The Black Sheep of the Family

If you go on Facebook at all, it quickly becomes apparent that Baofeng HTs get very little respect. They are the Rodney Dangerfields of the HT world. I understand, in a way, as they are not really comparable in any way to units produced by Kenwood, Yaesu or Icom. They may not be as technically excellent or as elegantly engineered as radios from the Big 3, but in my mind, they do have their place.  

I own a UV-3R and a UV-5R. The UV-3R is my carry around and listen to repeaters HT. It's small, about the size of a package of cigarettes and it does what I need it to do. My UV-5R with the larger battery pack is my CERT / Public Service Event radio. Again, it does what I need it to do. No frills, no bells and whistles.

Not glowing endorsements for sure, but if something were to happen to either of these, such as dropping them, losing them, or whatever - I'm not about to have a heart attack. They may not be the best available out there, but they're easily replaceable without breaking the bank. Keep this comparison in mind, Baofengs are the Red Cups of the handheld world, as compared to the fine crystal drinkware that are Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu. And of course, you get what you pay for. If you're willing to accept Harbor Freight rather than Craftsman or Snap On - you get the drift, especially if you're not primarily a VHF/UHF Op.

Coming up this weekend:

Contests - to participate in or to be aware of:

CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest - https://www.cqwpxrtty.com/rules.htm

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

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

CQC Winter QSO Party - http://www.coloradoqrpclub.org/contests/winter.htm

Special Events:

02/10/2024 | 75th Anniversary of Merci Train Boxcar

Feb 10-Feb 29, 0000Z-0000Z, NV7AL, Las Vegas, NV. American Legion Paradise Post 149 and 40&8 Voiture 306. 7.074 7.250 14.074 14.250. QSL. Robert Bencsko, 2548 Fort Lauderdale Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89156. This special event station is set up to raise awareness of the 75th Anniversary of 40&8 "MERCI Train Boxcar" Please check out the QRZ page. The 24th and 25th may be operating on location of the Nevada boxcar in Boulder City, NV Watch for us on DX Summit QSL with SASE to AD7J https://www.qrz.com/db/NV7AL

02/10/2024 | Commemorating the End of Operation Desert Storm (27FEB91)

Feb 10, 1700Z-2359Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320; 14.070 PSK31; DSTAR on PAPA System repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

02/10/2024 | Green Valley Amateur Radio Club Churches On The Air

Feb 10, 1700Z-2100Z, WE7GV, Green Valley, AZ. Green Valley Amateur Radio Club. 14.242 14.262 14.282. Certificate & QSL. Tom Lang, 1085 W. El Toro Rd, Sahuarita, AZ 85629. This Special Event includes three local churches on the air at the same time from the Green Valley area on the published frequencies + or -. www.gvarc.us

02/10/2024 | Lee Jackson Celebration

Feb 10, 1730Z-2200Z, N4SCV, Gainesville, FL. Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1424. 7.214 MHz 14.314 MHz. QSL. Ron Lewis, KN4ZUJ, 14714 NW 144th Street, Alachua, FL 32615. We look forward to talking with you. See you on the air on February 10th! VY 73, Madison Starke Perry Camp 1424 Sons of Confederate Veterans www.gatorscv.com

02/11/2024 | 10 Year Countdown to the 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of Pluto

Feb 11-Feb 19, 0000Z-2359Z, W7P and W7P/0, Flagstaff, AZ. Northern Arizona DX Association. 7.290 14.090 14.290 21.290. Certificate & QSL. W7P c/o NADXA, 6315 Townsend Winona Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86004. www.nadxa.com

Personally, my VE Team has a session tomorrow morning.. Lots of last minute signups. We may have as many as eight candidates.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Some post-mortem Field Day thoughts

While I understand the mindset of those who really consider Field Day to be an uber-contest and go whole hog........ as I get older, I see the wisdom of keeping it simple.  A few wire antennas, a few low power portable rigs make set up in 90F weather much easier and by the same token, tear down is much less of a horror after being up for 30+ hours. Taking down hexbeams, yagis and makeshift towers is a younger man's game. Definitely. Plus you get the added bonus of having visitors say, "You were talking to California (or wherever) with just 5 Watts and some wire?"

CW speeds - this one might be a ticking time bomb. If you want to run QRQ - by all means, go ahead. But if you expect a lot of responses on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM from guys who have been at this continuously since Saturday at 2:00 PM - I think you're barking up the wrong tree. There's no disgrace at keeping CW speeds at a more realistic 25 WPM or less neighborhood. And for Pete's sake, if a guy is calling "CQ FD" at about 18 WPM, QRS for him, please! You're not impressing anyone by continuing to send at 40 WPM. You're just annoying the rest of us by you forcing him to ask you to repeat your exchange for 5 or 6 times.

For those of you, who like us, run a club effort ....... I really recommend N3FJP's logging software. We're lucky enough to have Ron N2LCZ, who is a networking guru set up our logging system . He does it so that we're all tied into a portable network. We log at laptops and this all feeds into a master desktop acting as a server. I couldn't set this system up if my life depended on it, but Ron makes it so that the entire FD team can see our collective effort at each and every transmitting position. And it makes reporting results to the ARRL as easy as falling off a log.

Don't discount digital ops. While I'm not a devotee of FT8 or whatever the digital mode du jour is - they are an invaluable tool. Dave KD2FSI was our DX King, working into New Zealand, Hawaii and other distant locals with the digital modes. Plus ........ while they might not everybody's cup of tea, they also seem to attract the younger crowd and that is definitely a plus.  A youngster of say, 15 or 16 may think Morse Code is cool and may really be attracted to the paddles and keyer,. I know this first hand, as I have witnessed it. On the other hand, that same youngster will undoubtedly feel right at home and like an old pro behind the keys of a laptop. I may not be the one to do it, but sit with a youngster and guide him/her through a connection with the other side of the country (or world) in their first few attempts and you may have hooked someone for life. Getting that youngster to realize he/she can enjoy SSB and CW can come later.

Field Day is the most excellent opportunity to get inactive Hams on the air again. For whatever reason, some Ham's enthusiasm for the hobby can dry up. Raising a family, working a job (or two) might leave no time for sitting behind the radio. Let them sit down and make a few contacts and you're going to help re-ignite that old flame. It works....... I've seen guys who have not been on the air for decades, but have kept their licenses active look at my KX3, see what it can do and they're almost salivating! "THAT little rig does all this?!?"

Besides being a contest, Emergency Communication exercise or whatever ....Field Day is perhaps our biggest PR opportunity of the year. Take advantage of it.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!