Fill out the Curacao immigration card during your flight. (Your address on the island is #1 Groot St Marta, and the phone number there is 864.2903).

Immigration: Get in the non-resident line and present your passport and the Curacao immigration card you filled out on the airplane. Keep the card they give you in a safe place, because you MUST turn this in when you leave Curacao.

Baggage: You need to have three US one dollar bills with you if you want to get a luggage cart. You can also use one of the airport porters who will be in the baggage area, who expect a tip of $3 to $5 for their assistance. Claim your bags and head for Customs.

Customs: The Customs check will vary randomly from a wave-through to a complete search of every bag and possible impoundment of your equipment if they are not satisfied with your documentation. If your bags look "normal" and are of modest size and quantity, you are most likely to get a wave-through. An antenna box or special radio carrying case will grab their attention. If you are challenged, show a copy of your Bureau Telecommunicatie special callsign authorization letter if you have one, and/or your U.S. or other amateur license. You may STILL be required to pay duty on the declared value of the radio, normally about 15%. The Customs duty can no longer be paid with credit cards -- you need U.S. or Netherlands Antilles cash. CCC is not liable for any portion of your duty costs. It is very important that you prepare a letter of value for the radio (including its nomenclature and serial number) before the trip. They will accept about anything if it looks semi-official and is preprinted. You can understate the value. Be courteous and patient at all times. The Customs experience on Curacao is very uneven, not all of the agents are solidly multi-lingual, and they are not all trained to understand about amateur radio, in spite of six years of our best efforts. They are all reasonably nice people, however, and your courtesy and respect will be rewarded.

Greeting: If you are a first-time visitor, you will be met by Korra Juliana (photo of Korra), or someone else from International Accommodations. Look for your name on a sign card as you emerge from Customs. They will guide you in getting the rental car, give you a welcome packet, and will make sure you understand from the map how to get to the grocery store and to Signal Point. Tip: If you follow the signs to "Sunset Waters" beach resort, that will get you to Signal Point. If you would like them to escort you to the house, make arrangements with INTAC ahead of time by e-mailing vacationrentals@intac.an. They will charge you probably about $25 for the escort, and $30 if it is at night. You can phone Korra at 736.2030 any time if you need assistance or advice.

Rental Car: When you leave Customs, turn right and walk past the fountain and into the large yellow building. The rental service counters are inside about 40 meters on the right. The rental car parking area is a lot across the street from the desks.  Be sure they show you how to use the security system, if installed, on your car.

Currency Exchange: From the arrival area, walk right and follow the sidewalk to the departure area – you will see a bank window (photo) at your right and an ATM where you can get guilders if you wish. You must have your passport to get exchange. You will get approximately 1.75 guilders (written as "NAfl") per dollar.

Driving: Driving is on the right, and normal US standards apply. Don’t make a right turn when you have a red arrow. Right turn on red is OK if the red is a solid circle.

Groceries: Go to Centrum Supermarket or Cost-U-Less, as indicated by Korra on the map. It's only about 5 minutes from the airport. Stock up. You’ll find these stores to be better than many stateside supermarkets. They take guilders or US dollars. Most stateside credit cards work there.

Opening the House: When you come down the hill into the main part of Sunset Waters Beach Resort, you will see the antennas in the distance (southeast) at the house. Follow the road out of the Sunset Waters parking lot, through the vacant field, to the QTH. Parking is outside the wall. There is a security system which must be properly disarmed, otherwise a very loud siren will sound and you won't be able to turn it off until you have the key available. To disarm this system and avoid the siren you must have the security system key ready. First, patiently use your other keys to remove the padlocks on the security bar doors. Then, open the sliding glass door (it will not be locked) and immediately turn to the inside wall at the left and insert the key (upside down) and turn it once right and then back left to disarm the security system.

Electricity: To get the power on, unlock the utility room at the outside rear of the house, and tighten fuses 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, and 18 into their sockets. This will energize everything.

Time Zone: You are one hour later than Eastern in the winter and the same as Eastern in the summer.

During Your Stay

3. Turn on all five outlet strips on the floor. Some are grey and some are black.

4. Connect all coaxes to linears and transceivers. Green taped coax for transceivers, blue taped coax for linears.

5. Be sure that the Astron DC power supply under the linear table at Station # 1 is turned on. 

6. Select the correct antenna combination on the appropriate StackMatch box, then assure that the coax switches are selected for the proper station and band. 

7. Plug in the AC power for the DSL MODEM on the lamp table in the East bedroom, wait two minutes, and you should be on-line. 

PLEASE carefully study the "PJ2T Quick Operating Guide" before arriving. This will save you a lot of grief and wasted time. You may also want to study the cabling and antenna switching diagrams. 

Contest Callsign: Please don't forget that your contest callsign is only valid during the period of the contest.

Internet: We have DSL. To start it, plug in the power on the blue DSL MODEM on the lamp table in the East bedroom. Wait two minutes. You should then have access at all four PCs. Your laptop will also have wireless connectivity if you're so equipped. The password is "PJ2T." Contact W0CG if you need the wireless encryption key. Internet access for your contest is charged at $3/hour to help us cover the cost of the DSL, but non-contest access is free and unlimited.

If Internet Connectivity Is Lost:

• Unplug the power cord from the back of the blue DSL MODEM in the East bedroom. 
• Unplug black power cord from the rear of the Internet router in the main room on top of the Station # 3 linear..
• Wait two minutes. 
• Reconnect power to the blue DSL MODEM and to the router.
• Wait about two more minutes. If this still does not work, reboot the PC at Station #3.
• If this does not work and the "PPP" light on the DSL MODEM is off, then the island's system is down and you just have to wait.

Power: DO NOT PLUG IN ANY RADIO OR COMPUTER GEAR ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE OUTLETS IN THE PLASTIC BASEBOARD WIRING DUCT. This is because both you and the gear will get fried. Power on Curacao is 220 volt, 50 Hz, three phase. All 127 volt AC in the wiring duct is stepped down to about 108 volts, 50Hz, so that your gear will not get fried. There are plenty of 110 and 220 volt outlets for all the radio gear in the duct. Non-electronic gear like electric shavers and so forth will be fine when plugged into the regular house outlets. The black binding posts on top on the plastic duct are all very good quality earth grounds, tied both to the ocean and to the electric utility ground.

Security System: You absolutely must arm the system when you leave for more than half an hour or so. Follow the directions on the system's control panel just inside the west door. Always lock the bars, if even you leave for only a few minutes.

Irrigation System: The computer-controlled drip irrigation system is programmed to turn on at 7 AM on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and at 6:30 PM on Tuesday and Friday for 25 minutes each. If this is NOT happening, please notify W0CG (ghoward@kent.edu) or 330.628.5707 or call Korra at 736.2030 or Zoom on his cellphone at 566.8978. This is very important to keep the plants alive and the water bill under control.

Roof: Please don't walk on the metal roof. It was sealed in 2008 over a period of three hard days of work. Walking on it will break these seals and cause water leaks inside. 

Air Conditioning: Both bedrooms are air conditioned. Close all doors and windows to your bedroom, then press the red button on the air conditioner remote control. It is preset to 26 degrees Celsius, which makes for good sleeping conditions. The air conditioners are for night use only, please. Don't forget to turn off your unit in the morning. Running them during the daylight sun is VERY expensive. This is an honor system feature -- please don't make the CCC club have to start charging extra for the air conditioning or convert to a metered use system.  

TV: The wireless cable system is self-explanatory -- have fun channel-surfing. You’ll find a fairly good collection of videotapes on the shelf under the TV. Beware of the ones marked "Rated "R" if you are easily offended.

If TV Programming Is Lost:

• Be sure the TV is on Channel 3.
• Be sure the TV converter box (on floor, left of TV) is on.
• Starting with the converter ON, press AND HOLD the power button on the converter for about 12 seconds until the converter turns itself off, then release the button.
• Do nothing – the converter will automatically go On, Off, On, Off, On, and the picture will be restored.
• If you don’t have two green lights on the converter, the island's TV system is down and you just have to wait.

Telephone: You can receive incoming calls from the States. The phone number at the QTH is 864.2903. Stateside callers would enter 011 599 9 864 2903. I use Sprint, and calls to Curacao are about $0.55/minute. The cheapest and easiest way to phone out is to buy a "Telefasil" phone card at the Sunset Waters lobby desk for Nafl 10 and follow the directions. Calls to the US are about $0.21/minute using this card. You may be able to phone out from the house with an AT&T card, but this works only sporadically. You enter 001 800.872.2881 and then the U.S. number you're calling followed by your AT&T card number.

Outdoor Shower: Outdoor showers are a standard of Caribbean living. If you want to use the shower, turn on the valves in the laundry room that are tagged "Outdoor Shower HOT" and "Outdoor Shower COLD." DO NOT TURN ON THE VALVES MARKED "EAST OUTDOOR SHOWER" AS THAT SHOWER IS NOT YET INSTALLED. Please remember to turn them off when departing. 

Medical: The big St Elizabeth's Hospital is in Willemstad in Otrabanda. Phone number is simply 110. Enter 912 to get the ambulance from the nearby village of Barber, but only use the ambulance in an absolute emergency as it is EXTREMELY expensive. You will have to pay for your care. Many stateside policies cover part of the cost of care outside the U.S., but you must seek that reimbursement after returning to the States. There is also an excellent medical clinic in Soto, Dr. Victor Lucasius. He knows W0CG and knows about the ham radio operation and has encouraged us to phone him if we have medical trouble. There is a first aid kit in the house under the West bathroom sink. The pharmacy ("Botika") in Barber (one block behind the Curoil gas station) has a very good solidly English-fluent pharmacist. He is extremely good with routine medical problems and may be able to do much of what a doctor could do with routine maladies. Don't be put off by the outside appearance of the botika building -- they are quite competent inside. 

Smoking: Please smoke outside only. A couple of the CCC members have severe allergies to cigarette smoke smell. Thanks!

Clandestine Boats:  If you hear or see small boats offshore at night, that are running without lights, or hear voices in the dark below the cliff, ignore them completely. Don't shine a flashlight looking for them. They are probably involved in an activity you don't want to know about. The procedure is that we ignore them completely, and in turn they leave the neighborhood completely alone. This quiet unofficial pact has held for years. 

Zoom: "Zoom" is the QTH's caretaker (photo). His real name is Dudley Johanna. His phone number is 864.7695, but you can only reach him there at night. If you don’t want him around or popping in unannounced (understandable), tell him that. His English is pretty fair, and he is a VERY nice, exuberant person. He can answer any questions you may have and he can get you just about anything you want. Please do not expect him to cook and clean – that’s not in our agreement, except that he expected is to have the place clean for your arrival.

Neighbors: The neighbors understand about ham contesting. The house next door is owned by Mike and Lynne Maley from Mundelien, Illinois. Lynne's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Howard Stone had the house built in 1970. He's a retired Chicago dentist. The Maleys and Stones are there intermittently throughout the year. Please don't put any wires on or over their property. House #3 is owned by Marlise Fetys and Ton Hoogstrassen, who are Dutch and live there year-round. They are VERY nice people. Marlise bought her house in 1993 from AA5TT! Generally, the neighbors are not happy about our towers, so please be as courteous as possible, and be good ambassadors for amateur radio.

Water Purity: The water comes from a desalinization plant in town and is entirely safe for drinking and cooking.

Water Conservation: Water (and electricity) are very expensive on islands. Curacao has the most expensive municipal water in the world, literally. Monthly power/water bills of about $700 are the norm. Electricity costs 36 times the rate in Ohio, for example. Please be very careful if a toilet sticks, and don't let it waste water. Waste increases the costs for all future users of Signal Point....

The Gas Range: The range runs on LP gas from a small bottle in the closet to the right. You may need to turn on the small black plastic valve on the regulator on top of the bottle. Be gentle, and give it a 90 degree turn. The range has igniters, but it usually works better to use matches or a hand-lighter. To use the oven, simply select a temperature and wait a minute or so – the glow igniter will start the oven burner. There will be a full spare gas bottle in the utility room. If both run out, Zoom (566.8978) will get you a refill. If he insists, pay him for the refill (11 guilders), and we’ll refund that amount when you return. If you can't reach Zoom, call Korra at 736.2030.

Laundry: There is soap and fabric softener on the shelf in the utility room. As you’ll soon appreciate, there’s no need whatsoever for a clothes dryer in Curacao – the clothespins are in the blue hanging bag.

Sunset Waters: You can eat at Sunset Waters (phone 864.1233) any time (restaurant photo). They are an all-inclusive, but welcome walk in business also. Identify yourself as an a la carte "radio" customer and they will start a food tab against your Visa or Mastercard that you can pay at the resort's main lobby desk at the end of your stay.

Hardware Store: If you need tools or hardware, there is a VERY well-equipped hardware store in the town of Barber. Follow the map to Barber and ask anyone for directions to Marchena Hardware. The people in the store are very nice and they accept U.S. credit cards.

Gas for the Rental Car: Some gas stations on Curacao are full serve, and a small tip is a nice gesture to the attendant. (My favorite is the Curoil station in Barber (photo) -- the people are very nice.) Gas is expensive -- about $4.75/gallon. Diesel fuel is MUCH cheaper if you happen to have a diesel rental. 

TV Equipment on the West Porch: There's a down-converter and a small TV distribution amplifier (It has a red power light.) mounted on the outside wall of the West porch, near the coax entry point. These are to remain connected and plugged in at all times because they feed cable television service to other houses in the neighborhood. 

Closing Out the House and Station - Checklist

6. Unplug the red plug from the box labeled PLUG THE RED PLUG HERE and just let the plug hang nearby so that the next person can locate it.

8. Be sure to turn OFF the outdoor shower valves in the laundry room that are tagged "Outdoor Shower HOT" and "Outdoor Shower COLD." Don't turn off any other valves in the laundry room.

16. TURN OFF BOTH WATER SUPPLY VALVES UNDER BOTH TOILETS.

23. Be sure the spotlight in the northwest corner of the main room is plugged in behind the microwave oven. It will time out 1 minute after you leave. If it does NOT time out, leave it unplugged when you leave.

26. In the utility room, TURN OFF FUSES 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18 then padlock the security gate on the utility room door.

27. Double-check that all ten padlocks on all five security gates are locked and that the new room and under stair closet doors are also locked.

28. Come back again!!.

Departure / At the Airport

Rental Car: Park your car in an empty spot appropriate to your car company at the left in the street in front of the rental car office (photo) where you did the paperwork on arrival, take your keys and contract in, and they will close out your rental from there.

Departure Tax: You will be assessed $22.50 US per person unless the amount was already included in your airfare. American Airlines began collecting the tax as part of your ticket in mid-2001.

Immigration Tag: You must have the tear-off tag from your immigration card that you filled out when you entered the country.

Departure Lounge: Your boarding pass and passport will be checked at the departure window, and you'll go through security before reaching the departure lounge. There's a small snack bar, small cafeteria-style restaurant, a cocktail lounge, and several nice shops in the departure lounge.