It's an incredible adventure, some astounding scenery, but I am puzzled as to just what they were doing here? Putting up some poles, making some strange electronic beeps, and periodically saying "WKRP" or something? If they were running a radio station on the other side of the planet why not spin some records like Michael Jackson's Thriller or some upbeat do-whoop from a Scorsese Gangster Movie? I have to knock the French for not building an airstrip on the Island, if there were military flights first, then perhaps a rudimentary tourist industry could spring up here? At a minimum resupply or medical emergencies wouldn't be such an issue.
I want to make a comment, without intending to argue with anyone, it is simply my modest opinion. Look at this video, it is from a time when that "marvel" called FT-8 did not exist, here is the essence of the hobby, all the credit belongs to the operators and not to a computer. Hamradio has changed and for the worse.
Pursuing their hobby? Just there playing doing what they enjoy as Ham enthusiasts. A bit experimental for them. That's just my opinion. It helps a lot to understand Ham radio and that if you have a transmitter it is always interesting to see how far you can reach out to and who you can connect with. They apparantly have capibility to bounce signals off the moon. So there in the south of the southern hemisphere they were connecting to the North East USA coast. An amazing feat for ground based radio. So I am just guessing they are just having fun time pursuing their hobby. With a ham radio a person may spend his entire evening just crusing the airways checking out who is where on which frequency. To the Ham radio enthusiast their radio operations can be likened to an internet user scrolling RU-vid. Just out doing no harm and checking out whats new or who has the interesting channels. You can find RU-vid users spending far longer than just an evening as they derive pleasure from their catch (haul or channel connected to). Ham radio is very similar but with out pictures on a screen. But the Ham radios have viewable information displays which can also be likened to pictures. It must help to know how to read morse code. As all the time there you could hear people chatting. But all in code. Blips, pips beeps and dashes.
They seem to be making a bunch of strange electronic beeps like the sound effects at the beginning of the Star Trek Episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" when Spock listens to the black box from some long lost starship. Then saying "WKRP" periodically or something? If I was running a radio station from there I'd spin some upbeat records or something, instead of "Good Morning Vietnam!" the show could be "Good Morning Kerguelen!"
All very well but the QRP operators get no look in. They don't exist to these DXpedition stations because they constantly get drowned out by those using high power and yagi aerials. There's no point trying. QRP works when not competing with a 100 Watt station, I'm already 2 S units down, then say one running 1 kW, and add in a beam aerial. No chance for me. They never announce they are listening for QRP stations but high power stations would probably lie just to get a contact. I once worked OY, not thousands of miles away but a bit rare. All through people were dropping their callsigns in but he didn't seem bothered so we had a CONVERSATION for ten minutes after which he disappeared with people still calling him. They must get fed up with ur 59 QSL, next caller. I'd get fed up with that. I want to know their name, QTH, power, radio used, aerials. It's why I don't do contests. Bill, G4GHB.
Radio amateurs go to rare and remote areas in the World as far as radio operating is concerned. Usually nobody or no amateurs live there. It puts the island or part of the World into the log books of the amateurs who contact the amateurs who go to that place. Bill, G4GHB.
Baie dankie/ Merci beaucpup 4 this informative video. The History of Kergulen is quite nice. 10 days from Durban@9kns (17km/h). And no Airstrip? Certainly France can built there an Airstrip.
The goal is to keep these islands as virgin as possible, and not build anything that could remain (imported plants and animals are also being removed btw). There are solid buildings indeed, old ones, but nowadays you can’t even thread on the grass, in most parts, you have to walk on planks, to tell you how serious France is on the subject.
Sounds like they've got from the opposite extreme of over harvesting everything, to the environmental wacko autistic nutcase issue of putting animals over people. Might as well sell it to the Chinese, they'd actually develop the place.@@jetaddicted
Dear Radio Amateurs, Please Subcrbire ru-vid.com and please search your callsing . May be one day your QSO on this channel. 73’de Ham Radio Sound Channel
A wonderful documentary! The expedition was an absolute success. Thousands of hams were happy to get a rare one into their logs. Let's hope the trend continues. 73 HC2AO
I have all James Brooks dxpedition vhs also dvds,just great you have the hobby also the history and nature of each island,73s James Brooks,William,N,Ireland
yeah I guess that 5 character code is his radio number or something and dxpedition is a radio term for a vacation to set up a radio in a far flung exotic place , got here by searching Kerguelen like me
Outstanding video. Really makes one appreciate the effort, time, cost, & personal sacrifice required so that someone like me can log an ATNO....great job, 73, Leo
