Good enough for CQ - DXCC to follow?

This is posted with copious thanks to Rich Moseson W2VU and the CQ magazine Newsroom:

From the CQ Newsroom…

MONTENEGRO ADDED TO CQ DX COUNTRIES LIST

The following is from CQ DX Awards Manager Billy Williams, N4UF:

Montenegro has been added to the CQ DX Countries List. Contacts made after
June 3, 2006 (independence date) are valid. Updates of country totals,
especially for those on the CQ DX Honor Roll, may be submitted now. See CQ DX
COUNTRY AWARD TIPS on the CQ DX Awards home page at
<http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bfwillia/page3.html> for details on submitting
updates. Updates must be submitted by postal mail. No internet updates will be
accepted.

The next CQ DX Honor Roll will be posted on the CQ DX Awards page (see above
link) in early August and will appear in CQ a few months later. Deadline for
submissions for this listing is July 31st.

In order to equalize postal delivery times, updates received through July 31st
will receive equal consideration. See paragraphs 21 through 25 of the CQ DX
COUNTRY AWARD TIPS.

CQ DX FIELD AWARD UPDATE
Montenegro will be a dual field country (JN & KN). Serbia also remains a dual
field country (JN/KN). Information on the CQ DX Field Award is also available
from the CQ DX Awards home page and on the CQ magazine website awards page.

Thanks, Rich!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Propagation is a funny thing!

Two days - Tuesday June 27th and Wednesday June 28th.

On June 27th, I went out to the car during lunch and had two QRP QSOs. One was with KI4PP in Ashville, NC and the other was with WB6HGJ in San Diego, CA. Wow! 5 Watts from a Hamstick magmounted on the top of my car all the way across the country!!!

On June 28th, I went out to the car during lunch (same time) and heard nothing. Well, almost nothing. I heard a few QSOs in progress; but nothing compared to the amount of signals I heard yesterday.

Propagation is indeed a funny thing. However, it also makes Amateur Radio the immensely enjoyable avocation that it is; so I'll live with it (like I have a choice!).

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Good Read

If you are a Morse Code afficianado; or perhaps fancy yourself becoming one; then I heartily recommend and endorse reading, "The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy" by Bill Pierpont NØHFF. Sadly, Bill became a Silent Key within the last year; but his work is timeless and a treasure.

You can go the the FISTS website to find a link to it; or you can go straight to an on-line version by clicking on this URL: http://www.raes.ab.ca/TASRT/index.html

Bill's book contains the best advice I've ever heard for learning the code. Besides giving practical methods for actually doing it, Bill made the following statement, which I think effectively shoots down ALL the arguements the "anti-coders" use (including the two "obstacle" guys that I posted about previously).

"Psychology teaches us that when we start to learn something new, if we think of it as being EASY, it will be easy. The best teachers never hint or suggest that there is anything hard about it, and their students learn it quickly, usually within a week or two. They also make learning it FUN. We learn much faster that way; so think of learning it as fun -- enjoyable. If you want to learn it -- you can."

Those last eight words ....... Wow! All I can say is that truer words have never been spoken.

Do yourself a favor and take the time to read this book, either on-line; or if you prefer, by purchasing a copy. You will thank yourself a million times over.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Interesting

Since I started this QRP CW "QSO a Day" thing back on January 2005, I've made 2720 QSOs including the two I had tonight. I have had over 1800 QSOs last year; and I'm on a pace to break that this year.

Over 17 months of having at least one QSO a day. If you told me on December 31, 2004 that I'd still be at it as of June 28th 2006; I think I would have told you that you were nuts.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Days past - memories

I've been sitting here, reading accounts of some good Field Days from various folks on the SKCC, QRP-L and Elecraft e-mail reflectors. It makes this Field Day washout just a little harder to bear. But at the same time, it brings back some terrific Field Day memories.

It is my pleasure to be a member of the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club here in Central New Jersey. It was my distinct pleasure to serve as Secretary for one year, as Vice-President for two terms; and then finally as President for two terms. The PARC Club is a good club; but sadly, is only a shadow of its former self. Up until the ARRL came up with the EOC classification; we always had a great Field Day effort. No ...... that's wrong. Make that a fantastic Field Day effort - maybe the best Field Day effort I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of.

We always seemed to run 2A or 3A. Great Field Day plans were always made by Chuck Phillips WB2MSV (now an SK) and Don Ippolito KO2K. We always set up in a Green Acres field in town. We would have trailers and campers lent to us for the day by Bill Koeth W2WK and by Rich Pascale W2PQ. Bill works for a paving company and would always provide generators, portable lighting, and hauling services for equipment as needed. Chuck WB2MSV would always bring his fully equipped deluxe RV!

Antennas were a Yagi supported by a temporary tower made from an extension ladder. We strung dipoles from wooden A frames and lighting poles that were already there at the field. I think we used Bill W2WK's Butternut vertical a few times. Don KO2K used to work for the township; so the field where we were setting up was always manicured and sprayed for bugs ahead of time.

Drew W2OU was always in charge of the logging effort. He would prepare and send our reports into the ARRL. But the best thing about Field Day was the food! Norm KB2SBB and Charlie N2LHD were masters of the Field Day culinary art along with Richie AA2KS. Norm has since gone on to become an SK; but when the three of those guys got together - wow! A feast - a veritable feast like you've probably never seen at a Field Day. People used to come just for the food! We always had the standard fare, like sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, but then specialties like pasta, sausage peppers and onions; or home made manicotti or some other delicacy would appear from time to time! Richie AA2KS owned a produce distributing business along with his brothers; so we always had fresh watermelon, peaches and the like! There was always plenty of cold soda, water and cold 807s. It seems we never did without; or wanted for anything.

The competition between the CW and SSB tents was always good natured and fun. As a club officer, I always tried to make an effort to be there for the entire 24+ hours of the event. I can't tell you how many times I would almost fall asleep at the key! It seemed we always could have used more operators. Special memories include Phil Galasso K2PG, who would come and guest operate, clutching his straight key. Boy, Phil could make that straight key hum faster and smoother than a keyer and paddles. Then there was one year that we had a doctor, Bob Burrier N2TSQ, as a member of our group. Bob was disappointed as he had to attend a formal dinner on Field Day night. He made sure, however, that he came to the FD site immediately after his social affair was over - tuxedo and all! There's just something "a little different" about sitting next to a guy pounding out code and making contacts at 2:00 AM while wearing formal wear!

It was at a PARC Field Day that I first saw and operated a K2. One year we were having problems with the generators and the electrical panel. So at the 2:00 PM starting bell; we were hanging around with our thumbs you know where. Bob W3BBO went to his car and retrieved his brand new K2 with internal tuner and battery. We were humming away, making QRP CW contacts while the experts took care of the generator problems! In fact, my fondest memories of PARC Field Days were of sitting in Rich W2PQ's pop-up camper with Bob W3BBO. Bob would operate and I would log; and then after a while we would switch. Operating Field Day with Bob was a privilege to say the least. Bob is a superb CW op and a really good contester. Being with him got me into good habits that I still use today.

Yes, the memories are sweet indeed! Field Day will probably never be like that again, however. Unfortunately, set up and tear down became the specialty of too few guys who finally got tired of the work load. A superb Field Day effort is a terrible amount of work; which is best shared by all; and not just a few. In addition, the membership roles at PARC are also a shadow of their former numbers. It takes a lot of people to make a big production effort; we simply don't have the numbers now.

But, Field Day is Field Day. I cannot warm up to the idea of sitting in an Emergency Operations Center; sending out "2A NNJ" from some bunker-like atmosphere. Field Day is brain-melting heat and mosquitoes and sunburn and sudden thunder storms - getting soaked to the bone while disconnecting antennas in a blind panic and being careful to avoid the poison ivy. Field Day is sending CW until you can hear it in your sleep; it's forgetting your own callsign and catching yourself signing with the club's callsign for the next few days after it's all over! Next year, God willing, it might just be a wire tossed in a tree and my K1 or K2 working off a battery; but it will be Field Day - one of the best days of the Amateur Radio year!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day 2006

Was indeed a washout, I'm sorry to say. I had planned to set up the K1 and Buddistick/PAC-12 hybrid in the backyard; but that was a no-go. It rained hard, heavy and often. The sun peeked out a few times all weekend; but only to turn the already high humidity into a sauna.

So I operated from the basement shack on Saturday night, using the K2 and battery power to at least try to make it feel more like Field Day weekend. I made about 25 contacts and then, quite frankly, got bored and shut down. There's just something about operating outdoors, either solo or with a group, dealing with the hot sun, mosquitoes, bugs and other outdoor related phenomena that just makes Field Day ..... well, Field Day!

Come the last Sunday of July, I will get a chance at redemption. That Sunday is the Flight of the Bumblebees QRP CW contest sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society. I will go to the park that I am hoping to do Field Day at next year; and will make a trial run. This year I will be Bumblebee #57 (just like Heinz Ketchup!); and I am really, really looking forward to it.

73 de Larry W2LJ

The ARRL missed an opportunity .........

Above you can see two designs. The one in English was designed by the American Radio Relay League for a past Field Day (2003, I think). They have used this logo, since then, whenever they have desired to promote Amateur Radio's unique ability to be a "failsafe" communcations resource in an emergency when all routine commercial avenues fail.

In German, you will see a modified design that the German QRP Club put on T-shirts; and was selling at the Friedrichshafen Hamfest in Germany, which is Europe's version of Dayton Hamvention. You can see the similarity; and so did the ARRL. In fact an ARRL official, Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R, who was at Friedrichshafen went over to the German QRPers and asked/requested/demanded that they stop selling the T-shirts, as the logo is copyrighted by the ARRL.

Was the League within their rights? Yeah, they are ........ BUT the logo being used by the Germans is an adaptation and not a carbon copy. The similarities may be enough that the copyright was technically being violated - that's for the lawyers to decide. But that having been said, I think they made a crucial error. First and foremost, the League should be about promoting Amateur Radio and good will - anywhere and everywhere! The League official should have asked the German QRP Club to come to some sort of agreement, split the profits, don't sell any more T-shirts or perhaps agree to never use the logo again after the first run - anything but stop them at this point.

The idea is to spread the word about the need for Amateur Radio worldwide. Selling this logo on a T-shirt in Europe is not exactly going to hurt the League's efforts in the United States. The action they took might technically be the right course; but it makes the ARRL look incredibly small, selfish and petty. Worry about spreading Amateur Radio popularity and our survival first - worry about the coin later. The League needs to keep its priorities straight. If we lose Amateur Radio, the League won't HAVE ANYTHING to make money on.

73 de Larry W2LJ - Life Member, ARRL

Heard on the local repeater .........

Last night, I had the 2 Meter HT on while I was laying in bed on my way to falling asleep. What got me kind of riled and a bit worked up was the conversation between two local Hams about their preparations for Field Day.

They were both commenting on how much they were looking forward to working HF tomorrow (today). They normally don't because they are Technician class Hams and they both felt that learning Morse Code was an "obstacle" for them.

Obstacle? Obstacle? Obstacle !!!!! How I am soooooooooo sick and tired of hearing that excuse! I am sure there are a legitimate number of people out there who cannot learn the code for a variety of physical and medical reasons. But while I have no hard data to back me up; I feel that number is actually quite rare.

I'm sorry; but as far as I'm concerned; it's a matter of application, dedication and discipline. If you want it bad enough; you can learn the code. The current requirement is for 5 WPM which is so ridiculously slow, it's laughable! I can relate to this problem because I had problems learning the code when I was 16 years old. It kept me out of Ham radio for six years. I could have given up, made excuses and complained. Hey, I did all of those things for almost 6 years! But then I grew up a little more; and realized how badly I wanted a ticket. I buckled down and studied and passed the test with flying colors. And as way so many people are more than willing to point out ........ I'm nothing special! So if I can do it; just about anyone else can, too. For those people who can't; there is a legitimate medical waiver process that they can go through.

I'm tired of the whining and the moaning, the junk science, the rationalizations and the excuses and the bellyaching! You want HF bad enough? Then learn the code and pass the test like the rest of us have done - millions worldwide. It's REALLY not that hard; and maybe if you don't have them handed to you on a silver platter, your HF privileges might actually mean something to you.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day Washout

The forecast for Field Day is for a flash flood warning! Heavy rains tonight, with an 80% chance of rain tomorrow and a 100% chance of rain on Sunday! It looks like I'll not be doing much of anything for Field Day this year.

The Piscataway Club will be operating out of the EOC this year - again. Depending on how I feel tomorrow evening, maybe I'll go over there and put in a few hours on the overnight shift.

Hopefully, next year, our fledgling South Plainfield Ham group will get together next year in one of the town's many parks and we'll have a real 'out in the field" Field Day.

The Flying Pigs are having a real good Field Day effort out in the Midwest. Wish I could join them. But I did the next best thing tonight - I managed to work them, W8PIG. I guess I caught them in the midst of set-up; or perhaps they put the callsign on the air from a local member's shack. One thing about my fellow Piggies - they know how to have fun! I wish them the best of luck (as well as all of you out there) this Field Day. Stay safe, stay cool, stay un-sunburned and un-mosquito bitten (and if you're in the NorthEast - stay dry.)!

73 de Larry W2LJ

The new wire

The new end fed Zepp that I put up last weekend seems to be doing a good job for itself. I haven't gotten what I would consider a decent signal report from the States, yet; but DX has been A-OK!

So far I've worked Romania, Finland and St. Vincent with it, all on 30 Meters and all with QRP power levels. It seems to favor locations off the ends; so in this case NorthEast (which would beam into Europe) and to the SouthWest.

I haven't added any counterpoises. There seems to be no problems with stray RF getting into the shack. I think it'll be okay for 30 Meters.

73 de Larry W2LJ

NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint

Tonight was the first (and hopefully not last) NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint. QRPp operation was encouraged, with the goal in mind to get participants to turn their power down to 1 Watt or less. The Sprint lasted for only an hour (my kind of Sprint!) and it was from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM local time.

I turned the K2 down to the 900 mW level and I had a blast! In the hour, I worked ten stations, all in the Eastern time zone, of course. My best DX was Alabama where I worked AB9CA who is not an NAQCC member; but who had joined the Sprint and was running 1 Watt. Since NAQCC members gave their membership number instead of their output power, I have no idea how low these guys were going. But I did work another non-member; Hiro VE3CGC out of Ontario, Canada who was running 500 mW.

I hope the NAQCC sponsors this again! It was a ton of fun and I think as a twice a year event, it would go over quite well.

73 de Larry W2LJ

From the CQ Magazine news desk

This appears courtesy of Rich Moseson W2VU, editor of CQ magazine:

FCC Katrina Panel Recognizes Hams' Contributions:

The role of amateur radio operators in the response to Hurricane Katrina was recognized by the FCC"s "Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks." The panel's final report to the Commission on June 12, included a paragraph on the Amateur Radio Service, which stated:

"11. Amateur Radio Service. As with other commuinications services, amateur radio stations were also adversely affected by Katrina. Equipment was damaged or lost due to the storm and trained amateurs were difficult to find in the immediate aftermath. However, once called into help, amateur radio operators volunteered to support many agencies, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, Hurricane Watch and the American Red Cross. Amateurs provided wireless communications in many locations where there was no other means of communicating and also provided other technical aid to the communities affected by Katrina."

Among the panel's many recommendations was one that, in a disaster, any restrictive amateur radio rules be waived in order to permit any "transmissions necessary to meet essential communications needs."

The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on June 19, seeking comment on the panel's recommendation. EB Docket No. 06-119 may be accessed on the FCC website at <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs public/attachmatch/FCC-06-83A1.pdf> Note that the NPRM is 82 pages long and includes the entire report of the Independent Panel. Comments will be due 60 days after publication of the Notice inb the Federal Register, and my be filed online using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at <http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/Upload/>. Be sure to reference the docket number above.

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Two things I'd like to mention here. First off, we amateur radio operators have a terriffic friend in Rich Moseson W2VU. Yeah, I know that as editor of CQ Magazine that Rich has a vested interest to see amateur radio thrive and do well. But I know him personally and I can honestly say, without reservation, that this man loves amateur radio and will do whatever he can to promote us and our hobby. If you read his editorials in CQ Magazine, you will often see his opinions as the "common sense" side of things in many emotionally charged issues.

Secondly, if there's anyone out there who thinks that public service and public service communications are a waste of time and go unnoticed - all I have to say is: "Bunk !!!" This is what amateur radio is all about, in the end. It's about using our time and talents to help our neighbors, our country and our fellow man whenever the chips are down.

So, if you've been thinking that you'd like to get involved; but think it's too difficult then think again. There are a multitude of things you can do and things you can get involved in. Too many in fact to post here without doing a little research first. But you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll see more on this from me in a further post.

IMHO, public service communications may be the salvation of the Amateur Radio Service.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Father's Day and Antennas

It was hot yesterday! It got up to somewhere near 97 degrees in my area. It was a great day for doing antenna work.

After going to Sunday Mass, I took the family out to breakfast. After some good food; we returned home and my wife, Marianne, took our two children to the community pool. So, I had a few hours in which my goal was to put up an end fed Zepp. It stretched from a corner of the house, to the mast in the corner of the backyard which anchors one leg of my G5RV.

The antenna went up pretty easily, despite the inevitable snarls and tangles of antenna wire and feed line. The antenna itself ended up being a close to 80 foot length of 14 gauge "Flex-weave" antenna wire. I fed it at the house end with some "deluxe" Radio Shack 300 ohm TV twin lead. I tossed the twin lead down the side of the house where it goes to a 1:1 balun which is housed in a Rubbermaid plastic food storage container. A hunk of RG-8X (maybe 35 feet or so) takes it the rest of the way to the radio.

I got everything already for the big test. I turned on the K2 and was greeted to the sounds of silence! I didn't panic as twin lead is by its very nature, unmarked. I figured that even though I had a 50/50 shot, I had probably hooked up the twin lead conductors backwards at the balun. I went outside and reversed them, which is quite easy as the balun has screw terminals on the "input" side. A quick trip inside and a flick of the switch gave me the welcome sound of CW on the Amateur Radio bands.

I switched over to 30 Meters and found that my LDG AT-11MP autotuner had no problem tuning up the Zepp. I got a match within 5 seconds of when the relays started chattering. A few seconds later, I heard J88DR calling CW on 10.107.00. I gave him a call and he came back to me with a 559 report. Not bad, I guess, for 5 Watts all the way down to St. Vincent Island down off the coast of Venezuela.

A few more trial runs will have to occur before I decide if any changes need to be made. But for now, my experiment in end fed Zepps seems to be working. It will be fun learning the characteristics of this new wire.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Father's Day RFTB

Hopefully, Dad will have had a good day on Sunday. Good food, good company and the love and closeness of family making the day perfect. But wait! There's one more thing needed to make the day REALLY perfect; and that's by letting Dad get on the radio and spend a couple of hours engaged in his favorite hobby. That's where the Flying Pigs come to the rescue!

This Sunday evening, the Flying Pigs Amateur Radio Club International will be holding its monthly Run For The Bacon. This is a friendly, two hour QRP CW Sprint, which is open to ALL radio amateurs, will last from 9:00 - 11:00PM EDT (0200-0400 UTC Monday).

You may work stations once per band on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 or 10 Meters. Suggested starting frequencies are 1.812, 3.562, 7.044, 14.062, 21.062, and 28.062 MHz.

The exchange is RST, S/P/C (State, Province, Country) and Flying Pigs membership number. If you're not a member of the Flying Pigs, and would like to be; then please click on the "membership" hyperlink on http://www.fpqrp.com/. Otherwise, non-members can just use their output power figure.

You can report your score via the Autolog page which can be found at :http://www.fpqrp.com/fpqrprun.html;
or you can mail your logs to the address given on the Autolog page. The deadline for logs is June 25th at 2400 UTC.

As like last month, the top three scorers will win a certificate. Keep in mind that anyone who participates in 10 out of 12 RFTBs this year will earn a special Certificate of Merit at the end of the year. So please use the Autolog if you've participated; but were unfortunate enough to make any contacts. In this case, trying helps!

Hope to catch you on the air Sunday evening!

72 es "oo"
Larry W2LJ FP#612

Interesting QSO and a big mistake.

I had a nice QSO tonight with Peter WA1ISA, at least for a while anyway. I answered Peter's "CQ" and he came back to me on the first shot. What was interesting was that Peter was using a Tokyo Hy Power Labs HF handi-talkie. I've seen these on K7VO - Caity Martin's Webpage; and I've read her articles about them in QRP-ARCI's "QRP Quarterly"; but I have never actually worked someone who was using one before. An HT for HF - can you imagine that?

Peter was pushing 2 Watts into a 40 Meter sloper that he had just put up this past weekend. As a matter of fact, I was his first QSO on the new antenna; which is very cool. I gave Peter a solid 589 and he gave me the same in return.

That's when I made the big mistake. I was having such an interesting QSO with Peter, that I got long winded in one of my transmissions. When I handed it back to Peter, I was to discover that the band had changed and our 589 signals had QSBed to ESP levels!

Darn! I was about to be told the ins and out of these Tokyo Hy Power Labs HF HTs and I got long winded and ended up screwing myself! 28 years a Ham; and I still forget some of the basics about summer time night band conditions and how they can change on a dime. Better luck next time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary if the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

The above appears courtesy of: http://www.twilightbridge.com/festivals/flagday/index.htm

Please go there to learn more about National Flag Day

Other URLs of interest:

http://www.flagday.org/
http://www.usflag.org/
http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/

73 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Flag Day!

NAQCC Sprint

Tonight was the monthly NAQCC Sprint. Between a T-Ball game for my son (and the following pizza party) and then a Knights of Columbus meeting, I was not able to jump in until the last 20 minutes of the contest. I was able to net 6 QSOs in that short amount of time. Nothing to write home about. Next Tuesday night, the NAQCC is sponsoring a Milliwatt Sprint. It's an hour long and should be a lot of fun.

http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel/sprint200606_special.html

The above URL will fill you in on the details.

73 de Larry W2LJ

New Wire

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day. I plan to dig a small hole in the corner of the backyard; and will sink in cement a section of surplus military mast that I have. After it sets, I will add more masting; so this will end up as being a 25 foot mast in the back corner of my backyard.

The plan is to anchor one leg of my G5RV which is now attached to masting that is tied to a chain link fence post. It's currently not vertical enough for my taste. It leans a bit and I feel it is too precarious. Also, this will serve as an anchor for a new wire I plan to add to my meager "antenna farm". Next weekend, I plan to stretch an 88 foot length of wire from the second floor of my house to this mast. I will run either some twinlead or some ladder line down the side of the house to a 1:1 balun. I will run coax the rest of the way to my autotuner. At the end of this excersize, I should have an 88 foot end fed Zepp. Hopefully this wire will play better on 30 meters than either the G5RV or HF9V currently do.

In any event, it should be fun. Having one more piece of wire in the air certainly can't hurt.

73 de Larry W2LJ

RTTY ........ Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!

Another RTTY contest weekend; and another weekend that 40 Meters becomes unusable. I was in a nice QSO with Dave WQ3T. We were having a pleasant ragchew when out of the blue, we were inundated by RTTY signals. We were down around 7.030 MHz !!!! It used to be; back when I was active in the digital modes, that when there was a RTTY contest that you didn't go below 7.060 or maybe 7.055 at the very lowest. It seems today's RTTYers have no consideration for other users of the band. They come in, unannounced, do not listen to see if the frequency they want to use is occupied or not; and just start with their ear-splitting 20 over 9 signals - CW ops be damned!

Again, common sense and courtesy are casualties to inconsiderate oafs! Oh yeah, there's a better term for them ........ lids!

73 de Larry W2LJ

June Spartan Sprint

Tonight was the June Spartan Sprint, which is sponsored every month by the Adventure Radio Society. My station consisted of my K2, a 7AH lead acid battery, my ZM-2 antenna tuner and my Whiterook single lever paddle. The antenna was my G5RV. My station weight came in at just a tad under 5 pounds.

It was not my "bestest" effort; but it wasn't all that bad either. 34 QSOs in the two hour alloted time. What hurt me badly was that I had bad local interference on 20 Meters for the first hour of the Sprint. That's usually where the best "DX" is gotten in the early part of the contest. When I got on at the beginning of the second hour, the noise was gone but there were only slim pickin's left. I worked four stations; and they were from Alabama, California, Idaho and Georgia.

An added benefit was that the Sprint put my QSO total for 2006 up to 847 for the year so far. I also passed QSO number 5000 in Win-EQF.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Public Service Communications

Today was a CERT day. No emergency, per se; but our town did take advantage of the CERT team and its communcations skills.

Today, South Plainfield hosted the New Jersey Statewide Track Meet. South Plainfield is uniquely qualified to host this event. We are located centrally in the state; and South Plainfield is very close to all the major highways in New Jersey. We are close to the NJ Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, US Routes 1 and 9, Interstate Highways 78 and 287.

So today, in our relatively small town, high school athletes from all over New Jersey came to compete in track and field events. And quite a few buses brought them. And quite a few family and friends came to cheer their favorite runners, javelin throwers, and high jumpers on.

Parking is almost non-existant for such a large event. But between the Police department and the CERT team in assistance; the day went pretty much without incident - except for the rain. Oh, did I mention the rain? Buckets and buckets of rain! It made standing out in a parking lot, directing cars quite the comfortable thing to do, indeed!

In the end, though, it was quite satisfying. The town needed its CERT team and we responded. And as part of the team of eight that volunteered for this morning, five of us were Hams. We relied mainly on the town's licensed frequencies for communications; but in a few instances, 2 Meter simplex communications provided a good back up.

It was good to work together as a cohesive team. Hopefully our services in a major disaster will never be required. But if that need arises someday, we'll be ready!

73 de Larry W2LJ

A little courtesy ????? Please ?????

Last night I ran into a very frustrating situation. I was in QSO with VE3HIE/W8 who was portable in Dearborn, MI. We were on 40 Meters and there were thunderstorms going on all throughout the NorthEast; so QRN was horrendous, with a good bit of QSB thrown into boot.

Tom was using his K1 at 4 Watts; and I had a decent copy, despite the horrific conditions. All of a sudden out of the blue, the familiar cacophony of +35 WPM code. What ?????? It reminded me that Thursday night is "contest practice" night for the die-hard, hard core contesting crowd; as they tune up for the weekend's coming event. Unfortunately, these guys were causing so much QRM that Tom and I couldn't even get a word in edgewise to inform each other about a frequency change (QSY).

I'm not much of a contester; but I do dabble in QRP Sprints, so I have no qualms or grudges against contesting or contesters. But hey, guys, not even a "QRL ?" before hitting the airwaves? What happened to good operating practice and common courtesy? One of my very best friends is an avid contester; and I am certain 1000% beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would NEVER think of blindly calling "CQ TEST" without the common sense of checking the frequency for occupancy, first.

I know that the hair on the backs of most contester's necks get raised up when someone complains about the over- running of the bands with contests every weekend. I generally have no gripe with them about that. But you know what guys? You're bringing these complaints on yourselves when you demonstrate shoddy operating like you did last night.

There is absolutely no acceptable reason for these guys to behave like they own the frequencies. They don't.


73 de Larry W2LJ

Remembering

These days between Memorial Day and Independence Day are always special for me. It is the beginning of Summer, my most favorite time of year. I spend the long, cold nights of Winter yearning for this season and this special time.

These days are special in another way. This time of year brings to my mind the great sacrifices that many men and women have made from the very first days of our Republic - from Lexington and Concord to the very present.

As citizens of this country we need to be reminded that we have received a very special gift. We have been given a free nation, where freedoms and rights have been bestowed upon us to a degree that had never before been seen on the face of this earth. It is our duty, as citizens to not take these gifts lightly, to guard them with great vigilance; and to go about doing our civic duty with pride and reverance.

This is a changing time in our Nation. Our flag and our country used to be regarded with pride and they held a special place in our hearts. We used to believe that America was an exceptional nation; put here by Divine Providence to be a beacon to the rest of the world - to be a shining example - to be the City on the Hill that everyone else could look to as the example to be followed.

Somewhere, somehow, we've fallen into a habit of self-flagellation. We are constantly being bombarded by our own media, the media and governments of other countries, with the idea that somehow the United States IS the problem. We have fallen to self doubt and we stopped believing that this great Nation is the best, last hope for the world.

I believe this habit is a disgrace; and I believe that it is a slap in the face to all those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is a dishonor to our men and women in the military today; who put their lives on the line every single day protecting our freedom and way of life. Honor their memories. Honor their service and lives. Honor your country. Do your civic duty and live your life every day, proud to be an American.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Hoot Owl Sprint

Sunday night was the QRP-ARCI's Hoot Owl Sprint. This is a 4 hour CW Sprint which lasts from 8:00 PM until midnight, local time.

I had a fun evening, operating as I was able. I didn't sit there for the entire four hours. In all, I made 40 QSOs, 34 with QRP-ARCI members and 6 non-members. I had 25 states/provinces and since I operated at 5 Watts I got a 7X power multiplier bonus. My final score was 31,850 points. I was one of only three New Jersey stations that I heard on the air. I wonder if I'll place well for New Jersey?

This event brought my QSO total for 2006 to 799 QSOs for the year so far.

73 de Larry W2LJ

1KMPW without breaking a sweat.

For QRPers, it's the Holy Grail. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it's the end all and be all. It's the 1000 Miles Per Watt Award. I earned mine a few years ago and got the certificate, finally, last year for working the Kwajalein Islands with my K1. It ended up, at 5 Watts, being about 1477 miles per Watt. The certificate hangs proudly on the shack wall, in a more conspicuous and prominent place than my DXCC award.

A lot of QRPers never really try for the award, thinking it's too hard. That's what I thought, too .... for a while. Tonight, I decided to try a little experiment. This weekend is the CQ WPX contest, which is sponsored by CQ Magazine. WPX stands for Worked All Prefixes. The idea is to see how many different callsign prefixes you can work in 48 hours. To me, a non-contester, it's just a big cacophony of 40 wpm + Morse on the bands for the entire weekend. But tonight, it presented an opportunity. I decided to see how many miles per Watt I could work in about a half hour's worth of casual contesting.

I turned the K2 from its customary 5 Watt setting, down to 1 Watt out. I decided that I would try to work some DX on 20 Meters after the kids went to bed. This is what I worked, with no effort, really. One or two stations asked for repeats; but most got my transmission fine the first time. There's DX to be had in them thar hills when the DX is hungry for contest points!

So without breaking a sweat, this is what I worked. The distance computations are approximate, based on what QRZ and Win-EQF computed. I guess the actual results could vary a couple hundred miles, either way.

UW5W - Ukraine 4700 Miles per Watt
TM2Y - France - 3646 Miles per Watt
OK3RI - Czech Republic - 4101 Miles per Watt
4o3T - Yugoslavia - 4526 Miles per Watt
IU3X - Italy - 4301 Miles per Watt
SM3EVR - Sweden - 3947 Miles per Watt
OF6AA - Finland - 4131 Miles per Watt
DK3GI - Germany - 3987 Miles per Watt.

Of course, I realize that this is a testament to the fine DX stations who probably have superb antenna arrays; and are top-notch in every conceivable notion. My 1 Watt and G5RV are in no way the same class as these guys. I'm not nearly stupid enough not to realize that. Also, this is not conversational CW. You know going into the contest what the exchange is; so CW was being exchanged between my station and the DX at about 25 wpm. If these were regular ragchews; I'm sure I would have been asked for repeats and fills. But ... it is interesting to see what 1 Watt can do. Maybe next year, I turn it down to 500 mW.

73 de Larry W2LJ

To the Point

Not that I'm a huge pin collector; but I saw mention of these K2 pins in a post on the Elecraft reflector. They were available at Dayton. If you weren't at Dayton, like me, you can order them from: http://www.dxcoins.com/

They also have a cool pin of a straight key with the words,"know code" underneath the key in Morse Code.

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Tip of the Cap!

A special tip o' the cap and a very big thank you to Jeff Davis, KE9V the author of the blog "Long Delayed Echoes". Jeff has made the "pain" of not being able to attend Hamvention and FDIM just a little bit more bearable. His excellent photos and his podcast "play by play" help one from feeling totally left out.

Any of you who have not checked out Jeff's blog or podcasts are doing yourselves a great disservice! Click on the link to the right and go there ........ NOW! ;)

73 de Larry W2LJ

Just like Dayton!

Today, the weather here in Central NJ is just like what I used to during Hamvention. It's sunny one minute; and pouring rain the next. Put out a few folding tables with used computer parts on them and I'll feel like I'm really there!

I went out to the car at lunchtime (one of the "nicer" weather moments of the day) and got on 20 Meters. No contacts made today. I heard a few signals; but it seemed everyone was already engaged in a QSO. I answered the one lone CQ that I heard coming from a VA3 station on the FISTS frequency. Each time, my answer was another CQ; so I guess I wasn't being heard.

After lunch, I got an e-mail from my friend Brian KB9BVN in Indiana. He heard me calling CQ; but I was only a 229 - ESP levels. It's odd how one day conditions can be so good and the next day you find yourself in the middle of the skunk farm!

Within an hour of being back inside after lunch, the sky turned dark gray, there was thunder, lightning and hail. I'm glad I got the antenna down and everything stowed away in time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

May NAQCC Sprint Results

My summary sheet of results for last night:

Bnd Time Call SPC Nr/Pwr NewMult Pts
40 0033 KI4DEF NC 0247 1 2
40 0034 K4BAI GA 0644 2 2
40 0037 N3AQC PA 1100 3 2
40 0038 W3BBO PA 1001 * 2
40 0040 VA3NR ON 0903 4 2
40 0043 K3WWP PA 0002 * 2
40 0047 K4KSR VA 5 W 5 1
40 0048 N1LT NH 5 W 6 1
40 0050 W1OH MA 0039 7 2
40 0052 AB1DR NH 1143 * 2
40 0056 KN1H NH 1204 * 2
40 0058 K9IS WI 0235 8 2
40 0059 W1SRB MA 1390 * 2
40 0103 N8VW OH 1389 9 2
40 0105 NJ1W NJ 5 W 10 1
40 0111 AJ1M WV 0955 11 2
40 0118 N9NE WI 0748 * 2
40 0120 W1PID NH 0436 * 2
40 0125 AG4ZZ VA 0438 * 2
40 0129 KD1E VT 1199 12 2
80 0137 KA3WMJ PA 3 W * 1
80 0148 W2JEK NJ 1135 * 2
80 0154 KN1H NH 1204 * 2
80 0202 KB2FEL WV 0208 * 2
80 0205 AJ1M WV 0955 * 2
80 0209 K3WWP PA 0002 * 2
80 0212 VA3NR ON 0903 * 2
80 0213 K4BAI GA 0644 * 2
80 0217 AG4ZZ VA 0438 * 2
40 0224 KA2KGP NY 0555 13 2

YourCall QSO's Mbrs QSOPts Mults Score Bonus Final
W2LJ 31 27 58 13 754 x2 1508

Antenna
G5RV at 25 feet.

Soapbox

It was great to see so much activity with the mass exodus
to Dayton going on.Good to see some of the newer members
as well as maybe a few new prospectiveones? (Hint, hint!).
Also, I got to try out a new straight key, a Bulgarian military
copy of a Junker key. Well, at least they got the "junk" part
right! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next month
for two Sprints - theregular monthly and the special
"Milliwatt" Sprint! 73 de W2LJ

Pleasant Surprise!

It's always neat when you come home from work to find something neat that has arrived in the mail. Today there were two envelopes included with the bills and the junk mail. The first was a QSL card from Tony Morgan W7GO from Las Vegas, NV. I QSOed with Tony just recently and actually mailed him my card today! This one is special, as this confirms state number 49 in my quest to re-do WAS, this time all CW and QRP. The only one that's left is Alaska. Not bad for the bottom of the sunspot cycle, eh?

The other envelope was for the W2 QSL Card Bureau. Included were cards from HI8RV, Chikin in the Dominican Republic; and one from VY1JA, Jay in the Yukon territory. That was a QRP contact , too. There were also cards from the Turks and Caicos Islands and one from Martti Lane as EA8BH on the Canary Islands. The most "special" card, however, was from Luis CU2IJ in the Azores. This was a 2 way QRP QSO that we had back in April of 2004; and it was the first QSO that I had with my homebrewed Buddipole. I was sitting at the patio table in the backyard testing the antenna out, when I heard Luis calling CQ. I answered him; and for whatever reason, mistakenly thought he was a Cuban station. When I corrected myself and realized where he was; I was floored! 5 Watts from my K1 to a Buddipole that I made myself had spanned the entire Atlantic Ocean! Wow!

It's things like this that keep Amateur Radio new, fresh and exciting for me.

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Master at Work

This appeared on the Elecraft e-mail reflector today, courtesy of Phil Kane K2ASP:

"I can't vouch for the above, but I can for the following incident in which I was a participant:

As some on this reflector know, I was with the FCC in the San Francisco office for 28 years, retiring as the District Director (then called the Engineer-in-Charge) almost 12 years ago. In the early 1970s I was, among many things, the code examiner for both amateur and commercial applicants. One day an old-timer came in, related that he had been a coast station operator at the RCA Coast Station KPH, and wanted to upgrade his Second Class Radiotelegraph License to First Class before he retired. To copy the 25 WPM plain text, he brought his own "mill" as was permitted. He sat down, asked if he could smoke (in those days it was OK in offices), put the paper in the "mill" and said "OK, start the tape". The venerable Boheme paper-tape reader started pounding out at 25 WPM.

He took a cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth, took a pack of matches from another pocket, lit the cigarette, dropped the matches on the floor, picked them up, and started typing. He pounded away and by the time the tape was finished had almost caught up. He took the paper from the mill, handed it to me, and said "Didn't think I could do it, sonny???"

He had perfect copy. I wish that I was that good

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane"

Thanks, Phil - that memory is priceless !!

73 de Larry W2LJ

I'm not that intrepid!

Rainy and 54 degrees here today (feels more like 43!). Wonderful for the grass, flowers and tomatoes that I've planted; but not so great for outdoor QRPing during lunch. Looks like the rest of the week isn't going to be so great, either, as forecasted by The Weather Channel.

Hopefully, they're wrong and it will dry up; or at the very least get warmer. I don't mind the possibility of getting a little wet; as long as it's warm.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Double Dipping

Today was public service day. A few of us Hams in town helped out at the County Wide Track Meet which was held in South Plainfield, at the high school athletic field. Our responsibilities were mainly involved with helping all the out-of-town visitors park. We had to direct parking so that it would minimize the impact on local side streets. There have been instances in years past, where inconsiderate parkers have actually blocked people in their own driveways!

My job was less "glamorous". I drew the short straw and was directed to a nearby elementary school. This was where the school busses that transported the visiting athletes parked. My job was to make sure no spectators parked and to get each bus driver's cell phone number. I would be radioed when a certain team was ready to be picked up; and I would then inform the respective bus driver that it was time for him to go over to the athletic field and make his pick-up.

BORING! Mind numbingly boring! I was staring at the prospect of standing there for almost four hours, looking at school busses and not doing much of anything else. The only other highlight was when some potential spectator would abuse me for not letting them park in the lot. For a volunteer thing, the jibes I was getting were not so pleasant.

Ham radio to the rescue! Since I drove over to the elementary school, I had the K1 with me. I put the station together on the front seat and put the 20 Meter Hamstick on top of the Explorer and went to town. I only had a copule of QSOs; but it was enough to make a long four hour prospect go rather quickly.

The public service work was light and easy. Amateur radio made it fun.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Something else ........

All I'm seeing on the e-mail reflectors for QRP-L and Flying Pigs and Elecraft are reminders that next weekend is Dayton.

The lucky ones don't need to be reminded; and those of us not fortunate enough to be going don't WANT to be reminded.

Bah - humbug!

73 de Larry W2LJ

To those of you fortunate enough to be going - I wish you all a happy and safe journey there and back home.

Always something

I just got in the mood to sit down for a bit tonight; and fill out some QSL cards for my lunchtime QSOs that I have been reeling in lately. I had five commemorative Edison QSL cards left; and decided to print up some more.

No color ink in the inkjet!

Arrgggghhhhhhh! Don't you hate when that happens?

Looks like a trip to Target is going to happen sometime this weekend.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Odd

The heavy rain predicted for today moved out early. The day is partly; but mostly sunny and the temperature here is 69 delightful degrees. Half a roast beef sub and a bottle of Pepsi were my lunchtime companions, along with Jon W8TY. I called CQ on 14.047 MHZ (more about that later) and Jon answered. He's visiting Norman, Oklahoma getting in some training as part of his job with the United States Postal Service. He was working me from his hotel while he was on his lunch break! What a coincidence! His 15 Watts to a 44 foot wire tossed out his window sent a very robust 579 signal my way.

There's nothing odd about that; so why my title for this post? What happened prior to my QSO with Jon caused a raised eyebrow on my part. I originally dialed up 14.048 MHz, the SKCC frequency; and had fully intended to start out there. I listened for a little bit and heard nothing; so I put out a "QRL? de W2LJ". I went back to my sub sandwich for another bite; waited for a bit more than 10 seconds and put out a second "QRL?". Hearing nothing after about 20 seconds, I put out my first CQ. When I finished, my ears were assaulted by an ear-splittingly loud signal from a 3 station. He was in QSO with someone (who I obviously couldn't hear) and was complaining that he had a rough copy because "someone was calling CQ on top of you".

Now, I was taught, many a year ago, that when you are in the midst of a CW conversation and someone sends a "QRL?", that you either send a "C" or a "YES" or a "PSE QSY". This is part and parcel of CW operating and the process of finding an open frequency - no big deal. The 3 station was deafeningly loud - he HAD to have heard my query, which I had sent twice. Why did I not receive a "QRL" or a "C" or a "PSE QSY" or a "YES"?

I'd prefer not to believe that a 3 station with a 1X2 callsign (Extra Class) wouldn't know proper CW operating protocol. And I can't believe that the QSB was that bad that he didn't hear me. If I was loud enough for him to hear my CQ; then I was loud enough for my "QRL?". Very strange indeed.

Moral of the story? Better to learn the proper protocol and use it; than not and just complain.

73 de Larry W2LJ

1 (sandwich) + 5 (Watts) = Fun!

Had good success at lunchtime today! It was partly cloudy almost to the point of being overcast. More clouds than not. The temperature was about 68 degrees and it was breezy. But the waters were stocked well today; as I continue to use fishing analogies.

I got out to the car a little late; as I had to handle a few phone calls as I was leaving for lunch and the parking lot. I got set up at 17:07 UTC and started calling "CQ" on the SKCC frequencies on 20 Meters.

My first effort was greeted by the dulcet tones of Don W4BWS, from Dothan, Alabama. Dothan, by the way is the QTH of Dave Ingram K4TWJ who is the prolific writer for CQ Magazine. Don gave me a 569 and we had a quick exchange of the standard RST, QTH and names. Don had to hurry as thunderstorms were rolling in near him and he was experiencing lightning. It's definitely not a good thing to be hooked up to a wire antenna that's high in the air when there's lightning around!

My second QSO was with Edwin, KD5ZLB out of Shreveport, LA. Again, we exchanged SKCC numbers; but this was a more relaxed QSO. I could have carried on with Edwin for a much longer time. The ingredients for a good ragchew were all there save one - time! It was getting close to the end of my break and I still had to pack up the station and do my logging before making it back inside.

Tomorrow, it may or may not rain. If the rain doesn't start until evening; then I'll be out there again tomorrow.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Cool New Item & Dayton

In yesterday's mail I received my Hendrick's Kits PCB Vise. This is super cool little vise designed to hold printed circuit boards during construction and repair. It stands maybe 3 or 4 inches high off your building/repair bench. Ideally, it is meant for smaller circuit boards - I would think maybe a board 4'X6" max or maybe a skosh bigger. For circuit boards larger than that, two of these little puppies would be ideal.

You can see it pictured to the right, and that's probably a Rockmite or similar sized circuit board there. Doug Hendricks is offering these vises at his Website, which is: http://www.qrpkits.com/

For twenty bucks, this vise is a steal! It comes disassembled in a package small enough to receive in the mail. I put mine together in about two minutes, tops. There's only one screw and you definitely do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to put it together. It's well made and is definitely the answer that I've been looking for for holding PCBs during construction. My Panavise clone is way too bulky, heavy and ungainly. Thanks Doug, for finding a need and filling it!

You can order yours by going to the URL above; or if you're lucky enough, Doug will have a goodly supply of these at Dayton. Dayton!!!!!! How I miss going to Dayton! The last time I was fortunate enough to go to Hamvention was ten years ago; back in 1996. That was the last year that Hamvention was held in April; and the year before the very first FDIM.

FDIM, for the unitiated, stands for Four Days In May. It's the biggest get together of QRPers in the nation; and that it coincides with Hamvention is by design. I've never had the opportunity to go to FDIM; and that's a burning desire that I have. I know exactly where it's held. When I was making yearly treks to Hamvention; we stayed at the same hotels in Fairborn when the AMSAT folks used to reserve those rooms.

I would love the chance to finally meet, face to face, a lot of guys that I have been fortunate to become friends with over the air and through the Internet. There's nothing quite like the camaraderie that the QRP folks enjoy. Over the years, I've been involved with FISTS, AMSAT and other groups; but the QRP community is unique; and I've never seen anything to equal it.FISTS comes in as a close second; but QRPers are just a notch above that. We talk on the air, we exchange ideas, laughs, jokes and barbs over the Internet. The feeling of belonging that you develop with these guys, many of whom you'll never meet in person, is just an amazing phenomena!

To be able to immerse myself in that environment, for four days in May would be the ultimate. Attending Hamvention would be the icing on the cake.

Here's to wishes!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Neat Post!

The following appeared today on the SolidCopyCW e-mail reflector. It was posted by Art, K4IRS.
I liked it so much that I'm sharing it here!

CW - The Great Communicator by Art Burke, K4IRS

While reading the post about 10 reasons to enjoy code,
I remembered a recent episode I thought I'd like to
share with the group. If I did so already, my apologies.

Several months ago, there was a DXpedition to St. Paul Island (up in
Canada - they used CY9SS). I only had it on a couple of bands and
worked moderately hard to get as many more bands/modes as possible.

One day one of the ops came up on 12 meters, a pretty tough band
these days, with the sunspots down in the doldrums, but he was
working nothing but RTTY. At the time I had no equipment to work
digital modes, so I sat there, frustrated that I couldn't get into
the foray and earn another band/country for the Challenge.

An idea suddenly gleamed and I could only hope for the best. The
operator was working "split," transmitting on one frequency and
listening 2 or 3 kHz higher. It's a very common technique for
handling the pileup, regardless of the current mode. I moved my
transmit frequency up near where the other hams were sending and
turned on the "decode" function on my radio. Several radios on the
market now have this capability. I was using a 746 Pro at the time
and the 756 Pro series can do it as well.

I set one VFO on RTTY and turned on the decoder so I could see what
the DX station was sending. On the other VFO, which I was using as
my transmit VFO, I set the mode for CW. Each time the DX station
would complete a RTTY QSO and send QRZ? I would send
my call in CW, around 15 wpm and mentally cross my fingers.

About the sixth or seventh time I did this, the DX station
sent "K4IRS K4IRS OK 599 599" and I sent, in CW,
"599 599 K4IRS" and the DX station sent
"K4IRS QSL QRZ up 3" SUCCESS!

Obviously, had the DX station not also known CW, he might very well
have heard my signal, but not made heads or tails out of it. A
couple of months later, I had the QSL!

Long live CW!

Art - K4IRS

Great job, Art & thanks for sharing!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Whew!

It was a busy weekend - not much time for radio. I took Friday and today off from work. I spent all day Friday and part of yesterday, as well as most of today, spreading out 2 yards of topsoil in various areas of the backyard. Seems my dog has a penchant for moat building; at least that's what the back and right sides of my backyard looked like! I filled in the trenches with new topsoil and planted new grass seed. In addition, I tilled the garden patch and got it ready for planting; including putting up a "dog-proof" fence. Oh, I also mowed the lawns yesterday.

This all didn't leave much time for radio. I got a QSO in on Friday night; and on Saturday night I handed out a few QSOs in the New England QSO Party. Then I made a couple of contacts on 30 Meters using the Butternut vertical. I get much better signals reports on 30 Meters when I use the Butternut. The G5RV just doesn't play well on 30; and that's a complaint I've heard from other Hams. Another good reason to get up an EDZ later this Spring, if I can!

This afternoon, after all the chores were said and done, I commenced to get in my "QSO a Day" for May 8th. I still haven't broken the string since January 1, 2005. I'd really like to see how long I can keep it going. Today, I worked Vlad UT7IF in the Ukraine on 20 Meters. I used the G5RV on this one. He was 599 here in NJ; and he gave me a 569. Not bad, and it got the job done. I'll make my QSO for May 9, tonight after the UTC date changes over at 8:00 PM local time. I'll have to make it a quick one though, as "24" comes on at 9:00 PM. Gotta see how Jack Bauer get the incriminating tape of the President's actions out of the hands of the bad guys! I am so hooked on that show! It's about the only thing I watch on TV besides Mets baseball and "Monk" when they decide to show something other than a re-run!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Lunchtime Bust

Another beauty of a day here in Central New Jersey, sunny and 80 degrees. I went outside to the car and set up the K1. I called CQ on both the SKCC and FISTS frequencies for a half an hour. Fish weren't biting today. In fact, tuning up and down the band; I didn't hear many signals out there. Thursdays must be busy days for folks.

I'll get 'em next time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Key Hog

There have been a few bugs and keys on eBay over the past few months; that I have put bids on and tried to win. Several times, I have been outbidded in the very last few seconds by someone whose eBay ID is macflick.

Now I have nothing against someone who outbids me and wins an auction. But if you look at macflick's winnings over the past few months, it is obvious that he/she is a key hog. Not only does this person seem to bid on everything Morse Code related; but this person also bids and wins on multiple amounts of the same types of items.

Just how many Vibroplex Original Bugs does one person need anyway? After winning about five of them; don't you think it's time to give someone else a chance? I've sent e-mails to this person to find out whether he/she is just a collector; or will end up being a reseller. I've never received an answer. Whomever this person is, if you look at the amounts of some of his/her winning bids; it becomes obvious that he/she has really deep pockets. We mere mortals who live from paycheck to paycheck don't seem to stand a chance. (Heavy sigh!)

73 de Larry W2LJ

Spartan Sprint Revisited

As I've posted before, the 10th Anniversary Spartan Sprint was held Monday night. I used my K2, an Emtech ZM-2 antenna tuner, a Whiterook MK-33 paddle and an even smaller and lighter SLA battery that my friend W2WK gave me. All in all, my station weight was under 5 pounds.

My antennas were my G5RV and my Butternut HF9V vertical. Here's the log:

20 Meters

0101Z K8S/K4BAI 579 GA 5W
0107Z K4EJ 559 FL 5W
0109Z K7S/K7TQ 559 ID 5W
0113Z N4S/N4BP 599 FL 5W
0115Z W5ESE 559 TX 5W
0119Z NØS/NØEVH 559 MO 5W
0127Z WK2G 559 FL 5W
0129 K6S/K6III 559 CA 5W
0136 N3JV 559 FL 5W

40 Meters

0141Z KØEVZ 559 NM 3W
0142Z N9S/N9NE 559 WI 5W
0143Z W3DP 579 PA 5W
0144Z VA3NR 559 ON 5W
0147Z WA8BXN 559 OH 1W
0151Z NU4I 599 VA 4W
0154Z W4UH 559 NC 5W
0156Z K8WDN 559 OH 5W
0156Z W9S/WA9TZE 559 WI 5W
0157Z WA1VGB 559 ME 1W
0159Z AF4LQ 579 KY 5W
0202Z KB2FEL 579 WV 5W
0203Z W1LIC 599 ME 5W
0206Z N8VW 559 OH 5W
0207Z W8S/WA8REI 559 MI 5W
0215Z K8DD 599 MI 5W
0217Z K4QO 559 NC 5W
0219Z WK2G 559 FL 5W
0223Z NK9G 559 WI 5W
0225Z N8S/AA9SN 599 MI 5W

80 Meters

0227Z K1S/NA8M 559 ME 5W
0229Z N3S/N3AO 559 PA 5W
0232Z KB2FEL 599 WV 5W
0236Z K3S/K3ESE 599 MD 5W
0237Z N1S/W1PID 559 NH 3W
0238Z W3DP 599 PA 5W
0239Z AB1AV 579 NH 2W
0240Z VE3IGJ 559 ON 5W
0241Z KA3WMJ 599 PA 5W
0242Z W1KX 579 ME 3W
0244Z K3MZ 599 VA 5W
0245Z W2SH 599 NJ 5W
0246Z W8YMO 559 OH 5W
0249Z N2S/KD2MX 559 NJ 5W
0251Z W4S/W1MT 559 VA 2W
0255Z N4S/N4BP 559 FL 5W
0256Z K8DD 559 MI 5W
0258Z W3S/K3TW 559 MD 5W

I apologize for the columns not being even!

Anyway, not too shabby! 49 QSOs with 20 different states/provinces worked. But, I'm just a goldfish swimming in a sea of world class QRP ops who are like graceful and speedy dolphins. I doubt that I'll finish among the top twenty. But I had a good time and in the end, that's all that counts. I'm honored to have been invited to be one of the stations asked to get a special event callsign!

73 de Larry W2LJ

What a Day!

Today's my birthday; and unfortunately, to say that it has been a trying day at work is an understatement, to say the least. It's been a real bear of a day; and I think the bear is winning!

A QRP session at lunchtime was just what the doctor ordered; and today it was like a soothing tonic. I put out a CQ after I got everything set up; and I immediately got a call from Tony, W7GO. Tony is located in Las Vegas, NV. Nevada !!!!!!!! One of the last two states I need to complete Worked All States (QRP/CW). Wow! That was so cool! Tony was using his K2 at 5 Watts and informed me that I was his first New Jersey QRP contact. We helped each other; and I guess that's what Ham Radio is all about, after all.

Right after my QSO with Tony, I was called by Tom W4WXA in Warner Robins, GA. I've worked Tom before on 80 Meters; but Tom is trying to get his 20 Meter endorsement for his SKCC Century Award, so we had a short one. Tom had a great signal; but the path between GA and NJ was fraught with QSB. Tom's signal was roller-coastering between 599 + to about 449; but we "got 'er done".

Tom and Tony - a million thanks! You both helped to make a pretty crummy day a whole lot better!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Good lunch

It's overcast and about 66 degrees here today. I went out and tried to work my friend, Brian KB9BVN on 20 Meters; but no joy.

I slid on down to the FISTS frequency of 14.058 MHz and had two contacts. Seems I had a pipeline into Washington state. I worked Glenn W9FFU/7 and then Phil W7PFZ. Phil had a killer signal into New Jersey, 589 to 599. I've had the pleasure to work Phil before; but always from home. Now I can send him one of my Edison QSL cards.

All in all, a good lunchtime QRP session.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Guess It Works

Just a thought. I guess my success in last night's Spartan Sprint means my emergency feedline repairs are okay ........... for now!

73 de Larry W2LJ

ARS Spartan Sprint

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, last night was the 10th Anniversary Sprint for the Adventure Radio Society. Thirty members requested and received special event 1X1 callsigns; I was W2S for the night. And yes, I did screw up at times, ALMOST sending W2LJ !!!

But from the activity on the bands; to comments already posted to the QRP-L e-mail reflector, a good time was had by all. Propagation conditions must have been exceptional last night; as I have not heard so much activity in an ARS Spartan Sprint in months! Maybe it was a case of our group creating our own propagation by heating up the ionosphere with our RF; but something was clearly working last night. I got a late start by a few minutes, as I had to watch the end of an inning of the Mets game; but in just under two hours, I completed 49 QSOs. I'm not a big time contester; so that may appear to be a pretty wimpy tally by most. For me that's pretty darn good.

I kept switching between the HF9V and the G5RV all night long. The K2's mojo must have been working too. I guess the farthest DX I worked was Doc KØEVZ in New Mexico on 40 Meters and Randy K7TQ in Idaho. Both of those guys are superb ops; it was no surprise that they both had exceptional signals; and good fists to boot!

I'll be posting my score to the ARS Spartan Sprint Autolog sometime tonight.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Neat Bug!

John Sielke w2AGN, a QRP and CW friend from South New Jersey announced on the Brasspounders e-mail reflector that he had acquired this vertical bug from Tom, K4VIZ.

I have one of Tom's mini paddles that I got last summer. It's well made and light enough for portable use, while at the same time is very sturdy.

Both John and I are very satisfied with Tom's products. His workmanship is very, very good and his products hold up very well.

I am definitely a satisfied customer! I would love to get my paws on one of these vertical bugs. As a recent convert to semi-automatic CW keys; this one looks like it would be a real treat to own. Of course, the only thing that prevents me from getting one is a small tiny detail .......... money!

Looks like it's going to be time to put a few items on eBay. If you want more details on this beauty, then go to:

http://www.vizkey.com/order.html#vertical

From there you can go to see details on the mini CW paddle and Tom's really neat 90 degree bug. That one looks like a keeper, too!

73 de Larry W2LJ

All Work & No Play

makes W2LJ not happy! It was a nice day today; sunny and in the high 60s. I would have liked to fire up the K1 at lunchtime. Unfortunately, I had to go to the local nursery/landscape shop and order 2 yards of topsoil. There is much needed yardwork to do this weekend, filling in trenches in the backyard that my dog has been digging all winter long, as well as planting new grass seed in bare spots and covering the seed with topsoil.

But I am excited about tonight. It's the first Monday of the month; so tonight is the monthly Spartan Sprint; sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society. This evening marks their 10th anniversary; so in honor of this, some of us were invited to apply for special event callsigns to be used in the Sprint tonight. I applied for and received W2S. So for just tonight, I will be signing as W2S instead of W2LJ. In fact Tom, K3TW the assistant contest manager managed to find applicants for all KXS, NXS and WXS callsigns for all 10 callsign districts! There will be 30 ARS members working the Sprint tonight with special 1X1 callsigns.

So how long will it be until I botch things and sign W2LJ? :)

73 de Larry W2LJ (W2S for tonight!)

When Disaster Strikes!

What an idiot I am! Today while mowing the lawn, I saw a clump of weeds along the chain link fence that I just had to trim. So I ran the mower over them; and in the process, chewed up the feedlines to both my G5RV and the Butternut vertical! Talk about wanting to kick yourself in the behind!

Fortunately, all was not lost. I took the coax to my 2 Meter antenna, which I never use and hooked it up to the feedline leading to the Butternut. I cut the Butternut feedline above the mower damage and installed a PL-259. Then I used a barrel connector to attach it to the 2 Meter line. Done! I switched the coax from the VHF radio to the HF radio and it worked just fine.

For the G5RV, I used the piece of coax that was feeding the Butternut last year. I was having trouble with that coax and found the problem area. I cut away the bad part and the balance was just sitting, coiled up and tied to the fence. I put a PL-259 on that and pressed it into service. Voila! It works! It's mini RG-8X and will serve until I can afford some RG9913 or LM283 or something like that.

For safety, I took the coax and tie-wrapped it along the top of the chain link fence. Now it's no longer at ground level and this unfortunate incident should never happen again! I knew I was going to have a busy day with mowing the lawn and repairing the grill. The day got much busier than I had intended!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Makes a body feel good!

I had an excellent QSO last night with Dave KK4PQ from down in Albany, GA. 20 Meters was open nicely last night; and Dave answered a CQ that I put out. Dave was using a Yaesu FT-817ND at 5 Watts to a Vee beam. He had a killer signal into New Jersey; of course, until the band changed and killed us both. But it gets better than that! This was Dave's first CW QSO in about 10 years; and I was to have the honor of being the lucky op to work him!

He apologized for his fist, complaining that he was rusty. There was nothing to apologize for! And if Dave was rusty last night, I'd hate to have to work him when he's at top form. I'd probably get blown away! His fist was truly excellent and a joy to copy. If you ever hear KK4PQ calling CQ on the bands- rush right on over to work him. You're in for a treat!

73 de Larry W2LJ

It Don't Get Any Better

Sunny and 72 degrees during lunchtime. Set up the K1 and the 20 Meter Hamstick on the Explorer. Had a really nice QSO with Jim W9KRH down in Weeki Wachee, FL while munching on a ham & cheese sandwich. What a way to spend lunch .... warm weather, sunny skies, good food and a good conversation.

I remember being in Weeki Wachee about 37 or so years ago, on vacation with my family. I remember going to see the mermaid show at the Spring. Jim says it's still going on, although he hasn't gone in years. He lives about three miles from the Spring. A quick Google search showed that the attraction is bigger than when I was a kid!

http://www.weekiwachee.com/

Jim was a solid 589 and he gave me a 579. Not bad considering there was an M Class solar flare earlier this morning. The effects must have passed; as I heard a decent number of signals on 20 Meters.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Jumping bands!

I was able to get on the air for just a lil' bit last night. The Mets game went into extra innings and I had to see the end. Yes, my number one outside-of-Ham-radio preoccupation is baseball in general; and the New York Mets in particular. In fact, this summer marks the 39th anniversary since I went to my first ball game at Shea Stadium. I remember it like it was yesterday! My dad took me on his day off and we saw a weekday double header against the Houston Astros. Rookie phenom, Tom Seaver, pitched one of the two games. I was hooked for life!

Anyway, I digress. When I finally did get the K2 fired up, I was treated to the sounds of many European and other DX stations on 30 and 40 Meters. With much difficulty, I worked IK2DOT on 30 Meters. I was pretty tough to hear with my 5 Watts signal. Originally, Carlo gave me a 119 report and was ready to QRT with me. That's when I realized I was on the G5RV. For whatever reason that is beyond my puny amount of antenna knowledge, the G5RV just does not play well on 30 Meters. I quickly switched on over to the Butternut HF9V vertical; and my signal must have literally jumped up! Carlo related to me that he had a good copy on me after that. We exchanged the standard pleasantries and then we signed.

As nice as it was to get that one in the log; I wish that DX stations would ragchew more. When my QRP signal makes it overseas with some decent strength; it would be nice to learn a little bit more about the op I'm working other than "UR 599 TNX QSO DR OM". Frustrating!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Founder of FISTS becomes an SK

This appeared on the FISTS e-mail reflector yesterday. It was posted by Nancy WZ8C, the head of FISTS North America.

It is so difficult type "G3ZQS" and "Silent Key" in the same sentence. But I just heard from Geo's son that Geo became a Silent Key at 7, UK time. As I had written to you yesterday, Geo had a heart attack last Saturday and had been in and out of consciousness all week.

Geo's passing leaves a big hole in the Morse world, but he left us with the wonderful legacy of FISTS. He created FISTS to keep friendship, good operating practices and encouragement of newcomers foremost in people's minds "whilst" they are on the air. I know you join me in
re-committing to this FISTS philosophy and making FISTS even stronger, in remembrance of Geo's vision.

73 88
Nancy WZ8C


For those not familiar with the parlance, a Silent Key is a Ham who passes away. He cannot send code anymore, thus his key becomes silent. I never met George; or even had a QSO with him. But I have been a member of FISTS, his brain child, since 1993 or there abouts. I'm not really sure whether it was 1993 or 1994 when I joined. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed my time as a FISTS member; and that is a direct result of George's efforts. His influence will be missed; but the mission continues - to preserve, protect and defend the use of Morse Code in Amateur Radio worldwide.

73 de Larry W2LJ

CW Geek

I was just reading my e-mail; and I saw a post to the SolidCopyCW group by my friend, Dan Romanchik KB6NU. In the signature line of his e-mails, he labels himself a "CW Geek". Cool, Dan! I think I'm going to have to start paying you a royalty fee for that!

Here's a link to Dan's blog; entitled appropriately enough - KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog . One of THE best Amateur Radio blogs on the Web, IMHO!

http://kb6nu.com/

73 de Larry W2LJ

The state of mind that is QRP

I guess that most QRP operators (myself inlcuded, tend to forget that not everyone has the QRP "mindset". What is the QRP mindset, you may ask? Let me take a few minutes to try and explain why it is that we do what we do.

1) QRP operators love to use low power, that is 5 Watts or less when using CW or the digital modes and 10 Watts or less when using SSB. Some of us use it out of necessity. Some QRPers live in places where Amateur Radio antennas are not allowed. These folks use "stealth antennas' and use low power so they cannot be detected. The rest of us? We just love using low power for whatever reason! The challenge is to maintain RELIABLE and QUALITY communications with low power. Efficiency is our passion. Others of us love the idea of establishing radio communications using minimalist equipment; and then there is an entire branch of us that lives to take small radios and light, efficient antennas out to the great outdoors to operate while hiking, camping or just anywhere outdoors!

2) Please do not mistake QRP operating with weak signal operating! QRPers do their utmost to maintain and produce a clean, readable and reasonably loud signal. We understand in many cases that our signals may not be 599; but in the same vein, we're not sadists who live to torture the unsuspecting Ham with sub-par signals! However, in the event our signals ARE weak, you won't offend us if you choose not to work us. We realize that while our QRP sigs might not be loud to QTH "A"; they might very well knock the headphones off of Joe Ham at QTH "B"!

3) Which brings me to the next point. QRPers, outside of hardcore DXers, are probably the most familiar with ins and outs of RF propagation and the effect that the sun has on the ionosphere. We know our signals might not be the loudest; so we tend to learn as much about RF propagation conditions as we can so our signals "work smarter and not harder". If you'd like a real treat, I urge you to go to:

http://www.qrparci.org/content/view/57/55/

This is an article about the ionosphere and how the sun affects it and radio communications. It is the best article in easy-to-understand-everyday-English that I have ever read on the subject.

4) QRPers do the best they can to learn the characteristics of their stations and antennas. QRPers take great pains to make sure that they squeeze every electron out of their antennas. If you spend any time on the various QRP e-mail reflectors, you will see more posts about antennas and receivers than just about anywhere else. And the experts abound! You can learn so much from these guys; and the giants of QRP are more than happy to share whatever they have learned over the years.

5) By their nature, QRPers tend to be builders, tinkerers, experimenters and tweakers. This is all done to maximize efficiency of equipment and antennas - to get, in essence, the biggest bang for the buck. The side benefit of this is that if you're having trouble with a piece of your station equipment or antenna; then go and find the nearest QRP enthusiast! If he or she can't help you themselves, they'll probably be able to point you in the right direction to clear up whatever problem you might be having.

6) Since QRPers are familiar with weak signal work, they tend to become first rate, top notch Amateur Radio operators. The best of the best can dig out signals from below the noise floor so well that you would swear they use ESP! In fact many QRPers tend to use just that term! Signals that are just barely audible are said to be at "ESP level"! Also, since the majority (but by no means all) of QRP operating tends to be using Morse Code, the best of these guys have the most outstanding fists! The Morse flies out of their fingers like music and their CW is an absolute joy to copy and listen to.

All the above being said, QRPers tend to be very enthusiastic about not only QRP; but about Amateur Radio in general. The majority have the "spirit of Amateur Radio' that was handed down to us by the great Hams that came before us. Our enthusiasm is infectious; and we hope we can relate that enthusiasm to the rest of the Ham population.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Still learning!

I've been using my reconditioned Vibroplex Original for about a month now. It's been a lot of fun to use and I've been enjoying the heck out of it; but something has been nagging me - something hasn't been quite "right".

I took the time out the other night, to look over things with a "fine toothed eye" as it were; and I found out what wasn't right. When you make a "dah" you push the paddle to the left. The "dah" contact is on a swing arm that should push away from the main part of the pendulum. There was such an amount of rust there; that the "dah" arm wasn't swinging away from the pendulum. I had to swing the entire pendulum to the left to make a "dah"; and that's not correct.

I took the pendulum off the base and squirted a ton of Liquid Wrench in there. It got it to the point where the "dah" contact arm did come loose; but it wasn't swinging freely like it should. It would swing out all right; but would "click" into place and required a lot of force to bring it back to normal. The "dah" tension spring should provide enough force on its own to do that under normal circumstances; and there was no way ANY spring would provide enough return force as things were.

I decided that I was going to order a new trunion pin from Vibroplex. I would take the old one out and seperate the "dah" arm from the main pendulum, clean it all up, and install a new trunion. In the process of beginning to tap the trunion out, I must have dislodged whatever rust or foreign matter was there. The "dah" arm was now flopping around freely; just as it should. I carefully tapped the trunion pin back to the correct location; but in the process of hammering, I flattened out the pivot points! Thank God for Dremel tools! I grinded the ends of the trunion pin to finer points and reinstalled everything where it belonged. The Bug is working 100% precent properly now. The code is coming off much smoother, less herky-jerky; and sounds much better now. I was always wondering why I couldn't transition from "dahs" to "dits" more smoothly - now I know!

The restoration is now complete; and I've learned a thing or two or three in the process. How cool is that?

73 de Larry W2LJ

Success!

Today it reached about 75 degrees during luchtime; so I went outside and fired up the K1 at the back of my Ford Explorer. This time I had success!

I called CQ and was answered by John VE7CBU in Vancouver, British Columbia. Not bad for 5 Watts to a Hamstick mounted on top of an SUV!

I gave John a 589 and he gave me a 539. Then he proceeded to turn his power down to 5 Watts. Guess he wanted to give me a taste of my own medicine!

I had solid copy on him; which was rough on my part, but I managed. Unfortunately, I was not in the confines of my nice quiet shack located in my basement at home. I was in the parking lot at work, sans headphones while at the same time a freight train was blowing past me on the tracks which are located a couple hundred feet behind our building! It made it a tad rough for copying; but I guess that's what we portable QRPers live for! Next time, I'm going to have to remember to pack my headphones in the rig box.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Dead Bands

Today it is about 69 degrees during lunchtime. So I decided to go out to the Explorer during my break and fire up the K1. The weather was superb! Sunny and warm with a slight breeze. I could have easily chucked the light jacket I was wearing. Almost ideal.

The band, however, sucked. Turning the dial up and down throughout the 20 Meter band yielded nothing. Absolutley nothing. Well almost nothing. I heard quite a pileup down at the bottom of the band. I would assume that that was the VU4 DXpedition on the Andaman Islands. I didn't hear the fox; but I did hear the pack trying to get a nip of the quarry.

Maybe better luck tomorrow.

73 de Larry W2LJ