[CQ-Contest] WP3C and WA3FET/WP3R Contest Stations

[Jim Breakall]

Hello All,

I am sorry to see the damage at the great WP3C contest station and feel bad
for Alfredo who has done a lot of work in building his station.  I am 
sure there
are many others who have the same story as do I.

Angel, WP3R, built a station at his home this past year with a 60 ft 
tower from old
sections from the Arecibo Observatory HF Facility from Islote (32 log 
periodics)
that I helped design some years ago and was destroyed by Hurricane Georges
in Sept. 1998.  I built the WA3FET KP4 contest station in Feb. 1998 and 
we used Angel's
callsign, WP3R, in all the contests there.  My tower was a 60 ft Rohn 55 
on top of the highest
mountaintop in the north central area about 1 mile from the Arecibo 
Observatory.  My hill
on my 12 acre farm is shaped like a volcano and the top is flat at about 
100 ft in diameter.
We had to use jackhammers for days to dig the base and anchors with the 
air truck at the bottom
of the mountain.  We then had to use a pump truck to get the cement up 
the mountain
since the spiral road would not handle those big trucks.  My tower 
luckily made it back then
while most Hams lost their towers in Georges.  This time, it was the 
opposite and Angel's
old HF Facility tower stayed up with his new Skyhawk on top and my tower 
and all monoband
antennas were destroyed.  Luckily, my buildings at the bottom of the 
mountain survived.

We have not operated much there the last 5 years since my efforts have 
been on my K3CR
contest station here in Pennsylvania.  I had plans to remote my station 
in Arecibo to get it back
on the air there but now I will have to decide what I am going to do.

To be honest, I have not worried too much about what happened to my 
station and was more
concerned with my friends and the people of Puerto Rico and also the 
damage that was
done at the Arecibo Observatory.  I have been in contact with Angel a 
lot there
and also trying to help provide communication for the Observatory and 
others to get
messages out to their love ones on Ham Radio.

One nice story that Angel relayed to me was the following.  I have a 
small waterfall and spring
on my farm there.  I almost forgot about it over the years to be 
honest.  Angel said
that people in the neighborhood there have run PVC pipe up to my 
property where the waterfall is
and have been bringing that water down to the road so all of the 
community there can get water.
That really made me feel good that my farm is doing some good to the 
safety and help with the people
who are my neighbors.  This is way more important to me than losing my 
tower and antennas.

I am still waiting to hear word from my close friend, Pedro Piza, NP4A, 
and if he has any towers and antennas
left.  I did get a message from a Ham on Long Island that Pedro is OK 
and that was a relief but no word
on his towers and antennas.

Puerto Rico is in bad shape and Angel had to wait 9 hours in line on 
foot to get $10 of gas, the maximum
that is being allowed.  His generator went bad and we were able to send 
him a new voltage regulator
and we hope that fixed the generator.  His Skyhawk Yagi was bent up but 
survived and his signal was
very strong with only 50 watts when his generator was working.

Please keep Puerto Rico and all the Hams and people there in your 
thoughts and help with what you can.

Thanks and 73,    Jim Breakall    WA3FET

-- 
James K. Breakall
Professor, Electrical Engineering

225 Electrical Engineering East
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802

Tel: 814-865-2228
Fax: 814-863-8457
Cell: 814-883-6521