Reminiscing

As 2018 draws to a close, I can't help but sit here, with a broad smile on my face, and remember this day, two years ago. December 31st, 2016 - the very last day of National Parks on the Air.

NPOTA was such a wild success, I have said and will continue to say that when the bicentennial history papers are written for the ARRL so many years into the future, NPOTA will continue to stand out as one of the all time crown jewels of ARRL operating events. Over 20,000 NPOTA activations were completed and over 1,000,000 QSOs were logged on LotW.  I think it will be a very long time before we ever see its likes again.

So much fun was had, so many friendships were made, so many fledgling operators became grizzled veterans. So much good stuff happened that year. Even a book on portable operating by Stuart Thomas KB1HQS, came out as a result of NPOTA.

But that day, December 31st, 2016 still ranks in the top five of my personal "Best Days in Amateur Radio". I started the day at Morristown National Historical Park, making contacts. My goal for the day was to work Dave KD2FSI on SSB and I met that goal. We had worked the park together that January and that's where Dave's year long NPOTA adventure was launched. I wanted to end the year as it started and there was no better way to do that than to hook up with Dave on the radio.

The QSO was made and I was happy as a clam. However, the day got better when Dave showed up at the park in person a little while later and we got the chance to reminisce about our NPOTA experiences.. Even "better-er", we got the chance to put in some PR or Amateur Radio by explaining to some curious bystanders what NPOTA and our hobby were all about. In return, they shared their "glug" with us, which is a Norwegian concoction of warm red wine, raisins and almonds, It seems that small group of friends also gather at the park every New Year's Eve to share their own tradition; and they were kind enough to include us. So cool!

After Morristown, I headed back home to the Frazee House on the Washington-Rochambeau Trail which is not far from my house. 40 Meter CW was quite good, but pickings on 20 Meter CW were disappointing. Not wanting my end to NPOTA to come so early, I decided to switch from CW to SSB. To my amazement, I was occupied with a pileup on 20 Meters that lasted well over an hour! I was so glad that I had brought the microphone along, as that is something that I don't normally do. It proved to be a providential move for me, and an eye-opener, too.

It was a day of personal Amateur Radio accomplishment and a day of total fun. I met up with KD2FSI, made a slew of contacts at multiple NPOTA sites, and then finished the day in conversation with Bob W3BBO. It just doesn't get any better than that, and it sure seems that days like that don't come around often enough. The memories are cherished long after the event concludes.

I missed the days of "The Golden Days of Amateur Radio" from the 40s, 50, and 60s - but I was fortunate enough to live through and participate and be part of National Parks on the Air. For that, I am very, very grateful!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Mustel G600 microscope/camera thingy

With the weekend here, I finally got some downtime and was able to do some Amateur Radio stuff today. I got on the air and worked a few Canadian stations in the RAC Winter Contest and I also worked a station down in the Cayman Islands. Both the Caymans and British Columbia with 5 Watts and no sunspots? Not bad.

What I really enjoyed was the opportunity to finally give that Mustel G600 microscope/camera thingy a whirl that I purchased a few months back through Gear Best. I bought an inexpensive cutting board at the store when I went grocery shopping this morning, and I mounted it to that.

The suction cup at the base seems to hold it in place very nicely. After playing with it for a while, I've come to the conclusion that this will be extremely useful for parts identification.

The printing on tiny capacitors really stands out, as does the printing on transistors:

And it will be also very useful for checking for solder bridges - particularly for SMD soldering. Please pardon the bright yellow spots in the photos, that's the flash from the camera. Those spots aren't there in actual use.

But to actually use it while soldering doesn't seem possible to me. I have to look at what I'm soldering while I solder it. I don't think I'd be able to solder something while looking at a remote screen instead of looking at the actual board itself. For actual soldering, I will rely on the cheapie reading glasses I bought at the drug store.

But for parts ID and solder bridge checking? This thing has a magnifying glass or head mounted magnifying loupes beat nine ways to Sunday! A more expensive unit would probably allow me to zoom in and out. This unit is fixed as far as that goes. The adjustable arm will allow me to move it back and forth a tiny bit, but not much. For the money I paid, which was a pretty small amount, this unit will serve me well.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

160 Meter Fox Hunt last night

Since Christmas was Tuesday and it's a holiday week, there were no regularly scheduled QRP Fox hunts this week. However, W2SH and a few of the regulars organized a 160 Meter Foxtravaganza last night. During one of these, all the Hounds and Foxes get on the air at one time and try to work as many of each other as possible.

I made only one contact last night, and that was with Dave K1WHS. I heard quite a few people out there; but I was suffering from S9 noise from about 1.805 MHz to about 1.820 MHz - and that was the sweet spot where everyone seemed to be hanging out.

80 and 40 Meters were both noise free - go figure. Recently, we've had a utility company go around to all the utility poles in the neighborhood and re-do the ground wires. It's made quite the difference on 80 Meters, which has really quieted down in the last few weeks.

Maybe once all the neighbors take down their Christmas lights, 160 Meters will go back to its normal, quiet self.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

My buddy, W3BBO has been busy again.

This time building a crystal radio and an antenna to use with it:

Admittedly, we are both fascinated by the ability of a diode, capacitor and a coil to detect radio waves and convert them to audible signals that you can actually listen to. "The Magic of Radio" as we both refer to it. It never gets old, and it seems that as technology gets ever more sophisticated and complicated and involved, we are both still fascinated by and drawn to the simpler aspects of radio. That may mean crystal sets or just "doing HF" like we used to - twiddling the dial, making QSOs without the aid of Clusters, Panadapters, and other gadgets and hoo-haws, and just enjoying being on the radio.

Isn't his handiwork the coolest?

You might think a crystal radio wouldn't be worth much; but this is how Bob described it to me in an e-mail:

"I removed the headphones and attached my old Radio Shack amplified speaker.  Basement filling sound, just like having a “real” radio on.  I find it’s performance amazing!  The only power source is the 9-volt battery in the amplified speaker!"

That's the wonder of it all - radio from a receiver that's not powered by anything, really.

When I was a young one, I had one of these:

I used to sit in our kitchen with the alligator clip attached to the metal finger stop on our rotary wall phone. I was able to pick up WWOR and WABC and a few other NYC stations, as well as WCTC our local AM station in New Brunswick, NJ.

Looking back at it, I think that like Bob, it was crystal radio that planted the seed about RF that eventually bloomed into the Amateur Radio flower.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Thoughts of SKN

The weather forecast for New Year's Eve this coming Monday is a rainy one. We rarely go out on New Year's Eve anyway. Marianne and I are not partying people. Our idea of a big New Year's Eve is to go out to a quiet restaurant for dinner and then come home to watch the ball drop in NYC via the television.

Sign of the times - I saw a commercial the other day for WABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" and I was able to recognize only two of the performing artists. I am getting old.

I will undoubtedly jump on the air for a QSO or two for SKN. Hopefully they will be nice rag chews. I am debating what to use this year - my Llaves Cootie Key 

or my Vibroplex Original.

I have had more practice with the Vibroplex and while I'm a bit rusty, I don't sound too terrible. After using a keyer and paddles for so long, it is harder for me to transition to the sideswiper. When you get so used to one side of a key making "dits" and the other side making "dahs", it becomes harder for me to send somewhat decipherable Morse Code with the Cootie.

Maybe I'll practice for a bit this weekend with the VOX on the KX3 turned off so that it becomes one of the most expensive code practice oscillators in the world.

72 de Larry W2LLJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hoping Santa was good to all of you

and that those who were wishing to find a nice new shiny transceiver, key, or accessory - or perhaps and older, slightly less shiny vintage radio that you've been pining for - found it waiting for you in your stocking; or under the Christmas Tree.

W2LJ doesn't really get many Amateur Radio gifts for Christmas, anymore. I really don't need anything very badly and my wife really doesn't have much more than an outside acquaintance with the hobby, so she wouldn't know what to get without my direction, anyway.

My big sister surprised me this year, however. We went over to her house for Christmas dinner, as we do every year. As if our family spending time with her, and my brother-in-law and my nephew isn't enough of a Christmas gift in and of itself, a special present was waiting for me.

I have to admit, when I unwrapped it, I was wondering what the book was about. My sister knows that I'm a big NY Mets fan; but baseball isn't exactly what you would consider a contact sport - unless you're talking about the bat and the ball. I immediately thought it might be about some other sport - but then the cover has that picture of the tent, and the mention of the word "airwaves". What is this all about?

A quick glance of the inside jacket flap revealed that this book was indeed about Amateur Radio. In particular it is the story of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship. I didn't even know that a book had been written about that! Not that I'm anything of a die hard contester; but this book intrigues me. The WRTC is a lot like Field Day on steroids when you think about it, and I love Field Day, very much  I think that this is going to be a very enjoyable read. But then again,  I find any book that has a story to tell about Amateur Radio to be very enjoyable.

So once again, a very Merry Day-after-Christmas to all my readers out there.  Enjoy the Season. The world might tell you that the holiday is over; but for a lot of us, it has just begun!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Christmas Eve 2018

"Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.

The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. 

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

 “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Slipping the surly bonds of Earth

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of --Wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air...

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark or even eagle flew --

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr

It was 50 years ago today that the crew of Apollo 8 slipped the surly bonds of Earth, taking mankind on one of its most daring voyages - the first manned flight to the Moon. Never before had human beings escaped the confines of Earth orbit - never before had humans ridden the monster known as the Saturn V rocket - the most powerful machine ever built with human hands.

Today, we remember and salute not only the brave and valiant crew of Apollo 8, but the untold thousands of men and women who worked behind the scenes at NASA and all the supporting agencies and companies. They got these men to the Moon and safely back to earth.

72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Facebook chuckle

When I see something like this, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter or some other social media platform, I just have to smile to myself.

The guys gets 26 comments. mostly from Amateur Radio operators who understand propagation, how it works and that QRP doesn't necessarily mean "weak signal".

So what does he do?

He turns off commenting for the post.

Kind of like throwing a smoke bomb into a room, yelling "fire" and then running away. I wonder what he was thinking?

I think the internet definition of a person like this is "troll".

He'd be much better served by doing a little research, maybe get to know what he's bashing and then seeing if his preconceived ideas actually hold water. This is the same reason why I won't jump on the FT8 bashing bandwagon. Even though it's not my cup of tea - there's a ton of folks out there who seem to enjoy it and get a kick out of it. Just because it doesn't tickle my fancy and I don't see the big attraction - I'm not about to put them down or tell them they shouldn't be having fun doing what they're doing.

Amateur Radio is a big enough tent under which we can all have fun.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

New VHF/UHF rig for the car.

About a week ago, I went to my car to participate in the Northern New Jersey ARES Net. The repeater that the net is held on is in Morristown, NJ. Not that far away; but not reachable with a hand held from my house. I went to the car to use the mobile rig, as it has more "oomph". It was then that I noticed my QYT 8900 mobile VHF/UHF radio was not transmitting. When I would key the microphone, the display would show full output, but I was not making it into the repeater. ANY repeater. I tried just about everything that was in memory - nothing.

That's definitely not good. As the EC for South Plainfield and as a member of the Middlesex County ARES Team, I can't afford to be without VHF/UHF capability in my vehicle.

I also have a son in college and am paying a hefty tuition bill, so I can't afford a new rig, either.

I went to Amazon to see what I could get for under $100 as that's all I was able to scrape together right now - the fact that Christmas is next week wasn't helping, either.

I "settled" on another QYT product - this time the KT-8900D:

Yes, indeedy a Kenwood / Yaesu / Icom product would have been much preferred. At this time, I cannot afford that - and the QYT 8900, while it lasted, provided me with a couple years of good service. The quality of received audio was very good to excellent; and no one ever complained about my signal other than the normal "being out of range" type of comments that you'd get with any mobile VHF/UHF transceiver.

It arrived last Friday and I began to program it last weekend. Manual programming as the programming cable that comes with the radio seems to be a piece of junk. Using the QYT software or CHIRP, I get the "Cannot Clone Radio" error with both Windows 10 or XP. Manual programming isn't difficult at all, it just takes more time - and I cannot change the splash displays manually, either.

It would be neat to change that "KT-8900D" display to "W2LJ" - but such is life. At least I have emergency capability back up and running should the need arise (God forbid!)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A little audience participation ...... please?

To paraphrase the popular credit card commercials .......

"So what is Santa leaving under your Christmas Tree this year?"

Or maybe more appropriately, what Amateur Radio goodies are YOU wishing that Santa will leave for you this year?

Please let us know in the comments......you never know - Santa may very well be a reader of this blog!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Second laugh of the day

The results for the 2018 NJ QSO Party have been published: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/njqp/results/2018%20NJQP%20Results.pdf

W2LJ came in as the 1st place station for Middlesex County in the 2018 NJ QSO Party.

Pretty hard not to when you're the ONLY entry from Middlesex County!

But seriously, it WAS a fun event and my first time entering into the fray of the NJ QSO Party. Next year, I hope to get the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club involved and maybe we can give some of the other NNJ Clubs a run for their money.

But even more seriously - many kudos and thanks to the great folks at the Burlington County Amateur Radio Club for the excellent work they do in sponsoring this. The NJ QSO Party was on its deathbed just a few years ago. BCARC breathed life into it and resurrected it. It seems like participation is growing with each year.

Like I said before - I had fun. God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be back in 2019. And maybe by then, I'll figure out how to submit a proper cabrillo file.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Laugh of the day

Posted by the K9YA Telegraph on Facebook:

BTW, if you don't subscribe to the K9YA Telegraph, please consider doing so! IMHO, it's THE best free Amateur Radio e-zine available today.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Better late than never

You know that old saying, "He's a day late and a dollar short"?

That's me.

I'm a day late in posting this, but it's relevant to all of us Amateur Radio operators, especially the DXers among us. For 117 years ago, on December 12th, 1901 a single Morse Code "S" was transmitted via radio from Poldhu, England to St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

You can argue all day about who actually invented radio, but it was Guglielmo Marconi who first succeeded in proving that radio signals could traverse the Atlantic. His detractors, "The Experts" of the day, came to a "consensus" and insisted that radio waves could only follow the curvature of the Earth and would be limited to a range of 200 miles or less.

Marconi believed different and was able to prove them wrong.

You can read more about this, if you want, on the History Channel page for December 12th - https://bit.ly/2zWRsCV

I wonder what Mr. Marconi would think of modern QRP'ers, with our ridiculously short antennas (compared to the miles of wire he thought necessary) and our measly 5 Watts?

I think he'd be beaming and would be the prime SOTAteer.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This transceiver is going to be quite THE thing when it is finally available!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Field Day is not as hard as you might think!

There was a post on the 4 States QRP Group e-mail reflector, where one of the members asked if anyone from the group was interested in doing an all QRP Field Day effort.

It's really not that difficult a proposition and I heartily encouraged them to do so. SPARC and NJ2SP got started doing Field Day in 2014. A bit of background - we were founded in April of that year. Planning for Field Day only two months later doesn't leave you with much time, does it? I opened my big fat mouth and suggested that we just go to the local park, throw some wires in the trees and go from there.

Wow, did that take off!

That year we entered under the 2A Battery banner. We came in 3rd place in our category, 39th place out of ALL 315 stations running 5 Watts that year, 16th place out of 97 in our Division, and 7th place out of 44 entered in our Section.

I fully suspected that even with that great inaugural performance, the club would want to go QRO in 2015. To say I was surprised when they made it known that they wanted us to stay QRP would be an understatement! We've had a blast every year and 2017 was THE banner year for NJ2SP so far.

2017 saw us end up in 2nd place in our category, nationwide and 8th place out of ALL 321 stations running 5 Watts. 4th place out of 98 in our Division and 2nd place out of 36 in our Section.

In 2018 we placed a greater emphasis on "Elmering" and PR for Amateur Radio, in general. As a result, we didn't place as well as 2017. But hopefully with a few new members that we have introduced into our fold,  2019 will allow us to do all that AND get fannies behind the mic and key in order to get those QSO totals back up again.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Elecraft's 20th Anniversary

It's hard to believe they've been around for that long. To celebrate Wayne Burdick N6KR was interviewed on Bob Heil's "Ham Nation" Web show.  Here's a link:

https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation/episodes/379?autostart=false

I haven't watched it yet, but will do when I get a chance.

I'll never forget that Field Day some 17 or 18 years ago when Bob W3BBO brought his brandy-new K2 to our PARC Field Day outing. One look and I knew I had to have one of them puppies for myself some day.

After a K1, a K2 and briefly a K3, I have settled on my KX3 as the day-in/day-out rig for W2LJ. It's equally hard for me to believe it's been over six years since I made that choice.

Where does the time go?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

All is quiet

on the Amateur Radio front - sadly.

I've been to busy with other "nonsense" to give radio the time it deserves, lately. In fact, last week I missed both QRP Foxhunts. On Tuesday because my son was involved in an MVA (no one was hurt - just car damage - thank God!) and I just didn't have the heart to get on the air that evening. Thursday night I attended an ARES Connect webinar. The weekend was spent doing house chores and starting to get the house ready for Chrsitmas - decorating the outside, inside and all that jazz.

However, during my weekly Skype session with W3BBO, I decided which kit I am going kick off the 2018/2019 Winter Building Season with.

It's a cheapie little o'scope kit that I purchased from Bangood about a year ago. I know, I know - you're all thinking, "But Larry, you get what you pay for!" And that's true. I don't expect much from it. But if I can use it to trace signals on circuit boards, it will have been worth it.

Besides, it doesn't look very complicated and should go together rather quickly. Just what I need before jumping in with both feet with my QCX and Bayou Jumper.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Thanksgiving 2018

To all my Amateur Radio friends,

May this Thanksgiving holiday bring you peace, love, happiness, warmth. comfort and joy. And may it bring you some pretty good turkey, too!

Of all the things I am thankful for this holiday, and there is lots to be thankful for - I am especially thankful for all of you who read this humble blog. Amateur Radio is a big part of my life and it would not be half as enjoyable as it is, without all of you sharing this experience with me.

May God continue to bless you all, in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Tips for the budding QRP DXer

I've posted about this before; but maybe it's a good time to bring this subject up for the newer QRPers out there who want to get their share of DX.

You may have heard rumors that working DX as a QRPer is dang near impossible; or a Herculean task at the very best.  That's a rumor spread by those who don't know any better. I will admit, though, that working DX as a QRPer during the valleys of the sunspot cycle IS more difficult than when Ol' Sol is sporting a lot of freckles. But it can be done, you just have to be smart about it.

1) Use the best antenna you've got at your disposal, whatever it is.

2) Know when to cast your net. And that's what this post is all about. This coming weekend will be a VERY good time to cast your net.

The CQ WorldWide DX (CW portion) Contest is this weekend. Even if you're not a contester; or dislike contesting in general - this is still a great way to boost your countries worked total. When the sunspot cycle is at its peak - stations have been known to complete DXCC in one weekend! Don't expect that this weekend - even though NASA has confirmed that we are now on the upward leg of Cycle 25, it will be a few years before conditions become primo again. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun and work a lot of countries right now.

The exchange is easy, RST and your CQ Zone. That's it - no hellishly long exchange or serial numbers to have to remember.

Know when to jump in with QRP. This is the key to success. My advice is that unless your code speed is very good - and I'm talking 25 WPM or faster - you might want to avoid jumping in until Saturday evening at the earliest.  If you jump in at the sound of the starting gun, you're going to be hearing a lot of buzz saw sounds, and you'll probably be sitting at your bench with ????? floating all around your head.

The beginning hours of the contest is the province of the Big Boys and the Contest Pros.  Yes, you'll find stations to work and copy, but make things easy for yourself. Get to harvesting when conditions are in your favor.

So when are conditions in your favor? Experience tells me late Saturday night into Sunday - ESPECIALLY on Sunday. The previously mentioned Big Boys and Contest Pros have had ample time to work each other and now they become sharks. From the second half of the contest until the end, they're so hungry for new contacts (in order to bump up their QSO total) that they will take time to listen for less than 599 signals, and less than buzz saw code speeds.

This is when you go hunting.  Twiddle the dial a lot and listen for signals that you're comfortable copying and make your move. Don't try to send any faster than your comfortable with. You'll only mess up the exchange and will probably get asked for numerous repeats. Just send steady, copy-able code - the smoothest you can, and you'll be just fine. And even though you may not have a 599++++++ signal at the receiving end, you'll get you share of DX.

The main thing is, have fun and enjoy yourself, and watch your DXCC tally grow in the process.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Thanksgiving humor

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in these United States of America. It's my favorite holiday because with the exception of the Black Friday nonsense (which has nothing to do with Thanksgiving) there's no hype like there is for other holidays. Just family, friends, food and togetherness with a big dose of thanks to the Almighty tossed in for good measure.

So I'll begin this week with a pun, courtesy of the ARRL - taken from Jeeves, who appeared in QST for many a year:

Courtesy of the ARRL and QST

Oh! Another thing to be grateful for, pre-Holiday! This coming weekend is the CQ WWDX CW contest, so during this week, there should be plenty of stations in exotic DX locations setting up, getting ready and testing out antennas and equipment. Keep an ear peeled for ATNOs!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Unadulterated bragging

Some more Field Day results - the ARRL 2018 Field Day results are in the database.

As mentioned in a previous post, SPARC came in 4th for our category 3AB, Nationwide.

In our NNJ section, we came in 4th out of a total of 39 stations that participated in Field Day (all classes and categories)

AND, out of ALL the 2018 Field Day stations that utilized 5 Watts of output power - there were 276 - SPARC came in 17th

So all in all, NJ2SP placed well. However, no resting on laurels! I need to come up with a better antenna solution for the CW station, so that we can surpass 400 CW QSOs in 2019 and boost our total even higher.

Maybe a home made hex beam?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Stymied

I am stymied, perplexed and confused.

I had signed up to attend an "ARES Connect" Webinar tonight, to introduce ARES District Emergency Coordinators (DECs) and Emergency Coordinators (ECs - I am the EC for South Plainfield, NJ) to "ARES Connect". ARES Connect will be the new, online platform for reporting, scheduling and communicating about ARES activities.

I guess the Webinar was supposed to originate from ARRL HQ tonight; but because of our impending first Winter storm here in the NorthEast, the Webinar has been postponed for two weeks, until November 29th.

Huh?

I thought that advantage of a Webinar was that it could be held anywhere and at any time, You know, attend a class from your home in the comfort of your PJs. Right? So if that's the case, why would the instructor(s) or facilitator(s) have to be in an office? As long as the material is in their computer(s), just dial into the company hosting the Webinar, or somehow connect to the proper IP, right?

Or am I missing something? There MUST be more to this than my simple mind thinks there is.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Special Net tonight

The local Repeater Club, for which I am Secretary, is having a special net tonight, and I will be the NCS. Maybe a little back story is in order, first.

We used to have a weekly "Wednesday Night Information Net" for many years. The last iteration was run by our club President at the time, Jeff N2VHV. Jeff had COPD and when it became difficult for him to run the net, at times, either Rodolfo N2HRG, Pete KD2ARB or myself would pick up the slack.

When Jeff finally passed on, the net kind of went into "hiatus" mode, as no one really was able to make a weekly commitment. At a recent club meeting, we decided to try to revive the net, and I volunteered to serve as Net Control. However, I have SPARC and ARES commitments on three out of four Wednesdays a month, so the club agreed it would be a monthly, instead of weekly, net.

So far, in September and October, we've had decent, but not stellar participation. I am hoping that tonight will be different. Borrowing from the Catholic custom of November being the month in which we remember those who have gone on before, I decided that tonight's net will be a "Silent Key Net". Members who participate will be invited to share a special memory or story of one of our club members who have gone on to "The Shack in the Sky". For those who are newer to the club and are not familiar with any past members, they will be asked to share a memory or story about someone who may have played an important part in their time as an Amateur Radio op.

I am hoping that this will make the net a bit more personal and meaningful, instead of something that's perhaps a bit too routine and dry. I try to present a topic for discussion for each session, and I am hoping one that "hits home" will draw more into participating. I have sent out club e-mail notices for the past couple of weeks in order to let every member know what will be happening tonight. We'll see it it generates a bigger turnout.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Winter is settling in ...... early!

While talking with W3BBO last Saturday evening, during our weekly gabfest, he told me how Erie, PA had already received 7-8 inches of snow that day. While it's been downright chilly, wet and nasty in Central NJ, we haven't seen any snow - yet. Not of Erie proportions, but I see that we're expected to see about 1-3 inches of the fluffy stuff here between Wednesday evening and Friday.

It's rare that we get snow in these parts before Thanksgiving. I hope that doesn't foretell a long, cold, snowy winter.

But, in the event that is does, one has to be prepared. I have a PLETHORA of kits, just waiting to be built this Winter. How many I will get to is anyone's guess, but I would like to get my 40 Meter QCX and my Bayou Jumper done this building season.

In that vein, I saw one of these posted for sale on the Interwebs:

It's a Mustel G600 microscope/camera thingy that amplifies/enlarges the view of what's beneath it. As you can see, in the picture, they have it aimed at a circuit board. On Amazon, this model goes anywhere from $50 to about $70. The ad I saw on the Interwebs was selling them for $37.00.

I figured, "Oh, what the heck". Even if it turns out to be an under performer, it may help these old eyes check for solder bridges more easily and help identify component color codes and value numbers more easily. It's not like I have a spare $37 to throw away; but if it does half the job it is advertised to do, it will be a big help. The company that is selling them it called Gear Best; and this is the first time I've dealt with them. We'll see. I'll let everyone know how it performs and if I bought a pig in a poke (it wouldn't be the first time!), I'm not too proud to own up to it.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Gratification!

It's not often that you wake up on a Saturday morning and experience something exciting that warms your heart to boot. Today was one of those mornings. Today was our club's monthly Volunteer Examiner Session.

We had three unlicensed people come in to take the Technician Class license exam. All three passed; and that in itself was gratifying. As usual, when a candidate passes the Tech exam, they automatically get an invitation to take the General Class exam. We tell the candidates, right off the bat, that if they haven't looked at the General Class License Manual, to expect to only get about 30-40% of the questions correctly answered. The important point is that they will have seen the exam, and when they study to upgrade, they'll have a better feeling on areas they may need to especially concentrate on.

The first two candidates did as expected and were pleased to go home with their CSCE (Certificate of Successful Completion of an Exam), hoping their call signs would show up in the FCC database some time later this week.

Our third candidate was special - he got 33 out of 35 answers correct! Not only did he earn his Technician, but also his General in the same sitting. Hoping that lightning would strike a third time, we encouraged Doug (his name) to give the Extra exam a shot.  He was hesitant at first, but then decided to give it a go.

Before he started, he asked to use the rest room and we found out a bit more about him. Doug's an engineer by profession, so that says a lot right there. But we also found out that he was a lapsed Ham. He got his ticket in high school way back in the 60s. His call sign was WB2GVE and he had upgraded to Advanced class before career and family pre-occupied his time so much that his license lapsed.

As soon as I heard that he had an Advanced Class license I had a gut feeling that he would pass the Extra this morning. In my 40 year career as a Ham, the Advanced Class exam was by far THE toughest of them all. The Extra Class exam was a cake walk, by comparison. It's a little tougher now that they did away with the 20 WPM Morse Code requirement; but it's still easier than the Advanced.

Doug came back in, sat down and got to work. About a 1/2 hour later or so, he sighed and handed in his exam and answer sheet. He was not optimistic; but I was. A few minutes later, I was able to tell him that he did indeed earn his Extra with some room to spare. To say that he was elated is an understatement. He was flabbergasted and the whole exam team was beaming from ear to ear.

With the exception of a couple of us, this was our (my) first time that a person has gone from unlicensed to Amateur Extra in one sitting. I'm sure it wasn't as gratifying for us as it was for Doug; but it was sure darn close!

And there's icing on the cake! Doug lives in South Plainfield, so he was heavily encouraged to join SPARC, where he will be welcomed with open arms. Icing on the icing (or maybe ice cream on the cake)? He's interested in QRP !!! Now THAT went a long way to make my morning!

And....... all THAT came after finding out last night that SPARC came in 4th Place, Nationwide, in our classification for Field Day.

So, without even so much as touching a key, or twiddling a knob, it's been a very good Amateur Radio weekend, so far.


72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QCX Field Day

I saw this post of Facebook the other day:

It's so cool that they used two QCX transceivers for Field Day. Can you imagine how long they could last on a deep cycle marine battery or a solar panel?

My question is - I wonder where they got their Field Day results from?  The December 2018 edition of QST is not out yet - not even digitally. That's the only place that I know of where the scores are published.

It will be interesting to see how SPARC did this year. We had less Qs because we did a lot more "Elmering" this year. That's a big part of what the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club is all about - so if our score suffered, we're okay with that.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1

Old habits die hard

Even though it was a long, tough day at work, and anywhere from 9:00 to 9:30 PM seems to be my bedtime anymore - I gave in and joined in on the inaugural session for the 2018/2019 Winter Fox Hunt Season. I had a successful evening, which of course, is now going to encourage me to participate in the rest of the season.

40 Meters seemed to be in decent shape and Jerry N9AW was the first Fox that I found. He was the "upper" Fox, located between 7.040 and 7.050 MHz. He had a decent signal from the get-go. I called him a few times before he worked me, but eventually made it into his logbook.

Mac NN4K was a bit harder. I heard some familiar call signs that I knew were hounds and tuned down 1 KHz. Mac was indeed there, but weak - ESP weak. I could tell he was there and that was about it. So I hunkered down and kept listening. Slowly his signal rose, and he also changed from working split to working simplex. I threw out my call, thinking it was going to take a long time to work him, if at all. Much to my surprise, I actually heard my call sign come back to me. We completed the exchange and Fox #2 was in the log!

My "nemesis" was there again, using his scatter gun approach, but the tight filters on the KX3 really helped tune him out. Thursday night is the 80 Meter hunt. Now my appetite is whetted enough to give that a go and see what happens. Dave N1IX is one of the Foxes. He's a superb operator, "A1" in every sense - AND he is located in New Hampshire, which should be very do-able for 80 Meters.

I'm actually kind of looking forward to this, now.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Election Day 2018

To my readers in the USA:

These brave men, and many more men and women just like them, have been defending your right to vote since 1775.

Honor them - go cast your ballot.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It was 40 years ago this month .........

that I took and successfully passed my Novice exam and earned my license.

I had previously told ya'll how I wanted to become a Ham in high school, but ultimately gave up the quest for a while, as I couldn't learn the Morse Code. In October of 1978, I was reading the weekly Amateur Radio column, "Calling CQ" by Bob McGarvey (sp?) in the Sunday New Brunswick Home News Tribune. In that particular column, Bob announced that there would be an Amateur Radio class conducted once a week at nights, at North Brunswick High School.

I signed up for it and attended, faithfully. Memory fails me as to how long it lasted, but 8 weeks seems to be about right, as we started in September and the exam was in November. The two teachers were excellent and it was their method of teaching and explaining that I follow today when I conduct a Technician class along with Marv K2VHW. The one teacher that I remember in particular for being extra especially helpful was Ed O'Donnel K2YJE (SK). I probably owe the fact that I got licensed to Ed.

The license manual that we used was this one, "Tune In The World With Ham Radio", which I still have in my library today - and actually still refer to it from time to time. It was written in a "Ham Radio for Dummies" kind of style and made all the concepts easy to understand.

Morse Code was learned via the ARRL Morse Code tapes. I really stuck with it this time and for whatever reason, it was far easier for me to learn the Code than when I first tried. Looking back, I think that maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had no visual cues. There were no pre-printed out alphabet/character charts to look at or refer to. I learned simply from what I heard. And maybe, just maybe that was all the difference in the world avoiding the eye-ear-brain sequence and just going with the ear to brain sequence.

On the night of the exam, we were all pretty nervous. The instructors used the now famous "Novice Test Trick". Basically, they began by telling us how that they knew how nervous we were so there was going to be a five minute Morse Code "practice exam" that would allow us to get our our jitters out of the way.. "Just listen to the Code and try and copy along", they told us. This way we'd be more at ease when the actual exam began.

They played the QSO tape and we all copied it. They came around, looked at our chicken scratch copy and smiled and announced, "You all passed!" There was no multiple choice. You copied what you heard and you had to get at least one minute's worth of solid copy. Only then the written test was given. Again, my memory fails me as to how many questions that had on it, although I think there were 35 questions. And my failing memory is also telling me it was a multiple choice test, not fill-in-the-blank.

The big difference back then was that they didn't grade it immediately and you didn't know whether  you failed or passed. The instructors mailed all the exam materials to the FCC and you had to wait for a letter from the Government. In my case, that took about six or seven painstakingly long weeks.

I was at work at the camera store that I was employed at, at the time. It was late afternoon, close to closing time when my Mom called to tell me that the letter from the FCC had arrived. I asked her to open it shutting my eyes and crossing my fingers. "Your call sign is KA2DOH" she told me. "What was that?", I asked. I was so apprehensive about what she was going to tell me that I didn't even hear my call sign correctly!

But I had done it! I was a Ham! I had to build my receiver which was a Heathkit HR-1680, first, before I could get on the air. But get on the air I would - and I'm still there, 40 years later. And at least for me, it's as exciting now as it was back then.

73 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A side benefit of being a Ham

Kit building and homebrewing have been a big part of my Amateur Radio career. Tinkering with electronics and the mechanical aspects of building kits has always been fun. In fact, that was what led me to a 20+ year career in electronics repair in the professional photographic industry.

Even though that chapter of my life has closed. the skills seem to remain. A week ago, my wife Marianne was opening the dishwasher when the handle cracked off in her hand. We were able to get the thing open and emptied, but the latch wasn't working well enough to keep the machine tightly closed for a wash cycle.

One YouTube video later, it became obvious that replacing the latch AND handle would be the easiest way to get the repair done. I ordered the part and replaced it yesterday. It was definitely NOT the most complex repair I have ever made in my life. I still give Amateur Radio credit though, because it's been through Amateur Radio that I learned not to have fear of, or have qualms about taking things apart and putting them back together again. And because of that, I probably saved a decent amount of money in the process.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

W0OT !!!

I got 'em! I got W0O on 10.1067 MHz tonight. I thought that by the time I got home from work and then made dinner, it might be too late.

After dinner, I turned on the KX3 and the computer. Turning on Reverse Beacon Network, I saw they were spotted on 30 Meters, but close to an hour earlier. I decided to give them a try, anyway.

Tuning to the spotted frequency, all I heard was noise. "Drat!", I thought I was too late. But before I turned the radio off, I decided to switch from the W3EDP to the HF9V. And surer than heck, there they were!

As they were finishing up their QSO with someone else, I waited until they were done. I threw out my call as soon as they were done and got them first shot.

Igor gave me a 559, and I gave him the same. We finished up and Igor went onto another op. For good measure, I spotted them on the Cluster as well as QRPSPOTS.  I'm not eating candy, so this was my Hallowe'en treat.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy Hallowe'en

And please notice the correct spelling in the blog post title. It's Hallowe'en - not Halloween. Hallowe'en is actually a shortened form of "All Hallows Eve" - the vigil night before the Catholic Holy Day - "All Saints Day".

So be safe if you're taking your little ghosties, goblins or grand ghosties and grand goblins out for "Trick or Treat" tonight.

AND ........ when you get back to the nice, warm shack - keep in mind that my good friends from the MidMO Amateur Radio Club are putting W0O on the air tonight from Frankenstein, MO:

Frankenstein Halloween Funxpedition

​October 31, 2018

Sponsored by the MidMO ARC ​The special event will take place from Frankenstein, MO.  ​

CW and SSB operations.  ​

Monitor the spotting sites for frequencies.​ 

 Igor, Boris, Vlad or one of the other ghouls will be haunting the ether and digging for QSOs starting around 1900hrs UTC on the 31st. and operating until the bands go dead. Stop by and say BOO to the graveyard crew.  ​

For a unique QSL (4" x 6") card you MUST send a SASE to the address above. A No. 10 envelope is recommended. A smaller envelope will result in a folded card.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Random thought #9

9) The 2018-2019 QRP Winter Fox Hunt Season officially begins next Tuesday, November 6th. I haven't made up my mind as to whether or not I'll be participating this year. I sat out the Summer Season and I have to admit that I didn't miss it, too terribly.

20 Meters is always tough that time of the evening during the Summer. If the Fox is not in the Western third of the country, I usually listen to static crashes for 90 minutes.

While 40 and 80 Meters are way better in the Winter time, and I generally have greater success - I don't know how quite to explain this.  Since I'm not an avid contester, the competition factor of the Fox Hunts isn't really all that appealing to me.

I enjoy snagging the pelts and keeping up on my "working split" skills. That comes in handy during DX pileups. But being the first in NJ to snag the Fox, or keeping tabs on how I'm doing against the other Hounds is pointless, to me.

The Hounds in the center portion of the US have a decided advantage as they can pretty much work into all areas of the US, equally.  The Hounds on the West coast have it particularly tough, as they start earlier, so local time and band conditions conspire against them.

If I participate at all, it will probably be spotty at best. I'll probably start each hunt late, hoping that a certain Ham (who shall remain nameless) will have gotten both pelts before I even begin. His approach to Fox hunting is probably best described as the "shot gun approach" - call often, call long, and don't take a break to listen very much until you nab that pelt.  Truth be told, that's what been making it uber un-enjoyable the past few seasons. His signal is always loud for me, making participation a less than sublime experience, as I end up hearing a lot of him and not much else. I'd rather just skip the twice weekly frustration.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1

Random thoughts

Some random thoughts this morning - my mind's a jumble:

1) What would morning be like without coffee? I'm thinking a gray, fuzzy catastrophe.

2) Guess I placed about normal for me in the 2018 Peanut Power Sprint - 5th place for my category. Look at that wide gulf in points between 5th and 1st. Not even close, by a long shot.

3) Doesn't W3BBO do beautiful work? Whether it's a kit, a home brewed project from scratch; or a new work bench for the Hamshack - Bob does it well. If I had a 10th of his talent ..........

4) Here's another Ham who does beautiful work - art work - Jeff K1NSS. He has made available a new "CW - A1 - Forever" mug. Available at Dashtoons

5) I can't wait for the midterm elections to be over, here in the USA. You simply CANNOT watch a TV program without some kind of political commercial. Hey ........ politicians .......... I think your commercials aren't going to change anyone's mind at this late date.

6) The weather has been so up and down here in Central NJ this Autumn. Past few weeks have been on the chilly side. For Hallowe'en tomorrow, it's supposed to be in the low 70s. Indian Summer? Are we even allowed to use that term anymore?

7) Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. That means darkness will arrive somewhere around 5:30 PM local starting next week. Sad ...... so very, very sad.

8) My friend Dave KD2FSI posted on Facebook that he worked a bunch of ATNOs in the CQWW SSB Contest last weekend. His excitement was palpable. The next best thing to working a new one yourself is getting to enjoy a good friend work one.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Unbelievable!

A relatively new Ham or perhaps just a new QRPer wrote to the KX3 e-mail reflector. In his post, he mentioned that sometimes he identifies himself as "QRP" and asked opinions if "that's out of line."

My answer was:

You're not out of line. But you might sometimes run into "QRP Syndrome", where you are being heard perfectly well, but as soon as you mention running QRP power, the QSB and QRM and QRN magically increase, exponentially.

Larry W2LJ

Now, so far the sample of answers has been low, but an unexpected tone has been developing. There have been what I would unabashedly classify as "snotty answers".

I would have expected better from the QRP community and I am hoping against hope these folks may be Elecraft users, but not necessarily QRPers. There's no reason to be snotty to anyone asking a question, especially a newcomer.  You can only make one first impression; and if it's a good one, it may be forgotten - but if it's a bad one, it's remembered FOREVER!

The QRP community, in my experience, has been a haven in Amateur Radio, where everyone that I have run into is friendly, helpful, enthusiastic and encouraging - almost like one, huge family. I'd hate to see that changing.

Fingers are crossed that as I monitor this post, the kind replies will far outnumber the nasty, self-absorbed, ego-inflated ones.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

PSA - QRPGuys has re-opened.

From QRP-L - a Public Service Announcement:

Guys,

QRPGuys is open after the Summer recharge and announcing a new retractable tilt bail for your small project chassis. It can be seen at https://qrpguys.com/chassis-tilt-bail.

Ken - WA4MNT


72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Ducie Island

Not having worked much in the way of new DX lately, I went on over to the ARRL Website to log onto Logbook of the World. With all the chatter going on about the Ducie Island DXpedition, I had forgotten that I had worked the island twice in 2008, back when all I had was the K2 and 5 Watts.

While I was there, I wanted to see what my current country total was.

It would appear that I am currently at 180 confirmed through LOTW. I have to apply (pay) for credits for these:

By my own count, I was at 160 countries worked via QRP. Of the ATNOs above, I'm pretty sure that New Caledonia, Mozambique and perhaps Namibia were 100 Watts QSOs. The other six were QRP, so that would bring me up to 166 worked with 5 Watts or less. I'd have to go back and refer to Log4OM to be 100% sure about that, though.

Once the sunspots come back, I'm closest to earning DXCC on 15 Meters. Only eight to go. Also, both 17 Meters and 10 Meters are close, but it's going to be years before band conditions improve enough to make those needed QSOs.  May be a retirement project at this point.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Mixed bag weekend

It was a mixed bag weekend, radio-wise.

I got a late start with the Zombie Shuffle. Due to not getting home from work until 6:00 PM and then dinner, I did not get started until a bit after 7:00 PM.  As the official start time was 4:00 PM local, I missed the first three hours and probably most of the activity.

I ended up working only three stations - AB9CA, NK9G on 40 Meters and N9AW on 80 Meters. I could tell there were some stations on 20 Meters, but they were at ESP level. I knew they were there and that was about it.

While talking with Bob W3BBO on Saturday evening, he informed me that he worked ten Zombie stations. He was wrapping up his operating at just about the same time I was beginning - so that right there tells me I pretty much missed the Zombie boat this year.

On Saturday, we set up at a local park in South Plainfield for JOTA - Jamboree on the Air, the annual Boy Scouts of America QSO Party, if you will. We had success working stations, but alas, no local Scout Troops came by to participate.

I think part of that was the weather - it was heavily overcast, at times misty, breezy and quite chilly for most of the time. I think the other part was that we could have done a better job publicizing that we were out there. I think for the next JOTA we will post to South Plainfield's two Facebook groups as to what we'll be doing. All the Troops in town knew, as one of our members, Harry KC2PGX, is a Scoutmaster, but perhaps social media might draw more people.

Dave KD2FSI brought a Jeep full of his portable equipment; and I brought forth my venerable portable backpack.

My KX3 set up at one of the tables under a pavilion. I think the most essential piece of the day was the thermos of hot coffee! To start, the coax was running out to the QRP Guys portable vertical, but after a while, I switched over to the PAR END FEDZ thrown up in a tree. I was not getting me the results I wanted wit the vertical. I should have used my Buddistick. My Jeep was close enough to where I could have just popped it on the roof with the magmount, and with a barrel connector and some extra coax I would have made it to my operating position. That setup has worked  so very well for me in the past. Too bad I didn't have the presence of mind to think of that on Saturday morning.  One of the hazards of growing old, I guess.

Dave KD2FSI making contacts on 20 Meters. We switched back and forth so as not to interfere with each other, but for the most part Dave stayed on 20 Meters while I stayed on 40 Meters.

Dave's Jeep Wrangler, on top of his drive on mast. This supported his 20 Meters Buddipole configuration. For 40 Meters, Dave put up his Jackite mast with the EFHW wrapped around it. In this case, he added a Buddipole HF coil and an elevated counterpoise wire.

You can't see it (at least I don't think you can) in this photo, but the PAR is going from my radio which was located toward the right hand end of the pavilion to the tree at the right hand end of the photo. In addition to a few JOTA stations, I also worked DF8CX with QRP power.

Much to my chagrin, I was not able to detect or hear any JOTA stations on CW on either 40 or 20 Meters. I brought the microphone along and used that to work the few JOTA stations that I was able to. Even though I was kind of out of my element, it was fun talking to the Scouts and I was even able to speak with a couple who were close to attaining their Eagle Scout status.

For the heck of it, I worked a couple NY QSO Party stations with the paddles, so it wasn't a total loss. And of course, as we were packing up for the afternoon, the sun started peaking through the clouds and began to warm us up. Just in time to go home.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

New hat

It was time for a new call sign hat. The old one, which was my favorite for years got pretty gross looking. It was a khaki color, which turned out to be not the wisest choice I've ever made. I wore it everywhere and while doing everything and it just became sweat stained. Badly sweat stained, I might add - way past the sweat band and into the hat fabric itself.  What can I say? Doing yard work in hot New Jersey summers in sweaty work!

I tried several washings with Woolite, and that helped a little and extended the life of the hat a couple of years. But when you look at it, and say to yourself, "You're NOT wearing THAT, are you?" - you know it's time to retire it.

So I went back to where I got the old one from - Astrid's Embroidery - and ordered the Next Generation.

This time I went with Navy Blue, a dark color which will hopefully not show any sweat stains as readily. If past experience is any guide, a dark color is way easier to maintain with regular washings. I just fill the sink with tepid water after adding a splash of Woolite, soak the hat for a bit and then set it out on a towel to dry. That usually takes an entire day or two, but results in a brand new looking hat.

Like my old hat, this one has the same embroidery on the front, as well as the straight key on the side. This "Next Generation" features something new, the NAQCC logo on the other side and my name and call at the back, just above the adjustable band.

I really like the workmanship that WM8C provides. He really does produce a fine quality product. And I am pretty hopeful that with the proper care, this hat will last me way longer than the first one, now that I've made a wiser choice in color.

Oh, and by the way, while the old hat is retired, it might be better to say, semi-retired. I'll still use that one when I'm outside in the summer, mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, or whatever. In true Ham fashion, I'm too "personal economy minded" to throw a perfectly usable, if somewhat groady looking, hat away.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!