XE2/WD9EWK on 8-9 February 2002

Updated 8 February 2006

I had a day off, and decided to make a day-trip to northern Baja California and work HF with my Yaesu FT-817 portable HF/VHF/UHF transceiver for a couple of hours. I also wanted to mail some letters to Yugoslavia, and avoid possible hassles from the US post office, so I decided to do that from Mexico. I also wanted to use my Outbacker Joey portable HF antenna like I did on my previous trip, to Mexicali in January 2002.

What about an XE ham permit?
I maintain another page on this site with lots of information on obtaining a Mexican radio permit. The permits are getting more and more expensive. In January 2002, the permit cost 828 pesos (about US$ 90 then) for 6 months. The fees for these permits are fixed to the amount Mexican hams pay for their 5-year licenses. It makes the math easier on those collecting the fees, but the combination of the gradual increase in the fee coupled with the Mexican peso holding its value against the US dollar (and, since summer 2000, improving slightly against the dollar) makes these permits expensive!!!

My HF operating time
I had my FT-817 with me, along with an assortment of antennas (Maldol whips and coils, ATX Walkabout, Outbacker Joey with tripod, wire with TV twin-lead and a small MFJ antenna tuner), but I wanted to try the Outbacker Joey once again. I had a 21-amp-hour rechargeable battery with me, which ensured I could use that radio as long as I wanted that afternoon. I also wanted to operate from another location in northern Baja California, besides Mexicali. I drove about 90 miles/145km west of Mexicali to the border city of Tecate (also the name of a brand of Mexican beer). The weather was great - sunny and about 65F/18C outside, a very nice day in the mountains between Mexicali and the Pacific coast.

I had problems with using the tripod near my car, so I decided to put the Joey on a magnet-mount in the center of the roof on my car. I had to lengthen the stinger at the top of the antenna 1 inch/2.5cm more than the recommended length to get perfect SWR readings according to the FT-817. It would tune up fine on all bands between 20 and 10 meters, but did not try it on the lower HF bands or on VHF. I spent a fair amount of time testing this antenna out on several bands, seeing if I could get a good (according to the FT-817) SWR match, and I was able to. This is a great antenna!

Since I had driven further than originally planned, I had less time to work the radio. I sent an e-mail using my cell phone earlier in the day from Mexicali to the HFpack list announcing I would be listening around 18.1575 MHz at 2230 UTC, but heard nothing but louder stations all around that spot on the dial. I decided to tune around and just start working stations that would answer me. My first contact was with Jimmy KD5NOG in Arkansas on the 10-meter band, and shortly after that I worked Teru JA3JOT near Osaka in Japan. Then I went down to the 20-meter band, and worked a special-event station in SaltLake City, W19OG (Winter-Nineteen-Olympic-Games, since these Games were the 19th Winter Olympic Games - operated by Ray WA7ITZ), and then back up to 10 meters. One more contact up there, with Carlos WP4N in Puerto Rico, before I shut my station down for the drive back to Mexicali, and later back home to Arizona. These contacts are now in my online XE2/WD9EWK log.

I was sitting approximately 25 yards/25m south of the international border fence in the center of Tecate, in grid DM12qn. Tecate is in the mountains, at an elevation between 3500 and 4000 feet (1066 to 1219m), and a few degrees cooler than it was in Mexicali and the valley east of Tecate. With the Highway 2-D toll road connecting Mexicali to Tijuana on the Pacific coast (or, on the USA side of the border, Interstate 8 from the Imperial Valley in south-central California west to San Diego), one could skip Tecate completely. It is a nice little city that does not have the stereotypical feel of many other Mexican border towns and cities. There are some factories in Tecate like in other places along the border, assembling or manufacturing goods for sale in the USA or Canada, but very few of them compared to other cities along the USA/Mexico border.

News related to this trip
My QSO with JA3JOT from Tecate qualified for the QRP Amateur Radio Club International 1000 Mile per Watt award, as this contact spanned 5865 miles (9437km) between our stations. I received the certificate in February 2003, and it is now listed on my wallpaper page as the first award I have received as XE2/WD9EWK.

Comments/Questions?
If you have any other questions or comments about my XE trips, please feel free to contact me.

WD9EWK/VA7EWK - XE2/WD9EWK - QSL VIA WD9EWK