Well, It Could Have Been Better!!...

Last Saturday I, and three other members of the Upper Canada QRP Club, set off early to activate 2 separate islands for the W/V Island QSO Party.  It was also convenient that both of the islands fell within the boundaries of VE-0023, and VE-4882, which are local POTA entities.

Don VE3MNE, and I set off for Lower Brewers Mill and Washburn Island.  George VE3SIQ and the Bob VA3QV went to Upper Brewers Mill Island, about 3 km north of us.

This was actually the very first official club activity since we shut things down for Covid.  It was sure nice to get club activities going again.  The weather was somewhat cool, with a stiff wind blowing in the morning, but that soon gave way to blue skies and warm temperatures.

When Don and I arrived at Lower Brewers Mill we found that it was a construction site, with no real parking.  It turns out that the single lane wooden bridge that takes traffic across the canal is being rebuilt, and the parking lot was filled with construction trailers.  

We worked things out and spread out in order to not interfere with each other.  The bands were in terrible shape, with very deep QSB and near constant static crashes.  The propagation numbers were:

SFI=119, SN=90, A Index=7, and the K Index=4.

So in three hours I managed a grand total of 15 contacts, and Don didn't do much better.  The best part of the day was that fellow club member Dave VA3ORP, paddled down the canal from his QTH and joined us for a while.  It was nice to catch up with him.  I even managed a couple of CW contacts with him as he paddled up and down the canal.  

Best contact of the day?  Juan-Jose, EC5CSW, in Valencia, Spain.  Not too bad for 5w SSB !! 

Here's a picture of Dave VA3ORP, as he arrived:

Yes, that's a Hamstick mounted on the Kayak, and a 2.5w tuna can CW rig in his hands.

I wonder what the next adventure will be?

Stay Safe Out There!!

And Here We Go Again...

Propagation is not looking very good for the next few days!!

W/V Island QSO Party...

Tomorrow, August 27th, sees this years W/V Island QSO party.  The QSO party runs from 1200 UTC August 27, to 0300 UTC August 28.

If you wish to take part, the Canadian Island Number list is available HERE.

The Rules for the event can be found HERE.

Many Canadian Islands are also within Parks on the Air entities and can generate a good number of QSO's during the contest.

I'm planning an early start and will be heading up to Washburn Island, ON-289, which is about 25 km north of my QTH.  Washburn Island is fortunate to be also within the boundaries of two POTA entities, VE-0023 (Frontenac Biosphere), and VE-4882 (Rideau Canal National Historical Site), which I will also activate. 

I'm hoping the weather and the propagation both behave themselves, and allow me to have an excellent day out playing portable radio.

The bridge over the canal at Washburn Island.

Let's Go Activate...

Well, the propagation numbers were not very good today, as you can see from the posting below this one.  But....I've been in the house long enough and I thought I would see what I could do given the numbers we had.

It was hot and muggy here today with the outside temperature near 32C (89.6F), not the most comfortable weather.

The actual propagation numbers this morning while I was activating the park were:  SFI=105, SN=56, A Index=22, and the K Index=2.

It took an hour to get 14 contacts on 20m and 40m, but we got the job done.  Looking at the contact map I'm surprised that I got into half the places I did.  The very deep QSB didn't help matters at all either.

There were lot's of band police out this morning, all keeping guard on their own, private, frequencies, so that the daily nets held to discuss their medical issues wouldn't be interrupted.  Of course these nets wouldn't be actually happening for at least another 2 hours, but God forbid anyone uses the frequency for the next 30 minutes.

And then we had the whistlers, the tuner-uppers, and other associated LIDS out in full force this morning as well.  Made me realize that maybe I should only activate the parks Monday to Friday when the LIDS seem to be either sleeping or working.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Not Looking Good...Updated - 1245 UTC, August 20th...

The latest solar weather report sure isn't a good one....looks like a couple of rough radio days ahead of us.

 

Update:  It may be the weekend before we see some reasonable levels...

Update No. 2:  It looks like things will be starting to get back to normal on Saturday, barring 

any further earthbound CME's coming at us...

Update No. 3:  Let's hope this is the last update from this round of the Sun playing games with us.

Well, apparently our dear old Sun hasn't finished with her huge tantrum at the moment.  

Here's the latest update:

Stay tuned for more updates!!

Buddipole Parts, Part 2...

Yesterday morning, Don VE3MNE, and John VE3WTN, and I, drove down to Lake Ontario Park here in Kingston, and did a bit of antenna experimenting.

I took the opportunity to have another look at the Buddipole VersaHub I recently acquired.  This time, instead of using a 17' MFJ collapsible whip, I used my Wolf River Coil Silver Bullet Mini, with a 9.5' sectional whip from an old Canadian Army PRC-25 radio, that works great with it.

I also used two 17' semi-elevated radials....most of them where on the ground, not in the air.

Once we got it tuned with an analyzer, we had it down to 1.2:1 across both 20m and 40m.  So I now have a good option for a second antenna during POTA activations....which is what started this quest in the first place.

To give this set-up a good test I managed to make four quick 20m QRP contacts using the antenna.  First up was Keith, KD5JGD in San Antonio, Texas, 2550 Km away.  Next up was Dan, W0DAN in Marietta, Georgia, 1347 Km away.  Third was Ben, K0BJJ, in Newton, Iowa, 1366 Km away, and lastly was John, KE0VPA, in Collins, Iowa, 1381 km away.  Not too bad for 10w with the KX3.

Propagation was: SFI=124, SN=119, A Index=10, and the K Index=2.

I'm interested in seeing what I can do with just the VersaHub and Hamsticks, so that will be the next experiment I do....stay tuned!

John VE3WTN, with his Xiegu X6100 Radio

Don VE3MNE, contemplating life with his Analyzer

Stay Safe Out There!!

Buddipole Parts...

I haven't used my Buddipole system, except for the telescopic whips, for about 6 years now.  Most of the parts are scattered in various boxes around my garage.  This is because I found that it is easier to use my Wolf River Coil than set up the Buddipole system.

However, I was looking over the Buddipole website the other day and came across one of their new products, the "Versahub".  Immediately, I knew that this was the piece I needed to set up my second antenna for POTA activations.  It's so simple!  Along with the Versahub I also bought the collapsible legs that go with it.

My initial testing has been with my 17' telescopic whip antenna, set for 20m, and a single 17' elevated counterpoise.  So far so good, it definitely shows promise.  Next I plan to try my Hamsticks with it and see how they make out on it.  

Below are some pictures of myself, and Don VE3MNE, testing it out by comparing his 20m Hamstick to the 20m vertical.  I'm going to make more of the elevated counterpoise wires, and see what difference it makes if more than one is used at the same time.  

More to follow as testing continues...

2022 Island QSO Party...

Coming up on the weekend of August 27/28, is this years edition of the W / VE Island QSO Party.   This will be the first time in two years the QSO Party will have been held....all because of Covid.

Those regular readers of my Blog will know that over the last two years POTA has become my "go-to" activity.  So doing the Island QSO Party will be a nice break from what has become my usual daily activity.

All islands in North America, both fresh and salt water, qualify for the QSO Party, so you should have no trouble finding one to activate.

Rules can be found HERE.

Frequencies I'll be using, +/- a few kc are:

7.250,  14.250 - 14.260,  and 50. 130.

Of course, the International Lighthouse Weekend is the weekend before this event, and I'm planning on activating a lighthouse as well this year...now if I could just find an island with a Lighthouse and a POTA number, life would be perfect!!

Stay safe out there!

Radio need Cooling?...

With the heat we have been having over the past few weeks I have noticed that my KX3 tends to get a bit warm at times, and of course the radio has no internal fan to aid in cooling...so I needed a solution.

I went looking for 4" or 2" computer cooling fans that I could rig up to help keep things cool, but nobody around my location stocks them.  

Just by chance I was in a Dollar Store two days ago and came across what was listed as a "personal fan", and it had possibilities.  So, ever the big spender, I coughed up the $3 and bought one.  It's turned out to be  absolutely perfect for the job, keeps the radio cool and I'm no longer worried about over-heating the KX3.

This item runs on two AA batteries:

So if you're looking for a cheap way of keeping your radio cool, have a look for one in your local Dollar Store.  They do the job.

Stay safe out there!

Saturday on the Bands...

After a week of lousy propagation we finally had a not-so-bad day today, and I managed to make contacts on both the west and east coasts.

Propagation this morning was: SFI=114, SN=73, A Index=6, and the K Index=1.

The main problem today was not making contacts, it was suffering through the high temperatures and humidity.  At 1500 UTC it was 32C (88F) with the humidity feeling like 42C (108F).  Not the most comfortable operating conditions, even with the wind coming in off Lake Ontario.

Radio was the KX3 at 10w, and my antenna was 17m, 40m, and 20m Hamsticks.  Yep, three bands, and 33 minutes to get 14 contacts.  

Here's todays contact map from Lemoine Point, VE-5141, Parks on the Air:

Stay safe out there!