FP/EA8DBM from GN17tc EME activations

Hi friends,

I’m glad to announce my 36th mini DXpedition! From June 12th to June 17th, 2026, I plan to visit the Saint Pierre and Miquelon islands and activate the 2m and 23cm bands via EME. The only way to get to the islands from Halifax (Canada) is by a small ATR-72 aircraft, which comes with strict weight limits: only 4 suitcases of 23 kg each. If I have any space left, I’ll also bring a 13cm amplifier (but this will only be clear after I finish packing all the equipment and antennas).

To my knowledge, the last 23cm activation from these islands was back in 2013, so I believe this should be of great interest to many of you. For 23cm and 13cm, I’ll be using the same setup as before. For 2m, I’ll have a 2x9 Yagi and a 1 kW amplifier.

As usual, please check this page for any updates or changes. Unfortunately, updates on this blog platform are not announced automatically (email notifications are only sent for the initial post).

++++++++++ Update: June 8th

Everything seems ready! I’ve managed to pack 3 bands into four 23 kg suitcases and one 15 kg bag.

The schedule is now set in stone: I arrive by ferry from Saint Pierre to Miquelon on Friday, June 12th at 19:00 local time. By then, the moon will have already set.

I will have about 6 hours to assemble my entire setup and be ready for moonrise (MR) at 4:00 AM. Since my maximum possible elevation on 144 MHz is limited from 0 to 45 degrees (due to the tripod height), the plan—which usually doesn’t survive first contact with reality—is to start on 144 MHz. Once the moon climbs higher, I’ll switch to 23 cm and 13 cm, and then go back to 144 MHz when the elevation allows.

If it’s cloudy and I can’t visually aim at the moon, I’ll set up the 23 cm gear first, and then “aim” it during the day using the sun.

I plan to run one MR and one MS on 23 cm to give JA and VK stations a chance to work me. On Monday, June 15th, the sun will be positioned close to the moon, so I will most likely stay on 144 MHz only.

My return ferry ticket is booked for the evening of June 16th, so I will be active across all bands for half of that moon pass.

I tried mounting the 144 MHz antenna on my “fly-away” portable rotator, but the leverage is way too high, and I’m afraid it wouldn’t last a day. Because of this, I’m packing an extra manual rotator/elevator and will swap it out specifically for 2-meter operation. Also, I can change the polarization from horizontal to vertical (or vice versa) within just a couple of minutes if Faraday rotation gets “stuck” for too long.

See you on the air!

+++++++++ update 12 June 18.15 utc

I have safely landed on Saint Pierre Island! As it turns out, there are no taxis waiting at the airport unless you book one in advance by phone. However, the locals are incredibly friendly and helpful; they saw us—outsiders with a massive pile of bags and suitcases—and kindly made a call for us. A taxi arrived just 10 minutes later.

The weather is fantastic—sunny, calm, and by local standards, it’s a scorching +12°C! In an hour and a half, we take the ferry to Miquelon Island.

Something else is making me a bit nervous, though: while on the plane, I spotted the tiny house I rented in a promotional brochure, and it features that dreaded phrase—eco-cabin with solar panels. I just hope I won’t end up there with no electricity or stuck with a 100-watt hourly limit... Well, everything will be clear in a couple of hours!

+++++++++ 13 June 04.20 utc

I made it to the location! My fears turned out to be completely groundless—the house is powered by both solar panels and the main grid. The western and eastern horizons are more or less clear. It’s only 12°C outside, but all the locals are walking around in shorts, telling me how warm it is! )))

The original plan was to set up the dish for 23 and 13 cm, do a quick check, and then assemble the 144 MHz station, as that setup usually takes a good two to three hours of tinkering.

I quickly put the dish together and started with 13 cm. RX was fine, and TX was pushing about 140 watts. Then I quickly swapped the septum feed for 23 cm, turned it on—and got zero reception. I changed the cable, but to no avail. I tried switching to TX and only saw the driving power coming from the transceiver. Literally the day before the flight, everything had been tested and packed into the suitcases only after a successful check. It looks like something broke off during airport handling due to high G-forces. I wasted several hours trying to figure out what happened, but with no luck. It seems like 23 cm is going to be a no-go.

I tried assembling the 144 MHz station in the dark, but after half an hour, I realized that doing this with no light and the temperature dropping to around 3–5°C outside was simply impossible. It is now 3:00 AM local time, and I am completely exhausted. I’m going to get some sleep, and as soon as it gets light at dawn, I’ll get to work assembling the 2-meter setup.

++++++++++++++++++

A Day Full of Adventures

Today was packed with events and adventures. In the morning, I figured that if working 23 cm from Miquelon just wasn’t meant to be, I should at least activate 13 cm. Plus, I thought some guys might still be interested in FP on 2 meters, even though there was another expedition here a year ago.

I mounted the 13 cm septum feed on the dish (a huge thank you to Zdenek, OK1DFC, for this gift!). I aimed it using the sun, and it performed quite well: Cold Sky vs. Sun gave me around 4 to 4.5 dB.

I managed to put 4 QSOs in the log:

2026-06-13,12:41:00,2026-06-13,12:45:56,W5LUA,EM13QC,2304.101000,Q65,-18,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,12:52:00,2026-06-13,12:54:03,OK1KIR,JN79,2304.101000,Q65,-15,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,13:01:00,2026-06-13,13:05:56,OK1USW,JN69UN,2304.101000,Q65,-22,-26,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,13:24:00,2026-06-13,13:28:00,PA0BAT,JO31FX,2320.101000,Q65,-15,-20,,,,,,,

There was no one else around, and since I don’t have a working amp for 1296 MHz, I moved on to installing the 2x9 element Yagis for 144 MHz. That took a solid two hours. Since the weather was completely calm, I decided to mount the whole assembly onto the rotator so I wouldn’t have to constantly “chase” the correct azimuth manually later on.

I powered it up, and voila... I didn’t hear the expected 25 dB jump from the preamp. It was the exact same story as yesterday with the 23 cm amplifier. When turning the LNA power on, I only noticed about a 1 dB difference in noise floor.

And right then, it finally hit me! The Icom IC-905 has a single N-connector output for 144, 432, and 1296 MHz, while 2320 MHz uses a separate SMA. To avoid carrying multiple cables on this trip, I had screwed a supposedly “proven” adapter onto that N-connector. If that adapter went bad, it perfectly explains the complete lack of both RX and TX.

Here is the little bastard:

I threw away that piece of Chinese garbage, put on a randomly found, super-long jumper cable, tested it, and… eureka! I have both RX and TX! I’m slightly underdriving the amplifier, pushing out about 250 watts at the output, but while the moon hasn’t set in Europe yet, I quickly jumped on the air.

I managed to put 29 QSOs in the log:

2026-06-13,15:15:30,2026-06-13,15:16:31,ON4AOI,JO21BA,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:17:30,2026-06-13,15:18:34,OZ9AAR,JO45TS,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:18:00,2026-06-13,15:20:00,OK1UGA,JO80DD,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-18,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:23:30,2026-06-13,15:24:49,NC1I,FN32OB,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-14,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:25:30,2026-06-13,15:26:25,EA8/RD4D,,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:27:30,2026-06-13,15:28:39,SP9VFD,JN99XN,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:28:00,2026-06-13,15:30:00,DL4DTU,JO60TS,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:30:00,2026-06-13,15:32:00,PA3FXB,JO33KC,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:32:00,2026-06-13,15:34:00,K5DOG,EM00WH,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-18,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:34:00,2026-06-13,15:36:00,ES3RF,KO29,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:36:00,2026-0613,15:38:00,OH3LWP,KP11WK,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:38:00,2026-06-13,15:40:00,N5TM,EL29DS,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:41:30,2026-06-13,15:43:58,IZ8GGF,JN70,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:47:00,2026-06-13,15:48:57,EA8DBM,IL18OH,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:48:00,2026-06-13,15:50:00,KB2SA,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:50:00,2026-06-13,15:52:00,I2FAK,JN45OB,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,15:52:00,2026-06-13,15:54:00,PE1L,JO32BW,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,16:07:00,2026-06-13,16:09:28,G4YTL,IO92MB,1296.101000,Q65,-28,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,16:08:00,2026-06-13,16:12:00,F5KUG,JN03,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,16:12:00,2026-06-13,16:14:59,KN2K,FM18,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,16:14:00,2026-06-13,16:18:00,G4CCH,IO93QL,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-13,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,16:18:00,2026-06-13,16:22:00,GW4ZHI,IO82AH,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:04:00,2026-06-13,20:08:00,JJ3JHP,PM75,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:10:00,2026-06-13,20:14:00,W5LUA,EM13QC,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-18,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:14:00,2026-06-13,20:18:00,JQ3JWF,,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:36:00,2026-06-13,20:40:00,W2HRO,FN20NG,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:44:00,2026-06-13,20:48:00,JS6UJS,PL24,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,20:56:00,2026-06-13,21:00:00,VK4CDI,QG63,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-13,21:16:00,2026-06-13,21:20:00,JH3AZC,PM85,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-23,,,,,,,

Once I cleared the pileup, I moved the antenna and tried working on 144 MHz. Everyone could hear me perfectly with my kilowatt signal, but on my end, I couldn't get a single decode!!! The LNA seems intact; there was no reason for it to blow out. The only explanation I could come up with is that the antenna was pointing directly toward the neighbors' solar panels. When I rotated the antenna away by about 20 degrees, the noise floor dropped by a whopping 12 dB! It’s highly possible that the LNA is simply overloading on RX. But by that point, I had absolutely no energy left to troubleshoot, so I’ll leave it for another day. The antenna is still assembled for now, just sitting off to the side.

In the morning, as soon as moonrise begins (my eastern horizon is blocked, so I can only start operating once the elevation reaches about 10 degrees), I will be on 23 cm first. After I work everyone there, I’ll switch over to 13 cm. Once that's done, I'll try to figure out what’s wrong with 144 MHz—by then, the azimuth will be pointing toward the sea rather than the solar panels.

++++++++++++++++

Moonrise (MR) here is slightly blocked by a hill, but I can start operating once the elevation hits about 8 degrees. There was no wind—just a bit of drizzle, but nothing to worry about.

I started on 23 cm and worked everyone who wanted a QSO within 3 hours. After that, I quickly switched over to 13 cm. The dish performs beautifully, and I added 3 more QSOs to the log. Unfortunately, there was no one else around.

Next, to investigate the trouble I had on 144 MHz yesterday, I quickly took down the dish and put up the 2-meter Yagis. I turned it on and noticed that from this specific heading, the noise floor was at 58 dB, compared to yesterday’s 68 dB when pointing at 260–270 degrees. I called a quick CQ and managed to sneak in 3 QSOs before the moon’s reflectors were already resting on the ground. So, I decided to postpone 144 MHz until the evening when the moon reaches 50 degrees elevation.

I put the dish back up, screwed on the 23 cm septum feed, turned it on, and… dead silence.

I couldn’t hear any LNA noise. There was absolutely no reason for it to blow out, so I took it down and realized that the cable output jack had been completely ripped out at the root. Opening it up is impossible because, like a fool, I had sealed it with silicone to protect it from moisture. And I didn’t bring a spare on this trip due to running 3 bands and dealing with severe baggage overweight across all suitcases. So, my operation on 23 cm is officially over—as the saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm.” I put the 13 cm septum feed back on, but it seems everyone already has Saint Pierre and Miquelon on that band. I calibrated the azimuth using sun noise (was happy to hear the sun at 5 dB), and then went to take down the dish to put up the 144 MHz Yagis. On my way through the bushes, I tripped over a cable and completely ripped out and broke the rotator connector. So now I’m left with no elevation readout. But that’s fine, as I can just check it periodically with a manual inclinometer.

I managed to add another ten QSOs on 144 MHz to the log. I kept working until the moon drifted back into yesterday’s noisy sector. The baseline noise floor jumped by 10 dB, and consequently, I stopped decoding anyone.

2026-06-14,08:20:00,2026-06-14,08:24:00,ZS5Y,KF59JR,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:26:00,2026-06-14,08:30:00,JA6AHB,PM53CP,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:30:00,2026-06-14,08:34:00,SP5GDM,,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:34:00,2026-06-14,08:38:00,IK5VLS,JN53GU,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:38:00,2026-06-14,08:42:00,OK1IL,JN69,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-26,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:42:00,2026-06-14,08:46:00,DM2CFH,JO61,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:46:00,2026-06-14,08:50:00,UA9FAD,LO88AA,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:50:00,2026-06-14,08:54:00,DK0ZAB,JO61,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,08:58:00,2026-06-14,09:00:00,ZS4TX,KG30BW,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-16,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:00:00,2026-06-14,09:02:00,DF2VJ,JN39LI,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:02:00,2026-06-14,09:04:00,RA4HL,,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-12,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:04:00,2026-06-14,09:06:00,OK2DL,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-07,-13,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:06:00,2026-06-14,09:08:00,ON5GS,JO21VD,1296.101000,Q65,-14,-10,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:08:00,2026-06-14,09:10:00,OK1USW,JN69UN,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:10:00,2026-06-14,09:12:00,PA0TBR,JO21SL,1296.101000,Q65,-14,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:12:00,2026-06-14,09:14:00,IK3COJ,JN65BN,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-14,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:14:00,2026-06-14,09:16:00,RX3DR,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:16:00,2026-06-14,09:18:00,YO2LAM,KN05PS,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:18:00,2026-06-14,09:20:00,DL8FBD,,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:20:00,2026-0614,09:22:00,UA9YLU,MO92HX,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-14,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:22:00,2026-06-14,09:24:00,R1NW,KP71,1296.101000,Q65,-29,-16,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:24:00,2026-06-14,09:26:00,RW9OG,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:26:00,2026-06-14,09:28:00,RW6HM,LN14,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:28:00,2026-06-14,09:30:00,DL1AT,JO61SF,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-16,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:30:00,2026-06-14,09:32:00,DL6ZG,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-14,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:32:00,2026-06-14,09:34:00,G0LBK,IO93JK,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-13,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:34:00,2026-06-14,09:36:00,OM4XA,,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:36:00,2026-06-14,09:38:00,IQ2DB,JN45,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:38:00,2026-06-14,09:40:00,PA0BAT,JO31FX,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-16,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,09:42:00,2026-06-14,09:44:00,UA3PTW,,1296.101000,Q65,-06,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:00:00,2026-06-14,10:02:00,SM6CKU,JO67,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-06,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:02:00,2026-06-14,10:04:00,DJ2DY,JN39,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:05:00,2026-06-14,10:07:00,G4RGK,IO91ON,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:12:00,2026-06-14,10:16:00,F4BLE,JN23,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:16:00,2026-06-14,10:20:00,PH0V,JO22,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:22:00,2026-0614,10:26:00,HG5BMU,JN97NQ,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:28:00,2026-06-14,10:32:00,UA1ALD,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:40:00,2026-06-14,10:42:00,PA1PS,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-18,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:43:00,2026-06-14,10:45:00,SV3AAF,KM17,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,10:46:00,2026-06-14,10:48:00,OZ5TG,JO45,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:03:30,2026-06-14,11:05:00,DL7UDA,JO62,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:12:00,2026-06-14,11:16:00,DG0FE,JO62UN,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:18:00,2026-06-14,11:22:00,K3SK,FM07,1296.101000,Q65,-28,-27,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:22:00,2026-06-14,11:26:00,ZS6JON,KG33VV,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:28:00,2026-06-14,11:32:00,CT1WO,IM58,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,11:32:00,2026-06-14,11:36:00,N4BAA,EM79HU,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,12:02:00,2026-0614,12:06:00,OH3LWP,KP11WK,2304.101000,Q65,-14,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,12:08:00,2026-06-14,12:12:00,OK1DFC,JN79GW,2304.101000,Q65,-13,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,12:16:00,2026-06-14,12:20:00,G4CCH,IO93QL,2320.101000,Q65,-17,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,13:02:00,2026-06-14,13:06:00,I3MEK,,144.141000,Q65,-25,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,13:12:00,2026-06-14,13:16:00,I2FAK,JN45OB,144.141000,Q65,-19,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,14:06:00,2026-06-14,14:10:01,UA3PTW,,144.141000,Q65,-27,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:18:00,2026-06-14,18:22:00,WA6LOL,CM97TX,144.141000,Q65,-25,-26,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:24:00,2026-06-14,18:28:00,G4SWX,JO02PB,144.141000,Q65,-19,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:28:00,2026-06-14,18:32:00,SM2BYC,KP25AX,144.141000,Q65,-17,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:34:00,2026-06-14,18:38:00,K1DG,FN42JU,144.141000,Q65,-24,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:38:00,2026-06-14,18:42:00,KG6NK,DM03,144.141000,Q65,-23,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:42:00,2026-06-14,18:46:00,OH4LA,KP20,144.141000,Q65,-25,-29,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,18:52:00,2026-06-14,18:54:05,VE7PS,DN09SA,144.141000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,19:02:00,2026-06-14,19:06:00,K6EME,DM06DK,144.141000,Q65,-26,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,19:12:00,2026-06-14,19:16:00,JH2COZ,PM94,144.141000,Q65,-26,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-14,19:22:00,2026-06-14,19:26:00,KD2LGX,FN13,144.141000,Q65,-26,-25,,,,,,,

Total : 95 QSO in log.

Plans for tomorrow: I will start operating on 144 MHz right at my moonrise, keeping at it until the moon rises to about 60 degrees. I’ve checked the noise levels, and thankfully, it seems completely quiet from those headings. After that, I’ll take a break while the moon transitions, and then I’ll have one more hour to catch it before it drifts back into the interference sector.

+++++++++

Quick update: I managed to crack open the 23 cm LNA and pull off a temporary fix! So, I will be back active on 1296 MHz tomorrow after all!

As planned, I started the morning on 144 MHz. There was zero noise from the east, and I was able to operate until the moon reached about 55 degrees elevation—that was the absolute limit allowed by the tripod’s height. For the next expedition, I’ll definitely need to modify the tripod with an extendable center column so I can work up to at least 70 degrees elevation.

Once the moon’s reflectors were resting on the ground, I mounted the dish back on the tripod. At the request of DL4DTU, we pulled off a quick and easy QSO on 13 cm. It’s a very interesting band; it’s just a shame that activity there is so low.

Next, I swapped the feed to 23 cm, screwed on the LNA that I had soldered back together last night, and worked everyone who was looking for a contact on 23 cm.

Right around that time, the moon’s elevation allowed me to put the 2-meter Yagis back on the tripod and do some more work. As usual, the noise was pouring in from this heading, but luck was on my side today—it dropped out occasionally, which allowed me to sneak in a few more QSOs:

2026-06-15,08:52:00,2026-06-15,08:56:00,ZS4TX,KG30BW,144.141000,Q65,-22,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,08:58:00,2026-06-15,09:02:00,OE3NFC,JN88EA,144.141000,Q65,-20,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:02:00,2026-06-15,09:06:00,DF1NP,JN58,144.141000,Q65,-23,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:10:00,2026-06-15,09:14:00,7K3LGC,QM06,144.141000,Q65,-21,-32,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:16:00,2026-06-15,09:20:00,JP3EXR,PM74,144.141000,Q65,-25,-27,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:26:00,2026-06-15,09:30:00,DL8DAQ,JO31,144.141000,Q65,-23,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:32:00,2026-06-15,09:42:00,JJ3JHP,PM75,144.141000,Q65,-25,-29,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:42:00,2026-06-15,09:46:00,G8RWG,IO91,144.141000,Q65,-21,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:46:00,2026-06-15,09:50:00,S52LM,JN65TX,144.141000,Q65,-20,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,09:50:00,2026-06-15,09:54:05,JQ3JWF,,144.141000,Q65,-31,-29,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,10:22:00,2026-06-15,10:26:00,SP8NR,KO12,144.141000,Q65,-26,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,10:36:00,2026-06-15,10:40:00,IK2DDR,JN55GN,144.141000,Q65,-17,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,10:44:00,2026-06-15,10:48:00,UA9YJM,NO13VM,144.141000,Q65,-26,-30,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,11:18:00,2026-06-15,11:22:00,S51ZO,JN86DR,144.141000,Q65,-22,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,12:10:00,2026-06-15,12:14:00,OH1MA,KP10,144.141000,Q65,-24,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,12:16:00,2026-06-15,12:20:00,SM4GGC,JO69RK,144.141000,Q65,-22,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,12:26:00,2026-06-15,12:30:00,OH3AWW,KP11VJ,144.141000,Q65,-19,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,12:52:00,2026-06-15,12:56:00,YO4GJH,KN35XG,144.141000,Q65,-27,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,13:04:00,2026-06-15,13:08:02,YU7SMN,,144.141000,Q65,-25,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,13:10:00,2026-06-15,13:14:00,UY5BC,KN29,144.141000,Q65,-22,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,13:14:00,2026-06-15,13:18:00,LZ1KU,KN32,144.141000,Q65,-23,-29,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,13:24:00,2026-06-15,13:28:00,PA0V,JO33II,144.141000,Q65,-23,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,13:28:00,2026-06-15,13:32:00,UT7QF,KN77NV,144.141000,Q65,-27,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,15:34:00,2026-06-15,15:38:00,DL4DTU,JO60TS,2304.101000,Q65,-20,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:02:00,2026-06-15,16:06:00,OK1KIR,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-12,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:08:00,2026-06-15,16:12:00,CT1FFU,IM59KJ,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:14:00,2026-06-15,16:18:00,SP3TLJ,JO82,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:18:00,2026-06-15,16:22:00,DF3RU,JN59UL,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-17,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:24:00,2026-06-15,16:28:00,SP3YDE,JO82UM,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,16:48:00,2026-06-15,16:52:00,DL1HUH,JO61,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-13,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,17:08:00,2026-06-15,17:16:00,OK2AQ,JN89EU,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,17:40:00,2026-06-15,17:48:00,W3TI,FN20,1296.101000,Q65,-27,-35,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,18:11:00,2026-06-15,18:13:59,PE1LWT,JO22VA,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,18:16:00,2026-06-15,18:24:00,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,18:50:00,2026-06-15,18:54:00,W5AFY,EM04ID,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-18,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,18:58:00,2026-06-15,19:02:00,LU1HKO,FF78VN,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-31,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,19:22:00,2026-06-15,19:26:00,KG0D,CN88,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-27,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,19:28:00,2026-06-15,19:32:00,K3SK,FM07,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,20:12:00,2026-06-15,20:16:00,SM5KWU,JO89IP,144.141000,Q65,-29,-29,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,20:46:00,2026-06-15,20:50:00,SM5DIC,JO89JT,144.141000,Q65,-25,-26,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,21:22:00,2026-06-15,21:26:00,ND4X,EM57TC,144.141000,Q65,-25,-32,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,21:30:00,2026-06-15,21:34:00,JH0BBE,PM97LG,144.141000,Q65,-26,-26,,,,,,,

2026-06-15,21:38:00,2026-06-15,21:42:00,NJ9R,EN62,144.141000,Q65,-26,-27,,,,,,,

Bringing the total to 43 QSOs for this moon pass.

Total : 138 QSO in log.

Tomorrow, right at my moonrise, I will be on 144 MHz—there are still plenty of unworked stations left out there. I only have half a day, though, because the ferry leaves at 6:00 PM, and before that, everything needs to be torn down, sorted out, and packed into the suitcases. Therefore, I will be active from around 10:00 to 14:00 UTC. After that, it’s a high-speed packing session and a taxi ride straight to the port.

+++++++++++

The weather forecast didn’t let me down—the morning started with a beautiful, sunny, and calm moonrise (MR). The noise floor also dropped significantly down to 52–53 dB (compared to the 57–59 dB I saw in previous days). However, operating on 2 meters was highly challenging; I was literally squeezing out every single QSO. Everyone seemed to hear me well enough, but on my end, it was near-catastrophic. I’m definitely out of practice on 144 MHz (it’s been about three years since my home 4 x 12 element Yagi array came down), and I completely forgot that my portable antennas sit less than 2 meters above the ground, which heavily distorts the radiation pattern, tilting it sharply upward. As I mentioned earlier, a couple of days ago I ripped out the elevation wires from the rotator at the root, so I had to adjust the elevation manually. At one point, I forgot to realign the antenna’s azimuth, and the moon “escaped” about 5–7 degrees above the antenna’s heading. Right then, a nice little pile-up started! But soon after, the rear part of the antenna with the reflectors got too close to the ground, and as far as I can tell, the antenna pattern completely fell apart. Because of that, many stations just couldn’t manage to bust through to me.

I’ll be thinking about how to improve the performance of my 2m setup for the next expedition. First, I need to increase the tripod height—getting it further off the ground will make it work better and will also allow me to operate at higher elevation angles. I also need to build a quick polarization-switching mechanism and cut the phasing lines down to half their current length. Lastly, I need to bench-test the LNA; it was acting suspiciously, throwing random noise levels for no apparent reason. In the end, I added 22 QSOs to the log from the most patient, persistent (and probably lucky! 😉) operators.

Once the moon rose to 52 degrees and was basically “scraping its belly on the ground” relative to my setup, it was time to wrap up the expedition and pack everything away. An hour later, the elements truly unleashed—the wind picked up to such a force that it was impossible to even close the cabin door. At that moment, it became crystal clear that we got wildly lucky with the weather during this trip.

After four hours of packing, it was a mad dash to catch the ferry from Miquelon back to St. Pierre. During the 1.5-hour crossing, I even managed to get a bit seasick. Tomorrow morning, we fly out to Halifax, followed by a 12-hour layover, then a flight to Madrid, and a few hours later, we’ll finally land in warm Tenerife to finally thaw out! ))

2026-06-16,10:13:00,2026-06-16,10:15:04,IK2CDI,JN55GN,144.141000,JT65,-24,,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,10:24:00,2026-06-16,10:28:00,OH2BC,KP30TX,144.141000,Q65,-22,-32,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,10:28:00,2026-06-16,10:32:00,OK1DTC,JO60TO,144.141000,Q65,-26,-19,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,10:50:00,2026-06-16,10:54:00,BX4AP,PL04IE,144.141000,Q65,-25,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,11:12:00,2026-06-16,11:13:49,DF2ZC,,144.140999,Q65,-24,-25,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,11:42:00,2026-06-16,11:46:00,OM4CW,,144.141000,Q65,-25,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,11:48:00,2026-06-16,11:52:00,DL8DAU,JO40,144.141000,Q65,-23,-27,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,11:56:00,2026-06-16,12:00:00,IK7UXY,JN90EC,144.141000,Q65,-19,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:00:00,2026-06-16,12:04:00,DK7CM,,144.141000,Q65,-25,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:03:00,2026-06-16,12:07:57,S54AC,,144.141000,Q65,-25,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:06:00,2026-06-16,12:10:00,TA2NC,KM69,144.141000,Q65,-32,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:12:00,2026-06-16,12:16:00,LY2IJ,KO25TF,144.141000,Q65,-25,-27,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:18:00,2026-06-16,12:22:00,DL1KDA,JO30EP,144.141000,Q65,-27,-28,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:24:00,2026-06-16,12:28:00,ZS6JON,KG33VV,144.141000,Q65,-15,-20,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:28:00,2026-06-16,12:32:00,9H1PA,JM75FV,144.141000,Q65,-28,-22,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:40:00,2026-06-16,12:44:00,OH1NIL,KP11,144.141000,Q65,-29,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:44:00,2026-06-16,12:48:00,KK8X,EM99,144.141000,Q65,-22,-15,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,12:56:00,2026-06-16,13:00:00,DF7DX,JO42,144.141289,Q65,-24,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,13:02:00,2026-06-16,13:06:00,HA6NQ,JN98WA,144.141289,Q65,-25,-23,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,13:06:00,2026-06-16,13:10:00,RW3QJA,KO90,144.141289,Q65,-23,-24,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,13:10:00,2026-06-16,13:14:00,IK7EZN,JN90DG,144.141289,Q65,-22,-21,,,,,,,

2026-06-16,14:14:00,2026-06-16,14:18:00,AB4GS,EM84BK,144.141001,Q65,-27,-31,,,,,,,

Bringing the total to 22 QSOs for this moon pass.

144 Mhz - 63 QSO

1296 Mhz - 89 QSO

2304 Mhz - 8 QSO

Total : 160 QSO in log for expedition.

A huge thank you to everyone who was able to donate:

KB7Q, NC1I, OK1IL, PA3FXB, N4BAA, DF2VJ, PA0BAT, ZS4TX, IK3COJ, JH0BBE