WEBVTT 00:00:11.150 --> 00:00:13.890 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:13.890 --> 00:00:31.829 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:34.570 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:43.969 Please stand by. This episode of ham talk live 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:47.750 is brought to you by tower electronics for connectors 00:00:47.750 --> 00:00:51.070 cables and more Visit them at a ham fest near 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:54.829 you or call nine to zero four three five Twenty 00:00:54.829 --> 00:01:00.429 nine seventy three or online at pl -259 .com 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:34.659 Welcome back everybody! It's time for HamTalk 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:40.319 Live! It's episode number 119. Bouvet Island 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.180 Adventures with Ralph K0IR, recorded live on 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.760 Thursday, June 14th, 2018. I'm your host, Neil 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:53.079 Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:56.400 of HamTalk Live! Tonight, we're joined by Dr. 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:00.560 Ralph Fedor, KZeroIR, and we'll take your calls 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.859 live in just a few minutes. Last week on the 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:08.919 show, Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD, and Dr. Fred Riganetter, 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:14.800 the K4IU, were here to talk about the WRTC 2018 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.099 competitors as featured in the National Contest 00:02:18.099 --> 00:02:21.939 Journal. And we're at the end of the show. Tonight, 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:25.080 I'll announce the winner of our contest last 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.479 week for a free one -year subscription to the 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.379 National Contest Journal. So be sure you see... 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:34.189 Be sure you stay tuned for that. If you missed 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:37.629 the show, you can listen to that anytime at HamTalkLive 00:02:37.629 --> 00:02:40.969 .com. Or you can catch us on the podcast edition 00:02:40.969 --> 00:02:44.289 on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeart Podcasts, 00:02:44.330 --> 00:02:47.030 Google Play, TuneIn, SoundCloud, or your favorite 00:02:47.030 --> 00:02:51.750 app. Or we're also on YouTube. So if you have 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:55.069 questions about the move a island the expedition 00:02:55.069 --> 00:02:58.469 get those ready to go and You can call in and 00:02:58.469 --> 00:03:01.610 join in our conversation in the second segment 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:03.870 of the show And I'll go ahead and give you the 00:03:03.870 --> 00:03:06.270 phone number and it's not time to call just yet 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:08.849 But I'll give you the number so you have it ready 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:13.569 to go. It's eight one two net ham one eight one 00:03:13.569 --> 00:03:19.199 two six three eight 4261 or you can Skype us 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.360 at HamTalk Live or you can send us a tweet. If 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.020 you'd rather do that, our Twitter handle is at 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:29.300 HamTalk Live. So I'll be back with Ralph right 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.800 after this word from Tower Electronics right 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:36.039 here on HamTalk Live. Hey honey, have you seen 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:41.319 the PL 259s anywhere? No I haven't. Come on kids, 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:46.870 let's go! There's just one place to go for all 00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:52.090 of your connector needs. Tower electronics. A 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:55.129 giant warehouse of connectors and adapters for 00:03:55.129 --> 00:03:57.710 every occasion. Thousands to choose from in every 00:03:57.710 --> 00:04:00.530 shape, size, and color. And they have antennas, 00:04:00.750 --> 00:04:03.469 soldering supplies, cables, meters, and more. 00:04:04.009 --> 00:04:05.810 Where do you go if you want to buy a connector 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:08.710 at a fraction of retail cost? Tower electronics. 00:04:08.870 --> 00:04:12.270 Tower electronics. Tower electronics. And this 00:04:12.270 --> 00:04:15.069 weekend only, take advantage of our special liquidation 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:18.990 sale. Buy nine solder -type PL259s, get the tenth 00:04:18.990 --> 00:04:24.069 one for just one penny. They make great Christmas 00:04:24.069 --> 00:04:30.000 presents. And what better way to say I love you 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.920 than with the gift of a PL259. Tower Electronics. 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:37.939 Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics. Hi, I'm 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:41.879 Scott Cole, KB9AMM, president of Tower Electronics. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:44.480 I like the company so much that I bought it. 00:04:44.540 --> 00:04:46.910 Tower Electronics. Coming to a hand fest near 00:04:46.910 --> 00:04:52.029 you or online at PL -259 .com. And we're in the 00:04:52.029 --> 00:04:54.709 yellow pages under amateur radio connectors. 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:58.389 My, wherever did you get that lovely PL -259? 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:04.610 Tower Electronics, PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 00:05:04.610 --> 00:05:09.949 -2973. Do we sell PL -259 connectors? Five out 00:05:09.949 --> 00:05:13.019 of four people have trouble with fractions. Now, 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:30.579 here's Neil Rapp with more HamTalk Live. Tower 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:34.399 Electronics has some hamfists coming up. This 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:36.500 weekend they're in Monroe, Michigan just south 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:40.100 of Detroit on the 17th. July 7th will be in Oak 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:43.000 Creek, Wisconsin in South Milwaukee, and then 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.879 August 5th, Berryville, Virginia. Or you can 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.839 visit them online at PL -259 .com. Joining us 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.500 tonight, Dr. Ralph Fedor, KZeroIR from St. Cloud, 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:59.019 Minnesota, has been licensed since 1962. Ralph's 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:01.720 passions have been DXing, contesting, and especially 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:05.279 DXpeditions. And Ralph has been on several trips, 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:08.790 including to Vasa. Amsterdam Island, Malpelo, 00:06:09.050 --> 00:06:12.689 Bhutan, Peter One, and Saba Island, just to name 00:06:12.689 --> 00:06:16.170 a few. And Ralph was one of the organizers of 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:18.889 the attempt to activate Bouvier Island in January, 00:06:19.529 --> 00:06:22.490 which he will talk to us about tonight. And he 00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:26.279 is a retired doctor and radiologist. He's an 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.420 extra class operator. He's operated from 27 different 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:32.420 countries. A member of many radio societies. 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:36.000 He's on the board of the International DX Association. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:40.180 He's been elected to the DX Hall of Fame. So 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:42.399 Ralph, thanks for coming back to HamTalk Live. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.660 Well, thank you Neil. It's great to be back. 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:50.240 Well, you've been very good about communicating 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.800 with us about this DXpedition. as we were anticipating 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.240 it and we're all disappointed, but understanding 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:03.800 of what happened and we're glad that you're all 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:08.339 back home. That's the good news. So now that 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:11.079 the dust has settled a little bit from the trip 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:13.800 and you've had some time to kind of reflect on 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:17.319 what's going on, I'm sure you've got a bunch 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:22.500 of stories to tell. So let's talk about what 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:24.639 what happened on the trip a little bit. So again, 00:07:24.660 --> 00:07:28.120 remind us just a little bit about Bouvet Island, 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:32.699 where it is and why we were trying so hard to 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:36.800 get there. Okay. All right, Neil. Well, it's 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:39.560 really nice to be back and having made it back 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:44.939 from Bouvet. The island, Bouvet is known as the 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:49.040 most isolated place on earth. It's a 19 square 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:53.389 mile, almost entirely ice covered island. draw 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:58.730 a 2 ,700 nautical mile line southeast from Cape 00:07:58.730 --> 00:08:02.810 Horn in South America, draw an 1 ,800 nautical 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:05.810 mile line south -southwest from the Cape of Good 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:09.129 Hope in southern Africa, and a line extending 00:08:09.129 --> 00:08:12.009 about 1 ,000 miles north from the north coast 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.310 of Antarctica. And where those lines meet, you 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:19.930 will find Bouvet. The island is renowned for 00:08:19.930 --> 00:08:23.540 its winds, low clouds, fog and its isolation. 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:27.100 All these things combine to make it the second 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:31.360 most wanted entity by the amateur radio DX community. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:34.820 It is not a place for the faint of heart Neil. 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:40.200 I was just commenting on that earlier that I 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:47.019 can't even imagine going on that trip. I'm worried 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:50.169 enough as it is like you know going to going 00:08:50.169 --> 00:08:54.490 to St. Louis and back. So, oh my. Well, what 00:08:54.490 --> 00:09:00.850 was the plan for this de -expedition? Well, Neil, 00:09:01.149 --> 00:09:03.590 you know the saying about the best laid plans 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:09.230 of mice and men. 20 of us were to sail from Punta 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:15.230 Arenas, Chile on January 13th aboard the MV Batanzas, 00:09:15.450 --> 00:09:19.279 a 236 -foot vessel. and we were going to sail 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.799 the 2 ,700 nautical miles to Bouvet, spend 21 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:27.840 days at the island, be on the island and on the 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.740 air for 14 to 16 days, get off the island safely, 00:09:33.419 --> 00:09:37.519 and sail back to Punta Arenas, Chile. We were 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:40.759 prepared to have up to 14 stations active on 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.919 all the modes and be on all the open bands, including 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:50.149 EME. And thanks to folks like Flex Radio Systems, 00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:53.750 DX Engineering, and ACOM, we had some of the 00:09:53.750 --> 00:09:56.710 best equipment I think ever assembled. Transceivers, 00:09:56.990 --> 00:09:59.710 antennas, feed lines, support mast, amplifiers, 00:10:00.450 --> 00:10:03.929 hardware and safety equipment. And we were poised 00:10:03.929 --> 00:10:07.730 to do the best job possible with the propagation 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.809 that was available to us. And that was the plan 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:20.309 going into this. Okay, and then that obviously 00:10:20.309 --> 00:10:25.789 didn't go the way we'd planned, so what actually 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:29.629 happened with that? Okay, in a nutshell, and 00:10:29.629 --> 00:10:31.470 we can get into some of the details a little 00:10:31.470 --> 00:10:35.669 later, but in a nutshell, we departed from Punta 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:39.470 Arenas, Chile on January 19th. That's six days 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:45.460 late. We arrived at Buve on January 31st. We 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:48.580 spent only three and one -half days at the island 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:52.759 We never landed on the island and then we limped 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.779 into Cape Town, South Africa arriving there on 00:10:55.779 --> 00:11:00.259 February 17th and We experienced all kinds of 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:03.700 difficulty during our time at sea Going to Bouvet 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:06.600 going to Cape Town and then a lot of difficulty 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:12.720 when we were at Bouvet And the worst of this 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:18.740 was Let's see, I think that's kind of an easy 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:24.460 one here. It was the night of February 2nd, and 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:29.360 I came to our cabin, which I shared with Glenn 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:33.840 and Craig. I crawled into my top bunk, which 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:37.700 was a rather difficult feat with the ship rolling 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:39.940 and so forth, but after about 10 days I kind 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:43.539 of managed that technique. But I crawled in bed 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:47.159 about 11 p .m. and just as I went to sleep, I 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:49.700 noticed a slight change in the sound of the engines. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:53.379 I really didn't think too much of it. I fell 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:59.620 asleep and then at 5 p .m. that night, I and 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:02.820 my cabin mates awoke very suddenly to the smell 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:05.860 of smoke that was filling our room. And of course, 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:10.419 the immediate thought was fire. jumped out of 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:14.220 our bunks, we opened the door to the cabin, and 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:17.860 the hallway outside was full of smoke. The smoke 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:20.360 was so thick that we couldn't see into the lounge 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:25.240 at the rear end of the hall. So other people 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:27.059 were waking up at the same time. There was a 00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:29.220 lot of people shouting and calling to everyone. 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:34.100 We quickly put on all the warm clothes we could 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.740 find. Shoes, parkas, life jackets, whatever was 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:40.799 there and available. And then, as I said, put 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.960 life jackets on over all of this. And then with 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:47.539 the rest of the team, we made our way up a stairway 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:51.480 onto the main deck to a mustering point. We counted 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:56.700 noses and all 20 of us were there. It was a cold, 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:00.340 it was windy, and it was a very dark night. And 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:03.360 I'm sure these thoughts were flashing through 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.879 everyone's minds up there. And that is, how is 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.210 this going to end? You know, are we going to 00:13:09.210 --> 00:13:12.629 die in a millisecond when the 3 ,000 gallons 00:13:12.629 --> 00:13:15.129 of jet fuel that's 10 feet away from us explodes 00:13:15.129 --> 00:13:18.710 from the heat of a fire? Are we going to die 00:13:18.710 --> 00:13:20.909 in a few moments if we have to jump into these 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:24.889 icy waters with what we have on? Is it going 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:28.809 to be hypothermia in one of the ship's life rafts? 00:13:29.169 --> 00:13:31.509 Probably dressed as we were in conditions as 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:34.230 they were, we would last 24 to 48 hours in that 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:40.139 situation. Or... Would we die from dehydration 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:44.259 inside the ship's 60 -passenger lifeboat, which 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:48.120 contained no water, no fuel, no food, or any 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.159 other provisions? Now, luckily, this was not 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:55.320 a fire, but it was an overheated coupling in 00:13:55.320 --> 00:14:00.320 the ship's starboard engine's drivetrain. What 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.759 I think happened is that an engine mount was 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:07.879 not sufficiently tightened, The engine moved 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.100 in the rough seas that we experienced that night 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:13.899 and the drive train went out of alignment and 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:18.100 the coupling overheated. This left us with one 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:21.620 functional engine and this ultimately was the 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:26.139 reason for boarding the mission. An issue of 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:29.059 real concern, I think, is that during this whole 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:32.080 ordeal, none of the ship's smoke alarms went 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.309 off, none of the fire alarms sounded. And it 00:14:35.309 --> 00:14:39.210 was just our sense of smell that alerted us to 00:14:39.210 --> 00:14:42.830 this danger. I think that's the worst one, Neil. 00:14:43.970 --> 00:14:48.769 I would hope that's the worst because I wouldn't 00:14:48.769 --> 00:14:53.450 want to wish anything worse than that. That sounds 00:14:53.450 --> 00:14:58.190 extremely frightening. So again we say, we're 00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:03.409 glad you're all home. Well, me too. You know, 00:15:03.610 --> 00:15:06.309 we looked the Grim Reaper in the eye that night. 00:15:07.289 --> 00:15:12.330 Oh my goodness. Well, what were some of the conditions 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:17.769 out in the seas? You know, before this all happened, 00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:23.809 you were riding some pretty rough waves. Yeah, 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:28.710 that was a fairly rough night. The winds, I think, 00:15:29.149 --> 00:15:32.090 were probably peaking around 60 knots, which 00:15:32.090 --> 00:15:35.690 is about 70 miles an hour. And the seas, as a 00:15:35.690 --> 00:15:38.330 result, you know, were churning and they were 00:15:38.330 --> 00:15:41.370 rough. And this was all exacerbated by a ship 00:15:41.370 --> 00:15:46.129 with a narrow beam and an apparent lack of ballast, 00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:49.590 yielding rolls of over 30 degrees in each direction. 00:15:50.370 --> 00:15:54.320 So that gives you a 60 degree excursion. and 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:58.279 my estimated period of the whole rotation or 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:00.620 rolling sequence was probably about 15 to 20 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:04.519 seconds. So we were moving a lot and we're moving 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:09.000 fast. But again, this is not an unexpected event 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:14.240 at Bouvet. We selected our shelters and we designed 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.740 our antenna masts to withstand 125 mile an hour 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:21.529 winds. So this was not something abnormal or 00:16:21.529 --> 00:16:26.870 unexpected. It is just the way buve is Now things 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:32.450 like that you'd really have No control over and 00:16:32.450 --> 00:16:35.129 and you know, let's just like you said that's 00:16:35.129 --> 00:16:39.429 the way it is But you know some of the things 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:42.350 with the ship and that kind of thing maybe there 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:47.940 were some some issues so Can you identify some 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:54.379 of those factors that led to having to bail out 00:16:54.379 --> 00:17:01.799 on the expedition for now? Well, I think it's 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.900 the entire transportation leg of the project, 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:11.059 Neil. The multiple problems with the ship, the 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:14.359 delays, There was a cancellation of a charter 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.740 before us because the ship wasn't ready. There 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.059 were a number of discoveries that made the vessel 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:23.920 seem non -seaworthy. There were safety issues 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.880 like the fire alarms and smoke alarms that I 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:31.640 mentioned. It seemed to me that there was an 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:35.160 inadequate preparation and information basis 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:41.049 among the crew. There seemed to be a lack of 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:44.049 planning for executing the protocols for helicopter 00:17:44.049 --> 00:17:50.470 operations. Their assessment of the surface of 00:17:50.470 --> 00:17:55.069 Bouvet did not meet with what we had learned 00:17:55.069 --> 00:17:57.890 about the island. They seemed to be more naive 00:17:57.890 --> 00:18:02.789 about it than I had hoped they would be. Comprehension 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:05.089 of the weather and the sea conditions at Bouvet 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:08.970 did not seem to be there. They were surprised 00:18:08.970 --> 00:18:12.730 about conditions. We were not. We got what we 00:18:12.730 --> 00:18:19.529 expected. And like I say, it was just an overall 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:22.869 inability to deal with what is normal at Bouvet. 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:26.849 But no matter what the issues were with the ship 00:18:26.849 --> 00:18:30.890 or with the crew, it ultimately comes down to 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:33.539 Were there errors made in human judgment and 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.240 decisions relating to our use of that ship? So 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.099 this really isn't about bad weather. It's not 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:43.240 really about bad seas or an indomitable island. 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:47.740 It all comes back, I think, to the result of 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:50.039 human errors in decision making and judgment. 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:56.140 Okay. Well, I know this was disappointing for 00:18:56.140 --> 00:18:59.079 all of us, but especially for, you know, the 00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:03.690 20 of you who were going on that journey and 00:19:03.690 --> 00:19:09.450 spent all that time invested in going. What do 00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:14.410 you feel like was personally the most disappointing 00:19:14.410 --> 00:19:19.269 thing in having to call it off? I can probably 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:23.849 come up with a couple of things, Neil. First 00:19:23.849 --> 00:19:27.779 of all, having this fall apart after Years of 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:31.240 planning and months of doing things like web 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:35.839 work equipment acquisition fundraising building 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:40.480 support for the project was Discouraging let 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:45.019 me use that word. I do regret that our Sponsors, 00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:47.059 you know who were very generous and supportive 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:49.660 had to share this disappointment with us. They 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:53.380 they really deserve better another thing that 00:19:54.120 --> 00:19:56.700 I was very discouraged about was that on the 00:19:56.700 --> 00:20:01.059 day of our departure, we had extremely good weather. 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.579 It was a forced departure. We had to leave because 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:09.099 of the ship problems. The island was crystal 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:11.900 clear. We had what a pilot would call ceiling 00:20:11.900 --> 00:20:15.680 and visibility unlimited. You probably get two 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.500 or three days like that a year at Bouvet, and 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:22.160 we got one. and we couldn't take advantage of 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.400 it. So that was disappointing. And the other 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:28.119 thing for me was that when you look back at the 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:30.779 history of landings that have occurred at Bouvet 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:35.099 in the last 40 years, I can't really find any 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:38.299 other expedition that went to Bouvet with the 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:41.400 intent of landing and failing to land on the 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.079 island. Now they had to wait for weather windows, 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:47.029 you know, as we did. But in 40 years, it looks 00:20:47.029 --> 00:20:50.109 like we may be the only one that failed to land 00:20:50.109 --> 00:20:54.430 when we intended to. And that's telling and discouraging. 00:20:55.210 --> 00:21:01.289 Yeah, it sure is. And I know it's a disappointment 00:21:01.289 --> 00:21:07.130 for the whole crew. Did you feel like you were 00:21:07.130 --> 00:21:10.829 overburdened or compromised with all the equipment 00:21:10.829 --> 00:21:16.599 you had to take to try to pull this off? We had 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:19.920 a lot of stuff, Neil. We had a 40 -foot sea container 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:23.220 full of things, which was ultimately broken down 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:26.700 into two 20 -foot containers to fit aboard the 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:34.099 ship. I think, in a way, this is a moot point 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.920 and an irrelevant point, since none of what we 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.920 brought made it ashore. If we had only brought 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.259 a team toothbrush, it wouldn't have gotten ashore. 00:21:45.780 --> 00:21:48.839 Secondly, I think our plans were to stage our 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:52.059 equipment coming ashore so that what was ashore 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:54.480 could always support the people that were on 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:58.019 shore. The number of people ashore should never 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:00.819 exceed what the infrastructure that we had there 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:05.019 could support. Considering the rarity of Bouvet, 00:22:06.059 --> 00:22:08.400 the resources that we tapped, the money that 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.660 we spent, and the time involved, it's almost 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:16.079 unthinkable to do this in a minimalist way. We 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.700 had a lot of stuff, but I feel that you start 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:21.960 from a position of strength and as many resources 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:25.039 as you can, and then you build to be the best 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:28.160 you can. You don't start with a minimalist approach 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.599 and a position of weakness because it traps you 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:34.440 and puts you in a corner. For example, you need 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:36.579 an amplifier to be heard, but you didn't bring 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:40.079 one, or you need 10 stations to cover what propagation 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:44.190 you have, and you brought four. You need a gain 00:22:44.190 --> 00:22:46.730 and directional antenna to maximize your effectiveness, 00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.650 but you have a vertical over poor ground. Bouvet 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:54.910 is not a get by with as little as you can kind 00:22:54.910 --> 00:22:57.549 of place. I think you need to do the best that 00:22:57.549 --> 00:22:59.930 you can and not the least that you can get by 00:22:59.930 --> 00:23:03.369 with. You don't get many shots at a place like 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:06.869 Bouvet, so I think the DX community deserves 00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:09.150 that you give it your best shot with all you've 00:23:09.150 --> 00:23:15.000 got when you get there. I would agree. Well, 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:20.339 what's left? The story hasn't quite ended yet. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:25.839 What's left to be done and what's the plan going 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:32.680 forward from here? The last shoe to fall here, 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:35.619 I guess, is getting our seat container with all 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:39.599 our gear and equipment back to the U .S. It's 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:42.480 currently in Chile. and we're working to get 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:46.839 it back and moving to the U .S. It's been a slow 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:49.880 process and it's been somewhat of a frustrating 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:53.519 process for N4GRN who's been working really hard 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:57.420 to get this container moving. Then when we have 00:23:57.420 --> 00:24:00.259 the container back and we know what the expenses 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:04.359 involved in getting it back are, we can balance 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:08.960 our books and then we'll zero everything out. 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:12.259 by refunding money to our donors on a pro rata 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:15.640 basis. It's gonna take a lot of work to do this 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:20.140 but we have to do it. I think our donors should 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:24.359 not say keep it for the next one because we have 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:27.759 no idea what that next one will look like or 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:32.359 even if there will be a next one. We also need 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:34.619 to get our equipment back to our sponsors. They're 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:36.920 anxious to have that back and they deserve to 00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:40.109 get it back. Again, this is all going to take 00:24:40.109 --> 00:24:43.950 some time, but we are moving on it. We're moving 00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:48.250 as fast as the customs and immigration people 00:24:48.250 --> 00:24:53.329 in Chile will let us move. Very good. Well, there 00:24:53.329 --> 00:24:57.869 was an invitation from another group that had 00:24:57.869 --> 00:25:02.130 postponed their plans to try to go to Mube. And 00:25:02.130 --> 00:25:08.589 they invited your team to go. So tell us about 00:25:08.589 --> 00:25:13.490 that and the decisions that were made by the 00:25:13.490 --> 00:25:18.069 team members so far. Okay. First of all, this 00:25:18.069 --> 00:25:22.890 is or was a personal decision for each individual. 00:25:23.970 --> 00:25:26.990 There should not be any corporate coercion or 00:25:26.990 --> 00:25:30.329 demand that the invitation not be accepted or 00:25:30.329 --> 00:25:32.730 be accepted or whatever. It's a personal decision 00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:38.509 for each team member. Dom, 3Z9DX, is leading 00:25:38.509 --> 00:25:42.369 the attempt we're talking about. I spoke with 00:25:42.369 --> 00:25:44.890 Dom on the phone about a month ago and we've 00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:49.710 had a few email exchanges since that time. He 00:25:49.710 --> 00:25:53.069 presents himself as a sincere and conscientious 00:25:53.069 --> 00:25:56.720 person with a plan. And our team member responses 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.599 to date have been to decline the invitation, 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:02.660 and the reasons given generally go something 00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:07.160 like this. The time commitment for two long de 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:10.579 -expeditions so close together is just impossible 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:14.680 for a lot of people. Some of the team members 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:16.759 simply don't want to go back to Bouvet again. 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:21.279 It was not a place to their liking. And I can't 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:27.839 blame them. Also, the total cost of two projects, 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:31.799 again, close together, is just a very difficult 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.880 financial situation for just about all of us. 00:26:36.660 --> 00:26:38.960 Some of the team members are concerned about 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:41.759 the proposed beach landing. They're uncomfortable 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:48.259 with that. And I think lastly, because any extreme 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:54.180 de -expedition like this necessitates understanding 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:57.880 among team members. It demands cohesiveness, 00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:01.660 complementary skills, easy communication between 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:06.180 team members, reliability, knowing you can depend 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:09.960 on people, a lot of tolerance, and of course 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:13.859 a lot of trust between team members. And some, 00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:16.420 as a result, are reluctant to travel with individuals 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:19.099 that they don't know well or they have never 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:23.400 worked with before. Again, Bouvet, is a very 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:25.740 demanding place and you don't want to take any 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:29.359 chances there. But again, this participation, 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:32.380 it's a personal decision and up to each one of 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:36.500 our individual team members. Okay, very good. 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:41.440 Well, we need to take a break here, but any last 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:43.980 thoughts here before we do that and see if we 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:50.029 have some calls? Okay. First of all, I guess 00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:52.910 I would tell our audience that we're not heroes 00:27:52.910 --> 00:27:55.730 and we're not victims of nature's wrath here 00:27:55.730 --> 00:27:59.470 We're not like the expeditioners who go to a 00:27:59.470 --> 00:28:02.710 quiet Pacific Island and are hit by an unexpected 00:28:02.710 --> 00:28:05.650 Typhoon and have to go to great lengths to survive 00:28:05.650 --> 00:28:10.089 and those are those are the heroes, okay? We 00:28:10.089 --> 00:28:12.289 on the other hand knew exactly what we were getting 00:28:12.289 --> 00:28:15.490 into It was a selection of the ship that seemed 00:28:15.490 --> 00:28:18.920 to seal our fate here And what I think we need 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.299 to do as team members is have the courage to 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:25.680 identify and admit our mistakes. We need the 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.500 strength to correct them. And then we need the 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:34.500 intellect not to make them again. Sounds very, 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:38.039 very reasonable. Well, we're going to take a 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:41.079 break. We'll come back with Ralph and we'll give 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:45.990 you a chance to ask your questions. Take your 00:28:45.990 --> 00:28:48.210 calls right after this word from the National 00:28:48.210 --> 00:28:51.210 Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, right 00:28:51.210 --> 00:29:17.529 here on HamTalk Live. a 200 ,000 watt transmitter, 00:29:18.150 --> 00:29:20.950 and the most comprehensive collection of inventions 00:29:20.950 --> 00:29:25.549 by the iconic Powell -Crosley Jr. Also on display 00:29:25.549 --> 00:29:29.849 is a huge antique radio exhibit and R .L. Drake's 00:29:29.849 --> 00:29:32.869 personal collection of most every Drake amateur 00:29:32.869 --> 00:29:36.740 rig ever made. This is a unique opportunity to 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:39.900 see amateur radio in action and have a chance 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:45.460 to get on the air from WC8VOA. Admission is only 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:49.160 $5 a person. The museum is located close to historic 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:53.880 WLWAM and tons of shopping and restaurants. Take 00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:57.819 a trip to the VOA museum or visit us online at 00:29:57.819 --> 00:30:04.960 voamuseum .org. you're talking ham radio baby 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:10.380 you're listening to ham talk live with neil rap 00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:23.539 ham talk lives on the air every thursday night 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:26.200 at nine p .m eastern time right here at ham talk 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.650 live and dot com And be sure to check us out 00:30:29.650 --> 00:30:32.869 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And it's 00:30:32.869 --> 00:30:36.430 time now for your calls. So if you have a question 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:40.609 for Ralph, give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. 00:30:40.910 --> 00:30:46.890 That's 812 -638 -4261. Or you can Skype your 00:30:46.890 --> 00:30:51.369 question at HamTalk Live or tweet us at HamTalk 00:30:51.369 --> 00:30:56.490 Live. We'd love to hear your questions and comments. 00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:02.400 Tonight for Ralph k0i are now we talked a little 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:05.880 bit about the other Group that that is going 00:31:05.880 --> 00:31:09.859 and that so far everybody on the team is declined 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:14.400 to To try to turn around and do that other trip 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:18.559 or the other attempt Have you been able to help 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:22.660 that team in any other way with some information 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:26.740 gathering or anything that you could do while 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:28.599 you were waiting on the boat for the weather 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:33.859 to clear out and then unfortunately couldn't? 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:40.160 You know I think they are in possession of basically 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:42.700 the same information that we had when we went 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:46.819 there. They, as well as we, can study weather 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:49.640 charts and weather history and so forth. It's 00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:57.259 all readily available. I have talked to Dom about 00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.839 my reservations about a beach landing. He seems 00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:05.180 to have confidence that this is doable and it's 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:09.420 his decision, his choice. We're certainly willing 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:11.940 to offer any information or answer any questions 00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:20.369 that they have. Okay, very good. 812 -638 -4261 00:32:20.369 --> 00:32:23.890 is the phone number. If you have something to 00:32:23.890 --> 00:32:26.630 add to the conversation, please give us a call 00:32:26.630 --> 00:32:31.690 or send us a tweet. You talked a little bit about 00:32:31.690 --> 00:32:36.650 saving the money for later. Do you have any kind 00:32:36.650 --> 00:32:40.849 of idea of what... The expeditions you might 00:32:40.849 --> 00:32:43.930 do the same, you know, are you gonna try this 00:32:43.930 --> 00:32:46.230 one again? Are you gonna try somewhere else? 00:32:47.069 --> 00:32:51.029 That's maybe not quite quite as difficult. What 00:32:51.029 --> 00:32:56.450 are your thoughts so far? You know, I would I 00:32:56.450 --> 00:32:59.890 would like to go back to buffet the problem I 00:32:59.890 --> 00:33:04.470 have is time The amount of money that it takes 00:33:04.470 --> 00:33:09.180 and the amount of work that is involved It's 00:33:09.180 --> 00:33:12.579 like having a full -time job and having to put 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:15.279 in overtime as you go through the organization 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:19.779 of an expedition like this. I just don't know 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:22.839 if I could do that again, Neil. I would really 00:33:22.839 --> 00:33:27.079 like to, but I don't know if I can get a kitchen 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:33.990 pass to do this. or if I can find the resources 00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:36.869 to do it. Would I like to do something a little 00:33:36.869 --> 00:33:39.589 different and more relaxing? Yeah, I'd enjoy 00:33:39.589 --> 00:33:42.490 that a great deal. Do I have any idea of what 00:33:42.490 --> 00:33:47.609 that might be? No, I don't. Okay, well we do 00:33:47.609 --> 00:33:51.789 have a question that came in here, so let's take 00:33:51.789 --> 00:33:54.990 a look at that from Dr. Scott Wright, KZeroMD. 00:33:55.369 --> 00:33:57.789 He says that he heard from team members that 00:33:57.789 --> 00:34:01.329 a tugboat was never on the way despite some ham 00:34:01.329 --> 00:34:07.579 news sources saying that it was. What what happened 00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:10.260 with that? The team said that one was coming 00:34:10.260 --> 00:34:14.039 or was it practical for it for that to even happen 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:19.960 when you're 1 ,500 miles out? It was announced 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:23.820 or discussed by a crew member that a tugboat 00:34:23.820 --> 00:34:27.480 was on the way Did this seem like a practical 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:31.639 thing? No because as you said we were probably 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:35.809 a thousand miles from the Cape of Good Hope. 00:34:36.670 --> 00:34:41.489 And to send a tugboat a thousand miles out just 00:34:41.489 --> 00:34:45.170 did not seem like a feasible situation to me. 00:34:45.489 --> 00:34:48.789 And since that tug never materialized until we 00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:53.090 got into the Cape Town Harbor area, I don't think 00:34:53.090 --> 00:34:55.650 one was ever on the way and I don't know where 00:34:55.650 --> 00:35:03.210 that information came from. those rumors, you 00:35:03.210 --> 00:35:08.329 know, they come up from time to time and and 00:35:08.329 --> 00:35:19.010 so Sometimes that happens 812 638 4261 if you 00:35:19.010 --> 00:35:24.010 have a question or comment for Ralph k0i are 00:35:24.010 --> 00:35:27.650 just joining us tonight from the Bouvet Island 00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:31.130 the expedition team and We have a little bit 00:35:31.130 --> 00:35:34.309 of time left, so if you'd like to chime in, please 00:35:34.309 --> 00:35:39.929 do. I'm going to ask something that may get a 00:35:39.929 --> 00:35:46.829 little personal here, but the fear of trying 00:35:46.829 --> 00:35:50.050 to go back. You say you'd like to go back if 00:35:50.050 --> 00:35:55.449 you had the resources. The fear, is it there? 00:35:59.070 --> 00:36:02.530 Let's substitute the word respect in place of 00:36:02.530 --> 00:36:05.449 fear. Respect, okay. I have a great deal of respect 00:36:05.449 --> 00:36:09.110 for Bouvet, the challenges that it presents, 00:36:09.869 --> 00:36:13.630 but I think if you have respect for those challenges, 00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:18.809 you understand them and you use your time and 00:36:18.809 --> 00:36:24.889 your energy wisely. You can do this safely. fast 00:36:24.889 --> 00:36:28.010 decisions, it's knee -jerk reactions, it's emotion 00:36:28.010 --> 00:36:31.010 getting in the way of your brain that causes 00:36:31.010 --> 00:36:34.110 trouble. But I think it's possible to do bouvet 00:36:34.110 --> 00:36:40.130 and do it safely. But what we need to do is to 00:36:40.130 --> 00:36:43.389 change the thinking that created all these problems 00:36:43.389 --> 00:36:45.409 in the first place. We need to think differently 00:36:45.409 --> 00:36:51.789 about this and it can be done. Okay, very good. 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:57.619 812 -638 -4261 if you have a question or tweet 00:36:57.619 --> 00:37:02.079 us at hamtalklive We'll check the the tweets 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:06.280 here again. See if we We have anything else that 00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:15.800 we should address here before we go When when 00:37:15.800 --> 00:37:22.650 you were heading back on on one engine Was there 00:37:22.650 --> 00:37:26.690 a time when that one engine ended up failing? 00:37:28.670 --> 00:37:32.010 There is a time when we were on zero engines, 00:37:32.570 --> 00:37:38.570 Neil. Shortly after we left Bouvet, and as I 00:37:38.570 --> 00:37:41.110 say, there was a failure in a flexible coupling 00:37:41.110 --> 00:37:45.730 in the drive train of one of the engines. Mysteriously, 00:37:46.050 --> 00:37:49.190 a spare coupling appeared sometime after we had 00:37:49.190 --> 00:37:53.920 left. and that was installed to put us back on 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:56.159 two engines to get back to Cape Town maybe a 00:37:56.159 --> 00:38:00.699 little bit faster. However, they had to shut 00:38:00.699 --> 00:38:03.340 down, apparently they had to shut down both engines 00:38:03.340 --> 00:38:07.079 to make this change, so we had no forward propulsion 00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:10.280 there for a period of time, which of course is, 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:13.000 you can't control the ship, you know, it turns 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:15.679 sideways into the waves and it rolls and tosses 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:18.260 and so forth and causes all kinds of nausea and 00:38:18.260 --> 00:38:21.489 vomiting and things like that. So yeah, there 00:38:21.489 --> 00:38:24.510 was a period of time where we had no engines. 00:38:24.650 --> 00:38:26.349 Maybe it was a couple of hours, maybe a little 00:38:26.349 --> 00:38:30.050 bit more. But immediately after that second coupling 00:38:30.050 --> 00:38:33.570 got put in place, it failed also, which resulted 00:38:33.570 --> 00:38:36.650 in another, you know, excursion to the muster 00:38:36.650 --> 00:38:38.550 point on the main deck while the smoke cleared 00:38:38.550 --> 00:38:41.329 from the cabins once again. So we did this twice. 00:38:41.389 --> 00:38:46.190 We're getting pretty good at that. But yeah, 00:38:46.190 --> 00:38:49.679 that was it. And then after the second... coupling 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:52.400 failed and we were on one engine. They used that 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.199 engine very conservatively, so our forward speed 00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:58.460 was like between two and four knots. We were 00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:00.760 not off to the races going back to Cape Town. 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:06.760 Okay, very good. Well, again, we're glad you're 00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:10.059 home. We're glad that everybody lived through 00:39:10.059 --> 00:39:17.929 it and everybody is mostly unscathed. you know, 00:39:18.170 --> 00:39:22.449 everything turned out okay and we hope that the 00:39:22.449 --> 00:39:25.610 equipment can get back soon and you can kind 00:39:25.610 --> 00:39:29.369 of finally put all this behind you and move forward. 00:39:30.349 --> 00:39:33.829 Sure. I would just like to say one thing about 00:39:33.829 --> 00:39:38.630 the team members, Neil. Outstanding group of 00:39:38.630 --> 00:39:43.179 people, level -headed, slow to anger. They thought 00:39:43.179 --> 00:39:46.219 things through, you know, nobody got overly emotional 00:39:46.219 --> 00:39:49.599 or excited. I remember that night out on the 00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:52.320 deck that we talked about seeing a few arms going 00:39:52.320 --> 00:39:54.920 across the shoulders of teammates to kind of 00:39:54.920 --> 00:39:57.260 say, hey, you know, we're together in all this 00:39:57.260 --> 00:40:00.739 and I've got your back. So we had an outstanding 00:40:00.739 --> 00:40:07.099 group of men and my hat off to them. As mine. 00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:16.639 I'm amazed at the courage and the work that the 00:40:16.639 --> 00:40:23.019 entire team has put into this attempt. As much 00:40:23.019 --> 00:40:28.000 as you don't like it, sometime, somewhere, these 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:33.320 are going to fail. I admire all the efforts that 00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:39.659 were put into making this one. potentially possible. 00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:42.920 Well thank you very much Neil. I appreciate your 00:40:42.920 --> 00:40:48.699 comments and hopefully there will be an occasion 00:40:48.699 --> 00:40:53.079 when Bouvet does get on the air. Yeah I hope 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:58.079 so and I hope that if you want to go back that 00:40:58.079 --> 00:41:03.519 you're able to do so. I think I'll have you talk 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:06.980 to my wife, Neil. Okay, I'll talk to her and 00:41:06.980 --> 00:41:12.860 I'll stay here. I will take my de -expedition 00:41:12.860 --> 00:41:16.199 to Cape Canaveral or something. Maybe that would 00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:20.860 work. Okay, sounds good. Alright, well thanks 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:24.559 so much Ralph for coming on the show and taking 00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:28.400 the question and we're going to give away this 00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:30.960 subscription to the National Contest Journal 00:41:30.960 --> 00:41:35.019 and get out of here but thanks so much for coming 00:41:35.019 --> 00:41:37.340 on and you're welcome to stay through the giveaway 00:41:37.340 --> 00:41:40.480 if you want or if you need to take off you're 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:43.639 welcome to do so. My pleasure Neil and I'll hang 00:41:43.639 --> 00:41:46.949 around to see who the lucky person is. All right, 00:41:47.170 --> 00:41:52.269 well we'll we'll do that so Last week we had 00:41:52.269 --> 00:41:56.250 a question about the show on social media to 00:41:56.250 --> 00:42:00.469 get an answer for a chance to win a free one 00:42:00.469 --> 00:42:03.590 -year subscription to the National Contest Journal 00:42:03.590 --> 00:42:08.570 and the question was What radio is Martin a German 00:42:08.570 --> 00:42:13.510 going to use at WRTC? 2018 and the correct answer 00:42:13.510 --> 00:42:18.309 was of course a hillbrying so we're going to 00:42:18.309 --> 00:42:22.670 draw out one of the correct responses that came 00:42:22.670 --> 00:42:27.869 in this week and and from watching WKRP we're 00:42:27.869 --> 00:42:30.510 going to do this right so we're going to walk 00:42:30.510 --> 00:42:33.769 into the specially constructed stainless steel 00:42:33.769 --> 00:42:37.949 vault to select the winner from all of the thousands 00:42:37.949 --> 00:42:41.289 of entries that came in this week. And the winner 00:42:41.289 --> 00:42:47.809 is Mark Kelm, K0GMK. So congratulations to Mark. 00:42:51.449 --> 00:42:54.489 And your subscription to the National Contest 00:42:54.489 --> 00:42:58.989 Journal will arrive soon. So congratulations 00:42:58.989 --> 00:43:02.150 to Mark and thanks for everybody participating 00:43:02.150 --> 00:43:06.070 in that. But that's a wrap for this week's edition 00:43:06.070 --> 00:43:09.230 of ham talk live. I'd like to thank once again, 00:43:09.369 --> 00:43:12.190 dr Ralph fedor k0i are and everybody out there 00:43:12.190 --> 00:43:15.309 in cyberspace for listening and calling in and 00:43:15.309 --> 00:43:17.989 Invite you all back next Thursday night at 9 00:43:17.989 --> 00:43:22.630 p .m Eastern time when Bart Yonkey w9jj and David 00:43:22.630 --> 00:43:26.610 Isker in one RS in will be here from a RRL to 00:43:26.610 --> 00:43:30.170 talk about field day and take your last minute 00:43:30.380 --> 00:43:34.039 questions. It's the show we always do on the 00:43:34.039 --> 00:43:37.179 Thursday before field day. It's field day Q &A. 00:43:37.219 --> 00:43:42.400 So if you have a last minute rule question or 00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:46.300 a setup question, give us a call next week and 00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:49.699 they will be on here to take those. And for a 00:43:49.699 --> 00:43:53.610 list of all of our upcoming guests, visit HamTalkLive 00:43:53.610 --> 00:43:56.670 .com. And if you like HamTalk Live, please leave 00:43:56.670 --> 00:43:59.289 us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. 00:43:59.329 --> 00:44:02.710 That helps others find us faster. So this is 00:44:02.710 --> 00:44:08.489 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good 00:44:08.489 --> 00:44:26.440 DX be yours. Thanks for watching!