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IOTA Activation of Bere Island, EU-121

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11th-12th September 2008, Bere Island, EU-121, IO51BP

Click on a thumbnail below to see a larger picture.

In August 2008 I was on holiday in Ireland with my wife Jacqui celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We visited some of the islands on the West Coast of Ireland.

On the Dingle Peninsula we looked out over the sea to the enchanting prospect of Great Blasket Island, EU-007.

Great Blasket Is. from Dunquin, our first view of the island.

A call to Dave EI9FBB in Cork, revealed that the Kinsale Radio Club were very keen to activate EU-007. So we decided to try and get onto the island with some radios a few days later.

On Thursday 7th August we set off early from Bantry to meet Dave EI9FBB & Jeremy EI5GM on the Dingle Peninsula. The weather was deteriorating badly when we arrived. Jacqui & I went to the ferry at Dunquin and David & Jeremy went to another ferry at Dingle.

It's true what they say: "There's no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothes", hi hi!

The Dunquin ferry cancelled all sailing that day, but David & Jeremy got a boat from Dingle and managed to get on the island. They made 80 QSOs on 40m SSB before being pulled off the island as the storm got worse.

Over the next few weeks we formed a team to go back. On SSB Mark G4AXX & Dave EI9FBB, on CW Jeremy EI5GM & Dave EI4BZ, all CDXC members. A month later we went back but the weather was still bad. We waited in Dingle for two days. Then we had bad news from the skipper. The sea swell was too high to attempt a landing with the rubber dinghy. We gave up and went down to Bere Island off the Beara Peninsula. There we got an easy car ferry over to EU-121, and set up.

	The ferry from Castletownbere to Bere Island.
	The R7000 vertical with the Martello Tower in the background.
	The R7000 vertical with the Caha Mountains in the background.
	Stakes went in a few inches then hit solid rock.
	Dave EI4BZ with another 40ft Clark mast for the 20m sloper.
	Dave EI9FBB positioning the 20m sloper,
	and securing the guy.
	Jeremy EI5GM riding a megalith.
	The view North West.
	Mark G4AXX lengthening the 40m dipole.
	Mark EJ/G4AXX & Jeremy EJ5GM fire up. The CW station used an Icom IC746 & Ameritron AL811H.
	The SSB station used an Icom IC706 & a water-cooled prototype amplifier.
	ICE bandpass filters protect the receivers.
	The luxurious Martello View B&B,
	with a world-class view.
	Discussing antenna SWR.
	Dave EJ9FBB on SSB & Dave EJ4BZ on CW.
	The ICE filters, the same filters used on the 7Q7MM DxPedition (Tnx Steve G4EDG).
	This can happen when you fold a dipole back on itself to raise the resonant frequency. Different parts are at different voltages, enough to burn off the insulation!
	A ship in the estuary.
	Sunset over the Beara Peninsula.
	We logged with AClog. Here's a summary of all our activity from EU-121.

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