Molokai - December 2012
Yesterday, Judy and I flew from New Hampshire to Molokai, Hawaii to visit our daughter, Catherine.
We are staying at a friend’s house while the owner is away. The place is stunning. Think of a classic
South Pacific getaway… and this is it! Today I made two QSOs… one with California and one with
Japan. Operating here is SO different from being portable in New Hampshire.
Before leaving I had mailed a box containing the HB-1B, the Par
End-Fedz tuner and wire, a lithium battery, and accessories. Late last evening I ran a 33 foot wire vertically from a palm tree. I didn’t
have any luck. 20 meters had already gone to bed. I used a 66 foot wire to try 40 meters. No luck
there either.
There are a few problems. First we’re roughly 3000 miles from the nearest land. There aren’t a whole
lot of signals. Secondly, we’re surrounded by hills and have no access to the horizon accept for an
opening of about 35 degrees toward the Southeast. I have to relearn a few things.
This afternoon I strung the 33 foot wire as a sloper to a palm tree. The wind has been nearly 40 MPH
and it’s pretty wild. The wire is bobbing up and down. Anyway, just before lunch I tuned around
20 meters. After trying a dozen weaker stations, I finally made a QSO. KB6VSE was calling CQ
and he was strong. Steve in California gave me a 449. He was running 75W to a doublet, and was
599. I was encouraged.
Right after lunch, I tried again. This time I heard 7L1WII calling CQ from Japan. He gave me a 559
and I gave him a 579. Now, I am elated. I know there’s hope for making some more contacts over the
next several days here.
