from
Hans-Rainer Uebel DL7CM
On
the way from Cap Skirring, a little town in the south of Senegal, to Kabrousse,
a little village at the border to Guinea-Bissau, there is a bungalow- and
camping place called “Le Senegaulois”. In the winter and springtime that is
the QTH of Peter, HA3AUI. He also holds the callsigns of 6W2SC and J5UAP. He
invited us to visit him. We, that means DL7CM as teamleader, DM2AYO and DL6CT.
T
Between
the wide river Sukuskake in the east, the ocean in the south and Senegal in the
north there is a little corner of some squarekilometers land, which belongs to
Guinea-Bissau. There are no inhabitors and no frontier checkpoint, it is an
forgotten piece of land created by an unlucky border determination. Insiders go
there, if they like to have their absolut silence, f.i. for fishing, relaxing
and lately for doing hamradio.
Peter,
J5UAP, runs his QSO’s from here (point 2 on the map). He works from his car
between going for swimming and fishing. But this time Peter wasn’t here. He
has been stoped at the border to Mauritania and come some days later. So one day
after our arrival I went with Annemarie, an older lady of french origin like all
others here, and Michel, the chief of the restauration of “Le Senegaulois”,
to this point, where Peter was always working as J5UAP.
But
this place gave me no possibility for errecting a low band antenna. So we drived
a bit back to Cabo Roxo. This is an excellent place. Some hundert meters behind
the border there is a very rusty steel pylon with a formerly presumable
headlight on the top (point 1 on the map). In its good time it seems to be a
light tower. This one is located about 15m above the sea level and about 100 m
far from the beach. In all here are good conditions for the lowbands. We also
found a young boy who climbed on the tower for 10 greenstamps to fix a
telescopic plastic tube (Fa.Spieth) diagonal on the top. That must be a hight of
20m, because this wire groundplane with 22,5 m length slooped only very light in
direction north.
In
the first night I was alone at the gear. Not quite, then Annemarie and Michel
stayed for night fishing. The conditions on 160m have been never so good as in
this night – but also the mosquitos. Annemarie and Michel have been satisfied
with his haul, but asking me, what use I have from my beep beep..
The
next excursions have been a bit more comfortable. A mosquito net was mounted at
the roof of an shelter consisted of 4 wooden piles. That brougth some silence in
QSOing.
As
I saw the generator for the first time I had my hesitation, but it run. Some
little failures were more made by the cables. In the morning a bath in the ocean
and go home into the “Le Senegaulois” to take some sleep, further to build
up the gear in the bungalow again and to prepare the next excursion. Our
youngster DL6CT were member of the following excursions. That brought some time
for relaxing and alternation.
During
our operation we have not seen a man, exception was a cowboy with some cows. The
distance to “Le Senegaulois” was very short by a jeep-ride of 8km. Once Mel,
DL6CT, take this ride by a bicycle. Both places, “Le Senegaulois”/Senegal
and Cabo Rauxo/Guinea-Bissau, have the same square IK12PI. Peters QTH is IK12QH.
In
review I think, I wouldn’t go once more. It was like an dxpedition to an
island. You must take all, but real all, with you. First hand it costs a lot
money – generator rent, diesel, jeep, food etc. Second hand we were too few
op’s, to organize a 24h operation and to organize the supply the operators.
Third hand the permanent building up and down and transport of the gear costs a
lot of time, nervs and scratchs at the equipment. And last but not least can I
really ask: what is the use of the 1000 mosquito stings?
Under
this difficulties we have made 5000 J5UAR-qso’s, all to gether (J5 + 6W) it
has been 18000.
Also
must be said, that the senegal power net got lost at 4 days between 09 and 20
clock additional a lot of little break downs. If suddenly under 6W/hc nobody
came back, than surely the power went down.