Socialhams

I've been asked by Andreas OE8APR to spread the word about a project he has launched called "Socialhams" (I see that Roger G3XBM must have received the same e-mail).  It seems to be another attempt at a Web based social media site for Amateur Radio operators.  Here's what he sent (with a bunch of photos):

Introduction to socialhams

Socialhams is a community for ham radio operators. It combines features known from typical social networks with ham radio related ones. To join socialhams all you need is a valid email address and obviously a ham radio callsign. It’s as simple as that!

As registered member of socialhams you can freely meet like-minded people as well as join the Chat, write Blog and Forum posts, start Polls, create Groups and Events. Photos, Videos and Files can be embedded or uploaded to your profile and many other sections too.

The iPhone App, allows you to browse profiles, watch photos and videos, upload photos, send mail, and lots more. All from your iPhone! And if you have an Android-powered device, our Android App lets you use socialhams while on the go, right from your own handset.

You can meet people; chat online; check our top rated, featured items; read about popular topics; wish someone special on his/her birthday; match your interests; and even take advantage of our elaborate people search option.

You will also find unique ham radio related modules:

·       DX Cluster

o   Use the DX Cluster feature to make that contact or Spot one for the rest of the community! The DXCluster tool allows users to locate and spot other Amateur Radio operators transmitting on specific frequencies to make those rare contacts or find that missing location you’ve been searching for.

o   This is the world first HTML5 web socket based DXCluster client

·       Logbook

o   The socialhams logbook allows you to record those important Amateur Radio contacts. This tool gives members the ability to add, edit, organize and sort their contacts all in one convenient location.

·       APRS Map

o   The APRS feature will display the location of any APRS station in the viewable area. This feature also provides each member with the ability to send a message from socialhams to any APRS device with messaging capability.

·       NCDXF Beacon

o   The Beacon Map displays the location, status and the current or future action of each NCDXF beacon in the network. By listening for each beacon on each band you can determine which bands are open and to what part of the world.

·       World clock

o   The World Clock allows each user to stay up to date with the time on any part of the globe. Users can also keep track of the Grey line as it moves to make use of this unique propagation condition.

·       Library

o   Collection of various documents like manuals, schematics, spreadsheets, etc

·       Elmer’s corner

o   The Elmer corner allows any socialhams member to create and publish a tutorial or guide for the entire community to use. Become an Elmer today!!

In our Feedback section, you can post your questions, comments, regards, etc. without any restrictions. Of course, you must strictly avoid obscenity, rude language, and abide by terms of socialhams. To cater for a wider ham radio community, all our features are offered in both English as well as German. Additional languages are in preparation.

We steadily improve existing functions as well as develop new interesting ham radio related modules. At the moment we are hardly work on a Geophysics and SOTA module. All our work in process modules can be previewed on our development site http://dev.socialhams.net, additionally all our developments are available as Git repository on http://gitlab.paan-systems.com. We would be happy to find developers that are interested in joining the project.

To enjoy the unique socialhams experience, all you need to do is sign up http://socialhams.net!

Disclaimer: Seems harmless enough. I have no affiliation or pecuniary interest in this whatsoever. My only goal here is to help a fellow Amateur Radio op out, if I can.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

CQ WWDX

This weekend turned out to be a lot busier than expected. With Thanksgiving, and now the beginnings of getting the house ready for the Christmas season, there wasn't a lot of time for radio. But I did get to play in the CQ WWDX contest for about an hour and a half this afternoon. 10 Meters was hot! In those 90 minutes, I worked 50 different stations, about 40 different countries, all of them QRP save one.

When I heard V55V on the band, I cranked up the KXPA100 quicker than you can say "Jack Robinson". Namibia is a totally new one for me, and I rarely hear them on the air.  Even with QRO power, it took me a while to break the pileup, but break it I did.  I am coming closer, ever closer to the 200 DXCC entities worked mark.

Oh, and last week, this came through the mail:

My second DXCC certificate.  This one for working 100 different entities using CW only. And I noticed something interesting, indeed.  My original DXCC certificate, which is for the "mixed" category was issued back in May, 2003 and is certificate #38,973. This certificate, for an all CW DXCC, issued some 11 years later, is only certificate #20,995.  I'm not sure what to make of that.

Hope you all had fun in the contest this weekend.  The bands seemed to be in great shape, I hope a lot of QRPers either earned, or got a great start on their QRP DXCC.

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

A Thanksgiving Prayer

On this Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I wanted to share with you the prayer that my family will be offering before sitting down to our roasted turkey dinner.

Dear Father in Heaven, we take so much for granted. You shower us so abundantly with Your gifts.  Everything we have is Yours and we forget that.  We go through our busy lives, foolishly thinking that we're the ones in charge. "I did this" and "I earned that" and "Look at what I accomplished" and "Look at what I have", and yet none of that would be possible without You, because everything that exists is truly Yours, and apart from You we are nothing.  You are the Provider, the Giver, the Sponsor of our bounty.  Thank You so much for all that You have given us and continue to give us.

As we sit down with friends and family, we also thank You for the gift of each other. We thank You for the gift of life, for our time, our talents and our treasures, for our health. We thank You for our wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends who help to root us and mold us into what we are.

We thank You for those who are protecting us, even now as we sit down at table. Please bless and protect and watch over all our men and women in the Armed Forces, Police officers, Firefighters, EMTs, First Responders and Doctors and Nurses who are on duty right now, protecting and watching over us as we speak. Please return them to their families safe and sound, to enjoy their own celebrations and their own offering of thanks to You.

In a special way, we ask You to bless and provide for those who are less fortunate, those who are poor or who are alone and have no family or friends to be with, for those who are ill or out of work.  Please open our hearts to them as never before, to share our time, our abundance and friendship with them. You have given these to us to be our physicians, to rid our hearts of selfishness and greed, to rid our attachment to material things, and to aid You in Your Divine Task of providing for everyone.

Lord, we thank You for those who have gone before us and are not with us today. We are still connected to them through You and through love. Watch over them as well, and we pray that they are with You, enjoying life and happiness for all eternity.

Lastly, Oh God, we thank You for this wonderful meal that we are about to enjoy. Please bless this food, bless this house and bless this family and continue to bless our nation on this Thanksgiving Day, and always.

Amen.

A very Happy Thanksgiving from the W2LJ household to yours! 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least! 

Thanksgiving 2014

A very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to all my Amateur Radio friends. Enjoy the day with family, friends and food!

72 de Larry W2LJ  

QRP - When you care to send the very least! 

I'm dreaming of a white .......

Thanksgiving.

What?!?

Yes, Virginia, it looks like the east coast is going to receive a rare white Thanksgiving.  Even though it approached 70F (21C) here yesterday, a change is in the offing.  By 8:00 AM tomorrow morning, the busiest travel day of the entire year, a classic Nor'easter will be making its way up the coast, bringing much colder air and snow with it. By Buffalo, NY and Great Lakes region standards, we're talking a mere dusting of snow - maybe only 3-8 inches (7-20 cm), but enough to make traveling to Grandma's house a trickier proposition than normal. By the way, the last time it snowed in these parts for Thanksgiving was 1989 - some 25 years ago.

On a Ham Radio note, it appears my W3EDP antenna has gone the way of the DoDo Bird, that is - extinct.  I plugged it into the KX3 the other day and I noticed that it is considerably deaf.  Stations that I can hear plainly and loudly with the EDZ and the Butternut are but a mere whisper on the W3EDP.

I suspect I know where the trouble is.  There are only three parts to this antenna - the actual wire, the balun, the coax.  I'm placing my money on the coax.  I suppose water could have gotten into the balun and could be wreaking havoc, but it is a commercial brand, popular make balun.  I think it's way more likely that water probably got into the coax.  I probably didn't weather-proof the connection as well as I thought I had.

Unfortunately, I don't have a piece of coax long enough to replace it right now.  Guess I'll be ordering some over the long Holiday weekend.  I don't suppose there are any coax stores holding day-after-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales, eh?

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

This could be a very good week for DX.

Next weekend is the CQ WW DX contest. Traditionally, this is the week the Big Guns, as well as those traveling to a DX location, specifically for the contest, get ready.

You may very well hear lots of good DX throughout this coming week, if band conditions remain as good as they have been lately.

This is the time for budding QRP DXers to make hay. The pileups should not be too, too fierce before the actual contest. This is prime time, if you're a QRPer who loves to chase DX.

The actual contest itself, is also a great opportunity. However, it's my opinion and observation that neophyte QRPers would do well to wait until the first 24 hours of the contest have passed.

By the second day of the contest, the CW "speed demons" generally tire a little and slow down their speed a bit. At the beginning of the contest, there are many stations who send CW at buzz saw speeds - not so much later on.

Also, on the second day, particularly towards the end, many of these monster contest stations are still looking to rack up as many points as possible. If your signal is on the weak side, it's at this point you are most likely to find stations willing to dig your signal out. Take advantage of that.

In any event, have fun! It is entirely possible for the budding QRPer  to get 1/2, if not more, of QRP DXCC done in a single weekend.

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

Triple Play Special Event Day

As all Amateur Radio operators know, you never know what you're going to get on any given day. It might be a rag chew, or a DXpedition, a quick contest QSO or any number of other possibilities. As I headed out to the Jeep for my lunchtime QRP session, I didn't think I'd end up with three "Special Event" type of contacts.

The first was on 10 Meters - PW2BA. This was actually more of a DXpedtion type of QSO. A team of Brazilian operators have gone to this small island, which is IOTA SA-024, and which also has a lighthouse on it - ARLHS BRA-013.

 

Their signal was up and down with wild QSB. One moment they were 599, and 559 the next.  I was wondering if I should even try, using QRP. Throwing caution to the wind, I did and got an immediate response!

From 10 Meters, I wandered over to 12 Meters, where I worked W1AW/5 in Arkansas.  Not sure whether or not it was one of W1AW/XX stations that I already have in the log, I decided to engage the pileup (which was pretty big!). It took a bit of listening to figure out their listening pattern, but I finally did and busted through.

A quick tune through 15 Meters seemed to indicate a dead band.  I tuned from 21.000 MHz to 21.060 MHz, up and down about four times. Hearing no signs of life, I headed on down to 17 Meters.  There I heard W70.  I had no idea what it was, other than since it's a 1X1 call sign - that means Special Event station.  There wasn't a huge pileup and the operator was actually operating simplex.  I had to wait my turn for a bit. There were many stations calling, and I noticed the operator was trending towards working stations that were sending at a reasonable code speed.  The speed demons were being ignored, so it seemed. So I tweaked my code speed down a touch and threw out my call - success!

Coming back inside, I fired up the computer and QRZ'ed (new word!) W7O, and discovered that the Special Event station was commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of AMSAT OSCAR 7. Being a child of the Space Race, I was quite pleased to have worked them and will send out one of my brandy-new QSL cards, which I received yesterday from KB3IFH. Their QSL card (shown above) is a very classy design IMHO, one I will be proud to display.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Joy and Disappointment

Last night, our Technician Licensing class formally came to an end.  We held a VE Session which was at once extremely gratifying and at the same time, bittersweet.

It was a bit of a whirlwind evening for me, so I'm a bit shaky on the numbers. Of the 16 student we started with, about 10 showed up for exams last night.  Two couldn't make it due to doctor appointments and one get held up at work. What happened to the other three is beyond me. I had everyone's e-mail and was sending out regular announcements. These three individuals haven't come to class for the last couple of weeks.  There was no indication of a lack of interest, or lack of understanding the material - so maybe it's been personal issues.  Life happens, we all know that, and most people are reluctant to talk about their circumstances.

Everyone who turned out last night earned their Technician class licenses with the exception of two.  The two who missed, missed by very little - the bittersweet part.  Just about everyone who passed took a stab at the General, and one actually earned it.  That was very gratifying.

We have decided to hold another VE session this Saturday morning at 8:00 AM at the EOC.  The people who couldn't make it last night will get their opportunity. The people who missed get the chance to dust themselves off and give it another go.  And maybe some will return for a second crack at upgrading to General.

Everyone was invited to the monthly South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meeting tonight. The real "Elmering", the real teaching starts now. It's one thing to help someone to get their license. It's another thing entirely to transform these newbie Hams into confident, knowledgeable, content and active Amateur Radio operators.

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

Cold!

As with much of the rest of the US, New Jersey has been immersed in the deep freeze.  It was only 22F (-5C) when I woke up and left for work this morning. And during lunchtime, it only got up to about 30F (-1C). And the wind is howling at times, making it feel much, much colder. Since we're only about 15 miles or so (as the crow flies) from the relatively warm Atlantic Ocean, it doesn't get as cold here as it does in The Heartland. But for us, these are cold temperatures, indeed - especially for November!

So I headed out to the Jeep at lunchtime to see what the bands were like. I have heard so many reports of them "hopping" lately, that I wanted to see for myself.  My little Li-Ion battery packs seems to dislike the cold as much as I do.  So much for leaving them in the car all morning. When I fired up the KX3, I was getting a reading of only 11V from each pack, about 1.3V less that I would expect. Even batteries don't like to play in the cold!

But with the KX3 only putting out 3 Watts as a result, I still managed to snare a few QSOs on the higher bands:

ZD8O - Ascension Island - 10 Meters
G4MLW - Ian in York, England on 17 Meters
PJ2/K8ND - Curacao on 15 Meters

Not bad - considering. Even though I sat INSIDE the car (engine off) for my session today, I still maintain that it was good practice for the "Freeze Your Butt Off" sprint in February!

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

Skeeter Hunt Certificates

The first 3/4ths of the 2014 Skeeter Hunt certificates went out in the mail last night.  I ran out of 9X12 envelopes and will get more. The remaining ten or so will go out Thursday night, as our Tech License exam session is tonight and our monthly South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meeting is tomorrow night.

If you earned a certificate, it has been noted on the Scoreboard spreadsheet, in the "Notes" column:

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmnlTAnQST7FgsEnsItHaT_ZO0e8yZpzLqxcsyGRkY/edit#gid=1768430587

Thanks for your patience, and I apologize profusely for the delay - but hey, like John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

Look for the Skeeter Hunt to be making an appearance on Facebook in the near future! Oh ..... and there will be at least one change in the rules for next year. Look for that announcement in the Spring of 2015. (Hey, I gotta give you something to look forward to!)

BTW, I want to take an opportunity to mention something about the "QRP - When you care to send the very least!" and the "Skeeter Hunt" items that I offer through Cafe Press.  There's no big markup there - each item is offered at $1 above Cafe Press cost. The proceeds (which ain't much - believe me!) go towards the purchase of ink, paper, envelopes and postage for the Skeeter Hunt certificates. Next year, I am hoping to offer plaques to the top three finishers.

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

Another great eHam article

Again, normally I don't link to eHam. It's a great site, but it's a double edged sword. There's a ton of good stuff there, but it also has its share of trolls, cranks, curmudgeons, smart-alecks, etc. And sometimes you have to search through the entire meadow to find the four leaf clover.

This article though, by Bob Watson K7RBW (tell me that's NOT a vanity call!), is worth taking a look at: http://www.eham.net/articles/33101

It's the ultimate in portable ops, eh?   ;-)

A lot of us take our hobby for granted, and almost never give a second thought as to how lucky we are to have it available to us. For some people in distant parts of the world, Amateur Radio can help to bring a whole lot of difference (for the better) to their lives.

My hat is off to the doctors, nurses and support staff and volunteers who so selflessly give of their time, talent and treasure to help those in need. And that happens not only in the Honduras, but here too, and all over the world.

Whatsoever you do for the least of My brothers ..............

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

For any readers from the greater NYC region

The following came from Mike Lisenco NY2BB, our ARRL Hudson Division Director:

Gordon "Gordo" West, WB6NOA, author, lecturer and creator of many Ham Radio study guides and related products will be in town this weekend and next week. 

He will be at KJI Electronics this weekend, where he will be holding Technician and General Class license review classes followed by an exam session.  Advanced registration is required as space is limited.  Go to www.kjielectronics.com for more information.

He is the scheduled guest speaker at the Suffolk County Radio Club Meeting on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 PM (Time change! From 8:00 PM to 7:00 PM!).  Guests are always welcome so feel free to attend:

Grace Lutheran Church
240 Mastic Road
Mastic Beach, NY

For more information, the club website is: http://suffolkcountyradioclub.net/

He will also be at the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club on Thursday November 20th at 8:00 PM:

Babylon Town Hall
220 East Sunrise Highway
Lindenhurst, NY. 

Talk-in on the W2GSB repeater 146.685 MHz 110.9 HZ PL For more info go to the club website: http://www.gsbarc.org/

This information appears too good not to share - so I re-posted.

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

15 Meters was open

during lunchtime today.  I was able to have a nice conversation with Jim N0UR at the 15 Meter QRP watering hole. I was calling CQ and Jim answered, using his Flex 1500.  His signal was a very nice 579 and I got the same in return. Jim is an outstanding QRP and CW guy. When he is Fox in the QRP Fox Hunts, he wracks up totals that put the rest of us to shame. It was nice to be able to just have a normal conversation with him, for a change.

Then, down on 21.011 MHz, I heard FS/PA3EYC/P calling CQ from St. Martin. According to QRZ, Maarten is vacationing on the Dutch side of the island - Sint Maarten. He must have taken a trip to the French side - Saint Martin, as he was using the FS prefix and not the PJ7 prefix.  Now if that's not just a little confusing, I'm not sure what is!

Then I heard some of the CW Ops guys participating in their CWT mini-sprint. As a giver of points, I just couldn't resist, so I sent my membership number of 1005 to Marv N5AW and Ken K0EU.

Then it was back to the old grind. Thank God for these QRP breaks!

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

Review session

The last class of our Technician License course was held last night. We had what I guess you could call a review session.  Drew W2OU provided me with two practice exams, which I printed out and distributed to the class members.  We treated last night as the actual exam session. So not only did they get practice, but they also now know what to expect for next week.

After each exam was completed, we went over the tests together as a group.  It appears that on both exams, no one got more than six answers incorrect.  Since a passing grade allows for nine incorrect answers, it would appear that we are looking at a bunch of new Amateur Radio ops as of next Tuesday night.

To break things up a bit, we showed an Amateur Radio video in between the two exams. In all, I thought last night's session was exceptional. Our class members have proven to be eager, bright, inquisitive, and open to what we have been presenting to them.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with them, as well as with my two fellow instructors, Marv K2VHW and Drew W2OU.  These two are amazing Amateur Radio ops and have an amazing amount of experience behind them.  The fact that Marv K2VHW is a retired broadcast engineer from WABC with a couple of Emmy Awards under his belt doesn't hurt, either!

I am looking forward to next week, and I just sent the group a final e-mail, detailing what to bring next week and basically telling how proud of them that we are. It's great to be able to help increase the ranks of Amateur Radio.  I also reminded them to relax. This is supposed to be fun, and besides, in the scheme of things, it's not like we're looking to cure cancer or end world hnger.

Oh, and by the way, I did work John K4BAI in Georgia, one of the 40 Meter Foxes last night.  I tried to work Kevin W9CF in Arizona, but I think the good props between NJ and AZ were over by the time I got home and wolfed down dinner. I see from his Fox log that Kevin worked some NJ stations, but that was while I was still in class.  By the time I was trying to work him, he was 229 - 339 at best and I just couldn't make myself be heard. There is nothing more frustrating than calling a station who is sending a CQ in the clear, only to have them resume calling CQ after you send your call!

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

Priorities

Tonight is the beginning of the 2014/2015 QRP Fox Hunt Season. Yay!

I may not be there for a huge part of it. Boo!

But as always, there is a bright side, so this is not a "pity party". As the Hunt starts tonight, I  will be with Marv K2VHW and Drew W2OU as we hold "Review Night" for our Technician License Class students.  Next Tuesday is the Big Night and after that, I should be able to participate in the Hunts until January. Beginning in January, we will be starting another Technician License Class for the Clark, NJ Office of Emergency Management, who has CERT members wanting to earn their tickets. Ergo, no Fox duty for me this year - there's just too many slots that I would not be able to fill. I will have to be content with being a Hound, with limited hunting time, at that.

So the bright side is ushering new Hams into the fold.  Even if a majority of the Clark CERT members become "emergency communicators" only, there is always a chance that the hobby will grab on hold to some of these individuals and they will come to enjoy Amateur Radio for Amateur Radio's sake. And that is what we old veteran Hams live for.

That's another reason why, during these classes, we try as hard as we can to impress upon the students the MANY facets of Amateur Radio, whether it be DXing, rag chewing, CW, kit building, restoring antique radios, digital communications, satellites, VHF/UHF, contesting ........ whatever. The list is almost endless and there's sure to be something of interest for just about everyone.

Now for tonight.  The QRP Fox Hunts run from 9:00 to 10:30 PM EST (local time). I should get home around 9:30 or 9:45 PM.  Assuming I take the time to wolf down (pun intended) something for dinner, that will leave me roughly 30 - 45 minutes to grab a scent, and find and work two Foxes.  Think I can do it? Wish me luck (and propagation!).

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Interesting

This is what the little propagation box was telling me about band conditions today:

I would normally look at that and say to myself, "I guess not today!" And yet, during lunch, I had a modicum of success. I worked W1AW/7 in Washington State and W1AW/0 in Kansas, both on 15 Meters. And, as an added bonus, I went up to the QRP watering hole on 10 Meters and heard Tom EA8YV from the Canary Islands calling "CQ QRP". I answered him and was heard the first time for a 2X QRP QSO.  Tom was about a 539 and I got a 529 back.  And at least on my end, background noise was negligible, so copying Tom was very easy, despite the less than gargantuan signal.

So I guess beauty IS in the eye of the beholder, as my lunchtime QRP session was better than "Fair". At least for me it was. It just goes to show you - it always pays to throw that fishing line into the water, even if it is murky and you think there may be no fish to be had.

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

Not bad for our first effort

The digital edition of the December 2014 issue of QST was posted today.  The first thing I looked at was the 2014 Field Day results.

 

SPARC and NJ2SP came in 3rd Place overall in the 2A Battery category - and only 21 points away from taking 2nd Place. Not bad at all for our inaugural Field Day effort.  Needless to say, improvements are being considered now, in order to elevate our score next June.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Veteran's Day - 2014

A very Happy Veteran’s Day and a very big “Thank You” from the bottom of my heart to all the Vets out there – as well as those currently serving. In my mind, as soon as you put on the uniform, you’re a Veteran. You have defended our freedoms so well for 200+ years, a debt we can never re-pay in full.

Also, a very Happy 239th Birthday to the Marines! Semper Fi, Marines!



Lastly, a Happy Veteran’s Day to my Dad. I was rummaging through some papers in my desk when I came across the Certificate of Condolence that the White House sent upon his passing in 2001. My Dad was a WWII Army Vet who loved to talk about some of the European “sites” he saw during his tour in Europe (including the Passion Play at Oberammergau). He never spoke about combat, though – not uncommon for his generation, it seems. I also came across his wallet sized copy of his Discharge Papers. He was not an Amateur Radio operator, but he was a graduate of the Signal Corps RADAR and Repeater School (which probably explains in some way, my love for Amateur Radio).  I also noticed for the first time that he was a recipient of medals for Combat in the European Theater, as well as a Good Conduct medal and one other. He NEVER spoke about those.

For all the Vets who have passed – Eternal rest, grant unto them Oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful Departed, rest in peace. Amen.

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

Peanut Power Sprint Scores

The claimed scores for the 2014 NoGA Peanut Power Sprint were posted today; and I did really , really well!

Well enough to take 2nd Place in the Salted Category for the second year in a row!  "What's the big deal?" you ask? "You didn't win!" you say?

Heck........ I never win! But to place this high in the standings for a "giver of points" ain't half bad, in  my personal book.  So I am happy with it - although I have to admit, it WOULD be nice to actually win - just once.

I'll have to think about an even better portable antenna for next year. But in the meantime - a very hearty congratulations to all those who did take top place in their respective categories. Good job, guys - VRY FB indeed, gentlemen!

And, a very big "Thank You" to the NoGAnauts for putting on a very fun and successful event. You guys DO know you're going to have to do this every year from now on.......right?

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

Zombie Shuffle Recap - 2014

Tough work week and last night, I felt like a Zombie!

I joined the Zombie Shuffle, already in progress at about 0020 UTC (7:20 PM Local Time). I got on 20 Meters and worked four fellow Zombie Hunters in pretty rapid succession. I thought it was going to be a great night.

I was a tad mistaken.

From there, it got slow - real slow - shuffle slow - slower than shuffle slow.  This Zombie ended up doing a moon dance - looking like he was walking backwards. The perceived lack of participation or lack of good band conditions was a bit of a disappointment.

I stayed on for two hours and worked 13 stations - which somehow seemed appropriate. At that point, while the KX3 was merrily calling "CQ BOO" for me, I actually started to nod off for a few seconds. Being the conscientious, law abiding Amateur Radio operator that I am, I decided it was not a good thing for the Control Operator to fall asleep behind the key. So I accessed the local control point, pulled the big switch and made my way upstairs to get some much needed ZZZZZZZs.

Thanks to fellow Zombies WA5TCZ, KG9DW, KA5T, N5GW, N8RVE, W3KC, W1PID, W3ATB, AB9CA, N1ABS, VE3CBK, WA8REI and WB8WTU for the contacts - lotta good friends there, It was a pleasure to work you all! Five on 20 Meters, six on 40 Meters and two on 80 Meters (which was beautifully quiet without hardly any background QRN - oh if there had only been more Zombies there!).

By the way, I was one of the Elvis stations again this year - so if you worked me, I was worth extra pointage. And as always - special thanks to Paul NA5N and Jan N0QT for running another spectacularly fun event, my own tiredness notwithstanding!

And now for something completely different

A few weeks back, I was looking at Chris KQ2RP's blog, "Signal to Noise - KQ2RP". I was intrigued by his entry, "Show Me Your QSL, And I'll Tell You Who You Are."

Ever since my Novice days, I have used QSL cards of my own design, with varying degrees of success. My mother was VERY artistic and had a lot of artistic talent. My sister, Ann Marie, inherited the major portion of that.  She has a degree in Arts Education, is a talented weaver, painter, sketch artist - an all around good and talented artist.

Me?  Not so much.  I could cobble out a cartoon, as I did for my very first QSL card back in 1978.

Not terribly original, and kind of primitive, but it was artwork done by my hand.

My most favorite QSL, that I came up with was also "heavily borrowed" from a NASA photograph.

Again, the drawing was actually more a tracing of the outline lines from the photograph.  What I liked about this card (apart from the concept of manned space flight) was that the printer (who has since gone out of business, at least the QSL business, anyway) did the stars in gold ink, which I think you can make out from the scan. The stars, which I did freehand, are kind of goofy looking.

In my latest QSL design, I wanted something different. This time I relied on photography, which is actually my trade. I was a professional photographer for a while and was involved in the professional photographic industry (in various capacities) for over 30 years.

I wanted a reflection of my interest in QRP and CW, so I took a photo of my K1 (which has since been sold - to afford my KX3) and one of my Morse Express Christmas keys. This was taken outdoors in my backyard, using natural light. The rig is on top of the patio table glass top and you can see some grass there in the background.  This was "OK", but still not quite what I wanted out of a QSL.

Then I saw Chris' post. And I contacted Jeff K1NSS and asked him, "OK, Jeff - my interests are CW and QRP, what can we do with that?" And in very short order, he came back to me, asking me to tell me more about myself, what my interests are, and please send some photos of whatever I thought would be relevant. And so, I did that. I explained my love for CW, portable QRP operating, this blog, the Skeeter Hunt and probably a lot of other stuff that was superfluous. Jeff came back to me and said to give him a couple of weeks, as he was busy working on some other jobs.

A few weeks later, Jeff came back to me with two sketches.  One was a really neat Art-Deco design of my hand on a bug.  The other was a sketch of me as "The Keeper of the Skeeter Hunt".  I liked them both!  The question now became, how could we somehow combine the two concepts? Jeff knew, oh yes, he knew! And this is what he came up with:

How cool is this?  THIS is going to be my QSL card!

He incorporated CW, QRP and the Skeeter Hunt all in one shot! All my Amateur Radio passions in one beautiful design (love that blood drop from the end of the Skeeter's proboscis). And not only that, but it's unique. I could never have come up with this on my own. If you gave me all the art materials in the world and a thousand years, I would have not dreamed this up. This was a great experience!

It's as obvious as the nose on your face that Jeff is a creative genius, and is a great artist and designer. But because he's also a Ham (K1NSS), he just plain "gets it", he "gets" us, what we like, what drives us, what makes us tick.  He thinks like we think, which may or may not be a good thing! I would not hesitate for a nano-second, in recommending Jeff's services to anyone.

And I think it's plain to see that whomever gets this QSL, they will definitely know who I am.

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

BTW, a big "hat tip" to Chris KQ2RP for his blog post and inspiration.

This never gets old!

I was able to head out to the car at lunch time for a shorter than usual QRP break. Work has been a bit busy lately, so today I only got about 30 minutes of free time, about 1/2 my usual lunch break.  15 Meters seemed to be hopping today. There were lots of loud, clear signals.  I worked W1AW/7 in Wyoming (again) and tried to break through the morass surrounding W1AW/KP2 with no success. I didn't want to linger and spend my entire break trying to bust through that wall.

Knowing I had limited time while at the same time noting that conditions seemed to be so nice, I decided to head on down to the lower part of the band to give calling CQ a try, for a change.  Much to my delight, I was answered almost immediately by Laci DL5JLC, who gave me a 599 signal report. Laci was running 100 Watts from a Kenwood TS-590 to a 3 element beam up around 35 feet. Laci reported that it was clear in eastern Germany (his QTH is near Chemnitz), but was around 44F (7C), while we were experiencing a relative balmy 65F (18C) here in NJ, with cloudy skies. We ended up having a pleasant 14 minute "rag chew" which was very, very nice as well as very, very satisfying. Laci proved to be a most gracious and welcoming QSO partner.

 Courtesy of DL5JLC and QRZ

No matter how long I do this, Amateur Radio in general and QRP in particular just never get old for me. It fascinates me to no end that only 5 Watts of RF energy can traverse the globe some 4,000 miles and can sustain reliable communications over that distance. Yes, I know that Laci's 3 elements at 10 Meters was the major part in making that a reality - but it still seems so very cool to me that QSOs like this can happen at all.

What a great way to spend lunch time!

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

Kaboom!

Most of you have undoubtedly heard by now that the Antares rocket, launched from NASA's Wallops Island Launch Facility in Virginia, blew up 6 seconds after lift off.

Unfortunately, the rocket was carrying various OSCAR satellites, specifically the GOMX-2 and RACE CubeSats.  Fortunately, it appears that no ground personnel were injured or killed by the mishap.

According to the ARRL:

"The 2U GMX-2 CubeSat was intended to test a de-orbit system designed by Aalborg University in Denmark. Karl Klaus Laursen, OZ2KK, is listed as the “responsible operator” on International Amateur Radio Union frequency coordination documents. The Amateur Radio payload proposed using a 9.6 k MSK data downlink on 437.250 MHz. Also on board was an optical communications experiment from the National University of Singapore. The mission also hoped to flight qualify a new high-speed UHF transceiver and SDR receiver built by an Aalborg University team.

The Radiometer Atmospheric Cubesat Experiment (RACE) CubeSat was a joint project between The Texas Spacecraft Laboratory (TSL) at the University of Texas-Austin and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It carried a 183 GHz radiometer, a new science instrument designed by JPL. The primary objective of the RACE mission was to collect atmospheric water vapor measurements. The spacecraft was equipped to transmit using GMSK at 38.4 k and CW telemetry on a downlink frequency of 437.525MHz, as coordinated with the IARU. TSL’s Edgar Glenn Lightsey, KE5DDG, was listed in the IARU coordination documents as the responsible operator."

The Antares rocket is a design of the Orbital Space Sciences group. It was on a re-supply mission to the International Space Station and had 5000 pounds of cargo as well as more than two dozen satellites on board. Mankind has been launching payloads into earth orbit for 57 years now. This just goes to show, that as much as this is "rocket science" - that stuff still happens.

On a related note, I was able to visually witness a very nice pass of the ISS this Monday evening.  It was about a 60 or 70 degree pass just around local sunset.  The ISS was very bright and showed up on the horizon right on cue. Wonderful how that works, isn't it?  As I watched it fly overhead, just over the waxing crescent moon, I was reminded of the many passes of RS10/11 and RS12/13 in the 90s. I used to work those LEOs a lot, and had many pleasurable contacts over them.

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

Sad

Julian G4ILO passed away the other day.  You can read the details from several of the blogs in the blog roll.  I knew Julian only from occasional private correspondance and from his blogs.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to also know (from reading between the lines) that Julian was also a loving husband and a very brave man, who fought his condition with grace and dignity to the very last. He bore his suffering well.

He will be sorely missed.  Amazing how a person who lives some 3,000 miles away from you, whom you have never met face to face, can have such a profound effect on your life. Prayers and thoughts to Olga and the friends and family of Julian Moss.

Rest in peace, my friend.

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

Best laid plans

I took another vacation day today, in order to have another long weekend. I was hoping to get back up to Washington Rock and get some more outdoor QRP in.  However, while the Nor'Easter we've had the past two days is pulling away, it has left a mostly cloudy day, with raw, stiff breezes in its wake as it leaves.

So, to quote Clint Eastwood from "Heartbreak Ridge", it's time to "improvise, adapt and overcome". So I am spending the day doing the house chores that I would have done tomorrow. And according to the weather prognosticators, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and about 10 degrees warmer than today.

A good day to spend a couple hours in the park with a KX3 and a wire in a tall, tall tree.  And also on my side ...... it appears the effects from that solar flare we had the other day are waning as well. So tomorrow may be a better solar weather day, too.

BTW, I managed to work VK9DLX the other night on 15 Meters.  I tried for about a 1/2 hour with 5 Watts and gave in to turning the KXPA100 up to 90 Watts. (Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa - recited while beating breast!) That's what I bought it for, after all. Another new one in the log.

I just had the ARRL update my DXCC standings from new countries worked via Log of the World.  I am up to 171 countries now - officially.  I have several more that I have to direct QSL (with the appropriate bri ..... I mean green stamps). Counting those, I should be pert' near 180 countries confirmed.

Oh, another thing I hope to acomplish this weekend .....get all the Skeeter certificates out.  Keep an eye peeled on your mailbox for the next little while.

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

Interesting discussion

going on over at QRP-L about portable antennas.  The catalyst for the "debate" is this article.

http://www.sotabeams.co.uk/blog/5-most-popular-hf-portable-antennas/

Lot's of good input by lots of people who know what they are talking about.  And as always, for portable operations (my emphasis), it seems to boil down to efficiency vs. ease of use.

Both Steve Weber KD1JV and Ron Polytika WB3AAL, who have done a lot of operating from the Appalachian trail, point out that while classic dipoles may be the most efficient antenna to use, there are practical logistical problems associated with them.  There may not always be trees available, and even when there are trees available, there may be so many and so close together, that hoisting up a dipole may not be practical.  I have to agree with Steve that hoisting a dipole or doublet in the classic sense, in a portable situation (especially when you are by yourself) can be an experiment in frustration.

Steve is a proponent of the End Fed Half Wave, while Ron likes a version of the portable vertical that he has designed and yields quite acceptable results for him.  I have used both and personally prefer the end fed wire for the ease of deployment. Don't get me wrong. I have verticals antennas and love them. My Butternut at home and my Buddistick on top of the Jeep have both done very well for me.  But as always, the ground plane is crucial.  Close to 60 radials at home and the Jeep's metal body acting as a ground plane for the Buddistick make all the difference in the world.

The thing that surprises me though, is that when speaking of dipoles or doublets, everyone always seems to think of them in the classic flat top or Inverted Vee configuration, which of course, requires three supports. I have used doublets, such as the NorCal doublet as a sloper and as a vertical dipole with a modicum of success.  My first Flight of the Bumblebees effort used the NorCal Doublet as a sloper and I was quite pleased with the results.

What it boils down to, of course, is that you have to try different things and see what works best for you. There is no single correct answer to the question of  "What is the best portable antenna?" What will work in one situation may be totally unsuitable for another.  No archer carries only one arrow in his quiver.  Hams who are adroit in portable operations always seem to be carry more than one antenna configuration into the field with them, as long as they meet the requirements for portability and ease of use. And I think all Hams who love portable operations are on a constant quest for the "Holy Grail", an antenna that is lightweight, quick and easy to deploy, and will work as many bands as possible.

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

Making like Jim W1PID

I don't live in the rural areas of New Hampshire like my good friend Jim W1PID. No, look up "suburbia" in the dictionary, and there's probably a picture of South Plainfield there.  Standard 100' X 50' suburban lots dominate the landscape in this area.  Not only is New Jersey the most densely populated state in the Union, but Middlesex County is the most densely populated county in New Jersey. So to find some rural beauty, one has to drive a little bit from here. Unfortunately, it's not a bike ride or hike away. It used to be, but that's another story.

So I did something this morning that I wanted to do for a very long time. I took a ride up to Washington Rock State Park in Greenbrook, NJ, which is about two towns over from South Plainfield.

It was from this vantage point that George Washington kept tabs on British troop movements during the Revolutionary War in 1777.  Today, it's a state park with a monument.

To give you an idea of the view:

Looking slightly north and east, with a "spy glass" you can see the Manhattan skyline easily.

This gives a view towards south and east. Again with a "spy glass' it was possible to keep tabs on Sandy Hook.

There's lot of picnic tables that are just perfect for setting up a portable station, And that's exactly what I did. I launched the PAR END FEDZ into a handy tree and proceeded to go to town.

On 20 Meters, I worked W5AHP, Joe in Texas, and then WN2DX, Marty in Somerset, NJ. We were probably line of sight communications! After Marty, I worked Kurt W8IQ in Toldeo, Ohio. Before QSYing to another band, I snagged W1AW/4 in Alabama.

The lower end of 20 Meters and most of 15 Meters seemed to be wall-to-wall Work All Germany contest stations, so I sidled on up to 12 Meters, which was open! I worked 2SZ, the special event station in London, PA1CC in the Netherlands and finally GB0GDS, a JOTA (Boy Scout Jamboree on the Air) station from Scotland.

So it was a good day and I enjoyed myself immensely, even though it was only about a 90 minute adventure.  The best part was when a gusty breeze would blow, sending a cascade of leaves down. It was like being inside a snow globe of falling Autumn leaves. I am taking another vacation day from work next Friday, so if the weather is good .......

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

New backpack

I really love my LowePro 150 camera bag that I use to carry my "portable" KX3. It's padded, it has compartments that you can configure, it has just about everything you could want.  Except that it's starting to get a little crowded.  I can't easily carry the PAR END FEDZ and the EARCHI and a 25 foot roll of coax in there - just too tight.

Now, for everyday operating from the parking lot at work, that's not a problem, as I really don't need to carry the wire antennas with me - I use the Buddistick on top of the Jeep. But for weekend QRP expeditions, it becomes a dilemma. So for those weekends when I go to a park or somewhere remote, I picked up one of these:

It's a Krevis tactical backpack that I found on eBay for a very nice price. It's padded and while I can't make individualized compartments ala` LowePro, I can fit everything that I need for a Sprint's worth of operating away from home, or the Jeep.  There's even a special compartment in this pack for a hydration bladder (not included) that nicely fits the PAR and the rolled up radiator for the EARCHI.  Rather than plopping the KX3 in the bottom of the pack and piling all kinds of goodies on top of it, I have a padded tactical pistol case that fits the transceiver like a glove. So the KX3 actually ends up being double padded and even more secure than in the LowePro!

So while the weather up in the Northeast is getting ready to become Winter-like, I already have my eye on the prize and am keeping my eyes focused on next Spring and Summer.  I am hoping to make a trip or two to High Point, NJ to do a SOTA activation with Dave KD2FSI, one of the more recently licensed Techs from the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club. He carries his FT-817 in something very similar to this, and I owe him for the inspiration.

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

N2A

Just a reminder. I will be on the air tonight (Wednesday) and tomorrow night (Thursday) as N2A, the NAQCC Special Event Station from 0000 to 0200 UTC on or about 7.040 MHz.  That's the plan, anyway. Mother Nature might have other plans as a cold front is about to march through our area. I am hoping that the thunderstorms they are predicting are a "no-show".  Sooooooo, listen for me on 40 Meters and I will hand you NAQCC #1100 and a short QSO.

On Friday night, from 0000 to 0300 UTC, I will be on 80 Meters on or about 3.560 MHz.  I hope to be busy for the whole time - sending CQ over and over without any responses is about as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry.  I will spot myself on QRPSPOTS. So please, keep me company if you can.

I will schedule some time Friday afternoon as it becomes available.

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

Bravo!

Congratulations are in order to fellow QRPer and blogger, John N8ZYA. In an e-mail this morning from the President of the NAQCC, Paul Huff N8XMS, it was announced that John has been selected to serve as the new Vice-President of that fine organization.

A most appropriate and deserving choice!

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

N#A

This week, from October 13th to the 19th, the North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of its founding.  There will be N#A stations on the air - N1A, N2A, N3A - all the way through N0A.

Yours truly will be on the air as N2A as follows:

October 16th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz  (Wednesday evening EDT)
October 17th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz  (Thursday evening EDT)
October 18th - from 0000 to 0300 UTC on 3.560 MHz  (Friday evening EDT)

Coincidentally, I will be taking a vacation day from work this Friday, October 17th - so after some chores, I will probably get on during the day to try and work some of the higher bands.

As you can see from the table, I was on 20 Meters last night. It was dead - deader than a door nail! So towards the end of my shift, I checked with the Reverse Beacon Network to make sure that there were no N2A stations on 80 Meters and I shifted over there. It was better. Not much, but I did manage to make a few QSOs.

For all the information about the NAQCC's Anniversary celebration, you can go to http://www.naqcc.info/main_n3a.html.  All the QSL information is there. To see a list of activity that's already been planned, go to http://www.naqcc.info/spot_schedule.php.  Keep in mind, this is activity that has been pre-scheduled to this point. More will be added as operator's personal time permits. I know that I probably won't be able to add my additional Friday or Saturday daytime operating time until relatively close to when it's actually going to happen. In addition, I'm not sure that I will operate from home or perhaps the local park. So check the schedule often as it will most likely be amended - a lot!

As I mentioned before, another good tool to check for NAQCC Anniversary activity is to simply go over to the Reverse Beacon Network and simply plug in the N#A call for any, or perhaps the particular district your interested in QSOing with. For example, just enter N2A where it says "search spot by callsign" under the map. That will tell you where WA2NYY, WK2T, K2YGM or myself happen to be at any particular moment.

Oh, and if you try to work me as N2A, please be patient! I am trying to make these QSOs just a tad more than "TNX UR 599, 73 DE N2A". Not ragchews, per se, but definitely more than get-it-done-with-quick. 

UPDATE: Thanks to the following, who kept me company during lunch and got in a QSO with N2A (me) in the process - Steve AB0XE, Andy KD4UKW, Anthony KK4VAU,  Van N4ERM - all on 20 Meters - 14.060 MHz. Oh, and Van ..... not sure what you were using as far as rigs go, but your signal almost made my earbuds pop out - 599 +++!  Great signal from North Carolina!

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

Reaching the halfway point

At the conclusion of tonight's SPARC Technician License course, we will have reached the halfway point.  Four sessions down with four to go and then the exams on the night of November 18th.  There is soooo much to cover and so many questions to answer.  Each session is supposed to end at 9:00 PM but except for one, they have all gone over.

In between classes, our students are supposedly doing their reading and we advised them to really begin with the online tests, if they haven't already.  They know enough by now, that they should be able to at least get a 50%. I have also been e-mailing video links to them, giving them You Tube videos to watch that hopefully might augment the material we covered in class the previous week.

All this makes me wonder how useful are those HamCram classes that you read about.  I've been a VE at a couple and they seem successful enough.  I am told that the way it is supposed to work is that the students study the license manual and do all the reading on their own for 8 weeks prior to the cram session. Then the all day (or two day) cram session winds up being a "super review" session where the material is gone over, reinforced, and any questions or unclear concepts are made crystal.

I'm not sure that would have worked for me back in the day when I became a Novice. I liked the fact that there was a licensed Ham that I could go to each week to have as a resource to answer the questions I had  - and there were plenty. Plus the fact we had to learn Morse, we needed that weekly encouragement with that, also.

Even though our students are sharp, they still have questions. We clear them up the best we can, so they can move on to the next batch of material without unsettled concepts lurking around in the back of their minds. I'd hate to think of how I'd spend a day (or two) answering 8 weeks worth of unanswered questions!

I suppose if you're a real disciplined, self-starter type that doesn't need the occasional nudge, then a HamCram might work well for you.  I am happy with our format, though. I like the idea of getting to know our students over the 8 week period and helping them feel like they're being welcomed into the Amateur Radio community.  I am hoping that these students will become way more than that, that they will become my friends who I will get to know even better, and share laughs and Amateur Radio adventures with in the years to come.

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

2014 Zombie Shuffle update by Paul NA5N

This appeared on QRP-L, for those of you who might have been wondering:

It's that time of the year.  Leaves are changing to yellow and gold, the pumpkins are bright orange, even snow already in some places (uugh), it's getting dark sooner, and Zombies are getting restless.

The 16th annual ZOMBIE SHUFFLE will be held on Friday, November 7, 2014 from 6 p.m. to midnight, your local time.

The Shuffle is always held on the Friday closest to Halloween (except that 2012 Mayan thing), and to avoid the ARRL CW Sweepstakes.  With Halloween on Friday this year, the Shuffle will be on the following Friday, Nov. 7.

Rules about as usual, which I will get up on my website shortly.

FOR NEW QRPers, the Zombie Shuffle is a contest that serves no Earthly purpose whatsoever except to get on the air, work fellow QRP Zombies, and have some goofy fun.  You exchange either your Zombie number or telephone area code, and you add those numbers up for a ridiculously large basic score, then add some equally goofy bonus points and multipliers.  Serendipity more than zipping along at 35 wpm.  For some, the Shuffle has been their first QRP CW contacts.

2013 results and some photos here:
http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombie_006.htm

ZOMBIE NUMBERS are sequential and assigned by the Grand Witchess, Jan NØQT.  If you don't have a Zombie Number, request one from Jan at: n0qt@arrl.net Put ZOMBIE in the subject so it doesn't get confused with those emails from Nigeria.

ZOMBIE BADGE
We even have a QRP ZOMBIE BADGE for you to wear at political gatherings, hamfests, or during job interviews.  Print yours out from: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombiebadge.pdf

ELVIS.  You get bonus points for working Elvis on the air.  If you'd like to be an Elvis station this year, also contact Jan at n0qt@arrl.net

If you think the above is absolutely nutty, screwy, not keeping with accepted contest guidelines, and a total waste of time, even for the dead... then the Zombie Shuffle is for you!!!

Mark your calendars and see you on the Shuffle Nov. 7.

72, Paul NA5N
Zombie #004

Thanks, Paul, for once again taking this on. This is a really fun event and I was so glad and surprised to see that the event is actually on the Friday AFTER Hallowe'en. On Hallowe'en evening proper, I have a radio club meeting and was fearing not being able to participate in the Shuffle, or perhaps only briefly. Now that it's the following weekend, I am really looking forward to it!

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

Solar Flares and CMEs

I was pointed to this NASA video by Don K2DSV.  For those of you who are not sure, or perhaps were not even aware of, the difference between solar flares and coronal mass ejections:



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

Leaves

What I wanted to spend the day doing, was playing with this:

What I actually ended up doing most of the afternoon was this:

While Joey made with the leaf blower, I consolidated, scooped and bagged.

Even so, I did get on the air for all of about a 1/2 hour and made six NJ QSO Party contacts. Think I should bother to send a log in?  Hi!

Ah yes, the joys of home ownership in the Autumn.  The silver lining is, that at least this year, I have some one to lend a hand.

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

Times have changed

The SET session went well. My wife had to work late, so I was able to get on the local VHF net which is affiliated with the NTS, in order to pass on our SET report.  Admittedly, it's been years since I have handled any traffic. However, I was very active back in the 80s, serving for a long time as a NCS of the very traffic net I checked into.  In fact, I was assistant to the Net Manager for quite a while there, also.  So while I'm rusty, I'm no neophyte to traffic handling.

Here's the sticky part. I made my message as brief as possible, but it still came to a check of 27.  And I got to listen about it. Yes, I understand the ARRL message form has lines for 25 words, but c'mon, really?

These messages were local in scope and weren't bound for the Second Region Net or anything like that. And it was only two stinkin' words over. You're going to give me flack for that?  I hate to sound like an old crotchety curmudgeon, but back in the day, we sometimes handled messages with checks as long as 30 or even sometimes 35 words.  And if some evening, you're lucky enough to get a ton of check ins, you're not going to send a net report because it would be over 25 words?

Seems to me the NTS should be begging for traffic, not making remarks so that people couldn't be bothered.

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

2014 SET

This is the weekend for the 2014 SET - Simulated Emergency Test.  Are you and/or your club participating?

 

The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club - SPARC, will be!

We are going to meet tomorrow at 10:00 AM at out EOC.  Once there, I will hand out scripts to the "players" who will be dispatched at various sites around town.  Basically, without giving away too much (some SPARC members actually read this blog - can you believe it?) we will be providing backup communications for the town as the result of a major natural disaster, including but not limited to, the manning of the regional shelter that is located in our town.

Each ARES/RACES member will receive an individualized script and will be directed, at specific times during the drill, to call the NCS and report a "situation". What is NOT scripted is the follow up actions and communications that will flow as a result of the reporting of the "situation".  NCS has no idea of what he will be called about - the following communications will be dealt with as the circumstances dictate.

Right now, the script is still evolving and won't be finalized until tonight. This is when I should have a very good idea as to how many SPARC members will be participating in the drill tomorrow.  Since tomorrow is Yom Kippur, some of our members will be unable to attend. I don't want this to be a boring, tedious drill. I want our members to actually do some communicating, and we will see where we go from there.

My part in all of this?  I will sit in the EOC and will play the role of ICS, throwing some curveballs to the NCS as well. This should be interesting.  

In addition, I will be looking for a volunteer to send a report of or activity to our Section Manager, our Section Emergency Coordinator, and our County ARES and RACES chiefs via NTS. (I would do it myself, but I'm taking the XYL out for dinner tomorrow night - today is our wedding anniversary!) This should be a good learning experience for some of our members who haven't has much experience with NTS. Instead of sending it as book traffic, maybe I can get four volunteers to send one message each.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

School Daze

A daze, that's what it was.

Last night was the second session of our eight week Technician class license class. I think some of our seventeen students walked out of the building with dazed expression on their faces. And I guess that's to be expected right now, as we're out of the introductory "This is Amateur Radio" feel-good fluffy part and we're now into the heart of the course, which is basic electricity and components and all the good stuff.

The concepts of current, resistance, voltage were easily digested by their inquiring minds. The concepts of capacitance, inductance, reactance and impedance? Not so much. But Marv K2VHW and I broke it down into the simplest "lay terms" that we could and I am pretty confident that they have a basic, rudimentary (if not shaky) understanding of the concepts.  I am trying pretty hard to find "real world" equivalents that they can relate to, so these concepts don't totally fly over their heads.

I have to admit that back in Ye Olden Days, when I was studying for my Novice license, I wore the very same expression on my face when I left those sessions each Tuesday evening in October and November of 1978.

If you have no concept of electricity and electronics, it CAN seem daunting. But if our students do the required reading, and maybe even do a little Googling on their own, they will have that "Aha moment!" when it all comes together.

As a class, they have several things going for them. The first is that our young students are whizzes at note taking.  While Marv is handling the teaching part of a segment, I try to keep an eye on our charges, to watch facial expressions and such.  The younger students have their highlighters and pens going at warp speed, taking notes and marking pertinent paragraphs and sentences in their license manuals. The older adult students are no slouches, either.  But there's one important difference - their facial expressions are more telling.  While the "kids" are sponges, absorbing all this stuff, every now and then, I will see one of the adults screw up their faces as if to say "What?!?"  It's at that moment when I will try to pause things for a bit and try to interject an example or some such thing that they're familiar with that brings the concept home to them.

The important thing that we try to stress as much as we can (without beating them over the head with it) is that they HAVE to do the required reading homework.  This way, we can answer any questions on any sticky points that they might have. We also give them the reading material that will be covered in the next week's lesson, so that they're not walking into the material blindly.

These two weeks will probably be the very hardest of the eight week class.  Electrical concepts and components last night. And next week, electronic and basic radio circuits.  After that, we'll get into "the good stuff" - propagation, antennas, operating procedures, setting up a station, etc.  That material is probably more in line with what they expected when they were signing up for an Amateur radio course.

I will make it my business during this coming week to make up a handout with some Internet sources that they can refer to in order to make the "meat" that they were fed last night just a little more palatable.  As any licensed Ham knows, this is an ongoing process that doesn't end with passing the test. In fact, it's just the very beginning.

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