The
YS4U Story
By
Ron
Dohmen, NØAT,
Bill Dean,WØOR, and Tom Menas, K3WT
YS4U
was the fourth
contest DXpedition our
core group (NØAT,
WØOR,
NØSTL
and, more
recently, K3WT)
has completed. We started doing
this
in 2003 with Guatemala (TGØAA),
then went to Bolivia (CP6CW)
in 2004
and San Andrés (5JØA)
in 2007. After the first one,
working CQWW from
a DX location got into our collective blood streams. If the
contest
were not held Thanksgiving week, we would probably do it every year!
As a result, planning for the next contest DXpedition began immediately after the previous trip. We talked about various possibilities and, once again, looked at going somewhere in Central or South America.
Since that first experience, several criteria have driven our decisions when considering the question, “where do we go next?” Some of these are:
• Is it a somewhat rare multiplier in CQWW CW contests?
• Is it reasonably easy to get to? In other words, is there regular air service at a price we can justify?
• Can we do the whole thing without breaking the bank? A rule of thumb has been something around $1500 to $1700 apiece, which, as it has turned out, has been close to actual costs per person.
• Do we have a local contact or somebody who can help us with licensing, station location, etc?
• Last, but not least, is it warmer than Minnesota at the end of November?
As a result, planning for the next contest DXpedition began immediately after the previous trip. We talked about various possibilities and, once again, looked at going somewhere in Central or South America.
Since that first experience, several criteria have driven our decisions when considering the question, “where do we go next?” Some of these are:
• Is it a somewhat rare multiplier in CQWW CW contests?
• Is it reasonably easy to get to? In other words, is there regular air service at a price we can justify?
• Can we do the whole thing without breaking the bank? A rule of thumb has been something around $1500 to $1700 apiece, which, as it has turned out, has been close to actual costs per person.
• Do we have a local contact or somebody who can help us with licensing, station location, etc?
• Last, but not least, is it warmer than Minnesota at the end of November?
In the case of El Salvador, the
criteria were all met. In addition, Bill had a longtime
Salvadoran friend, Maggie Bojorquez, now residing in Miami, who offered
her beach house as a location. When she was planning a
business
trip to San Salvador (the capital) last March, Bill spent a frequent
flyer credit that was about to expire, and went down with her to look
it over. Her house didn’t seem like it would work
well, as
it had no air conditioning and too few bedrooms. But, with
Maggie’s help, Bill found several others that could be rented
and
looked good. Bill also made contact with the national radio
club
of El Salvador, and inquired about licensing. In doing so, he
met
with the president José Molina, YS1MS,
who agreed to sponsor our operation. In order to obtain a
special
call for a contest, one needs a Salvadoran sponsor.
This early in the planning, it was thought some of the ops may bring their XYLs. But, we received reports of crime in the area, so we settled on using a new beach hotel as our operating location instead of a house. It was a place that Maggie had shown to Bill as a possible option: the Comfort Inn Bahia Dorada. After much negotiation, we were able to settle on an all-inclusive price, and use of the roof area to install our antennas (they originally wanted us to rent the roof area).
E-mail was our primary method of planning this contest DXpedition. In all, we exchanged 858 e-mail messages - over 93mb of files. We also held periodic face to face planning meetings. The first meeting was held on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009.
This early in the planning, it was thought some of the ops may bring their XYLs. But, we received reports of crime in the area, so we settled on using a new beach hotel as our operating location instead of a house. It was a place that Maggie had shown to Bill as a possible option: the Comfort Inn Bahia Dorada. After much negotiation, we were able to settle on an all-inclusive price, and use of the roof area to install our antennas (they originally wanted us to rent the roof area).
E-mail was our primary method of planning this contest DXpedition. In all, we exchanged 858 e-mail messages - over 93mb of files. We also held periodic face to face planning meetings. The first meeting was held on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009.
| HOME |
NEXT ->>>> |