N2NL Amateur Radio and other stuff

I’ve been really too busy to update the blog until now, but I’ve still had a couple opportunities to head back into the jungle for some exploration. A couple weeks ago I was able to explore the stretch of abandoned WW2 road from the FAA property up to NCTS. I was not expecting to find much, but I was surprised to stumble across some nice stuff from the war.

What is called “FAA property” is a parcel land that bisects NCTS to the north and the South Finegayan housing area to the south. There was a Federal Aviation Administration facility here until about 10-15 years ago, when the buildings were taken down. I knew my abandoned road had to pass through this area, however the edges of the jungle are heavily overgrown with dense brush and Google Maps didn’t show much of anything where I thought the road should be. I wrote down some coordinates, grabbed my GPS, and headed off into the jungle.

It was really hard going for the first couple hundred yards. I just had to push my way through the growth and cut the vines that would otherwise trip me. I find it easier to traverse the jungle this way as opposed to hacking a path with a machete. It is less tiring and is much less obtrusive. I wear heavy long sleeve coveralls with gloves so it’s not too difficult to push through this way.

I was not too far from my GPS location when I started finding bottles and other old trash.

An old Delco-Remy battery case laying next to a beer bottle dated 1944.

The logo looks identical to online images of advertisements from the WW2 era

It was only the case - the guts of the battery are long gone

I finally broke through the heavy growth and into the primary forest. The area was absolutely beautiful and looked almost Jurassic. I chose my GPS coordinates wisely - they put me right on the old road and a WW2 era dump site - bottles and other trash was everywhere!

Into the primary forest jungle

The can at the bottom of the photo was obviously recently left by hunters who were oblivious to the WW2 history around them

The road itself can be seen here - the border between the road (bottom left) and rocky jungle (top right) is easily seen in this photo

Old bottles were scattered everywhere along the old road bed. It was impossible to take a photo of the area, because the road itself was heavily overgrown with brush and visibility was only a few feet.

Two old coke bottles and an enameled steel dinner plate

The plate is dated 194? - the last number in the date is no longer readable

Here is a Japanese Dai Nippon beer bottle, sitting where it was dropped more than 60 years ago

More Japanese beer bottles and a US GI's canteen that I found that was mostly buried in dirt

The aluminum canteen, badly wasted away, is dated 1943.

There is no telling how much I overlooked due to the heavy tropical growth. The area was obviously a bivouac area due to the number of bottles and other metal trash. The most recent datable objects found were 1945 bottles, so this is most definitely a WW2 dump.

I followed the road north, trying to intersect Haputo Beach road on NCTS, however the road disappeared into a dense jungle area I could not push or cut my way through.

Dense jungle growth - this is as far as I can go without a bulldozer!

So, now I have explored this abandoned road almost in it’s entirety. I’ve walked almost the entire length, from where the road is first abandoned just north of Two Lover’s Point, all the way to Northwest Field. There are only a few areas I’ve not yet explored, on NCTS just east of Haputo Beach, and a few areas that are all but impenetrable. All along this road I have found literally thousands of bottles and other relics left along the road as debris from the time during and following the liberation of Guam in August, 1944.

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Posted under World War 2

The other day I was riding north of the NCTS antenna field. Here, cut through the jungle, as a wide path that’s kept mowed. This is actually the northern end of the old abandoned road that I have been spending so much time exploring. Here, the path was used for buried cables between the WW2 airfield (Northwest Field) and NCTS, so it is maintained today.

Looking south toward the NASA tracking facility at NCTS. The mowed trail heads south, in the right of the photo

I certainly was not expecting to go exploring - I was actually looking for a safe off-road access to Ritidian Point where I could go cycling. At the northern end of the path, not far from Northwest Field, I noticed an overgrown clearing off to the side of the path, with some rusty oil drums. After taking a closer look, it turns out that I stumbled across an old American anti aircraft position!

These rusted drums make up a circular gun positon

The ground on Northern Guam is made up of limestone, and is impossible to dig into without heavy equipment. It was much easier to fill drums, which were plentiful, with rocks to provide protection. This is the same thing that was done at the other anti aircraft site located at Hilaan Point.

This was definitely an American position. The drums are marked “US” and I found quite a few American shell casings lying around.

50 caliber shell casings laying in one of the gun pits. These were all stamped "42" (1942)

50 caliber shell casing

Another gun pit where you can still see some barrels and how they were lined up to provide protection

I walked the wood line surrounding the clearing and found tons of bottles - all from the wartime era.

Old "hobbleskirt" coke bottles, both colored and clear, are laying all over the place

Interestingly, I also found some M14 blank cartridges dated 1962. This site must have been re-used for training during the Vietnam era (Northwest Field was used as a training site)

Ultimately, I ended up finding only one Japanese beer bottle, but it was one of the rare smaller, green Dai-Nippon type. More interestingly, in an old burn pit filled with melted bottles, I found a Japanese 47mm anti-tank shell casing that had been apparently cut down into an ash tray.

Japanese Dai-Nippon beer bottle, a small Listerine bottle (1944), two small medicine bottles, and the Japanese 47mm shell casing that had been cut short into an ash tray

When soaked in vinegar, the casing cleaned up nicely. The circle symbol indicates the shell was manufactured by the Nagoya armory. The smaller "X" on the primer is actually crossed cannons - signifying Osaka armory. The other marks signify the date of manufacture - 1941 for the shell, 1943 for the primer.

It turned out to be a fun exploration! The jungle is very beautiful in this area, due to the restricted access being on military property. Unfortunately, other areas of Guam accessible to anyone have turned into dumping grounds for people who either can not afford trash service or are otherwise culturally un-bothered by littering.

The view from the cliff line along NW Guam.

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Posted under World War 2

Early this year, when I relocated my NA Beverage, I stumbled across some old bottles and live ammunition from WW2. Those posts are here: http://www.n2nl.net/?m=201103

For several months afterwards, I questioned myself, why there? When reading online and looking at old WW2 maps, I discovered why. On the night of 06 August 1944, during the Liberation of Guam, the 3rd Marine division had set up defensive positions along their line of advance. This line followed a path that passed through the area where my Beverage receive antennas are located. Better yet, the map even shows the unit: The 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division.

This map shows the location of the unit that was located near me on 06 August, 1944.

This explains perfectly why these bottles were here - as well as the M1 carbine ammunition I found. The map also showed a dirt path along this defensive line - meaning there could be a gold mine of relics just waiting to be found!

Starting from the location where I found the bottles, I headed in the general direction of the path according to the map. I quickly realized this would not be easy!

Dense vegetation blocks the route - making for tough going

The ground was very rocky, certainly not conductive to a path that would have been used with carabao driven carts. Even if there was stuff here, I’d never find it.

Heavy growth on the ground would hide anything that's laying there

Pigs can be helpful - I often find stuff in areas where they've rooted, knocking down the underbrush

I followed my compass until reaching a clearing that was used in the 1960s by the Navy for antennas, and knew that there was no path along the route I took. Then the light went on in my head - just south of where I had gone, was an area of jungle that was flat, with no rocks, and relatively clear. Could that have been the path?

I headed back along this route, but again, undergrowth hid anything underfoot. I did find a few bottles, but nothing much of interest.

A couple American beer bottles, along with a 1944 clear patent coke bottle that was in good condition (clear, not hazed glass)

Hunting is allowed in this area, and I believe I stumbled across a neigbor's hunting blind with deer feeder

He even has a motion triggered camera set up - too bad I don't have a bear costume or I could really play a joke on him!!

I followed this path back to my antennas without finding anything of interest. Coincidentally, my EU Beverage follows along this path for some distance. I suspect, without proof, that I did find this path as it’s the only area clear of rocks, and because of some coconut trees I found along the route. It would make sense that the Marines would have set up camp north of this road on 6 August, to deny the Japanese from ambushing them the next morning as they crossed the road. The stuff I found was on a high spot in the surrounding terrain, so it was likely used as a scout camp after the liberation, as the Americans patrolled the area to clear out the 7-8 thousand Japanese troops that were still hiding out in the jungle.

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Posted under World War 2

Last week I was able to hike the abandoned road from what is now called FAA road (that was used to access the old FAA housing area) all the way south to Two Lovers Point. The further south I went, the more things I found dumped in the jungle. Not coincidentally, General LeMay’s HQ was supposedly near where Micronesia Mall is located today, so it would not be crazy to assume that trash generated from his HQ was dumped along this road.

The road itself is not very difficult to follow. In this area, it runs straight as an arrow in a heading of 030/210 degrees. Also, you can tell that the road was graded regularly following the liberation. There is a very obvious berm of rocks and dirt that can be seen in many locations that clearly mark where the road was located.

The photo does not do justice, but in person it is pretty obvious where the road was located. Unfortunately the road bed itself is heavily overgrown, unlike the old growth areas away from the road where trees shade the ground to help keep it clear of growth.

A compass is very helpful in areas of heavy growth where it is difficult to pick out the road edge

The further south I went, the more I began to find. It was not long until I found my first Japanese bottle for the day - a type I’d not found before!

A green Kirin Beer bottle embossed in English - different from the others I've found that were taller and made of brown glass.

A little further, and I stumbled across a large pile of Coco Cola bottles and some old truck tires. There are easily a couple hundred bottles here, and they are all dated 1944. I even found a couple green bottles marked San Francisco and Portland Ore. - but with the same 1944 date code.

Large pile of wartime Coke bottles

I did not have to walk far to start finding Japanese Dai Nippon beer bottles

Japanese Dai Nippon beer bottle, speckled with rain drops - the first of many I found this day

Here is a large pile of American beer bottles - all dated 1944 (easy to determine by the Duraglass date coding system on the base)

Three Dai Nippon beer bottles, a Coke bottle, and two broken Army plates found further down the road

Even found was a large area where hundreds of old vacuum tubes were dumped - did these come from B29 aircraft serviced at Harmon Field a couple miles south from here?

Eventually, I found where this abandoned road merged with a modern off road vehicle trail. I had now entered the area where the Air Force communications site was located. Here, dozens of acres of jungle were bulldozed, so nothing remains. Somewhat surprising, the merge point is close to a large dump site with bottles from WW2 up into the early 1950s. This dump is where i found some of my first Japanese beer bottles, far back into the jungle where the oldest bottles were located.

It turned out to be a very productive day! I still have additional sections of this road to explore, further north on NCTS property. I’m already trying to make time to get back out into the jungle. I am driven by not knowing what I might find around the next corner!

Very unusual but pretty wildflowers were growing in clearing along the road

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Posted under Uncategorized, World War 2

Following the CQWW DX CW contest, I was quite busy with work that prevented any trips back into the jungle. If you read back in my blog, in mid November I discovered an abandoned road that passed through the jungle to my west (http://www.n2nl.net/?p=581) This road was marked on WW2 maps showing the liberation of Guam, but mostly does not exist today.

This map image, from the US Marines, shows the road layout in Northern Guam including the road I found.

This road was used before and during the war, but was abandoned shortly afterwards. During my last explorations in November, I found some more recent dumps with bottles from 1951, but nothing more recent than then. This coincides with the construction of the Air Force and Navy communication sites in Northwestern Guam. This was probably when the road was ultimately abandoned.

This 1964 aerial photo (from http://www.navycthistory.com/guam_intro.html) shows all the construction that occured in the 1950s. The road can still be seen, but you can tell it's already been abandoned.

Sections of this road still exist. When driving to Two Lovers Point and Tanguissan Beach, you are following this road, until it bends sharply to the left just past the sewage treatment plant. There is an abandoned paved road that continues along the route for another 1/2 mile until it too turns, to the right. From here, the old road disappears, destroyed when the Air Force built large Rhombic antenna farms. Only further north, where undisturbed jungle remains, can you once again find this road.

The treeline that follows the road can barely be seen today

I already explored the section of road in the northern part of the above image. I found a number of bottles, including a couple which were Japanese. What I wanted to do is to explore the southern section of this road, and follow it into the old Air Force antenna fields, which are overgrown with grass and scrub trees, along with numerous off-road vehicle paths.

This road actually continues north of NCTS all the way to Northwest Field on Andersen AFB. Here, the road is still visible, and is grass covered and mowed frequently. Communications cables are buried along the route.  This is on military property, belonging to the Navy and Air Force.

It is easy to see that this road was used during the construction of Northwest Field, at least until Marine Corps Drive was completed.

I found a ton of stuff along the southern section of this road, but I will save that for my next post!

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Posted under World War 2

This MP3 gives you the reason I do not really enjoy the 10m contest. Thanks to Russian or Chinese (or both) illegal taxi radios, the 10m band is full of this noise every time there is propagation to these areas - which is every time the band is open to Europe.

It is difficult enough to work an undisciplined EU pileup - but even harder when most callers are 559 and the noise is over S9.

This is not local noise - in the morning, I can run NA on a perfectly quiet band, and it is a pleasure to do so.

10m-noise

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This morning (07DEC UTC) I had the best Topband conditions of this winter season. After my 1st CQ and a loud PE5T called in, I knew it would be a good morning!

I started the recorder after my 2nd QSO and let it run for an hour until my sunrise and the band faded away. During this time, I worked more than 70 Europeans. Paul, 9H1SP called in for a new one (VFB copy with 100w) along with CT1EEB and three G stations - really tough to work from here.

I hope this is a good sign that conditions will be good this winter!

The attached MP3 is large, so I broke it into four pieces, each about 15 minutes long:

1935z-to-1949z

1950z-to-2004z

2005z-to-2019z

2020z-to-2035z

If you listen, you may notice a few things. First of all, there was a fish beacon exactly one up where I was listening. It did not cause me any trouble but you can hear it often in the recording. What you can also hear are (1) many stations who call non stop, no matter who I am trying to work and (2) many stations who are calling but obviously do not hear me well. We all understand the challenges of 160m and the effects of QSB, but you can clearly tell the stations who really can’t hear me, QSB or not. These guys accomplish nothing but keep others from getting a QSO and making themselves look like fools.

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Here are some photos of my station setup for the 2011 CQWW DX CW contest.

Final summary after the finish

Station setup taken after the contest (messy!)

I prefer to use two stations with an interlock to using one computer only. This gives redundancy, in case of problem, and is easier for my brain to manage than trying to remember key strokes and software. My homebrew headphone switch in between the keyboards controls the audio, and I use one paddle that can be switched to the other radio by pressing a foot switch. Not much automation, but it fits my style. I am fortunate to have two computers set up all the time; one for work and the other dedicated to radio.

Spiderbeam + 40/20m vertical. The norfolk pine in the background was used to support a fan dipole for the 2nd radio.

Here is the simple fan dipole I used for 10/15/20 to compliment the Spiderbeam. It worked well enough and had good isolation which was most important.

This is my 40m vertical, with a parallel wire to allow dual band operation. I normally use this on 30m also, but had it cut for 20m for the contest. There are four Beverage RX antennas in the jungle behind the antenna, in a wilderness area of about 150 acres.

This is my 80/160m top loaded vertical. It is actually made of balanced feedline, with one side cut for 80m, the other for 160 with additional wire added for top loading to the 160m side (parallel dual-band vertical)

Close up of the top of the 80/160m antenna. The 80m side is an inverted L (all one side of ladder line). The 160m side of the radiator has extension wires added at the apex and end of the 160m side of the ladder line to add top loading.

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Today is a holiday (Thanksgiving) and I should have slept in to rest for CQWW, however I was awake at my normal time listening on 160.  After two days of poor propagation, conditions seemed to have improved.  I worked a number of Europeans, including HB9AZZ who was a new country for me.

As soon as I got on, I heard C50C CQing, with very good copy here.  They could not hear me, so I went up the band to CQ for a while and wait for a time closer to my sunrise.

One of my QSOs was with E74AW.  Dado recorded the QSO from his end:

KH2/N2NL from E74AW

I also was recording, and here is how he sounded on my end:

E74AW from KH2/N2NL

I worked a number of stations, then C50C asked EU to QRX and listened for DX - It was not easy - he had a difficult time copying me and there was some rapid QSB - but we completed a QSO for my 36th zone on 160m!

c50c-160m-qso

It is very difficult to hear my side tone when transmitting - sorry - I had turned it down this morning as one of my SO2R preparations for WWCW, so I can listen better on the 2nd radio while CQing.

They really have a strong signal here - the loudest zone 35 station I’ve ever heard from here on 160 (I’ve heard quite a few).  This is a 9,000 mile path from KH2.

After my sunrise, they QSYed to SSB - they were still good copy, 10 minutes after my sunrise:

C50C on 160m SSB

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I made sure to get on early this morning, about 50 minutes before my sunrise. Dave, A92IO had a good signal but unfortunately I was not able to raise him. Dave has high QRN levels in Bahrain.

After CQing, a weak OG2M calls in. I am not thinking the band is in good shape until I am told on KST chat that he was running 10w. Next, OH3XR calls in. Not to be out done, XR is running 5W, which is as low as his radio will go.

I turn on my recording software to record the opening. The recording is more than 40 minutes in length, so here are some clips I edited:

LA3ANA calls in so he can hear himself recorded (no problem!)

UA4CR calls in

S52AAM calls in, running only 10 watts

Near my sunrise, I had the QSO of the morning - Ron, GW3YDX calls in, a new one for me. Ron lives in the most difficult part of Europe to work from here, aside from OY and perhaps TF (TF4M makes Iceland easy however).

GW3YDX on 160m

After our QSO, Vlad UA4WHX spotted himself (as SU9VB from Egypt). I believe Vlad runs only 30w into a dipole, but I was able to copy him somewhat. Unfortunately, I could not work him, for this would have been a new zone for me. Vlad worked a few stations then QSYed to 40m with some Eastern EU still calling, so I doubt he could have heard me even without a pileup.

SU9VB working HA8BE

By now, it was after my sunrise. Ron, GW3YDX QSYed to 80m for me, where he was also a new one for me.

GW3YDX on 80m, QRMed by an IV3

Finally, Jo DKJ2PH asked for a 40m QSO. You can hear the Chinese OTH radar very well.

DK2PH on 40m, with BY OTH radar

In all cases, I am listening on my European Beverage RX antenna. The antenna is just over 900ft long, and located in the jungle behind my home. I am fortunate to have no QRN sources near me in this direction - nothing but jungle and then the ocean - which allows me to hear *very* well in this direction.

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