Accommodations:
A DXpeditioner’s worse nightmare happened on this trip. I blew the finals in my Kenwood during the second day on the island. Fortunately I made 700 QSOs staying up the night before so at least I had something in my log. An odd quirk happened while I was out. When my laptop computer automatically went into screen saver mode, it keyed the COM port which caused the CT contesting software to key the rig. I don’t know how long it was keyed down, but when I got back to it, I had no power. The moral to the story is that you shouldn’t walk away from a rig with the VOX button pressed in.
Halcyon Cove Beach Resort
P.O. Box 251
St. Johns, Antigua, W.I.
(809) 462-0256
V2/WJ2O QSL Card
To get a license you had to go to the Public Works Building and ask for Micky Matthew. He is the Telecommunications Officer. He will give you an application to fill out (I had one in advance and had it all filled out). Although I declined, he was more than happy to issue a special V2 callsign. I told him about my experience of dropping his name at the airport which he got a chuckle out of.
He fills out a license and then you have to go to another office that is a couple of blocks away and pay the fee. It is called the Inland Revenue Department that looked to more more like the Department of Motor Vehicles office that you are used to seeing in the states. They charged me $25.00 EC (amount $9.00 US) and sent me on my way.
Equipment:
Kenwood TS-940 Transceiver
Yaesu FL-7000 Amplifier
Tandy 1400 HD Laptop Computer
Heathkit Micromatic Keyer
Butternut Vertical
This was supposed to be my first DX contest experience with an amplifier, however, I turned into a QRP entrant real fast. I re-routed the output of the Kenwood exciter board and connected it directly to the antenna so at least I had a few hundred milliwatts. The contest was a bore with only 59 contacts and QST incorrectly listed my results as low power and not QRP. Anyway, I won the low power category for V2
During the following week I got on from time to time. I was very amazed at home many people could hear me with such a pip-squeak amount of power. I made another 300 contacts.
Customs:
The customs official asked me the standard question, “How do I know you are going to take this equipment back out with you?” I said, “I will come back and see you on the day I leave.” I knew that there wasn’t anyway I could find this guy again. He said, “You have to have a license for this sort of thing.” “Yes, I have to see Micky Matthew (V2AR) tomorrow to get my license,” I responded while showing him my letter from Micky. “You know Micky Matthew…go right ahead.”