KP2/K3TRM St. Croix 2009
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Date: April 7-13, 2009 Grid: FK77ps IOTA: NA-106 Zone: CQ-08, ITU-11 |
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After attending a family wedding in Puerto Rico earlier in the week, we were ready to see some different sights. St. Croix is just a short hop from San Juan and Radio Reef provided me with a great opportunity to get on the air from a new location without having to deal with extra luggage and licensing. I was familiar with Radio Reef from its frequent KP2M contest activity, but I was pleasantly surprised to find such a great location and antenna farm when I arrived.
Results
| Band | SSB | RTTY | Total |
| 80 | 162 | 0 | 162 |
| 40 | 1196 | 65 | 1261 |
| 30 | 0 | 151 | 151 |
| 20 | 406 | 144 | 550 |
| 17 | 474 | 203 | 677 |
| Total | 2238 | 563 | 2801 |
I had low expectations for KP2 since it is a very active entity, especially during most major contests, and I only had five days to operate. I certainly hadn't expected to
end my short trip with 2,801 QSO's in the log. A combination of good band conditions and an incredible antenna farm helped make this possible.
Since the whole family was along, most of the daytime was spent touring the island and visiting the beaches. Evenings were spent on the lower bands. The full sized 3 element
beam on 40M was a powerhouse and made for one of my best nights operating. After the kids went to bed I turned the beam northeast and put out a few CQ's. I immediately began
receiving calls from Asiatic Russia. I spent the remainder of the night following the grey line across Europe running a huge pile-up until I called it quits shortly after 5am with a
a station from Portugal.
Equipment
Rigs:
n Yaesu FT-1000MP
n Alpha 89
Antennas:
n Force 12 Magnum 620/340
n Force 12 C3
n Force 12 2 ele 30M
n 2 ele 80M Wire Beam
QSL Information
QSL cards can be sent direct or through the bureau to my home callsign. Direct requests must include an SASE or SAE with either an IRC or $2US for return postage. Additional details can be found on my QSL Information page. All logs have been uploaded to LoTW and ClubLog.
Accomodations
Radio Reef sits high atop a hill overlooking the Caribbean Sea to the north. The home is nicely furnished with the shack accessible from a separate entrance just a few feet away. The shack had two complete operating positions with a third position. Three towers supported an amazing array of antennas covering 40-6M with wire antennas on 80 & 160M.
Useful Links
Logbook Search
Photos
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