– February 20, 2022Posted in: Meet the Members

Exciting news for genuine IOTA Hunters around the world is that 23DA171 Oneil — from the beautiful island country of Jamaica in the West Indies — connects with our Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) in late February 2022.

Evidence on the 11m DX clusters indicates that 23DA171 Oneil (Seen pictured above) is one of his country’s most active 27 MHz operators; a guy whom is no stranger to the logs of other operators in the Amercias, in particular.

The latest info is that he’ll be all geared up for a serious assault on the Freeband throughout Solar Cycle 25, too, like the many DA-RC members in North America!

Enjoying a hobby career spanning more than 20 years, 23DA171 Oneil, seen left on his motorbike, enjoys ragchew ops and chasing DX on the citizens band (CB).

He meets DA-RC Membership requirements in the DX Hunter category with over 100 DXCC worked and looks forward to extending this tally during solar cycle 25 and the increased conditions it will bring.

Jamaica (23 Division) is one of the most exciting island contacts for any operator, on any band.

The third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica is issued the reference NA-097 in keeping with the World IOTA Program.

It’s part of the chain of Caribbean islands called the Greater Antilles, along with Cuba (NA-015), Hispaniola (NA-096), and Puerto Rico (11 Division).

O’Neil’s country is situated roughly 160 km west of Haiti (103 Division), 150 km south of Cuba, and 630 km northeast of the nearest point on the mainland, Cape Gracias a Dios, on the Caribbean coast of Central America.

A little-known fact is that the Islands Base Online (IBO) database nominates 60 islands which fall under the guise of NA-097.

Incredibly, only Cabarita (nearby to Pagee Beach, and close to Port Maria Court House in St Mary) (Seen pictured above and left) and the main island of Jamaica, have only even been activated on 11m.

It’s a mouth-watering proposition for the world’s population of Island Chasers then for 23DA171 Oneil and other prominent Delta-Alfa members in 23 division (23DA330 Jeremy and 23DA1963 Garth), to team up in the field and achieve some portable IOTA DX work.

235 km long and varying from 35-82km wide, Google Earth suggests that Jamaica is actually the tip of a mountain rising from the sea floor.

Nearly half of the island, in fact, is more than 330m above sea level.

The national capital is Kingston and almost one third of all Jamaicans live here.

23DA171 Oneil’s home, though, is in the parish of St Mary which is found in the northeast section of the island, in the county of Middlesex.

Its chief town and capital is Port Maria which is on the coast, and, with a population of 114,227, it’s one of 23 Division’s smallest parishes.

Descriptions on his membership form indicate that 23DA171 O’Neil’s station consists of TS-430S Kenwood and Icom IC-735 transceivers, modded for general coverage and the inclusion of 11m.

An MFJ-297 desktop microphone, Power, SWR and Modulation Tester and Texas Star DX-350 amplifiers head a list of dxcessories too.

Outside his home in St Mary, high on the hillside and with an uninterrupted yagi take-off across the ocean, is a 3 element beam for directional DX work, plus an omni-directional 1/2 wave Sigma IV vertical.

These ensure his TX signal is always dominant on the international call frequency, 27.555 MHz USB, where he’s most active, as well as 27.515 MHz LSB — the Caribbean chat channel.

Whilst most DXers think of IOTA possibilities when they hear the word “Jamaica”, others think of Reggae Music which was born in the 1950s and ’60s from the musical styles of mento, ska, and rocksteady.

The most famous Jamaican reggae star was Bob Marley, who was backed by his group the Wailers.

Other famous reggae stars include Desmond Dekkar, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, and Burning Spear.

In Jamaica, there are lush rolling hills that are ideal for agriculture and coastal beach regions that are popular with tourists.

The island is home to the endangered Homerus swallowtail, the largest butterfly in the Western Hemisphere.

Its wingspan is 25 cm, which makes this insect larger than many of the island’s birds.

Bird watchers enjoy the 250 bird species that can be seen on the island, including 26 birds that are found nowhere else.

Only 8 cm long, the tiny vervain hummingbird, the world’s second smallest bird, is found here.

Another, with long tail feathers and a scarlet bill, is the streamertail hummingbird, or “doctor bird” which is Jamaica’s national bird.

As well as an interest in trucks, motor bikes and sports cars, 23DA171 Oneil lists fishing as his favourite pastime, outside of radio comms of course.

As you can see by the pictures, he’s very successful from either a boat or from the shore too — chasing mostly Snapper, Mackerel, Jack and Grunter for his dinner table!

Employment in the construction industry pays the bills!