That was fun!

I did get on the air and joined in on the NAQCC Sprint last night. it's been a long time - too long; and I had a lot of fun. I stayed up later than I had planned as I was having so much fun! It took me a while to fall asleep as I got wired (as I feared), but it was worth it.

I started off on 20 Meters, where I worked four stations. Conditions on 20 were tough! Signals were way down in the mud for me. The EFRW was extra noisy for some reason, so I switched over to the HF9V. By far the loudest station on 20 Meters was N9EEE. I really had to strain my ear to hear the other three that I worked.

40 Meters on the other hand, was THE band for the night!  I switched back to the EFRW where my signal was even skimmed in Spain! I worked 23 stations on 40 Meters and I pretty much stayed on 7.038 MHz, running the frequency.  I worked a lot of old friends and made some new ones.  The lowest member number that I heard all night was John K4BAI, NAQCC # 644. I wonder how may people may have been taken aback with my NAQCC # 35! The best DX catch of the night was working DK1VD, Fred in Germany.

When 40 Meters dried up for me, I switched over to 80 Meters and called "CQ NA" for a bit, but had no takers. It was 10:00 PM or 02:00 UTC at that point and I decided to pull the plug. My wake up call for work comes around too quickly at 5:00 AM, so I figured I'd better at least make an effort to fall asleep. i think I drifted off somewhere around Midnight.

It was great to hear so much activity! There's nothing worse than jumping into a Sprint only to be calling "CQ" continuously with no takers, or twiddling the dial and finding no one else calling "CQ", either. That's what makes you never want to bother again.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Whew!

I managed to get the 2024 Skeeter Hunt Scoreboard back online yesterday. It took me longer than I thought it would, but it's done and back up. You can either go to the Skeeter Hunt Webpage or the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog and the links will get you there.

In a way, it's a good thing this happened, as it's compelling me to get the certificates out for the 2024 Hunt. These stupid healthcare problems really have thrown me for a loop since last September. I apologize for the delay. I've also given the bonus for 2025 more thought and we're going to play Skeeter Blackjack. Work enough stations to have their call sign districts add up to 21 and you'll get the bonus points. The 0 area call signs will count as a face card worth 10 points.

For example, if you work N0MII NK9G and W2LJ - that 10 + 9 +2, equaling 21.. You could also work, for instance K4BAI, N5GW, K3RLL and WB9HFK and that would also add up to 21. Any number of call signs would work, even if you ended up working ten 2 area call signs and one 1 area call sign! Whatever it takes - I think this is a pretty easy concept to understand and should be fairly easy to accomplish. Of course, as part of the Log Summary, each entry will have to list the call signs worked to prove that they are eligible for the bonus points.

I also decided to participate in the Flying Pigs Run for the Bacon last night. It actually got up into the low 70s yesterday and the basement was comfortable enough to sit in without turning on the space heater. Beginning at 23:00 UTC, I started calling "CQ FP" on 20 Meters and worked a couple of stations. After a while, I switched over to "hunt and pounce" and after more than just a few dial twiddles, I heard no one and moved on down to 40 Meters.

40 Meters was wall to wall Virginia QSO Party stations and I only heard one solitary Piggie calling CQ around 7.030 MHz and worked him. Then, as it was getting close to 00:00 UTC, I went and checked into the St. Max Net at around 23:50 UTC. A lot of stations participated last night and at about 00:25 UTC, when the net closed, I went back to the lower part of 40 Meters to see if I could work a few more FP's. No dice, this time it was wall to wall SST stations. It was nice to be on the air, but at the same time a bit disappointing to work only three Flying Pigs. According to the RBN, I was getting out really well last night. Orange is 40 Meters, Purple is 20 Meters - and a vast majority of my signals were being heard at double digit dB levels above the noise floor.

Wednesday night is the monthly NAQCC Sprint. I am planning to participate in that for the first time in a very long time. I've been having trouble sleeping of late. I think I've been turning in too early as I fall asleep fairly quickly, but wake up around 2:00 AM and then I'm not able to fall back asleep for another hour or so. After the Flying Pigs Sprint last night, I went to sleep a bit later than I'm used to as of late and pretty much slept the whole night through. So once more, it's Amateur Radio to the rescue!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

NAQCC on the DitDit podcast

Bruce Pea N9WKE interviews Paul Huff N8XMS, President of the North American QRP CW Club.

https://www.ditdit.fm/shows/episode-21-naqcc

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

NAQCC Sprint tonight

I made a mistake last night when posting to the various e-mail servers the notice about the NAQCC February Sprint, which occurs this evening.

The proper link is: http://naqcc.info/sprint/sprint201802.html

Sorry, if my e-mails were driving you crazy!

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

My fist is BAD!

Last night, I was asked to run the monthly county ARES net. After that I attended our Assembly's Knights of Columbus 4th Degree meeting. A pronouncement has come from K of C HQ in Connecticut which has not gone over well with the membership. I won't bore you with the details, but the meeting was interesting.

When I returned home, I went down the basement to add a link to the Skeeter Hunt roster on the Skeeter Hunt Website. While I was doing that, I decided to join in on the monthly NAQCC sprint. A few weeks ago, I received my W2WK straight key, so I decided to take it for a spin.

The key is a beauty, a sight to behold.  The action and feel are superb. My fist is not.  Sadly, I've gotten so comfortable with paddles and keyer that my "manual" fist has atrophied.  It improved a little bit as the night went along; but I have to publicly apologize to the NAQCC members who worked me last night. You know your fist is bad when you feel yourself grimacing while you're sending. I think that if you looked up the word "ugly" in the dictionary, there would have been a picture of me behind the key last night.

I am terribly sorry for my crummy fist and the torture I put you through.  I need to practice more and hopefully, by next month's sprint, I will sound a whole lot better. When you've hit rock bottom, there's no place to go but "up".

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

Tough going

As planned, I did participate in the SKCC 150th Sprint last evening, for about 90 minutes of the two hours. I must say that from the beginning, my fist was rather lousy. It's one thing when your fist is lousy and you're blissfully unaware. It's altogether another thing when your fist is lousy and you're wincing as you make mistakes! It's strange to be looking at your hand while you're sending CW, making a mistake and thinking, "Why did you just do that?", as if your arm and hand belonged to someone else.

Thanks to all who hung with me for that barbaric assault on your ears - I deeply apologize.  That was the end result of using only a keyer and paddles or a bug for the last however. I do have to admit that as the evening went on, and I got more comfortable, my fist improved ........ marginally. I found out that I got better if I pounded the brass with my eyes closed, and relied solely on concentrating on the sound.

I must have been doing something right, though, because after 90 minutes of NAQCC Sprint, my wrist, hand and elbow suffered no discomfort at all. And people DID copy me ........ I did not get many "?'s", so again, I must have been doing something right. And the Reverse Beacon Network was able to copy my 14/15 WPM CQs, so I guess I wasn't as bad as I thought.  I AM my own worst critic!

I don't have my log in front of me; but I think I walked away with 18 QSOs - scattered across 20, 40 and 80 Meters.  40 Meters seemed once again to be the money band, yielding the most contacts. My meager effort was a lot of fun and brought back fond memories of when I participated in these sprints on a regular basis.  I'm now kind of interested in doing that again.  Not only will it help to fatten up my log book, but it will also keep me in regular practice on the straight key.

Last night, I used my LTA SKCC Straight Key, which is a nice enough key.

I keep on telling my buddy, Bill Koeth W2WK that I want to buy one of his straight keys.  Bill is a machinist with amazing talent and he produces straight keys that feel great and work marvelously and they're beautiful to look at, too!  I've test flown a few prototypes for him and want to add one of his production models to my bench. I think using one of his straight keys would be a further enticement for entering these NAQCC Sprints on a regular basis.

The other thing I noticed, quite happily, is that there seemed to be no increase in the ambient RF noise level at my QTH.  A neighbor two doors down just installed solar panels on his roof.  I've been told that with some installations, when the inverters kick in, there can be plenty of RF hash.  That was not the case last night; but I'll have to check this weekend during the daylight hours to make sure there's not a problem. Can you imagine going to your neighbor and saying, "Hey, I hate to tell you; but your brand new solar panels are wiping out radio reception at my house." THAT would go over like the proverbial lead balloon!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Special NAQCC Sprint tomorrow night

Tomorrow night, April 11th ( The morning of April 12th for those of you not bothered by UTC conversions), will be the 150th NAQCC Monthly Sprint.  That's 12 and a half years of monthly NAQCC Sprints now - since the club was formed.  In honor of this momentous occasion, the leadership of the NAQCC has planned something special.  Rather than try and go into my own details, I'll post the email announcement here:

On Tuesday evening, April 11 (4/12 UTC), we will have our landmark 150th regular monthly sprint. We want to celebrate this event by giving away a prize worth $150 to one member-participant! But there is a catch, we will only have a prize drawing if we get at least 150 submitted logs. You don’t have to be an experienced contester or a high speed CW operator to participate. Just get on the air, make at least 1 sprint QSO, and submit your log, and you will be eligible for the prize drawing. So mark your calendar and get ready!

EDT - 8:30-10:30PM, CDT - 7:30-9:30PM, MDT - 6:30-8:30PM, PDT - 5:30-7:30PM), which translates as Wednesday, April 12th, 0030 to 0230Z in all cases.

For all the "official" information, please go to:

http://naqcc.info/sprint/sprint201704.html

There you will find all the details as to time, frequencies and other important information.

This is a monthly event that caters to the CW veteran, the CW newcomer, straight key and bug fans. All are welcome to participate (this includes QRO); but you must use QRP power levels to compete for awards.

If you've been hesitant to join in our sprints because you hear other sprints running at breakneck speeds, have no fear. Our sprints are geared to the newcomer to CW and/or contesting. Virtually everyone including the many veteran contesters who regularly enter our sprints will slow down to YOUR speed to help you make your contacts.

If you are not already a member of NAQCC... membership is FREE! Now is your chance to join the largest QRP CW Club in the world!! We currently have 7100+ members in: All 50 States - 9 VE Provinces - 100 Countries. Sign up on the NAQCC website today (http://naqcc.info/) and receive a handsome certificate, with your membership number on it, which is good for life.

Come join us and have a real good time!

72/73 de Larry W2LJ NAQCC #35

for NAQCC http://naqcc.info/

Admittedly, I have not participated in one of these in a long time. Between various commitments, I have either not been home Tuesday or Wednesday evenings; or I have been too pooped to pop from a long day's work. But I am going to try and participate for at least the first 90 minutes tomorrow night.  I'm not eligible for the prize as I'm quasi-NAQCC staff, but I can help drive the number of log entries up.

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

Skunked again - sort of.

I got on the air last night, in my 62F (16C) shack in order to participate in the 40 Meter QRP Foxhunt.  These hunts have been deplorable for me this year, with hardly any success.  Last night was no different.  The Foxes were NK6A in California and KV2X in New York.  I didn't hear either one of them - although W1AW/KP4 was absolutely booming in to NJ.

Instead of turning the radio off and running upstairs to warmer quarters and an episode of MacGyver on MeTV, I decided to participate for a bit in the NAQCC 160 Meter Sprint.  Just for grins and giggles, I did the search and pounce thing for better part of a half an hour, and also called CW for about 15 minutes or so.

Although my W3EDP tunes up on 160 Meters, thanks to the dazzling auto tuner inside the KX3 (I'd swear that thing would tune up a strand of wet spaghetti), I was probably sending RF into the HF equivalent of a rubber duckie antenna.  Even so, with 5 Watts I made 10 contacts, ranging from Maine, down to North Carolina and as far west as Michigan.  Not a band burner in any sense of the concept; but satisfying enough for an evening that looked pretty bleak, Foxhunt-wise.

What was also satisfying is that, thanks to a great suggestion gleaned from Facebook, I successfully stowed away my magloop antenna.  A few weeks ago, I went onto the DIY Magloop page and asked for suggestions on how the various members stored and carried their loops.

One of the suggestions was a stuff sack - a nylon bag with a draw string that normally you would use to stow away a sleeping bag or other camping equipment.  I went to Amazon and purchased this in the 25" (63 cm) version.

It's made by Liberty Mountain.  The longest piece of the antenna fits with room to spare, and the coiled up loop of LMR400 went in very nicely.  It doesn't look like as picturesque the above photo, as I'm not stowing away a sleeping bag - but it will serve its purpose very well.

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

NAQCC MilliWatt Sprint tonight

Tonight is a special NAQCC MilliWatt Sprint. "Special" in that this Sprint is in addition to the regular "full gallon" QRP Sprint, which is held each month. I am going to try and get some time in on this one. It's held from 8:30 to 10:30 PM local time, here on the East coast. I have a South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meeting that starts at 7:00 PM, so I should be home somewhere before 9:00 PM at the latest. I don't know how long this meeting is going to last, as there's a special topic on the agenda. SPARC has become an official ARRL affiliated club and I'm bringing the beautiful certificate that the League sent us.

I like the milliWatt Sprints, because as a dedicated event unto themselves, they are rare and a challenge. This one will also give me a chance to give a workout to that McElroy straight key that I recently acquired. Last night, band conditions were beautiful for the 40 Meter QRP Foxhunt. I had an ambient noise level of about an S1. The signals from both Foxes, Jim N0UR in WI and Drew K9CW in IL jumped right out at me. I believe that last night was one of the fastest "2-fers" that I have ever had in over a decade of Fox hunting. I am hoping that those beautiful conditions will be present tonight, as well.

It's just as well that I won't be present for the entire Sprint, anyway. Two full hours behind a straight key is hard on my hands. I think I've mentioned this before, but I have pretty bad arthritis in both my hands, which I attribute to my Dad. (Sorry, Dad!) My father and uncle owned a small butcher shop / grocery store that they opened after returning from WWII. I worked there just about every summer since I was about seven years old, until I was eighteen. As I grew older, I went from stocking shelves to doing actual butchering. Handling cold meat for a living does a number on your hands. After he retired, my Dad's hands were a mess. He didn't have many fingers that weren't gnarled. My hands are nowhere near as badly off as his were, but if I work a straight key too long, I get a painful "tooth ache" feeling in my hand. The same thing happens if I don't wear gloves in cold weather.

I could use my Vibroplex bug, but I haven't been on it in a while now, and I don't want to inflict any unnecessary pain on my fellow NAQCC members!

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

NAQCC Anniversary celebration in October

The North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) will be celebrating its 11th anniversary the week of October 12-18 with some fun on-air activities.

Special event stations N1A, N2A, N3A, … N0A will be on the air from all over the United States, and special certificates and QSL cards will be available for these contacts. The stations will be operating CW at QRP power levels and will be announced on our special spotting page (http://www.naqcc.info/spot_schedule.php ) in almost real-time. (You do not need to be QRP but we encourage you to give it a try.) 

On Tuesday evening of that week (0030-0230Z Oct 13) we will have our usual monthly sprint but with the bonus that all NAQCC members who participate will be automatically entered into a drawing for some great prizes. 

More detailed information about our anniversary celebration can be found in our September newsletter at http://www.naqcc.info/newsletter_207.pdf . Information about the NAQCC, including a membership application (it’s free), can be found at http://www.naqcc.info/ .

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

Odd ..... very odd.

I am going to be charitable and say that the bands were "in less than good condition" at the times I was available to play a little radio this weekend. I could use more "colorful" language, complete with the emotional expletives I felt like using at the time, but since this is a "family friendly" blog, I will refrain. However, the bands did their best "skunk act" on Saturday afternoon when I got on for a bit of operating.  I expected them to be wall-to-wall with Georgia QSO Party activity, but at most I barely heard a whisper. I heard no DX to speak of on any band 10-20 Meters and 30 Meters, for me, was noisy as all get out.

I was hoping for better conditions for the few hours I had available on Sunday - and indeed, the bands MAY have been better, but I'll never know. I got involved in something that stole my operating time away from me.

I brought the radio with me to work today. Hopefully, I will be able to break my desk/chain and will be able to get out to the parking lot during lunch break.

On to another matter - the one by which I came up with the title for this post. Late last night, I made a point to post the announcements for the April NAQCC Sprint, which is happening this Tuesday evening. I got all 20 announcements out except for one - the one to the KX3 Yahoo group. All the other Yahoo groups that I normally post to, took the announcement with no difficulty and nary a whimper.  I thought that perhaps, somehow the KX3 group wasn't appreciating the fact that I was using a bulk e-mailer, so I tried sending the announcement as a single, solitary e-mail. Same result - rejection. Then I went directly to the KX3 Yahoo group page, thinking I would post directly from there. Again, the ability for me to post to the group had been "turned off" for whatever reason.

This really has me stumped.  I don't post very often, and I have definitely NOT been involved in any flame wars or any other kind of nasty shenanigans on the e-mail reflector. Why I have been banned from posting is beyond me. I didn't even get any sort of note stating that my announcement would be looked at, approved and posted by the moderator. No, I've been outright shut down.

I have an e-mail out to the moderator, politely asking for an explanation. That could take days, however. Until then, this remains a mystery to me.

UPDATE:  I think I know the reason. I'm not certain, though, so I won't say anything about it for a few days in order to wait for an official confirmation of my suspicions.  I'll have more to say about this, then.

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

N2A

Just a reminder. I will be on the air tonight (Wednesday) and tomorrow night (Thursday) as N2A, the NAQCC Special Event Station from 0000 to 0200 UTC on or about 7.040 MHz.  That's the plan, anyway. Mother Nature might have other plans as a cold front is about to march through our area. I am hoping that the thunderstorms they are predicting are a "no-show".  Sooooooo, listen for me on 40 Meters and I will hand you NAQCC #1100 and a short QSO.

On Friday night, from 0000 to 0300 UTC, I will be on 80 Meters on or about 3.560 MHz.  I hope to be busy for the whole time - sending CQ over and over without any responses is about as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry.  I will spot myself on QRPSPOTS. So please, keep me company if you can.

I will schedule some time Friday afternoon as it becomes available.

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

Bravo!

Congratulations are in order to fellow QRPer and blogger, John N8ZYA. In an e-mail this morning from the President of the NAQCC, Paul Huff N8XMS, it was announced that John has been selected to serve as the new Vice-President of that fine organization.

A most appropriate and deserving choice!

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

N#A

This week, from October 13th to the 19th, the North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of its founding.  There will be N#A stations on the air - N1A, N2A, N3A - all the way through N0A.

Yours truly will be on the air as N2A as follows:

October 16th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz  (Wednesday evening EDT)
October 17th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz  (Thursday evening EDT)
October 18th - from 0000 to 0300 UTC on 3.560 MHz  (Friday evening EDT)

Coincidentally, I will be taking a vacation day from work this Friday, October 17th - so after some chores, I will probably get on during the day to try and work some of the higher bands.

As you can see from the table, I was on 20 Meters last night. It was dead - deader than a door nail! So towards the end of my shift, I checked with the Reverse Beacon Network to make sure that there were no N2A stations on 80 Meters and I shifted over there. It was better. Not much, but I did manage to make a few QSOs.

For all the information about the NAQCC's Anniversary celebration, you can go to http://www.naqcc.info/main_n3a.html.  All the QSL information is there. To see a list of activity that's already been planned, go to http://www.naqcc.info/spot_schedule.php.  Keep in mind, this is activity that has been pre-scheduled to this point. More will be added as operator's personal time permits. I know that I probably won't be able to add my additional Friday or Saturday daytime operating time until relatively close to when it's actually going to happen. In addition, I'm not sure that I will operate from home or perhaps the local park. So check the schedule often as it will most likely be amended - a lot!

As I mentioned before, another good tool to check for NAQCC Anniversary activity is to simply go over to the Reverse Beacon Network and simply plug in the N#A call for any, or perhaps the particular district your interested in QSOing with. For example, just enter N2A where it says "search spot by callsign" under the map. That will tell you where WA2NYY, WK2T, K2YGM or myself happen to be at any particular moment.

Oh, and if you try to work me as N2A, please be patient! I am trying to make these QSOs just a tad more than "TNX UR 599, 73 DE N2A". Not ragchews, per se, but definitely more than get-it-done-with-quick. 

UPDATE: Thanks to the following, who kept me company during lunch and got in a QSO with N2A (me) in the process - Steve AB0XE, Andy KD4UKW, Anthony KK4VAU,  Van N4ERM - all on 20 Meters - 14.060 MHz. Oh, and Van ..... not sure what you were using as far as rigs go, but your signal almost made my earbuds pop out - 599 +++!  Great signal from North Carolina!

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

Can you believe it's been 9 years already?

I received an e-mail from Paul Huff N8XMS the new Manager of the North American QRP CW Club, concerning some of the events coming up to celebrate the 9th Anniversary of the club.

Wow - 9 years!

Has it really been that long?                   Was it only 9 years ago?

In a way, contradicting questions, but sometimes it feels both ways.  Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that Tom Mitchell KB3LFC (at the time) and John Shannon K3WWP announced their idea for a new club that would cater toward the crowd that was passionate about QRP and CW. Since those two areas are my "cup of tea", as soon as I saw that announcement, I pounced on it like a hungry cat on a bowl of Friskies.  I signed up and  was fortunate to become NAQCC member # 35. In the early years, I was able to help Tom and John spread the word about the club, and was made the club's first Publicity Officer, sending out announcements of Sprints, articles to Ham publications about the club, and even suggesting to John the possibility of establishing a new look for the club newsletter.

And yet, with regards to the other question, sometimes it feels like the NAQCC has been around forever. Monthly Sprints, monthly challenges, a very good monthly newsletter, and a healthy membership roster are just some of the signs of a well organized and well run Amateur Radio club.  And the NAQCC is very healthy.  When I was no longer able to continue doing publicity on a regular basis, due to family commitments,  Dave VA3RJ took up the slack and took over. And other club members volunteered to pitch in and take on other important club roles - all the sign of a very healthy organization.  But perhaps the greatest example of this is this is when the two original founders decided that it was time to pass on the baton of leadership, there was not even a hiccup.  Paul Huff N8XMS walked up to the plate with bat in hand, and is ready to hit the ball out of the park for the NAQCC club members.

So if you're a member of the NAQCC, you have reason to be proud - very proud indeed!

To celebrate the 9th Anniversary, the club is planning various activities.  All will be announced in the next edition of the newsletter, being e-mailed later this week.  But I have been granted permission to talk about two of them right now.

The first you may already be familiar with.  Every October, the NAQCC conducts its N#A Special Event operations, in honor of its founding.  All the call sign areas get an NA operator(s), whether it be N1A, N2A, N3A, etc.  The goal is to work as many of these stations as you can.  This year will be no exception, and the festivities will commence on October 6th.  QSLs commemorating each district will be available as well a special certificate if you manage to work N#A stations in all ten call districts..

Later in the month, the monthly NAQCC Sprint will be turned into a "Special Anniversary Sprint".  All of the N#A stations will be on the air for that evening.  Nine special prizes (9th Anniversary, get it?) will be awarded by a random drawing from submitted logs.  So if you'd like to win something (and the NAQCC has a reputation for awarding good stuff), then "you have to be in it to win it" as the commercial goes.

And here's another sign of a VERY healthy and popular organization.  As you may or may not know, the NAQCC holds a regularly scheduled, two hour long Sprint each month.  The record number of log submissions was 194 for the 100th Sprint Celebration back in February of this year.  194 logs for a regularly scheduled monthly Sprint - how's them apples? Them apples is phenomenal - that's what!

So like I said, if you're already a member of the NAQCC, go ahead, puff out your chest - you've got something to be proud of!  You,  your founders and club officers have accomplished an amazing amount in your first nine years.  And the very best thing is that the NAQCC's outlook is very FB, OM!  But if you're not a member - just what the heck are you waiting for?  There are no dues - just fun, and a lot of it.  If you're a fan of CW and QRP there is NO reason on God's green Earth for you not to be a member of the North American QRP CW Club.  Just follow the instructions provided here. And if you want to, you can tell 'em Larry W2LJ's Blog sent you. That and two bucks will buy you a cup of coffee!

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

No radio tonight!

It has been very warm here in Central NJ the past two days - unseasonably warm, in fact, However, tomorrow is supposed to be cooler with temperatures normal for mid-April. So I guess you can gather as to what's happening here tonight? Yep, thunderstorms. And so far, they've been pretty heavy with lots of dramatic lightning. The first squall line went through here about 90 minutes ago, and another (which is in Pennsylvania right now) is due to arrive in about an hour.

Fortunately, the antennas have been unhooked from the radios and everything has been secured. Definitely do not need the smell of deep fried Elecraft wafting through this house.

To pass some time this evening, I entered my score into the auto logger for last night's NAQCC Sprint. Depending on how many more logs get entered, I will probably end up either 5th or 6th in the W2 region. I haven't seen an entry posted from Charles W2SH yet, and he's one of the perennial top finishers, so I expect him to exceed my score, once again.

I look at these scores, where guys are logging 40, 50, 60 or even 70 QSOs in the two hours, and I wonder how they do it. I guess a superb location with superb antennas is the answer. Man, I would love to be behind the key in one of those situations just once!

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

NAQCC Sprint

I actually had a meeting to attend this evening; but I must confess that I played hooky   My attendance was not mandatory, so I decided to stay home and play in the monthly NAQCC Sprint. I am glad I did, as I had the best time I've had in a while.

I must be getting back into the swing of things, as I was able to make 34 contacts in the two hours.  I am sure that puts me nowhere even close to the top. But it sure beats my efforts in the past couple of months, where I had only made 19 -20 QSOs per Sprint.

Conditions were decent on 20 Meters, where I made 8 QSOs; but the money band was 40 Meters.  With the exception of one measly QSO on 80 Meters, the balance were made on 40 Meters.  I was even able to hold a frequency and run it for a period of time, like I used to in the past. Man, that was fun!

I used the KX3 all night, but I used two different antennas. The HF9V vertical was used for 20 Meters, while the 88' EDZ antenna was the mainstay for 40 Meters.  Activity remained pretty steady throughout the Sprint, except for the last 20 minutes or so.  By then, no one was answering my CQs and searching and pouncing landed me only a few calls that I had not worked before.

The main thing was the fun factor however, and that was very high! High marks go to the NAQCC for providing a good Sprint opportunity each and every month.

One thing I do have to sheepishly admit to, however. After all these years of either using paddles or a bug, my form with a straight key needs work. Two hours of using my Speed-X and my wrist is hurting! Nothing that won't go away by tomorrow, though.

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