It's always nice

when you run into an old friend on the air.

I was down in the shack, working on soldering L1/L2 of the Fuchs tuner in place (I got it done - yay!). After I hot glued the core into place to keep it from moving, I decided to turn on the K2 and launch a CQ into the aether.

Hot chocolate! Dan KB6NU answered me right off the bat and we had a nice little chat. Dan was using his KX1 in which he had just finished replacing the final transistor. Dan did a fantastic job as he had a 579 signal until the QSB started kicking in.

I've had the pleasure to work Dan many times - QRP Sprints and ragchews, too. It's always a treat to catch him on the air. Dan is a fellow blogger and he's listed on the blog roll to the side. I hope you guys are checking his blog out; as it is chock full of good stuff. I was really impressed by his posting about his mini-solder pot that he made out of an old soldering iron:

http://kb6nu.com/i-finally-have-a-mini-solder-pot/

I hope to go to the Jersey Shore Amateur Radio Society (JSARS) hamfest in Toms River on Sunday morning. Hopefully, if I can get there, the goal is to find a junker soldering iron that I can convert into like what Dan has written about.

Back to the Fuchs tuner. I have one more big toroid to wind and install and then finish up the wiring. It really shouldn't take me more than an hour to finish -really. The tough part is finding the quiet time to get my butt into the shack to work on it!

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

Antenna thoughts

The next project after the Fuchs Tuner will be to build and install the 160 Meter board for the K2 before the winter sets in.

It will be nice to have 160 Meter capability; but will even be nicer if I do something installing a proper 160 Meter antenna. I am particularly interested in the possible solution offered by Greg Crossman WE0D, on page 44 of this month's QST. This antenna looks like a pretty economical solution for my plight. A base loaded, bottom coil vertical antenna, which uses a 31 ft (9.4 meters) fiberglass pole as a support.

There is a corner in the backyard behind my shed where I just cleared out a pile of brush and weeds. I can lay some radials along the side and back property line, too. And the location is pretty unobtrusive as far as sight goes, also. I don't think that Marianne would notice it or care about it that much.

I don't have a convenient anchor point for an Inverted L. WE0D's antenna just might do the trick. Heck, at this point, it would be better than nothing!

72 de Larry W2LJ

20 Meter Foxes and the Fuchs Tuner

While trying to snag the 20 Meter Foxes tonight, I continued or re-started if you will, building the Fuchs Tuner kit that I got from the QRP Project in Germany. Tonight I tinned the leads of the L1/L2 transformer while trying to snag Jay KT5E in Colorado. To say that I am not the expert at multitasking is an understatement. Trying to switch between soldering iron and paddles at a second's notice was not the easiest; but at least I managed to do so without burning myself.

Jay KT5E started out really loud in NJ at the beginning of the hunt. At 0118 UTC, he dropped from 599 to almost ESP levels. For a moment, I thought an emergency popped up and that Jay had to QRT. But listening for a little bit revealed that he was still there but VERY weak - 229, perhaps?

Fortunately, Jay's signal rebounded and I snagged him at 0144 UTC. The other Fox tonight was Jim N0UR, who lives in Minnesota. I expected him to be easy pickin's as I regularly have a pipeline into MN and WI. Stations from those two states normally blow my ears out. Not so tonight. Not a peep was heard from Jim or his hounds. Strange.

For those of you who have never participated in a Foxhunt and have no idea as to what I keep talking about, I took a little video of KT5E handing a pelt to K0EVZ.

Besides hearing the Foxhunt exchange, please notice that the horrible QRN that I was experiencing last week was nowhere to be heard. Thank the Lord! Turn up your speakers and give a listen, especially towards the end; and you will notice the "Hound's bane" - QSB. KT5E starts out nice and strong and is a fraction of his volume towards the end. All in a night's hunt!

To those of you who are not into "competitive" Amateur Radio (and I am not, for the most part), you probably wonder why we get all hepped up about making a contact that is so short and for the most part, meaningless. I guess it's the idea of a test of equipment, patience and skill that we Foxhunters look forward to week after week. It is what it is!

72 de Larry W2LJ

So hopelessly out of touch

I'll admit it, that would be me.

Personally, I don't give a rat's heinie:

1) What Chelsea Clinton's wedding cake cost.

2) That Lady GaGa is against the Arizona immigration laws (which I am sure she has not bothered to read - and furthermore, how could she read it with those idiotic masks she wears?).

3) Who LeBron James decided to play for.

4) That Steve Jobes pulled a hissy fit during the unveiling of the new Iphone.

5) That our Commander-in-Chief decided to make kissy face with "The View".

6) What Oprah has done lately.

7) That Angelina Jolie was "scarred" by her recently released movie.

8) That Heidi Montag (whoever the heck SHE is) is getting divorced and is getting more plastic surgery.

9) That Prince Charles feels that it is his "life's work" to save the world from Global Warming. Sheesh!

These are all "headlines" that I have seen the past few weeks.

Sorry CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, et al. If it has something to do with a celebrity, sports figure, movie or TV star - it bores me to tears. It would be nice to get the "news"and not opinion, editorializing, or fluff.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Rumblings ?

Space Weather News for August 1, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

GLOBAL ERUPTION: During the early hours of August 1st, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a complex global disturbance on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Most of the sun's northern hemisphere was involved in the event, which included a long-duration C3-class solar flare, a "solar tsunami," and a massive filament eruption. As a result of these blasts, a coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading toward Earth. High-latitude geomagnetic storms and auroras are possible when the cloud arrives a few days hence. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates.

Those Coronal Mass Ejections can really play havoc with HF communications. I remember when I was doing the "QSO a Day" thing back in 2006. We endured a few CMEs and I thought those were going to be "streak breakers" for me. Fortunately, by calling CQ long enough, I was able to establish communications via ground wave and was able to keep the streak intact.

In a day or so, HF conditions will probably deteriorate. However, aurora will probably be visible at the higher latitudes.

Should be interesting.

72 de Larry W2LJ

20 Meter QRN gone

I have no idea what caused that horrendous QRN on 20 Meters the other night; but I have been hanging around and listening to 20 Meters tonight; and so far there is no sign of it. The weather here is the same as it was Tuesday night - hot and humid, no rain.

I am sure that it will probably not rear its ugly head again until the next time I am scheduled to be the 20 Meter Fox in a few weeks.

Sigh.

However, I did manage a very quick QSO on 30 Meters with HP3DX. K2 and the Butternut got me a 449. Bill was about 569 here.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Guess I have heard everything

I have often heard it said that, "If you listen to the radio long enough, you will hear everything." I think that in 30+ years as a Ham, that finally came true the other night.

I was driving home from work and had the Icom in scan mode. It settled on one of the repeaters in New Jersey that is linked for statewide coverage. I heard a Ham relating the following story.

He was driving through a certain town and got stopped by a police officer for going over the speed limit. He was also on the radio at the time. In New Jersey, when you get a speeding ticket a certain "point value" goes on your driving record, depending on how far above the speed limit you were traveling. If you accumulate more than 12 points in three years, your license to drive is subject to revocation. The Ham must have offered some kind of sob story and the officer must have felt sorry for this guy, or something, because he offered him a choice. He had to issue a summons; but was willing to avoid giving the guy the points for speeding if he would take a ticket for using an electronic device while driving. This is New Jersey's cell phone law. If you use a cell phone (other than a non-hands on system) while driving, you get a fine. The Ham agreed to the cell phone ticket instead of the points.

What the officer didn't know, it seems, is that there is a specific exemption for Amateur Radio operators built into that law. As far as the law is written, Amateur Radio is NOT cell phone communications and is therefore permissible while driving.

So our friendly "lead foot" Ham was explaining to his friend on the air how he is going to court to challenge and possibly have the driving offense expunged on the technicality.

I was perturbed. First off, the police officer did this guy a favor. Even though Joe Ham broke the law by speeding, the police officer gave him a break by charging him with a lesser offense with a smaller fine and no points against his driving record. Joe Ham freely admitted his guilt and freely admitted that he was going to try and get out of this on the technicality that the police officer was probably unaware of. How about taking responsibility for your actions and taking your medicine like a man? As it is, he should be eternally grateful to the police officer for not issuing him the speeding points.

Secondly, if this guy's argument works; and he does beat the ticket .... how is that police officer going to treat other Hams in the future? He will have gotten burned by one of us once. Think that's not going to reside in the old memory banks for a long time? Think this police officer is going to be sympathetic to some other Ham in the future? I doubt it.

This kind of thing makes us all look bad. Fortunately, the friend that "lead foot" was talking to on the repeater advised him against his planned course of action. The friend was trying to be the voice of reason and common sense; but somehow I don't think his advice will be heeded. It seems that anything goes these days.

I will keep an ear open to this repeater system over the next few weeks. I will be very interested to see how this turns out.

72 de Larry W2LJ

That was bad!

Tonight was my night in the barrel as Fox in the 20 Meter Summer Foxhunt. And in the 5 or so years that I have been a Fox, this had to be my worst performance, by far!

20 Meters was lousy for me tonight with some local QRN that was horrendous. I took some video, have a look:

And this was one of the times when the bursts were coming at a relatively slower rate! There were times it sounded more like machine gun fire. I had to deal with this for about 80% of the time during the 90 minute time window. Look at how the S-meter moves into 20 dB over territory! I'm very lucky that I was able to hand out any pelts at all.

What's even more frustrating is that I have no idea what was causing this. I have listened on 20 Meters a lot the past week or so; and never encountered this before. I am wondering if this has anything to do with the work they did on the utility pole last Sunday when that transformer blew after the thunderstorm.

If you were a "hound" in the hunt and tried calling me and calling me to no avail, I apologize. Believe me, it was just as frustrating for me as it was for you. Probably more so.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Lessons learned

As always, FOBB taught me a few lessons,

1) Really have to get a Buddipole mast. The plastic insert on my painter's pole can't handle the weight of the Buddistick. Those 10 foot whips add A LOT of weight! It did the job yesterday; but at the end, the antenna was listing pretty badly.

2) Have to finish the Fuchs tuner, so I can play around with an end fed tossed up a tree.

3) It always seems the weather for the major QRP outdoor events will always end up being less than desired. Have to account for all kinds of possibilities. Yesterday's thunder crept up on me very quickly. I was definitely paying too much attention to the radio and not enough to the sky.

4) Have to tear apart the PFR3A and find out why the internal batteries didn't work. One must have gotten jostled out of the battery insert on the trip back from Lake George.

5) Wish I had been able to put in the whole four hours. From what I have been reading on the QRP reflectors, 40 Meters got WAY better during the second half.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Flight of the Bumblebees 2010

I think that today, it should have been the Flight of the Butterflies.


My wife Marianne, who is a nurse, was on call today. That meant, at any given moment, she might have been called in to go to the hospital to administer dialysis to a patient, had the need arisen. With her schedule so uncertain, and not being able to leave the kids home alone (yet), I decided to operate FOBB from the backyard. We have a few butterfly bushes out there; and while I was operating, I glanced over to see a multitude of butterflies feasting on the nectar that the flowers contained.

I set up the Buddistick for 20 Meters, and got on the air shortly after the 17:00 UTC start time. I was glad to be under the patio umbrella as it was about 92 degrees (33C) outside. The first 45 minutes or so went well, and then I heard rumbles of thunder. The sky was starting to get dark and a breeze was picking up; so I decided to take the station apart and head inside. I'm glad I did. The station was packed away in the rucksack and the Buddistick was being put away as the first huge drops of rain began falling.

I waited for a half hour after the last rumble of thunder and got back on the air again. This time from the basement shack and the HF9V. That lasted for all of about 4 QSOs when a deafening static crash advised me that the local thunder was becoming active again. Closing down the station yet again, it was only a few minutes later that I heard a loud, "BZZZZZT" and the power went out. The transformer on the utility pole down the street died yet again; and we were without power for over 90 minutes. I guess I could have hooked the K2 up to a battery to continue, but sitting in a dark basement wasn't appealing as far as logging goes.

A few minutes after the power went out; the downpour really began in earnest. After the last of the lightning and the last rumble of thunder was long gone, and after last raindrop had fallen - the temperature had dropped, too. It went down from 92F to 72F (22C) in about the stretch of about 90 minutes. The scorching heatwave of the week and the Flight of the Bumblebees 2010 edition were both over.

72 de Larry W2LJ

IOTA Contest

is in full swing on the bands. I worked IS0B in Sardinia and ZF2JT in the Cayman Islands (QRP, of course). The Butternut HF9V is a wonderful antenna!

IS0B photo courtesy of QRZ.com

All this while sniffing around for a ragchew that I never found. Tomorrow is the Flight of the Bumblebees and a family commitment has come up that might severely cut into my operating time. With any luck, I should at least manage to get one or two hours in towards the end of the contest. Keeping my fingers crossed.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Need I say more ?

72 de W2LJ (frying eggs on the sidewalk)

Eeek, it's hot!

Here it is, almost 10:00 PM local time and it is still 87 F (30C) outside! It reached just shy of 100 F (37C) today and promises to be even hotter tomorrow. So it seemed that discretion was the better part of valor, which dictated a nice trip to my cool basement shack, where the temperature remains a pretty constant 69 F (20C) throughout the summer.

The trip yielded two nice ragchews on 40 Meters - the nice part just above 7.100 MHz. The first was with John WB4OFT in Advance, NC. John was using a Kenwood TS570 to and Inverted Vee. He had a nice 599 signal. He is SKCC 958 was was using a Schurr hand key. As mentioned, we exchanged SKCC numbers, and I think he was a bit taken aback by my low number (49), which caused him to ask for it again. John and I are pretty close in age, only two years apart; but John has been a Ham for eight years longer than me.

After bidding our 73s, I tuned down the band just a few KHz and called CQ, as John was being tailended by another station. My CQs yielded a call from Gary VE1/K3OMI.



Gary was operating from his summer home in Lockeport, NS and was using an Icom IC-7000 to an Inverted Vee up at 35 feet. Gary informed me that it was hot today in Lockeport with a high temp of 80F (26C). A far cry from the hot and humid weather in NJ. And from the looks of the above picture, Lockeport looks to be a really beautiful summer home location.

I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and ragchew for quite a while, it was nice to pound brass in a leisurely, conversational manner.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Ready for FOBB - I think .....

The parts that I need for the Buddistick arrived via UPS yesterday. In addition to two new 22 inch antenna arms, I bought two of the heavy duty 10 foot whips. These do not collapse down small enough to fit into the nylon Buddistick carrying bag; but no matter. Using the longer whip should really help out on 40 Meters. From the tip of the painter's pole will be 44 inches worth of antenna arm, with the multi-band coil coming next. On top of that will be the 10 foot whip. That's close to 14 foot worth of vertical antenna perched atop a 12 foot (extended) painter's pole. My Buddistick will be almost as tall as my Butternut HF9V when all is said and done! Of course, only the top 14 feet will do any radiating; but is should be a more efficient antenna for 40 Meters than just the standard Buddistick configuration (22 inches worth of antenna arm and only 5 feet worth of whip).

In addition to the arms and whips, I bought the Buddipole book by Scott Andersen NE1RD of "100 Pound DXpedition" fame. Skimming through it, it looks like a great book and a good read - well worth the $15.00. Scott has taken his Buddipole all over the word on various mini-DXpeditions and it has performed wonderfully for him. It's always a good thing to be able to learn from other people's successes. A lot of the guess work in setting up a Buddipole or Buddistick is eliminated as Scott relates the actual set ups for each band. It seems to me that if Scott was able to use his Buddipole to make 1000s of QSOs from Montserrat, St. Lucia and other exciting locations; then I should be able to generate some decent FOBB contacts from my backyard, or the park, or wherever with my Buddistick.

Next month, when I get a little more cash saved, I think I am going to purchase the Buddipole "standard mast". Truthfully, it will extend to only about 10 feet (about 2 feet less than my painter's pole). But it does collapse down to 22 inches. The painter's pole collapses down to around 5 feet. Not the easiest thing to haul around, especially in the car. It's too long to lay down sideways in the back of the Ford, so I have to let it lay up the side. And this is a bother to the backseat passenger on whichever side that happens to be. But I do have to admit that it does make a decent walking stick!

Terrestrial weather forecast for Sunday: Partly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s. Chance of rain 30 percent.


72 de Larry W2LJ

Lest I forget ....

today is the 41st anniversary of the Moon Landing. I was 12 years old and watched every minute of it that I could on CBS News. Those were the days, watching Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra as commentators.



My family gathered around the television and watched the TV late into that Sunday night as Houston decided to let Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin begin their EVA early. Those were heady times for a young boy of 12 with strong interests in science, astronomy and radio. I am very glad that I was alive during the era of the "space race". That was an exciting time that we will probably never see again.

72 de Larry W2LJ

A real treat!

I visit eHam on a regular basis. eHam is, as Forrest Gump's mama would say, "Like a box of chocolates". You never know what you're going to get there; and sometimes you have to delve through the crappy chocolates to get to the good ones.

Today, I was pleasantly surprised to find one of the BEST chocolates right at the top of the box! A short story by Don Keith N4KC entitles "The Antenna Party". Please click on the title to go read the story. It is a gem.

For those of you not familiar with Don, he is a very talented, best selling author in addition to being a Ham. I have not had the good luck to ever meet him on the air; but hopefully someday ......

Don N4KC and Jeff KE9V are two of the best Amateur Radio short story authors that we have. I wish that I had a 100th of the talent that both of these gentlemen possess!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Propagation

I am looking at the propagation box to the lower right and I am liking what I see! Flux is up around 80. While the SSN is only 12, conditions are looking better.

Can it hold out for the Flight of the Bumblebees this weekend? I certainly hope so!

My replacement Buddistick whips should arrive here on Wednesday. I am pumped and will be ready to go - even if it's only from my backyard (my wife is "on call" this weekend, so no traveling far from the house).

The extended forecast for Sunday is looking for clear, sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 80s. I can handle that!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Net Dilemma

Last night, I had the Wouxun in scan mode; and settled in on a conversation taking place on one of the local repeaters. As it closed upon 10:00 PM local time, the Hams in conversation were quite rudely interrupted by other Hams informing them (VERY impolitely) that the daily traffic was about to begin.

As long as I have been a Ham, this net has taken place religiously on that frequency at 10:00 PM. But that's a tradition and shouldn't be etched in stone. No one owns a frequency. The Hams in question could and SHOULD have been informed in a way more polite and friendly manner that a net was about to begin.

It's a bad reflection when someone comes on frequency without identifying themselves and starts shouting into the microphone, "Net, Net, NET!!!!"

I guess it just goes to show that we have more than our share of idiots, also.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Vacation was wonderful

but it's also good to be back home! Not looking forward to hitting the "daily grind" on Monday; but we made it back safe and sound.

Oh, we did put down a deposit for the same cabin next July. Only 51 weeks away!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Perceptions

In addition to the HF gear that I have brought along on our yearly pilgrimage to Lake George, I have also brought along the Wouxun 144/440 MHz radio and a spare battery. I have not gotten on to talk; but have done a lot of monitoring. I have not gone out of the way to program in any new repeater frequencies; but have made do with what I have already programmed in.

Sure enough, some of the repeater pairs that I have programmed in are active up here; and it's quite interesting listening. There's one repeater in particular, 147.135 MHz upon which I have heard at least a half dozen or so QSOs on the subject of D-Star. It appears that there is a group of Hams up here in the Adirondack region that are quite hot to get a D-Star network going.

I have heard Northern New Jersey and New Jersey in general being referred to as a "hotbed" of D-Star activity. I wish I had the correct PL tomes programmed in, as I could easily set them straight. Yes there is some D-Star activity in New Jersey; but I would not characterize it as a "hotbed". There are only one or two groups off the top of my head that I can think of that are actively using D-Star. Nowhere near the majority of Hams or repeaters.

Amazing how false information gets started going around. I am sure this happens quite often and is probably the way that "Urban Myths" originate and propagate.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Google Chrome

While being up here in Lake George, the WiFi connection has been "not so good" (very weak). So I have found that, for whatever reason, that using Google Chrome as the browser of choice has been working much better than FireFox. It loads quicker and doesn't seem to get hung up as much.

No HF operating today. Our last day here has been rainy. Intermittent showers are making everything wet and very humid here, to boot. And we are now in the process of packing up to head back to NJ tomorrow. Next year I will bring extra whips and everything, so that I don't run into Buddistick problems again.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Portable operating thoughts

The PFR3A is a very good radio. Better than I was willing to admit given the sour taste I had towards it as a result if my building experience. Still not quite as good as the K1; but a solid performer. Major need for improvement in one area - the display. Man, is it hard to read an LED display outdoors in the daytime. An LCD would have been the way to go; but I guess that would have raised the price of the radio considerably. I found myself shielding the display with my hand, so I could know what frequency I was on. Tuning is a breeze. Even with the initial bias I had against push button tuning, I acclimated myself to it quickly.

The receiver is solid and the built in tuner works like a charm. I would recommend this kit to anyone with more than one or two kits under their belt. You will have a very good time using this radio in the field. Another built in advantage is the color. Many scoff at the bright yellow enamel coating; but as a side benefit, the radio does not get hot. The dark gray case of the K1 can heat up the radio and cause it to drift in the hot sun, Not so with the PFR3A. All in all, I am very glad that I ended up not selling this radio. It will not replace the K1; but it will get used.

I am going to ditch the doublets as part of my portable operating antenna arsenal. From now on it will be the Buddistick and maybe an end fed wire. Doublets and dipoles are ideal for a camping set up, where you might be situated in a base camp for a few days to a week. For just a couple hours of operating, they are more a pain than it's worth. The Hamsticks will also remain a part of the scheme when operating solely from the back of the car. My kind of outings are very temporary in nature. I want to get set up and get in as much operating time as possible.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Practical things

With the Buddistick out of commission until the new whips arrive, I was forced to resort to using my zip cord 88' doublet antenna (always good to carry SOME kind of backup!). It is quite a pain setting up a doublet antenna for just an hour or two of operating. If "in and out" quickly is your main goal - then the Buddistick or PAC-12 is the way to go. The time it takes to set up a doublet or dipole takes away from operating time.

Getting back to setting up the doublet - I used a hint from Jim W1PID. Instead of using my slingshot and fishing weights to get line over a tree limb, I tied some line to a 20 ounce water bottle and flung it up over a couple of tree branches about 20 - 25 feet high or so. While doing this, a couple of women came into the park I was using - once they saw me heaving a water bottle over a tree limb, I think they took me for a crazy person and left! I was waiting for the police to arrive shortly thereafter; but they never materialized. In case they had, I always make sure to carry both my driver's license as well as my Amateur Radio license.

The 88' zip cord doublet loaded up easily on all three bands that the PFR3A has - 40, 30 and 20 Meters, using the PFR3A's built in tuner. There was a little activity on 20 Meters; but it was all at the low end of the band and at the noise level; so I didn't bother. 30 Meters was dead; but 40 had a very few sparse loud signals. I called CQ for a while and was picked up by Don KU4WE who hails from Lexington, VA.

Don was using a Flex5000 at 100 watts to a rotatable dipole at 65 feet. He was a solid 599 and I got a 459 report from him, which I don't consider to be all that bad considering the antenna. We chatted for a few minutes until QSB started killing my QRP signal and we each bade our 73s.

I was going to continue on for a bit; but some workmen started using the park for a lunch spot and some local kids came to start using the basketball hoop. I decided to call it quits and packed up everything for the day. I took the advice of Jeep off roaders whose motto is, "Leave no trace behind", and made sure that there was no sign left of my excursion for the locals to complain about.

72 de Larry W2LJ

When disaster strikes

it is best to be prepared. Disaster struck, I was not; and I have learned from it.

I brought the Buddistick out with me to do some outdoor QRPing, only to discover that I forgot to bring my painter's pole mast with me. So I decided to make due by setting the Buddidtick on the small tripod on top of the car. You guessed it ..... it fell over, snapping the whip in two.

I have placed an order with Budd for TWO new 10 foot replacement whips. One to use and one as a back up. I also ordered two more 11 inch antenna arm segments which will allow me to put a total of 44 inches worth of antenna arm segments, the coil and then the 10 foot whip as the normal set up.

I am contemplating acquiring the standard Buddipole mast. Totally extended, it would actually be a couple of feet shorter than my painter's pole; but it collapses down to 22 inches, making it much easier to carry around.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Off from work today

And it is hot and humid; but I am going to head out and try operating from "The Great Outdoors" in a bit. Listen for me around 1800 UTC on 7.040 and 14.060 MHz.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Summer Fox Hunt Season

The 2010 Summer QRP Fox Hunt season commenced this evening. The two Foxes were Jim N0UR in Minnesota and Sam N4SAM in Alabama.

I managed to bag a pelt from Jim early on; but Sam proved to be pesky. I had to turn the AGC off to hear him (only with the vertical - the G5RV yielded nothing) and at BEST he was 339. I listened until close to the bitter end; but could tell he switched from working split to simplex only by the stations calling him on frequency. At this point he was at ESP levels (I think I hear him!!!!); so I called it quits for the night.

In the middle of listening for Sam, a W8 station came on frequency and sent a "QRL?" - I have to give him credit for that. But about a bajillion guys answered "YES" and this guy began calling CQ anyway! He had to have heard at least one "YES" out of the multitude - wouldn't you think?

Oh well, at least I was able to tack one pelt on the wall!

UPDATE - I was able to get the battery inserts soldered up properly after the power came back on. I "cheated" profusely, however. Since I know these tabs are difficult to solder (they warn you about this in the instructions) and the plastic insert melts quickly, I did two things. First, I scraped the surface of the tabs really well with my venerable Swiss Army knife. Then I really cheated and put some old, expired AA batteries into the inserts to act as heat sinks. It worked as I was rewarded with the display coming on as I switched to the internal batteries. However, my confidence in those battery holders is not 100%. I think when we go on vacation, I will bring along one of my small 12V SLAs as a precautionary backup. Also, I think I am going to place an order for better battery inserts with Mouser or Jameco.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Sultry!

It reached 103F here today (39.4C) AND we lost power this afternoon for about an hour. My only concern was contemplating trying to sleep in this heat without at least a fan. Turned out to be the transformer on the utility pole down the street. Public Service Electric and Gas came out very promptly to make at least a temporary fix until a permanent replacement transformer can be installed tomorrow.

I grew up in a house that had no air conditioning and can generally live without it with not much problem. I guess that's why I don't mind hot weather at all. However all that said, it is tough to sleep in a sauna!

On a radio note, I installed eight AA batteries in the PFR3A and no go! Looks like I have to re-solder the wire between the two battery inserts. The problem is that these inserts are very flimsy and you have to be FAST with the soldering iron.

72 de Larry W2LJ

More bonding time

was spent with the PFR3A transceiver tonight during the ARS Spartan Sprint. I did not get on the air to try and win the Sprint or even operate the entire time. I just wanted to see what I could hear and work on 20 and 40 Meters.

20 Meters yielded John K4BAI and Dave AB9CA. 40 Meters yielded an additional half dozen or so contacts before I shut it down for the night. Tomorrow is back to work; so I am going to hit the hay right after finishing this post.

I got good practice using the built in "Balanced Line" tuner, which does an excellent job tuning up the Butternut HF9V for whatever little mismatch is present there. I find that when trying to use the tuner, it is way easier to look at the LED from a side angle than straight on. This makes it easier for me to figure out when the LED has achieved "maximum dimness" or has gone out altogether. I also have it down to the point that I know what note pitch to tune for so that when I answer a CQ, I am zero beat with the calling station. Little things; but important things.

I also got in some practice time with the AA0ZZ keyer, which is also a breeze to use. The combination of the PFR3A and the AA0ZZ keyer is hard to beat.

BTW, it was blistering hot here today. If my backyard thermometer is to be believed, and I think it is, it reached 103F here (39C). The thermometer is located in the backyard in a shady and somewhat sheltered spot, so it's not like it is getting heat reflected towards it from asphalt or concrete. Tomorrow promises to be as hot with some relief possibly for Thursday.

72 de Larry W2LJ

That was fun and enlightening !

I participated in the Michigan QRP Club Independence Day Sprint for a little bit after almost forgetting about it. It was on my mind all day yesterday, how I wanted to join in; and then, when the Sprint begins, my mind is a million miles away!

Anyway, instead of using the K2, I used the PFR3A hooked up to the Butternut HF9V. Instead of using my Emtech ZM2 tuner, I decided to give the PFR3A's built in tuner a try. There have been a lot of comments on the PFR3 Yahoo Group about some guys not being able to make the built in tuner work properly. I hadn't tried it up until tonight; and I wanted to see if mine would work satisfactorily. Fortunately, mine seems to be working just great. On all three bands, I was able to get the indicator LED to go out completely, indicating a good match.

I worked 6 stations in the MI QRP Sprint on 40 Meters. I tried working a Scandinavian station on 30 Meters; but unfortunately all I got was a "W2??" in response to his CQ.

Then I hopped on up to 20 Meters and had a very brief QSO with AE4YP near the 20 Meter QRP watering hole frequency. So I was very pleased with the performance of the PFR3A tonight and am feeling much more confident about taking it as my only QRP rig on vacation this year.

My plan is to take the PFR3A loaded up with AA batteries in the internal holders, a paddle and my AA0ZZ external keyer, the ZM2 (as a backup) and a few assorted antennas (Buddistick and doublets). I want to keep it light and easy this year.

My goal is to get a few hours operating time in over the week we are up in Lake George; and I also want to see if W3BBO and I can hook up on CW this time around. I'm also thinking of setting up not only from the place where we'll be staying; but also getting to the top of one of the nearby Adirondack mountains for some extra footage above sea level.

By the way, the Independence Day weekend heatwave began with a vengeance! Yesterday just reached 90F (32C); and today we reached 97F (36C) according to the thermometer in the backyard. Tomorrow is supposed to reach or even break 100F (37C). I have some yardwork to do and I sure picked a good day to do it! I will probably get a very early or late start on that so as to avoid the peak temperatures.

We have not had a lot of rain as of late; and the back and front lawns are getting crispy. Looks like it's time to buy a new sprinkler.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Indpendence Day!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July; and please remember what it's all about!

72 de Larry W2LJ

1776

My most favorite part from the movie of the same name.

William Daniels as John Adams - my favorite of all the Founding Fathers.



72 de Larry W2LJ

New weather monitor

I would really like to set up a personal weather station here at W2LJ. It's another thing on my "To Do" list - or should I say another thing on my "To Save For" list. The good ones are very expensive.

In the meantime, I picked up from a discount house a little LaCrosse Technologies - "WeatherDirect" station.


This device is not a personal weather station, per se, but it does pick up local weather information via the Internet and the sends it to the display unit, pictured above. It does have an outdoor temperature sensor which takes my readings and places them on a map. It is quite interesting to look at the temperatures surrounding the South Plainfield area, to see how they compare to mine.

I guess I'm just a gadget junky at heart; but someday I really would like to put up a full blown weather station and then hook that up to APRS. I never really had a big yen to get involved with APRS; but for weather data, I think that would be ideal.

72 de Larry W2LJ

What a week !

At work this week, my partner and I were faced with the task of getting close to 400 Dell R610 servers ready for install. It was one hectic week of unboxing and labeling servers with their host names and then organizing them by asset#. Certain assets have to go into certain cabinets; and we had to organize them against spreadsheets that we were given. I still have to go in on Sunday to finish labeling the last 200 or so. These need to be ready for first thing Tuesday AM. Needless to say, I am fried - a few Ibuprofen and early to bed for me tonight! My bones are aching and my head is spinning. At least I'm not wearing that boot on my foot anymore!

Keep in mind that Sunday night is the Michigan QRP Club's Independence Day Sprint. For all the details, please visit: http://www.miqrp.org/contest.html I am really hoping to join in on this; as with the wacky schedule of events that I am looking at - daughter's swim meet, yard work, house cleaning, work on Sunday afternoon - this may be my only "on air" time that I get this weekend.

Right now, as I am typing this, my dog Jesse is securely nestled at my feet. The town of Scotch Plains (one town over) is having their fireworks display tonight and the booms and blasts seem to upset Jesse more and more as he grows older. He is a Brittany and will be 11 years old this year. He is such a good dog - my father in law, when he was alive, always used to say, "This dog doesn't have a mean bone in his body". And it's true! I pity any burglar that would enter our house - be prepared to be slobbered to death!



72 de Larry W2LJ

New HB-1A

By now, most of the QRP world knows that TenTec has added the HB-1A to their repertoire. They've changed it, though, to a two band radio, offering two versions - a 40/20 Meter version or a 40/30 Meter version.

The "new" HB-1A available from China is the TJ6A, a six band multi mode radio. For a look at it, you can go to YouTube and see it here.

It's available on eBay, in kit form for $245.00 plus shipping, which really isn't all that terrible. It will operate on 80, 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15 Meters. A maximum of 10 Watts out and will handle USB, LSB and of course, CW. It does look to be mostly surface mount, however - so it is definitely for the experienced kit builder (with good eyes and steady hands!). I like the fact that it does have an honest-to-goodness tuning knob - no push button tuning!

For more details and pictures, you can go to http://www.youkits.com

If I was a lottery winner, I would be tempted.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Wouxun City

Several folks have asked if I like my Wouxun 2 Meter / 220 MHz portable. The answer is enough to go onto eBay to find and purchase the accompanying 2 Meter / 440 MHz version. I love the audio quality and the physical lightness of the radio as well as how it feels in my hand. I find it easy enough to program without resorting to the help of a PC to do it. Hopefully, it will be getting here from Hong Kong in short order.

My Alinco will be donated to a young local Ham who I taught in the class that Marv K2VHW and I gave a few years ago at our local Office of Emergency Management. He is in high school now and is still "equipment-less". He's still very interested in the hobby and I am hoping that this will be his doorway into getting more and more involved. VHF/UHF now and hopefully HF in the near future.

There is one catch, though. I told him that when he is an older licensed, veteran Ham; that it will be his responsibility to do the same thing for some newcomer in the future. This young man is quite the example of a teenager who has his head screwed on correctly. I have no doubt that he will keep his promise to do this in the future.

Plus the fact that I plan on hanging around long enough to prod him if I have to!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Whooo boy!

Another heat wave is coming, just in time for the Independence Day holiday weekend. The forecast is for temperatures in the upper 80s (31C) tomorrow and Saturday; but then, beginning Sunday, it will be in upper to mid 90s (36C) for all of next week! The NWS has issued a Heat Advisory for Sunday through at least next Wednesday.

It feels like Summer came fast this year and with a vengeance! But this is my favorite time of year; and I would rather deal with this than shoveling snow any day of the week!

For those of you who live here in the States, the NWS is taking a survey of the products and services that they offer. If you use the National Weather Service at all, either via RF or computer, or if you're active in SkyWarn - here's a link to the survey:

https://svy.cfigroup.com/cgi-bin/qwebcorporate.dll?idx=3XRBCG

It takes all of about 10 minutes or so to complete.

I am looking forward to the upcoming long weekend. I really hope to get some "on air" time, preferably somewhere outside with either the PFR3A or K1. There's no rain in the forecast for over the weekend; so maybe Sunday or even Monday (I'm off) might present an opportunity. When the weather gets wild and woolly, sometimes the bands tend to open. It would be nice to experience some good openings.

All I have to do is get through tomorrow at work. Unfortunately, right now that's looking like a tall order.

BTW - added a new blog to the list. Check out "The Boring Ham Radio Part" which appears to the right. This is written and maintained by Bill Coleman, who I have worked in many a Sprint and Fox Hunt.

72 de Larry W2LJ

More fooling around

with logbook software. I guess everyone has quirks and idiosyncrasies. Mine is that I like to explore and play around with logging software, as I have indicated on previous posts of this blog. Currently, I am playing around with Ham Radio Deluxe. It is a very nice program and it is free!

Currently I have three logging programs on my computer(s). Win-EQF, which I had used since 1992, but stopped using last November. It is a very nice, user friendly program that is very intuitive and easy to use. However, it is not a true Windows program. It still has that UNIX look that is just plain "old" looking. Granted, it did everything I wanted it to do; but it just got old.

Second is AC Log by N3FJP. I have been using this since last year. It is also a very nice and extremely popular program. It is easy to use and has a nice Windows Excel feel to it. It has just about all the basic features that you could want - logging, DX Cluster, export to LOTW, etc. There are a few bells and whistles that I could think of adding; but alas, I am not a software engineer. My familiarity with code is of the Morse kind.

Third is HRD. I have installed it on all three computers - main family computer, netbook and shack laptop. It seems to work well on all three, even the shack laptop that is cranky and uses Windows 2000. HRD seems to have all the bells and whistles you could ever want. Logbook, DX Cluster, Web browser, grayline map, etc, etc, etc - all available in the main screen. I have not played around with it long enough to be comfortably familiar with it; but it does appear to be a superbly written piece of software for the right price. To take advantage of all the features, you really need to have Internet access in your shack. That is something that I did not have until last November, when we hooked up to Verizon FiOS. Now the wireless router allows me to hook up to the Internet from my basement shack with ease.

For the time being, I will probably keep my log going on both AC Log and HRD until I figure out which I will keep for the long run. I will probably take a big leap and delete Win-EQF from the computers.

On a side note, I see the SSN has been up lately and that solar flux has been creeping up again to the mid 70s. Conditions are improving slowly. It looks like I may be able to get some radio time in over the upcoming Independence Day weekend. I hope we don't run into any geo-magnetic disturbances!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Interesting

I took a look at some of the stats for this blog today. Over the weekend, I had about a 30% drop in hits. Of course it was due to Field Day! I'm glad that most of you were too busy to be reading this.

So, from what I am seeing on the QRP and portable operating reflectors, propagation was a blast over the weekend. 15 Meters was wide open and 80 Meters was red hot LATE into the evening. Next year, if I am fortunate enough, I'd really like to visit the Sarnoff Amateur Radio Club Field Day site in Princeton, NJ. It is a total QRP effort with low power, solar panels, batteries .... the whole shebang.

The heat wave here in Central NJ is now in about its fifth day and I think it has come to an end. We had some rain come through this afternoon and it is still very hot and sticky. However, the temperatures have fallen below the magic 90F (32C) mark; and it looks like we won't approach that point on the thermometer until next Sunday (maybe). This is a psychological victory only, however, because when you step outside it still feels like a sauna.

I have also decided to get in some "male bonding" time (as W3BBO called it) with the PFR3A. This summer, when we go up to Lake George, I am going to pack light, radio wise. This year I will take the PFR3A loaded with internal AA batteries, the Emtech ZM-2, the AA0ZZ keyer and the Buddistick and one of my doublets. Hopefully during that week, I will get in some time to play around exclusively with the PFR3A and get to know its idiosyncrasies a little bit better. As a side benefit, everything should fit nicely in my smaller "CQ" backpack.

I am very much looking forward to this vacation and can't wait until it gets here. I am also looking forward to the upcoming, long Independence Day weekend. I need the downtime badly.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day changes?

I received a very interesting and thought provoking e-mail from my friend Bob W3BBO with regards to Field Day. His observations and thoughts about Field Day in the Erie, PA region are a good share:

Hi Larry,

I wonder if they will eventually make FD a one day event? This morning after Mass, I talked on 160 with Tom KA3FZN, then decided to take a drive and see how the guys were making out. Nice morning here, a little warm but very humid, a good time to spend in a car with A/C.

Anyway, I drive down to Union City and....nobody there! Not a sign of antennas or anything. Guess they packed it in at sunset yesterday. I continued on to the Wattsburg Wireless site and found Frank KB3NAT there packing everything away. Frank is a young enthusiastic ham who spent all day Saturday and Saturday night at FD. He said he had had enough and was heading home to bed! It was 11 AM.

I remember you used to enjoy the night shift at FD, but I wonder how many clubs stay with it for the full time period? This might make a good poll for the ARRL.

Maybe a one day event with setup starting at 8 AM local, under emergency conditions would be more interesting? You could run a 100 watt rig if you like, off of batteries, but no generators. Solar panels, use them if you got them. Once your batteries run down though, you're out of the game. I imagine the rules could be such that operating under emergency conditions could be fun, interesting, and very informative. Never happen though, FD is just a social event no matter how we Hams preach the emergency side of it.

Guess these kind of thoughts always come up after FD! Hi.

Stay cool,

73 de Bob W3BBO

What has YOUR experience been? Did your club or group have enough operators? Did you have a hard time filling time slots, especially the overnight?

When I was active with the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club, I did the best I could to stay the whole 24 hours. When I was a club officer, I felt it was my duty. But there were times when I was the only one banging away at the key for the 2:00 to 4:00 AM shift - doing my own logging to boot. I guess it's always the same. People are more than eager to grab the mic or key when things start happening at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday morning after a good night's sleep. Filling in those hours from about 10:00 PM or so until about 7:00 AM Sunday morning can be a chore.

Would Field Day be better as a one day event? Would participation go down or perhaps even up? I think for the big stations, it would probably go down. I can understand the thought process of, "I'm not doing all this work for just one day". Conversely, maybe the participation by small one or two manned, stick-a wire-in-a-tree-and-let's-get-going efforts would increase.

Things to think about, for sure.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Heat wave

Field Day weekend seems like it will bring the first official heatwave of the Summer of 2010 in Central NJ. By definition, a heatwave is three or more days of over 90F (32C) weather. It topped out above 90F here yesterday and today and is expected to do so again on Saturday and Sunday.

Which reminds me of a PARC Field Day about a dozen or so years ago. I was in W2PQ's pop up camper which served as the 80/40 Meter CW station with Tim Koeth N2LPN and Bill Koeth W2WK. It was VERY hot and humid, a sultry day by the very definition of sultry. It just so happened that a thunderstorm was brewing, so as soon as we heard the distant thunderclaps, Tim and I disconnected the wire antenna from the radio and we dropped it on the floor (forgetting to throw it out the window). As we were sitting out the thunder and lightning, we kept on hearing this small "tic .... tic .... tic" sound. We were wondering what it was when we happened to look down on the floor, where we saw a small blue arc traveling between the center conductor to the shield on the PL-259 connector of the coax we had dropped on the floor! While we were taking no direct hits, the static charge was building up enough on the wire to cause the arcing at the radio end of the coax. Good thing it wasn't plugged in; and that graphic lesson has stayed with me ever since.

If you're going out for Field Day tomorrow make sure you bring along plenty of sunscreen and make sure you stay hydrated throughout the event. Have fun and be careful; and if a sudden boomer pops up out of nowhere, remember to toss the coax out of your tent, trailer, camper or whatever!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Stupid project

I am engaged in a stupid little project that is nothing more than a testament to some amount of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that I probably have.

I am creating a spreadsheet using Open Office and I am attempting to achieve some kind of universality between the Alinco HT, the Wouxun HT and my Icom mobile radio. The idea is for all three radios to have the same 2 Meter repeaters programmed in; and for the Alinco and Icom mobile to have the same 2 Meter and 440 repeaters programmed in. The Wouxun has 2 Meter and 220 MHz repeaters programmed in.

I guess I have been using this as an excuse not to move around too much as it was super hot and humid today. Driving in to work this morning, at 8:00 AM, it was already around 80F (27C). It finally reached 98F (37C) this afternoon. The forecast was for some severe thunderstorms in the afternoon; but they stayed to the very southern portions of NJ. We did not receive much in the way of relief, even though a cool front was supposed to have moved into the area. But it must have, as the forecast for tomorrow is for the day to be about a whole whopping 5 degrees or so cooler. Some cool front!

To finish this little project, all I have to do is finish programming the Icom mobile to match the Alinco HT. In all, both radios will have 37 memories allocated. Nowhere near capacity; but all the local and semi-local repeaters will have been accounted for.

Pretty good for a guy who listens more than transmits.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day coming this weekend

Sure enough, it's that time of year again. June has literally blown by at the speed of light and Field Day (the last full weekend in June) is here.

It promises to be a busy weekend, personally, with a lot of demands on my time. I don't think that I will be making it to any of the local Field Day sites. And believe me, here in New Jersey, you have quite the choice! All within a relatively short distance from me, I can go to the W2QW/K2ETS venture, which is only about 6 miles away. Also within the immediate area is the RBRA, the Raritan Bay Radio Amateurs who will be putting K2GE on the air in Sayreville, NJ. With just a bit longer drive, I can hook up with the Field Day at the RCA Sarnoff Labs site in Princeton, NJ. This is the one that most members of the NJQRP attend, I believe. And then near Trenton, in Mercer County will be the DVRA (Delaware Valley Radio Association) effort.

The weather outlook for the weekend is looking good so far. I hope to set up the portable QRP station in the backyard and put some time in between Dad and Husband and Son duties that I need to take care of this weekend.

Gone are the days when I would disappear from my parent's house for the entire weekend between set up on Friday, Field Day proper on Saturday, and then clean up into Sunday evening. There were many a night spent sleeping at the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club's site in either W2PQ's pop up camper or W2WK's trailer. Sunburn, mosquito bites and exhaustion were the norm for late that post Field Day Sunday evening.

So enjoy Field Day with your club or organization if you possibly can. If you can't, you might want to consider using Field Day as an opportunity to go solo and experiment with your portable QRP set up, refining antennas, operating procedures, etc. This way, when you hit the trail (or park or campsite) you will have a good idea of what works for you and what doesn't. You will know what's necessary to bring along; and what's just so much unnecessary fluff. And it never hurts to get a little practice in, getting those antennas launched and ready to go. The bands will be busy (to say the least) so it will be an excellent chance to get a feel for how well your portable set up is working (or not).

When all is said and done, afterward you can use the experience to make whatever changes you feel are prudent. It is definitely no fun to go on vacation and take your portable station with you, only to find out that something is not working; or that you have left something out of your "Go Bag" that is totally necessary. Field Day makes for a good "trial run". And after all, the bottom line is that Field Day is all about setting up under less than optimal conditions in order to get emergency communications out.

In the case of an actual emergency or disaster, if I was told that I had to set up a Field Emcomm Station and I could choose either a QRPer who was used to operating in the field using batteries and portable antennas; or a guy whose ONLY exposure to Amateur Radio involved using a kilowatt and a 100 foot tower, I think you know who I would choose to go to battle with!

Most of all, have fun and be safe!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Roster - 2010 Flight of the Bumblebees

My e-mail was received:

"Congratulations! You are Bee #74"

Larry Makoski	W2LJ	074

Thanks, Chris!

72 (0r should that be 74?) de W2LJ

How did I miss it?

I must have missed the announcement on the QRP reflectors. Generally, I do not miss things like this, especially when I am making an effort to keep my eyes peeled. But somehow, I missed the beginning sign ups for a Bee number for the Flight of the Bumblebees Sprint on the last Sunday in July.

This is one of my favorite events; and I really look forward to it each year. I'd participate even without a Bee number; but exchanging numbers makes it all the more fun.

Thanks to Bob AF2Q for pointing me in the right direction:

http://adventure-radio.org/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Get_a_Bee_Number

My suggestion, if you are so inclined, is to send Chris K6DBG an e-mail via the link and get yourself a number.

This year, I am thinking of making the trip up to Washington Rock State Park, if the weather is decent that day. I've been meaning to do that for a few years now; but it seems like something has always come up to foil my plans. Maybe this year will be different.

BTW !!!! For a really cool photo of what the Southern Lights look like from ABOVE the earth's atmosphere take a gander over here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1288284/Revealed-The-stunning-green-glow-Southern-Lights-photographed-astronauts-ABOVE.html

The Daily Mail in the UK has published a NASA photo taken from the International Space Station. Way cool!

72 de Larry W2LJ

RFTB results

for me were not all that impressive. I quit the Sprint early at about 0215 UTC, as it seemed I worked everyone who was able to hear me. When I hit 20 minutes of CQing and was getting no answers; and searching yielded no new stations, I pulled the plug. Like Kenny Rogers sang, "You gotta know when to hold 'em; and know when to fold 'em".

9 QSOs with 8 different S/P/Cs. One contact on 20 Meters and the rest were on 40 Meters. I guess all the Dads were "festivitied out" from the various Father's Day celebrations taking place; and undoubtedly some areas of the country were probably experiencing thunderstorms.

I'm surprised that we didn't get any today. The high for the day must have been around 92 or 93 degrees (34C). It's rare when a day like this occurs and we don't get a thunderstorm; and there are none in the forecast for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow is the official first day of Summer and we are supposed to have temperatures in the high 80s (about 31C) all week.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Simpler design

I received some e-mails from a couple of folks who said they were having massive difficulties reading the blog with the new template I had chosen. It appears that with some older processors or older versions of browsers, that things have become painfully slow; or don't work altogether. Rather than lose some valued readers, I have gone back to a simpler design.

It appears that blogger has done away with the old template that I was using; so I have gone with the simplest design that I was able to find. Hopefully, this will uncomplicate things for those of you with older PCs or browsers. If you're still having issues, please let me know! w2lj@arrl.net

72 de Larry W2LJ

Enjoy the day!

Don't forget that RFTB is tonight!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Father's Day to all

of you Hams out there who are lucky enough to be Dads. Personally, I don't know what I would do without my Joseph and Cara - they are the best! I am very lucky to be their Dad.

The Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest seemed to be very well attended this morning. The parking lot was almost full; noticeably fuller than last year. It was obvious as soon as you drove up. The fact that today is a very sunny day without a cloud in the sky has a lot to do with that, I am sure.

I didn't get to stay as long as I would have liked as Joey and Cara had to tag along. My wife is working today; so my two offspring had to indulge Dad and walk around with me looking at the goodies. I am sure to them, that the piles of electronics were just so much junk! They got bored pretty quickly; so I only got to stay for about a half hour to 45 minutes.

I did pick up the new ARRL storm spotter book as well as a new repeater directory. The one I had was from 2002/2003; and as we all know, things change. I wanted a new antenna for my Alinco dual band HT. There's nothing wrong with the one I have; but I feel it's rather flimsy. I was hoping to find one with a little more "bulk" to it. However, the Comet brand ones that everyone had there were identical to what I have now. No sense in making a lateral move. There was one I would have purchased in a heart beat; but it was a BNC mount and the Alinco is SMA. I wonder why they switched over to SMA? I always thought the BNC was sturdier; but I guess practical usage and market surveys probably indicate otherwise.

I was also hoping beyond hope that someone would have a 6 Meter transverter. No dice, of course. Seems I never get lucky enough to find things at Hamfests that I genuinely need or want. I've had a couple of offers for a swap for the PFR3A through private e-mails; and so far, one looks promising. I am waiting on a Ham to get back to me to make sure that he has everything that makes a semi finished Ten Tec 1208 kit. I have no problem completing the job; and I'm sure we'll come to an acceptable agreement.

I had one other offer that I thought would be good, too. When I asked this gentleman what model transverter it was, he said he hadn't a clue. Then when I asked for a picture, he told me he had no time to waste to take a picture - why don't I Google Ten Tec 1208 to see what it looks like? Hmmmm ..... I thought he had no clue as to what model it was? That gave me a bad vibe; so I decided to trust my gut and sent back a "Thanks, but no thanks" e-mail. And I instantly got a, "No problem, it's back on my shelf" reply. So all is well that ends well.

In the event that nothing works out, I guess I will just start saving the dimes and nickels and maybe I can purchase an Elecraft XV50 for next Summer.

Joey and Cara are at a friend's pool party. Even though it's pretty hot, I am headed out to mow the lawn and whack the weeds. I don't want to do THAT tomorrow!

72 de Larry W2LJ

A few bites

I have received a few private e-mails concerning a possible trade for my PFR3A for a 6 Meter transverter. Whomever I end up doing business with - we're going to have to come to an understanding. I am NOT trading a $200 dollar radio for a $130 dollar Ten Tec transverter, even up. I may have been born at night; but it wasn't last night! I'd be willing to add some money along with the PFR3A for an Elecraft XV50; but I doubt that's going to happen.

My list of items that I will be looking for at the Hamfest on Saturday include a new repeater directory and a new dual band antenna for my Alinco DJ-V5 portable. The years have taken their toll on the original; and I could use something new. I also have an antique AM broadcast table radio in the basement on which I have to conduct an inventory of tubes. I'd like to get that going again. It would make a nice display piece in the living room.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Flag Day 2010

I forgot to mention that this past Monday was Flag Day. Flag Day is always celebrated at the W2LJ household as the Stars and Stripes are flown every day throughout the Summer. A special effort is made to display our Nation's standard from Memorial Day right through Labor Day. The Summer weather seems to be a bit gentler towards Old Glory.

On another note, with Summer fast approaching (next Monday!) I am looking to acquire a 6 Meter transverter to use with the K2. I have NEVER operated the "Magic Band" before and since the HF9V will handle it, I thought I'd like to give it a go. It seems like a lot of fun; and I'd like to get in on the action.

Looking at the prices out there, especially the Elecraft XV50, it looks like it could be an expensive proposition. However, I do have a PFR3A that I am not using at the moment. Does anyone out there have a working 6 Meter transverter out there that they would like to trade? I am amenable to work out a deal. E-mail me privately (w2lj@arrl.net), if interested.

This coming weekend is the local RVRC Hamfest, Father's Day and the monthly Run For the Bacon! It promises to be a busy and hot weekend; and even though it's only Wednesday, I am looking forward to it immensely!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Fun and informative

Even though it's been years since I took my last official SkyWarn Spotter training course, tonight's event was fun and informative. The basic materials remain the same; and all the old information, embedded deep in the cerebellum came back quite quickly.

I got my new SkyWarn Spotter ID, which is good for the next three years until the next refresher is needed. There were a few South Plainfield CERT members present at the training as well as other Hams I know through the two local repeater clubs.

The presentation was done quite nicely and did not bog down or become boring. Kudos to the National Weather Service team for putting on a superb presentation.

The biggest change from my last training had to do with reporting hail size. While the National Weather Service is interested in report of hail of any size, they are particularly interested in reports of hail 1" or larger. It used to be 3/4" or larger; but they found that significant property damage does not occur until the stomes are 1" or larger.

The Sayreville, NJ repeater, K2GE is the local SkyWarn repeater for Middlesex County. 146.76 MHz is where we tune in the region when the weather gets nasty.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Spotter class

Tomorrow night is one of the few SkyWarn spotter classes being given in the area. So tomorrow night, at 7:00 PM, I will be heading off to the Westfield, NJ Police HQ building to refresh and renew my status as an official SkyWarn spotter. The last time I took training was over 12 yeas ago; and it is now recommended that training should be refreshed every three years.

We do get severe weather from time to time here in NJ. Blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms. I look upon SkyWarn as part of giving something back to the community for the enjoyment that Amateur Radio has given me.

I hope all of you who are beginning to build PFR3As got the chance to take a look at the NG9D video that I had linked to yesterday. It seems that Lynn has taken down his video for some reason or other. It was a good one and I hope it reappears soon.

Thanks to those of you who sent me private e-mails complimenting the new look of the blog. Due to some upgrades provided by Blogger, I made a few changes; and I like the look too. I checked the blog from work today; and the Internet browser that I have is so screwey that the blog looks nothing like the way it does at home. At home with Firefox, IE7 or Chrome, the results are fine. At work, with IE7, it looks totally different - more like a jumbled mess. Go figure!

72 de Larry W2LJ

PFR3A help

Boy, I wished this video was on YouTube back when I was having issues with my PFR3A:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NG9D#p/u/6/wJs2iYGd-VA

Thanks to Lynn NG9D for sharing! This is one really nicely done YouTube video!

Also, I got the following e-mail from John K3WWP regarding my NAQCC Spring log entry:

"Hi Larry,

Great to have you back in our sprints and submitting your log. That's your second highest score in the 33 sprints you've been a part of. Nov 2009 was your best with 2520 points.

W4QO was operating from NC, not GA, so you may want to correct your log there. That added one mult to your total and made an even 1700 points for you. "

Guess I did better than I had originally thought.

One thing you can say about John is that he is the tops when it comes to records and statistics. That he noted the number of Sprints that I have participated in; and that he keeps track of my scores is mind boggling.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Hmmmmm ......

Got the new magmount through the mail yesterday. I put the new Comet radiator on and slapped it on the roof of the Explorer. I am noticing a small but definite improvement in reception. The place where I work must be in a small RF shadow, though, as far as the two repeaters that I frequent are concerned. I still do not get adequate reception until about 5 minute's worth of driving North from the work QTH. Before the new antenna, it was about 10 minutes worth of driving. So there is some improvement; but not as much as I would have hoped for.

Last night I received a phone call from a newer Ham in Southern New Jersey who was asking for some advice on setting up a station and getting involved in QRP. I always like talking with newer Hams, particularly when they ask about my favorite subjects!

Once again, the advice given was to get up a decent antenna as high as possible that the backyard will permit. It's all about the antenna, particularly when you are looking for QRP (or any) success. Compromise antennas are all right for temporary portable operations; but for the home station, you want the best antler up there that you can manage. And that usually equates to dipole as "high up as you can get it" for most Hams that I know.

My advice on learning Morse Code, was to download either Koch Trainer or MorseGen. Both of these software packages are wonderful. It's nice to see the long way we've come since those old AMECO 33 1/3 LPs!

Ideally, I will be meeting with this newbie Ham at some point in July. It will be nice to put a face with the callsign and telephone voice.

This weekend promises to be busy; but I hope to find enough quiet time to submit both my Hoot Owl Sprint and June NAQCC Sprint logs.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Second Meeting

Tonight I attended my second Raritan Valley Radio Club meeting. My application was read for the second time; and now I await the results of a membership e-mail poll for a "aye" or "nay" decision as to whether or not I become a member.

Regardless as to how that turns out, this group puts on one of the better Hamfests in New Jersey and this year's event takes place a week from this Saturday - on June 19th. Father's Day weekend.

So if you're in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area and you're looking for a way to treat yourself that weekend - consider coming to the Hamfest!

For all the details. go to: http://www.w2qw.org/W2QWHamfestFlyer2010.pdf

I will be there, hopefully for my last year as a visitor. Next year I hope to be helping out with some duty or other as a member. But I have fond memories of attending the RVRC Hamfest since my early days as a Ham - even back in the days when it was better known as the "Dunellen Hamfest".

This year I will be looking for some basic odds and ends - a new repeater directory and perhaps a better antenna for my 144/440 MHz handheld. As always, I'll also be on the prowl for enclosures and spare parts for projects.

Also, from what I understand, there will be a fellow Ham, Bob KC2RDU, who has a ton of tubes for sale. I have an old antique AM Broadcast table top radio given to me by an aunt a few years ago. It isn't working and I think it needs some tubes. I will have to do an inventory of what's in there to see if I can find replacements.

If you're in the area - stop on by! I'm sure you'll have a good time and the possibility of walking away with a bargain or two is a distinct possibility!

72 de Larry W2LJ

It is true, what they say ....

"Use it or lose it". A very familiar saying - and also the truth.

Never was that more evidenced by my participation in the NAQCC Monthly Sprint tonight. I haven't participated in one in a long time. Heck, I have not been on the air as much as I should be. And my rustiness showed big time (to myself, at least.)

I tried running a frequency and was only mildly successful. I never got into a good rhythm or a good QSO rate. So I alternated between running and "searching and pouncing". In all, I made 25 QSOs in just under two hours worth of participation. Ech!

It's tempting to blame my results on poor band conditions; but that would be a lie. There was plenty of participation - I was just off kilter.

If I do have one lame excuse, though - I can blame some lack of performance on 20 Meters due to some fierce QRN that I was experiencing. For about the first 45 minutes of the sprint, 20 Meters had an S7 buzzsaw on it. After it disappeared, I made only about 4 or 5 contacts on that band. I think I could have made more if it wasn't so noisy, early on.

40 Meters was once again the money band, with the overwhelming majority of my contacts made there. It was a nice, quiet band with very little QRN, I spent the last 15 to 20 minutes of the Sprint hunting for contacts on 80 Meters. I made three. 80 was in full Summer QRN/static mode.

Even with my poor personal performance, I still had a good time. It was good to hear some old, familiar calls and a bunch of new ones, too. Looks like the NAQCC Sprints are drawing quite the crowd!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Antenna blues

A couple of years ago, when I won my Icom IC-208 at the Sussex Hamfest, I needed to by a new dual band antenna.

I previously had had a Yaesu 144 MHz monoband rig in the car. So when I swapped rigs out, I scrapped my Radio Shack 5/8 wave 2 Meter antenna (which was a SOLID performer, by the way) and went with an "inexpensive" (cheap) Diamond dual band antenna. At the time, it was all I was able to afford, and since I did way more listening than talking, it served its purpose rather well.




Lately, since I've been doing a bit more talking, I have once again come to realize that the old adage, "You get what you pay for" still holds true. I find my self boosting power when I feel I shouldn't have to. A better antenna would allow me to get into the repeaters that I want to get into with lower power. So about a week ago, I purchased a Comet SSB5 antenna with a PL-259 mount, thinking that I could save a few bucks by re-using my old Radio Shack magmount, which is also PL-259.

Wrong! I received the SSB5 radiator the other day, only to find out that the connection at the bottom is male and that the "post" sticking out of the Radio Shack magmount is also male. I suppose I could use a double female barrel connector, but decided to go with the proper magmount base instead. It should be here some time this week; and hopefully it will be the antenna on top of the Explorer this time next week.

This radiator is 42" tall as opposed to the mere 19" radiator that I have now. It's always better to improve the antenna over boosting power; so I should be in good stead in a little while. Once again, my attempt at frugality has cost me some time.

I also downloaded the NØNBH propagation widget for my Windows sidebar this weekend. Looking at it, I see that the solar flux is headed down the pipes at a current level of only 68, even though the sunspot number is at 25. When the solar flux dips like that, it sure makes for poorer propagation. I can't wait until Ol' Sol makes up his mind as to what he finally wants to do and starts being a little more consistent.

Hmmmm ..... just as made THAT comment, I saw this on the Web:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/04jun_swef/

72 de Larry W2LJ

A request

I received an e-mail last week from a gentleman who was looking for some help with a little Morse translation. It seems that my passion for Morse Code has become well known on the Internet!

Anyway, it seems this gentleman is producing an ad campaign for a customer and some Morse Code is involved. Would I care to listen to some snippets of Morse to verify accuracy?

Sure - why not?

So I received two MP3 files today and I believe they were supposed to be the same sentence. One was well sent with good spacing and timing. The second was pretty much gibberish!

I sent him translations of both files and had to express that the translation of the second sound file was NOT typos! It was so poorly done with bad spacing and timing that it came out as an almost unrecognizable jumble. Only a few words were sent clearly enough that I was able to tell that the two files contained the same message.

In Morse, not only are the dits and dahs important; but so is the spacing between letters and words. Bad spacing makes for unintelligible communications.

But then, you all knew that already - right?

72 de Larry W2LJ