7/19/23 – For the past two weeks, American Samoa has been host to an invisible expedition happening in the air above Tutuila. Ham radio operators James Gallo (KB2FMH), Hal Turley (W8HC) and Yuri Sushkin (N3QQ) established temporary radio operations in American Samoa for the purpose of making contact with other operators all over the world.
Read more about their expedition on the official KH8RRC website.
93KHJ’s John Raynar interviewed James and Hal on the Samoan Sunrise morning show on Wednesday 7/19/23.
While in American Samoa, 93KHJ’s Joey Cummings hosted the group and acted as their local tour guide. During breaks in their busy broadcasting schedule, Cummings took them to eat at favorite local spots. In addition, the group spent an afternoon touring the National Park of American Samoa before having dinner at Tisa’s Barefoot Bar.
The group was also willing to lend a helping hand. When two pilots attempting to complete a circumnavigation of the globe in their single engine Cessna landed in American Samoa on Tuesday, the inquired if there were any experts on HF radio equipment. Hal and James accompanied the pilots to their airport after their radio interview. There, there were able to successfully troubleshoot the radio equipment. Hal wrote about this encounter on his Facebook page.
Hal and James left American Samoa on Wednesday 7/19/23. In the interview, they discuss plans for an upcoming Swains Island ham radio expedition.
