3G0YA in the log

But not without some drama.

I had to turn off HamAlert until I got home from work yesterday. It was going off so frequently that it was driving me nuts! I also got a few stares from people who heard Morse Code originating from my pocket! But in the back of my mind, that gave me hope, as I was pretty sure I'd work them sometime yesterday.

I arrived home and had dinner and then turned HamAlert back on and my phone started chirping immediately! They were spotted on two frequencies 24.896 MHz on 12 Meters and 14.025 MHz on 20 Meters. I decided to try 12 Meters first and was rewarded with a loud signal. I mean like sitting-across-the-room-from-me-with-a-code-practice-oscillator loud! The op announced he was listening up, so I set up the KX3 for split operation and set the transmit frequency up 1 kHz, and decided to try with the W3EDP.

Got him on the first try! And that's when it happened! That's when I noticed, to my horror of horrors, that I hadn't turned down the KXPA100 from 85 Watts after the St. Max Net was over on Sunday evening.  I had just worked Easter Island with 85 Watts!

What's a QRPer to do? I decided to try going over to 20 Meters and give a listen and the signal coming from the DXpedition was nowhere near as loud on 20 Meters as it was on 12 Meters. That was when I decided to go back to 12 Meters and give it another shot, this time at 5 Watts.  I called again and they came back to me again fairly quickly. This time however, I sent a "599 NJ QRP TU" as my part of the exchange. I don't know if that matters or not, but when they see my callsign on the same band twice, maybe a note will have been made that the second QSO was a QRP contact. That's the one I'm going to reference for a QSL card.

A bit later, my friend Marv K2VHW, sent me a message that 3G0YA had gotten louder on 20 Meters. I went back to 14.025 MHz and the pileup was much more fierce than on 12 Meters. Heck, there basically was no pileup on 12 Meters! At times they would call CQ and they remained listening at 1 kHz up.  On 20 Meters, the op was running a race track pattern, moving up a bit after each QSO until he got to about 4 kHz up and then he would work his way down again. I had to pump up the KXPA100 and when he finally heard me, I got "W2L??" three times before he finally copied my call correctly.

12 Meters was like shooting fish in a barrel. 20 Meters was more like being in the middle of the pack during a fishing derby.

Anyway, I got them in the log and now I have to figure out what their QSL procedure is. (I went to ClubLog - found my QSOs and paid the proper $$$ for the QSL cards.)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

They're still up!

My antennas, that is.

After yesterday afternoon and last night, I expected to wake up to find my W3EDP at ground level and my Butternut HF9V bent at 90 degrees somewhere along its length.  In retrospect, my fears were probably silly as my antennas withstood Hurricane Sandy with nary a whimper, but ...........

Last evening, as I lay in bed, struggling to fall asleep, the winds were howling, and I do mean HOWLING. Not an exaggeration, they were dong their best to imitate a freight train passing underneath our windows. But, thanks be to God, both antennas are still up, working, functional and never the worse for wear.  Dodged another bullet - whew!

I find myself in somewhat of a quandary.  I e-mailed my buddy, Bob W3BBO about this.  I see all the posts on Facebook about the Heard Island DXpedition. All these people seem to have worked them on so many bands and with so many different modes.

I just can't bring myself to even bother trying.

It's not that I don't need them.  Working VK0EK would be an ATNO for me. Never worked Heard Island before,  It just seems, that for some reason or other, I just don't feel like jumping into the fray.  On the other hand, Yosemite National Park was on 20 Meter SSB last night, I spent close to half an hour unsuccessfully trying to bust that pileup, before they faded into oblivion. So it's not that my competitive instinct has disappeared. Not sure what my problem is.

I'm sure whatever it is, that like everything else, it's cyclical and one day I'll be jumping into the DXpedition pileups with both feet again.

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

A rant about working pileups - from both ends.

I was trying to work one of the NPOTA guys yesterday and wasn't having much success, which is OK. Sometimes that's just how it goes, a lesson learned the hard way from the QRP Fox hunts.  I'll not name names or call signs or the location of this particular activation, as I would like to keep with the old "Dragnet" thing of "changing the names to protect the innocent."

The pile up was pretty hot and heavy - it's amazing, in a way, how popular this NPOTA program has become!  I guess most Hams are kind of competitive by nature, and I suppose there's a little "pile up breaker" in a lot of us.

To get on with the story (and my rant), the Amateur Radio op decided to make sense of the pile up by resorting to working call sign areas, which is a good strategy. It thins out the herd a bit, albeit making for littler herds, but it DOES calm things down a bit.

The op worked about four stations from call area 1, then only a couple from call area 2, then about three from call area 3 - and then commenced to work about 30 or 40 from call area 4. And no, the NPOTA entity was not in call area 4 - so it wasn't a case of favoritism there.

My point is, if you're going to work by call areas, which is a recognized method of culling down the herd of a pile up - then be FAIR about it.  It's definitely NOT fair, if you're going to spend five minutes on some call areas and then a half hour on others.  Yes, propagation may determine that it works that way, but it's still not the right thing to do.  If you're going to work call areas, then give everyone a fair chance.  Work a set number (maybe 10 or less) and then move on to the next area.  If an area seems to be in the skip zone, at least give those guys a decent chance. Heck, you can even say (for instance), "I'm not hearing anyone from call area 8. Last chance, anyone from 8 land before I move on?"

And guys, it's a nice practice to call for DX and QRPers between working call area 0 and then going back to call area 1.

By the same token ...... chasers - clean the wax out of your ears!

If the NPOTA activator is calling for call area 4 - we should NOT hear call signs with 2s, 5s, or 7s in them.  If he's working call area 4 and you live in Tennessee, but your call sign is W7ABC, then you wait until he gets to the 7s. Either that, or apply for a call sign with a 4 in it.

More importantly, if you can't even hear the NPOTA station clearly enough to tell that he's working by call areas in the first place, then what are you doing throwing out your call sign?  Throwing out your call sign on a frequency just because the DX Cluster that you use is telling you there's an NPOTA station on frequency is NOT the thing to do. What if by some wild chance he hears you and answers you and you can't hear him well enough to know that he just answered you? I'll tell you what's going to happen - everyone else on frequency is going to make note of your call sign and associate it with the word "Lid" - and I don't think you want that to happen.

Others in the pileup - when you hear a Lid being a Lid - don't comment.  We all know he/she's a Lid by their actions. Your emphasizing the point just makes it worse.

Bottom line  -  Activators ...... use Common Sense.

Chasers ..... mind your manners and adhere to the DX Code of Conduct.

As Stan Lee would say, "'Nuff said!"

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

Getting chilly

This time of year it's typical to feel like you're on a rollercoaster ride in New Jersey. For a few days it will feel like Fall or even late Summer, and then you wake up the next morning and it feels like Winter. And today is a Winter "feels like" day. When I went out to the Jeep at lunchtime, it was only 43F (6C) and there was a slight bit of a breeze to make it feel even cooler. It was sunny, however, so at least it was pleasant to be outside, albeit chilly..

The Buddistick goes together in under a minute and is on the car roof in just a few seconds more, so antenna assembly is not something dreaded, even in the cold weather. Interestingly, how the coax behaves is a good indicator of what the ambient temperature is - a kind of pseudo thermometer. When the coil becomes stubborn and doesn't want to undo itself easily, you know it's below 50F (10C).

I heard PZ5W on 18 Meters again. This was the band where I unsuccessfully tried working them last week. There's just something about a pileup that draws me like a moth to a flame! I don't know what it is, but it's like trying to look away from a train wreck, or trying to eat just one Lays potato chip (remember that TV commercial, fellow oldsters?)  Even though I have them in the log via QRP - that was 20 Meters ..... and there's this pile-up ...... it's like a siren's call.

And this time I was successful! On about my third try, I got in their log book for the second time. This time they were working simplex, which adds to the challenge. You really have to time throwing your call out at just the right moment. Lady Luck was with me today.

There didn't seem to be much else doing on 17 Meters that I was able to hear, so I ventured down to 20 Meters and called CQ near the watering hole. I was treated to a short, but very pleasant QSO with Jim AF5BA in Arkansas. Jim was using his Yaesu FT-817 to and MFJ vertical, which was doing a good job for him. Unfortunately, the outside temperature wasn't the only item on the rollercoaster - QSB seemed to hop on for the ride. Jim was 359 at QSB peaks and about 579 on QSB lulls. What a treat to weary eardrums! But it was fun completing the 2X QRP QSO with Jim. 

Unfortunately, time flies when you're having fun and it was time to tear down and go back inside to work. The next two days are looking rainy, weather-wise, so they may not end up being lunchtime QRP days. But then again, today was "supposed" to be overcast and cloudy ..... so you never know.

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

THAT would have been nice!

17 Meters was nice during lunchtime. I worked YU65GMN, which is in Serbia. I am wondering if with the "65" in the call sign, if this wasn't some kind of special event station.

Then I worked NP3CW a little farther up the band. I've worked Julio a couple of times before, and I just wanted to let him know his signal was loud.

The catch of the day would have been Madagascar. 5R8UI was very loud, and this may have been the first time I've ever heard Madagascar on the air, if memory serves me correctly. Even though he was very loud, my 5 Watts and my Buddistick were not equal to the task at hand ...... this time. Perhaps if I had more time, I would have snagged them. But not today.

So, what's life without goals, anyway?

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

Worked a QRP Celebrity

I spent a good portion of lunchtime trying to bust the pileup for T46X on 17 Meters.

No dice today, and that's a bit disappointing. Usually, NJ to Cuba is "easy-peasey-lemon-squeezey", but there's 8 days left to work them.  Maybe I'll have better luck from home with the "big antennas".

After T46X signed QRT, I still had some time to kill, so I went on down the road to the 20 Meter QRP Watering Hole environs. There I heard K7TQ calling CQ.  Randy K7TQ and I have worked many, many times before in the various QRP Sprints. Over the years, it's never been more than that, though, so I jumped at the opportunity.

We were both 449 and fighting QSB, so it wasn't a bona fide ragchew, but it was pleasant and (very) cool, nonetheless. Randy was working with 1 Watt to a Yagi at the 60' (18 Meters) level. We had good enough conditions to exchange weather reports and for Randy to tell me how he participated in the Salmon Run last weekend as a mobile station.

Randy Foltz K7TQ is one of the what I-consider-to-be "QRP Celebrities".  He is extremely well known throughout the QRP community and he appears in just about every QRP Sprint and contest that there is.  It was a pleasure to exchange a little bit more than the usual "559 ID 5W / 559 NJ 5W".  K7TQ is one of those iconic call signs that just about every active QRPer recognizes right away.

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

Worked three during lunchtime

Which hasn't happened in a while. Could Ol' Sol be coming back to himself?

1) KA4CLM - Arn in Live Oak, FL - but the 20 Meter QSO got busted up by QSB.

2) S57S - Alex in Slovenia - 579 to him, 559 to me on 17 Meters

3) AB7RW - County Hunter in Iowa. I'm not a County Hunter, but just joined the pileup to see if I could bust it. I did.

I wanted to work Serge EW1TZ in Belarus on 17 Meters, but he wasn't hearing me. Funny, he was stronger that Alex in Slovenia who heard me first try.  Funny stuff, this QRP DX is.

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

Only one QSO during lunch

bands seemed "meh", and my partner is out from work today, so I had to make it an abbreviated lunch.  But I did work (on 15 Meters):

 

It's always fun busting a pileup with only 5 Watts!

 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

If you think today's pile ups are a zoo - just wait!

As the Brooklyn Dodger fans used to day, "Wait till next year!"

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Maybe I should do this more often

Our Technician License class ran late. Normally, we get out around 9:30 PM or so, but tonight's class ran closer to 10:00 PM. As I was driving home, I was mentally debating as to whether or not I would even make an attempt in the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt.

I calculated that I would get home with about 10 minutes or so remaining in the Hunt - what were my chances? And it was a long day at work, then class - not much left in the ol ' gas tank after a day like that.

But my competitive side wouldn't buy the excuses. I was itching to give it a try regardless. Then I hit a minor snag. It was a very rainy, foggy night tonight, and I got stuck behind someone who was frightened out of their wits by the fog and proceeded to drive at a pace that would make a tortoise seem like Speedy Gonzales.

I got home with 5 minutes to go, ripped my coat off and ran down the basement stairs. I turned on the Astron and the KX3 - didn't even bother turning on the shack computer. I started at 7.050 MHZ and tuned my way down to the bottom end of the hunting ground at 7.030 MHZ. It was right around there that I heard Drew, K9CW calling "CQ FOX". And Drew was loud! 599+ loud! I called him and he immediately heard me. In fact, he said I was the loudest he has ever heard me! So far, the propagation Muse was with me and I had one pelt in my bag.

With no time to spare, I started hunting for the "High Fox", who tonight was Randy NC4RT. With a minute to go, I found him, also calling "CQ FOX". One call later, he was coming back to me. Second pelt in the bag, within minutes of the first, both nabbed with less than 5 minutes to go. Sweet!

Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. Tonight I was lucky and the Propagation Powers That Be assisted me, rather than fighting me.  And, very importantly, we had two excellent Foxes on duty who have tremendous sets of ears. Should I do this more often? It was fun and exciting, but to be honest ..... I'd rather not.

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

Pile up rant

Last night's 80 Meter QRP Fox hunt was interesting and frustrating, all at the same time.  I have written about the Fox hunts here many, many times - but for newbies, or those unfamiliar with the process, the procedure is germane to rest of this post.

The 80 Meter Fox hunting ground takes place on spectrum real estate centering on the QRP Watering Hole of 3.560 MHz. The 80 Meter woods is 10 kHz on each side of that, from 3.550 MHz to 3.570 MHz. One Fox "hides" in the upper half and the other in the lower. You find the Fox calling "CQ FOX", send the required exchange back and forth, and you earn a pelt if successful.

Last night, the two Foxes, Earl N8SS and Dale WC7S decided to do something a bit different. Earl planted himself 1 kHz below 3.560 MHz, while Dale planted himself 1 kHz above the Watering Hole. Both worked split - Earl down and Dale up.

Sounds like good, clean fun, eh?  In theory, yes - very good. In practice, good - but not very good. And the difficulty that ensued was not the fault of Earl or Dale. Once again, it was due to the Hounds (AKA, the pile up) not listening.

I caught Earl two minutes into the Hunt at 3.559 MHz. I heard him (key words) call "CQ FOX" and then "DN". That raised my eyebrows a bit, as I wasn't expecting that.  But I quickly adjusted VFO B and nabbed him on my third call. At this point, all was peachy keen.  Then, going up to the high end of the 80 Acre Woods, I heard Dale's pack of Hounds - not very far away at all.  From the location of the Hounds and figuring on a "standard split" of 1 kHz, I figured out that Dale was probably sitting around 3.561 MHz. I tuned over there and indeed, there he was - very weak, around 119 ESP levels.

What made things even more difficult were the Hounds chasing Earl, who weren't listening and were trying to work him by calling "up". And they overwhelmed Dale's weak signal completely. And there lies my complaint.  If you can't hear the Fox well enough to determine that he's calling "DN" then what are you doing, calling him at all?

Listen - don't make assumptions!

It got to the point where Dale must have realized something not good was going on, as he moved up a little bit farther. That was nice, but there were other problems to deal with, on that end. I had the KX3 in Dual Watch mode and finally had to turn it off, because some of the shenanigans going on there were pretty bad too.  I heard one Hound who blindly sent his call - I kid you not - 10 times in a row without so much as taking a breath! 10 times - really ?!?  I think that Dale was able to work two Hounds in the time it took this one guy to send his call that many times. Wow! And obviously, if you are sending your call that many times, then you are not listening - and that's the most important thing you can do in a pile up.

Paul WW2PT is one of the bloggers I list in my blogroll. He has a very good post that contains an interview with the K1N Team, post-Navassa.  Go over there and read his post. What you read there will make your eyes wide as saucers.  But because this is so important, I am going to take the opportunity re-post the K1N Team's assessment on why many in a pile up are not successful.  I wish the Hounds in last night's hunt had read this. The main issues they saw were:

1. Not listening to the DX operator
2. LISTEN to and LEARN the rate and rhythm of the operator
3. LISTEN to WHERE the operator is listening and his PATTERN of moving his VFO, know where he will listen next!
4. Learn to use your radio (split/simplex, etc)
5. Do NOT jump to and call on the frequency of the last station worked. The DX station will NOT hear you because the din is total unintelligible chaos.   Move UP or DOWN from that frequency, as we on our end were continuously tuning up or down after each Q, so if one jumps onto the last-worked frequency, we will not hear you, even if you were the only one there, as we have tuned off.
6. TURN OFF ALL SPEECH PROCESSORS AND COMPRESSION! Do NOT overdrive ALC.   There is a night and day difference in listening to NA/AS and EU pileups.   The horrible distortion makes it impossible to copy many, if not most EU callsigns.   There were MANY loud stations that we did not work, simply because we could NOT understand their terribly distorted callsign.   Have you ever listened to yourself in a pileup?   We gave many stations a “19” signal report.   Very loud, but extremely unintelligible!   You want to have INTELLIGIBILITY, not distortion!
7. Give your callsign ONCE and ONLY ONCE!   DO NOT KEEP CALLING! We would tune on by those who did not stop calling.   We are looking for RATE and getting stations into the log.   You should be, too!!!
8. If the DX station comes back with your callsign, DO NOT REPEAT YOUR CALLSIGN, AS WE ALREADY KNOW IT or we would not have answered you.   Many stations (in all modes) would repeat their callsign two, three and even four times!   We only want to hear “5NN” or “59” from you.   Anything else is a total waste of time and CHEATS others out of a chance to get into the log.   Only repeat your callsign if it needs correction, and then let us know it is a correction.   Anything else is cheating others out of a contact, as our propagation windows and time on the island are limited and we need to maximize the opportunity for everyone.   SPEED.
9. Take some time to listen to the next DXpedition working NA and listen to the rate and rhythm of the operator.   It is fast, quick and efficient, and more people get into the log! Then listen to him work EU.   The wise operator will catch on quickly to what it takes to get into the log!
10. SPREAD OUT!   Our highest rates (for any continent) were working the edges of the pileup where there was less QRM and weak stations were much easier to work than loud stations in the middle of the pileup.   If we say, “Listening 200 – 210,” 70% of the pileup sits exactly on 200 in an unintelligible din, 25% of the pileup sits on 210 and is almost as bad.   5% of the pileup will be spread out somewhere between 201 and 209, making them very quickly put into the log.   S P R E A D   O U T ! ! ! !
11. LOUD is NOT better!   MORE AUDIO/COMPRESSION is NOT better!   Finding the spot to be HEARD is the MOST important thing you can do to get into the log. My biggest thrill (and I’m sure on both ends) is finding the lone weak station and getting him into the log quickly.
12. LISTEN to the DX operator INSTRUCTIONS!   As we would constantly tune our VFO, if we find a clear spot, we would often say, “33” (meaning for YOU to transmit on 14033, 28433, etc) and a few would listen and get into the log very quickly.   You cannot hear these hints if you keep calling calling calling calling………   Many times I would say, “listening 200-210” and after a while would say, “listening 240-250”.   Often 30-45 minutes, even and HOUR later, I would find MANY still calling on the original “200-210”…..of course, they would never show up in our log, as I was not listening there.   LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN and LISTEN SOME MORE.   The less you transmit, the better chance you have of getting into the log.
13. LISTEN
14. If you don’t want to get into the DX log, just ignore the above suggestions.

The best advice IS "listen, listen, listen and listen some more". Avoid the temptation to jump in blindly and work shot gun style. In the end, you will work more DX - and Foxes, if you listen. And, by becoming a better operator, you will not only be more successful, you will earn the admiration and esteem of your fellow operators. No one wants to earn the label of "LID".

End of rant.

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

Mission half accomplished

Not really believing it myself, I sit here in the shack at 4:42 AM (0942 UTC), coffee-less and typing into this computer.  My plan of getting up early and losing very precious moments of sleep did pan out.  I now have K1N in the log!

Knowing I was going to be up super early, I decided to leave the shack computer running, after last night's failed attempt on 40 Meters. We must have had a power failure during the night, because when I got down here, the computer was off.  So I re-booted and while waiting for the microprocessor to do it's thing, I turned on the KX3. Lo and behold, K1N had not budged from the frequency that they were on when I left them last night.

On a hunch, I decided to activate the KX3's dual watch, sub receiver. This time, after listening for a bit, I was able to determine the split was a manageable "up 5" (not like last night, where the split was something like "up 10-15 and everywhere in between") and I started sending my call. Within 12 minutes at 0912 UTC, I was in the log. As an aside, let me state outright - my fist at 4:00 AM without coffee was NOT a thing of beauty. Not at all - it was almost like I couldn't get my hand to work right. I was actually staring at it for a few moments wondering "What's going on here? You know how to do this!"

After a few seconds of happy dancing, the shock wore off. "What do I do now? Go back to bed?" I really hadn't expected to be successful so soon. Better judgement was telling me to go back and get a few more Z's before beginning the work day, but Ham judgement took over. "No, since I'm up this early, let's try 80 Meters." You'd do the same thing, right?

K1N's signal was a tad weaker on 80 Meters as compared to 40 meters, but I decided to give it a go, anyway. After listening with the KX3's sub receiver, I was able to determine that again, the split was manageable, and not all over creation. Even better, the K1N op's movements were steady and predictable. At 0938 UTC, I was in the log on 80 Meters!  Holy cow!  Two bands, within a half an hour of each other!  The rest of my day is either going to go extremely well, or it's all downhill from here. The KX3, KXPA100 and my W3EDP did their job for me - thanks Elecraft, and mucho thanks to the K1N ops for digging me out of the pileup.

Enjoying a well deserved "Cuppa Joe" after some early morning success!

And yes, as per this blog post title, the mission is only half accomplished. With the remaining time that they are there on Navassa, W2LJ will make another attempt, on another band, to get into their log once again - this time with QRP power. Since K1N probably won't be activated for another 25 years or so, the first goal was just to get them in the log with my new DX Rule - WFWQL (Work First Worry About QRP Later). With that monkey off my back, I can relax somewhat and now try to beat the pileups with 5 Watts.

Hopefully, that will be another interesting story that I will be able to write about.

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

New tactic

I arrived home from our Technician License class with 40 minutes left in the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt. Much to my dismay, there was an S7 noise level across the entire band.- so that was a total bust. Sometimes, I wish I had one of those magical red buttons, whereby pressing it,  I could kill the power to all the houses in the neighborhood (including mine, because I can run the KX3 from batteries!) and eliminate that kind of problem. Just for an hour or so, nothing permanent!

30 Meters had no such noise problem, so I spent another fruitless hour trying to chase K1N.  The pileups are so big that they are beyond the KX3's "Dual Watch" capabilities. Trying to quickly scan the pileup, in an attempt to discover just where K1N is listening is a bit of a nightmare.  I suppose if I had a PX3, it would be a lot easier - but that solution is beyond my fiscal capabilities at this time.

So I've decided to try another tactic. I wake up every morning at 5:00 AM. Normally, I sit with Harold (our Beagle) for a bit to give him some companionship before everyone leaves for the day - leaving him alone. But tomorrow, I may even get up a bit earlier and will head straight to the shack.  Maybe at 4:00 AM, I might have better luck.

I better make sure I get some coffee first, though. Unleashing W2LJ on the bands without some coffee might actually make things worse. Although listening to the pileup behavior has me convinced that even my worst accidental behavior can't be as bad as what some idiots are doing deliberately.

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

Kudos to the K1N Ops

Because this is what they have to contend with as far as pileup behavior and discipline goes (at least on 30 Meters tonight):

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

A double edge sword

I'm not trying to brag here, or toot my own horn. But by virtue of living in New Jersey, I can't even count how many times I've worked into the Caribbean with 5 Watts or even QRPp power. Reaching that part of the world has NEVER been a problem for me.

Until, possibly, now.

K1N should be starting up very soon. Navassa Island is nestled  comfortably in territory that I have always reliably communicated with. But this little spit of land is so high on the DX wish list, that it rivals North Korea on some DX'ers most wanted list.

I expect nothing less than pandemonium in the near future. Expect mile wide pileups on the HF bands as everybody and their uncle try to work this DXpedition. So, while 5 Watts has never failed me up to now, I haven't decided my approach to K1N, yet. If I decide to jump into the fray very early, it will be with 100 Watts. However, I may also wait for the second half of the expedition, when a 5 Watt attempt may be more doable.

UPDATE: K1N is on the air! I am listening to them on 40 Meters on 7.023 MHz, Currently the pileup is going past 7.035 MHz.  I think there might be an issue for the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt Tuesday night.

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

Some common sense, please!

After working the QRP Fox Hunt last night, and over time working a bunch of DX and a lot of the W1AW Centennial WAS stations, and other pile up causing stations - I really have to wonder what goes on in the minds of some people.  It seems like when there's some kind of quarry to be had, whether it be a QRP Fox, a DX station, or a W1AW/XX station - common sense goes right out the window and sheer insanity takes its place.

Take for instance last night.  I was trying to work Steve WX2S on 40 Meters who lives about 18 miles from me.  Ground wave was strong enough that he was about a 229/339.  The advantage was that not only could I hear him, but I could also hear the stations that were calling him.  I ended up not working him, but even so, it was a unique opportunity to observe.

Steve was working split from the beginning and he was handling the pile up deftly.  But I was left shaking my head, because so many times - all through the hunt, people continued throwing out their calls while Steve was engaging another station! I sat there, kind of dumbfounded. There was Steve, sending out "559 NJ STEVE 5W" to whomever, and all the while there were stations sending out their calls, over and over and over, without so much as taking a breath!

So here's the deal......if you can't hear the quarry well enough to realize he answered someone other than yourself - then why the heck do you continue to throw your call sign out there in the first place? Obviously, if by some miracle, he actually came back to you - would you be able to hear that well enough to realize it and complete the exchange? Something tells me ........no.

Part of pile up discipline (on the part of the chasers) is to realize when you have a legitimate shot. But in any case, whether the quarry is 229 or 599 on your end, don't you think it would be a lot wiser to send your call maybe twice at most and then take a break to actually listen?

Listening. That seems to be a dirty word in the minds of a lot of folks.

Look, I know we all make mistakes and I've made my fair share, too.  No one is perfect, and I can understand forgetting to turn the "split" function on or some other such thing.  But deliberately sending your call over and over and over in the vain hope of somehow scatter-gunning the target is really just inexcusable, and rude and inconsiderate of your fellow Hams.

As always, this is just my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary.

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

HV0A

It was once again a busy Saturday.  I rewarded myself with a bit of radio time in between mowing the lawn and starting dinner.  I hadn't looked at the contest calendar beforehand and had no idea if the bands would be full of ravenous contesters, so I headed off to the relative quiet of the WARC bands.

Holy pileup, Batman!

There was a H U G E pileup just above 18.077 MHz.  Some listening revealed that it was indeed a "holy pileup" as the quarry of the hunt was HV0A - Vatican City. And he was loud - very loud! In 36 years of Ham Radio, this was about the second or third time that I have ever heard the Vatican on the air. I have never worked them before.

But today, with them being that loud (599+), I felt I stood a chance. In case you're wondering, wonder no more.  My QRP sensibilities took a backseat and I pumped up the KXPA100 to its full 100 Watt setting. How many times have I heard the Vatican?  Again, only once or twice before - it's rare for them to be on the air, for me to be home at the same time, and for propagation to be so favorable.  I wasn't about to let some false sense of QRP Pride get in the way of getting a rare and new country in the log.

The operator was smooth and was handling the pileup quickly and efficiently. Operating split, he was running a standard racetrack pattern. He was listening slightly higher up after each QSO until he reached a certain frequency and then began listening down unilt he reached a frequency about 1 kHz above where he was transmitting. The he began listening up again, starting the whole cycle over again. Almost exacty like trying to work any of the ARRL Centennial stations - once I figured out his pattern and approximately how much higher he moved after each QSO, I made my plan to "get in his way". After about 6 or 7 attempts, I got in the log. If I ever hear the Vatican this loud again, then next time will be a QRP attempt, this time I'm just fat, dumb and happy.

According to the CW Ops e-mail reflector, the operator was Robert S53R, CW Op #492.  Whomever, he was, he was good!

This is one QSL card that will be framed and hung on the shack wall, once I receive it.

Still stoked!

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

Feeling "Fox-ish"

Tonight is my turn to serve as one of the two Foxes in the 20 Meter QRP Fox hunt.  If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about - they say a picture is worth a thousand words:

 

No, no, no, no - not quite, but let me give you the lowdown, if you're not quite familiar with the concept of QRP Fox hunting, and want to give it a shot. For the "official" rules, please check out: www.qrpfoxhunt.org/

Tonight, Don NK6A and I, W2LJ will serve as the two Foxes. We will both be hiding in the 20 Meter woods, somewhere between 14.050 and 14.070 MHz.  One of us will be the "lower Fox" hiding between 14.050 and 14.060 MHz. The other will be the "upper Fox" hiding between 14.060 and  14.070 MHz.

Your job, as one of the Hounds, is to find us and work us - both.  Don and I will both be working split, that is, transmitting on one frequency and listening on another.  Just like W1AW/XX and DXpeditions and rare DX do. Once you find us, you have to figure out where we're listening. Once you think you have the spot - and ONLY then, I might add, you will throw out your call sign. Please! Only once or twice - not over and over until the cows come home! The QRP Fox hunts are a great place for learning and practicing pile up discipline.You know ..... the DX Code of Conduct.

The Fox will announce the call sign he has heard and will send his exchange to that station like in this example - let's say I pick out AB9CA's call from the pack of Hounds. I will send:

AB9CA DE W2LJ TU 559 NJ LARRY 5W BK

I am saying that I have heard you, AB9CA, your RST is 559, and that I am in NJ and my name is Larry and that I am transmitting using 5 Watts.  Once AB9CA hears my half of the exchange, he will come back with something on the order of:

BK DE AB9CA TU 559 DAVE AL 5W BK

He's telling me that my RST is also 559, that his name is Dave, that his QTH is AL and that he's also transmitting using 5 Watts.  ONLY when I acknowledge him with a "TU" and then send a "QRZ?" asking for the next station, is the exchange completed.  If he does not hear my "TU", then he either has to listen for my fill request(s), or try again later as the exchange was not completed.  Only when both Fox and Hound receive their exchanges, is there a valid QSO. This is known as "grabbing a pelt" amongst us Fox hunters. If you work only one Fox, you have a "One-fer", work both and you have a coveted "Two-fer". And believe me, due to band conditions, there will be times you will walk away with a "One-fer" and will be quite happy with it!

That being said, you really do have to try and work both Foxes in a 90 minute period, from 0100 - 0230 UTC. Here on the East coast, that's from 9:00 to 10:30 PM.  If you're located in the middle of the country, you probably stand a good shot, as I am in NJ and Don is in CA.  East coast stations may not be able to hear me, especially if the band is long.  West coast stations may not hear Don.  BUT ..... the theory has been known to go out the window compared to reality - so who knows?  Even though it shouldn't happen, I just might be able to hear up and down the East coast as well as the rest of the US and Canada. It's happened before! And don't give up just because you might not hear either one or both Foxes. Band conditions have known to change at the last minute. I can personally tell you that there have been times that I have not heard a Fox for 80 of the 90 minutes of the hunt, only to have him pop his little fuzzy head out of the woods for the last 10 minutes. If I had QRT'ed early, I would have been out of luck. There have been a time or two where I was the last Hound in the hunt to grab a pelt. Persistence can pay off here - big time.

Foxes tend to send Morse at a speed around 20 WPM.  But please don't feel intimated by that.  If you are comfortable sending and copying at 15 WPM, 12 WPM or even 5 WPM - please call me anyway!  I will slow down for you.

Why should you join in on the QRP Fox hunts?  First off, they are fun! Lots of fun. Secondly, participating will increase your skill sets (buzz word alert!). You'll find your Morse Code speed increasing and maybe more importantly, your skill in dealing with pile ups will increase dramatically.  I have been participating in the QRP Fox hunts since my call sign was N2ELW - and after a hiatus, have been participating as both a Hound and a Fox continuously since 2003.  My ability to work DXpeditions, special events, scarce DX has increased by light years.  The success I have in DX chasing as a QRPer, I owe directly to the training ground of the QRP Fox hunts.

 Ahhh! The sweet smell of QRP DX!

So don't be intimidated by the pileup or the code speed. Jump in and give it a go. The fun you will have and the sense of accomplishment from "grabbing a pelt" or two is worth the effort you'll put in.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The allure of DX

is a very good thing, but can be bad at times.  My buddy W3BBO describes it as an "obsession" or an "addiction".  I'd have to agree with him there. Once you get your first taste and get hooked, there's no turning back. Add QRP power to the mix and,  if you're addicted to challenges - stick a fork in you, you're done.

The bands were alive with signals again during lunchtime today.  But yet, I only worked two stations. My addiction got in the way. I worked Laci HA0NAR in Hungary, who I have worked many times before. I also worked LY10NATO, who asked me to spot him, as he was calling CQ without many takers.  Being in the car, away from the Internet, I didn't have that luxury.

My downfall came when I heard TX6G on 12 Meters. He was LOUD. 599+ loud at times.  I immediately thought, "Wow! THAT loud, here's my chance to work them QRP.".  Not today, Grasshopper, not today.

Undoubtedly, if I wasn't so hard headed, I could have worked at least three or four more stations in my limited time allotment.  However, my stubborn Polish side got the better of me, and I did a Don Quixote, and chased a windmill. 

The windmill won.

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

Two more pileups busted tonight.

Ten Meters was busy after I got home from work - plenty of signals.  I heard TX6G but they were kind of weak, so I decided to check 15 Meters.  They were louder there and their pileup wasn't quite as busy as on 10 Meters.  So, I started sending my call, with no luck. After a bit, I noticed their signal was starting to fade. Not wanting to lose them, I decided to go QRO and bumped up the power to 75 Watts. Bingo on the first call at higher power - TX6G is in the log for a new DXCC Entity. The group is there until April 1st, which is a week from tomorrow - so I will try throughout the week to try and get them via QRP. That's a tall order, but do-able if the pileups get smaller as the DXpedition draws to a close.

From there I went back to 10 Meters and listened more than anything.  I heard quite the few JAs and tried calling a few, but 5 Watts just wasn't cutting it.  Then, I heard a fierce pileup for VP2V/SP6CIK.  I managed to bust that pileup with 5 Watts.

I was amazed at the ferocity of that pileup.  While the British Virgin Islands are an easy hop from the US, I guess they are a rarer entity from Europe and Asia.  I heard quite the few JAs being answered as well as a lot of European stations. Whoever was behind the key was handling the pileup methodically and precisely. Very good pileup management and very good pileup discipline.  I only heard a few "UP"s from the Pileup Police.  All in all, it was a well behaved group.

I didn't go out to the car at lunchtime today, as winter has returned for a brief visit. It was 27F (-3C) and I just wasn't in the mood to freeze.  Tomorrow we're supposed to get anywhere from a dusting to 3 inches (7.5 cm) of snow.  BUT, by Friday and Saturday, it's supposed to be back up near 60F (16C). That's the only good thing about late March snows in New Jersey - they tend to disappear fast.

I guess the old Mark Twain quote about the weather in New England holds true for New Jersey, too. If you don't like the weather in New Jersey, just wait a few hours. It will change - especially this time of year.

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