KH4 - Midway Island

 

New Flash! 

Midway Phoenix, the company that has been running the island's infrastructure is leaving effective March 1, 2002. This essentially closes down the island except for the Fish and Wildlife Service. All planes have been canceled, stores and
accommodations are closed, and all the company people are packing to leave.

This information has been reported in many USA newspapers. 

 

The information below is being retained for reference only, and is no longer considered valid!

 

Club Station: Ted, NH4/NH6YK has a Midway web site that has the best information on operating from Midway Island. Visit his web page at: http://165.248.121.95/KH4/KH4.html (Ted thinks his website will be taken down sometime in the future, so the most of the contents in his site follow below.)

Making arrangements for Midway is a 2-step process:

1) Hotel reservations: are made with the Midway Phoenix Company, who runs the island for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reservations and general information about Midway Island (a good overview of the current status of the island, visitor information etc) can be found at: http://www.midwayisland.com

2) After you have made hotel reservations, contact Mike Daak on Midway to let him know you are coming and will use the ham station. This should be done PRIOR to your arrival on Midway.

The station on Midway is made possible by various volunteers who have put time, equipment, and time into making it happen. It is "accepted" by Midway Phoenix and allowed to operate with minimal intervention, time, and money. Please follow the Ham Radio Restrictions identified below, so this location stays open for everyone.

The following information has been posted on other web sites. Frank's old Email bounced, so the following Email is from the WM7D database. Regardless, I assume it is the same as NH6YK's information…

Midway / Kure DX Association: Rentals available in former military base. Try contacting Frank Smith, AH0W/W7. E-mail: cqdx@earthlink.net

Hints for Amateur Radio Operating on Midway Island - KH4 (1999)

Ted Brattstrom NH6YK , Richard Darling W4ZYV & Mike Daak MPC

 

What to Bring

The self reliant Ham will have the best results! Although there are baggage limits (44 lbs check-in, 15 lbs carry-on) on the plane, a transceiver, lightweight power supply, and tuner will be the basics. Patch cords, Key/Keyer, Microphone, headphones, logbook or logging computer will make life good. As the facilities on Midway change, you will likely have less to bring.

Equipment Donations are Cheerfully Accepted - Contact Ted, NH6YK for donations.

There is enough equipment on the island to have fun (see equipment list below), but you may be happier bringing your own equipment - it's up to you.

The Facilities Available

Midway's hamshack is located upstairs in the Hanger through 222/224. The facility is under lock and key, please check in with Mike Daak for the key and before setting up to get the current status of equipment. The shack is Air Conditioned, has three desks, chairs and powerstrip available to plug in other accessories. There are also 3 outlets for 208V 20A

The shack is separate from the hotel rooms, and you can walk or bike to the shack (at the hanger). It's a 2 minute bike ride, or 10 minute walk. (one minute on the bike if it's daylight and you can see all the birds, 4 minutes at night when you forgot your flashlight :-) )

A set of rules and procedures can be found in the shack.

RIGS/EQUIPMENT

Kenwood 440SAT

Kenwood 940SAT (non-functional tuner - so you have to use the manual tuner next to it)

A Kenwood 930

(one of the above radios has CW filters, but not sure which one)

In addition, the shack contains an IC-730 / power supply, a straight key and microphone.

An MFJ Keyer Paddle is in the shack, however it only works with the 440. A Heil boom headset and some Kenwood earphones are available in the shack.

ANTENNAS

Force 12 tribander C-3 (which also loads on 12 and 17 with the tuner), East-West Longwire dipole, a multi-band (10-40M) vertical, and a 5 element Maspro 6 meter antenna.

The 6M beam is currently waiting to be put on a rotator and mast (Please DO NOT do this yourself). (If you have a rotator/controller to donate to the Midway Hamshack, please let Ted know!) *** Note - While there is a 6M antenna, there is NO 6M radio - bring your own.

In the future - we hope to get up a 160M inverted V and a G5RV up on the roof.

Solicitation: February 23-1999 - We're looking for a couple of baluns for inverted V antennas and a low pass filter or two for HF. If you've got any you'd like to donate, send a note to Mike and Ted and we'll send on the snail mail address. Thanks!!!!

Solicitation: We are also looking for a remote Coax / Antenna Switch. The number of holes available through to the roof is limited, and the ability to switch between antennas on the roof would be fantastic. Anyone with a spare to donate is urged to send a note to us.

Ham Radio Restrictions:

Schedules

There are no schedules for hams on the islands. Ted will gladly be a clearing house for information if you e-mail Ted your proposed operating dates.

Some Do's and Don'ts

DO

o        Have Fun, Be Safe, Look around outside as well as playing on the radio.

o        Midway is an amazing island in it's own right. The Fish and Wildlife Service has a series of tours that will teach you a lot of the history and ecology of the island.

o        Be considerate of the birds and the other people on the island.

o        Ask first.

DON'T

o        Use any other radios or antennas that may be on the roof or in the hanger.

o        Some visiting amateurs have made a bad impression, not to mention impaired the safety of the island by using the ATC (Air Traffic Control) radio on the ham bands, or hooking up other antennas in use by other facilities. Midway has to keep in contact with aircraft passing by and boats/ships at sea as well as monitoring for emergency traffic.

o        When in doubt, please consult with Midway Phoenix personnel. [Mike Daak]

Baggage

Midway Phoenix has tight baggage limits. The 44 pounds check in and 15 pounds carry on is in effect because the airplane, a G-1, is rather small. When the plane is full, the overly heavy baggage may mean that things have to be left behind! If you are bringing heavy equipment, or extra equipment, let Phoenix Air / Midway Phoenix know ahead of time, and get their approval. Better yet, send it on ahead!

During some periods of time, a 737 is used for the flight. It is easier to get overweight on as accompanied baggage, but you still need to let them know, so they can plan ahead.

As we progress in the development of the ham-shack, you will need to bring less and less. If there is anything you can bring, and leave behind for the shack, it will be appreciated by all who come later.

Help from Midway Phoenix

Midway Phoenix would like you to be essentially self-reliant. They don't have the manpower / time / facilities to be at your beck and call. This doesn't mean that they won't help you, but please don't expect it as the default. Amateur Radio is not a priority on the island, however, if you have some skills to share, and can help them out, you have a greater chance of getting their assistance. Be friendly!!!

What Can you Expect about Propagation and Operating

The reason it is called Midway is because it is MIDWAY across the Pacific. This means that it is a long distance from everywhere! You will not get the same coverage that you get at home!!!

You will likely have great openings to North America, Japan and Oceania. South America is fairly easy, the difficult areas are Europe (over the pole) and Africa (far away).

40 Meters is filled with Asian Broadcasters, and finding a clear area to operate is a challenge!!! Review your privileges before coming. On 40M General Class operators and above can operate SSB from 7.075 to 7.100 as well as the normal US allocations. Unfortunately, US RTTY and CW operators will be in that segment as well as the phone operators in the rest of the world.

 

73 and aloha - Ted - nh6yk - nh4/nh6yk

A nautical map of Midway can be found at: http://members.xoom.com/vandiest/midway.htm

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