The Weekend - October 12th & 13th

If the Sun calms down by the weekend! Severe geomagnetic storms are a happenin'!

Severe enough that we actually did get to see aurora over New Jersey last night! It was beautiful while it lasted, which was not long at all.  I thought the Northern Lights were something that lasted for a bit longer than what we saw last night. I'm hoping we get another view tonight.

Contests:

QRP  Fall QSO Party - http://qrparci.org/contest/fall-qso-party

Nevada QSO Party - http://nvqso.com/contest-rules/

Oceania DX Contest, CW - https://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/

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

Arizona QSO Party - https://www.azqp.org/

Pennsylvania QSO Party - http://paqso.org/pa-qso-party-rules.html

South Dakota QSO Party - http://www.sdqsoparty.com/ - This is a prime opportunity for those chasing WAS QRP to get one of the rare ones.

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

Special Event Stations:

10/12/2024 | 3rd Annual Scratching Post QSL Party in the Lucedale City Park

Oct 12, 1300Z-2300Z, K5K, Lucedale, MS. George County Mississippi Amateur Radio Emergency Service (A.R.E.S.) Group. 14.275 28.390 7.265 7.074. QSL. KD4VVZ, 258 Geiger Rd. , Lucedale, MS 39452. gcmsares.org

10/12/2024 | BIG (Believe in Girls) Event

Oct 12, 1400Z-1930Z, W5YL, Thibodaux, LA. Ascension and Thibodaux Amateur Radio Clubs. 14.290 14.230 SSTV 18.125 DMR TG 907. QSL. AARC, PO BOX 1617, Gonzales, LA 70707. Ascension & Thibodaux Amateur Radio Clubs will combine to showcase STEM in amateur radio to approximately 2,000 Girl Scouts at the BIG (Believe in Girls) Expo from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux LA

10/12/2024 | Collins Radio 91st Anniversary

Oct 12, 1400Z-1700Z, W0CXX, Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Amateur Radio Club. 14.263 MHz. QSL. Brice AntonJensen, 1110 Lyndhurst Dr, Hiawatha, IA 52233. www.qrz.com/db/W0CXX

10/12/2024 | Commemorating the Birthday of the US Navy on 10/13/1775

Oct 12, 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

10/12/2024 | Cruising the Coast OTA

Oct 12, 1300Z-1859Z, N5OS, Ocean Springs, MS. Jackson County Amateur Radio Association. 14.074 14.270 14.334. Certificate. Jerry Davis, 1017 Margaret St, Ocean Springs, MS 39564. This OTA event coincides with the Annual Cruisin' the Coast event which is unrelated to this event. https://jcmsara.org/ctcota

10/12/2024 | Ham Radio Day at the Library

Oct 12, 1500Z-2100Z, N4V, Nokomis, FL. Tamiami ARC. 14.319 21.040. QSL. Tamiami ARC, PO Box 976, Nokomis, FL 34273. Commemorating the First "Ham Radio Day" at the Sarasota County Library tamiamiarc.org

10/12/2024 | Knights of Columbus Celebration of Columbus Day

Oct 12-Oct 14, 0000Z-2359Z, K0C, Bridgeton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club . 7.185 14.250 18.140 21.350. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Ave, Bridgeton, NJ 08302-4822. NJ2KC.org

10/12/2024 | Little David Special Event Station

Oct 12, 1300Z-1800Z, N4HLH, North Charleston, SC. Trident Amateur Radio Club. 14.262. QSL. Chris Benoit - KC4NW, PO Box 60732, North Charleston, SC 29419. https://www.tridenthams.org/w4d-ses; w4d@tridenthams.org; tridenthams.org

10/12/2024 | President Ike Eisenhower's Birthday

Oct 12, 1300Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7.1 14.1 21.1 28.1. QSL. K3LU, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Single transmitter SSB and CW aboard N/S Savannah. Please check spotting networks for frequencies. Info on QRZ.com www.qrz.com/db/k3s

10/12/2024 | Re-enactment of the First Trans-Global Two-Way Radio Communication

Oct 12-Oct 20, 0000Z-2359Z, ZL4AA, Shag Valley Sheep Station, NEW ZEALAND. Radio Society of Great Britain and New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (Otago Branch). All bands and all modes depending on operator avilability. QSL. See website, for, information, NEW ZEALAND. www.gb2nz.com

10/12/2024 | Rocklin Maker Faire

Oct 12, 1700Z-2200Z, N6M, Rocklin, CA. ARRL Sacramento Valley Section. 146.520 14.074 14.290. Certificate. Carol F Milazzo, PO Box 665, Citrus Heights, CA 95611. ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Exhibit at Rocklin Maker Faire. Send inquiries to KP4MD https://rocklin.makerfaire.com

10/12/2024 | Rogersville TN Heritage Days

Oct 12-Oct 13, 1400Z-2100Z, N2H, Rogersville, TN. Handcock-Hawkins Amateur Radio Team. 7.120 7.123 7.126 7.130. QSL. David Broome, 360 Rogers Road, Rogersville, TN 37857. Heritage Days in Rogersville, TN, a 3 day celebration that whisks you away to a bygone era, where community, tradition, and good old-fashioned fun reign supreme. It weaves a vibrant tapestry of history, where the aroma of apple cider mingles with the lively tunes of Appalachian fiddles mebtfs@yahoo.com

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

So yesterday

I mentioned yesterday that I was probably a day late and a dollar short and with all the geomagnetic activity, the Northern Lights must have been pretty up in the 1,000 Islands .........right?

This was posted to Facebook by K & N photography - of course this happened  AFTER we left.

Of course!  Of course!

I guess the silver lining is that the geomagnetic activity that promulgated these auroral displays did not happen until after my two successful POTA activations. So for bands that were in decent shape and allowed for some amazing contacts ....... I am grateful. (Always have to look at the bright side!)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another one

I've decided to make the 4States QRP Group 4S-Tuner the official tuner of the W2LJ QMX Portable Ops bag. So I ordered another one for the shack for when I use the HW-8.  This way, I don't have to keep transferring the one I have back and forth between car and shack.

I really, really like the function of the two LEDs.  Great design feature by David Wayne Cripe NM0S!

When the red one is bright and the green one is out, the SWR is too high. When the two LEDs are of equal brightness, you have a 2:1 SWR. When the green LED is at max brightness, and the red LED is at minimum brightness or out altogether, your SWR is around 1:1.

This is a T-Match Tuner and I find it a bit easier to use, having the inductor in the circuit. Nothing against the ZM-2 as it is a wonderful little unit and will stay in the KX3 bag, should the autotuner fail for whatever reason. But sometimes, I just have a bit of trouble getting that single red LED to dim. I guess it's range is just a little narrower than the 4S-Tuner.

I already know it works well with my KM4CFT EFRW antenna. This weekend, time and weather permitting, I'd like to see how it handles the AX1 from our patio tabletop - a simulated POTA activation. Have to practice, just like the astronauts did! HI HI !

Onto another subject, with all the CMEs and solar flares that have been occurring the past few weeks, I saw this photo on Facebook, taken just yesterday, from the 1,000 Islands region in Upstate NY.

Marianne and I are heading up there soon for some away time for our Anniversary - I know I've mentioned that before. Will this finally be a good chance for me to see the Northern Lights? I hope so! If I'm lucky enough, I'll try to get some photos.

While I'm on the subject of photos - here's a neat one I came across the other day, for the QRP Image of the Day. This was posted on Facebook by  Chris Farnham W1YTQ.  He was camping with his son's scout troop in Boston Harbor Island up in Massachusetts and one of the licensed Scouts actually accomplished his first POTA activation. Later, after the hustle and bustle of the day was over, Chris decided to stroll on down to the beach to activate - Boston Islands Park - US-2421, himself.

Isn't that a beauty of a shot? The moon and it's reflection on the water, the KH1 with the antenna sticking up, and that cube-ish  lantern. What a great mood shot! And once again, it shows that you don't have to tote around a whole mess of equipment to have a good time!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I love stuff like this!

 Definitely from the "Don't believe everything you see on the internet" file.

In all my 67 years of living in New Jersey and in the some 45 years of paying attention to this stuff as an Amateur Radio operator, I have never seen aurora in New Jersey, ever!

I think it would take an almost Carrington type event for aurora to be seen this far south of the Arctic Circle. And if aurora was actually able to be seen over my state, then invariably it would be cloudy or overcast and that would "86" the opportunity.

This latest geomagnetic storm was intense, but it didn't shut down HF communications - not by a long shot. I was able to make contacts on 20 and 30 Meters yesterday afternoon, and the St. Max Net on 75 Meters last night went exceptionally well. I was able to hear everyone who participated and that's not often the case. Yeah, the band was a little noisier than it has been, but that's probably due more to the fact that we're approaching Spring atmospheric conditions. 

In addition, I'm not sure where places like earth.com get their information. The aurora maps that I saw that were published by NOAA yesterday didn't even show NY State as a possibility. And as far as I'm concerned, I think the best chance of me EVER being able to see aurora would be if a very severe geomagnetic storm occurred while we are up at Lake George some summer from now.

Aurora visible from Alabama? Maybe I'm dead wrong, but I would think that if that were the case, then the skies over New Jersey would be a spectacular light show!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!