Man, was it hot!

It was predicted to be in the 90s yesterday and it was; but what I didn't quite count on was the humidity. Boy Howdy, it must have been upwards about 300% !!!  As my Uncle Frank used to say, "It ain't the heat, it's the humdigity!"

I'm glad I decided to set up as backyard portable, so I could be near the refrigerator in the kitchen. If I didn't put away close to a half gallon of cold water, I didn't drink an ounce!  It was the type of day, that as I was pounding the tent pegs into the ground for the Jackite support, that sweat was dripping from around my eyes onto my glasses!

Marianne keeps the A/C in the house set to about 77 degrees, but when I would step inside for either more water or a bathroom break, it felt like I was stepping into a meat locker. The heat never bothered me much as a kid. In fact, I grew up in a house that didn't have A/C. It was only in my teens when my parents were starting to grow older that we bought a couple window air conditioning units. But as I age, the heat gets tougher and tougher to deal with, especially in the sense that it really tires me out.

I did not let the heat deter my Skeeter Hunt efforts. From the beginning I thought the day might end up being a dud. After the first hour. I had only 6 or so contacts written down on my scratch pad. They were all on 20 Meters. Signal strengths were decent, it was just that I wasn't hearing too many people.

That changed as we entered the third hour. It was like a dam broke. Lot of signals on both 20 and 40 Meters. I tried a couple of times to go on up to 15 Meters and either listen or call CQ. As far as I can tell, there were no Skeeters on 15 Meters.  Here's my RBN map for yesterday:

I was making it into Europe, but I did not work any DX stations. However, there was a PA0 station right around the FISTS frequencies that nearly knocked the earbuds out of my ears!

My goal for the day was 40 QSOs and I made the last one with about two minutes left on the clock. I have not tallied how many different states and Provinces I worked - but I did get Quebec and Ontario in the log. 

The setup was the KX3, of course and the antenna was my K6ARK EFRW. I draped the counterpoise to a patio chair to keep it elevated and off the ground. I don't know if it was exceptional band conditions or what; but I was able to work everyone I heard in the times I went into "search and pounce" mode. I was very pleased with the K6ARK EFRW, but I really need to find a nice winder on which to roll the wire up on. Right now I just have the wire in a loop, secured with some Velcro ties, but that's not the most elegant solution.

The paddle I used for the day was this little guy (which I had purchased after reading Craig WB3GCK's review):

The magnetic base attached very securely to the metallic rim of the patio table and was rock solid for the whole event. The "feel" was great and I was able to send decent Morse, even at the end of the event, when I usually get a bit tired and sloppy. I definitely like this little guy! This and my 4 States paddle will be my portable ops keys going forward.

About 30 minutes after the Hunt ended, we had a small thunderstorm come through the area. It only rained a few drops, but it brought with it a cool and refreshing breeze.

As always, I'd like to thank everyone who participated. This event would not be what is has become without you. You guys are the wind beneath the Skeeter's wings and for that I am most grateful!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to end the very least!

The weekend of August 2nd and 3rd

 Good bye July, we hardly knew ye! It's August already? My, how time flies.

Yesterday's weather turned out not to be not as bad as predicted for my area. From what I understand, this time the Jersey shore and the boros of NYC bore the biggest brunt of flooding. I'll have to admit that it was disconcerting to be sitting at the computer here at work, taking care of business, only to hear my cell phone erupt with a siren and the words "Tornado Warning". Not a watch - a warning as the NWS radar saw a severe thunderstorm around home begin to show evidence of rotation. 

Marianne, who was working just a couple miles down the road in Plainfield said she never saw such frequent and crazy lightning before. I was here in Hunterdon County, two counties over, tuning into my Ring doorbell on my phone. The fact that it turned on meant the house was still standing and that we had power. The picture showed that the tree in our front yard was showing no evidence of severe wind, so that was somewhat of a relief. 

They actually permitted us to leave about an hour early, as the severe weather was supposed to last until somewhere between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Traffic was heavy due to everyone travelling slowly, due to the weather, but this time I did not encounter any flooded roadways on the way home. 

It was spritzing on the way into work today, and it's supposed to be showery all day today. but starting tomorrow and lasting into next weekend, we're supposed to get pleasant weather with temperatures only in the 80s. A little bit cool for August. I'll take it.

Here's what you might hear on the CW portions of the HF bands this weekend:

Contests:

European HF Championship - https://euhf.s5cc.eu/euhfc_rules/

North American QSO Party, CW - https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

Monday Night: ARS Spartan Sprint - http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html

Special Events:

08/02/2025 | Alcatraz

Aug 2, 0130Z-0830Z, W6P, Vacaville, CA. Vacaville Amateur Radio Club (W6VVR). 7.200 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.500 MHz. QSL. Art Aronsen, 7319 June Bug Lane, Vacaville, CA 95688. There will be 3 stations on Alcatraz Island during times stated. All stations will be on SSB on battery. w6vvr.net

08/02/2025 | KDKA Shortwave Network Centennial

Aug 2, 1200Z-2000Z, KD3KA, Wexford, PA. Allegheny Valley Radio Association. 7.040 7.240 14.040 14.240. QSL. AVRA, P.O. Box 24, Wexford, PA 15090. AVRA & Skyview Radio Society will commemorate the centennial of Westinghouse station KFKX in Hastings, Nebraska. In 1925, following Frank Conrad 8XK's successful shortwave experimentation and the establishment of the Hill Station, KFKX was networked via shortwave with KDKA in Pittsburgh to achieve nationwide KDKA broadcasting. https://www.qrz.com/db/kd3ka

08/03/2025 | Jackson County Fair, Jackson Mi, Ham Radio demo

Aug 3-Aug 9, 1600Z-2200Z, W8J, Jackson, MI. Cascade Amateur Radio Society (CARS). 7.225 14.250. QSL. CARS - W8JXN, P.O. Box 512, Jackson, MI 49201-0512. w8jxn.org

This Sunday marks two weeks before the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt! You can still get a number to participate as a Skeeter - right up until the day before - but why wait? We are up t0 168 Skeeters signed up, representing some 46 different states and provinces.

https://www.qsl.net/w2lj

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Here we go again!

 

Of course, I live in the red zone. I hope it doesn't take me another 2 & 1/2 hours to get home tonight! The only good thing about this event is that the rain is supposed to occur from this afternoon, into tonight and overnight into tomorrow morning. It's when we get an exorbitant amount of rain in only an hour or two that things get really wacky. 

The good thing about this system is, that once through, it will pull along behind it some drier and cooler air. We've been in the 90s since Sunday and this has been one of the hottest summers that I can remember in a long time. We had a bunch like this when I was a kid, but I was better equipped to handle it then.  Even when I was in my 20s and 30s, I would think going out for a long bicycle ride in the 90s was "no big deal".

I'd probably keel over if I tried something like that now. Growing old is not for sissies!

The weekend outlook is looking very nice. Maybe on Sunday, I can pull out the QMX and my K6ARK EFRW and play a little radio from the patio table in the back yard, instead of confining myself to my basement shack. Admittedly, I still have not used my QMX enough for it to become second nature to me. Looks like Sunday might be a chance for a learning opportunity - maybe even at Washington Rock State Park for a POTA activation? Hmmmm?

I love the QMX for its size and portability - but menus drive me nuts! I need a lot more time behind the wheel before "comfort zone" and "second nature" happen. The downside of being a fossil ... being more comfortable with mechanical knobs, buttons and switches.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weather prognostication

Boy Howdy! I wish I could be wrong as often in my line of work and still be employed! All last week, all I was seeing from various outlets was that this past weekend was going to be a rainy one. Hazy, hot and humid with a chance for thundershowers on Saturday and most likely all day Sunday. They even gave Sunday a 70 - 80% probability.

Saturday turned out to be sunny and hot ....... all day long. Sunday ..... well, Sunday? The day started out sunny. When I went to my car in the morning to go to Church, I saw there was some moisture on the car and the road, so it must have rained some overnight. However, my weather station did not even record 1/100th of an inch, so whatever happened was really minor.

As the morning progressed, the skies did get grayer and more ominous. I decided that if I was going to set up portable, it would be backyard portable so I could bring all my Ham gear inside quickly. Then, as FOBB start time approached, the skies became even grayer and darker, so I decided at the last possible moment to participate as a home station.

Wouldn't you know it? At the halfway point at 3:00 PM EDT, I came upstairs to refill my water cup and take a "nature calls" break. When I passed our front window, it was sunny as all get out! As bad as it looked, we never got any rain all weekend, except for that tiny smattering during the overnight Saturday/Sunday!

Being on the air from home is better than not being on the air at all, so for that I am grateful. Band conditions were not the best. From the beginning, signals on 20 Meters were down in the mud and QSB was just terrible! A classic case of hearing someone and then they're gone before they even finish calling CQ! 40 Meters was as dead as a door nail, except for W2TEF, who had a good signal, and I think just stayed on 40 Meters the whole time.

Band conditions improved as the Sprint progressed. 40 Meters actually ended up being the better band for me with more QSOs that 20 Meters. I checked 15 Meters about 4 or 5 times and heard no one there. I think that would have been my best chance for QSOs with the Western part of the country.  I ended the day with 21 QSOs in the log, with 13 of them being Bumblebees. I think the farthest west I got was Missouri. i worked a couple Florida stations and desperately tried to work old friend Kelly K4UPG, who is also down in Florida. At one point, I thought I had caught his attention as he was calling CQ. He faded out both times I tried to work him, so I don't think he ever heard me. And that's the kind of day it was, There were others whom I would call and they would fade away before I could tell if they were coming back to me  or not.

But, so far, as per the 3830 Contest page, I'm currently in 5th place in the Home QRP category. I'm sure that I'll drop down as more entries come in, but 5th place for now is nice, and much better than I expected.

So I guess my experience was about average for the day.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed myself, which is what it's all about, anyway. I just hope the weather - both solar AND terrestrial are better for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt on August 17th.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another fun night in South Plainfield

It took me 2 & 1/2 hours to get home from work last night - normally, my commute is 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. 5.6 inches recorded at my house, other parts of town got over 7 inches - all in about 2-3 hours. At times, my weather station was indicating that rain was falling at a rate well above 3 inches an hour. While sitting still in traffic, I was paying attention to the weather radar on my phone. The storm cell with the most energy just did not want to move from South Plainfield - it was like it was stuck!

Multiple roads were flooded and impassable, but of course that didn't stop people from trying, anyway. The result was abandoned cars added to the mix.  And more than just a few idiots driving around in the POURING rain with almost zero visibility WITHOUT THEIR HEADLIGHTS ON! How stupid can you be?!?

I was the last one to make it home, but we all got home, safe and sound. Thank you, Lord!

By the way, here's a photo I found on Facebook of Spring Lake Park - where SPARC does Field Day

The lake superseded its shoreline and came up all the way to the roadway, flooding and closing Lakeview Avenue. I think as of this morning, the waters had receded enough to permit car travel again.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Sizzling.

 I think you can flip New Jersey over - this side is done.

We are entering a three day period (Monday thru Wednesday) of excessive heat with temperatures above 100 F (38C) and heat indices of 105-100 F (40 -43C). Yesterday only reached into the 90s, but the humidity was out of sight, causing it to feel much, much warmer.

Of course, W2LJ lives in the "purple".

The morning actually started out cool and we had most of our windows open for fresh air. Around 11:30 AM or so, a thunderstorm rolled through and all I can say is "Wow!". I had dozed off on the couch in the rec room and even then, I saw a flash with my eyes closed. The resulting thunderclap seemed to last for minutes and the house shook and vibrated. If there was no storm, I would have sworn we had experienced an earthquake, that's how much the house vibrated.

After the storm went through the heat began to build up again. By the time dinner time came around, it was almost unbearable to go outside to cook on the grill.  Sleeping was not so great last night. We have central AC, but it's older so it's not zoned. The downstairs stays decently cool, but the upstairs can get stuffy.

When I was a kid, the heat didn't bother me as much. I grew up in a house without air conditioning. In fact, I much preferred Summer to the Winter. I still do, but the heat gets to me much more quickly now. I guess that's just a consequence of growing old. My ideal would be anywhere from 65 F to 80 F year around. Like that's gonna happen!

That being said, Field Day preps have begin for me. I made sure all my batteries are charged up for next weekend. I actually have enough "juice" for a week's worth of operating at 5 Watts between a lithium and two SLA batteries. I also have my two little "blue bricks" that  I use for portable ops like FOBB and the Skeeter Hunt. I should be in good stead.

Speaking of the Skeeter Hunt, we've had 113 people sign up for Skeeter Hunt numbers over the weekend. That warmed the cockles of my heart. I'm hoping that by the day before the Hunt, we will have some 200+ people signed up. The more, the merrier!

The VE Session at the W2QW Hamfest on Saturday went well. I was expecting four candidates. One cancelled late Friday night and there was one "no show". Two were successful - one brand new Tech and one upgrade to General. The weather was nice with no breeze. The breeze was probably wished for by the flea market attendees, but I welcomed the calmness as it made for no blowing away of paperwork. Such are the hazards of an outdoor VE Session.

After the exams were over, I left. I had been there since 5:00 AM helping to direct vendors to their spots. I still had the grocery shopping to do and there's nothing that I really need, Ham Radio-wise, so I bid my good-byes and got on with my day.

UPDATE:

At 4:30 PM, we broke 100 F, with a THI of 124.3F.

From my weather station.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend May 24th and 25th and 26th

 First ........ a shameless plug:

Now for the OTHER stuff.

Contests:

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW - https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint: - http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint

QCX Challenge - http://www.qrp-labs.com/party.html

Tuesday night:

SKCC Sprint - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/

Special Event Stations:

05/19/2025 | National EMS Week

May 19-May 25, 0000Z-0000Z, N4E, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL. 14.325 MHz. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC K4WTL, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32646. Help us celebrate the work by EMS workers!

05/24/2025 | Living History Cruise of SS John W Brown: WW2 Liberty Cargo Ship

May 24, 1500Z-2000Z, K8JWB, Baltimore, MD. Project Liberty Ship (SS John W Brown). 7210.00 14230.00 21300.00 28320.00. Certificate. Project Liberty Ship K8JWB, Pier 13, 4601 Newgate Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224. Join the SS John W Brown while it sails on the Chesapeake Bay maritime mobile. Remembering the United States Merchant Marine, Navy Armed Guard crew and the shipbuilders including Rosie the Riveter who built 2710 of them who deeply impacted the winning of WW2. Those people and ships were critical to Winning the war www.ssjohnwbrown.org

Not much going on besides the biggie - CQ WW WPX. I suppose I could get on the air for a while with SPARC's NJ2SP call sign. I don't think NJ2 is all that common.

I hope to get the Jackite stand built this weekend as well as that new rolling storage cart for the shack - which also needs a good straightening out.  You could take a picture of my shack and put in the dictionary next to the word "Chaos". If I can get those three things - stand, cart, declutter - accomplished this weekend, I will be a happy camper.

Memorial Day weekend, as important as it is to remember those who died defending our country, is also touted as the "Unofficial Start of Summer". Big laugh!

Monday will be the warmest day of the three. The others will be downright chilly for the end of May, and I've actually have had to wear a sweater the past three or four days. We are normally in the low 80s by now, for a high for the day. Not that great of a beach weekend. That's for sure!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Updates

 Well, the news from the echo cardiogram wasn't the greatest. Going in for a cardiac catheterization on Tuesday, February 4th. I'm on 4 different meds for the time being and suddenly feel really, really old.

Boy, this is a far cry from the days on my 20's when I would cycle around 100 miles a week and had a resting pulse of about 60 BPM. 

So I haven't been much in the mood for radio. And I should add, not only because of this heart thing, but also because of the cold and the basement being an uncomfortable space. This weekend we're supposed to go above the freezing mark for the first time in a long time, so maybe I'll get the chance to get on the air.

This weekend is Winter Field Day, but more importantly, NEXT weekend is FYBO - Freeze Your Buns Off - the classic kickoff to the outdoor QRP Season for 2025.

The rules haven't changed much over the years. 

https://azscqrpions.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/FYBO_General-Near-Forever-Rules.pdf

This year FYBO takes place on February 1st. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least

Let's face it ........ I suck

when it comes to using a straight key. I am so out of practice, that I was embarrassed how my fist sounded on Straight Key Night. I only made two QSOs, and for the second I switched to my Vibroplex Original. Can you imagine that? I sound better on a bug than I do on a straight key! How pathetic is that? 

I've dropped a long way off from my Novice days, which were completed entirely with a Nye Viking straight key.  I suppose given time, I could get my straight key fist sounding reasonably decent again, but if I'm going to go mechanical, I'll stick with my bug. My fist there may not be the best, either, but it's yards better than my straight key fist! 

As far as only two QSOs go on Straight Key Night, I took a break after the second QSO and came upstairs to get some iced tea. While I was in the kitchen, I saw a bright flash and heard a very loud rumble of thunder. I raced back down to the shack to shut down and disconnect the antennas. We had intermittent thunder and lightning for the next couple of hours. New Year's Eve thunder and lightning - wacky weather!

Tomorrow, Friday, we're supposed to get another Arctic blast and we're looking at a possible snow event next Monday into Tuesday. I'll have to make sure the outside Christmas decorations come in this weekend. We've already have had wind gusts exceeding 20 MPH, that have knocked a few things over. It won't be pleasant doing this in sub-freezing temps, but it will have to get done while the ground is not covered with snow.

On another note, that SpaceWeather Live app has been sending me all kinds of alerts. We're experiencing a lot of geomagnetic activity and just a few minutes ago, I received a notification concerning a large trans equatorial coronal hole that is directly facing the Earth. Looks for band conditions to be on the wild side for the next few days.

The QRP Fox hunts resume tonight on 80 Meters and the Foxes are "local" enough that i should be able to work both. For whatever reason, I slept terribly last night, kept waking up every few hours it seemed like. I may be sawing wood tonight by the time the Hunts begin at 9:00 PM local time.

Mom was right when she used to tell me, "Larry, don't get old." I always used to answer, "There's not much I can do about it." But boy howdy, was she ever right!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Time honored tradition for New Year's Eve and Day:

Straight Key Night!

I already have a couple of tickets for another event tonight:

 But maybe I'll use these after getting on for a QSO or two for Straight Key Night.

As per the ARRL Website:

ARRL Straight Key Night: January 1, 2025

12/25/2024

ARRL Straight Key Night is January 1, 2025, from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. This 24-hour event is not a contest but rather a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage -- radio communications by Morse code.

Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs (radio contacts). The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. There are no points scored and all who participate are winners. All authorized amateur frequencies may be used but activity has traditionally been centered on the HF bands.

Entries for Straight Key Night must be received by January 3, 2025. Votes for "Best Fist" and “Most Interesting QSO” will be tabulated and included in the results. Send your information to straightkey@arrl.org or by mail to ARRL Straight Key Night, 225 Main Street, Newington, Connecticut 06111. For more information, contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232.

Visit the ARRL website for more details: www.arrl.org/straight-key-night.

The cold weather has moderated in NJ with it being rather warmish the past couple of days, so I should be able to spend some time in the shack without turning the space heater on. But there is a local meteorologist that I follow on Facebook, and the reason I follow him is that his forecasts are usually spot on. He's right more often than he's wrong, which can be said to be unusual for a weatherman. His latest post included forecasts for New Year's Eve and Day, but ended with an ominous note.  (Paraphrasing here) "After the New Year, Winter is going to bite us on the butt (his exact words) in early January, with way below normal temperatures and the possibility of significant snow events."

Not exactly my idea of kicking off the new year in good fashion.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

As seen on Facebook

I saw this posted on the POTA/SOTA Facebook page, and thought it would be good to share here:

I know that I am myself guilty of not following procedure, with the end result of me muttering swear words under my breath every time I have to untangle my Dacron rope supply. Thanks, Scott W3GTR for the excellent photos!

My instincts for last night's 40 Meter Fox Hunt proved to be true (for once)! I found Steve WD4CFN's Hounds rather easily, went down 1 kHz and was able to hear him amongst the "CQ NA"s that were in plenteous supply - I'm guessing last night was the NAQCC monthly Sprint? Anyway, as I was saying, I found Steve rather easily, but he kept fading in and out. He would be strong for a few minutes and then fade to ESP for a few minutes and back and forth, and back and forth. On a peak, i worked him at 02:28 UTC, 559 both ways.

John AJ1DM was just as I expected. I found "a" Hound calling him and again, went down 1 kHz and listened and heard nothing. In order to not make the same mistake I made last week, I then went back up that 1 kHz, just in case John was working simplex. Nothing there either, so I pulled the plug so I could get some shuteye.

Looking at his log this morning, the closest state to me on the East coast that John worked was North Carolina. It was obvious that his RF was flying as high overhead over New Jersey as these storied drones (which I have not seen) are. And I was surprised to see that neither Jack N2RK or Tom KV2X in NY had worked John. Those two guys must have amazing antenna systems because it seem like they work everyone - sometimes being the only East coasters to make it into a Fox's log.

Once again last night, my weapon from the antenna quiver was my vertical, my Butternut HF9V. Steve WD4CFN's signal was the same 559 on the EFRW and the vertical, but the vertical was not picking as much background noise as the wire was.

The weather for NJ today will be on the warm side with a high in the low 60s. We'll get some drought busting rains with 2 - 3 inches expected between today and tomorrow. We'll still come up short rain-wise for the year, but at least the wildfire/brushfire danger is now pretty much over.  We're also expecting some pretty ferocious wind gusts later today and tonight. I hope the outdoor Christmas decorations don't take flight!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Rain!

OK - only an inch and a third since Midnight, but when you've only gotten a third of an inch of rain in about the last six weeks, this is so very welcome! According to the weather prognosticators, we may get another inch before this front clears out of here tomorrow. This is not a drought buster by any means, but it's a start.

It will get chillier and the Poconos and NY State around the Binghamton area are supposed to get snow tonight. I can wait for that.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Fox again tonight

This time on 80 Meters. Subbing for Steve WX2S again. The problem is that I have to work late tonight. I'll be home in time for the Hunt, but I know right now that I'd rather be in bed than on the radio. Wired or not, I don't think I'll have trouble falling asleep tonight. Just hope I don't fall asleep at the key tonight when the pileups dwindle and I start calling CQ Fox on simplex.

Just a final word about Tuesday night's 40 Meter Hunt. I ended up with 51 QSOs, Tim KR0U had somewhere around 75. Slight difference there, eh?  Maybe Tim being smack dab in the middle of the country had something to do with it. More likely is the fact that he's a superb op and that I'm just a "ham and egg'er" way out of my league.

On another topic, after I replaced the stub and matching coil on the HF9V, it remained kind of deaf. I went out to the backyard again this past Saturday, and undid the tape covering the stub/coax connection. Everything looked kosher, but I brought along two wrenches and "gently" tightened the connection better than I was able to do with just my hands alone. The bottom line is that the problem is solved.  The HF9V is just as loud as the wire. In fact, during the 40 Meter hunt this past Tuesday night, I was switching back and forth between the two. Neither seemed to have an advantage over the other. The HF9V has always been a better player for me for nabbing DX on 20 Meters and higher.

A funny thing about this whole HF9V episode, which deserves a little recap. As I've said before, I discovered that I had a problem after the landscapers left when I switched to the HF9V and signals were way, way down. Going out to the backyard, I then saw that the matching stub had been chewed up by their weedwhackers. Looking back on it,  the weak signals that I was hearing were not coming from the antenna, but were being picked up by the coax!  So when you read that the feedline is part of the antenna system - there's nothing that brings that home better than the incident that I went through. Some 125 feet of coax sitting anywhere from 2 - 4 feet of the ground was picking up HF signals. Not very well, but was still picking them up.

Last thing on my mind this morning as I blather on. I think we can safely say that the warm weather is behind us for the year. I awoke to 34F (1C) this morning, and when I got to work which is a good 20 or so miles farther inland from the coast than South Plainfield, the temperature here was 29F (-2C). It's quite easy, for me at least, to see how being closer to the Atlantic, even by a few miles ,affects the temperatures and the weather. If it were to start precipitating this instant, it would probably be snowing here and raining at home.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

When I was a kid

we used to call this "Indian Summer". I don't know why or how the term originated, and I suppose it's not politically correct to use it anymore. After the first frost or series of really cold nights of Autumn, there's usually a return to a few days of Summer like weather. We're going to experience that today, tomorrow with a tail off on Wednesday with a high of 81F (27C) today, 82F (28C) tomorrow and 78F (26C) on Wednesday. From there on it's down to seasonable temperatures again.  As much as I prefer the warm weather to the cold, I've started getting used to chillier "sweater weather", and the onset of early darkness. I wouldn't mind the warm up if it would hang around for more than just a few days. This is just a tease of my favorite season that I'd prefer to do without. Breakups are best when you don't look back. LOL!

I was delighted to see an e-mail from DXEngineering in my inbox this morning. I placed that order for the Butternut replacement parts yesterday morning and according to FedEx tracking, I will have them by end of day tomorrow. That is fast service! The extended outlook for Saturday is for partly cloudy skies with a high of 66F (18C), so it should be a good day for Butternut repairs. Not sure when Saturday as Hadley Communications Technologies, the 501 C3 company that provides funding for SPARC is having a clothing drive fund raiser and I promised to help out at the drop off point. I will get the repairs done on either Saturday or Sunday, though, as I don't want to place all my bets on continued good weather for the long term. I don't want to go the entire winter without having the HF9V available to me.

Speaking of the early darkness - that means that conditions for 80 and 160 Meters should be improving as we head further into Autumn and Winter. I checked into the St. Max Net last night which has been on 40 Meters for the Summer. The QRM from shortwave broadcast stations has been horrific. I hope the net plans to return to 80 Meters soon, as it was hard copying weaker stations over the heterodynes. 80 Meters may cut down on the reach of the Net a bit, but it's a lot more comfortable listening there.

So far my MFJ-1982 HP seems to be performing as well as KD2FSI's has been performing for SPARC Field Day the past few years.  The antenna fits nicely into a slightly different configuration, as it is a bit longer than the W3EDP. I had to get a little creative to make it fit. My midpoint mast used to be even with the backend of my neighbor's garage. Moving it to the last chain link fence upright post on that side of the yard did the trick.

Of course, the UNUN is bigger on this version, than the one on my 1982 LP, as that was designed to handle 20 Watts maximum. I had really wanted to purchase the MFJ-1982 MP version, which was designed to handle up to 200 Watts, but they were sold out already. Since I run up the power for the St. Max Net up to 85 Watts, the 1982 HP is a bit of overkill, but it was my only recourse.

I suppose I could have gone with an antenna from a different vendor, but I am familiar with the MFJ-1982's from Field Day, so it seemed to make sense to go with what you know that works.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Wouldn't you know it?

My anticipation was growing last week in Upstate NY as Geomagnetic activity was getting greater and greater all week long. My SpaceWeather Live app was going off all week with news of flares, CMEs and such. Finally, there was a better than good chance that I would finally get to see the Northern Lights on Friday night - the last night before we left to return to New Jersey.

Upstate NY decided to pull a New Jersey on me and it clouded up and rained Friday night.

Sheesh.

In any event, I got my POTA logs uploaded yesterday as well as getting them into AC Log. Tonight, I want to make QSO maps for both activations and see how they compare to the RBN maps that I captured. I'll post them here.

The long range forecast for this week is showing the upcoming weekend to be nice. Maybe I can get away for an hour or two to activate Washington Rock, or perhaps the Washington-Rochambeau Trail. Doing POTA activations is kind of like eating Lays potato chips - You can't do just one! It's super easy o get hooked.

But as far as activations go, I'm not one of these guys that needs to get triple digit QSOs in the log. I'm quite happy getting my 10 or more, enjoying the outdoors and nice weather. If 20, 30, or 40 come easy because the bands are good .......great! If the bands are crappy and I only make 10 or 11 contacts, I'm fine with that, too. I'm in it for the experience and the fun.

The 4States QRP Group has come out with a new kit designed by Dave Cripe, NM0S - a CW VOX keyer. For those who may not be able to send Morse in the traditional way due to disabilities  - this will allow Morse to be sent by your transceiver by speaking into it. According to the 4States website: "The CWvox is a unique solution that leverages the ability of Morse Code operators to vocalize Morse Code using "da" for dashes and "dit" for dots. This practice isn't just a novelty; it's a skill that, when done correctly, mirrors the proper length ratio of dashes and dots in Morse Code."

The kit is available for $40 and all the details can be found here - https://www.4sqrp.com/kits/CW-VOX/4SQRP_CW_VOX_%20Manual.pdf

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hurricane Helene

As Hurricane Helene bears down on Florida and Georgia, please be mindful of our brother and sister Amateur Radio ops who will be manning their radios on behalf of public safety. Some HF frequencies to be aware of:

Some Florida Nets

South Florida ARES Net 3.940

North Florida ARES Net 3.950

Northern Florida ARES Net (NFAN):

9:00 AM Eastern time Monday through Saturday Frequencies are 7.198 MHz. Backup on 7.242 and 7.265 MHz, all LSB-

Hurricane Watch Net

14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz

To ALL our friends in the Southeast who are in Helene's path ...... our prayers are with you. Take care, be safe and may God be with you.

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!

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!

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!

Saturday, and the weather's turning lousy

I'm not absolutely sure what tomorrow is going to bring, except that I'm pretty certain there will be no park operating for me tomorrow. Weatherbug is calling for a 45% chance of showers tomorrow. If it's dry around Noon time, I just might set up the Jackite and EFRW in the backyard. If it's raining, I'll operate from the shack, and will swallow the better multiplier you get for operating portable. 

Today the bands weren't absolute crud. They weren't great either, but I did manage to put 10 POTA stations in the log. All but one were on 20 Meters. After I worked one activation on 40 Meters, I tuned around a bit and there was a guy, nice and loud, calling CQ. I was anticipating the possibility of a nice ragchew, but after I called him, he continued to CQ in my face. I guess another case of propagation not being reciprocal.

I also tried listening for N5J on and off all day. I finally heard them on 15 Meters for all of about 20 to 30 seconds. He then promptly disappeared and I never heard them again on any band.

I got my DC to DC converter wired up. I connected it to my new LiON battery which was holding at 13.4 Volts. The output was a steady 12.1 Volts. I think that should be acceptable to the QMX. I am also charging up some "AA" Lithium batteries that I used to use when I had my PFR3A. Three of them, fully charged, should come up to 11.1 Volts. That might even be the safer way to go. I'm glad I ordered a bunch of 2.1mm power plugs!

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!