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Belize - A Ham Dxpedition, the Easy Way |
Cal White V31EA and Nancy Kott V31AN  Requirements for the “easy” DXpedition:1) A near perfect climate - nice beach 2) Friendly native people 3) Superb food and accommodation 4) Exotic things to do when not hamming. 5) A complete ham shack setup - you only need to bring yourself All of the above are available in Placencia, Belize. Bob Fox, V31MD, has just that place for rent. Our DXpedition headquartered there. TDXS / FISTS Straight Key Dxpedition
Background
Murphy pays a visit I brought an IC7000. Marshall Emm of Morse Express and GHD Keys donated two model 502 keys to celebrate the Morse code traditions. Now, many of you say, “I can use a straight key.” HOWEVER, try it for six hours a day, seven days straight and it will grow on you. Having the premium keys to use made it easy. Yes, there really is a difference between a J-38 and the GHD 502, like driving an army jeep and a Rolls Royce. Off-duty found the Queen Bee of FISTS snorkeling and shopping for black coral jewelry. Other off time was occupied by the Monkey River, Mayan Ruins, the magnificent beach and pool at Saks. Her following kept asking for her - we did not let her off easy (yes we gave her up) They will probably “roast” her on the return. I sit writing this under a thatched roof hut at sea side, with no one else in sight - about as close to paradise as I care to be at this stage of life. The first of the week got us all in shape for the contest. Lots of DX and many QSO’s with our home club members. The FISTS contest brought out many new contacts. Straight key work is more time consuming so we were very happy with the numbers. Our week QSO count is over 2000. Not Mega numbers but believe me, that’s a lot of brass pounding. The FISTS QSL bureau is going to be busy. Murphy got into play one more time - I dumped part of Eddy’s log when trying to make my input, but the paper logs saved the day. Wednesday the 13th, we (all but Eddy who stayed an extra day) were back on our little plane and a few hours later, back in the states. Many newfound friends and a historic week of straight key Morse code. Many hams still care about and love this stuff! This is what tradition is made of. See you on the next one. Keep on pounding the BRASS..... Cal WF5W / V31EA Nancy’s Turn “A big problem,” the owner of Saks replies. “The wives of the other operators (Cal, V31EA and Bob, V31UU) took one look at the swamp and refused to stay at the house next to the shack. We were able to put them up in one of our haciendas. Eddy (V31MR) is staying at the house.” After spending 16 hours getting from Detroit to Belize, I am not overly concerned with a bit of mud. I mainly want to find the cabana I will call home for the next week and relax for a while. The plane ride from Belize City to Placencia had been a white-knuckle experience. I had never been so happy to have my feet hit the ground. The cabana is very clean and was much nicer than I expected. It measures about 20’ x 20’, built on stilts with a corrugated metal roof that also serves as a residence for a pair of iguanas. The inside of the cabana is one big room with a refrigerator, three beds and a table with four chairs. A modern bathroom, separated from the rest of the room by two half-walls, takes up one corner of the room. Two hammocks are hanging on the covered porch. It is only a few yards from the ocean, where the owners thoughtfully placed some Adirondack style wood chairs and more hammocks. The resort compound is beautifully landscaped and impeccably groomed. The whole area is sand, no grass or stones, and Saks employs a crew of groundskeepers who rake the pathways and the ocean beach morning. Exhausted, I flop down on one of the beds to ponder how bad the shack situation could be.
Muddy doesn’t describe the situation. It is mucky, sticky and overpoweringly smelly. Planks had been placed over the muck to provide a walkway. I hadn’t expected luxury, so it was not really a big deal but I can see where the wives would have not been happy about it. I am relieved it isn‘t worse and glad that I packed flashlights and sturdy walking sandals, because slipping off the planks would not have been pleasant. Walking to the shack, Bob identified many of the native plants and birds, including orchids, cranes and hummingbirds. His house is beautiful. He constructed many of the shelving units, doors and furniture from native woods. The ham shack is in a little building behind the house. It is absolutely charming; like having a ham playhouse in paradise! It’s a tiny building up on stilts (like all the buildings in Placencia) about 10’ x 10’. It has two operating stations and a couch, bookshelves and a ceiling fan. Maps, QSLs and awards decorate the walls. I fell in love with it at first sight. Cal and Eddy were already operating; Eddy arrived the previous day. Cal and Bob V31UU were on a previous flight that day. Cal brought his Icom-7000 from home and Eddy is using the shack’s Kenwood-540. There is major interference between the two rigs - hopefully Bob Fox will have filters available next time - so the Icom was used as the main rig and the Kenwood was the secondary, mainly working the WARCs.
The Icom is hooked up to the Butternut vertical outside the shack and the Kenwood is on the cubical quad. Bob Fox helps us adjust the vertical to get a good SWR on the CW portions of the band, but suggests that we’d have better luck using the other vertical he installed in the salt water. It took a while to get the Butternut set up, so it didn’t seem necessary to try to do it with the salt-water vertical, too. Besides, no one really wants to wade out to it and try, at least not yet. We just want to get on the air. Cal stepped aside so I could operate, but he was really psyched and I was exhausted, so I turned it back to him after a couple dozen contacts and planned to start fresh in the morning. September is “off-season” because it is hurricane time in Belize, which is terrific because we are about the only people at Saks. It has a downside though; their restaurant doesn’t serve dinner. Not having eaten in 24 hours, I am very hungry. I didn’t want to go to “downtown” Placencia in the dark, so Bob Fox suggests a deli within walking distance that sells basic groceries and sandwiches. That sounds good, so my first dinner in Belize consists of a chunk of cheese, rye crisps and Belize salami. Don’t ask me what is in Belize salami…I didn’t ask since I didn’t really want to know!
Propagation surprised me. I was expecting non-stop pile-ups, but there were times when we called CQ for hours on end with no replies. But when the band opened up, look out! It was the first time I experienced anything like that and my inexperience showed. Eddy and Cal were very patient and nice about it - explaining that I don’t need to send my name and QTH each time; in the pile-ups, ops are happy with (and expect) just a signal report. That is easier said than done for a rag chewer like me. Once I got the hang of it, it was thrilling and a real rush. It can be addictive. I had a hard time getting used to the GHD keys. They are so finely machined and such precision instruments that if you don’t have it perfectly set for your fist it is difficult to send smoothly. When I first tried it with the settings Cal was using, I sounded choppy; throwing in extra dits and my spacing really stunk. It was embarrassing. Since Eddy had his own key and Cal had claimed one of the GHD’s, I spent some serious time tweaking the 2nd GHD key until I got the spacing and tension to fit my fist. From then on, it was like a dream. I could not believe the difference adjusting it made - I’m used to sitting at a rig and using any key that is there. Not so with this one, I have never seen a key that is so sensitive and responsive. Smooth as silk and genuinely a joy to use. The time just flew by. The only other time I’ve experienced camaraderie and radio fun like this is at that rare Field Day that “clicks”. And this week was like a perfect Field Day on steroids. I shall return!
Eddy’s turn
 
Odds and Ends
Getting a license to operate in Belize is easy, but apply for it at least two months in advance. The average time to get in via the postal mail was 6-8 weeks. It is a nice looking license, and they include a laminated wallet size license. The cost was $20 US money order (no checks). The license apparently is issued for the calendar year. Mine expires 12/2006 but it is renewable for $30. To get a reciprocal Belize license, all you need to do is send a copy of your US license, a letter of intent, and the money order, to:
What to pack
Of course, take any medications or over-the-counter products you will need or think you might want to have during your stay. The hotel provided soap, but not shampoo, blow driers or other ‘extras’ we take for granted. Bug spray is a MUST. The sand fleas can make you miserable. The mosquitoes were not bad but it might depend on the time of year. You won’t need “nice” clothes; a couple pairs of shorts, some t-shirts will do fine and maybe a light jacket. I overpacked by about 80%! Multiple swimsuits are necessary, nothing is worse than putting on a wet bathing suit. With the high humidity it took at least a day to dry one out after it was hung over the railing or back of a chair. I took four with me (mainly because I couldn’t make up my mind) and was very glad to have all four there. Beach towels are generally provided. Walking sandals with good traction are handy to have. American money is happily accepted, but you will usually get your change back in Belize money. One US dollar is worth 2 Belize. This sounds simple, but it gets confusing! Bugs and Other Creepy Crawlies
If you go into the ocean, watch out for jellyfish they sting! Alternate activities
The shopping district is very small and offers mainly Mayan crafts and jewelry. Small Mayan schoolchildren sit alongside the road, displaying the baskets, wooden masks, necklaces and bowls made by their parents and family. It was hard to resist buying something of everything. There are no typical tourist type souvenirs (like caps and t-shirts) for sale in the town of Placencia, but the small Placencia airport is filled with those sorts of shops, as well as duty free shops selling perfume and crystal. Many tours are offered and are highly recommended. The Spouses went on the Howling Monkey River tour and returned with tales of being chased off by howling monkeys who threw feces and urinated on them to get them to leave their territory. I wasn’t sorry to miss that, but they had a terrific time. The scenery is quite spectacular and the tours of the other local towns are interesting and eye-opening to a way of life that we don’t get to see very often. One tour that I did take is the snorkeling trip. I am practically blind without my glasses, which I couldn’t wear under the snorkeling mask, so I didn’t really enjoy it to its full potential, but everyone raved about the coral and fish. I took a disposable underwater camera and when the photos came back, I was amazed at how gorgeous everything is. Someone said that snorkeling masks with magnifying lenses for glasses wearers are available, so I’m going to look into that for next time. There are many day-trips available to keep Spouses happy, but I would not recommend Placencia as a place to bring children. It might be too Third World for some people. Do your homework and see if it is a place that the Spouse will want to visit. If they expect a Disneyland type place with activities for the kids and fabulous shopping, you will have an unhappy camper on your hands. But if the spouse has a sense of adventure and wants to get away from it all for a moonlit beach/poolside days (you remember how to be romantic, right?) vacation, get your reservations in for the shack and hop on the next plane. |
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Bob Mennell had been off the air for some time and recently began a re-acquaintance with a straight key. He had wanted to come along to video the trip when our 4th team member, Bill Frink K5WAF, was unable to come due to the sudden sale of his home. Bob, instead of being just the videographer, became the 4th team member.
Surprise!
Murphy came along. On arrival at the airport, Eddy, Bob and I (Nancy
took longer going through customs and had to take a later flight)
took a taxi to Bob Fox’s QTH. Kitty, Bob’s sister had started a
dredging project near the shack and the only access was now a muddy
watery path. Saks Resort, a few blocks down and across the road
from Fox’s saved the day with alternate accommodations. We slogged
in to the shack and set up for hamming.
“We’re sorry
about the problem with the ham shack.” Those are not the words I
want to hear upon arrival at Saks. Saks is across the road from
Bob Fox’s (V31MD) ham shack and home, which we also rented for the
week. “Problem? With the shack?” I repeat. “What problem?”
I didn’t have to wait long to find out. About ten minutes later, Bob Fox knocks on the door. I change from my travel clothes into something more suitable for the oppressive tropical heat and humidity, and he leads the way to the shack.
Eddy brought his personal GHD telegraph key and Cal brought the two 502 GHD keys provided by GHD and Morse Express.
After a good
night’s sleep and a wonderful breakfast of papaya, lime juice and
some type of yogurt, I venture to the shack. Eddy and Cal are hard
at work, running pile-ups and having a great time. When Bob V31UU
shows up, we have a meeting to decide our specific operating times
for the G3ZQS Straight Key Contest. We want to keep at least one
station on the air for the entire 48 hours. We decide that I should
kick it off with the first shift from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., then Cal
will take over and Bob V31UU will do the midnight - early morning
(after all, he is the newbie!). Then Eddy will take over for him
the next morning. Since Eddy is staying right there at the QTH and
can virtually operate any time he wants, he was very generous about
allowing the rest of us to have the main bands while we were operating.
He stayed up most of the nights logging contacts.
Cal has said this won’t be my last Dxpedition and I have a strong suspicion that he is right. This trip is a good example of how Elmering helps our Amateur Radio service grow. Cal recruited three Hams who had never been on a DXPedition, selected a perfect location to get our feet wet (no pun intended, none of us fell into the swamp), thereby creating three new DXers who can’t wait for a chance to go on another trip. When we do, we will probably take along at least one new operator, Elmer them and gain experience ourselves along the way, helping ensure the future of Dxing in our own small way.