The Llyn Peninsula (Pen Llyn) (IO72PT)

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

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 Ian and Mike 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.

The Llyn Peninsula (Pen Llyn) in north Wales is an area of amazing natural beauty with its outstanding scenery. It affords views of Snowdonia and the west coast of Walles, it also has a number of picturesque sea villages.