Spring adventures 2025: GD, GJ, GU
23, 13 см EME Activation Plans: Isle of Man, Jersey & Guernsey — Late May to Early June 2025
As May draws to a close, the Moon will reach a favorable high declination, opening a promising window for EME activity. With this in mind, I’m planning to activate three underrepresented DXCC entities in the British Isles: the Isle of Man (GD), Jersey (GJ), and Guernsey (GU).
There was some EME activity from these locations around 15 years ago, but it’s been quiet ever since. Many have worked them via tropo or meteor scatter, but on 23 cm, they remain highly attractive targets — especially for stations operating at greater distances.
Operating Windows
The initial window runs from May 23 to 25. On May 26 and 27, the Moon will be too close to the Sun to allow meaningful operation. After that, another window opens from May 28 to June 3.
The route is as follows: begin on the Isle of Man (GD), then, during the solar-lunar conjunction, travel south to England and take a ferry to Jersey (GJ) for three days of activity. From there, the plan is to continue to Guernsey (GU) for another brief activation.
Unfortunately, direct ferry service between Jersey and Guernsey now operates only once a week. This means I’ll need to travel via France and return the following day — an extra leg, but a necessary one.
Bands and Equipment
I’ll be active primarily on 23 cm, and — if everything goes smoothly and nothing breaks — I’ll also operate on 13 cm.
Each location will be accompanied by a separate blog post, with logs, updates, and any relevant changes. The core equipment and antennas remain the same as in previous expeditions.
Mobile Shack Rebuild
My mobile station has been fully overhauled to support fast, flexible deployment. I’ve removed all non-essential components — the toilet, refrigerator, kitchen, and shower — and replaced them with a fixed shelf and workbench where all radio gear is securely mounted.
A folding antenna mount is now installed on the rear door, with cables routed inside through a sealed hatch. The goal is to be operational within minutes, without the need to set up a tripod or spend time searching for an open site unobstructed by trees, buildings, or hills.
To support fully autonomous operation, I’ve added a 600-watt solar panel and a 400-watt DC charger linked to the vehicle’s onboard system. The EcoFlow battery system now has a capacity of 10 kWh, and there’s a 500-watt car inverter in reserve — allowing me to run up to 200 watts of RF output completely off-grid.
RX Changes
To improve reception reliability, I’ve added a Fobos SDR receiver (covering up to 6 GHz) as a secondary broadband receiver — a useful safeguard, especially given Windows’ tendency to update itself the night before an expedition and reset all the audio settings.
I’m also running the latest version of WSJT-X, which now supports split operation up to 30 MHz and independent receive capability across sub-bands. This flexibility is particularly helpful when working on 13 cm.
Operating Modes
As usual, I’ll be calling on 1296.100 MHz using Q65-30B. Upon request, I can switch to 60C or 120D.
Please check back on this blog for updates and adjustments. Email notifications are only sent for new posts, so any edits or additional details will appear here without direct alerts.
Looking forward to hearing you on the bands and sharing another expedition from the road.
73 de Alex / EA8DBM