Year End Wrap Up....

Well, it's been a bit of a roller coaster at times, but yet another year of the Covid Plague is coming to a close....is this year two or year three?  I've lost count.  

My family and I have been very lucky, none of us have been sick, and all of us have been able to get our shots and boosters on time with no issues.  Most of my friends have also been lucky and escaped the plague.  Let's hope that luck holds for all of us through next year as well.

On the amateur radio front it has been an exceptional year for me.  Since January 1st of this year I have made at least one QRP contact every day, not a day has been missed.  In fact I have put 3464 QRP contacts in my log this year, yet I still hear that "QRP doesn't work"........yeah, and I have a unicorn for sale to the highest bidder.  All my POTA activations have been done with my KX3, and I have to say that I just love that radio.  I wish I had bought it years ago.

I have activated 130 parks in the POTA program, which, if the truth be told, has managed to keep me sane during these trying times....my wife may argue that fact though.   

Best piece of gear bought this year?  My set of Workman Hamsticks......they win hands down.  You can't beat them for ease of set-up and being so easy to use.  Every day I'm amazed at where I can talk to with them.

At the start of the year I was determined to get on the air using CW.  My Dad, VE7CVQ (SK) was a CW fanatic.  He didn't own a mic, but many keys.  I knew he would be very disappointed with me not knowing and operating CW.  So.....I'm pretty pleased to tell you that this year I have made and completed 394 CW QSO's.  I'm over the moon with that.

Plans for next year are up in the air of course, as they will depend on what the government has to say about inter-provincial travel.  I have several POTA mini-DXpeditions planned to different parts of the province, as well as a trip out west to see family.  I have my doubt the western trip will happen in 2022, the trips within Ontario I'm hoping will happen, but they depend on whether or not the parks open.

I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year, and that you all stay safe.

Here's the QSO map from today, my last POTA activation of the year, Number 130:

December 30th, 2021........17m and 40m.

Merry Christmas...

 

Merry Christmas everyone......let's hope 2022 is a far better year for us all.

Yet Another Good Day...

Have you guys seen the propagation numbers for today?   One word: "WOW".  These are the highest numbers yet this cycle, and I can't remember the last time I saw numbers that high.  I took one look at them and immediately decided to go and do a POTA activation.  

Lemoine's Point, VE-5141, was the destination today.  It was pretty busy with dog walkers and families doing a walk.  I hid in the corner of the top parking lot, and set up for an activation on 17m.

It took 23 minutes and I had 23 contacts in the log, then I was deliberately QRM'ed off the frequency. This has been happening a lot lately, many POTA operators have mentioned this on the POTA Facebook site.  I don't fret about that anymore.  If I have more than the basic activation number of 10 stations, I just go QRT, and head home for a hot cup of tea and relax....which is what I did today.

There were three good contacts out west, one in Idaho, and two in California.  Not too shabby for 10w into a 17m hamstick.

My plan is to do another two parks before Christmas Day, mainly as a way to keep out of the busy XYL's way.  If I can do that, and then one everyday next week, I will end the year with 133 activations this year.  That's going to take some work to beat next year!

The question is......do I try and sneak in a Park on Christmas afternoon....is my life worth it, or am I courting an untimely death by doing so?

Stay safe out there!!

Today's activation map.

A Cold Day Operating...

What sort of a nut goes out and activates a park for POTA when it's -3C and blowing snow?  Oh, that would be me 😁

I knew it would be a cold activation, and initially plans were to activate two parks, but after finishing the first park I realized it was just too cold and needed to go and get warm before I got hypothermic.  The wind just drew what little heat you had right out of you.

Thanks goodness I had a package of hand-warmers in the van!  They really helped.

The propagation numbers were great today, not as good as yesterday.  They were: SFI=119, SN=119, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  There was a fair bit of deep QSB, and the bands were busy with contests, including the RAC Winter Contest.

One thing that did stand out today was the fact that I suffered no deliberate QRM that we POTA activators have been suffering with for the past few months.  Apparently a number of individuals don't like the POTA program and are trying to cause enough trouble to get people to walk away from it.  Their plan isn't working, in fact POTA seems to be growing everyday to new countries.

So using my now usual routine - the KX3 with 10 screaming watts output into a 20m hamstick - I managed to work Mike CU3HY, Manuel CU3BL, and Jerry HI5YJM.   Contacts were also made in IL, CA, TN, GA, AL, LA, MO, and TX.

The wind and snow is supposed to stop late this evening, so tomorrow I can dig out and set off to another park and do it all over again 😊

Today's QSO Map

Not Your Typical Sunday...

Last night, December 11th, we had probably the biggest wind storm hit us in the sixteen years I have lived here.  We had sustained winds of 80 kph, and gusts over a 100 kph.  There were lots of power outages, trees down over the roads, and even a barn roof blew off and landed on the railway tracks halting rail travel between Toronto and Montreal for many hours.

This morning the clean up began as power was slowly restored and roads were re-opened, but parts of the city looked worse for wear.  Luckily, my house didn't lose any power or suffer any damage, and my antennas even managed to stay up in the air.

It was the turn of the Marshlands Conservation Area, VE-5143, to be activated today, and I chose 20m to start with.  Twenty metres was in great shape, and in no time I had I4DRY, and OK1IWS in the log.  Not bad for 10w from the KX3 into a 20m Hamstick.  After a short while it seemed I had worked 20m out, so I QSY'ed to 40m and picked up another 15 contacts before I went QRT.

I put 35 contacts in the log in 30 minutes.  It was nice to work Puerto Rico, CA and WA as well today.  NB and SK also made it into my log.  

Propagation today was: SFI = 77, SN = 0, A Index = 5, and the K Index = 1.  This was my 117 POTA activation of the year, and I'm hoping to get to 120 before the end of the month.......I don't think I'll have a problem doing that 😁

Stay safe out there!

Today's activation map.

ARRL 10m Contest...

Don't forget this weekend is the ARRL 10m contest.    I'm hoping that this year we actually get an opening and are able to work some good DX.  The band has been open, once in a while, lately, but I'm not convinced it will be this weekend though.  Only time will tell.

The rules can be found HERE.

As usual I will be doing some casual operating, handing out points if I manage to hear and work somebody.

Stay safe out there!

Portable Antennas...

I've had several people email me recently asking what antennas, other than my hamsticks, I use for POTA and portable operating. It must be admitted that over the past few months I've got lazy and only used the hamsticks...mainly for the convenience.

There are several different portable wire antennas in my rucksack.  The following are a few of my favourites, but please remember, antennas are like opinions...everyone has one and everyone has their favourite.

A few years ago I was having some trouble getting a Bandspringer Midi antenna I had bought from Sotabeams to tune up with sufficiently low SWR....the SWR I had was over 25:1 over all bands and nothing I did would change that fact.  It just wasn't happening, and the thing was, to me, completely unusable so it was put away in a drawer.  Shortly after this I was watching a video of Steve, WG0AT, operating SOTA from Mount Herman in Colorado, and I noticed he was using a simple wire antenna.

I emailed Steve about it, and he told me it was a 41' radiator and a 17' counterpoise, and with his KX2 he could tune it on all the bands he needed.  No balun required, just a binding post to BNC converter, and you're in business.  That afternoon I took the Sotabeams antenna and spent a few hours doing surgery, and transformed it into what I now call my "WG0AT Antenna". It works like a charm and I have made hundreds of contacts with it on all bands 40m through 6m.

Probably the most used antenna in my collection is a 40m EFHW.  This was built with a LnR Precision transformer that I found hiding in a drawer one day.  This antenna works on 40m through 6m and I have never had any bad SWR issues with it.

Just 63' of wire, no counterpoises, and you're on the air.  I used this antenna at Chillycon this year as my campsite antenna, and made over 200 contacts with it all over Europe and North America. A great antenna.

My 20/40 linked dipole has also seen a lot of use in the past, but not so much lately.  This was built from plans found on Google, and it does match and work very well on 10m/15m/20m/40m. It is a bit of a pain to put up, but it is a solid performer. I plan on re-making this antenna out of lighter gauge wire as at the moment it is far too heavy to carry.

It is well worth the time and effort to make one.

The Packtenna Mini is the only store bought wire antenna in my possession.  It works very well.

This is a 9:1 transformer and 66' of wire.  The instructions state that you don't need a radial....but....I find that I must use ground radials with it as well as an RF isolator to get the SWR down to were I want it.  I have made a set of three radials on a large alligator clip that I use with it.

To be very honest, while this antenna works extremely well, it doesn't work any better than any of my home-brewed antennas, and it wasn't cheap to buy either. 

So there you have it, my wire antenna collection - and my thoughts on them.  I very rarely use them for POTA activations these days as they all need a portable mast or a tree, and in the crowded conditions of some parks, it's just far easier, and safer, to use the hamsticks.

Stay safe out there!