Bericht der DX-Expedition T8OK

Nachfolgende Zeilen haben uns von David, OK6DJ erreicht - weitere Bilder findet ihr an Ende des Berichts:

Palau consists of 26 islands and around 300 small islets, six of which lie inside a vast lagoon enclosed by a barrier reef. Only 11 of the islands are inhabited. The archipelago sits on an underwater ridge bordered to the southeast by a deep-sea trench reaching 8,138 meters. Palau is famous as a premier diving destination, with rich marine life and coral reefs. The country has a tropical climate, with temperatures typically between 25 and 35 °C. English is an official language, the currency is the U.S. dollar, and the total population of the inhabited islands is about 20,000. The Republic of Palau is an independent island nation in Micronesia, with its capital at Ngerulmud in the state of Melekeok.

The idea for a Palau DXpedition was born on a flight in September 2025 while returning from PJ7K. After getting home, we began discussing a suitable QTH and how to obtain a licence. First, we approached a Japanese rental QTH, but were politely turned down. The message was clear: the QTH was reserved for a narrow group of Japanese operators. So there was nothing else to do but find our own location and bring in all equipment ourselves. We then received information on the licensing process. First, each expedition member had to obtain an individual permit, and only then could we apply for a group callsign. The whole process took almost four months. The original team of Ruda OK2ZA, Petr OK1BOA and David OK6DJ was joined by Zdeněk OK3RM at the end of the year. Ruda’s wife Jana also came along, as did Tomáš, one of David’s classmates, who wanted to experience a DXpedition first-hand.

We met at Ruda OK2ZA’s place on the evening before departure to pack and check baggage weights. In the end, we had to buy one extra piece of luggage at a cost of 300 euros. Wake-up was scheduled for 4 a.m. We loaded the van and car and headed for Vienna airport. Check-in went smoothly and we enjoyed what would be our last breakfast in Europe. The flight to Taipei took 12 hours, followed by a six-hour layover. The final leg to Palau lasted only four hours.

Palau welcomed us with intense tropical heat. We cleared passport control and waited for our luggage, which fortunately all arrived. Then came the final customs inspection. We had to open every bag. The officers asked about everything. We showed licences and proof of accommodation, but they were still looking for something. In the end they found several cartons of cigarettes, which had to be declared. Only one open pack was allowed. The “entry fee” came to more than 300 USD, and only after paying it were we allowed to leave customs.

We landed in daylight, but by the time we emerged from the arrivals hall it was already dark, oppressively hot and extremely humid. Our taxi was waiting, so we started loading the bags. The driver was surprised by how much equipment we had and explained that it would not all fit, so he would have to make two trips. David OK6DJ went first with part of the luggage. Unfortunately, that luggage also contained our only chance to change clothes and shoes. We tried to find somewhere cooler, or at least somewhere to buy a drink, but there was no 24-hour kiosk at the airport; it opened only occasionally for departing flights. So we had no choice but to sit outside on benches and wait about two and a half hours for the taxi to return. The wait felt endless. We were dripping with sweat; none of us had been prepared for this. Back home it had still been freezing in the mornings, while here the temperature was close to 30 °C with humidity above 80 percent. The arrivals area lights were switched off and the officials went home; nothing else was due to arrive that day. One customs officer saw us sitting there completely exhausted. When we asked where we might find a restaurant or snack bar and were told “nowhere, only in town,” he ran back inside and returned a moment later with small plastic bottles of cold water. You would not believe how good that water tasted.

When the car finally arrived, the air conditioning hit us as soon as the doors opened. The driver seemed cheerful enough and gradually squeezed us all in, shaking his head at how tall and heavy we were, but off we went. We were struck by the fact that he was sitting on the right, yet traffic drove on the right-hand side just as it does at home. The reason was simple: most vehicles there were imported from the Japanese market, where traffic runs on the opposite side of the road. What we never really understood was why he held the steering wheel with his left hand while shifting with his right under the wheel. It looked awkward, but evidently he was used to it.

First stop: the supermarket. We had neither food nor drink, so we needed supplies immediately. The driver’s good mood kept increasing as he constantly stuffed something into his mouth and chewed. We did not dare guess what it was or what effect it had on him. As a driver, he seemed unconcerned with which lane he was in or how close he was to the curb. The lane markings in the middle of the road appeared to mean nothing to him. Now and then, especially in sharper bends, we heard unpleasant noises from the wheels, as if the tyres were rubbing inside the arches. When we asked what it was, he simply mumbled something in barely understandable English. After about twenty minutes we arrived at a building he assured us was the supermarket.

We filled two large carts with rice, pasta, ready-made sauces and other groceries. Coca-Cola and beer, of course, were essential. After paying, we loaded everything into the trunk. The extra weight from the shopping only made matters worse; the smell of burning plastic and rubber became even stronger. The driver, however, remained perfectly calm and eventually delivered us to the bungalow without incident. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he stopped. Smoke was coming from the wheel arches, plastic was dripping, and you could probably have fried eggs on the tyres. But we had arrived. David OK6DJ was there to welcome us, and at last we were in our own little paradise.

We tried to get online to let everyone know we had arrived safely, but our eSIMs would not work. The reason was that 4G was available in town and at the airport, but not at our QTH. The next day we had to order four standard data SIM cards, and only then were we able to get internet running properly.

The next disaster came quickly: the toilet drain clogged. We tried everything at hand, from a piece of wire to a branch, until Petr OK1BOA finally found the right tool — a toilet brush. With persistent effort, the toilet was brought back into service. Unfortunately, this problem stayed with us for the entire trip.

We were told that standard SIM cards would be available for 21 USD, but when they were delivered to us they cost 40 USD. Apparently, once something has travelled 50 kilometres across the island, the price doubles. We set up two separate Wi-Fi networks, one reserved for computers and logging, the other for mobile phones, web browsing and keeping in touch with our families.

Then it was time to decide where each antenna would go. Ruda OK2ZA and Petr OK1BOA started building the verticals for 40 and 30 meters. They were the simplest antennas, which meant we could get on the air relatively quickly. David OK6DJ and Zdeněk OK3RM worked on assembling the Spiderbeam. One fiberglass section after another was added to the central dural hub, and soon wires were being run all around as the individual elements took shape. We still needed to check the balun, since it is often damaged during transport. After connecting the MiniVNA, the antenna appeared serviceable and ready to go up. We also suffered the first injury: Petr BOA badly scratched himself and there was quite a lot of blood. It was treated quickly and work continued. Even a minor injury could have become serious, because all of us had taken blood-thinning medication before the flight. Setup continued. Ruda OK2ZA unpacked the triplexer, connected the antenna feedline, and we finally had a beam ready. David OK6DJ changed band and called for the first time: “T8OK on the air.” He made the first twenty QSOs as an opening promotion for the callsign and the expedition. Fatigue was already setting in, so it was also time for our first visit to the ocean and our first swim.

Ruda OK2ZA and Petr OK1BOA remained tireless and moved on to antennas for 17 and 12 meters. The 17-meter antenna tuned as expected, but instead of a 12-meter antenna we had accidentally packed one for 15 meters. We tried pushing the tubing further in to reach the dimensions needed for 12 meters, but it did not work. So we laid the tubes alongside each other, tightened them with clamps, and by shifting the tubing we managed to tune it into the band. Both elements were modified and, to our relief, the antenna worked.

By evening the antennas were in place; now we just had to use them and appear on the bands. But the bands were almost empty and only a few JA stations answered our calls. Activity picked up only after dark. During the day we were able to deploy the receiving antennas — RX loops based on the design by Ken VK6LW. The last antenna still to build was the 160/80-meter vertical, located more than 100 meters from our ham shack. Then came the moment to try 6 meters as well, so work started on that antenna too. We prepared the mast and raised a 3-element beam. A filter was connected behind the radio, and the TS-480 began to play on 6 meters. Surprisingly, 6 meters did not cause any trouble to the HF bands, nor did HF interfere with 6 meters, which was excellent news. The antenna stood right next to the bungalow. Even at this season, though, 6 meters can surprise. Before long, JA stations were calling, followed by VK. That was more or less the pattern throughout the expedition. One day there was an unexpected opening toward the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, but unfortunately Europe had no luck. We also received a message from a PY station saying they had seen us on their monitor, but they were at lunch at the time and missed the QSO.

Unfortunately, conditions were poor. Openings to Europe on the higher bands came only after dark, for two to three hours, and then CW and SSB would fall silent again. We tried to keep track of openings to Europe and the USA. Local radars caused problems as their signals swept across the bands and back again. From time to time there was also the occasional troublemaker who would start FT8 in the middle of an EU pile-up just to make copying more difficult. And then there were the night storms. During our stay, it probably failed to rain at night only twice. Otherwise, every night brought torrential rain. This was not rain as we know it at home; it looked as if someone had opened the sky and poured down all the water that had evaporated during the day. Whether the operator had rain running down his back or blowing sideways into the notebook and radio was of no concern to the weather. Water simply came down, and in enormous quantities.

At daybreak the struggle on the bands resumed. Europe and America were far away. The U.S. West Coast is about 14,000 kilometres distant, and conditions were not on our side. On the higher bands, only a few JA stations would answer a CQ, occasionally someone from Oceania, but otherwise it was just repeated calling with no response. That inevitably wears everyone down, so there was often little choice but to QSY to FT8 and monitor conditions. It was mentally exhausting. All the more puzzling were some of our experiences after dark, for example on 30 meters. At first we ran FT8 on the usual frequency, 10.136 MHz, and after a while the number of callers began to rise. Normally, that is the right moment to move to the CW segment. What followed, however, was endless pressing of the F1 key in an effort to generate a pile-up, yet only three — literally three — Japanese stations called, and then nothing. Silence. We could not understand it. So we retuned to 10.144 MHz, posted a spot that we were back on FT8, and for good measure enabled two slots to handle callers faster. Again, an endless series of CQ calls with no response at all — nobody called. So we went back to 10.136 MHz and, after the very first CQ, a stream of callers arrived. None of us could really understand that. Were operators truly too lazy to turn the dial a few kilohertz higher? We saw the same pattern on other frequencies as well.

Negative messages also began to arrive. We received emails telling us to stop tuning up on the Bouvet expedition frequency because we were interfering with their operation. In fact, the opposite was true. Before every frequency change, we checked the cluster for clear spots, and more than once it happened that after we had been operating on a frequency for some time, stations started calling for Bouvet on top of us. Bouvet had not published operating frequencies, so collisions occurred during their activity, but not through any fault of ours.

A pleasant diversion was the announced visit of Garry T88SS and his wife. Garry arrived shortly before lunch, and his wife brought a cake decorated with the words “Welcome to Palau.” With coffee it was a real delight. They also brought several local treats. Naturally, Garry was interested in our technical setup, and he was genuinely impressed as we showed him the antennas and operating positions one by one. Of course, we had to welcome him in our expedition shirts, and he was happy to pose for photos with us by the tribander.

Halfway through the expedition we ordered taxis and set off on a full-day island tour. Two cars arrived, because there was no way all of us would fit into one. So we split into groups of three and left. Our driver was again chewing something constantly and becoming increasingly cheerful. He kept talking to us, but understanding him was beyond our abilities. We caught something about the capitol and a museum.

The capitol complex houses the offices of the president and ministers, the senate and the justice building, all in one place. We were even allowed inside the capitol building itself and could look around and take photographs. The walls displayed photos from the construction, presidential inaugurations, visits by statesmen and other political events. It was a beautiful building. After a walk in the surrounding park, we got back into the cars and continued to the national museum. Photography was not allowed inside, which was made clear to us immediately after the first photo. So the phones went back into our pockets and we simply looked around. It was striking to see who had controlled Palau, and for how long: Spaniards, British, Germans, Japanese, and finally the UN and the United States. The exhibition showed the development from simple huts to masonry buildings, and one display that particularly caught our attention covered the national broadcasting centre, with photographs of antennas and masts. It was a wonderful museum, with plenty to see. There was also an outdoor exhibition, where we viewed Second World War artifacts, a preserved boat once used by locals for fishing, and a traditional dwelling beautifully decorated on the gable.

On the main road we passed a building carrying masts with shortwave antennas, and then drove on to see the rental QTH used by JA stations. There were street lights everywhere, transformers on poles and overhead power lines. As for antennas, there were trapped beams and, around the perimeter, dipoles for the lower bands. In the end, perhaps it was just as well that they had not rented it to us.

In the afternoon we headed for the lighthouse. It was some distance away and uphill along a hard-packed dirt track, but eventually we scrambled up to a small building where a woman came out, took 5 USD per person, and let us climb up to see what remained of the lighthouse and fortifications after the attack by the U.S. Navy and its armed forces. Bullet marks were still visible on the remains of the concrete building, which seemed to be standing only by sheer willpower, so we stayed outside, took photographs and admired the magnificent view. After the lighthouse we went to see the menhirs, something like Palau’s local equivalent of Stonehenge — stone monoliths dated to AD 161. On the way we were lucky enough to see two large iguanas. That concluded our island excursion. Honestly, we were just glad our cheerful driver did not leave us in a ditch somewhere. He got us back to the bungalows shortly before dark. Then came the usual bargaining, with him asking for more money because of higher fuel prices. In our view, the agreed 400 USD was already more than enough.

Then the end of the expedition arrived, along with the final ceremonial dinner. The local staff prepared it for us, and it was clear that dining here followed traditions quite different from what we were used to. The individual courses were served on green leaves, full of colour, fragrance and flavour. It was a pleasant way to conclude our stay on the island. Then we began packing. One by one, the antennas came down, and for the final night only one antenna and one band remained on the air. In the end, David OK6DJ managed to break the magic figure of 20,000 unique callsigns, and the total QSO count exceeded 63,000, including 10,000 CW and 6,000 SSB contacts. We packed cables, antennas, radios and suitcases, cleaned up after ourselves, took one last swim in the ocean, and then the cars arrived to take us to the airport.

At last we saw the airport in daylight, checked in, and were able to move into the duty-free zone and the air-conditioned waiting area, where we could calmly buy souvenirs. The first flight was short — four hours to Taiwan — followed by fourteen hours to Vienna and then the final 120-kilometre drive back to Ruda’s place. For part of the team, there were still another 300 kilometres to drive home.

In closing, we would like to thank all the clubs that supported us — www.gdxf.de, www.mdxc.org, cdxc.org, www.eudxf.eu, www.sdxg.net and www.ddxg.dk — as well as the individuals OK1MY, OK1CF, OK1PI, OK1FPG, OK7GU, DL4APJ, OZ1OXQ, ON8AH, OK2NMA, OK1TN, OK1AMF and OK2IT, plus many others who ordered QSLs via OQRS Direct.