Who's Zooming who?

The countdown clock says 352 days until W2LJ punches the timeclock from this job for the last time. I have decided that my retirement gift to myself will be to attend FDIM in 2026, if God is willing. I've already contacted Brian KB9BVN about meeting up with him there. I also let Rick NK9G know that I plan to be there.

I wanted to go this year, but the job precludes it. I did sign up to watch the proceedings on Zoom, and while I'm working the tablet is going. Currently, the topic is the T-41 transceiver. This stuff is lightyears above my paygrade. I am listening, knowing that I will never have the technical expertise to even follow what these guys are talking about, much less designing and building anything like this on my own.

I've always been and always will be a "Ham & Egger" Amateur Radio Operator.. I'm hoping there will be some presentations later on the day that will not be Greek to me. I kind of doubt it though. I'm nowhere near the league that most QRP'er and FDIM'ers are in.

They're taking questions on the T-41 and I don't even understand those! And after watching the morning session I have to say .........these guys are geniuses ........I'm an appliance operator. My purpose for attending FDIM in person would be for the social aspect of it - the chance to finally meet other QRP'ers face to face that I have only known via the airwaves.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Cruddy conditions

When I checked into the St. Max Net last night on 40 Meters SSB, band conditions were abysmal. I could hardly hear anyone besides Net Control Station, Lloyd K3QNT. Hamclock informed me that the k Index was approaching 5 and we had had numerous flares throughout the day. Halfway through the net conditions had gotten better and I was hearing just about everyone.

Buoyed by that, I decided to give the 4SQRP Second Sunday Sprint a whirl. I only heard one very weak station around 14.060 MHz and could not make them out clearly. Conversations this morning in the io.group lead me to believe that was more than likely Mark WB9HFK, based on reports from other participants. I certainly couldn't make him out. I called "CQ 4S" for about 10 minutes or so with no takers. The RBN map for last night is way more impressive than reality. I was being heard, but was not being answered.  That happens some times.

Thinking that 40 Meters would be the better choice, I went back there. Wall to wall SST stations! I did not hear a single 4 States station. I sent an e-mail to the group this morning and found out that most of them hang out around 7.0122 MHz. Had I known that, I might have made a few QSOs. Better luck next month. What's that saying? "Forewarned is forearmed"?

This coming weekend is Hamvention. I am not going, as I had hoped, but next year, I should (no........WILL) be retired by then. A goal for 2026 - I desperately want to make a Four Days In May. I will be attending by Zoom this year, but it's not the same.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

That's it! I'm going!

To Hamvention and FDIM next year! God willing and the creek don't rise and I'm in good health and there are no family emergencies. I mentioned to Marianne that I'd like to go and that attending FDIM is on my bucket list and she had no problems.

May is always a busy month for us as both out birthdays are in May, Mother's Day is in May, but there are no more graduations to worry about missing ...........so hopefully it's a go for next year. I've been wanting to go for so long to actually meet some of the people I've talked to on the radio for years. So I will start saving my shekels now.

I got on the air for the Run For The Bacon last night. The K index was 2, and the solar flux was 200. According to the solar weather sites, that meant decent conditions, but I thought they were "meh" at best. Signals were so low on 20 Meters as to be deep in the noise and pretty much unintelligible. 40 Meters wasn't much better. I made three or four contacts and pulled the big switch. Maybe June will ne better.

The rest of the weekend was jam packed with house chores, so other than hunting a few POTA stations, there wasn't much on the air time. I spent a little time on Facebook, hoping to catch some big news from Hamvention, but it appears there wasn't any. Icom rolled out some circuit boards to keep everyone guessing about their next big deal, while Kenwood and Yaesu were silent.  Elecraft is still rolling in the wake of the KH1 introduction, so nothing new was expected from them.

I guess from a QRP standpoint the biggest news was QRP Labs QMX+. Attendance seemed to be good and the weather cooperated on Saturday, so I guess everyone is happy.

Outside, the weather was decent this weekend. That afforded me the chance to put the Hustler 2 Meter/440 antenna on the car that Joseph and Marianne gifted to me for my birthday. Wow! What a difference from the piece of (be nice, W2LJ!) that I had on there. The only drawback is that the radiator is 36" tall, so no more parking in the deck at work. I started parking in the regular lot this morning. Not a big deal when the weather is nice, right? But when the weather is nasty, it goes to show what Hams are willing to put up with for the sake of Amateur Radio.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hamvention this weekend!

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!

Congratulations!

 Congratulations are in order to John Shannon K3WWP and Tom Witherspoon K4SWL for being inducted into the QRP Hall of Fame at this year's Four Days in May event at Hamvention.

It's nice to see some of "the guys in the trenches" being recognized for their contributions.  John for his streak, super informative blog and his daily "diary" and for all his efforts to show how QRP, CW and simple antennas really and truly can get the job done.

Tom for his excellent blog and all his inspiring videos to show the way "to do it". How to go about portable ops the right way and the way he shows how equipment works and how to use it.

QRP-ARCI Leadership - thanks so much for inducting these two into the HOF. I can't think of any two more deserving!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another virtual! FDIM

This time it's for Four Days in May - to be held (virtually) on Saturday, May 22nd. I'm sorry to say that  this will be my very first FDIM. My last trip to Dayton was the very last year before FDIM began. Talk about "so close and yet so far!".  Marriage and helping to raise two little kids followed closely and those duties along with work kept me from making the trips to Ohio.

But I digress.

For all the details, you can go to the QRP-ARCI Website

This year some of the topics are:

Jerry Wolczanski KI4IO - Making an Antenna Coupler

Dr. Jack Purdum W8TEE - How to Select a Microcontroller for a QRP Project

Dave Benson K1SWL - Anatomy of a Transceiver; Building a Better Mousetrap

Han Summers G0UPL - Reach for the Skies: Extreme QRP at 35,000 Feet

Dino Papas KL0S - Bench Setup Using Inexpensive Test Equipment

Tim Snodgrass KC0DN - Breaking Free of the Sunspot Cycle

Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE - sBITX - An Open Source SDR that YOU can hack!

I am so looking forward to this!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FDIM 2021

As seen on the QRPARCI  groups.io e-mail reflector:

Well, I'm sure we have all heard the news that the Dayton Hamvention has been canceled for 2021.  The unavoidable consequence of this is that QRPARCI will also cancel the _physical_ FDIM convention.  

That said, the hard work of lining up speakers and topics for our convention has already been performed.  We will have a VIRTUAL FDIM, with a host of interesting and informative topics.  We will be ironing out the details of this over the next month, and updating the membership as we go.

I look forward to this event, and then gathering again in 2022.  Until then, stay healthy, optimistic, and radio-active!

72

David Cripe NM0S

President, QRPARCI

Thanks, Dave!  I will definitely be "attending" my first FDIM!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hamvention 2021 ....... Cancelled!

 Snip taken from Facebook:

Meanwhile, David Wayne Cripe NM0S, the President of QRP - ARCI had announced about a week ago that FDIM - Four Days in May, will be virtual this year.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FDIM Speakers

Preston Douglas WJ2V posted the potential speakers list for FDIM 2020. Of course this is tentative considering that FDIM is a few months away and that things can change. But for those of you who are lucky enough to be going - this is the scheduled lineup as of this moment:

Holiday Inn Fairborn, Ohio --Thursday May14

9:15 - Jerry Wolczanski "Making an antenna coupler" 
10:00 - Dave Benson "The Phaser: FT8 and other tricks" 
10:45-11:15  - Break 
11:15 - Dennis Anderson (Kanga UK): "Why SMD?" 
12:00-1:30 Lunch 
1:30 - Jack Purdum "Using Microcontrollers in you ham radio projects" 
2:15 - Dino Papas. "Bench set up with inexpensive test equipment" 
3:00 - Hans Summers ""Reach for the skies: extreme QRP at 35,000 ft"

3:45 End

Sure makes me wish I was going!  For those of you who may still be thinking about it, you can go to the QRP -ARCI Website to register and make reservations for the hotel.

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

FDIM Registration open

http://qrparci.org/fdim

I was planning to attend this year. However, I was informed a couple days ago that this is the weekend I have to move my daughter back home from college for the summer.

Sigh. But on the bright side, I guess I'm still needed.

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

FDIM 2020?

The kids are in college and don't need Dad to chauffeur them, anymore.

For the next 52 weeks, $20 a week into an envelope to pay for hotel, gas and food come next May.

Possible? I certainly hope so! Maybe I can finally meet a lot of you, face to face for once.

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

Safe travels!

Safe travels to all my friends and readers who may be travelling to Hamvention and FDIM this week.

May the weather be good, the traffic be light and may your experience be a fun and joyous one - and may the return home trip to your loved ones be safe and uneventful.

Godspeed!

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

Just renewed

I sent in my $25.00 renewal to QRP-ARCI this morning. And I got to thinking how QRP has changed over the years.

When I originally joined back in the late 70s - the stated goal of the organization was to keep output power under 100 Watts, in order to mitigate QRM and needless interference. 100 Watts! Wow! We've come a long way from 100 Watts. It makes me wonder what the original founders would have said if someone had asked, "Hey ....... why not make that 5 Watts?" I can only imagine that stares that question would have received, at the time.

In a time when a lot of organizations seem to be raising their dues, QRP-ARCI has been pretty consistent. $25.00 is not a bad price to pay for "QRP Quarterly", the organization's magazine. It's full of tips and technical stuff - I'm always learning something new. There's also more "human interest" non-technical articles in there, from time to time, that just extol the fun of running QRP.

And even though I have never been, QRP ARCI does a bang up job of running "Four Days in May" every year at Hamvention.  I would dearly like to make it there one of these years in order to meet, face to face, the many QRP friends that I have made over the years. That would be grand, and is definitely on my "bucket list".

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
QRP-ARCI # 4488

Saving up!

As Hamvention weekend was coming to a close, I have decided that I am going to make my best effort to attend FDIM and Hamvention in 2018. If I put a little $$$ aside each week, I should have ample funds come the beginning of the year.

Now that my two kids are older, I really want to attend FDIM to meet as many of you as I can; as well as all the great folks I've worked over the years in the various Sprints, etc.

So, to you FDIM veterans out there - I take it that the event is still taking place at the Holiday Inn in Fairborn?  When's the best time to reserve a room?

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

Wishing I was at Dayton

not so much for Hamvention itself, as that's always fun - but for FDIM.

For the newbies and those not familiar with QRP ..... FDIM is an acronym for Four Days In May. FDIM is a mini-convention or gathering of QRPers in advance of Hamvention.  FDIM consists of an arrival greeting at the Holiday Inn in Fairborn, OH on Wednesday evening, followed by forums all day Thursday. Vendor Night is Thursday evening and there are get-togethers, meals, other QRP activities and QRP fellowship that occur to fill in the gaps.  Hamvention itself takes up Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.  FDIM closes with the QRP banquet on Saturday evening. Pretty good summation from a guy who's never been, eh?

The last time I was to Dayton was way back in 1996.  FDIM inaugurated the following year, in 1997. so I missed it by a year, basically.  As I previously mentioned, it takes place at the Holiday Inn in Fairborn, which is literally across the parking lot from the Homewood Suites where I used to stay the years that I did go to Hamvention. The Homewood Suites was where the AMSAT group stayed, and I was big into working RS 10/11 and RS 12/13 back in those days. (See?  I have done stuff other than QRP CW operating!)

I'm getting off track here.

As part of my "QRP, You and the Great Outdoors" presentation that I gave earlier this month, I started explaining that one of the side benefits of being a QRPer is how close and tightly knit the QRP community is.  FDIM would give me the chance to finally meet face to face with so many people that I have come to call friends over the years. I sorely miss the opportunity to do that, and would love to - at least just once!

Maybe, just maybe, if God is willing - next year might finally be the year. My kids are getting older and don't need Dad to be with them 24/7.  If I start saving now .........

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

The scoop from Elecraft at FDIM

So Elecraft came to FDIM today, to announce the new K3S.

The new product is an enhanced K3 with many new features - here's a link to a .pdf which explains them all in detail. And here's a link to a FAQ.

It appears the new K3S will be approximately $500 more than the old version, and the original K3 has been "discontinued" or "replaced" - whichever you prefer. In addition, it appears most, but not all the enhancements will be retro-fittable to make a K3 a K3S. The new bezel and the attenuator, for instance, will not.

I wonder - how does the guy feel who took delivery on a brandy new K3, in the very recent past?  Are they happy because  they squeaked under the wire and got their K3 at the lower price?  Or are they feeling a bit miffed because they ordered and received something that is no longer "the latest and the greatest"?  Except for the cosmetics, it appears that you can pretty much turn your existing K3 almost into a K3S - and you do have a "system" that is continually upgradable. So if you're an Elecraft owner, you can take comfort in the fact that when you buy something, the company does its best to stand behind their product and you.

I for one, am quite happy with my KX3's. They're all the radio I need, and should Elecraft come out with a KX3S tomorrow, I would not be bothered in the least.

The morning UStream feed from FDIM was disappointing. If you attempted to watch it, you saw that only a portion of the video picture appeared and none of the audio. Basically, you missed the entire Elecraft K3S presentation. Things got straightened out during Rev. Dobb's presentation and we were able to hear that the good Reverend was inaugurated as QRP-ARCI's very first Lifetime Member.

The silver lining is that hopefully the feed will be up and running normally for the remaining sessions.

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

FDIM and Dayton

Once again, I do not have the good fortune of being able to attend FDIM and Dayton.  Attending FDIM is like, #1 on my wish list, but not this year and probably not next year, either.  Joey's Confirmation is this weekend and next year, Cara's will be the same weekend. So maybe FDIM 2016?  I can always hope!

But even though I'm not there, I do have the symposium running on a separate tab and I am listening, while working. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/g4gxl-test is the link, for those of you not in the know.

What I am listening to is mostly over my head.  I'm not a technical wizard by any stretch of the imagination.  Most of these guys making presentations are using transporters while I'm still rubbing two sticks together, trying to make fire.  That said, it's still fun to listen to. Craig Behrens NM4T gave a talk that I am actually able to follow and enjoy - same for Rev. Dobson's talk on regenerative receivers earlier this morning. And right now there's a fascinating talk being given about WWII POWs building clandestine radios by Dave Cripe NM0S. Man, I wish I were there!

All this talk of Arduinos has me curious.  There's a guy who comes to all the NJ Hamfests who sells beginner kits and I have that ARRL Birthday Month coupon kicking around - and they have a good book on Arduino experimenting, if I remember correctly.  Intriguing (like I don't have enough to do!).

This afternoon during lunch I had a cool QSO with Gary WA2JQZ who was operating the Marshall Spaceflight Center ARC station WA4NZD. Gary was using a Yaesu FT950 at 5 Watts to a dipole.  He was a good 579 or louder here and I got a 559 in return.  I had actually worked Gary a few weekends ago during QRPttF. So we talked about that among other things.

And I hope I'm not "talking out of school" here, or giving away state secrets, but Gary shared some information that I am going to pass on.  Please listen for N4A later on this year, sometime towards the end of July. The Marshall Spaceflight Center ARC will be using that call to run a Special Event station honoring and commemorating Apollo 11 - which of course, landed on the Moon in July - July 20th, 1969 to be exact.  I'm not sure when they will be on, but I am sure there will be announcements in all the usual places.

As a Baby Boomer, I was a huge manned spaceflight fan/geek.  When I hear about something like this, I make every effort to work the space flight themed Special Event stations - even if it means picking up a microphone (ugh!)

Update - Congrats to TJ Campie, W0EA (fellow blogger) who won one of four TenTec Rebel radios, which were given as door prizes today at FDIM. It was neat to listen in as his name was announced.

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

Hello Dayton !!!!

Are any of my readers at FDIM and/or Hamvention?

Do you have anything you'd like to share?  Comments, stories, news items?

Anybody not at Dayton that wants to relate a favorite memory or anything else?

Just for this weekend, I've taken off some of the restrictions on commenting, including allowing anonymous comments - but please, give your name and call sign!  (I will delete offensive or spam comments.)

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

A nice surprise

was in the mail when I got home from work - an envelope from the ARRL.  I had recently updated my LOTW log and sent in an application for a bunch of DXCC entities that I had worked.  That application put  me over the 150 DXCC entities worked mark, so the League sent me a little "DXCC 150" sticker for my basic certificate.  I am surmising that you can get an endorsement stickers for multiples of 50 DXCC entities worked, ie 150, 200, 250, 300 and finally 320 and then Honor Roll, I guess.

This submission brought me up to 151 confirmed.  I actually have 3 or 4 more in the log with stations that do not use LOTW, so I will have to get their confirmations the old fashioned way.

In addition to those 3 or 4 I just mentioned, you can add another, as I worked SX5KL in the Dodecanese Islands for another new DXCC entity worked.  I actually worked him twice (yes, I know I'm a hog) once QRO and then about 90 minutes later QRP.  The first time, he was about a 579 here - 90 minutes later, he was blasting through at 599+ and the pileup wasn't very fierce.  So I took the chance and got through the second time with 5 Watts and thanked him for listening to my QRP signal.

On an entirely different note, I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes for a very safe journey to all of you out there who are traveling toward FDIM and Hamvention.  I hope the weather is great for you and that you all have a great time.  I wish that I could be with you guys at FDIM, and finally meet face to face with so many of you that I have come to consider to be good friends.

To paraphrase W.C. Fields - "All things considered, I'd rather be in Dayton".

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

Severe case of Dayton envy!

I really envy all of you fortunate enough to attend the Dayton Hamvention and FDIM.  Looks like a bounty of good QRP stuff will be available.  Doug Hendricks KI6DS, posted this to QRP-L today:

Hendricks QRP kits will be at Dayton again this year, and we will be in a new location. Our booth numbers are 459 and 460, located right across from the ARRL in the Ball Arena. And we have 9 new products, yes, you read it right, 9. Here they are:

1. The Weber Tribander designed by Steve Weber, KD1JV. This is a 3 band CW Transceiver and you get to pick your bands from the following: 15, 17, 20, 30, 40 and 80 Meters. Digital display, Custom Case, DDS Vfo, and Encoder Tuning. If you have wanted a PFR on other bands or with rotary encoder tuning, this is the radio for you. Price: $200.

 2. The Tuthill 160 designed by Dan Tayloe. Finally, a cw transceiver kit for 160M. We have expanded the popular Tuthill series to now include 160M with a full 5 Watts of output. Basic Kit is $100 (show special), optional Digital Display, $35. Now is the time to get this kit so you will be ready for 160 in the fall.

3. SMK-2. The popular surface mount 40M CW transceiver designed by Dave Fifield is back. And it is improved! The SMK-2 comes with 2 Frequencies, and is complete with case and connectors. Plus there is an optional Crystal Board available for switchable frequencies. The Transceiver is $40, Optional Crystal Board is $10. Frequencies are 7.030, 7.040 and 7.122MHz.

4. 41dB Step Attenuator. We have kitted the popular design that has been in the ARRL handbook for years. Ken Locasale designed a great looking case, and everything is included. Great for working low power and for transmitter hunts. $50.

5. Rock Hunter Chassis for the DCxxB series. We now have a case, connectors and an addon board to give 2 additional frequencies for the DCxxB series of transceivers. We have had many, many requests for a case for the DCxx series of transceivers, and now we have it. $20 for the case, connectors, controls and addon frequency board.

 6. Red Hot 40 Transceiver. We will have a special price on the Red Hot 40, the high performance 40 Meter CW Transceiver designed by Dave Fifield. The show special is $200, which is $50 off the regular price.

 7. Repackaged Tayloe SWR Meter. Ken has come up with a great little chassis for the SWR Meter designed by Dan Tayloe, N7VE. $25.

8. Sota Tuner. This has been one of our best sellers since we introduced it in September. The Sota is an End Fed Half Wave Tuner with a metal case, stainless steel hardware, and only weighs 2.5 ounces, and the price is $30.

9. Two Fer Transmitter. The Twofer is a great little transmitter. Available on 40 or 30 or 20 Meters. Show special at $30.

We will also have show specials on the Tenna Dipper, with a price of $70, MMR40 at $175, NADC40 basic kit w/out digital display, $100, Ft. Tuthill 15, basic kit no display, $100.

Stop by the booth and say hello to Steve Weber, KD1JV who will be in the booth on Friday and Saturday, plus Dean Davis, Darrel Swenson, Ken and Karen Locasale.

Plus, we will be able to take credit cards this year for the first time. We accept Visa, Mastercharge, Discover and American Express. I am kitting like crazy and really excited about this year at Dayton. Hope to see you there. Doug

Sounds like it's a good idea to bring lots of radio money along.  Maybe it's a good thing that I'm not going? At least that's what the XYL is probably thinking.

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