VK9WX Active Again from Remote Willis Island

DXers have another rare Australian entity to watch for, with Sands VK4WXW back on Willis Island and operating as VK9WX. Willis Island, IOTA OC-007, sits in the Coral Sea roughly 450 kilometres east of Cairns and is home to an Australian Bureau of Meteorology monitoring station. Sands is a technician with the Bureau and is operating amateur radio during his spare time while deployed to the island. Current information indicates activity will continue until around late October or early November 2026, although operating times necessarily depend on his work commitments.

Activity is reported primarily on 40 through 10 metres using SSB and FT8, with Sands also planning an inverted-L antenna to expand lower-band activity. Recent DX cluster spots have included 40 metres FT8 around 7.056 MHz, 30 metres FT8 around 10.131 MHz and 15 metres FT8 around 21.074 MHz, but these are observed operating frequencies rather than a fixed schedule, so operators should check current cluster activity before calling. DXers can also watch the ANZA Net for possible activity. QSL arrangements are through M0OXO using his Online QSL Request System, OQRS.

Willis Island is a fascinating intersection between amateur radio and Australia's professional use of radio and meteorological technology. The weather station has operated since 1921 and forms part of Australia's tropical cyclone monitoring capability. For amateurs, VK9WX offers the chance to work a comparatively uncommon Australian DXCC entity and IOTA reference without a conventional fly-in DXpedition team. Keep an eye on the clusters, particularly across 40, 30, 20, 15 and 10 metres, and remember that VK9WX is an operator fitting amateur radio around his actual job.

VK9WX Willis Island updates – DX-World - Link

M0OXO Online QSL Request System - Link

Image sourced from the DX-World Website.

Page Last Updated: Friday, 04 Sep 2026 at 21:45 hours by Justin Giles-clark

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