The weekend of August 2nd and 3rd

 Good bye July, we hardly knew ye! It's August already? My, how time flies.

Yesterday's weather turned out not to be not as bad as predicted for my area. From what I understand, this time the Jersey shore and the boros of NYC bore the biggest brunt of flooding. I'll have to admit that it was disconcerting to be sitting at the computer here at work, taking care of business, only to hear my cell phone erupt with a siren and the words "Tornado Warning". Not a watch - a warning as the NWS radar saw a severe thunderstorm around home begin to show evidence of rotation. 

Marianne, who was working just a couple miles down the road in Plainfield said she never saw such frequent and crazy lightning before. I was here in Hunterdon County, two counties over, tuning into my Ring doorbell on my phone. The fact that it turned on meant the house was still standing and that we had power. The picture showed that the tree in our front yard was showing no evidence of severe wind, so that was somewhat of a relief. 

They actually permitted us to leave about an hour early, as the severe weather was supposed to last until somewhere between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Traffic was heavy due to everyone travelling slowly, due to the weather, but this time I did not encounter any flooded roadways on the way home. 

It was spritzing on the way into work today, and it's supposed to be showery all day today. but starting tomorrow and lasting into next weekend, we're supposed to get pleasant weather with temperatures only in the 80s. A little bit cool for August. I'll take it.

Here's what you might hear on the CW portions of the HF bands this weekend:

Contests:

European HF Championship - https://euhf.s5cc.eu/euhfc_rules/

North American QSO Party, CW - https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

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

Special Events:

08/02/2025 | Alcatraz

Aug 2, 0130Z-0830Z, W6P, Vacaville, CA. Vacaville Amateur Radio Club (W6VVR). 7.200 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.500 MHz. QSL. Art Aronsen, 7319 June Bug Lane, Vacaville, CA 95688. There will be 3 stations on Alcatraz Island during times stated. All stations will be on SSB on battery. w6vvr.net

08/02/2025 | KDKA Shortwave Network Centennial

Aug 2, 1200Z-2000Z, KD3KA, Wexford, PA. Allegheny Valley Radio Association. 7.040 7.240 14.040 14.240. QSL. AVRA, P.O. Box 24, Wexford, PA 15090. AVRA & Skyview Radio Society will commemorate the centennial of Westinghouse station KFKX in Hastings, Nebraska. In 1925, following Frank Conrad 8XK's successful shortwave experimentation and the establishment of the Hill Station, KFKX was networked via shortwave with KDKA in Pittsburgh to achieve nationwide KDKA broadcasting. https://www.qrz.com/db/kd3ka

08/03/2025 | Jackson County Fair, Jackson Mi, Ham Radio demo

Aug 3-Aug 9, 1600Z-2200Z, W8J, Jackson, MI. Cascade Amateur Radio Society (CARS). 7.225 14.250. QSL. CARS - W8JXN, P.O. Box 512, Jackson, MI 49201-0512. w8jxn.org

This Sunday marks two weeks before the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt! You can still get a number to participate as a Skeeter - right up until the day before - but why wait? We are up t0 168 Skeeters signed up, representing some 46 different states and provinces.

https://www.qsl.net/w2lj

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!