Guess I got taken

It's my own fault, I guess. I should have used more common sense; and not have relied on "good faith" or the honesty of others.

About a month or so ago, I saw on one of the e-mail reflectors that a Ham was looking to swap for a 40 Meter Rockmite. In exchange, he was offering a straight key in trade. My 40 Meter Rockmite has been laying dormant; and I never mind having an extra straight key hanging around, so I agreed to the trade.

I got the Rockmite out the next day via UPS Priority mail; and my trade partner had it in just a couple of days. I got an e-mail that he was happily making contacts with it; and that, by the way, he had mistakenly mailed out the straight key to another Ham he was trading with. That should have set off the alarm bells; but the "good news" was that the key was on its way back to him and it would be shortly mailed to me.

That's the last I heard from him; even after about 4 or 5 inquiries on my part since. The e-mails to me have ceased; and ever since, all I've been hearing is the chirping of crickets.

I guess P.T. Barnum was right, there is a sucker born every minute; and I guess I'm one of them. The downside is that the next time a perfectly honest opportunity for a trade comes along; I'll probably never pull the trigger - you know that old adage about "twice bitten".

73 de Larry W2LJ

Station in a box

To the right is my QRP "Station in a Box", that I keep in the car for portable QRP ops.

The case is an aluminum one that I got from Harbor Freight. It is 12" X 16" X 5". I don't remember what I paid for it; but I got it on special when it was dirt cheap.

It's a lot fuller than it used to be (as in the picture). It is currently populated by the following:

K1 with autotuner
12V 5Ah sealed lead acid battery
Emtech ZM2 tuner as a backup
Autek RF-1 antenna analyzer
LDG 4:1 balun
NorCal Doublet which I keep wound up on an empty monofilament fishing line spool
A Glad storage container with a Bulldog paddle, Morse Express Christmas straight key, cable for the battery to rig, an extra small jumper coax (about 12" long), allen keys for the Hamsticks.
Cheap-o set of Walkman type headphones. I also keep a roll of twine in there for doublet support ropes, a Swiss army knife, and a pad and pencils for taking notes during QSOs.

Also in the back of the car is the Black Widow crappie pole with homebrewed support mechanism, the PAC-12 and Hamsticks; as well as a canvas folding chair and a canvas collapsible camping table.

The only thing that I need to remember to bring along from time to time is my solar battery charger, which I keep in a safe place at home so it doesn't get damaged.

It pretty much has everything I need to set up a temporary QRP station in the great outdoors. If need be, I can transfer everything to a backpack if hiking becomes necessary. This is more in the line for setting up in a park or a picnic grounds.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Courtesy - the lack of it ..... (Part Deux)

I hate to rant on and on about this; but the lack of courtesy reared its ugly head again this past week. In fact, it was Wednesday night during the NAQCC Sprint.

A bunch of us NAQCCers had moved over to 80 Meters on and about 3.560 MHz. While we weren't exactly wall-to-wall; there were enough of us spread out over a few kHz so that ANYONE could tell there was something going on.

Anyone that was listening FIRST, of course. Because out of nowhere and without warning, in the middle of this bunch of QRPers came a loud, earsplitting PacTOR "CQ" signal. I've done enough digital back in my day to know what a digital CQ sounds like. This idiot, whomever he was, was at least 10 over 9 and he tore the band up. Fortunately, he gave up after about two attempts at a QSO, as no one came back to him.

So the question is .... just how hard is it to listen for a bit before you fire up the transmitter? Is this rocket science; or is it more like, "I just don't give a damn to whatever else might be going on ..... this is what I want to do?"

I can understand accidental interference. It happens to all of us sometimes. But to just blindly turn on the TX without so much as a few seconds worth of listening is just so alien to me. It definitely makes me shake my head.

73 de Larry W2LJ

QRP Afield

It looked like a promising day for the annual QRP Afield event, which is sponsored by the New England QRP Club.

The weather was great, being in the 70s with lots of sun and mostly sunny skies. I set up both the NorCal Doublet and the PAC-12 in the backyard. The NorCal Doublet was supported at the center by my 20 foot Black Widow crappie pole.

There was not much activity at all. Calling CQ and alternately doing the "hunt and pounce" thing on 20 Meters in the morning yielded all of about 2 QSOs in the first hours of the contest. The NorCal played very well on 20 Meters but was giving me a very high SWR on 40 Meters, which is strange. It used to play very well for me on 40 Meters also; so I think there's a wire busted somewhere. I'll have to build another as I still have a goodly sized hunk of computer ribbon cable sitting in the basement.

Anyway, after getting the grocery shopping out of the way, in the afternoon I made contact with W5ESE in Texas and 20 Meters seemed to have more activity going on. Then the cell phone rang and I got called into work for an emergency. I ended up getting home around 8:00 PM and thus, my QRP Afield day got ruined.

If nothing else, it was a good excercize in portable antenna deployment.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Thank you

In the 7 years since 9/11/01, there have been no terrorist attacks on our Homeland.

Thank you so very much to the following:

Our brave men and women in our Armed Forces.
All firefighters and police and EMS personnel who safeguard us daily.
All intelligence weenies who are carefully poring through 1000s of bits of data daily, looking to decipher threats.
All our Coast Guardies, Border Patrol, NTSB workers, Customs officials who look to safeguard our borders, ports and other points of entry.
President Bush for your determined resolve, even when it seems like everyone in Congress is fighting against you.
To anyone else I might have unfortunately forgotten to mention.

73 de Larry W2LJ

9/11 - Never forget

Lest We Forget

Rainfall total

The rainfall total from Tropical Storm Hanna, in my little corner of South Plainfield, was 4.5 inches.

No winds above 30 MPH - so no broken limbs or felled trees or major damage in our immediate neighborhood. No power outages, either - power remained on throughout.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Courtesy - the lack of it .....

40 Meters was wall to wall NA QSO Party QSOs; so I ventured down to 80 Meters, not knowing what to expect with the atmospheric conditions roiling all day.

Pleasantly, there was a major lack of QRN and static crashes. Maybe Autumnal conditions are starting to make their presence known on 80 Meters once again. That would be a welcome to me as I enjoy QSOs on 80 with regularity. The G5RV does a very nice job for me on 80 and I have no complaints. I don't seem to garner much DX with it; but I have no problems having nice ragchew QSOs on 80 Meters with stations I guess could be considered "local".

And so it was tonight. Calling CQ netted a nice QSO with Bill WA1ZFE who hails out of Norwalk, CT. Bill was also QRP, running 5 Watts out of his Kenwood TS-2000 to a loop antenna. Conditions were such that we were able to give each other RSTs of 589. We were going at it nicely, comparing Hanna weather notes when IT happened.

And by "IT", I mean unannounced contest stations blasting on an occupied frequency without even so much as a complimentary "QRL?" Nothing like inconsiderate contesters to bust up a good ragchew. I understand that since I was running QRP, they might not have heard me; but even that being said, there's NO reason to just start blindly transmitting without throwing a "QRL?" out there as a courtesy. Such as it was, even turning on the K2's tight crystal filters made copy go from sublime to almost impossible in a matter of seconds - they were indeed, right on top of us.

Now I know there are many A-1 op contesters out there who are a shining example to uphold. Unfortunately, there are also "some" out there who break the cardinal rule, "Listen first before transmitting." They're the ones who give all contesters a bad reputation. I certainly don't mind sharing the bands with fans of contests; but it would be nice if they listened before jumping in with both feet.

Heck, it would be nice if EVERYONE would listen before they transmit - contesters, ragchewers, traffic handlers alike. I wonder why that's such a difficult concept for some?

73 de Larry W2LJ

Don't let the glass

'hit you on your way out the door, Hanna! Good bye and good riddance!

Hanna is beginning to leave our environs. A bit more rain is expected until Midnight; but it seems the worst is over (at least that's what various radar pictures are showing).

The winds are picking up on the backside of the storm. While 20 MPH gusts were intermittent before, it seems like a 20 MPH wind is about the norm right now with some higher gusts. A few minutes ago, I went out to check my rain gauge and it looks like a total of just just a skosh over 4.5 inches.

All in all, it wasn't a devastating storm. We've had some winter time Nor'Easters that were much worse. Back in 1994 (I think that was the year) we had a December Nor'Easter blow through and later it was called a "white hurricane". Those were much worse non-hurricane storms.

Tomorrow the forecast is for a very sunny Sunday with highs in the mid 80s. What a difference a day makes! Now maybe I'll head down to the shack for a bit to see what's brewing on 40 Meters.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Hanna is over DelMarVa

As of 6:35 PM EDT, the center of Hanna is over the DelMarVa peninsula. Heavy rain bands are falling over New Jersey; and as you can see, most of the state is colored yellow. Since the beginning, some 4 hours ago, about 3 inches of rain have fallen here in South Plainfield, at least in my back yard.

Strangely enough, just across town lives another SkyWarn spotter - Marv K2VHW. He has recorded about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch more rain than I have received here.

Luckily, I live on the crest of a small rise and I am not experiencing any water problems to speak of - notwithstanding a leaky skylight here in the rec room. Many parts of Middlesex County which are lower in elevation are reporting moderate to major flooding of local roads and highways.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Raining cats and dogs ......

It has rained approximately 2 inches in the last 3 hours. More heavy bands of rain are expected until Hanna clears out sometime between 11:00 PM to Midnight. So far, winds have been very quiet; a lot more quiet than I expected. I would guesstimate no more than some 20 MPH gusts; and those not often at all. They will probably pick up on the backside of the storm.

On a lighter note, Jim W1PID went on another one of his QRP hiking adventures recently. For a recap, along with pictures of the awesomely beautiful New Hampshire scenery, please visit:

http://www.mv.com/ipusers/w1pid/piper2/piper.html

73 de Larry W2LJ

Hanna has arrived

Approximately one hour ago, at 2:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, the first of Hanna's rains have arrived in Central New Jersey.

Going out to do the grocery shopping this morning, the air felt like a sauna. This was truly a good indication of the tropical air accompanying the storm.

The radar image up top, courtesy of AccuWeather, shows the heavy rain bands across most of New Jersey.

SkyWarn has been activated, CERT is on standby and I have set out a rain gauge that will hopefully let me record total rainfall amounts that occur here in South Plainfield. Since it's a temporary gauge of my own design, I hope it doesn't blow away in the expected heavy winds to come. There have been accompanying rumbles of thunder occuring at random intervals. So I guess there will be no HF transmissions from W2LJ until they stop.

73 de Larry W2LJ

Keeping an eye on the lady

Hanna, that is.

Tropical Storm warnings have been posted up along the East Coast all the way up to Massachusetts. Hanna should be just off the New Jersey coast around 2:00 PM or so tomorrow afternoon if present trends remain.

As of right now, anywhere from 3 to 7 inches of rain are expected depending on how close to shore Hanna's center tracks. Winds up to 70 MPH are expected - I'm sure my antennas will just love that!

I will have the Sayreville, NJ K2GE repeater tuned on the handheld all day. I am a Skywarn spotter and the Skywarn nets are held on that repeater for Middlesex County. Our Office of Emergency Management here in South Plainfield has already put our CERT Team on standby.

It should be an interesting day. I have all my radio batteries charged up and ready to go. Hopefully, no power lines will come in the way of any falling branches. We're not expecting any of the misfortune that recently hit the Gulf States; but there are several communities in Middlesex County that are prone to flooding during hurricanes and Nor'easters.

73 de Larry W2LJ

A fascinating read

I an currently reading David McCullough's fine work, "John Adams". Early American and Revolutionary War history is one of my passions. John Adams has always been a fascinating historical figure to me; and this book makes him my favorite personality of that era.

John Adams, in my humble opinion, is THE "Founding Father". If it were not for his talent, timing, fortitude and vision, this nation would be nothing of what it is today. While we have strayed far from his vision, I think on the whole he would be pleased to see we remain a strong, vibrant nation some 232 years later.

What is amusing as a result of reading this book, is the realization how much hot air and baloney is the argument of today's extreme Left regarding the "separation of Church and State". Their idea that it was the Founders fervent wish to push religion out of the public square is ludicrous to the point of being laughable.

It is apparent, after reading volumes like this, that our Founders realized and depended upon the benevolence of "The Creator" or "Providence", or if you simply prefer - God. They were not religionophobics, rather, they realized the importance to the nation and society the values and morals that came with believing in and relying upon the Almighty.

What they ardently desired, was that the United States would not become like England and found a state religion. They believed in allowing multiple religions to coexist and prosper in peace. And they did not believe that it was necessary to remove religion from the public square for this to happen.

May God be willing, that our nation will return to this view; and not become the secular state that so many seem eager for us to become.

73 de Larry W2LJ

It works!

I stopped by Lowe's on the way home from dropping my two children off at a birthday party; and I picked up a piece of PVC that's 2 inches in diameter by 2 feet long.

I removed the 1.5 inch diameter piece that I previously had attached to the angle iron and replaced it with the larger. Viola' !!!!

As you can (hopefully) see from the photo to the left, the Black Widow crappie pole slides right into the PVC and is held nicely upright.

This should now allow me to make more frequent use of my NorCal doublet when I set up QRP portable. The PVC cost me all of two bucks and change; and the angle iron was about the same. So for under $5, I have a neat holder for my Black Widow crappie pole, which I purchased from Cabela's a few years ago for $19.99. I went on their Website this past week and they still stock them; but I don't remember what the cost is - I think they're still about $20.

So, if I have a couple of trees on either side, I can have a nice flat top dipole - if not, I'll carry along two tent pegs and set up as an Inverted Vee.

BTW, it was very hot and muggy here in NJ today. About 85 degrees with lots of humidity. Real August weather, which up until now has been abnormally cool and dry. From the extended forecast, it's looking like September weather in August and August weather in September!

73 de Larry W2LJ

No controversy today

20 Meters was booming in at lunchtime today. I heard and worked (very briefly) G3RGD, Ray from Birmingham, England. He gave me a 559 and them moved onto W8FU. Ray was loud into NJ. I don't know what he was running; but he was 599+. It's not often that I hear an English station so loud.

I heard a lot of Europeans - this was all around 1700 UTC or so at the lower end of 20 Meters. EA4s, G3s, SM3s, etc. Maybe the sunspots are coming back?

Which has me thinking portable antenna set ups again. Today, I was using the Hamstick and I'm seriously considering using the NorCal Doublet more. I dragged the 20 foot Black Widow crappie pole out of the basement and stuck in the back of the car. Below is what I used to support my Buddipole back in the day when I had one.


As you can see, it's a piece of angle iron, which I sawed off to a point on the earth end. Attached to it with two hose clamps, is a piece of PVC pipe. The Buddipole mast just slipped into the pipe and was held upright. Unfortunately, this pipe isn't a big enough diameter to allow me to slip the Black Widow in. I'm going to have to make a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot for a slightly bigger diameter piece of pipe. I hope I won't have to buy a whole big length of it for just the relatively short piece I need.

Here's another shot of it; but not in the ground. Not that great a photo; but you get the idea.


The only disadvantage that I can foresee is that I'll have to carry a small sledge so I can pound this thing into the ground. But the upside is that a doublet at 20 feet or so (probably set up as an Inverted Vee) should outperform the Hamstick on the car.

73 de Larry W2LJ

CB Lingo

I had my Alinco HT turned on last night, on my nightstand, listening to some of the local Hams chatter away as I was drifting off to sleep. I heard something that instantly had me wide awake, listening.

A very minor thing; but it stuck out; and I feel the need to offer some advice, or perhaps a word of warning.

Two Hams were conversing, one from South New Jersey, the other from Philadelphia. The New Jersey Ham asked the Philadelphia Ham, "What's the personal over there?" To his credit, the Philadelphia Ham came back with, "My name is ........" I was anxiously waiting someone to come on the air to make a big stink out of it. Perhaps, it was the lateness of the hour, and the incident went unnoticed.

Please ......... no!

All of you, don't get offended; or rip me for being snobby or elitist. I welcome everyone to Amateur Radio. Whether your first fledgling steps towards the hobby have been as an SWL or a CB'er - makes no matter to me. You're all welcome with open arms!

But please, all you ex-Citizen Banders out there ..... please leave the CB lingo behind. We have enough of our own vernacular that gets used and abused all too often as it is. The CB stuff just smacks of ...... well, I'm not sure just what.

You're more likely to be abused by some know-it-all elitist out there who feels that he has been anointed "The Guardian of Amateur Radio" - God knows, we have our share. Don't give someone who is not versed in holding their tongue well, the ammunition they need to possibly embarrass or make you feel bad on the air.

And to all of you "Guardians" out there - please engage your brains before your mouths. Let stuff like this slide and instead of criticizing, instruct the person the correct way, quietly on the side. I cringe at the thought of someone discouraging a newcomer. We need all the newcomers we can get - not drive them away.


73 de Larry W2LJ

E-mail reflectors

I subscribe to a lot of them, all related to either QRP or CW. As you can imagine, as a result I get a ton of e-mail everyday. I use the "Delete Key" a lot to sift the wheat from the chaff. Every now and then, though, you come across a real gem.

I came across such a gem today on the Straight Key Century Club reflector, which was posted by Milt K4OSO. It's titled:

NEW CW OPS - 8 reasons for not getting on the air

1. I CAN'T COPY VERY WELL
Copy skills get better with time and practice. Nerves is certainly a factor at first. The answer to nerves is exposure. Get on the air and practice those skills. After all, you're not copying vectors for a brain exploration surgery……just fun stuff. What if you do miss some? Eh?

2. I MAKE MISTAKES IN SENDING
Who cares? Everyone does! If you show me an op who sends flawless CW, I'll eat my hat. Even keyboarders make mistakes. Its what you do when you make one that is the measure of an op. A good op corrects his mistakes. When you glide past mistakes it leaves the other guy guessing.

3. MY CW IS VERY SLOW
Accuracy transcends speed! Accuracy is absolute, while speed will increase/improve over time. What you DON'T want is to get faster at sending poorly. Fast and poor are an awful twosome. Practice sending well, at a speed which is comfortable for you. You WILL make mistakes,…just correct them and move on.

4. I GET LOST IN QSO'S
As many have suggested, by writing down the parts of a typical exchange/qso, you will be better able to get through a qso. Its really funny how few comments are directed to spelling. Spelling
slows us down and trips us up in many qso situations. When you practice off-air, its fine to use a sheet of text, but I find that sending as if in a qso is much more helpful. Practice this by sending out of your head. You'll get used to sending off the cuff and your spelling will improve tremendously. If ragchewing is your goal, keep your exchanges short, at first. Don't try to say too much in one exchange. That way, it will give you time to think about what you'll say next, and will slow the other op down as well. That will make his transmissions easier to copy. Keep it casual, and don't let it become hard work.

5. MY PALMS SWEAT
Keep a hand towel at your operating desk. My palms sweated on my first date too but, it didn't stop me. Remember, no one can see you! Try PRETENDING you're as calm as a cucumber. Think of yourself as a "take charge" op who can handle any situation. As an op thinkest, so shall he be on the air.

One particular activity that improved my confidence and ability to handle most situations was learning traffic handling on the Maryland Slow Net. Net speed was maximum 10 wpm (and flexible), the instructors were patient and considerate. That training gave me the confidence I desperately needed. I'm now an Instructor/NCS on that Net and watch the transformation of new ops from tentative and unsure to ops who would be welcomed on NTS traffic net throughout the country. Its easy and painless and proceeds at the new op's own pace. Even if you don't become an active traffic handler, the training is invaluable for learning general operating practices.

6. PEOPLE WILL THINK POORLY OF ME
Bull Crap!!! Everyone expects new/inexperienced CW ops to be somewhat tentative, make some mistakes and miss some copy. They expect it because THEY PERFORMED THE SAME WAY WHEN THEY WERE NEW/INEXPERIENCED. Some well-meaning ops, in an attempt to sooth the nervous new op will say, "Aw, no one will notice your mistakes" Bull crap! Of course they notice them! They'd have to be idiots not to. BUT, no one cares about a your mistakes. This is a hobby,…..a means of having fun. It WILL be fun if you stop agonizing over it. The amount of fun you have at CW is inversely proportional to the amount you worry about it.

7. I'LL DO IT WHEN I GET BETTER
That's fine if you like spending your time procrastinating. "He was gonna get on the air tomorrow" would make a unfortunate epitath. "He really enjoyed his ham radio hobby and his CW" is a much nicer one. I waited until I was over 60 to finally get started in Ham radio. I often think of how much fun I could have had over the years if I had just bitten the bullet and jumped in. Now, I'm trying to make up for lost time. But, we all know that's impossible.

8. I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS OR THAT TYPE OF KEY.
Ok….use whatever you're good with, and develop your skills on the others at your own pace. Whatever you do, don't try to assuage your fist into a type of key that frustrates you. Learning new skills, while not easy, should be fun. Measure your progress in small chunks. Don't set your goals too far ahead. You must be able to see progress. If speed improvement is your goal, measure it one word per minute at a time. Don't try to go from 5 wpm to 10 wpm. That's doubling your speed!. It would be like me trying to go from 35 wpm to 70 wpm. Never happen,…..go from 5 to 6. Then to 7, and so on….

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

Golden words of advice from relatively new Ham who practices what he preaches. If you ever get the chance to work Milt K4OSO in an actual on the air QSO, you will be working a quality CW op! (I know, I've had the pleasure!)

73 de Larry W2LJ

Great Website !!!

I was using Windows Live to do some searching on the NorCal Doublet, when I ran across this Website:

http://home.frognet.net/~mcfadden/wd8rif/field-antennas.htm

If you've ever done QRP outdoors, or are thinking about doing some QRP outdoors, this Website is a "must read" as far as I'm concerned. It's chock full of useful information; and if for one second you think that WD8RIF doesn't know what he's talking about - just check out his "Event Reports" section.

73 de Larry W2LJ

St. Maximilian Kolbe

In the calendar of the Catholic Church, August 14th is the day that the Church honors and remembers the life of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr.

The following short biography appeared on the Catholic Exchange Website:

As a child, Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) had a deep devotion to Our Lady. On one occasion he had a vision in which Mary offered him either a white garment, symbolizing purity, or a red one, symbolizing martyrdom. “I choose both,” the boy replied. His heart was transfixed by Our Lady. Later he prayed that when he died, he would be blessed with departing life on a Feast Day of the Blessed Mother.

Maximilian entered the Franciscan Order at age thirteen, and was ordained a priest in 1918. After serving some years as a humble parish priest, Fr. Kolbe was named director of one of the largest Catholic publishing firms in Poland.

To better “win the world for the Immaculata,” St. Maximilian’s friars utilized the most modern printing and administrative techniques. This enabled them to publish countless catechetical and devotional tracts, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 230,000, and a monthly magazine with a circulation of over one million. Maximilian started a shortwave radio station and planned to build a motion picture studio — he was a true “Apostle of the Mass Media.”

Following the German conquest of Poland in 1939, he (like many priests) was arrested, but soon released. Maximilian devoted himself to helping Jewish refugees. When the Nazis discovered this, he was again arrested and sent to Auschwitz in 1941. There he tried to set an example of faith and hope for the other prisoners.

When a prisoner escaped from camp, the Germans chose ten men at random and sentenced them to death by starvation; one of them was a Polish sergeant, Franciszek Gajowniczek, whom Kolbe had befriended. Fr. Kolbe left his place in the ranks and asked permission from the commandant to take Gajowniczek’s place. The shocked German officer agreed, and Kolbe and nine others were taken away to die. Maximilian helped the others prepare for death. He was the last to succumb, dying on August 14, the eve of the Assumption.

In addition to his priesthood, Father Kolbe was also an Amateur Radio operator. His callsign was SP3RN and the picture above shows him at his station. He is credited with keeping many of the world's Amateur Radio operators informed about the atrocities committed by the Nazis prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Because of his exemplary life and because of his devotion to God and to his fellow man, Fr. Kolbe was canonized as a Saint of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in October of 1982.

73 de Larry W2LJ