k3trm

V26RM Antigua 2007

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Date: July 4-10, 2007 Grid: FK97bd IOTA: NA-100 Zone: CQ-08, ITU-11

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This was a very exciting trip! Besides having the opportunity to visit (and operate from) another Caribbean island, I was granted permission to operate 60M from Antigua. When I applied for my operating permit, I had submitted a request to operate on 60M, which was not a permitted band at the time. Thanks to the gracious assistance of Mr. William Henry, of the Antiguan Telecommunications Department, I not only received permission for 60M, but it was also added as a permanent allocation for future operations.

This being my fifth DX trip, I've learned to accept the inevitability that something will go wrong! After arriving on the island, I only had time to set up my "brand new" 6M beam before the sun went down. It seemed to be lashed down pretty well, so I wasn't too concerned. The following morning I woke to hear the winds howling loudly outside. A quick look out the window revealed that the mast was tilting a bit, but I figured it would hold until the rain stopped. Not 30 seconds after I walked away from the window.."BANG"! My poor beam which still hadn't made a single QSO was laying on the ground. Fortunately a little bit of bending got it back into shape, for the most part, and it went back up on the mast, along with the Spiderbeam.

Results

Band	SSB	RTTY	Total
80	0	0	0
60	107	0	107
40	14	0	14
30	0	30	30
20	53	104	157
17	604	119	723
15	0	0	0
12	1	0	1
10	0	0	0
6	4	0	4
Total	783	253	1036

Despite marginal band conditions, I made a total of 1,036 QSO's. Early in the week I wasn't hearing Europe at all, but the bands improved a little bit every day and I finally had decent conditions the last few days. I spent most of my time operating SSB and RTTY on the WARC bands. I had pretty decent pile-ups on 17M to North America and South America, and then Europe later in the week, although I had to operate simplex because the band was rather crowded. Unfortunately I had no good openings into Asia.

In the evenings I spent most of my time on 60M to make sure everyone who needed Antigua for a new one had a chance. I made 107 QSO's, mainly with the US; however, I also worked in G, GM, and SV from Europe, as well as several 9Y and KP4 stations in the Caribbean. It was surprising to see how well this band performs with just 50W! I started out using a G5RV, but later in the week switched to a 60M Inverted-V. There was a definite benefit to using the a dedicated 60M antenna as the signals were noticeably louder and I was receiving much better signal reports.

6M turned out to be a big disappointment. I had high hopes, since Howard, V26HS, had great luck from this QTH a few weeks earlier. Apart from a few other Caribbean stations, I only worked a VE1 in North America and only heard some very weak signals from Europe one afternoon.

Equipment

On the HF bands I used a 5-band Spiderbeam for 20-10M, including the WARC bands, and a G5RV for 80-30M. An M² 6M5X yagi was used on 6M. 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.

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 Sunset Villa, a rental villa in Dickenson Bay, which is on the north-western coast, a few minutes from the capital city of St. John's. The Sunset Villa sits on top of a 300 foot hill overlooking Dickenson Bay. Although this is not a "rent-a-QTH", the owner welcomes portable ham operations. This was the same location used by V26HS in 2006 and 2007.

The location of the villa provides nice paths to Europe, North America, South America and Asia. There's a hill to the east, which makes Africa a bit more difficult. There's a roof deck which provides nice supports for beams, but the property is a bit short making antenna setup for the low bands, especially 160M and 80M, difficult.

Conclusion

All in all, I had a great time operating, especially on the 60M band! I enjoyed ragchewing with a few of the 60M "regulars", who kept me company on the air when the new contacts slowed down. Antigua is a nice island, especially if you are a "sun worshiper" who enjoys the beaches. For my money, I'd rather sip Rum Punch and ride the jet skis at Sneaky Pete's in Dickenson Bay...when I'm not on the air, that is!

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