KP2/EA8DBM (FK78) U.S. Virgin Islands

KP2 U.S. Virgin Isands

From October 10 to 15, I plan to operate as KP2/EA8DBM from the U.S. Virgin Islands (grid FK78). Of course, this is assuming everything goes smoothly—no canceled or delayed flights, nothing critically important left behind at home, no lost luggage, and that the balcony at the rental apartment provides a clear view of the moon!

I'll be using the same equipment as usual: a 2.4 m dish and a 200-watt PA. I’m traveling with four large bags, two smaller ones, and a backpack, with a total weight of about 130 kg. I've packed spares where possible, including TX and RX cables, a coupler, an LNA, a transceiver, a small power supply, and various adapters and connectors.

Additionally, I've left a backup amplifier, a 48-volt power supply, a transverter, and spare ribs for the dish in my car at the Madrid airport parking lot. Unfortunately, I don’t have a backup for the dish or feed itself, but I’m hoping nothing fails this time around!

At 3 PM on October 10th, I landed at Charlotte Amalie airport (KP2), eager to begin my adventure.

I rented a car—your standard European left-hand drive—and set off onto the road. But as I drove, my eyes widened in disbelief. Traffic here drives on the left side, like in the UK, despite the cars being left-hand drive. What? This is the U.S., not the British Virgin Islands! It felt like some kind of oxymoron. I had never seen anything so counterintuitive in my life.

The city and its outskirts left a pretty grim impression. The streets were littered with trash, and the number of beggars and homeless people was overwhelming. I’ve lived in Latin America for several years, and I thought it would be hard to shock me—but this felt straight out of a dystopian movie like “District 9”.

When I arrived at the house I’d rented, my worst fears were confirmed. I couldn’t locate or position the QTH properly on Google Earth. I had hoped for at least some visibility to the east, but the only clear view was at an azimuth of 180 degrees with an elevation of 35-40 degrees, where the moon barely peeks through. With the moon’s low declination, I had almost no window with Europe for my setup.

Still, I had no choice. I quickly dragged my equipment onto the balcony and began setting up. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to check everything before sunset. But when the moon finally appeared from behind the building, I aimed manually and fixed the controller. Thankfully, despite the TSA rummaging through my gear and shoving it back into the suitcase carelessly, everything made it—aside from a broken LNA mount.

Reception seemed functional, and transmission was as expected. I logged four QSOs (contacts) for the night:

2024-10-10, 22:50 - 22:52: NC1I, FN32, 1296.100999, Q65 (-13, -14)

2024-10-10, 22:55 - 22:58: K5DOG, 1296.100999, Q65 (-23, -23)

2024-10-10, 23:21 - 23:26: KB2SA, 1296.100999, Q65 (-23, -27)

2024-10-10, 23:34 - 23:34: N5TM, EL29, 1296.100999, Q65 (-27, -25)

However, after a couple of hours, propagation took a nosedive—possibly due to a strong magnetic storm—and the signals faded. Eventually, my reception completely died out.

One thing is clear, it was time to move on: this QTH is not viable. The location is just too limiting for effective operation. Tomorrow morning, I’ll pack up and explore the surrounding areas by car, hoping to find a more suitable spot for the next attempt.

11 October:

The evening before was spent scouting for a good location. I thought I found a decent spot, but there were no vacancies for the closest available dates. Still, I decided to talk to the manager the next morning, and luck was on my side. A room had opened up, and there was even a place nearby where I could set up. The visibility was limited—only from moonrise to about 210 degrees—but it was still better than having the entire eastern horizon blocked.

It took several hours to pack everything into the car, move, and set up again. At the new location, things got a bit hectic—my apartment was on the second floor, and the antenna had to be placed in the backyard.

But finally, I managed to get everything ready just in time for moonrise. I checked the TX—still had my 200 watts. Then I checked the RX—and disaster! Everyone could hear me, but I couldn't hear even the strongest signals.

After a couple of hours of futile attempts, it became clear: the GSM base station (or whatever it is) on the mountain above me was completely overwhelming my trusty old G4DDK LNA.

When I turned the antenna to face away from the cell tower, reception improved, but that orientation was azimuth 200—exactly when Europe was already experiencing moonset.

I was exhausted and out of options for the day. Tomorrow, I’ll try to install a spare LNA. If that doesn't work, there’s only one solution left: I’ll have to head to the other end of the island and hope to find a more suitable spot there.

12 Oktober:

This morning, I spent several hours searching for a new place, but nothing caught my attention. Either everything was booked, or the rental prices were outrageous, starting at $500 per night. I wasn't ready to gamble a couple thousand dollars on a new, unfamiliar location, so I decided to hold off.

By lunchtime, I shifted my focus and replaced the LNA and all the RX coax cables. Afterward, I listened to the airwaves, and it seemed like there was less interference than before.

At 3:00 PM local time, I tuned in to the moon, hopeful for a productive session. But then, I ran into a new problem: as soon as I turned on the transmission, I lost power. No one could hear me. I swapped out the transceiver, the IF coax, and the TX coax—still nothing.

After some troubleshooting, I discovered the culprit: the "pigtail" between the PA and the SWR meter had failed. I replaced it quickly and was back on the air. However, the issue from yesterday returned—reception was still poor. It wasn’t as bad as before, but it seemed like the LNA was being overloaded. Occasionally, the interference would let up, and I managed to complete a few QSOs with the Big Guns.

2024-10-12,19:48:00,2024-10-12,19:50:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.080999,Q65,-20,-16,,,,

2024-10-12,19:50:00,2024-10-12,19:54:00,UA3PTW,,1296.080999,Q65,-22,-20,,,,

2024-10-12,19:58:00,2024-10-12,20:02:01,OK1UGA,JO80,1296.080999,Q65,-26,-21,,,,

2024-10-12,20:02:00,2024-10-12,20:06:00,DK4RC,,1296.080999,Q65,-19,-16,,,,

2024-10-12,20:07:00,2024-10-12,20:12:00,DL4DTU,,1296.080999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,

2024-10-12,20:15:00,2024-10-12,20:20:00,PA3DZL,,1296.081111,Q65,-24,-20,,,,

2024-10-12,21:13:00,2024-10-12,21:18:00,G4CCH,,1296.081111,Q65,-25,-21,,,,

2024-10-12,23:25:00,2024-10-12,23:29:00,KD5FZX,,1296.056002,Q65,-24,-19,,,,

2024-10-12,23:31:07,2024-10-12,23:32:08,EA8DBM,IL18OH,1296.071002,Q65,-29,-30,,,,

13 October:

So, about an hour before my scheduled MR, I set up the tripod and antenna, did my little "Hey, I’ll be on soon" announcement in the EMEchat, feeling pretty good about myself. Then, I flip the switch… and nothing. No power to the amp. Nada. I pop it open, and lo and behold, the brand new 48V power supply had decided to take an early trip to the afterlife.

Apparently, this thing took one look at the Virgin Islands and thought, “Nah, adios.”

Was I even surprised? Honestly, no. At this point, I’m not even surprised anymore. It’s just another chapter in the ongoing saga of ‘What Will Go Wrong Next?’ Maybe god was just watching out for me….. who knows?

Now, the thought of flying to Madrid for a new power supply—given the insane ticket prices for last-minute flights—was about as appealing as a chewing on sand. Not happening.

Finding a replacement on KP2? About as realistic as finding a unicorn.

Enter the hero of the day: Edfel KP4AJ. This absolute legend responds to my desperate SOS and offers up his backup FlatAPack 48V, saving my ass from what was about to be a complete clusterfuck.

So, tomorrow, it's off to KP4 and back. If everything goes smoothly (and let’s be honest, with my luck, that’s a big 'if'), I should be back on the air by October 15. Fingers crossed.

14 October:

15 October:

The efforts were not in vain. After installing a new PSU and everything, things started to look up — almost like a miracle! The interference from the nearby GSM tower was noticeably reduced today, which finally allowed me to get some work done.

I replaced the LNA, and while it has slightly higher noise levels compared to the G4DDK, it seems to perform better in terms of dynamic range. Reception was still a bit weaker than usual, with a drop of around 3-5 dB, but it was manageable and allowed me to continue operating. In total, I logged 26 QSOs, including a few with operators using 3m dishes and 200-watt setups.

2024-10-15,21:30:00,2024-10-15,21:34:00,OK1DFC,JN79,1296.101002,Q65,-21,-13,,,,

2024-10-15,21:35:00,2024-10-15,21:38:00,OK1KIR,JN79,1296.101002,Q65,-20,-21,,,,

2024-10-15,21:39:00,2024-10-15,21:42:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.101002,Q65,-23,-21,,,,

2024-10-15,21:43:00,2024-10-15,21:46:00,SM5DGX,JO89,1296.101002,Q65,-19,-16,,,,

2024-10-15,21:49:00,2024-10-15,21:52:00,SP7EXY,,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-21,,,,

2024-10-15,21:51:00,2024-10-15,21:56:00,PA9RX,,1296.101002,Q65,-26,-20,,,,

2024-10-15,21:58:00,2024-10-15,22:02:03,OK1IL,JN69,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-28,,,,

2024-10-15,22:05:00,2024-10-15,22:08:00,G0LBK,,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-22,,,,

2024-10-15,22:09:00,2024-10-15,22:12:00,PA0BAT,,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-23,,,,

2024-10-15,22:17:00,2024-10-15,22:18:11,SP5GDM,,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-21,,,,

2024-10-15,22:22:16,2024-10-15,22:22:16,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-23,,,,

2024-10-15,22:22:00,2024-10-15,22:26:00,RA4HL,,1296.101002,Q65,-22,-19,,,,

2024-10-15,22:48:00,2024-10-15,22:50:00,IQ2DB,JN45,1296.101002,Q65,-28,-32,,,,

2024-10-15,22:50:00,2024-10-15,22:54:00,DL7UDA,,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-24,,,,

2024-10-15,23:09:00,2024-10-15,23:10:07,PE1LWT,JO22,1296.101002,Q65,-15,-23,,,,

2024-10-15,23:11:00,2024-10-15,23:18:00,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.101002,Q65,-30,-22,,,,

2024-10-15,23:23:00,2024-10-15,23:26:00,DG0FE,,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-21,,,,

2024-10-15,23:46:00,2024-10-15,23:48:00,DF3RU,JN59,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-19,,,,

2024-10-15,23:48:00,2024-10-15,23:52:00,PY2BS,GG66,1296.101002,Q65,-22,-22,,,,

2024-10-16,00:10:00,2024-10-16,00:10:00,G4YTL,IO92,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-22,,,,

2024-10-16,00:31:00,2024-10-16,00:34:00,K5DN,,1296.101002,Q65,-22,-19,,,,

2024-10-16,01:22:06,2024-10-16,01:22:06,DL1AT,JO61,1296.101002,Q65,-27,-22,,,,

2024-10-16,01:26:00,2024-10-16,01:30:09,ZS4TX,KG30,1296.101002,Q65,-30,-22,,,,

2024-10-16,01:44:00,2024-10-16,01:44:00,W2HRO,FN20,1296.101002,Q65,-25,-28,,,,

2024-10-16,01:56:00,2024-10-16,02:04:08,VE3NXK,,1296.101002,Q65,-31,-27,,,,

2024-10-16,02:59:00,2024-10-16,03:02:00,VE6TA,DO33,1296.101002,Q65,-20,-23,,,,

Total: 39 QSO

Tonight, I'm packing everything up, as tomorrow I'll be catching a ferry to the British Virgin Islands. If all goes as planned, I’ll be on the air tomorrow as VP2V/LY3UM.

Big thanks to my supporters:

Gerard PA0BAT

John PA7JB

Jac PA3DZL

Zdenek OK1DFC