Saturday, December 07, 2024
Skeeter Hunt Poker 2025
Friday, December 06, 2024
Weekend of Dec. 7th and 8th
Hey, Santa! Is that RTTY or FT8? |
Thursday, December 05, 2024
Well, actually ......
My son Joseph asked me the other day, "What do you want for Christmas, any Amateur Radio stuff?"
I responded in the negative, because off the top of my head, I couldn't think of anything. But actually ....
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
Rough Night
Listening to the Middlesex County Chat Group Net last night, the participants were told that our friend who was in distress on Sunday night, did indeed experience a stroke. He is in the hospital in ICU and is comfortable and is doing OK. The prognosis for long term effects, if any, is not known at this time. Hopefully, the quick action taken by net members will mitigate any long term lasting effects.
The 40 Meter Fox Hunt last night was a toughie. The two Foxes were Earl N8SS in Michigan and Don NK6A in California. I thought NJ to MI would be rather easy and NJ to CA almost impossible on 40 Meters. Again, as so often, I was proven wrong.
I did find Earl's pack baying rather quickly, but I could barely pull his signal out as there was a rather loud rag chew taking place almost on top of him. Hoping that would end some time soon, I decided to go looking for Don.
Again, I found the pack (with a little more effort than it took to find Earl's pack) and started listening about 1 kHz down. I could just make Don out, but with a judicious narrowing of the KX3's filters and turning on the Auto Peak Frequency option, I was able to hear Don more clearly. But then, wouldn't you know it? A CQ'er came on frequency! I didn't pay attention to his call sign, but his signal had more chirp on it than a canary in a bird cage!
I was not about to listen to that for too long, so I went back down to try and work Earl. The rag chewers disappeared and I was able to hear Earl. I didn't need the APF feature, but I did keep the filtering tight and finally logged him at 02:33 UTC.
Back up the dial to find Don NK6A again. This time Ol' Chirpie was gone and with the same filtering and the APF turned on again, I nabbed Don's pelt at 03:01 UTC. I listened for a bit longer to let the energy of the Hunt drain away a bit before hitting the sack.
Once again, my predictions were thwarted. I did work Earl, but it took a lot more effort than I thought it would, and I did work Don, which I thought was going to be impossible. I guess if one has to be wrong, at least this was not a bad way to be wrong.
Before heading upstairs to bed, I broke out my phone, got onto the RBN site and took a look at where Earl and Don were being heard. As you can see, even though conditions may have been less than ideal for the Foxes, the skimmers seem to indicate they were being heard well.
Earl N8SS's map |
Don NK6A's map |
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Monday, December 02, 2024
Ham Radio to the rescue?
Kind of, sort of, I guess.
Last night, during Marv K2VHW's nightly Middlesex County Chat Group Net, we had a regular check-in come on, who was speaking gibberish. The problem is, this particular person is a bit of a jokester and it might not be unusual for him to do something like this for a laugh. But as time wore on and he continued, it became apparent something was wrong, and that this was NOT a joke!
One of the other check-ins broke in and asked for the address of the Ham in distress. I quickly accessed QRZ and relayed the information. Then that person called the police department for that town, explained that he was an Amateur Radio operator and described what was happening and requested "A Health and Welfare Visit".
Marv K2VHW suspended the net while we all waited for further developments. The Ham in distress eventually came on the air and sounded a bit better, but we could tell that all was still not quite right.. Finally, someone, probably one of the Law Enforcement Officers, or perhaps an EMS person picked up the radio and just briefly said, "He's going to the hospital, boys."
It was then that we were able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that our friend was in good hands. But it was a stark reminder knowing that had it not been for this nightly net, the outcome could have been much darker. This Ham lives alone and was obviously not aware of his own circumstance and was not even aware that he needed help.
Hopefully, tonight, or on one of the next few nights, our friend will be back on the air with us and we'll be told what exactly happened. If you've ever watched that 1939 Pete Smith short "Radio Hams:", this incident reminded me of the one with the cinematographer in Alaska.
In the meantime, Thank You, Lord, for Amateur Radio!
This all came after a CERT activity that Marv and I were involved in. South Plainfield had it's annual Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony yesterday. The festivities started at 5:30 PM and was it ever cold! I had a long sleeved Tee shirt on underneath a thermal shirt underneath a sweatshirt with a windbreaker type jacket on top of those layers and then a final layer, my CERT Vest to top off all! I had gloves and earmuffs on to keep my extremities warm.
Our duty was to keep pedestrians safe while crossing the streets as the activities for the night were staged at Boro Hall, which is on one of the busiest streets in town. While traffic was closed for a while, we still had to stand at the places where traffic was diverted to keep pedestrians safe and traffic moving in the right direction.
When I got home around 7:00 PM, my weather station was reporting a temperature of 29F (-2C), and there was a breeze to make it feel even chillier! Being dressed properly, I was mostly comfortable except for my hands and toes. I should have worn heavier socks and my CERT issued gloves are really work gloves and not intended so much for warmth, but they were better than nothing on my hands. I'll be more completely prepared next time - live and learn.
72 de Larry W2L:J
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Friday, November 29, 2024
Weekend of Nov. 30th & Dec.1st
Cara mashing the potatoes. |
Just a reminder what the day is all about! |
The oven didn't fritz out on us and the turkey came out great! |
Good food, good family, good times!~ |
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Thanksgiving Day 2024
There's so much to be thankful for! And as I state every year, I'm so thankful for all of you out there who read this blog and share with me the journey that we call Amateur Radio.
When I was knee high to a grasshopper, one of the things my Grandfather (my Mom's Dad) told me; and that I'll never forget, is to "have something that you're passionate about in life." He always believed it was good to have a diversion in your life that afforded an escape from the worries, the cares and problems that life always seems to never run out of, and can wear you down.
For the past 45 years, Amateur Radio has been a fun and enjoyable escape. For the past 19 years, this blog has offered me a way to be connected to the hobby, even when I'm not able to be on the air. So I thank you all for providing me with that gift.
From the Makoski household to yours - a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. May you enjoy good food, good company and a good day filled with love and happy memories!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
When I was a school kid
there were a couple of things I always dragged around. One was the current issue of Sky & Telescope. The other was either an ARRL Novice License Manual or a copy of QST, when I could get my hands on one. I know ....weird kid, right? But those two ARRL publications played a big part in drawing me into the hobby. Both were an odd size back then. They were bigger than TV Guide, but yet smaller than a regular magazine like Sky & Telescope. And the best thing inside them, IMHO, were the cartoons by Phil Gildersleeve. I had a few issues and spent many hours looking at these cartoons thinking that some day, "I want to be part of this!".
However, the ARRL did publish a book a few years back with a collection of Phil's work. I think it's still available. I have a copy down in the shack that I like to go through and peruse the images. It has become well worn.
Monday, November 25, 2024
Goofing around a little more
and being reminded of something very important.
Marianne, my wife, is a dialysis nurse. Since this is Thanksgiving week, they move the patients up a day, so the Thursday patients don't miss a day, without causing undue overcrowding on the day after. So she had to work both days this weekend, and that left Joseph and me to get the house ready for guests on Thanksgiving day.
However, in between chores and errands, i did manage to find some minutes to get on the air in the big contest this past weekend. Not to compete in any sense of the word, but more like the post title insists - just goofing around a little bit.
Between two sessions, one on Saturday and one yesterday, I made 28 contacts. Woo Hoo! The "Big Guns" probably made more than that in their first half hour of the contest. No big deal by any means, but still it was a very important reminder to myself.
And that reminder, that lesson is ......... don't listen to the world.
The world will tell you that QRP doesn't work The world will tell you that to work DX you need a Yagi and a 50 foot tower and a kilowatt. The world will tell you that simple wire antennas and verticals are useless for anything other than local QSOs. The world will tell you that "Life is too short for QRP." The world will tell you "the other station" does all the heavy lifting, and that your skill and persistence count for nothing. The world will tell you that low power equals weak signals.
Don't listen to the world. The world lies.
And sometimes, even I need to be reminded of that.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Goofing around
Went down to the shack after dinner last night, just for a few minutes. No serious operating, just going through the bands and cherry picking a handful stations to work before turning in for the night. No rhyme or reason, just foolin' around.
It constantly amazes me, all these 45 years of being a Ham - how that little skinny wire that I have hanging above my back yard can send my 5 Watt signal all over the world. Where it would take me hours to fly to in a commercial jetliner, my RF gets me there and back in the blink of an eye. It truly remains magical - and too often taken for granted.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Chat gpt
Friday, November 22, 2024
Weekend of Nov. 23rd and 24th
Not much going on, indeed! Perhaps everyone's getting ready for NEXT weekend's big CQ WW DX contest?
There's only one this weekend:
LZ DX Contest - http://lzdx.bfra.org/rulesen.html
EDIT: It was pointed out to me by Jeff KE9V (Thanks, Jeff!) that CQ WW DX does occur THIS weekend. I guess I was fooled by this on the WA7BNM Contest Calendar:
Which Bruce had posted on the Perpetual Calendar. BTW, rules are at https://www.cqww.com/rules.htm
And when I opened the link, I saw this:
And there are no Special Event stations on the ARRL calendar for this weekend. (And NOW that makes sense! Although, it still kind of doesn't as most Special Event stations are SSB, anyway) Is everyone in the USA too busy getting ready for Thanksgiving? Maybe so. So there's not much to report on as far as action on the bands this weekend, but you can bet your bottom dollar there will be plenty of POTA and SOTA activity, as always. (DON'T bet your bottom dollar, at least not in the CW portions.)
Oh, this is NOT a good way to start off on a Friday!
Last night was the 80 Meter QRP Fox Hunt. I had a long day at work and was debating whether to head down to the shack, or upstairs to bed. Curiosity got the better of me and I headed to the shack. I was curious because the two Foxes were Tim KR0U in CO and Randy NC4RT in NC. I worked both of them last week during my stint as the 80 Meter Fox, so I thought I'd stand a good chance of repeating this week.
Randy was easy. He was 579 and I didn't have to listen for his Hounds to find him. I found him right off the bat, tuned VFO B about 1 kHz up and worked him on my first try. When I looked at his Fox log this morning, I saw that I was the second Hound to nab his pelt! I'm not sure I've ever been that quick at working a Fox before.
Tim - he was only 339 when I worked him last week and he was 009 (if there is such a thing) last night. I found his Hounds and this time tuned about 1 kHz down, and heard nothing. I was going to just sit in the chair for a while hoping propagation would change and that Tim would become audible. Then at 9:30 PM (02:30 UTC) 3RN, the 3rd Call District Area Net came on frequency, blasting away, and that was it for me. I shut everything down and headed off to sleep.
When I had a spare moment this morning, I looked at Tim's Fox Log and QSOs to the Northeast were sparse.
From the K4OAQ live logging map, you can see that Tim got into the Virginia area and had one Upstate New York QSO, but nothing towards the NYC Metropolitan area.
And this is Tim's Reverse Beacon Network Map from last night, which I just looked up.
And RBN is reporting that Tim sat on 3.5574 MHz, so I was not too far off. I was listening primarily at about 3.5569 MHz, but I was carefully tuning both up and down a bit, so if Tim was audible at all, I certainly should have heard him.
Since next week is Thanksgiving week, there are no "regular" 40 or 80 Meter Fox Hunts. Those two nights have a 160 Meter "Foxtravaganza" scheduled, which is basically a free-for-all. All Foxes and alternates can get on 160 Meters to call "CQ Fox" to see who they can hear and work. It's tempting to get on to see how the MFJ-1982 might work on 160 Meters. I'm not sure if I can even get a match. I know the HF9V will work on 160 Meters, because I've done it before.
I will tell you one thing of which I am certain right now. Come 9:00 PM on Thursday, Thanksgiving night, W2LJ will be sawing wood. That's guaranteed after a big day of cooking and having family over.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Rain!
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
WA1NPO
One of, or perhaps the very first Special Event Station that I worked, after I upgraded to General, was put on the air by the Whitman ARC in Whitman, MA. For several years they put WA1NPO on the air to commemorate the Plymouth Plantation around Thanksgiving. When you sent in your QSL card, you received a nice certificate. I still have the two that I earned for working them a couple of years.
Sadly, they don't do that anymore. I checked the ARRL Special Event Station calendar and there are NO Special Event Stations on the air this weekend. I widened the date from today until December 1st and there are NO Thanksgiving Special Event Stations to be found, anywhere. THAT surprised me. With all the rich history in New England, I would have thought that some club would do something special for Thanksgiving.
I went to the Whitman ARC Webpage and there's no mention of them having done a Thanksgiving Special Event in the past. You'd think they'd want to include that in club history, but I guess not.
When I was with the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club, we were "into" Special Event Stations. We did them for Hallowe'en, we put the Edison Memorial Tower on the air as a Special Event Station, and every year we commemorated the Voice Of America transmitter that was once located in Piscataway, using the club call sign K2VOA.
The South Plainfield ARC has only done one that I can recall. We put NJ2SP on the air to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the establishing of our Boro. The banner that I had made for that still hangs in our meeting room.
When I was with the Raritan Bay Radio Amateurs, we put W2CG (borrowed) on the air for an entire weekend to celebrate the birthday of the Coast Guard. We were granted permission to operate from the Coast Guard station located at Sandy Hook. Our station was in an all purpose room, we were allowed to eat in the Mess Hall, and we were given places to sleep (if we wanted) in the Officer's Quarters. That was a weekend I'll always treasure.
I have always thought about putting the Middlebrook Encampment on the air for Flag Day. The encampment is located on Bridgewater, which is not far from South Plainfield. This is the place where the 13 Star Flag was first flown for the Continental Army. The encampment was granted permission by Congress to be the only place in the US where the 13 Star Flag could be flown continuously, 24/365.
The only problem is that Flag Day is sooooooo close to Field Day weekend and the W2QW Hamfest Saturday. I might have to do it by myself one of these years, as I think it might be a tough road to hoe to recruit volunteer operators.
Special Event Stations can be tedious to organize, put on the air, and then deal with the QSL aftermath. But I guarantee that when the station is actually on the air, making contacts, the club members will not only enjoy themselves, but will have something to talk about in years to come.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
What a difference
a week makes!
I'm talking of propagation and the 40 Meter Fox Hunt which occurred last night. I was tired after a long day at work, and I wasn't going to ...........but then my Polish stubbornness licked and I headed downstairs at about 8:45 PM.
I turned on HamClock (I don't like to leave computers plugged in and running while I'm not home) and I saw that Dave AB9CA was spotted in the POTA box, so I tuned to the frequency and was able to hear him at about 449-559. He was in Oklahoma and after a few tries I was able to grant him a QSO towards his activation.
Was that a portent of things to come? Sort of.
When the clock struck 0200 UTC, I was able to find Jim N0UR rather easily. I didn't even have to look for his pack of baying Hounds, He was in the clear and the Minnesota to New Jersey pipeline was in full function and I worked him at 0206 UTC. I went back and worked him a second time closer to 0300 UTC because for some reason, I wasn't showing up on the live QSO map that some of the Foxes use. A look at his log this morning confirmed the 0206 UTC QSO and he deleted the dupe. Sorry for that, Jim!
Randy NC4RT was a whole different story. I worked him last week when I was the Fox and he was the Hound, so I expected that would hold true last night. You know what they say about making assumptions.
I found the chasing Hounds easily enough at about 7.0325 MHz and tuned down 1 kHz, where I expected Randy to be. Nothing. I think I may have heard a whisper of him once, but that was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. What didn't help at all was a slow speed QRO rag chew taking place right on the frequency! I thought I might stand a chance when the rag chew was over, but the one station started calling CQ again, so I just gave up a little bit after 0300 UTC. I was beat and tired and I didn't think propagation was going to improve enough in the last 25 minutes to make it worth my while. BUT, before I left the shack, I did fire up RBN to see where Randy had planted himself and I was right! He was being spotted at 7.0315 MHz, just where I thought he'd be. I just couldn't hear him at all .......... and just last week he had a decent signal into NJ on 40 Meters. Go figure.
I've said this so many times that it shouldn't surprise me. When you think you have this whole propagation thing figured out? Think again!
On another subject - I removed the little globe -visitor map widget from the right side of the page. They hadn't renewed their security certificate and Google Chrome (which I use) won't display it, so rather than leave a hole, I deleted it. When I get some time, I'll look for an alternative.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Monday, November 18, 2024
Epiphany
I was actually able to hear 90% of the St. Max Net participants last night on 40 Meters without a struggle. The short wave broadcast station heterodyne was absent on 7.241 MHz, making listening a non-effort.
My hearing loss is attributable to my days as a photographer. Back in 1979 I worked for a summer as a photographer for the Public Relations Dept. at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. One of my tasks was to photograph all of the Friday night concerts. Typically, I photographed from the left side of the stage, exposing my right ear to the full volume of the speakers. I would drive home with that ear ringing. Hearing protection was not even coming into vogue back then. It was only a couple years later that it was brought to the attention of the public as a health concern.
About a year ago, I went for a hearing evaluation at a local office of Miracle Ear. They determined that the hearing loss out of my left ear is "moderate", but the right ear is "severe". They were able to hook me up with a pair of prescription hearing aids that worked very well, but at $4K, I had to say "No thanks." for now.
I'll make due for the meantime.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!