by Jean Burnell

When the 11th Newfoundland DXpedition had ended in the Fall of 2002, we wondered if that was the end of the Newfoundland DXpeditions. Our venue had been a house, dubbed the "DX Inn," in the tiny community of Cappahayden, but the house had become so run-down that we decided that we would not return. For non-hobby reasons I had to be in Newfoundland in July of 2003, and, of course, I could not resist the temptation to try DXing in Cappahayden one more time.

I phoned the owners of the house in Cappahayden. Might I stay for a couple of days? I would sleep on the floor if necessary! The reply was that there was no floor left to sleep on. The DX Inn had been demolished. That was no surprise, I thought, but might they suggest someone in the vicinity who could put up with a paying visitor for a few days? The only suggestion was the Round Cove Bed and Breakfast, about two kilometres away.

This trip was at a poor time of year for DX, so this was really just a test to see if the location would be usable at better times of the year. I set up a couple of longwire antennas, one about 500 metres in length aiming roughly south, and the other of about 150 metres only, aiming north-east (towards Europe). The latter wire could not be longer because it ended at the ocean.

I used my Drake R8A to scan the bands. There was some noise from the electrical power line that runs right behind the house, but not at all as much as I had feared! This solo effort was perhaps the least productive of any Newfoundland DXpedition. There are not many logs, and most of these are not rare stations by the normal standards of DX at Cappahayden. Nevertheless, I was pleased that I could DX at all, and there were some logs that I would have been happy with at any time of year. Radio 702 from South Africa was a "first-time" log. Radio Asia from the UAE on 1575 kHz was another new one. Although not "new," it was fun to hear Lubango, Angola, on 1313 kHz. On short-wave; I logged a bizarre 150-watt Hare Krishna station from the Ukraine.

I thank Ollie and Ken Perry at the Round Cove Bed and Breakfast in Cappahayden for their kindness and hospitality. I did visit the old DX Inn. Where our DX paradise had stood was an untidy pile of old lumber. Nobody remembered anything about my tables, which I had stored at the DX Inn for almost ten years.

DXpedition Log