Upcoming GQRP events

From Enzo M0KTZ:

The GQRP Club invites all the QRP enthusiasts to a line-up of QRP activities, to salute the arrival of the new season. Details below.

There will be plenty of puny signals out there, starting this weekend, so switch your rig on, get on the bands, fly the QRP flag, and have fun.

- 17th June, International QRP Day. Almost two dozens Club members will activate the Club callsign G5LOW (England), together with its regional locators GM5LOW (Scotland), GW5LOW (Wales), Gi5LOW (Northern Ireland), GD5LOW (Isle of Man), and GU5LOW (Guernsey). All bands, from HF to UHF, and all modes (CW, SSB, AM, FM, and several digimodes), throughout the day. Just look out for the "LOWs".

- 17th June, the Club also runs the Suffolk Trophy, an activity reserved to members, with operation for six hours only in no more that two periods. Contacts are with any Region 1 country; normal QSO, no serial numbers. Each Region 1 country counts 1 point on each band. The total score is total of IARU countries on the bands used. Only one contact per country per band is allowed irrespective of mode. The other station may be QRO. Please log Name, address, call, power used, equipment, time, call & band for each contact.

- June 17th to June 25th. It's time for the Summer Sizzler, a relaxed get-on-air QRP event, an ideal opportunity to meet and greet new and old friends, to test our latest homebrew creations, and to fill the bands with friendly QRP activity. Several certificates are awarded for contacts made using only homebrew equipment (Busy-Bee), only QRPp power levels (Tiny-Flea), only vintage rigs (Old Beetle), and while operating /P or /M (Iron-Knee). The special Ladybird certificate is awarded to the best log submitted by a member who has been licensed for less than three years.

The best overall log will be awarded the First GM3OXX Memorial Trophy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully propagation will be good enough to work a few GQRP friends!

72 de Larry W2LJ - GQRP #11653

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This is not good!

With a VE Session scheduled at the W2QW Hamfest this weekend, to boot! We all know the speeds in which the government acts - Slow, Stop and Reverse!

 From the ARRL:

FCC Universal Licensing System Applications Are Unavailable

06/13/2023

The FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS), which includes Electronic Batch Filing (EBF) used by VECs for new and upgrade license submissions and club license applications, Application Search, License Search, License Manager system used for filing applications directly with the FCC, Tower Construction Notification System, E-106 System, Antenna Structure Registration Online Filing and searches, TOWAIR and all ULS Specialized Searches, are currently down.

The FCC’s EBF and License Manager Filing systems have stopped accepting and processing all amateur radio exam session files and applications. The EBF system has not processed any VEC license applications and examination session files since Monday afternoon. The other systems have not been available since Friday June 9 at the close of business.

ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said her office contacted the FCC staff, which said systems are down due to maintenance but did not estimate how long the systems would be down. “As soon as the FCC staff corrects the EBF system problem, we will immediately file the backlog via the automated system, which would take only a few hours or less to release,” Somma estimated. When the License Manager system is again available, amateurs will be able to file license renewals, vanity call sign applications, and other license updates online directly with the FCC.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Announcing the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt

The long anticipated announcement for the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt - the 12th Annual, if you can believe that!

For all the details - please go to www.qsl.net/w2lj or go to the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog (the next to last tab on the right - located under the KX3 photo up at the top).

A few points to remember:

1) Due to a personal commitment, the Hunt has been moved to the 4th weekend of August - the 27th, for this year only. 

2) New Bonus Point Challenge for 2023:

Eighteen Skeeters have graciously consented to act as Bonus Skeeters. They have been issued numbers that are palindromes (numbers that are the same forward and backward) - Skeeters 11, 22, 33, 44 ...... right through 151.   When you work one, that QSO is worth 100 points - and you can work as many as you can up to 1,000 bonus points. The Bonus Skeeters are highlighted on the roster. A clarification - you can only claim the Bonus Skeeter once - so if you work W2LJ (#181) on 40, 20 and 15 Meters, you can only claim 100 Bonus point (not 300).

3) Skeeter numbers for the rest of you will be issued in the same way as they have since the beginning of this event. Send an e-mail with your name, your call sign and the state you will be operating from to either w2lj@arrl.net, or w2ljqrp@gmail.com NO SOONER THAN 12:01 AM EDT June 21st, the First Day of Summer. You will receive an e-mail back with your sequential number, or you can check the roster, by clicking here.  Please do not apply for a number via the Facebook page, as I may very well miss your request - and we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? Numbers will be issued right up until the Midnight before the day of the event.

I hope you'll have fun and enjoy the Hunt this year - good luck and happy QRP'ing!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Decision made

I've decided what I'm going to do with my second KX3, not that it's earth shattering news, or of importance to anyone but me. I'm going to keep it for now, but still order a QMX kit in the near future once I pay a few medical bills down to a manageable level.

I'll live by that old Amateur Radio adage "You can never have enough radios!"

After having the QMX and using it for portable ops for a while, I'll re-visit the issue if necessary.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

PS: Here's the important news. Look for an announcement regarding the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt to come out tomorrow!

Coming this weekend - June 17th, 2023

If you find yourself in the greater Central New Jersey area, come and join us!  I'm no longer a member of the club, but I continue to help them out, whenever I can. The 10 Day weather forecast is calling for clear sunny skies with temps in the low 80's for next Saturday. I'll be there for 5:00 AM, helping to direct vendors to their parking spots and then running the VE Session at 9:00 AM. This is a great way to kick off Father's Day weekend!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

 

Pondering the unponderable

I never thought I'd ever do this, but I am pondering the thought of selling one of my KX3s. Specifically, the one downstairs in the shack.

What I am seriously considering, is replacing that one with the KX3 that I use for portable ops, and then replacing that with the QMX from QRP Labs.

I'd be giving up 17, 15 and 10 Meters, but then I can probably count on both hands the time I've used those bands in a portable situation. In the FOBB, Skeeter Hunt and other QRP events in which I operate from the field, the bulk of my contacts come on 20 and 40 Meters.

I'd miss the auto tuner, but I do have an Emtech ZM2 languishing in the backpack that I used to use when I had my PFR-3A. The smaller size and weight of the QMX would be nice, definitely not as much to carry.

An added plus is that with the extra money that would be garnered from such a sale, I could finally purchase an antenna analyzer, which is something I've been wanting for a long time now. 

I'll still have to ruminate on this for a while.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Whew!

Earlier this year, when Marv K2VHW went to Borough Hall to reserve our place at Putnam Park for Field Day, he received some disconcerting news ......... disconcerting for SPARC, that is.  The town is proceeding with some improvements to the park. New pickle ball courts and volley ball courts will be built as well as a new shuffle board court and work out areas. In addition they will be refurbishing the handball and tennis courts that are in place already.

Of course, this is a great thing for the town, but the downside is that the park will be closed while construction is underway. An additional fly in the ointment was that the Borough was uncertain as to when construction would begin. If this was to happen BEFORE Field Day, we would be out of luck regarding the place where we've camped out the last two Field Days, and as it turns out, we like this location much more than Spring Lake Park, our old location.

We found out this week that this project will begin AFTER Field Day, much to our relief. We were given the go ahead for 2023.  However, this might be our last year of setting up closer to the street, as indicated in the picture. We might have to move farther into the center portion of the park, away from the street depending on the amount of refurbishment / expansion of the tennis and pickle ball courts. There is currently a grassy gap between the tennis courts and the tree line that provides ample space for us. Of course, this is just a proposal, and often what's proposed and what actually ends up happening may be different.

The good news is that even though we may have to re-locate to a different part of the park, there are no plans to remove any trees - God's gift of antenna supports to us Hams.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Where's Summer?

In the USA,  Memorial Day Weekend is considered to be the "unofficial" start of the Summer season. Boy, I'll say it was certainly "unofficial" this year!

I had intended to set up the KX3 on the patio table, along with the magloop in the backyard and spend the day hunting museum ships. It only got into the higher 60's (19 C) and the sun and clouds were competing all day with the clouds winning most of the time. Because there was also a bit of a chilly breeze, I decided to do my hunting from the main shack downstairs, instead of setting up outside.

I ended up working three POTA stations, one of which was Alan W2AEW who was operating from Cheesequake State Park K-1612, which is in Old Bridge, NJ all of about 20 or so miles away from me. I caught him on 15 Meter groundwave. He was about a 539 for me and I was a 529 for him, but we got the exchange made.

Scanning through the bands, and zeroing in on museum ship spots on the DX Cluster yielded nothing. I heard nary a museum ship in the entire time that I hunted. The good thing is that the Butternut is still proving to be a reliable antenna along with the W3EDP, some 20 years after I originally installed it. It has weathered many a harsh winter and a few not so nice hurricanes like a trooper.  This is a good thing because that I doubt I could replace it if anything ever happened to it. I looked up the current retail price and it's now close to double what I paid for it so many years ago.

Getting back to my Summer rant ........ when I woke up this morning it was 47 F (8 C) which is virtually unheard of for New Jersey on June 5th. For years and years, I've always known it to be that in this area of the US, that May 14th is considered to be the last chance for a hard overnight freeze as per Dept. of Agriculture planting guides. We had a few frost warnings after that date this year! We had to bring in some sensitive plants in the house for the overnight on a couple of evenings.

I know what's going to happen. Undoubtedly, we're going to go from early Spring-like weather to scorching Summer heat with a bang seemingly overnight over the next few weeks! While I much prefer the Summer, I do like to ease into it gradually. As I get older, these sudden changes take a harder toll on my system.

The other thing that I got accomplished yesterday was to order a new Field Day banner for the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club. For the past 9 years we've displayed our original club banner. I thought that having something a bit different and just for Field day was justified. It's nothing fancy, but it does two things. It very briefly explains what the purpose of Field Day is and it also tells folks that they are welcome to come visit, see what's going on and ask questions.

Field Day banner

Original banner

When I designed and purchased our original banner, we were such a new entity that we didn't even have our club logo yet.  We formed in April and as Field Day is in June, I was hurried to have something ready for Field Day deployment and didn't really consider something important. It was a rather spectacular blunder on my part to not include our club call sign on the original.  Even so, it still serves a purpose and is still in great shape despite being displayed in some less than ideal weather over the years.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Museum Ships Weekend

This weekend, June 3rd and 4th, is the Annual Museum Ships Weekend and there will be plenty on the air! Of course, I am partial to this one:

The USS New Jersey, which has been re-outfitted several times, now rests permanently, docked at Camden, NJ, right next to our State Aquarium. The USS New Jersey is the most highly decorated battleship in Naval history.  A little known fact is that the New Jersey was originally designated to be the platform on which the formal ending of WW II was to take place, but because President Truman was from Missouri ...... well, you know how that turned out.

This is an international event and is not exclusive to North America alone. A list of participating ships can be found here.

Of course, I have another busy Saturday planned, including pulling CERT duty at a statewide track meet being held at our high school athletic field in South Plainfield. But ........ Sunday is looking good with nice weather to boot! I cleaned off the patio table last weekend, so I'm hoping that Sunday will be a good time to break out the KX3 and the magloop out in the backyard for some museum ship hunting.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

K7JA SK

Chip Margelli K7JA was one of the "celebrity" Hams. He was quite well known in the Amateur Radio Universe and perhaps his most "famous moment" came during this appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in 2005.  Chip is the Ham you see in the opening:

Chip died from cancer on May 29th. To read more about him, you can go here.

BTW, this coming Sunday, June 4th is Cancer Survivor's Day. If you know someone who has survived cancer, this is a good time to help them celebrate their victory. For those in the heat of battle and for those who have lost the battle, this is a good day to remember them in prayer.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I be tempted

 I'm not sure whether to give a tip o' the  hat to Bob W3BBO for bringing this to my attention or .......

Meet the QMX from QRP Labs.

Its a 5 band multi mode QRP transceiver. Currently it only supports CW and the digital modes, but a future firmware update should include SSB. Here's a rundown on the features:

80, 60, 40, 30 and 20m

CW and FSK Digi modes

All features of QCX-mini (VFO A/B/Split, RIT, Message and frequency memories, beacon, keyer)

5W output at 9V supply (can be built for 4-5W at 12-13V supply)

SWR bridge built in

Single signal transmission (zero unwanted sideband, zero residual carrier, zero intermodulation distortion)

Solid-state band switching and transmit/receive switching under CAT control

High performance embedded SDR SSB receiver with 60-70dB of unwanted sideband cancellation

Built-in 24-bit 48ksps USB sound card

Built-in USB Virtual COM Serial port for CAT control

Si5351A Synthesized VFO with 25MHz TCXO as standard

Easy to build single-board design, Professional quality 6-layer, through-hole plated, silk-screen printed PCBs

All SMD components factory assembled

Connectors: 2.1mm power barrel connector, USB B (for audio and CAT control), BNC RF input/output

Built-in test signal generator and testing tools

Switched mode regulators

Receive current 80mA, Transmit current 1.0-1.1A for 5W output with 9V supply (around 0.7A for 5W with 12V supply).

Optional aluminum extruded cut/drilled/laser-etched black anodized enclosure

All at a price point of $95.00 (kit form), as you can also order one pre-assembled. If you purchase the kit, the enclosure is available for another $20.00. Pre-orders only at this time.

This little rig has me in a quandary - I'm a bit disappointed that 17 and 15 Meters are not available, but I'm tempted to purchase one nonetheless. I could see this little guy becoming my main portable ops radio, significantly minimizing the size and weight of my current "go bag".

I'll have to think seriously about this one.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Congratulations!

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

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

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

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

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

An interesting video

 I stumbled across this yesterday

:

Several things stood out for me:

1) He had no real purpose for learning Morse Code in that he's not an Amateur Radio operator or intends to use it on a regular basis. He's learning Morse just for the experience. While I suppose that is a goal in and of itself, it seems to offer no sense of purpose or urgency, if you will.  When you're learning something just for the halibut, rather than because you need to use it, you can afford to be blasé' about it.

2) He practiced when he was tired. Not a good way to go about it, in my  humble opinion. Being relaxed is a good thing, but when you're dog tired, your mind wanders.

3) Even worse, he seems to have started off by writing down the dits and dahs and then decoding them as an afterthought. He seems to have abandoned that by the end of the video. The biggest error one can make in learning the code is to have any type of visual aid, unless of course, you're in the Navy and intend to be looking at blinking lights. I see charts and  other printed "quickie methods" for learning/remembering the characters. Those make me shudder. When you rely on visual aids, eventually you are going to have to "unlearn" them and rely on the sounds only. Might as well do that from the start.

4) If nothing, this young man is persistent. He doesn't give up even when he hits a wall and it gets hard. Kudos to him for that.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

HamTest Online going away

 An email from ARRL:

Sent: Thu, Mar 23, 2023 5:54 pm Subject: HamTest Online is Going out of Business

Thanks to Adam Karsin KG4WWH for sending this:

Chris AB3WG

This is John, W1AI, the creator, owner, software developer, and coursemaster of HamTestOnline. I launched the HamTestOnlin website in August 2002, and I’ve spent the last 20 years helping tens ofthousands of students pass the ham radio exams.  While it's been a tremendous amount of work, it’s also been the most fun and personally rewarding portion of my career.  

However, I’m turning 68 this year, and I’m ready to retire. Therefore (unless I find a serious buyer), we will be shutting down the website effective June 30, 2023. I truly appreciate all the support and encouragement we've received from our loyal customers through the years!

If you are one of our eternal procrastinators, this is your last chance. As this newsletter goes out, we are selling 3-month website subscriptions. However, as the website shutdown date approaches, we will be selling shorter and shorter subscription terms, so that no subscription extends past June 30.

Three months is plenty of time for most students to get to Extra.  In fact, our most successful students use concentrated study, cramming all of their studies into a few weeks.  We've had hundreds of students go from zero to Extra in a single exam session after studying for 6 weeks or less.  If you are willing to put in the effort, you still have time to get your Extra class license before this resource disappears forever!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

ARRL Maryland-DC Section

Section Manager: Mr Christopher D Van Winkle, AB3WG

ab3wg@arrl.org

For those who may be interested.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Sláinte - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my brother and sister Amateur Radio ops from Ireland, and to those who are of Irish descent!

My dear departed mother-in-law was from Donegal - so this Pole holds the Irish in a special place in his heart. So in honor of the day - I will lift a pint of Guinness to you this evening and will offer an Irish blessing (of sorts) to all of you out there:

May good DX be with you wherever you go, and your QSOs outnumber the shamrocks that grow. 

May your contacts be many and your busted QSOs be few, May all God's blessings descend upon you, May peace be within you, 

May your antenna be strong, May your dial be full of signals wherever you roam.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This says it all!

 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

SSB QRP? No way! That's too hard!

 Well, actually, right now ....... no it isn't.

And like he said, band conditions are only going to get better over the next few years!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

From the "weird" Morse Code file

 https://hackaday.com/2023/03/01/morse-code-clock-for-training-hams/

As shown in the article this clock would drive me nuts. The clock has an LED that flashes the time in Morse Code. If I'm not mistaken, the time shown in the video is 11:55?  I don't know if that's AM or PM.

The author says the clock has a speaker and that would definitely work better for me. I suppose I could get used to decoding Morse by sight, but after doing it for 40+ years by sound, my ears feed dits and dahs to my brain more quickly than my eyes.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

ARRL DX CW

I played around in the ARRL DX CW contest this weekend. Not long, just for about an hour and a half to two hours. It was nice to get back behind the rig again after a long absence. I must apologize to the first few stations that I worked. My Morse sending was absolute crap!  But after about 4 or 5 contacts, I found my rhythm again and it was game on.

I haven't been on the air since my time undergoing radiation therapy. And let me tell you, the radiation therapy was a cakewalk compared to this hormone therapy I'm undergoing to keep my PSA level low. But I muddle through the best I can. One of the worst side effects is that it takes motivation away. You just feel like "meh" and not doing much, other than the things you absolutely have to.

But Sunday was rather warm for February here in NJ, which meant the basement was not quite the icebox it usually is during the winter. The temps down there were in the low 60s rather than the high 50s, so it was a bit more bearable.

My main weapon was the Butternut HF9V. All contacts were made at 5 Watts of course. In the time I felt motivated to operate, I made 31 contacts, all search and pounce, of course.. I worked into Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Hawaii.  I was surprised that KH6LC came back to me on my first call!

I made contacts on 10, 15 and 20 Meters. 10 Meters was absolutely awesome! It was truly difficult to find a dead, open spot on the band. I think that 27 of my 31 contacts were made on 10 Meters. I should have stayed on longer, but I caved in to the tiredness. But while I was on, I had a blast!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very keast!

So what's up this weekend?

 Freeze Your Butt Off - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=356

Vermont QSO Party - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=236

Minnesota QSO Party - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=238

British Columbia QSO Party - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=269

AGCW 80 Meter Straight Key QSO Party - https://www.agcw.de/contest/htp/htp-en/

North American CW Sprint (Sunday UTC) - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=253

The high temp in South Plainfield is expected to be 27F with a bit of a breeze, so it may feel colder. I may set up the magloop and KX3 on the front stoop and participate for a bit. I'll be home alone as the kids and XYL are all out tomorrow doing their own things. A rarity for W2LJ. I wish I had a pair of those fingerless gloves. Maybe I can find a cheap pair at the grocery store tomorrow and take a pair of scissors to the right glove.

Then later in the afternoon, I'll hop downstairs to the shack to see if I can't make a few QSO party QSOs, just to fatten the log up. It's been way too long.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

When all else fails!

Sadly, there are a lot of Hams who scoff at that, saying Amateur Radio as a true mode of emergency communication is just a fantasy.. They should know better and this says otherwise:

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Coming up this weekend

 CQ 160 Meter Contest - https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=232

Winter Field Day - https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php#14254

UBA (Belgium DX Contest - SSB - https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php#14250

REF (France) DX Contest - CW - https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php#14249

BARTG RTTY Sprint - https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php#14239

There does not appear to be any State QSO Parties until February. Have fun!

It seems that Winter Field Day is becoming more popular with every passing year. Thanks, but no thanks for W2LJ. Winter is my least favorite season and I have no desire to sit outside somewhere in the freezing cold. I'm not that adventurous anymore ....... 20 or 30 years ago - maybe.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Admittedly, I am a dinosaur.

While strolling through Facebook today, I came across a posting on the POTA page about getting started in POTA CW.

I whole heartedly agree with Bob, more CW ops are needed on POTA. So I clicked on the pdf and this was the opening paragraph:

CW POTA HUNTING / CW CONTESTING WITH MINIMAL OR NO KNOWLEDGE OF MORSE CODE

by

Bob Lewis – N8GU

Undoubtedly, CW purist operators would probably think that using devices to decode and send Morse Code as being heresy. We use devices to decode digital modes like FT8, RTTY, PSK31, etc. Why not use devices to decode and send CW? I look upon these devices as being the entry point into the fun world of CW and as a stimulus for users to actually learn CW. Operating activities such as POTA (Parks on the Air) have caused a resurgence of interest in CW as well as radio manufacturers creating low power radios and portable antennas that are great for CW transmissions.

I love the idea of people wanting to learn CW. No disrespect intended, my only sticking point is that it seems more than likely to me that if you're going to use a CW decoder and rely on your computer or transceiver to send the CW for you, then this is going to become a crutch and in the long run will actually hinder your ability to learn CW. I'm not saying you won't learn CW this way, but I think it will take you a lot longer and is the scenic route instead of the express. But that's just this writer's humble opinion.

I speak from personal experience. I wanted to become a Ham when I was 16 and in high school. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the code. I gave up. I was a quitter. After college, with some free time on my hands, I buckled down and learned the code the traditional way. Lord knows, if I had CW decoders and a computer or transceiver where I could push a button and have flawless Morse sent for me when I was 16, I may have been in the hobby earlier, but I'm doubting that I would be as proficient with a key as I am today - and I'm by no means "Mr. CW" - just your normal CW op.

I know a lot of folks won't agree with my opinion. Just ask my XYL ...... she'll tell you how often I am wrong!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Coming soon to a frequency near you!

Saturday, February 4th will be the kick off to the 2023 Outdoor QRP Contest Season with the Arizona SQRPions FYBO - "Freeze Your Butt Off" contest.  This is always a fun event, and in New Jersey at least, it's impossible to know much in advance if we'll actually freeze our buns off. Some years have been brutally cold, some years have had Spring like temperatures. Whatever the temp, it's always fun and if I set up outdoors, it may be with the magloop.

So far this Winter, we've been having relatively mild temperatures with only one memorable cold snap to speak of. Any snow that's fallen in the Garden State has been in the extreme NorthWest corner in Sussex and Warren counties. A meteorologist that I follow closely on Facebook is saying that may change real soon. To him, it looks like the pattern of the Gulf Stream may be changing, bringing more frigid air for the majority of the rest of us New Jerseyans. Just my luck that FYBO may end up being a real freezer. Good for a multiplier, but not good for someone who hates the bitter cold.

This coming weekend is the North American QRP QSO Party, SSB iteration, which has a QRP category. Another contest this weekend with a QRP category is the Hungarian DX Contest. While I'm sure this is meant mostly for Hungarian QRPers, this is a good opportunity for QRPers on this side of the Atlantic to add Hungary to your QRP DXCC tally if you haven't already got them.

From comments I've been seeing in email reflectors and on social media, keep checking the higher bands. Seems they've been open lately.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Is this a new thing?

 A good friend of mine, John Wyatt W2VTV posted this on Facebook.

He received a certificate from the ARRL for 25 years of membership. Have any of you out there gotten something like this from the ARRL?

Let's see ....... I've been a member sine 1979 - that's 43 years.  I've been a VE Examiner since 1994 - that's 28 years. I became a Life Member as N2ELW back in the 80s and received the associated plaque. When I changed my call to W2LJ in 2000, I had to pay for a new one. 

I guess being a Life Member they figure they've lost money on me over they years - so no certificates marking the milestone years. Oh well, they would have looked nice on the shack wall.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Better late than never

News of this article has been around on social media for the past few weeks. I do realize however, there are some Hams who disdain that platform and might not be aware of this article which appeared in a recent edition of the Smithsonian Magazine. So I am posting a link here - 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/morse-code-back-looking-ditch-twitter-180981309/

It's rare when our hobby (and Morse Code, in particular) gets mentioned anywhere outside of our own circle. I thought it fitting to make mention of it on this blog ....... as that's what it is devoted to, and it's nice to see our passion get some recognition.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weird

The QRP Contest Calendar mentions that there's a 2023 QRP ARCI New Year Sprint on this Sunday January 1, 2023, from 1500Z - 1800Z.

There's nothing about this sprint at all on the "official" QRP ARCI Contest calendar, but I have participated in it in the past. Unfortunately, there's always been a lack of activity. I hope that's not the case again this year, but I won't hold my breath.

To start off the New Year and jump back into Amateur Radio activity, I'm going to give this one a go - again.  I guess the "standard rules" would apply:

MODE: HF CW Only.

EXCHANGE: Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, ARCI member number

Non-Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, Power Out

QSO POINTS: Member = 5 points

Non-Member, Different Continent = 4 points

Non-Member, Same Continent = 2 points

MULTIPLIER: S/P/C (State/Province/Country) total for all bands.  The same station may be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and SPC credit.

POWER MULTIPLIER: >5 Watts = x1

>1 - 5 Watts = x7

>250 mW - 1 Watt = x10

>55 mW - 250 mW = x15

55 mW or less = x20

SUGGESTED FREQUENCIES:

160m 1810 kHz

80m 3560 kHz

40m 7030 kHz (please listen at 7040 kHz and 7100 to 7125 kHz for rock bound participants)

20m 14060 kHz

15m 21060 kHz

10m 28060 kHz

SCORE:

Final Score = Points (total for all bands) x SPCs (total for all bands) x Power Multiplier

And of course, tomorrow evening is Straight Key Night. I'm hopefully going out to dinner with family for the evening, but maybe I'll get back in time to put the station on the air for a QSO or two before I fade and fall asleep.

I'm going to do my best to be awake at Midnight to make a toast to 2023 with my lovely bride Marianne and to tell 2022 to take all its troubles with it, and to kindly never bother us again!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Thank you - best Christmas gift ever!

 Yesterday, I had to go to see my urologist for a follow up PSA blood test after the radiation therapy for prostate cancer I received in September, October and November.  I went from a level of over 10 in April to < 0.1.

It would appear your thoughts and prayers worked (Thank you so very much!) - God was very, very good to me. Best Christmas gift ever and now I am more than ready to start up resuming Amateur Radio activities with the New Year.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Thanksgiving 2022

 

Today in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving, which was instituted by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, which was a particularly fierce battle of the Civil War.

There are many things to be grateful for and about a week ago at this past soup kitchen session, where I volunteer once a month, I met someone who really inspired me to list some of the things that I am thankful for. I did this over a period of eleven days on Facebook.  I wanted to share with you Day 10:

Gratitude Day 10 - This one may seem a little weird and nerdy, but stick with me on this. For Day 10, I am grateful for my hobby, which is Amateur Radio....for a lot of reasons. I've been a licensed Ham for 44 years now.  The smattering of electronics that I had to learn for my license led me to 22 year career at Sinar Bron, where I was Service Manager. In order to learn even more about electronics, I enrolled and went to night classes at DeVry where I met another good friend (he's on FB and he knows who he is). The hobby led me to memberships in several clubs where I have established some of my most important friendships. Rather than embarrass them,  I'll just name a few call signs ... W3BBO, K2VHW, KD2FSI, AB2ZK, W2AOF, N2LCZ, W2OIL, KC2YRC, K2NBC, WB2KLF, AB2VE .... this list could go on for days and days, and doesn't even begin to touch the hundreds of Ham friends I've gained through Facebook and the internet, and the many I have met over the airwaves.  Also, I was privileged to know some fine Hams who have passed and are now known as Silent Keys ... W2OU, W2WK, K2FD, WV2O, N2EBA, WB2MSV, N2LHD - all good and treasured friends. Besides providing me with hundreds of hours of fun and enjoyment,  Amateur Radio also led me to become a CERT member as well as a volunteer part of the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management. The hobby has provided quite a ride, for which I am most grateful.

I hope all of you who celebrate today have a truly wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Field Day Scores 2022

 

The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club under call sign NJ2SP has done something it hasn't done since 2017. We've come in 2nd Place in the 3A Battery category. 2nd Place out of 10 entries.  To be honest with you, at the end of Field Day, I wasn't sure how we had done compared to previous years.

Congratulations to SPARC and all who participated!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Warms the cockles of my heart

 I didn't participate in the Zombie Shuffle on October 28th, but I like what I see in the results.

After a few years of a modicum of entries, Paul NA5N received and posted results from over 110 Hams. This is a significantly upward trend and can only mean good things.  One is that the solar cycle is indeed on the upswing and the other is that publicity works.

The Zombie Shuffle has always been a very popular and fun event and it's one of the highlight events of the QRP year. The fact that Paul announces it early and that it's promoted by him and others makes all the difference in the world.

I have found with the Skeeter Hunt that promotion is of utmost importance. While I take the chance that people are going to get sick of hearing about it, the results speak for themselves in that interest remains high and even more importantly ....... no, make that MOST IMPORTANTLY, that those who participate have a good time. And that's what it is all about - giving people the opportunity to enjoy themselves and have a good time, even if it is for only a couple of hours.

Announcing an event on only once or twice and only one one or two outlets isn't going to get the job done. That's why, in my most humble opinion, some previously well attended QRP events seem to be floundering as far as participation goes.  Band and solar conditions play a big role, and there's no doubt about that. At the same time, you can't rest on your laurels. Just because you've had a good turn out and good participation for a year or two doesn't guarantee that such success will continue.

It's sad when you look forward to a yearly QRP event that was popular in the past, and go on the bands that day and find hardly anyone to work. And it's even sadder when you peek at the QRP reflectors and you see little or no chatter about the event other than "Where is everybody?"

I mentioned the "Fun Factor" of the event itself. That plays largely into word of mouth advertising and the "anticipation factor" that will augment any publicity that can be garnered via e-mail reflectors, websites, blogs or contest calendars.

Your club's or organization's QRP event will only be a big deal if you make a big deal about it. We hold and put on niche events and we can't rely on big reputations like the big contests have. They don't need a lot of publicity and reminders. Our events do.

Hopefully as the bands improve, the attendance and interest in some of the yearly QRP events will improve - but organizers and sponsors ....... don't discount the "Two P's" ...... Promotion and Publicity. They will make all the difference in the world; and if you're not up to using them, then expect and don't be disappointed by less than optimum results.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Has he gone the way of the Dodo?

I look at the sidebar of my blog here and I see a total of 38 posts for the entire year of 2022. Holy Shamoley - that's pretty bad! I know some of you are probably wondering what's been going on.

Frankly, my attention has been divided this year. I chronicled the work accident that I had with my hand last January and then how I was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly thereafter. It's been an interesting year to say the least.

Fortunately, as previously mentioned, the cancer diagnosis came really early while the situation remained very treatable. In fact, just this last Friday, I just finished a nine week round of radiation therapy, rather than opting for surgery.

For those who are not familiar, that means nine weeks of radiation exposure every day, Monday through Friday for nine solid weeks. Each treatment was about 15 minutes long and was absolutely painless. The main side effect was intense fatigue, and I did end up telling my doctor that I now know what a microwave chicken feels like!  Extreme tiredness from the therapy, in addition to working full time left me with no desire to even so much look at a radio. The thought of undertaking a portable operation or going down to the shack seemed akin to climbing Mount Everest. Most evenings I was in bed before 8:00 PM. I still can't manage to view one of my favorite television programs, "Blue Bloods" which airs on Friday nights at 10:00 PM. I'm out like a light way before that!

My doctor had mentioned that I tolerated the therapy very well, all things considered.  Most patients, according to to him, are not able to finish the course of treatment in one shot. Many times the series of weeks need to be interrupted so that one or more breaks can be taken. He was amazed that not only was I able to finish the course of treatment in one shot, but that I was also able to continue working full time simultaneously.

I have to tell you, there was also a lot of driving involved. I'm a contract worker here where I work, so if I'm not here, I don't get paid.  To maintain a 40 hour per week paycheck, I would wake up super early (4:00 AM) and come to work super early, put in some time, leave for therapy (at a hospital back near home) and then return to work to finish out the day. That meant putting about 100 miles per day on my car, and with gasoline prices doing their roller coaster ride over the last few months that also taxed my wallet. Needless to say, any Ham radio purchases that I may have been considering are on an indefinite hold.

None if this is to call attention to myself, to pat myself on the back or to engage in a self pity party. I just wanted all of you to know that I have not gone the way of the Dodo and am in no danger of extinction. As my energy level slowly returns to normal, my passion for radio and blogging will also return. But I do want to impress upon my readers, especially the "more mature" ones - make your you get a PSA test on a regular, yearly basis.  That, and the grace of God are what led me on this journey which so far is looking very good and may have very well saved my life.

You know, the irony of all this is that I went totally QRP back in the very early 2000's because I was concerned about the effects that high levels of RF might have had on my kids. I didn't want to take any chances with their health considering that my wire antennas were anchored to the house, near their bedrooms. Now 20 some years later, I myself got to experience the life and times of a frozen microwave dinner!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Afield tomorrow !

 As always, on the third Saturday of September, the New England QRP Club sponsors QRP Afield.

All the rules and regs can be found here - https://www.newenglandqrp.org/qrp-afield-2018/

I know, I know ....... the hyperlink says 2018, but the page has been updated with the dates for 2022, 2023 and 2024, so it's current.

I'd like to give it a whirl for at least a little bit, but weekends are just so darn busy, cramming in on Saturdays the things I don't get to do during the week because of that nasty ol' work thing. We'll see. The weather outside is forecasted to be delightful, with partly cloudy skies and temps in the upper 70s.

The backyard has been totally transformed. We had a landscaping crew come in and clean up all the overgrowth reaching into our backyard from our neighbor's yards. They also got rid of the kids swing set, which was 20 years old and beginning to rot.  We also had them tear down and remove the utility shed. The back wall had been broached by squirrels and by limbs form a neighbor's pine tree - which was removed by the new owners who recently moved in. The patio block pad is none the worse for wear and we will eventually get (probably) a metal shed of the same or a bit smaller size. Until then, I'll place the mower and whatever garden tools I wanted to keep on the pad and will keep it all covered with tarps.

The guys who did the job for us were great! No antenna or feedline damage!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

To my Amateur Radio friends in Britain

Thinking of you in your time of mourning.

If there was ever someone who was the epitome of service to their country, it was Queen Elizabeth.

God save the Queen! Long live King Charles III

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

NJQRP Skeeter Hunt 2022 Aftermath

As planned, I set up in the backyard. The Jackite pole held my PAR END FEDZ 40/20/10 aloft and the radio was of course, my KX3. With the ATU out of line, the PAR delivers a nice 1.2:1 SWR. Setup is a matter of routine, now. I started setting up with about 20 minute to go before the bell rang for the beginning of the Skeeter Hunt and I still had about 12 minutes to spare when all was said and done.

The terrestrial weather was cloudy to mostly cloudy with only a few peeks of sunshine here and there. It was hot, hovering between 88F and 91F depending on whether or not the sun was out. It was muggy, but not too uncomfortably so. I was glad I decided to set up in the back yard as I was afforded many opportunities to go inside for a refreshing glass of cold water.

Band conditions were not what I was hoping for. At the 17:00 start, I answered John Shannon K3WWP who was calling CQ on 20 Meters using the NAQCC Club call N3AQC.  He was loud, and that made me do a double take.  Basically - loud signals between Central New Jersey and Western Pennsylvania on 20 Meters?  I expected to work N3AQC on 40 Meters - not 20 Meters. It was harbinger of things to come.

As it turned out, skip was relatively short for the day on 20 Meters. later on in the afternoon, TX and OK stations started rolling in, but for the most part 20 Meters remained what I would call "relatively local". I never heard the West coast and the only VEs that I worked were in Ontario and New Brunswick - nothing to the West.

40 Meters was just plain bad. I only worked two stations - N3AQC again, this time with Mike KC2EGL behind the key and AF1N in Vermont.  I spent some time calling CQ on 40 Meters but had no luck.

I started the event calling "CQ QRP" but changed over to "CQ BZZ" after two stations on 20 Meters answered my "CQ QRP" call and initiated rag chew type QSOs.  I consider it rude to snub someone who wants to have a conversation just because I am in a QRP Sprint, so I sacrificed some contact time (maybe, maybe not) as a result of those two QSOs. 

From my QSO total, I probably didn't miss out on too much, anyway. I ended up with only 24 Skeeter QSOs, 2 non-Skeeter 5 Watt QSOs and the one ragchew was with a guy running 100 Watts. My personal goal was to make 30 contacts for the day and I came up three short.

I don't know why 40 Meters was so underpopulated with signals. Usually, it can be a money band for in-close stations, especially towards the end of the Sprint. In the past, it's been customary to see activity switch from 20 Meters to 40 Meters towards the last hour or so. Not yesterday.

Participation seemed to be high from what I could tell. My utmost thanks to everyone who participated! You guys are the best and you overwhelmingly support this Sprint year after year. The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt is what it is because of all of you! I remember a slogan from my youth - it was popular among those who were protesting the war in Vietnam.

"What if they held a war and nobody came?"

What if we held the Skeeter Hunt and nobody came? The point is you folks DO come and participate. Like I said before, many of you return year after year after year.  My part in any of this is small potatoes. All of you out there are the wind beneath the Skeeter's wings!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Skeeter Hunt Sunday!

 This coming Sunday is the annual NJQRP Skeeter Hunt !!!

There's still time to get a Skeeter number of you so desire. I will be honoring any requests received until Midnight EDT Saturday/Sunday.  Latecomers will probably receive their numbers Sunday morning, so step up and don't be shy.

Complete rules can be found by going to the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog; or by going to www.qsl.net/w2lj

The terrestrial weather in my part of NJ is looking to be cloudy to mostly cloudy with a high of 87F (31C). I will most likely set up in the back yard like I did for FOBB, rather than go to a park. Energy and stamina levels are having supply chain issues these days. I'm just hoping Ol' Sol calms down and that we have some decent band conditions.

Have fun, be safe and have a great time!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least

Not sure if this is even available, anymore.

 This was the paddle I used yesterday for FOBB:

It's made from a Bulldog style paper clip.  I don't remember from where I got it; or even how long ago I acquired it - has to be 10 or more years ago. I always keep it in the portable ops bag in a hard plastic container along with my American Morse "Dirt Cheap" paddle.

This little guy has an amazingly good feel and action to it. You would think that it might get all fouled up once you hit a higher sending speed of say, 25 WPM or so, but no - it remains quite comfortable to use, and it doesn't get stuck and start sending extraneous dits or dahs.. The reason I like to use it when I'm operating from the patio table is that the rim of the table is metal. The base of the paddle is a magnet and when I place it on the table rim - it stays put!

I did a quick search on Google and eBay and couldn't find anyone who seems to be selling these. I'll have to take extra special care of it so that it doesn't get lost or damaged. Who would think that something so simple would work so well?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FOBB Report

I set up on the backyard patio table. The antenna was the PAR END FEDZ held aloft by my 31 foot Jackite pole.

I made 14 FOBB QSOs, 1 POTA QSO and 1 SKCC rag chew.

Most of the activity seemed to be on 20 Meters - only 2 FOBB QSOs were on 40. The POTA and SKCC QSOs were on 40 as well. I was hoping there'd be more activity on 40 as signals always seem to be louder there.

Here's who I worked:

AB9CA

N5GW

NQ9RP

N8GAS

K4BAI

WA8ZBT

AG4P

KK4ITX

N3AQC (K3WWP at the key)

NA8Q (POTA)

AK4JA

W4LSV

WO9B

WB9TWJ (SKCC)

WA1ZCQ

K9DRP

On the whole, I thought activity was on the light side. I remember years when 40 QSOs was more the norm (for me anyway). Maybe the shine is off the apple, a bit? Maybe I'm just not as good as I used to be (which was never all that hot to begin with).

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

When is it not fun anymore?

This is a personal "rant" and all my own humble and probably misguided opinion, but I'm going to commit it to print, anyway. I'm probably totally wrong, and not many will agree with me, and I'll probably get some hate mail, but so be it., and here it goes: There are some things in Amateur Radio that started out as great ideas, intended as fun, but seem to have morphed into and have taken on lives of their own.

A case in point - NPOTA in 2016. Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVED NPOTA and I have often stated that 100 years from now, it will still be one of the best things that ever came out of the ARRL. It was designed to be a celebration of the Centennial of the National Park System - right? Go out, get some fresh air and have some fun, enjoy being in the Great Outdoors and maybe learn a thing or two about the park or entity that you were operating from - right?

Well, soon it became how many entities can one activate in a day, or a weekend, or a week. I guess the roving thing is fun for you competitive types, but it seemed like it was missing the point to me. When I mentioned this to one Ham of Facebook, who was lamenting that he was not able to activate as many entities in one day as he had planned, I was summarily told to "go jump off a bridge".

The same thing seems to be happening to POTA, another program I dearly love. Look on social media and there are just so many posts of people griping about pileup behavior, ops calling other ops "lids" and the like. How can it be that much fun if you're getting your panties all bunched up in a wad?!? 

I look at FISTS, the SKCC and the NAQCC and sometimes it seems like the QSOs have become just a hunt for operator numbers for awards. Not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with that, but each of these organizations were founded to provide a FUN way to promote the use of CW, QRP or in the case of the NAQCC - both.  Exchanging member numbers is fine, but that shouldn't be the end all of the QSO.  I can't tell you how many times a QSO has ended shortly after I have given away the coveted piece of info - my membership number.  Whatever happened to the art of the rag chew? I have to state for the record that some of the best rag chews I've ever had never had a membership number as part of the conversation.

I guess I'm just not the competitive type.  When I enter QRPTTF, or FOBB or even when I came up with the idea for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, I didn't and don't go out thinking that I'm going to win or even place high in the standings. I go out with the idea of enjoying the ability to get outside get some sunshine and fresh air, have fun and forgetting about the everyday worries of life for a few hours.

I know, I'm weird. Please forgive the rant.

73 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A good FOBB suggestion by Gene N5GW

Gene N5GW is always competitive and nearly always show up in the top 5 or 10 of these QRP operating events.

He posted a suggestion on QRP-L regarding FOBB this Sunday. Since he always does so well, it may serve the rest of us to take heed:

"Most of the activity should take place on 20 Meters, but I suggest checking 15M/10M on the half hour and 40 Meters on the hour to improve our chances for QSOs during spotty band openings."

Sounds like a plan, Gene - thanks for the suggestion!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A winning combination!

The other evening, Bill W2AOF and Ron N2LCZ and I got together via Zoom to submit the Field Day score for NJ2SP (the deadline for entries is tomorrow, BTW).

I can't even begin to tell you how easy a chore this has become!

What makes it so easy is that we use the N3FJP AC Log Field day package. it summarizes everything we need, including the dupe sheet and the ADIF file of the log.

All we had to do was go to the ARRL Field Day score submission website, click on a few boxes where were qualified for bonus points, attach a few supporting files, hit "Submit" and we were done in a matter of minutes!

For those of you who do not have N3FJP's Field Day logging program, I very highly recommend it. It makes what used to be a rather tedious chore a snap.

Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Flight of the Bumblebees is next Sunday!

Just a gentle reminder, FOBB is next Sunday, so if you're thinking of operating portable as a Bee, the time to sign up for a number is growing short. You can check out the Bee roster and see if there's a number you would like to have by going here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eje4xhoXNz6P47x8v9KehhCsf_NjkhfPxzw_-7eT5YU/edit#gid=1688633864

As of now, 62 Bee numbers have been assigned. With this heat wave embroiling the country, maybe folks are hesitant about going a distance from home and setting up remotely. I know that's a concern of mine.

The 10 day forecast for South Plainfield for next Sunday is for cloudy conditions with a high in the upper 80s and a chance of showers in the afternoon. If that's the case and doesn't change, I'll probably set up on the back yard patio table under the umbrella. The antenna of choice will be the PAR END FEZ, most likely. I'm sure most of the action will be on 40 and 20 Meters, although I think the KX3 will match the PAR on 15 Meters as well, even though efficiency will go way down.

If the forecast changes with the chances for precipitation approaching zero, I may get the urge to go to Cotton Street Park, or even perhaps Washington Rock State Park. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hard to believe it was 53 years ago today!

 

53 years! Where did the time go?

Buzz Aldrin is the only crew member left. The flight jacket he wore during the mission is up for auction with Sotheby's and is expected to go for more than 2 million. Wow!

I was 12 years old and was absolutely GLUED to the TV set that day. If you're old enough to remember, where were you?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

SCARC Hamfest

 I went to the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club Hamfest this morning. I was debating internally about it as the hamfest is about an hour drive from home, and after driving back from Lake George yesterday, I really didn't feel like being in the car today.

I haven't been to any hamfests this year and this is the biggest one in the northern half of the state, so I gave in and went. About the only thing I was in the market for was a second VOM. I reasoned you can usually find dozens of vendors selling them, so the chances were good that I would come home with one.

I reasoned wrong. I was only able to find one seller with VOMs on his table and he had two Radio Shack models for sale. I already have a Radio Shack VOM and it works well, but I find its analog to digital converter to be on the slow side. There's a delay between placing the probes and the reading showing up on the display. I didn't want another with the same spec.

I ran into some friends and familiar faces, so it wasn't a total loss. There was a new vendor in the indoor section that I had never heard of before - Three Mosquitos. They were selling EFHW antennas and end fed random length wire antennas, designed with the portable op in mind.  They seemed to have drawn a small crowd at the table when I was there. Here's a link to their website - https://www.threemosquitos.com/ I am interested in their drive on mast holder which I guess is coming soon, as there's no link to it yet.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Fiddlin' around

 My view for the week. Not hard to take, eh? The way this year has gone so far, it's good to be up here again. For a week at least, worries and concerns are at bay.

I hooked up the AlexLoop on the porch of the cabin and worked two POTA stations, K5SJC in Texas on 20 Meters and N2EIM in New Jersey on 40 Meters. N2EIM was set up on the Delaware / Raritan Canal. Bob lives in Princeton, so I have a pretty good idea on which section of the canal he situated himself. Funny thing is that if I was home, I'd probably never had heard him.

I was going to toss up the PAR in a tree by the side of the cabin. I don't know what's going on up here this year, but we are being invaded by moths. Medium sized brown ones that fly in your face and make a nuisance out of themselves. Harmful? No. A pain in the butt? Yes.

I'll probably continue to work off the porch with the loop. I heard some decent activity on both 20 and 17 Meters including stations from Israel and Lithuania.  I didn't break the pileups as I wasn't really trying. Today was just fiddlin' around, getting used to tuning the loop which take a little practice if you haven't done it in a while. But after a few minutes I was getting the hang of it, once again.

As I was adding the entries into AC Log, the program stopped responding. I never have a problem with AC Log, so I knew something was up. Of course, Windows decided to update and after all was said and done, my log would not load. The MDB file must have somehow got corrupted while Windows decided to do its thing. Fortunately, the most recent backup was today, so I was able to load it up after missing only about 2 or 3 heartbeats.

Oh, by the way, I saw an announcement by Rich Fisher KI6SN for the 2022 Flight of the Bumblebees. instead of me speaking about it, I'll just paste in Richard's e-mail with the links, here.

The Adventure Radio Society is eager to announce the 2022 Flight of the Bumblebees, a four-hour event on Sunday, July 31 - the last Sunday of the month.

This is one of the most popular QRP contests of the year.

For complete details of FOBB rules and instructions, and for how field stations can obtain a Bumblee number go to http://ARSqrp.blogspot.com

The official email link for 2022 FOBB is:

arsbumblebees@gmail.com

We thank you in advance for your support of the 2022 Flight of the Bumblebees and hope to see you there.

All ARS events are underwritten by 73 Radio Row.

73,

Richard

Richard Fisher, KI6SN

Co-founder, the Adventure Radio Society

73 Radio Row

Riverside, CA

So there you have it - go sign up for a Bee number!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very keast!

Solar weather

Found this photo on the Interweb (my XYL jokingly calls it that). For you newbies who get confused by solar weather index numbers ..... and for some of us veterans who keep forgetting which way is which:

So take right now, for instance - as of this moment on July 6th 2022, the SFI is 155 (best), the A index is 4 (best) and the K index is 2 (OK) and the number of sunspots on the side of the sun facing us is 92. This indicates pretty good solar weather for those of us in radioland.

We seem to be on the upswing of the current sunspot cycle, so take advantage of good propagation while you can! It never lasts forever - but then again, the crummy conditions never last forever, either. They just seem to.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Bonus for 2022

 "Show up!"

That's the theme and that's the bonus. Show up, operate and submit a log and you automatically get 100 Bonus Points.

Each year, it's become more difficult to come up with an Bonus Activity that's inclusive of both CW and SSB entrants. The "spelling thing" is OK, but I don't want to get into a rut with that. The very first Bonus Activity was to homebrew a key - but since we added SSB as a mode, that would not be fair to those entrants.

So this year, it's just "show up". I'll try and come up with something novel for 2023.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy Independence 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.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I make fix!

There was time today to head down to the basement shack and put the MFJ-1982LP antenna on the bench. This is the antenna that failed for me during Field Day - in the middle of the night (strains of Billy Joel in the background.) How does an end fed antenna go bad? I guess there are a number of ways so I had to eliminate them.

1) The wire itself was not damaged, kinked, cut or otherwise disturbed along its entire length.

2) Opening the UNUN box the toroid looked fine. No cracks, no breaks, again ..... no mars.

3) The toroid windings were of a stout gauge of enamel coated wire - no breaks or other visible defects.

That left two things - either the two capacitors in there shorted out, or one of the factory performed solder joints was dicey.

My gut went with the solder joints. Nothing was to the point of being loose or hanging free, but it looked like whomever soldered the joints thought that solder was going for about $200 a pound. The solderer could have been way more generous with the stuff.

I heated up the ol' Weller, added more solder to ALL the joints and headed out to Cotton Street Park, my home for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt.

The first thing I did after setting up was to bypass the ATU in the KX3. A brief hit of the tune button showed about a 1.2:1 match on 20 Meters. No more infinite SWR readings!

As long as I had everything set up, I decided to work a few stations. First up was AC6ZM on 14.044 MHz. He was at POTA K-7605. I haven't looked up where that is, I'll do it later.

I know I said I wasn't going to bother with the 13 Colonies Special Event, but they provided such a target rich environment. Perfect for giving a repaired antenna a workout!

I worked TM13COL on 20 Meters, making it through the pile up with 5 Watts. Then I switched to 40 Meters and worked K2E is Delaware and K2M in Pennsylvania. I finished the test back up on 20 Meters by working K2G in Georgia. The op was Phil K3UT and he must have recognized my call as he didn't send that bit of info to anyone else he was working.

I listened for a bit on 15 Meters but didn't hear anything, so I packed up my hastily erected setup and returned home. It's a comfort to know that I have the antenna back at my disposal. However, I'm still going to set up a backup antenna next year at Field Day - bitten once, twice shy.

As far as 13 Colonies goes, that was enough for me. I'll let the newer stations or those who have never gotten a clean sweep have a go at it.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Summer Homebrew Sprint

 As seen on the Flying Pigs ARCI e-mail reflector:

The 2022 Summer Homebrew Sprint is just around the corner! 

2000Z to 2300Z July 10th

Bonus points for homebrew equipment, and portable battery powered operations. 

All the details can be found here:

https://www.qrparci.org/contest/summer-homebrew-sprint-2020

Entries must be posted on or before July 29th online at www.qrpcontest.com 

73,

Paul K4FB

Maybe I can jump on the air a bit from Lake George,

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Turned out I was right, after all!

 Wow! I guessed something right for a change!

I went down to the shack at just a little after 9:00 PM and fired up the KX3.  I tuned around in the vicinity of 14.060 MHz and found John K4BAI pretty quickly. He was about a 569 or so on the W3EDP. To see if it would make any difference, I switched over to the Butternut.

Again ........ WOW!

John was a solid 599. I put out my call and made contact on my second try. I not only got a 589 report, but since I haven't partaken of the Fox Hunts in a while, I also got a "W2LJ FB".

I may have to do this more often! 

To be honest, there were several reasons I stopped doing the Hunts. The main reason, as I've stated before is the time. Not only do they start late for an early riser like me, but the competition (mostly with myself) to see how quickly I could work both Foxes left me so wired that I had a hard time falling asleep afterward. Silly, isn't it? But I guess that's my OCD kicking in.

So from here on out, I'm going to take the "take it easy" approach if and when I participate. No putting pressure on myself. I bag a pelt or two ..... fine. I don't ....... that's fine, too. It's much more enjoyable and satisfying this way.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!