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VP5 ARRL CW DX Contest - VP5FXB

Newsletter Issue 10, 12 February 1998

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HERE WE GO

We're off! In less than 48 hours Cindy and I will be on the island. Goose and Sue follow the next day, and after that the crew will assemble fast. Jody's place will rapidly get VERY crowded. I worked Steve, N9CK just now on 80 CW. He's in the Hamlet, and commented on the pile of tower sections and other hardware outside. He's braced for the invasion and knows that his quiet little shack in the corner of the end of the world is about to get VERY busy.

ARRIVING

Someone from the crew will meet you at the airport when you emerge from customs. I FAXed a copy of the equipment list, complete with serial numbers, to Jody. The customs people will have that list and it should help you clear more quickly. Remember: courtesy and patience are the keys with the customs folks. We have never had any trouble in VP5 because we have always been absolutely courteous and cooperative in the processing line. If you have a rental car booked, we will see that you get up to the rental office, then someone will lead you to wherever you're staying on the island. Nothing to worry about or, as is said down there, NO PROBLEM.

LAST-MINUTE LOGISTICS

Thanks to Goose we have a box full of backup tubes for the Dentron amplifiers. And Goose also got us a pair of new 572Bs for the 20 meter amp (an SB-200) which CG picked up the tab for. We have a crazy assortment of 220 volt AC wiring plugs and receptacles, Romex, and related stuff. I bought a zillion 3AG fuses today, none of which we hope to need! I also made up some audio patch cords so that we will be able to capture good quality on-air sound for the post-contest presentations. KU8E drove all the way to Goose's Sunday night to pick up the amp he will be carrying. Thus, we have depth in hardware! Things will go wrong, but we are well covered!

OPERATING SCHEDULE

Doug has the schedule pretty much finalized. Please look on the WWW site and be sure you can live with what he has proposed. We are going to be very tight on operators, but we can tough it out for the 48 hours…. Also, I made up graphs that show the targeted QSO counts by band by hour for the entire contest. These will be posted at each operating position, and N8LGP and others will keep the actual curves updated so we can compare them with the planned targets.

BANNER

Dorothy McClelland, W0CG's Aunt (in law) made a beautiful 3 by 5 foot banner for the operation. It has the CCC and Ten-Tec logos and all the data about the operation. We will try to display it prominently in the photos and videos, and then will present it to one of the G's at the Dayton DX dinner to take back to the U.K. for Maud Slater.

COMMEMORATIVE "STUFF"

Goose will QSL all contest QSOs 100%, of course. Each card will also have an insert in it with information on how to order a special VP5FXB certificate, a mug, and/or a tee-shirt. We are doing this to try to help the world broadly remember Al Slater, and to keep him in our collective thoughts. These items will be sold on a zero profit basis, at cost.

WWW SITE

I made a few last-minute changes on the site tonight. After the operation, it will mutate from a "Planning" site to a "Reporting" site, with all the info about the operation, scores, and a lot of photos and even some audio and video from the trip. The site will also start discussing our next operation. YEP! Why not? Never too early to think ahead…. I'm seeing a lot of hits on the site from all over the world, by the way.

NON-CONTEST QSOs

Non-US hams want a chance to work VP5FXB to get the special QSL. Since we only have authority to use that callsign during the contest, we will plan to put someone on one of the mult radios or the packet system to make non-contest QSOs, as time permits. These could very well be on the WARC bands or on SSB. Thanks, Goose, for the idea! N8LGP may be very VERY busy on SSB….

REMEMBER

Check your flight times, don't forget the passport or birth certificate, and don't sweat the VP5 licenses (I have them all). Also be sure you looked on the WWW site at the airline baggage limits, weight guidelines, and carryon constraints. They are tight! Double-check that you have your contingency kit all set up (mine is AC power components, and it's all ready). Throw in a few light hand tools. And by all means remember the sunscreen. Packing is easy -- the sole purpose of the clothes is to provide soft, protective packing materials for the radio gear, right?!

PHOTOS

I put a few pre-contest photos on the WWW site. Have a look. This is a sample -- there will be many more after the trip, of course.

TEE SHIRTS

I have six more tee shirts with no names or callsigns. $14 each. Last chance if you want one. I was not happy with the lettering colors on the front -- ordered dark blue and a pink-pastel for the other section. Instead, we got black and red. But if we get more shirts produced (very likely) we will get the right colors the second time around, hopefully. The CCC logo (designed by Anita) on the back DID come out great.

73 and Thanks! See y'all in the tropics next week.

- Geoff

VP5 ARRL CW DX Contest - VP5FXB

Newsletter Issue 9, 30 January 1998

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COUNTDOWN

Two weeks. Getting there…! Cindy and I will be arriving on the island on February 13 (Friday) and will spend our first three nights in Jody's house before going into our rental house. We'll plan to meet each of you as you come out of the airport customs area and be sure you get transportation wherever you need or, at the least, pointed to the rental car agent up the hill. If you need to get messages to me after we arrive but before you leave the states, use Jody's e-mail address jody@caribsurf.com . Also, I'll be on 20 SSB as VP5/W0CG on a schedule I'll put out in the next few days.

OBVIOUS LOGISTICS

Now is the time to call the airline and double-check flight times and reconfirm bookings, do seat selection if you haven't yet, be sure you know where your passport or birth certificate are, and make rental car arrangements if you haven't called already. The number for Provo Rent-a-Car is (809) 946-4404 and is on the WWW site under "Travel, Lodging, and Costs." Also, now is the time if you haven’t already done so to settle up on any lodging costs that need covered before arrival. I have squared with Jody on the full cost of the Hamlet rental and on some other ancillary costs such as the shipping.

EQUIPMENT

We are not quite finalized on the equipment sheet, so please watch the mail over the next few days as we get that list concluded. At that time I'll also set up individually updated lists on the WWW site and make a downloadable version of the master equipment list spreadsheet available. I'll also be on the phone with some of you to finalize who is carrying what from where kinds of issues. On American Airlines, each passenger is allowed two checked bags with a combined weight limit of 100 lb and one carry-on bag with a weight limit of 40 lb. (Thanks to W8TK for this info, current as of 9 January 1998.) See also the e-mail thread on the WWW site under "General Logistics" (thanks K4LT) about travel cases for radio equipment.

SEALIFT

All of the seaborne material arrived fine at Jody's and is sitting at the Hamlet waiting for us to arrive and start construction. Look out world: the 40 meter yagi will lay a HUGE signal into W-VE.

MOCKUPS AND TESTING

Very important. If you are assigned to bring a station, or part of a station, please set it up and test. This morning I took all the stuff for the 20 meter station (minus the linear, which is already on VP5) out of the shack and set it up in a bedroom. Hooked up a piece of long coax and put it on the air. This means EVERYTHING -- outlet strip, computer, all connectors, your lamp and fan -- EVERYTHING. Hook it all up, put it on the air, and make contacts. Be sure the computer will key the CW. Get your Y-connector for the headphones and be sure both outputs work. This is also a good time to practice with building CT proficiency. Please PLEASE don’t haul everything to the island and THEN try to hook it up for the first time. Be sure it works here first. Mine did not. I found a bad solder joint in the linear keying cable and fixed it on the spot.

One VERY scary place we can get into trouble is in T/R keying of amps. What I did to eliminate this problem is to build a little relay box. It has a 24 volt power supply in it and a relay. The relay is keyed by the linear keying lines coming from the TS-940. Then the relay contacts can be connected to ANY amp -- even to the hideous 117 VAC T/R relay in an SB-200, with no compatibility problems. This was a big headache on both past trips. It was so bad on one trip that the 20 meter op had to tromp a foot switch on EVERY transmission just to key the amp. So if you have ANY doubt about transceiver versus linear compatibility, test it and if necessary build a little isolation relay box as I did. On the other hand if you're W8TK and are bringing compatible equipment such as the Ten-Tec combination for the 40 meter station, their natural compatibility eliminates this problem. Still, think about what we would do if the Ten-Tec amp dies and we had to invoke a backup amp. Could we still key it?

DEVIL'S ADVOCACY

Think negatively. Look over all the gear you're responsible for bringing and imagine everything that could go wrong. Then defend against these things -- spare fuses, backup tubes, possibly a second keyer…. You've got the picture. I'm not paranoid -- just experienced. Murphy WILL be there. We just have to out-plan him.

MONEY

Thanks to those who have sent in the final increment of $$$ for the pooled expenses. A couple of folks overpaid inadvertently, and I'll be writing out some refund checks when we get there. Also, it appears that we may have overpaid for the licenses and the sealift was a bit cheaper than we had expected, so there may e some squaring up to do when we arrive.

LICENSES

I have all the licenses and will bring them as a lot.

OPERATING SCHEDULE (Repeat from the last newsletter.)

The draft version of the operating schedule is on the WWW site. Please have a look, and make suggested changes to Doug k4lt@fuse.net . Also, the individual band rate target sheets are now on the WWW site. Have a look, especially at the bands you'll primarily be operating on.

TEE SHIRTS

It is not too late to order additional tee shirts at $14 each. All are size XL. If you want additional shirts, please send me an e-mail and indicate the name or callsign that you want on it/them.

Harvard Software has signed on with us a sponsors of the trip. You should have received a CT manual directly from the vendor by now. Practice, practice, practice. Be especially sure you know how to use supercheck partial, the gab feature, and how to pass mults.

DAYTON

We will, of course, be making the trip presentation at the contest forum. In addition, the DX dinner is a lot of fun, and we may be making some presentations in that forum as well. If you're interested, it is not too early to order tickets. Here's the info:

The Southwest Ohio DX Association is pleased to announce the Thirteenth

Annual DX Dinner to be held on Friday, May 15th, 1998 at the Crowne Plaza

Hotel, Dayton OH. There will be a cash bar at 6:30 PM and dinner at 7:15 PM.

Tickets are $30.00 and must be purchased in advance. Groups wishing to sit

together must order as a group. A table seats eight. Please make your check

or money order payable to SWODXA and send an SASE for ticket return. Seats

will be assigned in the order that requests are received. Seats will be

assigned on 15 March 1997. Seating is limited. Please order tickets from Tom

Inglin, NR8Z, 4061 Eaton Road, Hamilton OH 45013. For information on the

dinner, contact Steve Bolia, N8BJQ at (937) 788-2803 or e-mail to

n8bjq@erinet.com.

Check the SWODXA homepage at http://members.aol.com/SteveB4622/index.htm

For updates.

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73 and Thanks!

- Geoff, W0CG

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VP5 ARRL CW DX Contest - VP5FXB

Newsletter Issue 8, 19 January 1998

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OPERATING SCHEDULE

The draft version of the operating schedule is on the WWW site. Please have a look, and make your comments and requests for changes to Doug ( k4lt@fuse.net ). Doug and I had about 42 hours in the truck last week to talk about the schedule, and he was kind enough to take the time to commit the discussions to paper, and from there to a computer file. Again, this is a DRAFT. Send him your suggested changes.

MORE THANK YOUs

Special thanks to Goose and Doug for running around last Saturday and picking up a 500 foot roll of 8814 coax and 600 feet of poly rope. The week prior, Goose bought a 40 foot pushup mast at Radio Shack and delivered it to W0CG's place. A repeated thanks to Doug for driving all the tower pieces to CGs (300 miles each way) last month so that they could be re-worked and assembled and prepared for shipping by CG and N8LGP. Thanks to W8TK for the donation of a new-in-the-box HD-73 rotor for the 40 meter station. Thanks again to W8TK for kicking in $500 toward the cost of the QSLs, and to Goose for offering to be the QSL manager. We also need to thank Noel, W9EFL, for picking up the cost ($403) of the 40 meter yagi. It is now HIS antenna, and we will decide what to do with it after the operation once we get to Provo. And, of course, a huge thanks to Doug for donating 2500 miles of wear and tear on his truck to take the tower to Florida (below). Finally, a thank you is extended to Ten-Tec Corporation for partial sponsorship of the trip and for the loan of one complete station.

THE EQUIPMENT IS ON THE BOAT !

W0CG and K4LT successfully shipped the tower parts and other equipment to Provo on Tuesday the 13th. We left Doug's in Kentucky first thing Monday morning and arrived at Greencove Marine in Port Everglades, FL, at about 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. After much screwing around and a couple of phone calls we found the drop point for the cargo -- a warehouse in amongst stacks of semi cargo containers stacked halfway to the sky. A very disinterested and overworked fellow on a Towmotor gave us the evil eye and told us to consolidate all the pieces as well as possible and put them on pallets in the yard. Doug and I collapsed the load down to 10 pieces by mounting the tower bases to the towers themselves, nesting the 40 meter beam boxes, the mast, and the pushup mast inside tower sections, and taping the threaded bolts inside the tower sections with duct tape. The W8TK rotor and the thrust bearing was already installed in the top section for 40 tower. The result was four tower sections on one pallet, three on another pallet, and three loose items on the third: a 500 foot spool of coax, a 600 foot spool of rope, and a box full of hardware and miscellaneous components such as the TK rotor controller.

Addressing of the cargo is done very casually. We attached wire-on tags and stick-on labels to every piece with Jody's name, street address, and phone number. The overworked guy from Arawak shipping then picked up the pallets and moved them into the "Provo corner" in the warehouse and gave us a copy of a hand-written "Delivery Receipt" form. No bill of lading, no bar codes, no shipper's validation or port clearance documents required…. Informal. But we are confident the stuff will get to the right place, as our cargo was prepared and marked just the same as all the other material we saw in the warehouse. Shipping charges, the import document fee, local delivery costs, and import duty will all be collected on Provo.

The cargo warehouse was interesting, to say the least. Their only apparent requirement for shipping things to the islands is that they be "on a pallet". Not affixed to a pallet -- just "on." We saw stacks of kitchen table chairs sitting on pallets, stacked loosely. Boxes of computers and computer components, again stacked loosely. And, of course, some nut shipping 10 foot long pieces of antenna tower, stacked loosely on a couple of three-foot square pallets.

All that material is scheduled to arrive in the port on Wednesday, January 21. Jody will clear it through customs, and it will then be delivered to her place.

AIRLINE BAGGAGE LIMITS (from W8TK)

This is a repeat from the last newsletter, but it's important enough to repeat. W8TK checked with American Airlines about baggage limits to Provo. Each passenger is allowed two checked bags with a combined weight limit of 100 lb and one carry-on bag with a weight limit of 40 lb.

PUBLICITY

I have received numerous reactions to our publicity, all of them good, from all over the world. The contest and DX community knew G3FXB well, and our operation has been received very favorably worldwide.

MONEY - THE BOTTOM LINE

Thanks to everyone for sending in the $100 for the first increment of shared expenses. We're now in a position to finalize the balance of those expenses and collect the rest of the dollars.

Here's a blow-by-blow explanation of why the money is needed and where it will go.

HAMLET - KU8E and K8RF will pay half the cost of the Hamlet rental because it will also constitute their lodging. The team will pay the other half for use of Jody's magnificent site and station.

HARDWARE - N8LGP donated many, many hours of running around and machine shop work to fabricate the tower bases and other mechanical items we will need. W0CG donated the steel. Steve is only asking for $52.96 of reimbursement for threaded rod and miscellaneous items, and has donated the rest of the hardware.

PUSHUP MAST - Goose invested $79 in a 30 foot pushup mast for the 160 antenna. That mast is on the boat enroute to Provo.

QSLs - WX9X has told us to plan roughly $100/1000 QSL cards. We are hoping to make over 9000 QSOs, translating to a card printing cost of about $900. W8TK donated the first $500 of that amount -- we will cover the remaining $400 from the shared expenses.

TOWER - The total cost of the tower, guy wire, equalizer plates, guy brackets, bearing and rotor plate, and some miscellaneous insulators was $455, paid by W0CG. Goose donated $70 to the tower costs. CG will keep some of the hardware and resell it, and the portion that went to the island, including a new mast we bought, is valued at $300, which will be distributed among the team.

40 METER YAGI - The 40 meter beam was $403, which W9EFL has agreed to pick up. Thus, the team will not have to cover any of this amount from the shared expenses.

SEABORNE SHIPPING - The estimated cost of shipping the cargo to the island is $300, including freight charges, a $55 document fee for customs on Provo, duty, and the local delivery charge from the port to Jody's house. This will be covered out of the shared expenses.

COAX - Goose picked up the $296 for a 500 foot roll of coax, which the team will need to reimburse out of shared expenses.

ROPE - Goose also picked up the $69 cost of 600 feet of poly rope which the team will reimburse.

FLORIDA TRIP EXPENSES - The cost of the Florida run was $125.24 for gas and $95.75 for three nights of motels. This totals to $220.99, which is being donated by W0CG. The team will not be asked to reimburse any of this (the sun was warm and the sky blue).

LICENSES

Old news now, but the license fees were $21 each, and $21 for the special VP5FXB callsign.

Philosophically, it may not seem fair to collect cash for all of the above. The tower, rotor, antenna, and a lot of other items that we leave behind will benefit future operations, many of which will involve other groups besides us. Why, you ask, should we pick up part of the cost of other peoples' future operations? Simple. Because we are benefitting in the same way in reverse. We are not being asked to pick up any of the cost of the 15 meter tower, the Mosley yagi, the 80 meter rotating dipole, the coax that feeds it, the rotor that turns it, or of the tower itself. Nor are we being asked to reimburse K8JP, VP5JM, or anyone else for the large number of dollars and effort they have invested in the past, the benefits of which we are now enjoying. So it goes around and comes around, and in the spirit of contesting and good ham fellowship we are contributing to future ops at Jody's in the same way in which past ops have supported us.

Here's the summary.

Item	Cost	Portion in "Shared Expenses"
Hamlet	975.00	487.50
Hardware	150.00	52.96
Pushup Mast	79.00	79.00
QSLs	900.00	400.00 (tnx W8TK)
Tower	455.00	230.00 (tnx W8AV)
40 Meter Yagi	403.00	0.00 (tnx W9EFL)
Seaborne Shipping	300.00	300.00
Coax	296.00	296.00
Rope	69.00	69.00
Florida Trip Expenses	220.99	0.00 (tnx W0CG)
Licenses	239.00	239.00

TOTAL		2153.46 / 9 = 239.27

This totals to $2153.46, or $237.27 for each of the nine team members. The bottom line is that I need to ask for a check from each of the nine licensed participating ops (Doug's XYL and Tom's XYL are excluded because they will not be operating) for $139.27. This amount is dramatically below that associated with most other contest and DXpedition trips. Also, it has been greatly reduced through the generous contributions of some of the team members.

Checks to:

Geoff Howard, W0CG

1984 Trares Road

Suffield, OH 44260

EQUIPMENT

We are zeroing in on the equipment list and layout. There is so much to cover on this topic, and it's changing so rapidly, that I'll defer discussing anything about equipment until the next newsletter.

CT SOFTWARE

This is repeated from the last newsletter, but is IMPORTANT! K4LT will be sending copies of the current version of CT to everyone for practice. Also, he'll be sending out an electronic version of an EXCELLENT tutorial he wrote on CT as soon as he gets it all typed. That file will also appear on the WWW site. If you're not satisfied with you proficiency on CT, the next few weeks will be a good time to practice, and Doug will be making it extra-easy to do so.

COMPETITION

It looks like we will have stiff competition in the multi-unlimited category from a big operation by a group from the Frankford Radio Club on Antigua. We're not worried, but I bet THEY are!

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Thanks to everyone for being so responsive to my requests/pleas for things. All this work is worth it -- It will pay off! Less than a month, and counting

73,

- Geoff, W0CG

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VP5 ARRL CW DX Contest - VP5FXB

Newsletter Issue 7, 9 January 1998

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THE MIAMI RUN

Last chance: W0CG and K4LT will be leaving Monday, 12 January to take the tower parts and other heavy material to Miami to put on the boat to Provo. This weekend is you last chance to get materials to CG or to K4LT for the boat trip. Thanks to Doug for sacrificing 2000 miles of wear and tear on his pickup for the good of the cause!!

AIRLINE BAGGAGE LIMITS (from W8TK)

Just checked with American Airlines about baggage limits to Provo. Each passenger is allowed two checked bags with a combined weight limit of 100 lb and one carry-on bag with a weight limit of 40 lb.

PUBLICITY

We released publicity on the operation very widely on 7 January. W8AV wrote a small news release that has been forwarded to the world via the CQ-CONTEST reflector. Goose has also sent the material to several DX bulletin publications, and I will send a brief article to K3EST later today.

EQUIPMENT - YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Please please-squared check the equipment list on the WWW site. You can click on your callsign (at the bottom) and see the current draft of items that we have you down to bring. This is a DRAFT, but we need to solidify it FAST. Let me know by e-mail (ghoward@kent.edu) and I'll change it. Obviously, it is very important to test and hook up all the items you will be bringing and be sure everything is working. If you are bringing an amp and have spare tubes, bring them along!

If you want to look at the overall monster equipment list, it is ( < http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/master.htm > ). Please be patient – it is a large file.

SERIAL NUMBERS

I need serial numbers yesterday for all the major equipment items you will be bringing so that I can get a consolidated list to customs in the Turks well in advance of the trip. Special thanks to W8TK and N8LGP for getting serial numbers to me so quickly.

W0CG WILL DISAPPEAR BRIEFLY

I'll be on the road with Doug roighly 12-17 January. I'll have a laptop with me, but that does not guarantee that I'll have Internet access each day. Please don’t fret if you send me mail during that week and don’t get the usual quick answer.

CT SOFTWARE

K4LT will be sending copies of the current version of CT to everyone for practice. Also, he'll be sending out an electronic version of an EXCELLENT tutorial he wrote on CT as soon as he gets it all typed. That file will also appear on the WWW site. If you're not satisfied with you proficiency on CT, the next few weeks will be a good time to practice, and Doug will be making it extra-easy to do so.

THANK YOUS

A huge "thanks" to W8TK, who has made an unsolicited donation of $500 toward the cost of the QSLs.

Thanks also to Noel, W9EFL, who has agreed to assume ownership of our new Cush-Craft 40 meter yagi (a $400 item). We will decide on the disposition of that antenna while on the island. In the imterim, Noel's kindness in picking up the cost of the beam softens the financial blow for the rest of us on the team.

A special thanks to Steve, N8LGP, who has put in many MANY hours of work over the past weeks fabricating beautiful hinged tower bases, making special "trick" devices for the trip (such as a brilliant little jog for re-rounding smashed tower legs), trial-assembling the 40 meter yagi in the cold and rain in his backyard, and many other things too numerous to detail here.

Finally, thanks to Al Kahn and Tom Silvetti at Ten-Tec for affiliating with the team and for their financial support of parts of the operation.

A huge "advance" thank you to Goose for serving as QSL manager. We hope he will have to send out nearly 10,000 cards!!

Thanks to Don, K8MFO, for his research into QST archives on CD ROM. This was the source of much of the data that drove our establishment of VP5FXB score targets.

KU8E

Good news -- Jeff is back on the trip. Everything will be alive and well on 40 meters> We're thrilled (and relieved) that Jeff will be with us.

RECRUITING

We are still working to recruit operators. We've had expressions of interest from several potential additional team members, including Kenny, K2KW, who was the leader of the 6Y5A expedition last year. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to recruit one or two more people to ease the operating burden and to help assure that we can attain our ambitious scoring targets.

SCORE TARGETS

Check the WWW site. We have posted quite a bit of data on scores from past operations and, from that data, derived a set of band-by-band scoring targets for VP5FXB.

DAYTON HAMVENTION

We are on the program for the Contest Forum at the Dayton Hamvention. Thanks to K1DG for making us feel so welcome in the forum!

A REITERATION OF OUR THURSDAY CONSTRUCTION GOAL

Remember: The goal is to be ready for the contest -- totally ready, with all computers, the network, all gear, all antennas, and even lamps and fans ALL READY by Thursday at 8 PM. That's right: THURSDAY. Then we can spend Friday sleeping, having fun, discussing strategy, and generally not being panicked.

OPERATING SCHEDULE

I didn't get very far on the operating schedule. Too much work -- not enough time. It will get done as time allows. If you've not sent me your operating preferences (most have) please do so and we'' factor those preferences into the final schedule.

RULES

ARRL finally put out the WWW version of the rules. I linked them through our site. Please have a look.

WWW SITE

Please check the WWW site frequently now -- it will be changing almost daily.

73,

- Geoff, W0CG

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VP5 ARRL CW DX Contest - VP5FXB

Newsletter Issue 6, 1 January 1998

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GENERAL

Would you believe? Fewer than eight weeks until we hit the island and shatter ARRL records. More important than that, fewer than eight weeks until we are able to remind the entire worldwide DX and contesting community of the class and sophistication of Al Slater, G3FXB, one of the best who ever graced the ham bands.

TEAMWORK AND "THE PUSH"

There's a LOT to do as we approach THE DATE. It is time to do THE PUSH! The only way we have ANY chance of getting it all to come together is if everyone works HARD to get all the preparation done. You can help by answering e-mails fast and by jumping in and doing all the chores outlined below and on the WWW site as fast and as well as possible. Please help me out!! Check the e-mail OFTEN.

LICENSES

Jody has obtained licenses for everyone except K8RF, and Dan’s renewal is not far behind. Dan -- your license has been FAXed to Jody…. Thanks for responding so quickly to my request for copies of stateside licenses. We’re not sure at this stage whether she will forward them to me or will just hold them until our arrival, but either way you can relax knowing that they are finished and will be ready for you when you get to Provo. Goose had requested VP5AV, but we were told that we would not be able to get a special callsign except for the weekend of the contest only. While you’re doing casual operating on the island you’ll use your call with a slash (VP5/WA9S, for example). During the contest itself we will, of course, be using the commemorative callsign VP5FXB.

EQUIPMENT

Please be patient – there’s a lot of data to follow about equipment, and we need PLEASE everyone to read carefully and respond to requests as they are made.

The WWW site now has an updated master equipment list. (Go to the "Equipment" section, then click on "Master Equipment List" ( < http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/master.htm > ) to view this spreadsheet. Please be patient – it is a large file.

This is a DRAFT of how each station will be equipped. I’m sure I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so please review it carefully and send me messages about what I have wrong and what needs to be changed. I need your inputs. Also, just because you may be listed as providing a LOT of gear, that does not mean you will have to carry it all! We will spread out the equipment so that everyone carries about the same (heavy) load.

The table is arranged by bands. Within a band, each item has a specific number (1 through 78). Thus, the rotor for the transmitting antenna for 40 would be designated as equipment item 40-73. Those numbers (1 - 78) also tie to a general station wiring diagram. Which you can get by clicking on "Typical Station - Diagram and Component Numbers" ( < http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/station/sld001.htm > ). Look at the diagram and correlate it with the master equipment list and hopefully the details will all make sense.

You can then go down to the section called "Info for Team Members" and click on your callsign and look at the list of equipment items that you alone are responsible for bringing.

I took a wag at lining up who will provide what. Don’t panic – remember this is a DRAFT. Here below is the approximate setup. (W8TK: Don’t worry – we will spread around your gear so you only carry ONE thing….) (Or two….)

160 - Band Captain Goose, W8AV

Transceiver: TS-930 from K8RF

Amp: Dentron MLA-2500 from W8AV

Computer: COMPAQ laptop from W8AV

Antenna: 160 delta loop engineered by K8RF, a la VP5VW

80 - Band Captain Dan, K8RF

Transceiver: TS-930S from W8AV

Amp: W8TK’s Alpha, as in VP5VW operation

Computer: Laptop - the one W8TK bought "for his kids"

Antenna: Rotating dipole on Hamlet tower (This will need to be turned 90 degrees on the mast so that it and 15 are both pointing at the states at the same time.)

40 - Band Captain KU8E

Transceiver: TS-940 from W0CG

Amp: Ten-Tec Centaur from W8TK

Computer: COMPAQ laptop from W0CG

Antenna: Cush Craft 40-2CD yagi (more on that below)

Rotor: HD-73 from W8TK

Tower: Shipped in from the states

20: Band Captain WA9S (Did you actually volunteer, Ken?)

Transceiver: TS-940 from W8TK

Amp: Alpha 374 from W8TK

Computer: IBM Thinkpad from W9EFL

Antenna: Jody’s 4 el at the house

15: Band Captain K4LT

Transceiver: TS-930 from K4LT

Amp: Henry 2-K Ultra from K4LT

Computer: K4LT’s laptop

Antenna: Jody’s Mosley Pro-67 on the Hamlet tower

10: Band Captain W0CG

Transceiver: Shared with 160

Amp: Shared with 160

Computer: Shared with 160

Antenna: Mosley 3 el on Hamlet roof tower

Multiplier 1 Station: Primary Op W9EFL

Transceiver: Ten Tec from W9EFL

Amp: Ten Tec from W9EFL

Computer: COMPAQ laptop from W0CG’s XYL

Antenna (160): Jody’s dipole

Antenna (80): Dipole or Force 12 vertical

Antenna (40): Inv vee

Antenna (20): Inv vee or vertical

Antenna (15): N8LGP 3 el yagi side-mounted on Pro-67 tower

Antenna (10): Vertical

Multiplier 2 Station: [may not exist]

Packet Station:

Transceiver: Alinco DX-70 from N8LGP

TNC: KAM from W0CG

Amp: None

That’s the approximate setup.

PLEASE do the following on equipment:

1. Review the list above and make suggestions via e-mail on how it can be improved.

2. Look at the list of gear YOU are responsible to bring (column 6 in the spreadsheet). If you go to the WWW site and click on your call under "Info for Team Members" you will find just your portion of the spreadsheet. Tell me what is wrong, what is impossible, what you can’t do, etc.

3. If you are asked to bring something that has a serial number, SEND IT TO ME PRONTO. I need SN’s for the letter to the customs inspector.

4. Keep the changes flowing to me!

5. If you are asked to bring more than you can carry, send me a list of what you need help getting there. I will be taking all the boat freight to Miami on about January 12 and we can put your stuff on the boat or get it to someone else to take on the plane.

6. If I DON’T hear from you, then your spreadsheet on the WWW site (it will change little by little over the next few weeks) will become your packing list/checklist for the trip, and I’ll assume you are committed to bring everything on the list.

7. If you don’t understand some item you are asked to bring, please don’t guess – ask about it.

"Kits"

The last few lines at the bottom of the massive "Master Equipment List" spreadsheet show some special kits. Here’s the scoop on the "kits."

Computer Connector Kit - WA9S (Item Misc-01)

Ken - Could you hit a Radio Shack and get a liberal combination of DB 25 and DB 9 connectors, male and female, and some 9 and 25 pin gender changers of all types, and some 9 pin to 25 pin adapters, male, female, and vice-versa. Also, get a small soldering iron, some light tools, and anything else you think you might need to make up terminations for computer cables. Put it all in a lil’ plastic box and throw it in your luggage. This may not be used at all, but on the other hand it could get us out of a really bad spot….

Grounding Kit - N8LGP (Item Misc-02)

N8LGP is already putting together a kit consisting of wire, lugs, and all the hardware he feels necessary to implement a true central point grounding system for all the gear. As the stations are assembled, Steve will flit around and ground the heck out of everything. Good central point grounds can eliminate tons of intermod and computer problems.

DC Connectors Kit - W9EFL (Item Misc-03)

Noel - Your task here, should you choose to accept it, is to go to Radio Shack and pick up a batch of DC connectors. An assortment of male and female phone plugs, phono plugs, DIN connectors of all kinds, male and female mini phone plugs, and anything else that falls under the heading of DC or small signal connectors that we might need. Lots of adapters. Put ‘em all in a nice neat divided plastic box. No need to bring tools – WA9S will have them. These WILL save our tails as we start to try to connect all the pieces of gear together.

Coax Tricks Kit - W8AV - (Item Misc-04)

Goose - Will you please put together a massive collection of PL-259s, BNC connectors, barrels, � inch adapter sleeves for RG-8X, and miscellaneous adapters of all kinds, AND some lengths of RG-8/U and RG-8X, together with the appropriate tools, so that you can hook anything to ANYTHING in the world of coax, make up jumpers, and so forth?

AC Kit - W0CG (Item Misc-05)

I’ll get a gang of 220 volt plugs and receptacles of all kinds, some work boxes, and a general assortment of 110 VAC power wiring items, including a spare breaker of two, and some Romex, so that we will be able to power up anything, including 220 volt amps that have strange connectors.

Fuse Kit - K8RF (Item Misc-06)

Dan – Could you buy and pack a boatoad of 3AG fuses? Use your judgement. This means everything from 1 amp up to probably 10 amp. Think of all the gear we will have, and where they will have 3AG fuses, and what sizes, and bring a BUNCH in a little box. Could save the day. Thanks!

Computer Networking System - K4LT (Item Misc-07)

Doug will be solely responsible for all the cabling, connectors, and black magic needed to implement the K1EA computer network. The WA9S kit will be of help if he has problems getting pieces connected. We may need to use some ferrite beads from the KU8E kit to get the RF off these lines. (Doug - I will bring the 75 foot cable from my basement.)

Bandpass Filtering Kit - W8AV (Item Misc-08)

Goose will be bringing the entire complement of ICE bandpass filters and compatible connectors from his multi-multi shack, and he will take responsibility for installing and troubleshooting them.

Hardware/Mechanical Kit - N8LGP (Item Misc-09)

Steve is the mechanical genius for the team. He can make, fix, design, repair ANYthing made of metal. Steve, could you make up a hardware goody-box? This would include your choice of nuts, bolts, machine screws, fasteners, pipe clamps, tie wraps, washers, and ANYthing your can anticipate needing to hook up guy wires, fix broken antennas, replace broken dipole end-insulators, or ANYthing in the antenna/rotor/mechanical systems arenas that may fail. Put it all in a nice compact box. With any luck, we will bring it all back home unused! Additionally, I know you’re bringing a collection of magical tools. When something breaks outside, we will all be looking to you for a solution from your box. In addition, please bring a large spool of lightweight nylon cord for miscellaneous antenna fixup and erection.

2 Meter HTs - Everybody (Item Misc-10)

Not really a kit. Everyone needs to bring an HT and batteries/charger (it is US standard 110 VAC in the Turks). There is a good repeater on the island, and this will help a ton given that we are all staying at various widely-separated locations on the island.

Coax Switches - W0CG (Item Misc-11)

W0CG will bring a couple of multi-position coax switches. The main use will be at the multiplier stations where it will be necessary to switch multiple transmit antennas rapidly.

CT Software - K4LT (Item Misc-12)

Doug will take care of bringing the software and all the diskettes and other paraphernalia needed to load a consistent version of CT on all the laptops and get it working. Doug will also be responsible for backups of the logs, capturing the log file after the contest, preparing, and submitting the log, both to the ARRL and to Goose for QSL generation.

Still Photography - W0CG XYL (Item Misc-13)

Cindy Howard will shoot all the official still photos for the construction and operation phases. These will be used for magazine articles, advertising, the QSL, the history, and the presentations that we will give (hopefully) at Dayton and other hamfests.

Signage - KC8BBE ?? (Item Misc-14)

We need professional-looking signs (easy with computers) for all the operating locations in the shack, for the QSL card, and for tracking scores. For the stations, the signs need to be big enough to sit on a rig (ex "Mult Station 1") and stand out in a photograph of the operating position and rigid enough to stand on their own. Also, we want score-tracking signs (posters, actually) that will hang in sight of the ops and show graphs of targets of mults and QSOs hour by hour, for each band. Steve or whomever is available will update these frequently so we can compare targets with where we actually are. The neater and more professional these look the better the impression the operation will make in the photos and videos. We also need a big ARRL symbol on a banner or a poster, in color, on the order of two feet tall or so. Finally, we need to obtain Ten-Tec logos large enough to put on the wall so that they will appear in the photos of the operation.

Video - W0CG (Item Misc-15)

W0CG will shoot tape during all phases of the setup and operation. The goal is to get enough material that we will be able to edit together a good, professional-looking compilation of the whole trip. One special feature will be that I will be coming around to the stations and plugging the audio cable from the camera into the headphone Y-connectors at the various rigs. This will give the viewers a chance to see and HEAR exactly what the operators get. We want to try to use some of these tapes for training and contesting orientation materials for ARRL and club groups. I will take care of all the video equipment, bringing tapes, and everything connected with taping. And we'll definitely also use video material shot by anyone else who wants to bring a camera.

VP5FXB Banner - W0CG XYL ?? (Item Misc-16)

It would be very classy to make a banner and/or flag for the operation. Guess a flag would be best -- something with the CCC palm-tree logo on it, the callsign and dates, and maybe the Turks and Caicos shield from the national flag. Something very classy and colorful with mention of the Al Slater memorial. It would hang in the shack during the contest, and we could hold it up in front of us in the QSL card photo, then present it to a UK ham at the Hamvention DX dinner to be taken to Mrs. Slater for her to keep. Who might be able to have access to someone with the equipment and time to make a flag like this? (I could sketch out an initial design for you.)

LPT Keying Cables - W8AV (Item Misc-17)

Goose has offered to make up (or bring) the K1EA keying cables for five stations. (These are shown in the equipment spreadsheet as Items 31 and 32 for each station.) Goose will also be responsible for doing his best to come up with connectors that are compatible with the keying input Y-connectors on all the radios. Please help him -- if he contacts you for info on your radio, respond quickly to him.

Ferrite Trick Box - KU8E (Item Misc-18)

KU8E is asked to go to Radio Shack or wherever and pick up a collection of ferrite bead and ferrite core devices for interference reduction. We will need a LOT of these to wrap around or snap around computer networking cables, keying lines, keyer power supply lines, and other unanticipated places. The more the better. Get a big assortment, in quantity, and a little plastic or metal case for them. These will come in handy on future trips, as all this stuff is definitely reusable.

Muffin Fan Kit - W8AV (Item Misc-19)

Goose - Do you have a bagful of 110 VAC muffin fans you can throw in?

THE MIAMI RUN

I'll be driving down to Miami on January 12 to take things to the shipper for the boat trip to Provo. Anything that you want put on the boat needs to get to me prior to that date. It needs to be in a strong plywood container. I would not assume that the material will be kept dry during the trip, so be sure you waterproof the contents. Also, there is NOT a 100% guarantee that things shipped this way will GET THERE. You need to worry about your own insurance and also not ship things that would kill the operation if they did not arrive. The shipper tells ma that material dropped on a Wednesday will float out on that Friday and arrive on Provo the following Wednesday. But I'm a risk-averse cynical kind of person, and I don’t like to take chances. So, with all those caveats, let me know if you are going to be getting anything to me for Miami by the 12th. THAT'S 11 DAYS FROM NOW!!!

THE 40 METER ANTENNA

The VP5JM station is very very well equipped with antennas. The only weak link is 40 meters, and K8RF confirmed this during his trip to Provo last fall. Thus, we did buy a Cush-Craft 40-2CD yagi and some tower sections. N8LGP has fabricated two hinged tower bases, and these will go to Provo on the boat. Steve also trial-assembled the yagi, and it is now collapsed and ready to ship, complete with balun. K4LT found some 25G sections and accessories for us and brought them to W0CG (along with K8RF - thanks, Dan) on 20 December. W8TK materialized a rotor for the 40 yagi. All of this will be test-assembled on January 2 at W0CG and then packed for shipment. We found out from the VP5VW operation that the 2 el yagi at 40 feet lays an INCREDIBLE signal into the states, and we need that dominance, particularly on the West Coast, if we are to achieve the scoring targets we have in mind.

W0CG paid for the yagi and the tower sections up front (about $900 altogether). I need inputs from all of you on whether we should try to bring the 40 yagi back and sell it to recover some costs, leave it on Provo for the future and pay for part of it with allocations from the team, or whatever. Same deal on the tower sections. What are your suggestions on what to do with all these materials AFTER the operation is over?

Another idea: Does someone want to BUY the 40-2CD for yourself after the operation and bring it home? We paid $404, including tax, so you could walk away with it for something like $325, which would be a steal of a deal. The antenna is normally $455 brand new….

AMPLIFIER T/R KEYING

Our single biggest technical problem in the past (other than the failure of the NA software) has been getting a lot of different transceivers to key a lot of different linears. They all seem to have different connector arrangements, different voltage and signal levels, and generally cause a LOT of headaches. Thus, if you are providing either a transceiver, a linear, or both, PLEASE call the other person (amps call radios, radios call amps) and work out between the two of you what it will take to key the amps. If possible, get together and actually TEST it. (Everyone's phone numbers are on the WWW site.) Please, this is a BIG deal, and can be a nightmare if it is not all coordinated ahead of time. We don't want to spend our playtime on the island messing with something as simple as screwing around figuring out how to key linears.

TEN-TEC

Thanks to W9EFL, Ten-Tec has agreed to affiliate with the operation. They will provide a bit of funding, possibly some loaned equipment, and lend their most excellent corporate reputation to the Al Slater memorial op. We will have the corporate logo on the QSLs, the shirts and mugs, and in the site photos. There is also a chance that some aspects of the VP5FXB operation will appear in Ten-Tec advertising. (Our direct contact at Ten-Tec is Mr. Tom Silvetti.)

PUBLICITY/PROMOTION

I have offered the team to K1DG to make a presentation on the operation in the Contest Forum at the Dayton Hamvention. If this offer is accepted, we will be able to get a lot of publicity for the FXB memorial. The presentation will consist of dual slide/video pictures and be embellished with on-air audio. Should be really neat and really professional. Good visibility for CCC also. In addition, the following ideas are offered to promote the op, before and after:

1. Well-written advance publicity

2. Solidly-professional QSL card with FXB history

3. Get a big banner or flag made (above) and present it to Mrs. Slater after the operation and the presentation at Dayton

4. Offer special commemorative award certificate for contact – offer on the QSL card for like $1 – photo and brief bio of Al – and have samples available at the presentation in Dayton

5. Achieve the highest callsign accuracy rate in any known contest and publicize that fact after the op – even at the expense of a lower score

6. CCC golf shirts at the Hamvention

7. Callsign transmitted no less than every other QSO

8. Professionally done video to sell at Dayton to spread the word on CC and G3FXB

9. See if ARRL wants to use the expedition as a training materials source for contesters

10. Offer tape and photos to all the magazines

11. Offer tape and photos to CQ for their video series

12. Good clean WWW site for after the contest

What other ideas can you offer? Reactions?

K3EST

N8LGP and I ran into Bob Cox, K3EST (CQ WW Contest Director) during the weekend on the CQ WW. Bob was operating the 40 meter position at the K3LR superstation. He offered to run publicity for us in "CQ Contest", and I will be sending him material on this later today.

SCORING TARGETS AND RECORDS

K8MFO is working on digging out all the old scoring records for ARRL CW using his CD-ROM based QST library. As soon as these become available, I'll post them in the scoring targets section on the WWW.

LODGING

Please look at the lodging schedule on the WWW site http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/vp5fxb.htm. Be sure that I have your correct dates posted. This is critical, as I have to be sure that I have the right arrival dates so that you will be met when your flight comes in. Also, confirmation and final payment of all your lodging arrangements are up to you. Please double-confirm, as you would for any travel, and be sure that you are financially squared away with your host. If you need to confirm with Jody, please do it by e-mail so she does not get bombarded with phone calls. The only loose ends on lodging are KU8E and K8RF, who will be sharing the Hamlet. I'll correspond with them separately on this to get it finalized.

QSLs

Our cards will be printed by WX9X, as in 1994 and 1995. Rich will do a custom card for the operation itself, which will be ordered after we have the photos and the QSO count from the trip. W8TK has offered to contribute generously to the cost of the QSLs. Would anyone like to pitch in dollars and help Tom on the cost of the cards? This will be about a $600 item overall.

For YOUR OWN OPERATION on the island, you should be ordering cards right now, with a stroke call like VP5/N8LGP. You can see samples and order directly on the WWW at http://www.qth.com/wx9x/ Do it now!

CASUAL OPERATING

Obviously, the priority activity will be having fun. Second priority will be to get the stations all set up and ready for the contest. Third priority, though, is to operate like mad during the week prior to the contest. We want to do this to exercise the stations at the Hamlet and find weak spots in the gear, to make a very loud presence on the bands worldwide, and to have FUN. So if you want to operate for fun, all bands and all modes are fair game, and you will definitely want to have a lot of QSLs available. I am still getting cards for my VP5 contacts in 94 and 95!!

OUR CONSTRUCTION GOAL

RENTAL CARS

It will be best if you want a rental car to coordinate it on your own. Most of us are staying too far from the Hamlet to walk back and forth, and it is a VERY nice convenience to have a car. What works well is to pool together with someone else and share a car.

The rental car agency is "Provo Rent a Car Limited", phone (809) 946-4404. They are on the airport, just a short walk from where you exit customs. (The Caribbean telephone area codes are scheduled to change very soon, so you may get an intercept, depending on when you call.) You can call and book a reservation with them directly. (Remember: it is a slow-moving "no problem" world down there, so be patient on the phone.) I rented a Subaru in 1994 that was $48.00/day. I'm sure the rates have gone up since then. All you need is your U.S. driver's license and a Visa card. If you did NOT have a Visa, explicitly, in 94 and 95, then you were charged an additional $11.95/day for insurance.

Come mentally prepared to drive on the left, U.K. style.

EATING

My XYL (Cindy) has VERY generously volunteered to be a sort of meal support system at the Hamlet during the time we are building the stations. She will grocery shop and cook, and then haul food down to the Hamlet from the Cherokee House where we will be staying. That's sure not guaranteed every day for every breakfast and lunch, but I know from experience that whenever she decides to cook, it will be an incredible treat. Getting food has been a real pain on past trips, and took a lot of time away from the radio construction, so this will be a great deal better. She will collect a pool of $$$ for food.

For evening meals, we will all be pretty much on our own. There are a lot of nice restaurants (watch out for the Grouper) and we will all be wandering off singly or in groups for dinner.

During the contest itself Cindy and other volunteers will keep us fat and fed.

MEDICAL CARE

Unfortunately we had an opportunity to test the medical care on Providenciales in 1994 when WD8AUB (K4LT) came down with a very serious case of food poisoning. The care was good. The Turks and Caicos is a British Commonwealth, so there are doctors there from the U.K. with the commensurate high quality training. They were very helpful and gracious with Doug when he had his crisis in 1995.

OPERATING SCHEDULE

I did not hear from many of you in response to my request for operating preferences. Thus, I took a wag at the operating schedule. This is a DRAFT! Let me know how it sits with you and we'll massage this schedule in the next few weeks until everyone is OK with it.

WWW SITE

Please check the WWW site frequently now -- it will be changing almost daily.

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All the best to everyone for 1998 from Cindy and me!

73,

- Geoff, W0CG

VP5 ARL CW DX Contest

Newsletter Issue 5, 18 October 1997

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Propagation

The sun is being good to us. I'm working things on 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 that I didn't even expect to HEAR for another year. It looks like we are going to be lucky and have an early rise on this cycle, which means lots and lots of points on 15 and a surprising score on 10 also, I bet!! It will be fun.

Operators

We have stabilized the operator list for the trip. Check the "Team" panel on the WWW site <http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/vp5fxb.htm> Everyone has airline tickets and lodging now. We still could use one or two more experienced contest ops. Question: Is it OK with the group for me to solicit more operators openly on the Internet at this stage of the planning? Or would you prefer to nominate two or three more people on your own? PLEASE let me know pronto.

Licensing

I am waiting to hear back from Jody on how she wants us to do licensing. I suspect that she will want all the paperwork and money to come to me so that I can send her one envelope with ALL the license requests. That will be easiest for her, I suspect. Watch your mail and I'll let you know how we're going to do the licensing.

Band Captains - Nag Nag Nag

Other than K4LT, the Band Captains are not doing their jobs. Bitch bitch bitch. Sorry. Please read on the WWW site about Band Captains and the associated responsibilities. Each captain has full responsibility for EVERYTHING on his band -- equipment, operator scheduling, operating strategy, hour-by-hour target planning, and all the rest. Have a look at what Doug has done for 15 -- he is far from finished, but he's made a wonderful start. (He has sent me better WWW material for 15, and I will get it on the site soon.) We need the Band Captains to get going pretty much yesterday on all the planning. Again, read about the job on the WWW site, get to work, and e-mail or call me with your questions or problems. Also, Doug has suggested everyone look at <http://www.algonet.se/~leges/engfra.htm> for interesting 6Y4A stats and a good overall summary of a neat contest operation.

Lodging

I think I have the lodging table and dates correct (finally) on the WWW site. Please have a look (click on Lodging on the home page) and let me know if there are still any errors in your dates on the island or where you will be sleeping...!

Meeting for CQWW CW

It has been suggested that as many of us as possible get together either at CG's or Goose's or both on 28-30 November. This would be a good chance to do some detailed trip planning, to have some fun, and to do some operating together. Also a great chance to build some proficiency in the latest version of CT without the pressure of the VP5 operation. AV and CG both have big stations with outrageous monobanders and lots of towers, so we could have a blast doing some casual operating in the contest. If enough people are up for it, we could even mount a serious multi-single effort from CG. I have a contester's bedroom right next to the shack, and the new contester's bathroom is close to the shack and is finished just enough to support life. Let me know -- who could come to NE Ohio during the WW weekend? Let's explore this idea further...!

I Need Money

It is time (ugh) to ask for some dollars. I'm asking each of the active licensed people on the team to send me $100 as soon as you can. That includes K4LT, W8AV, KU8E, W8TK, W9EFL, WA9S, K8RF, and N8LGP. This is the "down payment" on the pooled expenses. We still don't know exactly how much they will be, but they will include a shared part of the cost of the station (Hamlet) rental, part of the cost of shipping large items (like tower sections) to the island, the QSL composition and printing, tee shirts, possible computer rentals on the island, and other incidentals we may need to buy. The total "pooled" charge for VP5VW was $150/operator. I'm not sure what it will be for us, but I need the $100 to start, please. (I've disbursed just under $2000 out of my pocket thus far for the op, and need to start recovering some of that now.) Thanks!! As we start collecting and spending money for the operation, I'll put an expenses and disbursements summary on the WWW site wo all the finances will be out in the open and you can see exactly where your money is going.

Checks to:

Geoff Howard, W0CG

1984 Trares Road

Suffield, OH 44260

Operating Preferences

We need to build a table of operating preferences. Please send me a sentence or two describing how you would like to operate for the contest and I'll put it on the WWW. This will be a good guide for the Band Captains as they recruit ops to their bands and set up the operating schedule.

Example: "I am made of steel and titanium. I can (and prefer) to operate nearly 44 of the 48 hours. Just bring me food and water and I will go like the Energizer bunny. My favorite band is 80."

'Nuther Example: "I can go at very high rates for about three hours at a time, then like to have about two hours off. Prefer 10 and 15, and I do much better during daylight than night."

Yet Another: "Use me wherever and whenever you need me -- jack of all trades."

Another: "I love underline LOVE to pick multipliers -- lot more fun for me than running for rates. I would very much enjoy sitting at a multi-band mult position with the cluster and CT and pick up multipliers and manage passing mults, day and night."

Another: "I'm primarily nocturnal -- much prefer operating at night and grabing some sleep during the day. Favorite band by far is 40."

Finally: "I'm a sleep-wimp. I can operate like an animal, without any breaks, from morning until about 10 PM. After that, I'm worthless and my error rates skyrocket."

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That's it for now for the newsletter. Check the WWW site, please respond to my queries above, and hopefully a lot of us will get together at the end of November!

73,

- Geoff, W0CG

VP5 1998 ARRL CW DX Contest

Newsletter Issue Number 4, 22 July 1997

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WWW Site

We now have a pretty decent WWW site for the VP5FXB operation, to supplement the Caribbean Contesting Consortium site which is in draft form. Look at http://asgard.kent.edu/ccc/vp5fxb/vp5fxb.htm . This site is a template, which is pretty much empty of information and is in need of being filled. PLEASE have a look at the home page and read the "To Do" items at the bottom and do them, one by one. This will result in your sending me information to "fill up" the WWW site. Once that WWW site is "filled", our trip will be fully-planned and we'll be ready to post a world-beating score.

The site contains blank equipment lists, operating schedules, scoring targets, Band Captain assignments, lodging schedules on the island, and many other details that we need to fill in as soon as possible.

Please let me know by email if you do NOT have the ability to access the site, and send me a mailing address, and I'll print the site and send you a paper version.

DATES

The dates for the contest have finally been settled -- it will be 20-22 February, 1998. there was ambiguity in the last newsletter about these dates.

CATEGORY

We will be in the high power "unlimited" category. There is a link in the WWW site so that you can read the full contest rules on the ARRL site.

OPERATORS

We have a tentative, but fairly strong, commitment from Jeff Steinman, N5TJ (formerly KR0Y). Jeff is arguably the best CW contest operator in the world, as demonstrated by his scores and rankings consistently over the years. This is exciting news, and working with Jeff will be a greta learning opportunity for all of us! The rest of the operator list has not changed much since the last newsletter, but I'll be on the phone soon to try to nail down commitments. Unfortunately, both K1ZZ and K8MFO have had to turn us down because of other commitments.

LODGING

Still up in the air. Jody is working to get us firm commitments on one or more rental houses. Jeff (KU8E) has indicated a tentative desire to stay in the Hamlet. Doug (K4LT) is looking into other rental villas on the island. Please read the lodging section on the WWW pages. Please keep an eye on the WWW pages for more news about lodging and all other aspects of the trip.

PASSPORTS

I was wrong in the last newsletter. Passports are NOT required -- an original birth certificate will get you in and out of the country. Still, I personally feel MUCH better traveling with a US passport in my pocket!

BAND CAPTAINS

W8AV is Band Captain for 160, KU8E took on 40, amd K4LT will do 15 meters. That leaves three bands, and thus the need for three volunteers! Let me know? In the meantime the three Band Captains have a lot of work to start on right quick!

HELP WANTED

We still need volunteers/nominations for videographer, chef, and technical support people. A PacketCluster wizard who knows the 10-meter HF link world would also be a great help. Please check the WWW site in the"Help Wanted" section....

EQUIPMENT POOL

We need a LOT of gear. I started a list on the site of gear that has been committed to the operation. Please send me your commitments ASAP, and you'll see them pop up on the WWW site.

AGAIN

PLEASE look at the WWW site and send me e-mail addresses, phone numbers, nominations, equipment lists, et al!!!!

VP5 1998 ARRL CW DX Contest

Newsletter Issue Number 3, 19 May 1997

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Greetings, and my apologies that it's been so long since the last newsletter. One of my two jobs is winding down a bit now, and I'll have more time. Here, in no order at all, is an update on where we are. There are a lot of places in what follows that ask for responses, volunteers, opinions. PLEASE LET ME HEAR FROM YOU!!??

- Geoff, W0CG

P.S. I built this newsletter in Eudora Pro. Apologies if it does not come through cosmetically attractive in terms of line breaks and column alighment. The original looks really nice at my end....

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CALLSIGN

It has been suggested that we use VP5FXB, and make the operation a memorial to Al Slater, G3FXB. This would be consistent with the philosophy we used in the 1995 VP5VW operation. The QSL cards would include a brief bio of Al. Al was one of my earliest DX contacts (1964) and first DX QSLs and I'm sure he was one of the best known and most respected contesters and DXers in the world. Is this a good idea? Goose and Doug have commented positively. If it is OK with the team, then I'll write to Mrs. Slater for her permission to do the operation in Al's memory. Also, I'll be in England in July and may be able to pay her a visit.

QSLs

Someone want to take a crack at designing a draft of a card?