VK Summit Dinner Presentation
After dinner is served the audience is set to enjoy a presentation about the Bouvet Island DX Expedition 2026.
Expedition Co-leader Adrian KO8SCA will share his firsthand experience in travelling and operating one of the most challenging remote locations is the world – 3Y0K - Bouvet
Bouvet Island
Bouvetøya is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Southern Ocean. Bouvetøya is one of the most isolated islands in the world and 89 percent of the island is covered by glaciers. Bouvetøya is the Norwegian claim area in the seethe of the polar regions we have the most knowledge about. The island has status as a nature reserve.
In February 2026, an international team of very courageous amateur radio operators landed on Bouvet Island. Bouvet is a Norwegian overseas territory and lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, with 93% of its surface covered by ice and snow. It sets the record as the Most Remote Uninhabited Island on Earth and prior to the DXpedition, ranked #10 on the Most Wanted DXCC listing at ClubLog.
Operating as 3Y0K, the team attempted to give as many ATNOs as possible and was active in all amateur radio bands from 10 to 160m. The team directed their attention to human modes of CW & SSB and were also active in FT8, RTTY and QO-100 satellite with up to 12 operating stations.
Having secured the necessary permit to land on Bouvet Island by helicopter, issued by the Norwegian Polar Institute, the plan was to start the sea journey in Cape Town, South Africa, from where an icebreaker under the Icelandic flag took us to Bouvet island in 7 days. Landing depended on the weather conditions and we were scheduled to be on and around the island for up to 21 days. A helicopter assisted us in bringing ashore a significant amount of equipment to setup a camp with two radio tents. One radio tent on the lower area of Cape Fie, and one radio tent on the upper area with better take off to NA. Upper camp will focus on working NA.
The logistics behind this project are complex and required a budget of US$1.65M. (AU$2.3Million) Passionate amateur operators and clubs around the world as well as multiple companies supported this project. As a prime example, Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) pledged up to $200K, of which half matched against donations received from outside of North America. Companies such as DX Engineering, Icom, RF Power and ACOM are supporting the team with a multitude of radio equipment components. We also teamed up with a small private group to share the large costs of the DXpedition.
On Saturday 2 May at 7.00pm at the VK Summit dinner, we will hear from CQ DX Hall of Fame and one of the operators from Bouvet, Adrian Ciuperca (KO8SCA). Adrian will share his firsthand experience in travelling and operating one of the most challenging remote locations is the world – 3Y0K - Bouvet
Tech Talk Overview (subject to change)
| Saturday | Subject |
|---|---|
| 09:15 | POTA - portable operations (Marty VK4KC, Alan VK1AO and Mark VK4EMP) |
| 10:10 | Designing ICOM radios for the world (Dan Hill, Icom Australia, VK3DNO) |
| 11:05 | Geolocation - How to find freinds and influence people (Ken Taylor - Silvertone) |
| 12:00 | Remote Operation with Flex Radio (Steve Kennedy - Comtek Radio) |
| 13:05 | ADSB - A short introduction for AR operators (Ross Wheeler, VK2DGY) |
| 13:35 | LoRa - APRS and Meshcore/Meshtastic off grid emergency comms (Heath Walder, VK3TWO) |
| 14:50 | Fit for Purpose - RigExpert vs VNA comparison (Gary Catlin, Electrotest NZ) |
| 15:45 | ARDF - Amateur Radio Direction Finding (John "Jack" Brabham, WIA ARDF representative) |
| Sunday | Subject |
|---|---|
| 09:10 | How stationary is your GEO satellite? Dealing with Doppler (Ken Taylor - Silvertone) |
| 10:05 | All about Flex Radio Aurora Transceiver (Steve Kennedy, Comtek Radio) |
| 11:00 | WWFF World Wide Flora Fauna program (Paul Simmonds, VK5PAS) |
| 11:55 | Band Plan Update (Grant Willis, WIA Technical Advisory Committee Chair) |
| 12:50 | Designing ICOM radios for the world (Dan Hill, Icom Australia, VK3DNO) |
| 14:00 | POTA Field Demonstration (Marty VK4KC, Alan VK1AO and Mark VK4EMP). Conducted at Monument Hill Parklands, 5 min by car from VK Summit venue |
Presentations are held in the VK Summit Tech Talk area and will be announced over the PA.
AP Hearing will present solutions for AR operators on their stand during Saturday and Sunday.
POTA field demonstration (Sun 14:00) location is Monument Hill
Presentation details
Remote Operation with Flex Radio and 4O3A
Presenter: Steve Kennedy, Comtek Radio
Presentation 1: Remote Site Design & Case studies
Presentation 2: Flex Radio Aurora 510/520 Transceiver
Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) (Radio Orienteering)
Presenter: VK3WWW John "Jack"Bramham, WIA ARDF representative
A brief explanation about ARDF including various types of competitions both local and international, equipment and bands used, navigation techniques etc.
Hearing Aids in Amateur Radio
Presenter: Anthony Plum, AP Hearing
Band Plan Update
Presenter: Grant Willis, WIA Technical Advisory Committee Chair
Fundamentals of band planning, including what their basis is, how they are structured and how to use them.
Presenter: Ken Taylor - Silvertone
Designing Icom Radios for the World
Presenter: Dan Hill VK3DNO/VK4DNO
We go undercover at Icom's Design and Engineering section, to explore how an Icom Radio goes from Concept to End Product.
POTA - portable operation
Presenters: Marty VK4KC, Alan VK1AO and Mark VK4EMP
ADSB Support
Presenter: Ross Wheeler VK2DGY
ADSB Aircraft tracking. How to become and ADSB host and receive aircraft tracing signals.
LoRa - APRS and Meshtastic/Meshcore off-grid emergency comms.
Presenter: Heath Walder - VK3TWO/VK6TWO
What you can do with <$25 LoRa radio modules. Emergency/Comms with unlicensed friends/family using Meshcore (newer/better than Meshtastic). Using LoRa/Meshcore to bring new (technical) people into Amateur Radio.
World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program
Presenter: Paul Simmonds (VK5PAS)
Presenter: Ken Taylor - Silvertone