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 Welcome to the USVI Section Information Page  
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 Here is some useful information for those thinking about visiting the USVI:
 

REPEATER INFORMATION 

The following frequencies are repeaters in the USVI which are linked via a UHF repeater.  All repeaters utilize a 100 Hz tone and standard 600 kHz offsets.  They have access to IRLP via node 7433 and Echolink via node 229186.

* 146.63 MHz (-) - KP2SJ - St. John - Bordeaux Mountain
* 146.81 MHz (-) - KP2O - St. Thomas - Mountain Top
* 146.91 MHz (-) - NP2OW - St. John - Susanaberg
* 147.11 MHz (+) - NP2LP - St. John - Coral Bay
* 147.25 MHz (+) - NP2VI - St. Croix - Mt. Welcome

Other St. Thomas Repeaters:

* St. Thomas – NP2GO - 146.95 MHz (-) offset; 67 Hz tone

* St. Thomas – KP2T - 146.97 MHz (-) offset; tone unknown

* St. Thomas – NP2GO - 447.45 MHz (-) offset, no tone

NOTE:  The three repeaters listed above are linked together by a UHF repeater network.  (Private network owned by KP2T)

* St. Thomas ARC – WP2AJS - 147.03 MHz (+) offset; 100 Hz tone

OTHER CARIBBEAN REPEATERS

* British Virgin Islands - VP2R - 146.73 MHz (-) offset, no tone  

* Puerto Rico Repeater Listing #1 - http://kp4boricua.org/pr/coordinaciones-2016/  

* Puerto Rico Repeater Listing #2 - http://prvi-vfc.org/index.php/coordinaciones-prvi-vfc-2017/

* Antigua - V21ARC - Mt. Obama - 147.00 MHz - (+) offset; 103.5 Hz tone - IRLP 7200 / Echolink 249848 V21RW-R

* Antigua - V21ARC - Monk's Hill - 443.125 MHz - (+) offset; 103.5 Hz tone

* Anguilla - VP2EA - 145.49 MHz - (+) offset; 156.7 Hz tone - IRLP 7907 / Echolink 444261

* Dominica - J73D - Morne Anglais - 442.100 MHz - (+) offset; 103.5 Hz tone - IRLP 7000 / Echolink 243124 J73CI-R

* Montserrat - VP2M - Garibaldi Hill - 146.97 MHz - (+) offset; 100.0 Hz tone - IRLP 7274 / Echolink 457855 VP2MQ-R

* Saint Martin - PJ7R - St. Peter's - 146.76 MHz - (-) offset; 186.2 Hz tone - IRLP 5830 / Echolink 862369 PJ7R-R

* Sint Maarten - FS5ZMG - Pic Paradis - 146.85 MHz - (-) offset; 186.2 Hz tone

ECHOLINK / IRLP 

The VI-NET (see above) repeater system has an Echo/IRLP combined node.  The IRLP node number is #7433 and the echolink node number is #229186. 

LOCAL CLUB MEETINGS   

St. Croix – The St. Croix Amateur Radio Club meets on the first Saturday of the month at the Deep End Bar at Tamarind Reef Hotel at Green Cay Marina. The group gathers around noon for lunch; an informal meeting begins around 12:30 pm.  Meeting dates are occasionally moved to accommodate special events and holidays. The club invites resident hams and visitors alike to join. Contact Fred Kleber, K9VV (NP2X) – k9vv@arrl.org (Annual dues are $10 per year.) More information is available at http://www.vihamradio.org  

St. John – St. John has an informal radio club that meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month.  Meeting locations are alternated between various restaurant venues in the Cruz Bay and Coral Bay areas.  For additional information, please contact Celia Kalousek at okcelia@gmail.com

St. Thomas - The St. Thomas Amateur Radio Club, Inc. is in the early stages of formation.  Meetings are the first Saturday of the month at 7:00pm.  Meetings have recently been held on-line due to COVID-19.  For additional information contact Ronda Herbert, KP2RH, sttarclub340@gmail.com

LOCAL HAM NETS

Virgin Islands Weather Net – Meets daily on the VI-NET (see above) repeater system at 11:00 GMT (7:00 am local) each morning; hams provide local weather conditions. Get to know your fellow hams (and know that your rig is working!)

St. Thomas ARC Club Net – Meets weekly on the VI-NET repeater system (see above) at 23:00 GMT (7:00pm local) every Friday  evening. The intent of the net is to ensure storm readiness and to pass information of local interest to local hams. Visitors are welcome to join. 

The Friendly Net  - Meets daily from 10:00z (6am) to 12:00z (8am)  on 7.188 MHz.  There are three sessions:  1)  Ragchew, 2) early bird, and 3) the regular session.  The Frriendly Net has grown to become the largest 40-meter net in the Caribbean region. 

The Hummingbird Net – Meets daily at 20:00z (4pm) and Sundays at 13:00z (9am) on 7.159 MHz. 

Caribbean Nets List - J69DS maintains a listing of other nets in the Caribbean.  It may be found at http://j69ds.dageekz.com/ham-info/caribbean-nets/   No guarantees on the accuracy of this list.
 

EMERGENCY HAM NETS

Caribbean Emergency Weather Net – Meets daily at 10:30z and 22:30z on 3.815 MHz.  For additional information, please visit https://www.qsl.net/cewn/ 

Hurricane Watch Net - www.hwn.org - 14.325 MHz (day) / 7.268 MHz (night) - Activated whenever a hurricane is within 300 nautical miles of expected land-fall.  Disseminates storm information and relays meterological data to National Hurricane Center via embedded NHC station WX4NHC.  Also relays post-storm damage reports & other relevant information. 

Intercontinental Net - http://www.interconnet.org - 7am to noon US Eastern Time - 14.300 MHz - Provide a means of emergency communications to any location where the normal means are disrupted by local disaster such as fire, earthquake, storms, floods and terrorist activity.

Marine Maritime Services Net - http://mmsn.org/ - 12pm to 9pm US EST or 12pm to 10pm EDT - 14.300 MHz - The network acts as a weather beacon for ships during periods of severe weather and regularly repeats high seas and tropical weather warnings and bulletins from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center. 

14.300 MHz Net Information – More information about nets on 14.300 MHz may be found at http://14300.net/netinfoa.htm  or http://www.14300.net/

Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) - http://www.satern.org 14.260 MHz - The purpose of the SATERN net is to support the Salvation Army operations in local, retgional and international disaster situations. 

OPERATING SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITING HAMS   

If you are contemplating HF operation here, consider the following:   Most hotels are eager to please their guests, but before you come down and start stringing wires all over the place, make arrangements with the hotel management.  They may be able to put you in a room that is more ideally suited for your operation.  Oh yes, when operating from the USVI, we’re also allowed to use 7.075 – 7.100 MHz on 40m SSB. 

Many folks enjoy operating VHF from the cruise ships which regularly visit the islands. Our repeaters provide good coverage far from shore, especially if you’re on a high deck of the ship.  Put out a call and perhaps one of us will be listening and be happy to answer any questions you may have about the USVI.  Please don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a reply.  It’s not that we are trying to be rude, it’s just that there are not many hams here on our small islands.   

If you hold a US amateur license, the U.S. Virgin Islands is a territory of the United States, so no reciprocal permits are necessary.  Contrary to what you might believe, you WILL be required to clear U.S. Customs and U.S. Immigration when returning to the US mainland or Puerto Rico.  Yes I know it sounds strange, but that's the way it really is.  

ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION   

VI Section Manager
Fred Kleber, K9VV (NP2X), PO Box 24275, Christiansted, VI 00824-0275,k9vv@arrl.org

Section Emergency Coordinator
Fred Kleber, K9VV (NP2X), PO Box 24275, Christiansted, VI 00824-0275,k9vv@arrl.org

Assistant Section Manager
Wess Tester, K2AHU - k2ahu@earthlink.net 

Public Information Coordinator
Sean Cullinan, WP2SC - sean@seancullinan.com

Section Emergency Coordinator
George Harrington, NP2H - sgjharr@gmail.com

VI Incoming QSL Bureau
Fred Kleber, K9VV (NP2X), PO Box 25782, Christiansted, VI 00824 - k9vv@arrl.org

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