Oooops!

 So I posted the 2025 Skeeter Hunt results yesterday, and it appears I made a few omissions. A couple of folks sent in summaries and I forgot to include them. 

All I can say is "Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa!"

And I am sorry and will make the proper corrections as soon as I can. It just goes to shoow that I'm no Excel genius. I appreciate your patience and graciousness!

I also received a few e-mails from a couple of folks letting me know they had a good time in the Hunt. That warms my heart, as that is my sole reason for managing the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt. It's about giving my fellow QRP'ers a chance to have a good time. If they enjoy it, then as the saying goes, "my work here is done."

Yesterday was a busy day as we had CERT activity at South Plainfield's Annual Labor Day Parade in the morning and then fireworks at night. When I got home at 9:30 last night after the fireworks, "my dogs were barking"! It was so nice to get a chance to get off of my feet. It seems the hardest part of growing older is finding out that things that used to be so easy and done without a second thought, aren't quite so easy anymore.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP -When you care to send the very least!

NNO 2025

Last night was National Night Out. This event is held by Police Departments throughout the country every first Tuesday evening in August. It was inaugurated for the purpose of fostering good relations between local Police Departments and their served communities. The people of South Plainfield in general have a very warm and cordial relationship with our officers. But a few freebies each year never hurt ...... right?

There were plenty of local businesses manning booths, giving away items, and promoting their wares. Our CERT members manned to OEM booth and we gave away small things for the kiddos, like vials of bubble soap, coloring books, mini Etch-A-Sketches and stuff like that. For the adults we had information on emergency preparedness and I brought lots of ARRL informational handouts about Amateur Radio.  I also purchased a pack of ARRL pens and they disappeared quicker than you could say "Jack Robertson"!. As an added bonus, the International Space Station made a pass at almost 90 degrees and Marv was able to play the audio from his HT.  People were astounded that they were listening to Hams orbiting the Earth,

Attendance was noticeably larger than the last time we did NNO two years ago. Last year NNO was postponed due to rain and then the make up date got rained out as well! The event was supposed to las from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, but according to Marv K2VHW the line for free burgers was still "a mile long" at 8:00 PM!

The photos aren't the best quality. If they look hazy that's because we've been inundated with smoke particulates in the air from the wildfires in Canada. As a result, the contrast is very poor.

One of our members Harry KC2PGX is also a Scout Master. He was looking for help last night as one of his Scouts is trying to earn his Merit Badge in Amateur Radio. There are two requirements - the Scout has to participate in a QSO lasting at least 10 minutes and the Scout needs to visit a licensed Ham's shack. I suggested to Harry that he should check into Marv's Middlesex County Chatgroup Net one evening along with his Scout.  Once the guys hear that they have a guest trying to earn a Merit Badge, 10 minutes worth of conversation would be the last of his worries. As far ad the Ham Shack visit goes - I offered to make my humble shack available - as long as they didn't mind "the mess that it is'!

All in all, it was a successful event. It didn't rain this year and National Night Out went off without a hitch to maybe a record setting crowd.

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!

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!

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!

What is it about barricades?

Yesterday, the ARES/RACES members of the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club (AB2ZK, K2VHW, KC2PLO, KC2PGX, KD2YYQ, W2LJ) held our SET, which coincided with a South Plainfield Volunteer Fire Department Drill. We were "activated" by the South Plainfield Office of Emergency Management to set up an On Site Command Post, provide security for that Command Post and to also assist with traffic and pedestrian control, as well as provide back up communications in the event that unforeseen circumstances developed.

The scenario involved the SPVFD having to put out a blaze at a propane sales and storage facility in town. While there was not an actual fire, the organizers of the event placed some dry ice in water in various places, to create the illusion of a smoky blaze. There were actors on scene to simulate wounded employees and even a belligerent employee who refused to evacuate. 

On Site Command Post (photo courtesy of SPVFD)

SPVFD Pumper

SPVFD member doing his thing (photo courtesy of SPVFD)

CERT members on traffic control duty (photo courtesy of SPVFD)

Yours truly, for a moment taking his eyes off the cars that want to cream him. (photo courtesy of Marv K2VHW)

Marv K2VHW as our CERT trailer arrives on scene

I was on duty with Marv K2VHW and our assignment was to signal to drivers that they could not drive down South Clinton Avenue - where the drill was taking place. As you can see from the photos, there were plenty of barricades, but that did not stop umpteen drivers trying to make the turn onto the street where all this was going down.

What is it about barricades? What is it that seems to signal to drivers, "OK, I get it, the road is closed .......but certainly you don't mean that it's closed to me !?!?!?!?!?!" After a while, it actually got kind of comical. But there were enough drivers trying to go where they couldn't to keep Marv and I busy for the four hours that the drill lasted. 99% of the people were cooperative, but there were a couple of times we had to call upon the South Plainfield Police Dept. officer on duty so that he could more adamantly explain things. That blue uniform (and gun) always seems to carry more weight than citizen volunteers explaining things.

For communications we had the County OEM repeater available for our use as the Middlesex County Hazmat Team was also invited to take part in the drill, However, since the County EOC was not activated, we didn't need to make use of the frequency. We were cleared by the South Plainfield OEM to use the Department of Public Works frequency, as we are able to program that into our HTs and the Police and Fire Depts have that frequency in their radios. The area of the drill was so confined that simplex communications were more than enough to handle the situation.

So as I stated in the opening of this post, in essence, we got a "two-fer" with the drill. We helped the Emergency Services Departments of South Plainfield and this also nicely doubled as our yearly Simulated Emergency Test. Better and more realistic than any of the simulated table top exercises that we've held in past years.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend mish-mash

This weekend saw a mix of various Amateur Radio activities. Getting on HF was not predominant, although I did get on Sunday morning for a bit and worked a few POTA activations. Brave souls, those activators, because all weekend long, the Space Weather Live app was VERY active. It seemed like every time I turned around I was getting a notification of a new solar flare or a "minor" radio blackout. On Facebook, more than one activator commented about the crummy band conditions and the noticeably fewer stations that they were able to log.

Saturday morning saw our monthly VE Session. We had two candidates, one of whom upgraded to Amateur Extra. Our other candidate got his Technician class license and missed becoming a General by only three wrong answers. He got 12 wrong and you're allowed up to 9. So close! The bright side is that he saw the exam, he has an idea now of what's on it and he should have a good idea where he's comfortable with his knowledge and where he needs to study more. I predict he'll be a General class Ham within a month or two.

On Sunday morning, I made the additional "modification" to my drive on mast holder. The lid hinges that I ordered through Amazon were delivered on Thursday. They did the trick to a "T" - or maybe I should say to an "L". HI!

The hinges lock in and brace the two boards at a 90 degree angle, just as I need them to. In fact, this configuration is so stable that in a pinch, any heavy weight will suffice, such as a heavy rock, or a cinder block, or a sand bag or something like that  It's an ideal drive on mast holder, and while a vehicle is certainly preferred, it's not absolutely necessary. Conceivably, with a heavy enough weight, I could use this in the field on Field Day would no longer have to mess with the PVC holder that uses the tent pegs and CamJams. That would be a time saver! The only prerequisite is that I'd have to find a location flat enough to place this on so that it's not leaning in any one direction too much.

BTW, before you ask, the 4 holes in the horizontal board are there to give the protruding U-Bolt threads and the nuts the space they need so that when collapsed, this contraption can lay totally flat and not wedged.

Other than that, the weekend was occupied with the normal weekend chores and duties. Hope you had a good weekend and I'm looking forward to the Skeeter Hunt next Sunday! 

Tonight we have a CERT training session with the NorthStar helicopter. NorthStar is the helicopter owned and utilized by the NJ State Police for the northern half of New Jersey. (SouthStar covers the southern half of the state). It is used primarily for transporting medivac patients to wherever they need to go depending on the circumstances and extent of their injuries. The session tonight will certify that we've been properly trained on procedures and safety requirements, so that we can approach the helicopter and assist with loading and unloading victims should it ever become =necessary.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The heat

Yesterday was a CERT day. Like those bumblebee shirts? I should wear it NEXT Sunday! Hi!

From left to right, Bill Meixner KC2PLO, Sharon Padula (non-Ham), Marv Bornstein K2VHW, W2LJ, Captain Wendell Born, our OEM Director - photo courtesy of Councilwoman Christine Faustini

As I had mentioned earlier, the South Plainfield Business Association put on their annual "Christmas in July" celebration.  Santa was there for the kids, but it's mostly an opportunity for businesses, mostly local small businesses to display and offer their wares and to increase their visibility within the community. As CERT members, we were there to hand out literature about hurricane preparedness, flooding preparedness and to possibly. recruit more CERT members. 

The event ran from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM in order to beat the peak "hot hours" of the day, but it was still pretty hot. I took out my cellphone around 4:30 to check and see what the temperature was at my weather station located about a mile away, and I was seeing a reading of 93 F (34 C). Captain Born is one smart cookie, though. He set up a fan/mister combo right in front of our canopy which insured many stoppers by. I only wish he had pointed the thing inward instead of outward!

Marv and I both made a mental note to make sure we ask him if we can borrow that for next year's Field Day effort. But sitting there in the heat made me think about next Sunday's 90 F (and possibly higher) temps for FOBB. I'm not going to have the advantage of having that mister at Cotton Street Park. And even though it's pretty shady there, if there's no breeze and the air is still, it can get downright uncomfortable.

So once again, I whipped out the cell phone and ordered one of these portable neck fans.

It was only $12 on eBay and should be at my house either Friday or Saturday in time for next Sunday's event. When I was a kid, the extreme heat or cold didn't bother me so much. I grew up in a house with no air conditioning, and it was only later at my time at home that my parents put window air conditioners in a couple of rooms.  As one grows older, let's just say we grow more appreciative of the more temperate range of climes. I doubt I could live in a house without A/C again.

Earlier in the day, before I left for the CERT event, I spent some time down in the shack and worked four POTA stations. Signals on 20 Meters were really down and in the mud. The only signal louder than 559 was K8ARE at US-4239 in Ohio. He was 599, everyone else I worked was either 559 or even fainter. I hope propagation is better next Sunday, and again on August 18th!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend

What with Field Day, the W2QW Hamfest and Lake George taking up the past four weekends, I can get back to posting the weekend goings on:

Contests:

LABRE DX Contest - https://www.labre.org.br/contest/en/regulamento/

IARU Region 1 70 MHz Contest - https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Rules-2021.pdf

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

CQ Worldwide VHF Contest - https://www.cqww-vhf.com/

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

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

Special Events:

Hmmmmmmmm ...... nothing for the Anniversary of Apollo 11? This Saturday marks the 55th Anniversary of the first Moon landing.

07/20/2024 | Nuclear Ship Savannah Launch Anniversary

Jul 20, 1300Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7.1 14.1 21.1 28.1. QSL. K3LU, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Single transmitter SSB and CW aboard N/S Savannah. Please check spotting networks for frequencies. Info on QRZ.com www.qrz.com/db/k3s

07/20/2024 | RAGBRAI 51

Jul 20-Jul 27, 0000Z-2359Z, W0R, Durham, NC. AF4ZE. 14.074 21.074. QSL. John Swartz AF4ZE, 6203 Chesden Drive, Durham, NC 27713. W0R Whiskey Zero RAGBRAI. Biking across Iowa for RAGBRAI 51. Will operate bike-mobile, QRP as time permits, likely in the evenings July 20-27, 2024. FT8, CW, SSB. QSL af4ze@arrl.net, LoTW, and QRZ.com. af4ze@arrl.net

07/20/2024 | Railroad Rendezvous

Jul 20, 1300Z-2100Z, W4DOC, Kennesaw, GA. Atlanta Radio Club. 7.250 14.200. QSL. Atlanta Radio Club - Railroad, 227 Sandy Springs Place Suite D-306, Atlanta, GA 30328. Railroad Rendezvous offers the rare opportunity to step aboard the General locomotive, made famous during the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, and tour the cab of the historic steam locomotive, fee applicable. A variety of activities celebrating the railroad and other industrial enterprises will be taking place throughout the day. Send SASE for QSL card. www.atlantaradioclub.org/railroadrendezvous

Don't forget!!!! - If you participated in Field Day, your results have to be in to the ARRL by Tuesday, July 23rd.

For myself, I hope to test out my KM4CFT End Fed Random Wire in preparation for next Sunday's FOBB. I also have an idea how to modify my drive on mast holder so that I can use it with my 31' Jackite pole.

Sunday evening, the South Plainfield Business Association will be celebrating "Christmas in July" in the downtown section of town. The CERT Team will be there manning a cooling tent as it's going to be hot, not quite as hot as last week, but hot enough where we'll be available to anyone who needs some cooling down. I think we'll be handing out some hurricane preparedness literature, too.

Just checked the QRP Labs waiting list and I went from 293rd in line to 249th in just three days! Things are looking good for September!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Miscellania

Logbook of the World seems to be back. I was able to log on and see my QSOs - which reminds me, I haven't done an upload in a while. I'll make sure to do that over the long holiday weekend. I also checked to see if our July 13th VE Session was removed from the calendar. It wasn't, even though I had sent an e-mail to the ARRL requesting that be done. I received a reply informing me that they still could not access that server. I'll be away that day and rather than put the onus on someone else to act as "Liaison for the Day", I decided to cancel.

Our annual trip to Lake George will be happening soon.  This year, in addition to the AlexLoop and the AX1, I'm going to bring along the PAR ENDFEDZ 40-20-10 as well as my drive on mast base and my 20 foot crappie pole. I'd like to bring the Jackite, but it doesn't slip into the mast holder - it's too wide/thick. Usually, each time we go up to the Lake, I take some time to head up to Mt. Prospect (which is not a SOTA peak) and set up in the parking lot that is near the summit. There's a solitary picnic table there (in the parking lot!) and in the past I've parked the car some 20-30 feet away and have used the end fed as a sloper. There are other picnics tables in a wooded grassy area off to the side, but those are usually occupied by picnickers. Who wants to picnic in a parking lot, right? I usually have that table to myself. I can do a POTA activation as it's part of the Adirondack State Park - US-2001.

We had a CERT meeting in town last night and Marv K2VHW and I were asked to do some kind of licensing class for the CERT members in town. The two words I hate to hear the most were bandied about - "Ham Cram".  I know Marv feels the same way I do. But what I'm thinking is maybe to have a period of reading the licensing manual beforehand with some Zoom meetings interspersed where we can answer questions and explain more "difficult" topics culminating in a day of review - the "cram" - followed by the exam session.

Looking at the QRP Labs website, I'm calculating that based on the number of built kits that leave the factory every month, I may see my QMX sometime in August. It would be neat to have it for the Skeeter Hunt. I was smitten by that HB-1B that I was given the opportunity to play with. I'm looking forward to adding the QMX to my small herd of radios.

Finally, I signed up and am Bumble Bee # 57 for this year's FOBB. The Heinz Bee - LOL! I will probably head over to Cotton Street Park for the event, although if I decide to head up to Washington Rock State Park it would be a two-fer ...... FOBB and a POTA activation.

Thirteen Colonies started Sunday night, I guess. I've no interest in participating in that at all, for reasons which I will not go into here. The best I can say about it is that it generates a lot of activity on the bands. I'll leave it at that.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Amateur Radio Week

For the past 10 years, since the birth of SPARC, South Plainfield has declared the week before Field Day weekend to be Amateur Radio Week in our town. This year is no exception, as we received this e-mail from our Director of Emergency Management, Captain Wendell Born:

Good Afternoon CERT / SPARC,

June 17th, -23rd, 2024 is Amateur Radio Week. If you are available to join us at Monday's Council Meeting June 17th, 2024 at 7pm. Mayor Anesh is signing a Proclamation to honor Amateur Radio Operators. (SPARC). Hopefully our members can make it. Thank you for all that you guys do. 

Wendell

I'll be sure to be there, all decked out in my SPARC shirt!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Volunteer weekend

The weekend was Ham Radio related (sort of) without any time on the HF bands.

Saturday was our monthly VE Session, and we had a good one. Three new Techs and a General who upgraded to Extra. In June we usually have two sessions and this year is no exception. On June 29th, the Saturday after Field Day, we'll hold another exam session at the W2QW Hamfest in Piscataway, NJ. I had to send an e-mail to the ARRL this weekend, cancelling our July 13th exam session. When I scheduled that one I didn't realize at the time that I'd be away from NJ.

Later in the afternoon, I was with some members of our CERT Team at the Feast of St. Anthony, a carnival hosted by one of the Churches in town. I spent the afternoon helping pedestrians to safely cross one of the high traffic thoroughfares in town.  We were on high alert during this one, as about a month ago, a fair in one of our neighboring towns was disrupted by a bunch of protesters and had to be shut down for the day. There was some trepidation that the same group would try again at this fair, but luckily those fears didn't pan out.

Even though it was quite warm (mid 80's), there was a nice steady breeze on Saturday which made it very comfortable. Some chatter amongst ourselves on the NJ2SP repeater was about all the radio I was able to accomplish all weekend.

Yesterday was soup kitchen Sunday, and by the time that was over, with all three events accomplished (and some "regular" weekend stuff accomplished as well) I was too "pooped to pop" and my "dogs"(my feet) were loudly barking at me to let me know that they did not appreciate all the standing I had done all weekend. So I pretty much vegged out Sunday evening. I wanted to join in on the fun of the 4 States Second Sunday Sprint at 8:00 PM, but I probably would have fallen asleep behind the key. As it was, I fell asleep almost the instant my head hit the pillow, which is a rarity for me these day.

One thing that I need to accomplish one evening this week. There's been some debate within SPARC as to exactly where we will locate within Spring Lake Park. The location where we had set up in previous years might be problematic for antenna placement as our two end feds need to be placed perpendicular to each other. The other location, which has a bit more leg room for the antennas is closer to the street, but also closer to some power lines. I was asked to take my KX3 and AX1 to both locations within the park and compare S level background noise levels. If the power lines are problematic, that will make the decision a lot easier to make.

I saw on the internet this morning that there was a major flare exploding from the Sun yesterday. Apparently, it sent enough "hard protons" Earthbound so as to fog some satellite cameras for a few hours. The follow up CME is expected to hit us today. Will it be strong enough to generate aurora visible as far south as New Jersey? I doubt it, as weather conditions for favorable viewing are forecast for all week. Aurora is only visible from New Jersey when it's overcast or raining.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

CERT Sunday

Saturday was super busy as I had to clear out things for a free Sunday. I did way too much on Saturday and felt it dearly at the end of the day. I was bushed!

Sunday was "Cops and Bobbers" - the South Plainfield Police Department put on a fishing tournament for the town's kids at Spring Lake Park - where we're doing Field Day this year. The CERT Team was asked to be there to make sure no one fell into the lake (no one did) and to help with the parking and to answer any questions from the participants. Whenever a fish was caught, we directed the angler to one of three weigh stations, where the fish they had caught would be weighed and then released back into the lake.

The weather for the day was perfect. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day. It was in the low 80's with a light breeze and it was partly cloudy.  The County had stocked the lake on Thursday with 300 fish - Bass, Trout and Carp. That family in the extreme left of the phot was catching fish like no one's business! The Dad was a fisherman, you could tell by the way he conducted himself - he knew exactly what he was doing.

There were various winners as the contestants were broken up into age groups. The biggest fish caught for the day was a 28.2 ounce Carp. A very healthy specimen that was released to swim another day,

This event used to be a staple in South Plainfield, and the last one was held some 20 years ago. As it was a huge success, I was told it will return as an annual event. A side benefit of having the lake stocked with fish is mosquito control. The fish will be there all summer to eat any mosquito larvae in the lake.

The event lasted from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and as I said before, was very well attended. When I got home, I tried listening for John K3WWP and Mike KC2EGL who were activating the USS Requin for Museum Ships Weekend. HamAlert gave me a chirp when they were spotted on 20 Meters and I gave a listen - but 20 Meters is not a good band for a QSO between Pittsburgh and New Jersey.

Before I end this post ........being in the park for so many hours gave me a chance to reconnoiter an area suitable for Field Day. There is a grassy expanse in which I was stationed. It is definitely big enough for our two end feds without them coming close to any of the walkways. We will be able to deploy the antennas without any worries that people using the park for walking, biking or  running would be in danger of getting hurt or injured from wires or feedlines. That was my biggest concern as we had to go out of our way to avoid that in the part of the park we last occupied. The other big advantage is that this piece of real estate is closer to the road and will actually increase our visibility to passers by.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

When will it end?

 QRP Image of the Day

A couple of iterations of the Four State QRP Group Bayou Jumper - photo by Gary Chambers, Jr.

So the question for the day is, will my newly found QRP Fox Hunt streak come to an end tonight? Will my luck finally run out?

Tonight's Foxes for the 80 Meter Hunt are Jim N0UR in Minnesota and Wayne N4FP in Florida. Just wondering if either or both of those two states are too long of a haul for a QSO from New Jersey on 80 Meters. Jim has always had a decent signal to New Jersey, but I have my reservations. I don't have my AC Log on this computer. I'd like to open it up and look up the previous contacts I've had with both of these Foxes to see if any have ever been on 80 Meters. Tonight will tell, I'll just have to be patient (not one of my strong suits). And if I do work either Fox tonight, which will be the hero - the W3EDP or the Butternut?

No radio last night except for a brief check-in to K2VHW's Middlesex County Chat Group Net on 70cm on the way home from the Middlesex County Fire Academy last night. We had our monthly CERT training and last night was a review of basic firefighting using fire extinguishers for small trashcan type fires. Each one of us got the chance to extinguish a small controlled burn set by the Chief of Firefighting Education at the Academy.

The keyword in those situations is PASS

P - Pull the pin

A - Approach (staying as low as possible) the fire and aim the nozzle at the base of the fire

S - Squeeze the handle of the extinguisher.

S - Sweep the nozzle from side to side.

Two other important points:

NEVER turn your back on a fire - while approaching or leaving, even if you think you've extinguished the fire. Always back away. Secondly, always have a "buddy" go with you if at all possible. This second person is there to guide you as you back away as well as to help you should something unexpected happen.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The zombies have shuffled

I had a good time participating in the Zombie Shuffle on Friday night. I played hooky from my radio club meeting, but it was recorded on Zoom. I will watch the recording and will provide minutes for the next meeting.

In all I worked sixteen station in about 90 minutes of air time, one on 80 Meters, two on 20 Meters and thirteen on 40 Meters. 40 Meters was in great shape, or so I thought. Signals were pretty weak on 20 Meters and I was disappointed to hear only one other zombie on 80 Meters. 80 would have been a good band to work if it was populated.

Saturday morning was a CERT detail, providing traffic and pedestrian control for a paper shredding event the town sponsored. It was the first dry and sunny Saturday in eight weeks. Friday and Saturday we had a touch of Indian Summer with high temperatures in the low 80s (26C). Even though technically we have not had a hard freeze yet, these two days were very unseasonably warm. Of course,  it's raining again today and tomorrow and after, seasonable temps will return with overnight lows approaching or reaching the freezing mark.

Interspersed throughout the weekend I was working POTA stations. I did not go near the phone portions of the bands, even just to listen. I assume it was chaos with the CQ WWDX SSB Contest going on.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Crud

This is getting to be like the movie "Groundhog Day" where we just repeat the same thing over and over and over.

The forecast for the weekend:

I was hoping to finally get the opportunity to play around with the Buddistick on top of the Jeep and do some analysis using the NanoVNA.  That's the setup I want to use for some POTA activations. Aside from a VE Session Saturday morning and the weekly grocery shopping the weekend looked to be relatively free of "engagements" (codeword for chores). But unless the forecast changes drastically, I guess not again this weekend.

I think I'll use the time instead to come up with a new iteration of a drive on mast holder for the Jackite. The last one was too bulky and took a lot of space in the back of my vehicle. Maybe a trip to Home Depot will inspire me to construct something a bit more compact and easier to deploy.

A bit tired this AM. I'm retaking a CERT course on opening, operating and closing emergency shelters. Class was last night and tomorrow night at the County Fire Academy. It's a long day when you get to work for 7:00 AM and don't get home until 10:30 PM. It's worth it, however. I'm remembering a lot of stuff that I learned a couple years ago that I had forgotten.  As a CERT member in NJ, someday I may be needed to assist at one of the County's Regional Shelters if the need ever arises. Not that I'll be running the operation, but if you understand how things work going in, then you can do whatever job your handed more efficiently and confidently.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

12V USB Boost Converter

I saw this on a post to the POTA Facebook page by Mike Kelly. It seems he forgot to take a 12V power cable with him on one of his activations. He was using a (tru) SDX transceiver which can run off its USB port, so his day wasn't ruined, but he was limited to 0.75 Watts output. That my friends, is QRPp, and he was still able to make his 10 contacts.

In turn, after hearing his story, a friend of his turned him on to this, available through Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NSHWLV9/?fbclid=IwAR0uXr6js6_FkSnHPFb6yD2V7Iw-oa2h3RcVMgiVGRGCU1ao80ixSqXSm7I&th=1

This booster will allow you to power your 12V devices from the USB-A port on your laptop. It probably kills the battery fast, but for only $10, it's probably a good thing to have in your go kit. I don't take a laptop with me on portable ops outings, but I'm thinking it might be a handy thing to have in the event of a prolonged power failure at home; or maybe during some kind of CERT activation.

Looks like Summer is coming to an end and the seasons will be changing soon here in Central New Jersey (it's official now, BTW. There IS a Central New Jersey even though those of us who live here always knew that - but that's a story for another time). We've been having a lot of rain and thunderstorms lately. It seems like almost every day for the past week or two. On Monday evening in particular, there was quite the light show in the sky during the drive home from work. However, today is supposed to be the last day of it. The forecast for the coming week is for cooler daytime temps and overnight lows in the 50s. We'll be able to turn off the A/C and open the windows - AND I'll be able to leave my antennas connected for the foreseeable future.

On the flip side, the leaves will begin their annual suicidal jumps. Charles Schulz had the idea!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

CERT Day

Yesterday was a CERT day. South Plainfield is only one of four communities n the State of New Jersey to host a Labor Day parade. The three Plainfields - North Plainfield, Plainfield and South Plainfield split the summer up. One holds a Memorial Day parade, one holds a 4th of July parade and we do Labor Day.

As a CERT member in town, we were tasked to help with pedestrian traffic control and safety for both events - the parade and the fireworks display in the evening. The 5K race and parade in the morning were uneventful, unless you count the "spotty shower" at 10:30 AM which was actually a downpour. It ended rather quickly, but most of us got drenched and that made the rest of the event just hot and sticky. The good thing is there were no injuries or accidents to report. The parade went off without a hitch and everyone was happy, especially the South Plainfield Public Celebrations Committee.

We were back at it in the evening for the annual fireworks display.  Lakeview Road, which is one of the main thoroughfares through town is closed off for about a 1/2  hour before the show, for the duration and for about a 1/2 hour after the show. The fireworks are launched from behind the municipal complex which is close to the road, and there is danger of spent mortar casings falling on the street, In fact, a couple of years ago, a very small piece of cardboard or plastic casing hit me. No big deal, but insurance and lawsuits being what they are these days, the town doesn't want to chance any of our citizens getting injured. After the show, the street remains closed for another 1/2 hour so the smoke from the fireworks can disperse. No one wants a pedestrian crossing the street to be injured by a driver that didn't see them due to decreased visibility.

Just before the show, there was a gaggle of youngsters riding their bikes back and forth on the empty street, popping wheelies and trying to impress everyone with their stunts. Despite our continued requests for them to stay off the road, they would not listen. Finally the police got involved and requested that these young fellows stay off the road for their own safety. They pretty much complied, except for two.

That's when a police officer on a bicycle became involved. He caught up with them and once again, warned them to stay off the road. One, thinking he was above authority decided to respond to the officer by "flipping the bird". The officer saw that and took off after the lad, like a rifle shot out of a barrel. He caught up with him and I saw him speaking with the "bird flipper" for quite a few minutes. I would imagine he did his best to put the "fear of God" in him.

People do get annoyed when you tell them they can't walk where they want to; or go somewhere they want to go that is closed off. But it IS for their own good. It's far better to be inconvenienced with taking a few extra steps than spending a few hours in an ER getting a burn or some other injury attended to.

Such is the day in the life of a CERT member, but it's all good and worth the effort.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Busy time of the year!

 I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, June always seems to be one of the busiest months of the year, particularly where Amateur Radio is involved.

As a CERT Member who is also an Amateur Radio Op, we had three call outs (actually, maybe 4) this month. First there were the NJSIAA High School Track Meets where we performed traffic and pedestrian control duties the first weekend in June. Later, in the same week we reprised that role for the Feast of St. Anthony, a carnival hosted by Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in town. Next week is High School graduation and possibly Middle School graduation as well.

This Saturday is the Raritan Valley W2QW Hamfest. I'll be there at 'O-Dark Thirty in the morning, helping vendors drive to their allotted parking spaces, and then conducting the VE Session at 9:00 AM. We have 10 candidates signed up so far, but fortunately a lot of the local VEs have agreed to come out and help. I hope that between those two functions and helping to man the club selling table that I actually get time to walk around and look at "stuff".

This coming Sunday, I'd like to drive over to Home Depot and buy a couple driveway reflectors.

Not for my driveway, but for next weekend - Field Day.  Their purpose being to serve as tie off anchors for the ends of my MFJ-1982LP end fed. The idea is that these will make the ends more visible to "traffic", especially at night. I hope to find something like the one in the picture at either Home Depot or Lowe's. The little hole at the top would be ideal for threading through the mason's twine that I use for tying down and securing the end insulators.

And of course, next weekend is the big event itself, Field Day. I plan to be there for almost the entire 24 hours. I'll have to leave Sunday morning for a couple hours for Mass and then return, but other than that, I plan to while away the hours listening to and sending Morse Code. As a wise man once said, "Those QSOs ain't going to make themselves!"

I know it can change, and probably will (fingers crossed), but the long range 10 day forecast is a bit "iffy"., with a chance for thunderstorms for Field Day Saturday.  I can deal with rain, we should be amply covered, but we all know that radio and thunderstorms do not mix well. I particularly remember a Piscataway Amateur Radio Club Field Day many years ago. We were in Rich W2PQ's pop up camper which served as the 40 Meter shack. A thunderstorm blew in and we quickly unplugged the coax from the radio and dropped it to the floor. While we were sitting there waiting out the storm and kibitzing, we kept hearing a little "tic-tic" kind of noise. That's when one of our club members happened to look at the PL-259 laying on the camper floor and saw a little blue spark occasionally fly between the center pin and shield connections of the coax! It reminded me of those old Frankenstein type movies that we watched as kids that had those giant Tesla coils in the "laboratory".

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

CERT and SPARC makes the local news outlet

I was surprised to see South Plainfield CERT and the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club make it to the local online new outlet this past weekend.

TAP, The Alternate Press is an online publication that presents news stories and other local items of interest to the community at large.

https://bit.ly/2tKLk0P

It was nice to get a mention; and perhaps this will spur other local citizens and other local Hams to join the program.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!