Why didn't I think of this sooner?

This is one of the three ferrites which I rescued from the trash heap at one of my previous jobs:

I am now assuming that the reason that they were on the trash heap in the first place is because the plastic clasps that locks these things closed were broken on two of them.  But hey,  that's nothing a little electrical tape can't cure!

I put all three on the coax going to the W3EDP just where the coax leaves my antenna switch. They are lined up, bumper-to- bumper, like their own little traffic jam.

I had no idea if this was going to make a difference or not, but boy howdy! Did it ever!

This is photo of the KX3 on an unoccupied frequency on 40 Meters after I put the ferrites in place:

Look at the S Meter. No bars! Before deploying the ferrites, I had S 3-4 noise. Now there's nothing, and ...... that's with the pre-amp ON! But oh baby! Looking at this photo made me realize that have to hit that glass and front panel with some Windex. It doesn't look that bad in real life, but the photo really shows it like I've never noticed before. Maybe another set of SideKX are in order to keep this radio cleaner and devoid of basement dust.

But I digress. I've checked the other bands, and except for 80 Meters, all the hash seems to be under control. Even if it should increase an S unit. I'd still be happy. 

I'm going to have to get a couple more of these from somewhere and see if they'll make a bigger difference on 80 Meters. I've gone down from S5 to S3 on the background noise.  It would be nice to get that lower.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Noise on the W3EDP

While I was on HF last weekend, I've really noticed how noisy and hashy the W3EDP has become. The HF9V is much quieter and it's easier to hear weaker signals with.

When I was at a previous data center job, I noticed some clamp on ferrites that were being tossed in the trash. They were probably meant to be placed on server power cables, if necessary. In any event, I rescued them from oblivion and will try putting them on the W3EDP's coax to see if they make any difference. Sometimes you really can find treasure laying in the trash!

If not, I've been watching some YouTube videos on some products that Palomar Engineers sell for this express purpose. I may have to give them a shot. The W3EDP is my main stay and I'm hoping I can quiet the background noise down without resorting to the KX3's noise reduction circuitry. I use that as a last resort only because, to my ears, it makes everything sound somewhat "artificial". That's probably not the best way to describe it, but that's what it seems like to me.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

So how did the 80 Meter QRP Fox hunt go?

Quite well, actually. In fact, better than the 40 Meter hunt.

I had fears though. For 80 Meters my W3EDP is my antenna of choice. However, there is SOMETHING in the neighborhood that is giving me S9 QRN on 80 Meters with the W3EDP, right around the QRP frequencies (as luck would have it). I can hear much better with the HF9V, but I think I can be heard better when I transmit using the W3EDP.

Last night, it didn't seem to matter, though.  I was lucky enough to QSO with both foxes, even though conditions weren't the best from the beginning. Twiddling the dial, I came across the "upper fox" first.

Before I go any further, let me explain that terminology to those of you who have never taken part in a QRP Fox hunt.  The 80 Meter fox hunt playing field is from 3.550 MHz to 3.570 MHz, with the "half point marker" being 3.560 MHz, the QRP watering hole.  One fox hides in the upper half, and one in the lower half.  It's the same for the 40 Meter hunts. The "woods" are from 7.030 MHz to 7.050 MHz with 7.040 MHz being the "half point marker". One fox is the "upper fox" and one fox is the "lower fox" - or that's the way it's supposed to work. Sometimes they trick us up, or due to a DXpedition or some other thing, they may hide in the same half.

As I was saying, I was twiddling the dial and came across the "upper fox" which was Drew K9CW. He was fairly weak; and for IL to NJ on 80 Meters, I expected him to be a bit louder. I stuck with it though, and after numerous calls I finally made contact at 0226 UTC.

With over an hour left in the hunt, it was time to go look for Jim N0UR, who should be the lower fox. He WAS the lower fox, but was barely audible. That was surprising, because Jim is a lot like Todd N9NE. Whenever I hear either of them, I usually have to lower the AF Gain or they will both routinely send the ear buds rocketing out of my head. Jim started coming up and I worked him at 0235 UTC, but dang it! QSB kicked in just as I handed it back to Jim for the end of the QSO. Did he hear me? Did he ask for fills? Do I cross my fingers and hope I made it into the log? What's a hound to do?

I decided to sit there and listen for a while. As I heard other friends work Jim, eventually the string of hounds started to peter out. Around 0300 UTC or so, Jim started calling "CQ Fox" over and over and over again with no takers. Feeling pretty sure that I wasn't going to deny anyone else a QSO, I decided to go for an insurance contact.  This time at 0305 UTC, I was able to hear Jim from start to finish!

Both foxes posted their logs to the q-fox e-mail reflector this morning, and I was able to confirm I was in both their logs. The funny thing about last night is the way it ended. For most of the night, I really had to strain my ears to hear both Drew and Jim. It was pure delight when a "tuner-upper" came up on Jim's frequency while I had my AGC turned off! But for the last ten minutes or so from about 0320 to 0330 UTC, BOTH Jim and Drew came up to solid 599s. They both would have been easy pickings in the last ten minutes, but who knew the bands would change that way?

The best advice that I can give to anyone contemplating on joining in on the QRP Fox hunt fun is to work them as early as you can. If you're not sure you made it into the log, try again a second time only if the fox is lonely and is calling CQ with no takers. Sometimes there are hounds calling right up until the very end of a hunt and it's not cool to deprive someone of what may be their only chance just for your insurance QSO. That's when you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

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

Another pleasant surprise

Two weeks ago I was walking past the steps leading to the basement, and I noticed that ol' familiar electrical burning smell. Not overpowering, without any visible smoke, but enough to set off the alarm bells in this Ham's cranium.

I went downstairs to find the smell emanating from our clothes dryer. The top was very hot and the smell became even stronger after I shut it off and opened the dryer door. Fearing a lint trap fire, I gave the lint duct a touch with the back of my hand to see if that was warm. Compared to the dryer itself, it was stone cold. I went outside to the vent opening on the house and gave a good sniff. Nothing from that end either.

Convinced and relieved that the house was not in danger, I unplugged both the washer and the dryer and let them sit. The dryer cooled off. I wasn't sure what the exact cause was, but I suspect that the control circuit board had gone again, as it did a few years back. The odor was identical to that of either burnt components or traces on a circuit board.

The matching washer had been giving us its own problems for over a year now. I decided that it was time to purchase a new pair.  My wife didn't object to my statement that I didn't want a fire hazard in our house.

We went to Lowes, one of the big box hardware stores where Marianne picked out a pair of machines manufactured by Samsung. I was a little wary. Our cellphones and TV are from Samsung, but our washer and dryers have always been Whirlpool, Maytag or even GE going back to my parent's house.

They were delivered a week ago; and as Marianne seems happy with them, I didn't give much more thought to them - until yesterday.  I was downstairs listening to not much on 20 Meters, when Marianne came down to put in a load of laundry. I was about to answer a lone CQ from UA3EDQ when I thought to myself, "Here we go!"

Our last pair of washer and dryer were notorious RF generators. If I was on the radio and Marianne put in a load of wash, I could literally hear the agitator motor in my earbuds. I could heard the motor rev up and die down during the spin cycle. The dryer wasn't as bad, but was still a nuisance.

To my delight and surprise the Samsung pair are the antithesis! I was able to work Igor without having to listen through RF hash. Both the washer and dryer are RF silent on 20 Meters. I checked the other bands as well, and they all seem to be free from washer and dryer hash.

So kudos to Samsung! Whatever and however these machines were engineered, they seem to be Amateur Radio friendly!

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

Rained out

I think good ol' Charlie Brown probably had a better day than I did.

The rain didn't come to an end here until 2:00 PM, an hour after FOBB began. I went with the plan of staying hive-bound, which didn't work out so well, either.  My wife Marianne decided to do some laundry, so I was not only fighting QSB on the bands, I was also fighting horrific washing machine QRM.  I could hear the "swish-swish" of the agitator in my ear buds.  Criminy!

I ended up making a paltry 15 QSOs.  W4MPS, Marc in North Carolina was by far the loudest signal I heard all day long. This is where the RBN skimers picked up my signals:

I am hoping and praying for better weather for the Skeeter Hunt.

The only bright side was that I was close to the snack drawer and the ice cold water in the refrigerator!

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

Comfy chair

I picked up the office chair that I had ordered from Staples on Saturday. It is their Lockridge Manager's chair which is currently on special. It normally goes for $89.99, but is $50.00 off for an online price of $39.99.

It is definitely filling the bill. I spent 90 minutes behind the key tonight hunting Foxes on 40 Meters. Not only did I bag two pelts, but when I got out of the chair to head upstairs, my back and hips gave nary a whimper. This sure is a far cry from that folding metal chair that I was using. When I would get out of that thing, I felt like I was ready for either a walker or a chiropractor.

Band conditions were so-so. Both Foxes were loud for a good portion of the hunt, but at times the QSB was tough to deal with.  I am also pretty sure both Foxes had high local QRN to deal with as each one was asking for multiple repeats of exchange information. Once again, persistence paid off and both Foxes were worked. Hats off to Paul K4FB and TJ W0EA.

I am going to be placing an order in the next few days with either Mouser or Jameco for some parts.  There are plans in the latest Sprat for a rather simple 40 Meter WSPR transmitter. I don't plan to get too involved with the mode, but it looks like a rather easy build, and I am itching to really homebrew something.

I haven't built anything in a while that wasn't pre-kitted. I enjoy the process of buying and gathering the parts. From the looks of the article, this seems to be a project that lends itself well to perf board construction. I already have an ample supply of NE612s, so this will be a purchase of various needed resistors and capacitors, depending on whatever is not already in my junk box.

The final cost should be way under what I have seen some kit prices going for.

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

Keeping the streak going,

I got two quick QSOs in the books tonight as January 29th turned to January 30th UTC time.  Both were on 30 Meters.  The local QRN was non-existant and since today is the layoff weekend between AFC and NFC Championship football and the Super Bowl, I am not all that surprised.  This is why I'm leaning towards the culprit being a Plasma TV.

Anyway, the QSOs were with PJ2/AA9A and KI9E.  I used the Butternut HF9V in both cases.  In any event, I wanted to get this out of the way quickly tonight, not because I don't like being on the radio (you all know THAT's not true!).  My son Joey asked me to watch a movie with him that starts in a half hour.

I can't deny a request like that!

Hey, if you get a chance, hop on over to John AE5X's blog.  He has a link up to pictures from the HK0NA DXpedition.  Wow!  This is definitely not a "lap of luxury" DXpedtion!

'Nite all, I'm headed upstairs for a little Phineas and Ferb!

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

This is a good thing

Looks like the 40 Meter QRN is going to knock me out of the QRP-L Foxhunt for tonight - again!  It's a good thing I am 80 Meter capable.  In a bit, I'll go down and get a few QSOs in the log before turning in for the night.

The good thing, that I mention in the post title is that I am noticing that as I spend more time on the air, I spend less time on the Web.  And the time I do spend on the Web, is Amateur Radio related.  I might check Facebook for a minute or two just to see what Ham friends are up to, but not much more than that.  And the news sites are filled with politics and sensationalism, which gets my blood boiling, so I am better off staying away from those, too.  There hasn't been true news coverage in this country for decades anyway, as today everything is either infotainment or an editorial disguised as news.

Blogging about Ham Radio, e-mail and Ham Radio Web pages - what more could you want, anyway?  Well, if you're not a Ham, a lot more I suppose; but ..........

By the way, before I forget to mention this . For those of you out there who enjoyed operating the K6JSS/X stations in 2011 - please take note that you only have until February 29th to send in your logs for a certificate denoting your accomplishments.  The details can be found here.  Don't feel that just because you didn't work all 50 that you'll be left out in the cold.  Nothing could be further from the truth, my friends!  If you worked as few as 20 states, you are still entitled to a piece of wallpaper for your humble shack.

I finally did a formal count of the K6JSS/X stations that I worked in 2011.  I ended up working 47 states. The three that I missed were South Dakota, New Mexico and Oregon (how the heck did I miss Oregon?).

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

Another 80 Meter night

40 Meters and 20 Meters were quite loud with neighborhood QRN - so 80 Meters was my refuge once again.  Even so, it took me quite a while to get a QSO in.  Activity seemed to be on the light side.  Maybe the ionosphere is still a little bit hootsy from the CME the other day?

I ended up having a nice chat with Phil W8OZM from Willowick, Ohio.  Willowick is between Erie. PA and Cleveland, Ohio - right close to the shores of Lake Erie.  In about 20 minutes however, the band began to change and increased QRN and QRM on Phil's end cut our QSO short.

Speaking of QRN, Mike VE3WDM posted a YouTube video that he made on his blog. It shows the MFJ1026 noise cancelling unit in action.  Watching and listening, it seems like Mike's situation is akin to what I am facing here.  I will probably end up purchasing one of these units. Of course, the ideal solution is to find the offending device in the neighborhood and see if anything can be done,  If it ends up being a plasma TV, like I think it is, I am wondering what the reaction would be on behalf of the owner.  Up until a few years ago, if you knocked on a neighbor's door and politely explained the situation, you might get some help.  These days, it seems that confrontation and anger are all the rage. Pardon the pun.

The reason I think it's a TV is that this noise on 40 Meters (and to a lesser degree on 20 Meters) seems to occur during "prime time" on a lot, but not all, weeknights; and usually when there's football on, on Sunday afternoons during football season.  Saturday afternoons and weekday afternoons, right up until prime time, the bands are very usable here.

KX3 update - It was mentioned on the KX3 reflector that for the first few weeks, the pre-assembled units are going to get priority as far as shipping goes.  So now I am thinking probably late March or early April before I see anything. I guess in the end, getting my order in within the first hour after orders were being accepted didn't mean as much as I thought it would. Oh well, it is what it is. Patience is a virtue - I keep reminding myself that!  :)

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

Not a bad life, if you can get away with it!

Thanks to fellow RVRC and ETS of NJ member, Don K2DSV for sharing.

My evening was spent on good ol' 80 Meters tonight as 40 Meters had that unfortunate 20dB over S9 QRN on it tonight (so no 40 Meter Foxhunt for W2LJ).  But ...... wow!  The pickin's were very sparse!  Not many signals at all on 80.  I did have one QSO with a fellow who cut it very short after I told him he had a 579C signal.  He asked what the "C" was for, and I honestly told him he had some pretty bad chirp on his signal.  I went from being "FB COPY" to pretty hard to hear in a matter of seconds.  I guess he didn't appreciate being told that he had a less than optimal signal.  But what are you supposed to do .... lie?

So I went looking for another QSO, but as we used to say, (at the risk of offending PETA folks or other animal lovers) that you could swing a dead cat without running into anyone.  My CQ was finally answered by Randy KX1NH and we had a bit of a chat. That call, which is so distinctive, had clearly stuck in my mind. And the reason his call stuck in my gray matter is that we just worked each other Sunday evening in the Run for The Bacon.  And it turns out that this is the same Randy who used to be K2VT, with whom I have QSOed MANY times before.

When Randy moved to New Hampshire, he acquired his neat call.  I mean really ..... how cool is KX1NH?  It's not the kind of call that you are going to easily forget once you've worked him.  IMHO, that was a stroke of genius on Randy's part to obtain a call like that.  Rarish prefix, nice rhythm on CW, and distinctive with regard to his QTH.  A tip of my hat to Randy! Oh, and Randy's daughter's call?  K2KID !!!

And by the way, that QSO with Randy was number 95 for 2012.  I know, I know ..... a lot of you out there can do 95 QSOs while taking a catnap on a Saturday afternoon, while standing on one leg and with one arm tied behind your back.  But the last couple of years, my QSO count was pretty well below average compared to what I'm usually used to.  So while this is nothing to write home about (but that's kind of what I'm doing, aren't I?), it's very good compared to where I was at this point in 2010 and 2011.

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

40 Meters is quite long tonight

I can't hear either Fox tonight.  One is in New York and the other is in Wisconsin.  However, the Russian "D" beacon is quite loud, as are some stations that I am hearing from Cuba and Brazil.

Maybe the strange propagation is tied to the weather (not!) ?  It was close to 60F here today in New Jersey.  It feels a lot more like Easter than Christmas.  Hard to believe that Christmas is only two days away!  I have all my shopping done.  Now comes the gift wrapping and baking.  I hope to get a majority of both done tomorrow night.

I will listen around for a bit more; but it's a strange night when I don't hear any chasing Hounds in addition to not hearing Foxes.  This is a shame as the neighborhood QRN has taken the night off and my ambient band noise level is only a bar or two on the K2's display.

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

Another night QRN'ed to pieces.

The 40 Meter Foxhunt was a dud tonight, even though I think I am hearing one of the Foxes.  I have the 10 over 9 QRN again.  If it is AA4XX that I am hearing, then he'd be an easy 579 / 589 if the band was quiet.

And to make matters worse, I made a sked with Joe KK0SD on 20 Meters in order to get K6JSS/0 for South Dakota.  This band noise is taking out 20 Meters for me tonight, too.

It's enough to make a person utter, "Bah, humbug!"

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

Just in the nick o' time!

This week is the last week of regular operations for K6JSS/X, with TN being in the batter's box.  It's hard to believe that all 50 states have been on the air. Time has flown so fast, where has it gone?

I was watching QRPSPOTS and I saw several stations including my good bud, W3BBO making posts about K6JSS/4 being on the air on 40 Meters.  So I ran downstairs (literally) with my fingers crossed, hoping that the band would be quiet and that I could hear my quarry.

Happy dance time!  I not only heard Larry (familiar name) on 7.031 MHz, but he was 579 and was finishing up a QSO.  I tailended by sending out my call and got an answer and a 579 report back. Yay, Tennessee is in the log!  And wouldn't you know it?  Just as Larry was signing with me, sending "W2LJ DE K6JSS/4", just as he finished sending the "4", my S-Meter went from two bars to this:

Almost full scale as the neighborhood QRN kicked in, rendering 40 Meters useless for the rest of the night (well, at least the next couple of hours, probably).

The next week or so will be spent making contact with the states I have missed.  Hopefully, SD, NM, and a few others will be gotten and I will have all 50 in the log to celebrate QRP-ARCI's Golden Anniversary.

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

One is better than none

with regards to tonight's 40 Meter QRP Foxhunt.  I managed to work Dave AB9CA down in Alabama.  Then as I was listening for Greg AB7R in Washington, there was a "snap" and the noise level went from S1 to S9 +20 in the blink of an eye.  Danged plasma TV or other appliance!

It's really amazing how this occurs. Literally, like the flip of a switch, 40 Meters is turned from a nice quiet band to instant garbage.

For those of you who have been in the hobby for a long time, you probably remember the days when someone would come knocking on your door saying, "Your Ham Radio is screwing up my TV."  Did you ever think the day would come when a Ham would be able to say, "Your TV is screwing up my Ham Radio"?

I just wish I could pinpoint the offending appliance.

Well, that finishes my Foxhunting for the night.  Maybe I'll go down to 80 Meters to see if I can scare up a ragchew. Or even better, maybe I'll turn in early for some extra sleep.

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

Crud!

Wanted to end Father's Day with a fun time behind the key, participating in the Flying Pig's monthly Run for the Bacon sprint.

Just as the contest started, something in the neighborhood flicked "on" and I was rewarded with 20 over 9 QRN on 20 Meters and about S9 to 10 over QRN on 40 Meters.

Looks like I'll go read for a while.

Massive disappointment.

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

With apologies to my Polar Bear friends - sometimes you're the bear; and sometimes the bear gets you. Tonight, I got "got".

20 Meter QRN gone

I have no idea what caused that horrendous QRN on 20 Meters the other night; but I have been hanging around and listening to 20 Meters tonight; and so far there is no sign of it. The weather here is the same as it was Tuesday night - hot and humid, no rain.

I am sure that it will probably not rear its ugly head again until the next time I am scheduled to be the 20 Meter Fox in a few weeks.

Sigh.

However, I did manage a very quick QSO on 30 Meters with HP3DX. K2 and the Butternut got me a 449. Bill was about 569 here.

72 de Larry W2LJ

That was bad!

Tonight was my night in the barrel as Fox in the 20 Meter Summer Foxhunt. And in the 5 or so years that I have been a Fox, this had to be my worst performance, by far!

20 Meters was lousy for me tonight with some local QRN that was horrendous. I took some video, have a look:

And this was one of the times when the bursts were coming at a relatively slower rate! There were times it sounded more like machine gun fire. I had to deal with this for about 80% of the time during the 90 minute time window. Look at how the S-meter moves into 20 dB over territory! I'm very lucky that I was able to hand out any pelts at all.

What's even more frustrating is that I have no idea what was causing this. I have listened on 20 Meters a lot the past week or so; and never encountered this before. I am wondering if this has anything to do with the work they did on the utility pole last Sunday when that transformer blew after the thunderstorm.

If you were a "hound" in the hunt and tried calling me and calling me to no avail, I apologize. Believe me, it was just as frustrating for me as it was for you. Probably more so.

72 de Larry W2LJ