Bob, KK6EK got in touch recently, first of all with some warm words for DX-World and then interesting news / links on the 1997 Heard Island DXpedition. 

I was so pleased with your survey of the Best DXpedition of past 30 years. The VKØIR team was, of course, delighted. Thank you so much. And compliments for continuing excellence on DX World!

Cordell Expeditions carried out an expedition to Heard Island in Jan/Feb 1997, using the callsign VKØIR. Recently, Bob discovered about 6 hours of video that he had shot during the expedition, but which had never been seen (not even by him!). He then divided the collection into six parts, which he published to You Tube:

  • Part 1            Preparation               
  • Part 2            Outbound                  
  • Part 3            Landing/setup          
  • Part 4            Operations                 
  • Part 5            Environment              
  • Part 6            Departure                   

Bob explains more:

On 11 Jan 1997, twenty men landed on one of the most remote places in the world: Heard Island, located in the Southern Ocean, almost to Antarctica. They set up a village with all life support, including accommodations, light and power, galley, and a huge array of radios, antennas, and satellite communications gear.

Over the next two weeks, using the callsign VKØIR, the team logged 80,673 contacts with radio operators worldwide, a new world record for self-supported expeditions. The team also made daily explorations around the island to document the rocks, glaciers, rivers, plants, birds, and seals that are the dominant residents of this live volcano. Many of you will remember this expedition, and quite a few of you made significant contributions.

The expedition was documented in numerous articles, presentations, and professional videos, and received many awards, including a 2020 poll that ranks it #1 among all such expeditions of the past 30 years.

Unnoticed at the time, the author shot six hours of video of all aspects of the project. Unfortunately, these videos were lost until mid-2020, 23 years later. No one, including the author, had ever viewed these videos. Upon finding them, the author divided the material into 6 separate Parts. Other than separation into the Parts, the videos needed little editing. They contain almost all of the material that was shot in 1997, and most of it is in exactly the order it was shot.  

The website for the 1997 expedition is here. The book VKØIR Heard Island is still available from the author ($20 plus postage).