On The Road Again!

Pretty soon, Marianne and I will be making our annual Summer sojourn up to Lake George. We've been going up there very year since 2003 - 22 years now - wow!

What to bring with me Ham Radio wise?

I'm thinking the KX3 and just the AX1. The antenna worked so well for me when we went up to Alexandria Bay last October. I'm fully confident that it will do well again for me as I activate Adirondack State Park for POTA again this year.

Why not the QMX? I could, but I know the KX3 like the back of my hand and it's an old familiar friend. I'm such a creature of habit that I'm seriously thinking of divesting myself of the QMX. It's the 80- 20 Meter version, was not used much and is in excellent shape, both cosmetically and electronically.. It's really redundant to my needs, so if you're interested, or know of someone who might be, I'll let it go at a very reasonable price. Just drop me a line at w2ljqrp@gmail.com

It's a fantastic little rig, but I'm not one of these guys that needs a radio for each finger of both hands. You can use only one at a time, right?

One other last Field Day thought. My batteries! Bravo ......superb job, batteries!  I used my 12Ah lithium battery and I loaned my 12Ah SLA to Bill W2AOF for his KX3. Both lasted for the entire Field Day effort, allowing the KX3's to deliver a full 5 Watts out for the duration.

They are still in my ammo box in the baxk of the Jeep. I'll have to bring them inside tonight and hook them up to my smart charger.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Field Day After Action

 I can succinctly sum up Field Day 2025 in this manner - The weather was hot ...the bands were not!

Overall, the weather was dry, but it was incredibly hot and humid. Set up on Saturday morning felt like we were setting up in a sauna. It was a bit drier on Sunday for teardown, but there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun provided a relentless reminder that it was indeed, Summer

Ahhhhhhh, but it would have been nice had the bands been as hot!

Last year, Marv and I racked up over 200 CW QSOs. That accounted for a couple hours off the air for thunderstorm and an educational activity that we performed. This year, with no lightning to worry about and no educational activity to interrupt our operating, we still only managed to log 169 CW QSOs. And Marv and I were behind the key at all times. He and I both noticed that there were many times that a station as loud as heck, calling "CQ FD" would just not answer us, as much as we would try. A reminder, I guess, that propagation is not always symmetrical.

Digital and SSB QSO totals suffered as well. We had a lack of operators this year, as a few that usually come weren't up to it this year. So, in a pinch, when Marty WB2BEW, our resident SSB Op went to his car for an AC break during the overnight, I picked up the mic and was making SSB QSOs while Marv was behind the key. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water!

Propagation held us to mainly the eastern and midwestern parts of the US and Canada, although we did manage to work the California coastal sections, as well as Alaska and Puerto Rico. The Alaska QSO was made by Dave KD2FSI on FT8 and I worked Puerto Rico twice on CW.

And what can I say more about Dave KD2FSI? He's a mainstay to and a MAJOR part SPARC's Field Day efforts. If he wasn't with us, we'd never have the success that we enjoy. He brings equipment and antennas in addition to what I bring and what Bill W2AOF brings. Without Dave, we'd be hurting puppies, indeed!

Under the miscellaneous file:

The Jackite stand worked perfectly. It held the pole upright to allow for easily installation of the tent pegs and CamJam tie down ropes without everything flopping over. In fact, it held everything so securely that I had a bit of a time getting it uninstalled!

From the "Stupid Me" Department:

The Vibrokeyer looked so mint out of the box, I did not check the condition of the contacts. They are tarnished and gave us fits all weekend. The key would work intermittently. I need to go over the contacts with a Q-Tip and some NOXON tarnish remover. For a major portion of the weekend, we used the QRP Guys paddles that I keep permanently attached to the KX3.

From the "Hog Heaven" Department:

The plan was for me to go out and purchase about five pizzas for dinner for Saturday evening.  During setup on Saturday morning, the Vadney brothers, Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC came by and told us they were bringing BBQ ribs and baked beans that evening. Wow! The ribs were tender, juicy and fall-off-the-bone perfect! The beans were the epic compliment to the ribs and made for a perfect Summer feast! Thank you, Dave and Danny!

We had a lot of visitors and walk-up pedestrian traffic. We were visited by the ARRL, the American Red Cross and by members of our Borough Council. We were able to give our Mayor a copy of the plaque indicating that our Field Day was dedicated to the memory of his father, John AB2VE.

Here are some photos:

The other major development was that our generator that provides electricity for our computer logging network the crapped out early Sunday morning. We thought it had run out of gas, but it didn't - it just stopped working. We were provided a work around solution to the problem when Dave KD2FSI graciously fired up his Ford Bronco and allowed us to hook up an inverter to his battery. I'm not sure what the exact problem with the generator is; and what we're going to do about it. We will take this up at our next meeting on July 17th.

One thing that would have been nice to have? One of those chiller/mister fans. That would have been great! I'm seriously thinking of getting one of these and donating it to the club.

I made the executive decision to put the brakes on at 1:00 PM instead of 2:00 PM. The tent company came around 2:30 PM to retrieve the tent. I passed by the park at around 7:00 PM yesterday and you would have never known that we spent the weekend there.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Final preps for Field Day

I am mostly organized. I just have to do a few things.

I went to Home Depot last night and bought two lengths of 1" PVC and a can of fluorescent  orange paint. I am going to make new end supports for the MFJ-1980 LP.  I was using driveway markers, like two of these:

But, believe it or not, someone helped themselves to one end and I found that end of the wire touching the ground. I highly doubt that anyone will want a piece of PVC pipe painted neon orange. But I guess you never know!

I still have to figure out a carrying bag option for my Jackite stand. I have all day tomorrow as I'm taking the day off from work. Not because of Field Day, but I need new brakes on the Jeep before our yearly sojourn to Lake George, which is coming up soon. I'll be dropping my car off at my mechanic's place tonight and hopefully it will be done by tomorrow evening. Marianne suggested I take an Uber to work and back and I told her that would probably cost more than what I would earn for the day if I were there!

I'll borrow my daughter Cara's car to get the grocery shopping done; and if I can't find anything suitable in the house to use for carrying the stand, a quick trip to Dick's Sporting Goods for a sleeping bag storage bag should do the trick.

Other than that, i just need to bring everything together so I can load it into the Jeep on Saturday morning.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Sizzling.

 I think you can flip New Jersey over - this side is done.

We are entering a three day period (Monday thru Wednesday) of excessive heat with temperatures above 100 F (38C) and heat indices of 105-100 F (40 -43C). Yesterday only reached into the 90s, but the humidity was out of sight, causing it to feel much, much warmer.

Of course, W2LJ lives in the "purple".

The morning actually started out cool and we had most of our windows open for fresh air. Around 11:30 AM or so, a thunderstorm rolled through and all I can say is "Wow!". I had dozed off on the couch in the rec room and even then, I saw a flash with my eyes closed. The resulting thunderclap seemed to last for minutes and the house shook and vibrated. If there was no storm, I would have sworn we had experienced an earthquake, that's how much the house vibrated.

After the storm went through the heat began to build up again. By the time dinner time came around, it was almost unbearable to go outside to cook on the grill.  Sleeping was not so great last night. We have central AC, but it's older so it's not zoned. The downstairs stays decently cool, but the upstairs can get stuffy.

When I was a kid, the heat didn't bother me as much. I grew up in a house without air conditioning. In fact, I much preferred Summer to the Winter. I still do, but the heat gets to me much more quickly now. I guess that's just a consequence of growing old. My ideal would be anywhere from 65 F to 80 F year around. Like that's gonna happen!

That being said, Field Day preps have begin for me. I made sure all my batteries are charged up for next weekend. I actually have enough "juice" for a week's worth of operating at 5 Watts between a lithium and two SLA batteries. I also have my two little "blue bricks" that  I use for portable ops like FOBB and the Skeeter Hunt. I should be in good stead.

Speaking of the Skeeter Hunt, we've had 113 people sign up for Skeeter Hunt numbers over the weekend. That warmed the cockles of my heart. I'm hoping that by the day before the Hunt, we will have some 200+ people signed up. The more, the merrier!

The VE Session at the W2QW Hamfest on Saturday went well. I was expecting four candidates. One cancelled late Friday night and there was one "no show". Two were successful - one brand new Tech and one upgrade to General. The weather was nice with no breeze. The breeze was probably wished for by the flea market attendees, but I welcomed the calmness as it made for no blowing away of paperwork. Such are the hazards of an outdoor VE Session.

After the exams were over, I left. I had been there since 5:00 AM helping to direct vendors to their spots. I still had the grocery shopping to do and there's nothing that I really need, Ham Radio-wise, so I bid my good-byes and got on with my day.

UPDATE:

At 4:30 PM, we broke 100 F, with a THI of 124.3F.

From my weather station.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Sacrilege?

From recent posts, you all know that I recently built my 4 States NM0S paddle kit. I had purchased it specifically for Field Day use. Personally, I love it! I love its small size, its action and feel. It occurred to me, however, that it might not be the best choice for Field Day for one reason.

I will not be the only CW op there. I will be one of two, or three at the most; and somehow I have a feeling that the paddle's small size will become an issue to the other ops. I'm definitely not bringing my Mercury or Begali paddles. They are too near and dear to my heart, so I decided that I will bring my trusty Vibroplex Vibrokeyer.

It works perfectly, has a good weight to it and is large enough where it will be comfortable in even hands older than mine.

I have one problem with the key, though. That (as far as I'm concerned) ugly tan base. Why in the world Vibroplex chose that color is beyond me. Sorry for the graphic image, but it reminds me of the colors I used to find in our kid's diapers when they were infants.  YUCK!

If memory serves me correctly, I picked this up at a Hamfest years ago. I don't use it all that much and it's usually tucked away on a shelf in the shack. And that's a pity as it's really a fine key. I just can't stand that tan base, it just irks me.

After Field Day is over, I think I am going to disassemble it and re-paint the base with the same Rustoleum Black Hammer Finish paint that I used when I restored my Vibroplex Original Bug. That may devalue it, but I don't really care. I'm not planning on selling it and maybe the new look will merit a place for it on the operating table instead of on the shelf.

I hope I haven't driven any Vibroplex purists to begin pulling out their hair. "You're going to do WHAT?!??"

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Field Day article

 Our article made the local online newspaper - 

You can read the full article here:

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/south-plainfield/sections/community-announcements/articles/south-plainfield-amateur-radio-club-to-participate-in-field-day-2025?fbclid=IwY2xjawK2wU9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFWc2tRWFl0WEVscWdGNFRHAR68e5W9QgCyCkxC8jZae9CATY_AJwgq83mFO1L_1ZiJMd_LkycL7dJG9yTEuw_aem_KGuWAKoUW6zCpLP-VRNdFQ

Only minor edits to what I sent, so i guess I didn't botch up things too badly, after all.

Actually, if your club is having Field Day, it's not all that hard to get local publicity. Local print and online publications are always looking for content. I conjured up this article all by my lonesome, but if you're not comfortable with your writing skills, the ARRL has resources that you can use:

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2020/3_4a-2020%20New%20Field%20Day%20PR%20Kit.pdf

I used their material as boilerplate for our article last year. I thought with Hurricane Helene and the havoc she caused in the Southeast still so fresh in everyone's mind, that I would write my own article this year. It's not all that different than composing these blog posts.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Busy, busy. A lot to do!

Field Day has pre-occupied the last couple of month's worth of South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meetings. Fortunately, we're on target and pretty much raring to go.  W2LJ on the other hand? Not so much. There are several important things that I need to get done. Fortunately, next weekend is the three day Memorial Day weekend here in the US, so I'll make the best use of the time that I can.

1) I want to construct that 4 States paddle that I purchased.

Last year, I brought my March paddle to Field Day. I'd prefer to leave both my "luxury Ferrari" keys - my Begali and my March paddles home in the shack. Not concerned about pilferage, but more of exposing either to the elements if we get really crazy weather. Last year we experienced a lot of windblown rain during a period of thunderstorms. We managed to keep the equipment dry, but it was an adventure.

2) I will be building a base for my Jackite mast holder.  In the past, I've deployed it like this:

The PVC pipe held in place by the three tie down ropes. It works quite well, but dealing with those ropes while simultaneously trying to keep the pipe upright as currently configured is quite a pain in the butt cheeks. If I had eight arms like an octopus, it would not be a problem. But I don't, so some aid is needed.  I want to build a base for it, and I purchased the PVC that I need to do that. I'll still use the tie down ropes to anchor everything in order to keep it all from being blown over, but this base idea that I have in mind will keep everything upright while I fiddle with each individual tent peg and rope. I'll post pictures next weekend, hopefully.

3) The shack needs some straightening up.  I need to do that so I can accomplish #s 1 & 2 above. I have a three tier cart thing right next to my bench that holds a lot of stuff. The cart that I had been using is old, was never the epitome of strength to begin with and now a caster has caved in and it's a wobbly, unstable mess.. I purchased this one from eBay for under $30. It actually has some metal to it and is not entirely plastic.

This should help clear up some space, because I moved everything from the old cart onto the benchtop to keep things from falling and breaking. It should come early this week.

In addition to the shack work, I need to update NJ2SP's QRZ page with our Field Day info. I also need to write and submit Field Day articles to our town's local publications. One is a print publication and the other is web based.

I also want to go through my VE paperwork for the last 12 months and want to extend invitations to Field Day to the new licensees that are relatively local to us.

Not too much to do .....right? Actually, I can work on the invitations and the news stories during the evenings this week after I get home from work and have dinner.

Finally, to end this post, a tip o' the cap and a hearty round of Congratulations have to go out to John Laney K4BAI. John, who I know from the QRP Fox Hunts, and various QRP Sprints - and, who is a stalwart participant in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame at Hamvention this past weekend.  FB, John! I can't think of a more well deserving and top notch operator than you.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Cool QRP Image

 I wish I had the wherewithal to construct something like this:

As seen on FB, of course. Say what you want about Facebook and social media, but if you stay away from political stuff and nonsense stuff, you can find some gems, meaning some really cool Amateur Radio information, astronomy stuff. I've even found some good Polish recipes there. Just this past Sunday I made kotlet schabowy, which are Polish style breaded pork chops, like my Mom used to make. I came across the recipe on FB, and they were a hit with the family. Even my semi-vegetarian daughter liked them.

Last night, I did not get on the air, but I did go online to fill out the request form with the Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation to reserve space in Spring Lake Park for Field Day. Usually Dave KD2FSI does this for us, but I feel bad that he always does. I'm sure he doesn't mind, but I don't want him to feel like he's stuck with it, either. As it is, he brings so much to our Field Days that we'd be SERIOUSLY hurting with out him. As they say, many hands lighten the load and I don't want him to feel like he's the only one doing all the prep work.

And that reminds me........ I have to go over to the ARRL Field Day Locator and put our info in.

Done!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend of April 5th and 6th

We had a SPARC Activity Night meeting last night, where we discussed acquiring a party tent for Field Day. We used to do that in our earlier Field Days via the overwhelming generosity of Dave KD2FSI, who would unselfishly donate the funds to the club. Now we have an organization, Hadley Communications Technologies, that we can go to, to ask for the needed dollars  We want to acquire a 10 X 20 foot commercial party tent with sides that can withstand the elements better than the Harbor Freight style car port that we've been using the past couple of years.

Not the best photo, but this is what we used the first several Field Days. It was enclosed on three sides. Just from the one end you can see the "windows" and get an idea of how sturdy it was. Notice the anchor ropes holding it down. The best part was that the company we rented it from came to the park on Friday to set it up and would come back on Monday to tear it down and haul it away, leaving us with one less chore for us to worry about.

Then we went to this, which worked, but was not deluxe:

The car port we used with makeshift tarp sides. There were several times, in the midst of Field Day, that a good wind would come through and we literally had to "hold down the fort"! It made do, but was not as sturdy or robust. When it would start to rain, this arrangement left a lot to be desired.

After that discussion, Bill W2AOF gave a talk about solar panels and controllers and the MC4 connectors used in conjunction. Those are available through Powerwerx and are much more robust that Anderson Power Poles.

So ........ on to this weekend:

Contests:

CW operators, you may hear A LOT of digital activity this weekend! Primarily the ODXS 070 New Member Jamboree, the EA RTTY Contest, the RSGB FT4 International Activity Day, 

Georgia State Parks on the Air - https://gaparks.org/rules-register/

Florida State Parks on the Air - https://flspota.org/rules/

Louisiana QSO Party - http://laqp.louisianacontestclub.org/laqso_rules.htm

Mississippi QSO Party - https://www.arrlmiss.org/

Missouri QSO Party - http://www.w0ma.org/index.php/missouri-qso-party

SP DX Contest - https://spdxcontest.pzk.org.pl/2024/rules.php

George Batterson 1935 QSO Party - https://www.qsl.net/ve7sl/batterson.html

Monday Night:

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

Tuesday Night:

NAQCC CW Sprint - http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html

And a reminder .......don't forget NEXT weekend:

Special Events:

04/05/2025 | Polio on the Air

Apr 5-Apr 19, 0000Z-2359Z, W7P/O/L/I&W0O, Seattle, WA. Norwhal Amateur Radio Society (NR7WL). see website for list of frequencies. QSL. QSLs, will be mailed, to all contacts. nars@narwhal.be or https://nars.narwhal.be/polio

04/06/2025 | GERATOL NET 52nd Anniversary

Apr 6-Apr 13, 0001Z-2359Z, N1KL, Wheelwright, MA. GERATOL NET. 3.668. Certificate. Kevin Lynch, POB 124, Wheelwright, MA 01094. Ther GERATOL Net Worked All States net is celebrating 52 years of service to the Amateur Radio community. For special downloadable certificate, look for W1G Special Event on 3.668 Mhz starting at 0100Z each evening. https://geratol.net

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Mind if we brag?

I guess you can consider this a guest post - good friend Dave KD2FSI posted this to the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club Facebook page, and I'm posting it here as well, because there's an important message here.

2024 Field Day Results:

The ARRL Field Day Results are now out in a CSV file format. This file format can be imported to an Excel spreadsheet and sorted to compare the results by categories, sections and so forth.

We know from the results published in December’s QST that SPARC came in 3rd out of 5 in the 3A-Battery category, but I was interested in seeing how we did overall compared to all categories and sections.

Looking at all categories In the NNJ section, SPARC ranked 2nd out of 47 entries.

I then combined all categories in the NNJ section with all categories in the SNJ section where we ranked 5th out of 77 total New Jersey entries.

But what I always think is impressive, is where SPARC ranks when compared to total of all categories participating nationwide.

And this year, SPARC ranked 216th out of 4319 total Field Day entries! This puts SPARC’s score in the top 5% of all the submitted logs that participated in the 2024 Field Day.

What I think is even more impressive is that SPARC can complete this well against well equipped, big money stations. Some of which are using as many as 13 transceivers running 100 watts out to crank-up towers with beam antennas sitting on top. While SPARC uses just 3 battery powered transceiver running 5 watts out to wire antennas.

Congratulations to SPARC and everyone involved, for a considerable effort with a great outcome. 

73, Dave KD2FSI

Thanks, Dave, for your research. And I'm posting this here because it's important for all of you out there to know - if we can do this, so can you! We are not super special, by any means, we're just a bunch of Hams who like to play radio and enjoy a challenge.

QRP is NOT a handicap, and does not have to take a backseat to anyone! Don't let anyone ever tell you different!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Field Day Results for 2024

Results came out a few weeks ago - I forgot to mention this. This is how SPARC placed in our category:

You can't come in any more "middle of the pack" than SPARC!

I was looking at the 1st place holders, the NE TX QRP Contest Federation and I was thinking how do only three guys make 730 QSOs? That is phenomenal! But then again, from their description, they are contesters.  Most likely very experienced contesters. We're not. 

I'm sure their antenna setup is probably significantly better than ours and we were curtailed by thunderstorms and the educational activity that we put on this year. And there was a lot of "meet and greet" with visitors going on at our site this year, which I guess is really part of the purpose of Field Day. But all that took time away from the radios.

Marv K2VHW jokingly commented that his goal for SPARC is to equal those 730 Q's next Field Day. In response I told him that several things will be necessary:

1) No educational activity - took too many people away from the radios.

2) No food. there will be no time for eating.

3) Unlimited coffee. Need to keep going full bore for then entire 24 hours.

4) Ample supply of "Depends" You know why - no time for Nature breaks, either.

5) Defibrillator on site. Because one or more of us will probably have a heart attack.

This is all in good humor, of course. We don't take Field Day as a contest that seriously and we realize that a major purpose of Field Day is to educate the public about Amateur Radio and its role in Emergency Communications.

But still, it would be nice to finish 1st Place in our category one of these years. So on the drive to work this morning, I was thinking about a possible way to increase our QSO count. Since we're limited to 5 Watts by our battery category, we've relegated ourselves to being Hunters and Pouncers. But after a few times of going up and down the band, say 40 Meters, it seems like you've worked everyone you can hear. Then it's time to switch to a different band .......right? Maybe instead of changing bands, it might be a good strategy to go up the band, find an unoccupied frequency, and call CQ for a while. It might not generate a lot of QSOs, but it's better than wasting time hunting on a band that you think you've pretty much fished out. And if we find ourselves calling CQ with no takers, say after 10 minutes or so, THEN we can switch bands.

Now, for my duty as one of the 40 Meter Foxes last night - it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, although QSB was really bad. I'd have a Hound call me at 579 and I'd give my half of the exchange and then they'd come back to me at 449 or even 339. Wow!

According to the Reverse Beacon Network, this is where the skimmers were picking me up last night:

And sure enough, the s/n figures for Europe were pretty pathetic - only a computer or Superman was hearing me there!

If you count the two Foxes, KR0U and myself, then there's 51 Hounds in the log. There were a couple of dupes that I edited out. I don't think I did too badly for being a rusty ol' Fox. I posted a preliminary log to the QFOX iO Group. Let's see how many corrections come back.  I am not like the other Foxes. I do not use N1MM. I still log with pencil and paper. Were I to attempt to computer log, by the time I would type in the call signs, I'd probably only work 1/2 the stations I ended up working. I'm not multi task capable in that regard. I'm lucky i can key and write at the same time!

There is one thing about being a Fox that I dislike. The Hunts here on the East coast are from 9:00 to 10:30 PM. When Fox duty is done for the night, I'm so wired that I generally can't fall asleep until around Midnight. When you have to get up at 5:00 AM for work the next day, that makes it a bit tough.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

You know what we could use next Field Day?

Just some quick thoughts.

Someone mentioned on Facebook that these worked great for them.

Personal neck fans - I have to tell you, anything that would have helped beat the heat would have been nice. The temps were in the 90s with the Temperature Humidity Index over 100F. I am going to purchase one of thee for myself sometime before next Field Day. (Of course, once I do so, that will GUARANTEE that next year, Field Day will be chillier than normal! Just like buying a snowblower insures a snow-less Winter!)

And one of these might have been nice - an electric bug zapper.

We were overrun by beetles during the overnight. I thought they were Japanese beetles as that's what they looked like to me, but I was told they were not. But whatever type of beetle they were, they were pesky little varmints. And they were getting into everything! A few flew into my hair, a couple more down my shirt. Ugh. If you were drinking anything from an open cup, you always had to take a look before taking a sip. Yuck.

Maybe spraying the area with one of those commercial yard foggers before we set up might help, too. The heavy rain we experienced kept the mosquitoes at bay, but the beetles were something else, again.  I had forgotten about those little devils from previous Field Days. They made a nuisance of themselves at Putnam Park, too.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Come and gone - again.

Before I begin, some sights from SPARC Field Day 2024, I provided some sounds on the previous post:

Dave KD2FSI setting up the 6 Meter antenna and VHF/UHF Antennas.

We were visited by Councilman Derryck White. That's Bill W2AOF, the Councilman, Tim AB2ZK behind him and Marv K2VHW to the right.

Marty WB2BEW hard at work making SSB contacts.

Dave KD2FSI making FT8 contacts and Dave was also our GOTA Coach.

KD2FSI and K2VHW burning the Midnight oil.

A panoramic shot of Spring Lake Park and our Field Day site courtesy of Mario KD2HPF

The anniversary banner proudly displayed. Photo by KD2HPF

Harry KC2PGX playing with lemons - more about that below. Photo by KD2HPF.

And there was cake!

So where does one begin? We'll start by a brief weather report. It was hot, hot, HOT! The heat and humidity and thunderstorms made this Field Day an extra effort this year, but it turned out to be worth it. Set up and tear down were not complicated by rain, but working in the hot sun takes its toll, especially when you're not a spring chicken anymore!

Despite the weather, this was perhaps our best Field day effort ever. We had a lot of visitors, and the educational activity with the kids was a success - at least IMHO. We had five kids show up and we explained what batteries were and how they worked. Then the kids were each given a lemon, some copper and zinc coated nails and a cheapie Harbor Freight VOM.  The got to see their lemons actually produced voltage from anywhere from 0.8 V to a little over a Volt. And we all found out together, courtesy of Harry KC2PGX, that it takes six lemons connected in series to light up a 2 Volt LED.

After the educational activity, there was pizza and cake. That, of course was more satisfying and welcome than the educational activity, but the kids and their parents or grandparents left happy, I think.

We also had a few non-member Hams show up to guest operate and the kids who came for the educational activity attempted to make contacts on the GOTA station, thanks to the watchful eye and coaching of Dave KD2FSI.

Because of the educational activity and the thunderstorms, there might be fewer QSOs in the log this year. We had to shut down and disconnect antennas three times during the event. The thunderstorms were pretty intense with some pretty close lightning strikes. Marb K2VHW was keeping an eye on that via https://map.blitzortung.org/ In all we may have lost a good two or three hours of operating time.

But the time we were able to spend on the bands was time well spent. There was a ton of activity and we were making contacts right up until around 1:00 PM on Sunday when it seemed that activity was significantly slowing down and we decided to pack it in.

From the top of my foggy head, I believe we made 230 CW contacts, 97 FT8 contacts and about 75 or so SSB contacts - all at 5 Watts, all done on battery powered transceivers. The two MFJ end feds once again did an outstanding job for us. Great results with a minimum of hassle in time and effort to spend setting them up and stowing them away. And Ol'' Sol behaved this weekend! No solar flares or Coronal Mass Ejections to ruin the weekend with HF blackouts.

The core group of SPARC members did an outstanding job of pulling Field Day 2024 off. I'm proud and honored to be a member of that core group. And publicly, I would like to state that it was another honor and pleasure to be partnered up with Marv K2VHW as the primary CW ops. Marv is by far the best CW op that I know. I'm nowhere close to being in his league and I appreciate being teamed up with him.

Before I close - a disclaimer. Please excuse any typos or other goofs I may have made in this post. My brain is still in a fog from the spending the majority of the weekend without sleep. I don't think I've messed up too badly.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend is here!

 'Nuff said!

It's here! Hope to work you on Field Day! Please listen for NJ2SP on the bands.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

SPARC makes the local press!

 

By Larry Makoski

PublishedJune 19, 2024 at 12:04 PM

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ - Members of the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 22 – 23, at Spring Lake Park in South Plainfield. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

For more than 100 years, Amateur Radio — also called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster or emergency, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet. Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network.

The setup will feature a “Get On The Air” station, where anyone without an Amateur Radio license will be able to get behind a microphone and communicate with other Field Day stations throughout the United States and Canada.

At 4:00 PM on Saturday, there will be an educational event for youngsters titled “When life hands you lemons …..make electricity!”  Club members will explain how the batteries that power cellphones, tablets and computers actually work. Simple batteries will be constructed using lemons and simple supplies found around the house.

The event runs for 24 hours from 2:00 PM on Saturday to 2:00 PM Sunday. Please feel free to drop by and see how easy it is to get involved in Amateur Radio.

Contact: Larry Makoski W2LJ  – w2ljqrp@gmail.com

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you follow the ARRL's boiler plate for publicity. I'm no PIO, but this was pretty easy for my first try at this!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least1

Proclaimed

Amateur Radio Week was indeed proclaimed at the Boro Council Meeting last night.  Neil WA2EGE, Marv K2VHW and W2LJ are standing next to our Mayor, the Honorable Matthew Anesh.

So why does W2LJ have that "deer in the headlights" look? The group was asked to say a few words, and neither Neil or Marv spoke up, so it fell upon yours truly. I am NOT the greatest public speaker, especially off the cuff. But I did manage to stammer out a few words about Field Day, SPARC's 10th Anniversary and extended an invitation to all to come by to get on the air via our GOTA station.

I don't think I embarrassed myself too badly.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A hot time in the old town tonight!

 Wow!

Summer starts on Thursday, but you would think by the forecast temps that it starts today! 

90s all week, but my attention is on Saturday and Sunday, of course. Looks like set up and tear down for Field Day will be OK. But the boomers for Saturday can start as soon as 2:00 PM. And of course, 2:00 PM is the start of the whole shebang! A little rain is no big deal, as we'll be more than amply covered. Lightning? We all know about antennas, radio and lightning - not a perfect match.

It's only Monday and things could change by the weekend - let's hope they change for the better and not the worse! (I'm such a worry wart!)

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!

Field Day and the weekend

I spent a little time (and money) on the Vistaprint site last night, designing an additional and special banner for SPARC's Field Day effort:

We will be marking the 10th Anniversary of our founding and 10 years of service to our community. There will be cake!  Oh yes, there will be cake!

I'm not a graphic designer, by any means, and I'm certain that a pro would've come up with something snappier and more eye-catching. But we'd also have to pay for that service, so SPARC will have to make do with my meager effort. With practicality in mind, I took special care not to mention "10th Anniversary" so that the banner can be re-displayed as needed in future years. Observers should be able to do the math in their heads, and if they can't, they can always whip out their cell phone calculators.

On to the weekend's doings:

Contests:

Tisza Cup CW Contest - https://www.tiszacup.eu/index.php/en/contest-rules

Wake-Up! QRP Sprint - http://qrp.ru/contest/wakeup/333-wakeup-eng

Kentucky QSO Party - http://www.kyqsoparty.org/rules/

IARU Region 1 Field Day, CW - https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/iaru-region-1-fieldday/en/

ARRL Inter. Digital Contest (undoubtedly this will encroach down into the CW portion of the bands) - https://www.arrl.org/arrl-digital-contest

ARS Spartan Sprint (Monday evening) - https://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2023/05/what-is-ars-spartan-sprint-and-how-can.html

Special Events:

05/31/2024 | 45th Hank Williams Sr Festival

May 31-Jun 1, 1500Z-2359Z, W4H, Georgiana, AL. Jim Bell Wireless Association. 14250 SSB 7180 SSB 14074 FT8 7074 FT8. QSL. JBWA - W4H, 274 W Pettibone Rd, Georgiana, AL 36033. The festival celebrates the legendary Hank Williams Sr career with live entertainment and vendors. The special event station will be at Watson Park across from the festival grounds. Send a SASE for QSL. For additional information: hank@k4tns.com https://www.k4tns.com/hank

06/01/2024 | Audie Murphy 

Jun 1, 1400Z-2000Z, W2A, Christiansburg, VA. New River Valley Amateur Radio Club. 14.240. QSL. Danny Wylam, 710 McDaniel Dr., Christiansburg, VA 24073-3848. Commemorating Audie Murphy, America's most decorated soldier from WW2 dannywylam@gmail.com

06/01/2024 | Fox River Radio League 100th Anniversary

Jun 1-Jun 15, 0000Z-2359Z, W9CEQ, Batavia, IL. Fox River Radio League. 14.260 14.035 7.260 7.035. Certificate & QSL. FRRL - K9MMS, PO Box 673, Batavia, IL 60510. www.frrl.org

06/01/2024 | GB80 D-Day - WWII D-Day 80th Anniversary

Jun 1-Jun 28, 0000Z-2359Z, GB80DDAY, Berkshire, ENGLAND. Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society. All bands; all modes. QSL. See website for, QSL, information, ENGLAND. Operating from the Control Tower each Saturday, and Thursday June 6; remote other times. Other activities will occur throughout the event at the Control Tower. www.nadars.org.uk

06/01/2024 | Museum Ships Weekend - Nuclear Ship Savannah

Jun 1-Jun 2, 1300Z-2100Z, K3SAV, 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/k3sav

06/01/2024 | Museum Ships Weekend Event

Jun 1-Jun 2, 0001Z-2359Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

06/01/2024 | Museum Ships Weekend Event - Special emphasis because this is New Jersey!

Jun 1-Jun 2, 0001Z-2359Z, NJ2BB, Camden, NJ. Battle Ship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station. 7272 14262 7044 14044. QSL. Margaret Burgess, 150 Schooner Avenue, Barnegat, NJ 08005. nj2bb.org

06/01/2024 | Museum Ships Weekend Event - USS Tennessee

Jun 1-Jun 2, 0000Z-0359Z, W4BSF, Oneida, TN. Big South Fork Amateur Radio Club and the USS Tennessee Battleship Museum. 40 20 15 and 10 meters. QSL. W4BSF USS TN BB43, P.O. Box 5029, Oneida, TN 37841. Please check spotting networks. QSL with SASE by July 15, 2024. bsfarc.org/museum-ship-weekend-2024

06/01/2024 | National Museum of the Great Lakes Museum Ships Weekend Event

Jun 1-Jun 2, 1400Z-1830Z, K8E, Toledo, OH. Toledo Mobile Radio Association W8HHF. 14.260 14.239 7.260 7.039. QSL. Col. James M. Schoonmaker, P.O. Box 9673, Toledo, OH 43697. www.qrz.com/db/K8E or www.w8hhf.org 

06/01/2024 | NB9QV USS Cobia Special Event

Jun 1-Jun 2, 1400Z-2000Z, NB9QV, Manitowoc, WI. NB9QV Cobia Club. 7.240 14.240. Certificate. See website, for information on receiving, certificate. An Electronic Certificate will be available. Please send your call sign, name, band, date and UTC time of contact to kc9yl@arrl.net to receive your PDF certificate via email. https://www.qrz.com/db/NB9QV

06/01/2024 | Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival

Jun 1, 0900Z-1000Z, W0R / WA0SDO, Sedalia, MO. Sedalia Pettis Amateur Radio Klub. 14.250 7.180. Certificate. Bret Kuhns, 1880 Quisenberry Rd, Sedalia, Sedalia, MO 65301-0445. We Will be operating on site at the Scott Joplin Ragtime Music Festival. www.wa0sdo.org

06/01/2024 | W2D D-Day Commemoration

Jun 1-Jun 14, 1300Z-2200Z, W2D, Hunt Valley, MD. Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum (ARCNEM). 14.244 14.044 7.244 7.044. Certificate & QSL. K3NY, 108 Brent, Arnold, MD 21012. Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum (ARCNEM) will operate W2D in commemoration of the anniversary of D-Day and the role of electronics in WWII. Primary operation will be June 1-June 6 with additional operation possible during June 7-14 as operator availability permits. Operation on 80M (3.544, 3.844), additional bands and digital modes possible during event. Frequencies +/- according to QRM. QSL and Certificate available via SASE; details at ww-2.us ww-2.us

A little bit more on the USS New Jersey. The battleship New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in the United States Navy. She served with distinction in more conflicts than any other in her class. Originally, the plan was that the USS New Jersey would be the ship on which the treaty for ending WWII would be signed. When President Franklin Roosevelt died, the war ended under the watch of President Harry Truman. President Truman was a native Missourian - so ................. the USS Missouri was chosen, instead.

Finally, next Thursday, June 6th, marks the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. Something to keep in mind on that day - please remember the brave men and women from around the world who fought to save the world from tyranny on that day and throughout the duration of WWII.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Field Day Plans Coming Together

Thanks to the due diligence and the yeoman efforts of Dave KD2FSI, our Field Day location has been secured. We are returning to Spring Lake Park, which is in South Plainfield, but is part of the Middlesex County Park System.

This was our Field Day home from 2014 to 2019. Of course in 2020, there wasn't much of a Field Day because of the pandemic - we all participated from home and submitted our aggregate scores. We had planned to return to Spring Lake in 2021, but we did not receive our approval of request from the County until the day before Field Day! We had secured a Boro park, Putnam Park in the meantime and had pre-planted all our Field Day logistics there beforehand. 

We occupied Putnam Park with the Boro's blessing in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was a great location! A lot of public "traffic", but at the same time, quiet enough that we weren't getting in the public's way. But all good things must come to an end. In the Autumn of 2023, Putnam Park was closed for major renovations and improvements. The space we had occupied is now pickle ball courts. There is still space at the opposite end of the park that would be a perfect Field Day site, but members of the club felt it was too long of a walk to the "facilities", especially in the middle of the night. So to Spring Lake Park we return.

In the past, we've set up to the left of those three red markers in the photo. That's one of the corners of the park and we should have ample room. I'm a little concerned or "worried" about antenna placement as Dave and I each need about 135 feet of free space at right angles to each other in order to set up our MFJ-1982's. There's a lot more pedestrian traffic in this park compared to Putnam and I worry about setting up the antennas in a manner so that will not be disturbed by someone walking through the park while not paying attention to where they are going. It seems no one pays attention anymore as they're too busy looking at their screens. I think there's going to have to be a lot of Caution Tape and traffic cones deployed this year. Also, for each leg of my MFJ-1982LP, I'm going to get some wooden stakes and paint them fluorescent day-glo orange so no one accidentally walks into an antenna support.

I've added our location to the ARRL's Field Day Locator - do a search on Zip Code 07080 and you'll find NJ2SP and the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club. If you're in the area, please come and join us if you can - ESPECIALLY if you're a CW operator, because we all know that this is what the CW operators look like on Field Day!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!