An Island Near Venezuela
Curacao, an island near Venezuela, is a new DX country in my log book. On November 19th, I easily worked PJ2/ N0YY and on November 22nd I easily worked PJ2/ W9NJY.
I’m amazed this station in South America hasn’t been worked more than I see on the DX Clusters. I spotted it for the second time yesterday and saw very little activity following up on the site.
As most of the islands in the Caribbean area, tourism is always a factor in their economy. In the area of “space tourism” Curacao is one of the tops in the field.
The Lynx Space Plane is an interesting concept. The pilot and “one” tourist can experience “sub orbital flight” where the stars shine steadily, the arc of the earth is below you, and you experience the feeling of weightlessness. I would imagine, also, a great place to use a handi-talkie on the VHF and the UHF bands. Expected to be viable in 2014, this “sub orbital spacecraft” will take you there for a fee of around $100,000.
Both these contacts were on the 10 meter band and pushing a 599+ signal into West Virginia.
There are big contest stations there, though maybe Aruba overshadows it. Was there a couple of years ago. Nice place, friendly, busy economy (trade, oil refinery, local produce) that makes it more than just a Caribbean tourist site. Interesting history too, we enjoyed seeing the Dutch synagogue, and the mix of cultures in the main city.
Jose, PJ2MI, is on almost everyday….I have only worked him on digimodes tho….