PJ5/EA8DBM (FK87ml) 6 - 9 Nov.

After a brief “rest” on Sint Maarten, today I’m heading to St. Eustatius, where I’ll be active as PJ5/EA8DBM.

The ferry arrives at 7 p.m., and I hope to reach the QTH within an hour. Moonrise is at 10 a.m. local time, so I’ll set up the HF station for the night and prepare the tripod and cables to get the dish ready for MR early in the morning. This will be my first time activating this DXCC on the 23 cm band. Once there, I’ll check which elevations are possible at sunrise and sunset.

If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be there for three lunar passes. On Sunday, November 10, I’ll return to Sint Maarten and make my way to the French side of the island.

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

Arrived at the location with all suitcases intact—looks like none of them went for a swim! The spot looks promising. For those interested, here’s the point: 17.49961863280449, -62.969745304074.

There’s an open view to the east over the ocean, and to the west, there’s a small mountain in the distance that should allow for working at elevations up to 10 degrees. One slightly concerning feature is a large field of solar panels to the southwest.

Tomorrow, starting at 6 a.m. local time when there’s some daylight, I’ll begin setting up the dish to be ready for moonrise at 11:30 a.m. local. Barring any unforeseen issues, I’m hopeful everything will be ready in time.

The morning is fine but a bit windy, with the antenna shaking around like it did back on OY. I had to secure it further to keep it from blowing off into the Caribbean Sea!

Miraculously, the foil was mostly intact. After 30 minutes of replacing and straightening where needed, it was good to go. Then came the exciting moment—pointed at the ground, I registered 2 dB of noise against the cold sky. Aimed at the sun, I got +8 dB of noise above sky level! A promising start.

Power is at 200 watts, with an SWR of 1.1… now just 30-40 minutes until moonrise..

The morning started off great—I could hear everything, and everyone could hear me. However, during the second or third QSO, it became clear that my PA wasn’t completing the full transmission cycle. I switched to 30-second B mode, which seemed to help, and the pace picked up.

By midday, in the heat of the day, the amplifier started cutting out again, failing to complete even the shortened cycle. I have a bad feeling that the radiator plate has come loose and isn’t properly secured. To check and fix this, I’ll need a set of metric Allen keys, which can only be found on the French side of St. Martin.

I’ll head there on Sunday to try and find the tools. Until then, I’ll have to keep operating in 30-second B mode here on PJ5, taking a 5-10 minute break after every couple of QSOs to let the amplifier cool down. Assuming it doesn’t rain and I don’t have to shut everything down and cover it up in the tent.

Total in the log: 33 QSO

2024-11-07,15:52:00,2024-11-03,15:54:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-22,,,,
2024-11-07,15:54:00,2024-11-07,15:58:00,UA3PTW,,1296.100994,Q65,-13,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,15:58:00,2024-11-07,16:02:00,PA3DZL,,1296.100994,Q65,-16,-21,,,,
2024-11-07,16:06:04,2024-11-07,16:06:04,DM2CFH,,1296.100994,Q65,-07,-15,,,,
2024-11-07,16:06:00,2024-11-07,16:10:00,G4CCH,,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-23,,,,
2024-11-07,16:11:00,2024-11-07,16:15:57,HB9Q,JN47,1296.100994,Q65,-06,-14,,,,
2024-11-07,16:20:00,2024-11-07,16:20:00,OK1DFC,,1296.100994,Q65,-12,-11,,,,
2024-11-07,16:24:30,2024-11-07,16:27:00,DK0ZAB,,1296.100994,Q65,-12,-16,,,,
2024-11-07,16:28:00,2024-11-07,16:29:53,OK1KIR,JN79,1296.100994,Q65,-13,-17,,,,
2024-11-07,16:31:00,2024-11-07,16:33:00,IQ2DB,JN45,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-23,,,,
2024-11-07,16:34:00,2024-11-07,16:35:59,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-23,,,,
2024-11-07,16:35:30,2024-11-07,16:37:00,IK3COJ,JN65,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,16:37:30,2024-11-07,16:39:00,PA0BAT,,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,16:39:30,2024-11-07,16:41:00,ZS4TX,KG30,1296.100994,Q65,-25,-24,,,,
2024-11-07,16:41:00,2024-11-07,16:43:00,ZS6JON,KG33,1296.100994,Q65,-21,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,16:43:30,2024-11-07,16:46:59,CT1FFU,IM59,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-24,,,,
2024-11-07,16:46:30,2024-11-07,16:48:00,OK1IL,JN69,1296.100994,Q65,-17,-25,,,,
2024-11-07,16:52:00,2024-11-07,16:53:59,CT1WO,IM58,1296.100994,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2024-11-07,16:54:30,2024-11-07,16:57:00,G0LBK,,1296.100994,Q65,-23,-25,,,,
2024-11-07,16:59:00,2024-11-07,17:00:59,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.100994,Q65,-15,-23,,,,
2024-11-07,17:16:30,2024-11-07,17:18:00,DG0FE,,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,17:23:00,2024-11-07,17:23:00,IK2DDR,,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,17:25:40,2024-11-07,17:25:40,PA3EXV,JO32,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-24,,,,
2024-11-07,17:25:00,2024-11-07,17:26:00,DL7UDA,JO62,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-20,,,,
2024-11-07,17:28:00,2024-11-07,17:29:59,PY2BS,GG66,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-19,,,,
2024-11-07,17:40:30,2024-11-07,17:44:00,I5YDI,,1296.100994,Q65,-20,-21,,,,
2024-11-07,18:05:00,2024-11-07,19:11:59,NC1I,FN32,1296.100994,Q65,-20,-24,,,,
2024-11-07,21:19:32,2024-11-07,21:19:32,W5LUA,EM13,1296.100994,Q65,-15,-18,,,,
2024-11-07,21:19:30,2024-11-07,21:21:00,K5DOG,EM00,1296.100994,Q65,-17,-16,,,,
2024-11-07,21:21:30,2024-11-07,21:23:38,N1AV,DM43,1296.100994,Q65,-20,-23,,,,
2024-11-07,21:23:00,2024-11-07,21:44:00,W2HRO,FN20,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-19,,,,
2024-11-07,21:47:00,2024-11-07,21:49:59,N5TM,EL29,1296.100994,Q65,-20,-22,,,,

Congratulations to Guy ON4AOI for completing DXCC on the 23 cm band today!

Towards the evening, the wind picked up, and I could see a thunderstorm flashing in the distance. Just to be safe, I packed up and secured the antenna. Looks like tomorrow I’ll have to set everything up all over again.

+++++++++

The morning started off with a promising sun noise reading of 8 dB, but the transmission kept cutting off after just a few seconds. Last night it could still manage in 30-second mode, but today, even 3-4 seconds in, it was shutting down. There’s no sign of overheating, even on the first cycle—I couldn’t figure out the issue. I disassembled the amplifier as far as I could, but to go deeper, I needed a set of metric Allen keys. I headed to the local hardware shop, only to find the usual island selection: a couple of screwdrivers and some electrical tape. It’s hard to expect much more from a place with a population of only 3,242 people. I headed back, disappointed.

I double-checked everything again… same result. It looks like I may have to wrap up the expedition early, without covering FS, FJ, and KP4.

One option is to fly to Madrid, where my mobile shack with a spare amplifier and transverter is stored at the airport. But I’m exhausted, and ticket prices over the next few days are outrageous—2-3 thousand euros.

I didn’t want to leave just yet, so I decided to check the reception without the additional foil over the aluminum tape. I peeled off all the top foil and took another sun noise reading—everything looked fine, still showing 8 dB sun/cold sky. Going forward, I might just stick with the aluminum tape instead of adding extra foil.

I started looking into rebooking my flights and began packing up the equipment, but something in me didn’t want to give up yet. I decided to take one last look. Sometimes fortune favors those who persist.

I pressed the “Tune” button in WSJTx, and something seemed off… I repeated it a few times, and there it was—something was clearly wrong. I noticed the LED on the optocoupler key wasn’t lighting up, meaning there was no PTT signal. I ran over to the little device sitting under a palm tree and realized the problem: the 2 AAA batteries in the key were dead. At the start of transmission, there was PTT, but after 5-7 seconds, the batteries would give out, ending the transmission. The key had been drained by round-the-clock HF work in FT8, chewing through the batteries in less than a month.

I quickly swapped in fresh batteries, and everything started working perfectly again. Unfortunately, it was already MS time in Europe, but I managed to make a couple of QSOs before the window closed:

2024-11-08, 20:40:00, K5DN, 1296.100994, Q65, -19, -21

2024-11-08, 21:34:35, EA8DBM, 1296.100994, Q65, -19, -21

Total QSOs: 35

Tomorrow, I’ll be active from moonrise for those who still haven’t worked me—this will be the last chance. After that, I’ll spend the evening packing up the suitcases, and in the morning, I’ll catch the ferry to FS, where I’ll stay until November 13.

+++++++++++

Rainy and a bit windy this morning, with moonrise not until noon. I spent the morning double-checking everything and fixing up the foil. Sun/sky noise came in at 8 dB, transmission at 200 watts with an SWR of 1.07—everything looks good. I’ll start transmitting in 30-second cycles, and if the amplifier holds up without shutting off, I’ll try switching to the usual 60-second C mode.

With a few hours left until moonrise, I jumped on HF for a bit. Although there are plenty of operators here, it seems many haven’t been uploading logs to LoTW, so I’m taking the opportunity to “fill in the gaps” whenever I can.

As soon as moonrise hit, we got off to a quick start with QSOs, beginning with 30-second cycles. After working through all the Big Guns, I carefully switched to full minute cycles, and everything held up perfectly—surprisingly smooth!

I managed to work everyone except Gennady ES3RF, whose moon was a bit too low, stuck among the pines. Considering he recently switched to the QRP EME subgroup, I couldn’t receive him, even though he was able to decode me. I’m now waiting for KB2SA, who should be up in about an hour, and then I’ll start packing up.

Total for today: 24 QSOs in the log.

2024-11-09,17:20:30,2024-11-09,17:22:00,DL4DTU,,1296.100994,Q65,-17,-21,,,,
2024-11-09,17:24:00,2024-11-09,17:24:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.100994,Q65,-10,-12,,,,
2024-11-09,17:24:00,2024-11-09,17:27:00,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.100994,Q65,-21,-22,,,,

2024-11-09,17:28:00,2024-11-09,17:29:17,DF3RU,JN59,1296.100994,Q65,-24,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,17:31:00,2024-11-09,17:31:00,OK1UGA,JO80,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-21,,,,
2024-11-09,17:35:03,2024-11-09,17:35:03,SP5GDM,,1296.100994,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-11-09,17:35:00,2024-11-09,17:38:00,YL2GD,,1296.100994,Q65,-22,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,17:38:00,2024-11-09,17:40:00,PA9RX,,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-19,,,,
2024-11-09,17:40:00,2024-11-09,17:42:00,F4KLO,JN18,1296.100994,Q65,-17,-16,,,,
2024-11-09,17:51:00,2024-11-09,17:56:10,IK7EZN,JN90,1296.100994,Q65,-22,-24,,,,
2024-11-09,18:01:00,2024-11-09,18:06:00,DL8FBD,JO40,1296.100994,Q65,-24,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,18:10:00,2024-11-09,18:10:00,DK4RC,,1296.100994,Q65,-10,-13,,,,
2024-11-09,18:11:00,2024-11-09,18:16:00,DF2VJ,JN39,1296.100994,Q65,-25,-23,,,,
2024-11-09,18:26:00,2024-11-09,18:26:00,IK2CDI,,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-11-09,18:25:00,2024-11-09,18:27:01,PA1PS,JO21,1296.100994,Q65,-19,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,18:27:00,2024-11-09,18:33:56,LZ4FR,,1296.100994,Q65,-21,-21,,,,
2024-11-09,18:24:00,2024-11-09,18:25:35,PA7JB,JO22,1296.100994,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-11-09,18:36:00,2024-11-09,18:38:46,SV3AAF,KM17,1296.100994,Q65,-18,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,18:38:00,2024-11-09,18:44:00,DL1SUZ,JO53,1296.100994,Q65,-24,-25,,,,
2024-11-09,19:00:11,2024-11-09,19:00:39,DK3WG,JO72,1296.100994,Q65,-25,-30,,,,
2024-11-09,19:11:00,2024-11-09,19:14:00,ON5GS,,1296.100994,Q65,-20,-17,,,,
2024-11-09,19:15:00,2024-11-09,19:18:00,OT7K,,1296.100994,Q65,-15,-17,,,,
2024-11-09,19:50:00,2024-11-09,20:00:04,DL1AT,JO61,1296.100994,Q65,-25,-23,,,,

2024-11-09,22:05:56,2024-11-09,22:05:56,KB2SA,DM13,1296.100994,Q65,-22,-24,,,,

Total : 59 QSO

Big thank you to everyone who has supported me, and donated:

Bob KB2SA

Al W5LUA

Jac PA3DZL

Paul W2HRO

Aldo IK3COJ