The Hopes, Plans and Misadventures
of the 1999 4M7X DXpedition
43 Verticals on the Beach
By Dean Straw, N6BV
Visalia International DX Convention, April 27, 2002
6Y2A, Jamaica
Flush with our 6Y2A CQWW CW Multi-Multi victory in 1998, Team Vertical set out to beat our own record in 1999...
We had almost 18,000 QSOs in 1998 from 6Y2A — But a lot were with the USA, worth only 2 points in the CQWW contest.
To Beat the 6Y2A RecordWe had to move where:• European, USA and Japanese QSOs would each be worth 3 points.
• Logistics wouldn’t be overwhelming for Team Vertical — That pretty much left out Africa.
• Luckily, some team members had extensive experience in Venezuela.
It’s 1000 Miles from 6Y2A to 4M7X, but it’sThree-Point Territory
The Advantages of Verticals Over Saltwater -- the 6Y2A Experience
• Low elevation angles are critical, especially on the lower bands.
The Advantages of Verticals Over Saltwater -- the 6Y2A Experience• Higher angles are important also.
Our Goal: 2 dB More Gain on Each HF Band, 10 to 80 Meters,
Compared to 6Y2A Antennas
• We have learned that each additional 2 dB opens up another layer of callers.
Covering All Azimuths
• The 6Y2A arrays were fixed in azimuth.
• At 4M7X, we needed steerable vertical arrays with more gain.
• On 80 and 40 meters we chose Four-Square arrays, using Comtek boxes.
• On 20/15/10 meters we wanted even more gain than a Four-Square.
The “Cross-5” Array Europe
Common Driven Element
Director
Reflector
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
Disabled
Disabled
Symmetrical array, with a common Driven Element. The Cross-5 uses half-wave
vertical dipoles (HVDs).
Cross-5 Switchingfrom N6BV Engineering Notebook
Cross-5 Truth Table
from N6BV Engineering Notebook
Cross-5 Array• Peak Gain over saltwater is 12.3 dBi.
• F/R is modest: 11dB, which is OK.
• Covers all needed elevation angles well.
We Compete with Stations Using Stacked Horizontal Yagis on the
20/15/10-Meter Bands• Gain of 15-16 dBi for stacks is common.
• Cross-5 alone won’t be competitive, except at really low elevation angles.
• Vertically stacking vertical arrays is physically very difficult!
What to do? • Stack ‘em! Side-by-side with “Sidecars.”
JA “Sidecar” Cross-5 Europe “Sidecar”
(When pointing to JA, the Europe Sidecar is out of circuit.)
Now the stacked Gain is a very respectable 15.2 dBi. We had 11 elements each on 20, 15 and 10 meters.
1 1
Japan
USAEurope
Aiming the Antennas
JA Sidecar Cross-5 EU Sidecar
WX0B Stackmatch
Feeding Cross-5 and Sidecars
Azimuth ControlRF
Phasing Line
Phasing Line
A Very Narrow Pattern Results• Combined Cross-5 + Sidecar has a 35° 3-dB Beamwidth — We called this a “Superbeam.”
Oh, by the Way...
• When the azimuths to Europe and Japan aren’t exactly 90° apart, you’ve got to fiddle with the phasing lines to make them aim in exactly the right directions. (Remember how narrow they are?)
• We leave that exercise to the student.
Other Nearby Radiators Affect the Pattern Some
Cross-5 affected by Sidecars — Note that this happens for almost all ham installations with nearby arrays.
Detailed Patterns to Europe/Africa
Detailed Patterns to USA/Japan
We Had Some Killer Antennas on Paper
Now we had to find a great place to put them!
We OriginallyPlanned on Operating from the Venezuelan
Mainland• But the distances from the operating positions to the antennas were > 1000’.
• Logistics getting there were difficult.
• We didn’t have local friends at the chosen location.
So We Chose a Promising New Location on Coche Island,
off Margarita Island• We had local contacts, especially in Customs, and local friends.
• A new hotel was being finished at a fantastic radio QTH, on the salt flats.
• Coax runs to the antennas would be reasonable.
Coche Island 4M7X
4M7X on Coche Island, Venezuela
Margarita Island
Coche Island
Local Layout
Margarita ~ 5 miles to the North
151040 20 80
160Mult. Antennas
160 RX
80 RX
Getting to Coche Island
SFO to Miami (American Airlines) Miami to Margarita Island (Aeropostal Airlines) Margarita to Coche Island (by boat)
A VeryWet Dave & Ralph
Hurricane Lenny Creates Hazardous Seas
NT1N
K9ZO
Uh, Senõr, We Have a Little Problem at the Hotel...
• Uh, they didn’t quite finish building it…
• And there is no power...
• And there are no windows or doors...
Team Vertical Presses OnReal Contesters will not be denied!
• We hire and transport (at great expense, with a big truck) a 70 kVA diesel generator from the main island.
• We rewire the hotel — good thing OSHA wasn’t watching.
• We find accommodations at a nearby hotel, full of German tourists.
Electrical Distribution & Antenna Patch Panel
Low Band Shack
High Band Shack
Antenna Patch Panel
No Doors, No Windows, No Wiring...
220 VAC Wiring
El Oasis Hotel & Generator
Operating Area
Goat Guano70 kVA Diesel Generator
Building the Antennas
20-meter HVDs (Halfwave Vertical Dipoles)
160-m 2-ElementVertical ArraySame 57’ Elements as 6Y2A
DrivenReflector
15/40 Mult Yagi
GoatPen
80-m Four-Square Vertical ArraySame 37’ Elements as 6Y2A
Notice the Cinder-Block Guy Anchors -- These Would Lead to Lots of Problems Later...
40-m ZR Four-Square ArraySame 15’ Elements as 6Y2A
40 m10 m JA “Sidecar”
Driftwood prop for 160-m radial
15-m Array and Margarita Island20/15/10-m Arrays Each Had 11 Elements
Cross 5 Eu. SidecarJA Sidecar
Relay box, 1of 4 per Cross-5
Flooded Beach, 10-m ArrayYes, That is Indeed Saltwater
Vertical Heaven!
Through aVertical Forest, Darkly
40 m
10 m
160 m
20 m
160 m20 m
Notice the salt water
10-m Relay Box
Moon Over the Vertical Patch
4M7X Antenna Summary
160 m: 2-Ele. 57’ Vertical Array, Fixed on Europe80 m: 4-Square, 37’ Linear-Loaded Elements, Comtek Box40 m: 4-Square, 15’ 40-ZR verticals, Comtek Box20 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch15 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch10 m: 11 HVD Elements + WX0B StackMatch
43 Vertical Elements for Team Vertical !!
Multiplier Antennas: 10/20-m Yagi @ 20’, 15/40-m Yagi @ 20’Rx: Low dipoles for 160/80 m
Antenna Design Goal: Increase Gain by 2 dB on 10-80 m Compared to 6Y2A
4M7X and Local Crew of El Oasis
de Coche
We Ran Into a Few More Problems• We couldn’t find good solid anchors for antenna guy ropes. We used concrete block anchors, to our regret later.
• The 40-m station absolutely killed all other bands — even at 5 W output.
• Storms brewed up, bad for guy anchors and really bad for lightning bolts.
• The goats kept getting out and the “supersonic mosquitos” were amazing.
Troubleshooting 40-m InterferenceLuckily, we had dozens of ferrite chokes
K2KW NT1N
High Band Control Cables
40 m 10 m 10 m
So, Did the Antennas Work?
• They worked very well, while they were vertical. We had outstanding reports from the USA and Europe before the contest started.
• Just prior to the opening gun we were pumped! Tired, but pumped.
Some of the Guys...
Dick
YV5AMH N6BVN6BT
K9ZO YV5EED
W4SO
Lunch at the El Oasis Hotel
El Oasis Transportation
80-Meter Station
K9ZO
WA5VGI
40-Meter StationNT1N
“Modified” Cellular Packet
High-Band Shack
15 M10 M15 Mult
20 M
Our Creed!
High-Band Shack
KE7X
AG9A
20 M
10 M
15 M
15 Mult
Super Beam Controller
Then the Contest Started• The contest started out quite well.
• By 0844 Z, 80-meters reports “GENNY WET AND COUGHING.” This is not good.
• We also have several great lightning shows — right in the antenna field!
• By late afternoon we finally locate a diesel repair man from the nearby fishing village.
“Modified” 70 kVA Generator
Gravity-Fed Fuel Tank
Fuel Return
Goat Guano
Goat Guano
Did I Mention That it Really Stormed Hard?
• 15/40 multiplier antennas fell down 4 times.
• At end of contest on 20 meters, 2 verticals were left standing, out of 11.
• We lost more than half our antennas to the wind, and to the surf that came over the low seawall.
• We lost at least 6 prime-time hours due to the generator.
15/40 Yagi...After the Winds
AD6EKE7X
Gimme a Break…What Now?
Jay Says the Warranty Doesn’t Cover Saltwater Immersion...
Still, We Didn’t Do That Badly4M7X Results
Band QSOs Points Pts/QSO Zones Mult.160 650 1917 2.95 23 62
80 1639 4863 2.97 28 98 40 3251 9664 2.97 38 130 20 3372 10010 2.97 40 145 15 3669 10868 2.96 40 154 10 3504 10323 2.95 36 133 ---------------------------------------------------
Totals 16085 47645 2.96 205 722 => 44,166,915
We beat our own 1998 6Y2A record — but so did the competition, in spades!
BREAKDOWN QSO/mults 4M7X CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST Multi Multi
HOUR 160 80 40 20 15 10 HR TOT CUM TOT
0 59/19 100/39 196/48 199/46 177/33 34/24 765/209 765/209 1 51/7 95/14 199/8 181/25 152/12 23/12 701/78 1466/287 2 67/4 92/11 213/13 205/11 152/7 21/7 750/53 2216/340 3 60/6 139/6 228/7 176/12 48/7 13/6 664/44 2880/384 4 64/8 89/5 213/8 154/6 13/6 25/9 558/42 3438/426 5 55/8 99/1 187/8 66/12 9/2 18/2 434/33 3872/459 6 44/2 114/6 174/10 119/11 4/1 5/0 460/30 4332/489 7 19/3 83/5 135/6 46/4 . . 283/18 4615/507 8 17/2 53/5 116/10 9/0 ..... ..... 195/17 4810/524 9 15/2 49/4 88/3 64/6 5/7 1/1 222/23 5032/547 10 1/2 26/1 82/1 59/0 125/33 116/29 409/66 5441/613 11 . 1/0 34/1 56/4 160/7 187/13 438/25 5879/638 12 . . 12/0 31/0 85/6 119/1 247/7 6126/645 13 . . . 35/1 115/9 137/10 287/20 6413/665 14 . . . 16/1 156/11 154/6 326/18 6739/683 15 . . . 9/2 154/3 145/8 308/13 7047/696 16 ..... ..... ..... 19/2 112/5 112/4 243/11 7290/707 17 . . . 77/2 119/4 211/4 407/10 7697/717 18 . . . 107/0 114/1 237/6 458/7 8155/724 19 . . 2/1 139/6 169/2 203/0 513/9 8668/733 20 . . 50/8 95/6 128/4 163/6 436/24 9104/757 21 . . 31/0 25/0 40/0 9/4 105/4 9209/761 22 2/0 6/2 6/2 15/0 18/0 1/0 48/4 9257/765 23 19/1 23/2 80/1 70/2 54/3 2/0 248/9 9505/774
40m rate averaged 200/hr for first 7 hours
After the Contest, we Finally Could Relax
• We could sit in the sun, reflecting on the joys of camaraderie and sticking to a task, no matter the obstacles.
• We had some great rates, when the generator was working and while the antennas were still standing!
• So, we really did have lots of fun, really... Who knows, we may do it again!
Local Flora and Fauna: “Toukee” the Toucan
A Feathered Bombadier
“Toukee” Loved to Party...
Drinking from N6BT’s Cup
Dinner at Coche Speed Paradise
N6TV
YV5AMH
N6BV
KE7XK2KW
AG9A
Relaxing by the Pool
Feet, Courtesy N6BT
Look in the Sky — Is it a Bird? A Plane? No, it’s Team Vertical!!
Actually, we’re all soaked from the boat ride, and standing in a windy area to dry off.
4M7X Sponsors:
Force 12 Antennas Groupo DX Caracas QRO Technologies Comtek Systems Array Solutions Nemal Electronics
Special Thanks to Our Venezuelan Friends!
Without these guys, we would have had a much tougher time
• Ramon, YV5EED• Reinaldo, YV5AMH• Vincent, YV7QD• Ivan, the electrician
And my personal thanks to Kenny, K2KW, for his help in preparing this presentation and for being the leader of the
DXpedition.
The Hopes, Plans and Misadventures
of the 1999 4M7X DXpedition
43 Verticals on the Beach
By Dean Straw, N6BV
Visalia International DX Convention, April 27, 2002