XE2/WD9EWK on 21 January 2002

Mexican flag

Updated 8 February 2006
I was in Mexicali only for a couple of hours on 21 January, a holiday in the USA, to file my paperwork for another 6-month XE amateur permit.  If time permitted, I wanted to operate my Yaesu FT-817 before driving back home later in the day.  I was able to do both, and had fun on the radio - since the 3.5-hour drive each way between my house and Mexicali was uneventful and boring. 
Getting the XE 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.  This time, the permit cost 828 pesos (about US$ 90) for 6 months.  The fees for these permits is 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 this time.  The weather was great - sunny and about 70F/21C outside, a nice day.  After finally elevating the counterpoise wire coming from the tripod, I was able to get great SWR readings with this antenna, and heard the HFpack gathering on 18.157 MHz.  I was able to hear the end of the gathering, and worked a few stations (KR8L/7 in Idaho, W3FF/M in northern California, and K8SWD in Michigan) plus heard another station (K5OOR/M near Dallas TX) before I had to shut down and head home.  The 3 contacts I made are now in my online log. 

I was operating in front of the house of my good friend Alex XE2BSS in Mexicali.  His house is in grid DM22go, approximately 5 miles (8km) south of the international border.  My station was only the FT-817 running on its internal rechargeable battery pack, at 5 watts, into the Outbacker Joey antenna sitting on its tripod. 

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