Another Portable Activation...

Today was a warm -2C under brilliant blue skies, spring must have arrived! Most of the snow around here has melted and faded away, which is fine by me.

Propagation wasn't too bad, SFI=170, SN=178, A Index=6, and the K Index=2. There was however, some very bad QSB on signals. Once again it was the KX3, and Hamsticks, and the location was VEFF-2986, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area. It was to be a WWFF activation today.

First up today was Rui CT1ERY, and he was followed very quickly by YY4EBD, G8IBR, G6ZVL, GW0RMB, SQ2WKQ, OH3RM, OH1MM, and SP9RXP. These contacts were all made on 10m. I switched to 15m and made a number of contacts to the southern US States.

A number of LIDS were out today, tuning up on top of me, whistling into their mic's, and generally being idiots. These antics, and the deep QSB, certainly didn't make it easy to make the contacts. I ended up moving frequencies a couple of times to get away from them, but they always seem to follow me down the band.

This weekend I'm planning on activating a couple of never before activated VEFF parks a little further north than I usually go, but the weather looks good enough to get it done. That will be a write up for next week.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

The Great Melt...

As with most years, this one has been very quiet throughout January and February. Not much POTA has been happening, mainly due to many high-wind and snowy days around here. Many of the parks are very difficult to get into due to roads and parking lots not being plowed out.

I have had only four accessible parks since Christmas. This has started to change as the "great melt" is now upon us and the snow is rapidly disappearing. Once the roads have dried up and the mud cleaned off them, it will be open season again in the parks.

One of the good things that has come out of me expanding my activations into the world of VEFF, is that there're a good number of parks around here that are not in the POTA database. This will allow me to expand my day trips to include these new parks, especially now that I have discovered how to use the WWFF DX Cluster.

Yesterday I activated Lemoine Point once again, CA-5141, and VEFF-2979.  The bands were quite noisy and the QSB was pretty bad. I ended the activation with 23 in the log, including 10 DX. I didn't stay on 10m, I actually made contacts on 40m and 20m as well as 10m. 

First in the log was OS8D, quickly followed by DL8NDG, OH1MM, G0OQK, OH4MDY, DL2ND, IW2BNA, DH3TK, OH5CLP, and KP4YAT. 

Radio was my KX2 set at 10w, and I used various Hamsticks.  The propagation numbers were: SFI=150, SN=100, A Index=7, and the K Index=3.

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

10m Again...

It was another great day on 10m today, although I didn't think it was going to be that good. I worked several CW stations from home early Thursday morning around 1240 UTC, and conditions were not that good. But they definitely improved as the morning progressed.

I have started activating both POTA and WWFF Parks, several have the same number, but most are different. The difference is the WWFF guys really like to chase, and it's great to get all that European DX in the log. The impression I'm getting is that not many VE stations are doing WWFF (or VEFF as we call it here), so you are a rarity on the bands, and you get some pretty good pileups. That was the case today.

My radio today was my KX2 and a 10m Hamstick. Propagation was: SFI=157, SN-139, A Index=13, and the K Index=0. I chose to return to Parrotts Bay, POTA CA-5142, and VEFF-2986, as it's pretty close to my home QTH. I knew the parking lot had been plowed out and I could actually park there with no problem. Currently we are in the middle of the "mud season" here, the big melt is on as the daily temperatures have started to rise above freezing and we are getting lots of rain.

The day started with Pedro EA2CPG getting into my log. He was followed by UT5PI, IW2BNA, OH5TQ, OH4MDY, OH1MM, DL1EJG, ON3YB, I5JFG, and ON4ON. The big surprise for me today was when UT5PI came back to my CQ, he was 7469 km away, just east of Kyiv. That's 933 km per watt. I'm very pleased with that contact.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back out tomorrow and try to repeat today's performance.

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Excellent DX...

It started off here as a very cold day, in fact it was -25C (-13F) when I went out to the truck this morning, and the 30 KPH wind didn't help matters either.

The propagation didn't look too bad, so I decided to go down to Lemoine Point, CA-5141, and do an activation for a few hours. Now I know that 10m will start to fade away soon as spring weather starts to pop up, so I decided to try 10m and see if it was still working.

Wow, was it ever still working!  However, having said that, it was still a slow start to what became a great day. First up was Thierry ON3TDZ, who was followed by HJ2EMJ, SK6QA, F5NZO, GW5GDP, G0RQL, EC7DZZ, OE4JHW, F4ILH, IU3GKJ, and IU2ROI. Not too bad for 8w and a Hamstick, and it looks like 10m is good to go for another few weeks.

I have also started to send my park activation logs to WWFF, and in particular VEFF. This allows me to give credit to hunters who do the WWFF program as well as POTA stations. Thanks to Stuart VE9CF, who got me started on WWFF.

Any program that gets me out of the shack, and operating in the great outdoors, definitely has my full support.

Today's propagation numbers were: SFI=140, SN=107, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. Radio was my KX2 and a 10m Hamstick. 

We're expecting several days of heavy rain starting tomorrow, so I expect I'll be in the shack until at least Friday.  Oh well, it is winter!

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

It's That Day Again...

Today I complete my 69th trip around the sun, and while it does tend to suck getting old, I have to say that it definitely beats the alternative. As a way of celebrating I decided to return, as I did last year, to Lemoine Point, CA-5141, and do another POTA activation - my 126th at that location.

The propagation numbers looked pretty good today, and I thought I would do well on 10m as I have done the last few times I'm been at the park. The numbers were: SFI=210, SN=117, A Index=7, and the K Index=3. The Bz was sitting at 0.0, the QSB was particularly bad, but I've operated with a lot worse than that.

I spent a lot of my time during the activation today thinking of my Dad, VE7CVQ (SK), and the fact that I'm now two years older than he was when he passed away, which is a scary thing. But I was really thinking about what he would think of the modern craze of portable operating....POTA, SOTA, BOTA, WWFF, etc. Dad was a CW rag chewer, a 50 word a minute guy, and had been since he was a high speed morse operator during WW2. If I was really being honest, I don't think he would think much of it. On the positive side, he would be happy with the up-tick of CW use during these portable activations.

I started today on 10m SSB, but I only managed to make 3 contacts before I switched to 40m. There were lots of comments about deep QSB on my signal, and my signal reports reflected that fact. While the number of contacts were down today, it was still good to get out of the house and play radio.

Here's todays contacts map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Changes in the Shack...

Over the past few weeks there have been a few changes in the shack.  Both the G90 and the FX-4CR have been sold.  The two radios, while very good, did not suit my needs.  The G90, with its cooling fan attached, was too big and heavy, and the FX-4CR I just didn't like....it was too "fiddly" to use.  Both have now gone on to new homes.

To replace them both a new to me KX2 and KXPA100 Amplifier have appeared on the bench.  This will soon become my main shack radio as I start to downsize my gear.  My KX3 will stay as my main portable rig for portable operating.

Along with the KX2 I bought a new set of Elecraft paddles.  I've never had much luck using paddles, but I thought it was time to learn, so this will take up my spare time over the next month or so.

I find these days I'm spending more time on CW than SSB, which is a good thing. This is a skill I should have worked on 20 years ago.....but, better late than never.

For those lovers of the KX line you should have a read of this article written by Larry W2LJ on the KX3 and whether or not it's a Dinosaur.  It's a good article.

It's been a quiet month so far for portable operating, although I'm hoping to get out today for an hour.  The weather has been very cold, very snowy, and extremely windy.....not conducive for operating outdoors at all.

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!

Another Decent Day...

It was another decent day on the bands, especially 10m. Today it was off to Parrotts Bay, CA-5142, a delightful spot about 8 km east of my home QTH. 

Of course today, being Sunday, brought the usual lids out to play on the bands. I had them all, the tuner uppers, the whistlers, the "get off my frequency" types, it was a delightful cornucopia of idiots - all of whom failed to ruin my day. If you ignore them they tend to go away and play elsewhere.

Propagation today was: SFI=182, SN=168, A Index=4, and the K Index=3.

First up today was Didier F5NZO, followed by DL9RP, F4ILH, LW2DO, I4JED, IU1HJF, and DL1SWB. Not bad for 10w and a 10m Hamstick!! Things quieted down after the initial run of EU DX, the big surprise of the day was the call from the Argentinian station. I switched to 40m and worked a few more stations closer to home.

It was -10C (14F) with a light wind that brought the temperature down another few degrees. I didn't find it as bad as yesterday though.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

It Was A Cold Day...

Very little portable operating has taken place this past week. It has snowed just about every day, and the temperatures have been low enough to make any amount of time outdoors uncomfortable, so it's been a slow radio week.

Today I had to get out of the house, regardless of the temperatures, propagation, and anything else the world could have thrown at me. It was a balmy -12C (10F) when I started, with winds 25 gusting 70, which took the ambient temperature down to where it was damn uncomfortable. Needless to say I didn't spend too much time outside chasing Parks and DX.

The propagation numbers today were: SFI=188, SN=180, A Index=9, and the K Index=1. I spent the whole time on 10m, and I had to fight some pretty deep QSB there. With the KX3 set at 10w and my trusty 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck, I set out to capture some excellent DX out there. I did a bit of listening on 15m as well, but didn't operate there.

The first guy in the log was Pat PD1CW, and he was quickly followed by DL9RP, EA1BUL, F4ILH, DH3TK, EA7FC, and EI6IF. 

I had to pack it in after 40 minutes as my feet started to freeze, and I didn't want to risk hurting them. That's one of the downsides of operating in the winter in Canada.

 Here's today's contact map....more DX contacts than North American contacts:

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!