During November 2007, my good friend G7LPW made a DX-pedition with his HF backpack to New Zealand.
One of the main reasons that the trip to New Zealand was organised was to make a HF SSB contact between the UK and New Zealand with Keith G7LPW/P/ZL3 using his backpack over in the South Island in New Zealand and G4AKC in the UK using bicycle mobile on 20m with both stations on the move.
After lots of antenna development and with the help of the propagation prediction program “VOAProp” we achieved this two way contact on the 15th November 2007 at 08:00z on the “grey-line” over a “long path” distance of about 21,000Km.
We completed the QSO at two power levels of 50 Watts and 5 Watts over the peroid of nearly half an hour on the 15th November 2017 between 08:00 and 08:30 UTC.
This culminated into a “New World Record” for HF backpack to bicycle mobile on 20m SSB, verified by the “world records academy”.
Here is an extract from the World Records Academy listing ….
“It was absolutely brilliant, it was such good contact. We chose New Zealand because it’s the furthest point away from the UK.”
The radio wave, transmitted on the 20 metre short wave band, travelled from South Shore promenade Blackpool to New Brighton Pier, Christchurch, New Zealand – a total distance of 21,000km (13,000 miles).
Mr Sharples (G7LPW), from Ormskirk, travelled to New Zealand a fortnight ago and the pair realised their dream of breaking the world record on November 15.
Mr Starkie (G4AKC) said: “Keith’s radio system got lost in Singapore and then once he was in New Zealand his car broke down when he went to pick the equipment up. But against all odds, we did it!”
Click here to watch the world record video/audio
Dave, G4AKC
