St. Thomas, USVI
March 2011 CQ WW WPX SSB contestI returned to the same villa I used in 2010 to win my category (SOSB 15m). The 2011 effort was SOSB 10m. A 3-element 10m yagi made from Buddipole parts was used as pictured below:
I had a score of 129,762 from 355 QSOs and 178 prefix/multipliers. The US Virgin Islands (KP2) did not have a 10m SOSB QRP record so I'll hold that when the contest results are released (along with the 15m SOSB QRP record I set last year).
Prior to and after the contest I was on 10-20m SSB and PSK31. The bands other than 10m used a standard mini-Buddipole setup (with an extra couple of arms) mounted on an 8-foot shock-cord mast as shown below:
Logs were uploaded to LoTW, eQSL, and ClubLog daily throughout the trip. QSL to my home call (I'm good on QRZ.com).
An audio sample from the contest (supplied by RIch, AB1HD) appears below. It is between me (KP2/NE1RD) and K2DLS at 22:17Z on 26 March 2011 as heard from Chelmsford, MA (Rich's home). It is getting late in the day and 10m is starting to get a bit ragged but I'm still readable.
NE1RD on CQ WW WPX
I was able to complete Worked All States from KP2 on this trip.
St. Thomas, USVI
March 2010 CQ WW WPX SSB contest
The results from the contest are:
778 QSOs, 382 multipliers for a total of 639,086 points.
There was no previous 15m QRP single band record for the US Virgin Islands.
The North American record for 15m QRP Phone was 544,808.
This should be a new North American record and put me 3rd all-time in the world for this category.
The QSL cards have been printed. I am now fulfilling QSL requests.
Two element 15m beam made entirely from Buddipole parts. The first 50 or so QSOs during the antenna testing netted Hawaii, the Isle of Man, Poland, Itally, Slovenia, France, Germay, Romania, Sweden, and more. The antenna is mounted on an 8 foot mast. The deck is about 180 feet above sea level.
We are returning to the US Virgin Islands March 23-31, 2010 for a little R&R and to participate in the CQ WW WPX SSB contest. We've secured the villa Seabright in Peterborg, beautifully situated on a long peninsula on the Northern side of the island. There should be clear shots to both North American and Europe from this location. I will operate as KP2/NE1RD both QRP and low power. I would like to be QRP in the contest, but I will not make that decision until contest start time, and it will depend on propagation conditions and noise levels. This will be a 100 Pound DXpedition and will use Buddipole Antennas exclusively.
St. John, USVI
March 2006 ARRL DX SSB contest
The first official 100 Pound DXpedition was in March of 2007 to St. John in the US Virgin Islands for the ARRL DX SSB contest. We rented a villa with a guest house. The guest house was quickly converted into the radio shack (some shack!). My goals for the trip were modest: make 500 QSOs in the contest and have fun. I did both.
Not long after the trip I began to organize my thoughts for these efforts and documented them in my blog The 100 Pound DXpedition. The blog was finalized in late 2007 after nearly 400 entries.