VP2MXF - Commonwealth Contest : Montserrat
Nigel G3TXF operated as VP2MXF from the Gingerbread Hill location on Montserrat for five days in March 2011, including the Commonwealth Contest (BERU).

5,459 QSOs were made during the short operation including some 760 QSOs during BERU. A convenient set of "statistics" of the
VP2MXF QSOs can be found on the ClubLog web-site.

The
VP2MXF logs were all up-loaded to both Club Log and to LoTW 'live' during the operation.

Previous Commonwealth Contest (BERU) operations by G3TXF were 6Y8XF (2009), VQ5XF (2008) and V25XF (2007), with a BERU score summary.

For details on the Commonwealth Contests see Bob G3PJT's Commonwealth Contest website.

VP2MXF QSL via G3TXF.

The VP2MXF QSL showing the site of many DX operations from Montserrat: the ham-friendly Gingerbread Hill guesthouse.
VP-MNT (Britten-Norman Islander) makes the 20 minute flight across from Antigua to Montserrat's tiny new airport (MNI). George K2DM's nice crank-up tower is conveniently permanently fixed to the back wall of the Gingerbread Hill accommodation.
The Gingerbread Hill crank-up tower is motor driven -- for great convenience. Once installed, the HF beam is perched high above the steeply sloping ground. A simple 'linked' WARC dipole was used for 30-17-12m. Links adjusted with each QSY!
The HF beam is conveniently installed directly onto the top of the tower from the flat sun-roof at the top of the building. View (facing slightly West of North) from the verandah across to the island of Nevis (one of the two islands of St Kitts/Nevis - V4)
Stand-off supports on the tower keep the descending cables well clear of the crank-up tower. The HF beam sits atop the accommodation building at Gingerbread Hill on Montserrat. 40m & 80m dipoles were run out from the tower.
The VP2MXF operating position (K3 transceiver, Tokyo High Power HL-550X amplifier, Palstar ATU) in the kitchen area After the contest the 40m and 80m dipoles were replaced in George K2DM's Gingerbread Hill station accessories box.
David Lea (owner of Gingerbread Hill) on the verandah with the magnificent radio take-off towards the USA and Canada. Brief glimpse of the Montserrat volcano taken from Fly Montserrat's second Islander aircraft (VP-MON) during the flight back to Antigua.
Map of Montserrat at the airport showing the restricted access to much of the island. Fly Montserrat has three aircraft including this Britten-Norman Islander VP-MON. Arriving back at 2,000ft over Antigua after the short flight across from Montserrat (VP2M).
The runway at Antigua's international airport. The VP2MXF equipment suitcases are unloaded on the tarmac at Antigua following the short flight across from Montserrat.
Although the volcano on Montserrat has been relatively quiet recently, the volcano's potential threat is ever present on the island. Fly Montserrat's company signage at Antigua airport which includes a photo of the permanently smoldering Montserrat volcano.
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