In the last couple of posts, I’ve talked about searching for salt water as something I’m planning on doing for contests. Or…may do for contests; it’s not really decided yet. What are the reasons? Here’s the recap:

• DXpeditions are expensive. Yes, it really does cost dollars to go to places, even places where the antenna infrastructure is already set up.
• Airline travel is a hassle. Carrying radio equipment and amplifiers is a hassle. Not so much, so far, from the customs people for the equipment — I carry the FCC license and the DXpedition license and clearly label stuff and their purpose for security (Security — Morse Code telegraph key: high speed key for sending Morse Code). Rather, the weight of the package is the issue. I was OK with the Costa Rica trip, but it was a total update from the Bermuda trip.
• My personal vacation time. I get 15-days. Period. I chewed up eight of those days — over half — on the TI trip. That leaves less than a week and change for anything, including a vacation alone with the XYL. I could use eight vacation days by taking Fridays off for contests with my XYL using an RV and verticals on salt water. And, no customs/weight limit hassle to boot.

My new house really offers no opportunity for Ham Radio. Putting up a vertical means I’m twenty feet from my neighbors house — and the house is on a hill where my entire eastbound signal goes directly into dirt — and it is just not my idea of having a great location for radio.

I can practice my simulated contests with my PC. But, to me, my choice is salt water on a beach, or continue DXpeditioning. Right now, I’m exploring salt water on a beach — because we have some here in Seattle-land.

Scot, K9JY

Related posts:

1. Searching for Salt Water As a quick background, I’ve spent my time since going to Costa Rica in February getting a new house ready to move into — and...
2. Searching for Salt Water — County Park As I noted yesterday, I’ve had to opportunity to go looking for places where I could use verticals over salt water here in Seattle-land for...
3. Searching for Salt Water — State Park Yesterday, I posted about finding a county park that could be used for contesting with verticals over salt water. There are some significant limitations with...
4. Vertical Antennas and Salt Water I’m seriously thinking of changing how I operate from the Pacific Northwest. I’ve usually decided to go on DXpeditions as the standard home setup here...
5. Thinking about Portable HF Operation While on vacation this week, I was often treated to full size views of Lake Michigan. Not seeing the other side of the lake made...