ARRL DX SSB 1997 - 6D2X

In March of 1997 I got to operate the ARRL DX SSB contest from Mexico with some of the USA's best operators. I asked my father - WB5UKU to come along and see what it was I did when I did a contest. I had been to 6D2X many times before but this was his first trip and indeed it was really the first time he would get to see a "real" contest operation. He of course has been around when I was operating at home but that was in the very early years so this would be very different. This trip would also be different in that the operator list had some pretty big talent on it and I was honored just be part of such a crew. My father - WB5UKU, who is a non-contester and mostly inactive amateur, took these photographs. -- George K5TR.

The group photo after the contest.
Left to right, W5VX, N5KO, K5TR, K1DG, K1AR and K5TSQ.

The 6D2X station is located on the edge of a large lake in the Hotel Azucar. This lake is known for its fishing and the hotel mostly caters to fishermen. The owner of the hotel has had several boats placed at turns along the road that point the way to the hotel.
When you get to the hotel the first thing that you see are the 6D2X antennas. There are two towers, one is 120' of 45G with a Cushcraft 2 element 40 meter yagi and two KLM KT-34XA tribanders. The other tower is 25G on the roof of the hotel. This tower has a Cushcraft A4 tribander and 40 meter dipole.

The next thing you see is the lake.

I have always found the 6D2X location very beautiful and peaceful. The lake is to the west of the station and in the photographs above you can see the mountains on the other side of the lake. Sugar lake is about 90 miles west of Brownsville, Texas and as a result it is almost always warm or even hot by early March.

Sugar Lake is a fairly large lake and the dam is very impressive. It is hard to get a sense of scale from the photographs of the dam but I would say is is well over 100 feet to the water you see in the photograph on the left and the small black wall running around the top of the dam is about 4 feet tall. [Next Page]

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