The weekend's doings

Contests:

ARS Flight of the Bumblebees - http://ars-qrp.com/FOBB/FOBB.html

RSGB IOTA Contest - https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2024/riota.shtml

Alabama QSO Party - http://alabamacontestgroup.org/aqp/

MARAC US Counties QSO Party - http://www.marac.org/contests.htm

Special Events:

07/20/2024 | RAGBRAI 51

Jul 20-Jul 27, 0000Z-2359Z, W0R, Durham, NC. AF4ZE. 14.074 21.074. QSL. John Swartz AF4ZE, 6203 Chesden Drive, Durham, NC 27713. W0R Whiskey Zero RAGBRAI. Biking across Iowa for RAGBRAI 51. Will operate bike-mobile, QRP as time permits, likely in the evenings July 20-27, 2024. FT8, CW, SSB. QSL af4ze@arrl.net, LoTW, and QRZ.com. af4ze@arrl.net

07/22/2024 | Orleans County NY 4H Fair

Jul 22-Jul 27, 0000Z-2359Z, W4H, Albion, NY. Orleans County Amateur Radio Club. 7.180 14.074. QSL. Orleans County Amateur Radio Club, 14064 W County House Road, Albion, NY 14411. ocarc.us

07/27/2024 | 50th Anniversary of Discovery House

Jul 27, 1200Z-2200Z, NJ2KC, Hammonton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club . 14.250 28.450; other HF frequencies possible. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Avenue, Bridgeton, NJ 08302. (Discovery House https://dmi-nj.org). NJ2KC.org

07/27/2024 | 50th Annual Bix 7 Road Race

Jul 27, 1500Z-2000Z, W0BXR, Davenport, IA. Davenport Radio Amateur Club. 14.326. QSL. Davenport Radio Amateur Club, W0BXR, P.O. Box 1523, Davenport, IA 52809. https://drac.club

07/27/2024 | Battle of Brown's Mill

Jul 27-Jul 30, 1500Z-2100Z, K4NRC, Newnan, GA. BGMRC. 14.074 14.080 21.074 7.074. QSL. Carlton Bellamy, 175 Westminster Village Blvd, Sharpsburg, GA 30277. BGMRC.ORG

07/27/2024 | World Ranger Day

Jul 27-Jul 31, 0000Z-2359Z, W4R, Dallas, GA. Silver Comet Amateur Society. 14.074 (FT8) 14.240 (SSB) 7.074 (FT8) 7.240 (SSB). Certificate & QSL. David Walk - K4BBH, 46 Ashwood Court, Rockmart, GA 30153. www.qrz.com/db/w4r or www.silvercometars.com

07/28/2024 | Bellbrook Amateur Radio Club 50th Anniversary

Jul 28, 1700Z-2200Z, W8DGN, Bellbrook, OH. Bellbrook Amateur Radio Club. 14.2740 21.3740. QSL. Bellbrook Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 73, Bellbrook, OH 45305. www.bellbrookarc.org

07/28/2024 | Buffalo Soldiers - Commemorating the official formation date of July 28, 1866.

Jul 28-Jul 29, 1400Z-0100Z, WW5HF, Marion, TX. The HiFivers Amateur Radio Club. 14.295 USB 14.074 USB 28.500 USB 28.074. QSL. WW5HF - HIFIVERS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, 15480 BEXAR BOWLING RD, Marion, TX 78124. Self Addressed Stamped Envelope Required. https://www.qrz.com/db/WW5HF

And there you have it. Enjoy your weekend!

Personally, I'm almost ready for Sunday. I have to pack the day bag, but I know what I'm bringing. I checked the "troublesome" battery last night. When I charged it with my old ACME charger at the very beginning of the month, it was holding at 12.9 V. Last night, I checked the voltage and after three weeks of just sitting in my ammo box,  the battery was only down to 12.7 V. There doesn't seem to be a serious amount of internal self discharge. I'm beginning to think (but am not sure) that this was more of a faulty charger problem than an actual battery problem. Time will tell. I am going to use the battery this Sunday for FOBB. It will be interesting to see how much the voltage drops after four hours of QRP Sprint use - between hunting and pouncing and calling CQ. If it's significant, that will tell me more. Given the capacity of the battery, and the miserly power consumption of my KX3, I would think that after a four hour Sprint, the battery should not fall too far below the 12 Volt level. If I take a reading and it's below 11 Volts, then I think it would appear that I do indeed have a battery problem, at least with this one. Luckily, I have two backups.

One thing ,that I think that anyone who does portable ops should have ingrained in their brains ....."You can never have too much juice!"

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!