Northern Venezuela

1
43 Verticals on the Beach
The Hopes, Plans and Misadventures of the 1999
4M7X DXpedition
By Dean Straw, N6BV Visalia International DX
Convention, April 27, 2002
2
Flush with our 6Y2A CQWW CW Multi-Multi victory
in 1998, Team Vertical set out to beat our own
record in 1999...
6Y2A, Jamaica
3
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.
4

• To Beat the 6Y2A Record
• We had to move where
• European, USA and Japanese QSOs would each be
  worth 3 points.
• Logistics wouldnt be overwhelming for Team
  Vertical That pretty much left out Africa.
• Luckily, some team members had extensive
  experience in Venezuela.

5
Its 1000 Miles from 6Y2A to 4M7X, but
its Three-Point Territory
6
The Advantages of Verticals Over Saltwater -- the
6Y2A Experience

• Low elevation angles are critical, especially on
  the lower bands.

7
The Advantages of Verticals Over Saltwater -- the
6Y2A Experience

• Higher angles are important also.

8
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.

9
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.

10
The Cross-5 Array
Europe
Disabled
Director
0.2 ?
0.2 ?
Common Driven Element
0.2 ?
0.2 ?
Disabled
Reflector
Symmetrical array, with a common Driven Element.
The Cross-5 uses half-wave vertical dipoles
(HVDs).
11
Cross-5 Switching from N6BV Engineering Notebook
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Cross-5 Truth Table from N6BV Engineering Notebook
13
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.

14
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 wont be competitive, except at
  really low elevation angles.
• Vertically stacking vertical arrays is
  physically very difficult!

15
What to do?

• Stack em! Side-by-side with Sidecars.

(When pointing to JA, the Europe Sidecar is out
of circuit.)
1 ?
1 ?
JA Sidecar
Cross-5
Europe Sidecar
Now the stacked Gain is a very respectable 15.2
dBi. We had 11 elements each on 20, 15 and 10
meters.
16
Aiming the Antennas
Japan
Europe
USA
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Feeding Cross-5 and Sidecars
JA Sidecar
Cross-5
EU Sidecar
WX0B Stackmatch
Phasing Line
Phasing Line
RF
Azimuth Control
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A Very Narrow Pattern Results

• Combined Cross-5 Sidecar has a 35 3-dB
  Beamwidth We called this a Superbeam.

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Oh, by the Way...

• When the azimuths to Europe and Japan arent
  exactly 90 apart, youve 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.

20
Other Nearby Radiators Affect the Pattern Some
Cross-5 affected by Sidecars Note that this
happens for almost all ham installations with
nearby arrays.
21
Detailed Patterns to Europe/Africa
22
Detailed Patterns to USA/Japan
23
We Had Some Killer Antennas on Paper
Now we had to find a great place to put them!
24
We OriginallyPlanned on Operating from the
Venezuelan Mainland

• But the distances from the operating positions
  to the antennas were gt 1000.
• Logistics getting there were difficult.
• We didnt have local friends at the chosen
  location.

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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.

26
4M7X on Coche Island, Venezuela
Margarita Island
Coche Island 4M7X
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Local Layout
15
20
Mult. Antennas
10
80
40
160
80 RX
160 RX
Margarita 5 miles to the North
Coche Island
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Getting to Coche Island

• SFO to Miami (American Airlines)
• Miami to Margarita Island (Aeropostal Airlines)
• Margarita to Coche Island (by boat)

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A VeryWet Dave Ralph
NT1N
K9ZO
Hurricane Lenny Creates Hazardous Seas
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Uh, Senõr, We Have a Little Problem at the
Hotel...

• Uh, they didnt quite finish building it
• And there is no power...
• And there are no windows or doors...

31
Team Vertical Presses On Real 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 wasnt
  watching.
• We find accommodations at a nearby hotel, full
  of German tourists.

32
Electrical Distribution Antenna Patch Panel
No Doors, No Windows, No Wiring...
220 VAC Wiring
High Band Shack
Low Band Shack
Antenna Patch Panel
33
El Oasis Hotel Generator
Operating Area
Goat Guano
70 kVA Diesel Generator
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Building the Antennas
20-meter HVDs (Halfwave Vertical Dipoles)
35
160-m 2-ElementVertical ArraySame 57 Elements
as 6Y2A
15/40 Mult Yagi
Driven
Reflector
Goat Pen
36
80-m Four-Square Vertical ArraySame 37 Elements
as 6Y2A
Notice the Cinder-Block Guy Anchors -- These
Would Lead to Lots of Problems Later...
37
40-m ZR Four-Square ArraySame 15 Elements as
6Y2A
10 m JA Sidecar
40 m
Driftwood prop for 160-m radial
38
15-m Array and Margarita Island20/15/10-m Arrays
Each Had 11 Elements
Cross 5
Eu. Sidecar
JA Sidecar
Relay box, 1of 4 per Cross-5
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Flooded Beach, 10-m ArrayYes, That is Indeed
Saltwater
Vertical Heaven!
40
Through aVertical Forest, Darkly
160 m
20 m
10 m
20 m
160 m
40 m
10-m Relay Box
Notice the salt water
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Moon Over the Vertical Patch
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4M7X Antenna Summary
Antenna Design Goal Increase Gain by 2 dB on
10-80 m Compared to 6Y2A
160 m 2-Ele. 57 Vertical Array, Fixed on
Europe 80 m 4-Square, 37 Linear-Loaded
Elements, Comtek Box 40 m 4-Square, 15 40-ZR
verticals, Comtek Box 20 m 11 HVD Elements
WX0B StackMatch 15 m 11 HVD Elements WX0B
StackMatch 10 m 11 HVD Elements WX0B
StackMatch 43 Vertical Elements for Team
Vertical !! Multiplier Antennas 10/20-m Yagi _at_
20, 15/40-m Yagi _at_ 20 Rx Low dipoles for
160/80 m
43
4M7X and Local Crew of El Oasis de Coche
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We Ran Into a Few More Problems

• We couldnt 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.

45
Troubleshooting 40-m InterferenceLuckily, we had
dozens of ferrite chokes
40 m
10 m
10 m
K2KW
NT1N
High Band Control Cables
46
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.

47
Some of the Guys...
N6BT
YV5AMH
N6BV
Dick
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K9ZO
YV5EED
49
W4SO
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Lunch at the El Oasis Hotel
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El Oasis Transportation
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80-Meter Station
K9ZO
WA5VGI
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40-Meter Station
NT1N
Modified Cellular Packet
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High-Band Shack
Our Creed!
20 M
15 Mult
10 M
15 M
55
High-Band Shack
KE7X
AG9A
15 Mult
15 M
10 M
Super Beam Controller
20 M
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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.

57
Modified 70 kVA Generator
Gravity-Fed Fuel Tank
Goat Guano
Goat Guano
Fuel Return
58
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.

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15/40 Yagi...After the Winds
KE7X
AD6E
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Gimme a BreakWhat Now?
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Jay Says the Warranty Doesnt Cover Saltwater
Immersion...
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Still, We Didnt 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 gt
44,166,915
We beat our own 1998 6Y2A record but so did
the competition, in spades!
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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
64
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!

65
Local Flora and Fauna Toukee the Toucan
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A Feathered Bombadier
67
Toukee Loved to Party...
Drinking from N6BTs Cup
68
Dinner at Coche Speed Paradise
KE7X
YV5AMH
K2KW
AG9A
N6TV
N6BV
69
Relaxing by the Pool
Feet, Courtesy N6BT
70
Look in the Sky Is it a Bird? A Plane? No,
its Team Vertical!!
Actually, were all soaked from the boat ride,
and standing in a windy area to dry off.
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4M7X Sponsors

• Force 12 Antennas
• Groupo DX Caracas
• QRO Technologies
• Comtek Systems
• Array Solutions
• Nemal Electronics

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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.
73
43 Verticals on the Beach
The Hopes, Plans and Misadventures of the 1999
4M7X DXpedition
By Dean Straw, N6BV Visalia International DX
Convention, April 27, 2002