New tablet

I purchased a new Android tablet from eBay. Nothing fancy, an off brand, not a Samsung. But it has a newer version of Android on it and a faster processor than the piece of stone I was using, which is probably almost 7 or 8 years old by now. This one also has a bigger screen, more memory and more storage space. It came with a case and a Bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse. The mouse has a USB-A receiver and the tablet has no USB-A outlet, so that was superfluous. But still, not bad for under $75.

This one will be used primarily for blogging and Amateur Radio purposes. So far I have installed VLS Logger, SpaceWeatherLive, RepeaterBook, HamAlert, ARRL Magazines, and I made icon links for Morsel and the POTA spotter page.

I need to add SOTA Spotter, and one of the DX Cluster apps, either DXPocket or NKCCliuster. and perhaps PoLo, although I kind of like VLS Logger.  The accessory keyboard is the same size as the tablet and seems to be very nice. Maybe this will finally be the "what it takes" to get me to computer log portable ops instead of paper and pencil logging.

The other primary purpose for this tablet will be weather apps, WeaterBug, AWN Net, the Lightning app, RadarNow! and probably Weather Underground.

Of course, it comes with Gmail and Chrome pre-loaded. I will add Facebook and Skype and probably Zoom as most of the radio club meetings that I attend are hybrid, in-person and Zoom.

I wish AC Log by N3JFP had an Android app. The only way I can use AC Log out in the field would be to bring a laptop and IMHO, that's just a pain in the hindquarters. When I use VLS Logger, I have to export an ADIF via e-mail to my laptop so that I can add the contacts to AC Log. Not an end-of -the-world issue, that's for sure - but you get spoiled by convenience.

Last night was the inaugural 40 Meter QRP Fox Hunt and I was debating whether or not to participate. I was really tired and wanted to to hit the hay, but I relented and found and worked John K4BAI rather quickly. I listened for Kevin W9CF for a bit, but he's in Arizona and that's a long haul. I found him and heard him pop out of the noise a couple of times, but not loud enough or long enough for me to work him. Then, when someone decided to start calling CQ at 10 over 9, right on his frequency, I decided to hang it up for the night. Just before heading upstairs, I looked him up on RBN and the single East coast skimmer had him in single digit dB numbers above noise level. Experience tells me that's not good if you want a QSO. But I bet when I eventually see his log, band conditions will have changed and all the other New Jersey Hounds will have nabbed him. Never fails.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least.

By Golly ....... it worked!

Thursday evening I finally bit the bullet and programmed the QYT K-8900D that I purchased from Amazon a couple of weeks ago.  I now work in the IT field, so you'd think that this would be like second nature to me, but no. To me computers are still part black magic. I was dreading the process.

I was expecting COM Port errors, communication errors between the radio and the laptop, all sorts of things that would make me go screaming into the night. I was pleasantly surprised when the whole process went like a hot knife through butter. 

I fired up CHIRP, connected the radio to the laptop using the provided cable and pressed the "Download radio profile" tab and half expected the computer and/or radio to laugh at me. To my amazement, the little progress bar quickly sped across the screen and what was factory programmed into the radio appeared on my laptop screen. No snickers, no guffaws, no knee slappers.

I then made what changes I wanted to, crossed my fingers and pressed the "Upload profile to radio" tab. Again, the little green progress bar whizzed across my laptop screen and I was finished. The entire deal took less than five minutes

No looking for drivers, no looking into COM Port settings, no muss, no fuss. I was relieved.

I put the unit into my Jeep Friday morning. The K-8900D that was in there has some wear and tear on it, so it will go down to the shack to be used to check into the various ARES/RACES nets that I participate in each month. This older unit is missing a knob, which seems endemic to these units. I have no idea where it went. I think it was sucked up into a black hole and ultimately arrived at the same location where missing socks from the clothes dryer go.

I saw replacement knobs being offered on eBay by some guy in Lithuania. I purchased a packet of two and they should be here later this month. I'm not used to things going like they're supposed to.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

My gut might have been right

Plus, I was beginning to hear rumors about this at the Hamfest on Saturday.  At first, I just brushed it off, but when I saw that this was still not resolved over the weekend, I started to give my hunch and this "rumor" a little more credence.

CNN is reporting this:

cnn.com/2023/06/15/politics/us-government-hit-cybeattack/index.html

Although, these days, I don't know how much CNN or any news outlet can be trusted. I come from the Walter Cronkite "old school" of news and so much of what I see on TV broadcast news seems to be more opinion and editorializing rather than "Just the facts, Ma'am." Please ...... just give me the "who, what, why, where and when". I don't need to know how the reporter or anchor "feels" about it, or their personal theories.

In any case, our candidates from the Saturday session won't be too thrilled until this mess is cleared up. I could have told them how in the "Olden Days Before Fire Was Invented" that we had to wait 6-8 weeks for our licenses to show up via snail mail, but I'm sure that would have gone over like the proverbial lead balloon,

Well, at least they can't hack radio waves - or does jamming count?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Loopy at the lake

 Marianne and I have headed back up to Lake George, NY for our yearly July sojourn. This year I decided once again to keep it really light in the radio equipment department. I left the full QRP portable backpack at home and brought along just a daypack. This year I have just the KX3, my small lithium battery,  a couple set of earbuds, a backup Bulldog clip key and the Alex Loop.

Since I acquired the Alex Loop from Peter NN9K a couple of years ago, I have not used it enough to be comfortable with it. It works, but I don't know its "ins and outs" very well. I'm not totally sure you can thoroughly know the "ins and outs" of any antenna, as there will always be surprises. By comparison, in the case of wire antennas, I'm a lot more confident in knowing what I can work and what I cannot work. I am hoping to become more familiar with the Alex Loop this week.

I tried listening for some ops in the QRP-ARCI Homebrew Sprint yesterday afternoon. I was disappointed as I only was able to hear some SKCC Weekend Sprinters. Even though I heard them, I didn't work any as I haven't brought a straight key with me. It doesn't seem quite kosher to participate in an SKCC event with keyer and paddles.

This morning, I attempted to work Mike KC2EGL and John K3WWP as NY3EC at the USS Requin in Pittsburgh. I set up HamAlert to let me know whenever they were spotted by RBN or the Cluster. I did not hear them on 20 Meters when they were spotted there, and I did not hear them on 40 Meters when they were spotted there. I was able to make them out on 30 Meters, however. They were at ESP levels, and I was able to hear the stations they were working, and was able to figure out that it was Mike at the key. I patiently waited for their signal strength to rise. Eventually they got up to about a 449 and I gave a call. I made contact, but it's a busted QSO as I'm pretty sure that Mike was copying me as W2BJ. I did get a 339 report, though. Then QSB reared its ugly head and they disappeared, even though reports from HamAlert confirmed they were still on the band. Maybe I should follow K3WWP's advice and invest in a PX3 panadapter. I don't care for waterfalls, though - call me an old fogey. I was, am and always will be a dial twiddler - and cheap! The Ham Alert app is a freebie!

So then I did a little experimenting by calling CQ and looking at Reverse Beacon Network reports on the various bands. It seems the Alex Loop is best heard on 40 and 30 Meters. Those two bands gave me the best db above Noise Level reports. 

So later in the afternoon, I sat down to try and work NY3EC again, as I was still getting reports that they were on the air. No matter what band they were on, this time I couldn't hear them. However, while tuning across 20 Meters, I heard RW3XW calling CQ at the bottom of the band. He was strong, but there was a lot of QSB but I decided to give the ol' roulette wheel a spin and give it a shot. My recent experiment be darned, telling me that my RBN reports on 20 Meters are not the best - I gave it the ol" college try.

Success! I got him in the log on the second try. Shaking my head, I was not able to work Pittsburgh on any band, which is a small hop away - but I was able to work Russia which is several thousand miles away on a band where the loop doesn't give me my best results. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never figure propagation out.

I came into our cabin to log my contact on AC Log only to get a bit of a scare. This old Lenovo T430 came to life, only with no mouse cursor pointer! The finger pad and the little "mouse" controller button in the middle of the keyboard were both inoperative, Great - just what I really need - a bum computer for the rest of the week and of course, I did not bring along an external mouse.

I'm not what you would call "IT savvy" but I know enough about using the keyboard keys to navigate around. Soon I was able to get to the Control Panel to try and see if I could get things working again. The drivers were up to date and re-loading them didn't help any. The Device Manager was telling me that the drivers would not upload on boot up  Why? I have no idea.. I did remember that when I shut the laptop off last night, it did a Windows Update. Something funky must have happened then and there.  I managed to navigate over to the recovery area. I did not do a full blown backdate, but I was able to do a recovery and a re-boot which got the mouse pointer working again.

Whew - computers ARE black magic - especially when you're not an IT whiz. I was lucky this time, but now I'm strongly considering an upgrade in the near future. This machine is too old to run Windows 10 reliably and Windows 8 support stops sometime soon.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP-ARCI Fall QSO Party this weekend

2017 QRP-ARCI(sm) Fall QSO Party

Date/Time:
1200Z on 14 October 2017 through 2400Z on 15 October 2017. You may work a maximum of 24 hours of the 36 hour period.

Mode: HF CW only.

Exchange:
Members send: RST, State/Province/Country, ARCI member number
Non-Members send: RST, State/Province/Country, Power Out

QSO Points:
Member = 5 points
Non-Member, Different Continent = 4 points
Non-Member, Same Continent = 2 points

Multiplier:
SPC (State/Province/Country) total for all bands. The same station may be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and SPC credit.

Power Multiplier:
>5 Watts = x1
>1 - 5 Watts = x7
>250 mW - 1 Watt = x10
>55 mW - 250 mW = x15
55 mW or less = x20

Suggested Frequencies:
160m1810 kHz
80m3560 kHz
40m7030 kHz (please listen at 7040 kHz for rock bound participants)
20m14060 kHz
15m 21060 kHz
10m28060 kHz

Score:
Final Score = Points (total for all bands) x SPCs (total for all bands) x Power Multiplier.

BONUS POINTS: None available for this contest.

Categories:
Entry may be All-Band, Single Band, High Bands (10m-15m-20m) or Low Bands (40m-80m)

How to Participate:
Get on any of the HF bands except the WARC bands and hang out near the QRP frequencies. Work as many stations calling CQ QRP or CQ TEST as possible, or call CQ QRP or CQ TEST yourself! You can work a station for credit once on each band.

Log Submission:
Submit your entry online at http://www.qrpcontest.com >
Contest logs are not required for entry, but may be requested by the Contest Manager if required.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked on or before 29 October 2017.

Results: Will be published in QRP Quarterly and shown on the QRP-ARCI website along with qrpcontest.com

Certificates: Will be awarded to the Top 10 Scoring Entrants.

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

Slowly, but surely

the dummy figures it out!

The reason I was missing so many Skeeter Hunt results was that on my tablet, the Verizon Web based e-mail client shows both my Verizon account and my gmail account in one big "In Box".  On the laptop, I have to toggle between the two.

Now I see them all. I am computer literate ........ barely. Sigh.

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

It's time

As much as I hate to do it, I need to look for a new laptop for the shack. A few months ago, when the family computer gave up the ghost, I pressed my shack desktop into service in that role.  To fill the void in the shack, I resurrected my old Acer Inspire One netbook. It's a small machine with a very small screen, with hardly any processor power. It was performing duties way beyond its pay grade. This is the kind of computer that was designed for looking at e-mails and Facebook, and that's about it. Needing something better, I tried recruiting my even older HP laptop (the one with the broken top lid hinges - thanks, kids!) into service. Alas, it's better than the Acer, but only by the breadth of a hair.  It has a bigger screen, more RAM and a bigger hard drive, but it's still an old XP machine that has grown long in the tooth.

To explain what I mean ..... I went down to the shack last night to add some entries to my main logging program from the HamLog app I use when operating portable. I flipped the on switch at 9:30 PM and by the time it had booted up and the logging program had loaded it was about 9:47 PM.  17 minutes is not good. I wanted to start pulling out my hair by then. I think watching paint dry, or grass grow would have been less stressful and more entertaining.

That exercise in frustration drove me to start searching the Web. At work, IBM issued me a Lenovo T410.  I still use this model every day. Yes, they are slowly being refreshed out with the newer T440 model, but mine has served me decently well at the job over the last few years. I have found a couple places where I can pick up a refurbed T410 with 4G of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Professional in the $150 neighborhood.

This model has everything I would need. It can hook up to the Internet wirelessly, it has 3 USB ports (need one for the KX3, one for a mouse, and one for an external keyboard), provisions for adding a second VGA monitor and the standard audio ports, so I can do the digital modes, should I ever be inclined to go down that road. Not planning to go there, but you never know. I'll have to dip into savings to acquire one, but having a computer in the shack has almost become a necessity.

Of course, I could always go native and log strictly with paper and pencil, but I don't think the ARRL would accept mailed in Xerox copies of my log for LoTW.  Also, I like to keep my eye on QRPSPOTS as well as SOTAWatcher.  Can't do that without some kind of computer, although I guess I could always just use my cell phone for those. And having a Telnet DX Cluster at my disposal for confirming that I correctly copied the call of that DX station who was sending at a blistering 45 WPM is a nice thing to have, too. (Was that an "H", or a "5" ? - 37 years of Hamming and my ears still wig out on those two, at times.)

This is another occasion where I'll just have to bite the bullet and take the plunge.  Good thing I wasn't planning on going to Dayton.

Oh, and by the way, as long as I mentioned Dayton .... best wishes to all those heading to Ohio for FDIM and Hamvention. May the weather be good, the traffic light and travelling conditions safe - there and back!

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

Haunted?

Something is definitely wacky with this HP laptop that I am using. Maybe I need to call in a priest and have an exorcism done. Maybe I need to shake a dead chicken and some garlic at it.

You know the story. The other night, I loaded the latest version of TQSL for LotW and requested a new call sign certificate from the ARRL. The certificate came, I tried loading it, it wasn't recognized. I tried re-booting the computer several times - nada. I uninstalled TQSL and re-downloaded it and re-installed it. Zilch.

I e-mailed the League and described my problem. They kindly sent me an eleven page .pdf file, describing what to do with troublesome call sign certificates. I was going to un-install TQSL again, delete my certificates and start from scratch. But then I got this nagging little feeling. Give it one more shot, a little voice said.

I successfully signed and uploaded my ADIF file to Newington, without so much as a hiccup, burp or hitch. I did NOTHING new, different or out of the ordinary. Tonight it worked like a charm, when the other night nothing worked. Then I took a look at the certificate properties. "Successfully loaded 2/23/2015" or words to that effect. What? But that's not possible! At least that's not what it was saying the other night! The other night, the certificate couldn't be found!

Excuse me while I run out for some Holy Water. Computers are dark magic and evil. Either that, or I have just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.

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

Computer problems and an ATNO

I have been down here in the shack busily making computer changes. The family computer died - kinda sorta. I can't get it to connect to the internet. Neither Ethernet cable nor wireless adapter work.  It's an older refurbed HP machine that I got on the cheap, so I got my money's worth out of it. My shack computer, which is a Dell Optiplex that is running nicely (knock wood) will now become the family computer. For the shack, I am resorting to my old Acer Aspire One. With an external keyboard and an auxiliary monitor, it will fit my needs - even if it is an older XP laptop.

I loaded the essentials onto it, Log4OM, and TrustedQSL. It already has DX Atlas, OmniRig and a few other Ham programs loaded onto it, so I am good to go. Not my idea of an ideal situation, but I can't afford anything different right now. The processor in this thing is a little pokey, but at this point, it's irritating but not fatal.

Anyway, while I was checking out Log4OM, to make sure everything was working properly, FK8IK popped up on 15 Meters as I was tuning around. Once again, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I have never heard New Caledonia so loud. The pile up was very thin, so I thought I had a good shot.  About ten calls with 5 Watts yielded nothing, so I bumped up the power. I rarely work stations "from the other side of the world", and I wasn't about to let this opportunity get away from me. I punched up the KX3 to 90 Watts and got him on the first call.

QRP would have been nice, but I'll take the ATNO. I can always turn down the power next time.

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

Refurbed computers

In a recent post, I had mentioned how I had purchased two refurbished Windows 7 computers from the Blair Group via eBay. One was to replace the family computer that died, and the second was to replace my shack laptop that has seen better days and is in the throes of dying.

I just wanted to mention that so far, I am pretty well pleased with both machines. I spent $139 for each, which is a bargain when you take a look at the price of brand new computers today. But when you're saving up for a new radio accessory (PX3), you have to save pennies when and where you can.

Each computer is a basic box with Windows 7 installed. You might consider them a bit behind the current OS curve, but for me, this was a step up from XP and Vista. These are very basic computers, with no fancy software bundles, and I like that. A lot.

I don't need a fancy or overloaded desktop as everyone in the house does basic Web surfing and e-mail reading through tablets now, anyway. The family computer is now basically a homework and formal document machine and you all know what the shack computer is, more or less. If I get 4 or 5 years from each of these, I will be happy.

So if you're in the market for an inexpensive, yet decent machine, check the Blair Group on eBay. They do a good job.

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

Mental gyrations

Yesterday, the bands seemed a little on the "light side" when I headed out for lunch. Both 15 Meters and 17 Meters had some signals, but it seemed like most of the DX stations were ones I have already worked before.  So I decided to go to the 20 Meter QRP watering hole and put out a CQ.

I was answered by Bob AK4JA in Georgia.  He was a solid 589 at peaks and he gave me a similar signal report.  Here's the thing - while I was using my normal 5 Watts, Bob was running 500 mW!  And his signal was fantastic! While I am fully aware how QRP signals don't necessarily equate to "weak signals" - even I stand up and take notice when a QRPp signal almost pins my meter. I kind of felt like this guy - remember him from TV commercials a few years back?

For those readers not from the US, the Department of Energy ran a series of public service announcements a few years back asking people not to be "Energy Hogs".  Normally, running 5 Watts can make you feel smug with that regard.  Yesterday, using even 5 Watts made me feel piggish.

For the record, Bob was using a Yaseu FT817 to a dipole - and it was doing a fantastic job for him. His 1/2 Watt signal almost sounded like he was transmitting from a location just down the street.

When I got home a "new" computer was waiting for me.  I purchased a refurbished Dell Optiplex 320 from the Blair Group via eBay.  This was the same place from which I had purchased a Compaq to replace the family computer which died a few weeks back.  For a very good price (under $150), I got a Windows 7 box to replace my shack laptop, which is not only an XP machine, but is physically on its last legs after suffering through years of "kid abuse".  I figured that it's better to replace it now, while the laptop is still barely kicking, so I can access all the data that is still there before it totally dies.  As it was, I was already using an auxiliary keyboard and monitor, so I only had to purchase the box.

So I ran through the Windows 7 setup with nary a hitch.  But then, of course, comes the fun part.  Getting all the important Amateur Radio programs up and running.  I downloaded Log4OM and got that running.  I followed the directions for transferring all my log data and configurations from the XP machine to the Windows 7 machine.  Everything seemed to be OK - except the program wasn't displaying any of my previous QSOs!  Log4OM said they were all there, but it just wasn't showing them in a visible way.  It turns out that the W2LJ.sql database file needed to be in a different sub-directory than where it was located on the XP machine.  Once I got that figured out, things were good. But for a while there, the little beads of sweat started popping out on my forehead while I started muttering to myself, "Where are all my QSOs?"

The next problem to tackle was downloading the KX3 and KXPA100 utility programs from Elecraft in order to get them running, as well as OmniRig for CAT control for Log4OM.  Downloading and installing the programs was easy enough - the computer did all the work while I tuned around 20 Meters.  The hard part was figuring out why the computer didn't want to talk to the KX3 or the KXPA100.

For whatever reason, it didn't turn out to be as "plug and play" as it sometimes is.  Every time I tried to get the KX3 utility to talk to the KX3 - nada, zip, zilch.  The radio and computer were acting like a husband and wife after a marital spat - not talking to each other.  It appears that the KX3 was looking to talk via Com1 - but that was being used by another device. And when I hit the "Scan for Ports" button on the utility, that was all that I was getting.

That caused me to make a sharp right turn and head off to the dreaded Control Panel and even more dreaded Device Manager.  For those of us who don't consider ourselves to be all that computer savvy, this is terrifying territory. Kind of like walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

But it was there that I was able to scan for hardware changes, open another port (Com 3) and load the drivers for the Elecraft KXUSB cable.  After that, the KX3 and Log4OM and the utility programs and the Dell were all smoochy-smoochy like a newlywed couple.

Satisfied that I got the very basics covered, I looked up at the clock to discover that it was after Midnight.  Holy cow!  When you get up before 6:00 AM, post Midnight is late - very late!  I still have to download and install Avast (one of the first things I did was to uninstall and trash Microsoft Security Essentials, which IMHO is useless).  After that, there are a few more remaining Amateur Radio programs that I have to re-download and get running - like DX Atlas and TrustedQSL for instance. Then I need to transfer accumulated documents and photos from the laptop and then I can finally say "Good-Bye" to Windows XP.

And that, in itself is kind of sad, as I consider XP to be the most stable and useful platform that Microsoft has ever come up with.  If it wasn't for the fact that my laptop looks like Rocky Balboa after a tussle in the ring with Apollo Creed, I probably would have kept it going for a while longer.  However, time marches on and I suppose it's appropriate to modify that well known saying - "Time and Microsoft wait for no man".

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

Piece o' cake (almost)

I was fortunate enough to work both 40 Meter QRP-L Foxes tonight.  Jimmy WA4ILO and Jerry N9AW are superb operators, both with good ears, so that had a lot to do with it.  But I used the KX3 tonight and that made it all the easier.

The "Dual Watch" feature is something else, and makes working split a snap!  You go into the KX3's menu until you get to "Dual RX" and you turn it from "Off" to "Auto". What happens next is that you hear your quarry on VFO A in your right earbud.  VFO B is heard in your left earbud, so you can tune around VFO B until you hear the Hound the Fox is currently working.  Once you know where the Fox is listening, it's just a matter of time!  The only caveat is that the Dual Watch feature will only work with splits less than 1.5 kHz.

Anyway, I nabbed Jerry N9AW at 0106 UTC, six minutes into the hunt, and Jimmy WA4ILO at 0139. For the last hour, I was just listening to the two Foxes work my friends.

The past few days, I have been getting very few e-mails.  I subscribe to quite a few QRP e-mail reflectors and I was wondering what was up.  I thought that maybe it had something to do with that Microsoft / arrl.net thing that was going on last week, as I always use my arrl.net address for e-mail.

This evening, I checked my Web-based Verizon e-mail page.  Everything was in the spam, folder!  All the spam was in there; but also a ton of good e-mails, too! For the longest time, Verizon's e-mail spam filter was doing an excellent job and I never really had to give it a second thought.  Looks like for the next while that I am going to have to regularly check the spam folder until the e-mail client "learns" what is spam and what is not.

I got an e-mail from my good friend Bob W3BBO, telling me that he was fortunate to work the Easter Island DXpedition on both 12 and 15 Meters today.  I haven't had much luck hearing them loud enough to work them, and when they have been loud enough - they have been calling for EU stations only.  I don't know how much longer they are going to be there; but I do have this Friday (Good Friday) off; so maybe when I'm not in church, I just may get an opportunity.  I've worked Chile many times, both QRP and QRO, but I have NEVER worked Easter Island.  It would be appropriate to work them this week, wouldn't it?

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

Treasure Chest

I don't know how many of you out there pay attention to the other bloggers that I list.  I'm sure that most of you do - however for those who do not ...... I am taking pains to direct you to this blog post

:http://blog.g4ilo.com/2011/06/lost-treasure.html

If you are interested in learning or improving your CW - this is the software tool that you need to be using.

Developed by Julian G4ILO, this is perhaps the most useful and versatile tool out there for CW tutelage,  It will allow you to burn code practice to a CD or to your iPod or other MP3 player.  In addition to random letters, you can have random words, Morse from a text file (Books in Code), random QSOs or whatever you choose.  The options are very customizable (is that even a word?).

Personally, I find it very useful and convenient to just play Morse practice in the background, while I am driving, cleaning, or doing whatever chore I happen to be doing.  Somehow it seems that just listening without even trying to seriously copy conditions my brain towards better reception of the characters when I DO start copying for real.  Also, this is great practice for copying in your head and getting used to not writing things down on paper. Hint: Listen to code at about 5 WPM faster than you are able to copy.  When you go back to your fastest speed - I guarantee that it will sound SLOW to you!

Learning Morse and getting better at it doesn't need to be a hated chore.  If you just relax and stop putting pressure on yourself, you will see rapid increases in your ability.  Tools like MorseGen make it all that much easier.

No radio for W2LJ tonight, so I am very happy to have worked K6JSS/9 last night.  Yesterday and today were beastly hot.  For the last hour or so we have had some rain - but quite the electrical storm.  The antennas are unplugged and the K2 is off the air.  A cool front is moving through and I expect the light show will last for quite a few more hours.

One last thing, and this is totally unrelated to Ham Radio.  James Rollins, one of my favorite authors, is releasing a new book this month.  To celebrate this new release, he has worked out a deal with audible.com where you can download FOR FREE (until June 20th) an audible copy of his first book in the SIGMA Force series, "Map of Bones".

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B0052OM87C&qid=1307585406&sr=1-2

This book was handed to me a few years back by a friend who knows that I like to read.  I read it and was instantly hooked and have read every subsequent adventure.  I downloaded this audible version to my kindle and am listening to it via the Aux connection to the radio in the Jeep while I drive back and forth to work.  It's just as good now as when I first read it a few years back!

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

Success !!!

Success on two computer fronts today.  The USB Wireless Ethernet card came today.  Of course, Windows wouldn't install it correctly; but the included CD ROM had a set up utility.  I have Internet access back on the family computer again. Happy day, no more arguments about computer time between my two offspring.

I also purchased off of eBay a mini USB wireless mouse for the Acer down here in the shack.  The right touchpad key doesn't seem to work and it really hadn't since I bought this thing.  I contacted the seller on eBay and she told me that she "wasn't aware of it" as she never right clicked.  Right.  You know, I may have been born at night - but it wasn't last night!

Anyway, the mouse works normally and now I don't have to mess with alternate key commands when copying and pasting stuff.

Now if I could only find K6JSS/9 on the air - that would make the day complete!

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

Computer problems

On Memorial Day we had an exceptionally bad thunderstorm rumble through here in the morning.  Strangely enough, however, the only thing that got damaged was the Ethernet card (yes, I did try a different Ethernet cable) inside the "family computer".  Being "frugal" (codeword for cheap), I purchased a new Ethernet card on eBay.  Silly me, I didn't bother to make sure that it was compatible with Vista!

It wasn't and needless to say, it didn't work.  But it was only $5 (no shipping) so it didn't set me back a fortune.  I am currently waiting on a wireless stick. Since the wireless router sits right on top of the computer anyway, it seemed like a no brainer.  It should be here tomorrow or Thursday and things will be back to normal.  In the meantime, I am using the laptop, which is no big deal, except for fighting off other family members for computer time.

My son and I were watching a TV commercial for Staples (I think) where they are advertising all the tablets they have for sale. I told my son, who is just finishing 5th grade, that by the time he leaves High school, there will probably be no such thing as desktop computers anymore.  Maybe even laptops, too.

He gave me a funny look; but look how far we've come.  Floppy disks are no more, serial ports are no more, it looks like cabled devices will soon be no more.  With the "cloud" becoming more and more prevalent, even thumb and zip drives seem to be on the endangered list. This stuff seems to evolve at an exponential rate.  Seems like every time you turn around, something new is being introduced.

On a radio note, I see we are in the throes of some big time geomagnetic disturbances.  I guess this is the aftermath of that lull we had a few weeks back.  I just hope that propagation stays decent for a while.

Well, I think I will head down the basement for a few minutes before hitting the hay.  Maybe I can scare up K6JSS/9 from Wisconsin before I turn in.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Couldn't hear K6JSS/9 on 20 Meters as I have an S9 noise level tonight for whatever reason.  But I did work OM5MZ on 30 Meters.  The noise level was slightly less there and Boby was blasting through.  The 88' EDZ seems to do a really good job for me on 30 Meters.  I didn't stand a chance with the G5RV on that band.

Hey, we're going the wrong way!

Sunspot number down to 23?  Solar Flux back down to around 80?  Seems like we're headed back towards 2010 instead of towards solar maximum.  I'm sure that this is just a valley in the peaks and valleys of the cycle, but c'mon!

I averted a near disaster with the laptop. I don't know how it happened; but the other day, while I was reading my e-mail on the Verizon site, AVG popped up with a box telling me that it had quarantined some kind of virus. I don't think it was a virus as much as it might have been malware.  The computer started acting funny and this fake "Windows XP recovery" box came up telling me that my hard drive was corrupted and it directed me to some site, where for a fee, I could download some software that would restore it.

I recognized it for what it was - a scam and immediately rescanned the laptop.  Fortunately, there was nothing else infecting the computer; but the malware had caused some problems.  It wouldn't allow me to access Windows Explorer and some other features. Nothing fatal - just very, very annoying.

Thank you for the System Restore feature of XP.  I reset the computer to the way it was a week ago and now everything is back to normal and is working perfectly fine. I know what you're going to tell me - if I used Linux this wouldn't happen to me.  You know, I'm sure you're right; but I am nowhere savvy enough to pretend to know computers well enough to be a Linux user.

By the way, we're up to Bee # 112 - anyone want lucky # 113?

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

I think shaking the dead chicken worked

About a month ago, Thunderbird stopped working for me.  It received e-mails fine; but for the life of me, it wouldn't send one.  I kept getting a timeout error when it attempted to hook up to my ISP's outgoing mail server.

I tried changing settings, downloading the newest version - everything I could think of.  Nothing.  So for the past few weeks, I have been using Verizon's Yahoo page for looking at my e-mails.

Today, just for the heck of it, I sent myself a "test" e-mail, using Thunderbird.  It worked!  Thunderbird is now working with the Verizon outgoing server again - something healed itself.

Or perhaps it was the dead chicken that I shook at the computer?

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

So was that you that I worked so many years ago?

For whatever reason, the bands were super noisy for me today.  After doing some heavy duty yard work (I ripped out about eight dead shrubs from in front of the house that didn't survive this past harsh winter on top of last year's scorching summer), I decided to sit my butt down in front of the radio for a little relaxation.  It was not to be, really.  All the bands were filled with loud hashy noise, except for 80 Meters of all places!

I was listening around 3.560 MHz, the QRP watering hole, when I heard a fairly weak station calling CQ - K4JYS.  I answered him and we made contact.

Station K4JYS, courtesy of K4JYS and QRZ.com

As you can see, Bill is into using older equipment.  His signal was only 449 and there was lots of QSB.  I can say with confidence that he told me he was using a Hammerlund receiver; but am not quite sure what he was using for a transmitter.  Since band conditions were not the best, we kept it short and bade each other best wishes and called it a QSO.

"So, what's the point of this blog post, W2LJ?  Are you just going to bore me with details about a short QSO?  Or are you going to whine about band conditions?"  Neither, gentle reader, neither ....... read on.

I popped K4JYS into Ham Radio Deluxe only to find that I had worked that station twice before.  Once in 1994 during the ARRL's Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial contest event that the League had run that year; and also in 1995 in the RTTY Round-Up.  Back in the old days, when I used to be QRO - 100 Watts for the 1994 QSO and 125 Watts for the RTTY QSO.

But ultimately, this begs the question ..... was this K4JYS the same person that I worked back in 1994 and 1995?  I have gotten several e-mails in the past from folks who have looked at my log on QRZ.com and have written me to say, "There's an error in your log. You say you worked me on such and such a date; and I wasn't even licensed then!" To which I can usually reply, "No, that's not an error.  I worked the person who was the original holder of your call".

We tend to forget that those of us who have vanity calls (myself included) are many, many times not the original holder of said call.  Just because I didn't work YOU, doesn't mean that I did not work the callsign which you now hold.

Having that experience in the past, this leads me to wonder about this when I work someone that the log tells me that I worked 10, 15, or 20 years ago.  Fortunately, there's a place where you can go to check things out for yourself.  N4MC's Vanity HQ  Pop in the callsign in question and you can see for yourself.  When I popped in K4JYS's call, I found out that yes indeed, this was the very same Bill that I worked sixteen and seventeen years ago.

Plug in my callsign and you will see that if you worked W2LJ prior to 1999, it wasn't me, it was Ed Swoffer, the original W2LJ.  It's a neat tool to have at your fingertips if you have a computer in the shack.  There's a lot of guys who are "purists" and are dead set against computers in the shack.  There are also guys, whose computers do everything for them from pointing the antenna, to generating the CW, to making coffee for late night contesting sessions.  I fall in the middle - my computer is there for logging, looking up QTHs on Google Earth and for neat little Web sites like QRPSPOTS and N4MC's Vanity HQ.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Grrrrr ...

"They" say that timing is everything.  If this is true, then my sense of timing has not let me down, once again.  :)

As Winter draws to a close here in New Jersey land, I was invited to join (and did) the PolarBearQRP Ops group.  I am now Polar Bear #283.  Of course, while these hearty QRPers love to operate portable all year long, they seem to thrive outdoors even more so during the Winter months. 

As adverse as I am to the cold, this looks like a fun group to belong to.  I appreciate the invitation and the acceptance; and I am hoping that this will draw me out into cold weather in Winters to come.

Operating portable is one of my most favorite activities.  As I've said so many times before, there's nothing like being in the great outdoors while sitting next to a portable QRP rig and antenna.  If you are a subscriber to CQ magazine, please be sure to check out the QRP column in this month's issue.  You'll be treated to a photo of Jim Cluett W1PID doing his outdoor portable QRP thing.

On a totally non-related note, I was successful this past weekend in acquiring an Acer Aspire One at a good price to serve as the shack computer.  It arrived today and I have installed Ham Radio Deluxe onto it and have successfully gotten my logbook added.  It's not as fast as the family computer here; but it way faster than the old Dell I was using.  I think the lady I had purchased it from hasn't used it much as it was very busy downloading upgrades to its Windows XP operating platform.

Other than DX Atlas, Firefox, Dropbox and maybe a few other Ham related programs, I don't intend to bog the hard drive down with a lot of garbage.  Also, this netbook is going to be the sole property of Dad.  No kids on this one - one of which catastrophically damaged the old one.  This is for Ham Radio purposes only!

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