A youth team from the Pacific Islands DXpedition Group (PIDXG), working with Youth on the Air (YOTA), will be on the air as VK9XY from Christmas Island (IOTA OC-002) in the Indian Ocean from 16 November to 4 December 2026. The DXpedition is led by Max Freedman, N4ML.
The team
Ten young operators from the USA, Hungary, Lithuania, Malawi, Japan and Australia will be on the island: N4ML plus W4IPC, NT1S, LY7J, 7Q6UJ (W4UJ), HA1TMP, JJ1AHS, KN4DLY, KN2P and VK4OTZ. Veteran DXpeditioners Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, and Gregg Marco, W6IZT, are going along as advisors. The young operators will run the main station at Mango Tree Lodge, with the advisors based about 500 yards to the west.
Bands and modes
The plan is round-the-clock operation on 160–6m using CW, SSB and FT8, with an emphasis on 160, 80 and 40m. According to the published band plan there is no SSB on 160 and 30m, and 6m is SSB and FT8 only. QO-100 satellite and 6m EME are also announced: W0GJ will be the primary EME operator, using a 6M8GJ antenna and up to 1000 W PEP between 50.180 and 50.220 MHz. The team will also take part in the CQ WW DX CW contest.
Four local stations are planned (FlexRadio Aurora AU-520M, Flex 6700, PGXL amplifiers), plus two NexGen RiB2 remote stations connected over Starlink. These will let around 40 more young operators around the world sign VK9XY.
QSL
QSL via M0OXO only: OQRS, direct and bureau. The full log will be uploaded to LoTW within six months after the DXpedition ends; donors of USD 10 or more before 1 November 2026 will get LoTW confirmation sooner. There are no plans to upload to eQSL or QRZ.com. Do not send your own cards to the team via the bureau.