Larry,
Thanks for writing this comment. Please see the similar story from K1B in January QST. The daily consumption of water was anywhere between 8-10 ltrs per person per day. SInce there is no water on the island, they had to carry almost 2 tons of water in addition to any other luggage. 73 Nenad VE3EXY ... "Larry, K4WLS" wrote: > I as well as you have seen numerous negative comments on > FR/E on the cluster nets. Many of you have stepped up to the plate with bat > to refutiate these negative comments. The FR/E Team thanks you for this. > > Having been on a number of DXpeditions to this area in the > early and mid 60's, let me tell you personally what the FR/E > Team is up against: > > This time of year, daytime temperatures on Europa approach > 120 - 130 Deg F in the shade. If your body is not acclamated to > this heat, profuse sweating begins within an hour after sunrise > and continues well past sunset. If you notice a lull in the QSO's > during a pile-up, the Op is stopping to mop the sweat from > his face, arms, neck and the headphones. Underclothing gets > drenched with sweat, and heat rash in the groin area and under > the armpits creates severe pain and itching. > > Continual profuse sweating depletes the body's electrolyte levels > resulting in loss of energy. Compounding this problem is the loss > of appetite for food that usually acompanies profuse sweating. > > This is also the rainy season on Europa. The rain creates many > pools of water on the island. Those pools of water that are > shaded by dense vegetation do not evaporate and stagnate. They > become the breeding ground for a profuse amount of flies, bugs, > and mosquitoes. The pain, swelling, and itching from an African > Mosquitoe bite is only exceeded by that of the Alaskan Tundra > Mosquitoe. 3 hours is about the maximum that any one Op can > go under these conditions, as the profuse sweating causes > physical fatigue and degradated mental acuity. > > The Europa team is camped very close to the French army > compound. At least 4 times a day they have to cease operations, > somtimes as long as an hour, in order for the army communications > center to send and receive radio traffic between Europa and > France, and between Europa and the many French territories > in the Indian Ocean. This QRT is necessary to avoid interference > and overloading of the French army radio receivers. > > These guys are operating under these conditions to give you a > new one, while many of you have worked them on one or more > bands, and you are complaining as you sit in your comfortable Op > chair in your heated or air conditioned shack. A late Fall fly > buzzing around in the shack infuriates you. > > I have not been able to make "the trip" yet. My upper neighbor's > large two story brick house with brick wall around the pool in > back sits right between Europa and my trusty homebrew vertical > with a measured maximum radiation angle of 12.5 Deg. So, unless > I am favored by some high angle prop from Europa, I probably > will not make "the trip". I couldn't even make "the trip" to > 5U4LF in Niger on 10M CW this morning for the same reason. > Well, put up a tower and yagi you say. I would love to, but I > an disabled. > > As Dave, K4SV, so aptly put it, "Walk a mile in the shoes of > a DXpeditioner, or go on one yourself." After all troops, this > is really just a hobby, and compared to other things in life it is > really miniscule. If you do not realize this now, later on on life > you will. > > Understanding usually comes through experience, while complaining usually > comes from ignorance. > > Sent in Love and Not Scorn - 73, Larry K4WLS > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems, etc > DX-NEWS http://njdxa.org/dx-news > DX-CHAT: http://njdxa.org/dx-chat > To post a message, DX NEWS items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Archives http://www.mail-archive.com/dx-news%40njdxa.org > ---------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems, etc DX-NEWS http://njdxa.org/dx-news DX-CHAT: http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX NEWS items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives http://www.mail-archive.com/dx-news%40njdxa.org ----------------------------------------------------------
