Here for all to see is a re-creation of the highlights of the tower-related mass-emails flying crazily all around. Geoff W0CG has spearheaded this project with seemingly boundless energy. Seemingly tirelessly. But let’s the rest of us do a reality check, and confess we know full well Geoff’s energy is not unbounded and that we know full well how tired he must be. Heck, a lot of us are getting tired just watching Geoff work.
Geoff, W0CG passed along that he got stopped at the Curacao airport last week and had to pay duty on the stuff in his bag. “I had a ton of replacement parts for linear amps, and a lot of tools and hardware. I gave the guy my understated invoices, kept smiling and chatting, and he charged me the outrageous duty of 13 bucks. The Red Line was closed, so there were no hard feelings when they searched my bag.”
If you get stopped, just cooperate and smile and explain that anything you are bringing in goes right back out a week later. If they insist, just pay the duty.
You may wonder why the h3@! we have not fixed or replaced several nagging problems at the QTH, including hard to slide doors, shaky sliding screens, or any of a handful of other aggravations. The fact is that it is nearly impossible to get the needed parts, and also pretty nigh impossible to find local contractors who can or will do this work. We have done 98% of our maintenance on our own for all these years, and most things at the house are in good shape. But some of the work, such as getting new sliders, is almost impossible. Many such things are extremely difficult on the island. Thanks for being tolerant of the stuff that does not work right. We know about it and are trying very hard.
Not an allusion to perpetual island attire, here is a grouping of short newsworthy items for this month, which may become a regular newsletter column. So much to keep up with!
Most of you know Howard and Mary Gay Stone, the seniors who have owned the house next door since 1971. Recently they sold it to their daughter Lynne and her husband Mike Maley. As you probably saw, Lynne finally retired this January at age 61 after much urging from Mike. She went back to Chicago in mid-February to be with her daughter for the birth of a child.
Soon after, Lynne was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic and liver cancer. Neither Lynne nor Mike had any idea she was even ill. Lynne passed away within a few weeks, so all of the family next door can use our sympathy when we see them at the island house.
Mark Beckwith, N5OT, was elected to serve as the club’s President at the Dayton CCC Annual Meeting. Mark is a top operator and brings the tremendous asset to the club that he is extremely well-connected in the contesting community. He seems to know everybody and vice-versa. He led the fund drive for the Europe tower and now we look forward to his leadership as PJ2T moves toward its 20th year. As president, N5OT also produces the club newsletter.
Gene Shea, KB7Q, was not present at the Dayton meeting, so of course we elected him Vice-President. Gene has been Mister Do Everything since he joined the group, serving as a contest team leader, the computer guru for the station, and moving us single-handedly into the realm of remote operations. Gene is a retired teacher, very patient and gifted at conveying difficult concepts, always has a smile, and is always gracious in dropping what he’s doing to be a tutor and support guy. He also put PJ2T on the EME map in a big was with 2 meter moonbounce earlier this year, very exciting to witness.
It’s 10 minutes past 9 in the morning. I hope to go to my radio station (8 miles from home) and get on to work my friend Rus, K2UA, as he puts his first ever summit on the air. But before I do that, I wanted to share a slice of my life if it will help anyone relate to me better.
We are all busy. I get that. I am not writing this to show you how much busier I am than you are. But I do know that some will find it helpful to know exactly what chainsaws I juggle.
I woke up to emails from Tim, K3LR, about some mutual tower/antenna stuff we have going on at a personal level. Completely different from anything PJ2T has going on with DX Engineering, where as you know, Tim is a major player.
This year we are trying something different – turning our newsletter into something more like a web site. It’s a grand experiment. We don’t have the time or resources to roll it out and beta test it and all that. We figured we’d better just get it out there and see what happens! So there will be bumps and flaws, starts and stops. Thanks for bearing with us. Anything you want to comment on, well, we can do that! Make an account for yourself, and make your comments. Let us know what we can fix or improve!
Thanks in advance.
The luckiest guy in the world just got luckier. I got elected president of the greatest club around. Truly it’s a great time to be president of the Caribbean Contesting Consortium! All that we’ve got going is unprecedented in just about every way imaginable. If you’re as passionate about our game as I am –and I know you guys and I know you are– then you know that what Geoff Howard, W0CG and all our founders have built on Curacao is something to crow about!
Unprecedented? Well yeah! We have more members than ever, yet we all still get along. That’s worthy of note, I think. We finally won the world in CQWW CW after years of chasing it. We have more cash in the Till than ever, and at the same time it’s dedicated to greater plans than ever.
We are on a roll at Signal Point – that is all there is to it. If you’re not on the train, then GET ON IT, quick!
So this is why I say it’s a great time to be a part of it all, for each and every member and friend of this group. If you’re reading this, well, you are on the fast track to some of the most fantastic radiosporting anyone can find anywhere. Welcome to our newsletter. Click around. Make yourself comfortable. And for sure, if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, feel free to ask. I love Signal Point and I am absolutely convinced there is room for anyone who shares the enthusiasm.
Mark Beckwith, N5OT
Nobody was more surprised then I was, when word reached me here in Montana that I’d been elected Vice President of the club. I’ll keep doing my best to help us be ready, willing, and able to be competitive in contests going forward, and have maximum fun along the way. Here’s a brief update what I’ve been doing recently to extend the benefit of your club membership.
I was able to spend several weeks at Signal Point last winter helping Geoff repair and evaluate all our amps, spare transmitting tubes, and get our 16 computers contest ready. I also performed some upgrades to our three K3 transceivers to improve SSB contesting.
In addition, I learned all about the care and feeding of the house systems, and after Geoff left for Idaho Joyce and I hosted two young hams (DK6SP, and M0SDV) for a short visit, and the WPX SSB contest group from Georgia lead by K1ZN.
While on site I was happy to serve as the control op for our remote station. Before I departed, I even managed to squeeze in a test of the Elecraft KPA500 solid state amp that K8ND has loaned the remote operation to give us some QRO watts. More on that going forward as we work the kinks out – but I can tell you operating the remote station is a hoot and a half. Let me know if you want to give it a try, I have comprehensive documentation available.
On the purely fun side of things I was able to put PJ2T on 2M moonbounce this past February and make 242 contacts. I was shocked at how well the single 12 element Yagi and 900 watt amp I brought down worked. It’s good to be the DX!
We all know that many times it’s the small things that can add up to Signal Point operating improvements, so I’ve been working that. I found three replacement porcelain base knife switches on eBay for our 80/75 meter EU wire beam that we use to changing the tuning from CW to SSB and back. The salt air has pretty much destroyed the units currently in place. I just donated a Pelican 1550 case to be used as on site K3 transceiver storage. I also finally got around to making up the 80 meter stub to complement the 40 and 20 meter units I made previously.
In closing I would like to thank all of you who have generously donated to the European tower replacement project. This is a major, and necessary undertaking for the club this year. I can’t stress enough your support is critical right now as we muster the myriad of items and get them on a ship headed to Curacao. Don’t hang back, everyone of us needs to step up where we can. Thank you.
Gene Shea, KB7Q