CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: HH2AA
Operator(s): W2RE
Station: HH2AA
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Haiti
Operating Time (hrs): 15
Remote Operation
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 43 4 8
80: 242 15 51
40: 512 17 63
20: 334 15 44
15: 429 12 47
10:
------------------------------
Total: 1560 63 213 Total Score = 1,019,268
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
I can’t think of a better way to spend a day in the fall. This was incredible
fun!
Who is HH2AA? https://www.qrz.com/db/hh2aa
HH2AA is a special event station located in the mountains just south of
Port-au-Prince. The suffix AA = Air Ambulance.
The HH2AA is a group effort between the Haitian Radio Club, Felix HH2FX,
Jean-Robert HH2JR and RemoteHamRadio. All the proceed using HH2AA on the RHR
network is given back to the people of Haiti.
About HH2AA:
It located on a 6300' Mountain and is remote access only!
It operates on solar power with a reliable fiber connection.
It started in 2015 with a trip to Obleon Haiti to do a site survey of the
location, It didnt take us long before we had an OCF @ 80' on a 100' tower and
operational by remote access. This video doesn't do it justice but it gives you
an idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=IENKWZTtFdM
In early 2017 a new fiber connection was installed. This meant we could expand
the station capabilties.
Two weeks ago, Lee WW2DX and I traveled to HH2AA and installed new antennas.
The top antenna was fixed NE (Europe) @ 66' Cushcraft A4's and A3's NW (USA) @
33' on the 100' Rohn 45 tower. We also expanded the solar capabilty by adding
more batteries. We didn't know what to expect but we anticipated it was going
to be better than the OCF dipole. Photo:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1P6qugjAWSw6NNXt1
Back home in USA and preperation for CQWW.
On our return back to NY we notice that the reliable fiber connection at the
HH2AA site was down and no-timetable for its return. This was terrible news and
dampened any dreams of a planned M/S, unfortunately it was called off.
Meanwhile, my wife Lori seazed on the opportunity and made plans for a family
get together on Sunday. I knew that I could play around a bit Friday and some
on Saturday and made alternative plans to operate the Summit station in the
Catskills remote.
Miraculously, the fiber returned on Thanksgiving and the connection was solid.
I played around with the new antennas on Thanksgiving day and all seemed great!
I tried to get a team together last minute but it wasnt in the cards. I decided
to operate P/T and give these new antenna a rip.
What happened in the contest was not even in the realm of reality. The world
must know HH2AA is on solar power and its a must to get them in the log while
you can. I made this assumption based on the craziness. The pileups were
ruthless and operating split for obvious reasons in a contest is not a good
idea. I tried every method to control the madness, maybe a seasoned operator on
CW could have handled this better but I was clearly over my head. Unfortunately,
I couldn't hide high in the band to control the rate because of skimmers. The
only thing that worked was run a bit and once the pileup beacme uncontrollable
was move to another frequency.
A look at the skimmers (RBN's) suggests that HH2AA even with 100W is doing well
in EU, USA and Asia. The JA's were super loud even on 40M!
Its evident the station capabilty is beyond expectations.
Whats next?
The RHR team is heading back to HH2AA in Dec/Jan to install 50' R45 tower with
6M5 6M antenna and MomoBeam Penta for 10/12/15/17/20 on a rotor.
I think its very possible to do an SO2R operation from HH2AA in the future with
the new antennas and upgraded solar. Its something we may consider if we
continue to expand.
The remote technonlogy is getting better. Its now possible to operate a station
in another country and have a blast! I pinch myself every time I turn the radio
on and the banner flashes welcome to HH2AA on my K3-Mini or any other site I
operate remote.
I would like to thank Felix HH2FX, Jean-Robert HH2JR, Ayiti Air Anbilans and
the RHR development team for access to this wonderful station. Without this
joint effort this wouldnt be possible.
Thanks for all the Q's
Ray W2RE
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