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!

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!

Rare second post

I try to make only one post per day, but since tomorrow is a travel day, I'm going to let my self-imposed rule slide for today.

Final POTA activation today:

I started the activation on 20 Meters with the Buddistick mag-mounted to the roof of the Jeep. I haven't used it in a long time, so I just kind of tried to remember how I used to configure it to the best of my recollection. I must have been not far off as you can see by the RBN map. I worked Sweden and Italy. I didn't bring the Nano VNA along. I think that will help me get it configured even closer to ideal.

I didn't bring the camping chair along and standing behind the Jeep's open back hatch was setting off the bursitis in my hip, so I opted to switch to the AlexLoop and sit on the cabin porch for the rest of the activation.

16 Hunters worked including Sweden, Italy, Quebec, MO (for a Park to Park with NU7J), ME, MA, VA, WI, PA, FL, NC and I think that's everyone.

I am by no means a hard core or even semi-hard core or even a semi-semi-hard core POTA activator. I just like to have fun and get to play radio - even if it's just for a little while. I also like to remind myself every now and then how far I can get with 5 Watts. Sometimes I take that for granted.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Ten more

Another 10 stations in the log.  I have to be upfront about this. This isn't a POTA vacation like some of the real die-hards do. This is a time to be away with family and just to enjoy each other and our down time together. Nonetheless, they do respect my love for Amateur Radio and afford me some solo time for my favorite pasttime.

The set up of the crappie pole and PAR ENDFEDZ went like a hot knife through butter. Easier, and it went up even more quickly than expected. Literally in a matter of minutes, the antenna was up and ready to go. Hindsight being 20/20, the Jackite pole would have been the better option, giving me an additional 10 feet in height. That's on my mental list for next year. Tear down and stowaway went just as smoothly.

After these sessions, I like to go to the Reverse Beacon Network for an "after action report". I was getting out pretty  well. The PAR even tunes up well enough on 15 Meters that I was able to be heard out Arizona-ways.

The best contact of the day came at 18:47 UTC, when my "CQ POTA" on 20 Meters was answered by SM5DXT, Chris in Sweden. I got a 419 report from him. Weak signal, but pretty readable. I'll take that any day of the week.

I had QSOs with Hunters in MO, ON (this one was a Park to Park), WV, GA, PA, MD, and NJ.  Good enough to satisfy my Ham Radio craving for the day. We're supposed to get the remnants of Hurricane Beryl visiting us today. It's kind of sunny right now, but the overcast is gaining ground. 1 - 3 inches of rain are supposedly coming according to WeatherBug. If I get on the air at all today, it just might be from the covered porch with the AlexLoop.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another one bites the dust

During the middle of the night on Saturday/Sunday, I got a low battery voltage warning on the KX3. That struck me as odd, as I had recently charged up my 12V 10 Ah battery. I was expecting it to last the entirety of Field Day.  But in the heat of battle you really don't think twice about it, so I took it off line and hastily replaced with a recently purchased 12v 5 Ah battery that I had gotten about two weeks ago. THAT battery lasted the second half of Field Day without a whimper.

When I got home from work on Monday, I put the 10 Ah battery on my charger and was getting a battery failure indication. It was reading at a level of 10V and 0% capacity and would not accept a charge, I was wondering how can this be? It was purchased new and I haven't put it through nearly enough cycles to have exhausted it. I figured it must be a battery charger fault, so I hooked up the 5 Ah battery to the charger to see what it said. The 5 Ah (which was in use for roughly the same amount of time, if not more) was down to only 11.8 Volts and had 89% capacity left in it! And the charger's fan started running as soon as I hooked it up.

No charger fault - I got a bad 12V 10 Ah battery. Dang!

I don't remember where I purchased it, whether it was from eBay or Amazon, but it doesn't matter. Its not like you can return a battery some 11 months after you've bought it online. I had purchased it after the 2023 Skeeter Hunt when my last deep cycle battery gave up the ghost. I don't want to be scrambling for electrons during the Hunt this year, so I went on eBay and found an economically (cheaply) priced 12V 10 Ah Deep Cycle Gel Cell battery.

I know, you guys are probably thinking, why didn't he go lithium?  Price mainly, but also because I don't feel like purchasing a dedicated lithium battery charger. I once ruined a small lithium battery by not using the correct charger on it and I don't want to relive that escapade. I learned that lesson well. However, should this battery not last longer than a cycle or two, I guess I'll bite the bullet. Maybe spending a little more right now would be the right thing to do in the long run, but I guess I'm too frugal to have reached that point yet.

It should be at my house in about a week - long before it's needed for the Skeeter Hunt on August 18th - which, by the way, we've had 93 sign ups so far and the 1st Day of Summer was only 6 days ago!

And looky see what came in the mail yesterday!

Not an ATNO, but an ATNC - All Time New Confirmation. I've worked Easter Island before, but never got a QSL card.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

3G0YA in the log

But not without some drama.

I had to turn off HamAlert until I got home from work yesterday. It was going off so frequently that it was driving me nuts! I also got a few stares from people who heard Morse Code originating from my pocket! But in the back of my mind, that gave me hope, as I was pretty sure I'd work them sometime yesterday.

I arrived home and had dinner and then turned HamAlert back on and my phone started chirping immediately! They were spotted on two frequencies 24.896 MHz on 12 Meters and 14.025 MHz on 20 Meters. I decided to try 12 Meters first and was rewarded with a loud signal. I mean like sitting-across-the-room-from-me-with-a-code-practice-oscillator loud! The op announced he was listening up, so I set up the KX3 for split operation and set the transmit frequency up 1 kHz, and decided to try with the W3EDP.

Got him on the first try! And that's when it happened! That's when I noticed, to my horror of horrors, that I hadn't turned down the KXPA100 from 85 Watts after the St. Max Net was over on Sunday evening.  I had just worked Easter Island with 85 Watts!

What's a QRPer to do? I decided to try going over to 20 Meters and give a listen and the signal coming from the DXpedition was nowhere near as loud on 20 Meters as it was on 12 Meters. That was when I decided to go back to 12 Meters and give it another shot, this time at 5 Watts.  I called again and they came back to me again fairly quickly. This time however, I sent a "599 NJ QRP TU" as my part of the exchange. I don't know if that matters or not, but when they see my callsign on the same band twice, maybe a note will have been made that the second QSO was a QRP contact. That's the one I'm going to reference for a QSL card.

A bit later, my friend Marv K2VHW, sent me a message that 3G0YA had gotten louder on 20 Meters. I went back to 14.025 MHz and the pileup was much more fierce than on 12 Meters. Heck, there basically was no pileup on 12 Meters! At times they would call CQ and they remained listening at 1 kHz up.  On 20 Meters, the op was running a race track pattern, moving up a bit after each QSO until he got to about 4 kHz up and then he would work his way down again. I had to pump up the KXPA100 and when he finally heard me, I got "W2L??" three times before he finally copied my call correctly.

12 Meters was like shooting fish in a barrel. 20 Meters was more like being in the middle of the pack during a fishing derby.

Anyway, I got them in the log and now I have to figure out what their QSL procedure is. (I went to ClubLog - found my QSOs and paid the proper $$$ for the QSL cards.)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

HamAlert - 3G0YA

I've set up HamAlert to let me know when the Easter Island DXpedition is on the CW portion of the bands. I worked Easter Island probably about 15 or so years ago, but I never got a QSL card or a confirmation via LOTW. Time to set that straight.

Several of my friends have worked them already, so hopefully I can work them as well. My luck, my phone will start buzzing during a meeting or something at work!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A good HF day

Yesterday was a good radio day. Not only was it a good radio day, but it was a good day weather-wise, as well. It got up to 68F (20C) in the afternoon, making the basement shack a lot warmer as well, where it was 62F (16C). Still not ideal, but a lot more comfortable than it has been and I was in no hurry to leave for warm-up breaks. I still have to get a space heater for down there. I'm sure there's still lots of cold weather left before Ol' Man Winter sings his swan song.

But I digress. 10 Meters was hopping and I worked a Polish POTA station, a SOTA station in England and Alex RK3ER, whom I have made contact with several times before. He was BOOMING in at 599 +++++, easily the loudest signal on the band.

I worked a bunch of POTA stations on both 10, 15 and 20 Meters. Even with the SSB DX Contest going on, the CW bands were quite populated and humming. It was nice to hear. An added treat was to work some fellow QRP'ers and Skeeter Hunt stalwarts this weekend, Craig WB3GCK at K-4363 Norristown Farm State Park in PA, Eric WD8RIF at K-1994 Strouds Run State Park in OH, Paul AA4XX at Mayo State Game Land in NC, and John N0EVH at K-11042 Kahrs-Boger State Conservation Area in MO. I always go out of my way to fatten up a fellow Skeeter's log if I hear them performing an activation.

Later, at 0000 UTC, I checked into the St. Maximilian Kolbe Net to cap off the day. Thankfully, the KXPA100 was in tip top shape and I was able to boost the power to 85 Watts for that. I shared something with the guys that I had never heard of before.

Of course we all know there are plenty of OTAs on the air - JOTA, POTA, SOTA, IOTA and so on and so forth. Did you know there's also a  CHOTA? There is and it stands for Churches and Chapels On The Air. It originated in England, but has "jumped the Pond" in recent years, with some American churches joining in. Here's a link to an article I saw on AmateurRadio.com - https://www.amateurradio.com/chota-2024-is-announced/

Unlike the other OTAs, CHOTA is a one day event and this year it will be held on Saturday, September 14th. It might be a good way to get some family friendly media attention for Amateur Radio. I'm thinking I might bring this up at the next SPARC meeting. Maybe we can put a church in town on the air. I know my Church, Sacred Heart, has a HUGE parking lot and maybe we can draw some attention to Amateur Radio during the day and before the 5:00 PM Mass - that is if I can get our Pastor to sign off on the idea.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Day late and a dollar short

My attempt to finish DXCC on 15 Meters this past weekend came up two countries short. I needed four and got two - Aland Islands and Malta. It was hilarious in a way, because I set up the Cluster in AC Log to only show me spots for 15 Meters, and all I kept seeing was:

Confirmed

Confirmed

Confirmed

Confirmed

Confirmed

and so on and so on and so on.

The few stations that were on the air the same time that I was and came up as "Needed" for the most part were on the other side of the world in SouthEast Asia. I have a real hard time working that part of the world . I would go to the frequency in question and most times was not even able to hear the station I was seeking to work. Nothing a 100 foot tower and a mono band Yagi wouldn't cure ........ like THAT'S going to happen!

There were also a couple African nations, noticeably the Republic of the Congo,  where the station was again, barely audible. 

Going forward, every chance I get to be on the air, I am going to pay special attention to 15 Meters. I will make DXCC on that band before Cycle 25 goes in the dumper!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy February!

Is it just me - or did January fly by like the proverbial bat out of Hell? It feels like Christmas was just a couple of weeks ago!

Before I bore you, a bit of Ham humor first (found on Facebook)

Secondly (the boring part) - I finished customizing Ham Clock thanks to watching K2CJB's awesome video on YouTube.

The upper left hand corner has my call sign and the local time. Next to that, the tile alternates between the sunspot number (above) and a picture of the sun (below).

To the right of that are the active POTA spots and then comes the latest DX Cluster spots. Getting the DX Cluster to work was a bit of a trial. No matter what DX Cluster I entered, it seemed I always got an error. Finally, I figured out that Ham Clock was looking for an "ON" command. As soon as I entered "SHOWDX" next to that prompt where I was getting a flashing "err", everything started humming. 

An interesting thing about the POTA tile/box - I'm not sure where the info comes for the content, but it listed a POTA activation that was NOT listed on the POTA app that I had running on the screen above the laptop. Maybe someone spotted it to the Cluster and not to the POTA app?

The final small tile in the upper right hand corner shows the current solar weather parameters. You can customize all the tiles by putting the mouse cursor in the upper left hand corner of the box and left clicking. A list of options becomes visible and if you select more than one option, the tile will sequentially display your choices. For me that's that first box where I alternate between the sunspot number and the solar image. The rest of the tiles, I chose only one option.

While I was monkeying around with this, I saw on the screen that Kuwait was on 30 Meters - 9K2NO. I figured "Why not?" and gave a call. It was a bit before I found the "UP" sweet spot, but I did get him in the log. Clicking on his call on the world map gave me his local date and time, his local temperature, and his latitude and longitude info in that bottom left hand corner "DX" box/tile/ Seeing that he had a nice 64F while I was at 34F was a bit depressing, but was neat at the same time.

It's not often you can get a Ham Radio accessory that you can describe as "fun" in and of itself. Ham Clock is an exception. It fulfills that yen for a Geochron at a fraction of the price and it's a neat and useful "toy".

And here's the best part. If I can get this up and running - ANYONE can get it up and running.

72 de Larry W2LLJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

"There's an app for that!"

 First, the Santa Ham image for the day:

The other day, I was reading the comics online.  "Pluggers' is one that I make sure to catch each day, and this one was published last week. 

One of the comments left by one of the readers was "I use the magnifying app on my phone for that!"

Of course, dense as I am and as far behind the times as I am, my mind immediately went "magnifying glass app? That's an app?" So I went to the Google Play store, searched for it and found one. Boy does it make looking at capacitor values and resistor color bands easy! Looking for solder bridges will be a piece of cake! And the app that I downloaded will allow you to capture a photo of what your magnifying, in case you want to reference the image for later - say a serial number or circuit board version or something like that. I find it a lot easier to use than taking a photo and then spreading your fingers apart on the image to zoom into it. The app provides a magnified image of whatever you have it pointed at, real time, in one step. So for those of you out there who may be as far behind the times as I am (which probably is no one), you may want to go to the app store.

The 40 Meter Fox Hunt was a bust for me last night. The foxes were K9DRP in Indiana and N1IX in New Hampshire. I was able to locate the packs of chasing Hounds, but heard nary a peep from either Fox. After a while, I even lost the Hounds.  With about 15 minutes to go, I shut the station down for the night. I know that's bad form and directly against my own mantra of "never give up", but I was tired and since the rain ended on Monday, it's gotten much colder and as a result, the basement much chillier.  Before shutting down the PC, I logged into the Reverse Beacon Network and put in N1IX's call sign just so I could see which was the Upper Fox and which was the Lower. From listening, I couldn't even tell. I see my two NJ Hound buddies WX2S and W2SH got into K9DRP's log. South Plainfield was an RF Black Hole again last night, it would seem.

While sitting there, straining my ears and twiddling my thumbs, I kept an eye on the DX Cluster on AC Log. I noticed that whenever T32TT, East Kiribati was spotted, I got a confirmed status.  For the life of me, I didn't remember working that entity, so I checked into it:

October of 2011, I worked that country on three different bands - and that was BKX3 - Before KX3. So that means I worked them with the K2 and 5 Watts as I didn't have any such animal like the KXPA100, either!  I think that was probably back when I had the G5RV up, so all the contacts were made either with the G5RV or the HF9V vertical.

On a closing note, you can't say the weather bureau doesn't have a sense of humor. They posted this to Facebook the other day and you have to read the Map Legend - it's hilarious!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Busted DX

 CQ WW DX will be dominating the weekend. There are no other contests or even Special Event Stations scheduled for the weekend.

Personally, I'll be chasing 4W8X in Timore-Leste again. I worked him on 15 Meters a while back, but I checked in ClubLog and I'm not in their log. However, W2LO is in their log on 15 Meters twice - while all his other band spots occur only once per band. That leads me to think they didn't hear that first dit in "J" and logged me as W2LO. C'est la Vie - but if I can work them again this weekend, that will make C'est la Vie a bit easier to take.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It's a BIGGIE!

Just a brief post today. Don't forget that this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) is the CQ WWDX CW Contest! This one, along with the ARRL DX Contest are perhaps the Kings of Amateur Radiosport.

A good thing to remember is that a lot of DX stations are on the air now, setting up and getting ready, making tweaks to maximize their stations for the event. Now, and as we get closer to the start of the event, is a good time for logging some of them in a non-competitive manner.

For the newbie QRPers out there who may be reading this - with the sunspot cycle the way it is now - this is a GREAT time to start working on, making headway into, or finishing up your QRP DXCC. My advice has always been the last half to last quarter of the contest is prime QRP hunting time.  By then, the big guns have worked all the loud stations that they have heard, but are still in the process of fattening up their QSO totals. That is when they will take time to listen just a bit harder for less that 599++ signals.

Personal experience has taught me this to be true. I remember specifically one year when I decided (for grins and giggles) to jump into the contest on a Saturday evening with my K2 (it WAS years ago!) set at 500 milliWatts, just to see if anyone would actually hear me. I surprised myself by working between 20 -30 different DXCC entities that evening in the span of several hours. If you're really dedicated and are willing to sit in the chair for an extended period or periods of time - there's always the possibility of acquiring QRP DXCC in a single weekend.

Good luck and good hunting!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another DXpedition in the log

This time it was Timore-Leste, 4W8X on 15 Meters at 21.030 MHz, UP 1. And the antenna weapon of choice was my W3EDP, which was kind of a little bit of karma, as I had a guy insisting to me yesterday that end feds are "bad antennas". He was incredulous that I held to my opinion that I have had greater success with my W3EDP than the G5RV or the 88 foot doublet that I used to use.

He also told me that I should try building my own antennas. (Does anyone sell W3EDP antennas?) I answered by telling him that in 45 years as an Amateur Radio op, I've only owned three commercial antennas. My Novice antenna was  Mor-Gain multi band dipole. I owned a GAP Challenger for a while and sold it before moving from East Brunswick to South Plainfield.  And my third commercial antenna is my Butternut HF9V, which I purchased 25 years ago upon my arrival in South Plainfield, which I still have and use to this day.

All my other antennas over the past 45 years have been various homebrewed wire antennas. I have a pretty good feeling as to what will work and what won't. The best thing about homebrewing antennas is that it's relatively cheap, you can try new things whenever the mood strikes and soon you become pretty comfortable in knowing what works and what doesn't for your situation.

If I had deep pockets and a lot of real estate, you can bet in a New York minute that I'd go for multiple towers with mono band Yagis on them. Living on a suburban 50 X 150 foot lot limits you and you have to play around until you get results you can live with. But there is one thing that I'm grateful to God for every Thanksgiving, and that is that I'm not under the confines and handcuffs of an HOA. (Sorry, I don't mean to rub salt into the wound of those of you who are.)

Last night I was also fortunate to work Dave AB9CA in yet another park. Dave is a stalwart Skeeter and a superb op. It's nice when I can hook up with him. I also checked into the New Jersey K of C Net on 40 Meters, but propagation changed quickly and I very quickly lost the ability to hear Net Control or any of the other check ins. I'm new to the net, so I'll keep my mouth shut and my suggestions to myself, but I think 80 Meters would be a much better band choice.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Sitting in the shack

For an unbooked Saturday, it was a very busy Saturday! Woke up to a gloomy and rainy morning but still got a lot done including getting a haircut which was very badly needed!

I'm down here in the shack after dinner and I've worked a few POTA stations and Andy HB9CVQ on 30 Meters. 80 and 40 Meters are filled with New York State QSO Party stations. I guess I could work a few to hand out some points and fatten up the log, but not really into that tonight.

Last night after dinner, I managed to log T2C Tuvalu Island on 10 Meters. That was a rough one with a lot of repeats, but I checked on Club Log today and I'm in there! I think I'm getting close to 175 different DXCC entities worked. Small potatoes to a lot of inveterate DX'ers out there; but I've never had a mega-station, so I'll be a very happy Ham if I can reach the 200 mark and get another sticker for my basic DXCC certificate.

I've worked more ATNO's in the last week than I think I have in the past couple of years. The great thing about Amateur Radio is that it's like riding a bicycle - once you learn, you never really forget how!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

On the air after dinner

I didn't have any meetings or anywhere that I had to go last evening, so after dinner I popped down the basement and turned on the rig.  I worked three POTA stations, two on 20 Meters and one on 15 Meters. Then I saw that China was spotted on 15 Meters while I was still on the band.

I twiddled the dial on over there and to my surprise I was actually able to hear him. Asia, in general, presents a problem for me. Oceania has not been a big problem as I've logged Australia, New Zealand and many of the island nations such as Fiji and French Polynesia, and I've logged Japan numerous times. However, mainland and Southeast Asia remain a bugaboo for me. I've worked India ......... once. I've never logged China, Korea, Vietnam the Philippines or any of the other countries in Southeast Asia. Heck, not only have I never logged them - I hardly ever hear them!

So it was nice to actually hear China for once. The signal must have been coming over the Pole, as it has that watery, fluttery and warbly sound to it. The signal was on the weak side 449 to 559 at best, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I turned up the KXPA100 to about 90 Watts and put out my call sign, numerous times. I switched back and forth between the Butternut and the W3EDP to no avail. Even though there wasn't much of a pileup, the only response I got after throwing my call sign out was another CQ by the Chinese station. Not even so much as a "?" or a "QRZ?", so I knew I was not being heard at all.

After about a 1/2 an hour, I threw the big switch and came upstairs. There will be another time, I'm sure.

Coming up this weekend:

JOTA is this weekend. Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA), the largest Scouting event in the world, takes place on the third weekend of October (10/20 - 10/22). This annual global operating event allows Scouts to use amateur radio to connect with hams around the world. The event is supported by many local amateur radio clubs and individual operators. JOTA starts Friday and ends Sunday, but there are no offi­cial hours of operation, so you have the whole weekend to make JOTA contacts.

Contests with a QRP category :

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

New York QSO Party - https://www.nyqp.org/

Worked All Germany Contest - http://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/worked-all-germany-contest/en/rules/

Stew Perry Topband Challenge - https://www.kkn.net/stew/

YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest - https://ylrl.net/contests/ (X3 Multiplier for QRP)

Special Events (Courtesy of the ARRL website)

10/20/2023 | Merit Badge Workshop and JOTA-JOTI

Oct 20-Oct 22, 0000Z-2359Z, K8T, Dover, OH. Canton ARC and Tusco ARC. 7.270 14.270. Certificate. Canton ARC, POB 8673, Canton, OH 44711. Certificate requests to dalelamm@ieee.org for an electronic response. Paper requests to Canton ARC, POB 8673, Canton OH 44711 with an SASE or one green stamp. tuscazoar.org

10/20/2023 | Operation Able Archer '83 40th Anniversary

Oct 20-Nov 3, 0000Z-2359Z, W3A, Lewes, DE. East Penn Amateur Radio Club/MRCA. 7.190 RTTY 3.996 USB 5.357 USB 14.337 USB. QSL. Walt Skavinsky, 1574 Layfield Rd , Pennsburg, PA 18073. 1983 Brink of the Apocalypse Able Archer 83 was a ten-day (NATO) communications exercise starting on November 2, 1983, that spanned Western Europe, centered on the Supreme Headquarters Allied Europe Headquarters, Able Archer exercises simulated a period of conflict escalation, culminating in a simulated DEFCON 1 coordinated nuclear attack The exercise also introduced a new, unique format of coded communication, radio silences, and the participation of heads of government. The realistic nature of the 1983 exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some members of the Soviet Politburo and military to believe that Able Archer 83 was a ruse of war, obscuring preparations for a genuine nuclear first strike In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air units in East Germany and Poland on alert. This is known as the 1983 war scare. The 1983 war scare is considered by many historians to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. the threat of nuclear war ended with the conclusion of the exercise on November 11. To recognize the sacrifices of our military, signal corps, and members of the clandestine services during this critical time in the history of the cold war, we will host a special event station. Our special event will consist of operation from the Cold war home of Naval Facility Lewes (NAVFAC Lewes), a Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) shore terminal. using period style military radios and antennas to make the contacts. www.ablearcher83.com

10/20/2023 | Operation Able Archer '83 40th Anniversary

Oct 20-Nov 3, 0000Z-0000Z, W9A, Salem, WI. W9AFB. 3.996 5.357 7.225 14.323. Certificate. Scott Grams, 26233 90th St, Salem, WI 53168. Midwest station of the Operation Able Archer '83 40th Anniversary special event. See W3A special event station, W9AFB on QRZ, or website for more details. Will operate from the former Richard Bong Air Force Base in Wisconsin on October 21-22. Other days will be holiday style, multiple bands and modes. Email for sked. www.ablearcher83.com

10/21/2023 | Jamboree On The Air

Oct 21, 1600Z-2359Z, K2BSA/6, Bakersfield, CA. Boy Scouts Of America. 14.340. QSL. Sharon Godley, 2701 Fordham, Bakersfield, CA 93305. Scouts of all ages around the world will be on the air. QSL Manager N2OWL n6aj@arrl.net

10/21/2023 | Jamboree on the Air - Troop 104

Oct 21, 1400Z-2200Z, W2S, Wayne, NJ. Packanack Troop 104 - Scouting BSA. 14.290 7.190 147.450. Certificate. Jim Sadur, 5 Packanack Lake Rd., Wayne, NJ 07470. Sponsored by the Wayne Radio Amateur Emergency Team (WRAET). Certificates via Jim, N2RBJ. SASE appreciated. https://wraet.com

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Got them in the log!

 

Before running the South Plainfield ARES/RACES last night, I saw TO8FH spotted on 15 Meters, so I gave it a shot. They were only about 449 to 559 here, so I didn't expect too much, and was not disappointed.

At the top of the hour, around 0000 UTC, I saw them spotted on 17 Meters, where they were much louder - about 579. I stayed with them, tuned up a little more than 2 kHz and was rewarded to hear them send my call! We completed the exchange and now I have another DXCC entity in my logbook.

After working them I was a bit pumped and remembered how satisfying it is to bag an ATNO. I have to be careful, because I can see where this can become a habit (again) quite easily!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Not exactly what I was hoping for ...

 but I'll take it!

I met with W3BBO for our weekly ragchew on Skype at 3:00 PM. He let me go early so that I could set up for the QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint. I was going to set up on the big deck they have here where we're staying, but the skies have been overcast and threatening all day, so I set up on the porch instead.

At 4:00 PM I tuned to 20 Meters and I heard quite a few SKCC Weekend Sprinters (WES) all by their frequency and up into the QRP Watering Holes. However, I did not hear one single solitary QRPer calling "CQ QRP" or whatever. Undeterred, I called CQ for a while on 14.062 with no result. I switched over to 40 Meters and that band was pretty dead as a door nail, too.

Rather than call it a day so soon. I decided to go back to 20 Meters, but down the band a bit. Maybe I could catch some DX?  Sure enough I did! I heard F5PLC calling CQ on 14.037 MHz with no takers. I crossed my fingers, took a shot and put out my call. I got an answer immediately. Michel "Mike" was a solid 599 and he gave me a 579.  How could I help but not be 579 when my signal was being picked up by this antenna?

Mike was transmitting with 50 Watts from near Belfort, France which is not too far from the Swiss border.

I think I may have been close to his QTH when I was in France during my second visit to Switzerland in 1994. And looking at his QRZ page, Mike is quite the CW aficionado and a QRPer, too. Look at his KX1 !

After we signed, I decided to go back up to QRP Country to see if I could hear any Summer Homebrew Sprinter's and alas I did not. But I did hear OZ30EU coming in like gangbusters!

Svend was 599 +++, but I was avery weak 329 to him, but as I said up top - I'll take it! Svend was very gracious and patient. He stuck with me when he could have easily resumed calling CQ right over me. He didn't and I sent him an e-mail of thanks, explaining my set up. I just hope that his e-mail address as provided by QRZ.com is current and accurate.

I finally gave up when Marianne joined me on the porch, nudged me and said, "Don't you hear the thunder?" In all honesty, with earbuds in, I did not and I didn't see any flashes either, but maybe I was just concentrating too hard on the KX3 and the DX. I tore down and brought everything in, not desiring to take any chances as minute as they might be. So no Summer Homebrew Sprinters, but France and Denmark running 5 Watts to a magloop. Nice way to start off the week here!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Upcoming GQRP events

From Enzo M0KTZ:

The GQRP Club invites all the QRP enthusiasts to a line-up of QRP activities, to salute the arrival of the new season. Details below.

There will be plenty of puny signals out there, starting this weekend, so switch your rig on, get on the bands, fly the QRP flag, and have fun.

- 17th June, International QRP Day. Almost two dozens Club members will activate the Club callsign G5LOW (England), together with its regional locators GM5LOW (Scotland), GW5LOW (Wales), Gi5LOW (Northern Ireland), GD5LOW (Isle of Man), and GU5LOW (Guernsey). All bands, from HF to UHF, and all modes (CW, SSB, AM, FM, and several digimodes), throughout the day. Just look out for the "LOWs".

- 17th June, the Club also runs the Suffolk Trophy, an activity reserved to members, with operation for six hours only in no more that two periods. Contacts are with any Region 1 country; normal QSO, no serial numbers. Each Region 1 country counts 1 point on each band. The total score is total of IARU countries on the bands used. Only one contact per country per band is allowed irrespective of mode. The other station may be QRO. Please log Name, address, call, power used, equipment, time, call & band for each contact.

- June 17th to June 25th. It's time for the Summer Sizzler, a relaxed get-on-air QRP event, an ideal opportunity to meet and greet new and old friends, to test our latest homebrew creations, and to fill the bands with friendly QRP activity. Several certificates are awarded for contacts made using only homebrew equipment (Busy-Bee), only QRPp power levels (Tiny-Flea), only vintage rigs (Old Beetle), and while operating /P or /M (Iron-Knee). The special Ladybird certificate is awarded to the best log submitted by a member who has been licensed for less than three years.

The best overall log will be awarded the First GM3OXX Memorial Trophy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully propagation will be good enough to work a few GQRP friends!

72 de Larry W2LJ - GQRP #11653

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

ARRL DX CW

I played around in the ARRL DX CW contest this weekend. Not long, just for about an hour and a half to two hours. It was nice to get back behind the rig again after a long absence. I must apologize to the first few stations that I worked. My Morse sending was absolute crap!  But after about 4 or 5 contacts, I found my rhythm again and it was game on.

I haven't been on the air since my time undergoing radiation therapy. And let me tell you, the radiation therapy was a cakewalk compared to this hormone therapy I'm undergoing to keep my PSA level low. But I muddle through the best I can. One of the worst side effects is that it takes motivation away. You just feel like "meh" and not doing much, other than the things you absolutely have to.

But Sunday was rather warm for February here in NJ, which meant the basement was not quite the icebox it usually is during the winter. The temps down there were in the low 60s rather than the high 50s, so it was a bit more bearable.

My main weapon was the Butternut HF9V. All contacts were made at 5 Watts of course. In the time I felt motivated to operate, I made 31 contacts, all search and pounce, of course.. I worked into Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Hawaii.  I was surprised that KH6LC came back to me on my first call!

I made contacts on 10, 15 and 20 Meters. 10 Meters was absolutely awesome! It was truly difficult to find a dead, open spot on the band. I think that 27 of my 31 contacts were made on 10 Meters. I should have stayed on longer, but I caved in to the tiredness. But while I was on, I had a blast!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very keast!