HI3/LY3UM from FK58tl

My trip to Peru has come to an end. I am currently packing up my antennas and gear. Tomorrow, January 28th, I fly to Lima at 7:00 AM, where I’ll catch a connecting flight to Punta Cana. I’ll arrive there in the evening and will be able to assess the horizon clearance for East and West.

I plan to set up and test everything on the morning of January 29th. Moonrise is around 19:30 UTC, and I’ll do my best to be QRV by then.

My last day of activity will be Sunday, February 1st. Then, on Monday the 2nd, I’ll quickly tear down the station and head to Santo Domingo airport for my evening flight to Madrid.

+++++++

I finally reached my destination, and it was almost trouble-free—well, almost! My gear case, packed with the antenna, tripod, all the poles, and water bags, was stubbornly over the 23 kg limit. To save weight, I decided to take the 60cm aluminum adapter tube (the one connecting the tripod to the rotator) in my carry-on. It weighs about a kilo.

On the first leg from Cusco to Lima, no one batted an eye. My main luggage was checked through to the final destination. However, during the transfer from Lima to Punta Cana, things got tense. I was kicked out of the ‘clean zone’ and sent back through security. I saw my backpack being pulled aside for a manual search. I wasn’t worried at first, thinking they just wanted to inspect the transceiver as usual. But no—the first thing they pulled out was my ‘aluminum club,’ and they told me it was strictly prohibited!

This was a disaster—without that tube, I can’t mount the rotator on the tripod. I tried everything, even throwing a ‘signature tantrum,’ explaining that they were ruining a scientific expedition. I even asked them to hand it to the captain to keep in the cockpit (like they do with weapons), but they kept saying no. It was too late to check it as extra luggage since registration had closed. Finally, I demanded to see a supervisor. I explained the situation again, showed my previous boarding pass from Cusco, and a miracle happened! He said, ‘Fine, just wrap it in some clothes, put it deep in your bag, and go...’ Talk about a close call!

I arrived at the location by 7 PM. Everything looks promising. There’s a large lawn in front of the house with a tall palm tree in the middle, but it’s positioned where the Moon reaches its peak, so it shouldn’t be an obstacle. To the East, it’s almost clear; there’s a low hedge of young palms, but luckily there’s a gap right at 90 degrees. I think I can start working from 5–7 degrees of elevation. To the West (270–300 degrees), there’s a small mango tree, but I should be fine up to about 10 degrees.

After all the flights, I’m too exhausted to set everything up tonight. I’ll start first thing tomorrow morning and hope to be QRV by Moonrise.

+++++++++++++++

Started working first thing in the morning after a cup of coffee. The weather is perfect—sunny, no wind, and around 26°C. Ideal conditions.

I’ve powered everything up, checked, and tuned the system. I’m hearing 8 dB of Sun noise today. The radiation pattern is slightly off, but I’m afraid to keep it keyed for too long to avoid melting the septum mount. I’ll fine-tune it later by ear using signals from big stations—I’ve had enough practice with that technique by now.

The OE5JFL controller is being a real headache and causing some inconvenience. It has finally ‘gone crazy.’ It needs troubleshooting, but that’s not something I can do in the field; I’ll deal with it back home. So, while it still shows the azimuth, I’ll have to run outside and measure the elevation manually, just like I did in Peru.

The Moon will be up in a couple of hours. I’ll be on my MR (Moonrise) as usual: 1296.100, 30B, 1st sequence. Later, I’ll switch to 60C

The pile-up was fantastic—activity was through the roof! I started out in 30B mode. It’s been quite a workout: I have to handle the QSOs, keep running outside to check and adjust the antenna’s elevation and azimuth manually, and still try to confirm the contacts in the chat. The chat is definitely my lowest priority right now, and I don’t always have time to say ‘thanks’ for the QSO. Please don’t take it as arrogance; it’s simply a matter of a very tight schedule!

I got incredibly lucky with the weather. Crystal clear skies, not too hot, and not even a whisper of a breeze. The Moon is shining bright—it’s pure magic!

2026-01-29,19:39:30,2026-01-29,19:40:30,OK1DFC,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:40:00,2026-01-29,19:42:00,UA3PTW,,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:42:00,2026-01-29,19:44:00,OE9ERC,,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-07,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:44:00,2026-01-29,19:46:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-14,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:50:30,2026-01-29,19:51:32,ON5GS,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:51:00,2026-01-29,19:53:00,RD4D,,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:53:30,2026-01-29,19:55:59,RY4C,LO42,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-11,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:57:30,2026-01-29,19:58:41,OK1KIR,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-14,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,19:59:30,2026-01-29,20:00:41,RW6HM,LN14,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:00:00,2026-01-29,20:02:00,G4CCH,,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:02:00,2026-01-29,20:04:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:04:00,2026-01-29,20:06:00,PA0BAT,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:07:00,2026-01-29,20:09:00,IK3COJ,JN65,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:09:00,2026-01-29,20:11:00,I2FAK,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:11:00,2026-01-29,20:13:00,OH3LWP,KP11,1296.101106,Q65,-18,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:14:00,2026-01-29,20:16:00,DK4RC,,1296.101106,Q65,-11,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:16:00,2026-01-29,20:18:01,ON4BCB,,1296.101289,Q65,-13,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:18:00,2026-01-29,20:20:00,RA4HL,,1296.101301,Q65,-14,-13,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:20:00,2026-01-29,20:22:00,IK2DDR,,1296.101301,Q65,-18,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:23:00,2026-01-29,20:25:00,PY2BS,GG66,1296.101301,Q65,-15,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:26:00,2026-01-29,20:28:00,IK2CDI,,1296.101526,Q65,-16,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:28:00,2026-01-29,20:30:00,DL4DTU,JO60,1296.101526,Q65,-12,-14,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:30:00,2026-01-29,20:32:00,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.101532,Q65,-16,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:32:00,2026-01-29,20:34:00,NC1I,,1296.101543,Q65,-12,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:34:00,2026-01-29,20:36:02,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.101543,Q65,-18,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:37:30,2026-01-29,20:38:33,R1NW,KP71,1296.101549,Q65,-24,-22,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:38:00,2026-01-29,20:40:00,ZS5Y,KF59,1296.101592,Q65,-21,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:46:00,2026-01-29,20:48:00,DL8FBD,JO40,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:48:00,2026-01-29,20:50:00,ZS4TX,KG30,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:50:00,2026-01-29,20:52:00,IQ2DB,JN45,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-22,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:52:00,2026-01-29,20:54:00,DL1SUZ,JO53,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:55:30,2026-01-29,20:57:59,IZ8GGF,JN70,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,20:57:00,2026-01-29,20:59:05,PA3FXB,JO33,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:01:30,2026-01-29,21:02:49,YL2GD,KO37,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:02:00,2026-01-29,21:04:00,G0LBK,,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:04:00,2026-01-29,21:06:00,OK1USW,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:08:00,2026-01-29,21:10:00,ES3RF,KO29,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:10:00,2026-01-29,21:12:00,DL7UDA,JO62,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:12:30,2026-01-29,21:14:59,GW4ZHI,IO82,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:14:30,2026-01-29,21:16:59,PE1LWT,JO22,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:16:00,2026-01-29,21:18:00,W2HRO,FN20,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:18:00,2026-01-29,21:20:00,DG0FE,,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:21:00,2026-01-29,21:23:00,DJ2DY,JN39,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-02,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:23:30,2026-01-29,21:25:59,W1FKF,FN43,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-23,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:25:00,2026-01-29,21:27:00,DF2VJ,JN39,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-23,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:28:30,2026-01-29,21:30:59,KA6U,EL87,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-23,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:30:30,2026-01-29,21:32:59,DL6ZG,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:34:30,2026-01-29,21:36:59,OK1IL,JN69,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-21,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:36:30,2026-01-29,21:38:59,PA3EXV,JO32,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:39:00,2026-01-29,21:41:00,PA3DZL,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-11,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:46:00,2026-01-29,21:48:56,G4YTL,IO92,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:50:00,2026-01-29,21:52:22,PA1PS,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:55:00,2026-01-29,21:57:12,SP5GDM,KO02,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-16,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,21:59:00,2026-01-29,22:01:03,OZ5TG,JO45,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-25,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:04:00,2026-01-29,22:06:02,A71AW,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-22,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:07:00,2026-01-29,22:11:56,IK5VLS,JN53,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:13:00,2026-01-29,22:15:10,LB6B,JP20,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-26,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:14:00,2026-01-29,22:18:10,N5TM,EL29,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-21,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:19:00,2026-01-29,22:23:56,W5LUA,EM13,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:23:00,2026-01-29,22:27:56,N1AV,DM43,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:27:00,2026-01-29,22:31:56,G4RGK,IO91,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:30:00,2026-01-29,22:34:00,LA3PNA,JO59,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:33:00,2026-01-29,22:37:56,N0LWF,EN10,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:37:00,2026-01-29,22:41:56,VE6TA,DO33,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:41:00,2026-01-29,22:45:56,OZ3Z,JO45,1296.101000,Q65,-28,-23,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:46:00,2026-01-29,22:50:00,HB9Q,,1296.101000,Q65,-05,-15,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:48:00,2026-01-29,22:52:00,KG0D,CN88,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:56:00,2026-01-29,22:57:56,AC2AC,EL96,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,22:57:00,2026-01-29,23:01:56,M0FXX,IO91,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:02:00,2026-01-29,23:06:00,LA3EQ,JO28,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-23,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:07:00,2026-01-29,23:11:56,W3TI,FN20,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-26,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:16:00,2026-01-29,23:20:00,EA8DBM,IL18OH,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:30:00,2026-01-29,23:32:00,G4CCH,1296.101000,CW, 549, 539 ,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:40:00,2026-01-29,23:42:00,OE9ERC,1296.101000,CW, 559, 559 ,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:47:00,2026-01-29,23:51:56,NY1V,EM69,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-25,,,,,,,

2026-01-29,23:51:00,2026-01-29,23:55:56,AA6I,DM06,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-25,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,00:00:00,2026-01-30,00:02:15,K3SK,FM07,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,00:04:00,2026-01-30,00:08:00,KB2SA,DM13,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-26,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,00:09:00,2026-01-30,00:13:56,KD5CHG,FN31,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-18,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,00:50:00,2026-01-30,00:54:00,SM5DGX,,1296.101000,Q65,-09,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,00:55:00,2026-01-30,00:59:56,KD2XN,FN13,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-22,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,01:00:00,2026-01-30,01:08:13,K6FOD,DM04,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-28,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,05:08:00,2026-01-30,05:12:00,KA1GT,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-17,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,05:20:00,2026-01-30,05:22:10,KH6FA,BK29,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,05:23:00,2026-01-30,05:27:56,JJ3JHP,PM75,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-24,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,05:35:00,2026-01-30,05:39:56,JQ3JWF,PM75,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-21,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,05:41:00,2026-01-30,05:45:56,JH3AZC,PM85,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-20,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,06:42:00,2026-01-30,06:48:00,JA6AHB,PM53,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-29,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,06:56:00,2026-01-30,07:00:00,JA4LJB,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-21,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,07:20:00,2026-01-30,07:28:00,VK4CDI,QG63,1296.101000,Q65,-35,-24,,,,,,,

Total: 90 QSO + 2 QSO CW (90 inits)

+++++++++++++++

2026-01-30,21:32:00,2026-01-30,21:34:00,PE1L,,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-19,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:35:00,2026-01-30,21:37:00,PA7JB,JO22,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-18,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:37:00,2026-01-30,21:39:00,ZS6JON,KG33,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-18,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:42:30,2026-01-30,21:43:38,GM0PJD,IO85,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:43:00,2026-01-30,21:45:00,OH2DG,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:46:30,2026-01-30,21:48:00,PH0V,JO22,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-24,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:48:00,2026-01-30,21:50:00,OM4XA,,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-23,,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,21:54:00,2026-01-30,21:58:00,RX3DR,KO85,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-19,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,22:04:00,2026-01-30,22:08:00,F5AOL,JN38,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-23,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,22:13:00,2026-01-30,22:17:56,DF3RU,JN59,1296.101000,Q65,-12,-09,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,23:03:00,2026-01-30,23:06:56,DF3RU,JN59,1296.101000,CW,-539,529,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,23:12:00,2026-01-30,23:16:00,DF2VJ,JN39,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-20,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,23:23:00,2026-01-30,23:27:56,K5DOG,EM00,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,
2026-01-30,23:30:00,2026-01-30,23:34:00,OE9ERC,,1296.101000,Q65,-04,-05,,,,,,,

2026-01-30,23:40:00,2026-01-30,23:44:56,G3LTF,,1296.101000,CW,-529,539,,,,,,,

2026-01-31,00:17:00,2026-01-31,00:21:56,DJ7FJ,JN48,1296.101000,Q65,-29,-23,,,,,,,
2026-01-31,01:15:00,2026-01-31,01:23:57,LU8ENU,GF05,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-29,,,,,,,
2026-01-31,01:42:00,2026-01-31,01:46:11,VE4SA,EN19,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-15,,,,,,,

16 QSO + 2 QSO CW (16 inits)

Total : 110 QSO ( 106 inits )

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2026-01-31,22:25:00,2026-01-31,22:29:56,OK1UGA,JO80,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-19,,,,,,,

2026-01-31,22:31:00,2026-01-31,22:35:56,DL0SHF,JO54,1296.101000,Q65,-14,-12,,,,,,,

2026-01-31,23:34:00,2026-01-31,23:56:00,RW9OG,NO14,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-21,,,,,,,

2026-02-01,00:01:00,2026-02-01,00:05:38,N4BAA,EM79,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,

2026-02-01,00:50:00,2026-02-01,00:53:38,OK1KIR,EM79,1296.101000,CW,519,439,,,,,,,

2026-02-01,01:26:00,2026-02-01,01:30:00,XE1XA,EK09,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-17,,,,,,,

2026-02-01,01:44:00,2026-02-01,01:48:03,DC1RDB,JN58,1296.101000,Q65,-29,-17,,,,,,,

6 QSO + 1 QSO CW ( 6 inits )

Total : 117 QSO ( 112 inits )

My mini-expedition has come to an end, and I feel it was quite successful. I could have had more QSOs, but it seems the very snowy and cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere deprived many of the chance to work HI.

I got very lucky with the weather — no wind at all for all three days, the Moon was perfectly visible, and it was sunny during the day. Then, right at the very end, just 30 minutes after my QRT, it started raining and didn’t stop all night and all day. It looked something like this

My overall impressions of the Dominican Republic today are simply wonderful, especially compared to other parts of the Caribbean and Latin America. Having lived here for several years fifteen years ago, I have a clear point of reference.

The changes and progress are evident; today, it is a truly worthy destination for a vacation with family or friends.

A big thank you to everyone who supported me financially to the best of their ability:

PA3FXB, IK2CDI, IK3COJ, DF2VJ, DK4RC, OK1IL