Part I:  Getting There

have been a ham for over 40 years, involved in most all aspects of the hobby with an emphasis on contesting.  Most of that contesting has been from my modest home QTH, but some has included operating at several West Coast Big Gun stations, at W7RM principally, and a couple of contests at W7GG's big station.

I had been thinking of trying some operating from a DX location, and  I was able to follow that dream when I was asked to join the Cinco Nueve Contest Group (A small group of hams from the Portland and Eugene, Oregon areas) for their operation at TI5N, using the station of Carlos Diez TI5KD, for the 2003 ARRL DX CW Contest. The operators for the trip were to be Al Rovner, K7AR, Mark Perrin, N7MQ, and Ron Vincent, WJ7R, and myself.

The preparations were made; getting a passport, arranging airline tickets, selecting equipment, working on propagation and band plans, and on and on.  Still, the time seemed to drag until it was just a few days before I was to leave for the trip.

Then, the week before we were to leave, WJ7R injured his shoulder and was unable to make the trip.  And, the weekend before departure, on confirming flights, I learned that for some reason my airline tickets were not for the same flights as shown on my itinerary from the travel agent.  Instead of a leisurely daytime flight with the others, on Monday before the contest, my flights started with a red eye flight to Atlanta that evening.   Then I would spend the pre-dawn hours at the Atlanta airport until the connecting flight with the others, leaving late on Tuesday morning.  I was learning about the patience required on international travel.  I met K7AR and N7MQ at the airport when they arrived, and we went to our gate to wait for our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.

This being my first trip out of the country I was a little nervous about what I would run into as far as security and customs when we arrived in San Jose.  No worries; we breezed right thru with no difficulties at all.  I had been wondering what if any problems I would have when the security agents find out I was carrying an FT 890, its power supply, and a computer on the flights, but it only raised a moderate amount of curiosity. 

We arrived in San Jose in the after-noon that Tuesday and found Keko Diez,  TI5KD, waiting for us as we left the airport.  We split up into two groups, one piling in his small car with the bags, and the others with his wife, Sophia, TI2IY, and headed off to their home, in their separate cars.

Their QTH  is a very short distance from the San Jose airport in Guacima.  Wow!  We left cold and overcast weather in Atlanta and arrived in the warm sunshine of Costa Rica.  At least that part of what I expected and hoped for was coming true - DX travel was proving simply fabulous.

-W7LT

Editor's Note:  This is the first part of a longer article penned by PARC Member Jim Cassidy, KI7Y, about his trip to Costa Rica for the 2003 ARRL CW DX Contest, which operation garnered the highest score  for a DX multioperator, multi-transmitter entry.  Jim and Al Rovner, K7AR, will be presenting the program for the September 19 general meeting, on this trip and operation.  Many thanks to K7AR for providing the accompanying photographs.

To be continued next month