Amelia
Island
31 Dec-2 Jan |
Jekyll
Island
Jan 3-7 |
St. Simons
Island Jan5 |
What an
adventure on the Golden Islands!
My wife Kathy
and I are grateful for your QSO during our "Islands on the
Air" (IOTA) Expedition - our first & not the last! We
operated on three islands in eight days: Amelia Island, FL (Dec
31-Jan 2), Jekyll Island, GA (Jan 3-7), and St. Simon Island, GA
(Jan 5). Our main QTH was from our 2nd floor hotel balcony on the
Atlantic Ocean. At Amelia, our 16 ft - 18 gauge wire antenna was on
the balcony above us with 1 ground radial along the balcony. On
Jekyll, our wire antenna was 20 feet from the building straight up a
palm tree with 3 ground radials. Since many operators asked if
we operated from a lighthouse, we were motivated to operate mobile at
St. Simons Island Lighthouse on Jan 5.
We would like
to thank the members of Motorola Amateur Radio Clubs, KM0TO and
N9MOT, for their guidance and encouragement. Thanks to IOTA and the
DX publications we were able to quickly communicate our expedition
plans. Most importantly, we thank you in the HAM community for
your interest & personal contact.
Many blessings
across the miles to you and your families in this new year!
73 until we
meet again on the bands,
Kathy (KC9HIF)
& Jerry (N9GGO)
Radio: ICOM
706, 100w.
Antenna: 16ft
vertical mono wire with ground radials
(:To see
larger view of picture, click on photo :)
Operation
from Amelia Island:
Antenna on Balcony |
Kathy &
Jerry operating while overlooking the Atlantic Ocean |
Jerry making contacts |
Operation
from Jekyll Island:
Antenna in
Palm Tree |
What a pair! |
Kathy calling CQ |
Jekyll Island
The First
Transcontinental Telephone Call was transmitted by a telephone
instrument of this type on January 25, 1915. Mr. Theodore N.
Vail President of American Telephone and Telegraph Company, talked
from Jekyll Island to D. Alexander Gramham Bell, inventor of the
telephone, in New York. Thomas Watson, assistant to Dr. Bell spoke
from San Francisco to President Wilson in Washington D. C. The
telephone is displayed at the Jekyll Island Club.
Phone used in
1st transcontinental call |
Theodore Vail
& Friends for first call from Jekyll Island Club - 1915 |
Description of call |
Lighthouses
on the Island
The St. Simons Lighthouse:
Built in 1872,
it stands 104 feet in height. The cottage houses The Coastal Georgia
Historical Society Museum. The original lighthouse built of
"tabby" in 1810 by James Gould was destroyed during the
Civil War.
The Lighthouse
is 104 feet tall and is still used as a navigational aid to the busy
port of Brunswick. The original 1872 Fresnel lens being used
today produces a bright beam by concentrating and magnifying the
light which can be seen up to 25 mile out to sea.
The Coastal
Georgia Historical Society offers a chance to climb the 129 steps to
the top for a spectacular view of the area.
Lighthouse on
Amelia Is |
St. Simons Lighthouse |
Mobile Operation |
Island Photos
Islands from
the Air |
Amelia Island |
Christmas in Florida |
Click
here for more Trip Photos posted on Shutterfly Website
QSO's
During our
Island On The Air Expedition we had many exciting contacts from all
around the world, below are just a few of our comments and surprises:
Total
QSO's 162
Largest pile
up of calling stations occurred on our last day, Saturday January
7. We were to check out of the hotel at 11:00, we stayed until
12:30. The most contacts we copied in one hour was 32, this was
with Kathy logging and Jerry talking. Jerry had never
experience this many calling stations it was so excited it took both
of us to copy the calls :)
QSO's
from Friends:
N9EP, K9UQN,
KG9JP, KM0TO, KG9X, K9KM, AA5UK
QSO's to
name a few:
(we paper
logged contacts)
DX
Countries (14 Countries):
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
France
Germany
Italy
Indoniesia
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Russia
Spain
Ukraine
SWL Cards:
DE0DKR-Dieter
from Kirchheim in Bavaria-- Southern Germany near Heidelberg, my
grandparents were from Rothis Germany
KCA6RC Bob in
New Mexico
US
Contacts (26 states):
AR, AZ, CT,
DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MN, NH, NJ, NY, NV, OH, OK, PA,
RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WI
(:To see
larger view of picture, click on photo :)
Amelia Island antenna |
Jekyll Island antenna |
St. Simons Island |
IOTA
Details:
Expedition to
Amelia Island, IOTA NA-138, Saturday 31 December 2005 until Monday
2 January 2006 during the hours ranging 12:30 UTC (7:30 AM EST)
until 16:00 UTC (11:00 AM EST).
Expedition to
Jekyll Island, IOTA NA-058, Tuesday 3 January 2005 until Saturday
7 January 2006 during the hours ranging 12:30 UTC (7:30 AM EST)
until 16:00 UTC (11:00 AM EST).
Expedition to
St Simons Island, IOTA NA-058, Thursday
5 January 2005 during the hours ranging 17:30 UTC (12:30 PM
EST) until 18:30 UTC (1:30 PM EST).
Operation will
be portable, with XYL, KC9HIF, on 20 meters SSB 14.260 plus or
minus QRM and Nets.
Call sign: N9GGO
Operators:
Jerry N9GGO and XLY Kathy KC9HIF.
QSL via
N9GGO direct, or bureau
(SASE Please,
for color photo QSL card of the island)
Jerry Breuss
758 Laguna
Crystal Lake
IL 60014
N9GG0@yahoo.com
See
information on Island on the Air IOTA:
www.rsgbiota.org/
Amelia Island NA-138:
www.ameliaisland.com/
One of
America's few remaining unspoiled island paradises, Amelia Island is
the southernmost of the chain of Atlantic coast barrier islands that
stretch from North Carolina to Florida.
Jekyll Island NA-058:
www.jekyllisland.com/
A.T.&T.
president Theodore Vail participated in the First Transcontinental
Telephone Call from Jekyll Island on January 25, 1915.
Alexander Gram
Bell Transcontinental Call: www.att.com/attlabs
North America Contacts
North America contacts |
|
|
|
|
|
QSL Cards |
|
Confirmed |
Confirmed |
|
|
Total |
Direct to Me |
Rec'd from SASE |
|
|
162 / 104 rec'd |
53 |
51 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Swl Cards |
2 / 2 rec'd |
2 |
|
|
DX Cards |
21 / 5 rec'd |
5 |
|
|
VE Canada |
15 / 8 rec'd |
8 |
|
|
North America |
124 / 89 rec'd |
42 |
47 |
|
ARRL Zone |
Total Contacts |
Direct to Me |
Rec'd from SASE |
Rec'd total |
1 |
12 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
2 |
27 |
14 |
8 |
22 |
3 |
15 |
2 |
9 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
5 |
5 |
10 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
11 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
9 |
26 |
9 |
8 |
17 |
0 |
10 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
Last Updated |
7/02/06 |
|
|
|
Last Mailing |
SASE sent (83) |
4/28,5/1(44) 5/20(28) VE 6/15(11) |
|
|
ARRL Bureau |
Sent 5/6 (19) |
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East Coast Map
North America
East Coast |
Global Map
Global Map Contacts |
Europe Contacts
Europe Contacts |