Nov 13th 2025 From a Luxury HF Paradise to a Budget Accommodation

Today I moved from a true HF paradise to a more budget-friendly accommodation. It’s a lovely place with a beautiful jungle garden, but unfortunately there’s no way to set up any antennas here. For any HF operation, I now have to drive to the coast and operate out of the car, where I have a clear shot toward the northern hemisphere. It is s the only practical way to get on the air from Palau without paying a fortune for accommodation. On the bright side, this change has given me the opportunity to experiment with new antenna setups - for example, a three-element delta loop that I can modify from 20 to 10m. I started with a 12-meter version, and it worked extremely well: working Europe was easy with this antenna!

Still, I can’t help wishing I could compare it directly with the antennas I used at my previous location, 20 meters above ground...

Nov 11th 2025 I’ve made it to Koror, Palau – my DXFC entity #178. I found an excellent HF operating location, but unfortunately at an exorbitant price: 300 USD per night, the most expensive room I’ve ever booked in my life. Still, I decided to stay for two days to take full advantage of the perfect HF conditions. After that, I’ll move to a more affordable place or even operate from the car if necessary.

But my initial enthusiasm faded quickly. When I plugged my 120 V switching power supply into what looked like a standard US 120 V outlet, there was a loud bang – and the power supply was instantly destroyed. Smoke, burned resistors, completely gone... A real showstopper!

What happened? The hotel, operated by a BY group, uses 230 V power – common in China – but installed US-style 120 V outlets without any warning labels. Since most guests are from China, it doesn’t cause problems for them. When I complained to management, their response was simply: “You should have measured first…” My last hope was Gary, T88SS. I called him, and luckily he still had a 40-year-old Kenwood PS-53 power supply he could lend me. Thank you so much, Gary!

Big thanks to Mrs. Lajkan and Mr. Darrel for providing the Amateur Radio License V73RK during my visit at the Majuro Atoll! 

Nov. 2nd 2025: After sunrise, I asked Danny if he had any spare parts I could use to repair my fiber pole. To my surprise, he had two used ones he could lend me! One had a missing tube, but the second was perfect - 33 feet tall, just right for my different wire antennas. A huge thanks to Danny!

Next, I had to hurry to the airport, and this time I successfully made it to Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Arriving at midnight, finding a place to operate from wasn’t easy - as expected. The China Star Hotel had been recommended to me, but it was located right near the container harbor, surrounded by powerlines. At one o’clock in the morning, I was able to arrange a car from a local rental agency at the airport and spent the rest of the night in there, close to the beach. As soon the sun came out, I was on the air with my vertical jumper dipole.

During the day, I discovered a much better location up north, right in a mangrove forest. It was great for HF operations, though the setup was less than ideal. I decided to operate from the mangroves during the day and stay at the China Star Hotel at night - especially to keep away from the countless mosquitos were active in the night. I prepared a short video to give you a sense of the location where I operated from...

The family who owns the property in the mangroves was incredibly friendly and helpful. As a warm welcome, they offered me a drink straight from a coconut tree - an unforgettable start to my operation.

Nov. 1st 2025: Today I set out to reach Pohnpei, Micronesia (V6), but luck wasn’t on my side - flights were fully booked. I’ll have to try again tomorrow...

Danny simply answered on WhatsApp. "The shack is still available". At least one problem solved. Getting a a car again and headding to Dannys place, about 30 minutes away from the airport.

Tonight, the 40m finally came alive. The relentless radar interference that made previous nights almost unbearable has quieted down, giving hope for a few good contacts.

Then came a real setback: my beloved fibrepole, the backbone of nearly all my antennas, toppled and broke into two pieces - each about 5 meters - while I was trying to raise a 30 m antenna. On these remote islands, finding even a 10 m replacement is impossible, according to local HAMs...

So here I am, waiting for sunrise, surveying the possibilities, and thinking creatively about how to get back on the air. Challenges like these are part of the every DXpedition - and overcoming them makes every QSO even more rewarding.

Oct. 31st 2025: This morning, 40 m was excellent  -I managed to find a clear spot between the S9+ OTH radar signals. Europe was very loud. I wish I had more days like this… 30 m and the other low bands were still impossible to use.

Tomorrow, I plan to head to Micronesia (V6). Originally, I had planned to go to Palau first, but since the license wasn’t ready yet, I changed my plan...

Good news in the evening: Thanks to Gary T88SS, the Palau license finally arrived! The given callsign is T88MZ!

But the rouing of my trip was already changed, so Palau should be visited as my last stop, after V7 and V7.

Oct. 30th 2025: Meanwhile, I have antennas ready for all bands from 160 m to 6 m. The TX signal seems to be excellent, and the bands above 20 m work extremely well! Receiving on the lower frequencies, however, remains somewhat of a challenge. This video gives you an impression of how the low bands sound here on the island - most of the time. Perhaps it explains why weaker stations have little or no chance of cutting through the noise. I’ve never heard this kind of noise before and have no idea where it comes from. Some suggest it originates from OTH radar (over-the-horizon) coming from somewhere…

I remember the “woodpecker,” but this noise is different...

Oct 28th. 2025: Arrival at Guam Island Airport: Tim KH2XX and his son were already waiting for me to take me to Danny KH2JU. Thank you, Tim!

Danny has a fantastic location right on top of a hill. When he bought the property many years ago, it was surrounded by pure jungle. Now, there is a street and neighboring buildings. He lives here with his very nice family, whom I eventually had the pleasure of meeting.

Typhoons are a major problem here, especially at such an exposed location. Danny told me he lost all his antennas during Typhoon Mawar in 2023, when winds reached up to 225 km/h. None of the antennas survived, so he had to rebuild everything from scratch. He says, “I’m used to that, after living here for over 50 years…” In the garden behind the house, I found some parts of a broken 50 MHz antenna. I was able to repurpose it as a 6 m beam with four elements. Before the typhoon, it had been a seven- or eight-element Yagi. It worked great into Japan and Danny will have fun to back on 6m again after some years of silence.

Oct. 27th. (start date had to be shifted from 25th to 27th) I will start to Tokyo and from there to Guam, using the call sign  KH2/AH0G Please send your QSL requests via DK7PEnonly! The USadress can not be used and your QSLs might never reach me.

Next planned stop will be Palau (call T88MZ), Micronesia (V6CW), the Marshall Islands (V73RK) and possibly Kiribati (T30RK).

Remark: Chances to find an affordable HF location on the islands is very limited. The prices per night are exorbitant like in the Caribbean and an S9 QRM level is guaranteed on most locations. Room rates start from 210 USD near the beach, what is beyond my budget. Therefore I will also operate portable or out of a car, just running flat foot at 100W. The advantage is having a good location near the sea, but the disadvantage is that I have to build up and take down my antennas every day... That is why my operation will not be 24/7... It will be a mixture of DXpedition, antenna experimenting and meeting local radio amateurs.

I will try several antenna constructions like my 2 or 3 El vertical wire beam, VDA's and Quad/Delta Loop antennas. Yes, I will try the low bands and of course 60m CW, where allowed. Every QSO will be "hand made" with an old ETM9c keyer - it will be pretty much an old school One Man DXpedition!

What is IS DXFC?

The 'F' in DXFC stands for 'Feet' - countries in which you have stepped foot. DXFC is for licensed radio amateurs who like travelling. We DXers know all about DXCC so this is just our bit of fun. It works with the same 340 current 'entities' as defined at http://www.arrl.org/country-lists-prefixes. (Thanks Stewart G4AFF - www.dxfc.org)

DXFC has two rankings:

1. Stepping food on a DXCC entity without any amateur radio activity (DXFC Visits Total)

2. Stepping food on a DXCC entity and operate from there (!) (DXFC QRV Total)

Tom Perera, W1TP (right), has been an amateur radio operator since 1953 and has been coming to HAM Radio with his wife for many years. He owns several original ENIGMAs and is the owner of the unique ENIGMA Museum (enigmamuseum.com). His good friend Franz (left) worked as a professor of systems theory at Johannes Kepler University in Linz until 2004 and is a member of the GFGF and AWA (Antique Wireless Association). Together, the two of them have written dozens of books on historical telegraph devices and Morse keys — a wealth of knowledge when it comes to telegraphs and the ENIGMA!

Since November 14th, I’ve been on Barbados operating as 8P9PE, the final DXCC entity of this trip. Unfortunately, the accommodation is surrounded by power lines, leaving little chance for any serious operation. So I decided to operate from the car instead — close to the beach and using a palm tree as antenna support.

The paddle sat on the passenger seat, always a bit unstable. But this kind of setup shows that there’s a real human being behind the signals. 

Nov. 13th. 2024: Today I met two famous radio operators from the Island of Saint Kitts. Joel V44KAI is a 100% CW man, while John worked 100% SSB in his life. John started in 1958 at the age of 13. He is a life and legacy member of ARRL.

John was working in the oil business for Schlumberger Limited (French pronounciation) or now SLB. One day the company needed a special analyzer sold by HEATHKIT. Instead of buying only the analyzers, Schlumberger bought the whole company for a bargain of only 50 Mio USD. That is the reason why you read HEATH and Schlumberger on the Heatkit equipment of the 70ies he said. Wow, I was wondering what Schlumberger ment, but now I have learned something new!

Nov. 12th. 2024: DXFC #172. I'm back from the Blackrock Cliff North-East of the Island. It wasn't easy to find a suitable place, as the road around the island runs several hundred meters away from the beachfront. Bush, palms and sugar cane plantations in between, and no access to the waterfront. I was about to give it up and return, when a friendly lady told me to try Blackrock Cliff one of the tourist attractions on the island of Saint Kitts. And indeed, this place was what I was looking for. I'd never have found this little unpaved road unless she had told me.The signals were super loud as expected and most importantly, I felt safe there, as it is not recommended to stay out alone somewhere, especially in darkness. While I was on the radio, three safari busses arrived with about 60 cruise ship people having a day tour. One of the drivers hurried up to me, took many pictures of my antenna and introduced himself as Christian, V44TT. Christian is a very colorful personality - and super nice guy! He found it great that I operated from here, where all the tourist could see it and ask him: "what is this guy doing and what is this antenna good for?". Christian is a tourist guide and his colorful outfit will certainly help that everyone on the island and all overseas tourists, will always remember this funny tour guide.

They left for their next attraction and I was the last one on the rock, not feeling that comfortable anymore, shortly before dusk... Openings were great, but when it went dark, a "strange guy" knocked on the car window asking for money. To me, that was an indication that I better QRT now. I dismantled antenna and radio within five minutes and said good bye... That's the reason why I suddenly went off during a nice 60m pileup...

Nov. 09th. 2024: I didn't make it to St. Kitts as planned so I had to stay on Antigua for at least two days. 

Staying on Antigua was great, especially because I met Renvil V21RW, a very nice guy born on the island. He told me about the best location to operate from and so we went to Devils Bridge yesterday (Sunday). Indeed, it was one of the best locations I ever operated from. No qrm and a free shoot from West over North to the East. Renvil also was interested in the antennas I carried with me, becaue Billy told him about on their daily 80m net. So we started with a 17m Delta loop, later we build a 60m Dipole (Jumper Dipole) and other konfiguration. 60m conditions were not as good as three days before, but I still worked many stations on this band.

By the way, today (Nov 11th 2924) I will try it again to St. Kitts, hoping for better luck...

November 9th, 2024: On today's flight from Montserrat to Antigua, there were only three passengers and one pilot in a six seater airplane. The person sitting next to me obviously lived on Montserrat and he asked why I was visiting the island and if I liked it there. When I mentioned amateur radio, he immediately knew exactly what it was. He then told me the story of Bobby Martin (VP2MO*), who saved lives on Montserrat in the 1980s, when his amateur radio station was the only link to the outside world after a devastating hurricane struck the island.

He even knew Billy, VP2MD, personally. Since I had forgotten to give Billy my QSL card, I asked if he could kindly pass it along to Billy on his way back to Montserrat. "Sure, no problem, I'll do that!" he replied. When I asked him what to say Billy whom he will get the card from, he simply said: "Tell him from Ruben, just Ruben". Would he know which Ruben, I replied. The answer was a confident yes: "Tell him it’s Ruben, the Prime Minister of Montserrat..."

November 7th, 2024:

This day was mainly devoted to antenna testing. Billy is active in POTA (Parks On The Air), so he was eager to check out all the antennas I carry with me. He was amazed to see how many different systems can be set up in a very short time using the simplest methods - and that all of it fits comfortably into a single backpack.

The picture below shows the full-size Delta Loop, which can easily be switched from 20 to 10 meters, just like my Jumper Dipole that I’ve been using for more than 40 years.

Nov. 6th 2024: Strong QRM in Brades made me rent a car and operate from the east of the island. This part is more or less abondend since the Soufrier Hills Volcano covered the old airport of Montserrat under meters of ashes and lava. Nature is taking back everything and some roads that still exist are gradually overgrown by all kinds of plants. Since 1990 when people had to leave their homes, this area is forgotten. Animals that survived the catastropy have multiplied uncontrolled. You'll find countless amonts of goats and thousands of Donkeys roaming around. Especially the donkeys that destroy farmers plantations are a real issue. While the wild goats for some are a welcome change on the menu, no one wants to eat donkey meat...

Regarding amateur radio, it was a good decision to operate from here, although the wandering donkeys, close to the car, sometimes were a bit spooky when I had to go out and look for the antenna, during a pitch dark night.

Oct 31st 2024: ZF2PE (DXFC #170) Arriving on Grand Cayman late in the evening. I didn't know what to expect there and what kind of operation would be possible - just a portable, operating out of the car or whatever... Adrian AA5UK (ZF2SS) had visited Cayman many times before and he knows everything about the Islands. He had given me all kind of infomation in advance and also mentioned ZF1A, the big contest station on the Island. This station is one of the biggest in the Caribbean and most of us have worked them before, especially during the major contests. 

Phil, ZF1PB, was the captain of the "PILOT" for many years. A ship that brings Tourists from the cruise ships to the island.

Oct. 28th 2024: Next Thursday I will start my trip to the Caribbean. My shedule is to arrive on Grand Cayman late in the evening Oct 31st, staying there until the Nov. 4th or 5th. I will be using the call sign ZF2PE. Montserrat VP2MCW and St. Kitts V4/DK7PE will be the following destinations. Depending on the time available, I will also visit one more Island, but this isn't confirmed yet.

By the way, the chances to find an affordable HF location on the islands is very limited. The prices per night are exorbitant in the Caribbean, therefore I will also operate portable or even out of the car. The advantage is having a good location near the sea, but the disadvantage is that I have to build up and take down my antennas every day... That is why my trip can't be a 24/7 operation, but rather a mixture of DXpedition, antenna experimenting and meeting some of the local radio amateurs. Every QSO will be "hand made" and it will be an old school DXpedition...

I will mainly use CW with my 100W ICOM IC 7000 plus ETM9C keyer and of course my wire antennas. Where possible I will even use some of my directional wire beams for the higher bands, for example the three element Backpack Delta Loop (see picture on the left) which I can modify for several bands from 20 and 10m just by closing and opening the jumpers, or the two or three element Vertical J-pole Beam (see pictures below).

Yes, I will try the low bands and of course 60m CW. I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Some Thoughts I’ve Been Having…

I certainly can’t complain about a lack of calling stations here in the Caribbean. It’s a different story when I call “CQ” from Germany and get no response, even though I can be heard across the U.S. on the RBN. When I then see strong U.S. stations (“Big Guns”) being spotted on FT8 at the same time, I’m often speechless. Have these OMs lost the joy of actual conversation or a CW ragchew, or why are they so rarely heard?

I also find it interesting how DXpeditions have changed over the past few years. Not long ago, I visited a DXpedition team on site. We had a great chat, until I noticed a transmitter running at the station table. When I pointed it out - “Ooops, your transmitter is still on!” - the answer was, “Don’t worry, it’s only FT8!” It becomes even more surreal when the operator on the other side is sitting on the couch with a bag of peanuts while the computer runs the QSOs by itself. Surely not the norm, but it does happen...

Another example: a group of top-notch CW operators organizes an elaborate DXpedition halfway around the globe, yet they are mostly logged on FT8. Or consider a three-week, single-operator DXpedition with tens of thousands of contacts - normally an impressive achievement… unless the computer is collecting ATNOs (All Time New Ones) 24/7. Who really knows? The financial support generated by such operations, however, does open up incredible opportunities.

I do not question the fascination of digital mode technology. This aspect is as important a part of our hobby as traditional person-to-person, human modes. For those struggling with poor antennas or heavy QRM, FT8 can be a lifeline, allowing them to make contacts they otherwise couldn’t. Some enjoy SSB, others CW or RTTY - so why not FT8 as well? When used manually, QSO by QSO, FT8 is perfectly fine - purely a matter of personal preference.

What I do wonder is what has happened to the original “fascination with amateur radio” that motivated us to get licensed: the joy of talking with fellow hams around the globe in SSB, CW, or RTTY. FT8, as far as I know, does not allow for such exchanges. Is it simply because FT8 now counts for DXCC and has created huge demand, forcing everyone who wants to maintain or improve their country count to participate? That could explain why so many have migrated to FT8. Perhaps the situation will normalize once every country has been “worked” in FT8 - who knows.

Ultimately, every operator must decide for themselves what amateur radio means: letting the computer handle the QSO or enjoying it personally. But reflecting on the current trends has never hurt.

73s Rudi DK7PE/8P9PE – enjoying the magic of amateur radio ;-)

Radiosonde flight August 5th 2024

Weather conditions today were just perfect to start another amateur radiosonde experiment. This time, Wolfgang (DF7PN), equipped the balloon with a 10 milliwatt transmitter and a 20m full size vertical Dipole. Everything is absolutely light weight with a total  of less than 50 grams! Power is provided by a little solar panel, therefore the transmitter will "sleep" during night and comes alive after sunset. 

The transmitter is operating on 14,097.2 MHz in WSPR digital mode. The predicted route leads to Italy and maybe even further to North Africa, depending on the winds. Theoretically it is even possible to circle the whole globe, but let's wait and see...

Immediately after the start around 07:00 UTC, the signal was heard in Tasmania/Australia (VK7) via long path over South America. That means the little 10 mW signal was heard over a distance of 25.000 km - not bad for the beginning!

Radiosondes - another exciting part in our great hobby! 

Feb. 28th 2024: Meeting Janusz on his wire antenna farm on Sint Eustatius Island. After several trips to PJ5 he knows the best place to operate from. He choose a very remote location on the east coast, only 200m from the sea - no neighbours, lots of space for all kind of antennas and pure HF, without man made noise! Janusz is on DXpeditions since fourty years now and he knows how to built antennas. What he is using here is the result of many years experimenting.

The house has two spacy appartments and Janusz had no objections that I use the second one. I will do CW, while Janusz works on SSB and FT8. By the way, I just finished a pileup on 60m with very good signals from EU. At the moment (01:00 UT) the band is quiet, so I wait for the  sunrise in EU...

Of course we compared the vertical half wave antenna with the single quad element. Yes, the test conditions were not quite equal, because a quad has a full wavelength and a natural gain of approximately 2 dB compared to a half wave antenna... The test confirmed that, and the quad element was louder in Europe by around one S-unit! Still the most effective and easiest to built antenna on a DXpedition is a vertical (Dipole or J-Pole) as it needs no tie wires and has almost no mechanical challenges... Anyway, the test convinced me that I will try a quad element next time - where possible.

Janusz (PJ5/SP9FIH) preparing the 80m Antenna for the upcomming ARRL SSB contest.

Feb. 27th 2024: Boat trip from Anguilla to Sint Maarten, followed by a Twin Otter flight to Sint Eustatius (PJ5). I arrived in the evening and was lucky to get a small Hyunday i10. That was the only car available. I looked for a place right on the east coast and started to operate (see picture). As I was absolutely overtired, it happened that I fell asleep during a QSO - sorry about that! The picture with the vulcano was taken during the night. Tomorrow I will meet Janusz PJ5/SP9FIH.

Typical ways of transportation between the Caribbean Islands. The planes mainly used are "Twin Otters". 

Feb.: 26th.: I was wondering about several huge antenna towers far away on top of a hill at the north side of Anguilla. They didn't look commercial, rather like the remainders of a real big amateur radio station... I gave it a try and went there over a bulky road, never thinking to meet anybody. No bell, just the plate saying "SAWTELLE VP2E". This call was familiar to me and I have worked this station many times during the big contests twenty years ago. A friendly man was waving at the balkony, saying "hello, I'm coming down". I felt like he had already expected me. It was Gordin N5AU, one of the contest crew. Gordon is a very friendly man who showed me around the antenna farm or better what is left of it and told me about the activities back than. Several huricanes includig IRMA hit the antennas, but the big 55G towers all survived and still stand there. The FT 1000 radios are still there, but due to the climate and the salty air, they wouldn't work anymore. The last valid VP2E logged is dated March 8th 2011 and it doesn't look that this great station will ever come back on the air...

Feb. 25th 2024: Last Friday I arrived on Anguilla Island by ferry from St Barth via Sint Maarten. After one week operating out of my "SUZUKI Hotel" in St Bath, I now enjoy a real room! First I had to take a few hours of sleep. Did you ever experience a microsleep while running a pileup? That's weird and happened to me during several DXpeditions in the past, so in St Barth. It's a clear sign of your body saying that you better take a nap...

As my antennas were pretty spoiled, now I had the space to repair them - if I only had a soldering iron... My friend Jan DJ8NK who operated from VP2E several years ago, knows most of the local HAMs and is a very close friend to Keith VP2EKG. I don't know what Jan told him, but within a few hours, Keith, the president of AARS (Anguilla Amateur Radio Society) himself drove by and  and brought me the needed tool - whow, that was great! He is a professional journalist and broadcaster here in The Valley, who originally lived on the island of Montserrat, using the call sign VP2MEG. He was reporting for Radio Antilles (Montserrat) right on scene during the disasterous vulcanic eruption that destroyed half of the Island, back in 1997. After that catastrophy, half of the population moved away from the Island and Keith and his family came to Anguilla, where he met Teddy Edwards, who later became a radio amateur too. Teddy got he call VP2ETE and is the beacon from Anguilla in SSB and FT8. Everybody seems to know him and when I talked to friends in Germany, they replied: "Oh, please pass my best regards to Teddy, we have worked him on this and that band and mode...". During our talks, we came to the conclusion, that amateur radio to all three of us is our life and the entrance to the whole world. It's such a great experience to meet these guys here on the Island!

Foto, left to right: Teddy VP2ETE, Keith VP2EKG and Rudi VP2ERK

A typical Sunday afternoon on the Island of Anguilla. It was near the place I operated from and they had great food on the barbeque. You can't belive how relaxed those people are. No computer, no TV - and they seem to be happy by simply playing dominoe and singing gospel...

Feb. 20th 2024: I arrived on St Barth after after a short Twin Otter flight from Sint Maarten, while Petra was on her way from Miami to Frankfurt. Due to the high season, the situation at the airports in Miami (Immigration and security) and especially at the whole Pleasance Airport TCI was as chaotic I have never ever seen before. Hours of delay, endless lines, thousands of people... It resulted in missing flight connections and  overbooked hotels. We felt like in the movie "Going home for Christmas", not quite the way we had planned... Toothaches on top made Petra to go back to Germany instead of continuing our Island hopping with all it's uncertainties. Too bad, because the real nice places in my opinion were still to come... St Barth is beautifull, but prices for an accomodation start not less than 400 USD per night. This was out of reach for me, so I rented a car, looked for the best HF location and operated from there. For a radio amateur the ideal combination, especially when operating during the night... very clean sanitary facilities at yacht harbour - just perfect!

But when I tried to get on the air, nothing worked. No reception, no output power, just nothing. I tested different Coax cables, different antennas, from which I knew they worked on VP5, but nothing worked. It was pitch dark and that didn't make it easier finding out what's wrong. I was convinced that the radio was broken. To me it was impossible to imagine that anything else could be the reason. I lost a whole day and night finding a way to get the radio running again, but no way. At the end I checked each section of my trusted Jumper Dipole by holding one end to plus (+) and the other end to minus (-) at the car's battery, step by step, each band, one after the other. Little sparks mean wire is ok! What else can you do if you are travelling light weighted... I finally found the problem, at least I thought. It was a broken piece of wire between the 10 andb 12m section - not a connection, no it seemed to be inside the wire... How could this be possible, as the antena was built just two weeks ago? The problem with my other antenna, the J-pole, wasn't less tricky. The connection between Coax and symmetrical matching line, right on the 50 Ohm point was broken. Two broken antennas at the same time... lesson learned: I will rebuild them all and a little multimeter will come along next time! Now as I found the problems, I was happy that the IC7000 was ok. Now I can enjoy quiet bands with no man made noise - except from my own car - away from houses and power lines...  

A fisherman on Turks & Caicos showing his catch of the day. The huge snail is a delicacy for him and many others. It is seen as a kind of seafood and prepared in many different ways.

"In North America, a conch is often identified as a queen conch, indigenous to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Queen conches are valued for seafood and are also used as fish bait. In the United States, a rule has been proposed to list the queen conch's conservation status as threatened." (Quote Wikipedia)

Feb. 16th 2024: We are on Turks & Caicos. Making an Airbnb booking turned out to be a complete mess. The room was confirmed, but the owner of the accomodation didn't know anything about it. That's bad news on a place like TCI, where room rates are exorbitant... The owner felt sorry for us and called several locations he knew, but all of them were completely full. He even drove us around and we wondered why everybody greeted him with:  "Good day, Bishop". It turned out that he indeed was the previous Arch Bishop of Providenciales. Maybe this helped and at the end we found a nice little hotel for a "bargain" of only 250 USD a night... Though it was directly beside on the runway of  Providenciales Airport, it was better than nothing! When we were having breakfast at the terrasse we felt a little like real ATC Air Traffic Contollers, so close to the moving planes.

It was before the ARRL CW contest and VP5K was preparing for this event. We visited the location where Bill AC0W and Pat K0PC stayed together with their xyl's -  the Harbour Rock Villa. In view of the upcoming contest we kept our visit very short, took a picture and wished them good luck.

By the way the contest location "Harbour Rock" belongs to Jim K4QPL. If you contact him well in advance, you might be able to rent the shack. He can be found in the Internet, but keep in mind, the ARRL CW contest is already blocked for the next year(s). By the way, Jim helped me getting my VP5 license in time - thank you Jim! 

Feb. 15th 2024: Meeting Vernon, C6AVD, the president of the C6A Amateur Radio Club. There are some active resident HAMs on The Bahamas, but the main activity comes from contest operations by visitors from abroad. Vernon is called the king of SSB and he loves to experiment with new antenna systems, preferably out of wire - so we had a lot to talk about... Meanwhile Vernon tried to build his own vertical wire beam and what he wrote me was very promissing. The king of FT8 on this Island is Kinson C6AKD whom I was in contact with well in advance.  Kinson helped us a lot finding the right location for us. We were so happy to stay at Carmellas place!

Feb. 14th 2024: The 10m telescopic fiberglass pole broke today when I tried to errect a Dipole. That's sad, because it is the support for the vertical wire beams as well. Unfortunately this happened before in VP9 the same way. I have to look for solution when on the other  Islands...

In St. Eustatios the Element #11 broke too. This happened, when we tested a vertical antenna hanging down from a cliff. The wire got stuck somewhere on a stone and I tried to pull it free. I'll never do that again...

The pole is great, but you should never try to pull a twisted wire out of a bush or somehere. Meanwhile I talked to the company and they will send me a replacement of the two elements to my German address. Thanks!

Feb. 11th2024: Petra and me arrived in Nassau, New Providence Island/Bahamas. We had booked a little Airbnb in advance, but there was no chance for any kind of antennas. With the help of Kinson C6AKD we found the ideal place to stay and operate from, at least occasionally... No powerlines or other disturbing obstacles above ground, just perfect. The location is about five miles west of Nassau and about 400m from the north shore of the Island. An ideal place even for bigger DXpeditions with up to four members. On Feb. 15th. we will continue to Turks & Caicos (VP5).

VP9/DK7PE focused on the low bands and of course on CW. Getting a license in Bermuda was straightforward, thanks to the Regulatory Authority of Bermuda. Once again, I used my old ICOM IC-7000, which worked perfectly.

I’ve started to really appreciate this little radio - its size and power are hard to beat, and it fits perfectly in my backpack. 

In Bermuda, the maximum legal power is 100 watts; amplifiers are not allowed. This may be one reason why VP9 is still relatively rare on the low bands, especially in Asia and Oceania. Nevertheless, it was possible to work Australia even on 80m. I was asked several times about 60m, but this band requires special  permission, which, according to local hams, is not easy to obtain. Ed, VP9GE, is one of the lucky ones authorized to operate on 5 MHz.

Antennas:

• 160/80m and a dipole for 40m

• Dipoles for the WARC bands

• Two full-size 3-element wire beams, one for 15m and one for 10m

Using my Spiderbeam mast (this time I accidentally broke the top section), I was able to erect a 3-element beam within 15 minutes - one element at a time. The principle of this antenna is a J-Pole with an additional director and reflector. I’ll explain it in a short YouTube video soon. 

For Morse code, I used my trusty old ETM9C keyer with a Schurr paddle. For me, it feels like driving a classic car with a manual gearbox - real fun, and I’m sure it shows in my CW. I never use a computer keyboard for Morse code.

Regarding QSLing, I stick to classic paper QSLs, the old-fashioned way (please take a look at my QSLs so far).

Tucker's Town Bay Bermuda is where the rich - the very rich people live...

Ed Kelly, VP9GE, is a well-known amateur radio operator from Bermuda who has inspired many of us. At 92 years old, he is remarkably agile - I’ve rarely seen someone of that age so full of energy. He repairs his antennas, drives his car, and WhatsApp is part of his daily routine. Watching Ed is a true example of how much fun amateur radio can be, even in later years. A natural force (quote Steve KL7SB), a real classic, and a DXer since 1968. Take care, Ed!

A Compact, High-Performance Two-Element Vertical Beam

I recently experimented with a new portable beam antenna, combining a 15 m J-Pole with an additional director - a setup that, to my knowledge, has never been used before.

The result is a lightweight and incredibly affordable antenna: it costs only $5 and weighs just 300 grams. Best of all, it took us only 15 minutes to get it up and running.

One key advantage is its simplicity: unlike a traditional VDA system, there’s no need to run the feedline to the middle of the vertical dipole. Construction is straightforward, and you don’t have to worry about exact 50 Ohm impedance. The antenna is fed at the base, using a high-impedance 450 Ohm symmetrical quarter-wave matching section.

Performance is impressive. This two-element vertical beam has around 4 dB of gain, and with the added boost from nearby saltwater, the results were even better than expected. The reports I received from operators confirm that it’s both efficient and effective - making it an ideal choice for portable operations.

Greenland – OX/DK7PE/p

Strong solar storms sometimes made it challenging to work DX. During these storms, the only sounds on the bands were the intense noises caused by the northern lights dancing over southern Greenland. This Polar Cap Absorption (PCA) effectively isolated me from the shortwave bands.

During this downtime, I took the opportunity to go outside and capture some great photos of the Aurora Borealis. As soon as the storm subsided, the bands returned to excellent condition. I vividly remember remarkable openings to Japan, directly over the North Pole. On my journey home from Greenland to Iceland, I unfortunately contracted COVID-19, which kept me sidelined for two weeks. Thankfully, everything has returned to normal now. A special thanks to Peter, OX3XR, and the entire team in Nuuk for allowing me to use the OX3NUK shack and antennas.

OY/DK7PE/p – 5 Watt QRP Operation

Working on my DXFC score brought me to the Faroe Islands. The weather was typical for the region: 11°C, windy, rainy, and occasionally foggy - ideal conditions for an amateur radio activity.

A highlight of my stay in Tórshavn was meeting Caen, OY1CT. I operated with 5 W QRP using my vertical jumper dipole, which can be switched from band to band. I managed to mount the antenna at a height of 15 m, which explains the excellent signal reports I received, even from Japan and South America.

The final result was 900 QSOs in four days and a newly activated DXCC entity, #161.

Amateur Radio and Being a Shortwave Listener (SWL)

Exactly 50 years ago, on December 4th, 1973, I passed my amateur radio exam at the age of sixteen.

Until that day, I had been a very active shortwave listener (SWL), and I was always happy when one of my SWL reports was confirmed.

Being a shortwave listener was a very important step for me.

The picture on my SWL QSL card was taken back in 1972 and shows my shack. I had a DRAKE 2-B, an old surplus 10-meter receiver, and a Lorenz LO15 RTTY typewriter.