Category - Blog

Steve VE2TKH reports of the moment he realised his girlfriend in Haiti was safe!

I received an important phone call minutes ago with details on the condition of all my 28 or so friends. They are ok, it is a miracle!!

Here is my article i published on an amateur radio dedicated website. Thanks God, you realized my prayers of last december and this week!  Steve Toupin

Monday January 18th 2009, 03:21UTC

I was so surprised to receive a phone call from my lovely Andromaque directly from her cell phone minutes ago. She told me that she is ok, and everybody is ok!! Wow, a miracle!
Their home is still standing, they sleep outside and only go during day time for a quick shower in the bathroom. I told her to remain like this and keep avoiding long visits inside the building. They are tired and it is difficult to sleep for them she told me.
I asked why she can now call me with the cell phone? She answered me that her campany Digicel gave 200 gouds credits to all its customers to allow them free calls (NDLR other companies are Voila and Haitel).

She told me they are in STRONG need of water and food!! But, sometimes the people from the Belgium consulate that are very close to them, are coming with few food and water.
I gave her infos about the international help gathering at PAP Intl airport and that they have big problems with the security concerns and to use the roads from the airport to the city. I also told her about the bad shape of their port for ships that are waiting anchored before delivering their help.
I also told her to spread the word to others about these facts I informed her, but she told me that they all already know that because the radio station, at least one, is still broadcasting.

I suggested that some good hearted haitians can do something to help international aid to reach them, but she told me that the situation is really bad and getting worst every hour that is passing by and even if they want to do so, the vilains will block them. She had the same bad news for me as Jean-Robert HH2JR had 5.5 hours ago when I reached him on his cell too. I mean about the criminality rising all around.

I was telling her the story of the HI hams that are now in Jimani and suddently we lost the communication. We lost it not because of bad conditions of equipment there due to the earthquake (in fact it was far better than when we used to talk last fall before I visited her, it was crystal clear communication), but because of her money credits from Digicel gift were empty. I won’t complain here as it was the best news I ever received from a phone call in all my life. Unfortunately, I tried to call back and it was not working.

It is now several days since the earthquake disaster struck Haiti. Words cannot describe what the Haitians are going through. We, as Radio Amateurs must do whatever is needed to help our dear friends in Haiti.

VE2TKH Steve has recently just arrived back in Canada after his December trip to Haiti, Steve is heading back to Haiti to help friends and their family I will let Steve explain more….

Mr. Jean Robert Gaillard HH2JR whom I am without news from him since the quake. (Ed we now know that Jean is safe) Please if any ham around this world can have some news about our friend Jean-Robert, please share them with us.

I am personally planning with my family and canadians hams friends to go back there to help my friends and a canadian NGO who made a statement today calling for help from radio amateurs to establish an emergency station in or near there office in Port-au-Prince. As far as I am concern, I’ll gladly help them. I’ll call for your help in donations to OFFICIALS sources of help like the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Architect without Borders, Oxfam, UNICEF, World Vision, Care International or CECI (NGO fm Canada). All these organisations are there in Port-au-Prince, I personally saw their office buildings while I was there between Nov 18th and Dec 15th of 2009. 

About me, to go there and help, I’ll need some money, but not that much, only what’s needed to cover the plane airfare, the food, the public transport there, and few bucks to buy what my friends will need to comfort them, secure them and feed them. I am contacting now 3 ot 4 radio amateurs who can help building a campaign to raise money to help me in this project to help these haitians people woh really deserve my participation in this relief effort. Surely one of a kind in human History, such as what was done for the 2004 asian Tsunami. To be honest, I’ll turn 33 years old next january 29th and I truly can not stay here in Quebec City doing nothing, absolutely not. Let’s see how we can rally all together as radio amateurs for a common cause, MANKIND. Let’s prove our humanism! the amount of money is not that big comparatively at what it will serve for and do for these people. I have a valid and verified account with PayPal since 2001, things will be easy for all who will be willing to help me a bit.

Infos will follow later on here on how to support me and my project. Pictures showing humanism, not horror, humanism will be provided to you via this website. I personally guarantee that. I’ll try to do the best pictures report I can while time will be allowed for that aspect that is not on top of my list. By the way, here is my list of things i want to do once there.

1- Landing in Puerto Plata, reaching Pétionville via Toussaint Louverture airport road then Route de Frère that connect to Impasse Lavache in Delmas 95 where my 6 friends and 2009 hosts lives.

2- Secure them, feed them, search for missing ones, support them, help them, etc

3- Do the same for the 20 – 25 or so other relatives of my 6 friends. And try to learn about our ham friend Jean-Robert HH2JR, even help him or his family if I can.

4- Help the Canadian NGO/ONG build and/or operate their emergency station.

5- Find an internet access to communicate how things are going on there for the people and about me.

6- Take some pictures showing what us as human beings can do when we rally to help our fellow mans.

7- Coming back to Canada only once evryone I know is ok, burried or in an hospital. Also, coming back only when things will quiet down a bit and life will start to recover a normal paste. It will take the time it will take…

8- These main goals will be brought into focus in their order if possible, but be aware that some of them will be done at the same time or on the same day. Some of them will cross each other. It’s just a list after all.

I truly hope this new experience for me will be one in a lifetime and will show me how I can impact my world. Honestly, we can all have positive impacts on our World. It is up to us, it is inside us, our hearts, our brains, our blood and our veins. Just a simple or little act can do a lot, like the butterfly effect. Thanks.

Steve Toupin VE2TKH

If you would like to donate to Steve to help friends in Haiti you can send a Paypal donation to  tous7701@hotmail.com
IMPORTANT Use Personal then GIFT to send the Paypal donation then no charges will be deducted. THANK YOU!

HH2/VE2TKH: Dec. 13th UPDATE Operation will end on Dec 15th around 07:00z-08:00z probably on 40m. Tnx to DX callers even if my signal was weak I worked most of you. Special tnx to Laurie VK7ZE for his call from Tasmania, he is in the log and I’m in his log. Pretty interesting QSO with my 5 foot screwdriver antenna. Haiti is a great country if it can stay quiet. Labadee is a very nice tourist destination with a brand new warf that can welcome any big ship from Carnival to Cunar cruiselines. WX is great at this time of the year.

You can be safe if you stick to areas like Petionville, Kenscoff, Port-au-Prince downtown or Canape-Vert only by daytime. By nightime you must go out with good haitians friends and a car, otherwise it is very risky. 
QSL Sponsored by UR QSL Bureau QSL Via M0URX

You must absolutely avoid Cite Soleil and Bel-Air like I did. I am lucky that in those 28 days here, that I wasn’t sick at all. You only need to drink Culligan, Aquafine, Crystal or others purified source water, also being careful where you eat and what is in your plate. Have fun if you visit here someday like I did, for myself I had plenty of fun here. More pics to come when back in Quebec City. Regards de Steve. HH2/VE2TKH

DX World of Ham Radio DX’pedition 2009 Your Vote!

I really must say thank you to Kathy Allison KA1RWY at ARRLs LoTW desk. Without fail Kathy always works fast in dealing with emails and enquiries and new certificate requests. Thanks Kathy! You are a credit to ARRL.

The latest addition to my QSL Management is OY1OF Ólavur Frederiksen. OY1OF log has now been uploaded to LoTW.

(Also uploaded today is the latest log update from 9M6XRO)

Ólavur OY1OF Operates from the Faroe Islands Amateur Radio Club Station. He has been working on maintenance of the antenna systems at the club station recently preparing them for the winter weather that sweeps through the Faroe Islands.

Ólavur was born in 1970 in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands. he is a certified electrician and now works as a graphic printer, spending his spare time in Amateur Radio and photography, you can see some of his work here FaroePhoto

Steve, VE2TKH is on his travels this week. In an email from Haiti he explains that he has the Amateur Radio license in his hand and is operational from Petionville, (South East)  Haiti as HH2/VE2TKH.  

His license is valid from November 23 to December 15, 2009.  

Steve explains power is currently only available between 0100 to 1100 UTC. He also reports laptop issues, however he hopes to overcome these problems soon.  

When active, look for Steve to focus on 30m, 20m, 17m and 15m.  

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Bureau ONLY Via EMAIL REQUEST click here  

More news to follow..