TopBand: We're home - V31Joe"Palooka"

[JPalooka]

We'll we made it back home after a great trip to Belize.  I'm sorry I did not
do better on 16o, but the rain slowed down the antenna construction and the
under growth kept me from putting up the inverted "L" where I wanted to.

I finally got an inverted "L" up by the river. It only had 40 feet of vertical
and
95 feet horizontal.  The "Slinky" Beverage worked quite well.  It was about
150 feet long and 6 feet high, aimed slightly N.E. I heard several JA's and 
finally got one in the log.  I will strive to improve the 160 transmit antenna
on
future trips and add recieve antennas in other directions.

Out of 2367 QSO's on this trip, I made 92 on 160.

USA:  68
VE:      1
NA:      4
SA:      2
EU:    16
JA:       1

On this trip, I did get an operating position built and provisions for
feedline
to come into the shack. On the next trip, the property should be cleared
enough to install more recieve antennas and a better transmit antenna. I
hope to get a tower down there over the next couple of years, for sure after
we retire there, several towers.

The first few days on the air on 40, 20 and 17 meters, I used my Hamstick
mobile antenna whips, either on the Suburban or on the porch tin roof with
500 Watts.  I compliment those that worked me under those conditions.  
As OH2BH says, "You get 20 dB from a rare call!"

So, in two trips and no contests, we've made 3738 QSO's to date.

73 from K8Joe"Palooka" & Beverly,
K8JP, V31JP, VP5/K8JP, VP5JP, K8JP/VA2, ex-K8HKM, ex-KN8HKM
jpalooka@aol.com
K8JP@contesting.com
NIDXA/SMC/ARRL/HIDXA/QCWA
And read "The Contest Traveler" column in the NCJ
[\] NAUI Diver
New snail mail address:
Joe Pontek, K8JP
26441 Devaney Road
Arcadia, IN 46030
U.S.A.
New telephone number:
(317) 984-7388






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