Disappointing

I had some free time Saturday evening to get on the air and try a hand at the New Jersey QSO Party. It was a disappointing experience.

First off, the bands seemed to be pretty dead. 20 Meters had nil signals on it; and 40 Meters didn't sound much better. I called "CQ NJQP' and "CQ de NJ" for the better part of 30 minutes without any takers. I went scanning through the frequencies on 40 Meters and didn't hear anyone else putting out any calls for the NJ QSO Party, either.

80 Meters was slightly better. A CQ there yielded two whole contacts! K3WWP - John in PA and WB2UFV in Morris Plains, NJ. To say I was underwhelmed with my results would be highly accurate.

Maybe next year will be better with more solar activity to make the bands more active. Here's hoping, anyway!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Palm Tungsten E

I'm like most other Ham Radio ops - somewhat of a gadget freak. I like things with buttons, knobs, and controls. Problem is, I can't afford to keep up with the latest gizzmoes. So I tend to acquire the "last generation" of things to keep my gadget junkie fix going.

As mentioned in a previous post, I was looking for a "new" Palm Pilot, having outgrown the features of my venerable Palm M130. It would indeed be nice to own a Palm Zire or perhaps a new Palm Tungsten E2. I settled for a "pre-owned" Tungsten E that I found on eBay for a really good price. I've been having some fun playing with it lately.

I was successful in beaming over all my Ham Radio programs over to the Tungsten E. Ham Radio Reference, QSO Diary, HamPilot and Palm Globe all transferred over quite easily. Palm Globe didn't run well, though. It kept causing the Tungsten E to freeze up to the point where I had to do a hard reset of the device. Definitely a bummer, as it was a neat little program that always displayed the location of the terminator. Some of my best DX has been gotten by gray line propagation!

I shake my head in amazement of how attached I've grown to my various Palm PDA(s) over the years. I started out using them primarily for logging QSOs during various portable QRP operating sessions. Now I use the handy little device for a lot more. Important procedures and facts that I need for work are stored on there. I keep track of all the hardware at work that we prepare each day and keep a log of it; so I can provide my manager with daily and weekly work totals. Of course, I also have a bunch of important phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other sundry items on there that I constantly refer to throughout the day.

But this Palm, the Tungten E has fun capabilities that my earlier Palm(s) did not have. First off, I loaded a 2 Gigabyte SD memory card into it; so I have plenty of memory available to me. That being said, I searched the Internet and found a few fun freeware and shareware programs to load on. I've added a graphics program so I can store pictures of my wife, Marianne and my kids, Joey and Cara When a particularly rough day happens at work; it's so nice to be able to flip that little program on and look at pictures of the people who mean the most to me. Seeing the faces that I love definitely puts the work thing into it's proper perspective and reminds me just exactly why I put up with some of the hassles that come along.

I also loaded a music player called "AeroPlayer". It was only $14.99 and now I have a built in mp3 player, or iPod, if you will. Last week I burned in some of my favorite albums (that will give you a clue as to my generation!); or should I say CDs? I have Garth Brooks, the B52s, The Fratellis, Fleetwood Mac, Cyndi Lauper and all of my Mike Oldfield CDs on there. Who the heck is Mike Oldfield? Why, Mike Oldfield is the artist who wrote "Tubular Bells", which you might recall better as the theme music to "The Exorcist". He has a compilation of about a dozen works and I have most of them. I really like his stuff with my absolute favorites being "5 Miles Out" and "The Songs of Distant Earth". If you've never heard him before, then go look him up on iTunes. You're in for a real treat! The good thing is now I don't have to carry my iPod around anymore - only one device to tote around so I gave my barely used iPod Nano to Marianne.

Then the last little program that I loaded up was a SuDoKo program. I'm not good at figuring these things out, by any means. But when I have a few spare minutes, it's a fun program to play around with. It's especially just the ticket on days when it's raining outside and I can't go to the park during lunchtime to do a little QRPing.

I suppose that in a few years, when the NEXT generation of Palms come out, I'll upgrade to someone's current Tungsten E2 or E3 - their discard will become my treasure!

73 de Larry W2LJ

PS - August 16th was a very important personal milestone in my life. That date marked the 10th Anniversary of my first date with a woman named Marianne Dunmyer. Things sure do change in 10 years! Marianne agreed to become my lovely wife and now we have a house, two wonderful children and various pets - I am a blessed and happy guy!

Made my day!

I got home today from work; and as I always do, I sat down to check out my e-mail

I received an e-mail about this blog; which for whatever reason, has been a more and more common occurrence lately. This e-mail, however, was from a soldier who is stationed in Iraq, who happens to also be a Ham. In his e-mail, he mentioned that he is a regular reader; and that my blog is one of the ways he keeps abreast of Amateur Radio. For those of you who don't know; Amateur Radio has been shut down in Iraq due to the problems with the insurgency.

Talk about an e-mail making your day! These soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors who are serving our Country are my heroes! They have volunteered to put their bacon into the frying pan every day; just to keep your families and my family's lives safe and sound. What they are doing is of no small matter or import; and in my opinion they deserve way more than our thanks and support - WHATEVER side of the political spectrum you call home.

This gentleman and his family are putting up with a lot; and for him to say that my words are keeping him entertained in some small, minute way is such an honor! To all our servicemen and women ...... THANK YOU! Keep up the fantastic work. You guys are doing a terrific job no matter what the lame mainstream media believes and makes up ...... I mean "reports". Our best to you; and our prayers are with you for continued success in your mission and a safe and quick return home to a grateful Nation.

Now ...... on a completely unrelated matter; you guys should have seen the electrical storm we had here in NJ last night. I was awakened about 4:00 AM by my scared and almost hysterical dog. Jesse (picture above) is a Brittany; and he's VERY scared by thunder. It must hurt his ears. In any event, the storms passed through after about an hour or so; but until the rain finally came, we had an electrical storm like I haven't witnessed in maybe 10 or 15 years. The lightning was almost to the point of becoming continuous. The claps of thunder sounded like they were coming overhead; and several times there seemed to be no delay between the lightning and the thunder. That means the storm cell had to be located right in our general vicinity; and it was loud!

I thank God for three things. A - He got us through the storms safe and sound. B - The lightning didn't cause any damage to any radio equipment. No direct hits to antennas, which were disconnected, anyway. C - My kids slept through the storms! The only comforting I had to do was keep Jesse calm by petting him non-stop for practically the whole time. I never saw a dog who was almost ready to jump out of his fur!

The storms brought no relief and today's weather was hotter and stickier than yesterday. Temperatures were in the 90s, the humidity was WAY up there and the temperature humidity index was at 105 degrees for a time this afternoon. Boy, I hope tonight is a quieter night than last night. All I do know for sure is that the antennas are staying disconnected again tonight!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Early August thoughts

We've entered the Dog Days of Summer. It's hot and sticky in Central New Jersey. Going outside is like entering a sauna. Humidity level is hovering in the 70% plus region. When it's 11:00PM at night, any it's still in the upper 70s outside; and my thermostatically controlled attic fan is still blowing; then you know it's HOT! There's a heat advisory posted by NOAA for the next two days. I know a lot of people hate this; but this is what I live for! I dream of this kind of weather while I'm out there shoveling snow in the Winter.

I've been putting in WAY too much overtime with the new job. Not enough time for radio or any other kind of relaxation. I did jump into the Spartan Sprint tonight; just to knock loose some of the radio "rust". I made 15 contacts in about 20 minutes worth of operating. It was good to hear good friends on the air like Jim W1PID and Todd N9NE and Paul KD2MX and John K4BAI. By the way, John K4BAI is a top notch and well respected contester. I am proud and privileged to be able to call him a friend. Paul KD2MX was featured a few months back in an article in "WorldRadio" magazine about QRP contesters. Pick it up and give the article a "look see" if you get the chance.

Last night was a special milliWatt Run For The Bacon QRP contest that I put together. I wish I had scheduled it better! I was not able to participate as my wife and I went to the Police concert at Giants Stadium at The Meadowlands. The tickets were purchased back in February as her birthday present this year. I knew there was something nagging me in the back of my head when I scheduled the Sprint for the first Sunday in August, way back when. It hit me just last week that I was going to miss it; and I love milliWatt contests! Maybe next year.

My Palm M130 is starting to give up the ghost. I use it a lot; for work purposes and portable QRP logging purposes. There's a ton of information in there; but I've had it for a bit now and I think it's time for something newer. Not current - just newer. I can't afford current! I'll have to take a look on eBay to see what the most recent generation of Palm PDAs is going for. Then, I'll have to beam over all my information to whatever I get before this one craps out completely. I've grown so accustomed to keeping phone numbers, addresses, things-to-do, notes and various Ham Radio things on it; that it makes me wonder how I ever survived before the days of electronic PDAs. I guess this is what we call progress. I wish I could afford a current, state-of-the- art Jack Bauer kind of PDA that does everything but walk the dog for you; but that's not to be.

Last night was a late night; and today was a long day at work. Time to go to bed. I'll be putting in an 11 hour day tomorrow.

73 de Larry W2LJ

No Bees flying in Central NJ

Today was the annual "Flight of the Bumblebees" QRP contest. Unfortunately, there were no Bumblebees flying in Central NJ, either the real or Amateur Radio varieties.

The day started out hot and sticky. While going to Church this morning, stepping out of doors felt more like stepping in to a sauna, than stepping outside. Then, around Noon time, the skies exploded. A line of severe thunderstorms crept its way through our area. There was plenty of spectacular ground to cloud lightning, nickel sized hail, and the rain bucketed down at rates of 2 - 3 inches per hour. Local highways; such as Route 18, through the New Brunswick area were flooded and unpassable to local traffic.

Both Amateur Radio stations, portable and permanent remained unplugged from their respective antennas for the entire day. The thunderstorms abated around 3:30 PM or so; but it continued raining until around 6:00 PM, long after the finish of the contest.

So, as the famous Brooklyn Dodger fans would say ..... "Wait 'til next year!"

73 de Larry W2LJ

The things we do for fun .....

Tonight's 20 Meter QRP Foxhunt was about as much fun as an ice pick in the forehead.

I didn't expect to work Tom KV2X because Upstate NY and Central NJ are too close for 20 Meters. However, I did think I was going to have a good shot at working Dave, N0IT out in Missouri. Wrong! Dave was hovering at 229 all night long with one or two flares up to 339. I called several times; and if he heard me ...... I sure wasn't able to tell.

I stuck around for just about the entire hour and a half; as hope springs eternal. I would've been better off spending my time reading a book!

73 de Larry W2Lj

A Beautiful Week!

We (me & the family) just came back from a wonderful week up at Lake George, NY. The picture you see to the left was the scene that I was fortunate enough to wake up to each morning.

I brought the K1 and PAC-12 along; but truthfully, I didn't use it that much. I delighted in the time that I was able to enjoy the company of my wife, Marianne; and our two children, Joey and Cara. It's not often that I get to give them my undivided attention without some distraction or other getting in the way.

However, I did set the station up for the Thursday night QRP Foxhunt; just to get an idea of what I'd be able to hear. Unfortunately, I did not hear either Fox; but I did hear a lot of Hounds. Tom Palmer, N1TP out of Naples, Florida almost blew my eardrums out with his loud signal! It was hard to believe that the was all the way in Florida, he was so loud! I also heard a few of the other regular hounds; but after a bit, the mosquitoes and biting flies drove me indoors.

The next day, while sitting at one of the picnic tables, the owner of the resort came to ask me why I hadn't set up the station more than I had. I told him that I was happy to spend the time with my family. Surprisingly, he was very generous and supportive of my Ham radio activities! He told me that if I wanted to string up something in the trees next year; that it would be alright with him!

That threw me for a loop! But he had commented on how we've been decent tenants for the past years; and he has appreciated the fact that I have kept the radio activities "discrete" so as to not bother other tenants. I thanked him for the offer; but at the same time told him that I'd continue to keep things stealthy and discrete. Don't want to upset the apple cart!

BUT ...... if you're ever considering a Lake George vacation; and you need a good place to stay; the consider the Stepping Stones Resort, in Diamond Point, NY. The proprietor (Chuck LaPlante) is a super guy; and he has a wonderful place. It's quiet, super clean, well -equipped to provide a relaxing, fun filled family vacation. You can check him out at: http://www.steppingstonesresort. com.

Tell him that Larry sent you! He'll know!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Independence Day - The bottom line.

Independence Day 2007

God bless our Military who are protecting
our Country and our freedom.
Without them, and their sacrifices, we could not celebrate
the 4th of July.

I watched the Flag pass by one day,
It fluttered proudly in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud!
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought of how many soldiers like him,
Had fallen through the years,
How many had died on foreign soil?
How many mother's tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many sailors dead at sea?
How many foxholes now are soldiers' graves?
NO ..... freedom is NOT free !!!

I heard the sound of "Taps" one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the Bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times,
That "Taps" had meant "Amen".
When the Flag had draped the coffin
Of a brother, son or friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers, of the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea,
Of the many graves in Arlington,
NO .... freedom is NOT free !!!
(Author unknown)

Enjoy your Freedom, and may God
continue to bless America and our troops!

And in a special way, may God grant peace and rest and light
upon the soul of Sgt. Trista Moretti of South Plainfield, NJ
who died last week in Iraq in service to her Country,
and was laid to rest with full Military honors on July 3rd, 2007.

Eternal rest, grant unto her, O Lord
and may perpetual Light shine upon her.
May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed
rest in peace. Amen.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Birthday, America !!!

Here it is, the night before the birthday of the United States of America. I sit here kind of depressed; wondering what the Founding Fathers would think of their "experiment" now.

We live in a country which was founded upon the notion that the people rule and that the government is but a servant. The reality seems to be 180 degrees out of kilter with the original idea.

People seem to be content to let our representational republic become a "nanny state" where the government is supposed to do everything from diaper you, to feed you, to house you, to find you employment, and to finally - bury you. Where's the initiative? Where's the self-reliance? Where's the pride?

I think that if George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or Benjamin Franklin knew what has become of their beloved idea - they would be spinning in their graves.

Freedom of Speech is a joke anymore. State your honest opinion, and if it doesn't agree with the "PC Police"; then you are branded a racist, homophobe, misogynist, or some other horrible thing. A large portion of the population is always moaning and whining about the losing of civil rights; but those same people are more than happy to take away your Constitutional right to bear arms. Those same people would chastise you for shooting a bear; but give no nanosecond thought to murdering an unborn child in the womb. Where did we make the wrong turn? How did we lose our collective conscience and common sense?

But yet, there is hope. Hope that the common sense of the common people will prevail. That the government will someday return to the principle of being, "for the people, by the people, of the people". Hope that we will return the common sense principles on which we were founded. Hope that the United States will once again become the "melting pot" where we celebrate the American ideals and goals that we have in common, instead of worshiping at the "Altar of Diversity" where we blindly idolize the things that make us different. Hope that we will return to being a nation that promotes a Culture of Life instead of promoting a Culture of Death.

America is still the Shining Beacon - still the "City on the Hill" as the late Ronald Regan so fondly referred to us. By and large, we're still a people that believes in God and for the most part we remember who we are and where we came from. American ingenuity still exists; and we can still do things that no other country would dare try to do.

By and large, we're still pretty down to earth, grounded and on the ball.

Happy Birthday, America !!!!

"And just as Tom here has written ....
The shell may belong to Great Britain
But the eagle inside ...... belongs to us!"

Benjamin Franklin, from the musical "1776"

73 de Larry W2LJ

Flight of the Bumblebees

I hope that this blog has piqued your interest in operating outdoors. If it has, then I have accomplished something. If your interest is indeed, piqued, but you're not quite sure how to get started; then, boy howdy, do I have an event for you!

The Flight of the Bumblebees is a 4 hour QRP sprint that is sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society and takes place every year on the last Sunday in July. The idea is to get your gear out in the great outdoors; and make as many contacts as you can over said 4 hour period. Those of us who operate in the portable mode are "bees". We're given numbers that we will hand out as part of the contest exchange. This year my bee number is 63. I forget what it was last year - a higher number, if I remember correctly.

Last year I operated from a park here in town; and I might do the same this year. Or perhaps, I might go up to Washington Rock Park which is in a nearby town. Washington Rock got its name because it's on a high point of the first ridge of the nearby Watchung "mountains". I use the word mountains in quotation marks because the Watchungs are part of the Appalachian mountains, which are mountains to us in New Jersey; but are merely hills to you folks who live among the Rockies!

Anyway, George Washington used this high point as an observation post back in the Revolutionary War to keep tabs on Redcoat camps and troop movements. It's now a park, and there's plenty of space to set up either the PAC-12; or the NorCal Doublet as there are plenty of trees, too.

However, I digress, as this post is supposed to be about you; and not me! Use this event to kick off your outdoor QRP operating experience! I guarantee that once you do, you will look for every opportunity you can to do it again. Operating QRP in the outdoors is very addicting!

For more information on the Flight of the Bumblebees, please visit: http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/pages/bumblebees/bb_rules.html
and to get a Bumblebee number of your very own, you can send an e-mail to John Huffman N1ESE at hjohnc@adelphia.net

Hopefully, I will hear you on that last Sunday in July; and we can exchange Bee numbers and help each other rack up some points!

73 de Larry W2LJ

A day out in the field

From the post right below this one, you've undoubtedly read the notice that my friend Bob W3BBO; and two of his buddies were headed out to the field today, to do some QRPing in the great outdoors.

As you can see in the photo above, of Neal W3CUV, they actually did hit the trail; and from an e-mail that Bob sent me, they had a wonderful time!

" Hi Larry,

Just got home a bit ago and took a shower. Whew! It got warm and the gnats were driving me crazy. I put some repellent on, but they seemed to be everywhere. You'd be proud of me, I was very careful in the sun but got a great sunburn on the back of my neck! Reminds me of my Piscataway FD pictures. Hi.

Otherwise, it was a great day and fun was had by all. We made a half dozen contacts, mostly on 40 meters. 20 Meters yielded one QSO and 30 meters was a complete bust! So radio was a bit disappointing, but we enjoyed our outing. I'm enclosing a picture of Neal operating his MFJ 40 meter QRP radio. Before Dave and I left Neal and headed back to Erie, we took the short trail (1.1 mile) and I got a picture of Dave and Neal. Then as we said goodbye, a picture of Neal before he disappeared into the deep woods!

He just called me on his cellphone and I listened for him on 40 meters, but nothing heard, we are just too close for 40 meters. He was in his tent and settling in for the night. Hope he makes some contacts and has a safe hike.

73 de Bob W3BBO"

I love stories like this! There is nothing better than getting outside and sitting under the shade of some trees while playing radio! QRP may not have been designed with this in mind; but it sure fits "hand in glove" with outdoor operating!

If you've never tried it before; then I heartily recommend it. It doesn't have to be a backpack expedition to Timbuktu. either. Unhook your QRP gear from your main antenna, pack a hunk of wire and a battery and head off to your local park. A whole new facet of Amateur Radio awaits you.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Wilderness Alert

Keep an ear open for my friend Bob W3BBO who will be out in the field this Friday:

Wilderness Alert

Hearts Content Recreation Area

Location: Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

Dates: June 29, 2007

Time: 1400 UTC to 1900 UTC

Bands: 20 - 30 - 40 Meters (near QRP calling Frequencies)

Modes: CW

Callsigns: W3BBO - W3CUV - KD3EM

A day outing down to the deep woods in Warren County. As the brochure states: Hearts Content National Scenic Area, a lovely, old growth, remnant timber stand, is located next to the picnic area. Here, whispering the secrets of the centuries, stand 300 to 400 year old white pine, hemlock, and beech trees.

Watch for us and hope the bands cooperate.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Enjoying lunchtime

With the "new" job; I get an hour for lunch. This is great because I've found a park that's all of about 5 minutes away from the building by car. That leaves me plenty of time to operate; and plenty of time to set up the PAC-12. I've been using the PAC-12 for the past week; and the results have been very gratifying.

Yesterday, I worked Pierre VE2PID up in Quebec. Today, I had the fortune to work Robin WA4NLF in New London, NC. Robin was a solid 599 into New Jersey. He was running a Ten-Tec Paragon into an Inverted Vee. I was very happy to receive a 579 report from Robin.

Robin is 50 years old and got his ticket as a High School student back in 1975. That's almost the same story as me! I'm the same age as Robin; but I got my ticket three years later in 1978.

We spent our time together telling each other how we got started in radio; and before I knew it, 20 minutes had flown by! Not a super long ragchew by any stretch of the imagination; but not bad for a lunch time QSO. The PAC-12 worked flawlessly; which was nice to see. Today I set up the commercial version that I had purchased from Mike W1MT last winter. Not only does the commercial version have cosmetic appeal that my homebrewed version doesn't; but it also has the multi-band coil. All I have to do is tap the coil at the point where I get maximum band noise and the internal tuner in the K1 does the rest! And when I want to change bands; all I have to do is change the tap position, rather than change the entire coil. Much faster and easier!

During the QSO, two curious park workers came by to see what I was doing. I explained to them that I'm a Ham and that I was talking with a guy in North Carolina. They mentioned that they have a colleague who is a Ham; and that they were going to tell him about me. I'll bet I get a visitor soon - probably to make sure I'm not a terrorist or spy or something!

Even though it was hot (about 93 degrees) with a ton of humidity; it made for a pleasant day. Tomorrow is supposed to be about pretty much the same weather-wise. Hope I have the same amount of success tomorrow!

73 de Larry W2LJ

QRP Bashers - unite!

There's another QRP thread on e-Ham. Of course, this brings out the QRP bashers. Here are some comments that really make me chuckle; and just goes to show there are a lot of Hams out there with provincial attitudes that just "don't get it".

From N4DSP:

"To each his own but for me Life is too short for qrp."

Now THAT'S original!

From W3TUA:

"QSO's are few and far between in most QRP setups so you won't get your heart rate racing anytime soon. It's perfect for the faint of heart. ;-)

I tried QRP for a few years. When the opportunity arose, I bought some nicer 100-watt transceivers, good antennas, and a KW amplifier. My conclusion is that you can knock down a wall with a hammer but a wrecking ball brings better results."

He tried QRP for a few years? Geez, in my last three years of operating, which has been 100% QRP, I've made over 4000 QSOs. I wonder what his problem is?

From K5UJ:

"I knew this would wind up as a QRP v. QRO thing before I even read the article. I'm not going to bash QRP. You want to operate QRP, be my guest and have at it, all QRP all the time. I only ask that:

1. You don't preach about it to me with zeal, ignoring my lack of interest.

2. You don't decide that the U.S. power limit should be 100 w. and petition the FCC to change it to that.

3. You don't scream that N no. of people near me are in danger because of RF.

4. You do not operate phone below 20 meters. "

Fair enough! It shouldn't be a "religion". I agree with this gentleman.

From K6AER:

The dirty little secret of QRP is they almost never contact another QRP station. The station on the other ends up doing the heavy lifting with mono banders up high and QRO power so the QRP station can hear above the local noise with their minimalist antenna.

Oh man! I wish I had know this before wasting my time all these years! Hey, by the way, is this the same guy who starts all those "urban legends"?

From W9OY:

"The point is its the guy doing the receiving who is doing all the heavy lifting. Why is the goober running a watt doing all the bragging? Seems to me a guy who had a big gun tower and all the beams would understand in the case of QRP its the receiving station not the transmitting station that is dominate."

Ah, yes ..... W9OY the veteran QRP basher! First on the thread to start with the derogatory name calling too! I guess it takes a "goober" to know a "goober"!

Another comment from K5UJ:

"The solution (which never fails) is to put your amp in bypass and turn your exciter PA pot down to ~5 w., maybe less if you have a really good antenna, and let the QRP station do some work. Every time after one or two exchanges, you'll get, "Have to go, dinner's ready" or "I have a tv show I want to watch now." Tell him you're giving QRP a try too and watch how fast the honeymoon turns into divorce."

Darn! After his first post, I had such hopes for this guy! This post just goes to show that even when they try to be civil, QRP bashers just can't help shooting themselves in the foot. Geez, if I had a nickel for everytime I have worked another QRPer, I'd be able to afford that K3!

From W5JON:

"On every QRP, "I worked this DX station" brag page, it should be required to list what the guy at the other end was running. I would just love to see the percent QRP to QRP contacts.

I really enjoy reducing my power to the level of the QRP station that calls me, and switching to a dipole. Chances are within a minute or two he is signing out. I Guess it is no fun digging my S9 signal that just went to a S2 out of the noise."

Another veteran e-Ham QRP basher heard from. Another QRO guy that not only "doesn't get it"; but also shows he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Finally from AB8AL:

"I just don't understand why QRP'ers keep patting themselves on the back and talk about honing skills and blah blah blah. Any contact a QRPer makes he should be thanking the station on the other end for pulling his weak signal out of the noise. QRP stations do NONE of the work then claim ALL the credit."

Tell us how you REALLY feel, okay?

I love these guys! They're so single minded, so cocksure of themselves; that I guess they don't realize how stupid they sound. So much for keeping an open mind and exposing yourself to all that Amateur Radio has to offer!

73 de Larry W2LJ

The Drive-bys and the Honeybees ......

You might have heard the bug-a-boo (sorry about the pun!) being raised for the past month or so, by the "drive-by" media, about the supposed "disappearance" of honey bees.

Supposedly, honey bees have disappeared from about 17 states or so. They just aren't; being seen in the numbers that they used to be. Of course, the experts have to hypothesize and come up with theories. The theories I have heard so far blame the disappearance of honey bees on global warming (what else is new ..... hey, maybe we can bring back Y2K as a scapegoat) and one idiot even blamed the increased use of cell phones!

While mowing the lawn today, I think I hit upon one of the real answers. As I was going up and down my front yard, I was looking up and down both sides of my short street, at my other neighbor's yards. A lot of these folks spend a lot of money on Lawn Doctor and services like that to create lawns that look more like lush green carpets from the Emerald Isle, rather than ordinary suburban yards. I throw down some Scotts Turf Builder Plus 2 once or twice a season to keep the dandelions down. Other than mowing on a regular basis, I let nature take its course. Yeah, my lawn isn't going to make the cover of "Better Homes and Gardens" and I'll probably never make it on to HGTV, either. My lawn is full, it's green, it hardly has any dandelions or crabgrass; but I do have one thing that I noticed a lot of my neighbor's lawns don't have.

I got clover !!!!! I have a veritable ton of those little white budsy things popping out between the Kentucky Blue Grass or whatever kind of grass it is that makes up my lawn. And you know what else I have? I got honey bees visiting each of those little clover blossoms looking for nectar so they can make honey!

Lesson learned - goes crazy with Lawn Doctor or go overboard with chemicals so that your lawn looks magazine perfect and you're going to chase away the honey bees. If there's no clover for nectar; what self-respecting honey bee is going to waste time coming to your lawn?

Seems kind of simple when you think about it - doesn't it? Now is this the total answer to the disappearance of the honey bees? Probably not; but I'll bet is a goodly part of the problem. Again ...... look up and down my street. Out of 10 front yards, I see clover blossoms on only three or four of them. I'll bet years ago EVERYBODY had clover mixed in with their grass and didn't even think twice about it. It's only now, that your front lawn has to be this shee-shee designer looking green carpet that we realized we have a problem.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Throwing down the gauntlet

Do you want to help with getting the word out about Amateur Radio? Would you like to let people know how much fun; and how useful this hobby is? Would you like to perhaps inspire a non-Ham to the point where said person buys a license study guide and gets his/her ticket?

Start a Ham Radio Weblog; or "blog" as they are known. You know ...... what you're reading right now!

Just out of curiosity; I Googled "free blog" and I was blown away! From Blogger, which is this site here, which I use to WordPress Cafe, there seem to be HUNDREDS of places that are willing to host your blog for FREE! What self respecting Ham doesn't get off on the word "free"?

I know, you have a million excuses. "I don't know how to write, I don't know what to say, I don't know where to start."

You start by signing up for one of these free Blogging accounts; and then you start writing about what excites you the most about Amateur Radio. Do you like DX? Talk about it! Do you like homebrewing? Write about it! Do you like packet APRS and weather station activity? Tells about it and share your enthusiasm !!!! Or even better yet, start the ball rolling by telling the world how you spent Field Day 2007. People LOVE to read about that kind of stuff!

Worried that people will think you're some kind of nerd or geek? Let 'em think what they want! Besides, check out some random blogs out there. Some of the stuff you'll find is enough to curl your hair! At least you'll be writing about something decent and wholesome; and perhaps it will be enough to help balance out all the other "crap" you can read about.

You don't have to be Ernest Hemingway to do a Ham Radio blog. Heck, just think of this as typing a letter to a bunch of friends you don't even know. I have no formal writing experience; other than what I learned in school. I rely on the spell checker a lot! What I'm trying to say is that I'm nobody all that special. But if I can do this, you can too! Too technical? For crying out loud, if you're a Ham and you're reading this, you're already involved in one of the most technical hobbies there is! And if you can read this; then you have enough computer skills to "roll your own". Bottom line? You have no excuses!

So I issue the challenge and throw down the gauntlet! Start your own Ham Radio blog and let me know about it. Once you've done it; either leave a comment here or send an e-mail to w2lj@arrl.net. I will add your blog to my fledgling "Blog roll" both here and on my Website.

Amateur radio is infectious! Let's spread the word by letting people know what we like about our wonderful hobby.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day 2007

To the right is a photo from a PARC Field Day past. I think this was Field Day 1997 or maybe 1996? It was the middle 90s or there abouts.

The picture is of yours truly on the left; and Bob W3BBO on the right. Bob's doing the heavy lifting by working the stations; and I'm sitting there logging.

What was cool was that Bob and I didn't have to talk much during our Field Day stints together. He'd work a station; and I'd listen as he would maneuver the paddles or twiddle the dial on yet another "search and pounce" session. He'd work a station and he'd just start giving me the particulars; when I would say "Got it" or "Already logged" or something like that. Bob is such a good CW op! I did my best to keep up with him; and on a good day (a VERY good day) I could hold my own for a while until my brain cramped up and my ears started bleeding from listening to CW at a rate slightly higher than I was comfortable copying.

This year, I really hope I get a chance to get some operating time in. The weekend promises to be busy, as usual. My son Joey has a swim meet tomorrow morning; and when we get home there are the inevitable chores ........ grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, etc, etc, etc.

If I get a chance to operate at all; it will probably be for only a couple of hours from the patio. I want to set up the commercial PAC-12 I acquired over the Winter and see how it plays. I bought it from Mike W1MT who contacted me about it through a third party who had read about my success with the homebrewed version that I have. I got a superb deal on it; and this is the version with the "all bands" coil. Now when I want to change bands, all I have to do is move a tap rather than swap out entire loading coils. I'm looking forward to playing around with it; in anticipation of taking it with us to Lake George this summer.

In any event, please make sure to listen for W2LJ on the bands tomorrow or Sunday. I could use the contacts to boost my QSO total for the year!

73 de Larry W2LJ

QRP Summer Foxhunt Season

The 2007 Summer 20 Meter Foxhunt Season is fast approaching!

And we are in need of QRPers to volunteer for Fox duty!

This summer, the hunts will run on Thursday evenings beginning on July 5th and will run until September 9th. This will provide us with 10 weeks of Summer QRP Foxhunt fun and excitement. There will be, as usual, two hunts per Thursday evening over the ten week period. A bare minimum of 10 volunteers is needed, however, the more the merrier; and we will consider all who offer to volunteer. Please consider volunteering ESPECIALLY if you've never tried before! You are guaranteed to have the time of your life!

To fill out an application and for all the particulars, please visit:

http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/

Tally Ho! Let the hunts begin!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day plans

This coming weekend is Field Day; and unlike last year, it's NOT looking to be a washout! Looking at weather.com (The Weather Channel) and the forecast is for partly sunny skies with a high of about 79 - just a tad cooler than normal for this time of year.

I'll probably set up on the patio in the backyard with the K1 (or maybe the K2), a battery and perhaps I'll set up the NorCal Doublet as a sloper using my Black Widow fishing pole as a mast for one end. In any event, since my wife is working on Saturday, I will not be visiting the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club's operation at the Piscataway EOC during the day.

I got to thinking about all this because I had a nice QSO with Dan Romanchik KB6NU on 40 Meters tonight. Dan is very active in his local club in Michigan; and he's really enthusiastic about introducing the next generation of prospective Hams to Amateur Radio. He told me that he's going to have a 10 year old and a 14 year old participating as CW ops this year. That is so cool!

You can read about Dan's exploits by visiting his blog. I've put a link up to it on he right hand edge of this page. You can click on it and go directly there.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Don Herbert

I read in the newspaper that Don Herbert A.K.A. "Mr. Wizard" had passed away last week. I would be remiss if I didn't mention him in this blog.

"Mr. Wizard" was always one of my favorite programs as a kid. I used to watch in rapt attention as Mr. Herbert would explain electro-magnetism; or combustion, or some other scientific principle. I even enjoyed watching the newer shows on Nickelodeon during the 90s.

I can't help thinking that the show had a lot to do with piquing my innate fascination with things scientific; and in a way, lead me towards such hobbies as Amateur Radio. For me, "Mr. Wizard" was the Discovery Channel and Science Channel of my youth.

Rest in Peace, Don ...... you were a man way ahead of your time. Thank you for all the enjoyable hours of TV programming; and for providing me the impetus to go and learn about things on my own.

73 de Larry W2LJ