📡 YS3PY – Zacatillo Island, El Salvador (IOTA NA-190) DXpedition Recap

May 7–17, 2025 | Operator: Renato Araujo, PY8WW

Renato, PY8WW, successfully activated the rare IOTA reference NA-190 – Zacatillo Island, operating as YS3PY from May 7 to 17, 2025. Located in the Gulf of Fonseca, El Salvador, this long-silent island had not been activated in several years, making the DXpedition a high-priority event for IOTA chasers.

✈️ The Journey

Renato’s expedition began in Belém, Brazil, with flights through Bogotá and into San Salvador, where he was warmly welcomed by Noé (YS1FP) and Arturo (YS1MS). After a night’s rest, he headed to La Unión, then took a boat to Zacatillo Island, approximately 9 km offshore. The site had been pre-selected via satellite for optimal propagation.

🛠️ Station Setup

This was a Low Power DXpedition, with max output of 100 watts. Two stations were deployed:

Main Rig: Yaesu FT-DX10 (SSB, CW, FT8)
Secondary Rig: Xiegu G90 (20W, FT8-focused)

Two DX Commander Expedition verticals were set up near the shoreline:

Antenna 1: 10m, 15m, 20m, 40m (20 radials)
Antenna 2: 12m, 17m, 30m, 80m (20 radials)

📊 Operating Results

Operating on SSB, CW, FT8, and FT4 from 80m to 6m, Renato logged a total of 14,215 QSOs.

🌍 QSOs by Continent:

Europe: 5,785 (40.7%)
North America: 4,875 (34.3%)
Asia: 2,506 (17.6%)
South America: 724 (5.1%)
Oceania: 246 (1.7%)
Africa: 79 (0.6%)

📶 QSOs by Band:

30m: 2,958
15m: 2,579
17m: 2,575
40m: 2,054
20m: 2,032
10m: 806
80m: 779
12m: 353
60m: 79

Excellent propagation, particularly to Japan, Indonesia, and VK, enabled strong activity during low-band and digital operations.

🏁 Final Day

On May 13, the final QSO was logged at 10:08 UTC with JA0IAB on 40m. Antennas were taken down starting at 03:00 AM, with departure by boat at 06:00 AM. Renato then continued his Central American IOTA tour with HR4/PY8WW from Tigre Island (NA-060).