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Normanby Island
D'Entrecasteaux Islands
OC-116
by Derek G3KHZ

October 2005

QSL via G3KHZ
Derex Cox
18 Station Road
Castle Bytham, Grantham
LINCS NG33 4SB
United Kingdom
 

D’Entrecasteaux group – IOTA OC-116

P29NI on Normanby Island was on the air from 22 Oct to 1 Nov.  This station was operated by Derek, G3KHZ who stayed there with xyl Joyce for a holiday with a difference. 

We lived in the village of Saidawai in Sewa Bay in a traditional style dwelling which was opened this year and is called Saidawai guesthouse.  There are three rooms, each one is rented separately and the standard charge is 100 Kina/day (£20) for full board for a couple. There is no running water, no electricity and no bed.  In true Normanby style we slept on the floor.  The staple diet is yams and sweet potatoes.  This is supplemented by pit-pit pumpkin and another green vegetable and occasionally we ate fish, crab and chicken (once).  There is plenty of fruit.  Pineapples and other fruit grow wild.  We were provided with a plentiful supply of pineapples, bananas, paw-paw and mango. 

P29NI was located under the extended roof of the guesthouse.  It comprised an Icom 706Mk2g and SEC1223 switch mode power supply.  The antenna was kindly provided by Maury, IZ1CRR.  This was a multi-band vertical covering all bands 40m through 10m.  All those bands were used except 10m but only one QSO was made on 12m. 

QSO details:

We had several problems with generators.  At one stage the station was moved 300m to a local timber company so that their 5kVA generator could be used.  Finally a very battered Yamaha EF600 was borrowed.  This had an output voltage of about 270V off load and dropped to below 200V when transmitting.  Apologies if the note was less than T9 towards the end of the dxpedition! 

I took a laptop PC for logging.  Many digital photos were taken and when the local villagers saw that I was downloading these to the laptop they became extremely keen to see themselves.  Slide shows became a nightly occurrence and ate into useful operating time. 

The inhabitants of Sewa bay speak English in addition to the local Sewa bay language of Eyagu.  They are wonderful people who are virtually self-sufficient.  They run bare-foot through the jungle, go over half a mile to fetch water, light fires by rubbing sticks together.  They were most helpful and friendly towards us.  We attended their Methodist church and visited the school.  The local children from other parts of the bay come to school in their outrigger canoes (kewous).  On the last evening of our stay there we were treated to a “family evening”.  We became the honoured guests and sat with the local government representative for the meal.  Throughout the meal others sang to us and at the end we exchanged gifts and made our speeches.

This dxpedition was a CW only operation.  There is surely a need for someone else to follow to put an SSB station on the air from OC-116.

 73 Derek, G3KHZ, P29NI, etc
 

Approaching Saidawai

P29NI antenna assembly

Generator that saved us

School assembly for our visit

To keep the kids away!

Village market
 

Trobriand Islands
OC-115
by  Derek/G3KHZ
Vincent/G0LMX
Hans/SM6CVX

October 2006

QSL via G3KHZ
Derex Cox
18 Station Road
Castle Bytham, Grantham
LINCS NG33 4SB
United Kingdom
 

Trobriand group – IOTA OC-115

P29NI Kiriwina Island was on the air from 1 to 8 October, 2006.  Team members were Derek, G3KHZ, Hans, SM6CVX and Vincent G0LMX.  We resided at Butia Lodge; a pleasant stay with good food and very friendly and helpful hosts.

Initially we operated a station for one night from a local hut on the beach.  The generators we purchased however, had very poor voltage regulation, so bad in fact, that CW keying on occasions would cause the voltage to dip so low that the SEC1223 power supply ceased working.  The unstable generator output also ruined the power supply to a laptop and blew a light bulb!  After one night we abandoned the beach and relocated to Butia Lodge where we used the expensive lodge power.

At Butia Lodge we ran two stations.  One used an IC-706Mk2g the other used a TS-2000.  Both stations used the famous I1UJX multi-band vertical antenna for all bands 40m through 12m.  A dipole for 80m was erected with local help.

Conditions were good at times to both EU and NA.  We have 603 NA stations in the log.

QSO analysis:

G3KHZ
22.10.2006

Butia lodge

Butia lodge station

Hans and Stig with locals

Kiriwina kids

Pomeo Queen

The team

Yam house

Daru Island
OC-153
by Derek/G3KHZ
Vincent/G0LMX
Hans/SM6CVX

October 2006

QSL via SM6CVX
HANS OLOF HJELMSTRöM
KäLLTORPSV. 2
543 35 TIBRO
SWEDEN

PNG’s Coastal Islands South Group – IOTA OC-153

P29VCX Daru Island was on the air from 9 to 14 October, 2006.  Two stations were operational, manned by Derek, G3KHZ and Hans, SM6CVX.  We resided at the Crow’s Nest Hotel.  The hotel had a large grass area at the rear, very convenient for our two multi-band vertical antennas.  We waded through the long grass to put up the antennas and found out later that this was a favourite hideout for black poisonous snakes!

Our hosts on Kiriwina Island had established that the hotel in Daru did not take credit cards.  We were advised the bank would honour our VISA/Mastercards.  We queued for 30 minutes at the local South Pacific bank only to be told they did not deal with these cards!  We were almost out of cash.  Fortunately our non-ham friend, Stig Nyman who accompanied us, went back to Port Moresby a couple of days early and drew money from the bank there.  We all met the hotel owner in Moresby at the end of our trip and settled our bill there.

Signals from Europe were spectacularly loud on one evening.  They sounded like locals.  NA was well in evidence but signals generally weaker.  We have 555 NA QSOs in the log.

QSO analysis:

G3KHZ
22.10.2006

Daru airline office

Daru jetty

Daru street market

G3KHZ operating from Daru