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Heard Island VK0IR 1997

By KK6EK, Dr. Bob Schmieder
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As you know, Cordell Expeditions carried out an expedition to Heard Island in Jan/Feb 1997, using the callsign VK0IR. Recently I discovered about 6 hours of video that I had shot during the expedition, but which had never been seen (not even by me!). I divided the collection into six parts, which I have posted to Youtube:

Part 1 Preparation                https://youtu.be/IGcbjiFWAig
Part 2 Outbound                   https://youtu.be/RFCzL5dyDkM
Part 3 Landing/setup              https://youtu.be/50ykT4acnV8
Part 4 Operations                 https://youtu.be/kYX-F1mulTo
Part 5 Environment                https://youtu.be/gXNAKC--ElI
Part 6 Departure                  https://youtu.be/uGFiFw3TWxY

You can also find these by going to Youtube.com and searching on “Robert Schmieder Heard Island.”

Here is the introduction to each of the videos.

On 11 Jan 1997, twenty men were 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 VK0IR, 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.