Ah, a simple google search for "IOTA Margarita" tells me that Isla Margarita is in the SA-012 group, prefix YV7.  

Sorry about that.

So is Isla Coche, a few miles away, so there is no point in taking the rig over there.  It's the same number.

 

I will be going to Margarita Island (don't know IOTA number) July 17-24 2005.  Margarita belongs to Venezuela, just a few miles from their coast.  Ham radio is not the point of the trip, but I would like to do a little operating if Margarita is considered an exotic location (it's not as well known as most of the Carribean islands).

I will be staying at a private villa on the beach (Playa el Agua).  It has american style power (though power failures occur occasionally), so I should be able to use my regular power supply.

I've never done a dxpedition before, so just wanted to get some pointers.

I would be using a Yaesu 857D with no amplifier (100 watts).  Operation would be on SSB.  Absolutely no CW, please don't mention it.

During my stay, I will be going on a lot of excursions and other non-radio activities, so operation would probably be in the morning, for a limited number of hours.  Margarita is in Atlantic time zone, one hour later than U.S. Eastern.

Licensing should not be an issue, as Venezuela is one of the IARP countries.  My understanding is that if I send in the form with payment, that is sufficient.

So my questions are:

Would people be interested in Margarita Island?

What web site has a lot of information about setting up dxpeditions?

What band(s) should I use?  (Again, operation would be mostly in the morning.)

What equipment do I need other than rig, power supply, and antenna?  (I don't want to haul a lot of stuff.  It needs to fit in one case.)

What type of antenna?  (Easy to haul and install, yet able to reach back to the states.)

How do I find the proper prefix for Margarita Island?  (I know I would be signing VEn/K5CUR, just dont know the n.)

Where do I look up the IOTA number?

Thanks for any information

Wayne

I couldn't use a mag mount if I wanted to.  It's a mustang convertible with trunk and hood made of fiberglass.  Magnet no stickee.

The only place I can put a mag mount is on the fender next to the trunk.  I tried that for a little while, but the fender is slightly rounded, so the magnet did not have a completely flat surface and held even less firmly than usual.  It didn't fall off, but it had a tendency to walk off the fender and would have fallen off in a short time if I hadn't moved it back several times.

I still didn't want to drill visible holes, so I got a lip mount.  It is screwed in place, but the screws are on the inside, out of sight.

I should have emphasized that I am talking about one-ear headsets (the Traveler is this type, which is why I bought it).  I would not use a double-ear headset in a car either.

Whenever using my cellphone in the car, I always use a headset when in motion.  I am a great believer in hands free, feeling that anything else is an invitation to an accident.  Of course, you can still have an accident if you get too involved in the conversation, but at least the headset reduces the likelihood.

I would like to do the same thing with my mobile ham rigs (Yaesu 857D all band and 8900 quad band).  However, I have not had much luck finding an adequate headset with boom mike.  I tried the Heil Traveler, with the Yaesu modular connector (RJ45), but the pinout does not appear to correct.  I have used it on the air twice, and both times was told the my audio was terrible.  The second comment was "sounds like you have two socks over the mike".  Given the reputation of Heil, I assume I am doing something wrong.  I am guessing that there are two different pinouts for the Yaesu RJ-45 mike connector, and I have the wrong one. I would have thought that wrong pinout would blow up the rig or something, but I guess not.

Anyway, I still want to use a headset for my rigs, so I would like to ask people what they are using with these two models.  Need two different headsets, or at least two different connectors, because the 8900 has the smaller telephone-type modular connector.

Actually, I would settle for just a boom mike.  I already have an external speaker mounted, so that takes care of reception.  But the headset might be useful when I have the top down (it's a Mustang convertible).

There appear to be hundreds of headset auctions on ebay, but they always seem to be for HTs.

I usually don't have both rigs in the car at the same time, unless I am on a road trip, so swapping two different headsets back and forth isn't too much of an issue.  Even when on the road, I don't usually use HF unless there is no traffic on VHF repeaters along the way.

The 857 has VOX, so I can do away with the PTT switch too.  I can with the 8900 as well if the headset/mike itself implements VOX.

Seems like flashing a badge like this would border on Impersonating An Officer.

"I agree that when hams stop using eBay to buy stuff, then the prices at the local "hamfests" will come down. Most sellers rightly feel, "Why should I sell it here for $100 when some idiot on eBay will pay me $200 for the same thing?""

This is a endless source of amazement to me.  People consistently pay near list price on ebay, i.e. you could get a new item from hro or aes for not much more than you are paying for a used one in unknown condition.  Why bother with an auction, if you can just order the damn thing from an established vendor for nearly the same price?  I have yet to win an auction for ham gear, because somebody is always willing to pay more than the thing is worth.  In other parts of ebay, when the price gets too high, they stop bidding.

" Dirty Grimy Hams. Have you no self respect? How about a shower? Try it, you'll like it."

Wow, this seems to be a rampant problem in the ham community, even though I haven't been around enough hams to experience it.

In one of the ARES threads, somebody was complaining about smelly hams too, and the impression they make on the served agency.

I would be interested if it was not restricted to CW.