WP2AIJ

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WP 2 A I J  is the club station callsign for the H)urricane E)mergency A)mateur R)adio O)peration located on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Our site is the highest thing on the east end of the island, and is approximately 285m above sea level.  From it�s vantage point atop the tilt over and hide pole, the antenna has a clear view through 360 degrees.  On many occasions, club member with regularity work all over the world with ease - using QRP power levels.  It is not that any of us are diehard about QRP, but consider the nature of the emegency station and why it was all started in the first place.  I (W9CGI trustee) normally run 5 WATTS on 12m and 17m  bands just for the fun of it, and to activate the Caribbean on the WARC bands.  To push the point further, I generally run 3 WATTS on 15m, and all of this is to show that in REAL emergency conditions such as hurricanes, we could if necessary run for DAYS on something like a deep cycle marine battery.

With that justification, we do ask that amateurs renting the hamshack and guest house facilities limit their power to 100 WATTS, and believe me you will not need more.  The island cable system is not new, and it is just not worth incurring the wrath of the neighborhood to run unnecessary kilowatts.

The Cushcraft R-5 antenna pictured to the left serves us very well, and on the tilt over mast, can be dropped in minutes before the �blows�, and yet be back up and running in those same minutes.  We provide a hefty Astron 12Vdc power supply that will handle the 100W rigs, or if your radio is line operated you will find no difficulty with that here either - we are 120 Vac 60 Hz. At present we have a 486-50 computer with ham software right in the hamshack for your use.  There is also a Ramsey 2m FM radio with the island and surrounding frequencies loaded.  This will soon (11/98) have a TNC added to begin some packet experiments with island linking, but will certainly be there for your use as well.  The hamshack is located under the house for safety and by locating it next to the water cistern it remains cool with only a ceiling fan and the windows cranked open.  The view out those windows goes on forever - well on a clear day you can see St Croix 40 miles away.

This facility is also the home of my friend and partner, Meraldo (GONZI) Gonzales, soon to also be a ham.  For more about him, and the guest facilities, please click the YOUR HOST fish..

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