The QMX+ 160 - 6 Meter QRP Transceiver. Even ordered pre-assembled, it comes to around a $200 dollar price point. Wow! A QRP CW rig with all bands for around two hundred bucks. Unbelievable!
All the technical details can be found here: - https://shop.qrp-labs.com/qmxp
Here are some photos:
Hamvention and more importantly, Four Days in May will be happening this weekend!
Oh how I wish that I could attend! I'm in a situation where I do not receive PTO - that is, if I'm not at work, I don't get paid.
Maybe, just maybe, next year, if God is willing and I can retire next May, I will finally be able to make it back to Hamvention after a 20 some year absence. In any case, to all of you who are going - safe travels, be well, have a good time and enjoy yourselves!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Not only were the bands kaput, but also were the nighttime skies.
Only in NJ could the skies be cloudy Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights during the geomagnetic storm of the decade. Saturday night, the clouds were thin enough that they turned pink, so the aurora must have been pretty intense behind them. But rather than thin out from that point, they got even thicker and just an hour or two later, there was no color to be seen.
The weekend was for the most part raw, damp and rainy. There were some outbreaks of sun, but they were far and few in between. I got on the air on Saturday and all the HF bands were quiet. I did hear some raspy aurora affected CW on 6 Meters, but that was it.
I hope the bands are on their way to recovery. The K Index is down to 4 and the geomagnetic activity is described as "active" and not "stormy". So maybe we've seen the worst.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
You've seen the numbers, you've viewed the graphs, you've read the articles, and have watched all the videos about this weekend's Geomagnetic storm.
Count on someone on Facebook to sum it all up nicely:
Currently, the K Index is down to 3. We are in recovery ....and we survived! The world did not come crashing to an end.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Yesterday, in my "weekend" post, I mentioned the upcoming solar weather conditions for the weekend. No big deal, right?
Well, if you went on the internet yesterday you got treated to apocalyptical, end-of-the world-as-we know-it warnings and messages.
"Worst geomagnetic storm to hit the Earth in 20 years!" - You know what we said 20 years ago?? "Boy, the bands sure sucked today!".
While CNN was calling for the breakdown of civilization as we know it, what was even more disturbing to me was the number of Hams who were freaking out.
One in particular - "Boy! This is NOT good!" - Why? Were you planning a POTA activation or rove? I mean, really, it's not like we're having another Carrington event. Now THAT would be newsworthy! Wake me up for THAT!
Color me disappointed that this storm has generated more clickbait than aurora, while at the same time shutting the bands down for a period of time. But I'll let you in on a little secret ......... THEY RECOVER! In the meantime melt some solder, or get caught up on QSLing, or re-organizing that portable ops bag, or something! Sheesh!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
From the ARRL:
05/09/2024
The US Department of Defense (DOD) is hosting this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on Saturday, May 11.
For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is an interoperability exercise between amateur and government radio stations. The event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private communications.
The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111.
The annual DOD message will be transmitted via RTTY on 14.667 kHz at 1400 and 2000 UTC. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise scenario. Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All scheduled times will be in Zulu, and all scheduled frequencies will be upper sideband (USB), unless otherwise noted. Information on frequencies, times, and other technical information can be found at DoD MARS - Armed Forces Day.
The Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) and the ship’s Innovation, Engineering and Technology Team will activate NEPM, which was the ship’s original radio station call sign from 1942 until 1997. It was reassigned to the ship in 2015. The activation will begin at the same date and time as the Armed Forces Day Crossband Test, from 1400 to 2000 UTC. All SSB operations are USB only for transmit and receive.
Assigned transmit and expected receive frequencies are:
4.0435 to 3.943 MHz USB
6.9035 to 7.295 MHz USB
9.9440 to 10.113 MHz CW
14.4635 to 14.343 MHz USB
18.2930 to 18.143 MHz US
Information for QSL cards and contact information is available at Armed Forces Day QSL request form.
I've worked this several times and have the QSL Cards hanging on the shack wall!
For the rest of the weekend:
Contests:
FISTS Saturday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints
Canadian Prairies QSO Party - https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/ (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan)
CQ-M International DX Contest - https://cqm.srr.ru/en/rules/
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/
4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf
Special Events - Lots!
05/10/2024 | Golden Spike Celebration
May 10-May 11, 1500Z-2300Z, W7G, Corinne, UT. Ogden Amateur Radio Club (OARC) - W7SU. 14.255 7.235 14.040 7.040. QSL. Ogden Amateur Radio Club, - W7SU, PO Box 3353, Ogden, UT 84409. Commemorating the anniversary of the 1869 Driving of the Golden Spike completing the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah. Golden Spike National Historical Park. www.ogdenarc.org, www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm, or w7g.org
05/11/2024 | Armed Forces Day Crossband Test 2024
May 11, 1400Z-2300Z, NEPM, San Pedro, CA. Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association. DOD message will be broadcast via RTTY on 14.667 at 1400 and 2000 UTC USB/J3E or CW/A1A: 7.469 14.667 18.444 21.856 21.918. QSL. Battleship Iowa ARA, Inc., c/o NEPM QSL Manager, 250 S. Harbor Blvd. Berth 87, San Pedro, CA 90731-2830. See website for complete information. The annual DOD message will be BROADCAST via RTTY on 14.667 KHz at 1400 and 2000 UTC. 7.469 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 7.261 KHz or 7.061 KHz. 14.667 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 14.261 KHz or 14.061 KHz. 18.444 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening om 18.161 KHz or 18.061 KHz. 21.856 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 21.361 KHz or 21.061 KHz. 21.918 KHz RTTY listening on 21.150 KHz. https://biara.org
05/11/2024 | Commemorating Armed Forces Day
May 11, 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
05/11/2024 | Jamestown Landing Day Event
May 11, 1400Z-2000Z, K4RC, Williamsburg, VA. Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club. 7.265 14.265. Certificate & QSL. QSL Manager, WAARC, PO Box 1470, Williamsburg, VA 23187. Celebrating the 417th anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in North America on Jamestown Island in Virginia in May 1607. FOR CERTIFICATE: The Virginia Historic Triangle Certificate is available for contacting the Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown Special Event Stations. You don’t need to contact these stations in the same calendar year. For a Certificate send QSO info from the three stations to qslmgr@k4rc.net. https://www.k4rc.net/events/special-event-stations
05/11/2024 | Minnesota Fishing Opener
May 11, 1400Z-2000Z, N0F, Anoka, MN. Anoka County Radio Club. 7,255 ssb 14,255 ssb 7.056 ft8 14.091 ft8. QSL. Anoka County Radio Club, PO Box 982, Anoka, MN 55303. Instead of catching fish we will be at Ham Lake Park in Ham Lake,MN making contacts and enjoying spring. We will also send out gsl cards. anokaradio.org
05/11/2024 | National Train Day
May 11, 1400Z-1930Z, W4LX, Fort Myers, FL. Fort Myers ARC. 14.050 14.240 14.070 7.240. Certificate & QSL. FMARC W4LX, PO BOX 061183, FORT MYERS, FL 33906-1183. CW, PSK31, SSB SASE for QSL/Cert Info on website. fmarc.net
05/11/2024 | National Train Day at the Hearne Depot
May 11, 1500Z-1900Z, W5BCS, Hearne, TX. Bryan Amateur Radio Club. 7.050 14.050 21.050 14.325. QSL. Bryan Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 4442, Bryan, TX 77805. National Train Day event in cooperation with the Hearne Depot Museum, Bryan Amateur Radio Club and Robertson County ARES. w5bcs.radio
05/12/2024 | National Police Week - To Honor Our Fallen Heros
May 12-May 18, 0001Z-2359Z, K3FBI/0-9, Fredericksburg, VA. FBI Amateur Radio Association. 14.275 7.060. Certificate. Jay Chamberlain - NS4J, 27 Fox Run Ln, Fredericksburg, VA 22405-3303. To honor all Law Enforcement members who have died in the line of duty. All bands and all modes. Multiple stations from around the U.S. Downloadable PDF certificate by the end of June at QRZ, https://www.qrz.com/db/K3FBI k3fbi@arrl.net
05/12/2024 | Police Services Week
May 12-May 18, 0000Z-0000Z, N4P, Gainesville, FL. W. Travis Loften High School Amateur Radio Club - K4WTL. 14.335. Certificate. Robert Lightner, 3435 NW 34th Terrace, Gainesville, FL 32605. www.qrz.com/db/k4wtl
All of the above might be for naught if the bands crap out this weekend:
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a WATCH in anticipation of a potential G4-Severe Geomagnetic Storm or greater which is expected to impact the earth May 11, 2024. The effects of a storm of this intensity may last from six hours up to a day. During periods of very high solar activity, geomagnetic storms can persist for days.
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 45 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Possible widespread voltage control problems and some protective systems may mistakenly trip out key assets from the power grid. Induced pipeline currents intensify.
Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low earth orbit satellites and tracking and orientation problems may occur.
Navigation - Satellite navigation (GPS) degraded or inoperable for hours.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation sporadic or blacked out.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Alabama and northern California
PSA: Might not be a good weekend for a POTA Activation or Rove.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1
I looked at the QMX order list yesterday. I am # 670 in line. If QRP Labs continues to manufacture around 200 pieces a month, I figure I should see mine maybe in August or September. I can live with that.
For my birthday, Joseph and Marianne asked me what I wanted. My no name cheapie bargain basement mobile VHF/UHF antenna just isn't doing the job. I was coming home from a club meeting a few weeks ago and tried hooking up with Marv K2VHW on the way home. He was in and out and I was in and out and neither of us should have been. I had to chalk it up to poor performance from my off brand bargain basement purchase. I sent Joseph a link for a Hustler MX-270 antenna from GigaParts. It arrived last Sunday? Who delivers on Sunday besides Amazon? Anyway, it arrived late last Sunday and I'll put it on my car this weekend, if weather permits.
This means that I'll have to park in the parking lot at work, going forward, as the 36" radiator is just too tall for the parking deck. I bought the smaller antenna that's on the Jeep now, specifically because it doesn't hit the ceiling of the parking deck. However, it doesn't perform nearly as well as I had hoped ..... so I'll deal with the inconvenience of parking outside in order to get better antenna performance.
First World problem, right? But it's nice not having to get into a car that's been baking in the sun all day during the summer; or brushing off snow in the winter.
Other than that, not much new radio-wise. We're having typical May weather here, where it's sizzling one day and chilly the next - which of course makes the possibilities of thunderstorms a daily event. The antennas have been disconnected since the weekend. I'm at the point in life where replacing expensive Ham Radio gear is not an option, so I have to be super careful with what I have.
I've always marveled at guys who change rigs like they change underwear. I've never been fortunate enough to be able to do that. And I guess that helps me to appreciate what I have maybe a bit more than most.
Today's "Blondie" comic strip kind of sums up my situation:
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72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Thanks to the due diligence and the yeoman efforts of Dave KD2FSI, our Field Day location has been secured. We are returning to Spring Lake Park, which is in South Plainfield, but is part of the Middlesex County Park System.
It's May already! Where's the time going? Here's to warmer weather, outdoor cookouts, possible POTA activations and all the other stuff associated with warm weather.
Contests this weekend:
16 State QSO Parties this weekend! A lot of states are grouped into two area QSO Parties - specifically
7th Call Area QSO Party - http://7qp.org/ (AZ, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
New England QSO Party - https://neqp.org/rules/ (CT, ME, MA, RI, VT, NH)
Delaware QSO Party - https://www.fsarc.org/
Indiana QSO Party - http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/rules.html
10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW - http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/activity/2013-07-22-20-26-48/qso-party-rules
ARI International DX Contest - https://www.ari.it/
And Monday Night is the May 2024 ARS Spartan Sprint - http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html
Special Event Stations:
05/03/2024 | 10th Annual Jiggy with the Piggy- Barbecue Cook off
May 3-May 4, 1200Z-2300Z, K4C, Concord, NC. Cabarrus Amateur Radio Society. 7.230 14.310 28.430. Certificate. Cabarrus Amateur Radio Society, P.O. Box 785, Concord, NC 28026. www.facebook.com/cabarrusars/ or www.cabarrusars.org
05/04/2024 | Blind Willie McTell Birthday Celebration
May 4, 0900Z-1600Z, W4M, Statesboro, GA. STARS/SARA. 7.250. Certificate & QSL. Douglas Hess, 108 Greenwood Ave , Statesboro, GA 30461. Will be Phone only on HF bands. Will self-spot on Dx Summit. Check club webpage or QRZ page for QSL card/certificate info and for history on Blind Willie McTell and his song he wrote "Statesboro Blues" that put the Allman Brothers on the map and Statesboro for that matter. www.qrz.com/db/W4M or https://statesboroamateurr.wixsite.com/home
05/04/2024 | Frank Conrad Sesquicentennial
May 4, 1300Z-2100Z, KD3KA, Wexford, PA. Allegheny Valley Radio Association. 7.040 7.240 14.040 14.240. QSL. Allegheny Valley Radio Association, P.O. Box 550, Wexford, PA 15090. Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Frank Conrad, engineer and technical founder of KDKA-AM Radio, Pittsburgh, PA. Please see the qrz.com page of KD3KA for details. www.alleghenyvalley.net
05/04/2024 | Homage to Josephine BAKER the voice of the Paris Olympics Games 2024!
May 4-Jul 21, 0000Z-0000Z, TM24JB, Fort Blackmore, FRANCE. F1SXC. 7.124 14.154 18.124 28.424. QSL. David, F1SXC/Radio-club de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, F6KRK, 1 bis avenue des Frênes, MONTIGNY le BTX 78180, FRANCE. Homage to Josephine BAKER the artist, militant, and member of the French resistance. https://www.qrz.com/db/TM24JB
05/04/2024 | N0T - Milwaukee Road Railroad - Newport Tower, 120th Anniversary
May 4, 1400Z-2000Z, N0T, Newport, MN. South East Metro Amateur Radio Club (SEMARC). 7.040 Mhz CW 14.035 Mhz CW 7.220 Mhz Phone 14.260 Mhz Phone. Certificate. David Blume, 8791 77th Street South, Cottage Grove, MN 55016. Questions or comments can be sent to KD0IRF@yahoo.com. Certificates will be available for download 30 days after the event. www.semarc.org
05/04/2024 | NJ Knights of Columbus 128th State Convention
May 4-May 18, 0000Z-2359Z, K0C, Brick, NJ. NJKCARC (N2AJO). 7.225 14.240 21.350 28.340. Certificate & QSL. Art Olson, 339 18th Ave, Brick, NJ 08724. For domestic contacts: QSL card, send SASE; for QSL card and certificate, send two dollars. For DX contacts: QSL card, send two dollars; for QSL card and certificate, send five dollars. For more information, visit K0C on QRZ.com or Email: olson339@comcast.net www.qrz.com/db/K0C
Looks to be a busy weekend on the airwaves!
In closing today's post, I'd like to cross-post something here that appeared on the SPARC Facebook page, from my good friend Dave KD2FSI:
Learn a New Language with just 15 Minutes Per Day!
I’ve been hearing these commercials on the radio lately for the language program Babbel and that you can learn a new language in a few weeks by studying for just 15 minutes a day.
Well, I decided to use that approach towards finally learning the Morse code well enough to use it. So, I have been practicing the code for at least 15 minutes each day for the last month or so and it might be finally starting to sink in. I still have a long way to go, but this time I am going to stick with it.
And with today being the birthday of Guglielmo Marconi, I thought it would be a very fitting day to try and make my first DX CW contact.
3G0YA, the Easter Island DXpedition was working 12-meter CW this afternoon and had a good pile-up going. But after calling at up 1K for about 15 or 20 minutes, I was more than thrilled to hear KD2FSI 5NN! However, it took seeing my call on their Clublog before I believed that I really got them.
So for today I’ll be signing off as 73, DE KD2FSI
But not without some drama.
I had to turn off HamAlert until I got home from work yesterday. It was going off so frequently that it was driving me nuts! I also got a few stares from people who heard Morse Code originating from my pocket! But in the back of my mind, that gave me hope, as I was pretty sure I'd work them sometime yesterday.
I arrived home and had dinner and then turned HamAlert back on and my phone started chirping immediately! They were spotted on two frequencies 24.896 MHz on 12 Meters and 14.025 MHz on 20 Meters. I decided to try 12 Meters first and was rewarded with a loud signal. I mean like sitting-across-the-room-from-me-with-a-code-practice-oscillator loud! The op announced he was listening up, so I set up the KX3 for split operation and set the transmit frequency up 1 kHz, and decided to try with the W3EDP.
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Got him on the first try! And that's when it happened! That's when I noticed, to my horror of horrors, that I hadn't turned down the KXPA100 from 85 Watts after the St. Max Net was over on Sunday evening. I had just worked Easter Island with 85 Watts!
What's a QRPer to do? I decided to try going over to 20 Meters and give a listen and the signal coming from the DXpedition was nowhere near as loud on 20 Meters as it was on 12 Meters. That was when I decided to go back to 12 Meters and give it another shot, this time at 5 Watts. I called again and they came back to me again fairly quickly. This time however, I sent a "599 NJ QRP TU" as my part of the exchange. I don't know if that matters or not, but when they see my callsign on the same band twice, maybe a note will have been made that the second QSO was a QRP contact. That's the one I'm going to reference for a QSL card.
A bit later, my friend Marv K2VHW, sent me a message that 3G0YA had gotten louder on 20 Meters. I went back to 14.025 MHz and the pileup was much more fierce than on 12 Meters. Heck, there basically was no pileup on 12 Meters! At times they would call CQ and they remained listening at 1 kHz up. On 20 Meters, the op was running a race track pattern, moving up a bit after each QSO until he got to about 4 kHz up and then he would work his way down again. I had to pump up the KXPA100 and when he finally heard me, I got "W2L??" three times before he finally copied my call correctly.
12 Meters was like shooting fish in a barrel. 20 Meters was more like being in the middle of the pack during a fishing derby.
Anyway, I got them in the log and now I have to figure out what their QSL procedure is. (I went to ClubLog - found my QSOs and paid the proper $$$ for the QSL cards.)
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I've set up HamAlert to let me know when the Easter Island DXpedition is on the CW portion of the bands. I worked Easter Island probably about 15 or so years ago, but I never got a QSL card or a confirmation via LOTW. Time to set that straight.
Several of my friends have worked them already, so hopefully I can work them as well. My luck, my phone will start buzzing during a meeting or something at work!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I come across this so many times on the internet;
"Stations won't work me because I'm QRP!"
Dude ..... why the heck are you even telling them you're running QRP? That is the biggest mistake you can make, especially in a contest. Don't wear a "QRP Badge of Honor". It's not going to get you much, if anything. You are just another station in an ocean of stations. Maybe a dolphin swimming in a pod of Humpback whales, but you're just another sea creature. Don't obsess about your signal or project to yourself how you're going to be heard at the other end.
For all you know, propagation may be such that you're 59 or 599 at the receiving end. I once worked a station in Madison, WI with a Rockmite at 250 milliWatts. He would not believe me when I told him what my rig was, and told me I was 599+++. Other times you may be 55 or 559, or worse, at the other end. YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU'RE NOT THERE!
So if you hear a station you want to work .......call them! If they hear you, fine. Work them and move on. If they don't hear you after a number of tries, move on and work someone else and come back at a later time. Propagation may change and maybe you stand a better shot later. As Kenny Rogers famously sang, "You've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em!" Don't frustrate yourself needlessly just because that 30 over 9 station can't hear you.
Telling the world you're running QRP is not going to give you an edge or win you any friends or influence people. Be happy with your accomplishments AFTER you've made them and just keep plugging away.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Yesterday.. I got the chance to get on in the early afternoon.. I did not hear anyone on any band save for a few Florida QSO Party participants Other than those guys', the bands were just noise. I went to the POTA spotting page and saw my friend Brian KB9BVN listed as doing an activation - could not hear him. I heard a few weak signals that must have been working him, but I did not hear him.
Also, I normally have a pipeline down into Georgia and Virginia. I couldn't hear anyone from those states. The St. Max Net at 8:00 PM wasn't much better. I heard Lloyd K3QNT, the Net Control Station alright, but most of the net participants were down in the mud.
I had planned to go over to the Edison Memorial over in Menlo Park to do a POTA activation as the weather was so beautiful yesterday. I'm glad I checked the bands, first. It would have been an exercise in frustration. Maybe next weekend, if the weather holds up.
I took the opportunity to hook my bug up to the computer and let the Ham Radio Solutions bot decode my CW. Surprisingly, I didn't do all too badly and after about 1/2 hour pf practice I was sending without hardly any errors at all. I'm still not ready to go "live on the air" with it yet, but I'm happy that I'm not too far off. The hardest part was to remember that the Dahs are not automatically made like with a paddle and keyer. Once you remember that, it becomes a lot easier.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Wanna be successful in QRP?
Wanna be really, really successful in QRP?
Wanna be really, really successful in QRP with a minimum of frustration and anxiety?
Wanna really, really enjoy QRP and keep coming back for more - just like Lays potato chips?
Shhhhhhhhhhh!
Don't tell anyone who doesn't answer yes to any of the above questions!
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Learn Morse Code!
Happy Morse Code Day!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
You know what that means!
Contests:
SP DX RTTY Contest - http://www.pkrvg.org/strona,spdxrttyen.html
Helvetia Contest - https://www.uska.ch/events/uska-helvetia-contest-concours-helvetia-hf/
Florida QSO Party - http://floridaqsoparty.org/rules/
BARTG Sprint 75 - http://bartg.org.uk/wp/bartg-sprint75-contests/
10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital - http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/activity/2013-07-22-20-26-48/qso-party-rules
Special Events: (Lots this weekend!)
04/27/2024 | Bolivar Lighthouse
Apr 27, 1600Z-2300Z, K5S, Port Bolivar, TX. Beaumont Amateur Radio Club. 7.220 14.250 28.405 146.520. Certificate. Beaumont Amateur Radio Club , 4839 Hwy 326N, Kountze, TX 77625. w5rin.com
04/27/2024 | Celebration of the Club's 85th Anniversary at the Cox Science Center
Apr 27, 1400Z-2100Z, W4HAW, West Palm Beach, FL. West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group. 7.250 14/250 21.250 28.250. QSL. WPBARG, P.O. Box 7623, West Palm Beach, FL 33405-7623. wpbarg.org
04/27/2024 | HAMS for PanCAN
Apr 27-Apr 28, 0200Z-2300Z, N3P/PanCan, New Kensington, PA. Skyview Radio Society. 3.960. 7.172. Certificate. Skyview Radio Society, N3P, 2335 Turkey Ridge Rd., New Kensington, PA 15068. This special event's purpose is to raise awareness of the PanCAN resources for patients and families affected by pancreatic cancer. All contacts are on SSB. rybar1949@gmail.com or https://www.skyviewradio.net
04/27/2024 | International Marconi Day 2024
Apr 27, 1700Z-2300Z, W1M, Rochester, NY. ROC-HAM RADIO NETWORK. 20M/14.313 10M/28.405 Allstar2585,47620,47918,531310. QSL. W2JLD/JOHN DERYCKE, 85 AMHERST ST, APT2, Rochester, NY 14607. roc-ham.net
04/27/2024 | International Marconi Day Award Station
Apr 27, 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 qrz.com/db/k3s
04/27/2024 | MERT20 Special Event
Apr 27, 1200Z-2359Z, KG4NXO, Ocala, FL. Marion County Emergency Management. 14.262 7.262; D-STAR 146.790 REF-037; 3.862. Certificate & QSL. Kraig Pritts, 6637 NE 5th Lane, Ocala, FL 34470. www.mert20.org
04/27/2024 | N1D - Number One Dawgs
Apr 27-Apr 28, 1700Z-1700Z, N1D, Athens, GA. Radio Club at the University of GA. 3.925 7.250 14.200. QSL. Athens Radio Club, P.O. Box 782, Athens, GA 30603. Celebrating the National Championship University of Georgia football team. We will be operating from the Tate Center, adjacent to Sanford Stadium. https://www.athensradioclub.org
04/27/2024 | N3P/WQ3Q Bonus Station of HAMS for PanCAN
Apr 27, 0900Z-1700Z, N3P/WQ3Q, New Kensington, PA. Skyview Radio Society. 3.960. 7.172. Certificate & QSL. Skyview Radio Society - N3P/WQ3Q, 2335 Turkey Ridge Rd., Upper Burrell, PA. This special event's purpose is to raise awareness of the PanCAN resources for patients and families affected by pancreatic cancer. This bonus station is for an additional contact recognition for participants who can make contact with this remote station's location. All contacts are on SSB. rybar1949@gmail.com or https://www.skyviewradio.net
And now for some news - last night, Martin Jue K5FLU put out the following announcement;
Dear Fellow Hams and Friends,
It is with a sad heart as I write this letter.
As many of you have heard by now, MFJ is ceasing its on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi on May 17, 2024. This is also the same for our sister companies’ Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics.
Times have changed since I started this business 52 years ago. Our product line grew and grew and prospered. Covid changed everything in businesses including ours. It was the hardest hit that we have ever had and we never fully recovered.
I turned 80 this year. I had never really considered retirement but life is so short and my time with my family is so precious.
I want to thank all of our employees who have helped build this company with me over the years. We have many employees who have made MFJ their career for 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years.
We are going to continue to sell MFJ products past May 17, 2024. We have a lot of stock on hand. We will continue to offer repair service work for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future.
Finally, a special thanks to all of our customers and our dealers who have made MFJ a worldwide name and a profitable business for so many years. You all are so much appreciated.
Sincerely Yours, 73s
Martin F. Jue, K5FLU
I've owned various MFJ products in over 40 years of operating. In fact, the antenna tuner for my Novice station back in 1979 was my first MFJ product purchase. In all the MFJ products that I have owned, I only had problems with two and both were self-fixable. An antenna switch where I had to reposition one of the contacts, and my MFJ-1982LP antenna where I had to re-solder a connection in the UNUN. Despite having to do that, the 1982LP remains my favorite "go to" antenna for portable operations (if there's enough room! Hi!) I would never call any MFJ product that I've ever owned "a lemon".
Over the past few years, my MFJ-1982LP has been THE antenna for the CW station in SPARC Field Days. Our results and our placement in the standings are in no small way due to the MFJ-1982 LP that I own and the MFJ-1982HP that Dave KD2FSI owns and deploys for the SSB station. Basically, it comes down to this - if we can hear' 'em, we can work 'em - and in the end, what more can you ask for?
If you've ever visited any Amateur Radio e-mail reflector, or visited any Amateur Radio social media site, you know that MFJ has not always received kind treatment. I've always cringed at the moniker "Mighty Fine Junk" and I often felt that a lot of the disparaging comments posted and published about MFJ were to fulfill the need for retaliation or revenge by dissatisfied customers rather than being constructive in any shape, way or form. If you search this blog for "MFJ", you'll find nary a single post in twenty years worth of posts that disparages MFJ or their products.
So far, all I've seen are condolences about the passing of MFJ. I hope it stays that way and that the nay-sayers and Negative Nancy's have the decency to keep their mouths shut and take the high road - but you and I both know that won't happen.
Personally, I'd like to thank Martin and his company for their dedication and service to the Amateur Radio community for so many years. Enjoy your retirement, Martin - you certainly deserve it!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Dan Shepard N8IE has announced that the Flying Pigs QRP Club will be holding combined RFTB / W8DIZ Memorial Sprints each month through March 2025 to honor the memory of Diz Gentzow SK.
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These Sprints will feature participation of the Club call sign W8PIG/# from as many call sign areas as possible each month. If you would like to volunteer to be W8PIG from your call area, please send an e-mail to w2ljqrp@gmail.com.
Terms and conditions:
1) You must be a member of the Flying Pigs (It's fun and free and I have no idea why you wouldn't want to be a member!) Our motto is "No Dues, No Rules, Just Fun - and if we don't like it we fix it!"
2) Your call sign doesn't have to match, you just have to live in that call area. Let's say your call sign is WB2XYZ but you live in Illinois - you can volunteer for W8PIG/9.
3) Right now I'll be looking to fill spots for May, June and July of 2024.
If you're not a Piggie and wannabe - you can join by going to https://www.fpqrp.org/join.php
There's a great quarterly newsletter which has once again taken up publication - "Bacon Bits" - https://www.fpqrp.org/baconbits.php
In addition to the monthly "Run For The Bacon", there are also two monthly "Walks For The Bacon" on 40 and 20 Meters. These are slower paced Sprints with a maximum code speed of 13 WPM, designed expressly for those who are new to CW and/or are working up their code speed. No "buzz saw" CW to be found here! And if all you can do is 5 WPM, please join us anyway - we'll slow down for you!
There are also weekly SSB Piggie nets that are taking wing on the HF bands. In short, becoming a member of the Flying Pigs costs nothing, grabs you a ton of fun, and lets you make a lot of great friendships within the QRP community. Please consider joining .......ESPECIALLY if you're new to QRP. You won't regret it!
72 de Larry W2LJ / FP# 612
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The weekend, I mean.
It started on Thursday with some soreness in my right foot. It elevated Friday and by the time I got home from work, I knew I wasn't going to make it to the library on Saturday with the rest of SPARC. An ugly bout of gout came to visit me. I haven't had an attack in about 7 years - but I did have two Guinness in March and I guess that was enough to trigger. This is why I don't drink much beer - a six pack will last me a year, or more.
Anyway, the pain was not in the toe as where most attacks occur, it was in the bunion. Every step was a wince in discomfort. Not excruciating pain, but enough to keep me off my feet. I stayed home with my foot elevated all weekend. My only two trips out were to the grocery store on Saturday and to Church on Sunday. And both of those days, I was walking around like Fred Sanford.
So I didn't make it to the library and I didn't get on the air to listen for any QRPTTF stations. From the emails I've seen, there wasn't all that much activity due to really crummy band conditions. That's a shame!
I did make it down the steps to the shack for the W8DIZ Memorial Run For The Bacon last night. The bands were weird! The Solar Flux was 227, the Sunspot number was 283. The K index was 3 and the bands were lousy, at least for me. High noise level and lots of QSB. By the time I pulled the plug, i worked 15 Flying Pigs including Memorial Stations W8PIG/1, W8PIG/2, W8PIG/8 and W8PIG/9.
This is where I was heard - according to RBN:
The weekend could have been better and it could have been worse. And thanks to Advil and Blue Emu topical pain relief cream, I'm back here at work on this freezing Monday morning.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1
For the weekend:
Contests: (For those who perpetually ask: "What's all this on the bands? Is there a contest?")
QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) : http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html
CQMM DX Contest : http://www.cqmmdx.com/rules/
Michigan QSO Party : https://miqp.org/index.php/rules/
Ontario QSO Party : http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/rules.htm
Holyland DX Contest : https://www.iarc.org/iarc/Content/docs/Holyland2023eng.pdf
YU DX Contest : http://www.yudx.yu1srs.org.rs/
Nebraska QSO Party : https://nebraskaqsoparty.com/qso-party-rules/f/rules-for-2022-nebraska-qso-party
Quebec QSO Party - https://wp1.quebecqsoparty.org/
ARRL Rookie Roundup, SSB - http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup
Special Flying Pigs Run for the Bacon / W8DIZ Memorial Sprint
This coming Sunday night is the April 2024 extra special edition of the Run For The Bacon - the W8DIZ Memorial Sprint. On the air with us will be several W8PIG/# stations from various call sign areas to honor the memory of our Founder, Diz W8DIZ.
The rules remain the same, and can be found at: http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/
The time is the same as always:
East coast - 7:00 to 9:00 PM EDT
Midwest - 6:00 to 8:00 PM CDT
Rockies - 5:00 to 7:00 PM MDT
West coast - 4:00 to 6:00 PM PDT
Hope to hear you on the air for some pignacious fun while making our beloved W8DIZ proud! Oh, and did I mention? This month's winner will earn an extra special W8DIZ Memorial certificate!
Special Event Stations - only 1 this weekend:
04/20/2024 | Northwest Arkansas Train Mobile
Apr 20, 1300Z-2200Z, N5T, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 7.190 14.260 7.040 14.040. QSL. Don Banta - K5DB, 3407 Diana St., Springdale, AR 72764. bellavistaradioclub.org
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the vey least!
I didn't realize that our "Amateur Radio Day at the Library" was so close to World Amateur Radio Day. Too bad they couldn't have exactly coincided.
Here's the list of stuff I'll be bringing:
KX3
Speaker / earbuds and "Y" cable
Straight key / Paddle and "Y" cable
Battery
Antenna - PARENDFEDZ (primary choice)
Jackite mast and support system
Laptop and AC adapter
USB adapter for straight key and paddle to laptop.
Morse Code charts
Alexloop (as a backup) if putting up the PAR is mot feasible
Pad and pen for logging any possible QSOs.
UTC Clock
Some QSL cards for display purposes.
And I think that should do it. Tonight we have a SPARC meeting via Zoom. A couple of the guys were going to visit the library this week to get an actual eyeball on the space we'll be dealing with. Hopefully, I'll get a better idea as to what will be possible for antennas.
One of the things I want to mention during the meeting is that someone needs to take photos and perhaps a video or two. These would look good on both the SPARC website and our social media page on Facebook. Maybe we can get another article in QST, like we did for Maker's Day a few years back.
Last night, I spent more time than I should have setting up the new weather station console that arrived from Ambient Weather Systems. I thought you could just set it up from the cell phone app, and be done with it. No, you actually have to go into the device via your laptop or a web browser on your phone, via the IP Address they mention in the instruction book. If I had read the manual more closely, and had not just assumed that I knew what I was doing, I would have been done much sooner.
In any case, I had to rename the weather station with the new console. It was KNJSOUTH60 - it is now KNJSOUTH208 for any weather geeks out there, like myself, who like to look at what the weather is in different locations around the country.
Which leads me to another topic. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a Ham Radio Newbie ask a question on one of the Amateur Radio groups on Facebook, only to be told "RTFM"! I wonder how many of us "veterans" have screwed up because we didn't read the manual? I know I did last night!
No questions from newcomers to the hobby are "stupid". Always be kind and helpful, so that your positive attitude will carry forward to the next generation of Hams.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I received two emails from UPS that two packages are due to be delivered tomorrow. The first is the new console for my Ambient weather station. Here's what the current one looks like:
And here's what the new one looks like:
Not too much of a difference, eh? The important thing is that wifi symbol that you see in the little red square. The procedure will be to depress the wind and pressure buttons on the new console and wait for a "beep", and for that little wifi icon to start flashing, and I'll finally be able to connect my weather station back to the internet. A trivial thing, right? I can't tell you how much I've become accustomed to checking on weather data from home, no matter where I am, by just looking at my phone. The weather station still works fine, but not being able to access it remotely feels weird. I guess it's like that old song by Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi".
"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't what you got 'til it's gone?"
The other package is an indoor HDTV antenna and signal booster. The gist of this is that I've just eliminated a substantial part of my monthly Verizon bill by ditching FiOS TV. There's so much free stuff offered via my Roku devices, but not local channels. You have to pay for those. Want all your local channels? That's $77 a month from Hulu, $69 a month from DIRECTV, $73 a month from YouTube TV. It doesn't make sense to start paying for that all over again , just to another provider.
Heck, I live 25 miles (as the crow flys) from New York City. I figure that if I can work Europe from inside my house using 5 Watts and a magloop antenna then I should be able to pick up the local channels decently enough with an amplified indoor HDTV antenna. I did some research and ordered one from Channel Master. A one time purchase price of $50 and I should be fine. It will just be for watching local news and a few "real time" shows that the streaming services I connect to don't provide for free. We'll see how this experiment works! If it does work, I'll have to acquire one for the upstairs TV, but that can wait.
Last night, Amateur Radio wise, was just running the South Plainfield ARES/RACES Net and checking in to the Middlesex County Chat Group social net. No HF for me last evening. I did go on the FCC ULS site to see that our candidates from Saturday already had their applications approved. Jeremy KB3OPJ is now officially an Amateur Extra and our new Tech got his call sign KE2DCY. What a difference from the old days! Beating the dead horse, I'll mention again that when I passed my Novice test in November of 1978, my license didn't come until January of 1979. That the FCC can action on results from a test given two days previously is just amazing.
For kicks, I went over to the QRP Fox Hunt page and took a look at the season's results for the 80 Meter Foxes. Out of the 19 ops who volunteered for Fox duty, I came in 12th place, QSO total-wise. I didn't do as badly as I thought I had. I flat out expected to be in 18th or 19th place. Who knows, I may just volunteer again next fall. The only downside to that is that I would have to download N1MM and use it during the Hunt as there's a real time Google Maps page available to the Hounds, where they can see their result pop up on a map as soon as the Fox logs them. I can barely chew gum and walk at the same time. Work Hounds at a furious pace AND computer log at the same time? That might be too much to ask from W2LJ. I'll have to give this some serious thought.
Lastly, the other day, my wife and son asked me what I wanted for my birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks. "QMX" immediately popped into my brain and I told them I had something in mind that they could split the cost on. When they asked what it was and I said "a radio", I did get two eyerolls. But what the hey? They asked! I told them that if they ordered it, that it would not be here in time for my birthday, (I want the assembled unit, not the kit) but just knowing it would be coming was gift enough. I have to send some links to my son to get the ball rolling.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
QRPTTF, QRP To The Field is this Saturday - another annual effort by Paul NA5N which is very worthy of your time if you are able to participate.
Details here: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html
I'm hoping that I can get an end fed up at the library for SPARC's "Amateur Radio Day at the Library" so that I can hand out points while simultaneously demonstrating how Morse Code works.
And the other announcement. This Sunday is the monthly Flying Pigs "Run For The Bacon". This month is a special one - W8PIG/# stations for the various call sign areas will be on the air participating, in part as something special to honor the memory of our Founder W8DIZ (SK). A special certificate will be awarded to the winner. Details to follow - keep an eye on the various QRP and CW e-mail reflectors and iO Groups later this week. https://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
And not all that much radio to show for it - oy!
Although I did get on Friday night for a couple hours after dinner to partake of the QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party, which ran from 8:00 PM to Midnight, my local time. There was a decent amount of activity, which was really, really nice to see/hear. I worked 17 stations - all QRP ARCI members. I mainly searched and pounced, but I did call CQ on 20 and 40 Meters, not so much to run a frequency, but to get an idea via the Reverse Beacon Network in order to see where I was being heard.
From the results tally so far, I'm sitting in the bottom third of the pack, which I half as much expected. If I had put in the full four hours, instead of just under two, I probably would have worked a lot more stations. When I decided to pull the plug stations from the West Coast started coming in on 20 Meters and I worked two from Washington state. I was beat because Friday afternoon was an experience in and of itself.
Recently, Marianne and I decided to drop Verizon FiOS TV from our Verizon package. Neither of us watch TV all that much, and pretty much everything we want to watch, we can catch on our Roku device - pretty much everything, expect for local channels. I'll be looking into getting an indoor HDTV antenna as the only thing I don't want to miss is "Jeopardy" and NYC is only about 25 miles away as the crow flies, so I should be able to get WABC TV rather easily. Dropping the TV portion of the bill reduced it .......... dramatically.
However, when you drop the TV package, Verizon has to come in and install a new router, as that's how the TV portion is transmitted. When I called to make the service appointment, they noted that my internet connection was ancient, and they upgraded that and provided a new router free of charge. The upgrade in internet speed is quite noticeable Not so much on my phone or laptop, but the data to my Hamclock set up in the basement shack is much faster and I get a lot less fewer drop outs/error messages..
The pain in the posterior aspect of all of this is that re-setting devices for the new SSID and password is akin to going around the house and re-setting clocks for the time change! I didn't have to deal with Cara or Joseph's devices as they're young and computer savvy, and I didn't have any trouble reconfiguring the laptop in the computer room, or Marianne's and my phones and tablets.
The "fun" part came when reconfiguring our Ring doorbell and chime. The instructions they give you on line are there all right, and complete - but they're not the easiest to locate. It's almost like operating the menus on an HF radio where there are multiple sublayers. I finally figured that out and got those working again. Reconfiguring the Rokus was quite easy, because as soon as the Roku couldn't detect the internet via the old SSID, it took you directly to where you had to reconfigure for the new one.
The real pain in the butt one was/is the weather station. I have an Ambient WS-2902. I managed to dig out the instruction manual to refamiliarize myself with the procedure for setting up the wifi connection. it's actually quite simple as you go to the Ambient Tool on your phone and go from there. And that's where things got interesting. My weather station has been out there and running since ........ it was either 2016 or 2017 when Marianne bought it for me as a Christmas gift. The current version of this model weather station is the WS-2902D. The Ambient Tool has gone away and has been replaced by the AWN app.
Not a problem, right? Just go to Google Play, download the new app and reconfigure the wifi, right? That's what you would think, but it turned out to be much more than that. I followed the instructions, which told me to press the "wind" and "pressure" buttons on the console until a little wifi icon popped up in the temperature indicator square. I tried that several times with no result. So I thought maybe I have to unplug the console from its AC adapter, wait a minute and try again. I did that - no wifi icon.
As they say, Google is your friend and I searched on "Reconfiguring wifi for WS-2902". What I found was that the AWN app will NOT work with the original WS-2902 and the old Ambient Tool is no longer available. I had changed phones since I originally installed the weather station, so the old app was not carried over to my current phone. The solution is that I had to purchase a new WS-2902D console. It will work with the sensor package, as that hasn't changed (except that I can now add some fancy new things, like soil moisture detectors and lightning detectors, which I chose not to do). It should be here within the week, and in the meantime the weather station is still working, it's just not reporting to WeatherUnderground and the Ambient Weather Station network for now.
Saturday was our monthly VE Exam session and we had two candidates, with one coming all the way from East Stroudsburg, PA. One got his Technician ticket and our East Stroudsbuger, Jeremy KB3OPJ upgraded to Amateur Extra. After the exam session, I headed over to a clothing drive for HCT Technologies, the company that finances SPARC, to help with accepting bags of used clothes.
Sunday morning it was back to the clothing drive for a while and then into Plainfield to help out with our parish's Second Sunday Soup kitchen. I did manage to check into the St. Max Net on 80 Meters at 0000 UTC, but the QRN was horrific! The net usually lasts for a half hour to 45 minutes. It was over by 00:15 UTC last night.
Tonight, SPARC members who are also CERT members are going to show up at the monthly Boro Council Meeting. One of the Office of Emergency Management deputies is being promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and we want to congratulate him and show him our support.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
If you've been a regular reader of Jeff KE9V's blog, you'll know that he's wondered a few times as to what's happened to the ARS Spartan Sprint. There have been no updates since January, and that is very strange, indeed.
In an e-mail on the QRP-L e-mail reflector Phil K4PQC confirmed that he has heard from W6JJZ that Rich KI6SN has been seriously ill and is no longer capable of managing a computer or the ARS Spartan Sprint, or the Flight of the Bumblebees later this year in July.
Richard's address is available on QRZ.com and I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing from all of us - even if it's one of your QSL cards with some "Best wishes, thinking of you - hope you get well soon" on it, or something like that. In the meantime, I'm also pretty sure that Rich would never turn down any prayers offered for his well being and recovery.
On the bright side, Bruce Horn WA7BNM has agreed to host the Spartan Sprints and FOBB on his 3830scores.com site.
According to Phil, Bruce will be coming up with submittal forms for these events within a few days. I don't know if anyone has participated in the February or March events as there was no formal notice given for them, but if you did, you'll be able to report your scores there. I'm not sure how publicity and notifications for these events is going to be handled going forward, but I'll make sure to talk them up here. That may not be much in the limited reach this blog has - but at least it's something. We have precious few really good QRP events as it is. I'd hate to see these go away.
Personally, I've never used the 3830scores site before. Phil says it's really easy and I'll take him at his word and will give it a shot for the May Spartan Sprint, which will be Monday, May 6th. Hope to hear you all there.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
If you're a "Space Race Kid" like I am, April 12th holds significant meaning. It was on this day in 1961, that Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Vostok 1 to become the first human being to orbit the Earth.
Exactly 20 years later, on April 12th, 1981, Astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen were launched into space aboard STS-1, the first manned flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. April 12th is now known as the "international Day of Human Space Flight". A little bit of trivia - John Young had flown on Gemini, Apollo (piloting each the Command and Lunar Modules) and the Shuttle - he holds the record for an American Astronaut flying the most different variety of spacecraft.
How far manned spaceflight evolved in 20 years!
On to the goings on for the weekend, and as always, we'll start with contests. Lots going on:
QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party - http://qrparci.org/contest/spring-qso-party
JIDX CW Contest - http://www.jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/
New Mexico QSO Party - http://www.newmexicoqsoparty.org/
Georgia QSO Party - https://gaqsoparty.com/
Hungarian Straight Key Contest - https://hskc.ha8kux.com/
4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf
North Dakota QSO Party - https://ndarrlsection.com/2024/2024_ND_QSO_Party_Rule.pdf
New Mexico and North Dakota QSO Parties this weekend! These are two "rarer" states for those of you who are working towards Worked All States (of whatever flavor you might be working on - Basic, QRP, CW, etc.)
Special Event Stations:
04/09/2024 | Sun N Fun Aerospace Expo
Apr 9-Apr 13, 0300Z-1200Z, W4S, Lakeland, FL. Sun N Fun Fly In Inc. 146.685 (127.3) 14.225 7.250. QSL. Geoff Schuck, PO Box 90853, Lakeland, FL 33804. Frequencies will be spotted throughout the day on DX Summit. QSL cards are sent to all HF Contacts.
04/12/2024 | Halifax Resolves Special Event Station
Apr 12-Apr 13, 0000Z-2100Z, N4C, Halifax, NC. N4WFU. 7.180 14.250 21.325 28.350. Certificate & QSL. Barry Evans/N4C, P.O. Box 1533 , Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870. If requested, a certificate and QSL card will be provided to Ham operators around the world that make contact with this special event station; can also request a "QSL" card confirming the contact. Please sent a self addressed stamped envelope to: N4C P O Box 1533 Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 Commemorating the signing of the Halifax Resolves April 12, 1776. Halifax Resolves was the first written instrument, in existence leading to our independence from England. The resolves were unanimously approved at the Fourth Provincial Congress gathered in Halifax, NC. It authorized the NC delegates, being sent to the Continental Congress, to vote for, and encourage other colony's delegates to the support independence.
04/12/2024 | National Library Week 2024
Apr 12-Apr 13, 1600Z-2100Z, K8L, Youngstown, OH. WF8U and KC3GFU. 14.074 7.074. QSL. K8L, 239 Elvira Ct., McDonald, OH 44437. Help us celebrate National Library Week 2024. We will be operating on both SSB & FT8, 20m and 40m. Send us a QSL to be displayed in our local libraries and share the magic of amateur radio! In return you will receive a SES QSL card with this year's theme. Please send QSL to: K8L, 239 Elvira Ct., McDonald, OH 44437. Find more information on QRZ or email kd8ely@gmail.com. www.qrz.com/db/kd8ely
04/13/2024 | Commemorating USS Midway conducting first airship ops on CV (7APR49)
Apr 13, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320; 140.070 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
04/13/2024 | Venice Shark's Tooth Festival
Apr 13-Apr 14, 1500Z-2000Z, K4S, Nokomis, FL. Tamiami ARC. 14.320 SSB. QSL. Tamiami ARC, PO Box 976, Nokomis, FL 34274. Celebrating the area in Florida known as the "Shark's Tooth Capital of the World". All QSLs with SASE receive custom event QSL and a genuine, prehistoric shark's tooth memento of the contact. tamiamiarc.org
I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get on the air this weekend. Our monthly K2ETS VE Session is tomorrow morning. Then on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, Hadley Communication Technologies, a NJ 501 (c) (3) corporation that helps to fund SPARC events is conducting a clothing drive fundraiser and I have to devote some time to that. This Sunday is also our regular Soup Kitchen Sunday that I try to help at each month. I really hope to join in on the 4 States QRP Sprint on Sunday evening, if I'm not all played out by then.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP -When you care to send the very least!
First the good news ....... there is no bad news!
I spent a bit of time in the shack after dinner last night, and I hooked up the Vibroplex to the computer via that adapter from Ham Radio Solutions. The first thing I found out was that, as it has been such a long time since I last used it, the contacts became so dirty from oxidization as to prevent ANY dits or dahs from being created.
As I have previously mentioned, the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club will be at the Westergard Library in Piscataway, NJ on Saturday, April 20th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM presenting Amateur Radio to the public at large. If you're in the area, please stop by! We're going to have an FT8 station, a SSB station and of course a CW station. Hopefully we can get all three up and running in order to give the people who visit us a good idea of what this hobby is all about.
Yours truly will be manning the CW station. I hope to get an antenna set up in the small grassy area that I am told is just adjacent to where we will be. Supposedly, there's a window that will allow us to run coax to the outdoors. QRPTTF is that day, so maybe I can operate and show people that Morse Code isn't a relic of the past. The bug-a-boo in my mind is the critical importance of an outside antenna. Last October, when we held a Morse Code demonstration at the JFK Library (also in Piscataway) I tried setting up the AlexLoop only to find the interior fluorescent lighting was generating so much RFI as to make the loop a mere decoration.
My primary goal is to do some "real live operating", or at the very least, some "real live receiving" I have that little golf ball sized speaker that I can hook up to the KX3, so people can hear what's being received, as the KX3's internal speaker leaves a lot to be desired (Sorry, Eric and Wayne!). I also played around with the KX3's built-in CW decoder last night. I had to open up the manual and look up how to activate it because I think the dinosaurs were still alive the last time I tried to use it. It's finicky in that for it to work half way decently, you have to be listening to a signal that's pretty strong - at least S7 or higher. The outside antenna will be crucial for that. If the signal is weaker than about S7, all you see on the KX3's display is a lot of *'s, e's and t's. Which once again proves that the best on-the-air CW decoder is the gray one that situates itself between one's ears.
Which brings me to today's topic. If worse comes to worse and I can't get on the air, I can resort to Ham Radio Solutions and their VBand CW bot. The little USB adapter arrived in the mail yesterday. Don't let the picture fool you. This thing is about the size of your thumbnail.
This little gadget allows me to hook up a set of paddles, or a straight key, or even a cootie or bug to my laptop via one of the USB ports. The adapter comes with the required USB cable, which I'm pretty sure is a USB-A to USB-C cable. On the Ham Radio Solutions VBand page, I can send CW and see it displayed on the laptop screen. Or I can have a simulated QSO with their robot. Or, if I get super desperate, there are other channels where you can have a real time live QSO with another Ham via the internet. I'm hoping to use it primarily as a device where people can employ one of my straight keys to send Morse and then see on the screen how they've done.
I hooked it all up last night and breathed a sigh of relief when it worked the first time. My concern wasn't with the adapter, but with my Lenovo T430 laptop which is kind of getting long in the tooth. My laptop doesn't like newer things, like 5G wifi, for instance - it doesn't even detect it. To my relief, the USB port detected the adapter right away and there was no frustration in trying to figure out how to configure com ports. (I hate that!) It took a bit of time to get a good feel for using this set up. I had to turn the auto-spacing feature off as it was screwing up my rhythm in sending. The default setting is Iambic B and I had to change it to Iambic A as that's what my KX3 is set for and it felt more comfortable. You know, 45 years as a Ham, and I'm still not 100% certain what the difference is between Iambic A & B !! Anyhow, before long I had everything set up so that I could send and the laptop display was actually legible and not just gibberish.
After "Amateur Radio Day At The Library" is in the books, I'll still use this as a way to practice and perfect my bug fist, which is currently somewhere between the "disaster" and "atrocious" stages. And I'll always have it should we give more Amateur Radio demonstrations. Heck, it might be even good to set it up at the Information Table that we set up for Field Day. I'll have to bring that up when we're at the library or at the next club meeting. I can see where putting this right next to the Guest Book might draw some attention.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I managed to get outside for just a few minutes yesterday as the moon was approaching maximum coverage of of the sun (90%) at 3:24 PM local time. I took a small shipping box and punched a hole in the side with a thumbtack. It projected a very tiny, but totally sharp image of the moon covering the sun revealing only a small crescent of sunlight. Of course, this is New Jersey after all, and clouds came in for the actual moment of maximum eclipse. But I can say I saw it. This reminded me of the eclipse of 1972, when I had my 3" refractor telescope set up in the backyard, projecting a magnified image onto a white piece of cardboard.
A co-worker managed to snap this with his iPhone.
BTW, Sean Kutzko KX9X was doing some AM Broadcast Band DXing during the eclipse. He observed that during the maximum period of darkening at his QTH, he was able to hear AM stations from over 500 miles away, that he normally can only hear at night. The D Layer was definitely affected! He recorded the AM Band during the eclipse from start to finish and will go over it in detail over the next few weeks, in order to get a better feel as to how propagation was affected.
I saw on Facebook yesterday, where Alex PY1AHD of AlexLoop fame has become a Silent Key:
It is with extreme sadness and sorrow that I share the passing of our friend and colleague Alex Grimberg (PY1AHD), AlexLoop, due to his renowned work with magnetic loop antennas. Inestimable loss for Brazilian amateur radio, an enterprising and visionary colleague - We are all saddened.
I got word from my friend that he was encouraged by your comments regarding using a local WebSDR as a receiver. He was able to hear stations on 20 Meters via the Web that he was not able to hear on his K3, due to the solar panel noise. He made three successful QSOs on 20 Meters and will most likely use WebSDR for making contacts on 14 MHz and above. Thanks for your encouragement! I'm very happy for him - he had been disappointed (that's putting it mildly) with his situation. It's good to know he can be on the air again.
My KM4CMT EFRW UNUN kit was delivered yesterday. I hope to have it built and ready to go for "Amateur Radio Day At The Library" on April 20th. If I don't have it ready, I'll probably employ the PAR ENDFEDZ or perhaps the EARCHI EFRW that I already have in the backpack. It's not that the kit is a complicated build - far from it. It's a matter of finding time. The next few weekends are really filled up now that lawn mowing season has started up again.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!