V26AM (FK97) Antigua and Barbuda

From October 27 to November 1, I will be operating from Antigua using the callsign V26AM.

I’m hoping the noise conditions will be more manageable than what I experienced in Montserrat, where a working radar and a powerful geomagnetic storm on the second day severely impacted reception. Such disturbances are immediately noticeable on a small setup.

My signal-to-noise ratio may have degraded due to a faulty phase coaxial cable and mismatched adapters, but I am hopeful the situation isn’t critical. Paul W2HRO has sent replacements, but I need to pick them up in Puerto Rico, scheduled as the final stop on my itinerary. However, if conditions deteriorate significantly, I may have to make the trip sooner.

The flight itself was alright, although the airline charged me a hefty fee for excess baggage. Fortunately, my luggage arrived with me and everything was intact—no delays until tomorrow. Customs and passport control were quick and friendly, which was a relief compared to a previous encounter with a customs officer in the BVI who inexplicably demanded to see my onward tickets from Puerto Rico to Madrid. I’m still puzzled by how BVI’s regulations relate to Antigua, the States, and Spain.

The location is in the southern part of the island, roughly 40 minutes from the airport. So far, the island has made a generally favorable impression: the roads are decent, infrastructure is well-developed, and there are plenty of shops and restaurants. It’s relatively clean, though the presence of armed guards everywhere and the relentless heat coupled with high humidity are somewhat taxing.

The QTH is adequate; the eastern and western views are somewhat obstructed by trees, but visibility clears beyond 5-7 degrees of elevation.

I managed to get halfway set up, installed the rotator with its controller, laid out everything, and extended the coax and data cables. However, the combination of 30°C temperatures and 100% humidity quickly drains my energy. I’ve decided not to rush the final connections and will finish them first thing in the morning to avoid any mistakes. No alarm clock for me tonight—I’ll start as soon as I wake up.

Apologies for any inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding!

On October 28, I couldn’t muster the energy to get up at 3 a.m. and continue assembling my setup, and as it turned out, it was for the best. Assembling the antenna involves lifting it almost vertically to let the “umbrella” open under gravity, which usually doesn’t require much force on the tightening brackets. The reinforced 10 mm fiberglass tubes are very springy, and the lever of the tightening mechanism has limited leverage, but I’ve refined the technique over time for both manual and rotator-controlled setups.

During the lift with the rotator at about 70 degrees, the plastic pin securing the rear tube with a 7 kg counterweight snapped. The tube, made of 1 cm thick-walled PVC designed for “high pressure”, slipped from the central pipe that holds the feed, caught on the end, and bent into an arc under the weight. Thankfully, the feed held and didn’t crash from a height of 3 meters.

For a makeshift repair, I had to repurpose one of the apartment’s hangers.

The jury-rigged setup of “sticks, dreams and shit” is holding up for now, but its durability is VERY questionable. I plan to head to St. John in the north, where it’s more urban, to find a suitable replacement in a pool equipment store.

After reassembling everything, I turned on the radio but got no reception. I checked the power supply on the LNA—no issues there. I swapped out the feed from a G4DDK to a German model—still nothing. After methodically testing all the adapter cables and finding no faults, I was stumped. An hour and a half running back and forth later, I realized the AGC was on —nearly two hours wasted due to being an IDIOT “understatement”!

To make up for lost time, I set up a telescopic rod for HF and a 100 watt amplifier to entertain others (and myself) when the moon isn’t available.

The site is currently quiet with no radar interference, but with only 2 dB of sun/sky noise, operating might prove challenging. Nonetheless, I’ll keep trying and update everyone via MR!

The moon emerged from behind a hill at about 5 degrees elevation, bathing us in clear air—fortunately, without any radar interference, which effectively rules out “internal QRM” as a potential issue.

However, the reception (RX) was abysmal, and the transmission (TX) wasn’t any better. Despite my efforts, OK1DFC couldn’t hear me. I then switched to using HB9Q, operating as if I were at a station with a 3-meter parabola and 300 watts. After managing the first three QSOs, I excused myself to replace the coupler and phase cables. When I returned an hour later, there was a slight improvement. Still, the log was limited to only the “Big Guns” and a few medium stations.

Total 16 QSO:

2024-10-29,08:34:00,2024-10-29,08:38:00,HB9Q,,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-24,,,,
2024-10-29,08:40:00,2024-10-29,08:46:00,OK1DFC,JN79,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-28,,,,
2024-10-29,08:50:00,2024-10-29,08:52:00,OK1KIR,JN79,1296.100999,Q65,-27,-25,,,,
2024-10-29,10:00:00,2024-10-29,10:02:00,NC1I,FN32,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-20,,,,
2024-10-29,10:02:00,2024-10-29,10:08:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-10-29,10:08:00,2024-10-29,10:12:00,UA3PTW,,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2024-10-29,10:13:00,2024-10-29,10:16:00,SM5DGX,,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2024-10-29,10:21:00,2024-10-29,10:24:00,DM2CFH,,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-21,,,,
2024-10-29,10:29:00,2024-10-29,10:32:00,DK4RC,,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-18,,,,
2024-10-29,10:33:00,2024-10-29,10:40:00,PA3DZL,,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-24,,,,
2024-10-29,10:43:00,2024-10-29,10:48:00,G4CCH,,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-21,,,,
2024-10-29,10:58:00,2024-10-29,11:04:00,PY2BS,GG66,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-21,,,,
2024-10-29,11:11:00,2024-10-29,11:14:00,SA6BUN,,1296.100999,Q65,-30,-23,,,,
2024-10-29,11:18:00,2024-10-29,11:44:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.100999,Q65,-30,-23,,,,
2024-10-29,11:58:01,2024-10-29,11:58:01,OK1UGA,JO80,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-25,,,,
2024-10-29,12:08:00,2024-10-29,12:08:00,DF3RU,JN59,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-24,,,,

After everyone who I could had worked was gone, I began checking the sun noise, which was a mere disaster at a maximum of 1.5 to 2 dB. I proceeded to check and recheck everything that could be adjusted.

The SWR of the feed was stable at 1.2 for both ports, and both phase cables were normal in terms of SWR and attenuation. Tomorrow at lunch, I’m flying to Puerto Rico to pick up a new feed and cables from Paul W2HRO and a new LNA from Peter AG6EE. I’ll be back by Thursday evening and should catch a couple of hours on Friday morning MR.

Paul sent a note with an intriguing idea: the fabric of the dish reflector is coated with silver, which is highly susceptible to sulfur. In an environment with high sulfur content, like that found on Montserrat due to its active volcano, the silver rapidly oxidizes, transforming from a conductor into a dielectric. This could have catastrophically worsened the reflective properties of the dish.

This reminded me of my first dish, purchased right before COVID hit. It sat unused for three years in Tenerife, during which time the volcano on La Palma erupted about 80 km away. When I finally used it in OH0, I never registered sun noise above 3 dB, even though similar 1.8 m dishes are reported to detect up to 5 dB.

If this theory holds, replacing the fabric with “Chicken Wire” might be an option, but there’s simply no time for that now.

Instead, I’ve decided to try covering the ribs with household aluminum foil as a quick fix before my next MR session. After a trip to the store and three hours of work, this makeshift beauty is ready for battle!!

Looks fantastically futuristic, doesn’t it?!!

In the morning, I overslept a bit and rushed outside—the crescent moon was already rising over the hills, and last night’s heavy rain and wind had even shifted the antenna on the tripod. But with the moon visible, I could still aim visually, so no big deal.

I checked the tent, finding only a little water at the bottom, but all the equipment stayed dry on its elevated spot…I’m learning! The connectors were also dry, so I went to grab the feed from the house—only to realize it wasn’t there.

Then it hit me: yesterday, when I started covering the dish with foil, I’d left the feed by the house, fully intending to bring it inside. But hours of pasting foil exhausted me, and I’d crashed into bed, completely forgetting the feed outside in the tropical rain.

There was nothing to do but pour out the rainwater from the feed and LNA. Thankfully, I’d seen a hair dryer somewhere in the house. This wouldn’t be my first time drying gear quickly—time to see how my “space antenna” would perform.

But, of course, nothing here is ever simple. I’m not sure what mix of plugs and adapters the owner uses, but here’s the scene: American sockets, an English adapter, a Dutch-plugged coffee maker, and a hair dryer with a European plug.

And the kicker: half of the house’s sockets run 110 volts, the other half 220. Lucky for me, I plugged the hair dryer into my European adapter, into an American socket, got hot air, and managed to dry the LNA with its relay and coupler (still couldn’t get the coffee maker to work, though!).

Disassembly, drying, reassembly—I’ve done this so often it’s practically automatic. In half an hour, the feed was installed, and the dreaded moment arrived: “plug and pray.” I’m thinking of making this the expedition’s motto.

The first caller comes in, and my eyes go wide: clear air, no radar clicks or QRM, and the faintest trace on the waterfall at -27 to -28 dB! It feels like my 2.4 m dish just got a major boost to 3.5 m. And for the first time, I can hear myself as well as I’m heard, sometimes even better. With the foil making the dish opaque, I now have to aim through the upper edge only. As soon as the sun rose, I adjusted the azimuth by 5 degrees to protect the feed from overheating and measured the sun/sky noise—an incredible 9 dB!

The QSO rate hit 10 per hour, which felt unbelievable; I think everyone active that morning made contact. Final tally: 36 QSOs today, bringing the total to 52 QSO.

2024-10-30,10:09:00,2024-10-30,10:12:00,PA9RX,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-10-30,10:11:00,2024-10-30,10:16:03,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-24,,,,
2024-10-30,10:17:00,2024-10-30,10:20:00,LZ4OC,KN33,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-26,,,,
2024-10-30,10:24:00,2024-10-30,10:24:00,ZS4TX,KG30,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-24,,,,
2024-10-30,10:30:00,2024-10-30,10:30:00,OK1IL,JN69,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-27,,,,
2024-10-30,10:30:00,2024-10-30,10:36:00,IK3COJ,JN65,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-20,,,,
2024-10-30,10:36:00,2024-10-30,10:40:00,RA4HL,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-21,,,,
2024-10-30,10:46:00,2024-10-30,10:46:00,UA9FAD,LO88,1296.100999,Q65,-29,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,10:46:00,2024-10-30,10:50:00,ZS6JON,KG33,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-23,,,,
2024-10-30,10:51:00,2024-10-30,10:56:00,F4KLO,JN18,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-19,,,,
2024-10-30,10:55:00,2024-10-30,11:00:00,PA0BAT,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-23,,,,
2024-10-30,11:01:00,2024-10-30,11:12:00,DL8FBD,JO40,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-27,,,,
2024-10-30,11:16:00,2024-10-30,11:20:00,LZ4FR,KN13,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,11:20:00,2024-10-30,11:24:00,RD4D,,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-10-30,11:44:00,2024-10-30,11:44:00,CT1FFU,,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,11:46:00,2024-10-30,11:46:00,DK3WG,JO72,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,11:46:00,2024-10-30,11:52:00,G4YTL,IO92,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,11:52:00,2024-10-30,11:58:00,PA7JB,JO22,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-24,,,,
2024-10-30,11:58:00,2024-10-30,12:02:00,SP5GDM,KO02,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,12:03:00,2024-10-30,12:06:00,OT7K,,1296.100999,Q65,-16,-17,,,,
2024-10-30,12:06:00,2024-10-30,12:10:00,DG0FE,,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-22,,,,
2024-10-30,12:10:00,2024-10-30,12:14:00,ON5GS,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-17,,,,
2024-10-30,12:15:00,2024-10-30,12:18:00,G0LBK,,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-10-30,12:20:00,2024-10-30,12:24:00,DL7UDA,,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-21,,,,
2024-10-30,12:27:00,2024-10-30,12:30:00,K5DOG,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,12:31:00,2024-10-30,12:34:00,SP7EXY,,1296.100999,Q65,-18,-22,,,,
2024-10-30,12:33:00,2024-10-30,12:38:00,IK2DDR,,1296.100999,Q65,-18,-21,,,,
2024-10-30,12:43:00,2024-10-30,12:46:00,NC1I,FN32,1296.100999,Q65,-10,-14,,,,
2024-10-30,12:48:00,2024-10-30,12:52:00,N5TM,EL29,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2024-10-30,13:10:00,2024-10-30,13:10:00,W5LUA,EM13,1296.100999,Q65,-16,-20,,,,
2024-10-30,13:22:00,2024-10-30,13:22:00,N1AV,DM43,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2024-10-30,13:25:00,2024-10-30,13:28:00,W2HRO,FN20,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-26,,,,
2024-10-30,13:37:00,2024-10-30,13:40:00,EA8DBM,IL18OH,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,13:44:00,2024-10-30,13:46:00,OK2DL,JN79,1296.100999,Q65,-11,-18,,,,
2024-10-30,15:22:00,2024-10-30,15:30:00,VE6TA,DO33,1296.101025,Q65,-30,-25,,,,
2024-10-30,17:28:00,2024-10-30,17:28:00,KB2SA,DM13,1296.101025,Q65,-25,-28,,,,

After the initial rush of QSOs, I took a moment to check over everything. With the antenna’s aluminum foil covering working better than expected, I could finally focus on making adjustments without worrying about reception issues. The difference was night and day; the new setup made the entire process smoother and more efficient.

However, despite the improvement, I was still on edge. With every QSO, I kept glancing at the feed, wondering if it would hold up under the intense sun. The aluminum foil had transformed the dish into a kind of DIY “heat magnet,” so I had to keep making small azimuth tweaks to avoid overheating the feed. But for now, everything was holding up—and the setup, while makeshift, seemed to be working miracles.

The atmosphere stayed clear, with no sign of radar interference or QRM. Every signal came through sharp and clean. The “plug and pray” moment earlier had paid off, and I was steadily logging contacts, both “Big Guns” and even a few smaller stations that usually struggled to get through.

Around midday, I paused to check the sun noise again, and it held steady at an impressive 9 dB. For a setup that had me scrambling to make last-minute adjustments just the day before, this was better than I could have hoped for.

By the end of the day, I had logged another batch of QSOs, pushing the total up to 52. Despite the challenges, the modifications were proving themselves, and for the first time, it felt like the expedition might go according to plan.

Looking ahead, I’ll keep an eye on the setup to make sure it holds up in the coming days. If this keeps up, the aluminum foil “upgrade” might become a staple for future expeditions.

After quite an adventure—including a cancelled return flight from Puerto Rico to Antigua that rerouted me through New York—I finally have all the essential spare parts from W2HRO and AG6EE.

However, a new issue has cropped up: the feed holder partially melted, which means I won’t be able to get on the moon in the morning. Paul quickly sent spare holders to PJ7 (for which I’m very grateful), but it’s unclear when they will arrive in St. Martin. Tomorrow, I’ll attempt a temporary fix by gluing the old holder to keep PJ7/EA8DBM operational.

Many thanks to everyone who’s offered their support:

• OK1DFC

• AG6EE

• W2HRO