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!

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!

80 Meter QRP Fox hunt and the coming weekend.

Last night was the second 80 Meter QRP Fox hunt of the season. I did not fare as well as last week. I made it into Ed N9EP's log - twice. Again, the first time I worked Ed, he faded into the QSB. I worked him again some 9 minutes later and heard the confirmation of our exchange. My apologies to my fellow hounds for the dupe.

The other Fox was Tim KR0U in Colorado, who I successfully worked in the 40 Meter Hunt on Tuesday night. No joy this time. Tim was a whisper most of the night, occasionally coming up to a 339 or so when propagation permitted. I did hear him all night, but this was one time when persistence didn't pay off!  I called and called right until the closing bell, but could not make myself heard. It's frustrating as all heck when the Fox is calling CQ and you answer him and he calls CQ again, right in your face.

"I can hear him, how can he possibly NOT hear me ?!?" is a question that I often ask myself and probably a lot of you out there ask that, too. Such is the life of a QRPer. There are a couple things that you have to keep in your mind (and remind yourself, if you're me!) when you enter into the QRP game.

1) Propagation is NOT reciprocal. Just because you can hear someone; doesn't always mean the return trip is guaranteed. I am not enough of a propagation expert to explain why this is, I only know it to be true from life experience.

2) Sometimes QRN at the other end can be the problem. I can't tell you how many times, as a hound, that I have read where Foxes, in posting their logs, have apologized for high levels of noise at their end. If the local noise floor is quiet, all things being equal, I might make it into their logs. But if my signal is only about S4 or S5 and their noise level is S6 or S7, I'm not going to make it, am I?

Sometimes, that's how QRP rolls. You throw the dice, you take your chances. If things don't work out, don't get your undies all into a knot. There will be other times.

Next weekend is the CQ WW DX contest. I'm not into contesting these big contests. I'm a fan of the QRP Sprints that call for a shorter effort. What I like about these contests - this one and ARRL DX is that they allow me to experiment. I like to get on the air after the initial feeding frenzy is over. I like to lower my power to only a Watt or two, or perhaps QRPp and see how many DX stations I can work with uber low power.  Another thing I like to do is twiddle the dial, looking for countries I have never worked while running at QRP power levels. Maybe this year, I'll set up the magloop and see how many DX entities I can snare using only that antenna.

I'll come right out with an admission.  100% totally dedicated QRP'ers  (for whom this is like a religion) will find this admission ugly.  They'll probably want to tear my QRP-ARCI membership card into shreds for this, but here it is:

If I come across a country I that have never, ever worked before and it is an ATNO (All Time New One) - the dial on that KXPA100 is going right up to 90 Watts or so in order to try and add that country to my DXCC total.  Call me a heretic - declare me anathema - I don't care. I'm still a tiny bit enough of a DXer to try and claim as many as I can before I leave for The Big Shack In The Sky.  I know I'll never make Honor Roll. Admittedly, I'm not dedicated enough for that, but if an opportunity presents itself, I'll do everything I can to take advantage of it in order get a "new one" in the log book.

Have fun this weekend!

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

Tips for the budding QRP DXer

I've posted about this before; but maybe it's a good time to bring this subject up for the newer QRPers out there who want to get their share of DX.

You may have heard rumors that working DX as a QRPer is dang near impossible; or a Herculean task at the very best.  That's a rumor spread by those who don't know any better. I will admit, though, that working DX as a QRPer during the valleys of the sunspot cycle IS more difficult than when Ol' Sol is sporting a lot of freckles. But it can be done, you just have to be smart about it.

1) Use the best antenna you've got at your disposal, whatever it is.

2) Know when to cast your net. And that's what this post is all about. This coming weekend will be a VERY good time to cast your net.

The CQ WorldWide DX (CW portion) Contest is this weekend. Even if you're not a contester; or dislike contesting in general - this is still a great way to boost your countries worked total. When the sunspot cycle is at its peak - stations have been known to complete DXCC in one weekend! Don't expect that this weekend - even though NASA has confirmed that we are now on the upward leg of Cycle 25, it will be a few years before conditions become primo again. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun and work a lot of countries right now.

The exchange is easy, RST and your CQ Zone. That's it - no hellishly long exchange or serial numbers to have to remember.

Know when to jump in with QRP. This is the key to success. My advice is that unless your code speed is very good - and I'm talking 25 WPM or faster - you might want to avoid jumping in until Saturday evening at the earliest.  If you jump in at the sound of the starting gun, you're going to be hearing a lot of buzz saw sounds, and you'll probably be sitting at your bench with ????? floating all around your head.

The beginning hours of the contest is the province of the Big Boys and the Contest Pros.  Yes, you'll find stations to work and copy, but make things easy for yourself. Get to harvesting when conditions are in your favor.

So when are conditions in your favor? Experience tells me late Saturday night into Sunday - ESPECIALLY on Sunday. The previously mentioned Big Boys and Contest Pros have had ample time to work each other and now they become sharks. From the second half of the contest until the end, they're so hungry for new contacts (in order to bump up their QSO total) that they will take time to listen for less than 599 signals, and less than buzz saw code speeds.

This is when you go hunting.  Twiddle the dial a lot and listen for signals that you're comfortable copying and make your move. Don't try to send any faster than your comfortable with. You'll only mess up the exchange and will probably get asked for numerous repeats. Just send steady, copy-able code - the smoothest you can, and you'll be just fine. And even though you may not have a 599++++++ signal at the receiving end, you'll get you share of DX.

The main thing is, have fun and enjoy yourself, and watch your DXCC tally grow in the process.

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

Ducie Island

Not having worked much in the way of new DX lately, I went on over to the ARRL Website to log onto Logbook of the World. With all the chatter going on about the Ducie Island DXpedition, I had forgotten that I had worked the island twice in 2008, back when all I had was the K2 and 5 Watts.

While I was there, I wanted to see what my current country total was.

It would appear that I am currently at 180 confirmed through LOTW. I have to apply (pay) for credits for these:

By my own count, I was at 160 countries worked via QRP. Of the ATNOs above, I'm pretty sure that New Caledonia, Mozambique and perhaps Namibia were 100 Watts QSOs. The other six were QRP, so that would bring me up to 166 worked with 5 Watts or less. I'd have to go back and refer to Log4OM to be 100% sure about that, though.

Once the sunspots come back, I'm closest to earning DXCC on 15 Meters. Only eight to go. Also, both 17 Meters and 10 Meters are close, but it's going to be years before band conditions improve enough to make those needed QSOs.  May be a retirement project at this point.

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

ARRL DX CW Contest

Is on for this coming weekend!

Even with us being in the lousy part of the sunspot cycle; this is a perfect opportunity for budding QRP DXers to get their hands (and keys) dirty. When the sunspots are high, it's not unheard of to work DXCC in a single weekend, if you're really gung-ho about it and don't mind not sleeping for 48 hours.

But with conditions such as they are, you can still expect a nice country total if you're starting from scratch. The exchange is simple - US/VE stations give a signal report and state/province. DX stations give a signal report and a number corresponding to their power output.

If you're a newbie to CW, QRP and/or DXing, I'd advise not to jump into the contest for the first 12 hours or so - maybe even not the first 24 hours. For this part of the contest, the big gun contest operators are sending their exchanges with code speeds that sound more like a buzz saw than any kind of Morse you'd understand.  Granted, even in the opening hours of the contest you'll find ops sending code that you can decipher; but for the most part, if you're a neophyte to QRP DXing or Morse Code, you'll probably get frustrated and want to hang up your key and turn the rig off.

It's better to wait to Saturday evening, or even Sunday.  The big guys have gotten a lot out of their systems and now they're just looking to increase their points total by as much as they can before the contest ends.  This means that they'll no longer dismiss signals that are less that 599+ and they'll be more patient with you if your code speed is a bit slower.

As an example, a few years back, I jumped into the fray on Saturday night with my K2 (before I sold it to be able to afford my KX3) set at the 900 mW level. I surprised myself how many stations I was able to work! Unlike many others, I've never contemplated trying to work DXCC at QRPp levels; but if I were so inclined, the ARRL DX CW contest would be a great place from which to begin.

So if you get a chance to jump in this weekend, by all means, give it a shot! I'm sure you'll have fun. You know what would be an interesting stat? To somehow be able to find out how many QCX transceivers are going to be in the contest this weekend. I'd be willing to bet quite a few.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1

I've never worked either of these ........

Courtesy of the ARRL:

Midway and Kure Islands are Now Deleted DXCC Entities
03/31/2017

Midway and Kure Islands have been placed on the list of DXCC deleted entities, effective August 26, 2016. This came about as an unintended consequence of action last summer by then-President Barack Obama that expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to include the northwestern Hawaiian Islands west of Ni’ihau Island, making it the largest contiguous protected conservation area under the US flag.

Midway (KH4) had qualified for DXCC status by virtue of its being governed by a separate administration. Because it is now under the administration of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, however, it becomes a deleted entity. Approximately 50 people live on Midway, including US Fish and Wildlife Service staffers and contractors. The Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Allied World War II Pacific Campaign, took place in June 1942.

Now uninhabited, Kure Island (KH7K), a part of Hawaii, is separated from the rest of the state by Midway; because of that, it qualified for DXCC status under Section II, 2 (b) (iii) of the DXCC Rules — separation from its “parent” Hawaii. Midway Island’s change in DXCC status in turn made Kure Island no longer eligible for DXCC status, since Kure no longer is separated from the rest of Hawaii by intervening land or islands that are part of another DXCC entity.

Kure Island once was home to a US Coast Guard LORAN station, remnants of which are still evident. It has been a state wildlife sanctuary since 1981.

The relevant parts of Section II of the DXCC Rules follow:

A Geographic Separation Entity may result when a single Political Entity is physically separated into two or more parts. The part of such a Political Entity that contains the capital city is considered the Parent for tests under these criteria. One or more of the remaining parts resulting from the separation may then qualify for separate status as a DXCC Entity if they satisfy paragraph a) or b) of the Geographic Separation Criteria, as follows.

b) Island Areas (Separation by Water):

A new entity results in the case of an island under any of the following conditions:

iii) The island is separated from its Parent by intervening land or islands that are part of another DXCC entity, such that a line drawn along a great circle in any direction, from any part of the island, does not touch the Parent before touching the intervening DXCC entity. There is no minimum separation distance for the first island entity created under this rule. Additional island entities may be created under this rule, provided that they are similarly separated from the Parent by a different DXCC entity and separated from any other islands associated with the Parent by at least 800 km.

Neither Midway nor Kure was able to be activated without prior permission and only for a planned DXpedition. Only contacts made on August 25, 2016, or earlier will count for these two entities.

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

An interesting challenge

I saw this posted on the 4 States QRP Group e-mail reflector.  I added NY4G's blog to the blog roll and am posting a link to his "challenge".

http://ny4g.blogspot.com/2015/12/qrp-dxcc-challenge.html

He calls it "QRP Wars - The Morse Awakens".

Cute.

Now the question is - can it be done?

My answer is, "Yes, I think it can." Even with the worsening solar conditions. But (and there's alway's a "but") I think this competition favors those who are retired and can send mondo amounts of time on the radio.  It also favors those of us on the East coast, who are closer to Europe and the Caribbean. And with the ARRL DX Contest which is held in February, if you really put your mind to it, it should be possible to work QRP DXCC within 100 days.

Am I going to put my money where my mouth is?

Not sure at this point.  I just might try it for fun and just may keep a "diary" of the effort here on the blog - just for the halibut. Let me cogitate on it for a while. I have a couple of days left until 2016 rolls around.

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

ATNO!

In the DX game, sometimes you have to be real good to work a new one, especially QRP.  You might have to break a dense pile up, or perhaps you have to get up at some ungodly hour to work a DXpedition when there's a lull.

Other times, you have to be lucky, or just at the right place at the right time. That was the case for me, yesterday.  I was down in the shack, twiddling the dial (no pandapter in the W2LJ shack) on 10 Meters. It was mid-morning, and I was just curious whether or not I'd be able to hear any signals. There on 28.050 MHz was 9J2BO calling CQ - without any takers!  Admittedly, off the top of my head, I had no idea where 9J2 was. But is sure as heck wasn't familiar, and if it's not familiar, then it's probably rare. So I dived in with all 5 Watts and gave a call.  9J2BO's signal was loud enough where I thought 5 Watts would be enough, and it turned out I was correct.  It took one repeat, but he had my call!

We exchanged signal reports. I gave Brian an 599 and I received a 559 in return - not bad for 5 Watts to Africa (Quickly inputting 9J2BO into Log4OM informed me it was Zambia. Hot dog!). Then the QSB kicked in (big time) and shortened our QSO.  I cheated a tad and kicked in the afterburner just to make sure that Brian heard my final "TU ES 73", but the previous 99% of the QSO was carried out at 5 Watts - so I'm counting it in my personal QRP tally.

A few seconds later, I heard Brian calling CQ again, and then he just faded totally into oblivion and I didn't hear anything more on 28.050 MHz. Not him, nor anyone else trying to call him.

Right place at the right time. That's all it took for this ATNO!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

ARRL DX post mortem

My ARRL DX Contest effort was almost identical to that of fellow blogger Mike VE3WDM.  Limited amount of time, and not what you would call a "serious" effort. I don't know what it is with me, but after about two or three hours in the chair, I get antsy and have to get away.  I guess I just don't have it in me what it takes to be a contest monster.

I put in five brief sessions over the weekend, in between chores and other commitments. A very brief effort Friday night, a longer one Saturday morning, a short one both Saturday afternoon and then another one after dinner on Saturday evening.  Then I put in a short effort on Sunday morning, probably just a bit longer than what I had done Saturday afternoon and evening.  I didn't keep track of my time, but if the sum total was more than four hours, I'd really be surprised.

My plan of attack was to tune from one end of the band to the other, listening for stations who I thought would stand a good chance of hearing me. If the station didn't hear me after three or four tries, I moved on.  Happily, there weren't many times that I had to "move on", maybe three or four all weekend long. Conversely, there were also a few instances where I heard a station calling CQ in the clear, and based on their signal strength to me, I was fairly certain they would not hear me calling. Surprisingly, they did. That was cool, I like to be wrong in instances like that!

My Saturday morning/afternoon effort was interrupted by computer problems. As stated recently, my shack computer is now the family computer upstairs. I had resorted to employing an old Acer Aspire One for shack duty and it seemed to be working well last week.  However, adding a lot of contacts to the log in a short amount of time caused its processor to have serious problems. I would type in a call and there would be a lag before it appeared on screen. Several second lags resulted between pushing the tab button and the cursor moving between fields.  This was annoying to say the least, as I was attempting to log in real time, instead of logging on paper and entering the data later.

I ended up turning the radio and computer off and shutting the whole works down. I dug out and resurrected my old HP laptop, which is physically and cosmetically beyond its last legs, but electronically in relatively decent shape - as it has a much faster processor than the Acer. I propped up its screen as the hinges are broken, plugged in an auxiliary monitor so I could have two displays, as well as an auxiliary keyboard. In essence the laptop is just acting as a shell and that's OK. The processor is able to handle Log4OM without a whimper. It served me well throughout the remainder of time on the air this weekend and will be my shack computer until the day comes when I can afford to purchase something newer. I'll have to give this HP a medal when its time finally comes because it has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

I spent most of my time on 10 Meters. The band was alive and it was fun. I also spent some time on 15, 20 and 40 Meters, although not as much. For me, 10 Meters was the happening place to be.  My antennas were the same as usual, my Butternut vertical and my W3EDP.

I'll have to take a good look at the log, but I made somewhere between 80 to 100 QSOs in the course of my effort. I am guesstimating somewhere between 30 - 40 DXCC entities worked. My goal was to demonstrate how easy it is for the budding newbie QRP DXer to get his or her feet wet.  The ARRL DX Contest has a very easy exchange, a very wide audience, and you can get great results without a huge antenna farm.  In four hours, I accomplished a decent amount. If the newbie QRP DXer were to give it "a true effort" I can see how a huge dent can be made in achieving QRP DXCC, if not outright accomplishing it in a single weekend.

BTW, the two red dots showing up on mainland USA are the home QTHs of two of the Caribbean stations.

One last note - I hadn't realized how much my code speed has improved.  At least I am assuming it has improved. Either that, or the whole world has slowed down. There were far, far fewer stations that I had to outright bypass because I just could not copy them, and also fewer stations that I had to stop and listen to several times before "getting" them.  I found myself bumping up the code speed on the KX3's keyer several times towards the 26 -28 wpm neighborhood in order to send the exchange back in order to match the speed of the station I was trying to work. I guess after 30-some years, this CW thing is finally starting to kick in.

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

ARRL DX Contest

I am not a big contester, as I've said here many, many times. I just don't have the patience or the time to put the long hours in a chair that are necessary to make a substantial effort. I do like to dabble. And this weekend coming up is one of the "majors" that I like to dabble in - the ARRL DX Contest - CW portion.

This is an excellent contest for budding QRP DXers. And this post is just for you, who are new to the QRP DX game.  If band conditions are favorable, the newbie QRP DXer can easily gather one half, if not all the DXCC entities to earn QRP DXCC in one weekend. The goal of this contest are simple, for W/VE stations to work as many DX stations as possible in the time allotted.

The exchange is also easy-peasy - RST and your state or province.  Even if you're relatively "light" in CW, the exchange is not something you should stumble over.

A few things for the budding QRP DXer to keep in mind.

1) Don't get discouraged early on. When you turn on the radio Friday night, a lot of the CW will sound like buzzsaws to you. Wait until Saturday night or Sunday morning to jump in. By then, the big guns will have tired a bit and may send a bit slower.

2) If a station will not QRS for you, don't get sweat it. Just move on and work someone you can understand.

3) Keep listening all this week, leading up to the contest. A lot of stateside Hams will be traveling to exotic locations this week - solely to operate in this contest!  They will be setting up and testing their stations ahead of time - get on the air and work them under non-contest conditions.

4) Sunday afternoon to Sunday evening is the prime time for QRP stations. Big gun contesters who are still hungry for points will be more willing to listen for weaker signals towards the end of the event.

5) Even if you're a veteran QRP DXer, you can make this contest fun. You can cherry pick and listen for DXCC entities that you have never worked before - or you can try your hand at DX QRPp. I did this one year. I went down to the shack and turned the power down to 750 milliWatts.  I was amazed by the number of contacts I made.

I have never seriously kept track of how many DX stations that I was able to work QRPp. This is something I may start doing this weekend.

Hope to hear you guys fattening up your QRP DXCC totals this weekend. Let me know how you did!

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

Re-did my tallies

Before the 80 Meter Fox hunt began (I only nailed one Fox, AA4GA, Lee in Georgia) I decided to update my list of DXCC entities worked using QRP. After working RI1ANT the other night, I realized my list was last updated on 12/30/2012!

So I went through my log book and much to my surprise, I discovered that between then and now, I have added 27 new DXCC entities, worked via QRP, to the list! I now stand at 151 worked. And a majority of the new ones were lunch time QSOs, worked using the KX3 and Buddistick from my Jeep. So much for low power and compromise antennas, eh?

I will have to fire off my spreadsheet off to Ed WA3WSJ, who is the new Awards Manager for the QRP ARCI. I qualified for their QRP DX Award a long time ago when I qualified for the ARRL's QRP DXCC, but I never applied. Now I guess I'll get the basic award along with a 50 country endorsement. And the great part is that since I am a paid up QRP ARCI member, the award is free, unlike the ARRL award. Cool beans!

Now all I have to do is update the tally on my "Operating" page on the blog. I'm definitely not too good with tables in HTML. Ugh.

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

CQ WWDX

This weekend turned out to be a lot busier than expected. With Thanksgiving, and now the beginnings of getting the house ready for the Christmas season, there wasn't a lot of time for radio. But I did get to play in the CQ WWDX contest for about an hour and a half this afternoon. 10 Meters was hot! In those 90 minutes, I worked 50 different stations, about 40 different countries, all of them QRP save one.

When I heard V55V on the band, I cranked up the KXPA100 quicker than you can say "Jack Robinson". Namibia is a totally new one for me, and I rarely hear them on the air.  Even with QRO power, it took me a while to break the pileup, but break it I did.  I am coming closer, ever closer to the 200 DXCC entities worked mark.

Oh, and last week, this came through the mail:

My second DXCC certificate.  This one for working 100 different entities using CW only. And I noticed something interesting, indeed.  My original DXCC certificate, which is for the "mixed" category was issued back in May, 2003 and is certificate #38,973. This certificate, for an all CW DXCC, issued some 11 years later, is only certificate #20,995.  I'm not sure what to make of that.

Hope you all had fun in the contest this weekend.  The bands seemed to be in great shape, I hope a lot of QRPers either earned, or got a great start on their QRP DXCC.

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

This could be a very good week for DX.

Next weekend is the CQ WW DX contest. Traditionally, this is the week the Big Guns, as well as those traveling to a DX location, specifically for the contest, get ready.

You may very well hear lots of good DX throughout this coming week, if band conditions remain as good as they have been lately.

This is the time for budding QRP DXers to make hay. The pileups should not be too, too fierce before the actual contest. This is prime time, if you're a QRPer who loves to chase DX.

The actual contest itself, is also a great opportunity. However, it's my opinion and observation that neophyte QRPers would do well to wait until the first 24 hours of the contest have passed.

By the second day of the contest, the CW "speed demons" generally tire a little and slow down their speed a bit. At the beginning of the contest, there are many stations who send CW at buzz saw speeds - not so much later on.

Also, on the second day, particularly towards the end, many of these monster contest stations are still looking to rack up as many points as possible. If your signal is on the weak side, it's at this point you are most likely to find stations willing to dig your signal out. Take advantage of that.

In any event, have fun! It is entirely possible for the budding QRPer  to get 1/2, if not more, of QRP DXCC done in a single weekend.

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

Best laid plans

I took another vacation day today, in order to have another long weekend. I was hoping to get back up to Washington Rock and get some more outdoor QRP in.  However, while the Nor'Easter we've had the past two days is pulling away, it has left a mostly cloudy day, with raw, stiff breezes in its wake as it leaves.

So, to quote Clint Eastwood from "Heartbreak Ridge", it's time to "improvise, adapt and overcome". So I am spending the day doing the house chores that I would have done tomorrow. And according to the weather prognosticators, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and about 10 degrees warmer than today.

A good day to spend a couple hours in the park with a KX3 and a wire in a tall, tall tree.  And also on my side ...... it appears the effects from that solar flare we had the other day are waning as well. So tomorrow may be a better solar weather day, too.

BTW, I managed to work VK9DLX the other night on 15 Meters.  I tried for about a 1/2 hour with 5 Watts and gave in to turning the KXPA100 up to 90 Watts. (Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa - recited while beating breast!) That's what I bought it for, after all. Another new one in the log.

I just had the ARRL update my DXCC standings from new countries worked via Log of the World.  I am up to 171 countries now - officially.  I have several more that I have to direct QSL (with the appropriate bri ..... I mean green stamps). Counting those, I should be pert' near 180 countries confirmed.

Oh, another thing I hope to acomplish this weekend .....get all the Skeeter certificates out.  Keep an eye peeled on your mailbox for the next little while.

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

QRP DX

This was posted to QRP-L by good friend and QRP Hall-of-Famer, Jim W4QO.  It was in response to another post by another good friend Pat KZ5J.  Pat is an avid DX'er, QRP Fox Hunter and an all around fantabulous op, who mentioned that he has, for the most part, given up on working DX with QRP. This was Jim's response basically saying, "Hey Pat, don't give up so easily".  It's a gem and it's worth re-posting here (for those of you who don't subscribe to QRP-L).

"Good show on the DX Pat.  I would not give up on QRP DX.  Here are a few things to consider:

1. Most of the logging programs (which by the way rejuvenated by hamming) allows you to keep track of things like power, band, etc.  I think it's  cool to be able to punch a button and see what the bands look like.

2. QRP ARCI does certificates for members for FREE so I use them for most of my paper chasing.  They also do not require QSLs/LoTW.  It's all honor system which when you get down to it makes sense for QRP contacts since having a card doesn't prove you were QRP.  It's up to you to be honest. After all, non-QRPers all think we are lying anyway!  So what.  I know what I did with 5 watts CW and 10 watts SSB, the international definition of QRP.  Your definition may vary; results too!

3. Wire antennas work fine for DXing.  I went for about a dozen years with  a horizontal loop at 35, then 50, then 75' and have DXCC on several bands with that before I put up a YAGI which does work better but not a whole lot better.  I enjoy using it for contesting.  Worked 102 unique countries last fall in the CQ WW DX contest.    My next challenge is to do DXCC with a #32 wire.  I'm eyeing the tree right now to put up a 125' enamel long wire.

4. Like Ron, we all have success stories about "busting pileups", "first  call", etc.  Really makes you smile!  It's a big thrill when you use QRP, a rig you built yourself, and attic antenna.  My friend W4JDS has 75 countries with his attic dipoles QRP.  Now he's moved into a house with trees!

5. I use every piece of technology I can find (other than remote receivers - I do use those - WEBSDR - to hear myself but not to work DX) such as  spotting networks, as VE7CC and DX Summit, Reverse Beacon Networks.  RBN now looks for the word TEST when you test.  So send TEST a couple times DE callsign a couple times and see where you are going with your signal.

I did snagged #258 QRP last Friday when the bands were wide open when I worked Western Sahara.  Had them with 600 watts 30 years ago but this was sweeter.  Propagation does 95% of the work.

Again, to each his own but I do like that QRP DX stuff and about any other QRP stuff such as SOTA and contests such as the Peanut Power Sprint - http://www.nogaqrp.org, building kits.  Frankly as Terry WA0ITP says, "I just love this QRP stuff!!!"

Jim/W4QO"

These are all good things for the budding (and maybe not so budding) QRP DXer to keep in reserve in the ol' brain box.

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

Location, location, location

I might not be in the best location for the QRP Fox hunts, but I do have to admit that I am blessed when it came to achieving QRP DXCC.  Those of us in the Northeast definitely do not have the edge in Fox hunting that our fellow Hounds from the Midwest have.  When you look at the Hound's scores, the guys "who get 'em all" are usually, if not exclusively, from the middle of the US.  But those of us in the Northeast, and on the East coast in general have the edge when working Europe and the Caribbean.  I believe that Jim W4QO in Georgia posted that he worked over 100 different DXCC entities just this past weekend.  That's nothing to sneeze at and is a great accomplishment!

But if your a new QRPer you may be saying to yourself, "That's all well and good, but I'm just starting out and I don't have a tower and a beam or a fancy antenna farm." I'm not saying that those wouldn't be helpful, but you can achieve a lot with simple antennas.  I posted yesterday that I worked about half a DXCC award this past weekend.  I did it with a Butternut HF9V antenna and a home brewed 88' Extended Double Zepp antenna.  These antennas are surely within the reach of beginner QRPers (HOAs notwithstanding). With 5 Watts, I worked (in no particular order):

Estonia
Norway
France
Czech Republic
Belgium
Columbia
Italy
Slovenia
Bulgaria
Poland
Spain
Bahamas
Puerto Rico
The Ukraine
European Russia
The Azores
Mexico
Brazil
Chile
Morocco
The Turks & Caicos
The Cayman Islands
Alaska
Madeira Island
Portugal
US Virgin Islands
Sweden
Nicaragua
French Guiana
Lithiuania
Aruba
Curacao
Anguilla
Finland
Atigua & Barbuda
England
Scotland
The Balearic Islands
Germany
Jamaica
Belize
The Canary Islands
Bonaire
Belarus
Denmark

That's 45 DXCC entities in just around four hours of operating.  So I don't want to hear about how QRP DXCC is hard or impossible.  I've done it and believe me, if a ham and egger like me can work 100 different countries using 5 Watts, then you can do better!  And when you come down to it, my performance this past weekend was really nothing to crow about.  If you want to read a great story, then make sure to read Phil AK2MA's recount of his ARRL DX Contest effort - 150 QSOs and 57 countries worked with an INDOOR Buddipole on just one band (15 Meters)! THAT my friends is an achievement!

There is a price to pay, however, and that is you're going to have to work on your Morse Code. Life is not a dish of assorted fancy cashews. QRP DXing and CW go together like hand and glove. Some of these contest stations were sending so fast that it took me 7 or 8 listens to get their calls right.  Normally I am comfortable copying up to 25-28 WPM; and on a good day, I can stretch that to 35 WPM if the code being sent well and the exchange is short (like a contest exchange). Some of these guys were sending around the 40 WPM stratosphere and I had to just pass them by.  But with dedication and practice you can get to the "mere human neighborhood" of 25 WPM without going crazy.

And that's part of what this is all about, too. Constantly improving your station, your antennas, and yourself!

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

Trying a new template.

Not sure I like it; or will keep it, but it IS different from what I had.  Is this template easier on the eyes?  Some folks recently and privately commented to me that they didn't like a white typeface against a dark background.  Is this any better?

I joined my CERT group to aid South Plainfield with the running of the Holy Savior Academy 5K walk/run this morning. Luckily, I only had one obnoxious driver to deal with who couldn't understand that the main roads were closed so that people wouldn't be run over.  "You actually expect me to park on this side street and walk a block to my house?", I was asked.  "Yes, sir", I replied, "It's for your protection as well as theirs."  He still huffed and puffed until he started getting unreasonable and a little belligerent, so at that point, I radioed for police assistance.  They arrived and suddenly the light bulb went on over his noggin - he got the idea.

The thing that gets me is that not only is this an annual event; but it's also very well publicized.  Notice about it appears on the local cable channel. Sacred Heart Church, which loans out its parking lot for the epicenter of the event is by far the largest church in town.  The notices for the "Family 5K Run/Walk" appears in their bulletin for weeks ahead of time. The local town paper published the details about the run/walk and the road closures the week before the event, also.  The town puts it on their Website and their Facebook page. Don't people read?  Several of our CERT members suggested to our Director of Emergency Management that perhaps next year, on the night before the event, that we do an automated "reverse 911" call and telephone all the houses anywhere near the route that the roads will be closed. Oh, and by the way, the roads are closed for all of about an hour - 90 minutes tops!

One of my Ham buddies, Marv K2VHW, who also lives in South Plainfield was at the event with me.  He told me that his rain gauge had close to 4.5 inches (11 cm) of rain in it due to yesterday's visit from Tropical Storm Andrea.  Yesterday was definitely a soaker, and I'm willing to bet the cicadas weren't too thrilled with it.   I know that the tropical storm season does officially start  with the end of May.  I don't recall us ever getting a visit by a named storm so early in the season.  I hope it's not a portent for things to come.  Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012 were enough for me for a long, long time.

Hmmmm ..... cicadas (locusts), floods ....... I think God's trying to tell us something.

Last night was a relatively quiet night on the radio.  I did turn up the power to work a new DXCC entity, however.  I heard TA3XA, Met fielding callsigns on the very low end of 20 Meters.  The pile up was pretty fierce and Met must have been running barefoot as he was only about 579 here.  To make matters worse, he was running simplex, so it was a huge jumble.  This is maybe the third time in my Ham career that I've ever heard Turkey on the air, so I just wanted to get him in the log.  He would call "QRZ?" and the veritable dam-burst of callsigns would entail.  I waited until the deluge waned and then tapped my call out.  Eventually, my strategy paid off and a 2X 579 shorty DX QSO occurred.  Another one in the books!

Tonight, there's a church carnival going on in town.  My CERT team will be out again, but I have to drop my kids off at a school dance and then pick them up, so I don't think I'll be available for parking duty.  It's going to be a mess too, because I drove by the field where they direct cars for fair parking and it looks like a huge mud wallow after yesterday.  Maybe I can use the time between dropping my kids off and picking them up for some HF time.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Struggle for a new one

I worked a new DXCC entity via QRP tonight, and it was a workout.  The funny thing is, the actual distance? Not so much.  This one was a Caribbean Island. And from the East Coast, the islands of the Caribbean are usually not very hard at all.

But conditions on 17 Meters tonight were soupy.  The QSB was rolling in and out.  My quarry was 599 one second and about 569 the next.  But I finally got FJ/K5WE in the log, and worked Saint Barhtelemy for the first time, using QRP power to boot.

If you look at the map, your first reaction is probably the same as mine. No big deal, right? I mean I've worked just about every single island down that way, many of them lots of times over.  We're talking just a couple of thousand miles - really no big deal even for QRP.  But the pileup was busy and the QSX frequency kept moving.  Once I was able to establish the pattern, it didn't take long.  But because of the QSB, I couldn't hear a lot of the stations that FJ/K5WE was working, so it made establishing that pattern just a little bit tougher.

Like I said before, once I was actually able to hear a few of the stations and was able to figure out where FJ/K5WE was listening, I just tweaked my transmit frequency a touch higher and just kept calling until he worked his way up and just kind of fell into my lap.

Conditions are probably just "meh" - definitely not the greatest.  The sunspot number is down to under 100 and the A index is up there.  Not as bad as it was a few days ago, but still not great.  The few Russian stations that I was able to hear were all warbly as if the signals were experiencing polar flutter.  CO8LY was louder than all get out as was H70ORO.  I was surprised that FJ/K5WE wasn't stronger, considering that Eduardo CO8LY was so strong.  Could be an antenna situation, not sure what K5WE is using down there on his tropical get away.

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

Interesting day

It rained ALL day, for the most part.  Not really heavy, but a good soaking Spring rain.  Just what I need to get the grass growing again after I mowed it Friday night!

I started the day with a nice rag chew with Joe W2KJ. I always get a kick out of working Joe.  He's an outstanding QRPer; and it's always a pleasure to chat with him. But I really get kick out of the W2KJ to W2LJ thing - our calls being one letter apart.

This afternoon, I worked VQ975FOC/MM. If he was in the Chagos Islands, where the call sign is from, that would have been quite the QSO at 9,366 miles away.  But as he was signing /MM, Jim could have been just about anywhere on the face of the earth. Shortly after working him, I got a tweet from Chris KQ2RP. He was intermittently trying to work the same station in between shack cleaning chores. When Chris heard the VQ9 come back to me, he redoubled his efforts and got him in his log, also.  You know what they say, "QRPers of a feather, flock together."  Cool, Chris, I'm glad you worked him too.

I worked VP5/W5CW down in the Turks and Caicos on 20 Meters.  I have worked Dave several times over the years in the big DX contests. I guess he's down in the islands getting ready for the CQ WPX Contest, which is next weekend.

I also got a new DXCC entity in the QRP log today.  By working CP4BT, I worked Bolivia with QRP for the first time.  I've worked that country several times over the years, but it was always QRO in the past.  This time it was with 5 Watts.  I am going to have to go through my log and see how many that brings me up to via QRP.  I think it might be somewhere close to 130 now.

I finished the day by giving out points in the monthly Run For The Bacon.  It seems pickings were sparse this month; and that might be no surprise. I am willing to wager that a lot of my fellow piggies were returning home from Dayton today and were just too tired to hunt for bacon!

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