[IRCA] Google Earth as a DX Aid

["John H. Bryant" <bjohnorcas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've enjoyed the notes about Google Earth as a DX Aid.  When I was 
planning my trip to Easter Island 18 months ago, they upgraded that 
photo from useless/fuzzy to high resolution about 3 weeks before I 
left.  I was able to follow some of the rock/dirt roads around to the 
prime DX spots and select two potential sites as the best on a 35 
square mile island. As it turned out on the actual ground, one was 
considerably better and that is what I used for two weeks.  I have no 
idea how many hours of jostling on awful jeep trails that Google 
saved me, but it was a bunch. I even knew exactly where to put out my 
two antennas... and where to park so that the westerly one terminated 
exactly at the cliff edge.

I just finished planning the radio portion of our upcoming trip to 
Peru.  In Lima, the streets are in Google Earth's database and I 
found our hotel (about 1.5 miles from the beach.) Draconian 
in-country luggage restrictions mean that I'll be leaving my Easter 
Island veteran Eton E1 at home.  I'll have to restrict myself to a 
couple of Ultralights (mainly, a hotrodded E1) and one 400 foot 
antenna.  I plan to hire a taxi from about 3 to 7 AM at least one 
morning for some beach-front DXing. I was able to spot two potential 
parking lots off the ocean front boulevard and plot out the antennas.

We'll also spend two nights each in Chiclayo and Trujillo on the 
north coast of Peru.  There, in those smaller cities, Google doesn't 
have the streets and addresses yet, so I can't spot the hotel.... but 
no matter, the beach is 4 or 5 km away and I was able to spot just 
where on the road to park, in each case, so that road-side BOGs point 
right out at the central Pacific.  I'll be printing those shots off 
to show the hotel desk when hiring a car and to show the driver as we 
head out.  Google Earth is saving me huge amounts of time/trouble 
planning these mini-DXpeditions... and having the hotel (and maybe 
the Federales) know exactly where I am gives a measure of security 
that I would otherwise not have.

My first choice would have been to take my E1, but since that isn't 
possible, I guess that I'll be doing the first Ultralighting from 
South America....

In any case, I've found Google Earth a wonderful aid to planning all 
sorts of DXpeditions... here and abroad.  I also enjoy flying around 
areas that I will be visiting.... or areas that I'm reading about in 
a book.... even in fiction.  It is fun to know a good bit about the context.



  
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