VP2V – KK4LWR

July 29, 2025July 28, 2025

DXpedition Behind the Scenes: Operation Planning

Next in the VP2V DXpedition series, let’s dig into the operational plan. After selecting Tortola, we need to figure out our operation. We land on Friday, August 8th in the afternoon and depart on Monday, August 11th in the afternoon. We want to maximize our time on the air and generate the most QSOs possible.

ClubLog offers the ability to analyze a DX entity for what bands and modes are in demand. It also tracks the last time it was activated. As the cover photo shows, there are some clear bands in demand. Tony and I are both confident about getting on the air on 6 meters. We both participate in VHF contests, so we feel good about 6 meters; we just need an antenna. The summer and high solar cycle noise on 160 makes the band difficult to use. It also poses an antenna challenge. 80 and 60 meters are more doable, but still remains a challenge.

Bands 40 to 10 meters are easy for us. We have multiple antennas and can get on the air. Globally, in that range, the WARC bands (12, 17, and 30 meters), seem to be in more demand. 15 meters and 40 meters SSB are also, strangely, seems in demand.

As we move around the world, VP2V gets more in demand, especially in Asia. So this is looking like a good trip. We plan to follow propagation as it appears there is lots of needed bands.

I’ll end this post here for now as we could go on forever analyzing QSO history. In fact I’m on Tortola right while writing this post, so need to go visit the beach with my wife and daughter. Tune in next week to learn about our equipment.

July 22, 2025July 17, 2025

DXpedition Behind the Scenes: Selecting the Location

Welcome to the first post in a series taking a look at how Tony and I planned and prepared for our VP2V DXpedition in August. We are hardly experts, but this serves as a bit of documentation (and forum for feedback) to capture what we learned. For this first post, let’s dive into how we ended up with Tortola and the British Virgin Islands.

Our search began with ClubLog’s Most-Wanted list. ClubLog looks at all the QSOs uploaded and compares that with all the available country prefixes. Many of the top locations are difficult to arrange travel. With that in mind, narrowed the list to a few key contenders, C6A – Bahamas, VP2V – British Virgin Islands, and PJ7 – Sint Maarten.

With a short list, we began some research on licensing and travel plans. Both Tony and I have been to the Bahamas a lot. We looked at a bunch of islands: Nassau, Bimini, Grand Bahama. Ultimately we have been to the Bahamas a lot and there are plenty of travel options. We also have both gotten our Bahamian licenses in the past for various. The downside, is that the Bahamas is VERY popular and finding a place to operate is difficult.

Sint Maarten is interesting due to the nature of the island. However, we both lack a lot of experience with the island. Aside from a few cruises years ago, we haven’t been to the island recently. There does seem to be somewhat consistent activity every month or so on the island, according to ClubLog. This makes it less appealing for us, since it is rare, but not always on the air.

The British Virgin Islands are also interesting. There are several islands that make up the BVIs with Tortola being the capital. Both Tony and I have been to the island. I’ve been to the island recently and in fact will be there a week before the DXpedition. While it has been recently activated (which decreased its rank), it is fairly infrequent for folks to get on the air.

Ultimately looking at costs of travel and ClubLog rank and activity, we settled on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The island has good infrastructure in terms of places to stay, provisions, an international airport, and roadways. The island also has some good elevation to aid in making contacts. So with the location finalized, time to start planning.

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025

My FIRST DXpedition!

I love the Caribbean. Living in Florida it is a quick trip to any of the islands. From the amazing diving to days on the beach, its the perfect place to kick back. Naturally when it comes time to pick somewhere to go for my first DXpedition, the Caribbean is at the top of the list.

Looking at ClubLog, the British Virgin Islands are ranked 138 and are a beautiful area. I’ve visited many times on cruises (the source of all the photos in this post). I’ve gone diving, I’ve spent time on the beach, but I haven’t gotten on the radio!

This trip will be my first time flying into the island. We have formulated an operating plan and even created a custom antenna to get us on 6 meters! More on that in another post. Until then, you can check out our plans at the dedicated page: KK4LWR.com/VP2V.