During the Dayton activities I was able to spend some time talking with two of the TI9KK DXpedition Team Craig K9CT and Norbert DJ7JC
K9CT spoke to us during Contest University and DJ7JC we met in one of the Supersuites.
Organizational the DXpedition seemed fairly normal, a core group had established contact with the TI0RC Radio Club, the Costa Rica Licensing Authorities, arranged transport and all the 1000s of things that a DXpedition needs.
Unfortunately their on-air time was massively cut short, not by logistics, propagation, or technical difficulties, but by the direct action of one of the assisting groups to thwart the DXpedition.
TI0RC (Radio Club Costa Rica) – the Local Radio Club – sabotaged the TI9KK DXpedition by actively working to have the TI9KK operating license canceled.
Twice the TI9KK group had to travel to the capital to get their license reinstated after the TI0RC Group had done their dirty work. For those who read Spanish here is a link to one of the letters: http://www.ti9kk.dh8wr.com/Costa_Rica_Radio_Club.pdf
Posts on the TI9KK website suggest that there may be some reconciliation with the TI0RC group, but no details are posted or assurances that this club might not turn on and work against another group. The TI9KK group website suggests never contacting the TI0RC club.
All that aside TI9KK did make 17,000 QSOs during their five days.
Both K9CT and DJ7JC had solid suggestions on how to avoid some of the other problems the group had – operator supplied rigs that interfered with all the other operators, too flat of a hierarchy making problem resolution that much more difficult, the Licensing issues, and so on.
Both said they were eager to do their next DXpedition, hopefully without the problems of a local group working against them.
As always it is great to meet up with “those that do” at the Hamvention, putting faces, voices, personalities and names to the DXpedition operator we may have briefly QSOed with for but a fleeting moment!
73
Steve
K9ZW
With Varying Frequency - Amateur Radio Ponderings 