ALOHA!

Sometimes contesting can be so difficult!  Ah, contesting to the roar of the ocean... 75 degrees... sun... trade winds... utter relaxation!  in February!

Thanks to a business trip, I operated the '01 ARRL DX CW contest from Po'ipu, Kauai, Hawaii.  While it was beautiful and Kauai is the nicest place that I have ever been to, this contest had something to be desired.

After being used to contesting from VP9 (Bermuda) over the past few years, I was used to a situation where virtually any station could be a powerhouse.  (see my comments from my first DXpedition).  However, Hawaii is nearly 3,000 miles from the US mainland and I didn't consider that before I left!

My station consisted of an Icom 706 through a tuner and a wire antenna.

With this configuration, I was able to get runs on 10 and 15m.   However, it was truly difficult to work anyone until the path from USA to Europe had closed down.  Once past European sunset, I had a couple of hours of wonderful runs on both bands.

20m was pathetic, probably due to the fact that it never closed to Europe.

I did get a smattering of contacts on 40m, but none on 80.  This was probably due to the suboptimal length of my antenna.  I did strongly consider running it across the parking lot, but when I got the evil eye from the xyl, I figured it best to capitulate and leave it be.

   Path to the USA.

For an east coast contester, it was very interesting contesting from Hawaii.  I heard tons of VK's and JA's all day and night.

All in all, I think Hawaii would be a great place to do a contest where everyone works every other country, such as CQ Worldwide.  But, a contest such as this - where DX only works the USA mainland - leaves something to be desired.

So, I had some fun, learned a little, and enjoyed the awesome, awesome scenery and weather.

Much aloha to you!    

John KH6/N2KJM

Want to check out the awesome scenery?  Click here to see our pictures.

Are you interested to learn what broadcast radio is like in Hawaii? Check out my aircheck page.