Month: December 2010

Former KH2/N2NL QTH: Then and Now

Dave Mueller

My family and I currently live on Navy owned Government Housing about two miles south of my former home on the Navy Communications Station (NCTS). Most of the homes in my former housing area were demolished. I recently went back and took photos, trying to match the exact spot where I stood 12 years ago in 1998.

Then:

1998

Now:

2010

Then:

1998

Now:

2010

Then:

My son Jordan in 1998 (age 3)

Now:

2020 – the coconut tree has grown!

This whole area is set to be redeveloped into a base for US Marines scheduled to be relocated from Okinawa.

I stumbled across this old photo of this housing area being constructed. My former house is the one to the right in the foreground.

Photo taken between 1956-1958

Williamson, Mel. Retrieved from http://www.navycthistory.com/guam_mel_williamson_56-58.html on 30OCT10.

Unknown noise source

Dave Mueller

An unknown noise source has popped up on my NW Beverage, and my transmit vertical to a lesser extent. This noise is loud on both 160 and 80, and makes it impossible for me to hear stations in Europe. I believe I heard a similar noise for about a month, but not quite strong, a few months ago. My NW Beverage is normally my quietest antenna with a S0 noise floor.

This noise varies from S9 to S9+30dB on my Beverage. Recorded in AM mode, 5Khz bandwidth, on my K3.

I drove around the housing area and located one extinguished sodium street lamp that was putting out a strong 60 cycle hum. The crackling sound I could hear everywhere, even a mile away from my house, on the AM radio in my car.

25,000 QSOs and counting

Dave Mueller

With my ~5,000 QSO effort in the CQWW DX CW contest, I now have more than 25,000 QSOs in the log since I returned to Guam in June. During the 2.5 years I was stationed here in 1998-2000, I only had 36,000 QSOs total. I will probably break this total in my first year here on Guam. Since I will be here at least until the summer of 2013, One hundred thousand QSOs is not out of the realm of possibility!

2010 CQWW CW – SOABHP – NH2T

Dave Mueller

I should have looked at the Oceania SOAB record before taking four hours off. I essentially tied the record, although my score will drop some after log checking. Oh well, there is always next year!

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: NH2T
Operator(s): N2NL
Station: N2NL

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: Guam
Operating Time (hrs): 44
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
——————————
160: 179 19 31
80: 664 27 57
40: 977 34 90
20: 1234 35 84
15: 1387 31 79
10: 486 18 25
——————————
Total: 4927 164 366 Total Score = 7,634,650

Club: Florida Contest Group

Comments:

Spiderbeam @ 34ft
40m dipole @ 50ft
40/20/15m vertical (for SO2R)
80/160m inv-L/TEE (52ft vertical)
1000ft Beverages NE (NA) and NW (EU/JA)

What a contest! Tons of fun – it was great to work many friends around the world. Multipliers are always difficult from the Pacific, so my goal was to run, run, and run some more. This was a new personal QSO best for me in a CW contest.

Conditions were good, however the low bands were a challenge being so far from Europe. I really feel for the gentleman in Hawaii and Phil FO8RZ – where the challenge must be exponentially greater. Great stateside runs on all but 10m, where no one on Guam even heard a single station in NA all weekend.

Europe continues to be difficult to work, with short windows of peak conditions. For many hours on the low bands I sat and listened to loud EU stations working each other, yet got a CQ in the face when called. I took 17-19z off both days, the middle of the night here and a good chance to take a shower and get horizontal for a few minutes. Europe was loud on 160 through 40 at this time but were completely unworkable since it was early evening there and they were busy working each other. Low band EU run from Guam: Find a hole, CQ until spotted, quick burst of QSOs, frequency gets taken by someone in EU working other EU, find a new frequency and repeat. There were a bunch of would-be multipliers, at least 10, that I called on 80 who simply did not hear me. The Beverages are a pleasure to have – but at times I feel I hear too well, if that is possible.

In 1998-2000 when I was last on Guam, I made 36,000 QSOs. Since my return in June of this year, I have already made 25,000. I’m having a blast, and it’s great to get on the air from the Western Pacific.

Great job to the single ops in Oceania – FO8RZ, KH6ZN(N6AA), KH7X(KH6ND?), and those in New Zealand and Australia. I heard you guys making QSOs everywhere all weekend – what fun!

I’ll be poking around in the ARRL 160 and 10m contests as KH2/N2NL, trying to wrap up 9BWAS from Guam. See you on the bands, and Happy Holidays!

73, Dave N2NL

Tarzan Falls

Dave Mueller

A couple weeks ago, I took my family on a hike to Tarzan Falls, located about 1.5 miles off the road in Central Guam. I had not been here in nearly 20 years, having last visited the place in 1993. We are moving into the dry season, and it had not rained for a couple days, so I figured it would be a good time to go.

Unfortunately, when we got down to the falls, it was still very muddy

My daughter, stuck in the mud!

The mud wasn’t fun, but there was a plus size – lots of water going over the falls! The water was nice and cool, and a fun break from the heat of the day.