LA7GIA and HA5DDX will be active as 7O8AD and 7O8AE from Yemen, 3 - 16 November 2023.
They will operate on HF Bands, CW, SSB, FT8.
QSL via M0OXO, LOTW, ClubLog.
Pilot of DX Pedition - N2AJ.
QTH - Socotra Island, IOTA AF - 028.
QTH Locator - LK72cq.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen 16 November 2023
Ken 7O8AD reports, “We are quite satisfied with the stay. We ended on 57,000 QSOs. Our flight is departing tomorrow. Thanks for being in the pileups and having fun with us. Logs will be uploaded ASAP. Please QRX.
If possible please donate to the humanitarian fundraiser by using the same paypal. Many people have done this already. It will be used locally in Dhihamri to provide electricity (solar panels) to local families. A monetary donation will be given to UNCHR Yemen. They need our support. PayPal to kenneth@opskar.no
We would like to thank our local guide and helpers. Adnan was with us for twelve days in the camp. Together with Abdullah they took care of everything related to logistics. It is because of my guide’s connections with the local community that we were able to stay at Dhihamri.
N2AJ/7O8AD 7O8AE pilot.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 12 November 2023
Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update: Ken 7O8AD reports, “We're in good spirit and approaching 50k QSOs. I have decided not to do more 160m. The counterpoise for 160m is now in the main camp. It is being used for the 80m antenna. I might figure out the 30m interaction issue tomorrow and then perhaps use the 80m pole.
The stay here in Yemen has exceeded all my expetactions. I’m not thinking of the radio stuff but of the island and the people. This is a very nice location. More and more tourists are arriving here. One Russian tourist came this week and another is comming in January. Spare parts are difficult to find. The hospitality is great and we have had a very good stay here. Tourism is increasing. This is very good for the island. Still facilities are not what we might be used to. There is of course a lack of infrastructure.”
7O8AD 7O8AE.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 9 November 2023
7O8AD 7O8AE Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update: Ken 7O8AD reports, “All ok here. The plan is to QRV at 160/80 and 20m from 19:00 UTC and operate until sunrise, propagation dependent. I will work 80m if no conditions on 160m. I also will do CW/FT8. On 160m yesterday it was very congested. For 160m I will listen up 1 to 2.
Many DXers work us multiple times in a row in the space of just a few minutes. This is not good practice. Please be considerate with dupes. If there is CW conditions on 160/80 I will do CW. If not, then I will try FT8. I am only running 100W, but I can hear very well in this noise free location. Please only call me if you hear me. The log upload will be done after DXpedition. The internet here is intermittent and poor.
We have almost 35,000 QSOs now. Approximately 50% human mode CW/SSB and 50% FT8.”
N2AJ pilot 7O8AD 7O8AE.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 8 November 2023
Ken 7O8AD reports, “We will try 40m today. 12m is the band with most CW QSOs. I will focus on 40/160 and 80m the next few days if conditions are good. We are waiting for the tent to arrive before we can set up the low band camp. It should be completed tonight. It will be very basic with just a tent, table, radio, coax, antenna, and generator. I will confirm once we have that done. The current plan is to QRV on 160m CW at around 19:00 UTC +/- at 1.825 kHz +/-“
Ken and I discussed sunrise times for various locations. He asked me for the A & K Index predictions for the next three days. He told me he received a thunderstorm warning for the next few days and asked me to find out if there were any cyclones in the area. I got him all the information he requested. No cyclones coming. Eight days with possible thunderstorms. 73 de Steve N2AJ
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen 7 November 2023 Part 2
Yemen DXpedition 2023: Ken 7O8AD reports, “The 40m antenna is up and working well. I will be operating on 40m tonight. The 160m antenna is installed as a full size vertical up on a mountain hill. I could not finish the tuning as sunset came. It was too dangerous to complete the tuning at that time. The risk analysis was easy Hi Hi. I will finish the tuning for 1825 kHz tomorrow. Some bad news. The main FT8 radio is now QRT. I am now running CW and FT8 on the backup radio as SO2R, so please bear with me. It is with 60W. The 160m antenna is 30m from the beach with radials going all the way down to the ocean. Please understand that for the 160m to happen there is some real effort for us. We have to setup a 3rd camp only for this band. We have to move the generator to this camp and back. There is some logistics involved before sunset and after sunrise. 160m activity will require some manpower every day and will reduce the other activities. Tomorrow around 15:00 UTC I should know the time for 160m operation. I worked some W7 on 40m but signals were weak. More photos tomorrow. Now for an outdoor shower.”
N2AJ pilot 7O8AD 7O8AE.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 7 November 2023
7O8AD 7O8AE Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update: Ken 7O8AD reports, “All is well. I now have three radios operational at the main camp. One is used for CW and two are used for FT8. Shani has one radio used for SSB at the beach camp. We might try to install the 80m vertical or a half sloper on a mountain. If not, then it will be a 12m toploaded version. We may need to source some more materials. I worked U.S. stations on 10 CW at 12:00 UTC but they were extremely weak. Of course many EU stations were calling on top as usual. Please ask the EU to please standby when we work the US! This is called Ham Spirit.”
N2AJ pilot of 7O8AD 7O8AE.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 5 November 2023
Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update: Ken 7O8AD reports, “We have around 8000 QSO’s as of Sunday lunchtime. We had some issues with RFI and station interference. We solved this. I also had some CW keyboard issues. We are using a Hungarian version where Z and Y are in the opposite location! My brain was confused ha ha, but now it’s ok. We have started FT8. We plan to assemble the 80/40 antenna. This will be done prior to sunset due to the heat here. It’s too warm for us from the North!! Hopefully we will be QRV on 80/40 later. For SSB please spot us if you work us if we are not spotted already. All is good here. It is an excellent location!! It must be the most peaceful place on earth. There is really amazing nature.”
N2AJ pilot 7O8AD 7O8AE.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 4 November 2023
The Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update:
Ken 7O8AD said, “Yesterday we were tuning antennas before sunset 17:00 local time (14:00 UTC). The 30m and 15m verticals are up. Soon 20/17m. We were tired and went to bed at midnight. I slept under the open sky. Today we will set up a second camp 10m from the beach. It will take a few hours.” A bit later Ken said, “We have 10m, 15m, 17m, 20m, 30m up now.”
73s N2AJ.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 3 November 2023 Part 2
Yemen DXpedition 2023 Update:
The 7O Team went QRV 3 November 2023 +/- 15:00 UTC. They were spotted on 15 CW, 20 SSB, and 40 FT8. Someone said the 40 FT8 was a pirate. I will ask Ken about that. I had no problem working them on 15 CW. I had no copy on 14.240 SSB. 20m will get better for NA around 00:00 UTC. I want to wish all of you the best of luck in getting 7O8AD and 7O8AE in your log.
73 de Steve N2AJ
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 3 November 2023
7O8AD and 7O8AE start their activity from Socotra Island, Yemen.
7O8AD 7O8AE Socotra Island Yemen News 2 November 2023
Steve N2AJ - Ken LA7GIA reports, “I landed in Abu Dhabi. All is Ok. I will meet Shani later today or tomorrow morning. We will arrive at Socotra 08:00 UTC tomorrow. We hope to be QRV by late evening. Our local support team has prepared the grounds for us. The generator has been tested and maintained. Some antenna and camp materials that we need have been sourced. Due to the weight limitations on the flight we had to prioritize what we could bring with us. I will have to buy some clothing upon our arrival.