After a beautiful Saturday and a very nice Easter Sunday, I awoke to a world covered in white. Yes, Virginia, it is once again snowing in New Jersey. There'a about 2-3 inches down already, as a rough guesstimate without any actual measuring.
The drive into work was a hoot as nothing was plowed or cleared. I would hazard a guess that all the normal road crews were off to enjoy the Easter/Passover weekend. It was a white knuckle ride, driving in preceding car's wheel ruts on the highways; and then getting bombarded with splattering snow thrown up by passing tractor/trailers.
I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those years where Winter hangs on, kicking and screaming until the bitter end. Then, a week later we'll start getting temperatures in the 80s and 90s, with no Spring to speak of.
Whatever, I wish the seasons would change, already, so that I could start enjoying some lunch time QRP at work again.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Showing posts with label weirdness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weirdness. Show all posts
Monday, April 02, 2018
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Eight new Hams
Last night we concluded our Technician Class license course with a VE Exam Session. Of the fifteen students who originally started in January, ten kept with it and made it to the end. Of those ten, eight earned their licenses last night.
It was gratifying to see a new class of Amateur operators emerge from all these weeks of study. The two who need a bit more study time have been invited to our next regular VE Session on April 11th.
As satisfying as all that was (as if it wasn't enough), I actually made it home in time to fully participate in the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt. Wow, wow, wow!
Both Foxes, Todd N9NE in WI and Tom KV2X in NY were both 599. In fact, at times Tom was 599+. And I had the most difficult time working both of them.
Go figure.
There was a high ambient noise level, there was also some VE SSB, and there was the SKCC monthly weeknight sprint to deal with. All those added up for a tough night of Fox hunting. Todd was first in the bag and he turned out to be the relatively "easy" catch. I nabbed Tom with about 10 minutes to go, but am not sure I can really count on his pelt. According to the log he published last night, he copied my exchange perfectly, but he had my call as W2RJO. I don't know if that was a typing error, a transcription error (from paper log to computer log - I've done that plenty of times!), or he just didn't hear me well enough to get it correctly. If it's a case of the latter, and I'm scrubbed from the log, it will probably be the first time in over a decade of Fox hunting that I have failed to make a QSO with a 599+ Fox. Que sera', sera'!
Wacky evening on 40 Meters last night, indeed, and a tip of the ol' call sign cap to both N9NE and KX2X for doing a phenomenal job with the poor hand the Propagation Princess dealt them.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
It was gratifying to see a new class of Amateur operators emerge from all these weeks of study. The two who need a bit more study time have been invited to our next regular VE Session on April 11th.
As satisfying as all that was (as if it wasn't enough), I actually made it home in time to fully participate in the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt. Wow, wow, wow!
Both Foxes, Todd N9NE in WI and Tom KV2X in NY were both 599. In fact, at times Tom was 599+. And I had the most difficult time working both of them.
Go figure.
There was a high ambient noise level, there was also some VE SSB, and there was the SKCC monthly weeknight sprint to deal with. All those added up for a tough night of Fox hunting. Todd was first in the bag and he turned out to be the relatively "easy" catch. I nabbed Tom with about 10 minutes to go, but am not sure I can really count on his pelt. According to the log he published last night, he copied my exchange perfectly, but he had my call as W2RJO. I don't know if that was a typing error, a transcription error (from paper log to computer log - I've done that plenty of times!), or he just didn't hear me well enough to get it correctly. If it's a case of the latter, and I'm scrubbed from the log, it will probably be the first time in over a decade of Fox hunting that I have failed to make a QSO with a 599+ Fox. Que sera', sera'!
Wacky evening on 40 Meters last night, indeed, and a tip of the ol' call sign cap to both N9NE and KX2X for doing a phenomenal job with the poor hand the Propagation Princess dealt them.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Haunted?
Something is definitely wacky with this HP laptop that I am using. Maybe I need to call in a priest and have an exorcism done. Maybe I need to shake a dead chicken and some garlic at it.
You know the story. The other night, I loaded the latest version of TQSL for LotW and requested a new call sign certificate from the ARRL. The certificate came, I tried loading it, it wasn't recognized. I tried re-booting the computer several times - nada. I uninstalled TQSL and re-downloaded it and re-installed it. Zilch.
I e-mailed the League and described my problem. They kindly sent me an eleven page .pdf file, describing what to do with troublesome call sign certificates. I was going to un-install TQSL again, delete my certificates and start from scratch. But then I got this nagging little feeling. Give it one more shot, a little voice said.
I successfully signed and uploaded my ADIF file to Newington, without so much as a hiccup, burp or hitch. I did NOTHING new, different or out of the ordinary. Tonight it worked like a charm, when the other night nothing worked. Then I took a look at the certificate properties. "Successfully loaded 2/23/2015" or words to that effect. What? But that's not possible! At least that's not what it was saying the other night! The other night, the certificate couldn't be found!
Excuse me while I run out for some Holy Water. Computers are dark magic and evil. Either that, or I have just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
You know the story. The other night, I loaded the latest version of TQSL for LotW and requested a new call sign certificate from the ARRL. The certificate came, I tried loading it, it wasn't recognized. I tried re-booting the computer several times - nada. I uninstalled TQSL and re-downloaded it and re-installed it. Zilch.
I e-mailed the League and described my problem. They kindly sent me an eleven page .pdf file, describing what to do with troublesome call sign certificates. I was going to un-install TQSL again, delete my certificates and start from scratch. But then I got this nagging little feeling. Give it one more shot, a little voice said.
I successfully signed and uploaded my ADIF file to Newington, without so much as a hiccup, burp or hitch. I did NOTHING new, different or out of the ordinary. Tonight it worked like a charm, when the other night nothing worked. Then I took a look at the certificate properties. "Successfully loaded 2/23/2015" or words to that effect. What? But that's not possible! At least that's not what it was saying the other night! The other night, the certificate couldn't be found!
Excuse me while I run out for some Holy Water. Computers are dark magic and evil. Either that, or I have just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
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