Island hunting can begin by monitoring 14.260 and, if open, 21.260, 28.460 SSB and 40 khz above the band edge for cw activity. Sooner or later, most island activators show up on 14.260 Mhz whether it is for IOTA or the many other island awards. If this specific frequency is busy, they will then QSY up or down a few khz and put out their particular island. Most DX bulletins are now providing extensive information about upcoming island expeditions and occasionally there is information on island residents. The 425 DX News has excellent coverage of proposed operations and The DX Summit Webcluster will give you real time spots of DX, Island and Lighthouse activity. The IOTA Expedition Calendar provides an up to date listing of known island expeditions. New island activations can also be found on the RSGBIOTA website.

You have probably worked and confirmed many islands valid for island awards. Some of these islands have lighthouses, castles, forts and other interesting structures and history which is always of interest and may be useful for awards. Be sure to go through all your old QSLs and if really serious, your log books. Most new island hunters find they have worked and confirmed a number of Islands.

If you want to activate an island, jump in your mobile and head for the beach and a valid island. The photo shows the W9DC mobile. Of course, you can operate from lighthouses but the challenge to get to a lighthouse on an island without a bridge creates a new and challenging adventure.

Please review IOTA Checkpoint Information for details on how to get started in the IOTA program. It includes details on making an application on your own personal database at www.RSGBIOTA.org and how to get your island cards approved by your local Checkpoint. that page will also tell you how to obtain the 2007 Directory although you can find much of that information in the RSGBIOTA website. Good luck on finding those islands and "have fun".

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(Revised August 2007)