Ham Friendly Locations: Asaga Inn (north shore), Vaoto Lodge (south shore), Ofu Island
The following report filed by Dave, AH6HY on 05/11/02
ASAGA INN (6 rooms, US$40 single/US$60 double) website: http://www.asagainn.com, email: asagainn@hotmail.com, phone: (684)655-1164, FAX: (684)655-1109
VAOTO LODGE (10 rooms, US$35 single/US$40 double) website: http://members.tripod.com/~vaoto/ email: vaoto@hotmail.com, Phone: 684-699-9628 or 684-655-1120
Ofu Island is an undiscovered beauty, a true paradise for visiting hams. A truly unspoiled South Pacific dream with only 200 residents yet has 24 hour electricity! The exotic lure of the south seas coupled with all of the creature comforts from home. Access is only through Pago Pago, the capital city of American Samoa (Hawaiian Airlines flies between Honolulu and Pago Pago 2-3 times a week. approx 5 1/2 hour in each direction). Continuing to Ofu is a short 35 minute flight on small prop planes handled by Samoa Air, usually one or two flights daily depending on demand (schedules vary, and flights will be canceled if there is heavy rain. It would be wise to keep an eye on the weather). Interisland flights between Pago Pago and Ofu can be booked by the owners of the hotels on the island. Ofu is part of the Manua Island cluster, which counts as its own IOTA group (OC-077), substantially more rare than the main KH8 island, so pileups will ALWAYS a factor no matter which band or mode you choose.
Ofu is shaped like a teardrop with a very high mountain in the middle. This means that propagation is a big concern when it comes to location, since there is no one place on the island that will have a good shot in every direction. The Vaoto Lodge is situated on the south shore. It's literally right next door to the airstrip and you can be assembling antennas just a couple of minutes after arriving on the island. Fronting the rooms is an enormous lawn large enough to accommodate an entire antenna array. It's right next to the brilliant colorful coral reefs that make up the National Park of American Samoa, and the beach just down the dirt track is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by the Lonely Planet series of travel guides. One look and you won't want to leave, and it's all just a few minutes down the road from the airstrip and the Vaoto Lodge. The primary drawback for ham radio purposes is that the Vaoto Lodge is located on the south shore of the island, so propagation can be poor to the northern hemisphere, where of course most hams live. Nevertheless, I worked thousands of people using only wire dipoles hung from the tall coconut trees everywhere. VK, ZL, and Oceania were strong 24 hours a day. Japan and North America seemed to come in OK despite the mountain, but EU was extremely tough; I worked more EU via the longpath due to the high mountains blocking the path to the north.
On the opposite side of the island is the Asaga Inn. A much newer property than the Vaoto Lodge. If the hosts know you're coming, they'll send a pickup truck to the airstrip for you. Very friendly local family. This is overall better place to stay if ham radio is your primary purpose of visiting Ofu, but the coconut trees have been cut down around the property so you need to have self supporting antennas (or do like we did and use the perimeter fence for antenna support). Clear shot to the north, since the mountain now blocks signals from the southern direction, so you'll be heard more easily and you'll see a noticeable increase in signal strength from the stations you can copy. This was the site of our K8O expedition in Oct/Nov 2002. There is a lawn in the front not nearly as big as the one at the Vaoto Lodge but more than sufficient space for even a DXpedition like ours. Overhead electrical power lines are rather close here but did not seem to cause any serious interference. There is a stunning view of blue & green waters lapping the sands right across the street, and the nearby island of Olosega provides a nice backdrop. Some excellent snorkeling in the pass between the islands, but the currents here can be VERY strong when the tides change so be careful. While snorkeling I saw a shark here once as well, so keep your eyes open and stay alert. Sharks in this part of the world are of the normal (thankfully small) reef variety and don't really pose much of a threat to people, but it can be unnerving to see one in the water with you if you aren't expecting one!
Any questions feel free to contact me at ah6hy@yahoo.com or visit my website to see some Ofu snapshots: http://www.qsl.net/ah6hy/samoa.html
Tutuila Island
Note from Karim, DL1VKE
who visited in April 2004
This is a warning that I have been told from
several inhabitants. Where ever you should go as a HAM on Tutuila Island, avoid
the Rainmaker Hotel - it is NOT Ham friendly!
You can find more information about operating from Guam from the Mariana Islands DX Association at: http://www.guam.net/pub/midxa/
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