Boston Harbor, NE1RD/1
I'm fortunate to have a great DXpeditioning destination right in my back yard. The Boston Harbor Islands (IOTA NA-148) are only a ferry-ride away. Georges Island has a Civil War era fort, beaches, and a great view of the city of Boston.
There is no power available on the islands and visitors who ride the ferry are limited to what they can carry. I have operated from Georges Island and Lovells Island including activations for the RSGB IOTA contest.
I use the call sign NE1RD/1 when operating from these islands.
This is where most of my 100 Pound DXpedition testing is done. Georges and Lovells Islands are close, under an hour by ferry, and Lovells offers camping, though resources are scarce. Georges has potable water piped in from the mainland. Lovells has no water so you must bring your own. Summers are hot on these islands, so camping for three days on Lovells means bringing at least five gallons of water. That's 40 pounds! I don't count that against my 100 pound goal. {grin}
Here is the beautiful QSL card you can get when you contact me on one of these islands. You can see the ferry in the background along with the Boston skyline. I've got a popup shelter over a picnic table as my operating position, and a Buddipole as a vertical in the foreground.
Here I'm on a day trip to Georges island and I'm trying out my multiband vertical dipole. These TW Antenna systems are now sold by DX Engineering. They work well, but they are heavy, and the remote switching unit requires power for the relays. The antenna draws more current from my batteries than my radio on receive!
Day trip to Georges
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Audio
Audio from a QSO while I was operating from George’s Island (courtesy KZ1O).
