You are encouraged to share this post with your friends, acquaintances, colleagues and family by all channels available to you.
News posts, such as this, published on the SBARC website are reposted via a number of other channels including social media feeds and our Groups.io mailing lists. These external services may alter the formatting or layout of the original News Post. If you want to see this News Post in its original form please visit the SBARC website News page and follow the link or links to the story or stories of your choice.
Steve M0EBJ, Marcin M0GLV, Kevin M0KVK, Lyns G0AZE, Steve 2E0NSQ and Nick G0VQO will be operating GB0SIM from the Isle of Muck, part of the Scottish Small Islands Group in the Inner Hebrides situated off the West Coast of Scotland. The group includes Rhum, Eigg and Canna in addition to the Isle of Muck.
The Isle of Muck is a small island about 2 miles long by 1 mile wide making it slightly larger than Lundy where the South Bristol Amateur Radio Club have held many DXpeditions, see: https://www.sbarc.co.uk/club-activities/lundy/ but shares many similarities including: a restriction on motor vehicles, a lack of shops and post offices meaning that everything has to be brought to the island for any sort of visit, and the fact that it covers 4 WAB Squares!
There is a permanent population, which is currently 38 people so the DXpedition team will swell this by a massive 15.7%. Furthermore, none of the permanent population are, as far as we are aware, Radio Amateurs so regular activation of the island does not occur.
For this reason we expect the island to be in demand as soon as the callsign GB0SIM goes on Air on the 14 April 2023 when it will be operational until 20 April 2023. The island is an IOTA reference EU008. It is also home to 4 Worked All Britain Squares: NM38 in the north west, NM48 in the north east, NM37 in the south west and NM47 in the south east. Although the team will try to activate all 4 of these rare squares 3 of them will be subject to being able to set up portable operations with only NM48 being certain since this is the grid square that contains the teams rented accommodation “New House”. If you are a WAB chaser this square is not going to be available that often so now is a rare chance to log at least NM48.
The island also includes a lighthouse (Admiralty ref: A-4800.55) and a trig point TP-1147 at the top of the island high point which is called Bein Airein (NM403791). Again the team will try to activate these for those who chase trig points (https://wab.intermip.net/Trig%20Points%20Award.php) and lighthouses but again this is dependant on a portable station being operable.
The Team hope to be operating SSB and CW from 2 stations on all bands from 160m – 10m although limitations on luggage and equipment weights means that their stations will be modest with vertical antennas. Other activity such as FT8 might take place but they will advise this through their Facebook Group which you can join at the following link: Join GB0SIM FACEBOOK Group. The cottage does have internet access (something Lundy doesn’t have) and the Group will be updating in real time both Clublog and QRZ during the event. They will upload to LOTW and EQSL on their return. If you would like a paper QSL card (which they have specially printed for this expedition) via direct posting there will be a cost involved. They are a small group and cannot bear this expense so will need to send your request and adequate money or a suitable stamped addressed envelope to cover return postage.
