J68HZ

09/03/2026

ARRL DX SSB in the logs. Looks like #1 DX in M/S HP.

28/10/2024

Looks like another top-ten finish…

18/06/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkuRZGBDURQ

Grace Papay, K8LG, has made a significant impact on the ham radio community since getting licensed in 2021 to honor her grandfather's 60 years in the hobby. ...

17/04/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv6JpgzgSeg&t=410s

Have you dreamt about operating from the Caribbean and being the DX? Dr. Bill Schmidt K9HZ has not only created a radio paradise for himself on the island of...

21/01/2024

06/11/2023

Results of the 2023 CQWW SSB Contest operating M/S... First time 10 Million points!!! Almost 8K QSOs... Two new K4's and had both the DB42 and the 4EL SteppIR antennas working...

17/01/2023

Happy birthday sweetie! Dogs are family ❤

07/05/2022

Latest GUEST review:

After skipping all vacations for 3 years during the pandemic, we really wanted to go to an awesome place. I aimed for scuba and natural hot springs and chose St. Lucia. This location was close to both! I was on the fence between a high-end resort vs. a private villa with helpers. We definitely made the right choice, Loretta’s villa and all of her staff/services she recommended exceeded our expectations! I normally bring or buy things to make myself comfortable at every vacation, but surprisingly this villa equipped with everything I needed, including an espresso machine with backyard grown coffee beans! Loretta has provided all the info for St. Lucia stay and the house, so we were like regular visitors at our first stay in St. Lucia. Having a private chef and a driver was really the key. Doxie’s meals were all so good. Junior was so connected in town for anything we wanted to do to organize. Billy was a great driver and photographer for our family. Although there were a lot to do, kids just wanted to go back to the villa and spend time there. The breathtaking 200 degree view photos were real, too! Only downside was the mosquitos like any other Caribbean places…. Use local mosquito repellent as soon as you arrive there and inside of the villa and at night too!

13/03/2022

RESULTS from the 2022 ARRL DX SSB Contest:

Call: J68HZ
Operator(s): J68HZ J69DS KA4RRU WØCN WA4PGM
Station: J68HZ

Class: M/S HP
QTH: St Lucia
Operating Time (hrs): 48
Location: Other North America

Summary: Compare Scores
Band QSOs Mults
160: 26 20
80: 246 47
40: 1215 59
20: 2044 60
15: 2010 59
10: 2721 58
===========
Total: 8 262 303 Total Score 7,510,158


Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments: [email] 2022-03-07 12:10:31
Thanks everyone for the contacts. 10 meters was incredible. From making a little
over 60 contacts in 2021 to over 2700 this year. WOW the pileups!!!!

We beat our score from last year but were hampered on the low bands due to a
very strong noise that has shown up recently.

Thanks to ZF1A for the great competition. Hats off on a job well done!! We
posted our score to the scoreboard and that was a lot of fun. We caught ZF1A a
couple times in Q's but never could in score from the lack of MULTS on 160/80.

It was great to have Mike KA4RRU with us this year and thanks to him for doing a
great job!!

Dan W0CN and his wife Genell have moved back to their home state of Minnesota so
it was great to have him back. Dan always puts many Q's in the log.

J69DS Franz joined us again and provided us with lots of laughs while running
the pileups.

To J68HZ Bill and his Loretta, thanks again for everything!! Your hospitality is
truly a dream come true. We can't thank you enough!!

Until the next one, thanks and be safe!!

Kyle, WA4PGM, J68PG
Send comments and

07/11/2021

2021 CQWW SSB Contest on 10/30-10/31/2021

Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 32 6 9
80: 291 16 42
40: 1237 22 58
20: 1861 33 94
15: 2033 27 87
10: 1887 22 62
------------------------------
Total: 7341 126 352 Total Score = 7,759,852

Club:

Comments:

With COVID cases subsiding on the island, we were able to operate as a team once again. Bill (K9HZ/J68HZ) arrived on island Sunday, followed by Dan (W0CN) and Kyle (WA4PGM) on Tuesday. Frans, J69DS lives on the island. The challenge was to rebuild the station from the extensive damage to all antennas caused by Hurricane Elsa in July and be ready for the start of the contest. Over the past few months Bill has scoured for parts and had shipped to St. Lucia, with the boat arriving on Saturday before the contest and items delivered to Villa Grand Piton (www.villagrandpiton.com).

Bill rebuilt a 4-el SteppIR to temporarily replace the 5-el which was ready for lifting when the team arrived on island. With the help of Len (J69CU) on the 60 foot tower, the SteppIR was raised into position. Bill had also repaired the heavily damaged Hy-Tower, and it was raised into position with a few follow-on adjustments and radials laid out. 80M and 160M inverted vees were also installed.

A small 3-el yagi was installed at 30 feet, and coax run from the station with the intention to use it on a second station for a multi-two operation. Later issues with the second station equipment and insufficient time to troubleshoot had us switch to M/S prior to the start of the contest.

Most issues were resolved and ready with the station changes made by the kick-off of the contest starting at 2000 local time. We were pleasantly surprised by the good conditions on 10M, and split time working Europe and USA.
15M was the top money band for us again, with 20M and 40M also playing very well.

We’re fortunate to have Loretta (Bill’s wife) supporting us and ensuring we were well cared for, and enduring the racket we make during the contest!

This was our first CQWW as a team, and as such, we used it as a learning
experience… matching our QSO totals from the 2021 ARRL SX SSB contest. Next,
we plan to continue station upgrades and be ready for ARRL DX SSB in March.

Thanks to everyone for all the QSOs!

73,

Team Villa Grand Piton

An elegant oasis of serenity Villa Grand Piton Our uncommon, and uncommonly beautiful, vacation villa in Soufriere, St Lucia. Pool. Three bedrooms & en-suite baths. Four queen beds. Our staff makes your stay easy! Our uncommon, and uncommonly beautiful, vacation … Read More

07/11/2021

The new 4 element SteppIR for 6-40M temporarily replacing the 5 element DB42 that was damaged in hurricane Elsa. Soon the 5 element will be back at the top and the 4 element will be mounted 30 feet below it permanently fixed on the USA.