Evolution

 A brief history of the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt - I've told this before, but it bears repeating.

The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt came about in 2012, when it seriously looked to me like the Flight of the Bumblebees might be in peril. For several years prior, Rich Fisher KI6SN had volunteer Hams, myself included, in charge of handing out Bee Numbers. I had done it for two years, 2010 and 2011.

Come the late Spring of 2012 and there were no announcements being made about an upcoming FOBB. I had sent numerous emails to Rich asking if he wanted me to continue with the number issuing chore, but got no response. At that point, I guess I panicked a bit thinking FOBB was going by the wayside. It was and still remains my favorite QRP event of the year, and the thought of losing it was unbearable.

What the heck to do? As I said, FOBB, or something like it, not occurring during the Summer months was unthinkable to me. That's when I decided to contact George N2APB and Joe N2CX, the brain trust of NJQRP if they would put the club's name behind an idea that I had. I told them the why, when, what and how and they were agreeable. The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt became a thing in 2012.

In the meantime, Rich DID make announcements about continuing FOBB. This made me very happy , but it also gave me a bit of anxiety. Would Hams think of the Skeeter Hunt as competition? Was the Skeeter Hunt trying to dethrone FOBB as THE "Classic QRP Summer Event"? Of course the answer was and always will be an  emphatic "NO!"

In all the years that the Skeeter Hunt has occurred, I still heavily promoted FOBB here on this blog and in my e-mails to Skeeters. I have and still do remind them to sign up for FOBB while they are signing up for the Skeeter Hunt. The two events are similar, but not equal in structure. But both are definitely fun and that's what this is supposed to be all about., and ......... the more the merrier!

Last year, or the year before (my memory fails me) Rich stepped away from managing FOBB due to health concerns  Jody K3JZD stepped up to the plate to take over the reins and has been doing a simply outstanding job! FOBB is thriving under his watch. And in addition, we have been promoting each other. He promotes the Skeeter Hunt in his announcements and I continue and will always continue to promote FOBB in any way that I can. It's all about the fun - nothing more, nothing less.

In my minds (which is a scary place to be)  the QRP year revolves around:

1: FYBO - Freeze Your Buns Off

2) QRPTTF - QRP To The Field

3) FOBB - The Flight of the Bumblebees

4) The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt

5) QRP Afield

6) The Peanut Power Sprint

Sprinkled in between by the QRP-ARCI operating events, the Sasquatch Stomp and the Zombie Shuffle.

May each one thrive and be successful for many years to come!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend of April 26th and 27th.

 As I posted two entries down - there is a QRPTTF re-do this weekend. However, for W2LJ, I will be involved all day in a mock earthquake drill as part of Middlesex County Emergency Management AUXCOMM, so I will not be able to participate. Besides that, the weather for tomorrow calls for an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms, so I would not be setting up in the field, even if I were not otherwise engaged.

Contests:

You may hear a lot of digital in the upper portion of the bands because of the 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital, the SP DX RTTY Contest, and the BARTG Sprint 75.

QRP To The Field - http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

UK/EI DX Contest, CW - https://www.ukeicc.com/dx-contest-rules.php

Helvetia Contest - https://uska.ch/en/events/uska-helvetia-contest-h26/#

Florida QSO Party - http://floridaqsoparty.org/rules/

UA1DZ Memorial Cup - http://ua1dz.ru/articles.php?article_id=79

Monday

QCX Challenge: 1300Z-1400Z, Apr 28 - http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html

QCX Challenge: 0300Z-0400Z, Apr 29 - Same rules as above

Special Event Stations:

04/26/2025 | DXpedition to St.George Island

Apr 26-May 6, 0000Z-2359Z, K4D, St. George Island, FL. K5TEN . 7.027.5 14.027.5 21.280 28.310. QSL. Bruce Brady K5TEN , 208 Mt Tabor Road, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71913. IOTA DXpedition to St. George Island NA-085. FL007S. Operation 40-6m CW&SSB. QSL to K5TEN SASE required. Logs also uploaded to LOTW. Call sign K4D. Grid EL79. k5ten@aol.com

04/26/2025 | International Marconi Day - Official Station

Apr 26, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Port of Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award qrz.com/db/k3s

04/26/2025 | Marconi Day Event

Apr 26, 1300Z-2030Z, W2GSB, Babylon, NY. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB . 28.340 21.250 14.246 7.245. Certificate. W2GSB GSBAC, PO Box 1356, Babylon, NY 11704. Operating from the Babylon Village Historical Society Museum for Marconi Day, which was the home of the Marconi School for radio operators 3 stations using CW SSB FT8 WWW.GSBARC.ORG

04/26/2025 | Number One Dawgs

Apr 26-Apr 27, 1200Z-1200Z, N1D, Athens, GA. Athens Radio Club. 3.930 7.230 14.330 28.430. Certificate. Athens Radio Club KD4QHB, PO Box 782, Athens, GA 30603. The Athens Radio Club is hosting a special event station from the University of Georgia campus on April 26-27, 2025 from 12:00 noon Saurday to 12:00 noon Sunday. If you're a Bulldog fan, or if you're not, give us a call! athensradioclub.org Join us in our celebration of Ham Radio support of the Number One Dawgs. This year we will be operating from between the Tate Student Center and the UGA Bookstore, in the shadow of Sanford Stadium. We will be celebrating 45 years of the club operating as First Aid Dawgs providing communications "between the hedges". https://athensradioclub.org/n1d

04/27/2025 | Northwest Arkansas Train Mobile

Apr 27, 1400Z-2200Z, N5T, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 14.040 14.260 7.040 7.260. QSL. Don Banta, 3407 Diana Street, Springdale, AR 72764. www.qrz.com/db/N5T or https://bellavistaradioclub.org

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF Redux

Not exactly sure why this is. Everyone seemed to go by the WA7BNM Contest Calendar, but maybe we were all wrong? Paul NA5N posted this to QRP-L:

QRP-Lers,

Rules for the April 26, 2025 QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) are here:

http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

My apologies for such a late notice and contributing to confusion over the  QRPTTF date.  My wife and QRPTTF partner, Jan NØQT, recently passed away in  her nursing home requiring attention and out of state travel.  Trying to  get things done post Covid, during lent and holy week and Easter was a  herculean effort.  Thank those of you expressing your condolences and  understanding.  They were appreciated more than you know.

A few of you submitted summary sheets for last weekend. THEY WILL COUNT AND BE ADDED TO THE RESULTS. Or do it again and I'll add both.

I'll be trying out my new Xiegu G90 OUTBACK, probably using my 133 ft. long   terminated folded dipole.  Weather is supposed to be 85F high, sunny and   clear, winds 20-25mph.  Typical windy and warm spring day in the desert.   Hope your weather is nice as well.

Most important is to have some QRP fun on the air regardless of where you  operate from.

72, Paul NA5N

and Jan NØQT (SK)

Unfortunately, last Saturday was Holy Saturday and this Saturday, I will be taking part in a Middlesex County CERT Drill as part of Middlesex County AUXCOMM.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The Weekend of April 19th and 20th

I'm doing this a day early as tomorrow is Good Friday and I won't be on the computer much, except for work - so here goes.

First off, tomorrow, April 18th is World Amateur Radio Day - here's an image I found online that I really liked:

If you get the opportunity, and you will not be tied up at work, or with other things, get on the air and make a QSO or two, or three.  I may be able to get on after work before UTC time changes to April 19th.

Contests:

QRP To The Field - http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

World Wide Holyland Contest - https://tools.iarc.org/wwhc/#/rules

ES Open HF Championship - https://erau.ee/images/LL/ES-Open_rules.pdf

CQMM DX Contest - http://www.cqmmdx.com/rules/

Michigan QSO Party - https://miqp.org/index.php/rules/

Nebraska QSO Party - https://nebraskaqsoparty.com/qso-party-rules/f/rules-for-2022-nebraska-qso-party

EA-QRP CW Contest - Take note, different times for different bands  - https://www.eaqrp.com/index.php/actividades/concurso?id=307

Please support our Canadian friends, even though they may not be too thrilled with us right now.

Ontario QSO Party - http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/rules.htm

Quebec QSO Party - https://quebecqsoparty.org/

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

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

04/19/2025 | World Amateur Radio Day

Apr 19-Apr 20, 1300Z-2359Z, N6AJ*, Bakersfield, CA. Terry Godley. 28.425, 14.074; 10 - 40 meters, FT8, SSTV. QSL. Terry Godley, 2701 Fordham Street, Bakersfield, CA 93305. Also participating, W6W, W6A, W6R and W6D.

After Action Report:

Last weekend, April 12th was the QRP-ARCI Spring QSO Party.  I reported my own results, but I looked at the autolog and am happy to report we've had an uptick in participation from 2024. Last year, only 16 log summaries were entered - this year we had 28.  Not quite a 100% increase, but I'll take it.

e-Certificates have gone out to the top three finishers. Look for more publicity blasts from me for the next event, which will be the Hootowl Sprint at the end of May. It would be nice if we could really get a lot of QRP'ers on board, participating in these events as it makes them way more fun. There's nothing worse than entering a Sprint with no activity - it's like watching paint dry.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend doings

First ....... an old image for QRP Image of the Day ....... of me!

I found this in the SPARC Facebook page from way back in April of 2015 (almost 10 years ago!). I went up to Washington Rock State Park for QRP to the Field ....... before POTA was even an idea in anyone's mind!  The photo was taken by Drew W2OU (SK) when he and Marv K2VHW came for a visit.

Coming up this (long Labor Day holiday) weekend:

Contests

Colorado QSO Party -  http://ppraa.org/coqp

Tennessee QSO Party - https://tnqp.org/rules/

MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint -  https://www.miqrp.net/contest-challenge

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

Special Event Stations

08/01/2024 | San Max Celebration

Aug 1-Aug 31, 0000Z-2359Z, 4A2MAX, Neosho, MEXICO. San Max Operators . 14175 21320 28420 7170. QSL. San Max Special Callsign 4A2MAX, MAXIMILIANO THOUS 16-24, Valencia E-46009, SPAIN. Special event where we celebrate the patron saint of radio amateurs, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe SP3RN SK, we invite you to contact us and be part of the celebration. https://www.qrz.com/db/4A2MAX

08/24/2024 | 2024 Buhl Day

Aug 24-Sep 2, 0000Z-0000Z, W3B, Sharon, PA. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club. 7.074 14.074 7.240 14.245. QSL. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 673 , 32 Shenango Ave, Sharon, PA 16146. We will be on the air during Buhl Day in Hermitage, PA. This year is the 109th anniversary of Buhl Farm Park, which covers 300 acres and was given to the community by Frank Buhl (local industrialist) for use and recreation purposes of the community. Labor Day and occasionally the week before. www.w3lif.org

08/31/2024 | 33rd Annual Fly-In/Cruise-In Festival

Aug 31, 1200Z-1800Z, W9EBN, Marion, IN. Grant County Amateur Radio Club. 7.260 14.250 21.350 DMR TG 3100 / DMR TG 31656 . Certificate & QSL. L B Nickerson - K9NQW, P O Box 1786, Marion, IN 46952. Also DStar Ref #24B. Send QSL card in a large SASE www.Grantarc.net

08/31/2024 | Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival Special Event Station

Aug 31-Sep 7, 1323Z-1323Z, K9A, Auburn, IN. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association. 40 Meters : 7.180MHz 20 Meters : 14.250MHz 10 Meters: 28.350 MHz. Certificate & QSL. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association, P.O. Box 145, Auburn, IN 46706-0145. www.w9ou.org

08/31/2024 | Ellensburg Rodeo and Kittitas County Fair 2024

Aug 31-Sep 2, 1600Z-2200Z, K7R, Ellensburg, WA. Kittitas County Amateur Radio Club. 14.275 MHz 21.335 MHz 14.055 MHz 21.055 MHZ. Certificate. KCARC, 110 West Sixth Avenue, Ellensburg, WA 98926. https://www.qsl.net/kcarcs/rodeo.html

08/31/2024 | Return to Paradise - 46TH ANNIVERSARY

Aug 31-Sep 2, 1700Z-1700Z, K7RDG, Sierra Vista, AZ. Cochise Amateur Radio Association. 7.225 14.074 14.285 21.225. Certificate. Cochise ARA, PO Box 1855, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650-9340. WWW.K7RDG.ORG

09/01/2024 | 100th Anniversary of the Ontario Provincial Air Service

Sep 1-Sep 30, 0000Z-2359Z, CG3CBHC, Sault Ste Marie, ON. Algoma Amateur Radio Club. 14.074 7.074. Certificate. Dave Rowlinson, 315 Old Garden River Rd., Sault Ste Marie, ON P6B 5A7, CANADA. Event will run the month of September, but the most activity will be September 21 and 22 during Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (bushplane.com) - Bushplane Days Commemorative Certificates will be sent to all contacts during the event. www.aarclub.ca

Last night was the finale of the 20 Meter Summer Fox Hunt season for 2024. I have not participated all Summer, but last night was special. To honor our recently departed friend, Jerry N9AW, the Hounds who wanted to, were given permission to give their name as either Jerry or "AW" for their part of the exchange. I heard Jim N0UR in Minnesota (good ol' Minnesota-Wisconsin pipeline) at a good 599 and worked him at 0108 UTC.  I went looking for Earl N8SS in Michigan, and I found some of his Hounds, but no Earl.  So I went back to listen to Jim for a bit and he was still very loud. Jim was calling CQ with no takers, so I gave into temptation and worked him again, but this time with the power turned down to 1 Watt. Both times I gave my name as "AW". A small gesture, but one to honor the memory of a friend I never got to meet in person. Requiescat in pace, Jerry.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP _ When you care to send the very least!

Happenings - including QRPTTF and the W8DIZ Memorial RFTB

 For the weekend:

Contests: (For those who perpetually ask: "What's all this on the bands? Is there a contest?")

QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) : http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

CQMM DX Contest : http://www.cqmmdx.com/rules/

Michigan QSO Party : https://miqp.org/index.php/rules/

Ontario QSO Party : http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/rules.htm

Holyland DX Contest : https://www.iarc.org/iarc/Content/docs/Holyland2023eng.pdf

YU DX Contest : http://www.yudx.yu1srs.org.rs/

Nebraska QSO Party : https://nebraskaqsoparty.com/qso-party-rules/f/rules-for-2022-nebraska-qso-party

Quebec QSO Party - https://wp1.quebecqsoparty.org/

ARRL Rookie Roundup, SSB - http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup

Special Flying Pigs Run for the Bacon / W8DIZ Memorial Sprint

This coming Sunday night is the April 2024 extra special edition of the Run For The Bacon -  the W8DIZ Memorial Sprint. On the air with us will be several W8PIG/# stations from various call sign areas to honor the memory of our Founder, Diz W8DIZ.

The rules remain the same, and can be found at: http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

The time is the same as always:

East coast - 7:00 to 9:00 PM EDT

Midwest - 6:00 to 8:00 PM CDT

Rockies - 5:00 to 7:00 PM MDT

West coast - 4:00 to 6:00 PM PDT

Hope to hear you on the air for some pignacious fun while making our beloved W8DIZ proud! Oh, and did I mention? This month's winner will earn an extra special W8DIZ Memorial certificate!

Special Event Stations - only 1 this weekend:

04/20/2024 | Northwest Arkansas Train Mobile

Apr 20, 1300Z-2200Z, N5T, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 7.190 14.260 7.040 14.040. QSL. Don Banta - K5DB, 3407 Diana St., Springdale, AR 72764. bellavistaradioclub.org

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the vey least!

A quick reminder and another announcement

QRPTTF, QRP To The Field is this Saturday - another annual effort by Paul NA5N which is very worthy of your time if you are able to participate.

Details here:  http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

I'm hoping that I can get an end fed up at the library for SPARC's "Amateur Radio Day at the Library" so that I can hand out points while simultaneously demonstrating how Morse Code works.

And the other announcement. This Sunday is the monthly Flying Pigs "Run For The Bacon". This month is a special one - W8PIG/# stations for the various call sign areas will be on the air participating, in part as something special to honor the memory of our Founder W8DIZ (SK).  A special certificate will be awarded to the winner. Details to follow - keep an eye on the various QRP and CW e-mail reflectors and iO Groups later this week.  https://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The internet - a double edged sword.

No doubt about it - the internet is a double edged sword. There's a lot of fake news, garbage, hate, bigotry and plain ol' vanilla stupidity to be found on it, and particular that's true for social media. But if you know where to look, there's a ton of golden nuggets to be found as well.

For as long as I've been writing this blog (20 years now), I've always had the blog role listed on the right side. There have been blogs that have come and blogs that have gone - but each one that I list, I think has value for those of us who love Amateur Radio, and in particular QRP, Morse Code and Portable Ops. By the way, if you know of any real good ones that have escaped my attention, please drop me an e-mail, or bring it to my attention in the comment box. I'm always open to adding to the list.

Just the other day, I added a list with links to YouTube video channels that I think are worthy of your time to pay attention to. I do not have the equipment or time to develop my own video channel and you wouldn't want to risk listening to my New Jersey voice for more than five minutes anyway. The ones I have listed are IMHO, quite excellent. I could never do a job that would even come close to what these guys have done and continue to do. The same thing goes for my offer about blogs - are there really good YouTube channels that I have missed? Let me know!

The last topic that I'm going to touch in this post is about Facebook. Facebook is the double edged sword within the double edged sword. There is so much garbage on there that if you look at it for any length of time, you'd swear your eyes were starting to bleed and you'd also swear you'd never darken the halls of Facebook again. Yet, if you give it a chance, there are so many good Facebook pages that offer so much good Amateur Radio information.

To do it justice, I think I'll have to open another box on the right with links - but for now I'm going to list several Facebook groups that I really enjoy and have found useful and worthy of my time:

Morse Code Fans - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2109567972673278

Parks On The Air (POTA) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/parksontheair

Amateur QRP Radio - https://www.facebook.com/groups/qrpradio

CW Bugs, Keys and Paddles - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1232401453542260

Wire Antennas for Amateur Radio - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1014226582804314

QRP 14.060 MHz - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1576444765759000

QRP Outdoor Radio - https://www.facebook.com/groups/676090859094874

There are so many more! If you truly think that Facebook is a vast desert wasteland, with no redeeming value whatsoever, and you swore to yourself you'd never bother with it - I'd ask you to just do a search on your favorite aspect of Amateur Radio - you're sure to find something. Granted, even some of what you'll find is garbage, but you'll also be pleasantly surprised by the good groups, as there's a lot of good information and ideas being passed back and forth.

And OK, one final, final topic. While we're on the subject of the "plus" side of the internet, it also allows for greater and widespread publicity of the operating evenrts and contests that we all enjoy so much. A case in point,  Paul NA5N put out the official announcement for QRP To The Field (QRPTTF), which will take place on Saturday, April 20th.

The annual QRP TO THE FIELD (QRPTTF) will be held SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024  0800-1800 your LOCAL time (The 3rd Saturday in April).

RULES: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html (or http://www.zianet.com/QRP/  home page entry)

A few CHANGES and CLARIFICATIONS:

Operate from HOME, OUTBACK (your backyard) or in the FIELD

Scoring change: Bonus points for *working* OUTBACK or FIELD stations for a higher score.  SOTA and POTA stations worked count as a FIELD station.

KL7, KH6, KP4 and DX stations can work anytime they wish during the contest period for best local and time conditions.

Exchange is compatible with most logging programs.  Logging name optional.   

You may have to add up the Outback and Field stations worked manually.

Summary Sheets are a spreadsheet for calculating your score in both Microsoft Excel (.xls) or Open Office (.ods) formats.

Now to express my ignorance.  I do not have any Apple or Linux machines.  If you know of a program to convert between Excel and Apple NUMBERS, please let me know and I'll add the link to the rules webpage for Apple users.

Here in NM, it's been 73F one day, rain and snow the next.  Hopefully, we'll have a nice, warm Spring day for QRPTTF and favorable band conditions. QRPTTF is a fun day to get on the air and QSO fellow QRPers, old and new, at all skill levels, whether from your home shack or outside.  Not a 35wpm contest.  Chit-chat after the exchange is certainly allowed!

QRPTTF is administered strictly through QRP-L.

CU on QRPTTF,

72, Paul NA5N

Socorro, NM

______________________________________________________________________________________

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF this Saturday!

 A reminder from Paul NA5N:

A reminder that QRP TO THE FIELD (QRPTTF) will be held this SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021 from 0800-1800 your local time.

Rules are virtually the same as last year: OUTBACK Part 2

Operate from:

OUTBACK in your home shack

OUTBACK in your back yard

OUTBACK in the field or a SOTA summit

Since covid is still a moving target with varying health orders from state to state, operate from your home, backyard or "in the field" as you feel comfortable with and to conform with local health and travel restrictions.

*** JUST GET ON THE AIR, MAKE SOME QRP QSOs, AND HAVE SOME FUN. ***

RULES: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

CONTEST CALENDAR:

https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php?mode=custom&week=current

My weather calls for temps in the upper 70s with 15-20mph winds, so will be operating from a nearby field if not too windy.  I'll be putting some old gear on the air ... my old Ten Tec Argo (5W Scout) and an SGC-2020 with a 1938 McElroy bug for the nostalgia.  I used 20M and 40M MFJ QRP rigs on my very first QRPTTF, the Argo on the 2nd, and the SG-2020 on the third, so time to get a couple of them back on QRPTTF.  Have made several QSOs with them past couple of weeks for the NMQP and SKCC WES, so the old analog radios still work and sounds great.

72 and CU Saturday,

Paul NA5N

Socorro, NM

In W2LJ land, it's supposed to be mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 60s. Lots to do (as always) on Saturday, so if I get out in the back yard at all, it would be for a short time. I hope to be able to get some operating time in, even if it's just an hour. Why does it seem that the older I get, the busier I get?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF Disappointment

I only heard one QRPTTF station today, and that was Gene N5GW on 20 Meters. I called him a couple of times with no success. That was it. If there were any other stations calling "CQ QRPTTF" out there, I wasn't hearing them, and no one heard me when I was calling CQ.

The Michigan and Ontario QSO Parties were another matter. That was like shooting fish in a barrel. I worked about a half dozen stations in each, more or less, in the little time I put in.  It was nice to hear 40 Meters with wall-to-wall activity. I wish every weekend and every week night were like that.

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

Looking towards next weekend

which seems to be all that's getting me through these weeks!

MI QSO Party
Noon to Midnight EDT (1600 - 0400 UTC)
Exchange - MI: Serial No. + county /  non-MI: Serial No. + (state/province/"DX")

ON QSO Party
2:00 PM to 1:00 AM EDT on Saturday - 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Sunday
Exchange - ON: RS(T) + county / Non-ON: RST + (state/province/country)

And of course, next Satruday is QRP To The Field, which might be better entitled QRP From Home or QRP From The Backyard this year.
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time
Exchange - RST + (state/province/country) + name/SOTA

The long range forecast for my area of the world is for showers beginning on Friday and lasting through Monday - so for W2LJ, it will be QRP From Home (basement). Sigh - at least it's a bit warmer down there than it is in the winter.

I was hoping to try out (for the first time) my new Jackite support, which was inspired by Dave KD2FSI. I guess that will have to wait for a time when the weather is better.

According to WA7BNM's Contest Calendar, I see that also next weekend is "Texas State Parks On The Air". Lucky Texas!  Here in New Jersey, all our State Parks have been closed by order of the Governor until further notice. So there's no POTA going on at all in New Jersey for the moment.

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

Another one bites the dust.

I apologize for my snark, but yet another event that's near and dear is changing due to our current situation. This was posted to QRP-L by Paul Harden NA5N:

Gang,

QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) will be held this year on Saturday, April 18, 2020, the usual daylight hours in the U.S. time frame.

To comply with the isolation and travel restrictions most of us are now living under, there will be no theme this year, just a HOME and FIELD category.  There is no special emphasis to operate from the field with most parks and areas closed, isolation concerns, or to not violate local restrictions.  We'll operate from HOME in "Take-Out" mode; FIELD operations are allowed only if you're comfortable traveling to a location without violating local guidelines (or from your back yard).

April 18 also coincides with the annual SOTA S2S Trans-Atlantic QSO Party.   So, SOTA stations (most are QRP) will be on the air for the added bonus points, some from EU, and all SOTA station contacts also qualify for QRPTTF contacts.  If you're a SOTA op who prefers to stay home, then participate in QRPTTF instead.

I really struggled with this.  Some communities are now imposing fines for being caught out and about; we all know the isolation and self-quarantine guidelines imposed on us and the uncertainties come April 18.  So the emphasis this year is operate from HOME so we can all remain safe and still
have fun.

Ham radio is the safest activity on planet Earth right now.  We can associate with all our QRP friends on the bands without having to wash our hands after wards! :-)  See you for QRPTTF on April 18 from the comfort and safety of your HOME.  It might help your "Cabin Fever" just a bit.

I'll be updating the QRPTTF website shortly.

72, Paul NA5N

Sigh ............

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

QRPTTF Announcement

The rules have been posted for QRP To The Field for 2019.  I seriously doubt that i will be able to participate this year as the scheduled date is Saturday, April 20th - which is also Holy Saturday of Easter Weekend.

At any rate - here are the rules (as per NA5N) for those who are not otherwise occupied:

Gang,

It's now spring (though hard to believe in some parts of the country) and April is almost here. Time for QRP TO THE FIELD.

The 2019 QRPTTF Rules are here: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/2019/ttf.htm

I've received several emails regarding this years QRPTTF, like: 

1) My favorite forest and campground burned down and now closed 
2) Go for a water theme as my town is still under water 
3) The bridge leaving town to my favorite spot is still closed 
4) Can't travel too far these days - pick something close

So on the side of caution, this year's QRPTTF is laying low and pretty easy ... "Any Ole Park" from the empty lot down the street to a recognized park. Can be close to home for safety for those in flood areas and closed highways. And of course, SOTA operations are invited as always.

Last year's QRPTTF the solar flux was rock bottom at 64. The USAF is predicting a solar flux of 74-78 and Kp=2 for April 20, so at least some improvement to daytime HF. Maybe we'll get a little solar flare to kick it up even higher (actually been a few solar flares past couple of weeks).

So get your field gear out of winter hibernation and give it a checkout for April 20. 

73, Paul NA5N 

So there you have it, for your edification.

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

Never enough time for radio

Humbug!

Saturday got away from me again. Too many chores and errands, not enough time for radio. QRPTTF will have to wait another year for participation from W2LJ (as is that even matters).

From the summaries and reactions that I have been reading on QRP-L, it looks like the QSO rates were quite light for those who took part. Some have reported only 4 or 5 contacts for the entire event. Band conditions were pretty bad to say the least; and was probably the main reason for this.  Related to that, I saw on Facebook where Mike KC2EGL posted that he and John K3WWP only made 15 contacts during their subpedition to the USS Requin yesterday. I guess band conditions were lousy both days.

Personal experience would tend to back that up.  Yesterday afternoon, I got a few free moments and decided to set up the KX3 and magloop on the back patio. It was sunny and 65F (18C) and sitting in the sunshine, it actually felt much warmer. I haven't used the loop in a while and I kind of surprised myself how adept I've become at tuning it. I heard some loud signals on 40 Meters, though far and few between. 20 Meters was even worse. Any DX that I heard at the low end of the band was way down in the mud and was hard to hear. Stations from Slovenia and that area of Europe usually boom into NJ that part of the afternoon. Yesterday I had to strain my ear bones to hear them.

I called CQ for a bit on both bands for a few minutes before the battery that I was using went down below 8 Volts and caused the KX3 to turn off.  I guess that was just as well; because from the RBN chart, I wasn't being heard anywhere very well, anyway.

I saw in one post to QRP-L that Rick N9KG and Jerry N9AW were discussing that during the lower end of the sun spot cycle that "all day" QRP events might be better served by turning them into 3, 4 or even 5 hour sprints. The idea being to concentrate the participation and activity into a smaller time frame so that the experience becomes meaningful for all those involved.

Off hand, I'd say that's a pretty good idea. It keeps interest in the event alive from year to year when people feel that they've had a modicum of success. If you've made 20, 30 or 40 or more QSOs, you're more likely to make an effort to go out and conduct a portable operation again the following year. No one wants to go through all that trouble only to have it become an exercise in setting up and tearing down. When the sun spots come back in plentiful numbers, you can always adjust the hours of the event to reflect that.

Just a thought; and if I daresay, a good one on the part of NK9G and N9AW - two avid veteran QRPers whom I both respect, very much.

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

The weekend

Saturday was a normal, busy Saturday and it was cool with on and off rain. As such, that forced me to operate indoors for QRPTTF - and in a way that was a blessing. As it turned out, the bands were so dismal, that had I went out and traveled to a river and gone through the whole outdoor setup procedure, I would have been bitterly disappointed.  Somehow, making only four contacts isn't as disappointing when you don't have to brave the elements and the added work of setting up a portable station in the rain.

I could not believe the conditions on 20 Meters!  I heard stations, but only to the degree that I knew they that someone was there. Signals were so weak and into the ESP realm, that I was not able to copy any call signs.  I knew Morse Code was being sent; but that was about it.

40 Meters yielded my four QSOs.  I worked North Carolina, Ontario and Maine. There was one station (call sign withheld as I can't remember it! LOL!) that was frustratingly loud that I called and called and called ....... only to get "CQ TTF" as an answer for my effort. I finally gave up, figuring that he was either in a high ambient noise location, or that once again, propagation was not reciprocal.

The bad thing (or maybe it's a good thing?) about being a home station is that when the bands are dismal you can trot off and do other things, like chores and stuff. If I were a field station, I would have stuck it out longer because of the effort of putting a portable station on the air. I think the frustration level would have been markedly higher, though, as you look for a return on your expended effort.

In other things, I would be remiss if I did not mention the passing of Jerry Haigwood W5JH on April 21st.  I read of Jerry's passing via an e-mail to 4 States QRP Group (of which I am a member) by Terry WA0ITP.  While I did not know Jerry very well on a personal basis, I have worked him numerous times on the air.  In addition, Jerry was the driving force behind the AZ ScQRpions Black Widow and Mini Black Widow paddles.  I still have my Black Widow paddles and at one time I did own a set of the Mini Black Widow paddles attached to my PFR3A.  Both were/are excellent paddles and are a testament to Jerry's machining skills.

RIP, Jerry - you will be missed.

Lastly, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and play with something that was sent to me by Richard, G3CWI, owner of SOTABEAMS.  A few months ago, Rich graciously sent me a WSPRLITE, to play with and evaluate. The WSPRLITE is a small WSPR transmitter beacon, if you will, that you can use to test your antennas.

I hadn't the time, up until now, to give it the attention it deserves. Mind you, it's very easy to use - as easy as falling off a log - but as John Lennon wrote in a song, "Life is what happens while your busy making other plans."  I don't want to give the impression that I put off getting this little beauty on the air due to it being a difficult process. Nothing could be farther from the truth!  It's just that things (obligations, chores, colds) always seemed to get in the way each time I had planned to get it up and running.

Well, last night I got it up and running within a few minutes and got results almost immediately!  This lil' guy is way cool and I want to play with it for a few more evenings this week and then I want to let it run for a few hours in the daytime before I let you know what my impressions are.  But so far, it's a very neat tool to have, especially if you have more than one HF antenna and you want to see how they stack up against each other.

I hate to keep you hanging; but that's all I'm going to say about it for now.  The WSPRLITE will deserve it's own post to properly give it the evaluation it deserves - and you can look for that either next Saturday night or Sunday.

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

QRPTTF this weekend

This coming Saturday, the 2017 "Summer" Outdoor QRP Season begins with QRP To The Field. This event, put together and sponsored by Paul NA5N is one that I always look forward to. Sometimes, I even get to participate!

The extended weather forecast for the day is still somewhat ...... meh.

Overall, an overcast day with temperatures reaching a high of about 64F (18C).  The chances for showers increase as the afternoon rolls on.  The weather that day will be a big factor.

This year, the theme of the event is "A River Runs Through It".  The idea is to get out and operate from the nearby vicinity of a river, creek, stream, brook or what have you.  There are various possibilities around here ...... depending.  "Depending on what?", you may be asking.

Depending on ease of access, location, and name of said body of water.  The name of the estuary is part of the exchange.  I can go a bit farther from home to a nice park and have "Raritan" as part of the exchange; or I can stick close to home and have "Bound Brook" as part of the exchange. Obviously, the name of the river is a heckuva lot shorter than the name of the brook.

This might be one time that I may be sorely tempted to load a "canned" exchange into one of the KX3's memories, so I don't have to pound out "Bound Brook" all day long. I don't like doing that, as for me, that seems a bit too "automatic" for my tastes.  I know, I know ....... all the die hard contesters do that with their N1MM logging program and all they have to do is hit the F1 key all day long and make a ton of contacts to take the top places.  I'm old school.  I like making the exchange by myself and doing it the "old way". Of course, that's another reason that I rarely ever get beyond the middle of the contest pack.

The other factor, as mentioned before, is the weather. If it really looks like rain, I'll be tempted to stick closer to home.  If it's a gray day; but seems like it will most likely stay dry, I might be more inclined to go to the park farther away from home.

Hopefully, nothing will come out of Left Field (as it so often does) to make all the above a moot point - and for all intent and purpose ..... spoil the day.

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

QRPTTF 2017 announced!

Today, Paul Harden announced the theme for QRP To The Field 2017 - "A River Runs Through It" or, as he also refers to it - "Rivers On The Air".

http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/2017/ttf.htm

To quote Paul:

Qualifying River: To avoid any confusion defining a river, creek, stream, canal, etc. – if it has a name, it qualifies, whether or not there's water in it when you arrive.  This would include dry river beds and arroyos (with a name) common in the Southwest.  Operate from near the river as safety or local facilities allow.

This year, QRPTTF falls on Saturday, April 22nd. It runs 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Local Time (so it varies from time zone to time zone).

The name of the river is a required part of the exchange, but you're welcomed to shorten it to something manageable - so something like the "Chattahoochie" won't be so daunting on CW.

There's no shortage of rivers, creeks and streams near me, so finding a suitable location to operate shouldn't be a problem.  QRPTTF is one of my most favorite events of the year and is the kick off to the Summer QRP Outdoor Operating season.  Once QRPTTF rolls around - you know Winter is definitely over!

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

QRPTTF - Saturday, April 23rd

Paul NA5N put this preliminary announcement on QRP-L the other day. Like the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, QRPTTF will be incorporating NPOTA into the mix:

Gang,

I've been working on the 2016 QRP To The Field website, rules, links,  deleting old stuff, etc. all night, but taking longer than I thought.  So  to not cause any further delay, here's a HEADS UP on this year's QRPTTF.

Open to all QRPers, SOTA ops, and ARRL NPOTA participants (running QRP)

DATE: Saturday, April 23, 2016
TIME: 0800-1800 your local time U.S.
THEME: "Park It Here"

Operate from any National Park, State Park, or AOP (Any Ole Park).  This is  designed to be compatible with the ARRL's NPOTA - for those participating in  the ARRL's National Parks On The Air.  Thus, QSOs for QRPTTF will also count for the NPOTA if operating from an NPS qualified park or facility.  If  more convenient, operate from a nearby State Park, Municipal Park, or other park for the "Park" multiplier.  SOTA stations operating from a qualified summit (and who doesn't?) also count as a "Park" multiplier.

That should be enough for now to mark your calendars, charge your  batteries, dust off your field rig, and come up with a good excuse on why you will be gone Saturday, April 23.

Website coming soon.

72, Paul NA5N

I've said this before ... when you come right down to it, NPOTA is perfect for QRPers. It doesn't have to be complicated, it doesn't have to be a mini Field Day (unless you want it to be, of course). Personally, when it comes to portable ops, I feel the simpler, the better - a la` Jim W1PID, Steve WG0AT and countless others .....a rig, a battery and an antenna, and a whole lotta fun..

There's nothing like QRP and the Great Outdoors!

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

So how did I do?

As mentioned in my last post, last night I gave my "QRP - You and the Great Outdoors" presentation to the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club at their meeting in Union, NJ. This is a very active club that not only owns and operates the W2LI repeater, but it also very active in Amateur Radio on an all-around basis. I saw and spoke with different members about their interests and they seemed wide and varied. Emergency traffic handling, NTS traffic handling, building, VHF/UHF, HF, QRP, the digital modes, antennas and DX were just some of the topics I heard being bandied about the room.

In all, TCARC seems to be a vibrant club, which is a very good thing. We need more clubs like this.

After the formal meeting opening and introductions, the regular meeting was suspended and I was asked to give my talk.  I think it went very well.  The members of Tri-County were warm, friendly and receptive, so I was very much at ease. Of course it helps that I know a few of them from serving with them at VE sessions. But even the members I didn't know proved to be a most gracious audience.

The presentation itself lasted somewhat over an hour, I think. I wasn't really keeping close track of the time, but that's an estimation on my part. Throughout that time, I tried to keep everything light and fun, and I hope I was successful in imparting upon them the fun I have with QRP, particularly portable ops outdoors. I didn't see anyone stifling a yawn, or any "deer in the headlight" looks and my few lame attempts at humor elicited a couple chuckles, so I think I did an OK job. And there were several instances, particularly during the slide that contains Sean KX9X's YouTube video about the US Islands on the Air program, that got a few "Wow"s uttered. I think there was some genuine surprise at what QRP can accomplish.

I have added the Powerpoint to my Public Dropbox folder, so you can download it and view it, if you wish. It's a 23 MB file, so it's kind of on the big side. If anyone desires to use it as a club presentation (even though it's kind of tailored towards the NJ outdoor experience), feel free to edit it as you wish - just make sure to give good ol' W2LJ some credit for authoring it (or co-authoring if you REALLY modify it).

The URL is: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20875533/QRP%20Outdoors.ppt

Lunchtime was successful today as well, it was like icing on the cake.  I worked three stations - EG8TRV (again), A0150E in Spain and Serge RU1AF who had a splendid signal into NJ - like he was down the street!

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

QRPTTF - 2015

It seems for me at least, that these event hardly ever go as I envision them. In my mind, I get onsite early, with plenty of time to set up, which goes like a hot knife through butter. I have plenty of time to spend on the air, and just make scads of QSOs, then break down and come home, tired but triumphant.

As Mr. Lennon wrote, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

I had planned to get to Washington Rock State Park around Noon. The park, which is on the first ridge of the Watchung (Wach Unc in Lene Lanape) moutnains, meets the  QRPTTF theme requirement for being a place somehow related to Native Americans. What actually happened was that my daughter was invited to a sleepover/birthday party, and I had to have her at her friend's house at 2:00 PM. So much for the early start.

Set up did go like the knife through hot butter, after I made it to the park. The new Joplin ARC antenna launcher got my antenna hoist line up over a 40 foot high tree branch on the first shot.  The EARCHI was up, literally in minutes.

I got on the air at about 1830 UTC and I spent about 15 minutes calling CQ QRP on 15 Meters with no takers.  I had a feeling that 15 Meters was going to be good today. It wasn't, at least for me. So I meandered over to 20 Meters and was answered by Craig N8KMY at 1855 for my first QRPTTF QSO.

It didn't start out as a QRPTTF QSO. He called me because in his words, he couldn't believe that I was QRP.  He is located in northern MI and told me that I was one of the loudest signals on the band for him. He repeatedly asked me to confirm that I was only running 5 Watts.

He was as loud to me as I was to him, so that's where the fun began.  First he lowered his power from 40 Watts to 20 Watts, when I told him there was no difference in his signal, he continued to lower his power down to 10 Watts, and then, eventually 5 Watts.  He was astounded when I told him (quite honestly) that there was no difference between his signal at 40 Watts or 5 Watts.  A new QRP convert? I certainly hope so! Craig seemed enthusiastic enough.

Getting him down to 5 Watts qualified as a QRPTTF contact. We had a nice ragchew for about 25 minutes. A bit longer than I had intended, but it's never a bad thing to promote QRP, and bring a new soul into the fold, right? So it was worth it.

Besides, as it turned out, the bands weren't exactly rip-roaring with QRPTTF activity. I ended up making only 8 QSOs. Six on 20 Meters and two on 40 Meters.

I worked, in addition to N8KMY, NK9G, WQ8RP, K7RE, K4UPG (Kelly, my fellow QRP Polar Bear - Grrrrrrrr), WB3T, KS8M and AA5TB.

What made the day, was when my fellow SPARC members, Marv K2VHW (my official QRPTTF 2015 photographer) and Drew W2OU came for a visit.  They kept me company in between QSOs and also stayed with me until I packed up for the return trip home. Around 5:00 PM, it started getting chilly again and QRPTTF signals were becoming about as scarce as hen's teeth. So only though I put in only 2 & 1/2 hours behind the key, I decided to call it an event and head home.

The important thing was that I had fun and enjoyed my time playing radio today. It feels like I don't get to do this anywhere near enough.

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