I've got some good news and some bad

First the bad news .......

Hans Summers, G0UPL has announced the end of the QCX radio. Sine 2017, this monoband QRP radio has enjoyed quite the following, with over 9,000 units sold. And the reason for its popularity was clear. It's not every day you can buy a kit for a SUPERBLY performing radio for under $50.

The good news is that Hans has announced he's taking pre-orders for the QCX+, which will ship this June. Rather than letting me go on about it, let me post some pictures and I'll let the designer speak for himself.

First the old kit:

Out with the old and in with the new:

Now, some words from the designer himself:

Hi all,

9,937 QCX kits have been sold since the launch in August 2017. The current batch of kits are almost at an end. Despite the huge number of kits sold to date, the ongoing demand is still very strong. It became apparent to me that regardless of what other new kits come later, there will always be a place in many radio ham's hearts for a high performance, mono-band QRP CW transceiver kit. With its high performance, easy to build and use, CW decoder (including practice mode) and keyer, etc etc., the kit has also proven attractive to newcomers to amateur radio and/or CW.

But I wanted to fix some of the things that have always nagged me at the back of my mind since the start. For the YOTA 2017 summercamp hosted by RSGB in UK, I was under such tight budgetary and time constraints that I had to compromise on certain things. Particularly the inconvenience of fitting the QCX into an enclosure due to the connectors on the two sides, with controls and LCD all at different heights. This has been a distinct disadvantage in many people's mind (though also unleashing much creativity among mechanically inclined constructors).

QCX+ is the replacement for the QCX. No more QCX kits will be made. You can read about the QCX+ here http://qrp-labs.com/qcxp .

The QCX+ development is complete, it is currently in production and will be shipping in mid-June. I am making this announcement now, to allow pre-orders, since the current batch of QCX kits is now practically finished.

But:

QCX+ is the same circuit as QCX.
QCX+ runs the same firmware as QCX.
QCX+ operates just like a QCX.

The changes in QCX+ are as follows (summary, see http://qrp-labs.com/qcxp for full details):

Optional beautiful extruded aluminium enclosure
Much larger PCB. The PCB area is more than doubled. This permits a less dense component installation, following feedback from some constructors who found the QCX PCB rather densely populated. The main PCB is 13 x 10cm (compared to 8 x 10cm in QCX).
Thicker PCB traces (at least 16mil, rather than 12mil in QCX)
Traditional front-panel arrangement: vertical front panel PCB holds LCD and controls, rear horizontal PCB has the main circuits. Pin-headers connect the two.
Power on/off button on front panel
All connectors are on the rear PCB edge
Two additional 3.5mm stereo jack connectors for PTT (50W PA) and CAT control.
2.1mm barrel connector for power
7805 bolts to rear panel for heatsinking
Three BS170 PA transistors and the MPS751 keying envelope transistor are now bolted flat on the PCB for heatsinking purposes - reducing probability of overheating
Lots of pin headers and test pads for debugging, extending, experimenting, modifying etc., including modifying the purpose of the rear panel 3.5mm jack connectors
Plenty of space for modifications and experiments
C24 increased to 470uF (quieter Tx/Rx transitions in full-QSK mode)
Incorporates IC3 pin 13-14 10K resistor mod http://www.qrp-labs.com/qcx/qcxmods/ptt.html
Due to the 2.2x increase in PCB area, additional inter-board connectors, switches, hardware etc., there is a modest increase in price from $49 to $55.
The price of the optional enclosure kit is $25. The combination of QCX+ and QCX+ Enclosure is still cheaper than the combination of QCX and the most popular enclosure (BaMaTech aluminium enclosure).

Manufacturing is already underway and PRE-ORDERING is now open, for shipment in mid-June 2020. See http://shop.qrp-labs.com/qcxp

Wow! Looks good to me! I have a 40 Meter QCX, I might just be tempted to order a 20 Meter QCX+

Thanks, Hans for continuing the "Art of QRP" and favoring us with your superb design and engineering skills!

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

Hamvention Weekend

This is the weekend that thousands of Amateur Radio enthusiasts normally descend upon the great state of Ohio for Hamvention.

Thank you Covid-19 for totally screwing that up this year.

However, from 8AM to 8PM EDT tomorrow (Saturday), you can vicariously attend Hamvention by participating in the Hamvention QSO Party.

The exchange is super easy - a signal report and the first year you attended Hamvention.  In my case that would be 1984. If you've never been to Hamvention, you would use "2020".

Hopefully the bands will be alive,  propagation will be decent and we'll hear lots of stations on the air.

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

N4CCB hits the nail on the head!

N4CCB in an instructional video about Morse Code spacing, and he hits it out of the park! Spacing is everything - give the man a cigar!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send thevery least!

Strange

Getting two QSOs in the Arkansas QSO Party was a quick and easy affair this Saturday and for that I was very glad. I spent most of the day cleaning and straightening up the house as part of Marianne's Mother's Day "gift". There's not much else you can do when the all the stores are either closed, or a pain in the butt to get into.  The kids were busy studying for finals, so that left it up to me. It was too chilly and windy to do any yard work on Saturday, so I took care of the inside, instead.

Then, I discovered, much to my surprise, that HamLog by pignology is no longer available in the Google Play Store. I am loading some Ham apps onto a different Android device, and when I went to look for HamLog in the Google Play Store ......... nada, zip zilch.  So I ended up downloading one of those "share apps" apps, and I copied it from my cell phone to this older tablet that I'm playing around with.

My Lenovo T430 laptop is not always down in the shack, and it's easy to just enter the contacts into HamLog and the transfer them via ADIF file into Log4OM. HamLog is a fantastic app and I hope it's not going away; or even worse, gone for good.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Getting back on the horse.

This weekend, there's only one QSO Party and that's Arkansas - from 1400Z, May 9 to 0200Z, May 10. That's 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM EDT, Saturday.

I'll attempt once again to get at least two contacts in the log, after failing to get Delaware in the log last weekend. Delaware was too close for 40 Meters and I just plumb couldn't hear anyone on 80 Meter CW at night - so Delaware goes as #1 on the "Didn't Make It" list. I'm sure there will be others to follow.

The good news is that NJ Parks re-opened last weekend and will remain open as long as people do not violate social distancing "laws".  I still feel that Field Day is going to be totally messed up this year.  Unless the limits are lifted regarding gatherings of 10 people or less, I don't see how Field Day can really be like it used to be. And if the weekend is hot, who's going to want  to wear a mask for 24 hours while they're out in public? Plus, to be honest - a lot of the Hams that I do Field Day with are older - myself included. They don't WANT to be in situations that could potentially kill them.

For some states that haven't been hit hard by this virus, that's all a moot point. But for Hams in states that are now only beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, it's going to be a very strange Field Day, indeed.

Hopefully, things will be a lot better in six weeks.\

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

Where the heck is Delaware?

I know, I know, it's due south of me a hundred miles or so. I know where it is GEOGRAPHICALLY, where is it on the air?!?

The 7th Call Area QSO Party was a snap this afternoon on 20 Meters. Like shooting fish in a barrel. The Indiana QSO Party was just as easy.  Tonight, 40 Meters is wall-to-wall NE QSO Party stations - can't swing a cat without hitting one. 80 Meters is all NE and IN QSO Party stations.

Where the heck is Delaware?

Delaware - are you going to be one of the few QSO Parties that I don't hear on the air this year?

The good thing is that it runs all day tomorrow as well. Maybe I'll have better luck hearing "The First State" tomorrow morning.

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

It was 15 years ago today

that all this blogging got started. My very first blog post was about the presentation we did on Amateur Radio for "Take Your Kid to Work" Day at the IEEE.

http://w2lj.blogspot.com/2005/04/take-your-kids-to-work-day.html

That was a lot of fun and it's actually hard to believe that was so long ago. The whole adventure evolved into an article by Rich Moseson in CQ magazine later that year.

I've learned a lot in 15 years of blogging - I'm not the same person that started this, so many years ago. I've gotten older, grayer and hopefully wiser (I almost misspelled that "wider" and that would be true, too!).

I've hopefully learned that my opinion really doesn't count for as much as I used to think it did, and I've learned to respect opinions that do not mesh with mine. I like to think I've become more respectful, thoughtful and kinder towards others over the years. I've definitely developed a taste for crow because of some of the things I have posted from time to time. 

All that said, this blog isn't about me. It's about you, us and Amateur Radio. I really appreciate all of you out there who take the time to read my words. If it weren't for you, this would really amount to nothing more than trying to shovel sand against the tide. My one wish is that I could meet all of you in person, give a handshake ....... er, fist bump and spend some time chatting face to face. That would be so cool!

Now ...... onto the winner of the hat giveaway. Twenty three of you took the time to enter. I thank you for that. And the winner is (drum roll, please!) ................

Entry #8 - Steve AA9VJ

Steve, I trust your QRZ address is good, I'll get the hat out to you this weekend.

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

Busy weekend coming up!

Last weekend, there was only one state QSO party - the Florida QSO Party. I ended up working about a dozen stations to fatten up the log. This coming weekend there is a plethora!

The 7th Call Area QSO Party - May 2nd 1300 UTC to May 3rd 0700 UTC - Exchange RST and S/P/C

The Indiana QSO Party - May 2nd 1500 UTC to May 3rd 0300 UTC - Exchange RST and S/P /DX

Delaware QSO Party - May 2nd 1700 UTC to May 3rd 2359 UTC - Exchange RST and S/P/DX

New England QSO Party - May 2nd 2000 - May 3rd 0500 UTC and again  May 3rd 1300 - 2400 UTC - Exchange RST and S/P/DX.

Tomorrow is the drawing for the Hat Giveaway - so far only 20 people have entered, so take heart all of you who have sent me your call sign so far - your chances are really, really good!

PT9KK	Luciano
KC9IH	KC
KF6FOD	Robert
K2SQS	Frank
K5KHK	Karl
K8WPE	Dave
K2DCD	Dennis
AA9VJ	Steve
K2WO	George
NN9K	Peter
SV1GRN	Panagiotis
K0TC	Ron
KD8OCW	Jim
W0JMW	Jeff
KC9UR	Bob
N9WKE	Bruce
KF7JAF	Dave
AD8AT	Jay
K0LAF	Charles

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy birthday, Mr. Morse!

And while there may be arguments as to who it was who actually invented the code we use today (Vail vs. Morse), I think we can all acknowledge that Mr. Morse's invention was the catalyst that got the code invented.

It's my preferred way of conversing through Amateur Radio and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I use it 99 and 44/100ths percent of the time.

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

It's FriYay!

Coming up on the end of a VERY long work week.

This weekend is the Florida QSO Party - so another event to jump into to keep the State QSO Party Challenge (personal) going. The rules can be found at http://floridaqsoparty.org/rules/

The exchange for us non-Floridians is W/VE: RS(T) + (state/province), or if you happen to be DX: RS(T) + DXCC prefix.

Not much going on with W2LJ radio-wise. I do get on our County OEM repeater each evening to participate in a County Health and Welfare Net that was started up by my good friend Marv K2VHW. It's a good thing to stay in touch with friends while this craziness continues. It takes a bit of the sting away of not being able to see each other, face to face.

Keep the hat give-away entries coming in, folks! The drawing will be next Thursday. So far, there have only been about 20 - so everyone's chances are really good at this point.

Did I just spoil that? Sorry!

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

Holy decade and a half, Batman!

Ten days from today is the 15th anniversary of the first posting of this blog. Yep, April 30th 2005 is when this all started.

So, in order to celebrate, I'm going to do another give-away. Who doesn't like getting something for free, right?

I had a hat made from Astrid's Embroidery - with the the signature line - "QRP ....When you care to send the very least!" That hat, which is in the photo above can be yours. Just send an e-mail to w2ljqrp@gmail.com with your name and your call sign. I will compile a spreadsheet, assigning each entry a number, in the order received.  Then, on April 30th, I will have a random number generator program pick a number between 1 and last entry, and whoever that number is assigned to will win the hat.

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

Ya gotta wonder

I decided to make a foray into the "MM" contest this afternoon. Not to compete, of course, just to hand out points.  As a QRP'er, a QSO with me was worth 10 points. The exchange was "RST" and "Continent" and if you are a QRP'er, you were to add a "Q" at the end. so for example, my exchange was "5NN NA Q".

A few stations waited for the entire exchange and actually thanked me for the "Q" because they realized it granted them extra points.  But there were more than just a few speed demons who didn't wait and started calling CQ again as soon as they heard the "5NN NA". The KX3's QSK is fast enough where you can tell who got the entire exchange and who didn't. In their haste they missed the fact that would have been able to claim a 10 point QSO. Oh, well ..........

Other than the MM Contest there didn't seem to be much activity on the bands .I called CQ near the 20 Meter band QRP Watering Hole for a bit and got a reply from Ty W4TYD. But QSB came in and killed that QSO pretty darn quickly. Sorry, Ty, that we couldn't have somewhat of a rag chew.

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

QRPTTF Disappointment

I only heard one QRPTTF station today, and that was Gene N5GW on 20 Meters. I called him a couple of times with no success. That was it. If there were any other stations calling "CQ QRPTTF" out there, I wasn't hearing them, and no one heard me when I was calling CQ.

The Michigan and Ontario QSO Parties were another matter. That was like shooting fish in a barrel. I worked about a half dozen stations in each, more or less, in the little time I put in.  It was nice to hear 40 Meters with wall-to-wall activity. I wish every weekend and every week night were like that.

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

Whither Field Day?

So far, among a myriad of events, Hamvention has been cancelled. I saw on Facebook this morning that is has been announced that Friedrichshafen has been cancelled in Germany - and that was scheduled for mid-late June.

So where does that leave us for Field Day?

According to an e-mail that Hudson Division Hams received from our Hudson Division Director, N2RJ:

FIELD DAY 2020 - NO RULES CHANGES

"At the time of this email, there have been no rules changes to Field Day. The Programs and Services Committee has considered the issue and has decided to not make any changes. I am disappointed, especially since there could have been rules that encouraged social distancing. With that said, the show must go on. I sincerely hope everyone who wishes to participate in Field Day is able to do so, even if you are operating from home.

I will still advocate for common sense changes, but as it is, there is not much support in the PSC for it.

Regarding site visits - unless there is a significant positive change to the CoViD-19 situation I will not be visiting Field Day sites this year. But if you wish, we can meet virtually via your favorite video
conferencing application (We have Zoom, Skype, Jitsi, Facebook and Facetime) or you can send us a short video of your field day operation and we'll put it up on YouTube and our other social media. Or just send us photos and we'll put them up. - N2RJ"

Personally, I would hope that all this is just a bad memory by the 4th weekend in June. But something in my gut tells me that it's going to take a while to get back to anything we consider "normal". This isn't going to be like flicking a light switch back to the "on" position.

Even if we're somewhat close to normal, by then, I'm wondering how much Field Day participation might be off this year, particularly in states that were really hit hard by COVID-19. The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club is in a "wait and see" mode right now. As it gets closer to the beginning and middle of May, I surmise we will be making a more concrete decision about what we're going to do. As a matter of fact, by order of the Governor, currently all State and County parks in New Jersey are closed and are off limits. Our mayor followed suit and closed all town parks as well. For the past six years, our Field Day site was in a County park.

Sadly, the concept of doing Field Day from home is a big yawn for me. It's not the event itself, but all the social activity and camaraderie that make Field Day "Field Day".  We may have to get creative this year.

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

Looking towards next weekend

which seems to be all that's getting me through these weeks!

MI QSO Party
Noon to Midnight EDT (1600 - 0400 UTC)
Exchange - MI: Serial No. + county /  non-MI: Serial No. + (state/province/"DX")

ON QSO Party
2:00 PM to 1:00 AM EDT on Saturday - 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Sunday
Exchange - ON: RS(T) + county / Non-ON: RST + (state/province/country)

And of course, next Satruday is QRP To The Field, which might be better entitled QRP From Home or QRP From The Backyard this year.
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time
Exchange - RST + (state/province/country) + name/SOTA

The long range forecast for my area of the world is for showers beginning on Friday and lasting through Monday - so for W2LJ, it will be QRP From Home (basement). Sigh - at least it's a bit warmer down there than it is in the winter.

I was hoping to try out (for the first time) my new Jackite support, which was inspired by Dave KD2FSI. I guess that will have to wait for a time when the weather is better.

According to WA7BNM's Contest Calendar, I see that also next weekend is "Texas State Parks On The Air". Lucky Texas!  Here in New Jersey, all our State Parks have been closed by order of the Governor until further notice. So there's no POTA going on at all in New Jersey for the moment.

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

The streak continues

No, no such streak as John K3WWP's never duplicatable QRP QSO a Day streak, but my personal goal of making at least two QSOs in each of the state QSO parties in 2020.

Yesterday was North Dakota, Georgia and New Mexico. And as expected, the Georgia QSO Party was like shooting fish in a barrel. I could have made two QSOs in that state QSO party without even thinking about it much. Surprisingly to me, North Dakota, while not as easy, proved to be relatively simple as well. I thought it would be much harder as ND is one of the "tougher: states for a lot of people working on their Worked All States Award.  But three QSOs came with only a modicum of  effort.

New Mexico was the toughie of the three. After I gave the lawn its first mowing of the season, I headed down the basement and got the above mentioned QSOs in relatively short order. At that point in the day, I was not hearing New Mexico at all. I listened on 20 Meters, 40 Meters and even listened on 15 Meters. Nothing. I truly thought my goal of succeeding in this personal State QSO Party Challenge was going to come to an abrupt end.

I came upstairs for a bit to take care of a few things and headed back downstairs around 4:00 PM local time, or about 2000 UTC. I started slowly twiddling the dial on 20 Meters and stopped when I heard K1JD calling "CQ NMQP". At first I thought he was a 1-land station trying to call NM stations, but then I heard him giving out his county as part of the exchange. Wow! He turned out to be an ex-patriot from 1-land now living in New Mexico! I got him in the log rather quickly and then followed that by making a QSO with K8TE. Same deal - I guess that maybe they are retired Hams who have moved from their home states to retire to New Mexico? Whatever. I got two NM stations in the log, which was my goal. I would have liked to have worked a few more ot have fattened up the log, but I have to admit ..... I never DID hear a 5 station calling "CQ NMQP" which was kind of weird.

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

Easter Sunday - 2020

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad!

 For Death has died ... because He has risen!

A very Blessed and Happy Easter to all!

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

No one can screw up like I can !!!!!

After a particularly hard day at work, I decided to jump into the fray of the QRP-ARCI Spring QSO Party, anyway. I only stayed in for two hours, from 0000 UTC to 0200 UTC, but for those two hours, I was delighted by the amount of activity.

I garnered to QSOs on 20 Meters and was very pleased to hear and work John AE5X and Paul K4FB. 40 Meters and 80 Meters were more populated and I got 18 more QSOs for a total of 20 for the two hours. By 10:00 PM local time, my brain was going on "high fuzzy" as the octane in my tank was reaching empty. So I pulled the Big Switch and called it a night. If I had stayed on, I'm sure I would have improved my score, but I was SO tired.

This morning, when I entered my score, I screwed up big time by selecting the incorrect power multiplier. My brain, still in a state of fog, confused the "<" and ">" signs and I chose "> 5 Watts" instead of "< 5 Watts". Typical for W2LJ!

Special thanks to QRP-ARCI for hosting the event, but special kudos to Brian KB9BVN and Jim W4QO for putting on the advertising blitz which resulted in the increase in activity. I am looking forward to the next event.

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

ADDENDUM - An e-mail to Brian KB9BVN, and he graciously corrected my error. Thanks,  Brian!

Important Rule Change

For those of you planning to work the QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party this weekend. The time has been changed!  For those of us in the USA, it is a Friday evening event from 0000 UTC to 0600 UTC.

The event has been shortened to only 6 hours instead of the entire weekend - so be aware.

While I have no basis to explain the reasoning, perhaps it is because there are three State QSO Parties running this weekend. Or maybe, just because it's Easter weekend - who knows for sure?

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

Busy weekend?

This is going to be a very weird weekend coming up.

For those of us who are Christians, this week is very important to us, especially this coming weekend. This week is Holy Week and this coming weekend is Triduum and Easter. With our Churches closed due to COVID-19, there will certainly be services live-streamed (at least in my Diocese there will), but it won't be quite the same.  I'll be missing the tactile part of the ceremonies - hearing the choir sing, smelling the incense, the feel of Holy Water as the Priest sprinkles us after the renewal of our Baptismal vows, seeing family and friends.

Usually, it has been our tradition to head north to Marianne's brother's house for Easter dinner. That was cancelled as we stay put and avoid all non-essential travel. Guess I'll be buying a ham for this weekend - the kind you eat, of course!

Amateur Radio-wise, there will be lots of activity.  The QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party is this Saturday. You can click here for the rules.  The Saturday before Easter is usually a very busy day for me. I usually help decorate our Church and otherwise prepare for Easter Sunday.  Looks like other than grocery shopping and possibly giving the lawn its first mow of the season, I'll have time to get on the air.

In addition to that, we have three more state QSO parties this weekend. On Saturday we have the New Mexico QSO Party and the Georgia QSO Party I'm pretty certain that my friends from the North Georgia QRP Club - the NoGAnauts, will be very active in that one. And on Saturday AND Sunday, the North Dakota QSO Party is being held.

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

A big thank you

to the folks who came up with the idea for the State QSO Party Challenge!

Even though I am not "officially" participating in it - only as a personal challenge, it is providing a lot of fun and enjoyment. I got on the air this afternoon and in short order had QSOs with Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi in the log.  Nebraska was a bit harder, but I got a couple QSOs in with the Cornhusker State as well.

Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi were all plentiful on 20 Meters in the afternoon - but Nebraska was nowhere to be heard. I finally worked W0DB on 40 Meters at about 1932 UTC. I scanned the bands up and down and did not hear another Nebraskan.

After dinner, and before the nightly on-the-air 2 Meter simplex meeting of South Plainfield Hams, I once again searched 40 Meters. The CW portion was wall to wall signals! I cranked down the KX3's filters to an extremely narrow setting and twiddled the dial VERY slowly. Eventually I was fortunate to come across WB9QAF/0 and got my second Nebraska QSO in the log.

My logbook is swelling, due to the State QSO Party Challenge. It's an impetus to get on the air, and that is not a bad thing. As an added benefit, it gets my mind off all this COVID craziness that is transforming our lives. It's good to have a "comfort activity" to resort to in order to help maintain some semblance of sanity.

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

Late April's Fool Joke?

Or do we just take this with a grain of salt?

https://www.newsweek.com/sun-solar-cycle-this-month-1495930

This has been predicted for a long time now, but this is the first mention I've seen from the "secular press". With the way things are going in the world, I'm ready to take any glimmer of good news that I can get.

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

Putting our skills to good use!

From the ARRL:

Circuit Board for Bare-Bones Ventilator Moves Toward Production with Radio Amateurs’ Help

04/01/2020

Radio amateurs continue to play key roles in developing the electronic control system for an open-source/architecture, modular, low-cost human patient ventilator. The device itself was designed by researcher Sem Lampotang and his team at University of Florida Health — the school’s academic health center — using such commonly available components as PVC pipe and lawn-sprinkler valves. The idea is to create a bare-bones ventilator that could serve in the event of a ventilator shortage.

“The way I looked at it is, if you’re going to run out of ventilators, then we’re not even trying to reproduce the sophisticated ventilators out there,” Lampotang said. “If we run out, you have to decide who gets one and who doesn’t. How do you decide that? The power of our approach is that every well-intentioned volunteer who has access to Home Depot, Ace, Lowe’s, or their equivalent worldwide can build one.”

His team is working on adding safety features to meet regulatory guidelines, then they will run engineering tests to determine safety, accuracy, and endurance of the machine, which can be built for as little as $125 to $250.

Dr. Gordon Gibby, KX4Z — a retired associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Florida and an electrical engineer — is among those involved in the project, developing control-system prototypes. He reports that a trial printed circuit board is being created, populated, and tested prior to large-scale fabrication. “This should lead to a documented open-source design that can be replicated or improved upon by any interested manufacturer,” Gibby said, noting that the board could be built anywhere in the world, based on the Arduino Nano microcontroller.

“A huge amount of work has gone on in the design of the circuit boards,” Gibby told ARRL. “We have at least two, maybe three designs, ready for fabrication.” Current design specifications and a video of prototypes have been posted online. The Arduino-based control software will set the respiratory rate and other key parameters in treating critically ill coronavirus victims. Other radio amateurs involved in the control system aspect of the project include Jack Purdum, W8TEE, and uBITX transceiver maker Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE.

Using a Groups.io forum, up to 140 volunteers have been studying or working to push the project to completion. Software is being created by multiple volunteers, with amateur radio operators involved in that phase as well.

The ventilator’s valves will precisely time the flow of compressed oxygen into a patient with lungs weakened by viral pneumonia in order to extend life and allow time for the body to clear the infection.

Among the project’s assumptions: The Food and Drug Administration will waive clearance for the bare-bones design, if a massive shortage develops; traditional medical components and supplies used in ventilators will be in short supply, and transportation will be impaired or disrupted.

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If you're at home, have the time and the soldering skills - please consider volunteering. This is about actively saving lives - perhaps some you love.

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

Something ALL Hams should understand

Just a little Ham humor to lighten up the situation!

But seriously, this current crisis WILL pass, and please know that I'm keeping all of you in my prayers.

In the meantime, please keep in touch with your local Amateur Radio friends and help them if you can.  Our local group in South Plainfield has started meeting every evening on 147.570 MHz simplex - in order to stay in touch with each other, keep our collective spirits up and help each other in any way we can.

And of course, we talk about Amateur Radio - we try not to dwell on the virus too much. You can get that from the mainstream media to the point where you'll go crazy if you watch that stuff too much. We have a great hobby at our disposal - make use of it to fill your time, if you can. It's a great diversion!

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

Stuff coming up.

For those of you who are sheltering in place and are looking for some activity, NEXT weekend has a bonanza of activity.

It all starts next Friday with a QRP sprint, the Sasquatch Stomp, which is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest QRP Group - it runs from 2100 UTC on Friday to 0300 UTC on Saturday. My Sasquatch number is 910. The rules can be found here. Hopefully, I'll hear you on the bands. With no where to go, why not get on the air?

Next weekend has a plethora of State QSO parties:

Nebraska QSO Party: Exchange is simple - your S/P/C (state, province or country)

Louisiana QSO Party: Exchange is RST and S/P/C.

Mississippi QSO Party: Exchange is RST and S/P/C.

Missouri QSO Party: Exchange is RST and S/P/C.

I will definitely be on the air.

Today I got on the air for a little bit and worked Tom EA8YV on 20 Meters. There was a lot of QSB and band conditions were not the best, but we got a valid contact made. I hope to get on the air tomorrow afternoon and see if anyone's on the air - you would think with all this social distancing going on that the bands would be wall-to-wall busy ........right?

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

Another one bites the dust.

I apologize for my snark, but yet another event that's near and dear is changing due to our current situation. This was posted to QRP-L by Paul Harden NA5N:

Gang,

QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) will be held this year on Saturday, April 18, 2020, the usual daylight hours in the U.S. time frame.

To comply with the isolation and travel restrictions most of us are now living under, there will be no theme this year, just a HOME and FIELD category.  There is no special emphasis to operate from the field with most parks and areas closed, isolation concerns, or to not violate local restrictions.  We'll operate from HOME in "Take-Out" mode; FIELD operations are allowed only if you're comfortable traveling to a location without violating local guidelines (or from your back yard).

April 18 also coincides with the annual SOTA S2S Trans-Atlantic QSO Party.   So, SOTA stations (most are QRP) will be on the air for the added bonus points, some from EU, and all SOTA station contacts also qualify for QRPTTF contacts.  If you're a SOTA op who prefers to stay home, then participate in QRPTTF instead.

I really struggled with this.  Some communities are now imposing fines for being caught out and about; we all know the isolation and self-quarantine guidelines imposed on us and the uncertainties come April 18.  So the emphasis this year is operate from HOME so we can all remain safe and still
have fun.

Ham radio is the safest activity on planet Earth right now.  We can associate with all our QRP friends on the bands without having to wash our hands after wards! :-)  See you for QRPTTF on April 18 from the comfort and safety of your HOME.  It might help your "Cabin Fever" just a bit.

I'll be updating the QRPTTF website shortly.

72, Paul NA5N

Sigh ............

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

Almost forgot!

I almost forgot to check for State QSO Parties for this weekend - and there is one! The Virginia QSO Party is being held this weekend. Went down the basement this morning to get my two QSOs in the log to continue with my personal State QSO Parties Challenge (getting at least two QSOs in all of them).

I've been so busy with other stuff that I plumb forgot about checking before the weekend. Work has been super busy. Most of the employees are working from home; but I am in every day as my job can't be performed remotely. The building is like a ghost town. The good thing is that I'm pretty isolated where I sit and I don't come into contact with a lot of people, so social distancing is a pretty easy thing to do.

I had to take my daughter Cara back to University yesterday to help her pack up and bring home everything from her dorm room. All classes are on-line for the rest of the year and all student have to have their belongings removed, and their keys turned in by April 4th. So we got that done. She brought so much stuff home for Spring Break that it made packing up and bringing the rest home a snap.

The silver lining of this COVID-19 thing, Amateur Radio-wise, is that I seem to be hearing more activity on the bands. Maybe it's just my imagination, but there seems to be a "Spring time" of activity on the HF frequencies. That is a good thing in an otherwise bleak time.

The funny thing is that the days are getting longer, the flowers and trees are blooming and the temps are getting warmer; but it feels like a blizzard in the dead of Winter, as we are being told to pretty much stay in place as much as we can, limiting our exposure to one another in order to flatten this COVID-19 contagious curve.

The one thing that seems certain is that as this curve gets flattened and the danger of infection decreases with time, this coming Summer will be a glorious time of getting back to normal! Hopefully.

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

Some stability, but chaos continues

On the job front, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have been offered a position with the new contractor. There will be little change from old to new - I lose two weeks of paid vacation, but to me that's minor compared to seeking employment with another company at my age. Now begins the tedious process of on boarding. When I was a young pup, fresh out of college, you interviewed and if you were offered a position and accepted, there was a handshake and you started working. Now there's all kinds of hoops to jump through, forms to fill out, etc, etc, etc.

That aside, there's this COVID-19 crisis. SPARC meetings have been cancelled for the time being, CERT classes offered by the county have been cancelled for the time being and the new just came down that Hamvention has been cancelled for 2020. I pray to God that this passes quickly and that all of my family, friends and you, my readers, get through this unscathed.

Fortunately, while Amateur Radio is by large and social activity, it can also be a solitary activity from the safe confines of one's shack. And so it was that I continued to chase my personal goal of participating in all the State QSO Parties in 2020.

This weekend we had the Oklahoma, Idaho and Wisconsin QSO Parties. I managed to get QSOs in all three. I thought that Wisconsin would be a cake walk and the other two a bit harder. Again, I was wrong. There were surprisingly a lot of Oklahoma stations on the air on Saturday and conditions were such that they were all pretty loud. I also scored a couple of Idahoans on 20 Meters. They turned out to be easier to find than expected. I really thought that Idaho was going to be tougher than it turned out to be. Sunday was the Wisconsin QSO Party and I was able to log stations on both 40 and 20 Meters.

The world may seem to be falling apart, but Amateur Radio continues to be an activity where you can find satisfaction, enjoyment and accomplishment - all from the comfort of home.

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

Slow down in posts

You may notice a slow down in new posts on "QRP - When you care to send the very least!". There's a couple of things going on that have diverted my attention for the time being.

I have a situation at work. I am a contract employee. In fact, I'm a contractor to a contractor. The contracted company that contracted my company cancelled our contract. That's so confusing! I hope it makes sense, but that's what happened.

The good news is that the new contractor "supposedly" wants to keep us all in place. There was no issue with the employees, but with the contracted company itself. I have been tentatively contacted, sent a copy of my current resume and am waiting for a firm offer of continued employment.

This is what has my attention so absorbed lately. Our contract runs our at the end of the month - so I either get that new offer real soon or I have to start looking for a new job, really quickly.

In addition, the person I worked with (this is a two person position - we have to cover two buildings) took a similar position with another company after all this hub-bub started. So in addition to all this uncertainty, I am trying to fill two pairs of shoes - AND we're in the middle of a HUGE project!

So all this has me running a bit ragged. Last night was the 80 Meter Fox hunt. The Foxes were Dave N1IX in NH and Wayne N4FP in FL. Dave was loud - I was certain (probably a bad idea) as soon as I  heard him that I would make it into his log.

I did. Yay!

Wayne N4FP was another matter. His signal was fluctuating up and down. My guess was, that if I hung around long enough, that I would make it into his log. I just did not have the willpower to do that. I listened for a few minutes and then just hung it up for the night.

Normally, I wake up a few minutes before the alarm goes off. Lately, it's been waking me up. I really hope all this uncertainty and confusion works itself out in quick order.  Until then, my attention will probably be diverted from radio for a little bit.

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

3 for 3

If I was a Major League Baseball player, I could say I went "three for three" this weekend. I had three things that I wanted to accomplish and I got all three done.

The first and second were to get my QSOs in for my personal State Party QSO Challenge. The South Carolina QSO Party was yesterday (Saturday) and the North Carolina QSO Party was today. I made four QSOs in South Carolina and a half dozen in North Carolina. I don't know if it was the difference between Saturday and Sunday, or the number of Hams in each state, but North Carolina on Sunday was much easier than South Carolina on Saturday, Seemed like there were way more North Carolinians on the air.

I chased both states on 40 Meters and on Sunday everywhere I tuned on the band, there were stations calling "CQ NQP". On Saturday, I had to really twiddle and hunt for South Carolina stations. I worked both QSO parties during the 1730 to 1815 UTC time window on both days. Maybe a lot of South Carolina Hams get stuck working Saturdays - who knows?

Anyway, that was goals 1 and 2 accomplished.

Goal number 3 was to build a sample of one of the kits we'll be offering at NJ Makers Day on March 21st. At our South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club last Wednesday evening, I was handed a WHDTS Sound Light Controller LED Lamp Kit.

The instructions that came with the kit are clear and well written. The kit was not hard to put together at all, but it took me about 35 minutes. I'm thinking that a youngster who is inexperienced, and is just learning how to solder for the first time will take over an hour to build this - even with assistance. If you include the USB power cord, there are 28 components to solder, including a 14 pin DIP IC.

In addition to the regular resistors and disc capacitors, there is a 1N4148 diode, three electrolytic caps, 9 LEDs, two transistors and one switch - all of these being polarized components that you have to make sure are installed in the right direction before soldering. This is going to take time and we might have to recommend that this kit be geared more towards the older teens.

It works OK for what it is. You plug it into a USB power source and depress the switch. Then a loud noise like a clap or a whistle causes the ring of LEDs to light up. I put it near a speaker that was playing some music and that will cause the LEDs to flicker in time to the music as well - but the speaker has to be pretty loud. The microphone on this kit is not super sensitive.

Relatively speaking it was a good weekend and I'm happy that I accomplished the things that I wanted to. It was tough being in the basement this weekend, though. While it was in the 30s outdoors on Saturday and the low 40s on Sunday, the basement remained a "balmy" 57 degrees. Not the most comfortable. I just don't know how WG0AT and these other SOTA guys do mountain topping in the Winter. It's definitely not for me!

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

Sky Buddy

Picture as promised. It doesn't appear to be in too bad shape. I haven't connected it to the variac, yet.

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

Quiet weekend

Although it was a busy weekend "civilian world-wise". it was quiet Ham Radio world-wise with two exceptions.

Saturday, the New Providence Amateur Radio Club held it's annual auction. This was the first time I ever attended. I went with the prospect of just hanging out with friends, and ended up coming home with an unexpected purchase.

John N2DV, Tim AB2ZK, Dave KD2FSI, Chris N0CC and Marty WB2BEW were all there and it was nice to see them. The unexpected purchase was a Hallicrafters Sky Buddy receiver which I picked up for $40. It had the original instruction sheet with it as well as an extra tube.

Back in the day, when I was studying for my Novice exam, the Sky Buddy was always spoken of fondly as a Novice's "dream receiver" during the Golden Days of Amateur Radio. I'm also a sucker for Hallicrafters, for some reason. The price was decent, the rig appears to be in decent shape, so it got added to my collection. I'll take a photo of it and will post.

I was contented with the purchase; but what I really should have bidded on was an MFJ QRP rig that was there. I'm not sure of the model, but it was the one with interchangeable band modules. It looked brand new and obviously hadn't seen much use.  It ended up not selling, as there was no interest in it. I didn't bring a lot of cash (not expecting to bid on anything) and the Sky Buddy had tapped me out. Wasn't meant to be, I guess. I really don't need another small QRP radio anyway - but that begs the question. Can you have "too many"?

On Sunday, I got on the radio, in an attempt to work W3BBO when I was alerted to him being spotted on RBN on 40 Meters. Propagation was such that 40 Meters was not a viable path between Erie, PA and South Plainfield, NJ. I ended up going up to 17 Meters, out of curiosity, just to see if the band was open. It was there that I heard ZW86LABRE in Brazil. They weren't very strong, but the band was dead otherwise. I sent out my call and worked them on the first try.

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

Impressive!

My good friend, Bob W3BBO picked up one of these this past week - the Xiegu G90.

Bob is the guy who really got me into QRP as a full time Amateur Radio pursuit - not sure whether he knows that, or not. I've said before that I was always a QRP dabbler since my Novice days, but then one day, back in the annals of history, he brought his brandie-new Elecraft K2 to one of our Piscataway Amateur Radio Club Field Day efforts. A few minutes behind the dial and buttons and I was a hooked QRP'er for life.

Bob still has that K2. Mine was sold off a long time ago in order to afford my KX3. I love my KX3; but I still have a tiny bit of remorse about having to lose the K2. The sacrifices we make ...............

Anyway, Bob bought this little rig this past week and he's been having a ball. And I must say, I've been quite impressed.  It's really gotten him back on the air in a big way.  I have W3BBO set up in HamAlert so that I know when Bob has been spotted on RBN or on the DX Cluster. If I'm home, I go out of my way to get into the shack to try and work him. While I'm at work, there's not much I can do - it just chirps at me. And it's been chirping a lot this week - which has been a good thing! And the results he's been getting are not shabby. Look at this RBN report from a couple days ago:

There's only one report that's not in double digit dB's. That's pretty darn good! Of course, no rig is going to get out without good antennas and Bob is fine in that regard. It's still a good thing to know that a purchase that you've made is a good one. And anything that gets a friend back on the air, big time, is also a good thing.

Wishing you much success and fun with your new radio, Bob - can't wait to hear it on the air!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Marshall Emm N1FN, SK

Many of you may have had dealings with Marshall Emm N1FN who was the owner of Morse Express, Marshall was also the owner of the Oak Hills Research and AMECO lines of products. Many of us purchased keys from him over the years; as well as Oak Hills QRP rigs and accessories.

Marshall was also one of the leaders of the QRP Fox hunts. This appeared on our e-mail reflector this morning:

We are sad to announce that Marshall Emm, N1FN - long time QRP advocate, owner of Morse Express, Oak Hills Research and Ameco – is a Silent Key. Marshall passed away peacefully Monday morning, February 17, 2020, at Aurora CO Medical Center with his daughters and wife surrounding him. When more details are available, we will post a more comprehensive announcement. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marshall’s family. Messages, thoughts, stories can be sent to COLORADOQRPCLUB@GMAIL.COM.

 Dick AB0CD.

Rest in Peace, Marshall.

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

AlexLoop

This is what I sold the two keys for - an AlexLoop. I bought it from Peter NN9K for a very good price. My first impression is that it's not all that different from my home brewed loop, with one big exception - I can tune the 15 Meter band. Listening to P40L on 15 Meters, I was able to tune the SWR down to 1.5 to 1. I was not able to do that with the home brewed loop.

The home brewed loop is a bit easier to tune with the 6:1 gear reduction drive that I put on it. I will have to get used to how sharp the AlexLoop's tuning is. Just a slight touch will take you from an SWR of 25:1 all the way down to 1.5:1. If Alex could pack a reduction drive into that small box, he'd really have a winner.

I wanted this loop with the future in mind, I bought it for the long haul. Yes, there are times when portable ops will demand using it - in parks where wires are not allowed in trees, for example. But I'm thinking about some years from now. Marianne has mentioned moving if and when we ever retire. There may come a day when I'll be leaving in Senior housing or perhaps a condo or townhouse with an HOA. If that ever happens, there may come a day when this AlexLoop could be the difference between being able to operate or being off the air completely.

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

Holy Shamoley!

Dan N7CQR posted his log for the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt for Tuesday evening. I was the only NJ Hound to make it into the log! I couldn't believe my eyes! I even did a CTL+F search on "NJ" just to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

Usually I'm the last New Jersey Hound to make it into a Fox's log. I'm gobsmacked that this time I'm the only one. There are three other Hounds who reside in the Garden State - Steve WX2S in Kingston, Charles W2SH in Millington and Glenn NK1N in Hillsboro. Normally, they all get heard before me - I told you all that South Plainfield is an RF Black Hole! But to be the only NJ Hound in the log - this will probably be the first and only occurrence in my lifetime.

It was interesting, because I was able to locate Dan pretty quickly. He had a huge pileup of Hounds calling him. Find the pack, go down one and start listening - that's usually the modus operandi. It was this time, too.

It took a while for Dan's signal to build up to the point where throwing out my call sign was doable. There's no point in QRMing the pack if you can't hear the Fox returning your call. And at around that magic minute 0250 UTC, I made it into Dan's log.

I don't know what it is about 0250 UTC. I looked back at the pelts that I have collected this season and the vast majority of them were all nabbed within 5 minutes, either way, of 0250 UTC. I guess that's when all the louder QRP stations peter out and my pipsqueak signal starts getting heard.

The 80 Meter hunt tonight should be interesting. Mary NR3Z in Pennsylvania, and Tim KR0U in Colorado. My head tells me that I should probably nab Marty and then Tim, if I'm really lucky. It will probably end up being the other way around; or a skunk session if propagation plays head games with me.

On another note, I was "WOW'ed" by John AE5X's blog post about the IC-7300. Wow, wow, WOW!

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

It works!

Last night I checked into the two monthly ARES/RACES nets that I make an effort to attend. Both Joseph and Marianne got home late from school/work, respectively.  I ended up checking into the earlier 7:00 PM Middlesex County ARES/RACES net from the dinner table, using the handheld. Bad manners, I know, but you do what you have to.

John N2DV,  our Emergency Coordinator for Middlesex County, who is a reader of this blog and was NCS for the net, caught me on the air afterward and asked me if I had checked in using the new J-Pole. I must have been a little noisy with the handheld, which is spotty, depending on where I am in the house, or how I hold it. We talked for a bit and I explained the situation.

John W2VTV, our Section Emergency Coordinator must have been listening as well, because when I checked into the 8:00 PM NNJ ARES/RACES net, he told me upon check in that the J-Pole was doing a good job. I have no idea as to whether I was dead full quieting or not, but even if I wasn't, it doesn't matter. Just the fact that I was audible enough to be heard well and check in and participate from the inside my house was success enough for me.

For the record, this is a KB9VBR J-Pole.  It's made from copper tubing and will last longer upon this earth than I will, in all probability. It's fed with RG-8X coax. I know, not the best choice for VHF/UHF but it's good enough. Even with cable loss, there's enough Watts to get the job done that I need it to do. As per the instructions, I made a choke balun of (5) four inch (10 cm)  windings of the coax and placed them about one foot (30 cm) from the feed point. A two liter soda bottle is the exact diameter needed and made a good form to wind the coax around. The antenna itself is being supported by four sections of surplus military mast. That puts the base of the antenna roughly at a height of about 24 feet (7 meters). The antenna itself is about a meter long, so the tip is at 8 meters - roughly. Maybe a bit more or a bit less.

Buying an antenna does go against my grain a bit. I like to build my own whenever possible - especially for portable use and Field Day. But this one is made of really good material and I never brazed/soldered copper tubing before. I figured by the time I bought a butane torch so that I could do the job myself, it would probably end up costing more in materials and time than if I just purchased one. So I'll tell myself that I'm supporting the economy and am helping a fellow Ham put food on the table for his family. C'est la vie.

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

FDIM Speakers

Preston Douglas WJ2V posted the potential speakers list for FDIM 2020. Of course this is tentative considering that FDIM is a few months away and that things can change. But for those of you who are lucky enough to be going - this is the scheduled lineup as of this moment:

Holiday Inn Fairborn, Ohio --Thursday May14

9:15 - Jerry Wolczanski "Making an antenna coupler" 
10:00 - Dave Benson "The Phaser: FT8 and other tricks" 
10:45-11:15  - Break 
11:15 - Dennis Anderson (Kanga UK): "Why SMD?" 
12:00-1:30 Lunch 
1:30 - Jack Purdum "Using Microcontrollers in you ham radio projects" 
2:15 - Dino Papas. "Bench set up with inexpensive test equipment" 
3:00 - Hans Summers ""Reach for the skies: extreme QRP at 35,000 ft"

3:45 End

Sure makes me wish I was going!  For those of you who may still be thinking about it, you can go to the QRP -ARCI Website to register and make reservations for the hotel.

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

Looking forward to the weekend.

I know it's only Monday, but something to keep in mind THIS WEEK.  Nest weekend is the ARRL CW DX Contest. There may be may ops heading to far and distant locations during this week to get their stations set up and running. You may hear some good pre-contest DX all this week. You may want to keep your ears open and your eyes focused on the DX Clusters.  This is a prime opportunity for QRPers to get their share of DX. This week, and then again next Sunday as the contest winds down and the DX stations really sharpen their hearing, listening for weaker signals to fatten the QSO counts and point totals.

My eBay auctions ended successfully yesterday. I earned more than enough to fund a purchase of something I've been wanting for a while. If the winners are readers, by any chance, thank you so much! Your keys are going out via USPS Priority Mail today and you should both have them before the weekend.

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

Got the antenna up

I got the VHF/UHF J-Pole up yesterday, but it seems there's always a side story involved.

I actually got a lot accomplished yesterday. Grocery shopping, errands, and I made some stuffed cabbage for dinner for today. My first time ever. It looks good; but tonight we'll see how good it actually is.

But getting back to the antenna ...........

Yesterday was pretty breezy and chilly. It's hard to believe that on Friday morning, on my way to work it was 60F (15C). A cold front swept through during the day; and by the time I left for home, it was 27F (-3C). The remnants of the wind were still evident yesterday, so I decided to connect the J-Pole to the top most mast section and connect the coax inside, where it was warm.

I worked on the living room floor. Securing the antenna to the mast was a piece of cake using three hose clamps. Then I hooked up the coax just like the picture from Friday's post. I secured the coax running along down the mast piece with cable ties. When it was all done, I went to put on my coat, so that I could carry the assembly outside and place it atop the other mast sections already out there.

That's when it got weird. I wanted to take the cable ties with me, so I could secure more of the coax neatly along the bottom sections of mast. I picked up the package of cable ties from the living room floor and then I looked around for my cutters. I couldn't find them anywhere. I JUST HAD THEM IN MY HANDS !!!!

I checked my pockets - nope. I looked under the sofa, thinking maybe I knocked them under there, somehow. Nope. I checked my coat pockets. Nope. I looked under the hassock and the chairs. Nope. I have no idea where they went. I finally went down the basement for another pair and got the antenna up easily. After I finished running the coax to the shack, I came back inside and started looking for the missing cutters, once again.

I still haven't found them. Maybe they ended up wherever the missing socks from the clothes dryer eventually end up - some sort of parallel universe. They were a pair of Harbor Freight cutters, so they weren't expensive - but they were very good and had become my favorites. I guess the bright side of the story is that I'll get to go to Harbor Freight in order to buy another pair - and you know what will happen, don't you? As soon as I buy another pair, the missing ones will somehow miraculously show up!

The bottom line is that I seem to be hitting the repeaters I need to hit, very well. I am officially ready for the monthly ARES nets that I participate in. This month they occur this coming Tuesday evening. I can finally join them from the chilly comfort of my basement shack - much better than running out to the car in order to use the mobile rig.

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

Rain, rain go away!

It seems like it's been raining here in Central NJ forever.  There have been sunny days, I guess. It's dark when I leave for work and it's dark on the drive home (although that's starting to change). The room I work in has no windows, so I don't get to see much sunshine. Today it's misty, foggy and supposedly we're under a flash flood warning. But later today, it's supposed to start clearing, get windy and the temperature is supposed to drop like a stone.

And I hope the forecast for partly cloudy skies for tomorrow is accurate. I want to install a VHF/UHF J-Pole in the backyard.

I am and always will be an HF kind of guy. For me, the "Low Bands" are what Amateur Radio is all about. Ever since I discovered that there was such a thing as Amateur Radio, the goal has always been to communicate with people via shortwave. This will always be my passion and first love.

The outdoor VHF/UHF antenna is needed for ARES nets that I regularly check into. The NNJ ARES Net is conducted on a repeater in Morristown, NJ. While it is not that far away and not that difficult to check into from the car, it is darn near impossible from inside the house with a handheld. And it's a pain in the posterior to run out to the car on cold Winter nights.

In addition, as the appointed Emergency Coordinator for South Plainfield,  I run an ARES net for our group every third Tuesday of the month on the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club repeater, NJ2SP. Hitting that with a handled is a piece of cake; but depending on what room in the house I am situated, sometimes I can get noisy.

The J-Pole, up about 20 feet or so, running down to a VHF/UHF mobile rig in the basement should do the trick. Hopefully, the job won't take more than a half hour or so. I have to run to Home Depot for a couple hose clamps. The bottom section of masting is already in place. I did that last Sunday. All I need to do is clamp the J-Pole to the top portion, connect the coax, make a balun of about 5 turns of coax and tape that to the the mast about a foot beneath the antenna, raise it and run the rest of the coax to the basement.

If all goes well, that will be another Amateur Radio chore taken care of.

Last night in the 80 Meter QRP Fox hunt, I was really able to see a difference in the W3EDP after "un-drooping" it last Sunday. The noise difference between the HF9V and the wire used to be like day and night. Now they are both pretty low. There's still a bit more hash with the wire on 80 Meters at night, but it's nowhere as bad as it used to be. I used the W3EDP to get both Fox QSOs last night.  For the majority of this Fall/Winter season, I have been relying on the Butternut to get the job done.

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

Something else from the weekend.

Sunday was sunny; but chilly. That didn't stop me from doing a bit of antenna maintenance. I noticed my Butternut was not truly vertical, anymore. Some shrubbery from my neighbor's yard had grown tall and had kind of "pushed" my vertical out of its way. A branch cutter took care of that, PDQ. Somehow, I doubt my neighbor even notices his greenery is hanging over onto my property.

Last Thursday, another neighbor's (on the opposite side of our block) garage started on fire. The garage was a total loss, but fortunately, it was detached from the house. The vinyl siding on the house melted a in a few spots from the intense heat; but was otherwise untouched. I went to Cara's room to take a peek out her window, which offers the best view of the damage. It was then that I noticed the W3EDP was a bit droopy. The wire got tangled up by something.  Using the same branch cutter, I was able to lift the wire out and past the offending snare, and it was back to full height.

Which leads me to last night and the ARS Spartan Sprint. Lifting the W3EDP past whatever it was caught on seemed to make a difference in the noise level I was experiencing.  The QRN is still there, but is a bit less, now.  I managed to work three stations in about 30 minutes. I did not hear many Spartan Sprinters - only Don K3RLL, John K4BAI and Mark WB9FHK. Don by far was the loudest, but not at first.  He was very weak from the beginning, but over time his signal rose in strength and he became the loudest of the three.

After about 40 minutes, I noticed myself nodding off a bit and threw the big switch and hit the sack. Three more QSOs in the log for 2020.

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

ARS Spartan Sprint tonight

The monthly ARS Spartan Sprint is tonight.

For the rules, see - http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html

The exchange is simple - RST / SPC / Power Out

This is a good one for us "giver of points" to build up the log tally, and to see how band conditions are doing.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend stuff

I didn't participate in FYBO yesterday. By the time I got back from Pep Boys, I was a little bummed out. I was told that the check engine light indicated that the catalytic converter wasn't functioning properly. Let's just say the repair would cost the equivalent of a couple Begali keys, or would easily cover the cost of a KX2 or KX3.

Instead, I hunted for some of those State QSO Party stations - the beginning of my personal challenge. I was surprised how easy it was to work two British Columbia stations. The VE7s were plentiful and loud on 20 Meters. I had two QSOs in the log within minutes. The Minnesota QSO Party was almost as easy, stations were loud and plentiful, too.

Vermont was another story. 40 Meters was the band for hunting in the afternoon as Vermont is way too close for 20 Meter QSOs. I worked KE1VT early and easily. But where were all the rest of the Vermonters? It seemed they were as scarce as hen's teeth. I worked Kevin again later at night on 80 Meters, but I really wanted to get a different Vermont call in the log. I hunted and twiddled and listened for a long time. As it turned out that second QSO had to way until today. I worked K1VMT this afternoon on 40 Meters again.

I got another nice surprise in the mail. My QSL cards and certificate arrived from the DVRA for the W2P and W2T Special Event.

These are going to be framed and hung on the shack wall. Thank you Delaware Valley Radio Association!

Another pleasant surprise came this afternoon, as I got into the car to make a short drive to run an errand. The "check engine" light went out on its own!  A friend had mentioned to me that there was always the possibility that the problem could have just been a "false positive" read by a sensor. He told me to keep an eye on the instrument package, because if that was the case the light would go out after driving for somewhere between 10 - 20 miles. It turned out he was right! You can't imagine how happy that made me.

In a totally unrelated matter, I am selling a couple keys from my collection to raise some dollars to make a different Amateur Radio purchase. I put two keys by  LLAVES TELEGRAFICAS ARTESANAS up for auction on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274246288990

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274246282764

Thanks for looking!

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

FYBO Hopes Growing Dim

Sometimes I think that if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

I was driving home last night from the ETS of NJ radio club meeting, and in my mind, I was finalizing plans for what I was going to bring to the park for FYBO. I had intended to travel light and bring only the bare essentials. Anyway, about 1/2 way home I hear a "Bing!" and I look down at the instrument package:

Yes, the dreaded "Check engine light" came on. And that could mean just about anything, from a problem with the gas cap, to a bad sensor to "only God knows what".

So what to do about this at around 9:30 PM on a Friday night? I went online to the Pep Boys Website. I don't know if they are a nation wide chain, but here on the East Coast, they provide auto parts, tires and service. They replaced my front brakes in December when they started grinding. They did an excellent job in what I thought was a pretty short time. I figured I make an appointment as soon as possible and maybe burn a vacation day from work towards the middle of the week.

To my slack-jawed astonishment, they had openings for today - Saturday! I grabbed an open slot at 10:30 AM and I will be leaving from home in about 45 minutes to go see what exactly is wrong and how much it's going to cost. I'll most likely sit and wait while the service is being done. If it's going to take more than a couple of hours, I'll have my son, Joseph, come and bring me home.

Either way, it looks like this is going to kill my chances to participate in FYBO. On the bright side, I still have this evening and tomorrow to try and make those State QSO Party QSOs.

What was the line from that John Lennon song? I think it was something like, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." Boy, did he nail that one!

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

For those of you out there

who have a real yen for Amateur Radio contesting and Radiosport competition in general ........... I ran across this announcement on the ARRL Webpage the other day.

The State QSO Party Challenge is a competition comprised of other contests, namely state and provincial QSO parties. As explained on the website, the annual cumulative score program is open to any radio amateur who participates in any approved state QSO parties (SQPs).

Participants just need to submit their QSO party scores to 3830scores.com to enter the challenge. Participants’ cumulative scores will be calculated by totaling up the number of reported contacts and multiplying by the number of SQPs entered in the year to date. Periodic standings will be posted to 3830scores.com, the QSOParty Groups.io forum, and the StateQSOParty.com website.

“Using the number of QSO parties entered as a multiplier is expected to encourage radio amateurs to enter more state/province QSO parties,” the program’s organizers said. “The first SQPs in 2020 are the Vermont, Minnesota, and British Columbia QSO Parties in the first weekend of February.”

Entrants must make at least two contacts in a QSO party for it to count as a multiplier. Full details are available on the State QSO Party Challenge website. Challenge sponsors expressed appreciation to Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, for developing the SQP Activity Tracker on 3830scores.com.

This is interesting in a few ways.  Even if you decide to not formally participate in this, it can be taken on as a real personal challenge. "How many State QSO Parties can I participate in?". For me, it would be a big deal to participate in all fifty, plus Canada  This kind of reminds me of the QRP-ARCI Golden Jubilee event a few years back, where the goal was to work K6JSS stations in all 50 states.

Secondly, would I be able to make "at least two contacts" in all of these? With band conditions the way they are - the state QSO parties in Alaska and Hawaii and some of the Canadian Provinces might prove to be a real challenge. But then, going back to the QRP-ARCI Golden Jubilee event, Alaska and Hawaii were NOT the two states I missed!

Thirdly, this would be a great way for those who are on their way to earning Worked All Sates to actually accomplish that.

Fourthly, for those of you out there who complain about the bands being "flooded with contests" every weekend (you know who you are), this would actually make that a good thing. Instead of disdaining these QSO Parties, it would be an incentive to jump in and make them into an enjoyable and an interesting experience for you. After all, you don't have to stay in them for the entire event if you don't want to - but can you make just two QSOs in each?

I just might be tempted to take on the personal challenge myself!

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

Just putting this out there.

For those of us who are still contributing to the Social Security fund:

Think they'd get upset if I posted this on my office door?

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