[3830] HK0F - 1999 ARRL DX SSB CONTEST - Multi-Two (long message)

Sat Mar 20 21:42:26 EST 1999

1999 ARRL DX SSB Contest

Call:  HK0F            Country:      San Andres Is.
Mode:  SSB            Category:  Multi-Two

BAND:        QSO:            Multipliers:

160               154                41
80                  837               57
40                1666               59
20                1935               58
15                 3213              58
10                 3965              58
______________________________

Totals          11770           331       =   11,687,610  points

DUPES - 653(although the call was given every QSO)

Operators:   AA3KX, K5OF, N2PP, W4DC, WB4ZNH, WN4FVU, WZ8P
                       This was a Woodbridge Wireless Club expedition.

Station Hardware:    TS-450S(Qty-2)
                                    Alpha 78 PA (Qty-2)

Software:    NA, Version 10

Antennas:    160:    Force12 Vertical
                        80:   Inverted V with apex @ 60'  and
                                two Force12 verticals beaming North
                        40:   Dipole @ 50'
                   20-10:   Cushcraft A3(Qty-2) both @ 35'

Location:  Caribe Campo Resort

Please see our web page for further DX/Contest expedition details:

http://www.pwcweb.com/wwi/DXpedition/

The contest logs and plenty of other info are on the web page.

Here are some observations regarding the operation:

This was basically a field day operation.  We brought everything with us
except for some water pipe we procured locally for the beam masts and some
500 ' of RG-59 for the beverage feedline.  Prior to arrival we had little
idea of the lay of the land for antennas although the resort management
realized in advance that  we would be putting up some antennas.  Since it
was the low occupancy season, the early arrival team(N2PP/WZ8P) were able to
select the best location on the property for the stations and antennas.
They
obviously did a great job since the station was only 150' from the pool and
bar.  The resort staff could not understand why we spent most of our days in
the hot sun working on antennas instead of by the pool keeping cool.  We set
aside one of the rooms for the two stations and slept in the
other three.  Due to the station location our feedlines to the verticals and
beverage were very long; consequently we ran out coax and had to procure
some RG-59 locally ofr the beverage.

This location was approx. 500 yards from the eastern shore of the island and
elevated about 100'.  It had a clear shot to EU but was overland toward the
states.

During the contest one of the stations worked only 40 and 15 meters.
The second station followed the MUF working 160, 80, 20, and 10
meters.  We used two homebrew multi-band bandpass filters built by
W2FU and had absolutely no inter-station interference although the
stations were only 10 feet apart in the same room.  We attributed this
to the antenna placement which was possible for this contest from this
location.

160 meters - We went to 160 on the hour and half-hour starting at 0300 UTC.
The first night was miserable with extremely high QRN and very weak signals,
even from the multi-multis.  We only heard other Caribbean stations on the
vertical.  Everyone else we could only hear on the beverage.  Saturday night
was a little better with stronger signals.

80 meters - Again due to the QRN the beverage was a lifesaver.  Friday night
was much better. Saturday night seemed slow but  we found out Sunday morning
that half of the inverted-v had blown down in an overnight windstorm.

40 meters - We had plans to put a reflector behind the dipole but the resort
management scheduled removal of the dead palm tree we intended to use just 2
days prior to the contest.  40 was also very noisy.

20 meters - We didn't spend much time here due to the excellent runs on 10
meters.

15 meters - Good propagation to the states for most of the daylight hours.

10 meters - Hot, hot, hot from this location.

We met most of the active local amateurs and Richard(HK0HEU) was
especially helpful in overcoming the language barriers and helping us
with local transportation and procurement.  Richard also contracted
the island coconut palm tree climber who put up our wire antennas!
Richard mentioned to me that HK0BKX(silent key) had been his Elmer.
We left most of the antenna wire, radials, and coax for the local
hams.

Here is a draft summary of information intended for printing on the HK0F QSL
cards:

SAN ANDRES ISLAND (IOTA NA033)

Located at 12°34'N 81°42'W, San Andrés is a Caribbean island about 450 miles
northwest of Colombia and 118 miles east of Nicaragua. Although San Andrés
and  nearby Providencia belong to Colombia, together they constitute a
separate DXCC entity with the prefix "HKØ".  A very small place, San Andrés
is only 1 ½  to 2 miles wide and 12 miles long. It's shaped sort of like a
sea horse with its tail pointing south.

San Andrés is noted for its natural beauty - beaches, clear waters coral
reefs, marine life, and pleasant 80° air and water temperatures.  However,
there are still some challenges for travelers, like occasional blackouts (we
had 5 during the ARRL phone contest) and some problems with the water.
Sometimes fresh water is scarce, tap water is undrinkable, and we learned to
take cold showers. But hey, what would a Dxpedition be without a few
challenges?  The Island lifestyle is easy-going, and the Islanders are very
friendly and helpful.  You can find out more about San Andrés by visiting
www.san-andres.com  and www.sanandres.org.

This DX/Contest expedition was field day style with the group erecting all
the stations and antennas in the week prior to the contest.  The equipment
included two TS-450S transceivers and 2 Alpha 78 PA's.  Before and after the
contest many SSB, CW and RTTY contacts were made.  During the ARRL DX phone
contest 11,800 contacts and 331 multipliers were racked up.

The team thanks all the ~17,000 stations that worked us.  Special thanks to
all
those who provided assistance including our support team: Mike -KA4RRU,
John - K5VG, Bob - KR4KF, John - KC4YXB, Alex - KE4BUS, Steve -N4DXS, Bob -
K8MLM, Jim - WD4AIR, and Jeff - W2FU; the Woodbridge Wireless; the Liga
Colombiana De Radioaficiondos(LCRA); Rob - HJ3PXA; the Colombian Ministry of
Communications; Force12 Antennas; all the HK0 hams, especially HK0HEU; and
the Carib Campo staff.  All QSLs are via W4DC.

We will have a professional video available for loan to clubs shortly.
Contact W4DC(Denis) if you would like to borrow it for your club meeting.

73,

Vic,  N2PP

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