This came today

Didn't get all 50; but I came close!  Maybe in another 25 years when it's the 75th Anniversary? (If I live that long!)

In any event, thank you QRP-ARCI, it's a very nice award and will look good on my wall.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least

This is a good thing

Looks like the 40 Meter QRN is going to knock me out of the QRP-L Foxhunt for tonight - again!  It's a good thing I am 80 Meter capable.  In a bit, I'll go down and get a few QSOs in the log before turning in for the night.

The good thing, that I mention in the post title is that I am noticing that as I spend more time on the air, I spend less time on the Web.  And the time I do spend on the Web, is Amateur Radio related.  I might check Facebook for a minute or two just to see what Ham friends are up to, but not much more than that.  And the news sites are filled with politics and sensationalism, which gets my blood boiling, so I am better off staying away from those, too.  There hasn't been true news coverage in this country for decades anyway, as today everything is either infotainment or an editorial disguised as news.

Blogging about Ham Radio, e-mail and Ham Radio Web pages - what more could you want, anyway?  Well, if you're not a Ham, a lot more I suppose; but ..........

By the way, before I forget to mention this . For those of you out there who enjoyed operating the K6JSS/X stations in 2011 - please take note that you only have until February 29th to send in your logs for a certificate denoting your accomplishments.  The details can be found here.  Don't feel that just because you didn't work all 50 that you'll be left out in the cold.  Nothing could be further from the truth, my friends!  If you worked as few as 20 states, you are still entitled to a piece of wallpaper for your humble shack.

I finally did a formal count of the K6JSS/X stations that I worked in 2011.  I ended up working 47 states. The three that I missed were South Dakota, New Mexico and Oregon (how the heck did I miss Oregon?).

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

Looking back on 2011

The year, Amateur Radio-wise, was a pretty good one.  Some goals that I had previously set, I was able to keep - others I fudged on (read - didn't get done!).  For example, I didn't get new radials down for the HF9V that I had wanted to.  But, on the other hand, my vertical was a solid performer for me all year long so I am not complaining.

Highlights:

I got the PFR3A up and running after some problem solving that I have chronicled here.  It's a great little rig and I'm glad that I held onto it. I almost sold it at one point after finishing it. One of my best QSOs of the year was accomplished with the PFR3A, when I QSO'ed with John ON4UN while we were vacationing up at Lake George this summer.

I was also successful in replacing the G5RV last Spring.  On a warm weekend in March I took down the G5RV (which had been up for 13 years!) and replaced it with an 88' EDZ (Extended Double Zepp) antenna.  The good side is that the EDZ performs much better on 30 Meters than the G5RV ever did. I have had quite a few nice QSOs on 30 Meters as a result, with a goodly deal of DX thrown in, to boot.  The not so good side, is that, with care I was able to get the G5RV to load 0n 160 Meters.  The EDZ won't go anywhere near there.

Flight of the Bumblebees.  I took over as Contest Manager this year from Chris Kantarjiev, who had done an outstanding job running it the last several years.  I had a blast running this event, which I also LOVE participating in!  It is definitely one of my most favorite events of the year.  It was great fun handing out Bee numbers and compiling the results.  No one from the Adventure Radio Society complained about my efforts, so hopefully they will allow me to head up the FOBB again in 2012.

In connection with FOBB -  End Fed antennas !!!!!  I have played around with a lot of antenna schemes for portable operations.  This year my portable ops were dominated by the use of End Fed wires. They are superbly easy and fast to deploy and the results speak for themselves.  I am very happy with them and the Buddistick in cases where trees are not available.

K6JSS/X - I also had a lot of fun participating in the QRP-ARCI Golden Anniversary event.  I came within 4 or 5 states of a clean sweep, and strangely enough - Alaska and Hawaii were NOT two of the missing states! And I was able to head up the New Jersey K6JSS/2 effort along with Chris KQ2RP.  Chris was a life saver; and I don't know what would have become of New Jersey without him!  I hope between the two of us, that you were easily able to get your NJ K6JSS/2 QSO in your log.

KX3 - what can I say?  Even though I don't have the radio yet, I pined for it the minute I saw it on the Web, live from Dayton.  I immediately knew I just HAD to have one.  Thankfully, I was successful in selling some items and as I told you all before - I placed my order this week.  This is an adventure that will span two years, as 2012 will entail building and operating.  What my wife loves most about this is that no "house money" was used in the acquisition - I raised all the funds by myself.

Ham Radio Deluxe - I am fussy when it comes to my log book. You should see some of my early paper ones!  I'll have to scan some pages and post them for you - talk about a meticulous "Type A" personality!  After using Log-EQF for so many years, I wanted to find something more up to date with more "bells and whistles" and panache.  I used AC Log for a bit; but finally settled on Ham Radio Deluxe.  It is a superb program; and it took me a little bit to get used to it, but I am very happy with the result.  Now, I have my fingers crossed, hoping that things don't change too much now that Simon HB9DRV sold the rights and is no longer in direct control of the software.

Emcomms - Thank the Lord that South Plainfield didn't have a lot of disasters to deal with this year.  But in late August, we did have to deal with Hurricane Irene.  Our effort wasn't to the point of manning shelters but we did help with evacuations. Our CERT team and our little band of RACES/ARES operators gave a good effort and showed the town that we were willing, able, and most importantly - ready to help at a moment's notice.  I am extremely proud to be associated with my fellow South Plainfield Hams, they are a superb bunch - every single one of them. And yes, while we are technically "Amateurs", IMHO, we handled ourselves as professionally as the "paid guys".

This blog.  This blog has become a huge part of my Amateur Radio life.  Sometimes it's a little tough to come up with ideas on stuff to write about, but the negatives are far outweighed by the positives.  It's a lot of fun and I have gotten to meet and correspond with so many good people because of it.  I hope that the "idea well" and inspiration will not run dry and that I can be as prolific a writer, if not more so in 2012.

Tomorrow, I will discuss the "low lights" for the year as well as my "Radio Resolutions" for 2012.

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

Just in the nick o' time!

This week is the last week of regular operations for K6JSS/X, with TN being in the batter's box.  It's hard to believe that all 50 states have been on the air. Time has flown so fast, where has it gone?

I was watching QRPSPOTS and I saw several stations including my good bud, W3BBO making posts about K6JSS/4 being on the air on 40 Meters.  So I ran downstairs (literally) with my fingers crossed, hoping that the band would be quiet and that I could hear my quarry.

Happy dance time!  I not only heard Larry (familiar name) on 7.031 MHz, but he was 579 and was finishing up a QSO.  I tailended by sending out my call and got an answer and a 579 report back. Yay, Tennessee is in the log!  And wouldn't you know it?  Just as Larry was signing with me, sending "W2LJ DE K6JSS/4", just as he finished sending the "4", my S-Meter went from two bars to this:

Almost full scale as the neighborhood QRN kicked in, rendering 40 Meters useless for the rest of the night (well, at least the next couple of hours, probably).

The next week or so will be spent making contact with the states I have missed.  Hopefully, SD, NM, and a few others will be gotten and I will have all 50 in the log to celebrate QRP-ARCI's Golden Anniversary.

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

It was that kind of day at work ....

The kind that makes you shake your head and wonder why you ever do anyone a favor. Sometimes it only seems to come back to bite you in the butt and cause you so much grief.

But the day ended on a high note with a "twofer" in the 80 Meter Foxhunt.  I managed to snare both Dave N1IX and John K4BAI within the first 30 minutes. Sometimes it's the smaller things in life that bring the most pleasure.  Anyone outside of the Ham and QRP communities just wouldn't understand - but to me, it turned a cruddy day into a "not so bad" one.

And as if that wasn't good enough - I managed to hear and work Dallas N1DW as K6JSS/5 in Louisiana on 40 Meters. A virtual "threefer". Maybe tomorrow WILL be a better day!

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

There's a silver lining

to every cloud. Today was a very busy day; so there was not much time to get on.  But with the little I did get on, I had fun. I managed a half hour window today between the basketball game where my daughter was cheering and an afternoon full of chores, including grocery shopping.

The half hour started by working Mike NF0N as K6JSS/0 from Nebraska on 20 Meters.  I saw him post his frequency on QRPSPOTS, and sure enough, I was able to get him in the log.  There are only two more states to go before "makeup" QSOS begin in earnest, with states who were previously missed.

After that QSO, I headed up to 10 Meters to see who might be hanging around the QRP watering hole of 28.060 MHz.  My CQs snared two 2X QRP QSOs.  The first was with Bojan S51CN from Slovenia. Bojan was running 3 Watts and had a 549 signal here in New Jersey.

Courtesy of QRZ

The next QSO was with Bill GM4UBJ in Scotland.  This QSO was a little tougher as the QRN on the band seemed to be bothersome for both of us. But I gave Bill a 439 and he in turn gave me a 529. It was neat to see ME posted on QRPSPOTS as if I were rare "DX"!

Courtesy of QRZ

Three measly QSOs isn't a lot by any means, especially to you contesting folk out there who can wrap up hundreds in the course of a weekend.  But when the opportunity for air time does not present itself so readily, any successful QSOs that you can have are worth their weight in gold and each is to be treasured like a fine pearl.

A little more evening air time netted a couple more DX contacts.  The first was with the Honduras via HR5/NQ5W on 30 Meters.  The other was with PJ5/DL7VOG, also on 30 Meters, which winds us being a new DXCC entity for me - Saba & St. Eustatius Islands. This became a new DXCC entity in October of 2010, and this was the first for me since then - although I have worked this location before, back when it was considered part of the Netherlands Antilles.

Getting on the air is so much fun - definitely not something to be taken for granted.

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

Another missed state

Oh well, Mississippi's week has come and gone and I missed out.  For the first part of the week, operations were confined to 60 Meters - a band and mode that I do not have access to.

Jim W4QO rounded up some help on Sunday, but I spent the day at my Mom's.  By the time I got home, the station that had volunteered for the day was long gone.  Maybe during "Makeup Week" at the end of the year - who knows?  Right now, if memory serves me correctly, that makes this my 3rd state missed this year out of all that have been on so far.

On the bright side, I did raise some money towards a KX3 this weekend.  Back in the days when I was full blown, hog heavy into photography, both as a pastime and a profession, I had purchased an antique Graflex camera at a flea market.  Paid all of $25.00 for it.

I got $150.00 for it on eBay over the weekend - so I am officially on my way!  At this rate, I will not be in the first series of orders, but I have made some headway.  I have two bugs that I would like to sell - an Old Vibroplex Lightning and a E.F Johnson Speed-X bug.  I may be putting those on eBay also.

I received an interesting private e-mail with regards to my K1. "How much do you want for your K1 if you sell it?"  To be honest, I really didn't have any intention of selling it.  But if I were to, the asking price would be $575.00 plus shipping.

My K1 is a four band model - 40, 30, 20 and 15 Meters. It has the autotuner and the noise blanker built in. It also comes with the wide range tilt stand.  If you bought all that fresh from Elecraft, it would run you $610.00.  I know that's not that much of a price cut; but this is built and ready to go.  In both electrical and cosmetic shape, it's been babied.  In fact, it's the star of my QSL card:

Hey, if you're interested - drop me a line, I can possibly be convinced!

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

Soliciting

I seem to have been getting a lot of private e-mails, lately, with people asking me to post about this or that product on this blog in exchange for "compensation".  "Post about this and I'll give you a free copy of the software" and stuff like that.

I will never post about any products on this blog that are not relevant to Amateur Radio in some way, shape, form or other.  You, my loyal readers, get enough spam in your day to day lives without me foisting more upon you. Rest assured, those e-mails immediately get the "Delete Key treatment".

Every now and then, someone will send me an e-mail about a new kit for a radio or accessory that they are about to, or have recently introduced.  As long as it is related to our hobby, I will gladly post those.  Anything I can do to spread the news about new items is a good thing in my book.  Unfortunately, in those cases, no one ever offers to provide a sample, free of charge for me!  (Just kidding - I'd never accept it, anyway!)

I've been checking QRPSPOTS all night, hoping that K6JSS/5 from Mississippi would post about an appearance on the bands.  So far, the only appearance this week has been on 60 Meters.  That's not a good sign for me as I don't have that band in my K2 and I also don't have the SSB board installed - and heck, the only microphone I own goes with my VHF/UHF mobile rig.  It's only Wednesday, though.  Maybe activity will pick up towards the weekend.

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

Got one at least !

Last night, I lucked out and worked John K4AVX as K6JSS/4 from Kentucky.

Tonight, I bagged my first Fox pelt of the 2011/2012 Winter Hunt season on 80 Meters.  I successfully worked Jim N0UR in Minnesota who was on duty tonight.  He was strong into NJ, and I guess I was decent into MN as I garnered a 599 from him.

The other Fox is Dale WC7S in Wyoming.  New Jersey to Wyoming on 80 Meters is going to be a tough road to hoe.  I'll keep listening as I think I can make out some of the Hounds baying at Dale; and I can even hear him but just barely..  I'm pretty sure the band won't change in my favor; but I still have my fingers crossed.

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

Some Stateside success

All right!

I got to keep the K6JSS effort going by successfully working K6JSS/1 out of Rhode Island tonight.  For those who actively work towards their WAS awards, working Rhode Island is almost as good a prize as East Kiribati!  It's not often you hear "Lil' Rhody" on the air; so it was a treat to work the steady fist of Randy K8FZJ to get RI in the log.

Randy posted on QRPSPOTS that he was on 40 Meters and I was listening for him.  I heard Dan KB6NU working him. Dan just about blew my eardrums out with this 599+ signal, but nothing was heard of Randy.

When Randy later posted on QRPSPOTS that he was going to be on 80 Meters for a bit, I bounded down to the basement faster than Santa's reindeer.  And it was Christmas in October as I worked Randy on the first shot - and yes, I did remember to turn the power back down to 5 Watts - thank you very much.

T32C and Rhode Island in one night - two rare ones (one close, one not) in one evening.  I love this Ham Radio stuff!

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

Changes

An announcement was made on QRP-L today that Alaska has asked for a slot later in the year for K6JSS, so Utah is pinch hitting in the lineup this week.  Should be interesting to see if I can work them.  According to Jim W4QO, it looks like operations will be run by one Ham this week. I guess there aren't many Hams in Utah, let alone QRPers.  I wish him the best - it's a heavy burden to be facing a whole week alone like that.

W1PID has been out and about again!  For his latest adventure, please go to:  http://www.w1pid.com/ramble/ramble.html

John AE5X has hyperlinked to .pdfs of several Heathkit catalogs on his blog.  I found that if you Google or Bing "Heathkit Catalog" you can find a few more than he has listed.  I was looking through a couple of the catalogs from the late 70s and it jogged my memory about building a few kits that I had forgotten about! These are some of the kits I had built:

HR-1680 Amateur receiver with matching speaker
VTVM
Cantenna dummy load
HD-1410 keyer
HW-8 and power supply
SB-104A transceiver with matching speaker and power supply, remote VFO, station monitor and five function console
Synthesized scanner for Amateur and Public Service frequencies
LED alarm clock
Complete stereo system composed of:
Power Amp
Pre-amp
Pre-pre-amp for moving coil cartridges
AM/FM tuner
Equalizer
Noise Reduction Unit

The only kit that I had a problem with was the SB-104A.  During final assembly, when I installed one of the boards, it would cause the entire radio to go dark and shut down.  After much troubleshooting and head scratching, I gave in and took the radio and boards to a (kind of) local Heathkit store.  It turned out it was one of the pre-built factory boards that had a problem.  To compensate, the Tech finished the Final Assembly (which consisted of plugging in all the daughter cards) and did a professional factory alignment, free of charge. Now that's service!

And there may be a few more kits that I still don't remember building.  That was the advantage of being young, employed and not being married at the time - lots of free time and more disposable income than now! 

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

Looks like Oregon isn't going to happen.

With only a few hours to go until K6JSS changes states, it looks like Oregon is going to become only the second state that I have not been able to work.  Who would have figured that?  Oregon has never been a problem for me until now.

However, a lack of volunteers, and a lack of propagation seems to be preventing a QSO with K6JSS/7.  There haven't been any substantial operations during the evening hours of this past week - and you can't blame the Oregon K6JSS/7 ops for that. The few ops that have volunteered have been on the air as much as they were able.  And in fact, they have been graciously accommodating in trying to work East coast QRP'ers during the evenings towards the end of the week; but the propagation just hasn't been there!  When you only have two, three or perhaps four ops trying to cover a whole week's worth of operating, you're going to run into holes and problems.

During this weekend, when they have spotted themselves on 20 Meters during the day, the signals just haven't been there, again. I am supposing that this is due to the geomagnetic event that we have been experiencing over the past few days.

Bad luck, bad propagation, bad timing - nuts!

Anyway, thanks to the Oregon ops for the many contacts they did make, even if one of them wasn't with yours truly.  Next week is Alaska's turn.  I suppose that my chances there will be equally, if not more slim.  Other than Jim AL7FS, I'm not really sure how big Alaska's QRP community is.  If he is going to bear the main brunt of the operating effort, I wish him well going into it.

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