"That's the way the cookie crumbles .........."

Normally, when you hear that phrase, you think something not quite nice has happened.

"Sorry your balloon popped kid, but that's the way the cookie crumbles."

"Sorry about the fender bender, Maude, but that's the way the cookie crumbles."

To the QRP community, that phrase takes on a whole other meaning - because in two weeks, on Sunday June 7th, it's time for the 4th Annual Cookie Crumble Contest.

This event has become a part of the QRP Outdoor Operating Season. We kick off the year with FYBO, transition to QRPTTF in Spring and then comes Good Ol' Summertime with the "CCC".

It's a fun event, and it lasts five hours. Not that you need to participate for all five, but it's a big enough window that will allow you get some activity in, even if you have other events or obligations scheduled for the day. It's always a ton of fun and the rules can be found here at - https://w3atb.com/cookie-crumble/

If the weather cooperates, I plan to go to a local boro park - either Putnam or Cotton Street Park, set up either the MFJ-1982LP or the PAR END FEDZ and get some fun time in. I haven't had the chance to try my version of Dave KD2FSI's Jackite holder yet, so this may be my chance.

In any event, it feels like winter has lasted forever, even though the weather has turned warmer. I've not had the chance to go outside for an extended period of time and just have some fun. The Cookie Crumble Contest may just be what the doctor ordered to shake those "stuck inside" blues.

72 de Larry W2LJ - Cookie # 173
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It's only an hour!

It's only an hour ..... what have you got to lose? Nothing - and a lot of fun can be had in a short time.

Of course, I'm talking about tomorrow night's (Sunday night) QRP-ARCI Hoot Owl Sprint. It's been pared down to just an hour long ....... that what I call a "Sprint"!

This is a traditional Memorial Day Weekend event and in the past, it's been a lot of fun. It will be interesting to see what kind of activity we see. The official link to the particulars is here - https://www.qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint.

Technically, the event runs from 0000 - 0100 Monday morning UTC time, but for those of us in the States, that's 8-9 PM EDT, 7-8 PM CDT, 6-7 PM MDT, and 5-6 PDT. Should be interesting because at 8:00 PM, it's still kind of light here on the East Coast, so 20 Meters might still be open to the West Coast. And of course, 40 Meters can be hopping with activity ....... if QRPers would just get on the air and make some noise!

The exchange is classic. ARCI members give RST, S/P/C, Member #
Non-ARCI members give RST, S/P/C, power output.

There's even an autologger where you can post your results - http://www.qrpcontest.com/

To paraphrase the old song, "Hey Buddy, can you spare an hour?"

I think you'll be amazed how much fun you can cram into 60 little minutes!

72 de Larry W2LJ (Hint ...... QRP-ARCI #4488)
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Zombie Shuffle ...... with a twist!

Paul Harden NA5N announced the Zombie Shuffle rules for 2019 - this year, there a tiny twist, just a little something different.

QRP Zombies,

The 22nd annual 2019 ZOMBIE SHUFFLE will be held Friday evening, NOVEMBER 1 from 1600-Midnight your local time (EDT, CDT, MDT, PDT). The mid-afternoon start time is to get a little 20M propagation before sundown, and the midnight cutoff for those die-hard night owl Zombies. You do not need to operate all 8-hours, just what you can to join the fun.

Rules are here:
http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/2019/pg.htm and a link from the QRP home page: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/

Rules and scoring are unchanged. The Summary Sheet on the rules page calculates your score for you.

BONUS STATIONS:  Instead of "Elvis" stations this year, bonus stations will be sending their name as "MGY" -- the call letters of the RMS TITANIC.  It was the sinking of the Titanic that put wireless communications on the world stage and demonstrated the need for regulation and a body of licensed operators - including the creation in 1912 of a licensed non-commercial "amateur wireless service" - the hobby we enjoy today.  Thus, ham radio has its roots to the Titanic.  And for nostalgia, this year QRP Zombies will be given the opportunity to work the RMS Titanic.  Each MGY station worked will be 666 bonus points (just like Elvis stations in the past).  This also gives us an opportunity to put some morse code into the air to honor those pioneer radio ops and the sacrifices they made (for example, Titanic wireless op Jack Phillips perished on the Titanic).  Much of the morse code procedures, protocols, and Q-signals you hear on the air today are from those early maritime Marconi operators.

Our "main" MGY station will be Brian, VE7MGY.  Working him is worth even more points (see rules).

If you'd like to be an MGY Titanic operator for the Zombie Shuffle, please let me know.

So regardless of your code speed and band conditions, get on the air, have some pointless fun working fellow Zombies, and some unique nostalgia from 107 years ago.

72, Paul NA5N/MGY
Zombie #004

The Zombie Shufflle is always a fun event and I love it when Paul puts in these "twists" from year to year. It keeps it fresh and exciting. I'm also pleased with the date. If the Shuffle was a week earlier, I'd miss out as the K2ETS monthly meeting is always on the last Friday of the month. This year, I get to play!

72 de Larry W2LJ - Zombie # 858
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FT8Call

Back in the 1990's - way back in the last century, I was into the digital modes for a bit. Back then, in the Dark Ages, all we had were RTTY, AMTOR, PacTOR, Helleschrieber and a few other exotic modes. I think Olivia was just jumping on the scene back then, if memory serves correctly (which it probably doesn't). Maybe it was just that it was so seldom heard on the bands that it seemed like it was brand new.

It was fun and I participated in probably 4 or 5 RTTY Roundups and made an acceptable showing for the ARRL NNJ Section. But truth be told, after I while I grew weary of it.  Granted, I had some really great QSOs, including some very neat DX QSOs.  But as the digital modes became more and more popular, it seemed (to me) that QSOs started devolving into a bunch of exchange of computerized macros and real "honest-to-goodness" conversation became more and more scarce.

So now, I've been reading about the latest and greatest mode, FT8 and the even newer FT8Call. They seem to be all the rage with Amateur Ops extolling their virtues. I even read Dan KB6NU's recent post about FT8Call and how the mode is evolving into one where you can actually have conversations instead of just computers talking back and forth between themselves.

In his post, Dan mentions that actual messaging is kind of slow, where one message can take "several 15 second time slots" to get through. Wow! That just kind of struck me a slow for such a sophisticated low power mode. Kind of reminded me of this:

Now before I get lambasted and dragged all over the hot coals, please know this post is all in fun and is not meant to demean or denigrate anyone else's enjoyment of Amateur Radio. It just seems to me, as a veteran Op, with some years of experience under my belt, that there truly is never anything completely "new under the sun."

So for those of you who enjoy FT8, FT8Call, PSK31, WJT, WJST and all the other combinations of alphanumeric soup out there - God bless you all! Knock yourselves out, have fun and keep coming up with the new stuff. it enriches the hobby, no doubt about that.

But as for W2LJ, I'll just keep going with "Ol' Reliable" and will continuously ride "Westward,Ho!", right into the old dinosaur sunset.

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

That wasn't good - that was great!

180 degree opposites! As much as I feared that I wasn't into Field Day this year, that's how much it turned out to be a truly great experience! Just as I thought, as soon as I gathered together with my fellow South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club members, that's just how quickly the adrenaline got to flowing and the fun and excitement began. And thanks be to God, we never got any of the rain or thunderstorms that were predicted for Saturday.

In addition to the gratification that you get from doing a job well done, some added satisfaction came from a lot of the public that came by and visited our enhanced information booth this year. In addition to the normal ARRL informational handouts, we added some multimedia. We set up a 24" TV which was hooked up to my laptop which was running a continuous loop of a video about Amateur Radio.

We had chairs set up so that people could sit down in the shade of the canopy to watch the entire 30 minute video if they wanted to and more than just a few people did. One woman that I spoke to, in order to ask if she needed any more information about our hobby exclaimed to me, "This is great! I learned so much today! More people should come by to watch this." So in that regard, we did what I think was a pretty good job of creating public awareness for the benefits of Amateur Radio.

Marv K2VHW set up some code keys and code practice oscillators in the info tent for people to try. One man brought his nephew along with him to visit our setup and the youngster really got a kick out of the keys. Marv showed him how to use them and he had fun trying to use Morse Code.

The next day, his uncle came back to visit again to tell us that his nephew got such a kick out of Morse Code and Amateur Radio in general, that he spent hours with his friends on the telephone Saturday evening, telling them all about what he saw and did.  That's called "planting the seed", my friends.

This was SPARC's fifth Field Day and you could tell that we are beginning to get into a routine and really know what we're doing now. I think that "they" would call us a "well oiled machine" - thanks mostly to KD2FSI, W2OIL and KC2YRC and Phil KD2HPG who designed and built our HF tower. We started setup at 10:00 AM and were pretty much finished by Noon. Some final incidental "finishing touches" were taken care of and we were absolutely ready by 1:00 PM with an hour to go.  

As always, Ron N2LCZ had our mini logging computer network up and running flawlessly. He was even able to tap into our Wifi account through the help of a wireless router that Bill W2AOF brought along, so that we had full internet access on site ........ in the middle of Spring Lake Park. It was awesome!

Antennas went up as smoothly as a hot knife through butter and with the help of Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC, I was able to get the W3EDP antenna up even higher this year. We had it as high in two trees as we could get it and it sloped from about 40 feet high in a maple to about 30 or 35 feet at the other end in a pine tree, where it terminated. While the W3EDP was my main stay on 40 and 20 Meters, I was able to make at least one contact on all bands, 160 through 10 Meters with it.  However, for 80 Meters, Dave KD2FSI had me hooked up to his 80/40 Meter Inverted Vee and that wire was simply magnificent. With 5 Watts, I was able to work absolutely everyone that I was able to hear on 80 Meters.

While we had a generator going to run the info booth, all the computers were run off solar power charged batteries, so that we could explain to people about how easy it is to make use of alternative sources of power. We had two solar arrays up and running. These were purchased through Harbor Freight and it was amazing (to me at least) that they supplied ample power even under the overcast conditions that we had.

When "go time" came at 2:00 PM, we got down to the serious business of making contacts. Through the entire 24 hour period, I can honestly say that we had all the radios occupied for at least 90% of the time. Dave KD2FSI and I forsook our customary "middle of the night" 10 winks of sleep this year. The group is probably tired of hearing it from me, but once again I was telling them that "these contacts aren't going to make themselves" and it showed, as we reached our highest number of QSOs this year.  We also had our share of guest operators, including some new Hams from the area who got their first taste of HF thanks to Field Day. Their excitement was palpable.

And even one of our Town Council members took a turn behind a radio, while our Mayor and some other members spent some time talking and visiting with us. SPARC is really dedicated to making Field Day more than just making contacts. We really try to make this a fun weekend "Amateur Radio Awareness Event".

 But we also "put our money where our mouths were" and got down to the busy task of making contacts. Our classification was 3A Battery, so by ARRL definition, we were limited to 5 Watts output - true QRP.  We made well over 300 CW contacts and came somewhere around 175 phone contacts for the weekend, with a goodly amount of digital contacts thrown in for good measure, courtesy of Dave, KD2FSI.

KD2HPF getting "artsy" with a photo of yours truly!

So when 3:30 PM on Sunday came around and all was torn down and put away for storage until next year, I came home tired (no, make that exhausted), but yet thoroughly pleased and happy. I had just spent 24+ hours with people I absolutely enjoy being with, doing something that I absolutely love and enjoy doing. How can you possibly ask for anything more than that?

One final shot of SPARC Field Day 2018.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least.

Special thanks to Mario KD2HPF for a lot of fantastic photos of the weekend.

Wow!

Them Skeeter numbers are going fast!

Today is the First Day of Summer and we already have 59 Skeeters ready to take flight on August 19th.

I'm glad to see we have a lot of regulars coming back - tried and true Skeeters who have been there since our first run back in 2012. And even more exciting is seeing new calls and names that are making 2018 their first "go".

Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a totally green newbie, it matters not!  The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt is meant to be more fun than anything else. Yes, there are certificates to be had for getting the high scores (and yes, I still have to get the 2017 certificates mailed - my first act of business after Field Day), but even more important is getting outside with your gear and participating. And even if you can't get outside, there is still the fun to be had spending an enjoyable afternoon making contacts with other QRPers.

Remember,, there is a SSB category for those of you who have a disdain for dits and dahs - so no excuses!

72 de Larry W2LJ - Perennial Skeeter # 13
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The EMCOMM/AUXCOMM challenge

My teaching partner, Mark K2VHW and I are currently midway through another 8 week class, in the process of getting another group of candidates to pass the test for a Technician class license. The challenge is that these are for the most part (but not all) CERT people. They want their licenses so that can engage in Public Service communications for their town.

But that's not all there is to Amateur Radio, is there?

And of course, the answer to that is, "No, it isn't." And while obtaining a license for the purpose of Public Service communications is certainly admirable; it isn't the end all and be all of Amateur Radio. We would be derelict in our duty as Amateur Radio instructors if we didn't point out the "fun" aspects of the hobby. Not to mention that these new Technicians will be more likely to maintain their licences (and actually use them) if they become more involved in Amateur Radio for other than just the utilitarian uses of it.

So inevitably, our first session of an eight week class tends to involve the mundane tasks of signing in, collecting contact information, handing out textbooks, study aids and all that kind of thing. But we like to end the session by exposing the students to the fun.  After all, the fun part is what will hopefully keep them engaged and interested in Amateur Radio for a long period of time.

To that end, we have been showing this video by RadioQRV.com.

As you can see, this is a highly polished, professional quality video and it certainly goes over all the aspects of Amateur Radio, but yet, it still has a kind of .........detached. clinical feel to it.

This morning, Marv pointed me to this video by HamRadioConcepts:

And while this one also is a very high quality video; it has an appeal that the other does not. This is what I'd hope to end up with if I got a bunch of Ham friends together (who are very "into" the hobby) in order to put together a show like this. A high quality product, but yet something that says, "Hey, this is what we do and how we have fun. Would you like to come out this weekend and join us? We hope you would!"

Our goal, then, is to always end up with a bunch of Amateur Radio operators who also engage in Public Service communications; and not ONLY a bunch of Public Service Communicators who only occasionally get involved in other Amateur Radio pursuits. Because we all know that "All work and no play make Jack (or Jill) a very dull Amateur Radio op." After all, it's all about balance.

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

ARRL DX CW Contest

Is on for this coming weekend!

Even with us being in the lousy part of the sunspot cycle; this is a perfect opportunity for budding QRP DXers to get their hands (and keys) dirty. When the sunspots are high, it's not unheard of to work DXCC in a single weekend, if you're really gung-ho about it and don't mind not sleeping for 48 hours.

But with conditions such as they are, you can still expect a nice country total if you're starting from scratch. The exchange is simple - US/VE stations give a signal report and state/province. DX stations give a signal report and a number corresponding to their power output.

If you're a newbie to CW, QRP and/or DXing, I'd advise not to jump into the contest for the first 12 hours or so - maybe even not the first 24 hours. For this part of the contest, the big gun contest operators are sending their exchanges with code speeds that sound more like a buzz saw than any kind of Morse you'd understand.  Granted, even in the opening hours of the contest you'll find ops sending code that you can decipher; but for the most part, if you're a neophyte to QRP DXing or Morse Code, you'll probably get frustrated and want to hang up your key and turn the rig off.

It's better to wait to Saturday evening, or even Sunday.  The big guys have gotten a lot out of their systems and now they're just looking to increase their points total by as much as they can before the contest ends.  This means that they'll no longer dismiss signals that are less that 599+ and they'll be more patient with you if your code speed is a bit slower.

As an example, a few years back, I jumped into the fray on Saturday night with my K2 (before I sold it to be able to afford my KX3) set at the 900 mW level. I surprised myself how many stations I was able to work! Unlike many others, I've never contemplated trying to work DXCC at QRPp levels; but if I were so inclined, the ARRL DX CW contest would be a great place from which to begin.

So if you get a chance to jump in this weekend, by all means, give it a shot! I'm sure you'll have fun. You know what would be an interesting stat? To somehow be able to find out how many QCX transceivers are going to be in the contest this weekend. I'd be willing to bet quite a few.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least1

Major Sheldon's Last Watt

For those of you who get the Elecraft Newsletter via e-mail; don't pass by the February edition.  I know that sometimes we get so many e-mails in our inboxes that we tend to pass on these, every now and then. Thanks to W3BBO, this time I didn't - and you shouldn't either. There's a great short story in there by W.A. Taylor, titled "Major Sheldon's Last Watt."

It's a fun read and very well written. I wish I could spin a yarn like Mr. Taylor.

I'd love to post a link to it here; but it's copyrighted and I'm sure Elecraft used it with permission, and I want to respect that.  If you're not on the Elecraft mailing list; hopefully you have a QRP friend or Elecraft user friend who can show you the story.

Who knows? If someone from Elecraft reads this and feels that it's not problematic - they can always feel free to post the link in the comments section!

UPDATE:  I got permission from Wayne NK6R to post the link to the story.  It appears that Mr. Taylor gave unlimited distribution rights - so here it is!

http://www.elecraft.com/fiction/Maj%20Sheldon's%20Last%20Watt.pdf

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

Zombie Shuffle in a week!

I may have mentioned this before, but a week from tomorrow, one of the most fun events of the QRP year will be occurring - the 2017 Zombie Shuffle.  And I am going to be able to participate this year, as it is occurring a week early!

This is more an operating event than a hard core contest. The idea is to get on the air and have fun, regardless of your CW speed/skills. All the details, the whole magilla, can be found here: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/zombie/2017/pg.htm

I'll have to decorate the shack in a Halloween motif and submit them with my score to NA5N.

Remember ....... "Zombies shuffle because they can't run!"

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

Yesterday was very good day!

Once again, we were blessed with picture perfect weather for our Annual K2ETS Club Picnic.

The food was excellent and the company was excellent and the day was excellent. If you look to the bottom right of the photo, you'll see Harold laying in the grass.  He was basking in the glow of the limelight yesterday as just about everyone stopped over to say "Hi" and to pet him and give him attention - and even a few treats.  I took him for a long walk and he must have enjoyed the day too, because he slept like the proverbial brick last night.

I won the picnic door prize!  Me, who hardly ever wins anything!  I won a Baofeng 2M/220 MHz dual band handheld.  My Wouxon 220 MHz HT, which I had purchased a few years ago, died recently. This is a welcome addition and I can keep tabs on our 220 MHz repeater.

But the best surprise of the day was this.

I arrived at the park early, around 9:15 AM in order to help out with setting up for the day. After sweeping out the pavilion where picnic tables were and then washing them down, it was time to put up the antenna.  Every year we throw a wire up into the trees and we bring along the club HF rig for anyone who wants to operate.  When it came time to put up the antenna, Dave KC2YRC said to me, "Come over here, we have a gift for you." I must have looked confused. He presented me with a new antenna launcher that he and his brother Dave W2OIL had made for me.  They even painted my call sign on it. To say I was gratefully overwhelmed is an understatement.

Flash back two years, when both Dan and Dave were at set up for SPARC's participation in the Rookie Roundup at Putnam Park in South Plainfield.  I was going to put up an EFHW into one of the trees; only to discover that the air chamber in my Joplin ARC antenna launcher had cracked on me when I must have dropped it at some point.  I didn't even realize it until I tried to use it that day. I ended up supporting the wire with my 31 foot Jackite pole.

Fast forward to yesterday, when they presented me with a launcher of their design with a used METAL (translate that to "unbreakable") oxygen bottle serving as the air chamber. In addition, they gave me a fancier (and much smoother) air release lever and they also installed an air pressure gauge so that I don't have to rely on the pump's gauge.

I couldn't thank them enough!  That they thought of me and had me in the back of their minds meant so much to me. These two guys, Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC are the salt of the earth and have hearts of pure gold. They would do anything for anyone. They are just THE best and it is an honor and a privilege to be their friend.

Anyway, after returning home, I just had to try it out.  I went to an empty field and pumped it up to about 20 LBS of pressure and let the weight fly.  Because the air chamber is a bit smaller than the chamber of the Joplin launcher, the weight didn't fly as far.  A second shot, with the chamber filled up to about 35 LBS psi easily sent the weight over a  (my guesstimate) 70 foot tree.  That smoother release lever allows me to hold the unit steadier during launch, better enabling me to send the line where I want it to go.

By the way, during the picnic, the club station K2ETS was reasonably busy throughout the afternoon. Talking with some of the other fellows, I discovered that we had worked several Kansas QSO Party stations, as well as stations from Germany, Brazil, Georgia (the country, not the state) and Oman. Not bad for 100 Watts to an off center fed dipole sloping from about 15 feet at the low end to about 55-60 feet at the high end.

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

Just noticed something

The graphic for Windows 10 Mail:

Do you see it?

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

2017 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Roster

Is up and running, and will be updated as Skeeter Hunt number requests come in and are assigned:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Fnw4tGBP3JnR2cuGrlYuMdkRk1HigGcNBX5lC7nKI0/edit#gid=0

Never participated in a QRP Sprint before?  Then try this one!  For me, it's more a QRP social event than a contest. I never go in with the idea in my head that I'm going to win - I just like to hear all of you on the air and like to work as many of you as possible.

Not into CW?  This QRP Sprint has a SSB category. No excuses there!

Worried your CW speed isn't the greatest?  Don't be!  Any Skeeter worth his salt will QRS for anyone,

To channel Star Trek -  always remember the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt "Prime Directive" - get outdoors, get on the radio and have fun!  Nothing more, nothing less.

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

Good cookies!

Yesterday was the inaugural Cookie Crumble QRP contest and even though I got to spend only a limited time behind the key, it was great fun!

The contest lasted from 1:00 - 6:00 PM, but I was not able to sit down behind the KX3 until nearly 4:45 PM.  Yesterday was my Sunday to volunteer at the soup kitchen.  So I had it all planned - or so I thought!  Early in the morning, I set up my antenna and portable station out at the backyard picnic table so that everything (except the radio, which I left inside the house) would be ready when I got home at 4:00 PM.

The problem was I didn't get home at 4:00 PM.  The meal yesterday was meatball sandwiches along with potato salad, chips and a dessert. Everything was going fine until we discovered that the marinara sauce at the bottom of the two big cooking pots had burnt.  Have you ever had the honor of being the one chosen to clean burnt marinara sauce from the bottom of two big cooking pots?

To say that a sandblaster would have come in handy is an understatement.  Since I didn't want to be there all evening,and miss the contest entirely, I let the bottoms of the pots soak in super hot water and liquid dish detergent for about 10 minutes.  Then I used a metal serving spoon to literally scrape off as much of the burnt sauce and gook as I could manage.  Then I followed that up with Brillo and some good ol' fashioned elbow grease until the posts were clean.  No mirror finish; but you'd never be able to tell what bad shape these pots were in unless you use an electron microscope.

I hurried home, grabbed the KX3, paddle and earbuds and hooked everything up to the antenna and battery that were already positioned and waiting for me.  I started out on 20 Meters and heard a lot of SKCC Weekend Sprinters, but no Cookie Crumblers.  I did work Jimmy K4YFH in North Carolina who must have been confused when I relayed that I was "NR 173" as he came back to me "49C" which is my SKCC number.

I decided that 40 Meters might be the better band on which to find Cookies and that proved to be true. I worked Dan KA3D, Ralph KW8G, Bob W3BBO (who was on his newly acquired HW8. It sounded great, Bob!), Ken N3CU (Cookie Monster), Emily KB3VVE, the Cookie Queen herself, Dave K2FI and finally K3SVA Gene (Cookie Monster).

So in a total of an hour and 15 minutes I made 8 contacts. Nothing to set the contest world on fire about; but I had fun and that was the main point!  It was in the 90s (30s C) yesterday, and after the long Winter and extended damp and chilly Spring that we have had, sitting in the sun with a warm breeze blowing felt just oh, so good! That I was playing radio at the same time was just icing on the cake, or perhaps, sprinkles on the cookies - if you prefer!

The setup was my usual. The antenna was the PAR End Fedz 40/20/10 held aloft by my 31 foot Jackite pole.  The battery was not my normal portable ops lithium battery, as I opted to use my Field Day PowerWerx SLA. The paddle was the Palm Pico.

Thanks to Emily KB3VVE and Tim W3ATB for coming up with another gem of a QRP Sprint. Tim has already posted on Facebook this morning that Emily has decreed that the 2nd Cookie Crumble will be on Sunday, June 10th, 2018.  If you didn't participate this year, you deprived yourself of a very, very good time. Make sure not to miss it next year!

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

My memory is shot

Regarding yesterday's post about the weather and a possible POTA activation on Sunday.

1) It's the second Sunday of the month and that's the Sunday that I volunteer at the soup kitchen.

2) This Sunday is the inaugural "Cookie Crumble Contest" - a new QRP Sprint, which was the inspiration of Emily Saldana KB3VVE and Tim Carter W3ATB. It runs from 1700 to 2200 UTC - or from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT.  I get home from the soup kitchen around 4:00 PM, so I can participate for the last couple of hours.

This promises to be an exciting Sprint with a couple of "twists" including contacting "Cookie Monsters' for extra bonus points and "Burnt Cookies" which will actually lose you points!  That's a new concept that I've never heard of - but this is meant to be "a fun, low-stress contest that builds friendship and improves operating skills." So, IMHO, that's a unique twist that won't bother me in the least, if I happen to stumble upon a "Burnt Cookie".

For all the details - you can find them here: http://w3atb.com/cookie-crumble/

Make sure to sign up for a Cookie Number - W2LJ is Cookie # 173.

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!

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!

The Night of the Living Dead

Otherwise known as the Zombie Shuffle is on for 2016. Woot!

As announced on QRP-L by Paul NA5N:

The 19th annual 2016 Zombie Shuffle will be held on: FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 21, 2016 (to avoid Oct. 27-28 CQ World Wide contest)

Rules and the usual useless information here: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombie.htm

RULE CHANGE: The Zombie Shuffle will begin at 1600 local time instead of the former 1800 sundown by request from several Zombies. This is to give participants more time on 20M to make contacts before we're forced to the rats nest on 40M.

If you've never participated in the Zombie Shuffle, by all means do so. There is no purpose to the ZS except to get on the air and wrack up a ridiculously high score, based more on serendipity than code speed or operating skill. So dust off your key and be a QRP Zombie.

If you are new to the ZS and need a Zombie number assigned (they are good for life), email the Grand Witchess at n0qt@zianet.com

With the sun very quiet lately, hopefully we won't be having any geomagnetic storms this year for a bit quieter 40M.

72, Paul NA5N Zombie #004

This is great news for me, as I thought the Shuffle was going to be held the following Friday, the 28th (which would put it closer to Halloween).  I have a Radio Club meeting that night and would not be able to participate until the bulk of activity is over.  As Recording Secretary, I really should be at the meeting.  With that conflict out of the way, I can shuffle along with the other Zombies!

Is there a better way to end a hectic week than by playing QRP with your friends on a Friday night?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Zombie # 858

PFDTD

Is it possible to suffer from Post-Field Day Traumatic Disorder?

After the weekend we had, I'd be inclined to say "Yes".  But I mean that in a good way.  Not that Field Day, in and of itself,  was traumatic - maybe that Field Day coming to a close was traumatic!

Once again, we had a super fantastic time, thanks to the efforts of many.  All the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club members had a hand, and in particular we had help from "friends". But I'd like to especially recognize (publicly) the following;

Marv K2VHW - our President, who has done a great job as our Charter President and stayed the entire 24+ hours of Field Day, even after undergoing back surgery earlier this year (and still on the mend). Marv provided equipment, operated and acted as our Amateur Radio Ambassador to visitors and dignitaries alike. The man is amazing.

Ron N2LCZ - our Secretary, who once again planned and setup our computer network for scoring. Ron is the Wizard and Master of things binarily related. Without him, the logging task becomes that much harder.

Wayne N2LRE - our Vice President who took care of publicity and was our connection to our Mayor and Town Council, which proclaimed the week to be "Amateur Radio Week" in South Plainfield.

Dave KD2FSI - our Field Day Committee Chair - and so much more! Dave may be a "Rookie" Amateur Radio Op in terms of time; but in every other way, he is an "Amateur Radio Operator's Op". His energy and enthusiasm and his love for the hobby are contagious. He was, and continues to be the "heart and soul" of SPARC Field Day. He made sure the tent got up, arranged for our use of the County park and supplied equipment and operated. Dave is "Mr. Field Day" in every sense of that title. And through it all, even when he was dog tired, he had a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye. He is The Best, without a doubt.

Phil KD2HPG - designer and builder of our "tower" for the beam antenna.

Tim AB2ZK - provider of tables and coolers.

Drew W2OU - Field Day veteran, Top Notch operator and the guy who gets our Field Day log to the League - a tough job, indeed.

And the various guys who came out to help set up and operate and do all the leg work that it takes to make Field Day a success - Harry KC2GPX, Mario KD2HPF, Marty KB2JSG and Len WB2HKK and some others who I am most assuredly forgetting in the fog and haze of PFDTD. For that I apologize.

Special thanks go to Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC - two brothers who are Amateur Radio ops with hearts of gold!  These two fine gentlemen are members of NJDXA and one of our sister radio clubs, the ETS of NJ. They helped bring over equipment, helped set it up, brought over delicious homemade food and drinks, stayed to operate and came back for tear down and clean up. SPARC Field Day would have been a way more gargantuan effort without their help. And right along side with them was another member of ETS -  Hank N2MU - who came to set up and tear down; but who also came during the overnight to operate and keep us company for a while. Our thanks to these fine gentlemen. Their help and encouragement were priceless.

Aniother special "Thanks" goes to Marty WB2BEW, who along with KB2JSG is a member of another sister club, the Raritan Radio Valley Radio Club.  Marty lent us a canopy tent and was also there for almost the entire 24 hours. He gave of  his expertise and experience and helped man the radios; and was invaluable to us in another very special way.

A woman from town paid us a visit on Sunday.  She brought with her, a very inexpensive, nondescript pocket AM/FM radio - the kind most of us had in the '60s. It had gotten wet and was inoperative, and she was distraught. Obviously, for whatever reason, this radio held a great sentimental value to her. She had read our announcement about Field Day in the local town newspaper and associated "radio" with us. Marty came to the rescue and took a look at it for her. She may have learned more about Amateur Radio this weekend than she ever knew before; but even if she didn't, she'll always associate "Amateur Radio" with the kind gentleman who took time to lend a helping hand.. That kind of exposure is priceless; and ..... if there ever was such a thing as an Amateur Radio Gold Star, Marty would deserve one, hands down.

Field Day 2016 was a sunny and hot affair - a polar opposite of 2015. And the heat did not deter visitors - Bill W2UDT from the ARRL visited on Saturday.  Shortly after, our Mayor and members of our Town Council also showed up to see the set up and (involuntarily) let us remind them, that we are ready, willing and able to assist the town in any way we can in the event we are ever called upon.

With 45 minutes to go to the start, we were up and ready.  We had gotten the station up, and more importantly, the antennas.  The CW station was tethered to a W3EDP antenna, approximately 30 feet up in the air - hung between two trees. The main antennas for the SSB station was the beam and for the evening, a homebrew 80/40 Meter dipole courtesy of KD2FSI. It was supported by a telescoping mast that Dave cobbled together from commercial parts and a painter's pole.  For the GOTA station and the VHF/UHF station, Dave put up 6 Meter, 2 Meter, and 70 cm antennas as well as a 10 Meter rotate-able dipole.  We had RF coming out our ............

SPARC operated the entire 24 hours of the event. Three or four brave and hearty souls stayed through the night. We had some guest operators and some other visitors as well. Several took the Amateur radio pamphlets that we had made available and we even got a visit from a couple and their son on Sunday, as they wanted him to see what radio and antennas were all about.  He seemed particularly interested in the fact that everything (with the exception of our logging computer network) was powered by batteries that were charged by the sun.

We operated 3A (battery) NNJ.  If you heard us and worked us, we thank you!  All told we had over 250 CW QSOs, over 115 SSB QSOs, over a dozen digital QSOs and once again, Dave KD2FSI  attempted another satellite QSO.

I could go on for pages telling you about our Field Day, but hopefully your Field Day experience was a good one too. The best thing about Field Day, though, is not the trials and tribulations that are overcome and mastered. It's not about the masterful operating exploits or even the good food. All these things are wonderful. The best thing about Field Day is the camaraderie, being with your friends and the many wonderful memories that are yours forever.

And now for some photos.

Our home for the weekend

As people visiting the park saw us

Assembling the beam

Assembling the "tower"

All done!

The 80/40 Meter Inverted Vee

The 10, 6, 2 and 70 cm antennas

Here birdy, birdy!

W2LJ territory

Marv K2VHW with jacket - it got chilly overnight!

Dave trying to get some PSK31 in.

KD2FSI showing guest operator Mike KA2FIR how to navigate his rig's menus.

 Marty WB2BEW taking a turn at the SSB KX3.

Drew W2OU, Marv K2VHW and guest, Bill K2CZD

Marty WB2BEW performing emergency pocket radio surgery.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and I'm already looking forward to Field Day 2017!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!