Miki, JJ2CJB will be active as V63CB from Pohnpei Island, IOTA OC - 010, Micronesia in CQ WW DX SSB Contest, 28 - 29 October 2023.
He will operate in Single Operator Category.
QSL via JJ2CJB direct, LOTW.
Ads for direct QSL:
SEIICHIRO MIKI, 1810 KIRITO OKEHAZAMA, MIDORI NAGOYA AICHI, 4580922, Japan.
Micronesia: a large scattering of small diamond islands in Oceania
...In the emerald-blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, treacherous to sudden storms, right in its western part, gathered in a compact group the Caroline Islands, discovered by the Spaniards in 1527. They owe their origin to volcanoes that once spewed streams of lava, but cooled down to a state suitable for plant and animal life.
Of the nearly one thousand, namely 936 (!) Caroline Islands, 328 belong to the Republic of Palau and the rest to the Federated States of Micronesia. They are separated from the southwestern Hawaiian Islands by 4,000 km of ocean.
Big confusion: "Micronesia and the Federated States of Micronesia" - a big difference
The correct name for this not the largest state from Oceania (only 702 square kilometers) is Federated States of Micronesia, thus distinguishing it from simply Micronesia, a generic, collective name for the 7 dependent territories and independent countries. However, the country itself is often referred to as Micronesia, as an abbreviation. This article will use the same abbreviated name.
At the same time, the etymology of the name "Micronesia" adopted in common usage since the beginning of the 19th century remains the same for both cases - i.e. to denote a state and a set of 7 countries and territories. The word is of ancient Greek origin, and consists of two parts of speech:
the adjective "micros", meaning "small";
the noun "nessos," translated as "island."
"All the background": getting to know each other better
The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 608 islands, small and very tiny - there are 568 of them. The larger islands are covered with forest and mountains (volcanic past), and, as watchdogs, are "surrounded" by atolls. The islands are very small and there are atolls, their origin is the life of corals. The atoll islands are ring-shaped, with a shallow lagoon in the middle.
For many good reasons, only 65 islands are inhabited, the rest are uninhabited. And all the islands, without exception, are not isolated, for they are connected by two modes of transport:
By water;
By air.
There is also contact between the islands through sea routes and their neighbors:
Taiwan;
Guam;
Japan;
UNITED STATES.
Micronesia is connected to Nauru and Hawaii by air.
Islands are connected by sea and air. There are sea links with the West Coast, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Guam and air links with Guam, Hawaii, and Nauru.
The capital of Micronesia is the city of Palikir, which is stationed in the state of Pohnpei (an area of 344 square kilometers). The same name is given to the island (the largest in the state!) and the city located on it. By the way, on the island of Pohnpei the highest mountain in Micronesia (798 meters!) - Nana-Laud - "pushes" the sky.
Here is a short description of the other three states:
The 7 island group state of Chuuk (127 k. km.), with its administrative center in the city of Veno;
consisting of 11 islands Yap (122 square kilometers), with its administrative center in the town of Colonia;
the only island of Kosrae (Kusaie) (109 sq km), with its administrative center in the town of Tofole.
The federation has an interesting feature: with its fairly small land area, the exclusive economic zone extends to a monstrous distance, covering a piece of the Pacific Ocean with an area of 2.6 million square kilometers! That's 3,704 times more than all 608 islands combined!
The second curious characteristic of the state is in the presence of numerous atolls surrounding all but one of the islands, Kosrae.
The third interesting fact: the capital Palikir is not the largest and most densely populated city of the Federation: the palm of primacy on these two indicators got Veno. In the area of 18.6 sq. km. this city has 7 thousand people against 1.84 sq. km. Pohnpei with its 6 thousand inhabitants.
"Dependent Independence."
In spite of the fact that since November 3, 1986, the Federated States of Micronesia, under the motto "Peace, Unity, Liberty," disassociated politically from the United States of America by becoming an independent Federal State, it continues to be heavily financially and economically dependent on the United States.
In 1982, Micronesia was forced to become, along with two other republics, the Marshall Islands and Palau, a free association with America in order to receive regular aid from it while maintaining autonomous internal self-government. As another bonus from the patron, Micronesian citizens could freely enter its territory, bypassing the passport regime.
Under the treaty, the United States has committed itself for 15 consecutive years (Micronesia's first renewal of the treaty took place on May 1, 2004):
Cover certain national expenses of the Federated States of Micronesia;
to protect them from outside threats.
The latter, in fact, was a condition of the alliance: it was to America's advantage to solve the defense issues of the wards by placing its military bases there.
"Nice to meet you!" - A brief characterization of Micronesians
It is believed, and documented by the Nan Madol complex on the island of Ponape, that the progenitors of Micronesians were travelers from Asia. They inhabited the islands from the second millennium BC.
Before the Spanish colonization, there was no state on the islands: the islanders were in a state of primitive communal system. Europeans eliminated social inequality, and the Japanese taught the locals to grow sugar beets.
Today there are at least 105,000 89% literate Micronesians in this country, 21,000 of whom move to America and neighboring states every year for a better life.
Ethnically, Micronesians belong to 8 groups of indigenous and immigrant peoples (in descending order):
Truk (Chuuk) (indigenous);
Ponape;
Kosrae;
Yap etc.
Lesser Polynesians are the people who combine features of the Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Australoid races.
It is a predominantly Catholic country with a small, up to 4.2%, number of believers of non-Christian religions.
In addition to official English, residents here communicate in eight other very exotic languages, including:
Truk;
Kosrae;
Japanese;
Ponpei.
"All natural!": weather and nature of the islands
The spatial reference points of the country - i.e., its location between 136 and 166° E. and 0 and 14° N., have naturally provided equatorial and subequatorial types of climate. As the islands are characterized by its passive-monsoon type, the weather in Micronesia is hot and rainy: especially much rain falls in the mountains in April (about 6,000 mm a year).
Whatever time of year a tourist visits here, he will not find much difference in temperature, which is on average 33 ° C.
But the steady heat and refreshing downpours are not the only constant presence on the islands! Typhoons sweep over them with a frequency of up to 25 episodes a year, originating in the Pacific Ocean near Micronesia. It is most likely to see this "miracle of nature" with your own eyes for 5 months, from August to December inclusive.
If you are not afraid of the typhoon, the islands have a place to walk nature lovers: Micronesia has many grassy, with sparse trees, savannas and dense, always green, tropical jungle. On the larger atolls, pandanus and coconut trees are ubiquitous in the tropics.