It may be Friday the 13th, but ...........

 It may be Friday the 13th, but that only means we are now one week away from the First Day of Summer. That means that next Friday is Opening Day for signing up for a 2025 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt number!

A few things to know

 Skeeter Numbers are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. They are handed out sequentially ONLY. The only Skeeter number that is reserved in perpetuity is #13, and that's for yours truly.

 Skeeter Number requests are made via e-mail ONLY to w2ljqrp@gmail.com No requests sent via social media will be honored as I may miss them there. I may miss duplicate requests made via social media AND e-mail. It has happened before!

 Requests will be honored for emails arriving at 00:01 EDT next Friday, June 20th. Any requests received before then will be honored at the end of the first day. Skeeter numbers will be handed out until the day before the Hunt. When you make your request, be sure to include your Call sign, your name and the S/P/C that you will be operating from. I can't count the number of requests I've received over the years without that basic information!

 This year the event will be held on Sunday, August 17th from 17:00 to 21:00 UTC.

 For bonus points this year, we are going to play Skeeter Hunt Blackjack. Work enough call sign numbers to add up to exactly 21 and you can earn 1,000 Bonus Points!

All the details can be found in either of two places:

https://w2lj.blogspot.com/p/njqrp-skeeter-hunt.html

https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/

 Hope to hear from you on the First Day of Summer!

 72 es BZZZZZZZ

Larry W2LJ - Skeeter # 13

Weekend of June 14th and 15th

 Before we get started - Saturday, June14th is Flag Day here in the US.

Contests:

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

Portugal Day Contest - https://portugaldaycontest.rep.pt/rules.php

GACW WWSA CW DX Contest - https://www.gacw.ar/

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

Tuesday night:

NAQCC mW CW Sprint - http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html

Special Events:

06/01/2025 | W2W D-Day Commemoration

Jun 1-Jun 14, 1300Z-2200Z, W2W, Hunt Valley, MD. Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum (ARCNEM). 14.244 14.044 7.244 7.044. Certificate & QSL. ARCNEM, 338 Clubhouse Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21031. Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum (ARCNEM) will operate W2W in commemoration of the anniversary of D-Day and the role of electronics in WWII. Primary operation will be June 1-June 6 with additional operation possible during June 7-14 as operator availability permits. Operation on 80M (3.544, 3.844), additional bands and digital modes possible during event. Frequencies +/- according to QRM. QSL and Certificate available via SASE; details at ww-2.us. ww-2.us

06/14/2025 | Appleton Flag Day Parade

Jun 14, 1830Z-2030Z, W9ZL, Appleton, WI. Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club. 14.246. QSL. FCARC, PO Box 2346, Appleton, WI 54912. Operate our special event station while we traverse thru the Appleton Flag Day parade. The largest flag day parade in the country. QSL via FCARC PO Box 2346 Appleton WI 54912 fcarc.club

06/14/2025 | Audie Murphy's 100th Birthday

Jun 14-Jun 29, 0000Z-2359Z, W5M, Greenville, TX. Sabine Valley ARA. 7.270 14.270 21.300 28.350. Certificate & QSL. SABINE VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO ASSN, PO BOX 843, Greenville, TX 75403. Audie enlisted at the downtown Greenville, TX post office in 1942. He went on to become the most decorated soldier of WWII, earning every medal possible, including the Medal of Honor, all before the age of 21. https://k5gvl.com/audie-murphy

06/14/2025 | Danbury Railway Museum's 9th Annual Steel & Wheels Car Show

Jun 14, 1400Z-1900Z, W2MNR, Danbury, CT. Metro-North Railroad Amateur Radio Association. 7.235 14.235; other frequencies as conditions permit. QSL. There will be, no QSLs, this year. Check dxsummit.fi. This event benefits HomeBridge Ventures. www.danburyrail.org or www.mnrara.org

Something from the "Something I've always wanted to do" category.

For Flag Day, I've always wanted to do a Special Event Station at the Middlebrook Encampment in Bridgewater, NJ, which is not far from home at all.

It was at this place that the first official flag of the United States was unfurled for the Continental Army, after a law to adopt a national flag had been passed by Congress. By special order of Congress, a Thirteen Star Flag is flown 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at the Washington Camp Ground.

There have been several things that have prohibited me from doing this. First off, while this location is on the National Register of Historic Places,  you can see from the Google Earth view that the monument is a bit away from the road. There's really no parking nearby, and there doesn't appear to be picnic tables or other amenities nearby. There is residential housing across Middlebrook Road, so I'd have to resort to parking on a side street and hoofing it in. 

Secondly, with Flag Day so close to Field Day, I haven't been able to drum up much interest from fellow SPARC members. Next year at this time, I'd be retired so I just might make this a solo event.

Once there, it would really be a field event. This would really be sort of like a mini Field Day warm up. I've only driven by and that was a while ago. One of these weekends, I'll have to take a scouting trip.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF Redux

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

QRP-Lers,

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

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

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

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

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

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

72, Paul NA5N

and Jan NØQT (SK)

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

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF and some sad news

There hasn't been much news of it, but QRP To The Field is this coming Saturday.

The reason there hasn't been any news or announcement was revealed by Paul NA5N on the QRP-L mailing list. Paul's wife, Jan N0QT had been in hospice care in New Mexico and is now a Silent Key.

Paul indicated that rules for 2025 will follow the same rules as last year, and the 2024 Summary Sheet can be used again this year.

The details can be found at http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html

Please consider keeping Paul and Jan's soul in your prayers during this most difficult time.

Eternal rest grant unto her, Oh Lord.  May Your Perpetual Light shine upon her.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I'm NOT crazy! (Depends on who you ask)

Last month, when I wrote about my POTA activation at Krings Point State Park in New York, I mentioned I had worked a station in Alaska. That astounded me. 5 Watts to an Elecraft AX1 antenna, sitting on a picnic table in New York, sending RF all the way to Alaska?

After that, I kept asking myself - did I really hear that right? Maybe I botched the call sign?  Maybe it's an Alaskan call sign living somewhere in the lower 48?

Nope! Confirmed on Logbook of the World! I still find it hard to believe - it really does defy all logic that this little antenna can work so well.

I wonder what I could do with a wet string of spaghetti?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least1

QMX pack is lighter now.

I ditched the "AA" lithium batteries for another of the exact same battery that I use with the KX3. (Boy, did it drop in price since I last purchased one!) I mentioned before of having to make an adapter from 3.5mm to 2.1mm for the QMX and it came out fine. I couldn't just change the plug outright because it's used not only to power out, but also to charge the battery. So I took what I needed from an older one that bulged and cobbled together what I needed.

And I also acquired a smaller key that I first saw on Craig WB3GCK's blog:

Craig had some issues with getting used to the action on his, and I assume the action on mine is identical to his - but I'm fine with the stiffer feel. I adjusted the contact spacing to the point where I was getting continuous dis and dahs and then backed off a 1/2 turn with the Allen wrench. I like the feel of this much better than the other paddle that I had used in Upstate NY. The Morse I was sending from my two POTA activations in NY was atrocious and embarrassing, in my own estimation. This stiffer spring pressure allows me to send with less errors. When the tension is soft, I get sloppy. To make sure, I plugged this little guy into my shack KX3, turned off the VOX to essentially turn the KX3 into a code practice oscillator and was able to send Morse comfortably at up to 25 WPM with no extra dits or dahs. I can show my face on the bands again!

Here's a video from YouTube that i found about the paddle.

'I disagree with him on several points, but like he said - it's his opinion. I think it's a great little portable ops paddle, the price was right, and I think it will hold up well -it's not like i'm going to be using is 365 days a year.. The magnet on the bottom of mine seems to be on very securely - I'm going to disagree with his "F" for mounting. And I stated above, what was most important to me was the feel.

I've got a VE session this morning, followed by grocery shopping. I'm hoping that maybe I can get away for an hour or two to activate either the Edison Memorial or perhaps the Washington-Rochambeau Trail, which is a lot closer to my house.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

So yesterday

I mentioned yesterday that I was probably a day late and a dollar short and with all the geomagnetic activity, the Northern Lights must have been pretty up in the 1,000 Islands .........right?

This was posted to Facebook by K & N photography - of course this happened  AFTER we left.

Of course!  Of course!

I guess the silver lining is that the geomagnetic activity that promulgated these auroral displays did not happen until after my two successful POTA activations. So for bands that were in decent shape and allowed for some amazing contacts ....... I am grateful. (Always have to look at the bright side!)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Maps a lot

No. Not the Monty Python musical Spamalot - this is Maps a Lot. A comparison of RBN Maps vs. QSO maps from my POTA Activations last week. Just to see if and how they differ.

First - Keewaydin State Park, US-2088:

The Reverse Beacon Network Map

Actual QSO Map including the Alaska QSO

Closer look at just the Continental US QSOs

And now Kring Point State Park, US-2091:

The Reverse Beacon Network Map

The QSO Map

The QSO maps (courtesy of Log Analyzer 3.2 by DL4MFM) pretty much gibe with the skimmer maps, just as you'd expect. There are some discrepancies, though. From Keewaydin, I made it to Alaska, a bit farther than the skimmer in the Canadian North West that picked me up. Also, the RBN map didn't show me as getting out to the South West, but I did have a QSO with Oklahoma.

The RBN Map for Kring Point had no skimmers in the Western US pick me up, but yet I had a QSO with California. And I had a QSO with Arkansas, where the RBN map showed no skimmers picking me up. But even with the discrepancies, the Reverse Beacon Network is a great tool which allows you to get an idea of how your RF is getting out.

 

Just for reference, I was located in NY State right at the border with Canada, pretty much opposite of Ottawa. The RBN Maps are showing my signals as originating from my home QTH in New Jersey, so there's a bit of inaccuracy there.  The QSO maps show the origination point accurately. I think RBM goes by your call sign info, not where you're actually located at the time.0

Lesson learned from all this? You're definitely getting out and being heard to where the skimmers can capture you, and if your snr figures are in double digits- probably a lot farther.

A week later and I'm still astounded that the AX1 table top antenna completed QSOs with Alaska and California. As Craig WB3GCK says, "It defies logic."

Final thought - with all this geomagnetic activity happening right now, I'll bet the Northern Lights are quite pretty up in Alexandria Bay. Sigh. Seems I'm always a day late and a dollar short.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I guess I learned a few things about my POTA setup and a few changes that need to be made.

First, these battery packs I am currently using don't last long at all. I've decided to purchase another of the small blue lithium packs like I use with the KX3. The only problem there is that I will have to build an adapter cable as they come with a 3.5mm plug, while the QMX uses a 2.1mm plug. I have plenty of 2.1mm plugs and I have an old battery that bulged and is no longer usable. I'll scavenge the 3.5mm charging socket off of that, solder on a 2.1mm plug and I'll have the adapter cable I'll need.

Second, I'm not thrilled with the paddle I had recently purchased.  I'm having a hard time adjusting it to the feel that I want, and as I was putting it back into the QMX bag yesterday after the Kring Point activation, a small nut dropped out of it and landed on the picnic tabel - not good. I still have a Whiterook single lever paddle kicking around somewhere and I also have the Bulldog Clip key. I can use either one of those. My American Morse DCP paddle will remain exclusively with the KX3.

Lastly, I have not fallen in love with the QMX to the point to replace my KX3 with it. For POTA activations, it's great because you generally find a clear frequency, call "CQ POTA" and don't move around too much. The KX3 is way more easier to tune. For general operating, and for hunting and pouncing in Sprints the KX3 is the way to go. Plus the KX3 gives me access to bands that the QMX does not. The QMX will be my "in the car, operate at the spur of a moment" rig. The KX3 will remain the weapon of choice for serious operating. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

OK, I'm sold!

Yesterday was a rainy day, and Marianne and I vegged out for most of the day. The skies started clearing out in the late afternoon:

And we were rewarded with yet another beautiful sunset a few hours later:

This morning dawned sunny, bright and a tad on the chilly side. After breakfast and a few stops, Marianne and I headed out to Kring Point State Park, US-2091 for the second activation of our wedding anniversary getaway.

This time, I did not bring the AlexLoop along, only the Elecraft AX1. I was impressed by its performance on Tuesday and I was not to be disappointed this time, either!

Here are some photos that Marianne took of me doing the POTA thing:

And here are some photos that I took of the setup:

We arrived at the park at about 11:00 (15:00 UTC) and stopped at the Park Ranger booth only to be told that the picnic area was closed for renovation and construction, but that we were free to drive around and look at the park. That's when Marianne noticed quite a few vacant campsites that sure enough had picnic tables! So we stopped at campsite #12 and I headed off to the picnic bench while Marianne did some exploring,

I was set up by15:25 UTC, spotted myself on the POTA app and after calling CQ POTA on 14.062 MHz, I was immediately greeted by Hunters. I didn't want to stay too long as today is actually our anniversary and I didn't think it was polite and proper for Marianne to be bored out of her skull.

I quickly racked up another 14 QSOs in just 32 minutes and I pulled the plug when my batteries started going wonky. More about that in a minute. QSOs were made with New Jersey (NY to NJ on 20 Meters - strange!), WI, a Park to Park with WA9LEY at US-7256 in IL, SC, CA, GA, OH, VA, NC and AR.

The performance from this little antenna just blows my mind. As Craig WB3GCK said to me, "It defies all logic.", but there you have it, the proof is in the pudding. The AX1 will be my go to whenever I activate picnic table portable, The RBN map wasn't as impressive as Tuesday's but the snr figures were very nice! There was not a single skimmer that picked me up with a single digit snr report.

Regarding the batteries. I made sure they were fully charged and they did not last at all. That's probably due to the fact that they've been sitting in the shack for years without being used. I'll have to go to eBay to pick up some fresh ones or perhaps something else that will last a bit longer, but is still small enough to fit in my QMX bag.

Thanks to all the Hunters who worked me this week! My activations were not long or filled with triple digit QSO numbers, but they are valid activations and I had a lot of fun!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Success!

Around 10:00 this morning, Marianne looked at me and said, "So you want to go to one of those parks you were talking about?" Of course, I didn't miss a heartbeat and answered in the affirmative, so I placed the gear in the Jeep and we headed off for Keewaydin State Park, US-2088, which only a few miles down the road.

We drove to the lot where people park their boat trailers. Right next to it was a children's playground, a community pool and a very nice pavillion with plenty of picnic tables. The pavillion is all wooden, so no Faraday Cage syndrome.

I began by setting up the AlexLoop. It doesn't take long and I was on the air a few minutes before 11:00 AM - 15:00 UTC. At first, the calls came easy as I worked to really loud N9 stations out of Indiana. But after those two contacts I was calling "CQ POTA" a lot with little to show for it, and I was starting to worry that this was going to turn into a busted activation.

That's when I decided to break out the AX1, From previous posts you all know I've had mixed results and have been ........skeptical about its ability. I have to adnit that once I swithed over, the QSOs just started rolling in, one right after another! I worked stations in Virginia, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oklahoma, Michigan and Ohio. I worked NL7V who according to QRZ is in Alaska, but I have to believe he was down here in the lower 48 somewhere on vacation. I didn't catch the state when he sent it. Alaska would be a dream QSO!

I didn't want to stay too long, as Marianne has no interest in Amateur Radio whatsoever. In just over a little over an hour, I made 14 contacts which is nothibg as far as POTA activations go, but still it counts as a valid activation.

The good news is that Marianne has agreed to accompany me to Krings Point State park later this week. The bad news is that since I only brought my aging Samsung tablet with me (and no laptop) my log submissions will have to wait a few days. My tablet doesn't have the display format size required to display the log upload page.

Here's the Reverse Beacon Network report for the day:

As you can see, the snr dB figures are pretty good for QRP. This AX1 is starting to turn me into a beleiver!

The rest of the day was spent doing things that Marianne had an interest in, and it turned out to be a very nice day. As we headed out to dinner this evening, we were rewarded with another gorgeous sunset.

Perfect ending to a great Amateur Radio day!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP = When you care to send the very least!

More Experimentation

We made it up here! We arrived yesterday at Alexandria Bay, NY - the land (or water) of big ships and spectacular sunsets.

Those cargo ships travel up and down the St. Lawrence Seaway, carrying tonnage betwwen the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. And as you can see, the sunsets are breathtaking.

This afternoon, while Marianne took a nap, I set up the QMX and the AlexLoop on our balcony, overlooking the river. 20 Meters was a snap. I was able to get a good enough match quite easily, which kept the QMX happy. I even figured out how to get my pre-programmed messages to transmit, and I called CQ several times, just to see where the Reverse Beacon Network would pick me up, I was happy wiiith the result:

The locations of the spotters was great and the s/n db ratios were pretty darn good too. I had double digit s/n figures for a lot of the spots, indicating that I would have been heard by Hams near those skimmers.

On the other hand, 40 and 30 Meters were disappointments. I could not tune either band in well enough to keep the QMX happy. The procedure is to tune the Alex Loop's capacitor for loudest band noise. Once you do that, you're normally close enough for a decent match, No go on both 40 and 30 Meters, No matter what I did, the QMX's SWR circuitry kicked in and the unit refused to generate RF.

Luckily, the QMX is happy with the AX1, as I have previously successfully tried. That and the Buddistick will have to be the mainplayers for 40 Meters if I get the chance to do some POTAing later this week. Of course, if I decide to stick to 20 Meters solely, the Alex Loop is a more than viable alternative.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend - September 28th and 29th

For those of you who will be on the air this weekend, scratching your heads and thinking "What $$%*@! contest is this?", brought to you as a public service:

Contests (not much):

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY - https://www.cqwwrtty.com/

Maine QSO Party - http://www.ws1sm.com/MEQP.html

For those of you who like to chase Special Event Stations:

09/26/2024 | Triple Tree Fly-In

Sep 26-Sep 28, 1200Z-2359Z, W4F, Spartanburg, SC. Spartanburg Amateur radio club. 7.210 14.200. QSL. SPARC, Fly-in, 400 Glenwood Dr, Spartanburg, SC 29303. station to operate during operation of the fly-in. k4ii.org

09/28/2024 | SENARC 1936-2024 ANNIVERSARY

Sep 28-Sep 29, 1521Z-1519Z, W9WKP, Lincoln, NE. SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB. 7.265 7.285. Certificate & QSL. Charles Bennett, PO Box 67181, Lincoln, NE 68506. The SENARC (SENRC) will celebrate 88 years as a club started in 1936. G.C. Bennett, Auburn, NE, W9WKP was the first ARRL emergency coordinator for Nebraska. senebrradioclub@gmail.com

09/28/2024 | Volcano Days WV Oil and Gas History

Sep 28, 1400Z-2200Z, W8PAR, Parkersburg, WV. Parkersburg Amateur Radio Klub. CW 14.050 PH 14.250 CW 7.050 PH 7.200 FT8 on 20 & 40. Certificate & QSL. Jerry Wharton, 1722 20th St, Parkersburg, WV 26101. Relive an exciting chapter in WV history! www.w8par.org

09/29/2024 | Re-enactment of the First Trans-Global Two-Way Radio Communication

Sep 29-Oct 26, 0000Z-2359Z, GB2NZ, Many locations, UNITED KINGDOM. Radio Society of Great Britain and New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (Otago Branch). All bands and all modes depending on operator availability. QSL. See website, for, information, UNITED KINGDOM. www.gb2nz.com

For you POTA Hunters, at some point next week I hope to activate either, or perhaps both of these in Upstate NY -  Kring Point State Park US-2091 and Keewaydin State Park US-2088.  If the weather cooperates and I get the opportunity to activate, I'll post my activation to the POTA app and will perhaps spot myself on the DX Cluster if I get cell phone coverage up there. I scoped out both parks on the Web and it appears both feature picnic tables in their amenities lists. Operating from my vehicle is a last resort - I prefer to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.

I'll have my QMX, my AX1, my AlexLoop, my Buddistick and my EFRW to pick from, so antennas won't be a problem.

The weather outlook for the week isn't too terrible, so maybe I will get an opportunity. A might chilly for my taste, but it's Autumn and I'll pack accordingly. When Marianne and I were up there last year at this time, it was in the 80's during the day, and felt more like Summer than Autumn! What a difference a year makes.

Tomorrow, the South Plainfield Police Dept. is hosting "National Afternoon Out" as National Night Out in August was a rainout. It is going to be held in Putnam Park which was recently renovated. This is the same park where we held Field Day from 2021 to 2023. I wish I could be there, but plans preclude it. Our Boro Council is going to make a presentation to SPARC, honoring the 10th Anniversary of our founding. As one of the founding members, I really hate missing this, but such is life.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP  - When you care to send the very least!

Happy first day of Autumn

For those of you who love the season, that is. For me, it's an occasion to symbolically shed a tear for Summer. I'm not into falling leaves or pumpkin spiced coffee, although I do love pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving. Autumn for me is juat a harbinger of what is to come ....Winter. Yuck!  Give me Spring or Summer any day of the week. Shortly, I'll be back in three layer season - long Tee, golf shirt and sweat shirt on top of it all.

I mention all this because I am hoping to spend some time this afternoon at the patio table with the QMX and the AX1. A little more experimentation. However, when I went outside this morning to take some trash and recycling to their respective receptacles, I noticed it was downright chilly! When I came back inside, the console of my weather station reported that it was 60F. Not cold by any means, but it was accompanied by a breeze that made it feel colder than reality. And these earlier sunsets are a bane to my happiness as well.

So I may have to don a sweatshirt when I sit outside later today. I didn't get on the air yesterday, just too many things got in the way. I'm hoping to see how the QMX, 4 States tuner and the AX1 play together to see if they provide a usable possibility when Marianne and I head for Upstate NY. I will also have the AlexLoop, Buddistick and the KM4CFT EFRW along for the ride, but if the AX1 gives me some decent results, that would be an option for picnic table operating from the state parks up there.

I'll let you know how it went.

Question for my fellow QRPers. As I was not able to sit down behind a radio yesterday .... was there any QRP Afield activity to speak of? Let me know in the comments, please!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another one

I've decided to make the 4States QRP Group 4S-Tuner the official tuner of the W2LJ QMX Portable Ops bag. So I ordered another one for the shack for when I use the HW-8.  This way, I don't have to keep transferring the one I have back and forth between car and shack.

I really, really like the function of the two LEDs.  Great design feature by David Wayne Cripe NM0S!

When the red one is bright and the green one is out, the SWR is too high. When the two LEDs are of equal brightness, you have a 2:1 SWR. When the green LED is at max brightness, and the red LED is at minimum brightness or out altogether, your SWR is around 1:1.

This is a T-Match Tuner and I find it a bit easier to use, having the inductor in the circuit. Nothing against the ZM-2 as it is a wonderful little unit and will stay in the KX3 bag, should the autotuner fail for whatever reason. But sometimes, I just have a bit of trouble getting that single red LED to dim. I guess it's range is just a little narrower than the 4S-Tuner.

I already know it works well with my KM4CFT EFRW antenna. This weekend, time and weather permitting, I'd like to see how it handles the AX1 from our patio tabletop - a simulated POTA activation. Have to practice, just like the astronauts did! HI HI !

Onto another subject, with all the CMEs and solar flares that have been occurring the past few weeks, I saw this photo on Facebook, taken just yesterday, from the 1,000 Islands region in Upstate NY.

Marianne and I are heading up there soon for some away time for our Anniversary - I know I've mentioned that before. Will this finally be a good chance for me to see the Northern Lights? I hope so! If I'm lucky enough, I'll try to get some photos.

While I'm on the subject of photos - here's a neat one I came across the other day, for the QRP Image of the Day. This was posted on Facebook by  Chris Farnham W1YTQ.  He was camping with his son's scout troop in Boston Harbor Island up in Massachusetts and one of the licensed Scouts actually accomplished his first POTA activation. Later, after the hustle and bustle of the day was over, Chris decided to stroll on down to the beach to activate - Boston Islands Park - US-2421, himself.

Isn't that a beauty of a shot? The moon and it's reflection on the water, the KH1 with the antenna sticking up, and that cube-ish  lantern. What a great mood shot! And once again, it shows that you don't have to tote around a whole mess of equipment to have a good time!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP in South Korea

I have to admit, unless I'm really interested in a video on YouTube, my short attention span usually zones me out after a few minutes of watching. For some reason, I found this one fascinating. I love to see how QRP is approached on other countries.

Enjoy the video!

This video reminds me of my time during Piscataway Amateur Radio Club Field Days .......sometimes we spent more time focused on food than operating! But I found this video very enjoyable. I hope you do, as well.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Haven't done this in a while

 QRP Image of the Day, by Hans Terlouw PA1ALV: - as found on the POTA page in Facebook:

This is a very personal opinion, and I know a lot of people would disagree, but to me this is the heart and soul of POTA. Going out to a park with equipment that you can carry in a small case or backpack, setting up and operating and having fun. In no way am I knocking those who go out with very elaborate setups and with 100 Watt rigs (or higher) - if that's your thing, then by all means, keep on doing what you're doing. Whatever gives you joy.

In that vein, I started populating my LowePro backpack last night. So far, I have the QMX, two battery packs (very much akin to what Hans has in the photo), the charger, my Emtech ZM-2 tuner, and a couple of 3 foot coax jumpers packed away.

I still have to decide which paddle I am going to include, and I'll probably pick up a new set of earbuds. I plan to store those in a small plastic Hefty food storage container with a a few other miscellaneous necessities - a few BNC to PL-259 adapters, some wire ties and a multi-purpose tool.  From eBay, I ordered another small digital travel alarm ($4), so I don't have to keep raiding the KX3 backpack. I wish Radio Shack was still around so I could buy another like the one I have in the KX3 backpack, but if wishes were nickels, I'd be a rich man!

This is pretty much life-size. It's very small.

In another inside pocket, which is meant for carrying a laptop or tablet, I put a 25' length of RG-8X and I attached the 41' radiator and the 17' counterpoise to the KM4CFT 9:1 UNUN kit that I assembled. I want to try out that antenna some time this coming weekend, just to make sure I assembled the UNUN correctly. The last thing to go in there will be a notepad and a pen for logging.

This is what I plan to take when Marianne and I head back up to Alexandria Bay later this year. There are two state parks that I would like to try and activate while we are there.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Older things repurposed

When I got my KX3 so many moons ago, I needed something to store it in for taking it along on portable ops. At the time TJ W0EA had posted a YouTube video extolling the virtues of the LowePro 150 Traveler camera backpack. From the beginning it worked very well, but I soon accumulated enough "stuff" to outgrow its usefulness. Thus, it sat languishing in my computer room. It was too good to dispose, but I also had no use for it ........until now

This bag/backpack will be the prefect solution to carry the QMX, two battery packs and their charger, the Emtech ZM-2 tuner, a couple of coax jumpers, a set of earbuds, a paddle and the KM4CFT EFRW and a 25' roll of coax. Those dividers are configurable to any way that suits my need the best. An added bonus is that it will hardly take up any space in the car.  I'm glad I didn't get rid of it.

The photo above is just a random internet photo of the pack. I'll take a photo of mine when I have it configured the way I want and  have it filled. 

And now, for something completely different. (Shades of Monty Python) Yesterday was the annual ETS of NJ picnic:

It was a beautiful day, you could not ask for better weather for an event like this. Turnout was a little bit lower than expected due to a couple members coming down with COVID. Of course, at this point, COVID has mutated to where it's just another variant of the common cold, but it was gracious of those infected to be thinking enough about the rest of us so as to not spread it around. We're going to be coming upon some really hot weather again this week and having a cold in the summer heat is just miserable.

As I stated, the weather was gorgeous, the food was outstanding and the company most enjoyable. Eric WA2EGE at the far right set up the club's Kenwood TS-2000 and was running FT8. Our President, Vic K2NBC (small hidden guy, back row, center) , brought along his Yeasu FT-891 and a Chameleon antenna (I think it might have been the MPAS) and was running 20 Meter SSB.

I stuck the QMX in my pants pocket and brought it along for "Show and Tell". It would have been nice to have had everything in the LowePro to "set up shop" as it were, but I didn't even think of that until after we got back home.

Another case of W2LJ being slow on the uptake! Hi Hi!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It is alive!

The little QMX is alive!

I hooked it up to the W3EDP yesterday (I did not switch out antennas like I planned - kinda long story that I won't go into here) through both my Emtech ZM-2 Z-match tuner and my 4 States QRP Tuner and I worked five POTA activations.

K9DXA - Harry, who hasn't competed in the Skeeter Hunt in a few years, he used to be a regular.

WT2P

N3T

K9RDO

WG8X - a two-fer!

It was pretty easy to get into the habit of using a manual tuner again. The only thing I had to look up was the "In/Out" switch on the 4 States tuner. Last time I used it was with my HW-8 and I forgot that "In" meant tune and "Out" meant operate. Common sense, really, but at the moment I wanted to be sure. I didn't want to kill a brand new rig over my forgetfulness/stupidity.

In any case, I had no trouble being heard and I worked all but one station without any repeats. Even there I got a decent RST, there just must have been a pileup on his end.

It's going to be neat having this little guy. I have a couple ideas for putting together a dedicated go-bag and keeping this bad boy in the car for possible spur-of-the-moment operating sessions. I may even start parking in the outside parking lot at work again!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Put 'er in the books!

What a surprise! I woke up to a Sunday morning miracle! The weather prognosticators were off by a bit. It was sunny and very humid, and a quick gander on the weather radar showed no signs of imminent storms, so it looked like a "portable" Skeeter Hunt operation was going to be a distinct possibility.

Over the next few hours, the sun and clouds would alternate, so I decided to "86" going to Cotton Street Park and would work backyard portable instead. I figured that if it did start to downpour, I wouldn't get that drenched moving equipment into the house from the backyard, and I could move it quickly, if needed. I started setting up at Noon - a whole entire hour ahead of time. Overkill ...... right? Wrong, W2LJ, DEAD wrong!

Once again the Jackite mast was giving me fits. The ground was way wet from Saturday night's rain and my new tent pegs were too short to get a good grip of some dry soil beneath the surface and kept pulling out. The mast fell over twice and I could feel my BP rising due to the frustration. Time was passing quickly, and I couldn't remember where I had tossed my longer tent pegs, so I decided to use my drive on mast holder, instead. Using an empty grill propane tank and a 20 lb bag of birdseed for ballast, it worked perfectly, albeit later than I had anticipated. I had stubbornly futzed around with the short tent pegs entirely too long. 

The only challenge using the drive on mast holder here was making sure it was as level as possible on grassy ground.

But in the process, I learned a valuable lesson which I can store away in the memory banks. If the ground is hard and dry, the shorties will work better as they are easier to remove from rock hard soil. If the ground is wet and soft, the longer tent pegs are a must. This was the view of the set up mast, looking east towards the back border of the yard. It stayed rock solid for the entirety of the Skeeter Hunt,. Satisfied that there would be no more antenna mishaps, I eventually turned around and sat with my back to it, so I could keep my eyes laser focused for any dark clouds coming in from the west.

I ended up getting started about 15 minutes late, which in the grand scheme of things was no big deal. I had my normal set up going with some twists. I used my 12 Volt LiFe PO battery for the first time, and I went with the American Morse DCP paddle mounted on the Velamints container which I had talked about a few posts earlier. it proved to work well. The only time my code got sloppy was when I made a few mistakes towards the end of the Hunt from being tired. No mistakes because I held it incorrectly and sent extraneous dits or dahs. And of course, my mistakes were made when trading exchanges with John K4BAI. Nothing like getting all flustered like a school boy who confronts his favorite MLB baseball player!

Dinosaur that I am, I still paper log. No way that I can manage a computer and paddles simultaneously!

It wasn't very hot, only in the mid 80s, but it was very humid. That stainless steel insulated water bottle was a lifesaver. I didn't have to go running into the house for a cool hydration break when one was needed.

Propagation wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. I was hearing a lot more stations than I did during FOBB. 20 Meters seemed to be the go to band for the day, and I'm pretty sure most of my QSOs happened there. I did make two contacts on 15 Meters, Gene N5GW in MS and Perry N5PJ in OK. 15 Meters gets the ribbon for the farthest QSOs. I wish there had been more activity there. I tried calling CQ for a while on 10 Meters with no joy, and that's a shame. A look at the Reverse Beacon Network after the event showed that my signal was getting out to Germany at a pretty decent dB level - double figures, so I would have been heard if anyone had been listening.

40 Meters proved once again to be the band for close in Skeeters and I worked NJ, PA, NY and MD all on 40 Meters. The signals were much more robust on 40 than they were on either 20 or 15. I really like 40 Meters, it's probably my favorite band. The shame is that during events such as the Skeeter Hunt or the Flight of the Bumblebees, 40 Meters is often ignored until late in the event after 20 Meters seems to have dried up.

My strategy is to change bands often. When I've worked 20 Meters for a bit I'll go to another band to see what's up there. Propagation changes and when I go back to 20 Meters after a while, I'll hear stations that I hadn't heard before. Maybe they started late, or maybe the skip zone moved. Whatever, it's a strategy that works for me.

With about 15 minutes to go to the end of the Hunt, I started tearing down and packing up as the skies were starting to look ominous. I could have stayed until 5:00 as it turned out. The deluge, and I mean THE DELUGE didn't start until 6:20 PM local time. In about a 1/2 hour to 40 minutes we got over 3/4 of an inch of rain. I'm so glad it held off! I left my house at about 6:15 to drive up to the filling station to get gas in the car for the week, and the streets were bone dry, Halfway to the gas station, about a 1/2 mile from home, I ran into a wall of rain that was coming down so hard that I had to put my windshield wipers onto "fast" mode. It was creepy because I saw the wall of rain heading towards me. It was moving faster toward me than I was heading toward it! I hate to think of how badly my Ham gear would have gotten soaked if that had happened during the Hunt. I don't think being under the patio umbrella would have helped much.

The obligatory selfie for the bonus points - had to get the Skeeter Hunt logo in there! 

When all was said and done, I had finished the day with 37 QSOs. 31 Skeeters and 6 - 5 Watt stations. I don't remember off the top of my head, but last night I had counted somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 to 20 different States. I had set a goal to make 40 QSOs for the day and fell three short - not bad. For the heck of it, I had decided to take voltage measurements on this new battery pre and post Hunt. I started the day at 13.4 Volts and ended the day at 13.4 Volts! There was a lot of calling "CQ BZZ" yesterday, so for the voltage to remain rock solid leaves me impressed.  I have a gut feeling that this battery, fully charged, will get me and the KX3 through all of Field Day by itself next year.

Once again, thanks to all who participated in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt. This event is nothing without all of you - you all are the wind that lifts the Skeeter's wings. My part in this is miniscule compared to all you getting on the air and making it the success that it is. THANK YOU and the results will become available on Monday, September 2nd, so you have a couple of weeks to get your log summaries in. My inbox is already flooded and I''ll get to them in due course. PLEASE REMEMBER, if you don't get a confirmation e-mail from me (within a couple of days) that means I didn't get your results, so please try again. For those of you who already sent in your summaries and there are a lot, please give me three or four days to get them on the spreadsheet. For the time being, I'm still part of the everyday workforce so my time for this is limited.

See you all again next year - so save the date - Sunday, August 17th, 2025!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!