QSL'ing: Direct only with SAE + appropriate postage

Got involved with radio (CB) in the early '80 from "ON land". Learned to know my now XYL, Cristina,on 11 meters in the mid '80, she invited me over to "P4 land" on vacation a few years later. got stuck here, and was licenced as a "P4" HAM in 1991 (Cristina is now P43C) Previous call: P43LJP, special calls: P41A and P44A Main intrest chasing DX and some contesting SSB main opperation mode

Worked 328 current DXCC entity's so far. all on SSB!! DXCC # 21859

Cristina and myself are allso the property managers of contest stations"P49V" and "P40L / P49Y"

The antennas:

Mono band Yagis on most bands: 5 elements on 10 meter / homebrew @ 40'; 5 elements on 15 meter / homebrew @ 50'; 4 element cushcraft on 20 meter @ 55', 2 element cushcraft on 40 meter @ 60', 3 element A3WS by cushcraft on 12 / 17 meter @ 45'; 3 element A3 tri-bander by cushcraft, tower side mounted pointed 30~40 degrees. Ground mounted vertical for 40 / 80 meter. Inverted "V's" for 75 meter and 30 meter. To see more of the antennas check out the picture at the "P43C" listing here on QRZ.com

The two towers were originally an insulated vertical 300+ feet (+/- 100m) antenna from a local AM broadcast station. The antenna fell down due to a guy wire failure (actually one of the metal guy wire ends rusted off) and i was ablle to salvage about 130 feet in straight sections from it. The sections are identical to Rohn 45 except that they are 20' long instead of the usual 10' and they are made out of Stainless Steel!! All the other original hardware used (except top shelf and rotor plate) are allso Stainless Steel. The guy wires used are solid 1/2 inch (12 mm) fiber glass rods, allso salvaged from the original antenna. Altough corrosion is a major fact in any antenna set-up here on the Island(s) in the Caribean, the towers themselfs still look the same as when i put them up 10+ years ago!

The shack:

Altough i have some other radio's in the shack, I am a Yaesu guy as you can see!! At the present time my main radio is the FT2000D. The pictured FT101E line is one of 2 complete sets, the second set has the "landliner" speaker and the YO-100 scope. Besides that i still have my original FT301D (the one that allowed me to meet Cristina!!), only missing the a FT221 2 meter radiot o make that into a complete 301 line. I allso just recently got my hands on a complete FT-102 line (with the period correct FL-2100Z amp) to join my FT-726R satelite radio for a complete set!! Although not Yaesu, but worth mentioning i guess, are the complete set of Icom "7's" all mode VHF & UHF radio's, being the 70cm IC-475H, the 2m IC-275H and 6 / 10m IC-575H, that by the way is always on when i am in the shack RX on 50.110.

Other hobby's:

Actualy, this is what got me into "radio": TRUCKS, remember "Convoy" & "Smokey & The Bandit"? Altough as a young boy i always wanted to be one of those "long haul" truck drivers, i never made a carreer out of driving big rigs, but instead have a conciderable amount of 1:24 scale models. They are plastic model kits, representing mostly modern European highway trucks and trailers.

Another passion i have are Custom Cars. Back in "ON-land" i drove a 1973 Bedford CF Van, that was lowered, spoilered out, had Chrome wheels with low profile tires, airbrushed murals all over and of course the luxury interiour that was expected in such a van!!, It allso sported a small 11m rig as "standard" equipment with a converted telephone horn as a mike and even was the "mobile home" for a few weeks formy FT-301D, from where i was even able to make contact with Cristina on my way back home from work one afternoon!!! By the way, "She" (the van that is.) was named "Blue Fire Lady"

My hobby car / truck now is a 1994 Toyota Hilux Extra-Cab where i did a complete off-frame restoration on, it allso has a 2 inch lowered suspension, has the bigger / wider / nicer wheels on it, has an airbruched mural on the tail gate and a custom sunvisor and front air-dam. A rear roll-pan, hard tonneau cover for the bed and a nice airbrushed mural on the hood are still planned as "to be done items" (hopefully soon!!). I have been thinking to name this one "Blue Fire Lady II". The truck has no radio in it yet as the IC-706MIIG i bought for it took temporary residence in my daily driver connected to either a Hamstick 17m or a Japanese Maldol WT-1800 Wide Band Mobile antenna (depends what band i want to work on my daily commute to work!! Listen for me allso as P43A/mobile.

CU on the airwaves.

73's de P43A, Jean-Pierre