story and photos by david alm, wg9j
march 2, 2005
the first pileup. from the left: bob,wf9v; bill, ww9ww; the author; ron, w7fle. wf9v (operator) and ww9ww (logger) are at station #1. wg9j (op) and ww9ww (logger) are at station #2.
on a cold day in february 2002, six hams in the southwest suburbs of chicago are having breakfast in a bagel shop and grousing about the cold weather. that conversation results in a dxpedition to the windwood contest station on st croix, us virgin islands, in december 2002. (see "a silver occasion for the stars.") using the call sign k9v, our special event station logged 6745 contacts, all 50 states and 118 countries. now it's january 2003, and we're in the same place saying the same things and "thinking warm."
hoping to repeat the previous year's successful trip, tom, w9aeb, scans various web sites offering ham radio vacations at places with fully equipped stations. the one that catches his eye is the pj2t contest site. given the poor propagation, there is a risk that our curacao trip will not yield the results we expect. worst case, curacao looks like a great place to go even without a radio. for this, our second dxpedition, a friend, bob, kc9os, joins last year's crew: (dr) bill, ww9ww; bob (his middle name), wf9v; dave, wg9j; ron, w7fle, and tom, w9aeb.
the curacao story
the group of islands in the caribbean called the "a-b-c islands" consist of aruba, bonaire and curacao. some 6000 years ago, a group of south americans called the amerindian arawaks settled the various islands in the caribbean that they discovered during a centuries-long journey northward. the explorations of christopher columbus near the end of the 15th century opened the caribbean area to european adventurers. alonso de ojeda, a spanish soldier/explorer, and the italian explorer amerigo vespucci charted the south american coast and discovered curacao. this island had no gold or fresh water to interest conquerors so it is abandoned.
on the pontoon bridge in willemstad. from the left: bob,wf9v; tom, w9aeb, and bob, kc9os.
after many occupations by the english and french, curacao was returned to the dutch by the treaty of 1815. the netherlands, along with the islands known as the netherlands antilles and aruba are all part of the kingdom of the netherlands.
goodbye chicago
on the morning of december 2, bob, wf9v, collects me at 3:15 am so we can meet the others for the limo ride to chicago's o'hare airport. arriving in curacao about 2:30 pm, we meet geoff howard, w0cg, of the caribbean contesting consortium (ccc), owners of the pj2t contest station. about an hour later, we rent a van and follow geoff to the station--our home for the next week.
geoff, w0cg/pj2dx, is a college professor whose computer knowledge and skills are readily apparent as you survey the amazing plethora of equipment that is pj2t. only after we have inspected the equipment do we inspect our fine accommodations. the two bedrooms, with baths, are tastefully decorated with dressers, closets and all the comforts of home. the living room, dining room and kitchen are configured as one large room--appointed with the finest accessories: alpha, kenwood, ten-tec, yaesu, etc.
paradise found?
curacao deserves the title "paradise," but not the day we arrive. it starts to rain and the downpour continues for 24 hours. locals say it is the largest island rainfall in five years. the rain does not hurt the dx. we drop everything and get a transmitter on the air as soon as possible.
the propagation is not as good, or as consistent, as we had found it to be the previous year. signals are weaker, and often the bands just drop out. to overcome this problem we have some of the best equipment the world has to offer, three towers (100, 100 and 80 feet tall) and some awesome antennas. we know that coming here this year is not without risk (no propagation), but we are happy to be here.
december 2
the six of us arrive in our small, diesel minivan that seat six (though cramped) and gets good mileage. the fuel, called "gasoil," is 52 cents per liter. when gasoline is $3.50 per gallon, you will put up with a lot for the sake of economy. guided by our host geoff, we arrive at pj2t. there we meet jeff maass, k8nd, who will be joining us on friday for the 160 meter cw contest--he is also one of the ccc. jeff will try to break the record for cw contacts for south america from pj2t. we also met leo, s50r, an avid contester and ccc friend from slovenia. while the rain is pouring down on the roof, so too the dx is pouring in.
an oranje tropial serenades us while perched on an antenna guy wire on the west side of our front porch.
the 80 meter band is wide open and a pileup is developing. however, 20 meters is dead as a doornail, with just a few us stations. band conditions are sporadic; a band would be open then just drop out. along about 11 pm our dx is fading, and so are we. it is 86 degrees and we are very tired, so off we go to bed.
december 3
it is 6:45 am and tom, w9aeb, is already up and sampling the bands. the usual pattern develops--we have openings to europe in the morning, asia in the afternoon and the us in the evening. the 17 meter band is especially good for propagation so we made it a point to have a presence there. it is time to take a break after a barrage of great contacts running until late afternoon.
it is early evening and about 88 degrees. our minivan gets us to the city (slowly), and we hit the casino. las vegas this isn't; there were a fair number of casinos on the island, but most are closed. perhaps the 5 cent slot machines don't make enough money. the bridge and lighted, pastel-colored buildings are pretty cool, but require daylight to really appreciate them. after supper at a very famous restaurant (denny's), we return to find the dx a little scarce. this is the perfect setting for enjoying a few stories and a (7 oz) beer. the soda cans are 12 oz, but the beers are "shorties."
december 4
no dx is happening this morning. can all of this beautiful radio equipment be made of wood? it's 10 am and suddenly station #1 is rocking on 20 meters. station #2 is beginning to hum on 17 meters and the contacts are growing quickly. about an hour later, the contacts start dropping and i'm seeing a pattern. everyone is after to4e, and not us. there is not much business today, so we are off to the beach. we are less than a mile from a resort with a good restaurant and a great beach.
sharpening up for the 160 meter contest are leo, s50r, from slovenia, and jeff, k8nd, at station #1. they are in curacao working on the equipment.
we have a good lunch with a few radio stories, some army tales and college memories. we have a good run on 10 and 17 meters, then the bands just die. soon we are off to town to do some sightseeing. willemstad is a great town with fine restaurants, a deep water port, nice shops and pastel-colored buildings. it's a law here that every building must be different, so you see some pretty wild colors. the famous bridge is built on pontoons and has a diesel engine and propeller, allowing one end to move as it pivots on the opposite end. this clean little town will blow you away and so will the winds. you see, the trade winds blow almost constantly, and that moderates the temperature somewhat.
our evening dinner is on a 2nd floor restaurant terrace above the only open casino. we return about 9 pm for some more radio. there are many takers on 20 meters and a few storms and lightning offshore. it is still 86 degrees, and the humidity is also high, as you might expect at 12° north latitude. we have had plenty of radio today and we close the day with a "shortie."
december 5
we awaken to the sound of a of pouring-down rain--most unusual for this place, as it seldom rains here. by now, several rainfalls have caused the bushes and trees--we scarcely noticed them before--to be ablaze with flowers; many colors, very beautiful. there are some pretty big iguana here (3 to 4 feet long) running through our yard like dogs. when disturbed, they are pretty skittish, and run over the nearest cliff to dens they have carved there. geoff and company are working hard on the new patio extension that will allow radio operation outside. jeff, k8nd, arrives in the late afternoon and begins to set up his dual computers for the 160 meter contest tonight.
december 6
friday isn't a very good night for jeff, k8nd--too much lightning, hard to hear, etc, thanks to tropical storm odette. that fact didn't stop the european pileup on saturday morning. the weather is 86 degrees, with a cloudy sky, and we see a few fishing boats and the dutch coast guard checking the coast periodically with "cutters," zodiac-type boats and helicopters.
the crew from chicago. from the left (front): bob, wf9v, and bob, kc9os; (rear) bill, ww9ww; ron, w7fle; the author, and tom, w9aeb.
the beautiful bird that sings to us each day is identified as an oranje tropial with a black head and an orange body. suppertime finds us at the old fort in willemstad at a good, and very reasonable, steak restaurant near the cruise ship dock. we return to our lair and speak with some friends on the radio, then watch an old james bond flick from the ccc video collection.
december 7
only two days left on curacao. it was 88 degrees last night and we didn't sleep very well. last night's rain brings forth new blossoms on the trees. so far it has rained almost every night, but at least it's at night so it's not a problem. after some modest contacts today, the bands turn off like a switch is thrown. the movie the matrix provides some good alternative entertainment. we go to town for dinner while ron, w7fle, tries the 6 meter rig, to no avail.
december 8
the european pileup commences. today is our last full day of operating and we have made many contacts. this is a very good group effort. i have just finished some contacts as a guest dx station on the 14.247 dx net, and there are some very good dx contacts available. we decide to have our last supper in town at the governour's restaurant, a dutch restaurant with great steak and a nice courtyard. we talk some more and have many laughs.
december 9
in the yard, the iguana rule. (yes, there are three of them in the photo.)
a last chance to work europe and it is a very good sendoff for us. ron, w7fle, used the beverage (receive) antenna with much success. it is amazingly quiet when compared to the yagi types. we will soon bid curacao adieu and return to the mundane lives we really live. is this the paradise we were seeking? it will certainly do until something better comes along.
epilogue
we made more than 5614 contacts, among them 113 countries and all 50 states. that puts us behind last year by about 1131 total contacts, but only 5 fewer countries. the equipment at pj2t made the real difference in compensating for the poorer band conditions.
in the 160 meter department, jeff, k8nd, won the south american segment of the contest with 832 contacts in the single-op hp class. it is a new record for south america, beating the standing record by 100 qsos.
the important thing is having fun, and we all did that. the "frugal amateurs" are scouring the internet to see if we can come up with another location where we can just "arrive" without bringing equipment.
