A Week in Paradise
Paradise Island is a highly developed and commercial small island just over a short bridge from Nassau. Many people don’t know that Nassau is not the name of the Bahamian Island, it is the major city on the island called New Providence.
This was my very first Dxpedition (if you don’t count Canada). I didn’t know what to expect. We were on the 13th floor of the hotel. I used a set of Hustler Mobile whips which I mounted to the iron hand rail on the balcony. Don’t laugh, they worked great! To make a band change I had to unclamp the mast, pull it in, unscrew one whip, screw on another and re-clamp. Needless to say, I did not fill requests to QSY to another band during the contest.
The best food I ever found anywhere in the Caribbean by a wide margin was in Nassau and on Paradise Island. The service outside the hotel however was very typical Caribbean, “Oh . . . You wanted your food tonight?” If you’ve never had it before, be sure to try Conch Salad. By the way, it’s pronounced ‘konk’.
Getting a License
They have an application that should be filled out and sent along with photocopies of your birth certificate and FCC license. Also enclose the annual fee of $6.00 US (which also happens to be $6.00 Bahamian). The address is:Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation
P.O. Box N-3048
Nassau, Bahamas
Tel: 809-323-4911
Fax: 809-326-7474
Locally the licensing authority is known as Batelco for short. The application is available from either them or the ARRL.
Kenwood TS-940 Transceiver
Tandy 1400 HD Laptop Computer
Heathkit Micromatic Keyer
Hustler mobile whips
Customs
On New Providence Island I made the mistake of joking with the customs official. He asked, “What do you plan to do with this equipment while on our island?” I replied, “Have a good time!” He was not amused. I was given a card to fill out declaring the values of my transceiver and computer. Mistake #2 was that I put down close to true values. He made me post a bond of 50% of the value which came to $1500! I whined that it would leave me with no money to spend during my stay but also did not impress him. (See my comments on handling customs in the section on Jamaica).