k3trm

K3TRM/6Y5 Jamaica 2007

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Date: March 31-April 9, 2007 Grid: FK08vk IOTA: NA-097 Zone: CQ-08, ITU-11

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At first things felt eerily like our vacation to Puerto Rico the previous year...where Murphy haunted us for most of the trip. We arrived at the airport on Saturday, March 31st, only to learn that we had been bumped off an overbooked flight. Fortunately the flight the following morning was open and we were assigned guaranteed seats. Once in Jamaica I got right to assembling the Spiderbeam, which was deaf as a post. Some of the solder joints had failed since my last trip and, because of poor weather back home, I never had a chance to test the beam. After spending several hours visiting local hardware stores (seven, to be exact), I finally found one 40 minutes away in Negril with a soldering iron. But, the heating element burned out as soon as it warmed up. So, back again to Negril the following morning to exchange it for a new one. However, as the Jamaican's say "no problem, mon!"

I planned to operate SSB, RTTY, CW and PSK31 on 80-10M. The bands were in great condition, with the exception of some QSB the entire week. I was pretty active on SSB and RTTY, but never made it onto CW as I continue to have problems getting the interface on my laptop configured correctly...a problem I need to resolve before my next trip. I spent quite some time calling CQ on PSK31, as well as Olivia, with no response, which is pretty consistent with my previous trips.

My biggest disappointment was not being able to operate 60M. This band is not currently available in Jamaica, so I submitted a request for a special permit to operate during my visit. Although the Spectrum Management Authority was considering my request, I never received a response by the end of my trip. For future operations, I'll be sure to start this process much sooner. Thanks to Joe, W8GEX, for all his advice and support with this process.

Results

Band	SSB	RTTY	Total
80	88	1	89
40	0	18	18
30	0	20	20
20	40	317	357
17	252	108	360
15	0	0	0
12	0	0	0
10	0	0	0
Total	380	464	844

I made 844 QSO's on this trip. The bands from 80 through 17M were in pretty good shape all week, so I was managing a pretty steady stream of QSO's. There were probably a lot more to be made; however, we were "adopted" by the local children who lived across the street and most evenings they spent with our kids watching TV in the same room as my "portable shack".

On the higher bands, most of my time was spent on 17 & 20M with good daily propagation into North America and Europe. I found 12 & 15M were open into North America and occasionally Europe, but activity was very low and I didn't manage to make any QSO's on those bands. The low bands, 80M in particular, did quite well in the evenings. The G5RV and 100W made it into Europe just fine The noise floor was quite high at times, so I was appreciative of everyones patience while I tried to pull out their callsigns.

There was definitely more activity that could have been generated from Jamaica with more time (and fewer distractions). I was hoping for better conditions to Asia, but only made about four contacts. Overall, it was a productive operation and worked many "first time" contacts with others who needed it for a new country or band / mode. I also heard from some old friends and made a few new ones.

Equipment

My portable station consists of an Icom 706MkIIG, LDG Electronics AT-100Pro antenna tuner, and Alinco DM-330MV power supply. WriteLog v10 is used for logging and a K1NU interface for rig control.

My main antenna, covering 20-10M, including the WARC bands, was the 5-band Spiderbeam. As usual, the Spiderbeam was a great performer! For this trip I also added Spiderbeam's 38 foot Aluminum Mast and Standpipe to support the beam. During the first two days, winds were pretty high coming in from the ocean and I nervously watched as the top of the mast bent back several inches. But it supported the beam with no problems. On the lower bands I used a G5RV at 35 feet strung up between some fruit trees and supported in the middle by the Spiderbeam Fiberglass Pole.

QSL Information

QSL's can be sent to my home call with SASE or through the US bureau. Non-domestic SAE's should include $1 US or 1 IRC. Cards with insufficient postage will be returned via the bureau. Additional information can be found on my QSL Information page.

Accomodations

We stayed at "The Roundhouse", a rental villa near the town of Lucea, which is on the north-western coast between Negril and Montego Bay. The Roundhouse is 1/3 acre waterfront property on the Port of Lucea (Lucea Harbour).

The Roundhouse is not a "rent-a-QTH". However, the owners, Caroline and Johnny Ellis, were very accommodating and permitted me to install portable antennas during our stay. The home sits just 15 feet from the water and offered great exposures to North & South America, Europe, Asia, and most of Africa. The owners are more than willing to permit future operations from their home and I would be glad to discuss possible antenna installations with anyone considering a visit.

Conclusion

We could not have asked for a better time! We enjoyed weather in the low 80's all week with only three very short rainfalls. While Jamaica has a reputation of being home to hustlers who relentlessly pursue tourists pawning their wares (and this can be true in some of the larger tourist areas), we found the locals in Lucea to be very warm and friendly. On the few occasions where we were bothered, someone was always there to chase them away. Our whole family is anxious to visit again some day soon! Band conditions were great this week and I hope to return some summer to operate 6M.

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