Many due to Bob K4RLC who shares this report on mixing trip with ham radio with us. In case you have an article in your head and need to have it posted right here, let’s hold this neighborhood going whereas our buddy Thomas continues to assist his neighbours within the wake of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. Draft up your story in an e mail with reference factors to the photographs you need embedded and their captions, connect photographs to the word and ship it my approach to vincedeon at gmail dot com and word QRPer within the topic line to get my consideration.
By Bob Conder K4RLC and V4/K4RLC
Our curiosity in a visit to Saint Kitts started pre COVID, after my buddy Dale W4AUV and I noticed an advert at the back of QST journal by W5JON, John, for his rental villa with a whole ham radio station on this Caribbean island. What may very well be incorrect with this state of affairs? Being on a gorgeous Caribbean island with a whole ham radio station?
Quick ahead virtually 5 years later, when Dale and I, together with our spouses, depart Raleigh for St. Kitts. The timing was actually unhealthy for me, as on the identical time Western North Carolina was devastated from Hurricane Helene. Up to now, I labored with the American Crimson Cross Catastrophe Companies after hurricanes and tornadoes in my dwelling state, in addition to being deployed to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana instantly after Hurricane Katrina. We’ve family and friends who reside in upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina Together with my finest buddy from highschool and his household. All we might do was attain out to them with help, and donate cash by respected organizations resembling Samaritan’s Purse Catastrophe Aid and the American Crimson Cross.
St. Kitts solely has three POTA websites and no SOTA websites. I had hoped to activate no less than two of the POTA websites. CW is my most popular modality. These POTA websites had solely been activated by cellphone and doubtful digital.
Saint Kitts is an unquestionably stunning tropical island, however it’s nonetheless a 3rd world nation. The driving is British type, additional sophisticated by having solely three stoplights on the island and roundabouts each few miles. We rented a Honda CRV from Bullseye Leases, beneficial by John W5JON, the proprietor of the villa. Given the traditional small roads the place everyone drives like your drunken previous aunt with dementia, this was automobile selection. Since my first and first activation was to be Brimstone Hill Fortress Nationwide Park, a UNESCO web site constructed beginning in 1690 with guarded entryways made to suit horse drawn wagons within the 1700’s, we have been relieved to have handed up the big Ford Explorer rental in favor of our little Honda SUV that hardly made the entryway.
Brimstone Hill Fortress, often known as the Gibraltar of the Caribbean, is an expansive stone fort initially constructed by the British in 1690 with African slaves. It has been by many modifications through the years, and completely different house owners, however is actually British. Actually, its building jogged my memory of Edinburgh Fortress in Scotland. (I used to be later informed that Brimstone was designed and constructed by the Royal Engineers from the UK). Now, it’s a Nationwide Park, a POTA web site (KN-0003), and a UNESCO World Heritage Web site.
With Dale driving and me navigating, it took about an hour from our villa on Frigate Bay to seek out the flip off. (Google Maps has a very long time latency there, so you’ll be previous main turns and intersections when Google publicizes them as forward !) Then there’s a lengthy, slender winding and climbing street that permits you to know you’re gaining altitude. We needed to give approach to a big dump truck doing building on the web site, and heading down the mountain street instantly for us. And please, drive cautiously round hairpin turns, honking your horn, as beneficial.
Nevertheless it was price it to get to the highest. The view is spectacular over the encompassing sea, and you may see why the British and French fought over this strategic place for his or her forces. There may be an orientation film that explains the historical past and structure of the fortress, after one pays a modest admission charge to the location. I had seen pictures earlier than our go to and knew the place I needed to take my KH1. I went as much as the artillery batteries with the large cannons that shoot 5 inch balls miles into the ocean, presumably right into a French ship. I pulled out the Elecraft KH1. I ran its inventory configuration, aside from wrapping the counterpoise round one among Her Majesty’s cannons to get somewhat sign punch. Whereas the KH1 has unimaginable benefits, it’s no match for the photo voltaic flares and ionospheric instability of late, with A indices as excessive as 57 and Kp at 7+. After a number of weeks of ionospheric quietude and good HF propagation earlier than we travelled, Ole Sol cranked up and began misbehaving simply as we obtained to Saint Kitts. However, Brimstone Fortress was a gorgeous historic web site from which to name CQ and attempt to snag stations again within the States.
I didn’t understand that the operation would result in assembly fascinating individuals on web site. One was a younger tour information who talked with Dale’s YL, Vianne, and was very interested in what I used to be doing whereas calling CQ. I used to be completely happy to point out John the radio and clarify ham radio, as he expressed curiosity in getting licensed. Then, whereas strolling right down to the enclosed parade floor, two official-looking gents approached me and requested about ham radio. One was the Park Supervisor, whereas the opposite was the Administrator of the UNESCO web site, Percival Hanley. This became a really fascinating interplay. Percival’s brother Winston, V44AA works with Saint Kitts Emergency Administration and is a licensed newbie radio operator. Percival and I had a really excessive stage dialogue about newbie radio, particularly throughout emergency operations that his brother does when there are hurricanes and tsunamis brought on by earthquakes on this and close by volcanic islands (eg, Monserrat). Solely later did I discover out that Percival can be the island’s main astronomer. I gave him a replica of my QSL card, as I did with younger John, and Percival mentioned he would move it on to his brother, who was in Cuba that week.
Not solely did our keep sadly coincide with an uptick in photo voltaic flares, but additionally with a considerably uncommon warmth wave. When the locals on a tropical island say they’re having a warmth wave, you may imagine there may be some severe warmth. As somebody who’s dermatologist informed me “You must reside in a lavatory in Scotland,” this hampered my out of doors radio exercise. We didn’t make the Nationwide Park, which mysteriously homes a small carnival such as you would see in a county honest. We did go to the Romney Manor Plantation, a former sugar cane plantation began by Thomas Jefferson’s 3rd Nice Grandfather Sam. I had enjoyable taking part in with the KH1 and viewing the plush overgrown plantation.
Later, I did take the KH1 throughout the Bay often called “The Narrows” to the island of Nevis, accessible by way of a one hour ferry trip, touchdown at their capitol metropolis of Charlestown. The smaller island is a part of the dual-island authorities federation and we discovered it to have considerably extra attraction than the bigger island of Saint Kitts. Alexander Hamilton was born there and we visited his birthplace. As a substitute of strolling a great distance within the warmth, we employed a driver who took us to the ornate Botanical Gardens, which was a gorgeous rain forest backyard with sculpture from India and the South Pacific.
To rise up the very steep mountainous incline, our driver and information Samuel needed to flip off the air conditioner in his small Toyota van. However we made it. Dale V4/W4AUV introduced his HT alongside. From the Gardens, he introduced up the native Nevis repeater….solely to seek out that it’s an IRLP repeater. He had a pleasant QSO from there with a ham in Portland, Oregon! Simply past the botanical gardens is the luxurious Montpelier Resort the place Princess Diana and “the Boys” stayed. On the best way again to the ferry, Samuel took us to the well-known Sunshine Bar on the seashore for lunch. That is the place one samples the notorious “Killer Bee” Rum punch, as robust because it sounds. Samuel was born on Nevis and really proud to inform us of his beloved island and it’s historical past. For sure, there was not a lot radio exercise that day.
In our travels to locations like Greece final 12 months and Cape Breton Island this 12 months, I spotted that my YL, Alanna, was not simply tolerant of my radio actions, she was additionally supportive and inspiring. Sadly, not all YLs share this angle, particularly when radio actions take time away from excursions. Accordingly, I lower my transportable outdoors radio time shorter than I may need appreciated. Again on the Villa, John had a Yaesu FTdx3000D HF/6m Transceiver, a 43 foot vertical, a 20/15/10 beam, and a 6 meter rotateable dipole. There have been issues with the beam which want addressing. However the efficiency of the vertical was wonderful! Dale and I labored simply into Europe, together with Russia and Lithuania on 40 meter CW and Europe and North America on 20 CW in the course of the day and early night.
Since I might probably not activate POTA, I made a decision to be a hunter for POTA stations within the US and Canada on 20 meter CW. I might hear and work QRP transportable stations working 3 to five watts and a small vertical or compromised wire antenna in a park in Quebec and upstate New York. My buddy Gary AE4GS has a behavior of following up a POTA QSO with an e-mail and urged I do that. The stations I labored and contacted have been very completely happy to listen to from me. One downside was the decision signal V4/K4RLC was largely unknown to the hams I labored. HAMRS wouldn’t settle for this as a legitimate name signal. This included VE2AW in Quebec who mentioned he had been licensed for 60 years and had by no means heard that V4 name. It took loads of work for people to repeat the V4/xxx callsign accurately. Additionally, sending V4 stroke was actually a bear. I flubbed it up as typically as I obtained it proper. It was even exhausting for Dale, who’s a musician and may ship errorless at 30 phrases and up.
The warmth by no means abated and solely obtained worse. It was so sizzling, in truth, that my iPhone give up working because of overheating at one open-air restaurant. So we by no means obtained to activate the opposite two SOTA websites. Staying cool within the villa’s Infinity Pool or on among the close by stunning Caribbean seashores was a greater possibility. The meals was incredible. The costs have been cheap. The native beer was good. And many of the locals have been extraordinarily pleasant and enjoyable to speak with, seeming to be pleased with residing on an island Paradise. There have been just a few uncommon exceptions, largely on the native RAM grocery retailer. John W5JON has an unimaginable “ham radio fee” for his villa – for particulars, see his QRZ web page.
So whereas my POTA activations fell in need of expectations, I used to be actually completely happy to be a hunter for the QRP transportable stations again within the US and Canada, who have been completely happy their weak sign was labored by an actual DX station. Activating two islands in simply two months is uncommon for me, nevertheless it simply labored out that we have been on great Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia in August. The subsequent islands on our bucket record are the Orkney Islands north of Scotland, the place my DNA and I’ll really feel way more at dwelling.
Nonetheless retaining family and friends within the catastrophe areas in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina in our ideas and prayers, and hoping to volunteer to go up and assist with clear up and restoration, like I did after Hurricane Katrina within the Gulf with Crimson Cross Catastrophe Companies. Sadly, because of medical points, I can solely give cash proper now to assist legit charities who’re serving to within the catastrophe areas. I hope and count on lots of you studying this are doing the identical.
73 de K4RLC V4/K4RLC Bob
