Gray Line, our alarm cock!
Ron, KK9K / E51NNN arriving in Rarotonga at 5:30 am after a 9 hour flight from LAX.
George, K5KG / E51MMM, also bleary-eyed!
Loading the gear into Victor's van
Ron and Victor, E51CG. He was there to greet us.
Off we go.
First glimpse of our Kii Kii Motel room 21. This room was recommended by previous dxpeditons. It directly overlooks the beach and surf.
Ron in Room 21
Starting to get the gear unpacked.
Here is the rocky beach that we will get to know ever so well.
Mr. Jim Ditchburn, E51JD. A true gentleman, and now a best friend.
Jim Ditchburn, E51JD
160m inverted L on 60 ft. fiberglass mast.
Antennas begin to grow on the beach.
Ron after handling his first pile up!!!
F12 Sigma 5 - before it burned up!
Ron checking resonance on the 160. inv L.
Can we ever get those guy lines right?
More checking of the 160's feed point.
The coral was loose and treacherous.
The station are taking shape. A K2 / Acom 1010 on he left, and an IC7000 / Acom 1010 on the right.
Victor, E51CG, and his YL, Eleanor
Ron getting down to business.
The 80m vertical begins to grow. Also on a 60 ft. fiberglass pole.
Checking that resonance again...and again...and again. We had problems with salt spray corrupting the feed point connectors.
Yea, the 80 vertical is up, and plans like a hose.
Saturday morning marketplace
Kids are kids.
Happy ladies. They all wear leis.
No, George ain't going to wear a lei.
More kids are kids.
Outriggers. You will see more outrigger photos. This was the week of the outrigger races, and folks came from all over the globe to compete.
Our Kii Kii kitchen.
Ron building a 15m vertical dipole on a MFJ mast.
He used a Foster's beer bottle as a coil form for the balun.
Outriggers racing off shore.
The Foster's 15m vertical
Building outriggers.
The Maori elders were teaching the next generation how to build outriggers. You will see more photos of this.
Ron with Maori husband and wife.
The boats take shape
3 of six verticals that grew on the beach.
Ron, George and Jim before hitting the 807's!
The Tamarind House - one of the best restaurants on Raro.
E51MMM set up.
E51NNN set up.
Rarotonga harbor. The volcanic landscape is visible in the background. It is 32 km to drive around the island. Population is 6,000.
Almost finished...but is seaworthy?
Racing outriggers.
The Kii Kii's courtyard. Our room was last on the right.
A typical coral rock guy line tie point. These would prove to be useless in the storm that was to come.
Overall perspective of the beach with our 6 verticals and the shack up on the hill.
Receiving Pennant.
Another shot of the Fosters balun on the 15m vertical dipole. This flimsy antenna netted us 1600+ QSOs on 15m in CQWW CW.
Rats nest? No, the 160m feed point with radials.
E51A set up. The license for E51A was issued 24 hours before the contest began. The local boys said "it couldn't be done".
E51A in operation - LIVE.
Wx turns bad. We had gale force winds and driving rain for days. Fortunately, all antennas stayed up during the contest. However, on Monday morning after the contest, 4 verticals had blown down.
The 80m and 160m poles both snap in two! A sad sight to wake up to. Not to mention the kitchen floor was flooded from rain driving in the windows. Fortunately, no radio gear got wet.
Snapped off 160m pole
This doesn't begin to describe the violent wind and rain.
Global Volunteer's staying at the Kii Kii invited us to visit some local schools. Here are some shots.....and, once again, kids are kids.
Ingenious...the kids used their thongs as paddles for playing dodge ball.
The bell doesn't ring, but the log drums when recess is over.
After the storm, we managed to get 4 of the 6 verticals back into operation. We built a 40m dipole out of our 30/17 dipole, and from that point on, we were QRT on 80, 30 and 17.
Aussie surfer guy.
Grey line, our alarm cock, scurrying for the trees.
Ron, Victor, Jim and George
Ron, Victor, Eleanor and Jim
