General information |
| Callsigns: | S21ZED and S21ZEE |
| Dates: | March 14-26, 2017 |
| QTH: | Kuakata, Bangladesh (map) |
Please use the menu above to navigate our page for more details and follow the latest DX-pedition news below.
News and status
July 11 - S21ZEE / S21ZED story
July 11 - S21ZEE / S21ZED story
S21ZEE / S21ZED story published: S21_DXpedition_story.pdf (2.6 MB)
June 13 - Direct QSLs sent out
All direct QSL cards ordered by 12th of June 2017 has been dispatched
June 12 - S21ZED / S21ZEE movie published
S21ZEE/S21ZED movie is available on Youtube
May 9 - QSLs are printed
Short update about our status. Yesterday I received S21ZED and S21ZEE QSL cards. Look for the pictures below. There are two versions that are very similar to each other and they will be shared randomly.
Today I sent QSL cards to all DXpedition supporters 20$/€+ who were automatically receiving our QSL cards directly as our top supporters. I hope and I will try to send all other cards within one month.
S21ZEE/S21ZED article and movie coming soon.
73, Yuris/YL2GM/
March 27 - Diary #5 - The last days and some statistics
...In total with both callsigns we put about 51 892 QSOs in the log, which includes....
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March 26 - The last day
S21ZEE went off the air March 26, 18:00 GMT when the license expired. In total over 50 000 QSOs were logged with both DX-pedition callsigns according to the latest Clublog upload. However not all QSOs are uploaded to Clublog yet, despite the last QSO time in Clublog is minute before the end of the operation. So please be patient - it might be that your QSO is OK, but not uploaded yet. Logs from two QTHs are separate and are uploaded separately. Also Russian DX contest QSOs still seem to be not uploaded.
Tomorrow the team will take down antennas, pack and have a farewell dinner. March 28 morning they will take the bus to Dhaka. On March 29-30 the team will be back home - Ukraine and Latvia.
March 24 - Two days to go
DX-pedition will go off the air March 26, 18:00 GMT - local midnight - when the license expires. Until then around and after local sunrise at 00:00 GMT they are QRV on 20m for NA. This morning around 50 NA stations made it into the log. In total until the last Clublog upload there are around 41 621 QSOs in the log.
March 21 - S21ZEE on 80m, CW, audio/video of pile-up in Europe
March 19-20 - Weather hazards and note for NA
March 19 evening it starts to rain and the intensity gets stronger and stronger until it's so intense that we have minor flood in our house. Wind gusts are pretty intense also and during the night one of Spiderbeams guy wires rips apart and the pole bends. We don't stop operating because we have extra emergency tri-bander 14/21/28. In the morning March 20 rain stops and in 2 hours we fix Spiderbeam.
Second position operates on SSB and RTTY. We do what we can and what is in our influence area regarding low bands. We put a lot of intention for NA, but the propagation is not good. Every morning and evening we will be on 14 Mc for NA.
March 19 - Latest news
- Starting from March 19 18:00 GMT S21ZEE call will be used. S21ZED will not be used anymore. As written earlier this is due to the specifics of local regulations. Please treat both callsigns as one and do not call S21ZEE on bands/modes where you already have worked S21ZED - give others a chance.
- QSOs made during Russian DX contest short activity are not yet uploaded to Clublog. Will be uploaded later.
March 19 - Diary #4 - Hams with open hearts
During the lunch time March 18 we visited local school and gave presents to children and school...
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March 19 - Diary #3 - The first 4 days of operation
...First 3 QSOs are made on 40m by Dmitry with UX1UF, UY1UF and OK2PAY on March 15 00:00 local time and we officially start to operate...
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March 18 - Some accumulated news from the team
- the team was busy with antenna work. There were problems with setting up the 2nd QTH in the planned location - they were not allowed to put up antennas. New 2nd QTH has been found and setup
- sometimes Clublog uploads might not include all QSOs made until the time of upload. Files are carried around in USB flash between QTHs and some QSOs might be uploaded later
- during the first nights cows broke one of the verticals. It was fixed next day
- power outages happen, sometimes 5-6 times per hour
- on the night from 16th to 17th of March the team was not QRV on 160m - antenna problems. Pirate was operating for around 40 minutes on top-band
- most of antenna works are completed. It is above +30 C outside. And forecast shows even more during the weekend
- evening of March 17 - lots of QRN. And callers who call without hearing/listening make things even worse. Guys - please LISTEN. It will speed things up. Do not transmit if we are in the QSO. No "tail ending". If you don't hear us good enough to understand what's going on - don't transmit and wait for better propagation
- during the night March 17-18 beverage couldn't be used on low bands, something/someone broke it. It was fixed next morning. Receiving on vertical transmit antenna is noisy
- attempt was made to enter Russian DX contest, but QSO rate was slow, and they are going back to DX-pedition mode of operation
- March 18 - high level of QRN reported
- the team is full of optimism
Some antenna photos have been added
March 15, 2017 - DX-pedition is on the air
As planned DX-pedition started operation March 14 evening (GMT)
March 12, 2017 - The team is on its way to Bangladesh
The team and equipment is in Istanbul airport, Turkey waiting for the final flight leg to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
March 14 (Tuesday) they plan to spend setting up antennas.
The team plans to be on the air starting 00:00 March 15 local time, which is 18:00 GMT, March 14.
March 12, 2017 - Changes in DX-pedition callsigns
Two letter suffix callsigns mentioned earlier will not be used. Instead S21ZED callsign will be used during the initial days of DX-pedition, and S21ZEE will be used during the remaining days.
Two different callsigns are due to the specifics of the regulations in Bangladesh, and not for the sake of getting more duplicated QSOs in the log.
Please do not attempt to make QSOs with both of these callsigns on the same bands and modes. Please treat both callsigns as one, thus giving other fellow HAMs better chance to make their QSO with us, potentially All Time New One (ATNO).
For example, if you have worked S21ZED on 20m SSB, then later do not call S21ZEE on 20m SSB as this would be duplicated QSO.
DX-pedition diary #2 - Visit to Kiev
Last Saturday (February 25), early in the morning I flew to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian team members...
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DX-pedition diary #1 - Preparations
At the end of 2016 I received question from previous DXpedition EP2A members - what are the plans for next expedition...
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Hams with Hearts
In cooperation with humanitarian fund Hams with Hearts
 |
 300$ |
We invited HAMs to help with donations to support pupils of Kuakata with teaching aids and first need aids.
Read here how your donation was put into use.
DX Trophy
DX trophy announced that they will include our DX-pedition for their organized 2017 DX trophy event.
As the DX-pedition begins, they will publish various results with regular updates about our success.
