The weekend of August 23rd and 24th

Didn't August just begin a few days ago?  And here we are, the next to last weekend of the month. The hours of daylight are getting noticeably shorter, as by my QTH, it's appreciably dark at around 8:00 PM and in the mornings, the daylight is taking longer to gain a foothold. 

It's this time of year, and going forward that I'm reminded of that Simon and Garfunkel lyric - "Hello Darkness, my old friend."

But enough of the depressing stuff. We still have some Summer left and there will be that second FOBB on September 21st, so all is not lost!

Here's what you may hear on the bands this weekend (especially if you're in the CW sub-bands - as if there's anyplace else to be - right?):

Contests:

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

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

ARSI VU DX Contest - https://arsi.info/dxcontest/

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

SARL HF CW Contest - https://mysarl.org.za/contest-resources/

Special Event Stations (for those who like to chase em!)

08/23/2025 | Commemorating the 68th Annual International Airstream Rally and 62 years of the WBCCI ARC

Aug 23-Aug 27, 1400Z-1800Z, W1A, York, PA. Wally Byam Caravan Club International - WBCCI Amateur Radio Club (WB8RC) . All bands, all modes, as available based on conditions. QSL. WBCCI Amateur Radio Club, c/o Jim Cocke, PO Box 1307, West Jefferson, NC 28694. Times are daily. Please check spotter pages daily. QSL via QRZ.com and USPS. https://www.qrz.com/db/WB8RC

08/23/2025 | Buhl Farm Park Celebration

Aug 23-Sep 1, 0000Z-2359Z, W3B, Hermitage, PA. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club. 7.185 7.074 145.350. QSL. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 996, Sharon, PA 16146. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club is celebrating BUHL DAY, the 110th Anniversary of Buhl Farm Park, which covers 300 acres donated to the Shenango Valley community by Frank Buhl a local industrialist, for the use and recreation purposes. Check the www.w3lif.org webpage for scheduled times of W3B operation or the QRZ website for W3B for more information. As conditions permit you will find operators at various times on from August 23 to all day on September 1, 2025. A commemorative QSL will be available with a SASE. www.w3lif.org

08/23/2025 | NS Savannah Maiden Voyage Anniversary

Aug 23, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Port of Baltimore. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award www.qrz.com/db/k3s

08/23/2025 | Pokagon State Park Centennial Celebration

Aug 23, 1300Z-2200Z, K9P, Angola, IN. Land of Lakes Amateur Radio Club. 7.180 7.280 14.240 14.340. Certificate. Mark Tritch, 4340 S. 1000 W., Hudson, IN 46747. www.qrz.com/db/k9p

08/24/2025 | Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival Special Event Station

Aug 24-Sep 6, 0000Z-2359Z, K9A, Auburn, IN. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association. 7.180 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.360 MHz. Certificate & QSL. K9A - NIARA, P.O Box 145, Auburn, IN 46706. QSL Information: There will be no Log Book of the World or eQSL. For a QSL card only, Please send your card and a SASE. For a Certificate and QSL Card, Please send your card and $4.00 USA – $6.00 International We will furnish certificate, QSL card, envelope, and postage. The mailing address for this special event station is: K9A – NIARA P. O. Box 145 Auburn, IN 46706-0145 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! W9OU@W9OU.ORG.

Speaking of Special Event Stations, I pout the callsign into Ham Alert for the W9AEF Special Even t Station honoring St. Maximilian Kolbe.  Lots of FT8 kits, not many for CW, which was a bummer.

Last night at our monthly SPARC meeting we started kicking off discussions for a Special Event Station for South Plainfield's Centennial in 2026. We did one in 2016 for the 90th Anniversary, and I'd like to make sure we something special next year.

One last thing, here's something interesting that I saw on the QRP-ARCI io group yesterday; and it's compelled me to comment (rant). Someone asked if QRP Afield was going to be held this year. This was the answer given. (The words in bold italics are what caught this eye.)

Quote:

"We have had almost no turnout for QRP Afield for the past couple of years. I received ONE log in 2024.

FOBB has announced that they're going to hold a fall edition on that date this year. Perhaps they'll have more success promoting the event than we did; it just wasn't our style to flog it endlessly as some of the QRP events do. Given that, I'd say there will be no QRP Afield this year.

End quote

"flog it endlessly"? Seriously? ........... Guilty as charged !

QRP Afield is going the way of the Dodo because it wasn't advertised, hardly, if at all ! Hams are busy people with families. For a lot of people time needs to be set aside and "reserved" so as to not interfere with other commitments. You can't make one single announcement a week before or a day before an event and expect people to show up. Organizers have to have respect for the time and commitments of the people they hope to attract. In addition, there are new Hams who might be interested in participating, but they don't because they don't even know that something is happening.

I'm sorry, but to me "it just wasn't our style"  is code for "we didn't want to be bothered". It doesn't take a lot of effort to send out a blast of e-mails. It's not spam, it's giving people a chance to participate in something fun. AND .......if they're not interested, they have a thing on their keyboards called the delete key.

But really, you can't complain about non-attendance when you haven't even made an honest effort to drum some up.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Let me bore you

with a map of my Skeeter Hunt QSOs.

Nothing spectacular, although when I looked at the RBN map the other day, I noticed I had some pretty good above the noise floor dB levels to Europe.  I guess they weren't thrilled about answering a "CQ BZZ". HI!

So far I've received about 80 Log Summaries which is about what I would expect at this point. Log Summaries are due by August 31st so there's time for more to come in.

Something I should have made clearer and for that I apologize. The 1,000 Bonus for making Skeeter Blackjack? One per customer, please.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Man, was it hot!

It was predicted to be in the 90s yesterday and it was; but what I didn't quite count on was the humidity. Boy Howdy, it must have been upwards about 300% !!!  As my Uncle Frank used to say, "It ain't the heat, it's the humdigity!"

I'm glad I decided to set up as backyard portable, so I could be near the refrigerator in the kitchen. If I didn't put away close to a half gallon of cold water, I didn't drink an ounce!  It was the type of day, that as I was pounding the tent pegs into the ground for the Jackite support, that sweat was dripping from around my eyes onto my glasses!

Marianne keeps the A/C in the house set to about 77 degrees, but when I would step inside for either more water or a bathroom break, it felt like I was stepping into a meat locker. The heat never bothered me much as a kid. In fact, I grew up in a house that didn't have A/C. It was only in my teens when my parents were starting to grow older that we bought a couple window air conditioning units. But as I age, the heat gets tougher and tougher to deal with, especially in the sense that it really tires me out.

I did not let the heat deter my Skeeter Hunt efforts. From the beginning I thought the day might end up being a dud. After the first hour. I had only 6 or so contacts written down on my scratch pad. They were all on 20 Meters. Signal strengths were decent, it was just that I wasn't hearing too many people.

That changed as we entered the third hour. It was like a dam broke. Lot of signals on both 20 and 40 Meters. I tried a couple of times to go on up to 15 Meters and either listen or call CQ. As far as I can tell, there were no Skeeters on 15 Meters.  Here's my RBN map for yesterday:

I was making it into Europe, but I did not work any DX stations. However, there was a PA0 station right around the FISTS frequencies that nearly knocked the earbuds out of my ears!

My goal for the day was 40 QSOs and I made the last one with about two minutes left on the clock. I have not tallied how many different states and Provinces I worked - but I did get Quebec and Ontario in the log. 

The setup was the KX3, of course and the antenna was my K6ARK EFRW. I draped the counterpoise to a patio chair to keep it elevated and off the ground. I don't know if it was exceptional band conditions or what; but I was able to work everyone I heard in the times I went into "search and pounce" mode. I was very pleased with the K6ARK EFRW, but I really need to find a nice winder on which to roll the wire up on. Right now I just have the wire in a loop, secured with some Velcro ties, but that's not the most elegant solution.

The paddle I used for the day was this little guy (which I had purchased after reading Craig WB3GCK's review):

The magnetic base attached very securely to the metallic rim of the patio table and was rock solid for the whole event. The "feel" was great and I was able to send decent Morse, even at the end of the event, when I usually get a bit tired and sloppy. I definitely like this little guy! This and my 4 States paddle will be my portable ops keys going forward.

About 30 minutes after the Hunt ended, we had a small thunderstorm come through the area. It only rained a few drops, but it brought with it a cool and refreshing breeze.

As always, I'd like to thank everyone who participated. This event would not be what is has become without you. You guys are the wind beneath the Skeeter's wings and for that I am most grateful!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to end the very least!

FOBB News on Skeeter Hunt Eve

Told you to stay tuned! Great news came out tonight, from Jody K3JZD:

There will be a NEW Fall ARS FOBB on September 21st

Thank you everyone who responded to the poll concerning moving the very popular Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) QRP CW event to the 3rd Sunday in September when the temperature should be more moderate.  

Almost all poll respondents favored moving the Adventure Radio Society FOBB event to the 3rd Sunday in September.  However, not surprisingly, some had reservations about moving the Legacy ARS FOBB event away from July. 

Probably most of the responses were based on local weather patterns.   I suspect that those who live where it was 90+ degrees with high humidity in both July 2024 and July 2025 likely said 'Yes, move it'.  And I suspect that those who live in more moderate Northern states likely said ’No, leave it where it is'.

Almost all of the poll respondents said that they would like to work an ARS FOBB event on September 21, 2025.

After consideration, it was decided to leave the Legacy ARS FOBB where it has always been, on the last Sunday in July.  And add a NEW Fall ARS FOBB event which will occur on the 3rd Sunday in September.  

You can work one of these ARS FOBB events each year, or you can work them both each year.  As a Bumblebee or as a Home Station.  Double the Fun!!

Bumblebees will have to obtain a new sequentially issued BB Number for this new Fall ARS FOBB – Bumblebee Numbers are always temporary – they are only good for one ARS FOBB event.

You can get your sequentially assigned Bumblebee Number for this NEW September 21 2025 Fall ARS FOBB event now.  Go to https://ars-qrp.com/FOBB/FOBB.html.

Yes, there will be a 3830scores.com facility setup for entering results for this NEW Fall ARS FOBB.   It will be the same as we used for the Legacy ARS FOBB in July.  (Thanks Bruce – WA7BNM).

72,

Jody – K3JZD

ARS Trustee

I've signed up already! Bee # 5

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Skeeter Hunt Weekend!

It's finally here! This coming Sunday is the Annual NJQRP Skeeter Hunt! There's still time to get a Skeeter number if you want one, but even if you don't that doesn't mean you can't join in on the action. Every year we get log summaries from folks who jumped into the fray without a Skeeter number and just used their output power as their part of the exchange.

So far we have 209 Skeeters signed up from 38 different States and 3 Canadian provinces. There's always room for more and as the old saying goes ......."the more, the merrier!".

For all the info about the Hunt, you can go to either the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog, or visit https://www.qsl.net/w2lj

Come and play "Skeeter Blackjack" with us!

And .........oh, yeah ........ I guess there's "other" stuff happening this weekend:

Contests:

Russian District Award Contest: - http://rdaward.org/rdac1.htm

Keyman's Club of Japan Contest: - https://kcj-cw.com/contest/rule/2025_46_kcj_dx_.pdf

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

FISTS Sunday Sprint: - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints

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

Special Event Stations:

08/12/2025 | Wyoming State Fair Special Event Station Activation

Aug 12-Aug 16, 1600Z-0400Z, W7F, Douglas, WY. Mark James Mullins, NN5NN. 40-15m, possible 10m depending on bands, SSB Talk-in 447.900 100Hz tone. Certificate. Mark James Mullins, NN5NN, email for, information. Certificate/QSL may not be available. Times are daily. windmechanic@gmail.com

08/14/2025 | Remembering Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Aug 14-Aug 16, 0000Z-2359Z, WB9AET, Summit Argo, IL. Western Area F. M. Amateur Repeater Club. 10.136 14.245; SSB and FT8. QSL. WAFAR , 7326 West 57 Street, Summit Argo, IL 60501. SASE for QSL, please. https://sites.google.com/view/wafarchicago/home

08/16/2025 | Celebrating Gene Senti’s Birthday

Aug 16, 1400Z-1700Z, W0CXX, Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Amateur Radio Club. 14.263 MHz. QSL. Brice AntonJensen, 1110 Lyndhurst Dr, Hiawatha, IA 52233. w0cxx.kb4sby@gmail.com or /www.w0cxx.us

08/16/2025 | Fire Island Lighthouse US0019

Aug 16, 1000Z-2030Z, W2GSB, Babylon, NY. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB . 28.340 21.250 14.246 7.245. Certificate. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, PO BOX 1356 , West Babylon, NY 11704. International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, we will be on the air with two stations using all modes. Please join us on the air for this excellent event. The lighthouse number is US0019. It is also an IOTA and POTA station WWW.GSBARC.ORG

08/16/2025 | International Lighthouse Weekend - Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, Mi.

Aug 16, 1300Z-1800Z, K8L, Eagle Harbor, MI. KCRA, CCRAA Copper Country Radio Clubs. 14.270. QSL. Jeffrey Stricker W9GY, 59624 Dextrom Rd., Calumet, MI 49913. SASE Please. https://kcra-mi.net

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

St. Maximilian Kolbe

In the Catholic world we celebrate a Saint's "Feast Day", the day they passed from this life into the next Eternal Life. August 14th is the Feast Day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who also happened to have a Polish Amateur Radio call sign - SP3RN.

St. Max was a Franciscan priest who was arrested by the Nazis because he was a combination of some very bad things in their eyes. He was a Polish Catholic priest who protected Polish Jews during WWII. Because of this, he was arrested and carted off to Auschwitz, where he was imprisoned in 1941.

One day, there was a prison escape and the Kommandant ordered that 10 prisoners be placed into a starvation bunker as an example to anyone else who might be thinking of planning another escape. One of the 10 men cried out that he had a wife and children and pleaded to be spared. Fr. Kolbe stepped forward and volunteered to take his place.  Most of the men were dead within 10 days expect for Fr. Kolbe and a few others. On August 14th, 1941, they were all given injections of carbolic acid in order to finish the sentence.

Fr. Kolbe was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church in 1982 by Pope John Paul II. Present at the ceremony was Francizek Gajowniczek, the man whose life was spared because of  St. Max's selflessness..

A group of Catholic Hams get together every Sunday to form the St Max Net - to honor him, his memory and his sacrifice. Information about the net can be found here - https://www.saintmaxnet.org/

There are various movies about the life of St. Max, but a new one is coming out this September, titled "A Triumph of the Heart". A trailer for it can be found here - https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C476bFqd3/

Although it's a very unofficial title - St. Max is honored as the Patron Saint of Amateur Radio Operators by those of us Hams who are also Catholic.  St. Max, pray for us.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Got it all working!

The new-to-me Lenovo T490S is on its dock, the second monitor is working as an extended display, and HamClock is humming away as usual. The laptop and the KX3 are happily conversing, so for good measure I upgraded the firmware in both the KX3 and the KXPA100, not that I'll probably notice any difference.

It took a while for me to figure out how to update the display drivers to get the 2nd monitor going, but I fumbled my way through it. The blind pig found an acorn again!

I have a wireless keyboard with an incorporated touchpad coming from eBay, and that will finish off the shack setup.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Way too early !

 It's only Tuesday and I shouldn't post this, but I'm going to anyway, with a prayer in my heart and my fingers crossed te weather outlook for the Skeeter Hunt for South Plainfield, according to Weather Bug:

Only a 25% chance of storms / precipitation, so that will probably mean backyard portable (under the patio umbrella!) - the KX3 to the K6ARK EFRW antenna. I've never used it in a Sprint situation, but have deployed it a couple times, It seems to hear as well as mu PAR ENDFEDZ or my EARCHI EFRW.

WeatherUnderground is calling the best chance for precip on Sunday is during the evening around 8:00 PM local time or later - so that's even more encouraging!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FOBB moving? Maybe ............

For those of you who might not subscribe to any of the QRP email reflectors - Jody K3JZD posted this yesterday.  Rather than summarize and possibly get something wrong, I'm going to cut and past here:

Considering a Date Change for the ARS FOBB

Maybe the End of July Is Not Ideal

Russ–AA7QU created the Adventure Radio Society (ARS) Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) event.  Russ liked to operate from his camp in the mountains above the McKenzie River valley.   From what I know about the Oregon high country, there is a good chance that the last Sunday in July was not as hot there as it typically is in most of the US.

As a Bumblebee in PA, I got cooked in 2024 and again in 2025.  Many Bumblebees all around the US reported in their comments on 3830scores.com that they dealt with even higher temperatures.  Some Bumblebees abandoned going out due to the dangerously high temperature in their area.  So maybe having the annual FOBB in the Fall might be a smarter idea.

I’m thinking that Third Sunday in September would probably be cooler, making it a better day to hold the annual FOBB.  There is no major contest that weekend.  And no major holiday that weekend.

FOBB Participants, what do you think about this idea??  I need your feedback.  Please go to https://ars-qrp.com.  Near the top of the main page, you will see a FOBB Poll.  Click on the “Move the Flight of the Bumblebee to September???” link.  Then answer the two simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions.  I will report the results of the poll in two weeks.

By the way, the 2025 Bumblebee photos that were submitted will get posted – I have not had the time needed to get started on that task.  

Groups.io Moderators – Thank you for letting me post Adventure Radio Society news and event announcements on your reflector.

72,

Jody - K3JZD

ARS Trustee

If you participate in the Flight of the Bumblebees, please let Jody know what you think. As with just about everything in life, there are Pros and Cons. Personally, I don't much care when FOBB occurs - July or September - I'll be there ready and raring to go. If I operate portable, that's the bomb. If I end up having to operate from the shack because of the weather - well ......... yes, that may be disappointing, but at least FOBB is still happening regardless, and that's the good thing.

What is exciting is that if Jody decides to move to September, he has hinted that we may get another shot at FOBB this year! That's just good news any way you slice it! All I can say is, stay tuned! I'll keep you guys up on the latest news about this that I come across.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP -When you care to send the very least!

Weekend of August 9th and 10th

We're one weekend away from the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt. If you don't already have one, make sure you get your Skeeter number by end-of-day NEXT Saturday!

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/

FISTS Saturday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints

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

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

Kentucky State Parks on the Air - https://k4msu.com/kypota/

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

Special Event Stations:

08/03/2025 | Jackson County Fair, Jackson Mi, Ham Radio demo

Aug 3-Aug 9, 1600Z-2200Z, W8J, Jackson, MI. Cascade Amateur Radio Society (CARS). 7.225 14.250. QSL. CARS - W8JXN, P.O. Box 512, Jackson, MI 49201-0512. w8jxn.org

08/09/2025 | 20th Anniversary Club Celebration - Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) Ohio

Aug 9, 1400Z-2200Z, K8BF, Ravenna, OH. Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS), Ohio. 7.220 20.260 28.320. Certificate & QSL. Tom Parkinson - KB8UUZ, 9992 State Route 700, Mantua, OH 44255. SASE for certificate and/or QSL Card www.portcars.org

08/09/2025 | Anniversary of Three Polish Lighthouses 2025: Czolpino, Rozewie II, and Krynica Morska

Aug 9-Aug 17, 0000Z-2359Z, SN150LHC*, Gdansk, POLAND. Pomeranian Branch, Polish Amateur Radio Union. 160m to 6m. WARC, 2m, 70cm, SAT, FM; CW SSB FM RTTY FT4 FT8. Certificate. see website, for, information, POLAND. *SN150LRN and SN130LHK. This is an operating event. See website for details. ot09.pzk.org.pl

08/09/2025 | US Coast Guard Birthday

Aug 9, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 14.320 7.250 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

Tomorrow morning, August 9th is our K2ETS VE Exam session. We have a whopping single candidate registered so far. Registrations have fallen markedly this year, and I'm not sure why that would be. Mike N2JUN mentioned something to me about the FAA eliminating the need for a Tech license for drone operations. I'm not up on the regs and rules for that, so I don't know if that's a valid reason or not. Perhaps, and this is just a guess, but maybe the proliferation of online testing will put an end to these in-person sessions in the near future.

If it comes to that, I doubt that I will continue being a VE Liaison. I really don't want to get involved with the on-line testing program.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Catharsis

A post totally unrelated to Amateur Radio (maybe not), but something I need to get off my chest after many, many years. And this place is as good as any, I guess. I saw on Facebook where a Math teacher that I had in High School just passed away a few days ago at the age of 94. From the comments, she was beloved by many. My experience was 180 degrees out of phase. (To borrow an electronics math term.)

When I completed 6th grade, my parents decided to transfer me from Parochial School to the East Brunswick Public School system. When I entered Churchill Junior High (that's what they called 7th, 8th and 9th Grades back then - now it's called "Middle School") I was placed in an advanced Math program. It's proper name was S.M.C.C.S. or something like that. We called it "Columbia Math" because it was developed at Columbia University.

I did fairly well - always getting As or Bs. The key to that success was a fantastic teacher - Mr. Cady. He made the esoteric and difficult to understand Math principles totally understandable. He was tough, but fair and was always encouraging and would spend extra time with you if you needed extra help.

In 7th Grade, when most kids were doing like Algebra 101, we were studying Venn diagrams, subsets, advanced Algebra, statistics and stuff like that. Mr. Cady made it "do-able".

Three yeas later, in 1972 I entered East Brunswick High School as a Sophomore. I was carried over into the Columbia Match program, because that's what I was taking at Churchill, and was doing well in. My results there were quite different. I had the teacher that I mentioned who just passed away.

She was a Math genius, but as far as I was concerned, a lousy teacher. She made no effort to go out of her way to explain difficult concepts, at least not in my view. She seemed to get annoyed when you couldn't grasp the concepts she was teaching, and extra help was not really offered. I went from getting As and Bs, to Cs at best and lower grades at worst.

After one particular hard exam to end the first quarter of the Sophomore year, she went around the classroom handing back graded tests. Generally, she was pretty pleased. However, and this is something I still remember some 53 years later and will NEVER forget -  when she got to my desk and handed me back my exam ..... she looked me straight in they eye and in a voice loud enough for all the class to hear, actually said, "Unfortunately, some people who are in this class are not smart enough and do not belong here."

I was devastated. She could have brought me on the side offered that maybe another type of class would be a better fit, or something a little more uplifting. IMHO, you NEVER, EVER tell a 15 year old kid that they are stupid. In some ways, I have never recovered from that. I'm still a dunce when it comes to Math. Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm weak, maybe I am stupid when it comes to Math. I was never able to get back to that A or B range in the subject again. My confidence was totally shot. My great grandfather, whom I have been told was a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Kiev was probably rolling over in his grave.

In a way, this caused my delay in chasing after my Ham Radio license. I wanted to get it while I was in High School, but the Morse Code eluded me and the thought of Math being involved petrified me. It took about three more years after graduating before I finally took the plunge, determined to buckle down and earn that Novice license. It turned out the Math involved was so basic, that even in idiot like me was able to pass, easily.

But in a strange way, the humiliation that I had to endure brought about a silver lining. When Marv K2VHW and I would hold Technician Class License courses, I was always determined to take the Mr. Cady approach. I always made my best effort to make concepts understandable in plain ol' English, in a way the people could grasp and be comfortable with. And I always made sure to make it clear that I was always available for extra help, if needed.

Thanks, Mr. Cady! I'll never forget you or your classes. May you rest in peace.

And to my readers, thank you for allowing me to vent.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

NNO 2025

Last night was National Night Out. This event is held by Police Departments throughout the country every first Tuesday evening in August. It was inaugurated for the purpose of fostering good relations between local Police Departments and their served communities. The people of South Plainfield in general have a very warm and cordial relationship with our officers. But a few freebies each year never hurt ...... right?

There were plenty of local businesses manning booths, giving away items, and promoting their wares. Our CERT members manned to OEM booth and we gave away small things for the kiddos, like vials of bubble soap, coloring books, mini Etch-A-Sketches and stuff like that. For the adults we had information on emergency preparedness and I brought lots of ARRL informational handouts about Amateur Radio.  I also purchased a pack of ARRL pens and they disappeared quicker than you could say "Jack Robertson"!. As an added bonus, the International Space Station made a pass at almost 90 degrees and Marv was able to play the audio from his HT.  People were astounded that they were listening to Hams orbiting the Earth,

Attendance was noticeably larger than the last time we did NNO two years ago. Last year NNO was postponed due to rain and then the make up date got rained out as well! The event was supposed to las from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, but according to Marv K2VHW the line for free burgers was still "a mile long" at 8:00 PM!

The photos aren't the best quality. If they look hazy that's because we've been inundated with smoke particulates in the air from the wildfires in Canada. As a result, the contrast is very poor.

One of our members Harry KC2PGX is also a Scout Master. He was looking for help last night as one of his Scouts is trying to earn his Merit Badge in Amateur Radio. There are two requirements - the Scout has to participate in a QSO lasting at least 10 minutes and the Scout needs to visit a licensed Ham's shack. I suggested to Harry that he should check into Marv's Middlesex County Chatgroup Net one evening along with his Scout.  Once the guys hear that they have a guest trying to earn a Merit Badge, 10 minutes worth of conversation would be the last of his worries. As far ad the Ham Shack visit goes - I offered to make my humble shack available - as long as they didn't mind "the mess that it is'!

All in all, it was a successful event. It didn't rain this year and National Night Out went off without a hitch to maybe a record setting crowd.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least.

Personal Satisfaction

 This post is going to be about personal satisfaction, but in two different ways.

First off, last night after dinner, I went down to the shack, determined to get the new laptop talking to the KX3. I use the rig control feature on AC Log for one reason only and that's to allow the logging program to know what frequency I'm on, so that I don't have to manually enter it. Lazy? Yeah, I guess, but I like it!

I realized the other night, or remembered would be more accurate, that I needed to load the drivers for the KXUSB Cable in order for everything to work properly. It was easy enough to find them via a link on the Elecraft KX software and firmware page. I downloaded the drivers, but then ..........what next? Where do they go and how do they get there? I am definitely no computer genius.

I perused the page and discovered the installation utility all the way to the right of the page. I clicked on that, and installed the drivers. Success - kinda. I went to the KX3 utility which I had downloaded and installed on Sunday and hit the "Test" button and saw that rig was talking to computer via COM 4 at a rate of some 38 point something kilobytes a second - or whatever.

I opened AC Log and ............. nothing. The Rig Control utility was polling the KX3 but wasn't giving any answer. So now what? That's when I spied that you can choose the "communication speed". I hit the 38 point whatever button and the rig and logging program started singing a duet. Nice!

Here's the thing. When I run into computer problems, I generally take on the IQ of a small soap dish. I work in an IT Department and work with computers every day; but when it comes to drivers and where to put them, and configurations and opening up databases and stuff like that - well, you'd get better help from an Oreo.

BUT ........ I got it done! All by myself, without going to YouTube or Google or asking anyone for help and that's where the personal satisfaction comes in. But I'm not about to become smug about it. I will always remember that one time I was working at Sinar Bron and I came up with the solution to a problem our studio strobes had encountered. I was feeling pretty proud of myself that I had figured out an answer that even the factory engineers hadn't thought of. My Boss, who was Swiss, looked at me and said, "Larry, even the blind pig finds an acorn every now and then." Wow! Talk about bringing you down to Earth and keeping you grounded! But it was a lesson I'll never forget.

The second thing about personal satisfaction that's on my mind. Last night on the POTA Facebook page, someone was complaining that his QSO acknowledgement rate seems low to him and sometimes it takes a very long time for activators to load their logs so that he can get credit for his QSOs.

Why does everything in Ham radio have to be about competition, awards and all that kind of stuff? What happened to going to a park, getting out in the fresh air and sunshine and having fun making radio contacts? What happened to the personal satisfaction of breaking a pileup and getting a QSO; or the satisfaction of completing a successful activation? Why the need for awards and tallies so that you can declare yourself "King of the Hill"?

I've got my share of POTA certificates. I haven't downloaded or printed any of them to hang on the wall. Just knowing I can be heard, that my station is working and that I can make the contacts is plenty good enough for me! Same thing with activations. I don't need to make 137 Qs on an activation.  Don't get me wrong, that would be nice; but I get my 10 done and in the log and I'm a happy camper. I accomplished something and there's deep satisfaction in that - and that's good enough reward for me.

However, I guess it takes all kinds to make up this world that we live in. The trick is in not letting the annoying ones get to you - and most of the times, I fail miserably at that.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Computer games

I spent the afternoon yesterday playing computer games, but not the kind you're probably thinking of. I recently purchased via eBay a refurbished Lenovo T490 at a really good price. This will replace my Lenovo T430, which has grown long in the tooth.  The T430 is pretty much incapable of efficiently running anything higher than the Windows 8 system that is on it, and it's slow and kludgy to boot.

The "new" laptop arrived on Thursday and when I unpacked it, I was unaware that I had bid on the T490S model, which comes with a touchscreen instead of the standard screen that my work computer has. Nice feature, but not really necessary as far as I'm concerned. It has 64 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD, so it's decked out pretty much the same as the laptop I use everyday.

The fun began when I powered it on, and before I could even start to personalize it, an hour went by getting Windows 11 updates. I spent the time working a few POTA stations including one being run by fellow QRPer, John N0EVH.

When all was said and done, I installed N3FJP's AC Log as well as the KX3 Utility program from Elecraft.  I hooked up the data cable to the new laptop to make sure that the radio was talking to AC Log as far as frequency goes. As expected, they two were not talking with each other. Tried various different settings, as well as different port settings. Nothing. Instead of getting frustrated, i decided to just walk away from the problem for a bit.

Later, that evening, after dinner and while I was waiting to check into the St. Max Net, it hit me. I have to download and install the FTDI drivers for the KXUSB cable! The cable is not going to function without those!

I also have to download and install the KXPA100 utility and I want to also install a copy of Libre Office. I already downloaded and installed Kompozer, the program/app that I use to author webpages for SPARC and the Skeeter Hunt (which is only two weeks away, by the way!)

Setting up a new laptop is all kind of a pain in the backside. Samsung has a neat utility on their phones, so when you buy a new one - all you have to do is turn both on and place them side by side. The utility will copy just about everything from your old phone to the new one, without much work and even less thinking about it.  It's not perfect, but it beats the band out of setting up a new phone the old conventional way.

The weekend of August 2nd and 3rd

 Good bye July, we hardly knew ye! It's August already? My, how time flies.

Yesterday's weather turned out not to be not as bad as predicted for my area. From what I understand, this time the Jersey shore and the boros of NYC bore the biggest brunt of flooding. I'll have to admit that it was disconcerting to be sitting at the computer here at work, taking care of business, only to hear my cell phone erupt with a siren and the words "Tornado Warning". Not a watch - a warning as the NWS radar saw a severe thunderstorm around home begin to show evidence of rotation. 

Marianne, who was working just a couple miles down the road in Plainfield said she never saw such frequent and crazy lightning before. I was here in Hunterdon County, two counties over, tuning into my Ring doorbell on my phone. The fact that it turned on meant the house was still standing and that we had power. The picture showed that the tree in our front yard was showing no evidence of severe wind, so that was somewhat of a relief. 

They actually permitted us to leave about an hour early, as the severe weather was supposed to last until somewhere between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Traffic was heavy due to everyone travelling slowly, due to the weather, but this time I did not encounter any flooded roadways on the way home. 

It was spritzing on the way into work today, and it's supposed to be showery all day today. but starting tomorrow and lasting into next weekend, we're supposed to get pleasant weather with temperatures only in the 80s. A little bit cool for August. I'll take it.

Here's what you might hear on the CW portions of the HF bands this weekend:

Contests:

European HF Championship - https://euhf.s5cc.eu/euhfc_rules/

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

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

Special Events:

08/02/2025 | Alcatraz

Aug 2, 0130Z-0830Z, W6P, Vacaville, CA. Vacaville Amateur Radio Club (W6VVR). 7.200 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.500 MHz. QSL. Art Aronsen, 7319 June Bug Lane, Vacaville, CA 95688. There will be 3 stations on Alcatraz Island during times stated. All stations will be on SSB on battery. w6vvr.net

08/02/2025 | KDKA Shortwave Network Centennial

Aug 2, 1200Z-2000Z, KD3KA, Wexford, PA. Allegheny Valley Radio Association. 7.040 7.240 14.040 14.240. QSL. AVRA, P.O. Box 24, Wexford, PA 15090. AVRA & Skyview Radio Society will commemorate the centennial of Westinghouse station KFKX in Hastings, Nebraska. In 1925, following Frank Conrad 8XK's successful shortwave experimentation and the establishment of the Hill Station, KFKX was networked via shortwave with KDKA in Pittsburgh to achieve nationwide KDKA broadcasting. https://www.qrz.com/db/kd3ka

08/03/2025 | Jackson County Fair, Jackson Mi, Ham Radio demo

Aug 3-Aug 9, 1600Z-2200Z, W8J, Jackson, MI. Cascade Amateur Radio Society (CARS). 7.225 14.250. QSL. CARS - W8JXN, P.O. Box 512, Jackson, MI 49201-0512. w8jxn.org

This Sunday marks two weeks before the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt! You can still get a number to participate as a Skeeter - right up until the day before - but why wait? We are up t0 168 Skeeters signed up, representing some 46 different states and provinces.

https://www.qsl.net/w2lj

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!