Developing Telecoms | Iridium ham it up for radio buffs

22 May 2012

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Iridium ham it up for radio buffs

Monday, 30 January 2006 21:21 | Alec Barton

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Central to the joys of amateur radio operations is making contact with radio stations all over the world. Antarctica is no longer the exception, for nine temporary radio stations are to be set up on Peter I Island, a remote uninhabited ice-bound island near Antarctica.

Supplying mobile satellite phone systems for an intrepid group of amateur "ham" radio operators is Iridium Satellite, the company undertaking a "DXpedition" this month to establish the radio stations. The DXpedition team will travel to Peter I Island from Punta Arenas, Chile , by icebreaker and will be transported ashore by helicopter.

The Iridium satellite phones will al low the team to stay in touch with home, obtain weather forecasts, and provide daily uploads of log information and updates from the island. Updates will include photos and possibly video clips which the DXpedition group will post to its website.

"The Iridium satellite phones will provide an important margin of safety for the team during their expedition to one of the most remote and inaccessible islands in the world," said Greg Ewert, Executive Vice- President, Iridium Satellite. "Iridium's unique constellation of low-earth orbit satellites ensures reliable, uninterrupted communications in extreme polar regions which are not covered by other mobile satellite networks."

Bob Allphin, expedition co-leader, explained: "In amateur radio parlance, 'DX' is an abbreviation for distance, and 'DXing' refers to the pursuit of radio contacts, often under extremely difficult conditions, with distant stations across the globe. The enthusiasm of DXers is exemplified by the frequent DXpeditions mounted by hams to remote locations to provide the worldwide ham community with an opportunity to log calls to that spot."

But be quick. The radio site will only be operational for approximately two weeks in February. It is then that radio hams worldwide operators will have their big moment - logging calls to some of the most isolated stations anywhere.

*Discovered by a Russian explorer in 1821, Peter I Island is more than 450 km from the nearest land in West Antarctica . It lies below the Antarctic Circle in the Bellinghausen Sea and is surrounded by dense pack ice almost year round.