Until Next Time

The last morning I was on the island I took a bike ride to the lagoon.  I had to return the bicycle that I had rented for the duration of the trip.

The outcrop of volcanic rock is easily accessed from the beach.   It wasn't too clear that the weather would cooperate that morning.   A grey morning sometimes means a windy and troubled weather day.  But it cleared up nicely.  I still cannot get over the shades of green and blue in the lagoon.

The flights from Lord Howe Island are over and I touched down in Seattle around midnight on August 2nd.

Glad to be back on in the US and waking up to the sound of nothing.  No wind, no rain, no surf.  It is strange not hearing the island.  

Aside from missing bags that the airlines seem to have lost track of, I am back at the home QTH.

I want to thank again all of the people who were involved in support of this -- and who continue to support.

Let me first say again how much I thank and appreciate the help from the host at the Lodge.  Gary Payten (left) and his sidekick Paul (right) made so many accommodations for me while I was on the island.  Here we are, saying goodbye the day I left the Island.  Minutes after this photo was taken I was at the LHI airport waiting for the arrival of my plane off the island.

My last view of the island was through the port side window of the DASH-8, climbing away from the island.  We had a perfect take-off and the pilot was flawless in the handling of the aircraft.

I had more airports and queues to follow for the hours ahead (25-30 hours in total) from this point, but it was OK.  I knew I was heading "downhill" (going home) at this point and so the trouble with bags, or whatever would happen with my stuff was irrelevant at this point.

My DX'p to Lord Howe Island is over.   The DX'p may never really be over though -- I already have found a stack of QSL cards to handle when I arrived at home last night.   Give me a few days (or weeks) to absorb all that has happened and I'll be ready to talk about it.   

I'm very thankful for the patience and cooperation of the amateur radio community.   This is why we do DX'p -- to make it possible to meet interesting people, go to interesting places and help other amateurs get a chance to log a new one in the log.  I'm fortunate to be part of that and if the QSO(s) you had with LHI were new ones to you, congratulations.

Thanks.

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. 

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

Washed Over

Six months from now, tanned and lubricated tourists will flock to these beaches.   Stretch out towels and relax in the bright sun lulled to sleep perhaps by the surf.   And on that sand they may wonder like I do over the amazing place they have arrived.

The callsign will fade out in the waves, washed up and replaced smooth.   The bands plied with the transceiver will quiet for a brief moment, then reawaken with spark and flutter as yet another QSO occurs between somewhere and somewhere else.   My callsign isn't my callsign, but just a borrowed identity.

Hopefully in your  log you can read out the report from our QSO, or more than one!   

As they say, "Don't forget to tip your waitress."  And the equivalent amateur  radio expression is, "OQRS staff are standing by for your order."  

The QSL paper will go out in due time.  But, the card cannot quite do justice to expressing how interesting, chaotic, beautiful and mysterious this island really is.   To find out, it takes going outside the boundaries on the tour map and that was far easier for me to do here in the low-season.  No one was really around -- except a huge population of birds, and a few local islanders.

For any other city where stress is the ground level of every experience, traffic and noise fills the void, and bias and ignorance just needs a spark to ignite into three-alarm blaze -- Lord Howe Island is the antipode of that place.   Physically and mentally.  

My flight leaves in less than 48 hours.  Half of the time left to dismantle and stow the gear.  Cinch up the bags and estimate weights for balanced luggage.   

A postcard message that I did not mail:

Dear [name withheld],  I believe during many instances across the Pacific DX'peditions test the newbie.  They discovered something about how this all is supposed to work.  Without a doubt, that moment arrived here with me trying to do this correctly.  With all my humility I can say everything you said was true.  I'm going to leave here better off with the knowledge gained for what I can do, and what I can do better. 

Best 73,  Jeff,  VK2/W7BRS

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 spent the morning horsing around with the vertical.

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.

Time for a Walk

This afternoon I'm scheduled to take a tour of the primaeval forest at the foot of Mt. Gower on Lord Howe Island.

The visit to these mammoth Banyan trees should prove to be an experience.

I've been putting off a deeper exploration of the island (for sake of operating the station), but I need to take some time to explore the natural wonder of the island.

It is a thing to do.

On a nice day

On a not-so-nice day

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.

A Little Hint

• I work SPLIT always.   QSX +1 for CW,  QSX +5 for SSB
• You don't need the extra power/punch.  I do.
• So, if I cannot copy your call, it's one of two reasons
• You're too weak anyway (propagation, etc..)
• You're overpowering your radio(too much  mic gain, too much ALC)  Make the adjustments -- Lower the gain, Lower the ALC!

A Hint:

If I am repeatedly asking for your call, read above.