CQWW 2001 SSB

During Operation Enduring Freedom

The J75J Story

Picture of our home in Dominica during the CQWW 2001

In the spring of 2001 five members of the Florida Dxpedition Group (FDXPG) started planning a Multi- Single effort for the CQWW SSB Contest in October. It was decided that the island of Dominica would Be our target for the operation. The 5 members who signed on for the trip, Bill W4WX/J75WX the Dxpedition leader, Clarence W9AAZ/J79AA, William N2WB/J79WB, Bob KR4DA/J79DA, and Larry W1LR/J79LR would be Team Dominica for the CQWW 2001 operation for the FDXPG. I had read an article in an old issue of QST about a Dxpedition to Dominica as J75A back in 1995. It took place at Picards Beach Cottages just south of Portsmouth. Our Leader, Bill W4WX, contacted the owner of Picards Beach Resort by email, and after a lot of discussion we reserved 2 beach front cottages for October 23-30 to coincide with the CQWW SSB Contest. Bill assigned each of us tasks to be done before and during the trip. Bob KR4DA was assigned the job of obtaining our licenses. He contacted the PTT in Roseau, Dominica. He sent them a copy of each of our US licenses along with the proper fee for each license, which was $68.00 East Caribbean Dollars or $25.50 USD for each license. Bob also asked for a special call sign to be used during the CQWW, and we were assigned J75J for an additional $25.50 USD. As the spring gave way to summer we were all busy planning for the trip and getting our gear ready. Picards Beach Cottages does not specifically cater to hams so we would end up taking 3 rigs, 2 amps, and 4 antennas which we intended to set up as close to the beach as possible. After many discussions as to what to take as far as equipment, Bill W4WX, our leader, drew up a "short list" of gear and who would bring it for the trip to J7 land. It consisted of 2 Kenwood TS-570's to be used for the run and multiplier stations. I also packed an Alinco DX70T to be used for casual operating before and after the contest. We would be taking 2 amplifiers with us, an Alpha 91-B for the run station, and a Heathkit HA-14 for the multiplier station. The HA-14 uses 2 572-B tubes for 600 watts out on SSB, and we figured this would be ample for use on the multiplier station. For the antenna farm we packed the following. Two Verticals, a Hy-Gain Patroit AV-640 for 40 thru 6 meters.

Also a Hustler 5 BTV for 80 thru 10 meters. Plus a Hy-Gain TH-2 MK-3 beam for 10-15-20 meters. Also packed was a wire inverted Vee for 160 meters. We had a hunch that the verticals would both play pretty good right on the beach, and we were not disappointed !. We also packed a lot of miscellaneous gear such as watt meters, a Nye Viking 1KW tuner, 500 feet of coax, etc. We took everything we figured would be needed to get us on the air on all bands, and as it turned out we never Had to use the big tuner as all the antennas were resonant. As you can imagine all that gear, plus 3 laptop computers, food, clothes, etc. made a formidable amount to transport. We had 5 operators going, so each one would have 2 checked in bags and 1 carry on bag. This would make 15 items of baggage. We had to cut the boom for the beam in two in order to fit it into a ski bag. After a few tries we got everything packed in the proper amount of carry on and checked in bags. We were now all set to go, or so we thought !. Then the unthinkable happened on September 11th , the dastardly terrorist attacks on our country. Like everyone we were stunned and in disbelief as to what had been done. After a few days the reality set in. The airlines were all grounded, and it looked like our journey to Dominica would be over before it ever started. Finally the planes began flying again, and we all decided that if at all possible we would make the trip, and not knuckle under to the cowardly terrorists, as this is what they wanted us to do. NO WAY ! We soon had a lot of concerns though, as daily, airline regulations were changing. No carry on bags, luggage limitations, security being tightened. We all hoped for the best as our departure date drew closer. We checked with American Airlines in Orlando, Florida, where we would be departing from, on almost a daily basis. We also kept watching the AA web site for late breaking rules changes. By the third week in October things had gotten back to some degree of normalcy on the airlines, so we decided to give it our all and attempt the trip with all our gear. 2 At 1:00 AM on October 23, 2001 we loaded 5 operators and our mountain of luggage into my pickup truck, and Bill W4WX's pickup up truck, and headed for Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida with our collective fingers crossed. After an early morning 178 mile drive during which we chatted back and forth on 2 meters, we arrived at MCO, Orlando International Airport about 3:30 AM. We unloaded the two truck loads of luggage, and Bob, and William, and Larry piled them onto several carts. Meanwhile Bill and I parked our trucks in the satellite parking area and hopped a shuttle bus back to the airport where we meet up with the rest of the group. After showing our passports and tickets to the lady at the AA ticket counter we checked in all our checked luggage to be x-rayed before being loaded into a Boeing 757 jet. We would be flying from Orlando to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and then after changing planes, on to Dominica. We then walked to the passenger check in area. There were large signs " No Photographs, No Exceptions". There were two soldiers in combat fatigues with automatic weapons strapped on their shoulders ready to use. There were also several other armed security officers watching everyone. We emptied our pockets and walked thru the metal detectors, our carry on bags were all x-rayed. I was told to stop and open my carry on bag to be searched. It contained a Kenwood TS-570 and an Alinco DX70T. The security people asked what they were, and what I was going to use them for, and I explained we were Ham Radio Operators going to Dominica for a radio contest. This seemed to satisfy them, but they then wiped each radio with a special swab and placed it under ultra-violet light to check for explosives residue. Finding nothing I was allowed to close up the bag and secure the rigs. I was then told to put my arms out straight, and was checked head to toe with a hand held metal detector. I even had to remove my hat to have it checked with the metal detector and they even checked the bottoms of my feet !. After all this we were allowed to walk to the AA boarding area, and on the way passed more soldiers who were fully armed. As the call to begin boarding began random passengers were being pulled out of the line to have their carry on bags searched again. William N2WB, was one of the lucky ones to have to do this. Just before boarding we again had to show our passports and boarding passes before we were allowed on the plane. Finally at 7:00 Am our flight took off to San Juan, it was only about one half full. We landed two and one half hours later without incident. Then we boarded an ATR-72 Turbo-prop for the flight to Dominica. Strangely this time there were NO security checks at all !. Also once again the flight was no were near being full. After a smooth uneventful flight we landed at Melville Hall International Airport in Dominica. We cleared immigration where our passports were checked and stamped. We then went to claim our luggage, but it was nowhere to be found. We learned that there was so much luggage and mail for Dominica it was coming on another plane. Finally it arrived over an hour later, and our luggage at last had all arrived. We then proceeded to Customs where Bill, now J75WX, presented the Customs Officer with a typewritten list of all of our radio gear including serial numbers. This satisfied the officers and we were all cleared thru customs in a few minutes. Outside we were met by a most wonderful fellow, Mr. Clement James J73CI, who runs a bus and tour business on the island. We had contacted Clem via email and arranged for him to transport the five of us and our luggage to Picards Beach Cottages which is on the opposite side of the island from the airport. The ride to where we would be staying for a week took about an hour to go 25 miles. Dominica is a very rugged and mountainous country. The roads twist and turn, and have countless switch backs and hair pin turns. In some places the road clings precariously to the side of a mountain with the sea 500 feet below, so there is little room for mistakes. Slow going is the order of the day to say the least! . Finally about 5:00 PM we arrived at Picards Beach Cottages just south of the Picard river and the town of Portsmouth, Dominica. We unloaded our luggage and settled into our two cottages 25 feet from the ocean. It began to rain, and this coupled with the fact that Dominica is in the Atlantic Standard time zone, which means by 6:00 PM it is dark, we decided against trying to get any antennas up in the downpour and the dark. Dominica is one of the wettest places on earth and receives over 400 inches of rain a year !. We all unpacked and had dinner at the restaurant next to the cottages. We all enjoyed several bottles each of Kubuli, the beer of Dominica. We then all went back to our cottages and crashed. It had been a very long Day indeed. We all awoke about 7:00 AM the next morning, and after enjoying a cup or two of coffee, we walked into 3 Portsmouth to stock up on provisions. We found James Grocery Store and pickup up the items we needed and started to walk back to our cottages. It began to pour and we all got soaked. I then did one of my assigned tasks, that being, cook breakfast every morning for the lads. We all enjoyed a Gourmet breakfast of bacon and eggs, and toast and coffee. It was a meal fit for a king if I say so myself !. We then took a few minutes to scout out where we would put up our antennas. At the same time we could not help noticing the beautiful view from the beach in front of our cottages. We were right on the beach of Prince Rupert Bay on the northwest coast of Dominica, on the eastern shore of the Caribbean Sea. Across the bay were the twin mountain peaks of West Cabrit and East Cabrit. In between the bosom of the two mountains sat the ruins of Fort Shirley. This fort was used in the days of sailing ships and pirates, and was a lair for many bloodthirsty pirates such as the infamous Blackbeard. There were cannon mounted in the fort which could blast away and sink any attempted intruders. After this brief interlude we split into teams to erect our antennas.

Larry J79LR and Bob J79DA assembled the Hy-Gain Patriot AV-640 and lashed it to a small picket fence no more than 20 feet from the edge of Caribbean Sea. Your writer, Clarence J79AA, Bill J75WX, and William J79WB first assembled the TH-2 MK 3 beam, and with the help of the entire team we got it up and secured. Again it started to pour down rain, but we kept going and assembled the Hustler vertical and had it up in no time. We unrolled the wire radials and stretched them out and used rocks to hold them in place on the sandy beach. Happily the AV-640 did not require the use of any radials at all. We then put up the 160 wire inverted Vee in a convenient tree and secured the ends as high off the ground as we could. We then ran the four runs of coax into the radio shack cottage, which was the one William and I were staying in. The two Kenwood TS-570's were quickly set up, as were the Alpha 91-B amplifier for the run station, and the Heath HA-14 for the multiplier station. I then set up the Alinco DX70T on a small table in the corner. Finally we could get down to the reason we were here, DXing, pileups, and the CQWW !. William J79WB was the first one on and had an almost instantaneous pileup on 20 meters. Bob J79DA set up his Laptop computer and rig blaster, and had a gigantic pileup on RTTY using MMTTY, and later had an unbelievable time on 20 meters on PSK-31, using Digi-pan. I used the little Alinco DX70T on 10 meter SSB and was rewarded the mother of all pileups. Needless to say the two verticals next to the salt water of the Caribbean Sea really smoked, we were getting reports of 30 to 40 over 9 from all over the world !.

Later Bill J75WX (J79WX was not available) got on 20 meters and fired up his KAM-Plus and in a few minutes had an earth shaking pileup going on RTTY. It got so bad he had to start work split. Apparently Dominica is quite rare on RTTY and PSK-31. With 3 stations up and running we could almost operate whenever we wished. In the evening using the Alinco DX70T I got on 20 and then 30 meter CW using my trusty old Speed-X straight key. The chaos was awesome !. The next morning I was up at first light around 5:00 AM. Using the Alinco DX70T again I was On 30 meter CW and got a howling pileup going, working mostly JA stations. This time I was using my old 1958 vintage Vibroplex Lightening Bug key. Surprisingly as soon as the sun actually came up, the JA's Faded out very fast. I then started to work lots of stateside stations, including, Roger K9RB, our pilot station back home in Florida. This was how we all whiled away the days before the CQWW, working pileups, sightseeing, and of course all taking a few well deserved Siesta's now and then. What a Life !. Whenever the Alinco DX70T was not being used we left it on 6 meters and listened on 50.110 for an opening. Also I called CQ 6 Meters time and time again, to no avail. For the entire week we only managed to work a couple of stations in Brazil. This was very disappointing indeed. The cottages at Picard's Beach resort have all the amenities. They are all air conditioned, have hot and cold running water. They have a full bathroom with tub and shower, and if you are so inclined a bidet. They have a complete kitchen with a 4 burner gas stove and oven. Ample cooking utensils, dishes and silverware are provided. They also have cable TV with 60 channels. All the popular US channels are available such as ESPN, CNN, TNN, etc. The cottages each have a double bed and a single bed and can each sleep 3 people. It even gets better, as there is daily maid service with clean bed linen and towels each day. The trash is emptied daily, and the floors are mopped and swept. At the office, email and fax service is available. 4 Each cottage also has a telephone. We were in complete comfort for the entire week we were there. Sandie, the manager, bent over backwards to accommodate as she called us "The radio guys from Florida". Friday soon rolled around and the CQWW SSB contest loomed ahead. A few hours before the test started we stopped all casual operating. We got the run and multiplier stations set up and ready to go. We linked two laptop computers up using the popular CT V. 9.65. Finally all was in readiness as the last minutes before the contest ticked by. Bill J75WX, our leader, had made up a schedule for the entire contest weekend. I would get the first shot on the run station to start the contest. William J79WB would get first crack on the multiplier station. As the last seconds before the start of the CQWW ticked by, we were tense with excitement. The clock on CT rolled over to 0000 Zulu, and at last CQWW SSB 2001 had begun. I stepped on the foot switch and called "QRZed contest from Japan 75 Japan J75J". As soon as I let up on the switch I had a monster pileup going on 20 meters. I have a habit of talking very fast, and in the excitement of the contest, the rate counter on CT was well over 300 QSO"s per hour at times !. Band conditions were fabulous. William J79WB was on 15 meters working new multipliers right and left. Our first shift went by in what seemed a few minutes, instead of the hours that it was. Soon we were relieved by BOB J79DA, and Bill J75WX. It was welcome relief, as working the pileups in the beginning of the CQWW can drain you in a short time. I crashed in the rack for a little shut eye, but all to soon it was again time to man the hot seat of the run station. Now it was early morning and I spent my time on 40 meters working split, and then on 80 where the QRM was brutal. Then I QSYed to the top band, 160 meters. We had high hopes for 160 but they did not materialize. We had a hard time working a lot of stations even though we were running a full KW. We figured it was because the 160 antenna was under the trees, and also it rained every night keeping the trees and leaves soaking wet. None the less we did the best we could on 160. My next shift was on the multiplier station, and after it ended I had to cook breakfast for the boys once again. I managed to get a few hours sleep before it was back to the old grind on the run station. By now it was Saturday afternoon and 10 meters was wide open to everywhere all at once. Ten meters proved to be our best band with almost 2,800 QSO's alone. Saturday evening came, and after my turn in the electric chair of the run station, I ate supper and got a few winks of sleep before it was once again time to man the multiplier station. Even on Saturday night there were new multipliers everywhere, it was really great. My next shift was the torturous run station, and I stayed on 40 meters only. I went down to around 7.060 mhz and started calling "CQ Contest from J75J, listening this frequency and 7224" I had twin pileups, I logged contacts as fast as I could type them into the computer. I  never could get these two pileups worked down and turned the chaos over to my relief, William J79WB. After a few hours of fitful sleep I was once again up and at it again on the multiplier station. At the end of this shift I rustled up a hot breakfast for the nice lads. I then sacked out as best I could. When I awoke it was now Sunday afternoon with the finale of the CQWW approaching. I had the honors of the final shift on the run station, and the few hours before the end of the contest were unbelievable. The pileups were immense, near the end 15 meters opened up to Japan with what seemed like thousands of JA's calling. It was almost impossible to pick out a call sign. I did the best I could and soon the clock on CT once again rolled over to 0000 Zulu. I transmitted "its over, this is J75J QRT, thanks to all who worked us". I took off the Heil Pro set and got up from the run station as Bill J75WX saved the logs and backed up everything to disk. The reader might wonder what does one do after operating 48 hours full bore in the CQWW?, Its simple, get on the air some more !. Bob J79DA got on 15 meters and worked a lot of JA stations. William J79WB went to 20 meters and soon had a roaring pileup going again. What did I do ?. I made some supper and went to bed for a goods nights sleep, those guys gotta be crazy !. Once again I was up at 5:00 AM at first light. William J79WB also was up and we had coffee, and you guessed it, we got back on the air. William J79WB went to 20 SSB and I got on 160 CW with the Alinco DX70T and my trusty, rusty, old Speed-X straight key. I worked a goodly amount of stations on 160, and then QSYed to 30 meter CW and worked down a nice pileup. Around 8:00 AM I slung some hash for the guys for breakfast. We all spent Monday operating, snoozing, or whatever else we wanted to do. On Monday afternoon we took down the HY-Gain Patriot AV-640, and the TH-2 MK-3 Beam, as well as the 160 wire antenna. We packed these away in preparation for leaving on Tuesday afternoon. 5 We left one antenna up, the Hustler vertical, to use Monday evening and Tuesday morning. We all got on for while, and when I went to bed Monday night, William J79WB was cranking out the QSO's on 20 meter SSB. I swear, he calls CQ in his sleep !. I guess I went to bed too early, as I was wide awake at 4:20 AM. I got up and made coffee, and fired up the TS-570 and Alpha 91-B on 20 SSB. I figured the band would be dead, but was surprised to find a lot of stations calling me after a short CQ. They were in the States, Europe, and a bunch of JA's, as well as some VK's. I logged close to a hundred contacts, and heard William J79WB stirring. He got up, and I gave him the rig to work his own pileup for a while. Around 7:00 AM, Bill J75WX came by, and had a great time in a pileup of his own. Finally around 9:00 AM the station fell silent as we secured it, and took down the Hustler vertical and packed it for the trip home. We all finished packing, showered, and dressed for the trip home. It felt strange to wear pants with long legs after wearing nothing but shorts for a week !. Around 11:00 AM our driver, Clem J73CI arrived with his van and we loaded all our gear aboard. We said goodbye to Sandie and the staff at Picard's Beach Cottages, and climbed into Clem's van for the slow torturous drive to the airport. After about an hour we arrived at Melville Hall International airport, and unloaded our luggage at the ticket counter. We bid Clem a heartfelt goodbye and thanked him for all he had done for us. Then we got in line at the counter to get our bags checked in for the flight home. When we left Orlando a week earlier there was a weight limit on each check in bag of 70 pounds. We now found out that once in Dominica the rules change. Now we were only allowed a total of 70 pounds for the 2 check in bags for each of us. Now two of the bags that we had were over weight, and we were dunned an additional $35.00 USD for each one, or a total of $70.00 USD for both. Dominica was still not through prying more dollars out of us. We each had to pay a departure tax of $46.00 EC, plus a security charge of $5.00 EC, and a environmental levy of $4.00 EC. These 3 charges came to $20.00 USD. We paid the extra charges and figured we were OK, but guess again, we were told to take all our check in luggage down to the baggage loading area. Once there we had to unpack everything for the security people to search. When this was done we repacked everything, and then our luggage was loaded onto a cart to be taken to the plane to be loaded into the cargo hold. We then walked down to the passenger departure area and showed our passports and boarding passes. We were then allowed to enter the passenger departure room where we had to empty our pockets, walk thru the metal detector, and once again be checked with a hand held metal detector. Then as added pleasure, we had to open our carry on bags and have them searched by more security people. I was sure glad to finally get into my seat on the plane !. The world has really changes since September 11th. Finally at 3:10 PM we took off right on time and set a course for San Juan, Puerto Rico at 14,000 feet in the ATR-72 Turbo-Prop. We landed right on time in Puerto Rico where we were herded into the U.S. Customs area to await our luggage being unloaded. All of us filled out Customs Declarations. We went thru the U.S. Citizens immigration quickly and got a couple of wheeled carts and retrieved our mountain of luggage and headed for the customs area. Bill, now W4WX again, told the customs officer we were all hams traveling in a group. As luck would have it, the officer was interested in ham radio, and knew a lot about it. He very quickly cleared the five of us with no delays. We then had to put all our checked bags on the departing flights conveyor and head for passenger check in. Once there it was the same old drill, empty your pockets, and walk thru the metal detector, have your carry on bag x-rayed. As we were doing this, soldiers with automatic weapons watched intently. We were then checked with the hand held metal detectors, including our hats and the bottoms of our shoes. We grabbed our carry on bags and headed for American Airlines gate 19 where our flight on a Boeing 757 would take us to Orlando, Florida. When it was announced to start boarding we got in line, and Bob and I were randomly pulled out of line and told to open our carry on bag and have them searched by security personnel. Again we were gone over with a hand held metal detector. At last we boarded the plane and found our seats. We departed right on time and all enjoyed a hot meal while enroute. We touched down at Orlando International Airport 10 minutes early. We retrieved all our bags and piled them into the back of our two pickups and headed home. I finally got home at 12:30 AM Wednesday morning. I gave the XYL and hug and a kiss, petted the dogs, and slept in my own bed for the first time in over a week, how sweet it was !. In spite off the numerous hassles with security we are all glad we made the trip, and would not have it any other way. We heard that a few other CQWW operations had cancelled because of the terrorist attacks 6 on our great nation. We were resolute from the moment they happened. We would go no matter what if the airlines were operating. To do anything less would put us in the same category as the cowards who perpetrated the atrocities on this great country and its citizens. May God continue to bless America !. The members of the J75J team would like to thank the thousands of people all over the world who we worked. Without you there would be no contest. As stated earlier we would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the staff at Picard's Beach Resort, and again, especially to Sandie, who was an angel.

The members of the J75J team would also like to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to a very special person, Mr. Roger Borowski K9RB. Roger was our pilot station during our trip. He watched over us like a mother hen watches her chicks. He was in almost constant contact with us on the air. Also he was most gracious in running phone patches for us to our wives and families. It gave us all a great sense of security knowing he was always there for us. Rogers efforts on our behalf also gave a calming effect to our wives who were all very concerned about us due to the world situation. From all of us....THANKS ROG !. Also a very special thank you to Clem J73CI who was so helpful with our licenses and ground transportation. To all of us Clem, you are the Ham Radio Ambassador of Dominica. Last but not least the J75J team would like to extend a very special thanks and well done to one of our team members. We would like to thank Larry Rich W1LR/J79LR for manning the multiplier station for countless hours beyond what he was scheduled. By doing this it allowed the rest of the team the opportunity to get some much needed rest. Larry also did a bang up job of searching out and working new multipliers. Great job Larry !. Since the September 11th attacks the world has certainly changed. Also the world of Dxing has changed a great deal. Security has been greatly stepped up at airports. During our trip we kept a close eye on our surrounding at all times, and kept aware of what was going on around us. We never went anywhere alone, but always traveled in a group. Now that we are all safely home, there is concern about the mountain of QSL cards we are receiving daily. They are now all checked for any envelopes without a return address, and for anything suspicious looking. This is due to the anthrax attacks on our country. If that were not enough, as this is being written, Hurricane Michelle, a powerful category 4 storm is pummeling Cuba, and is expected to head thru the straits of Florida and out into the Caribbean Sea. You really have to keep your wits about you to DX in the new century. Will all this deter us, I think not, as we are already starting to plan for CQWW 2002 !.

Summary for J75J CQWW SSB 2001

Band QSO's QSO pts. Pt/QSO Zones Countries

10 2725 6488 2.38 32 93

15 943 2060 2.18 30 96

20 804 1838 2.29 27 85

40 487 1022 2.10 20 44

80 527 1090 2.07 16 46

160 27 58 2.15 6 15

Totals 5513 12556 2.28 131 379

Score 6,403,560

QSL information J75J via KR4DA J75WX via W4WX J79AA via W9AAZ, Florida address only J79WB via N2OO J79DA via KR4DA J79LR via W1LR 7 For further information on Picard's Beach Cottages, Portsmouth Dominica W.I. Email [email protected] Web site http://www.delphis.dm/picard Address Picard Beach Cottage Resort Portsmouth, Dominica W.I. P.O.Box 34 Roseau, Dominica W.I. Telephone 767-445-5131 Fax 767-445-5599

J75J web site http://www.geocities.com/j79wb/index.html

FDXPG http://www.geocities.com/w4wx1/

Written by:

Clarence J. Kerous W9AAZ

1104 Buggy Whip Trail

Middleburg, Florida 32068-3312

Email [email protected]