team decided to leave Mt. Athos.

Team members Adrian, KO8SCA and Gabi, YO8WW left yesterday and Aris SV1GA, Niko OH2GEK and Marti, OH2BH are on their way home today.

We are hoping to provide further details soon.

  • [JANUARY 29 @ 1745Z] –

Time flows differently in the Holy Community as even the morning prayer starts at 4 AM. We can all learn and benefit from the Mont Athos lifestyle.

Most importantly, the SV1GA/A team is safe and in good spirits and excited to have brought on the air such a rare DX entity.

The matter of Amateur Radio in Mt Athos is in the hands of different entities within the Holy Community and all we can do at this point is serve as source of knowledge and expertise. For us the key entity is the authority that issued our invitation/permit to carry out the SV1GA operation. Our paperwork is as clear as water but outside sources have put everything on hold for further review.

We are not trying to speculate the variety of arguments or opinions but just provide information for the parties involved. The final word is expected soon as we wait for the relevant authorities to meet and review our case.

As we also have limits for waiting, we will make the decision about our own standing very soon.

When preparing a DX activation such as Mt. Athos many thigs need to considered such as operators, equipment, location, safety, transportation, licensing and others but what always comes as a surprise is the jealousy of competitive fellow DXpeditioners.

We will follow soon with additional details.

Warmest regards from Mt Athos!

  • [JANUARY 28 @ 0730Z]

We just received a short message from Martti OH2BH informing that a full news release will be issued tomorrow, i.e January 29th. 

  • [JANUARY 27 @ 1300Z]

Earlier today, DX-World started to receive messages, comments and emails alerting us to the fact that SV1GA/A operation could be "illegal”. You only have to look on social media to see this.

We have seen a letter from Mount Athos Holy Community regarding this DXpedition, and while we will not publish this letter, it is for the team in Mount Athos to clarify their position regarding their operation. 

At the bottom of the letter, subsequently confirmed legitimate by the recipient, it is advised the operators terminate activities immediately.

Fingers crossed a resolution can be found. 

  • [JANUARY 27 @ 1000Z] – 

As the SV1GA/A activity continues (approx 10K QSOs in the log), we received a nice email & anecdote from SWL DL Norbert Maibaum remembering the first time that SV1GA/A hit the airwaves 50 years ago:

I found a report on the SV1GA/A DXpedition from July 1975 written from the perspective of the Californian top DXer Gary Stilwell, W6NJU, who later became KI6T (sk in 2010). 

This was in those days when internet, packet radio, clusters, smartphones, and RBN were not available, only rumours, vigils, and telephone chains. Hope, patience, and waiting were the required virtues of a DXer.

I was already active as a shortwave listener in July 1975 (at a still tender age of 14), and fortunately did not miss the SV1GA/A DXpedition on 20m( on SSB only). The Morse code did not belong to my skills then. It was my very first station from Mt. Athos that I heard. I received the QSL card within a few weeks. Propagation conditions in 1975 were not as good as we are experiencing now.

So, it was a great moment for me today to have heard Martti (now with a much older voice) with the same call-sign from the same spot almost 50 years later. At that time I was 14 years old.

Source: The Worldradio News. Adventure in Amateur Radio. Vol. V, No.2 (August 1975), p. 24 — click to enlarge. 

  • [JANUARY 26 @ 2350Z] – 

Our Mt. Athos written amateur radio permit allows us to operate for 10 days which means that we will be on the air until February 3, 2025. We have about 10K QSOs in the log and have been on the air on multiple bands including 160m and QO-100 satellite. Yesterday we have made the first log upload to Club Log and enabled OQRS.

We will be deploying our last antennas for the 80m and 60m bands. Please note that all our FT8 operating is Fox/Hound using the latest version of the WSJT-X software (ver. 2.7 RC8).

We would like to think that this Mt. Athos activation is just a first step in opening the doors to other teams to activate this desired amateur radio entity. Our goal is to show that amateur radio DXpeditions have no impact on the monastic life of the Holy Mountain. On the contrary, it creates goodwill and allows the 3 million amateurs around the world to see this beautiful and serene place with different eyes.

All proceeds from the SV1GA/A DXpedition are donated to the Mt. Athos monasteries to support them in their efforts to restore and maintain the historical sites on the Holy Mountain – donate here.

  • [JANUARY 25] –

It was exactly fifty-years ago in 1975, when SV1GA/A broke the silence and Mt. Athos was on the air from the monastic community in Greece.

While the dedicated religious community of some 2000 monks in twenty monasteries, Mount Athos is now in a glorious state with many new constructions and renovations underway.

To honor the 50th anniversary of the 1975 activation, the original organizers: Aris, SV1GA and Martti, OH2BH were invited to come back to Mt Athos together with Adrian, KO8SCA, Gabi, YO8WW and Niko, OH2GEK.

The SV1GA/A team has arrived in Mt. Athos today and is busy setting up their camp, up in the mountains. They should be on the air today but it will take 2 or 3 days to be fully operational.