Menorca – EA6
The Balearic Islands do not attract the attention of most DX-hunters. The EA6 prefix can be heard on all bands and modes almost daily. However, the archipelago consists of 4 main islands which are slightly different. The largest one, Mallorca, is known for mass tourism, the small Ibiza attracts the jet-set and other party crowds in general. The second largest island is called Menorca and it is quiet, not overcrowded and actually more attractive than the others. The area of Menorca is five times smaller than that of Mallorca. The permanent population on Menorca is about 90 thousand, which is ten times fewer than that of Mallorca. While there is a quarter of a million hotel beds on Mallorca, this number is roughly 30 thousand on Menorca. I do not like crowds so I went to Menorca, and I chose October when there are almost no tourists at all. The temperature was over +25 degrees C every day but the last one when it was time to leave. I took with me my small radio in order to have something to do in the evenings – I do not like going out and avoid the global television entertainment.
I always try to meet local radio amateurs and my experience from the islands in the whole Mediterranean Sea is that the locals are tired of visitors. The Amateur Radio population on Menorca is quite small and the activity is rather low. One of the reasons is the lack of higher education institutions on the island. Young people, who might get interested in this technical hobby, go to mainland Spain or the neighbouring Mallorca island for studies. Another reason is the absence of industry. The economy of the Balearic Islands is based on tourism.
Nevertheless the local branch of the URE – the Spanish Amateur Radio society – has about 25 members. I was lucky to meet Vicente, EA6AM, who is the chairman of this branch. He is almost 60 years old today and received his first license in 1994. Today he has a well-equipped station and a small antenna farm on the roof of his house. Many houses on Menorca have terraces on the roofs, which is perfect for setting up antennas and experiments. As always on islands, there are windy periods of the year and the antennas are not oversized. Even modest antennas get damaged, though. [MORE…..]
Via: DXNEWS https://dxnews.com/ea6-menorca/