Rakeedhoo Island (AS-013)

At 14:25Z on Tuesday 18th 2023 (World Amateur Radio Day) Mike 8Q7MZ a radio amateur from Austria, made contract via the Qatar-OSCAR 100 satellite transponder with Ian GW0HRG/P who was transmitting from a portable location near the town of Aberdaron on Llyn Peninsula in North Wales.

Mike was on Rakeedho Island in the Maldive Islands as part of a DXpedition with 3 other radio operators from Austria.

The transponder has an uplink on 2.4GHz and a downlink on 100GHz and was a joint project between the Qatar Satellite Company, Qatar ARS and AMSAT (Deutschland). It is on board the Es-hail-2 satellite which was launched in 2018. The satellite is in geo-stationary orbit above the equator at 26 degrees East.

Both Mike and Ian were clearly heard via the WebSDR hosted at Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall. The WebSDR allows anyone around the world to listen to satellite transponder downlink.

Rakeedhoo Island is small, inhabited island which is part of the Felidhe Atoll. It is in the central part of the Maldive Island Group which are in the Indian Ocean.