Squeezed in a QSO & Random Thoughts

Another night of some pretty bad thunder storms. From about 4:30 this afternoon to almost 8:00 PM it was pretty much one, long drawn out thunderstorm with bouts of very heavy rain. The lightning bolts were landing very, very locally on the drive home from work. In fact, I saw one touch down in someone's backyard while I was waiting my turn at a stop sign. THAT makes you sit up and take notice! About 9:30 PM it calmed down enough where I was able to squeeze in a QSO. I had a nice ragchew with Bob W8SX in Dayton, Ohio. We spent the half hour comparing notes on our efforts to build ATS-3 radios from Steve Weber. QRN on 40 Meters was pretty gruesome with all the electrical activity in the atmosphere. I pulled the plug for the night and no more than 30 minutes later, the lightning and thunder started up again!

I want to get the internal auto tuner for my K2. I came to that revelation yesterday; probably after reading a bit more about it on the Elecraft e-mail reflector. I currently have an LDG AT11-MP which works very nicely; but I think I want to make a change. I like the auto tuner in my K1 and I think the KAT2 would be a little quicker than the AT11-MP. The KAT2 has double the memories, too. Don't know what I'm going to sell to raise the funds, though. Maybe I'll sell the AT11-MP and will use my Emtech ZM-2 QRP manual tuner for a bit, while I raise the remainder of the needed funds and then build it.

I have really come to enjoy using a Bug for conversational CW. The keyer and paddles are nice for QRP Sprints; but I really like the personality that using a Bug gives you. I have found the key to generating better code with a Bug is to keep your hand VERY relaxed and not tensed up. The second that I lose discipline and let my fingers tense up is the second I start sending lousy code. It's a challenge; but it's fun at the same time.

I'm happy with the number of hits my Website has been getting lately. It seems like the counter has been rolling through a century of hits about every week and a half or so. I put a lot of me into that Webpage; so it's gratifying to see that people find it interesting; or at the very least NOT a waste of time.

The Mets won again tonight, beating the Houston Astros 7-0. John Maine, a rookie for the Mets, pitched a 4 hit shutout. This has been a very fun season and the games have been interesting, even when the Mets lose. Back in the mid 80s and early 90s, my cousin and I used to have season tickets to all the Saturday home games. We have kind of fallen out of touch; and I miss not having anyone to share my passion for NY Mets baseball with.

Work was a bear this week, with trying to catch up after being away for a week's vacation. Hopefully, I'll be caught up by the end of next week. Right now I'm up to my behind in alligators. I need these two days off.

Like the header says, tonight it was random thoughts. I'm getting beat and am going to turn in. I think I'll take the 2M HT up with me to listen to while I try to fall asleep. Sometimes, some of the local repeaters get some interesting conversations going into the wee, small hours of the night.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Foxhunt success - finally!

I was finally able to hear the two QRP Foxes tonight! It's only about the 6th or 7th week of the summer season; and this was the first evening that I actually heard the two ops acting as Fox!

I heard Don NK6A very weakly up at about 14.060.44 MHz. First he was listening up about 2 MHz. He was working a lot of guys and I was calling him often. At one point he sent "W2L?"; so I know he heard me, but when I came back from sending my call again, he was starting a new CQ, unable to copy me.

I went down low to find John K4BAI. He was working around 14.052.00 MHz or thereabouts. John is one of the best contest ops that I know. He was working simplex and I was able to nab him the second time I called. John's ears must be bionic; because he picked me out of the muck and actually gave me a 569 report. QSB was bad; but at peaks John was the 579 I gave him.

One Fox in the log, I went back up to listen for Don again. This time he was working simplex and calling CQ - often! Fortunately, his signal was coming up nicely from the ESP level that it was before. This time it took about 3 trys; but I finally had a QSO with him, thereby grabbing his "pelt" also. He was an honest 559 and that's the report he gave me.

It's nice to break out of my slump and actually work someone for a change! It's been depressing up until now - tuning around every Thursday night and hearing next to nothing. I hope this is the start of a good run for the remainder of the summer hunt season.

73 de Larry W2LJ

July NAQCC Sprint

Last night I participated in the NAQCC Sprint for July. It was a good time; and I heartily recommend that you join us if you've never tried contesting before. The atmosphere is fun and friendly. You'll find a whole range of Code speeds; from beginner to experienced contester.

I made 23 QSOs in the hour and 45 minutes in which I operated. I was disappointed in the lack of activity on 20 Meters. I only got 5 QSOs in on that band; and I thought there's be more. 40 Meters was once again the most active band. Plenty of stations to be worked there; but the noise (QRN) was tremendous! By the end of the contest, I was getting weary of all the static crashes in my headphones. Probably wasn't too good for my hearing, either!

I heard only one solitairy station on 80 Meters; and that was John K3WWP. John was a tough copy - I believe I only gave him a 449 report. On 40 Meters it was a totally different story! There he was a good 579 to 589. This is the loudest I have heard John in an NAQCC Sprint yet.

The high point of the evening was that these QSOs put me over 1000 QSOs in the log for 2006. Now that my "QSO a Day" streak has gone by the wayside, I'm still on track to complete my other goal - 2006 in 2006. I'm hoping that between regular ragchewing and all these QRP Sprints that I participate in, I'll have accomplished this at the end of the year.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Doing my part to keep Amateur Radio alive.

Maintaining Radio Silence

No radio tonight! For the past two or three days we have been under the influence of a pretty vicious heatwave. Today, temperatures rose past the 100 degree mark in Central NJ.

Tonight, however, a cold front is pushing through and as a result, we have a severe thunder storm watch on until 1:00 AM Wednesday morning. It's a pretty wild display of lightning tonight. Definitely not Ham radio weather!

The upside is that for the rest of the week, hight temps will be in the mid to upper 80s. Even though that is warm; it will feel refreshing compared to the past few days!

Summer ...... you gotta love it!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Lousy fists

Today, QRP-L has been brimming over with a discussion on the topic of lousy fists. If you're reading this blog, you're probably a Ham and already know what a lousy fist is. For the uninitiated, an explanation is in order.

The way a person sends Morse Code is known as his "fist". In the days before electronic sending devices, all that were widely available were mechnical devices, the straight key and the semi-automatic key (or as it is better known, the bug). The timing and rhythms were all determined by your brain and the physical characteristics of your sending hand. Perfectly sent code was the goal; but in all practicality, only a very few sent "perfect" code. The rest of us mere mortals did the best we could. Like everyone's unique fingerprints, each operator had a distinct accent or "fist". The real good ops could tell, after a while, who was sending just by listening to the "fist". They didn't need to listen for a callsign.

But I digress. The discussion on QRP-L evolved from a question as to how do you tell someone who sends Morse Code really badly, that they in fact ....... stink? This is a hard question to answer. I would tend to handle the situation delicately. You never know, but the lousy fist you are working might be due to arthritis, old age, Parkinson's disease or some other malady or disability. Do you really want to go off on a guy only to find out he's handicapped in some sort of way? You'd not only be rude; but you'd come off looking the fool. Remember, you don't know the circumstances at the other end of the QSO - don't make brash assumptions.

The other thing about lousy fists is that what do we really expect now these days, anyway? In the year 2000 when the FCC determined that the code test for all Amateur Radio licenses would be 5 WPM, what did folks expect? We have no more Novice class or entry level license. There are no tests for 13 or 20 WPM speeds anymore. You have newly licensed Tech +, Generals and Extras who are literally being thrown into the fray on CW bands with only 5 WPM experience! It's not like in past days, when as a Novice you were segregated into a subband where you could practise and perfect the art of sending Morse Code until you were good enough to be able to handle 13 WPM. That's all gone.

By the same token, there are probably a lof of Hams bemoaning the lack of quality fists who didn't raise a hand in protest when the FCC announced its NPRM to dissolve the need for the higher speed tests. They are reaping what they sewed. Their lusty dreams of lowering the requirements to gain an avalanche of new licensees didn't quite work out as they had envisioned. Unfortunately, the rest of us who saw the folly and demanded that standards not be lowered have to pay their piper now, too.

In the end, if you really feel the need to tell someone their fist is terrible; it's probably best to do it privately via an e-mail or a QSL card. Try to keep it positive, kind and offer assistance. Or, if that's too much of a bother you can always just not work a person you're not comfortable copying. It might seem selfish; but you DON'T HAVE TO respond to every CQ you hear, and in turn you don't have to answer each and every single person who answers your CQ. As a last ditch, if the guys with the terribly rotten bad fists have trouble getting other Hams to work them, then they'll eventually figure it out. The power of the hint can be a powerful thing.

If none of those suggestions appeal to you, there's always the Q-signal QSD. I'll let you go look that one up.

73 de larry W2LJ

July Run For The Bacon

Last night was the July edition of the monthly "Run For The Bacon" a two hour QRP CW Sprint that is sponsored each month by The Flying Pigs Amateur Radio Club International. I was having a good time despite getting a late start - my kids wanted me to finish a book I have been reading to them each night before bed this week. I got on the air at 9:15 PM EDT and was having a little bit of success searching and pouncing on 20 Meters and then 40 Meters.

Then I decided to sit on a frequency and call CQ and try to do a "run". I found a clear frequency on 40 and proceeded to do just that. I was having a good time. I had a mini pile-up going and I was getting into a good rhythm. My goal was to make at least 30 QSOs for the night and possibly break the 1000 point barrier. Just as I was answering Tom, KA2KGP and was starting to give my exchange - the power went out! The lights in the shack got dim; then got real bright and then went out altogether. A few seconds later they came back on and I tried resending my exchange to Tom. Just as I got a few letters out, the power died again; and this time for good!

I never found out the reason; but I did hear fire engines travelling nearby, with their sirens wailing. I guess maybe there was a transformer fire on a local utility pole or something. My entire street was without power as well as the two streets on either side of me that run parallel with me. The streets that run perpendicular to us still had power. That seemed very strange to me as I though the entire neighborhood would have been on the same grid. By the time I got back from a little drive to try and determine the area affected, it was late and I didn't even think of getting out my 12V sealed lead acid battery that I use for portable ops. The thought to do that actually occurred to me this morning as I was driving into work. Duh!

So I settled for 18 QSOs for about 45 minutes worth of operating. These kind of things always seem to happen when you're having a grand time! By the way, power turned back on at 6:30 the morning. As with all the rest of you in the States, we're going through a pretty good heat wave here in NJ. It will be in the 90s all this week. Not a great time for the electricity to go out! It does, however, make you mindful and thankful for the conveniences we have today. The house I grew up in had no air-conditioning to speak of. Living through intense heat waves is not new to me; but it's amazing how fast you become accustomed to having central air conditioning in your house!

73 de Larry W2LJ

The Streak is Broken .... Time to start her up again!

My family just got back from a week at beautiful Lake George, NY. I took the K1 and Buddipole with me, fully intending to keep my "QSO a Day" streak alive during vacation. Last Sunday, I made a couple of contacts during the QRP-ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint. It was a rough go as I was painfully reminded of the difficulties I had last summer. It seems the place where we vacation is located in some kind of RF blackhole. Not only is HF communications extremely difficult; but even finding a spot to find cell phone service can be an excersize in futility.

Monday forced me to make a decision. I spent close to an hour in the afternoon calling CQ with no takers, as well as depleting energy from the smaller gel cell battery I had brought along. Charging up the battery was easy enough as I had brought along my solar panel. However, I got to feeling badly about the possibility of spending so much time away from my wife and kids trying to scare up a daily QSO. To me, the point of the vacation was about being together with them and enjoying each other's company. I therefore decided to end the streak and not worry about making contacts for the week. My family is much more important to me than radio!

So on July 10th the streak of making at least one CW QRP QSO a day since January 1, 2005 came to an official end. In it's place however, I was able to witness my wife and son and daughter have a blast during our week spent at Lake George, NY. I know I made the right choice. Years from now, when my kids are grown up and married and on their own; I don't want them to remember me as a Dad who couldn't tear himself away from his radio to be with them.

Time to start a new streak!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Sage Advice

This was on QRP-L today. Tony Luscre K8ZT was answering a question posed by Kurt Loken AE6UJ about the feasability of working DX on 5 Watts. Tony is a Master QRPer and his response was so thorough that it deserves to be posted! (I have not listed the countries that Tony mentions in his post as it would fill up so much space. Needless to say, it is full of juicy DX!) This just goes to show, folks, QRP works and it works well. It will work even better for you if you have a plan. Here's a good one:

Kurt, I have worked the countries listed below with
5 watts or less. As others have said there are a
number of keys to successful QRP operations.

Here are some of my favorites::

1. Operate as often as possible
2. Operate during major DX contests
3. Good Antennas
4. Good Timing
a. Knowing when to try working each area of the globe
(learn about propagation!)
b. Knowing when to answer the calling station in pileups
(rhythm)
c. Knowing how to answer the calling station in pileups
(speed/repetition)
5. Know your rig. Learn how to--
a. make sure you are zero beat on the station you
want to work
b. effectively work Split
c. use Filters and/or DSP
6. Learn good operating from observing others
7. Persistence- do not be discourage if you do not
have immediate success
8. It is not the distance that is hard it is the
specific country (due
to activity level from that spot)
9. Use a computerized log that will allow you to
track your progress
10. Live a long life with plenty of years with
 Sun Spot Maximums

First Sprint I've ever won!

I arrived home from work today to find an envelope in the mail from John Shannon K3WWP. Inside was a certificate for placing first in last month's NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint. This was the first time I've ever won a sprint of any sort! Not the biggest event, to be sure, but a nice feeling, nonetheless. Thanks for the certificate, John!

Here's how it shook down:

Call   QSOs  Antenna
W2LJ    10   G5RV @25'
KI4DEF   7   88' dblt @53'
*WB8LZG  8   dipole @30'     
AB9CA    8   inv v @30'
K3WWP    4   ~110' attic rndm wire
VA3RKM   3   dipole @18'
KA2KGP   3   40M dipole @30'
*W5TVW   3   33' vert @??'
KL7V     3   40M dipole @50'
WA5HDL   3   ?? @ ??'
N0TK     2   40M attic dipole
K4KO     2   40M dipole @35'
KB3LFC   1   ~110' rndm wire @20'
N9AKF    1   120' random wire @20'
N4UN     1   40M dipole @30'
KD2MX    1   300' ef rndm wire @3

73 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Birthday U.S.A. !!!!!

Two hundred and thirty years ago a very radical concept was conceived. This concept, this idea, was never heard of before on the face of the earth. It was the belief that the people of a new nation were the best ones to determine their course in the future. The people .... not a king, not an emperor or monarch would head the government and would control the nation's destiny.

These men also believed in God and they believed upon relying on His wisdom and providence to guide them on the right path. Today, that would probably get them in a whole bunch of trouble. These men believed their God bestowed upon every human being certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Two hundred and thirty years ago, these men signed a document expressing these ideals and declared the bonds which united them to their Mother country were set asunder.

Two hundred and thirty years ago, today, the United States of America was born. The last and best hope on the face of the earth for freedom and liberty. God willing, and with His help; may the United States remain that shining beacon to the rest of the world for another two hundred and thirty years (and many more).

Happy Birthday, United States of America !!!!!!

73 de Larry W2LJ

They did!

From the ARRL Webpage:

UN Makes It Official: Montenegro Now Number 336 on the Current DXCC List

(Jun 28, 2006 [REVISED Jun 28, 2006 15:45 ET]) -- A new ARRL DXCC entity has come into being! The United Nations has admitted the Republic of Montenegro as its 192nd member, and that action automatically makes the tiny Balkan nation the 336th current DXCC entity, effective June 28 at 0001 UTC.

So actually, it kind of looks like the CQ DX Committee followed the ARRL's lead.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Good enough for CQ - DXCC to follow?

This is posted with copious thanks to Rich Moseson W2VU and the CQ magazine Newsroom:

From the CQ Newsroom…

MONTENEGRO ADDED TO CQ DX COUNTRIES LIST

The following is from CQ DX Awards Manager Billy Williams, N4UF:

Montenegro has been added to the CQ DX Countries List. Contacts made after
June 3, 2006 (independence date) are valid. Updates of country totals,
especially for those on the CQ DX Honor Roll, may be submitted now. See CQ DX
COUNTRY AWARD TIPS on the CQ DX Awards home page at
<http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bfwillia/page3.html> for details on submitting
updates. Updates must be submitted by postal mail. No internet updates will be
accepted.

The next CQ DX Honor Roll will be posted on the CQ DX Awards page (see above
link) in early August and will appear in CQ a few months later. Deadline for
submissions for this listing is July 31st.

In order to equalize postal delivery times, updates received through July 31st
will receive equal consideration. See paragraphs 21 through 25 of the CQ DX
COUNTRY AWARD TIPS.

CQ DX FIELD AWARD UPDATE
Montenegro will be a dual field country (JN & KN). Serbia also remains a dual
field country (JN/KN). Information on the CQ DX Field Award is also available
from the CQ DX Awards home page and on the CQ magazine website awards page.

Thanks, Rich!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Propagation is a funny thing!

Two days - Tuesday June 27th and Wednesday June 28th.

On June 27th, I went out to the car during lunch and had two QRP QSOs. One was with KI4PP in Ashville, NC and the other was with WB6HGJ in San Diego, CA. Wow! 5 Watts from a Hamstick magmounted on the top of my car all the way across the country!!!

On June 28th, I went out to the car during lunch (same time) and heard nothing. Well, almost nothing. I heard a few QSOs in progress; but nothing compared to the amount of signals I heard yesterday.

Propagation is indeed a funny thing. However, it also makes Amateur Radio the immensely enjoyable avocation that it is; so I'll live with it (like I have a choice!).

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Good Read

If you are a Morse Code afficianado; or perhaps fancy yourself becoming one; then I heartily recommend and endorse reading, "The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy" by Bill Pierpont NØHFF. Sadly, Bill became a Silent Key within the last year; but his work is timeless and a treasure.

You can go the the FISTS website to find a link to it; or you can go straight to an on-line version by clicking on this URL: http://www.raes.ab.ca/TASRT/index.html

Bill's book contains the best advice I've ever heard for learning the code. Besides giving practical methods for actually doing it, Bill made the following statement, which I think effectively shoots down ALL the arguements the "anti-coders" use (including the two "obstacle" guys that I posted about previously).

"Psychology teaches us that when we start to learn something new, if we think of it as being EASY, it will be easy. The best teachers never hint or suggest that there is anything hard about it, and their students learn it quickly, usually within a week or two. They also make learning it FUN. We learn much faster that way; so think of learning it as fun -- enjoyable. If you want to learn it -- you can."

Those last eight words ....... Wow! All I can say is that truer words have never been spoken.

Do yourself a favor and take the time to read this book, either on-line; or if you prefer, by purchasing a copy. You will thank yourself a million times over.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Interesting

Since I started this QRP CW "QSO a Day" thing back on January 2005, I've made 2720 QSOs including the two I had tonight. I have had over 1800 QSOs last year; and I'm on a pace to break that this year.

Over 17 months of having at least one QSO a day. If you told me on December 31, 2004 that I'd still be at it as of June 28th 2006; I think I would have told you that you were nuts.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Days past - memories

I've been sitting here, reading accounts of some good Field Days from various folks on the SKCC, QRP-L and Elecraft e-mail reflectors. It makes this Field Day washout just a little harder to bear. But at the same time, it brings back some terrific Field Day memories.

It is my pleasure to be a member of the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club here in Central New Jersey. It was my distinct pleasure to serve as Secretary for one year, as Vice-President for two terms; and then finally as President for two terms. The PARC Club is a good club; but sadly, is only a shadow of its former self. Up until the ARRL came up with the EOC classification; we always had a great Field Day effort. No ...... that's wrong. Make that a fantastic Field Day effort - maybe the best Field Day effort I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of.

We always seemed to run 2A or 3A. Great Field Day plans were always made by Chuck Phillips WB2MSV (now an SK) and Don Ippolito KO2K. We always set up in a Green Acres field in town. We would have trailers and campers lent to us for the day by Bill Koeth W2WK and by Rich Pascale W2PQ. Bill works for a paving company and would always provide generators, portable lighting, and hauling services for equipment as needed. Chuck WB2MSV would always bring his fully equipped deluxe RV!

Antennas were a Yagi supported by a temporary tower made from an extension ladder. We strung dipoles from wooden A frames and lighting poles that were already there at the field. I think we used Bill W2WK's Butternut vertical a few times. Don KO2K used to work for the township; so the field where we were setting up was always manicured and sprayed for bugs ahead of time.

Drew W2OU was always in charge of the logging effort. He would prepare and send our reports into the ARRL. But the best thing about Field Day was the food! Norm KB2SBB and Charlie N2LHD were masters of the Field Day culinary art along with Richie AA2KS. Norm has since gone on to become an SK; but when the three of those guys got together - wow! A feast - a veritable feast like you've probably never seen at a Field Day. People used to come just for the food! We always had the standard fare, like sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, but then specialties like pasta, sausage peppers and onions; or home made manicotti or some other delicacy would appear from time to time! Richie AA2KS owned a produce distributing business along with his brothers; so we always had fresh watermelon, peaches and the like! There was always plenty of cold soda, water and cold 807s. It seems we never did without; or wanted for anything.

The competition between the CW and SSB tents was always good natured and fun. As a club officer, I always tried to make an effort to be there for the entire 24+ hours of the event. I can't tell you how many times I would almost fall asleep at the key! It seemed we always could have used more operators. Special memories include Phil Galasso K2PG, who would come and guest operate, clutching his straight key. Boy, Phil could make that straight key hum faster and smoother than a keyer and paddles. Then there was one year that we had a doctor, Bob Burrier N2TSQ, as a member of our group. Bob was disappointed as he had to attend a formal dinner on Field Day night. He made sure, however, that he came to the FD site immediately after his social affair was over - tuxedo and all! There's just something "a little different" about sitting next to a guy pounding out code and making contacts at 2:00 AM while wearing formal wear!

It was at a PARC Field Day that I first saw and operated a K2. One year we were having problems with the generators and the electrical panel. So at the 2:00 PM starting bell; we were hanging around with our thumbs you know where. Bob W3BBO went to his car and retrieved his brand new K2 with internal tuner and battery. We were humming away, making QRP CW contacts while the experts took care of the generator problems! In fact, my fondest memories of PARC Field Days were of sitting in Rich W2PQ's pop-up camper with Bob W3BBO. Bob would operate and I would log; and then after a while we would switch. Operating Field Day with Bob was a privilege to say the least. Bob is a superb CW op and a really good contester. Being with him got me into good habits that I still use today.

Yes, the memories are sweet indeed! Field Day will probably never be like that again, however. Unfortunately, set up and tear down became the specialty of too few guys who finally got tired of the work load. A superb Field Day effort is a terrible amount of work; which is best shared by all; and not just a few. In addition, the membership roles at PARC are also a shadow of their former numbers. It takes a lot of people to make a big production effort; we simply don't have the numbers now.

But, Field Day is Field Day. I cannot warm up to the idea of sitting in an Emergency Operations Center; sending out "2A NNJ" from some bunker-like atmosphere. Field Day is brain-melting heat and mosquitoes and sunburn and sudden thunder storms - getting soaked to the bone while disconnecting antennas in a blind panic and being careful to avoid the poison ivy. Field Day is sending CW until you can hear it in your sleep; it's forgetting your own callsign and catching yourself signing with the club's callsign for the next few days after it's all over! Next year, God willing, it might just be a wire tossed in a tree and my K1 or K2 working off a battery; but it will be Field Day - one of the best days of the Amateur Radio year!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day 2006

Was indeed a washout, I'm sorry to say. I had planned to set up the K1 and Buddistick/PAC-12 hybrid in the backyard; but that was a no-go. It rained hard, heavy and often. The sun peeked out a few times all weekend; but only to turn the already high humidity into a sauna.

So I operated from the basement shack on Saturday night, using the K2 and battery power to at least try to make it feel more like Field Day weekend. I made about 25 contacts and then, quite frankly, got bored and shut down. There's just something about operating outdoors, either solo or with a group, dealing with the hot sun, mosquitoes, bugs and other outdoor related phenomena that just makes Field Day ..... well, Field Day!

Come the last Sunday of July, I will get a chance at redemption. That Sunday is the Flight of the Bumblebees QRP CW contest sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society. I will go to the park that I am hoping to do Field Day at next year; and will make a trial run. This year I will be Bumblebee #57 (just like Heinz Ketchup!); and I am really, really looking forward to it.

73 de Larry W2LJ

The ARRL missed an opportunity .........

Above you can see two designs. The one in English was designed by the American Radio Relay League for a past Field Day (2003, I think). They have used this logo, since then, whenever they have desired to promote Amateur Radio's unique ability to be a "failsafe" communcations resource in an emergency when all routine commercial avenues fail.

In German, you will see a modified design that the German QRP Club put on T-shirts; and was selling at the Friedrichshafen Hamfest in Germany, which is Europe's version of Dayton Hamvention. You can see the similarity; and so did the ARRL. In fact an ARRL official, Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R, who was at Friedrichshafen went over to the German QRPers and asked/requested/demanded that they stop selling the T-shirts, as the logo is copyrighted by the ARRL.

Was the League within their rights? Yeah, they are ........ BUT the logo being used by the Germans is an adaptation and not a carbon copy. The similarities may be enough that the copyright was technically being violated - that's for the lawyers to decide. But that having been said, I think they made a crucial error. First and foremost, the League should be about promoting Amateur Radio and good will - anywhere and everywhere! The League official should have asked the German QRP Club to come to some sort of agreement, split the profits, don't sell any more T-shirts or perhaps agree to never use the logo again after the first run - anything but stop them at this point.

The idea is to spread the word about the need for Amateur Radio worldwide. Selling this logo on a T-shirt in Europe is not exactly going to hurt the League's efforts in the United States. The action they took might technically be the right course; but it makes the ARRL look incredibly small, selfish and petty. Worry about spreading Amateur Radio popularity and our survival first - worry about the coin later. The League needs to keep its priorities straight. If we lose Amateur Radio, the League won't HAVE ANYTHING to make money on.

73 de Larry W2LJ - Life Member, ARRL

Heard on the local repeater .........

Last night, I had the 2 Meter HT on while I was laying in bed on my way to falling asleep. What got me kind of riled and a bit worked up was the conversation between two local Hams about their preparations for Field Day.

They were both commenting on how much they were looking forward to working HF tomorrow (today). They normally don't because they are Technician class Hams and they both felt that learning Morse Code was an "obstacle" for them.

Obstacle? Obstacle? Obstacle !!!!! How I am soooooooooo sick and tired of hearing that excuse! I am sure there are a legitimate number of people out there who cannot learn the code for a variety of physical and medical reasons. But while I have no hard data to back me up; I feel that number is actually quite rare.

I'm sorry; but as far as I'm concerned; it's a matter of application, dedication and discipline. If you want it bad enough; you can learn the code. The current requirement is for 5 WPM which is so ridiculously slow, it's laughable! I can relate to this problem because I had problems learning the code when I was 16 years old. It kept me out of Ham radio for six years. I could have given up, made excuses and complained. Hey, I did all of those things for almost 6 years! But then I grew up a little more; and realized how badly I wanted a ticket. I buckled down and studied and passed the test with flying colors. And as way so many people are more than willing to point out ........ I'm nothing special! So if I can do it; just about anyone else can, too. For those people who can't; there is a legitimate medical waiver process that they can go through.

I'm tired of the whining and the moaning, the junk science, the rationalizations and the excuses and the bellyaching! You want HF bad enough? Then learn the code and pass the test like the rest of us have done - millions worldwide. It's REALLY not that hard; and maybe if you don't have them handed to you on a silver platter, your HF privileges might actually mean something to you.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Field Day Washout

The forecast for Field Day is for a flash flood warning! Heavy rains tonight, with an 80% chance of rain tomorrow and a 100% chance of rain on Sunday! It looks like I'll not be doing much of anything for Field Day this year.

The Piscataway Club will be operating out of the EOC this year - again. Depending on how I feel tomorrow evening, maybe I'll go over there and put in a few hours on the overnight shift.

Hopefully, next year, our fledgling South Plainfield Ham group will get together next year in one of the town's many parks and we'll have a real 'out in the field" Field Day.

The Flying Pigs are having a real good Field Day effort out in the Midwest. Wish I could join them. But I did the next best thing tonight - I managed to work them, W8PIG. I guess I caught them in the midst of set-up; or perhaps they put the callsign on the air from a local member's shack. One thing about my fellow Piggies - they know how to have fun! I wish them the best of luck (as well as all of you out there) this Field Day. Stay safe, stay cool, stay un-sunburned and un-mosquito bitten (and if you're in the NorthEast - stay dry.)!

73 de Larry W2LJ

The new wire

The new end fed Zepp that I put up last weekend seems to be doing a good job for itself. I haven't gotten what I would consider a decent signal report from the States, yet; but DX has been A-OK!

So far I've worked Romania, Finland and St. Vincent with it, all on 30 Meters and all with QRP power levels. It seems to favor locations off the ends; so in this case NorthEast (which would beam into Europe) and to the SouthWest.

I haven't added any counterpoises. There seems to be no problems with stray RF getting into the shack. I think it'll be okay for 30 Meters.

73 de Larry W2LJ

NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint

Tonight was the first (and hopefully not last) NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint. QRPp operation was encouraged, with the goal in mind to get participants to turn their power down to 1 Watt or less. The Sprint lasted for only an hour (my kind of Sprint!) and it was from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM local time.

I turned the K2 down to the 900 mW level and I had a blast! In the hour, I worked ten stations, all in the Eastern time zone, of course. My best DX was Alabama where I worked AB9CA who is not an NAQCC member; but who had joined the Sprint and was running 1 Watt. Since NAQCC members gave their membership number instead of their output power, I have no idea how low these guys were going. But I did work another non-member; Hiro VE3CGC out of Ontario, Canada who was running 500 mW.

I hope the NAQCC sponsors this again! It was a ton of fun and I think as a twice a year event, it would go over quite well.

73 de Larry W2LJ

From the CQ Magazine news desk

This appears courtesy of Rich Moseson W2VU, editor of CQ magazine:

FCC Katrina Panel Recognizes Hams' Contributions:

The role of amateur radio operators in the response to Hurricane Katrina was recognized by the FCC"s "Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks." The panel's final report to the Commission on June 12, included a paragraph on the Amateur Radio Service, which stated:

"11. Amateur Radio Service. As with other commuinications services, amateur radio stations were also adversely affected by Katrina. Equipment was damaged or lost due to the storm and trained amateurs were difficult to find in the immediate aftermath. However, once called into help, amateur radio operators volunteered to support many agencies, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, Hurricane Watch and the American Red Cross. Amateurs provided wireless communications in many locations where there was no other means of communicating and also provided other technical aid to the communities affected by Katrina."

Among the panel's many recommendations was one that, in a disaster, any restrictive amateur radio rules be waived in order to permit any "transmissions necessary to meet essential communications needs."

The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on June 19, seeking comment on the panel's recommendation. EB Docket No. 06-119 may be accessed on the FCC website at <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs public/attachmatch/FCC-06-83A1.pdf> Note that the NPRM is 82 pages long and includes the entire report of the Independent Panel. Comments will be due 60 days after publication of the Notice inb the Federal Register, and my be filed online using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at <http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/Upload/>. Be sure to reference the docket number above.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two things I'd like to mention here. First off, we amateur radio operators have a terriffic friend in Rich Moseson W2VU. Yeah, I know that as editor of CQ Magazine that Rich has a vested interest to see amateur radio thrive and do well. But I know him personally and I can honestly say, without reservation, that this man loves amateur radio and will do whatever he can to promote us and our hobby. If you read his editorials in CQ Magazine, you will often see his opinions as the "common sense" side of things in many emotionally charged issues.

Secondly, if there's anyone out there who thinks that public service and public service communications are a waste of time and go unnoticed - all I have to say is: "Bunk !!!" This is what amateur radio is all about, in the end. It's about using our time and talents to help our neighbors, our country and our fellow man whenever the chips are down.

So, if you've been thinking that you'd like to get involved; but think it's too difficult then think again. There are a multitude of things you can do and things you can get involved in. Too many in fact to post here without doing a little research first. But you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll see more on this from me in a further post.

IMHO, public service communications may be the salvation of the Amateur Radio Service.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Father's Day and Antennas

It was hot yesterday! It got up to somewhere near 97 degrees in my area. It was a great day for doing antenna work.

After going to Sunday Mass, I took the family out to breakfast. After some good food; we returned home and my wife, Marianne, took our two children to the community pool. So, I had a few hours in which my goal was to put up an end fed Zepp. It stretched from a corner of the house, to the mast in the corner of the backyard which anchors one leg of my G5RV.

The antenna went up pretty easily, despite the inevitable snarls and tangles of antenna wire and feed line. The antenna itself ended up being a close to 80 foot length of 14 gauge "Flex-weave" antenna wire. I fed it at the house end with some "deluxe" Radio Shack 300 ohm TV twin lead. I tossed the twin lead down the side of the house where it goes to a 1:1 balun which is housed in a Rubbermaid plastic food storage container. A hunk of RG-8X (maybe 35 feet or so) takes it the rest of the way to the radio.

I got everything already for the big test. I turned on the K2 and was greeted to the sounds of silence! I didn't panic as twin lead is by its very nature, unmarked. I figured that even though I had a 50/50 shot, I had probably hooked up the twin lead conductors backwards at the balun. I went outside and reversed them, which is quite easy as the balun has screw terminals on the "input" side. A quick trip inside and a flick of the switch gave me the welcome sound of CW on the Amateur Radio bands.

I switched over to 30 Meters and found that my LDG AT-11MP autotuner had no problem tuning up the Zepp. I got a match within 5 seconds of when the relays started chattering. A few seconds later, I heard J88DR calling CW on 10.107.00. I gave him a call and he came back to me with a 559 report. Not bad, I guess, for 5 Watts all the way down to St. Vincent Island down off the coast of Venezuela.

A few more trial runs will have to occur before I decide if any changes need to be made. But for now, my experiment in end fed Zepps seems to be working. It will be fun learning the characteristics of this new wire.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Father's Day RFTB

Hopefully, Dad will have had a good day on Sunday. Good food, good company and the love and closeness of family making the day perfect. But wait! There's one more thing needed to make the day REALLY perfect; and that's by letting Dad get on the radio and spend a couple of hours engaged in his favorite hobby. That's where the Flying Pigs come to the rescue!

This Sunday evening, the Flying Pigs Amateur Radio Club International will be holding its monthly Run For The Bacon. This is a friendly, two hour QRP CW Sprint, which is open to ALL radio amateurs, will last from 9:00 - 11:00PM EDT (0200-0400 UTC Monday).

You may work stations once per band on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 or 10 Meters. Suggested starting frequencies are 1.812, 3.562, 7.044, 14.062, 21.062, and 28.062 MHz.

The exchange is RST, S/P/C (State, Province, Country) and Flying Pigs membership number. If you're not a member of the Flying Pigs, and would like to be; then please click on the "membership" hyperlink on http://www.fpqrp.com/. Otherwise, non-members can just use their output power figure.

You can report your score via the Autolog page which can be found at :http://www.fpqrp.com/fpqrprun.html;
or you can mail your logs to the address given on the Autolog page. The deadline for logs is June 25th at 2400 UTC.

As like last month, the top three scorers will win a certificate. Keep in mind that anyone who participates in 10 out of 12 RFTBs this year will earn a special Certificate of Merit at the end of the year. So please use the Autolog if you've participated; but were unfortunate enough to make any contacts. In this case, trying helps!

Hope to catch you on the air Sunday evening!

72 es "oo"
Larry W2LJ FP#612

Interesting QSO and a big mistake.

I had a nice QSO tonight with Peter WA1ISA, at least for a while anyway. I answered Peter's "CQ" and he came back to me on the first shot. What was interesting was that Peter was using a Tokyo Hy Power Labs HF handi-talkie. I've seen these on K7VO - Caity Martin's Webpage; and I've read her articles about them in QRP-ARCI's "QRP Quarterly"; but I have never actually worked someone who was using one before. An HT for HF - can you imagine that?

Peter was pushing 2 Watts into a 40 Meter sloper that he had just put up this past weekend. As a matter of fact, I was his first QSO on the new antenna; which is very cool. I gave Peter a solid 589 and he gave me the same in return.

That's when I made the big mistake. I was having such an interesting QSO with Peter, that I got long winded in one of my transmissions. When I handed it back to Peter, I was to discover that the band had changed and our 589 signals had QSBed to ESP levels!

Darn! I was about to be told the ins and out of these Tokyo Hy Power Labs HF HTs and I got long winded and ended up screwing myself! 28 years a Ham; and I still forget some of the basics about summer time night band conditions and how they can change on a dime. Better luck next time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary if the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

The above appears courtesy of: http://www.twilightbridge.com/festivals/flagday/index.htm

Please go there to learn more about National Flag Day

Other URLs of interest:

http://www.flagday.org/
http://www.usflag.org/
http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/

73 de Larry W2LJ

Happy Flag Day!

NAQCC Sprint

Tonight was the monthly NAQCC Sprint. Between a T-Ball game for my son (and the following pizza party) and then a Knights of Columbus meeting, I was not able to jump in until the last 20 minutes of the contest. I was able to net 6 QSOs in that short amount of time. Nothing to write home about. Next Tuesday night, the NAQCC is sponsoring a Milliwatt Sprint. It's an hour long and should be a lot of fun.

http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel/sprint200606_special.html

The above URL will fill you in on the details.

73 de Larry W2LJ

New Wire

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day. I plan to dig a small hole in the corner of the backyard; and will sink in cement a section of surplus military mast that I have. After it sets, I will add more masting; so this will end up as being a 25 foot mast in the back corner of my backyard.

The plan is to anchor one leg of my G5RV which is now attached to masting that is tied to a chain link fence post. It's currently not vertical enough for my taste. It leans a bit and I feel it is too precarious. Also, this will serve as an anchor for a new wire I plan to add to my meager "antenna farm". Next weekend, I plan to stretch an 88 foot length of wire from the second floor of my house to this mast. I will run either some twinlead or some ladder line down the side of the house to a 1:1 balun. I will run coax the rest of the way to my autotuner. At the end of this excersize, I should have an 88 foot end fed Zepp. Hopefully this wire will play better on 30 meters than either the G5RV or HF9V currently do.

In any event, it should be fun. Having one more piece of wire in the air certainly can't hurt.

73 de Larry W2LJ

RTTY ........ Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!

Another RTTY contest weekend; and another weekend that 40 Meters becomes unusable. I was in a nice QSO with Dave WQ3T. We were having a pleasant ragchew when out of the blue, we were inundated by RTTY signals. We were down around 7.030 MHz !!!! It used to be; back when I was active in the digital modes, that when there was a RTTY contest that you didn't go below 7.060 or maybe 7.055 at the very lowest. It seems today's RTTYers have no consideration for other users of the band. They come in, unannounced, do not listen to see if the frequency they want to use is occupied or not; and just start with their ear-splitting 20 over 9 signals - CW ops be damned!

Again, common sense and courtesy are casualties to inconsiderate oafs! Oh yeah, there's a better term for them ........ lids!

73 de Larry W2LJ

June Spartan Sprint

Tonight was the June Spartan Sprint, which is sponsored every month by the Adventure Radio Society. My station consisted of my K2, a 7AH lead acid battery, my ZM-2 antenna tuner and my Whiterook single lever paddle. The antenna was my G5RV. My station weight came in at just a tad under 5 pounds.

It was not my "bestest" effort; but it wasn't all that bad either. 34 QSOs in the two hour alloted time. What hurt me badly was that I had bad local interference on 20 Meters for the first hour of the Sprint. That's usually where the best "DX" is gotten in the early part of the contest. When I got on at the beginning of the second hour, the noise was gone but there were only slim pickin's left. I worked four stations; and they were from Alabama, California, Idaho and Georgia.

An added benefit was that the Sprint put my QSO total for 2006 up to 847 for the year so far. I also passed QSO number 5000 in Win-EQF.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Public Service Communications

Today was a CERT day. No emergency, per se; but our town did take advantage of the CERT team and its communcations skills.

Today, South Plainfield hosted the New Jersey Statewide Track Meet. South Plainfield is uniquely qualified to host this event. We are located centrally in the state; and South Plainfield is very close to all the major highways in New Jersey. We are close to the NJ Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, US Routes 1 and 9, Interstate Highways 78 and 287.

So today, in our relatively small town, high school athletes from all over New Jersey came to compete in track and field events. And quite a few buses brought them. And quite a few family and friends came to cheer their favorite runners, javelin throwers, and high jumpers on.

Parking is almost non-existant for such a large event. But between the Police department and the CERT team in assistance; the day went pretty much without incident - except for the rain. Oh, did I mention the rain? Buckets and buckets of rain! It made standing out in a parking lot, directing cars quite the comfortable thing to do, indeed!

In the end, though, it was quite satisfying. The town needed its CERT team and we responded. And as part of the team of eight that volunteered for this morning, five of us were Hams. We relied mainly on the town's licensed frequencies for communications; but in a few instances, 2 Meter simplex communications provided a good back up.

It was good to work together as a cohesive team. Hopefully our services in a major disaster will never be required. But if that need arises someday, we'll be ready!

73 de Larry W2LJ

A little courtesy ????? Please ?????

Last night I ran into a very frustrating situation. I was in QSO with VE3HIE/W8 who was portable in Dearborn, MI. We were on 40 Meters and there were thunderstorms going on all throughout the NorthEast; so QRN was horrendous, with a good bit of QSB thrown into boot.

Tom was using his K1 at 4 Watts; and I had a decent copy, despite the horrific conditions. All of a sudden out of the blue, the familiar cacophony of +35 WPM code. What ?????? It reminded me that Thursday night is "contest practice" night for the die-hard, hard core contesting crowd; as they tune up for the weekend's coming event. Unfortunately, these guys were causing so much QRM that Tom and I couldn't even get a word in edgewise to inform each other about a frequency change (QSY).

I'm not much of a contester; but I do dabble in QRP Sprints, so I have no qualms or grudges against contesting or contesters. But hey, guys, not even a "QRL ?" before hitting the airwaves? What happened to good operating practice and common courtesy? One of my very best friends is an avid contester; and I am certain 1000% beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would NEVER think of blindly calling "CQ TEST" without the common sense of checking the frequency for occupancy, first.

I know that the hair on the backs of most contester's necks get raised up when someone complains about the over- running of the bands with contests every weekend. I generally have no gripe with them about that. But you know what guys? You're bringing these complaints on yourselves when you demonstrate shoddy operating like you did last night.

There is absolutely no acceptable reason for these guys to behave like they own the frequencies. They don't.


73 de Larry W2LJ

Remembering

These days between Memorial Day and Independence Day are always special for me. It is the beginning of Summer, my most favorite time of year. I spend the long, cold nights of Winter yearning for this season and this special time.

These days are special in another way. This time of year brings to my mind the great sacrifices that many men and women have made from the very first days of our Republic - from Lexington and Concord to the very present.

As citizens of this country we need to be reminded that we have received a very special gift. We have been given a free nation, where freedoms and rights have been bestowed upon us to a degree that had never before been seen on the face of this earth. It is our duty, as citizens to not take these gifts lightly, to guard them with great vigilance; and to go about doing our civic duty with pride and reverance.

This is a changing time in our Nation. Our flag and our country used to be regarded with pride and they held a special place in our hearts. We used to believe that America was an exceptional nation; put here by Divine Providence to be a beacon to the rest of the world - to be a shining example - to be the City on the Hill that everyone else could look to as the example to be followed.

Somewhere, somehow, we've fallen into a habit of self-flagellation. We are constantly being bombarded by our own media, the media and governments of other countries, with the idea that somehow the United States IS the problem. We have fallen to self doubt and we stopped believing that this great Nation is the best, last hope for the world.

I believe this habit is a disgrace; and I believe that it is a slap in the face to all those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is a dishonor to our men and women in the military today; who put their lives on the line every single day protecting our freedom and way of life. Honor their memories. Honor their service and lives. Honor your country. Do your civic duty and live your life every day, proud to be an American.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Hoot Owl Sprint

Sunday night was the QRP-ARCI's Hoot Owl Sprint. This is a 4 hour CW Sprint which lasts from 8:00 PM until midnight, local time.

I had a fun evening, operating as I was able. I didn't sit there for the entire four hours. In all, I made 40 QSOs, 34 with QRP-ARCI members and 6 non-members. I had 25 states/provinces and since I operated at 5 Watts I got a 7X power multiplier bonus. My final score was 31,850 points. I was one of only three New Jersey stations that I heard on the air. I wonder if I'll place well for New Jersey?

This event brought my QSO total for 2006 to 799 QSOs for the year so far.

73 de Larry W2LJ

1KMPW without breaking a sweat.

For QRPers, it's the Holy Grail. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it's the end all and be all. It's the 1000 Miles Per Watt Award. I earned mine a few years ago and got the certificate, finally, last year for working the Kwajalein Islands with my K1. It ended up, at 5 Watts, being about 1477 miles per Watt. The certificate hangs proudly on the shack wall, in a more conspicuous and prominent place than my DXCC award.

A lot of QRPers never really try for the award, thinking it's too hard. That's what I thought, too .... for a while. Tonight, I decided to try a little experiment. This weekend is the CQ WPX contest, which is sponsored by CQ Magazine. WPX stands for Worked All Prefixes. The idea is to see how many different callsign prefixes you can work in 48 hours. To me, a non-contester, it's just a big cacophony of 40 wpm + Morse on the bands for the entire weekend. But tonight, it presented an opportunity. I decided to see how many miles per Watt I could work in about a half hour's worth of casual contesting.

I turned the K2 from its customary 5 Watt setting, down to 1 Watt out. I decided that I would try to work some DX on 20 Meters after the kids went to bed. This is what I worked, with no effort, really. One or two stations asked for repeats; but most got my transmission fine the first time. There's DX to be had in them thar hills when the DX is hungry for contest points!

So without breaking a sweat, this is what I worked. The distance computations are approximate, based on what QRZ and Win-EQF computed. I guess the actual results could vary a couple hundred miles, either way.

UW5W - Ukraine 4700 Miles per Watt
TM2Y - France - 3646 Miles per Watt
OK3RI - Czech Republic - 4101 Miles per Watt
4o3T - Yugoslavia - 4526 Miles per Watt
IU3X - Italy - 4301 Miles per Watt
SM3EVR - Sweden - 3947 Miles per Watt
OF6AA - Finland - 4131 Miles per Watt
DK3GI - Germany - 3987 Miles per Watt.

Of course, I realize that this is a testament to the fine DX stations who probably have superb antenna arrays; and are top-notch in every conceivable notion. My 1 Watt and G5RV are in no way the same class as these guys. I'm not nearly stupid enough not to realize that. Also, this is not conversational CW. You know going into the contest what the exchange is; so CW was being exchanged between my station and the DX at about 25 wpm. If these were regular ragchews; I'm sure I would have been asked for repeats and fills. But ... it is interesting to see what 1 Watt can do. Maybe next year, I turn it down to 500 mW.

73 de Larry W2LJ

To the Point

Not that I'm a huge pin collector; but I saw mention of these K2 pins in a post on the Elecraft reflector. They were available at Dayton. If you weren't at Dayton, like me, you can order them from: http://www.dxcoins.com/

They also have a cool pin of a straight key with the words,"know code" underneath the key in Morse Code.

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Tip of the Cap!

A special tip o' the cap and a very big thank you to Jeff Davis, KE9V the author of the blog "Long Delayed Echoes". Jeff has made the "pain" of not being able to attend Hamvention and FDIM just a little bit more bearable. His excellent photos and his podcast "play by play" help one from feeling totally left out.

Any of you who have not checked out Jeff's blog or podcasts are doing yourselves a great disservice! Click on the link to the right and go there ........ NOW! ;)

73 de Larry W2LJ

Just like Dayton!

Today, the weather here in Central NJ is just like what I used to during Hamvention. It's sunny one minute; and pouring rain the next. Put out a few folding tables with used computer parts on them and I'll feel like I'm really there!

I went out to the car at lunchtime (one of the "nicer" weather moments of the day) and got on 20 Meters. No contacts made today. I heard a few signals; but it seemed everyone was already engaged in a QSO. I answered the one lone CQ that I heard coming from a VA3 station on the FISTS frequency. Each time, my answer was another CQ; so I guess I wasn't being heard.

After lunch, I got an e-mail from my friend Brian KB9BVN in Indiana. He heard me calling CQ; but I was only a 229 - ESP levels. It's odd how one day conditions can be so good and the next day you find yourself in the middle of the skunk farm!

Within an hour of being back inside after lunch, the sky turned dark gray, there was thunder, lightning and hail. I'm glad I got the antenna down and everything stowed away in time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

May NAQCC Sprint Results

My summary sheet of results for last night:

Bnd Time Call SPC Nr/Pwr NewMult Pts
40 0033 KI4DEF NC 0247 1 2
40 0034 K4BAI GA 0644 2 2
40 0037 N3AQC PA 1100 3 2
40 0038 W3BBO PA 1001 * 2
40 0040 VA3NR ON 0903 4 2
40 0043 K3WWP PA 0002 * 2
40 0047 K4KSR VA 5 W 5 1
40 0048 N1LT NH 5 W 6 1
40 0050 W1OH MA 0039 7 2
40 0052 AB1DR NH 1143 * 2
40 0056 KN1H NH 1204 * 2
40 0058 K9IS WI 0235 8 2
40 0059 W1SRB MA 1390 * 2
40 0103 N8VW OH 1389 9 2
40 0105 NJ1W NJ 5 W 10 1
40 0111 AJ1M WV 0955 11 2
40 0118 N9NE WI 0748 * 2
40 0120 W1PID NH 0436 * 2
40 0125 AG4ZZ VA 0438 * 2
40 0129 KD1E VT 1199 12 2
80 0137 KA3WMJ PA 3 W * 1
80 0148 W2JEK NJ 1135 * 2
80 0154 KN1H NH 1204 * 2
80 0202 KB2FEL WV 0208 * 2
80 0205 AJ1M WV 0955 * 2
80 0209 K3WWP PA 0002 * 2
80 0212 VA3NR ON 0903 * 2
80 0213 K4BAI GA 0644 * 2
80 0217 AG4ZZ VA 0438 * 2
40 0224 KA2KGP NY 0555 13 2

YourCall QSO's Mbrs QSOPts Mults Score Bonus Final
W2LJ 31 27 58 13 754 x2 1508

Antenna
G5RV at 25 feet.

Soapbox

It was great to see so much activity with the mass exodus
to Dayton going on.Good to see some of the newer members
as well as maybe a few new prospectiveones? (Hint, hint!).
Also, I got to try out a new straight key, a Bulgarian military
copy of a Junker key. Well, at least they got the "junk" part
right! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next month
for two Sprints - theregular monthly and the special
"Milliwatt" Sprint! 73 de W2LJ

Pleasant Surprise!

It's always neat when you come home from work to find something neat that has arrived in the mail. Today there were two envelopes included with the bills and the junk mail. The first was a QSL card from Tony Morgan W7GO from Las Vegas, NV. I QSOed with Tony just recently and actually mailed him my card today! This one is special, as this confirms state number 49 in my quest to re-do WAS, this time all CW and QRP. The only one that's left is Alaska. Not bad for the bottom of the sunspot cycle, eh?

The other envelope was for the W2 QSL Card Bureau. Included were cards from HI8RV, Chikin in the Dominican Republic; and one from VY1JA, Jay in the Yukon territory. That was a QRP contact , too. There were also cards from the Turks and Caicos Islands and one from Martti Lane as EA8BH on the Canary Islands. The most "special" card, however, was from Luis CU2IJ in the Azores. This was a 2 way QRP QSO that we had back in April of 2004; and it was the first QSO that I had with my homebrewed Buddipole. I was sitting at the patio table in the backyard testing the antenna out, when I heard Luis calling CQ. I answered him; and for whatever reason, mistakenly thought he was a Cuban station. When I corrected myself and realized where he was; I was floored! 5 Watts from my K1 to a Buddipole that I made myself had spanned the entire Atlantic Ocean! Wow!

It's things like this that keep Amateur Radio new, fresh and exciting for me.

73 de Larry W2LJ

A Master at Work

This appeared on the Elecraft e-mail reflector today, courtesy of Phil Kane K2ASP:

"I can't vouch for the above, but I can for the following incident in which I was a participant:

As some on this reflector know, I was with the FCC in the San Francisco office for 28 years, retiring as the District Director (then called the Engineer-in-Charge) almost 12 years ago. In the early 1970s I was, among many things, the code examiner for both amateur and commercial applicants. One day an old-timer came in, related that he had been a coast station operator at the RCA Coast Station KPH, and wanted to upgrade his Second Class Radiotelegraph License to First Class before he retired. To copy the 25 WPM plain text, he brought his own "mill" as was permitted. He sat down, asked if he could smoke (in those days it was OK in offices), put the paper in the "mill" and said "OK, start the tape". The venerable Boheme paper-tape reader started pounding out at 25 WPM.

He took a cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth, took a pack of matches from another pocket, lit the cigarette, dropped the matches on the floor, picked them up, and started typing. He pounded away and by the time the tape was finished had almost caught up. He took the paper from the mill, handed it to me, and said "Didn't think I could do it, sonny???"

He had perfect copy. I wish that I was that good

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane"

Thanks, Phil - that memory is priceless !!

73 de Larry W2LJ

I'm not that intrepid!

Rainy and 54 degrees here today (feels more like 43!). Wonderful for the grass, flowers and tomatoes that I've planted; but not so great for outdoor QRPing during lunch. Looks like the rest of the week isn't going to be so great, either, as forecasted by The Weather Channel.

Hopefully, they're wrong and it will dry up; or at the very least get warmer. I don't mind the possibility of getting a little wet; as long as it's warm.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Double Dipping

Today was public service day. A few of us Hams in town helped out at the County Wide Track Meet which was held in South Plainfield, at the high school athletic field. Our responsibilities were mainly involved with helping all the out-of-town visitors park. We had to direct parking so that it would minimize the impact on local side streets. There have been instances in years past, where inconsiderate parkers have actually blocked people in their own driveways!

My job was less "glamorous". I drew the short straw and was directed to a nearby elementary school. This was where the school busses that transported the visiting athletes parked. My job was to make sure no spectators parked and to get each bus driver's cell phone number. I would be radioed when a certain team was ready to be picked up; and I would then inform the respective bus driver that it was time for him to go over to the athletic field and make his pick-up.

BORING! Mind numbingly boring! I was staring at the prospect of standing there for almost four hours, looking at school busses and not doing much of anything else. The only other highlight was when some potential spectator would abuse me for not letting them park in the lot. For a volunteer thing, the jibes I was getting were not so pleasant.

Ham radio to the rescue! Since I drove over to the elementary school, I had the K1 with me. I put the station together on the front seat and put the 20 Meter Hamstick on top of the Explorer and went to town. I only had a copule of QSOs; but it was enough to make a long four hour prospect go rather quickly.

The public service work was light and easy. Amateur radio made it fun.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Something else ........

All I'm seeing on the e-mail reflectors for QRP-L and Flying Pigs and Elecraft are reminders that next weekend is Dayton.

The lucky ones don't need to be reminded; and those of us not fortunate enough to be going don't WANT to be reminded.

Bah - humbug!

73 de Larry W2LJ

To those of you fortunate enough to be going - I wish you all a happy and safe journey there and back home.

Always something

I just got in the mood to sit down for a bit tonight; and fill out some QSL cards for my lunchtime QSOs that I have been reeling in lately. I had five commemorative Edison QSL cards left; and decided to print up some more.

No color ink in the inkjet!

Arrgggghhhhhhh! Don't you hate when that happens?

Looks like a trip to Target is going to happen sometime this weekend.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Odd

The heavy rain predicted for today moved out early. The day is partly; but mostly sunny and the temperature here is 69 delightful degrees. Half a roast beef sub and a bottle of Pepsi were my lunchtime companions, along with Jon W8TY. I called CQ on 14.047 MHZ (more about that later) and Jon answered. He's visiting Norman, Oklahoma getting in some training as part of his job with the United States Postal Service. He was working me from his hotel while he was on his lunch break! What a coincidence! His 15 Watts to a 44 foot wire tossed out his window sent a very robust 579 signal my way.

There's nothing odd about that; so why my title for this post? What happened prior to my QSO with Jon caused a raised eyebrow on my part. I originally dialed up 14.048 MHz, the SKCC frequency; and had fully intended to start out there. I listened for a little bit and heard nothing; so I put out a "QRL? de W2LJ". I went back to my sub sandwich for another bite; waited for a bit more than 10 seconds and put out a second "QRL?". Hearing nothing after about 20 seconds, I put out my first CQ. When I finished, my ears were assaulted by an ear-splittingly loud signal from a 3 station. He was in QSO with someone (who I obviously couldn't hear) and was complaining that he had a rough copy because "someone was calling CQ on top of you".

Now, I was taught, many a year ago, that when you are in the midst of a CW conversation and someone sends a "QRL?", that you either send a "C" or a "YES" or a "PSE QSY". This is part and parcel of CW operating and the process of finding an open frequency - no big deal. The 3 station was deafeningly loud - he HAD to have heard my query, which I had sent twice. Why did I not receive a "QRL" or a "C" or a "PSE QSY" or a "YES"?

I'd prefer not to believe that a 3 station with a 1X2 callsign (Extra Class) wouldn't know proper CW operating protocol. And I can't believe that the QSB was that bad that he didn't hear me. If I was loud enough for him to hear my CQ; then I was loud enough for my "QRL?". Very strange indeed.

Moral of the story? Better to learn the proper protocol and use it; than not and just complain.

73 de Larry W2LJ

1 (sandwich) + 5 (Watts) = Fun!

Had good success at lunchtime today! It was partly cloudy almost to the point of being overcast. More clouds than not. The temperature was about 68 degrees and it was breezy. But the waters were stocked well today; as I continue to use fishing analogies.

I got out to the car a little late; as I had to handle a few phone calls as I was leaving for lunch and the parking lot. I got set up at 17:07 UTC and started calling "CQ" on the SKCC frequencies on 20 Meters.

My first effort was greeted by the dulcet tones of Don W4BWS, from Dothan, Alabama. Dothan, by the way is the QTH of Dave Ingram K4TWJ who is the prolific writer for CQ Magazine. Don gave me a 569 and we had a quick exchange of the standard RST, QTH and names. Don had to hurry as thunderstorms were rolling in near him and he was experiencing lightning. It's definitely not a good thing to be hooked up to a wire antenna that's high in the air when there's lightning around!

My second QSO was with Edwin, KD5ZLB out of Shreveport, LA. Again, we exchanged SKCC numbers; but this was a more relaxed QSO. I could have carried on with Edwin for a much longer time. The ingredients for a good ragchew were all there save one - time! It was getting close to the end of my break and I still had to pack up the station and do my logging before making it back inside.

Tomorrow, it may or may not rain. If the rain doesn't start until evening; then I'll be out there again tomorrow.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Cool New Item & Dayton

In yesterday's mail I received my Hendrick's Kits PCB Vise. This is super cool little vise designed to hold printed circuit boards during construction and repair. It stands maybe 3 or 4 inches high off your building/repair bench. Ideally, it is meant for smaller circuit boards - I would think maybe a board 4'X6" max or maybe a skosh bigger. For circuit boards larger than that, two of these little puppies would be ideal.

You can see it pictured to the right, and that's probably a Rockmite or similar sized circuit board there. Doug Hendricks is offering these vises at his Website, which is: http://www.qrpkits.com/

For twenty bucks, this vise is a steal! It comes disassembled in a package small enough to receive in the mail. I put mine together in about two minutes, tops. There's only one screw and you definitely do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to put it together. It's well made and is definitely the answer that I've been looking for for holding PCBs during construction. My Panavise clone is way too bulky, heavy and ungainly. Thanks Doug, for finding a need and filling it!

You can order yours by going to the URL above; or if you're lucky enough, Doug will have a goodly supply of these at Dayton. Dayton!!!!!! How I miss going to Dayton! The last time I was fortunate enough to go to Hamvention was ten years ago; back in 1996. That was the last year that Hamvention was held in April; and the year before the very first FDIM.

FDIM, for the unitiated, stands for Four Days In May. It's the biggest get together of QRPers in the nation; and that it coincides with Hamvention is by design. I've never had the opportunity to go to FDIM; and that's a burning desire that I have. I know exactly where it's held. When I was making yearly treks to Hamvention; we stayed at the same hotels in Fairborn when the AMSAT folks used to reserve those rooms.

I would love the chance to finally meet, face to face, a lot of guys that I have been fortunate to become friends with over the air and through the Internet. There's nothing quite like the camaraderie that the QRP folks enjoy. Over the years, I've been involved with FISTS, AMSAT and other groups; but the QRP community is unique; and I've never seen anything to equal it.FISTS comes in as a close second; but QRPers are just a notch above that. We talk on the air, we exchange ideas, laughs, jokes and barbs over the Internet. The feeling of belonging that you develop with these guys, many of whom you'll never meet in person, is just an amazing phenomena!

To be able to immerse myself in that environment, for four days in May would be the ultimate. Attending Hamvention would be the icing on the cake.

Here's to wishes!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Neat Post!

The following appeared today on the SolidCopyCW e-mail reflector. It was posted by Art, K4IRS.
I liked it so much that I'm sharing it here!

CW - The Great Communicator by Art Burke, K4IRS

While reading the post about 10 reasons to enjoy code,
I remembered a recent episode I thought I'd like to
share with the group. If I did so already, my apologies.

Several months ago, there was a DXpedition to St. Paul Island (up in
Canada - they used CY9SS). I only had it on a couple of bands and
worked moderately hard to get as many more bands/modes as possible.

One day one of the ops came up on 12 meters, a pretty tough band
these days, with the sunspots down in the doldrums, but he was
working nothing but RTTY. At the time I had no equipment to work
digital modes, so I sat there, frustrated that I couldn't get into
the foray and earn another band/country for the Challenge.

An idea suddenly gleamed and I could only hope for the best. The
operator was working "split," transmitting on one frequency and
listening 2 or 3 kHz higher. It's a very common technique for
handling the pileup, regardless of the current mode. I moved my
transmit frequency up near where the other hams were sending and
turned on the "decode" function on my radio. Several radios on the
market now have this capability. I was using a 746 Pro at the time
and the 756 Pro series can do it as well.

I set one VFO on RTTY and turned on the decoder so I could see what
the DX station was sending. On the other VFO, which I was using as
my transmit VFO, I set the mode for CW. Each time the DX station
would complete a RTTY QSO and send QRZ? I would send
my call in CW, around 15 wpm and mentally cross my fingers.

About the sixth or seventh time I did this, the DX station
sent "K4IRS K4IRS OK 599 599" and I sent, in CW,
"599 599 K4IRS" and the DX station sent
"K4IRS QSL QRZ up 3" SUCCESS!

Obviously, had the DX station not also known CW, he might very well
have heard my signal, but not made heads or tails out of it. A
couple of months later, I had the QSL!

Long live CW!

Art - K4IRS

Great job, Art & thanks for sharing!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Whew!

It was a busy weekend - not much time for radio. I took Friday and today off from work. I spent all day Friday and part of yesterday, as well as most of today, spreading out 2 yards of topsoil in various areas of the backyard. Seems my dog has a penchant for moat building; at least that's what the back and right sides of my backyard looked like! I filled in the trenches with new topsoil and planted new grass seed. In addition, I tilled the garden patch and got it ready for planting; including putting up a "dog-proof" fence. Oh, I also mowed the lawns yesterday.

This all didn't leave much time for radio. I got a QSO in on Friday night; and on Saturday night I handed out a few QSOs in the New England QSO Party. Then I made a couple of contacts on 30 Meters using the Butternut vertical. I get much better signals reports on 30 Meters when I use the Butternut. The G5RV just doesn't play well on 30; and that's a complaint I've heard from other Hams. Another good reason to get up an EDZ later this Spring, if I can!

This afternoon, after all the chores were said and done, I commenced to get in my "QSO a Day" for May 8th. I still haven't broken the string since January 1, 2005. I'd really like to see how long I can keep it going. Today, I worked Vlad UT7IF in the Ukraine on 20 Meters. I used the G5RV on this one. He was 599 here in NJ; and he gave me a 569. Not bad, and it got the job done. I'll make my QSO for May 9, tonight after the UTC date changes over at 8:00 PM local time. I'll have to make it a quick one though, as "24" comes on at 9:00 PM. Gotta see how Jack Bauer get the incriminating tape of the President's actions out of the hands of the bad guys! I am so hooked on that show! It's about the only thing I watch on TV besides Mets baseball and "Monk" when they decide to show something other than a re-run!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Lunchtime Bust

Another beauty of a day here in Central New Jersey, sunny and 80 degrees. I went outside to the car and set up the K1. I called CQ on both the SKCC and FISTS frequencies for a half an hour. Fish weren't biting today. In fact, tuning up and down the band; I didn't hear many signals out there. Thursdays must be busy days for folks.

I'll get 'em next time!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Key Hog

There have been a few bugs and keys on eBay over the past few months; that I have put bids on and tried to win. Several times, I have been outbidded in the very last few seconds by someone whose eBay ID is macflick.

Now I have nothing against someone who outbids me and wins an auction. But if you look at macflick's winnings over the past few months, it is obvious that he/she is a key hog. Not only does this person seem to bid on everything Morse Code related; but this person also bids and wins on multiple amounts of the same types of items.

Just how many Vibroplex Original Bugs does one person need anyway? After winning about five of them; don't you think it's time to give someone else a chance? I've sent e-mails to this person to find out whether he/she is just a collector; or will end up being a reseller. I've never received an answer. Whomever this person is, if you look at the amounts of some of his/her winning bids; it becomes obvious that he/she has really deep pockets. We mere mortals who live from paycheck to paycheck don't seem to stand a chance. (Heavy sigh!)

73 de Larry W2LJ

Spartan Sprint Revisited

As I've posted before, the 10th Anniversary Spartan Sprint was held Monday night. I used my K2, an Emtech ZM-2 antenna tuner, a Whiterook MK-33 paddle and an even smaller and lighter SLA battery that my friend W2WK gave me. All in all, my station weight was under 5 pounds.

My antennas were my G5RV and my Butternut HF9V vertical. Here's the log:

20 Meters

0101Z K8S/K4BAI 579 GA 5W
0107Z K4EJ 559 FL 5W
0109Z K7S/K7TQ 559 ID 5W
0113Z N4S/N4BP 599 FL 5W
0115Z W5ESE 559 TX 5W
0119Z NØS/NØEVH 559 MO 5W
0127Z WK2G 559 FL 5W
0129 K6S/K6III 559 CA 5W
0136 N3JV 559 FL 5W

40 Meters

0141Z KØEVZ 559 NM 3W
0142Z N9S/N9NE 559 WI 5W
0143Z W3DP 579 PA 5W
0144Z VA3NR 559 ON 5W
0147Z WA8BXN 559 OH 1W
0151Z NU4I 599 VA 4W
0154Z W4UH 559 NC 5W
0156Z K8WDN 559 OH 5W
0156Z W9S/WA9TZE 559 WI 5W
0157Z WA1VGB 559 ME 1W
0159Z AF4LQ 579 KY 5W
0202Z KB2FEL 579 WV 5W
0203Z W1LIC 599 ME 5W
0206Z N8VW 559 OH 5W
0207Z W8S/WA8REI 559 MI 5W
0215Z K8DD 599 MI 5W
0217Z K4QO 559 NC 5W
0219Z WK2G 559 FL 5W
0223Z NK9G 559 WI 5W
0225Z N8S/AA9SN 599 MI 5W

80 Meters

0227Z K1S/NA8M 559 ME 5W
0229Z N3S/N3AO 559 PA 5W
0232Z KB2FEL 599 WV 5W
0236Z K3S/K3ESE 599 MD 5W
0237Z N1S/W1PID 559 NH 3W
0238Z W3DP 599 PA 5W
0239Z AB1AV 579 NH 2W
0240Z VE3IGJ 559 ON 5W
0241Z KA3WMJ 599 PA 5W
0242Z W1KX 579 ME 3W
0244Z K3MZ 599 VA 5W
0245Z W2SH 599 NJ 5W
0246Z W8YMO 559 OH 5W
0249Z N2S/KD2MX 559 NJ 5W
0251Z W4S/W1MT 559 VA 2W
0255Z N4S/N4BP 559 FL 5W
0256Z K8DD 559 MI 5W
0258Z W3S/K3TW 559 MD 5W

I apologize for the columns not being even!

Anyway, not too shabby! 49 QSOs with 20 different states/provinces worked. But, I'm just a goldfish swimming in a sea of world class QRP ops who are like graceful and speedy dolphins. I doubt that I'll finish among the top twenty. But I had a good time and in the end, that's all that counts. I'm honored to have been invited to be one of the stations asked to get a special event callsign!

73 de Larry W2LJ

What a Day!

Today's my birthday; and unfortunately, to say that it has been a trying day at work is an understatement, to say the least. It's been a real bear of a day; and I think the bear is winning!

A QRP session at lunchtime was just what the doctor ordered; and today it was like a soothing tonic. I put out a CQ after I got everything set up; and I immediately got a call from Tony, W7GO. Tony is located in Las Vegas, NV. Nevada !!!!!!!! One of the last two states I need to complete Worked All States (QRP/CW). Wow! That was so cool! Tony was using his K2 at 5 Watts and informed me that I was his first New Jersey QRP contact. We helped each other; and I guess that's what Ham Radio is all about, after all.

Right after my QSO with Tony, I was called by Tom W4WXA in Warner Robins, GA. I've worked Tom before on 80 Meters; but Tom is trying to get his 20 Meter endorsement for his SKCC Century Award, so we had a short one. Tom had a great signal; but the path between GA and NJ was fraught with QSB. Tom's signal was roller-coastering between 599 + to about 449; but we "got 'er done".

Tom and Tony - a million thanks! You both helped to make a pretty crummy day a whole lot better!

73 de Larry W2LJ

Good lunch

It's overcast and about 66 degrees here today. I went out and tried to work my friend, Brian KB9BVN on 20 Meters; but no joy.

I slid on down to the FISTS frequency of 14.058 MHz and had two contacts. Seems I had a pipeline into Washington state. I worked Glenn W9FFU/7 and then Phil W7PFZ. Phil had a killer signal into New Jersey, 589 to 599. I've had the pleasure to work Phil before; but always from home. Now I can send him one of my Edison QSL cards.

All in all, a good lunchtime QRP session.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Guess It Works

Just a thought. I guess my success in last night's Spartan Sprint means my emergency feedline repairs are okay ........... for now!

73 de Larry W2LJ

ARS Spartan Sprint

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, last night was the 10th Anniversary Sprint for the Adventure Radio Society. Thirty members requested and received special event 1X1 callsigns; I was W2S for the night. And yes, I did screw up at times, ALMOST sending W2LJ !!!

But from the activity on the bands; to comments already posted to the QRP-L e-mail reflector, a good time was had by all. Propagation conditions must have been exceptional last night; as I have not heard so much activity in an ARS Spartan Sprint in months! Maybe it was a case of our group creating our own propagation by heating up the ionosphere with our RF; but something was clearly working last night. I got a late start by a few minutes, as I had to watch the end of an inning of the Mets game; but in just under two hours, I completed 49 QSOs. I'm not a big time contester; so that may appear to be a pretty wimpy tally by most. For me that's pretty darn good.

I kept switching between the HF9V and the G5RV all night long. The K2's mojo must have been working too. I guess the farthest DX I worked was Doc KØEVZ in New Mexico on 40 Meters and Randy K7TQ in Idaho. Both of those guys are superb ops; it was no surprise that they both had exceptional signals; and good fists to boot!

I'll be posting my score to the ARS Spartan Sprint Autolog sometime tonight.

73 de Larry W2LJ