Tillamook Rock, NA-211
K7TRI
Bringing a Rare One on the Air!
NEWS
19 October 2019
All direct QSLs requested to date (including those for donors) have been mailed. 17 October 2019 QSL cards arrived from the printing house (IT9EJW's Print It). 2 October 2019 QSL cards have been printed and shipped today by Alfio, IT9EJW, from Sicily. Look forward to receiving them soon. All chasers who wish to request them directly are kindly invited to do so right away, in order to guarantee that their cards will be mailed with the first batch. 19 September 2019 Photos have been posted in the Gallery section. Check them out! 14 September 2019 Log statistics QSOs: 3292 Unique stations: 2227 DXCCs: 64 Bands/modes CW SSB FT8 Total 17m: 8 8 20m: 972 91 6 1069 30m: 989 989 40m: 815 144 267 1226 2776 235 281 3292 84.3% 7.1% 8.6% 100% Continental distribution of QSOs AF 5 0.2% AS 1389 42.2% EU 698 21.2% NA 1100 33.4% OC 82 2.5% SA 18 0.5% # DXCC QSO 1 JA 1338 2 K 1002 3 UA 150 4 DL 96 5 I 95 6 VE 80 7 VK 52 8 F 43 9 UA9 39 10 SM 31 11 UR 24 12 G 23 13 HA 22 14 OK 19 15 EA 17 15 OH 17 15 ON 17 15 ZL 17 19 CT 16 20 OM 15 21 HB9 14 21 SP 14 23 PY 12 24 S5 11 25 PA 10 26 HL 8 26 OE 8 28 9A 7 28 KH6 7 28 OZ 7 31 KL 6 31 LA 6 31 YU 6 34 EA8 5 34 LY 5 34 XE 5 37 KP4 4 37 SV9 4 39 HS 3 39 LZ 3 39 SV 3 39 YO 3 43 3D2 2 43 9Y 2 43 EA6 2 43 GI 2 43 GM 2 48 BY 1 48 CM 1 48 DU 1 48 ES 1 48 EU 1 48 FK 1 48 FO 1 48 FS 1 48 GD 1 48 GW 1 48 HK 1 48 KH2 1 48 LU 1 48 OA 1 48 TF 1 48 V3 1 48 YV 1 5 September 2019 The team arrived in Seaside, OR, and met with the pilots and the owners' maintenance crew. One pilot with one heli will ensure the transport of the passengers, while another pilot, with another heli, will provide the transportation of the equipment/materials. The pilots identified some logistical issues, which could have resulted in serious obstacles for the transportation of hazardous materials (including the gas for generators), but they managed to find solutions, and we are looking forward to attempting the transport tomorrow, Sep 6. Everyone will meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast at 8 am, after which will head out to organize the transports. It was a lot of fog this evening, which is expected to lift around 10-11 am local time (17-18 UTC). We want to have everything planned and be ready to go by then. Fingers crossed! 3 September 2019 The team is going once again, very carefully, over the entire checklist, following which we will be packing all the components and camping material, getting ready for the big trip to Seaside, OR. All food and water supplies will be purchased tomorrow. We also went over various options for the installation of the antennas, in order to prepare ourselves for virtually any conditions we may encounter on site. 25 August 2019 The team reports that all components necessary for this project have been gathered, except for gas (for the generators) and food, which will be purchased on Sep 5. Sandro will drive from Vancouver (British Columbia) to Seattle (WA) on Sep 5, where he will meet with Yuri, who is due back home from Alaska on Sep 3. On their way to Seaside (OR), they will pick up Cezar and Adrian from the airport in Portland (OR), who have already purchased their plane tickets. The propagation forecast schedule for various regions of the world has also been finalized. Our operators will check it against the actual propagation conditions after the start of the operation, in order to fine tune it, as appropriate. We are very pleased that a number of associations, foundations, and clubs have graciously allocated invaluable grants for this challenging project. Additionally, we wish to humbly outline that, to date, island chasers from 31 DXCC on 6 continents provided us to their financial support, thus helping us to defray some of the very expensive costs associated with this operation. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts. Our thanks go also to the various dx bulletins and other dx news resources, such as (in alphabetical order) 425 DX, Daily DX, DX News, and DX World, for having kept the DXers and island chasers promptly informed on all aspects related to this project. We continue to look for support from the community, and we hope that more island chasers will be able and willing to help out! 20 August 2019 Camping equipment has been purchased, as well as three Yamaha generators. The mast for the Urban Beam consists of small sections, which will be easy to handle and transport. All components need to be properly packed and weighted prior to heli transportation. Over the coming days we will be working on putting together the propagation forecast for different regions of the world. The information collected for different bands will be subsequently integrated into a table, and each of the station positions will have it printed. The operators will be able to make notes on them regarding the differences between the actual and forecasted conditions, which will be used throughout the operation. The team wishes to thank the 155 chasers who have already supported this project. A special thank you to Shu, JN6RZM, who took it upon himself to energize the JA island chasers, 52 of whom offered donations to date. Also, big thanks to Tom, SM3DMP, who energized the SM island chasers, a total of 14 currently on the of donor list. Meanwhile, we hope that more chasers will continue to jump in and support our effort. 16 August 2019 - Important News! To guarantee the heli transportation as scheduled, the team had to pay the full quotation in advance, or $14k. Note that 50% of this amount is non-refundable in case we cancel the trip! On a different topic, we decided to take with us on this trip an Urban Beam, and we wish to thank SteppIR for providing us with one on short notice. This is a two element beam down to 20 m, operating as a rotatable dipole on 30 and 40 m. It has a turning radius of just under 5 m. It won't be easy to find room to install it on the island, but we are committed to do it. The beam, its controller and the mast weight at least 60 kg, which will increase even more an already heavy load. As such, we are currently re-evaluating every radio component, camping item, and food in order to keep the overall weight within the transportation limit. We are very far from our intended support target, so please support this project if you haven't already done so. We really do need all the support that IOTA chasers and DXers are willing and able to offer! 11 August 2019 A special Thank You note to the following stations, for their support of this project, despite the fact that they already have the NA-211 reference confirmed: AD1C, EA8AKN, JF4VZT, KA3UNQ, KD1CT, N6VR, ON4IZ, SM5FWW, SM5LNE, VE3JV, and W1NG! 10 August 2019 The team continues to work toward ensuring that all necessary logistics are in place. We are pleased to acknowledge the grants received from RSGB, Clipperton DX Club, and DX News, along with individual support offered by almost 90 chasers from 21 DXCC, for which we are most grateful. Meanwhile, we would like to convey to all chasers, once again, that we are looking very badly for their support. Please help us defray some of the huge costs associated with this project by considering a donation! Thanks in advance for your consideration. 4 August 2019 Tillamook Rock Lighthouse counts for the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) as USA-849. Our QSL card will include this reference. 2 August 2019 The Tillamook Rock is located 1.2 miles outside Ecola State Park, between Seaside and Cannon Beach, Oregon. Building a lighthouse on it was an engineering feat, and it remained operational between 1881 and 1957. Situated on a lonely one acre rock in an stormy area known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, this lighthouse nicknamed Terribly Tilly was the most expensive one to man, maintain, and operate in the United States. Sitting 133 feet above sea level, the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is 62 feet tall. It is the only privately owned Oregon Coast Lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a non-visiting dedicated cemetery since 1981, with a protected wildlife nesting easement from March 15th to September 1st. Tillamook Rock belongs to the NA-211 IOTA reference. Lanny (W5BOS) carried out the first and only amateur radio operation from there in 1998, or 21 years ago. Our team will attempt to operate from Tillamook Rock between Sep 6 and 9, 2019. The owners graciously allowed us to carry out this activity, and we are firmly committed, in exchange, to help them conduct repairs during this period of time. Transportation to the island will be provided by helicopter service, and it will require a recce flight, followed by several flights to bring all people and materials there, and then several more to being everyone and everything back. Additional costs associated with this project, including airfare, land transportation, hotel accommodation, rental of generators, food, camping gear, etc., bring the total project cost to $20,000. This is a very expensive and challenging project, and we are actively looking for possible support from IOTA chasers and DXers at large. All donors will be promptly acknowledged on this website! |
SPONSORS & DONORS
Those mentioned below offered support prior to the beginning of the operation. 4X4-2238 - Eyran
5B4AHJ - Alan 7K3EOP - Nori AB6QM - Mel AC0A - Bill AD1C - Jim AD5WB - Leslie AD6W - Larry AH6HY - Dave CT4NH - Luis DK1FW- Wolf DK2LO - Olaf DL1BKI - Brigitte DL1BKK - Werner DL2OE - Michael DL3APO - Peter DL4BBH - Friedrich DL4FCS - Wolf DL4KQ - Frank DL4MN - Marco DL5ME - Mario DL6KVA - Axel DL6MHG - Peter DL8FL - Frank DL9MFU - Helmut DS4DRE - Kang EA3JL - Victor EA8AKN - Tony F4WBN - Christian F-59706 - Patrick G0PHY - Owen G3YBO - Roger G4NXG/M - Alan G4VMX - Tony HB9HFN - Cedric I4GAD - Enrico I4GAS - Gastone I4MKN - Maurizio IT9DAA - Corrado JA1BPA - Icko JA1EY - Don JA1SKE - Isao JA2AYP - Masa JA2IHL - Atsu JA3FYC - Mas JA3UCO - Koh JA3VPA - Kou JA4GXS - Kenji JA5IU - Yoshi JA6FIO - Sai JA6WJL - Yasu JA7BWT - Aki JA7DOT - Etsu JA8COE - Taka JA8MS - Mom JA8ZO - Toshi JA9GPG - Shige JA9IFF - Jim JA9TWN - Katsu JE2VFX - Yoshi JE3GRQ - Koji JE3GUG - Eiichi JE6HID - Yoh JE7JIS - Hiro JF1SEK - Hide JF2OZH - Ryo JF2UPM - Kei JF4VZT - Yuu JF7RJM - Nao JG1UKW - Toshi JG3LGD - Ichiro JG8IBY - Aki JH2IEE - Tsugio JH2RMU - Akira JH2XQY - Taka JH4DYP - Keizo JH4GJR - Toshi JH7CFX - Tohru JH7VHZ - Ume JI3DST - Take JI3MJK - Toshi JJ0NCC - Masa JJ8DEN - Yoshi JK1TCV - Kazu JL1ELQ - Kazu JM1PXG - Toshi JM2LEI - Nori JN3SAC - Takashi JN6RZM - Shu JO1CRA - Hide JP7EIP - Ned JR1WCT - Takao K0AP - Dragan K1NU - Len K1OA - Scott K3JW - Joe K4KKL - Mike K5JIM - Jim K6FW - Frank K7MO - Joe K9OT - Paul KA3UNQ - Jim KB9LIE - Peg KD1CT - Bob KD3CQ - Dan KF7DS - Don KJ3L - Jim KM4HI - Jim LA8DW - Karl N2UN - Michael N4II - Ed N4WW - Doc N6NO - Merv N6VR - Ray N7BT - Don N7DED - Daniel N9BX - Bruce NA5AR - Bob NN7A - Art NW7M - Alex OE1WEU - Wolf OE1ZL - Peter OE2VEL - Wolf OE3EVA - Ernst OE3GCU - Guenter OE6IMD - Michael OH2BCK - Ulf OH2FT - Joni OK1TN - Slavek OM7CA - Vlad ON4AWT - Theo ON4IZ - Doc OZ1HPS - Lars PE1NCP - Mart PG5M - Gerben PT7WA - Luciano R9OK - Pavel RN1ON - Alexey RU3SD - Vasily S50A - Tine S57L - Janko S58N - Mike SM0MPV - Mel SM1NJC - Michel SM3DMP - Tom SM3GSK - Clas SM3NRY - Tom SM3NXS - Sten SM4CJM - Hans SM4DDS - Kjell SM5AQD - Hawk SM5ELV - Kent SM5CBM - Bertie SM5FWW - Leif SM5LNE - Jan SM6CMU - Ingemar SM6CVX - Hans SM7DAY - Fred SM7DXQ - Mats SM7NGH - Jan SP5APW - Jacek UA0ZC - Valery UA1OIZ - Vlad UA3EDQ - Igor UR2EDX - Sergey VA3DXA - Peter VA7AQ - Heinz VE3CBK - Chris VE3JV - Wayne VE3VHB - Mike VE7DP - Frank VE7JH - Gabor VE7QCR - Pat VE7SP - David VE7VR - Dave VK3GA - Graham VK3QI - Peter VK5CE - Craig VK5MAV - Andy VK8NSB - Stuie W1JR - Joe W1NG - Ken W2FB - Steve W2TJM - Tom W4FOA - Tony W4PID - Dick W5FKX - Don W5PF - Paul W7BEM - Charles W7PDX - Joel W8DEA - Don W8JRK - Joe W9ILY - John WB8FLE - Max WC6DX - Will WD8PKF - Alan YT7DX - Jaroslav |