Devon Island 2011 DXpedition
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Disclaimers
At the time of writing, no commitments have been made -- this is all purely exploratory at this point. Check back here for updates - if there is interest, I will create a mailing list and probably a shared blog, but for the moment this wiki page will serve as somewhere to put useful links and information.
Note that, though I'll be up there on behalf of NASA, this is not a NASA-sponsored event, nor will NASA take any responsibility or accept any liability, etc. etc. Usual legal stuff -- this is my unofficial side-project only, for clarification.
Devon Island 2011
IOTA NA-009 VE8
Devon Island is the world's largest uninhabited island, roughly the size of Vermont (and Scotland). I am a veteran of three scientific expeditions there in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and whilst I've done emergency comms there, I have not operated HF from there. Yet!
The idea came up because it seems I'm likely to be going again in 2011 anyway, and the opportunity to do this will exist. I've run it past people who are responsible for the field site and the expedition itself, and got green lights at least in principle, though there is a lot to pull together to turn concept into reality.
Haughton Mars Project, Devon Island
The Haughton Mars Project field site sits on the edge of Haughton Crater, a 39 million year old, 20km diameter by up to 1km deep asteroid impact crater situated on the west side of the island. Climate during the field season is roughly around freezing point, not too extreme, though good equipment is necessary.
Dates
It's difficult to be exact at this point, but my suspicion is that the field season will run from sometime around late June/early July through early to mid August. It tends to vary from year to year, and I don't have definite information yet, and probably won't for a while yet. Most likely, the best time to do this will be early in the season, because this will minimize overlap with the very busy later part of the season which has a huge pileup of scientists doing their stuff. Early in the season is mostly devoted to building out infrastructure. I'm thinking of a roughly 2 week period, with operating being about half of that time, maybe a little more. A lot depends on weather -- in the high arctic, it's common to get stuck due to fog or high winds, possibly for days at a time, so schedules need some slack in them.
Cost/Travel
This needs to be thrashed out. I'm not sure exactly what the arrangement with HMP will be (this is to be determined), so what if any cost specific to on-site subsistence there will be is not yet known. The big one is really travel cost. As an outline, the travel looks like this:
- Scheduled airline to Yellowknife or Ottawa, depending on the direction you're coming from
- $$$$ spendy flight from there to Resolute Bay on Cornwallis ($2500 return, give or take a bit -- we may have some level of group discount, but don't hold your breath on that)
- Flights to/from Devon from Resolute are via Twin Otter. This is also spendy (they are charter flights from Kenn Borek Air either directly or arranged through Polar Shelf), but it's not yet clear whether we can piggy back on existing flights -- a lot would depend on how much equipment we have, how many people, and the nature of the deal with HMP.
If one direction is coincident with the start or end of the field season, it's generally possible to hitch a ride (for free) on the Air National Guard C-130 flight that goes from Moffett to Resolute, usually via Vancouver and Yellowknife. It's a long, loud flight, but kind of fun in its own way, not something you normally get the chance to try! Don't necessarily budget for this, but it could significantly cut costs.
Roles and Responsibilities
So far, it's all me, so I'm it! This could be a solo DXpedition, though it should be possible to take a limited number of other people. Realistically, my role will be DXpedition manager, logistics and the point of contact with the Haughton Mars Project people, and as much playing with radios as I can get away with. I will inevitably be somewhat involved with emcomm work up there, and there would most likely be opportunities to help out with that. Up there, people don't tend to get too hung up on job descriptions -- if it needs doing, it needs doing, so whoever available has to get on with it. I've done everything from shifting about a ton of lumber by hand to acting as a medical test subject, being interviewed for documentaries by the BBC and National Geographic, sweeping the floor in the kitchen tent, to driving around on an ATV shepherding visitors carrying a shotgun in case of polar bear problems.
As an aside, I'd like to make a short film about the whole thing.
Shipping and Logistics
In general terms, logistics should be relatively straightforward. Typically, the Air National Guard ships our field equipment to/from Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island, so assuming it is at Moffett field in time for the ship date (it had better be, or it had better fit in hand luggage!), getting it there and back is no problem. Pelican cases are pretty much mandatory -- if you ship something in cardboard, don't expect it to survive the experience. Gear needs to be able to get from the Polar Continental Shelf Project warehouse on Cornwallis to Devon via DHC-6 Twin Otter flights, so it must be small enough to fit. Radios and other equipment in Pelican cases are generally no problem, but antennas must be broken down into pieces of manageable size. Expect anything you ship to be left in the open, possibly for several weeks, so I wasn't joking about the need for Pelican cases (those things really work).
There is a power grid at base camp with a large diesel generator running 110V. Peaky loads (e.g. running a large amplifier doing CW or SSB directly connected) could be a problem. I also suspect that the grid power is pretty noisy. Therefore, we should take a battery system and charge controller, and specify equipment that runs off DC power wherever possible.
We should expect to take everything we need, no exceptions. The nearest Home Depot and/or HRO is a long way away. Either it gets shipped, or you won't have it. I generally take a lot of tools, several hundred pounds of them actually, but it wouldn't hurt to put together minimal toolkits to cope with day to day needs (screwdrivers, cutters, pliers, anything you might need to do simple repairs, because my stuff might be in use by someone else).
Equipment and Antennas
To be determined.
In practice, the choice is very different depending on whether simultaneous operation is going to be supported. If we take a single station, then a simple transceiver-amplifier-multiband antenna(s) setup will be sufficient. Operating with multiple users will require multiple radios (obviously), and multiple antennas, but also a set of band pass filters for each band we'll be using in order to make it possible to operate without blasting each other's IF stages to the point that they won't receive anything while someone is keyed up locally. The latter could be as simple as picking up a set of filters and living with a bit of manual re-plumbing when we want to swap bands, or going to something fancier as sold by the likes of Array Solutions.
As for how much power and what kinds of antenna, that's currently up for debate. Doing some modeling in VOACAP probably makes sense, but it's hard to predict what we'll actually see up there in terms of propagation conditions. 75 north is above the auroral band, which probably isn't good from our point of view.
If I end up going solo, I'll probably take something like the following:
- ICOM 756 Pro II (main radio)
- Yaesu 897D (backup radio, though I may work SO2R)
- Laptop + CAT interface + audio interface for digital modes (plus spares)
- Amplifier (TBD, but sized to work with the power available up there, so probably 600-800W with a battery system for peak load rather than a 220V legal limit monster)
- Some kind of high power wide-range antenna tuner (TBD)
- Probably a wire antenna array, details TBD, unless I can get sponsorship that would let me take a beam
- Band-pass filters to allow SO2R or multi-multi operation
Life on Mars
Though you should expect to be sleeping in a tent on permafrost (remember the comment about good equipment - I wasn't just talking about radios), life is relatively easy. Food is laid on, there is a good chef, 3 meals a day and all the Tang you can drink. (That last part is a bit of an in-joke, but the stuff does seem weirdly popular up there). Generally there is a movie in the evening in the kitchen tent, and a wide selection of weird arctic-types and scientists coming in and out over the course of the field season.
Local Transport
Locally, there is a fleet of ATVs of various descriptions, including many single-rider small ATVs with or without trailers, a couple of larger Kawasaki Mules, and two Humvees, so moving gear from the plane to wherever it needs to be set up is generally not a problem.
Work areas
There are some options here. The terrain is fairly flat, but not completely so. I suspect that base camp will be entirely adequate and that a satellite site would not be necessary, though this is potentially possible in order to get a bit more (maybe 100ft) height and access to the horizon. Locally, there will be a fair bit of microwave (point to point TCP/IP and a C-band ground station -- most likely we will have high speed internet and IP phones) and VHF and/or UHF comms for emcomm purposes, so we must not interfere with that. I'm expecting that we could commandeer a work tent at base camp for the duration of the operation.
Operating opportunities
Apart from the obvious rare island status (I suspect this will be the first ever DXpedition to Devon) and the likelihood of extreme DX pileups that are inevitable as a consequence, I have a few ideas for specific tie-ins:
- Mini-expedition to Beechey Island (on the edge of Devon Island -- this would require a heli ride, but this could be shared with a trip to recover one of the Humvees which happens to be parked near there (long story!)) to commemorate the loss of the Franklin Expedition (Wikipedia article) in 1848.
- Mini-expedition(s) to Cornwallis Island. Since we will inevitably need to travel via Cornwallis in both directions, it is potentially possible to set up and operate from there too. This might be useful particularly if we're fogged in for a period of time (fairly common, unfortunately).
Though the primary aim here is DX, rather than contesting, it could still be fun to see what we can manage from up there. Known relevant contests organized for that period (email me if you know of any others):
June 2011
- Ukrainian DX DIGI Contest 1200Z, Jun 25 to 1200Z, Jun 26
- His Maj. King of Spain Contest, SSB 1200Z, Jun 25 to 1200Z, Jun 26
- Marconi Memorial HF Contest 1400Z, Jun 25 to 1400Z, Jun 26
July 2011
- RAC Canada Day Contest 0000Z-2359Z, Jul 1 - Seems very relevant, given the location!
- DL-DX RTTY Contest 1100Z, Jul 2 to 1059Z, Jul 3 - I'm fond of RTTY, so this sounds good to me.
- DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest 1100Z-1700Z, Jul 3 - I have my doubts about 10m propagation from that far north, but hey...
- MI QRP July 4th CW Sprint 2300Z, Jul 4 to 0300Z, Jul 5 - Ditto QRP, but you never know, I suppose.
- FISTS Summer Sprint 0000Z-0400Z, Jul 9
- IARU HF World Championship 1200Z, Jul 9 to 1200Z, Jul 10
- DMC RTTY Contest 1200Z, Jul 16 to 1200Z, Jul 17
- North American QSO Party, RTTY 1800Z, Jul 16 to 0600Z, Jul 17
- RSGB IOTA Contest 1200Z, Jul 30 to 1200Z, Jul 31 - This would be the doozie, but the dates aren't ideal because that's usually the time that camp gets torn down. If the field season is pushed out another week or so (no idea, might happen, did in 2008, didn't in 09 or 10), it would be an awesome opportunity for extreme pileuppery.
Special Event Callsign
Makes sense to organize this, though I've not attempted it yet.
Sponsorship
e.g., from radio/antenna/etc. manufacturers. Yes, this would be good too. I'll look into it.
