V63TXF

V6 - Federated States of Micronesia

V63SXW - V63TXF : 27 Aug - 3 Sep 2003

Roger G3SXW and Nigel G3TXF operated as V63SXW and V63TXF from Yap (OC-012) from Wed 27 Aug to Wed 3 Sep 2003. Nigel G3TXF also made a side-trip to the relatively rare IOTA OC-078 (Ulithi Atoll - Falalop Island) between Fri 29 Aug and Sun 31 Aug from where he operated as V63TXF/p. [Click for "CDXC Digest" article on V63 - V63/p]

80m	40m	30m	20m	17m	15m	12m	10m	Total QSOs
V63SXW	V63SXW	V63TXF	V63SXW	V63TXF	V63SXW	V63TXF	V63SXW	Combined
212	1,622	1,130	3,643	1,928	2,117	42	106	10,800

Latest DX-Trip QSL Statistics

Photo (R) V63SXW :

QSL via G3SXW

Photo (L) V63TXF :

QSL via G3TXF

The analysis by continent of the 10,800 QSOs made from Yap was : EU 64.6%, Asia 23.1%, NAm 10.6%, SAm 0.6%, Africa 0.3% and Oceania 7%. The QTH on Yap had salt-water take-off to the North straight across a small lagoon.

Nigel G3TXF and Roger G3SXW having a lunch break at the restaurant in the ESA Bay View Hotel, Yap.

With all the bands closing about one hour after sunrise, i.e at about 22z, the daily routine was to work V63SXW and V63TXF pile-ups all night and then to go to sleep at about 22z (8a.m local time) and to wake up in time for a late lunch.

The bands would start coming to life again during the mid-afternoon local time i.e at about 05z.

The jugs on the table contain iced-tea. We drank a lot of iced-tea on this trip!

There is only a limited amount of accommodation available on Yap. There are no hotels at all on the north or west side of the island, which would be best for working Europe.

However after surveying every hotel on the island, we finally selected the ESA Bay View Hotel because it edges directly onto a salt-water lagoon and provided a salt-water take-off towards the North. The prime directions from Yap are North-West for Europe and North-East for the USA. Japan lies directly to the North.

We learned from the hotel manager (Ms Debra Alfonso) that the ESA Bay View Hotel has been used on a number of occasions by visiting radio amateurs. We are able to put our antennas up without any problems.

There was a small garden behind the ESA Bay View Hotel which is built out over the lagoon.

We were able to install the HF6V vertical antenna which V63SXW used on 80-40-20-15-10m and the WARC trap vertical which V63TXF used on 30-17-12m, directly at the water's edge.

This photo shows the WARC vertical with its six radials hanging directly over the salt-water. The direction of the horizon in the photo is to the North-West and Europe. Although the horizon is not particularly low, there was several hundred yards of salt-water in the direction of Europe which would have helped the signals in that direction. The direction for the USA had a similar aspect but towards the North-East. Propagation was generally better for Europe than for the USA from Yap.

Photo left : This aerial photo (taken on the flight back from Falalop) shows the lagoon and the location of the ESA Bay View Hotel.

The hotel lies just on the left hand side of lagoon which is enclosed by the narrow bridge which can be seen crossing the eastern end of the lagoon.

The main commercial area (i.e the one bank and a few shops) of Yap are on the piece of land sticking out into the sea in the foreground of the photo. The far side of the island of Yap (i.e the west coast of the island) can be seen in the distance.

The view across the lagoon towards the USA. The WARC vertical is to the left of the photo. Some of the six radials (two per band) can be seen strung between the base of the vertical and the railings. The whole 'garden' area of the hotel was suspended over the salt-water of the lagoon.

Although the two vertical antennas were only about 40ft apart there was not too much interference. DuneStar filters had been taken, and any small traces of inter-station QRM were soon sorted out by the filters.

Both stations were running 100w rigs :
V63SXW TS-570D and V63TXF TS-50

A spare IC-706G, which had been loaned by Ian G3WVG, was taken along in case of breakdown. In the event there were no problems with either of the rigs, and Ian's IC-706G just came along for the ride!

Back to G3TXF Main Page