07沖縄特集

With a slight shock in the seat, I woke up to notice the plane was landing and running on the Ishigaki Airport. After arriving at a Hotel in Ishigaki, I moved to Ishigaki Fishing Port for operation around 21:00 to make effective use of night time, but all CQs ended in vain. When you look into actual data of ionospheric conditions recorded last year, you will find the Critical Frequency observed in Okinawa sometimes goes high enough about 100Km above the ground to be Es between 20:00 and 22:00 at night. I expected the rise, but sky condition was beyond my control.
Despite the clouds, which seemed giving very thin coverage, stars were too bright in the sky. That was the night when I enjoyed not Es Layer but a beautiful night sky.

Sunday, June 24
In the morning of 24th, I tried 30 minutes of operation to contact Honshu stations while I was waiting for a high-speed ferry to Hateruma at the pier of Ishigaki port for isolated islands. The blue sky was as bottomless as yesterday, but its radio condition seemed not so great, far from yesterday. I got aboard the high-speed boat, rather small, hoping the condition would open by 10:00, which was the scheduled time to be QRV on Hateruma.

Originally I supposed an operation from Nishi Beach on the Hateruma. Though I knew it was not so far from the port of Hateruma, it did not seem an easy work to haul the luggage all the way to Nishi Beach. Instead, I moved to the corner of the Hateruma Port and took up a place on the breakwater and started QRV around 10:20. Indeed, the port might be artificial, but it was limited to the minimum extent, as I could see such a beautiful scenery that the nature of the sea with transparent water was surrounding it and the green figure of Iriomote Island was lying in front. I was made sure that people would finally understand the true meaning of “cobalt blue”, when they encountered such a scenery with the beauty of sea.

I flipped the switch of ICB-770 on, and turned the volume. After a short while, CQ calls from Ehime CA34/3 came in with some fading. Seemingly the propagation above the Honshu area was excellent, but my calls were completely un-reaching. But obviously, the CB radio waves were reaching at Hateruma, the southernmost end of Japan! Then I received a stable signal from Saitama BB85, Mikamo Mountain, at 53. He was operating from the same spot that I made two QSOs last year, one from Mt. Arima and the other from Mt. Mitake, so I could instantly figure out where he was located. “…QRZ?…, I know somebody is calling me… could you repeat your call sign for longer duration…. “ But eventually he could not pick up my call, and, regretfully, the QSO ended unsuccessful. But it was the moment when I was actually moved as I was confirming myself that a 500mW signal of legal CB station was getting to the southernmost end of Japan, the place just adjacent to Taiwan, from Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture. *6

After that, though I could still receive many stations, I could not reach them at all, despite hundreds of repeated calls from my side. I could hear only one station have come back with “Nagoya YK221 Okinawa”, responding to my CQ, but could never hear such a call again. It had been going through my mind that something might be wrong with my rig, but I found nothing was actually wrong in transmitting signals as I received the response. After that I always used, just in case, all of the three rigs I had - 770, 707 and 87R-, to call back the coming stations, but could never reach them from me.

Ehime CA34/3 was still coming in, who seemed very busy in handling many stations thanks to pretty well condition. He was doing an operation in an impressive way as he was calling CQ at Ch8 and directing to Ch6 to avoid QRM immediately after contacts were made. Aichi DI209, from Toyohama Fishing Port in Aichi Pref. (2 Area), was also coming in as he was sending RS report to a Hokkaido station. During the day, I could hear him several other times very clearly, but I could never contact him, even though every time I tried hard to get through. I knew from the web board in the cellular it was heavily raining on that day in 2 Area, so I had to take off my hat to the enthusiasm of 2 Area stations operating under such weather condition.

I took out IC-703 and listened to 6 meters. Stations from 4 and 5 Areas were especially coming intense. But there was no station to respond to me on 50.720 liaison frequency. As for 15 meters, because I learnt a lesson the day before, the antenna was kept lying.

Hearing a pleasant sound of Amplitude Modulation from my rig, I was watching the sea. I saw sometimes ferryboats come and go across the breakwater. Although I could not make a single QSO, the time was passing by as I was heeled just by watching the colors of blue in the sea and the sky. A squall had come and gone quickly, leaving the rigs all wet. Apparently, it seemed for me to be able to make a QSO all the time, but actually it was not, and I was approaching to the time limit with continued feeling of chagrin.

I cleared up all the rigs and retreated to the waiting house, 200 meters away from the breakwater, for the ferry back to Ishigaki. Cooling my heated body by having a bowl of ice shavings with melon-taste syrup, I glanced at my watch. Amazingly, I had more than one hour until the boarding time: I had mistaken one hour. I took out again the 87R and started watching and calling at the pier in front of the waiting house, but nothing had changed about the situation. Many stations came in but absolutely there was no reaching from my side. This time, I was actually running out of time.
The green of Hateruma, as it became smaller, and the blue of the sea coming insight were deeply impressing me on the deck of cruising high-speed boat, after it went out of the port.

In the night of 24th, I moved to a park near the hotel but could never catch a station or even a signal.
Eventually, I could not make any QSO in Ishigaki or Hateruma, but I could identify many signals coming in from Honshu stations.

８７R

High-speed Ferry

On the way back



８７R The mobility of 87R, with excellent performance in transmitting and hearing, is essential.	High-speed Ferry When the boat arrives, the port becomes lively	On the way back Hateruma got quickly smaller and smaller