Ham Radio from a Desert Island – IOTA EU-179 Adventure (UR1G)

This video documents our 6-day expedition to a remote desert island in the Black Sea during IOTA Contest 2021, as part of team UR1G. We operated from Kalanchak Island, part of an uninhabited archipelago that became a protected ornithological reserve in 2020. Isolated, sandy, without trees or shelter — just the sea, sun, wind, and radio signals. Despite heat, storms, and minimal conditions, we built two stations 300 meters apart, each equipped with: • 100W output • Inverted V antennas for 80 and 40 meters • Vertical monoband antennas (ground planes) for 20, 15, and 10 meters • Transceivers: Icom 746PRO and Elecraft K3 Team members: • Team leader: Ivan UR8GX • Operators: Nick UR3GO, Vlad US0GJ, Vlad UT3GB, Vlad UT3GF / SO6F (author of this video) It was our contribution to the Islands On The Air community — and a journey we’ll never forget.