Another Caribbean Trip Report Some time ago I had thoughts of trying to make the NRC/WTFDA convention in Idaho. Well, Pat said she had another idea, and could I listen? To make a long story shorter it involved my sister coming down to visit, and a "dinner cruise", all to help celebrate a birthday (mine) that was coming up. Well, in Tampa, my idea of a "dinner cruise" is the little boat maybe 75 feet long that goes out down the ship channel, circles in Tampa Bay near Peter O Knight airport, while you all have dinner and comes back maybe 3 hours later.
Pat's idea of a dinner cruise was a 5 day trip on a somewhat larger vessel that would have squashed the starship dinner yacht if a large wave had come up the ship channel. As it turns out the three of us spent 5 enjoyable days on the big ship, and the yacht trip will have to wait another day. We visited Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I brought the DX398 and did some radio research, looking at Cuba and of course George Town. But this is "vacation radio" and far from exhaustive, and probably not much news here. The vessel is known to true Radio Men in parts of the world everywhere simply as C6FM5, no further detail required. It is only to the illiterate masses of non- Radio Men that the added description "M/V Inspiration" must be added. On this trip, the name Perspiration might have worked as well. Must say, the wx was outstanding, if quite toasty. They were having a real sale, the three of us travelled for less than two would normally spend. I don't know if they made a profit but the ship (2480-ish pax) was full. Our Cuba track southbound passed maybe 15 km west of Cape San Antonio, the tip of Pinar, about 1530 local, second day out. What appeared to be a Cuban navy picket boat, or perhaps a fixed platform, was visible a few km east with binoculars. Treetops and a few coastal buildings were dimly visible, but too far to discern any possible tower structures. The Good News - no one fired on us! I was somewhat more productive with the radio on the return trip, noon local time on 31 August, at 24 N, 85 W but by then far enough north that Habana proper was being heard. (Unfortunately I lost my notes from the southbound pass, 21d30m N, but I recall 550, 790, 820 being loud while Habana, as measured by 950 level, was weak due to land attenuation). I noted 550 // 530, the 530 lagged by 1.5 second, equal level. I think there used to be a 650, but here 650 and 660 were vacant. On 710, 2 Sp. signals, equal, with 5 Hz SAH. Noted 730 fairly strong w/Progreso (maybe Isla Juventud?) Noted Reloj 790 loud, 2 Hz SAH w/pres. Miami. The 820 was very strong and was // 550. Noted 880 at s-7, 890 at s-2 and 900 unheard. 950 by then was s-9. Heard Guama on 990 very loud, // on 1020 a lot weaker. 1030 and 1050 vacant. On 1080 was a seeming 1 kc het, similar to the 1180 situation? 1140 fairly loud and // a somewhat weaker 1120, and same 1120 level as 1100. The het on 1180 was between ear- splitting and just piercing. Massive. Audios just a jumble between Reb and Marti, nothing discernable thru the massive het from 1181. My Rx is too broad IF to be useful for DF'ing here. In addition a pronounced 8 Hz SAH was chopping up 1180. I can report that, just south of Cabo San Antonio, 21 30N on Tue 28 Aug, Marti was very loud and absolutely alone, around 1500 local, so the cordillera in northern Pinar must be blocking everything from more easterly Habana-ish area. Perhaps the het was absent that day, I just don't know. I wonder if they get any field reports from Cubans in that area? I heard a local on 1200, couldn't match to any of the other Red's. I haven't attempted to Id the networks except when absolutely known by me, or by sound (reloj, etc). Also, I did not hear anything Cuban above 1200 so the effort I saw reported elsewhere, to get Cuban Am'ers over 1200 off the air, must be working. I once thought I had a hot one on 1450 with LAtin mx, turned out to be just Sarasota (at minimal s-1 level // to a s-2 1320) Aside from the (two?) hets, freq stability of the ones I heard from western Cuba seemed as good as we have in the US. I have to report that I made no real effort to see what I could identify on FM, mainly due to lack of time, when passing near Cuba, also due to not having brought any logs, and hearing out of area signals that would take too long to ID. The classical cruise dilemma - how to allocate your limited time resources? Especially when at 15:30 it's classical Piano in the lounge with tea and salmon being served. Have all you want, etc. Also, no night DX, almost no beacon DX, nothing of note. I did not consciously seek out distant US stations, except to note WWL very well heard while headed N. I did a fairly involved survey of FM in the Grand Cayman area, when outbound, mid-afternoon. I was able to identify TWELVE!!! FM signals coming from Grand Cayman. Not having a WRTH, I don't know how much of this is known to DXers but I'll write up my notes on them and send separately, perhaps tomorrow. I know that Powell heard one of them, so perhaps someone's unID from the Es season will match my notes? Stay tuned. 73 Bob _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
