Products & Product Reviews

DX Engineering Gear Used in Recent American Samoa IOTA/POTA DXpedition

It has been a busy time for DXpeditions—and DX Engineering has been right in the thick of it all as a major equipment sponsor.

In addition to providing gear for upcoming DXpeditions to Timor-Leste, Temotu Province, and Clipperton Island, DX Engineering sponsored the July activation of Tutuila Island in American Samoa. The three-operator team from the RRC group (Yuri, N3QQ, Hal, W8HC, and James, KB2FMH) recorded 27,000 CW, SSB, and FT8 QSOs from the top of American Samoa National Park on volcanic Tutuila Island—the largest (54.9 square miles) of seven American Samoan islands and the most populous (55,800).

The KH8RRC 17-day DXpedition from Mount ‘Alava (POTA K-0053 and IOTA OC-045) reached 139 countries, all 50 states, and 39 CQ zones on six continents. American Samoa (KH8) ranked as the 78th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog as of August.

DX Engineering equipment that was employed atop Mount ‘Alava included:

  • DX Engineering Maxi-Core 20 1:1 Current Balun Chokes
    (DXE-MC20-1-1): Used for all HF-6M balanced antennas with a 50-ohm feedpoint, including resonant dipoles, loops, Yagis, and beams
  • DX Engineering Maxi-Core 20 4:1 Voltage Baluns (DXE-MC20-V4-1): This model is a 200-ohm to 50-ohm transformer for use on random long-wire and OCF antenna applications. This true voltage balun tolerates high SWR and is intentionally designed with low CMI for antennas that need a transformer without RF choking for easier antenna tuner operation.

Congratulations to the KH8RRC team from all of us at OnAllBands and DX Engineering. We’re all looking forward to your next island activation. 73!

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