Plus, news of the DX Engineering-sponsored activation of North Cook Islands in October
DXers rejoice! August offers a wide range of activations to polish up your DXing skills (and get ready for Contest Season) by reaching out to DXCC entities from around the globe. OnAllBands is pleased to present a couple of August DXpeditions along with QSL cards from the active operators at DX Engineering. While these spots aren’t nearly as rare as those that OnAllBands featured in our series on top-ten locations, they offer excellent opportunities for seasoned operators to fill bands and newbies to log ATNOs.
South Cook Islands
We begin our look at August activations in the South Pacific. From Aug. 3-18, the E51KEE DXpedition by ZL2KE will be taking place from Rarotonga on 40-10M CW and SSB.
South Cook Islands is the 154th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog as of August 2025. Located north-east of New Zealand between American Samoa and French Polynesia, the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands are separated into the northern and southern groups, covering 770,000 square miles of ocean (about the size of Mexico). Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands, with a population close to 11,000, or about 75% of the country. Other than Aitutaki (population 1,700), the remaining Cook Islands are either uninhabited or have populations of fewer than 500 people.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, worked the 2015 E51RAT activation from Rarotonga on 15M SSB.
The DXpedition’s call sign—a shortening of Rarotonga—also made us recall that rats are very much entangled in the history of the islands. Invasive rat species—such as ship rats, Pacific rats, and Norwegian rats introduced on the islands—have feasted on bird eggs, leading to drastic declines in native avian populations. In addition, they have damaged crops and fruit trees that have impacted the food security of islanders.
In 2023, a community-wide rat eradication program on Palmerston Atoll helped to successfully rid the sparsely populated area of rats, but it will take vigilance to keep it that way.
Arthur Neale, the atoll’s executive officer, noted at the time, “Even though the operation is over, the work to keep rats off the atoll has just started. This will require working with vessels from Rarotonga that come with people, food supplies and other cargo. We’ll check vessels offshore for rats and any other pest that threatens our biosecurity.”
In May 2025, Neale told the New Zealand Department of Conservation that the rat eradication program was effective and has changed lives:
“Benefits from the rat eradication are already evident. Our food security has improved massively. Fruits like guava, mango and star fruit are now abundant and free from rat damage. Our nu mangaro (a coconut tree variety) are thriving. Vegetables, especially cucumbers, have seen an astonishing increase in yield.
“We’re very excited to see more native species now that rats are no longer eating them. Seedlings of tamanu and puka are increasing and we’re seeing and hearing more birds. Wood pigeons and red-tailed tropic birds have returned to Home Islet. Crabs and lizards appear to be more abundant.”
Arthur Neale, Palmerston Atoll Executive Officer
North Cook Islands on the Air Soon
In the weeks to come, OnAllBands will be featuring the DX Engineering-sponsored North Cook Islands DXpedition (E51MWA) scheduled for Oct. 9-20, 2025. The E51MWA team will be operating from Manihiki, an atoll 807 miles north of Rarotonga with a population of around 200.
Among other gear, DX Engineering provided its branded RG-8X 50-ohm coaxial cable and DX Engineering Next Generation Crimp/Solder 8X PL-259 Connectors to support the E51MWA operation from this 68th Most Wanted DXCC Entity.
Greenland
DL6YYM as OX/DL6YYM will be active from Greenland from Aug. 15-29. The QTH of this CW-only HF DXpedition is Disko Bay, a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. Great news for IOTA enthusiasts—DL6YYM plans to operate from IOTA NA-134 (Aug. 15-18) and NA-018 (Aug. 19-29). Greenland is the 210th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog as of August 2025.
KB8UUZ earned the below QSL card from the 2013 OX5YL DXpedition from Kangerlussuaq on 20M SSB.
Visit DXEngineering.com for everything you need to upgrade your station to make sure you’re ready when entities like South Cook Islands and Greenland are in play. You’ll find transceivers, antennas, amplifiers, CW keys and paddles, headsets and speakers, reference books like “Ham Radio DX: A Complete Guide,” and much more.
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Editor’s Note: Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. To highlight upcoming DXpeditions, we’ll be displaying a few of our favorite cards along with details about what it took to make these contacts. We’re excited to share some of the special cards pulled from the thousands we’ve received over the years. We look forward to seeing your cards as well!
