Transcript Northern Venezuela

43 Verticals on the
Beach
The Hopes, Plans and
Misadventures
of the 1999 4M7X DXpedition
By Dean Straw, N6BV
Visalia International DX
Convention, April 27, 2002
Flush with our 6Y2A CQWW
CW Multi-Multi victory in 1998,
Team Vertical set out to beat our
own record in 1999...
6Y2A, Jamaica
We had almost 18,000 QSOs in
1998 from 6Y2A — But a lot were
with the USA, worth only 2 points
in the CQWW contest.
To Beat the 6Y2A Record
We had to move where:
• European, USA and Japanese QSOs
would each be worth 3 points.
• Logistics wouldn’t be overwhelming for
Team Vertical — That pretty much left
out Africa.
• Luckily, some team members had
extensive experience in Venezuela.
It’s 1000 Miles from 6Y2A to 4M7X, but it’s
Three-Point Territory
The Advantages of Verticals Over
Saltwater -- the 6Y2A Experience
• Low elevation angles are critical,
especially on the lower bands.
The Advantages of Verticals Over
Saltwater -- the 6Y2A Experience
• Higher angles are important also.
Our Goal: 2 dB More Gain on
Each HF Band, 10 to 80 Meters,
Compared to 6Y2A Antennas
• We have learned that each additional
2 dB opens up another layer of callers.
Covering All Azimuths
• The 6Y2A arrays were fixed in azimuth.
• At 4M7X, we needed steerable vertical
arrays with more gain.
• On 80 and 40 meters we chose FourSquare arrays, using Comtek boxes.
• On 20/15/10 meters we wanted even
more gain than a Four-Square.
The “Cross-5” Array
Disabled
Europe
Director
0.2 
0.2 
Common Driven Element
0.2 
Reflector
0.2 
Disabled
Symmetrical array, with a common Driven
Element. The Cross-5 uses half-wave
vertical dipoles (HVDs).
Cross-5 Switching
from N6BV Engineering Notebook
Cross-5 Truth
Table
from N6BV
Engineering
Notebook
Cross-5 Array
• Peak Gain over saltwater is 12.3 dBi.
• F/R is modest: 11dB, which is OK.
• Covers all needed elevation angles well.
We Compete with Stations Using
Stacked Horizontal Yagis on the
20/15/10-Meter Bands
• Gain of 15-16 dBi for stacks is common.
• Cross-5 alone won’t be competitive,
except at really low elevation angles.
• Vertically stacking vertical arrays is
physically very difficult!
What to do?
• Stack ‘em! Side-by-side with “Sidecars.”
(When pointing to
JA, the Europe
Sidecar is out of
circuit.)
1
JA “Sidecar”
1
Cross-5
Europe “Sidecar”
Now the stacked Gain is a very respectable 15.2 dBi. We had
11 elements each on 20, 15 and 10 meters.
Aiming the Antennas
Japan
Europe
USA
Feeding Cross-5 and Sidecars
JA
Sidecar
Cross-5
WX0B
Stackmatch
Phasing
Line
EU Sidecar
Phasing
Line
RF
Azimuth Control
A Very Narrow Pattern Results
• Combined Cross-5 + Sidecar has a 35° 3-dB
Beamwidth — We called this a “Superbeam.”
Oh, by the Way...
• When the azimuths to Europe and
Japan aren’t exactly 90° apart, you’ve
got to fiddle with the phasing lines to
make them aim in exactly the right
directions. (Remember how narrow they
are?)
• We leave that exercise to the student.
Other Nearby Radiators Affect the
Pattern Some
Cross-5 affected
by Sidecars —
Note that this
happens for
almost all ham
installations with
nearby arrays.
Detailed Patterns to Europe/Africa
Detailed Patterns to USA/Japan
We Had Some Killer Antennas
on Paper
Now we had to find a great place to
put them!
We OriginallyPlanned on
Operating from the Venezuelan
Mainland
• But the distances from the operating
positions to the antennas were > 1000’.
• Logistics getting there were difficult.
• We didn’t have local friends at the
chosen location.
So We Chose a Promising New
Location on Coche Island,
off Margarita Island
• We had local contacts, especially in
Customs, and local friends.
• A new hotel was being finished at a
fantastic radio QTH, on the salt flats.
• Coax runs to the antennas would be
reasonable.
4M7X on Coche Island, Venezuela
Margarita Island
Coche Island
4M7X
Local Layout
Mult.
Antennas
160
40
10
15
20
80
80 RX
160 RX
Margarita ~ 5 miles to the
North
Coche
Island
Getting to Coche Island
 SFO to Miami (American Airlines)
 Miami to Margarita Island
(Aeropostal Airlines)
 Margarita to Coche Island (by boat)
A VeryWet Dave & Ralph
NT1N
K9ZO
Hurricane Lenny Creates Hazardous Seas
Uh, Senõr, We Have a Little
Problem at the Hotel...
• Uh, they didn’t quite finish building it…
• And there is no power...
• And there are no windows or doors...
Team Vertical Presses On
Real Contesters will not be denied!
• We hire and transport (at great
expense, with a big truck) a 70 kVA
diesel generator from the main island.
• We rewire the hotel — good thing
OSHA wasn’t watching.
• We find accommodations at a nearby
hotel, full of German tourists.
Electrical Distribution & Antenna
Patch Panel
No Doors, No Windows, No Wiring...
220 VAC Wiring
High
Band
Shack
Low
Band
Shack
Antenna Patch
Panel
El Oasis Hotel & Generator
Operating Area
Goat Guano
70 kVA Diesel Generator
Building the Antennas
20-meter HVDs
(Halfwave Vertical Dipoles)
160-m 2-ElementVertical Array
Same 57’ Elements as 6Y2A
15/40 Mult Yagi
Goat
Pen
Reflector
Driven
80-m Four-Square Vertical Array
Same 37’ Elements as 6Y2A
Notice the Cinder-Block Guy
Anchors -- These Would Lead to
Lots of Problems Later...
40-m ZR Four-Square Array
Same 15’ Elements as 6Y2A
Driftwood prop for
160-m radial
40 m
10 m JA
“Sidecar”
15-m Array and Margarita Island
20/15/10-m Arrays Each Had 11 Elements
JA Sidecar
Cross 5
Eu. Sidecar
Relay box,
1of 4 per
Cross-5
Flooded Beach, 10-m Array
Yes, That is Indeed Saltwater
Vertical Heaven!
Through aVertical Forest, Darkly
160 m
20 m
20 m
10 m
160 m
40 m
10-m Relay Box
Notice the salt water
Moon Over the Vertical Patch
4M7X Antenna Summary
Antenna Design Goal: Increase Gain by 2 dB on 10-80 m
Compared to 6Y2A
160 m: 2-Ele. 57’ Vertical Array, Fixed on Europe
80 m: 4-Square, 37’ Linear-Loaded Elements, Comtek Box
40 m: 4-Square, 15’ 40-ZR verticals, Comtek Box
20 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch
15 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch
10 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch
43 Vertical Elements for Team Vertical !!
Multiplier Antennas: 10/20-m Yagi @ 20’, 15/40-m Yagi @ 20’
Rx: Low dipoles for 160/80 m
4M7X and Local
Crew of El Oasis
de Coche
We Ran Into a Few More Problems
• We couldn’t find good solid anchors for
antenna guy ropes. We used concrete block
anchors, to our regret later.
• The 40-m station absolutely killed all other
bands — even at 5 W output.
• Storms brewed up, bad for guy anchors
and really bad for lightning bolts.
• The goats kept getting out and the
“supersonic mosquitos” were amazing.
Troubleshooting 40-m Interference
Luckily, we had dozens of ferrite chokes
40 m
10 m
K2KW
10 m
NT1N
High Band
Control
Cables
So, Did the Antennas Work?
• They worked very well, while they
were vertical. We had outstanding
reports from the USA and Europe
before the contest started.
• Just prior to the opening gun we
were pumped! Tired, but pumped.
Some of the Guys...
YV5AMH
Dick
N6BV
N6BT
K9ZO
YV5EED
W4SO
Lunch at the El Oasis Hotel
El Oasis Transportation
80-Meter Station
K9ZO
WA5VGI
40-Meter Station
NT1N
“Modified”
Cellular Packet
High-Band Shack
Our Creed!
20 M
15 Mult
10 M
15 M
High-Band Shack
KE7X
AG9A
15 Mult
15 M
10 M
Super Beam
Controller
20 M
Then the Contest Started
• The contest started out quite well.
• By 0844 Z, 80-meters reports “GENNY
WET AND COUGHING.” This is not good.
• We also have several great lightning
shows — right in the antenna field!
• By late afternoon we finally locate a diesel
repair man from the nearby fishing village.
“Modified” 70 kVA Generator
Gravity-Fed Fuel Tank
Goat
Guano
Goat
Guano
Fuel Return
Did I Mention That it Really
Stormed Hard?
• 15/40 multiplier antennas fell down 4 times.
• At end of contest on 20 meters, 2 verticals
were left standing, out of 11.
• We lost more than half our antennas to the
wind, and to the surf that came over the low
seawall.
• We lost at least 6 prime-time hours due to
the generator.
15/40 Yagi...After the Winds
KE7X
AD6E
Gimme a Break…What Now?
Jay Says the Warranty Doesn’t
Cover Saltwater Immersion...
Still, We Didn’t Do That Badly
4M7X Results
Band
QSOs
Points
Pts/QSO
Zones
Mult.
160
650
1917
2.95
23
62
80
1639
4863
2.97
28
98
40
3251
9664
2.97
38
130
20
3372
10010
2.97
40
145
15
3669
10868
2.96
40
154
10
3504
10323
2.95
36
133
--------------------------------------------------Totals 16085
47645
2.96
205
722 =>
44,166,915
We beat our own 1998 6Y2A record — but so
did the competition, in spades!
BREAKDOWN QSO/mults
HOUR
160
4M7X
80
CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST
40
20
15
Multi Multi
10
HR TOT
CUM TOT
40m rate averaged 200/hr for first 7 hours
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
59/19
51/7
67/4
60/6
64/8
55/8
44/2
19/3
17/2
15/2
1/2
.
.
.
.
.
.....
.
.
.
.
.
2/0
19/1
100/39
95/14
92/11
139/6
89/5
99/1
114/6
83/5
53/5
49/4
26/1
1/0
.
.
.
.
.....
.
.
.
.
.
6/2
23/2
196/48
199/8
213/13
228/7
213/8
187/8
174/10
135/6
116/10
88/3
82/1
34/1
12/0
.
.
.
.....
.
.
2/1
50/8
31/0
6/2
80/1
199/46
181/25
205/11
176/12
154/6
66/12
119/11
46/4
9/0
64/6
59/0
56/4
31/0
35/1
16/1
9/2
19/2
77/2
107/0
139/6
95/6
25/0
15/0
70/2
177/33
152/12
152/7
48/7
13/6
9/2
4/1
.
.....
5/7
125/33
160/7
85/6
115/9
156/11
154/3
112/5
119/4
114/1
169/2
128/4
40/0
18/0
54/3
34/24
23/12
21/7
13/6
25/9
18/2
5/0
.
.....
1/1
116/29
187/13
119/1
137/10
154/6
145/8
112/4
211/4
237/6
203/0
163/6
9/4
1/0
2/0
765/209
701/78
750/53
664/44
558/42
434/33
460/30
283/18
195/17
222/23
409/66
438/25
247/7
287/20
326/18
308/13
243/11
407/10
458/7
513/9
436/24
105/4
48/4
248/9
765/209
1466/287
2216/340
2880/384
3438/426
3872/459
4332/489
4615/507
4810/524
5032/547
5441/613
5879/638
6126/645
6413/665
6739/683
7047/696
7290/707
7697/717
8155/724
8668/733
9104/757
9209/761
9257/765
9505/774
After the Contest, we Finally
Could Relax
• We could sit in the sun, reflecting on the
joys of camaraderie and sticking to a
task, no matter the obstacles.
• We had some great rates, when the
generator was working and while the
antennas were still standing!
• So, we really did have lots of fun,
really... Who knows, we may do it again!
Local Flora and Fauna: “Toukee”
the Toucan
A Feathered Bombadier
“Toukee” Loved to Party...
Drinking from N6BT’s Cup
Dinner at Coche Speed Paradise
KE7X
K2KW
YV5AMH
AG9A
N6TV
N6BV
Relaxing by the Pool
Feet, Courtesy N6BT
Look in the Sky — Is it a Bird? A Plane?
No, it’s Team Vertical!!
Actually, we’re all soaked from the boat ride, and standing
in a windy area to dry off.
4M7X Sponsors:
 Force 12 Antennas
 Groupo DX
Caracas
 QRO Technologies
 Comtek Systems
 Array Solutions
 Nemal Electronics
Special Thanks to Our
Venezuelan Friends!
Without these guys, we would have had a
much tougher time
• Ramon, YV5EED
• Reinaldo, YV5AMH
• Vincent, YV7QD
• Ivan, the electrician
And my personal thanks to Kenny, K2KW, for his help in
preparing this presentation and for being the leader of the
DXpedition.
43 Verticals on the
Beach
The Hopes, Plans and
Misadventures
of the 1999 4M7X DXpedition
By Dean Straw, N6BV
Visalia International DX
Convention, April 27, 2002