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VK2/W7BRS Update (Aug 01)
VK2/W7BRS QRT
That's all there is.
The bags are mostly packed now. The antenna came down this morning. Coiled up all the radials (that took a good while to complete). Gear set aside drying out before packing into duffle.
I don't think I lost any parts or cables or tools. Everything checked in the bags by the lists. My roll of Duct-Tape may be a bit smaller than when I arrived, but for the most part everything is back where it belongs.
It was a surreal moment when the fiberglass mast came away from the ground and collapsed back into the tube for packing. Those SpiderBeam fiberglass masts are pretty incredible. My homebrew "DX Commander" clone worked just fine despite the conditions and proximity to other metal that made some directions a lost cause. I'm fully aware of of the issue. No more needs to be said about it.
A few of the last calls worked.. (15m CW)
VK2KJJ
WK2K
JH1XEF
JK1CHY
and the last call in the log JH7XVB.
Once at the QTH, the situation ruled out use of 80m, let alone 160m. I was glad that even 40m was able to work.
I don't really have much more to say about the DX'p to Lord Howe Island. It was an experience unlike any other.
I can check off a lot of boxes with respect to the goals of the trip. I'm not disappointed at all. I came here to do what I needed to do. And, it was done.
All that's left to do now is return the bicycle to the rental and then re-pack my stuff down to the same bag-count I arrived with. All there is to hope for now is the flight is not canceled over weather.
For those who worked and in the log -- thanks. It was fun. Your patience was helpful and appreciated.
For those who tried to get in the log -- every effort was made beyond the norm in order to help you achieve that. On FT-8 I would sometimes just single out a station to one stream just to be sure --- but it didn't work all the time. On CW, I moved around up the band hoping to find a weak signal and get them in the log. The log speaks for itself. The Club Log data will be left as-is, but I (again) stress the point that the ClubLog system is not authoritative -- only M0URX (the QSL manager) has the official records that go into Logbook of the World. (LOTW).
Last few bits of advice -- if you are missing a log entry, then reach out to me directly. I cannot guarantee that I can fix every problem but I will look into every possible option.
Thanks again. Hope to see you on the bands at another time. Good DX, 73 from Lord Howe Island.
E E
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 30)
Why I Love CW
What's another cup of Nescafe gonna do? Keep me awake! I hope.
I didn't mention it yet, but for fun I brought my KX3 (portable micro version of the K3) with me to Ned's Beach. It's just a 10 minute walk from the QTH. (Ned's Beach is looking out to the North-west)
I had cobbled together a vertical dipole from a used fiberglass mast pole left behind from a past DX'p 20 years ago. Scrap hunting paid off.
A little wire, some duct-tape, rigged up a feed SO-239 and away we go. What doesn't duct-tape do?
This is why I absolutely love ham radio
I was hearing JA's and even a DS on 12m. I'll make this my very last stop before leaving the island. After the bags are all packed, I will walk down for one more Run with the knapsack. A K3, a pole, some wire, a paddle and just try to have a plain old QSO and kick through the leaves with whomever comes on the frequency. It'll be low power, but I just don't care.
Why I love CW.
You can see more pictures in the link of the source.
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 28)
Back to the Storms
For several days we had amazing weather here. Sun and absolutely no wind. I wondered if I was still on the same island.
I took some time to maintain the antenna -- I shortened the feed line after finding some excess length that was unnecessary.
Working conditions have been generally good for 20m and 15m. The 10m noise (S9+40) seems to have abated but who knows if that will last.
15m SSB was productive, but it is virtually impossible to hold the split frequency on SSB from here because the stations up the band cannot hear me -- so they just park where I'm listening and rag-chew.
Oh well. If my pile-up was larger then they'd scatter away. But when there's 1 Q / 5min there's no hint for them to skedaddle. I'm also not blowing their meter needle off anyway -- it's a wash.
But last night as the RSGB IOTA Contest was starting, the storm hit and the wind really gusted.. Felt like 40-50 mph and in the night, the tuner started to act strange. I put on my rain gear and investigated this morning at the first light.
I noticed that the 40m and 30m elements were misplaced at the top of the antenna. A strong gust must have snapped the driven element wire. (Notice the dark grey sky)
I have to disconnect the UNUN from the base and unscrew the cap that holds the mast to the ground plate.
I loosened two of the guy lines and gently lowered the antenna. Not only did the wire snap, but the fiberglass tube collapsed into itself. So, not too much trouble. I used some spare wire to splice the antenna driven element and re-stretched out the fiberglass. I replaced the clamps and then raised it back up into operating position. I'm glad I brought my fly-fishing SIMMS rain coat. Pockets for tools and big hood for keeping the rain off my face.
I did not expect to use up so many spare parts, but I have been glad to be prepared for this. Even if the mast were to become completely destroyed, I have a backup. I just wish I had a backup for the KPA-500 and KAT-500. Those units are going into a box and on a shelf when I get home. Time to look at SPE Amplifiers, probably.
The band conditions for the IOTA contest have not been very good. Having a really tough time copying stations and the spot-clusters from this side aren't showing a lot of hits of stations. Perhaps later today when the greyline passes through the midwest NA then the west coast.
We shall see.
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 17)
If things go QRT..
This is a solo operation. I play the role of antenna fixer, CW operator, cook, chief bottle washer, and diplomat.
So, if things go QRT, it's due to some unforeseen situation. I will return when I can. There's nothing else here for me to do other than be on the radio unless anything goes wrong.
Thanks for your QSO so far. I appreciate it.
I posted a rough schedule already of when I am usually on the radio. Please refer to it. It may be altered slightly day to day (as the case was today when the antenna broke in pieces and needed rebuilding).
Thanks
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Hold still, this won't hurt.
Wind just took it down. Snapped that fiberglass. I had just switched to 17 meters and started CQ.
Luckily... Swiss army knife and some duct tape... WDFA
A couple hours later...
Repaired and rebuilt (better this time) and doubled the guy lines...
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 16)
Schedule
To fit in with the locals on the island, here's a working schedule for when I can and will be on the radio:
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Amplifier Malfunction
The KPA-500 is having a malfunction. I need to diagnose.
Is it not a DX'p unless you have to tear apart the amplifier? Indeed.
Still troubleshooting.
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 13)
On the brightest day yet on the island, the Dash-8 zoomed in for a perfect landing.
The storm that passed through last night was epic strong winds and rain that pounded the roof. But by morning the sun came out and for the first time I could see most of the island. I had a good feeling that the flight wouldn't be canceled like the days before due to high winds or low visibility.
What a great sight to see.
My missing bags that contained virtually everything that I needed to establish the station were on the flight. The air tags literally turned this around for the better.
After getting the gear loaded in the pickup truck and rambling back to the QTH, I spent the afternoon until dark assembling the antenna. It's laying out in the grass ready for connection to the station tomorrow. The station itself will go together rather quickly. All of the systems are arranged on the wide operating table.
It's also a relief to have the extra clothing that I needed.
Current time is only 6:40 p.m. local but the sun has been down for about 45 minutes and when it goes down, it's pitch black dark. No lights to speak of. I have a headlamp but it only illuminates a little bit of what I'm working on.
I expect to have the station running tomorrow.
QRV ?? -- Let's pencil in 2200 UTC Saturday July 13.
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Current time on island is about 5:00 a.m.
Insomnia is taking its toll. Yesterday, the flight from Sydney to LHI was cancelled so the gear could not be here. The weather conditions are drastic. The cloud cover was too low for the flight. It never left Sydney.
Over the night, the winds reached about 50 km/h and I don't know exactly what the mph equivalent is, but the sound of the trees and the horizontal rain that fell all night against the corrugated roof of the paddock was enough to keep me awake all night.
The wind has died down and the rain has stopped. I am hopeful that the flight will be here today, but you never know until later in the day for sure.
The farm land on which the QTH is situated is ideal for putting up antenna here, and with nothing else to do but wait, I've had time to scope the terrain even more. I'll be discussing the antenna location with the host of the Lodge and I think a few spots are going to be ideal.
We found among the gear that was left here over a decade ago, bags of old coax and makings for antennas. Mostly aluminum tube and clamps and guy lines. I think it is the makings of a beam antenna for the higher bands like 20 or 10m. Perhaps 6m. There should be enough tubing here to cobble together a spare antenna. I have my own gear to expect for the vertical wire antenna, but we will see how it goes.
It is definitely winter time though. Cold, rain, wind. I also feel as if I'm probably one of very few visitors to the island. I can walk or ride a bike along the road that goes along the coast line and not run into anyone else that isn't already a resident.
But the hospitality of the folks who live here is remarkable. Everyone seems keenly interested in why I am here and when I explain it (the amateur radio DX'p explanation) they are polite to nod along, but I don't think I will try to get into too many details. One very kind woman who runs a local outfitter shop told me that by now, practically everyone on the island knows why I am here. News travels fast, nothing is a secret for very long.
I moved up the dates of the DX'p (to land on July 10th rather than original July 20th) just for this reason -- in case things go side-ways on the luggage issue. I'll be making some notes on this and when I get back to the States I'll give a brief 10 minute talk about the situation and some key points learned when the Western Washington DX Club has their convention in Everett, WA later in August.
At any rate, the battery is running low and all of the equipment I need to facilitate the station is still in Sydney. If all goes well, I'll have the gear transported here to the Lodge and begin the process of stringing out radials, putting up antenna and connecting the K3/KPA station and try to listen for the band-conditions and check propagation.
As I said before, things are looking up. That's the only direction to look at this point.
Until then, CQ soon.
Jeff
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 11)
Each day, the Dash-8 makes a regular stop on LHI. Almost like clockwork, around 2:45 pm local time, from the north west, the head lights of the Dash 8-200 appear out of the clouds and the wing tips reveal the trouble the pilot must endure to balance and straighten out the final seconds before trying to land.
I stress "trying to land" -- Not all attempts work out. At the last second you might hear the throttle rev up and see the plane jump back into the sky after just touching a wheel.... then the next attempt is made after circling the island once again. The control of the variable pitch propeller Dash-8 is remarkable.
I was there today, waiting for the plane hoping that the equipment would be on-board. I had checked Qantas and (with the help of Air-Tags), I was assured that the bags arrived from Los Angeles in Sydney four hours before the Sydney-LDH flight. Well, what a surprise (or not)... the bags weren't on the plane today. The winds were easily 30km/hr and as soon as it landed, they kicked up even stronger with a new burst of rain. A typical late Feburary or March Seattle weather pattern.
Nothing else I can do. The helpless feeling is just what it is...
So we wait, again.
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Arrival on Lord Howe Island
The arrival on LHI was successful. The pilot of the Dash-8-200 skillfully handled the intense cross wind and turbulence on the last seconds of the landing.
Everything is as it should be, except for the lack of bags. All of the checked luggage did not get transferred to the plane in Los Angeles for Sydney because of a delay in the SEA-LAX plane was over an hour late.
In the mean time I have been getting caught up on sleep, making some notes and trying to keep my battery charged.
The rain is pouring outside and the sound of the creatures in the wild is intense.
I know some are expecting QRV soon. The delays were expected. I'll have some work to do when the gear arrives. Things are looking up.
Thanks.
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS Update (Jul 8)
Bags are packed and ready. I decided to bring enough fiberglass mast material to try to get on the low bands so there will be a chance of working 80m and 160m.
No bag over 45 lbs. Enough gear for decent station, K3, KPA, KAT, KX3 two Spiderbeam telescope masts, and coax and radials for the station -- and everything else that goes in between.
K3/100 (Elecraft bag) (ensconced in foam)
Antennas (top bag to right)
Other Equipment (bottom bag on concrete)
Fragile Electronics (big Pelican case)
KPA-500 (ensconced in OEM foam cradle within small Pelican case)
I'll be leaving Seattle within 24 hours and it will be Tuesday July 10th when I touch-down on LHI.
It might take me a couple days to get setup.
The Call Sign
A few notes for DX spotters ---
VK2/W7BRS will confuse a bit because it will seem that it's on the mainland. But LHI is part of call area 2 in Australia, not 9. So expect VK2/W7BRS and if you do spot, just add the "LHI" note (for Lord Howe Island). The regulations got stricter this year so Lord Howe Island is no longer (or was ever) really VK9L. We will leave that discussion for another time.
Meanwhile -- all that can be prepared for is done. Antennas are in the bag, as well as all of the radio equipment:
Primary Station
K3 with KPA-500
CW, SSB and FT-8 capable.
Backup Station
KX3 (with KPA-500)
CW, SSB and FT-8 capable.
Logging and QSL
Livestream will be setup (pending stability of the network connection)
QSO logs will be uploaded to the QSL Manager Tim Beaumont https://www.m0urx.com
OQRS will be established and QSL (paper, LoTW) will be done after the trip.
QTH
The QTH is on Lord Howe Island and the GRID SQUARE is: QF98ml
Operating
All operations will be split except for FT-8 which will be traditional F/H mode. Super-Fox-Hound will not be used.
SA, AF and OC have priority regardless of who I am CQing, otherwise if I call JA, NA or EU try to listen for your turn. Again, always work split, and up.
Update your Logging Software (it has been several weeks since the COUNTRY file has been updated so that the QSO will log correctly in your Software as Lord Howe Island)
Source: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
VK2/W7BRS (Jun 11)
Op: W7BRS
Bands: 10M - 40M
Modes: CW, SSB & FT8
Qsl Info: Qsl via M0URX
Start Date - End Date: Jul. 20 - Aug. 01
Webpage: https://blog.howeania2024.org/
Notes: He will be QRV in the IOTA Contest
Lord Howe Island is VK9, not VK2