Great success in the 80 Meter Fox hunt tonight, due to the great ears of Dave N1IX and Tom KV2X. The fact that Dave lives in New Hampshire and Tom in New York was to my benefit as these are pretty easy hops for me on 80 Meters.
I went to the ARRL's Web page today and downloaded the Diamond DXCC (DDXCC) Scorecard, which is an Excel file that you can use to keep track of the entities that you have worked towards the award. So far in January, I worked 15 entities that count. So I am 15% of the way there. Not a terrible start and we have the major DX contests still to come - the ARRL DX Contest coming up in February as a matter of fact. I don't know if I will be able to achieve the certificate; but it is a worthwhile and fun goal for the year.
15 Meters did not seem as active this morning as yesterday morning. I did manage to get Cuba in the log, working CO6WD before heading off to work. Down the band, there was a huge pileup, spanning many kHz; but for the life of me, I don't know who everyone was trying to work. I couldn't hear the quarry (and I didn't have the DX Cluster up on screen); but I would assume it was most likely either HK0NA, TN2T or perhaps VP6T. These seem to be the three "biggies" right now.
The more that I am on the air this year, the more I am coming to realize that "Happiness is listening to a good fist". I hope that I fall into that category; but I can sure tell you that there are a lot of folks out there who don't seem to. And that's a shame.
The problem seems to be spacing and "hurrying up". And I think I make that mistake myself from time to time, especially if I'm a bit tired and not paying attention to what I am doing. A long time ago, my Mom gave me a little angel that hung from the rear view mirror in my car that said, "Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly". I think we Morse Code enthusiasts should have something along the same lines. "Never send faster than your fist can send" (or something like that!). If you get sloppy, or take for granted what you are doing and don't pay attention to the task at hand, you're going to sound pretty awful. And that's not fun for anybody.
Sending good Morse is an art. It is a deliberate act that takes concentration and diligence and practice. Spacing is just as important if not more important than anything else. It's a good thing to remind ourselves, from time to time.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Decisions, decisions .....
A little back story is in order to set the scene.
In my department at work, it's just me and one other guy (in our building). Our office has to have coverage each day from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM. So we have two "shifts, if you will. The "early guy" works from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, while the "late guy" works from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM. We rotate from week to week, so that neither of us gets stuck staying until 6:00 PM all the time.
This week, I'm the late guy - so after dropping the kids off at school for 7:30 AM, I have some time to kill each morning this week until I have to leave for work. Today, when I came home, I decided to see what 15 Meters was like.
There, at about 21.020 MHz was 4Z5AD calling "CQ NA". He was not terribly loud; but there was not much of a pileup, so I decided to throw out my call. Nothing. I changed from HF9V to EDZ - same result - nil. As time is going by, he is getting louder - coming closer and closer to 589/599.
I switch back to the vertical (I'm hearing him louder on it) and throw out my call again. This time I get an "LJ?" But I am thwarted when I hear him come back to someone with a JLK suffix. Determined, I keep sending out my call. This time, I get a "W2L?". I send my call a few more times more. But he's not hearing me and goes back to calling "CQ NA".
I look at the clock - it's 8:10 AM, I have to get headed for work VERY soon. What do I do? I have worked Israel before; but never QRP. But at the same time, I am trying to accomplish Diamond DXCC this year; and I think this could count for Palestine.
So I made an "executive decision" and I turned up the power knob. This time when I sent my call, I was greeted by an exchange of "W2LJ 449 TU". Israel is once again in the log - not QRP, but at least I can use the contact towards Diamond DXCC. If I had left the knob where it was, I may or may not have eventually worked him - but I'll never know as I had to leave for work. I don't think my boss would have appreciated, "Sorry I'm late, but Israel was on 15 Meters, and ........."
By the way, when I checked the power output after the QSO, the K2 was at 8 Watts.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least! (Most times!)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Keeping the streak going,
I got two quick QSOs in the books tonight as January 29th turned to January 30th UTC time. Both were on 30 Meters. The local QRN was non-existant and since today is the layoff weekend between AFC and NFC Championship football and the Super Bowl, I am not all that surprised. This is why I'm leaning towards the culprit being a Plasma TV.
Anyway, the QSOs were with PJ2/AA9A and KI9E. I used the Butternut HF9V in both cases. In any event, I wanted to get this out of the way quickly tonight, not because I don't like being on the radio (you all know THAT's not true!). My son Joey asked me to watch a movie with him that starts in a half hour.
I can't deny a request like that!
Hey, if you get a chance, hop on over to John AE5X's blog. He has a link up to pictures from the HK0NA DXpedition. Wow! This is definitely not a "lap of luxury" DXpedtion!
'Nite all, I'm headed upstairs for a little Phineas and Ferb!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Anyway, the QSOs were with PJ2/AA9A and KI9E. I used the Butternut HF9V in both cases. In any event, I wanted to get this out of the way quickly tonight, not because I don't like being on the radio (you all know THAT's not true!). My son Joey asked me to watch a movie with him that starts in a half hour.
I can't deny a request like that!
Hey, if you get a chance, hop on over to John AE5X's blog. He has a link up to pictures from the HK0NA DXpedition. Wow! This is definitely not a "lap of luxury" DXpedtion!
'Nite all, I'm headed upstairs for a little Phineas and Ferb!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A good day on the radio
'Twas a fine day on the radio. Lots of activity and lots of stations to be worked. I added a few new ones, new ones as far as working for Diamond DXCC goes, that is.
C6AKQ - Bob N4BP in the Bahamas
UT7UJ - Dmitry in the Ukraine
OE5PGL - Peter in Austria
CT8/HB9CQL - Rudolf in the Azores
and .........
HK0NA on 17 Meters this afternoon.
Yay! Finally managed to break through the pile up. The team has been there a few weeks now and the pileups don't seem to be diminishing at all, they're still in great demand. Today was the loudest I have ever heard them to date and was lucky enough to get them in my log.
I also spent a few minutes this afternoon working on the antenna setup that I hope to use next Saturday for FYBO. I hooked up the Buddistick to the magmount and stuck it on top of the Jeep. Using an antenna analyzer, I found the settings that I need to be at for SWRs of 1.2:1 on both 20 and 40 Meters. I didn't make any QSOs but did do some listening. I heard Ken WA8REI in QSO and his signal was so loud, I thought my ear drums were going to burst. One of the few times that I actually had to turn the volume control on the PFR3A almost all the way down.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
C6AKQ - Bob N4BP in the Bahamas
UT7UJ - Dmitry in the Ukraine
OE5PGL - Peter in Austria
CT8/HB9CQL - Rudolf in the Azores
and .........
HK0NA on 17 Meters this afternoon.
Yay! Finally managed to break through the pile up. The team has been there a few weeks now and the pileups don't seem to be diminishing at all, they're still in great demand. Today was the loudest I have ever heard them to date and was lucky enough to get them in my log.
I also spent a few minutes this afternoon working on the antenna setup that I hope to use next Saturday for FYBO. I hooked up the Buddistick to the magmount and stuck it on top of the Jeep. Using an antenna analyzer, I found the settings that I need to be at for SWRs of 1.2:1 on both 20 and 40 Meters. I didn't make any QSOs but did do some listening. I heard Ken WA8REI in QSO and his signal was so loud, I thought my ear drums were going to burst. One of the few times that I actually had to turn the volume control on the PFR3A almost all the way down.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Not quite what I suspected
You know what they say about conventional wisdom - that more often than not, it's wrong.
I got my QSO in tonight on 80 Meters, which was again practically deserted. Scanning the entire CW portion and only hearing a handful of QSO/signals is depressing. We have all that beautiful spectrum and it's like no one is using it!
Anyway, after a QSO with Burt K1OIK who lives on Cape Cod, I decided to do a little experiment. I wanted to find out, using the Reverse Beacon Network, what the difference in performance is (roughly) between the 88' EDZ and the Butternut HF9V on 80 Meters.
Since activity seemed to be light at best, I figured I could call CQ for a good amount of time without any takers. Unfortunately, my assumption turned out to be correct - even though that turned out to be good for the experiment. I wouldn't have minded being interrupted in order to have a good rag chew.
I called CQ for ten minutes using the wire and then ten minutes using the HF9V. I figured that would give ample opportunity to be heard by a variety of skimmers. My hypothesis was that the wire would be a better performer on 80 Meters.
My hypothesis seems to have been proved wrong.
There were some slight differences, but at most (at most!) the differences were only 1 dB. And that could have been due to normal QSB as the 1 dB difference was not always the same. By that, I mean the vertical wasn't always 1 dB lower compared to the wire - sometimes it was 1 dB higher. Of course, I was comparing reports from the same skimming stations. Many times the reports were dead even between the two.
My modus operandi up until now was to pretty much use the HF9V for 20 Meters and higher, while using the wire antenna for 30 Meters and lower. I think that will change. The Butternut has always been a solid performer and now I think I will be using it on the lower frequencies a lot more than I have been.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I got my QSO in tonight on 80 Meters, which was again practically deserted. Scanning the entire CW portion and only hearing a handful of QSO/signals is depressing. We have all that beautiful spectrum and it's like no one is using it!
Anyway, after a QSO with Burt K1OIK who lives on Cape Cod, I decided to do a little experiment. I wanted to find out, using the Reverse Beacon Network, what the difference in performance is (roughly) between the 88' EDZ and the Butternut HF9V on 80 Meters.
Since activity seemed to be light at best, I figured I could call CQ for a good amount of time without any takers. Unfortunately, my assumption turned out to be correct - even though that turned out to be good for the experiment. I wouldn't have minded being interrupted in order to have a good rag chew.
I called CQ for ten minutes using the wire and then ten minutes using the HF9V. I figured that would give ample opportunity to be heard by a variety of skimmers. My hypothesis was that the wire would be a better performer on 80 Meters.
My hypothesis seems to have been proved wrong.
There were some slight differences, but at most (at most!) the differences were only 1 dB. And that could have been due to normal QSB as the 1 dB difference was not always the same. By that, I mean the vertical wasn't always 1 dB lower compared to the wire - sometimes it was 1 dB higher. Of course, I was comparing reports from the same skimming stations. Many times the reports were dead even between the two.
My modus operandi up until now was to pretty much use the HF9V for 20 Meters and higher, while using the wire antenna for 30 Meters and lower. I think that will change. The Butternut has always been a solid performer and now I think I will be using it on the lower frequencies a lot more than I have been.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Stupidity and inspiration
Argh! Sometimes I feel like such a dolt!
80 Meters was quite vacant again tonight. Spinning the dial, up and down, looking for someone to talk with. I hear a loud station down near 3.511 MHz calling CQ. Notice that I said I heard a loud station calling CQ. But as it turns out, I didn't listen!
The operator was Car N3AS and when I called him, he politely chatted with me for a few minutes. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and the QSO was very brief. After we bade our good-byes, Car starts to call CQ again. But this time, I was truly listening, and I heard him calling "CQ DX".!! He must have been wondering what kind of moron from W2 land would call a W3 station calling "CQ DX"? And he would have every right to think of me as an idiot - I had made the classic mistake of hearing, but not listening.
I felt about an inch tall. A QSL card with an apology will be going out this weekend.
Then I got a totally unrelated inspiration for a topic of discussion. I get many private e-mails with regard to the contents of this blog. And of all the questions that I get asked, the one I receive most often is (generic), "Larry, how do I get started in QRP and how can I do it in the least expensive way?"
And that's when it hit me that I never really covered this.
The answers are many - it's almost like asking 100 different people what their favorite ice cream flavor is - you're going to get 100 different answers. But there are some basics that we can cover.
First and foremost, the easiest and most inexpensive way to get started in QRP is to use the radio you already have! Yes, most (if not all) modern rigs will let you turn down your output power to 5 Watts. And as we all know, 5 Watts for CW and 10 Watts for SSB is considered to be QRP. If your rig will not go that low, then you can hook up an attenuator between the output connector and the antenna. This will effectively get you down to QRP levels. In fact, I just recently posted about the new attenuator that is being offered by Hendricks QRP Kits. Of course, if you have a decently stocked junk box you can easily roll your own with parts you may already have. Googling RF Attenuators is a good place to start. I believe that John K3WWP covers this quite nicely at his Website. Going this route, you can have a full featured radio that you're already comfortable with for QRP.
For those of you who truly desire a dedicated QRP radio, there are several ways to go. Pre-owned (as the car commercials call it) or new. By keeping your eye on eBay, QRP-L, QRZ classifieds and eHam classifieds, you can probably find an HW-8, or a Ten Tec Argonaut or any of a myriad of used QRP rigs for sale. One tip that is not generally known ..... if you can find yourself a used Icom IC-730 at a decent price, you might want to consider it. There's a pot under the top cover that will allow you to set the minimum output of this radio to as low as 100 mW without affecting the 100W top setting. I had one until I foolishly sold it a few years ago.
Another thing to keep in mind. As the Elecraft KX3 becomes available, there just might be more and more K1s, K2s and KX1s coming on the re-sale market. Those of us without deep pockets have to find some way of financing a new purchase!
If money is a real problem, but you still want to be involved in QRP without taking out a second mortgage, there are alternatives. Building a kit is one of them. Dave Benson, owner of Small Wonder Labs offers several kits that will yield you a high quality radio when you are done building, without breaking the bank. Another source to consider is Rex Harper's QRPMe kits Rex offer Tuna Tin 2s, companion receivers and accessories at amazingly low prices. Yes, these aren't deluxe-do-everything radios, but if your budget is tight, sometimes you have to go with what you can.
If you can spend a little more, then there is always the aforementioned Hendricks QRP Kits, Elecraft and Oak Hills Research for more expensive, but more feature packed radio kits. And I am sure there are others that I have not mentioned here - again, you can always Google "QRP kits" and do some exploring yourself.
The bottom line is that QRP can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. But the great thing about this facet of Amateur Radio is that a huge, horse choking bank roll is not needed to get started or to keep enjoying it.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
80 Meters was quite vacant again tonight. Spinning the dial, up and down, looking for someone to talk with. I hear a loud station down near 3.511 MHz calling CQ. Notice that I said I heard a loud station calling CQ. But as it turns out, I didn't listen!
The operator was Car N3AS and when I called him, he politely chatted with me for a few minutes. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and the QSO was very brief. After we bade our good-byes, Car starts to call CQ again. But this time, I was truly listening, and I heard him calling "CQ DX".!! He must have been wondering what kind of moron from W2 land would call a W3 station calling "CQ DX"? And he would have every right to think of me as an idiot - I had made the classic mistake of hearing, but not listening.
I felt about an inch tall. A QSL card with an apology will be going out this weekend.
Then I got a totally unrelated inspiration for a topic of discussion. I get many private e-mails with regard to the contents of this blog. And of all the questions that I get asked, the one I receive most often is (generic), "Larry, how do I get started in QRP and how can I do it in the least expensive way?"
And that's when it hit me that I never really covered this.
The answers are many - it's almost like asking 100 different people what their favorite ice cream flavor is - you're going to get 100 different answers. But there are some basics that we can cover.
First and foremost, the easiest and most inexpensive way to get started in QRP is to use the radio you already have! Yes, most (if not all) modern rigs will let you turn down your output power to 5 Watts. And as we all know, 5 Watts for CW and 10 Watts for SSB is considered to be QRP. If your rig will not go that low, then you can hook up an attenuator between the output connector and the antenna. This will effectively get you down to QRP levels. In fact, I just recently posted about the new attenuator that is being offered by Hendricks QRP Kits. Of course, if you have a decently stocked junk box you can easily roll your own with parts you may already have. Googling RF Attenuators is a good place to start. I believe that John K3WWP covers this quite nicely at his Website. Going this route, you can have a full featured radio that you're already comfortable with for QRP.
For those of you who truly desire a dedicated QRP radio, there are several ways to go. Pre-owned (as the car commercials call it) or new. By keeping your eye on eBay, QRP-L, QRZ classifieds and eHam classifieds, you can probably find an HW-8, or a Ten Tec Argonaut or any of a myriad of used QRP rigs for sale. One tip that is not generally known ..... if you can find yourself a used Icom IC-730 at a decent price, you might want to consider it. There's a pot under the top cover that will allow you to set the minimum output of this radio to as low as 100 mW without affecting the 100W top setting. I had one until I foolishly sold it a few years ago.
Another thing to keep in mind. As the Elecraft KX3 becomes available, there just might be more and more K1s, K2s and KX1s coming on the re-sale market. Those of us without deep pockets have to find some way of financing a new purchase!
If money is a real problem, but you still want to be involved in QRP without taking out a second mortgage, there are alternatives. Building a kit is one of them. Dave Benson, owner of Small Wonder Labs offers several kits that will yield you a high quality radio when you are done building, without breaking the bank. Another source to consider is Rex Harper's QRPMe kits Rex offer Tuna Tin 2s, companion receivers and accessories at amazingly low prices. Yes, these aren't deluxe-do-everything radios, but if your budget is tight, sometimes you have to go with what you can.
If you can spend a little more, then there is always the aforementioned Hendricks QRP Kits, Elecraft and Oak Hills Research for more expensive, but more feature packed radio kits. And I am sure there are others that I have not mentioned here - again, you can always Google "QRP kits" and do some exploring yourself.
The bottom line is that QRP can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. But the great thing about this facet of Amateur Radio is that a huge, horse choking bank roll is not needed to get started or to keep enjoying it.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
This is a good thing
Looks like the 40 Meter QRN is going to knock me out of the QRP-L Foxhunt for tonight - again! It's a good thing I am 80 Meter capable. In a bit, I'll go down and get a few QSOs in the log before turning in for the night.
The good thing, that I mention in the post title is that I am noticing that as I spend more time on the air, I spend less time on the Web. And the time I do spend on the Web, is Amateur Radio related. I might check Facebook for a minute or two just to see what Ham friends are up to, but not much more than that. And the news sites are filled with politics and sensationalism, which gets my blood boiling, so I am better off staying away from those, too. There hasn't been true news coverage in this country for decades anyway, as today everything is either infotainment or an editorial disguised as news.
Blogging about Ham Radio, e-mail and Ham Radio Web pages - what more could you want, anyway? Well, if you're not a Ham, a lot more I suppose; but ..........
By the way, before I forget to mention this . For those of you out there who enjoyed operating the K6JSS/X stations in 2011 - please take note that you only have until February 29th to send in your logs for a certificate denoting your accomplishments. The details can be found here. Don't feel that just because you didn't work all 50 that you'll be left out in the cold. Nothing could be further from the truth, my friends! If you worked as few as 20 states, you are still entitled to a piece of wallpaper for your humble shack.
I finally did a formal count of the K6JSS/X stations that I worked in 2011. I ended up working 47 states. The three that I missed were South Dakota, New Mexico and Oregon (how the heck did I miss Oregon?).
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The good thing, that I mention in the post title is that I am noticing that as I spend more time on the air, I spend less time on the Web. And the time I do spend on the Web, is Amateur Radio related. I might check Facebook for a minute or two just to see what Ham friends are up to, but not much more than that. And the news sites are filled with politics and sensationalism, which gets my blood boiling, so I am better off staying away from those, too. There hasn't been true news coverage in this country for decades anyway, as today everything is either infotainment or an editorial disguised as news.
Blogging about Ham Radio, e-mail and Ham Radio Web pages - what more could you want, anyway? Well, if you're not a Ham, a lot more I suppose; but ..........
By the way, before I forget to mention this . For those of you out there who enjoyed operating the K6JSS/X stations in 2011 - please take note that you only have until February 29th to send in your logs for a certificate denoting your accomplishments. The details can be found here. Don't feel that just because you didn't work all 50 that you'll be left out in the cold. Nothing could be further from the truth, my friends! If you worked as few as 20 states, you are still entitled to a piece of wallpaper for your humble shack.
I finally did a formal count of the K6JSS/X stations that I worked in 2011. I ended up working 47 states. The three that I missed were South Dakota, New Mexico and Oregon (how the heck did I miss Oregon?).
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
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