DX Engineering provides mission-critical equipment for this complex undertaking. Also, read about the rare 2025 DXpedition to Mount Athos.
With the next DXpedition to rarely activated Bouvet Island (recently moved down to #11 on the DXCC Most Wanted List) only about six months away, it was a rare treat to have three operators from the February 3Y0K 24-member team visit DX Engineering on June 13: Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA; Bob Ronk, W9AP; and Dennis Ward, KT8X.
The three accomplished operators joined the DX Engineering team for lunch at DX Engineering headquarters in Tallmadge, Ohio. In addition, we were pleased to have three remote DX Engineering team members make the trip to attend. Traveling to DX Engineering for the presentation were Customer/technical support specialists Tommy Hayes, NE5TH, from Houston, Texas; David Vest, K8DV, from near Cincinnati, Ohio; and Guy, K5TGS, from just north of Fort Worth, Texas. Great seeing everyone there!
Taking Another Shot at an Elusive Island
For 3Y0K co-leader and OnAllBands contributor Adrian, KO8SCA, the February 2026 trip to Bouvet Island will be a return visit to this wind-battered, glacier-covered dependency of Norway—the most remote spot on the planet. How isolated is Bouvet? The closest land to its frozen, penguin-roaming shores is Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land, 1,100 miles away. The closest inhabited land (population 230 or so) is Tristan da Cunha, 1,400 miles away.
KO8SCA was one of the operators on the DX Engineering-sponsored 3YOJ Bouvet Island DXpedition in February 2023, which logged 19,000 QSOs (photos below).
Last month at DXE headquarters, K3LR introduced KO8SCA to the DXE team as “one of the few people on the planet to go back a second time.”
“DXpeditions like this take two to three years to put together—so many details,” Adrian said.
KO8SCA explained that operators can be certain of storms on Bouvet. Estimates place the number of storms that hit the island at 300 per year, featuring blizzard conditions and strong winds. He noted that to be successful, it’s important to adjust operating plans as necessary based on what the weather allows you at any given time.
“Each storm has the quiet before the storm and after the storm,” he said.
These pockets of calmer weather can last anywhere from two to eight hours. Unlike 3Y0J, which employed Zodiac boats to move gear from ship to shore when possible, 3Y0K’s helicopter should allow them to take better advantage of the shorter post-storm windows that make getting on the air possible.
For experienced DXers Bob, W9AP, and Dennis, KT8X, 3Y0K will be their first trip to Bouvet Island.
“I’ve been a DXer since I was first licensed in 1979. I’ve operated from around the world,” KT8X said, explaining that his background in the military should be helpful to the 3Y0K effort. “I’ve had the opportunity to work every country. I’ve worked them all. Now this is my way of giving back to the ham radio community.”
“Those who know me know that anything I’m interested in I tend to push the edges a little bit. To me this is the trip of a lifetime. I’ve always wanted to do a top-ten DXpedition,” said W9AP, adding that fulfilling this dream by operating from the most remote, desolate location on earth is a bit beyond what he could have imagined. He hopes to bring his talents as an amateur to contribute to the success of the team.
When asked what his second trip to Bouvet Island means to him personally, KO8SCA replied:
“Bouvet is a real challenge. It’s a top ten because it’s hard to get to, it’s expensive, and it’s difficult. Us being successful will prove that ham radio always finds ways to get things done even when things don’t look too good or are complicated. Hams are known for finding solutions with what’s at hand to get it to work. Just like in real life when something doesn’t work you can give up or can keep trying different ways to get that accomplished, so going to Bouvet is exactly that. It’s complicated but you find solutions that prove what ham radio offers.”
KO8SCA will also be participating in the rare activation of Peter I Island scheduled for February 2027.
Mount Athos on the Air
Before talking about Bouvet Island 2026, KO8SCA told the incredible story of the extremely rare DXpedition from Mount Athos (SV1GA/A January 2025)—a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece surrounded by the Aegean Sea. The DXCC entity (#31 on the Most Wanted DXCC Entity list as of June 2025) hadn’t seen an activation—other than by monks on the island—in 34 years. Mount Athos is home to 2,000 Eastern Orthodox monks, 20 monasteries, and 20 licensed hams. Among other restrictions, women and children are not allowed there.
SV1GA/A also marked the 50th anniversary of the 1975 activation of Mount Athos by Aris, SV1GA and Martti, OH2BH, who joined KO8SCA, Gabi, YO8WW, and Niko, OH2GEK on the January 2025 DXpedition. The SV1GA/A operators logged 13,000 QSOs (including 500 by satellite) before having to cut the trip short (the group had a ten-day permit for a ham radio operation) due to a complaint that they were operating illegally, landing them at the local police station and halting the operation.
While the police said that everything was in order, an investigation was opened. The case ended up at the prosecutor’s office, which concluded they were on Mount Athos legitimately and had violated no laws. Still, the team needed to wait for the return of the monk in charge of the monastery that hosted them to get his approval to resume operating, which wouldn’t be for several days. With one operator ill, they ultimately decided it was best to leave early. In April, the ARRL validated the activation.
While no one from outside Mount Athos had operated there for more than three decades, you could still make contact with some luck and the right conditions. Monk Apollo, SV2ASP, a resident monk at the Monastery of Doceiariou on Mount Athos, received his ham radio license in 1988 and went on the air two years later, working thousands of operators worldwide over 29 years. He became a silent key in May 2019 at the age of 64. After years of trying to make an ATNO with Mount Athos, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist Mark, W8BBQ, finally reached Monk Apollo.
“I had been hoping to work Monk Apollo for over a decade, having caught him on the air only a few times…always just a little too light and with too huge a European wall of hams,” W8BBQ said. “I wondered if I would ever get to work Mount Athos, with Monk Apollo being the only ham there. In 2018 he heard me calling him on CW. I was a little shocked when I heard him come back to me, but the contact was made and the dancing began.”
Here is the QSL card:
Back to Bouvet—DX Engineering Supports Bouvet Island 3Y0K
As it has done for past Bouvet Island activations, DX Engineering is onboard in a big way as an equipment sponsor of this latest effort. OnAllBands will be posting more about the range of equipment DX Engineering will be providing. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the DX Engineering branded gear that will eventually be used at 3Y0K’s two operating sites in February 2026:
- DX Engineering Phased Array Quarter Wave Tuned Cables
- DX Engineering TFS4 Series B Transmit Four Square Systems
- DX Engineering 400MAX PL-259 Low-Loss 50-ohm Coaxial Cable Assemblies
- DX Engineering LMR400UF Ultra-Flex Coaxial Cable Assemblies
- DX Engineering Ultra-Grip 2 Large Ratcheting Crimpers with Dies
- Equipment provided by DXE from other manufacturers includes an Icom IC-9700 Transceiver, Paradan Radio Power Strips, and Anderson Powerpoles®.
“A big thank you from our team and operators from around the world for making it happen,” KO8SCA told DX Engineering staff, noting how each person at DXE plays a role in the success of the DXpedition, from those who pack and ship gear to be used on the island to the marketing people who promote the venture. When finding support for the activation, he said he often uses the cover of the 2024 DX Engineering catalog, which displays photos of the 3Y0J 2023 operating team.
For many more details on Bouvet Island 3Y0K, visit the DXpedition’s official website. OnAllBands will have much more about this rare activation in the months to come.
