FOBB 2025 has been announced!

This just appeared in my inbox today.

2025 Flight of the Bumblebees

AI image courtesy of Gemini

The annual Flight of the Bumblebees will be held on Sunday, July 27, 2025.

 The event will be in a four hour daytime window, from 1700 to 2100 UTC.

 This casual QRP CW event consists of 'Bumblebees' who are operating portable stations at outdoor locations, and 'Home Stations' who try to work as many of these 'Bumblebees' as possible.

 This event is open to all operators.  Anywhere.  With the sunspot cycle still on the high side, this year's  event has the potential to be very interesting.

 Operators who want to go out and setup a portable station at some outdoor location, and be a highly sought after 'Bumblebee', need to obtain a "Bumblebee Number". 

 The window for obtaining your 2025 'Bumblebee Number' is now Open.   This year is is simpler than ever to get a Bumblebee Number.

 The https://ars-qrp.com web site will explain the whole process.

 I'll be out there as a 'Bumblebee' - hoping to work you during the event.

 72,

Jody - K3JZD

This is always a super fun event, and is a Summertime Classic! And what makes it even better is that there's always lots of participation. I've already signed up and I'll be Bee # 25!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

PS: Look for an announcement about the 2025 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt coming soon!

Activity Night

At the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club, we have two meetings a month, on the first and third Thursdays. The second meeting is our monthly Business Meeting, while the first one is "Activity Night". This was something that Marv K2VHW instituted as our Founding Club President. We got away from it for a while because of the pandemic. It's hard to have an activity when you can't meet in person. When I was s"elected" last year to be Club President, I made it my business to revitalize this.

Our Activity Night meetings are still hybrid, in person and on Zoom, so I try to keep it more of a learning experience rather than a hands on kind of thing so that everyone can benefit. So far we've had Activity Nights where we shared our experiences with the Reverse Beacon Network, how the National Traffic System works and how to send a radiogram, and a presentation on solar panels and controllers among other topics.

This past weekend, I was taken aback on a lot of the comments on social media referring to band conditions. "Who shut the bands off?" ......."Are the bands bad for everyone, or is it just my antenna?" ...... "My POTA activation was a complete bust!" and other comments like that.

We experienced a Coronal Mass Ejection and a series of geomagnetic storms and Hams didn't expect this? They didn't know about this? If you did more than just memorize answers for your Amateur Radio exam, this is basic knowledge. Surely, Techs must have a basic and rudimentary understanding of this, and Generals and Extras should be totally familiar with this. It appears not, from a lot of what I've read over the past few days.

For this SPARC Activity Night, we're going to have a very brief going over of our Field Day preparations, as we have one more Business Meeting before the big weekend. I want to spend the rest of the evening showing this YouTube video.

There are a few good PowerPoint presentations on the subject and a plethora of equally good videos. I chose this one firstly because it's only 22 minutes long, and I don't want to keep our club members occupied all night. Secondly, it treats the subject matter in "plain English" and doesn't get all esoteric, or go off on tangents. It's a very well done "meat and potatoes" kind of presentation, that I think will benefit our members who don't have HF rigs and are not all that familiar with HF operating.  Even for the VHF/UHF only people, this is good stuff to know and every Ham should at least be aware of the Sun and it's effect on our bands.

72 de Larry W2LLJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A bit more about yesterday.

When I first started building the Jackite support, I went the cheap route and tried cutting up the 2 foot sections of PVC in half using a hand saw. That was idiotic on my part. After about 15 to 20 minutes of getting not much anywhere, and only getting a sore and tired arm I decided I had enough of that. I went to Home Depot and bought one of these:

The brand is Husky, and it is a ratcheting  2" PVC pipe cutter.  A little pricey for the little I will probably make use of it, but I got the PVC pieces cut in SECONDS! A chore that would have taken all afternoon was accomplished in an "n-th" of the time, so I consider it money well spent. And you'd think that cutting 2" PVC with a cutter like this would be hard, but it took almost no effort.

The other thing about yesterday - that G4 geomagnetic storm ........WOW! I tired checking into the St. Max Net last night. Lloyd K3QNT, who is NCS, is usually 10 to 20 over 9 dB here at the W2LJ homestead. Last night I could barely hear him at times. I managed to get checked in, and when he called my turn, I made a few comments. When I let go of the mic, all I heard him say was, Larry W2LJ, are you still there?" So I knew I wasn't getting through. I was only able to hear two or three stations, so I shut the rig down early.

I was hoping to see Northern Lights last night like I did last year when we had a G5 storm. The skies were clear last night, but no dice. I checked several times and have come to the conclusion that a storm needs to be at least G5 before we'll see anything in New Jersey.

This week, one of the local Churches in town is holding their annual Feast of St Anthony carnival. I have sent an e-mail to our CERT Coordinator that I am available for duty a couple of nights this week, but I have not heard anything back. Last year, I spent most of my time escorting carnival go-ers across a busy street, making sure no one got injured, or worse. Maybe it's just me being an old curmudgeon, but is seems like drivers are more inconsiderate and reckless these days.  What I've witnessed on the roads recently could fill up another whole three, four or five or more blog posts. But this is not the place for that. My son Joseph has one of those dash cams in his car and some of the things that he has shown me that have occurred during his commute are enough to curl your hair. I should get one, but hopefully by this time next year, my commuting days will be a thing of the past.  334 to go!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Got stuff done!

This past week was extremely busy at work. So busy, that I didn't even get the chance to do my weekly Friday post about contests and special event stations. And yesterday was busy with chores and errands at home. But today I did get some "me time", and I used it to full advantage.

I got the Jackite stand built, And as promised, here are a couple of pictures.

It's made entirely of 2"PVC. And it is all pressed fit together so I can transport it more easily when broken down. I know it looks kind of flimsy, but the idea here is that this stand's purpose is only to hold the Jackite upright while my hands are free to pound in the tent pegs and secure the CamJams and tie down ropes. Otherise, it's just juggling things and watching them fall down, while doing my best octopus impression. I've ordered a camping stuff it bag to make it easy to transport the parts.

The other thing that I got done was to build the 4 States paddle.

It was a pretty easy build, and it works very well. The only thing that I think I got wrong is that the actual paddle levers are upside down, but I have other commercial paddles where the "ears" point down, so that doesn't bother me and it doesn't adversely affect performance.

This will make for a nice Field Day paddle and I can leave my March and Begali paddles safe at home.  The only pre-Field Day chore that I have left to do Is to e-mail all the newly licensed candidates that we've tested over the past year and invite them to Field Day.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The best laid plans .......

I definitely didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped for. Two goals eluded me. I did not get the Jackite stand started, nor the 4 States paddle.

I DID get the shack cleaned - at least half way, there's a bit more decluttering to do. I also got that new rolling cart built. Here's a photo of the old one.

You can see that bottom left leg just collapsed. Even the Amazon envelope on top isn't happy! I don't know what caused it. I just came down the shack one day to find it that way. Here's a photo of the new one.

It's slightly smaller than the broken one, but it's a combination of metal and plastic construction, whereas the old one was entirely plastic. Don't get me wrong, the old one last some 20+ years. This one will outlive me. 

I have to admit to myself that even after I finish straightening up and de-cluttering, my shack is never going to be one of those "House Beautiful" ones like you see from time to time in publications, or on the Web.  Mine is just a very utilitarian one located in our basement, which is unfinished. It's a good thing that radio is not a visual medium, or I'd be sunk! In fact, I'm probably the only one on Earth who can tell when my shack is cluttered and when it's not!

I also went to Harbor Freight yesterday and bought a new travel case for the QMX, 4 States Tuner and the battery.

Sand colored, should keep the interior cool under the hot sun. This is the kind of case where you pluck out the foam pieces to make your equipment fit. 

I also made sure to participate in the QRP ARCI Hoot Owl Sprint. Started out on 20 Meters and heard Mark WB9HFK, all the way down in the noise - 229 maybe. I called him several times with no answer, so after tuning around just a tad more, I went to 40 Meters.

Signals were much, much better and I worked 10 QRP ARCI members in eight different states and provinces. I wish there had been more activity, but it was a holiday weekend and I guess folks either had company or were out enjoying a BBQ at somewhere other than home.

The rest of the weekend was filled with cleaning, laundry and some yardwork. Next weekend, I WILL build that Jackite stand - by hook, or by crook.

Before I go, last night I had a few free minutes and I played around with AI for just a bit. I created a W2LJ action figure.

A little chunkier than I think I am, but I shared it with my sister and she thought it was hilarious and that it did resemble me.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Memorial Day 2025

Today, we remember and honor the fallen, who made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our country. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. May Perpetual Light shine upon them.

Prayers and honor,

de Larry W2LJ 

The weekend May 24th and 25th and 26th

 First ........ a shameless plug:

Now for the OTHER stuff.

Contests:

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW - https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint: - http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint

QCX Challenge - http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html

Tuesday night:

SKCC Sprint - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/

Special Event Stations:

05/19/2025 | National EMS Week

May 19-May 25, 0000Z-0000Z, N4E, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL. 14.325 MHz. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32646. Help us celebrate the work by EMS workers!

05/24/2025 | Living History Cruise of SS John W Brown: WW2 Liberty Cargo Ship

May 24, 1500Z-2000Z, K8JWB, Baltimore, MD. Project Liberty Ship (SS John W Brown). 7210.00 14230.00 21300.00 28320.00. Certificate. Project Liberty Ship K8JWB, Pier 13, 4601 Newgate Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224. Join the SS John W Brown while it sails on the Chesapeake Bay maritime mobile. Remembering the United States Merchant Marine, Navy Armed Guard crew and the shipbuilders including Rosie the Riveter who built 2710 of them who deeply impacted the winning of WW2. Those people and ships were critical to Winning the war www.ssjohnwbrown.org

Not much going on besides the biggie - CQ WW WPX. I suppose I could get on the air for a while with SPARC's NJ2SP call sign. I don't think NJ2 is all that common.

I hope to get the Jackite stand built this weekend as well as that new rolling storage cart for the shack - which also needs a good straightening out.  You could take a picture of my shack and put in the dictionary next to the word "Chaos". If I can get those three things - stand, cart, declutter - accomplished this weekend, I will be a happy camper.

Memorial Day weekend, as important as it is to remember those who died defending our country, is also touted as the "Unofficial Start of Summer". Big laugh!

Monday will be the warmest day of the three. The others will be downright chilly for the end of May, and I've actually have had to wear a sweater the past three or four days. We are normally in the low 80s by now, for a high for the day. Not that great of a beach weekend. That's for sure!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Busy, busy. A lot to do!

Field Day has pre-occupied the last couple of month's worth of South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meetings. Fortunately, we're on target and pretty much raring to go.  W2LJ on the other hand? Not so much. There are several important things that I need to get done. Fortunately, next weekend is the three day Memorial Day weekend here in the US, so I'll make the best use of the time that I can.

1) I want to construct that 4 States paddle that I purchased.

Last year, I brought my March paddle to Field Day. I'd prefer to leave both my "luxury Ferrari" keys - my Begali and my March paddles home in the shack. Not concerned about pilferage, but more of exposing either to the elements if we get really crazy weather. Last year we experienced a lot of windblown rain during a period of thunderstorms. We managed to keep the equipment dry, but it was an adventure.

2) I will be building a base for my Jackite mast holder.  In the past, I've deployed it like this:

The PVC pipe held in place by the three tie down ropes. It works quite well, but dealing with those ropes while simultaneously trying to keep the pipe upright as currently configured is quite a pain in the butt cheeks. If I had eight arms like an octopus, it would not be a problem. But I don't, so some aid is needed.  I want to build a base for it, and I purchased the PVC that I need to do that. I'll still use the tie down ropes to anchor everything in order to keep it all from being blown over, but this base idea that I have in mind will keep everything upright while I fiddle with each individual tent peg and rope. I'll post pictures next weekend, hopefully.

3) The shack needs some straightening up.  I need to do that so I can accomplish #s 1 & 2 above. I have a three tier cart thing right next to my bench that holds a lot of stuff. The cart that I had been using is old, was never the epitome of strength to begin with and now a caster has caved in and it's a wobbly, unstable mess.. I purchased this one from eBay for under $30. It actually has some metal to it and is not entirely plastic.

This should help clear up some space, because I moved everything from the old cart onto the benchtop to keep things from falling and breaking. It should come early this week.

In addition to the shack work, I need to update NJ2SP's QRZ page with our Field Day info. I also need to write and submit Field Day articles to our town's local publications. One is a print publication and the other is web based.

I also want to go through my VE paperwork for the last 12 months and want to extend invitations to Field Day to the new licensees that are relatively local to us.

Not too much to do .....right? Actually, I can work on the invitations and the news stories during the evenings this week after I get home from work and have dinner.

Finally, to end this post, a tip o' the cap and a hearty round of Congratulations have to go out to John Laney K4BAI. John, who I know from the QRP Fox Hunts, and various QRP Sprints - and, who is a stalwart participant in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame at Hamvention this past weekend.  FB, John! I can't think of a more well deserving and top notch operator than you.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend of May 17th and 18th

Kind of quiet here in the US, as you might expect. After all, it IS Hamvention weekend in Xenia, Ohio. With all the hullabaloo going on there, there's not much in the way of on the air activity going on. Too many souls searching the gigantic flea market there for that "Holy Grail" bargain.

I believe the last Hamvention that I attended was in 1995. The last one before Four Days In May started. Great timing for a QRP'er .........right?  As I've stated before, if God lets me live that long 2026 will see retirement and a return to Hamvention AND my first Four Days In May. I don't have many things in my bucket list, but FDIM is one of them.

I miss the times in the 90s when a gaggle of members of the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club would make the trip to Dayton together. Those were great times! In fact, Dayton Hamvention was where I first met Marv K2VHW.

Anyway, enough chasing ghosts. Here's what's going on this weekend.

Digital you might hear on the bands - EU PSK DX Contest: and the Feld Hell Sprint

Contests:

His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW: - https://concursos.ure.es/en/s-m-el-rey-de-espana-cw/bases/

Arkansas QSO Party - http://www.arkqp.com/

Baltic Contest - http://www.lrsf.lt/en/

FISTS Sunday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

Wednesday evening:

NAQCC CW Sprint - http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html

Special Event Stations:

05/10/2025 | 129th Annual New Jersey State Knights of Columbus Convention

May 10-May 17, 0000Z-2359Z, NJ2KC, Bridgeton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club. 14.2500 28.4500 7.2500 21.3500. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Avenue, Bridgeton, NJ 08302. NJ2KC.org

05/10/2025 | National Police Appreciation Week

May 10-May 17, 0000Z-0000Z, N4P, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL. 14.325 MHz. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32646. Let's show some appreciation for the work our Police do for us!

05/15/2025 | 73rd Convention CNH District-LCMS

May 15-May 17, 2200Z-1800Z, N6H, Sacramento, CA. Glen Amateur Radio Society and Lutheran Emergency Disaster Response. 7.178 14.240 144.950 440.750. QSL. Philip W. Zabell, 881 Brennan Pl, Willows, CA 95988. During the 73rd Convention of the California, Nevada, Hawaii District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, a disaster response trailer with communications capabilities will be set up on the hotel grounds in Sacramento, CA. Operators will use multiple modes on 40, 20, 2m, & 70cm. The objectives are to demonstrate the ability to have communications even when all else fails and to encourage visitors to get their ham radio license. www.garshamradio.org

05/17/2025 | Air power Museum Honoring all veterans

May 17, 1300Z-2000Z, W2GSB, West Bablyon, NY. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB . 28.340 21.250 14.246 7.245. Certificate. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, PO BOX 1356 , West Babylon, NY 11704. Operating inside the historic hangar from World War Two is where Rosie the Riveter became famous. This special event honors all who have served and done their part to defend our country and democracy. Please join us on the air for this special event station certificates. Look us up on qrz WWW.GSBARC.ORG

05/17/2025 | National Maritime Day

May 17, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award qrz.com/db/k3s

05/17/2025 | New Providence ARC 60th Anniversary Special Event

May 17-May 31, 0000Z-2359Z, N2J, New Providence, NJ. The New Providence Amateur Radio Club. 160-10 meters all modes including digital. QSL. NPARC, PO Box 813, New Providence, NJ 07974. May 17 – May 31 0000z – 2359z N2J. The New Providence Amateur Radio Club, located in the Watchung Hills of North Jersey, is hosting an on-air Special Event in commemoration of its 60th Anniversary. 160-10 meters on all modes including digital. Exchange: Signal Report and State. A few N2J stations will be POTA. Contacts >>>> uploaded to LoTW. Commemorative QSL card sent via SASE on request >>>> and via the bureau for DX stations. QSL via NPARC New Providence ARC NPARC.org

05/17/2025 | W6SFM Bug Roundup

May 17-May 19, 0000Z-0000Z, W6SFM, Fair Oaks, CA. Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club. 3.533 7.033 14.033 28.033. QSL. Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club, 4901 Minnesota Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA 95628. The Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club (W6SFM), a Sacramento, California based CW enthusiast club wanted a special time to bring bug operators together on the air. In the same spirit as ARRL's Straight Key Night, participants are encouraged to make simple, conversational, "rag chew" QSO's using their bug type key. This is an opportunity to exercise, share and exhibit your personalized fist. Call "CQ BR" so folks know you are a Bug Roundup Participant. https://w6sfm.org/bug-roundup

05/18/2025 | National Maritime Day 2

May 18, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Annapolis, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award qrz.com/db/k3s

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Who's Zooming who?

The countdown clock says 352 days until W2LJ punches the timeclock from this job for the last time. I have decided that my retirement gift to myself will be to attend FDIM in 2026, if God is willing. I've already contacted Brian KB9BVN about meeting up with him there. I also let Rick NK9G know that I plan to be there.

I wanted to go this year, but the job precludes it. I did sign up to watch the proceedings on Zoom, and while I'm working the tablet is going. Currently, the topic is the T-41 transceiver. This stuff is lightyears above my paygrade. I am listening, knowing that I will never have the technical expertise to even follow what these guys are talking about, much less designing and building anything like this on my own.

I've always been and always will be a "Ham & Egger" Amateur Radio Operator.. I'm hoping there will be some presentations later on the day that will not be Greek to me. I kind of doubt it though. I'm nowhere near the league that most QRP'er and FDIM'ers are in.

They're taking questions on the T-41 and I don't even understand those! And after watching the morning session I have to say .........these guys are geniuses ........I'm an appliance operator. My purpose for attending FDIM in person would be for the social aspect of it - the chance to finally meet other QRP'ers face to face that I have only known via the airwaves.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Where is May going?

Last Sunday was Mother's Day! This weekend is FDIM and Hamvention! In two weekends it will be Memorial Day here in the US and you know what that means !!!!!!! The "unofficial beginning of Summer, and of course the QRP-ARCI Hoot Owl Sprint!

About a month ago we had the Spring QSO Party and we had almost double the entries that we had in 2024. Let's do the same for the Hoot Owl Sprint! In 2024 we had 9 logs submitted via the AutoLog. Surely we can do better than that! The Sprint is ONLY an hour long and it's way more fun when we can jam as many QSOs as we can into that hour.

All the details can be found here: https://www.qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint

I will be there, with my paddle bursting with dits and dahs. Hope you will be, too!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Cruddy conditions

When I checked into the St. Max Net last night on 40 Meters SSB, band conditions were abysmal. I could hardly hear anyone besides Net Control Station, Lloyd K3QNT. Hamclock informed me that the k Index was approaching 5 and we had had numerous flares throughout the day. Halfway through the net conditions had gotten better and I was hearing just about everyone.

Buoyed by that, I decided to give the 4SQRP Second Sunday Sprint a whirl. I only heard one very weak station around 14.060 MHz and could not make them out clearly. Conversations this morning in the io.group lead me to believe that was more than likely Mark WB9HFK, based on reports from other participants. I certainly couldn't make him out. I called "CQ 4S" for about 10 minutes or so with no takers. The RBN map for last night is way more impressive than reality. I was being heard, but was not being answered.  That happens some times.

Thinking that 40 Meters would be the better choice, I went back there. Wall to wall SST stations! I did not hear a single 4 States station. I sent an e-mail to the group this morning and found out that most of them hang out around 7.0122 MHz. Had I known that, I might have made a few QSOs. Better luck next month. What's that saying? "Forewarned is forearmed"?

This coming weekend is Hamvention. I am not going, as I had hoped, but next year, I should (no........WILL) be retired by then. A goal for 2026 - I desperately want to make a Four Days In May. I will be attending by Zoom this year, but it's not the same.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend of May 10th and 11th

Happy Mother's Day weekend here in the US to all the Mom's out there ........Hams or not!

Contests:

FISTS Saturday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints 

CQ-M International DX Contest -  https://cqm.srr.ru/en/rules/

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

Canadian Prairies QSO Party - https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/

Sunday night:

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

Wednesday and Thursday nights:

Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest - https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk20/

Note - You may hear an uptick in RTTY activity this weekend - VOLTA WW RTTY Contest

Special Events:

05/10/2025 | 129th Annual New Jersey State Knights of Columbus Convention

May 10-May 17, 0000Z-2359Z, NJ2KC, Bridgeton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club. 14.2500 28.4500 7.2500 21.3500. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Avenue, Bridgeton, NJ 08302. NJ2KC.org 

05/10/2025 | Armed Forces Day

May 10, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 14.320 7.250 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR on Papa System Repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

05/10/2025 | Golden Spike Special Event Station - W7G

May 10, 1500Z-2300Z, W7G, Corinne, UT. Ogden Amateur Radio Club (OARC) W7SU. 7.235 14.255 7.040 14.040. QSL. Ogden Amateur Radio Club (OARC) W7SU, PO Box 3353, Ogden, UT 84409. Commemorating the completion of the US transcontinental railroad at Promontory Point Utah by driving the final spike, a Golden Spike, in 1869. Refer to: http://w7g.org , http://ogdenarc.org w7g.org

05/10/2025 | Jamestown Special Event

May 10, 1400Z-2000Z, K4RC, Williamsburg, VA. Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club. 7.265 14.265. Certificate & QSL. QSL Manager, WAARC, P.O. Box 1470, Williamsburg, VA 23187. Commemorating the 418th anniversary of England establishing the oldest English-speaking colony on the American continent in May 1607. . For QSL send your QSL and SASE to QSL Manager, WAARC, PO Box 1470, Williamsburg, VA 23187. The Virginia Historic Triangle Certificate is available for working the Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown Special Event Stations. You don’t need to make these contacts in the same calendar year. For a Certificate send QSO info from the three stations to qslmgr@k4rc.net. https://www.k4rc.net/events/special-event-stations https://www.k4rc.net

05/10/2025 | National Police Appreciation Week

May 10-May 17, 0000Z-0000Z, N4P, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL. 14.325 MHz. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32646. Let's show some appreciation for the work our Police do for us!

05/10/2025 | NSS AFD Commemoration

May 10-May 11, 1400Z-0200Z, N3S, Annapolis, MD. SSARC & PVRC. 3.5. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for QRG. We may be on multiple bands. Please read out QRX page. qrz.com/db/n3s

05/10/2025 | PCARA's Silver Anniversary

May 10, 1500Z-2000Z, W2NYW, Yorktown Heights, NY. Peekskill/Cortlandt Amateur Radio Association. 7.245 14.245 21.245 28.445. Certificate & QSL. PCARA, PO Box 146, Crompond, NY 10517. Peekskill/Cortlandt Amateur Radio Association is celebrating 25 years since its date of incorporation in April 2000 with a Special Event Station in Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, Yorktown Heights, NY. Parks on the Air Number US-2056." pcara.org

05/11/2025 | National Police Week - Honoring Our Fallen Heros

May 11-May 18, 0001Z-2359Z, K3FBI/0-9, Fredericksburg, VA. FBI Amateur Radio Association. 14.275 14.050 7.250 7.030. Certificate. Jay Chamberlain, 27 Fox Run Ln, Fredericksburg, VA 22405-3303. To honor all Law Enforcement members who have died in the line of duty. All bands and all modes. Multiple stations from around the U.S. On May 11, K3FBI/9 will operate from the Little Bohemia Lodge, in Manitowish Waters, WI. This was the scene of the 1934 raid to capture John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson where FBI Special Agent W. Carter Baum was killed. Downloadable PDF certificate ONLY about end of June at QRZ, https://www.qrz.com/db/K3FBI. www.qrz.com/db/K3FBI

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Purely random, but still a surprise!

This image was forwarded to me by Dave KD2ZRF. He managed to check into QRZ.com at just the right time!

My QSL card on QRZ.com! Can I say I have hit the big time, now?

Thanks, Dave! I would have gone on blissfully unaware if it wasn't for you being on QRZ at just the right time.

Dave is a stalwart nightly check-in to Marv K2VHW's "Middlesex County Chat Group Net". I don't check in often enough, but enough that Dave recognized my call sign when he saw it. Dave is an "All-around Ham" who is active on HF/VHF/UHF. He has talked about his G90 and going on POTA activations. 

I'm sure the image of my QSL card was just a random pick by some computer algorithm, but it was nice to see, anyway.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The countdown begins

You may have noticed the countdown clock to the right. Yesterday marked the completion of my 68th trip around the Sun. I have made the decision that if "God is willing, and the creek don't rise" that my retirement will begin on my 69th birthday, next May 3rd. I've informed my supervisors at work, so that they have ample time to find a replacement. When I was on-boarded with this current contractor, it seemed to take forever, so i'm thinking even a year might not be enough at the speed with which they move. But that would be their problem, and not mine.

Yesterday, the South Plainfield Police Department DID hold their 2nd Annual Cops and Bobbers Fishing Derby t Spring Lake Park. Predictions fora rainy day did not come to fruition, and it turned out to be quite the opposite, with bright sunshine with temperatures making it into the 80s.

Our new CERT trailer made it's debut, as a large tackle box! It was loaded with rods and reels for kids to use who wanted to fish, but couldn't afford equipment. Marv K2VHW, Bill KC2PLO and myself were on CERT duty to direct parking cars and to keep a watchfull eye for any mishaps. Fortunately, there were no hooked ears, fingers, or faces, and no one fell into the water. In that way, we had a gratefully uneventful day.

We did have one surprise, though 

The United States Park Police made an appearance with two mounted officers. It turned out that one of the officers is a local resident and that he convinced two of his friends to come with him on their own time. They were indeed, a big hit with the kids and their parents. Everyone wanted to give the horses a friendly pat, and the horses didn't seem to mind at all 

This is not to disparage the officers, who were in full uniform. Dressed that way must make it a bit difficult to mount a horse, so they used a little step stool to do so. Of course, my brain immediately went to, "Marshall Dillon would never do that!" Just my warped sense of humor, I guess!

We wrapped up at Noon, when the tournament ended. I was pretty much wasted after getting up extra early and spending hours in the hot sun. I got the weekly grocery shopping done and just chilled for the rest of the day after that.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP -: When you care to send the very least!

The weekend May 3rd and 4th, 2025

Welcome to May! Where's the year going?

Contests - what you might be hearing (or participating in, if you're so inclined)

Digital contests - F9AA Cup, PSK

10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW - http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/activity/2013-07-22-20-26-48/qso-party-rules

RCC Cup - https://www.contest.ru/rcc-cup-rules/

ARI International DX Contest - https://www.ari.it/

7th Call Area QSO Party - http://7qp.org/

Indiana QSO Party - http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/rules.html

Delaware QSO Party - https://www.fsarc.org/

New England QSO Party - https://neqp.org/rules/

Monday night - ARS Spartan Sprint - http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html

Special Events:

05/03/2025 | 7QP

May 3-May 4, 1300Z-0700Z, K8TE/7, Holbrook, AZ. Albuquerque DX Association. 7.032 7.188 14.048 14.258. QSL. Bill Mader, 4701 Sombrerete Rd SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124. Apache & Navajo counties line (AZAPH/NVO) 7th Area QSO Party Expedition

05/03/2025 | Ozark Highlands Nature Center 5th Anniversary

May 3, 1400Z-2300Z, W5NX, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 7.225 14.250 21.300 28.450. QSL. Don Banta, 3407 Diana Street, Springdale, AR 72764. NOTE: Original date was April 19 - event postponed due to inclement weather. www.qrz.com/db/w5nx or https://bellavistaradioclub.org

05/03/2025 | Pedals for Paws

May 3, 0100Z-0700Z, W4LKZ, Gallatin, TN. Sumner County Amateur Radio Association. 14.275 14.325 21.325 28.425. Certificate. Sumner County Amateur Radio Association, P.O. Box 171, Gallatin, TN 37066. Peddles for Paws is a annual bike ride in Sumner County Tennessee in support of Sumner Spay and Neuter Alliance. sumnerradio@gmail.com or https://www.scara.net

Myself,  I have a CERT event either Saturday or Sunday morning, which ever day has the better weather. The South Plainfield Police Dept. is sponsoring its 2nd Annual "Cops & Bobbers" event, which is a fishing tournament for the youth of our Boro, held at Spring Lake Park - the same park from which we do Field Day. Our main duties will be to make sure cars park in an orderly fashion, as there will be major spill over from the Park's tiny parking lot. We will also be watching for anyone who might fall into the lake and need assistance. Fortunately that didn't happen last year, but the grass closest to the water is in soggy mud and it gets slippery.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Occupational Hazard

One of the things about writing a blog - you get a lot of "out of the blue" e-mails. I guess that's a consequence of becoming somewhat "known". I get e-mails offering me exciting ground level opportunities to engage in marketing or distributing radios or radio related electronics products. I also get e-mails with "exciting" new product developments. Generally, I just delete these e-mails, as they are not CW or QRP related, but every now and then one comes along that is rather interesting and catches my eye.

The other day, I received one such e-mail form VGC which is an electronics company in China (of course) informing me about a newer 50 Watt VHF/UHF mobile radio for under $200. Here's the link.

https://www.verotelecom.com/VERO-VR-N7500-50W-Dual-Band-Mobile-Radio-With-APP-Programming-p541441.html

I don't know if this is or ever will be FCC Type Accepted, or whether or not it's a piece of cr@p.  It's distributed here in the USA by GigaParts, so I guess it's somewhat reputable. But the one thing did intrigue me is that it is supposedly Bluetooth compatible and I guess that would allow you to program the frequencies via your smartphone, or a tablet.

I'm not in any way endorsing this product or advising anyone to buy it. Heck, for all I know, the app could be spyware. I certainly don't know if it's any good and I've never heard of this company before. The thing is that I've never heard of a radio that can be programmed via a Bluetooth compatible device before. Maybe one already exists and I'm so cooped up in my QRP CW bubble that I've never noticed it or heard of it before. Nevertheless, that's one innovation that I think would be cool to have.  Maybe the "Biggies" need to get on board with that concept.

I'm not that big into VHF/UHF, but especially in an EMCOMM situation - a radio that you could program frequencies into on the fly as needed, using your smartphone and not having to be hardwire tethered to a laptop? That would be neat!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Busy weekend

It's hard for me to believe it's Monday already! The weekend just flew by, at like SST supersonic speed! It almost feels like when I went to bed last night, it was Friday night.

As I mentioned earlier, even though QRPTTF was this Saturday, I was busily engaged elsewhere, with the 2025 Spring NJOEM CERT Workshop at the Middlesex County Fire Academy in Sayreville, NJ. I participated as a member of the Middlesex County AUXCOMM Team, not as a member of South Plainfield CERT.

There were over 200 CERT members attending from all over the state of New Jersey. I saw CERT shirts emblazoned with such organizations as Sussex County CERT, which is way up in northwest New Jersey and even Cape May CERT, which is down at the southern tip of New Jersey, a nd a lot of other places in between.

AUXCOMM was given two tasks. The first was to deploy, track and receive back the handheld radios that were used for the day, We were given 36 Tait TP9400 handhelds to disburse to each Team Lead as needed, as well as to the assorted Bureau Chiefs and VIPs. For that, we used an ICS-211e form and modified it for our needs. We recorded the radio identification number, the name of the person who it was deployed to, as well as their cell phone number. We also required the users to present a photo ID, which made recording names much easier, rather than asking them to spell their names. It was kind of loud at times, so recording names from their IDs made the task much easier. We also made notes when a radio was handed out without a speaker mic, or if we handed out a spare battery.

For the non-professional OEM people, we had to explain how to use the radio. When exactly to start talking after pressing the PTT button, how to change between talk groups if necessary, and that kind of thing.

Our other task was to log all pertinent communications on the comm channels. There were eight different talk groups altogether.  The various groups such as Logistics, Operations, Search and Rescue, County Animal Rescue Team, Medical, etc., had their own talk groups. We had to enlist several CERT members to help with the scribe duties. Marv K2VHW and I were assigned to log the Logistics talk group, in addition to taking care of radio disbursal.

It sounds like it was a lot to do; and it was, but it was not overwhelming. We couldn't log until the radios were handed out and we didn't need to log while the radios were being handed back at the end of the exercise, so the logging task filled in the downtime in between.

Receiving the radios back went rather smoothly. We just had to make sure the radios were turned off and put them back in their waterproof travelling cases - 12 radios and spare batteries to a case. Towards the end, as I was receiving back the handhelds that I was responsible for, one of the higher-ups decided to test me. He asked me which radio he had been issued before handing it back to me. I guess he wanted to see how thorough our record keeping was. I asked him what his name was, looked it up on my sheet and gave him the radio ID number. He seemed to be kind of surprised when I was able to give him the correct information. Taking care of inventorying 36 handheld radios is nothing compared to keeping track of all the laptops, desktops and other equipment under my charge here at work.  I could have done Saturday with one eye closed!

One thing about our detail that was very nice was that we were indoors at the Fire Academy for the entire workshop. Around 11:30 AM or so, it started pouring. Hard enough that we were able to hear the rain pelting the roof and a window a hundred or so feet away from our radio table. The Fire Academy is a HUGE building and in the gazillion times that I have been there, I have never heard the rain hitting the roof before. Some of the volunteers who came in for lunch between assignments were soaked. It was good to be where it was nice and dry.

Yesterday was spent recuperating from Saturday. Marianne and I went and did the grocery shopping after Mass, I did NOT have enough energy to get it done Saturday evening.  I haven't seen any chatter on the e-mail reflectors mentioning QRPTTF. I wonder how participation was,

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy Morse Code Day!

 

Generated by AI

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least !

The weekend of April 26th and 27th.

 As I posted two entries down - there is a QRPTTF re-do this weekend. However, for W2LJ, I will be involved all day in a mock earthquake drill as part of Middlesex County Emergency Management AUXCOMM, so I will not be able to participate. Besides that, the weather for tomorrow calls for an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms, so I would not be setting up in the field, even if I were not otherwise engaged.

Contests:

You may hear a lot of digital in the upper portion of the bands because of the 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital, the SP DX RTTY Contest, and the BARTG Sprint 75.

QRP To The Field - http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

UK/EI DX Contest, CW - https://www.ukeicc.com/dx-contest-rules.php

Helvetia Contest - https://uska.ch/en/events/uska-helvetia-contest-h26/#

Florida QSO Party - http://floridaqsoparty.org/rules/

UA1DZ Memorial Cup - http://ua1dz.ru/articles.php?article_id=79

Monday

QCX Challenge: 1300Z-1400Z, Apr 28 - http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html

QCX Challenge: 0300Z-0400Z, Apr 29 - Same rules as above

Special Event Stations:

04/26/2025 | DXpedition to St.George Island

Apr 26-May 6, 0000Z-2359Z, K4D, St. George Island, FL. K5TEN . 7.027.5 14.027.5 21.280 28.310. QSL. Bruce Brady K5TEN , 208 Mt Tabor Road, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71913. IOTA DXpedition to St. George Island NA-085. FL007S. Operation 40-6m CW&SSB. QSL to K5TEN SASE required. Logs also uploaded to LOTW. Call sign K4D. Grid EL79. k5ten@aol.com

04/26/2025 | International Marconi Day - Official Station

Apr 26, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Port of Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award qrz.com/db/k3s

04/26/2025 | Marconi Day Event

Apr 26, 1300Z-2030Z, W2GSB, Babylon, NY. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB . 28.340 21.250 14.246 7.245. Certificate. W2GSB GSBAC, PO Box 1356, Babylon, NY 11704. Operating from the Babylon Village Historical Society Museum for Marconi Day, which was the home of the Marconi School for radio operators 3 stations using CW SSB FT8 WWW.GSBARC.ORG

04/26/2025 | Number One Dawgs

Apr 26-Apr 27, 1200Z-1200Z, N1D, Athens, GA. Athens Radio Club. 3.930 7.230 14.330 28.430. Certificate. Athens Radio Club KD4QHB, PO Box 782, Athens, GA 30603. The Athens Radio Club is hosting a special event station from the University of Georgia campus on April 26-27, 2025 from 12:00 noon Saurday to 12:00 noon Sunday. If you're a Bulldog fan, or if you're not, give us a call! athensradioclub.org Join us in our celebration of Ham Radio support of the Number One Dawgs. This year we will be operating from between the Tate Student Center and the UGA Bookstore, in the shadow of Sanford Stadium. We will be celebrating 45 years of the club operating as First Aid Dawgs providing communications "between the hedges". https://athensradioclub.org/n1d

04/27/2025 | Northwest Arkansas Train Mobile

Apr 27, 1400Z-2200Z, N5T, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 14.040 14.260 7.040 7.260. QSL. Don Banta, 3407 Diana Street, Springdale, AR 72764. www.qrz.com/db/N5T or https://bellavistaradioclub.org

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!