Weekend doings

First ....... an old image for QRP Image of the Day ....... of me!

I found this in the SPARC Facebook page from way back in April of 2015 (almost 10 years ago!). I went up to Washington Rock State Park for QRP to the Field ....... before POTA was even an idea in anyone's mind!  The photo was taken by Drew W2OU (SK) when he and Marv K2VHW came for a visit.

Coming up this (long Labor Day holiday) weekend:

Contests

Colorado QSO Party -  http://ppraa.org/coqp

Tennessee QSO Party - https://tnqp.org/rules/

MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint -  https://www.miqrp.net/contest-challenge

ARS Spartan Sprint -  http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html

Special Event Stations

08/01/2024 | San Max Celebration

Aug 1-Aug 31, 0000Z-2359Z, 4A2MAX, Neosho, MEXICO. San Max Operators . 14175 21320 28420 7170. QSL. San Max Special Callsign 4A2MAX, MAXIMILIANO THOUS 16-24, Valencia E-46009, SPAIN. Special event where we celebrate the patron saint of radio amateurs, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe SP3RN SK, we invite you to contact us and be part of the celebration. https://www.qrz.com/db/4A2MAX

08/24/2024 | 2024 Buhl Day

Aug 24-Sep 2, 0000Z-0000Z, W3B, Sharon, PA. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club. 7.074 14.074 7.240 14.245. QSL. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 673 , 32 Shenango Ave, Sharon, PA 16146. We will be on the air during Buhl Day in Hermitage, PA. This year is the 109th anniversary of Buhl Farm Park, which covers 300 acres and was given to the community by Frank Buhl (local industrialist) for use and recreation purposes of the community. Labor Day and occasionally the week before. www.w3lif.org

08/31/2024 | 33rd Annual Fly-In/Cruise-In Festival

Aug 31, 1200Z-1800Z, W9EBN, Marion, IN. Grant County Amateur Radio Club. 7.260 14.250 21.350 DMR TG 3100 / DMR TG 31656 . Certificate & QSL. L B Nickerson - K9NQW, P O Box 1786, Marion, IN 46952. Also DStar Ref #24B. Send QSL card in a large SASE www.Grantarc.net

08/31/2024 | Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival Special Event Station

Aug 31-Sep 7, 1323Z-1323Z, K9A, Auburn, IN. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association. 40 Meters : 7.180MHz 20 Meters : 14.250MHz 10 Meters: 28.350 MHz. Certificate & QSL. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association, P.O. Box 145, Auburn, IN 46706-0145. www.w9ou.org

08/31/2024 | Ellensburg Rodeo and Kittitas County Fair 2024

Aug 31-Sep 2, 1600Z-2200Z, K7R, Ellensburg, WA. Kittitas County Amateur Radio Club. 14.275 MHz 21.335 MHz 14.055 MHz 21.055 MHZ. Certificate. KCARC, 110 West Sixth Avenue, Ellensburg, WA 98926. https://www.qsl.net/kcarcs/rodeo.html

08/31/2024 | Return to Paradise - 46TH ANNIVERSARY

Aug 31-Sep 2, 1700Z-1700Z, K7RDG, Sierra Vista, AZ. Cochise Amateur Radio Association. 7.225 14.074 14.285 21.225. Certificate. Cochise ARA, PO Box 1855, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650-9340. WWW.K7RDG.ORG

09/01/2024 | 100th Anniversary of the Ontario Provincial Air Service

Sep 1-Sep 30, 0000Z-2359Z, CG3CBHC, Sault Ste Marie, ON. Algoma Amateur Radio Club. 14.074 7.074. Certificate. Dave Rowlinson, 315 Old Garden River Rd., Sault Ste Marie, ON P6B 5A7, CANADA. Event will run the month of September, but the most activity will be September 21 and 22 during Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (bushplane.com) - Bushplane Days Commemorative Certificates will be sent to all contacts during the event. www.aarclub.ca

Last night was the finale of the 20 Meter Summer Fox Hunt season for 2024. I have not participated all Summer, but last night was special. To honor our recently departed friend, Jerry N9AW, the Hounds who wanted to, were given permission to give their name as either Jerry or "AW" for their part of the exchange. I heard Jim N0UR in Minnesota (good ol' Minnesota-Wisconsin pipeline) at a good 599 and worked him at 0108 UTC.  I went looking for Earl N8SS in Michigan, and I found some of his Hounds, but no Earl.  So I went back to listen to Jim for a bit and he was still very loud. Jim was calling CQ with no takers, so I gave into temptation and worked him again, but this time with the power turned down to 1 Watt. Both times I gave my name as "AW". A small gesture, but one to honor the memory of a friend I never got to meet in person. Requiescat in pace, Jerry.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP _ When you care to send the very least!

"Sad Hams"

Oh, I hate that term! But it's become prevalent among certain Hams who get annoyed and exasperated with certain older Hams. I guess it's better than the previously used term - "Old Fart".

It's the typical generational thing. The newer Hams don't understand the older Hams and the older Hams don't understand the newer Hams. It's like when you were a kid and you got tired of hearing from your parents or grandparents, "When I was your age, I had to walk to school 5 miles in the snow ..... up hill both ways!"

The fact is that if you were licensed before 1980, you had no resource but to study the license manuals that were available at the time. You read and learned the theory and the rules. There were no question and answer books where you could memorize the answers that were on the exams without really understanding the why and wherefore.

That all changed in 1979 / 1980 when Dick Bash came out with his "Final Exam" books. I never had one of those, but as I understand it, these books consisted the questions and answers from the actual license exams. The story goes that the author had people questioned who had just left from taking their FCC proctored tests as to what questions they saw on the exams they just took.

True or not? I don't know. But whether it was true or not, the appearance of the Bash books seemed to trigger or hasten the demise of FCC testing and promulgated the evolution of the VEC system. Maybe it was just the governmental budgetary constraints of the time, but whatever the real reason, the system changed.

The VECs published the questions and answers that would be on the exams in their license manuals. Sure, there were a bajillion questions from which only a relatively few would be picked, but it changed the game. Of course there were still potential Hams who studied the "old school" way (sorry, couldn't resist the pun), but now there were candidates with good enough memories who just memorized what they needed to know in order to pass the exams. It still holds true to this day. I'm a VE and I see both types of candidate preparation all the time. Oh the angst when a question pool is about to change!  As the VE Liaison who arranges our VE Exam sessions, I can't tell you how many times that I hear "Do you have room for me on your session on the XXth? I want to take my exam before the question pool changes!" And in my head I'm thinking ......"The questions aren't changing that much. If you know THE MATERIAL, you'll be fine." But I hold my tongue, as I don't want to ruffle any feathers.

The problem is that. as a result, you have a lot of new Hams out there who really don't know what they're doing. And this may get me in hot water, but we haven't helped the situation by conducting "Ham Crams". Those are another thing that I just abhor. Trying to cram about 8 weeks worth of non-stressful conventional learning into one or two days is just chasing rainbows as far as I'm concerned. I'd love to find some way to find license retention figures of Amateur Radio ops who went that route. I'm willing to lay down money that there is a large percentage of these Hams who are most likely not to renew, or have not renewed their licenses.

As a result, and I have experienced this personally, you have some Extra Class Hams who don't have the foggiest notion as to how to build a dipole or program an HT. To make matters worse, they either don't know where to go to look up the information they need, or sometimes they seem to even lack the desire to do so They just depend on people who know what they're doing to spoon feed the information to them. They absolutely detest when they are told to open a book or "RTFM". I'm not going to spell it out, you know what that means.

And that frustrates the older Hams who either studied the traditional way, or those who have gone the newer route, but graduated from the "School of Hard Knocks" by taking the time to do a little research on their own before asking for help. So when someone asks a basic, simple question that every Ham worth his/her salt should know the answer to, and they get told where to go to get the answer (without actually being given the answer they are looking for) they are label that person as a "Sad Ham".

Sadly, this is the way things are. To somehow mitigate it, older Hams need to be more inclined to do a little more friendly and non-confrontational and patient Elmering. In turn,  newer Hams need to be more willing to show some respect to the veterans who have been in the trenches for a longer period of time, and not chafe when they aren't treated with the kid gloves they seem to expect and demand. If we don't learn to live with each other, it's going to be a lose-lose situation.

Enough of my kvetching - let's end this post on a high note with a really cool photograph. Brian Foltz WQ0A posted this to Facebook after completing his first CW QSO! Congratulations, Brian and thanks for posting the awesome photo!

Who doesn't love a nice set of paddles? And the lighting and composition are superb!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I've got to put some more effort into the AX1

After reading Craig WB3GCK's blog post, and reading comments from Brian KB9BVN on Facebook and his blog, I've decided I've got to spend more time getting used to (I was going to say "playing around with") my Elecraft AX1 antenna.

My results with it so far, the few times I've used it, have been 50/50. Sometimes it seems to work great, and other times I just end up with a whole bag of frustration.

Tom K4SWL had a great blog post and video of using the AX1 with the Emtech ZM-2 tuner. I'll have to give that a shot. I don't know .......I mentioned to Craig that I seem to have an innate "wire ... the higher, the better" antenna bias. I think the times the AX1 has disappointed me has caused me to consider it more of a last resort kind of thing. 

I think this calls for a few evenings of operating from the patio table in the backyard. Actual QSOs and perhaps a few sessions of calling CQ and seeing where the Reverse Beacon Network picks me up. I can kill two birds with one stone and use the time to also get even more familiar with the QMX. I have not even attempted programming the keyer messages yet. It took me long enough how to figure out changing bands and setting up the display and the VFO! I guess I just need to take baby steps.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Haven't done this in a while

 QRP Image of the Day, by Hans Terlouw PA1ALV: - as found on the POTA page in Facebook:

This is a very personal opinion, and I know a lot of people would disagree, but to me this is the heart and soul of POTA. Going out to a park with equipment that you can carry in a small case or backpack, setting up and operating and having fun. In no way am I knocking those who go out with very elaborate setups and with 100 Watt rigs (or higher) - if that's your thing, then by all means, keep on doing what you're doing. Whatever gives you joy.

In that vein, I started populating my LowePro backpack last night. So far, I have the QMX, two battery packs (very much akin to what Hans has in the photo), the charger, my Emtech ZM-2 tuner, and a couple of 3 foot coax jumpers packed away.

I still have to decide which paddle I am going to include, and I'll probably pick up a new set of earbuds. I plan to store those in a small plastic Hefty food storage container with a a few other miscellaneous necessities - a few BNC to PL-259 adapters, some wire ties and a multi-purpose tool.  From eBay, I ordered another small digital travel alarm ($4), so I don't have to keep raiding the KX3 backpack. I wish Radio Shack was still around so I could buy another like the one I have in the KX3 backpack, but if wishes were nickels, I'd be a rich man!

This is pretty much life-size. It's very small.

In another inside pocket, which is meant for carrying a laptop or tablet, I put a 25' length of RG-8X and I attached the 41' radiator and the 17' counterpoise to the KM4CFT 9:1 UNUN kit that I assembled. I want to try out that antenna some time this coming weekend, just to make sure I assembled the UNUN correctly. The last thing to go in there will be a notepad and a pen for logging.

This is what I plan to take when Marianne and I head back up to Alexandria Bay later this year. There are two state parks that I would like to try and activate while we are there.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Older things repurposed

When I got my KX3 so many moons ago, I needed something to store it in for taking it along on portable ops. At the time TJ W0EA had posted a YouTube video extolling the virtues of the LowePro 150 Traveler camera backpack. From the beginning it worked very well, but I soon accumulated enough "stuff" to outgrow its usefulness. Thus, it sat languishing in my computer room. It was too good to dispose, but I also had no use for it ........until now

This bag/backpack will be the prefect solution to carry the QMX, two battery packs and their charger, the Emtech ZM-2 tuner, a couple of coax jumpers, a set of earbuds, a paddle and the KM4CFT EFRW and a 25' roll of coax. Those dividers are configurable to any way that suits my need the best. An added bonus is that it will hardly take up any space in the car.  I'm glad I didn't get rid of it.

The photo above is just a random internet photo of the pack. I'll take a photo of mine when I have it configured the way I want and  have it filled. 

And now, for something completely different. (Shades of Monty Python) Yesterday was the annual ETS of NJ picnic:

It was a beautiful day, you could not ask for better weather for an event like this. Turnout was a little bit lower than expected due to a couple members coming down with COVID. Of course, at this point, COVID has mutated to where it's just another variant of the common cold, but it was gracious of those infected to be thinking enough about the rest of us so as to not spread it around. We're going to be coming upon some really hot weather again this week and having a cold in the summer heat is just miserable.

As I stated, the weather was gorgeous, the food was outstanding and the company most enjoyable. Eric WA2EGE at the far right set up the club's Kenwood TS-2000 and was running FT8. Our President, Vic K2NBC (small hidden guy, back row, center) , brought along his Yeasu FT-891 and a Chameleon antenna (I think it might have been the MPAS) and was running 20 Meter SSB.

I stuck the QMX in my pants pocket and brought it along for "Show and Tell". It would have been nice to have had everything in the LowePro to "set up shop" as it were, but I didn't even think of that until after we got back home.

Another case of W2LJ being slow on the uptake! Hi Hi!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It is alive!

The little QMX is alive!

I hooked it up to the W3EDP yesterday (I did not switch out antennas like I planned - kinda long story that I won't go into here) through both my Emtech ZM-2 Z-match tuner and my 4 States QRP Tuner and I worked five POTA activations.

K9DXA - Harry, who hasn't competed in the Skeeter Hunt in a few years, he used to be a regular.

WT2P

N3T

K9RDO

WG8X - a two-fer!

It was pretty easy to get into the habit of using a manual tuner again. The only thing I had to look up was the "In/Out" switch on the 4 States tuner. Last time I used it was with my HW-8 and I forgot that "In" meant tune and "Out" meant operate. Common sense, really, but at the moment I wanted to be sure. I didn't want to kill a brand new rig over my forgetfulness/stupidity.

In any case, I had no trouble being heard and I worked all but one station without any repeats. Even there I got a decent RST, there just must have been a pileup on his end.

It's going to be neat having this little guy. I have a couple ideas for putting together a dedicated go-bag and keeping this bad boy in the car for possible spur-of-the-moment operating sessions. I may even start parking in the outside parking lot at work again!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Jerry N9AW, Silent Key

N9AW Jerry Scherkenbach an avid QRP’er passed away August 22,2024. Jerry since the 80’s has been active in QRP contesting and operating events. He was also active in the QRP Foxhunts as a FOX and a Hound . He has served on the Fox Hunts Committee for a few years.  Jerry was a member of the Greater Milwaukee DX Association, W/K Amateur Radio Club of Greater Milwaukee, QRP Cheeseheads A.R.C.. He was cofounder of the W/K Amateur Radio Club and the QRP Cheeseheads Amateur Radio Club. Jerry will be remembered for being a kind and soft spoken gentleman and a mentor for so many hams from all walks of life. He traveled to St. Lucia withe Buddipole DX Team and made some 5K CW QSO’s in a week of operating. The Amateur Radio Community has lost a great mentor and contributor to promote the absolute best in Amateur Radio.

Jerry is survived by his wife Joyce, sons Patrick Randy, stepson Ryan and Daughter Jill.

Please remember Jerry and his family in your prayers

Submitted by NK9G  Rick

I did not know Jerry from the 80s. I first met him on the air in 2004. It was probably in some QRP Sprint, or perhaps even the QRP Fox Hunts. Jerry's signal was always loud to New Jersey and I knew that if I heard a super loud QRPer in my shack it was either him, Rick NK9G, or Todd N9NE - my "Minnesota / Wisconsin Pipeline".

We served together on the QRP Foxhunt Committee for a couple of years. He was easy and fun to work with, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.. It's not a lie or exaggeration to say that Jerry was one of the pillars of the QRP community. He will be very sorely missed.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP  - When you care to send the very least!

Clueless

 So Yaesu introduced a new radio at the Tokyo Ham Fair:

It is the FTX-1, an all mode HF, 6M, 2M, 70cm radio - with an output of 10 Watts. Just what fans of the Yaesu  FT-817 have been anxiously waiting for ....... right? It will be available for purchasing early in 2025. It is probably Yaesu's hope to knock ICOM's IC-705 off the top seller pedestal. I'll not go into the details on the specs of the radio as certainly you'll be able to not help but see them in the coming days and weeks.

But to my post title ..... "Clueless".  Is Yaesu clueless? Certainly not! But as a QRP'er, I have to belly laugh at some of the reactions from Hams who either don't know any better, or worse ....... lack any skill, patience or determination. Those are who I am referring to as "clueless". For example, some reactions from Facebook (no names or call signs will be posted here).

"Joke 10 watts 😩, Unreal"

"QRP. Zzzz. Make an FT-857D replacement Yaesu!"

"I can't imagine putting out that much money for something that weak. Two screens. Cool, I guess. But just okay otherwise."

"On top of that with only 6 Watts on battery power it's not going to be very useful for people chasing DX let alone Dxpeditions.. breaking a pile up with 100 w and a wire antenna is hard enough as it is.."

"But then again that's not what this radio appears to be designed for, it seems like they're targeting the Doomsday Preppers ( aka bunker diggers ) and qrp guys."

I guess these guys just don't understand QRP, or never tried it, or tried it and didn't have what it takes to make it work. Yeah, sometimes breaking through the pileups for DXpeditions can be tough, but I've done it and I know tons of you out there have done it too. And DXCC via QRP isn't all that difficult. Heck, I've heard of guys doing it in one weekend when the ARRL DX or CQWW DX contests are on.

I guess it's kind of like FT-8 in a certain way. I've never tried it, and I don't quite understand how to make it work, or even have the desire to, but I'm certainly not going to knock the people who do. Although, in all honesty, I have chuckled at a few good natured jokes I've seen about it - but no disrespect is intended for anyone who loves the digital modes. It's just not my cup of tea - so why disparage the people who love it?

Amateur Radio is a big tent. Everyone should be welcome.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend happenings?

For those of you who are going to get on the air and ask, "What contest is THIS?"

Contests

Hawaii QSO Party - http://www.hawaiiqsoparty.org/

ALARA Contest -  http://www.alara.org.au/contests/

World Wide Digi DX Contest - https://ww-digi.com/ - (I'm sure this one won't come down into the CW portions at all!)

 U.S. Islands QSO Party - http://usislands.org/qso-party-rules/

YO DX HF Contest -  http://www.yodx.ro

Kansas QSO Party - https://ksqsoparty.org/rules/KSQPRules2024.pdf?1

Ohio QSO Party - http://www.ohqp.org/index.php/rules/

SARL HF CW Contest - http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/contestrules.asp

FISTS Ladder  (Operating Activity) - https://www.fists.co.uk/activitiescalendar.html#fistsladder2024

Special Event Stations:

08/10/2024 | 247th Anniversary of the Battle of Bennington

Aug 10-Aug 24, 1200Z-2359Z, K1B, Bennington, VT. K2HX. 18.100 21.070 24.915 28.074; all modes in General band. QSL. Ed Landry, N2HX, 50 Jayne Ln., Bennington, VT 05201.

08/24/2024 | 2024 Buhl Day

Aug 24-Sep 2, 0000Z-0000Z, W3B, Sharon, PA. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club. 7.074 14.074 7.240 14.245. QSL. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 673 , 32 Shenango Ave, Sharon, PA 16146. We will be on the air during Buhl Day in Hermitage, PA. This year is the 109th anniversary of Buhl Farm Park, which covers 300 acres and was given to the community by Frank Buhl (local industrialist) for use and recreation purposes of the community. Labor Day and occasionally the week before. www.w3lif.org

08/24/2024 | Radio & National Railway Historical Soc

Aug 24, 0000Z-2359Z, K3IEC, Mechanicsburg, PA. Cumberland Amateur Radio Club. 7.250 14.250 21.300 28.400. QSL. Frank Mellott, 1010 Good Hope RD, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050. Cumberland Amateur radio Club celebrating the 2024 National Railway Historical Society convention in Harrisburg, PA. Modes expected to be CW/SSB and digital. see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/ for more details and QSL info. https://www.radioclub-carc.com

Myself? This Sunday is our annual ETS of NJ Picnic. That should be a good time with lots of good food. And, if the weather cooperates tomorrow and I have enough time, I might just attempt to take down the W3EDP and replace it with the MFJ-1982HP. If not this weekend, then perhaps over the long Labor Day Weekend next weekend. Time is going to be the bigger factor as I'm still slogging through getting the Skeeter Hunt Results entered into the Scoreboard and the Soapbox comments and photos into the Skeeter Hunt Facebook page. If I put in a long session tonight, I might have enough time for antenna work tomorrow.

Oh, and of course ........ in between all that I want to try and get the QMX on the air and make a maiden QSO. Not too much planned, eh? And then on Monday mornings I wonder why the weekend whizzed by!

Labor Day? Already? Where has the Summer gone?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to sebd the very least!

Last night

I spent some more time with Skeeter Hunt results, and then it occurred to me. Instead of sending acknowledgements as I post results to  the Scoreboard spreadsheet one by one, I should go through all the e-mails NOW and send acknowledgements. This takes the guess work out of the equation for the Skeeters. So now I can truly say, if you didn't get an acknowledging e-mail from me, I didn't get your log summary.

Thirteen years of doing this, you would have thought this would have occurred to me sooner! Some times I can be so perceptive and on top of things and other times I can be as thick as a brick! Sometimes I get so used to doing what I've been doing that I block out other possibilities for doing things better. Last night I became my own "auto-acknowledgement" tool!

After that, I went down to the shack and opened up the package that I received yesterday from QRP Labs.

When I was down in the shack the other day, I stumbled upon the lithium batteries and holders that I used to use with my PFR-3A. I had them stored away in a few plastic containers. So I took them out and charged up the batteries and changed the connector from the size that the PFR-3A and the KX3 use, to the smaller diameter connector that the QMX uses. Three of the batteries give me 12.1 Volts fully charged, which then drops to just under 12 Volts under load. Perfect for the QMX. I have more batteries and another holder, so I can have two battery packs ready to go whenever I need them. That dummy battery that you see in the 4th position is a wooden dowel with a thumb tack on each end, with a wire going from tack to tack to provide connectivity. Four batteries would produce too high a voltage.

One thing I noticed about the batteries. Of course, just like about everything else, these were manufactured in China. They work fine, but the brand name - "UltraFire". For a lithium battery, I think a better name could have been chosen.

Before I get to the subject of the QMX, you also see a paddle that I just recently purchased. It's a single lever paddle made by CW Morse LLC. 

I found it on eBay after a search on "morse code paddles" that I do from time to time, just to see what's out there. It was $39, and I love single lever paddles and didn't have one for portable ops, so I indulged. It arrived on Monday, but I had to dig up a cable for it, as it didn't come with one. I connected it to the KX3 last night, which I took out of VOX mode so I could use it as a code practice oscillator. I have to tell you, this little guy has a very good feel to it! I was able to adjust the spacing very close, as that's how I like it, and I was able to send code nice and easy! If you're looking for paddles for portable ops, I would recommend that you at least take a look at https://cwmorse.us/. I think you'd be as pleased as I am.

Getting to the QMX. There's going to be a learning curve here. I can tell you I love this little radio already, but it's not quite what I'm used to. After I turned it no, I found out that it was set for 80 Meters. It took me a while to figure out how to change bands. Once I figured out how to get to 40 Meters, I hooked it up to my W3EDP and started tuning around. 

At first, i thought I broke the radio somehow. I could only get it to tune in 10 kHz steps. 7.000 to 7.010 to 7.020 to 7.030 MHz, etc. I couldn't figure out how to get to tune in smaller steps. Then I discovered that you have to go into the menu, go to "VFO Settings" and you have to enable the smaller steps. Wow! Never had to do that on a radio before! I also had to go into the settings to enable the S-Meter, SWR Meter and the Battery Level icon to be displayed. Whew!

It's going to take this fossil a bit of time to master this radio, but once I am there, this is going to be grand! The batteries, the radio, my Emtech ZM-2 tuner and an EFRW will fit into a daypack so easily! I just may start going out at lunchtime to start operating from the Jeep with the Buddisitck again!

I printed out the manual - it's over 100 pages long and I also downloaded the pdf file to my phone. Like I said, I've got a lot of learning to do, but the fun is in the journey as well as the destination. I just hope I don't do anything stupid to accidentally damage it. That would kill me!

72 de Larry W2LLJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Skeeter Hunt Results

Just a word about Skeeter Hunt log summaries.

I did receive about 90 on Sunday and  more Monday and Tuesday. I am working on transferring data to my Scoreboard spreadsheet (a different spreadsheet from the roster which you can all still see) as quickly as I can. I do send out confirmation e-mails to all of you who have submitted summaries. I'm sure a lot of you have gotten that e-mail from me, already.

I plan to be all caught up with this by the weekend. So if you've submitted a log and are wondering why you haven't heard from me ......... I'm working on it. This event started off very small in 2012. It has grown by leaps and bounds since then and I could not be a happier Ham. I'm hoping that by this time next year, I will have retired and that I will be able to devote more time to responding to all of you  more quickly after the Hunt.

I want you all to know, that this is not a complaint on my part! I am thrilled and ecstatic that so many of you participated! I just want you to know what the delay is and not to worry that I haven't gotten your entries. 

This is a 3 step process. 

1) I transfer your scores to the Scoreboard,  

2) I post your Soapbox comments to the Skeeter Hunt Facebook page, that is taking a bit more time. 

3) I send the confirming e-mail. 

So ......... if you don't receive anything from me by Sunday 8/25 - that's when I would start thinking about re-sending entries.

I will post the final Scoreboard on Monday, September 2nd. I will be sending out e-mails to the various iO Groups and e-mail reflectors on Sunday with a reminder that log summaries are due.

Thanks for your patience!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A couple of thoughts

post Skeeter Hunt. Here's a map of my QSOs, courtesy of K2DSL's mapping site.

Nothing to write home about, no Herculean effort, but fun just the same - and really, that is what the Skeeter Hunt is all about. As someone much wiser than me has said, "The fun is in the journey, not the destination."

I was starting to process summary results last night. I only got about a dozen done as I had several other things on the agenda last night. What struck me though, is I'm already almost to the point of receiving the same amount of summaries from non-Skeeter numbered ops as last year. If this trend continues, it may well surpass that. That tells me that word is getting out there, maybe late or whatever, but the Hunt seems to be growing in participation, which is a good thing.

I'll continue to slog through the slew of Skeeter summaries tonight, after dinner. This is almost as enjoyable as the Hunt itself, because I get to hear from you guys. I'm also copying any soapbox comments I get to the Skeeter Hunt Facebook page, along with photos.

Update on the QMX - according to FedEx, it arrived in Belgium from Turkey late last evening. I guess it will be loaded onto a plane headed for the US either today or tomorrow. UPDATE: Heard from FedEx, delivery is tomorrow. Yay!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Put 'er in the books!

What a surprise! I woke up to a Sunday morning miracle! The weather prognosticators were off by a bit. It was sunny and very humid, and a quick gander on the weather radar showed no signs of imminent storms, so it looked like a "portable" Skeeter Hunt operation was going to be a distinct possibility.

Over the next few hours, the sun and clouds would alternate, so I decided to "86" going to Cotton Street Park and would work backyard portable instead. I figured that if it did start to downpour, I wouldn't get that drenched moving equipment into the house from the backyard, and I could move it quickly, if needed. I started setting up at Noon - a whole entire hour ahead of time. Overkill ...... right? Wrong, W2LJ, DEAD wrong!

Once again the Jackite mast was giving me fits. The ground was way wet from Saturday night's rain and my new tent pegs were too short to get a good grip of some dry soil beneath the surface and kept pulling out. The mast fell over twice and I could feel my BP rising due to the frustration. Time was passing quickly, and I couldn't remember where I had tossed my longer tent pegs, so I decided to use my drive on mast holder, instead. Using an empty grill propane tank and a 20 lb bag of birdseed for ballast, it worked perfectly, albeit later than I had anticipated. I had stubbornly futzed around with the short tent pegs entirely too long. 

The only challenge using the drive on mast holder here was making sure it was as level as possible on grassy ground.

But in the process, I learned a valuable lesson which I can store away in the memory banks. If the ground is hard and dry, the shorties will work better as they are easier to remove from rock hard soil. If the ground is wet and soft, the longer tent pegs are a must. This was the view of the set up mast, looking east towards the back border of the yard. It stayed rock solid for the entirety of the Skeeter Hunt,. Satisfied that there would be no more antenna mishaps, I eventually turned around and sat with my back to it, so I could keep my eyes laser focused for any dark clouds coming in from the west.

I ended up getting started about 15 minutes late, which in the grand scheme of things was no big deal. I had my normal set up going with some twists. I used my 12 Volt LiFe PO battery for the first time, and I went with the American Morse DCP paddle mounted on the Velamints container which I had talked about a few posts earlier. it proved to work well. The only time my code got sloppy was when I made a few mistakes towards the end of the Hunt from being tired. No mistakes because I held it incorrectly and sent extraneous dits or dahs. And of course, my mistakes were made when trading exchanges with John K4BAI. Nothing like getting all flustered like a school boy who confronts his favorite MLB baseball player!

Dinosaur that I am, I still paper log. No way that I can manage a computer and paddles simultaneously!

It wasn't very hot, only in the mid 80s, but it was very humid. That stainless steel insulated water bottle was a lifesaver. I didn't have to go running into the house for a cool hydration break when one was needed.

Propagation wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. I was hearing a lot more stations than I did during FOBB. 20 Meters seemed to be the go to band for the day, and I'm pretty sure most of my QSOs happened there. I did make two contacts on 15 Meters, Gene N5GW in MS and Perry N5PJ in OK. 15 Meters gets the ribbon for the farthest QSOs. I wish there had been more activity there. I tried calling CQ for a while on 10 Meters with no joy, and that's a shame. A look at the Reverse Beacon Network after the event showed that my signal was getting out to Germany at a pretty decent dB level - double figures, so I would have been heard if anyone had been listening.

40 Meters proved once again to be the band for close in Skeeters and I worked NJ, PA, NY and MD all on 40 Meters. The signals were much more robust on 40 than they were on either 20 or 15. I really like 40 Meters, it's probably my favorite band. The shame is that during events such as the Skeeter Hunt or the Flight of the Bumblebees, 40 Meters is often ignored until late in the event after 20 Meters seems to have dried up.

My strategy is to change bands often. When I've worked 20 Meters for a bit I'll go to another band to see what's up there. Propagation changes and when I go back to 20 Meters after a while, I'll hear stations that I hadn't heard before. Maybe they started late, or maybe the skip zone moved. Whatever, it's a strategy that works for me.

With about 15 minutes to go to the end of the Hunt, I started tearing down and packing up as the skies were starting to look ominous. I could have stayed until 5:00 as it turned out. The deluge, and I mean THE DELUGE didn't start until 6:20 PM local time. In about a 1/2 hour to 40 minutes we got over 3/4 of an inch of rain. I'm so glad it held off! I left my house at about 6:15 to drive up to the filling station to get gas in the car for the week, and the streets were bone dry, Halfway to the gas station, about a 1/2 mile from home, I ran into a wall of rain that was coming down so hard that I had to put my windshield wipers onto "fast" mode. It was creepy because I saw the wall of rain heading towards me. It was moving faster toward me than I was heading toward it! I hate to think of how badly my Ham gear would have gotten soaked if that had happened during the Hunt. I don't think being under the patio umbrella would have helped much.

The obligatory selfie for the bonus points - had to get the Skeeter Hunt logo in there! 

When all was said and done, I had finished the day with 37 QSOs. 31 Skeeters and 6 - 5 Watt stations. I don't remember off the top of my head, but last night I had counted somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 to 20 different States. I had set a goal to make 40 QSOs for the day and fell three short - not bad. For the heck of it, I had decided to take voltage measurements on this new battery pre and post Hunt. I started the day at 13.4 Volts and ended the day at 13.4 Volts! There was a lot of calling "CQ BZZ" yesterday, so for the voltage to remain rock solid leaves me impressed.  I have a gut feeling that this battery, fully charged, will get me and the KX3 through all of Field Day by itself next year.

Once again, thanks to all who participated in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt. This event is nothing without all of you - you all are the wind that lifts the Skeeter's wings. My part in this is miniscule compared to all you getting on the air and making it the success that it is. THANK YOU and the results will become available on Monday, September 2nd, so you have a couple of weeks to get your log summaries in. My inbox is already flooded and I''ll get to them in due course. PLEASE REMEMBER, if you don't get a confirmation e-mail from me (within a couple of days) that means I didn't get your results, so please try again. For those of you who already sent in your summaries and there are a lot, please give me three or four days to get them on the spreadsheet. For the time being, I'm still part of the everyday workforce so my time for this is limited.

See you all again next year - so save the date - Sunday, August 17th, 2025!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Saturday, and the weather's turning lousy

I'm not absolutely sure what tomorrow is going to bring, except that I'm pretty certain there will be no park operating for me tomorrow. Weatherbug is calling for a 45% chance of showers tomorrow. If it's dry around Noon time, I just might set up the Jackite and EFRW in the backyard. If it's raining, I'll operate from the shack, and will swallow the better multiplier you get for operating portable. 

Today the bands weren't absolute crud. They weren't great either, but I did manage to put 10 POTA stations in the log. All but one were on 20 Meters. After I worked one activation on 40 Meters, I tuned around a bit and there was a guy, nice and loud, calling CQ. I was anticipating the possibility of a nice ragchew, but after I called him, he continued to CQ in my face. I guess another case of propagation not being reciprocal.

I also tried listening for N5J on and off all day. I finally heard them on 15 Meters for all of about 20 to 30 seconds. He then promptly disappeared and I never heard them again on any band.

I got my DC to DC converter wired up. I connected it to my new LiON battery which was holding at 13.4 Volts. The output was a steady 12.1 Volts. I think that should be acceptable to the QMX. I am also charging up some "AA" Lithium batteries that I used to use when I had my PFR3A. Three of them, fully charged, should come up to 11.1 Volts. That might even be the safer way to go. I'm glad I ordered a bunch of 2.1mm power plugs!

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This Sunday is the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt!

For all the details. please go to https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/ - Skeeter numbers will be handed out right up until Midnight Saturday/Sunday EDT. After that, the roster is closed. Thanks to all of you who have signed up so far. As of this morning, as I type this, we have 209 Skeeters waiting to take wing.

W2LJ will most likely be working from the shack this year. The weather outlook for Sunday in NJ is still terrible. Rain showers all day with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. I was going to set up in the backyard, but unless a weather miracle occurs, that's not going to happen. I do enough stuff that merits God hitting me with a lightning bolt. No sense in making it easier for Him. LOL!

Although, I just saw this posted by a NJ meteorologist on Facebook. "I'll post a full weekend outlook tonight but as of now rain arrives Saturday afternoon and ends late Sunday morning. On and off showers, not continuous. Thunderstorms possible within. Be safe! JC"

Maybe there's hope for Sunday afternoon?

Oh wait! There are "other" contests this weekend? I guess so. LOL!

SARTG WW RTTY Contest - http://www.sartg.com/contest/wwrules.htm

ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest - https://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up

Keyman's Club of Japan Contest - https://kcj-cw.com/contest/rule/2024_45_kcj_dx_.pdf

North American QSO Party, SSB - https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

CVA DX Contest, CW - https://cvadx.org/

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

Special Event Stations:

Don't forget! This weekend is International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. I'm sure there will be plenty on the air. Here's a list of entrants for 2024 - https://illw.net/index.php/entrants-list-2024

08/16/2024 | Field of Dreams

Aug 16-Aug 17, 1020Z-0920Z, W0DBQ, Dubuque, IA. The Great River Amateur Radio Club. 7.282 14.282 17 meters 15 meters. QSL. GRARC, POB 12384, Dubuque, IA 52004. Come and have a pick-up game with us on the air. w9upk@arrl.net or https://www.w0dbq.org

08/17/2024 | Celebrating Gene Senti's Birthday

Aug 17, 1400Z-1800Z, W0CXX, Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Amateur Radio Club. 14.263 MHz. QSL. Brice AntonJensen, 1110 Lyndhurst Dr, Hiawatha, IA 52233. https://www.qrz.com/db/W0CXX

08/17/2024 | International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend

Aug 17-Aug 19, 0001Z-0000Z, T44IJ, Isla de la Juventud, CUBA. Radioclub Isla de la Juventud (CO9DAA), Cuba. 7.091 10.131 14.090 21.091. QSL. Vasiliy, P.O. Caja "8" , g. Novopavlovsk, distrito de Stavropol, RUSIA 357300, CUBA. La estación estará activando el Faro de Carapashibey al sur de la Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, con número de Isla NA-056 https://www.qrz.com/db/T44IJ

08/17/2024 | International Lighthouse Weekend 2024

Aug 17-Aug 18, 0001Z-2324Z, W7FLO, Florence, OR. Oregon Coast Emergency Repeater Inc.. 14.265.000. QSL. COCARC, PO BOX 254, Florence, OR 97439. info@w7flo.com

08/17/2024 | International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend

Aug 17-Aug 18, 1700Z-1500Z, N6L, La Honda, CA. SC4ARC. 7.030 CW, 7.270 SSB 14.030 CW, 14.270 SSB 21.030 CW, 21.370 SSB. QSL. SC4ARC, P.O. Box 237, La Honda, CA 94020. Please do not send QSL card. Logged contacts will be sent QSL after event. www.SC4ARC.org/events/lighthouse

08/17/2024 | Nuclear Ship Savannah Maiden Voyage Anniversary

Aug 17, 1300Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7.1 14.1 21.1 28.1. QSL. K3LU, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Single transmitter SSB and CW aboard N/S Savannah. Please check spotting networks for frequencies. Info on QRZ.com www.qrz.com/db/k3s

08/17/2024 | Port Clinton, OH Lighthouse activation on Saturday, August 17th, 2024

Aug 17, 1500Z-2100Z, W8GNM/8, Port Clinton, OH. Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservency. 14.335 21.440 28.615 7.235. QSL. Geoff Mendenhall, 4720 E. Terrace Cir, 4720 E. Terrace Cir, Port Clinton, OH 43452. W8GNM/8 will be QRV from the Port Clinton Lighthouse during the Port Clinton Lighthouse Festival at Port Clinton, OH (ARLHS USA-922). Grid Square: EN81mm (http://arlhs.com/events/) International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend Aug 17, 2024 at Port Clinton, OH. (US 0228) (https://wllw.org/index.php/list-3) Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy (http://portclintonlighthouse.org/) Check web clusters for specific frequencies. Typical 40m frequencies 7.200 or 7.235 Typical 20m frequencies 14.285 or 14.335 Typical 15m frequencies 21.350 or 21.440 Typical 10m frequencies 28.600 or 28.615 QSL via LoTW only to W8GNM/8. Operators: Geoff - W8GNM, Jay - K8CJY, Tom - KZ8ZZ, and Jon - KB8SRQ https://portclintonlighthouse.org

08/17/2024 | Shiremanstown Sesquicentennial

Aug 17-Aug 18, 1500Z-0300Z, K3K, Camp Hill, PA. South Mountain Radio Amateurs. 7.290 21.290 14.290 28.390. QSL. See K3K , on QRZ, Shiremanstown. Electronic QSL card provided through email and/or eQSL.cc. Fill out form on N3TWT.org to get email with Electronic QSL card. Additional information available on QRZ under K3K special events call sign n3twt.org

08/17/2024 | Thunder on the Plains

Aug 17, 1400Z-2100Z, WB5EMR, Levelland, TX. Hockley County Amateur Radio Club. 7.260 14.260. QSL. Whitney Owens, N5QNS, 332 Pecan, Levelland, TX 79336. See website for details. www.wb5emr.org

And lastly ...... overnight I got an e-mail from QRP Labs that my QMX has been shipped! Another e-mail from FedEx shows the probable delivery date? You guessed it! Monday ..... the day AFTER the Skeeter Hunt! Oh well, I'd want to take the time to go through the manual quite thoroughly anyway, so I don't destroy the radio the first time I turn it on.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

One of the things I wish I had

was the skill to homebrew stuff. And by stuff I mean circuits, receivers, transmitters, accessories and the like. Oh, I can build kits all right - although as I age, my eyes aren't quite what they used to be, and SMD components can send shivers up and down my spine when they are microscopic. I can look at a schematic and make repairs. Heck, I did that for 22 years for a living. But to look at a schematic, and take a bunch of components and build a working whatever? I'm out of my league.

I look at the creations of Dave AA7EE or Bob W3BBO and I just wistfully whistle to myself. To have the prowess and ability to build a receiver or transmitter from scratch, have it work AND look beautiful too? God didn't gift me with that kind of talent.  And that's OK, I guess. I just muddle around with the few things I can make, which are usually non-electrical and always would look nicer if someone else had built them.  

Which brings me to last night. I needed a solution for my American Morse DCP paddles. I took them with me to FOBB, but stopped using them part ways into the event. I was hand holding them, and my big meaty paws were causing problems. I have the tension and contact spacing set so that this thing feels pretty much like a touch paddle. The problem is that it's so small that when I would hold it in one hand and key with the other, the holding hand would mess things up by accidentally creating extraneous dits and dahs.

I want to use them for the Skeeter Hunt, but realized that I need some kind of base. That would allow me to handle it better. But what could I use? I went down to the shack and started hunting around. I didn't have any wood or metal blocks laying around that would be useful, but then my eyes landed upon and old Velamints tin that had been sitting on the shelf for years. A possibility?

I took a punch and made a tiny hole in the lid. Then I went into my parts drawers looking for a screw and nut skinny enough to go through the hole in the paddle, but long enough to reach into the case. After rummaging around for a while, i found what I needed.

I'll go to a sporting goods store on Saturday and will purchase some of those small and round split bead sinkers that are used for fishing. I'll pour a few packets into the tin and will put some tape around the edges to make sure it never accidentally opens, "spilling the beans" as it were. That should make the base heavy enough for table top use without making it too heavy.

Just like my drive on mast holder, it's no work of art, and it's no ingenious design, but it works and I guess that's all I can ask for. 

And perhaps I won't even get the chance to use the paddles this Sunday, anyhow. I may just be operating the Skeeter Hunt from the shack, if at all. 91% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Yuck!

The other place I haven't been having any luck is listening for N5J - the Jarvis Island DXpedition. When I get home, they seem to be concentrating on 15 and 17 Meters. Not only can I not hear them, I can't hear the pileup, either!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

St. Maximillain Kolbe - Amateur Radio Operator

Today, August 14th, in the Catholic Church, is the Feast Day of St. Maximillian Kolbe, who was martyred this day in 1941 . 

He died in the Nazi concertation camp at Auschwitz. As the story goes, there was a successful prion break from the camp. In response, the Kommandant ordered that 10 men be executed as an example of what would happen to those who might attempt any further prison breaks  One of the 10 selected men begged that his life be spared as he had a wife and children. Fr. Kolbe volunteered to take his place. The 10 men were placed in a starvation bunker. Over the course of 10 days, the men perished leaving Fr. Max alone as the last surviving prisoner. The Kommandant ordered that Fr. Kolbe be given an injection of carbolic acid to stop his heart. 

St. Max is the only canonized saint in the Catholic Church that we know held an Amateur Radio license. His homeland was Poland and his call sign was SP3RN. As far as we can tell, he spent his radio time spreading the Gospel. I highly and sincerely doubt that he viewed Amateur Radio in the same way we look upon it as a hobby or pastitme.

St Max was canonized, that is officially declared a Saint, by Pope John Paul II in October of 1982. Present at the ceremony was Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man whose life Fr. Kolbe spared when he took his place.

There is a weekly HF SSB net devoted to St. Maximillian Kolbe. I try to check into the Sunday evening 75 Meter net. There is also a 20 Meter net held earlier on Sunday afternoons.  For more information, you can go to:https://www.saintmaxnet.org/

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It's almost QMX time!

I have been paying close attention to the QMX Assembled Kits Status page for weeks now. On July 29th, i was 167th place in line. As of yesterday, i am in 33rd place in line. They've really been pumping assembled units out, and I'm anticipating getting an e-mail notice about mine any day now.

I've also been paying close attention to the QRP Labs iO group e-mail reflector and have been noticing that it's critical that the input voltage to the QMX does not exceed 12 Volts in order to not fry the finals. The problem is, of course, that any fully charged battery is going to have a voltage of 13.8 or 13.4 Volts on it. I know, that voltage is not under load, and will drop some as soon as you do put a load on it - but still, after waiting since April, I don't want to take any chances of frying this guy the first time I power it up. That would be just my luck!

So I ordered a 12V Voltage Regulator from DigiKey. This one is manufactured by SparkFun Electronics - I have a few of their kits and come to think of it, I didn't check to see if they have these in kit form - (I have since checked, they don't)

The cost was nominal - only $15.00 and since I don't have any LM7812's laying around, by the time I ordered the individual components and parts I would need to cobble something together of my own manufacture, with shipping costs it would probably exceed this. This little guy will bring any DC source as high as 36 Volts, down to a regulated 12 Volts.

Easy peasy, the input leads will get connected to alligator clips and the output leads will go to the required 2.1mm power plug needed by the QMX. I already ordered and received a few of these in the meantime. So I will be ready for some QMX fun if this arrives at my QTH in the next 2- 3 - 4 weeks. And conceivably, this will accompany me up to Alexandria Bay when Marianne and I head up there in late September, early October for our Anniversary. There are two state parks close by that can be POTA activations.

Fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed for Sunday, too. Both WeatherBug and WeatherUnderground are calling for cloudy skies with a 50% to 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Best case scenario might end up with me setting up in the backyard with the EFRW to the Jackite. Worst case scenario might mean operating from the shack. Well, heck ........ I never come close to the top, anyway, so I really shouldn't care as long as I get o participate.

Boo! Hiss!

To end this post, some photos from last night's NorthStar training:

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP _ When you care to send the very least!

Weekend mish-mash

This weekend saw a mix of various Amateur Radio activities. Getting on HF was not predominant, although I did get on Sunday morning for a bit and worked a few POTA activations. Brave souls, those activators, because all weekend long, the Space Weather Live app was VERY active. It seemed like every time I turned around I was getting a notification of a new solar flare or a "minor" radio blackout. On Facebook, more than one activator commented about the crummy band conditions and the noticeably fewer stations that they were able to log.

Saturday morning saw our monthly VE Session. We had two candidates, one of whom upgraded to Amateur Extra. Our other candidate got his Technician class license and missed becoming a General by only three wrong answers. He got 12 wrong and you're allowed up to 9. So close! The bright side is that he saw the exam, he has an idea now of what's on it and he should have a good idea where he's comfortable with his knowledge and where he needs to study more. I predict he'll be a General class Ham within a month or two.

On Sunday morning, I made the additional "modification" to my drive on mast holder. The lid hinges that I ordered through Amazon were delivered on Thursday. They did the trick to a "T" - or maybe I should say to an "L". HI!

The hinges lock in and brace the two boards at a 90 degree angle, just as I need them to. In fact, this configuration is so stable that in a pinch, any heavy weight will suffice, such as a heavy rock, or a cinder block, or a sand bag or something like that  It's an ideal drive on mast holder, and while a vehicle is certainly preferred, it's not absolutely necessary. Conceivably, with a heavy enough weight, I could use this in the field on Field Day would no longer have to mess with the PVC holder that uses the tent pegs and CamJams. That would be a time saver! The only prerequisite is that I'd have to find a location flat enough to place this on so that it's not leaning in any one direction too much.

BTW, before you ask, the 4 holes in the horizontal board are there to give the protruding U-Bolt threads and the nuts the space they need so that when collapsed, this contraption can lay totally flat and not wedged.

Other than that, the weekend was occupied with the normal weekend chores and duties. Hope you had a good weekend and I'm looking forward to the Skeeter Hunt next Sunday! 

Tonight we have a CERT training session with the NorthStar helicopter. NorthStar is the helicopter owned and utilized by the NJ State Police for the northern half of New Jersey. (SouthStar covers the southern half of the state). It is used primarily for transporting medivac patients to wherever they need to go depending on the circumstances and extent of their injuries. The session tonight will certify that we've been properly trained on procedures and safety requirements, so that we can approach the helicopter and assist with loading and unloading victims should it ever become =necessary.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

One week to go!

Before I go into the goings on for this weekend, a shameless plug first. The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt is a week away from this Sunday. For whatever reason, signups are down this year. The past few years I've had over 200 people ask for Skeeter numbers and this year, I doubt I'm going to hit that mark. 

Whatever the reason, the Skeeters have told me that they always have a good time; and that's the most important thing - whatever the numbers.  There's still plenty of time to get your own Skeeter number. If you're new to contesting, this is a low-pressure-have-fun kind of event. The CW is not at break-neck speeds and ops will slow down for you.  In addition to that, the exchange is really easy and short - S/P/C (your State, Province or Country), RS(T) and Skeeter number or output power. So if you're afraid your code speed isn't up to snuff, join in anyway. I think I can assure you thar by the end of the event, you will have increased your code speed by maybe a couple more words per minute. If you're not the CW type, there's an SSB category as well I try to make this event have something for everyone, and I want everyone to have a good time. 

The nitty gritty details can be found at https://www.qsl.net/w2lj or just go up at the top of this page and hit the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt tab. To get a number, just send and e-mail to w2ljqrp@gmail.com with your call, name and the state you'll be operating from.  You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home shack to be a Skeeter. The multiplier for scoring is better if you do - but there's no pressure to leave home-sweet-home if you don't want to.

All that being said, I thank you for your patience - here's what's going on this weekend:

Contests:

WAE DX Contest, CW - https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/wae-dx-contest/en/

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

Maryland-DC QSO Party - https://www.w3vpr.org/Maryland-DC_QSO_Party

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

Special Event Stations:

08/10/2024 | 247th Anniversary of the Battle of Bennington

Aug 10-Aug 24, 1200Z-2359Z, K1B, Bennington, VT. K2HX. 18.100 21.070 24.915 28.074; all modes in General band. QSL. Ed Landry, N2HX, 50 Jayne Ln., Bennington, VT 05201.

08/10/2024 | Commemorating first deployment of USS Midway with angled flight deck (8/16/58)

Aug 10, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR on Papa system repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

08/10/2024 | Herbert Hoover 150th Birthday

Aug 10-Aug 11, 1400Z-2300Z, W0JV, West Branch, IA. Iowa City Amateur Radio Club. 7.245 14.325. Certificate. Dennis Boyd, 700 S. Jones Blvd, North Liberty, IA 52317. Event will be held at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Site icarc.org

08/10/2024 | Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington Railway Museum Annual Picnic Special Event Station

Aug 10, 1000Z-1700Z, W1W, Alna, ME. Lincoln County Amateur Radio Club. 14.260 21.280. QSL. Jose P Douglas, 254 Elliott Hill Rd, Round Pond, ME 04564. www.qrz.com/db/k1lx or https://www.k1lx.org

08/11/2024 | Jeux Paralympiques de Paris 2024

Aug 11-Sep 8, 0000Z-2359Z, TM2024JPP, Lillers, FRANCE. Union des RadioClubs. 7000 14000. Certificate & QSL. Union des RadioClubs, 3 rue Saint Lugle, Lillers 62190, FRANCE. All bands will be activated https://log-et-qsl.associations-radioamateurs.org/wp

08/11/2024 | Navajo Code Talkers

Aug 11-Aug 16, 0000Z-0000Z, N7HG, Chinle, AZ. N7HG. 14.265 21.265 7.265 18.133. Certificate. Herbert Goodluck N7C, PO Box 06, Chinle, AZ 86503. Celebrate an annual event to promote the legacy of Navajo Code Talkers of WWII n7hgster@gmail.com

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

We may never come this way again

This is going to sound very weird - but here goes. I was driving home the other day and I heard the Seals & Crofts song with the same lyric - "We may never come this way again." And oddly enough, it brought to mind MFJ and how perhaps we may never see the likes of it again. It's very odd how my brain works, sometimes! Scares even me!

I got to thinking that if there was any MFJ product in particular that I liked, now would be the time to try and find it. Stock is depleting and there haven't been any announcements of an interest coming forward to take on the torch, as it were.

I really, really like my MFJ-1982LP End Fed. Coupled with Dave KD2FSI's MFJ-1982HP, these have been our Field Day antennas for years now with nary a complaint from anyone from SPARC. And the fact that they let us place high in our category every year doesn't damage their reputation any. I've also used it for the Skeeter Hunt and FOBB with satisfactory results. The SWR is excellent on all the bands and really the only band that requires the KX3's autotuner is on 30 Meters.  And even there, it doesn't take the KX3 a long time to match it up. I realize that it's not a tr-band Yagi up at 50 feet, but I'm never going to have one of those, anyway. You play with the hand that you're dealt.

So I decided to try and find one for home, as a replacement for the W3EDP. I found a HP (high power) version at GigaParts. Not only does the LP version seem to be out of stock everywhere, but I do turn up the power to 85 Watts to participate on the St. Max Net on Sunday evenings.

So I purchased one. This antenna is 132 feet long so there might be some finagling to get it to fit in the backyard. I'm thinking I might have to bring the last 20 feet or so down as a sloper. That's not the end of the world, and I'll find a way to make it fit. I had a full sized G5RV up at one time - this should be not much more difficult than that to make fit.

My OCD notwithstanding, from early on in my Novice days, I have found out that antennas don't have to be "perfectly" installed in order to work. My very first antenna was a MOR-GAIN fan dipole. In no way, shape or form did that antenna get installed with the two legs in a straight line!  It was a sharp, horizontal "V", and my Ham friends would come over and look at it and ask me, "How in the world do you make contacts with THAT?" But I did and it served me well for years!

So this is the current configuration of the W3EDP:

If I move that mast all the way back to the corner of our lot (or as far back as I can get it) and make that run a hard "L" instead of  a shallow "V", that will "eat up" more of the wire. Then I'd run it to the other mast at the extreme right back corner of the yard and if there's any wire remaining, I would bring it down as a sloper along the property line on that side of the yard, thusly:

Anyway, that's the plan - and you know that saying about plans, mice and men. But I do want to get this done before Winter sets in. I know, it's still August, but time flies, and before you know it .........

One thing I do know, though. Before any installation, that UNUN will get opened and the solder joints double checked and re-enforced if necessary. I like MFJ products, but you learn from experience.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Some refinements needed

Regarding the new mast holder.

Since the Jackite mast is kind of free floating within the PVC, this version is not quite as stable as the older one, but it is more convenient to use. It folds flatter and I need not mess with wingnuts anymore. With the old version, the Jackite was secured directly to the vertical board and acted as its own stabilizer.  The problem is that I keep this in the trunk and on the old version, the wingnuts would vibrate loose over time and get lost - probably went to the same place that socks missing from the clothes dryer end up.  I had to replace them several times and that was a pain in the keister.

With this version,  I'm not satisfied that the mast leans in towards the vehicle. So I ordered two lid hinges from Amazon. That will allow me to unfold and lock the vertical board at a proper 90 degree angle, while still allowing me to re-fold it back flat again.. Convenience always comes with a cost, I guess. Other than that, it termed out pretty well, and I'm satisfied with it ......or rather I will be satisfied with it once I attach the hinges.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!