tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86244891112078381682024-03-14T14:30:17.578-04:00The Adventures of VE3FIBlogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.comBlogger843125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-34925736118324041022024-03-13T15:11:00.002-04:002024-03-14T14:29:44.403-04:00Rough Day on the Bands...<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisd5PpfnfSdF597hkkLru6tZJ6ku5Z0x9AfREn9UYqr3WbyLp2h91AZ-tM1EwjfBxALbrLu2VW9wUndednzAGBAsdZYd7EAdRzWG4ypCdE7WwyWIEIumxF_yygVGBXHXQlv8P67n0hBkTG68LWqW2d_ICInBP72-aL-oGrxiCDqM5WhAmwEn5zZbXzfOA/s585/parrottsbay.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="585" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisd5PpfnfSdF597hkkLru6tZJ6ku5Z0x9AfREn9UYqr3WbyLp2h91AZ-tM1EwjfBxALbrLu2VW9wUndednzAGBAsdZYd7EAdRzWG4ypCdE7WwyWIEIumxF_yygVGBXHXQlv8P67n0hBkTG68LWqW2d_ICInBP72-aL-oGrxiCDqM5WhAmwEn5zZbXzfOA/w298-h138/parrottsbay.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parrott's Bay</td></tr></tbody></table>While the propagation numbers looked ok this morning, the reality of the situation was the bands were total garbage, this was coupled with extremely deep QSB wiping out signals completely.<p></p><p>Today was the first time, <u>ever</u>, it's taken me over an hour to activating a park. I made contacts on 12m, 15m, 20m, and 40m to make 10 simple contacts, it was just insane.....and no DX stations were worked. </p><p>This mornings propagation numbers were: SFI=131, SN=86, A Index=6, and the K Index=2.</p><p>It wasn't all bad, it was a beautiful day to be in the park, +10C under blue sky. It was great!</p><p>Here's todays contact map:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixE5_naQf2jobBu9CBdUWKh6y0HMLX00aeROaAaXozVh8KEC_V1iCWbo7cxCcxy_QANMHf3xjaqtipMmIm30HMreF0V8AlFhRPSvtHxO3wArld8Un3DQc6qk_TEWmx06no2FHNhYjn1bBMqhgR9_2BX4T1VXMqWuVurGrk4gyEyWFZ6hUwy_JbGVKxiPw/s2746/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2013.54.51.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="2746" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixE5_naQf2jobBu9CBdUWKh6y0HMLX00aeROaAaXozVh8KEC_V1iCWbo7cxCcxy_QANMHf3xjaqtipMmIm30HMreF0V8AlFhRPSvtHxO3wArld8Un3DQc6qk_TEWmx06no2FHNhYjn1bBMqhgR9_2BX4T1VXMqWuVurGrk4gyEyWFZ6hUwy_JbGVKxiPw/w546-h355/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2013.54.51.png" width="546" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-55111641588568667372024-03-05T21:11:00.003-05:002024-03-05T21:12:49.333-05:00Testing Out the New POTA Prefix...<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Over the last weekend POTA decided in its infinite wisdom to change a number of countries prefixes that lead off the individual park numbers. Canada originally used "VE", as of Saturday we now use "CA". Yes, lots of confusion and grinding of teeth, and I certainly do not like the fact it was thrust upon us as a total surprise, and that the powers that be did not give anyone a heads up that this was happening, but we will get through it. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXLm0aBCF5qfSRhy8uUnHYAgnWbxCFRh7UpmDzX0GhBqw5LPUw8mlgmmID6py8yi4iR5T9NPUl-PF9JveffRkjWG0qppm_ZW6LZnnwhAit2FvZlCxL6NFOd5RT2c4jL2vg9SFKOmJoJNMyStwNlOAmrpbkLG8M6_5JCzZzPJ0v8ZT1VNSi0svCndEDBI/s578/GLWT-CycleHike.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="433" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXLm0aBCF5qfSRhy8uUnHYAgnWbxCFRh7UpmDzX0GhBqw5LPUw8mlgmmID6py8yi4iR5T9NPUl-PF9JveffRkjWG0qppm_ZW6LZnnwhAit2FvZlCxL6NFOd5RT2c4jL2vg9SFKOmJoJNMyStwNlOAmrpbkLG8M6_5JCzZzPJ0v8ZT1VNSi0svCndEDBI/w177-h236/GLWT-CycleHike.png" width="177" /></a></div>One of the problems we all thought we would have is that our logging programs wouldn't accept the new prefix, but that has been disproved today with the activation of CA-5141 and CA-6003, and the successful uploading of the logs with absolutely no issues.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It was a gloriously sunny day today with the temperature sitting at +10C under blue skies. I did the whole activation with the windows open in my truck, just like a summers day.....in early March, unheard of.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I took my time today and made 31 contacts in 50 minutes. I put 13 on 40m in the log, and another 18 on 15m. There were 7 DX contacts into Europe, and 8 park-2-park contacts. It was just a great day, and I enjoyed myself and the slow pace of this activation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The bands were in decent shape, but the QSB was very deep and signals very quickly disappeared forever. The propagation numbers were: SFI=140, SN=112, A Index=10, and the K Index=1.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As usual it was the KX3 at 10w, and Hamstick's on a mag-mount on the roof of my truck. Here's todays contact map:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lP6FqEgKNo3MHBhnZmjoN029KiXfjz_wL_oNf2XawLDkw_Bms9sABaa6xv8KZWx8KW727IGR-sFN5XaDAr4pXrHshIbNggPTsNt4DxnFzqwsTP0lMBt62PjhMmgLnJ451DwsZ1H8pQx43eEidwpBj5OaiTEYz-3-qK2qXaTSeFj6iY4xmcXsljLQoE/s3366/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.23.14.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="3366" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lP6FqEgKNo3MHBhnZmjoN029KiXfjz_wL_oNf2XawLDkw_Bms9sABaa6xv8KZWx8KW727IGR-sFN5XaDAr4pXrHshIbNggPTsNt4DxnFzqwsTP0lMBt62PjhMmgLnJ451DwsZ1H8pQx43eEidwpBj5OaiTEYz-3-qK2qXaTSeFj6iY4xmcXsljLQoE/w583-h215/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.23.14.png" width="583" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></div></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-49113301571252047742024-02-29T18:45:00.002-05:002024-02-29T18:48:09.856-05:00A Cold Day...<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">After a couple of fairly warm days, today was bitterly cold again. The cold, coupled with a strong north wind, was not at all pleasant to be out in. But, and there's always a 'But', it's the 29th February and this day only comes every four years, so I thought that was a good enough reason to go to a park and operate.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMQ6w8KBpFQOtcGS-D6Pw379yGVtHXDZoFrvjwttQR2_G3BKjMwou7aTjeAzc4yVDQkCCq8_NWVW0Mg5fEYgAN5B7dLTBsrxHj7NF0ndUuUR2frjus6mWnpz1zO-dco3rzP0hKSj3Kq0s7ciQhZlxCvlF-wknRKkHAiA2QnTH-Ne9MEhL_PO4mCcFDx0/s990/Lemoine-Point-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="990" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMQ6w8KBpFQOtcGS-D6Pw379yGVtHXDZoFrvjwttQR2_G3BKjMwou7aTjeAzc4yVDQkCCq8_NWVW0Mg5fEYgAN5B7dLTBsrxHj7NF0ndUuUR2frjus6mWnpz1zO-dco3rzP0hKSj3Kq0s7ciQhZlxCvlF-wknRKkHAiA2QnTH-Ne9MEhL_PO4mCcFDx0/w229-h152/Lemoine-Point-1.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>I went back to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, as I'm close to completing 100 activations there, and want to get that milestone behind me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Propagation was good, today's numbers were: SFI=180, SN=109, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. There was also, I found out, some QSB.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I had a look at the <a href="https://www.solarham.net" target="_blank">solar-terrestrial data</a> before I set-up and realized that once again 15m was going to be my go-to band, so out came the 15m hamstick and mag-mount.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In 25 minutes I put 28 contacts in the log, including 6 Spanish stations, 2 in England, and 1 each from Germany, Austria, and France. In other words, a great day on the bands for a QRP SSB station! It never ceases to surprise me what can be done with 10w and a hamstick antenna.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here's todays contact map:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5NIRHg59ucmZXl-k9Hj39jZOKa5jBbEvZxeRrE95_MSmK85n2PvtJmF4_aMUY9JVuDUOGs8XSi-k3Id7h2zA2wkDzEPJ8bVRXtGI75rk3GHMOM0jiNZIDR_7Z0FS6qbVa_aTxo6dgtMfpi1O95aT4oOJMqDUHqS0gNRlYqHyIIdqS1P8A_dJpm-K4-k/s3312/Screenshot%202024-02-29%20at%2014.03.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="3312" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5NIRHg59ucmZXl-k9Hj39jZOKa5jBbEvZxeRrE95_MSmK85n2PvtJmF4_aMUY9JVuDUOGs8XSi-k3Id7h2zA2wkDzEPJ8bVRXtGI75rk3GHMOM0jiNZIDR_7Z0FS6qbVa_aTxo6dgtMfpi1O95aT4oOJMqDUHqS0gNRlYqHyIIdqS1P8A_dJpm-K4-k/w625-h223/Screenshot%202024-02-29%20at%2014.03.16.png" width="625" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-50249814341643571152024-02-24T17:30:00.002-05:002024-02-25T19:54:19.367-05:00Good Day Today...<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiym0xMB9Q1wbQ5zsbiNUBVG6VLGv-v86We_ILhFUnFdy8nKjoSfKigCTO2gpkGcOU_E6HQBuZ7XyqKI_AZiMraF1AjBMrmH6ULcyeQ9IfJuSNrVuqSWI_YVt1p3mIBImc6WE8EFeYXz6RwQdhIo24iM868zuxN852wPBkpCZmlOtx-S-yjvxQriWBHA/s916/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2017.01.44.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="916" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiym0xMB9Q1wbQ5zsbiNUBVG6VLGv-v86We_ILhFUnFdy8nKjoSfKigCTO2gpkGcOU_E6HQBuZ7XyqKI_AZiMraF1AjBMrmH6ULcyeQ9IfJuSNrVuqSWI_YVt1p3mIBImc6WE8EFeYXz6RwQdhIo24iM868zuxN852wPBkpCZmlOtx-S-yjvxQriWBHA/w180-h153/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2017.01.44.png" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Today I complete my 68th trip around the sun, and while it sucks getting old, it definitely beats the alternative. As a way of celebrating I decided to return to Lemoine Point, and do another POTA activation, my 89th at that location.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Propagation numbers looked pretty good today, and I thought I would do well on 15m as I have done the last few times I'm been at the park. The numbers were: SFI=173, SN=101, A Index=3, and the K Index=1. The Bz was sitting at -0.3, but I've operated with a lot worse than that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The bad part of today was the fact it was -17C (1F) out, but felt like -21C (-6F) with the wind chill factored in. As I operate from my truck I figured I would be fine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The radio of the day was my KX3 set at 10w, and as usual I used a 15m hamstick. I've learned to leave the truck running with the heat blasting away while I set up my antenna, as the door must be open in order for me to reach the roof properly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It turns out 15m was good, but it wasn't great. I managed a total of 19 QSO's before I had to close down due to a failing battery due to the cold. I did get a 2m simplex contact with Jelle VE3THI, who was activating Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, which is about 6.5 km to the west of Lemoine Point. The lesson of the day was to make sure you also have 70cm simplex frequencies programmed in the radio as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here's todays contact map:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhmnS8URsDeh9lm-7VNqsaUio8ZREDnKcRZ-Or5G-4nwa53bFXCgGcFVulLUjNjPnS7JFRbBo6NAxDFlpkllq6DC4cLpgEe2CGZc-v2vBBZga_ucX9lnDRpvBLgTlPgNS8kQ2wKthKawpK2Pc1CQPak8nVwBCoOkH781HcrnzGIW2nr8nTaGFNu_npWg/s3410/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2015.59.30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="3410" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhmnS8URsDeh9lm-7VNqsaUio8ZREDnKcRZ-Or5G-4nwa53bFXCgGcFVulLUjNjPnS7JFRbBo6NAxDFlpkllq6DC4cLpgEe2CGZc-v2vBBZga_ucX9lnDRpvBLgTlPgNS8kQ2wKthKawpK2Pc1CQPak8nVwBCoOkH781HcrnzGIW2nr8nTaGFNu_npWg/w595-h207/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2015.59.30.png" width="595" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></div><p></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-27831612233222566442024-02-14T16:52:00.007-05:002024-02-14T19:33:39.077-05:00WSPR...<p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I’ve been playing around with my WSPR transmitter again. I thought with the bad propagation we had forecasted over the past few days, that it would be a good idea to see how my antennas do under those conditions.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktz4U7WBLi1K7URpuebzePWPgaTrWTQsAqxadHshVB5wg-QFOXs71XAfSy1Nh9-RPUVya10xlLxjVkAn0AsVgmrrPyZXKKBpEECY3kuCBrTULIN-nO6A6qgxw258jq-NbOdA6wneG8qtVvO7IMK5SRWhLt0d5DU0nrnCVWI8ESgvPk1DtKad-6njfUC8/s2992/20231219_195907.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktz4U7WBLi1K7URpuebzePWPgaTrWTQsAqxadHshVB5wg-QFOXs71XAfSy1Nh9-RPUVya10xlLxjVkAn0AsVgmrrPyZXKKBpEECY3kuCBrTULIN-nO6A6qgxw258jq-NbOdA6wneG8qtVvO7IMK5SRWhLt0d5DU0nrnCVWI8ESgvPk1DtKad-6njfUC8/w208-h208/20231219_195907.jpg" width="208" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After 24 hrs of beaconing I was very surprised where my Zachtek 200 mW transmitter managed to get a signal to. This test was done using an 80m EFHW antenna. The antenna is vertical for the first 45’ and then is horizontal for the remainder of its length, and it’s orientated North-East to South-West.</span><p></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For those of you who do not know what WSPR is used for, it was introduced back in 2008 as an application for testing antennas, and testing propagation paths on LF, MF, and HF among other things.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm also planning on using my WSPR beacon on my trip out west this spring as a way of letting everyone know where I am each night, instead of using APRS. This idea worked very well for my good friend </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kieran VA3KS (SK) last spring on his trip across the USA. I'll set it up each evening after supper and let it beacon for a few hours before I go to bed.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's the map from last night (February 13):</span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrr7c2_rHH2X3yB1G4Z4idcQP2GnS9AlTBKz9TczzLi8jwfkn5cAJhOqZkN7Tm7ZY-V6PCgkkiprYGCMFhIxxcJNOv7eGqGcUqfgNBbxnyO-AQp_a2JpTjk2XH4gIAEd2wc6G9GUPeVIhthX7IAe4OQTBOPkKXogWmPNBgzBK9cypdbXzPxdpUfUI9Ug/s3516/World%20view.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2176" data-original-width="3516" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrr7c2_rHH2X3yB1G4Z4idcQP2GnS9AlTBKz9TczzLi8jwfkn5cAJhOqZkN7Tm7ZY-V6PCgkkiprYGCMFhIxxcJNOv7eGqGcUqfgNBbxnyO-AQp_a2JpTjk2XH4gIAEd2wc6G9GUPeVIhthX7IAe4OQTBOPkKXogWmPNBgzBK9cypdbXzPxdpUfUI9Ug/w622-h386/World%20view.png" width="622" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></div><p></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-47471045641569884992024-02-11T21:16:00.007-05:002024-02-11T21:16:42.478-05:00Not Looking Good....<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Propagation isn't looking very good for at least the next 3 days. I expect the bands to be super noisy. This stems from an unexpected coronal mass ejection (CME) that was first detected at 0123 UTC on Sunday, February 11.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaYKeYtvH_L8oHjBVzzwl8m_eaMi5Ijl420duL2MhmsOHWxFXBODk8ATwaEUtBugCnP2gFHJcTuK9SiuKCxgwjuUsxO9GocnHyDckyYIoLxR5CLTC6_T1NNiEPGdOfzD_fFiYKcuLzWnOC8QyPiFVN9Pz53uzQE6LPLI_aW-Q59E8aaUz3Wx5NX6eNZk/s2618/Screenshot%202024-02-11%20at%2021.11.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2618" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaYKeYtvH_L8oHjBVzzwl8m_eaMi5Ijl420duL2MhmsOHWxFXBODk8ATwaEUtBugCnP2gFHJcTuK9SiuKCxgwjuUsxO9GocnHyDckyYIoLxR5CLTC6_T1NNiEPGdOfzD_fFiYKcuLzWnOC8QyPiFVN9Pz53uzQE6LPLI_aW-Q59E8aaUz3Wx5NX6eNZk/w607-h178/Screenshot%202024-02-11%20at%2021.11.27.png" width="607" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!!</span></div></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-85357416481461005562024-02-08T20:59:00.001-05:002024-02-29T18:19:34.651-05:00Back to VE-5141<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EwGveb3zypzdcL5HMoLIT3ZxYfesJS_NrYAhBMlnMo8alExk1obqAaD-vwEC4GEkHT5ksyQJD6ikTnEB0QD8ub-R_jY6adketmT9XdAG5ra3mtK0lrYOWSP1P4MzUpKbUh9L5gLSNyKD1F_2c72qvJt5f3mBx_siQIG0CU1Lpu2fvvNM4XHAA8bmKGM/s4000/20231004_114009.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EwGveb3zypzdcL5HMoLIT3ZxYfesJS_NrYAhBMlnMo8alExk1obqAaD-vwEC4GEkHT5ksyQJD6ikTnEB0QD8ub-R_jY6adketmT9XdAG5ra3mtK0lrYOWSP1P4MzUpKbUh9L5gLSNyKD1F_2c72qvJt5f3mBx_siQIG0CU1Lpu2fvvNM4XHAA8bmKGM/w165-h220/20231004_114009.jpg" width="165" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">With the bands being in such good shape today I couldn't resist getting out into a park again and doing some operating. It's so much better operating with no noise floor, than the constant S7 at home.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The weather was superb here as well, it got up to +10C, which after the cold we have had, is fantastic.....I think I finally thawed out!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The propagation was: SFI=181, SN=151, A Index=4, and the K Index=2. I didn't hear any QSB today at all, even with the Bz sitting at -2.5. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With all the stars aligning I went to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, and set up. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It took me 40 minutes to get 25 SSB contacts in the log, using both 10m and 15m. I put F4ILH, IK2BYY, SO5CAL, G0RQL, 2E0VRX, SP8BJU, DH4PSG, DK1RS, and OE4JHW, which absolutely made my day! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The fact I'm doing this with my KX3 set at 10w, and only using various hamsticks as my antenna, is just amazing. This weekend, if I can get out, I'm going to try this with my 29' vertical wire, and see what I can do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here's todays contact map:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsy3pYGluGGSf2OQ6EpmQA1_duxf-PQOv1PDwCWjenaVLKUboxgl0SPo5VGPfOwKfXMOwxOCYMqZrxe1Xlk5j6FCrtJxujCqvAQQvC4WPuo96fRz-fbOuyfk8PdV559kaEZmPH273I9Nu2emgbZD6Hh6BKX6H-wPCUaN2W4lqjwBMS4Eglx4BXJpC2Fww/s3410/Screenshot%202024-02-08%20at%2016.43.43.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="3410" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsy3pYGluGGSf2OQ6EpmQA1_duxf-PQOv1PDwCWjenaVLKUboxgl0SPo5VGPfOwKfXMOwxOCYMqZrxe1Xlk5j6FCrtJxujCqvAQQvC4WPuo96fRz-fbOuyfk8PdV559kaEZmPH273I9Nu2emgbZD6Hh6BKX6H-wPCUaN2W4lqjwBMS4Eglx4BXJpC2Fww/w627-h234/Screenshot%202024-02-08%20at%2016.43.43.png" width="627" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></div><p></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-74000490226846795842024-02-07T22:14:00.001-05:002024-02-07T22:15:53.708-05:00New Milestone...<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrddI_9al2Psn6vfi2bIFk968ZfURbLDTisXTRAkrsG1zP_ZhyphenhyphenEJDYN4shfTznTYVwi5vmDAaONm74AIG55KIDfKSyzq5oWx5H_-8mzpP-pmhtTkRDTyU0E4BvqCX2OFTWGii1HRxyNMdsAfsy7hTcGR2N72hF8wsooss5S0FHmaRfDVPI6bWfJfrjnvM/s2042/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%2022.08.52.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2042" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrddI_9al2Psn6vfi2bIFk968ZfURbLDTisXTRAkrsG1zP_ZhyphenhyphenEJDYN4shfTznTYVwi5vmDAaONm74AIG55KIDfKSyzq5oWx5H_-8mzpP-pmhtTkRDTyU0E4BvqCX2OFTWGii1HRxyNMdsAfsy7hTcGR2N72hF8wsooss5S0FHmaRfDVPI6bWfJfrjnvM/s320/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%2022.08.52.png" width="320" /></a></div>Finished this off this morning. I knew I was getting close, and have been trying to complete the 100 activations at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, for over a week now - but life just gets in the way sometimes.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Propagation was excellent!! SFI=190, SN=144, A Index=8, and the K Index=1. There was some light QSB, but I didn't find it too bad.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I started off on 40m and managed to put only 8 contacts in the log before the QSO's just dried up. As a result I moved to 15m and put another 23 in the log. 15m was in great shape, and I managed to get 6 European DX stations, EA1BUL, F4ILH, G4ELZ, EA4TL, IU1HJF, and DH4PSG. I also put CO6QK in the log, this was the very first Cuban station I have worked doing POTA. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Radio of the day was my KX3 at 10w, and the antenna was, as usual, a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck on a 5" mag-mount.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I'm looking forward to doing this again at Lemoine Point, VE-5141, sometime in the next month or two. I'm at 84 activations there, so only another 16 to go.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here's todays contact map:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zXhdJFSCwLiiU8aatXzggFm9vKQF-jTfZMaLb0YCAab-Hfw_R6Didp1dT6DxXMKELQx94ipE22KJFm4lMX9fFoP9NORgIp_MolXB3sx9U8YKlzMohNoES9L5DkpcePsq7SSbv3W8kXYikr7AqwVFBvOuS4Yc8OM7pAi39FY-DT7ys6wYOCZ8VIeC_cI/s3072/424638636_10159206041496403_8628827147563976751_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="3072" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zXhdJFSCwLiiU8aatXzggFm9vKQF-jTfZMaLb0YCAab-Hfw_R6Didp1dT6DxXMKELQx94ipE22KJFm4lMX9fFoP9NORgIp_MolXB3sx9U8YKlzMohNoES9L5DkpcePsq7SSbv3W8kXYikr7AqwVFBvOuS4Yc8OM7pAi39FY-DT7ys6wYOCZ8VIeC_cI/w563-h229/424638636_10159206041496403_8628827147563976751_n.jpg" width="563" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Be W</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">ell, and Stay Safe Out There!!</span></div></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-373508819763441012024-02-02T22:07:00.002-05:002024-02-02T22:07:13.429-05:00Back to the Park...<p>I had a great time this morning at VE-5142, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area, here in Collins Bay, Ontario. The weather was great, it was actually +2C, but the wind was still a bit raw - so you still had to wrap up to stay warm.</p><p>The propagation was good, although there was some pretty deep QSB. SFI=137, SN=131, A Index=5, and the K Index=0. These numbers are supposed to stay fairly consistent over this coming weekend. Time will tell!</p><p>Once again I spent the whole activation on 15m, with my KX3 pumping out a magnificent 10w into a Hamstick mounted on the roof of my truck. First up today was Danny ON4ON with a solid S7 signal. He was followed by Juergen OE4JHW, and Etor F5VMN, both of these two stations were a good S9 to me. It's always a bonus when you can work some good DX during a POTA activation, especially with QRP power.</p><p>Here's todays contact map:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFA2AoJBHYZCm8Q1adsaLd3-Xrs3rvjYiPafYJ5zJdSvEnAS79BxlR2-eO48_4M31JpsvC5JdTh_Ne_o51WRWzlXR4WQ9RkBWOSyTQSx13yfWfCtacQOgchLqKSnuF9djsM_bRHatPUuFEhJxCmvoeMx1OonEqb8YmRw0mhsiMP1xsNiNVq4FhBs8iZc/s3270/Screenshot%202024-02-02%20at%2018.48.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="3270" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFA2AoJBHYZCm8Q1adsaLd3-Xrs3rvjYiPafYJ5zJdSvEnAS79BxlR2-eO48_4M31JpsvC5JdTh_Ne_o51WRWzlXR4WQ9RkBWOSyTQSx13yfWfCtacQOgchLqKSnuF9djsM_bRHatPUuFEhJxCmvoeMx1OonEqb8YmRw0mhsiMP1xsNiNVq4FhBs8iZc/w590-h221/Screenshot%202024-02-02%20at%2018.48.17.png" width="590" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-63135998726820094102024-01-31T16:55:00.000-05:002024-01-31T16:55:00.272-05:00FYBO - 2024This weekend sees the 2024 edition of the Freeze Your Butt Off QRP event, sponsored by the AzScQRPions. <div><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(77, 81, 86); font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span><div>Rules can be found <a href="https://azscqrpions.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/FYBO_General-Near-Forever-Rules.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The event runs from 1400 UTC to 2359 UTC, February 3rd. I'm planning on going out and setting up for this event in my local park. The weather forecast is calling for +1C under sunny skies.....should be good for an afternoon of fun and QRP!!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjn9K9wUeLj69qs0XILty8_caL4KmpfhVpz1JkYoOrHFiGzLlOa2Z8NNyM1LzR0BhlCyP2X8B8bA4ciR3u2x5eZfNiKWKmLSB0Gx9UOPgpO7BjHtagRD_Rz4tR-jqPrKMgfKk4Vgt_Y__3HyjlVCe69jHomv5KCLeUk0hQxiPwbqhUtZVc51dhqpO6XM/s480/FYBO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="480" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjn9K9wUeLj69qs0XILty8_caL4KmpfhVpz1JkYoOrHFiGzLlOa2Z8NNyM1LzR0BhlCyP2X8B8bA4ciR3u2x5eZfNiKWKmLSB0Gx9UOPgpO7BjHtagRD_Rz4tR-jqPrKMgfKk4Vgt_Y__3HyjlVCe69jHomv5KCLeUk0hQxiPwbqhUtZVc51dhqpO6XM/w384-h289/FYBO.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</div></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-73195515440149152012024-01-29T12:13:00.009-05:002024-01-29T12:13:54.486-05:00Winter Field Day....the Aftermath...<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">We had a good time. The weather wan't too bad, a little light rain, but it stayed up at about +2C all weekend. Of course that meant melting snow and mud, but we survived that.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">The propagation could have been much better, but it was what it was. On Saturday it was: SFI=157, SN=52, A Index=6, and the K Index=0. On Sunday it was SFI=148, SN=48, A Index=5, and the K Index=2. Our dear Sun had obviously decided not to be too cooperative for the event. We had lots of bad QSB as well, one minute a signal was S9+, and the next second they were gone, just disappeared as if they had never been there.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">I used my 17' collapsible whip with my mag-mount on the roof of the truck as my main antenna for the weekend, and it worked great on Saturday......not so much on Sunday morning though for some reason. On Sunday morning Don VE3MNE, kept breaking through and over loading the front end of my KX3, he was on 15m and I was still working 20m, I guess we're going to have to buy some band filters and sort all that out.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">We only made about 100 contacts between us, but we had a good time. We worked SSB and CW....except instead of using the club call, VE3UCC, I stupidly forgot and used my own call when I switched over to CW, so I have to try and sort out that mess. We live and learn I guess.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">The main reason I wanted to do WFD this year was to see if the gear I'm taking on my road trip this year worked as advertised, and I think it's ready, there may be a few more little tweaks, but nothing major as it is really good to go now.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">Here's a few pictures of the event:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWa8thc1xTtLffRSwB9gcWK0lTIFYTKT91QyS7T7ekNA7kxJ71mFcGLnlDXwmiMjqxUs9ylORksv4Uq4LzDiefci6CaGmyAAIv7XOrQQlgvL3HtT7Sz1A8oETVj1CiAzwjIcmsrmA4V9NwVF84xUniTOcYDi9M9VK9UgvFO_Fo1wqe7_uyriwHeL_PUEs/s2992/20240128_095536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWa8thc1xTtLffRSwB9gcWK0lTIFYTKT91QyS7T7ekNA7kxJ71mFcGLnlDXwmiMjqxUs9ylORksv4Uq4LzDiefci6CaGmyAAIv7XOrQQlgvL3HtT7Sz1A8oETVj1CiAzwjIcmsrmA4V9NwVF84xUniTOcYDi9M9VK9UgvFO_Fo1wqe7_uyriwHeL_PUEs/s320/20240128_095536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim, VE3ULC, chasing WFD stations.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDbuVU9XoseWVtqvcYRAjltm90sBB7bo1WEiiw5F3DN_gAstp20ZzOGiVGbgu4K4oR1Vm_igl3IvsXWT7WA_Bn42UO68bFjjnzALRNeSs84Ky-rRCPqsa9AqTudExOQsO-D0E7JSbn8tIu5wUWE72SRSsydmZEXh8PhVU_sGPg756MAJ7I5_ZAxjCllM/s2992/20240127_120559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDbuVU9XoseWVtqvcYRAjltm90sBB7bo1WEiiw5F3DN_gAstp20ZzOGiVGbgu4K4oR1Vm_igl3IvsXWT7WA_Bn42UO68bFjjnzALRNeSs84Ky-rRCPqsa9AqTudExOQsO-D0E7JSbn8tIu5wUWE72SRSsydmZEXh8PhVU_sGPg756MAJ7I5_ZAxjCllM/s320/20240127_120559.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to shoot some antenna lines in the trees.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsBWXosy_u5f4Sgu9nf3pLInDnxgbTfJ4xIvNmVN1obo3yXJRJLnmZddU3gJe4mMca7wvXQJi-d1IT5rnNSowzbAV1AgD1nIF3vJqMXfqtcPasMPF1uHtjXq0BKppOe8PvXLhQgaZZUOverCZhyrssgm89HkviskWjg5g_U2Mi879fDQeC0ajH1kInLA/s2992/20240127_152656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsBWXosy_u5f4Sgu9nf3pLInDnxgbTfJ4xIvNmVN1obo3yXJRJLnmZddU3gJe4mMca7wvXQJi-d1IT5rnNSowzbAV1AgD1nIF3vJqMXfqtcPasMPF1uHtjXq0BKppOe8PvXLhQgaZZUOverCZhyrssgm89HkviskWjg5g_U2Mi879fDQeC0ajH1kInLA/s320/20240127_152656.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don, VE3MNE, chasing Hawaii on 15m.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbF9_Idc1dNkMlk7mMQUASjiehOjcScR1Vs_FpcfFCv6iCrkC0n-F8R9UXqg3kfHigzM04dck9wu3f8xGEBZTy8Xn48FGcoEwOZQX6ui4_KfHU7lK9NGaFhnEW0hU1y9n91RlfgVbKGUpoRCgzcAu_VUtEukoFFdr-ipMks_TNVyEgNZFMJ4TvMYGe8uQ/s2992/20240127_113035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbF9_Idc1dNkMlk7mMQUASjiehOjcScR1Vs_FpcfFCv6iCrkC0n-F8R9UXqg3kfHigzM04dck9wu3f8xGEBZTy8Xn48FGcoEwOZQX6ui4_KfHU7lK9NGaFhnEW0hU1y9n91RlfgVbKGUpoRCgzcAu_VUtEukoFFdr-ipMks_TNVyEgNZFMJ4TvMYGe8uQ/s320/20240127_113035.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our home for the weekend.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-59104825585476438402024-01-22T08:24:00.001-05:002024-01-22T08:24:34.803-05:00Here we go Again...<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Propagation is not looking good for the next few days. Here's the latest forecast:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9B9ixn3TEI1-kZFRK0kxrI71XHpxI7Xs5ftbPNEsD3YkCcj_i-4YYAh5T_kJdAX_SG1NFiz3ylV2nCic3ZQ1-sazAvqKtLg-zjlA4ZD94rOrpgJ0hB6wqgoeM6Nl3UeAYNi44oMCdLMmpfqM54iSiyrp9Q0gce9sAzQDnRB57r3IZndHsmUWQlJoczg/s2620/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2008.22.03.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="2620" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9B9ixn3TEI1-kZFRK0kxrI71XHpxI7Xs5ftbPNEsD3YkCcj_i-4YYAh5T_kJdAX_SG1NFiz3ylV2nCic3ZQ1-sazAvqKtLg-zjlA4ZD94rOrpgJ0hB6wqgoeM6Nl3UeAYNi44oMCdLMmpfqM54iSiyrp9Q0gce9sAzQDnRB57r3IZndHsmUWQlJoczg/w596-h175/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2008.22.03.png" width="596" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</span></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-6929099634918560522024-01-18T12:44:00.005-05:002024-01-18T12:47:27.830-05:00Winter Field Day...<span style="font-family: verdana;">Coming up next weekend is Winter Field Day. This version of Field Day is somewhat different from its warm weather brother in June. <span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">This is a chance to practice our Emcomm and deployment skills under cold weather conditions, instead of the bugs and oppressive high heat of June. As the association states: "Not all emergencies happen in the good weather".</span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Rules can be found <a href="https://winterfieldday.org/sop.php" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The event starts at 1900 UTC on Saturday, January 27, and ends at 1859 UTC on Sunday, January 28.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #fcfaf6; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiDW80wYc3H9aaZw8T7E42Ou3-5473djIcwyDyOhGJCzNcGxCJz9niLLhwzDwQ3RaKZZV4OIq0c7taoLQwjbgNBOm4HnRBMmvirBELNgjLUCeqbM1WjECgx3G0Zj2yj35MtN0NBP_Or53IIC58_Idp8br2iS0S_ZBTb4tijCEQetO6yRnr28QFYBJFuk/s1008/136957582_152503183099349_6925569127847433267_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1000" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiDW80wYc3H9aaZw8T7E42Ou3-5473djIcwyDyOhGJCzNcGxCJz9niLLhwzDwQ3RaKZZV4OIq0c7taoLQwjbgNBOm4HnRBMmvirBELNgjLUCeqbM1WjECgx3G0Zj2yj35MtN0NBP_Or53IIC58_Idp8br2iS0S_ZBTb4tijCEQetO6yRnr28QFYBJFuk/w364-h367/136957582_152503183099349_6925569127847433267_n.jpg" width="364" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</div></span></div></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-36517958548091100132024-01-13T16:14:00.000-05:002024-01-13T16:14:28.830-05:00Friday in the Park...<p>It was a nice day yesterday....for January, and around this part of Canada. It was a balmy -5C under cloudy grey skies, but it wasn't snowing or raining!</p><p>The days propagation was the best I've seen in a long time, and that's what gave me the kick to get out and play radio. The propagation was: SFI=193, SN=180, A Index=6, and the K Index=0. There was a bit of QSB out there, but it wasn't too bad.</p><p>First up was Manuel EA2DT, and he was quickly followed by Jose EA1BUL. These two operators always seem to find me when I'm out in a park. I did have one interesting thing happen, I was working KI5MM, Lee in Texas, and I became aware of a very faint station under him also talking on the frequency. Up to now I had had no interference so I was a bit surprised. Then it hit me, I had called for the Texas station by asking for the "Mike" station, and back came Lee. However, David M0YDB must have thought I was calling him. Anyway I finished with Texas and called for any UK stations, and back came David again to make sure he was in my log.</p><p>Radio was my usual KX3 set at 10w, and the antenna was a 15m Hamstick on the roof of my truck. I put 37 contacts in the logbook in 30 minutes, so I was very pleased with that. My plan was to go out again today, but an overnight snow storm put an end to those plans. We also have another large snow storm coming in overnight tonight, so it looks like there will be no radio in the park on Sunday either.</p><p>Here's the contact map for the day:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG41bviWDYwIzCIGA-BJ-foFbN_GrXHwMVOb0anIulyZJC_d3VcmALryPVFaWtCPepoqHd7xRN85tZ9q5HhsjgEU_Y0foznHQs4u-lCo1okCIH4h_VgY_85FZ1MsnmTGu7eEIbdsacfeGs_j5u6onAPXbMPIxlOw_Fu5RpgVSP14bWNv6md0T4X4-1R1w/s3164/Screenshot%202024-01-12%20at%2016.23.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="3164" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG41bviWDYwIzCIGA-BJ-foFbN_GrXHwMVOb0anIulyZJC_d3VcmALryPVFaWtCPepoqHd7xRN85tZ9q5HhsjgEU_Y0foznHQs4u-lCo1okCIH4h_VgY_85FZ1MsnmTGu7eEIbdsacfeGs_j5u6onAPXbMPIxlOw_Fu5RpgVSP14bWNv6md0T4X4-1R1w/w628-h222/Screenshot%202024-01-12%20at%2016.23.20.png" width="628" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-39879694630245835822024-01-06T17:46:00.008-05:002024-01-06T17:49:38.538-05:00Back on the Air...<p>It's been a long 3 weeks but I'm finally testing negative for covid. I've had a headache and have been coughing for weeks, and while the headache has gone, the coughing remains...just as bad as it has been all this time. However, it's nice to be able to taste food again and my sense of smell has also returned. I guess I'll have a few more weeks from what I have read of the lingering effects....but I sure don't want to go through covid again.</p><p>Today I had had enough of sitting around the house, so I decided to go and do a POTA activation at Parrotts Bay, which is about 15 minutes from my home. It has been a very cloudy day with temperatures hovering around -5C, in fact it's just started to snow.</p><p>This was my first activation in a month, and I must tell you all that with the covid brain fog that comes with having covid, it was a struggle to remember how to do things at times.....I managed to get through it.</p><p>Propagation today was: SFI=153, SN=128, A Index=5, and the K Index=0. Radio was my KX3 set at 10w, antenna was a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck. I put 20 contacts in the log, all on 15m, and I'm happy with that. By contact number 20 I was ready to go home and have a hot mug of tea, I find I still get tired very fast.</p><p>Hopefully I will be able to get out and do more POTA activations over the next week as my health slowly improves, it's good for my soul it seems.</p><p>Here's todays contact map:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRZjwGaArFAVFJYAa7Fx3vL9VR9IqU2YUFtm4p8-BLTcqVQ3m1LN59nw0LWSdZNYTs9o_-LT_9lRY6fh8JzRPccmJdHpzrwhds3AoRXPRr35uWDpkpGtjgLb2LCXq5n2f_w4GRvNB-i45EQovNuLhVO_7eKNG9Ew7qmjYeM3HI6TcMsxhb5H2C5GRPnM/s2758/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2017.23.57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="2758" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRZjwGaArFAVFJYAa7Fx3vL9VR9IqU2YUFtm4p8-BLTcqVQ3m1LN59nw0LWSdZNYTs9o_-LT_9lRY6fh8JzRPccmJdHpzrwhds3AoRXPRr35uWDpkpGtjgLb2LCXq5n2f_w4GRvNB-i45EQovNuLhVO_7eKNG9Ew7qmjYeM3HI6TcMsxhb5H2C5GRPnM/w650-h198/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2017.23.57.png" width="650" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Stay Safe and Well Out There!!</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-13950896372590607182023-12-25T20:05:00.002-05:002023-12-25T20:05:38.039-05:00Merry Christmas....<div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;">I'm still ill with Covid, but I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a very safe and Happy New Year.<br /><br />There's lots more adventures planned for next year. Several first time POTA activations, and other POTA locations will be on the air that haven't been activated for a couple of years, are all on the cards, as well as a few surprises.</div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;">Have a safe holiday everyone!</div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSmc136UYSm0MI4W-SEXVyNghd0AeclUC8YOB2XxOPhfMTYd-Qo5uZcdYJMmng3gswZoF1EMD2mVeySvr9IhjAg3b6PHckbhQtSmGgeP12akyDLE-IaziDg2k_FroZO3IHhAJ_W2QkR2X5Gyj3BpDzyIyfOM3LdK4xZSaXJ835iHDf1xCvsNsmKEgu9M/s2048/20201223_140722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSmc136UYSm0MI4W-SEXVyNghd0AeclUC8YOB2XxOPhfMTYd-Qo5uZcdYJMmng3gswZoF1EMD2mVeySvr9IhjAg3b6PHckbhQtSmGgeP12akyDLE-IaziDg2k_FroZO3IHhAJ_W2QkR2X5Gyj3BpDzyIyfOM3LdK4xZSaXJ835iHDf1xCvsNsmKEgu9M/w481-h361/20201223_140722.jpg" width="481" /></a></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-78404921659112585692023-12-22T16:09:00.006-05:002023-12-23T08:38:13.403-05:00Really??<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTl6AEv__zsMPiE1wU5S4yCReCgUUsxcrrw58Kuq8vEX9HrKDW6mIdH431SQ4pn1Tq1GI4DdOaOofpE9ZCeTogL0LLpBn2rO91ckaR5zYRrubRbph-5eMtvFldINmjGPLJqd4kLcNr2VgAbBhI0Y_d2YsG_HD1wIhvX-zx8-xSojUVPL8KhVQfvomBjH8/s1200/PaxlovidCovidGetty.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTl6AEv__zsMPiE1wU5S4yCReCgUUsxcrrw58Kuq8vEX9HrKDW6mIdH431SQ4pn1Tq1GI4DdOaOofpE9ZCeTogL0LLpBn2rO91ckaR5zYRrubRbph-5eMtvFldINmjGPLJqd4kLcNr2VgAbBhI0Y_d2YsG_HD1wIhvX-zx8-xSojUVPL8KhVQfvomBjH8/w158-h106/PaxlovidCovidGetty.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>Well, the bands may be getting better, and the propagation improving, but it'll be a while before I get out to play radio again. I tested positive for Covid today....so I'm not a happy camper. I thought I had escaped the plague by now, but apparently not.<p></p><p>See you all in a few days.</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-9351150273743035662023-12-20T14:54:00.002-05:002023-12-20T14:54:33.393-05:00It's Getting Better...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXfteCdSTomFj2n3e6qfgpQuP6KMUw43qC2cnUDKEczoy-pJGglvJWF4jlS6SXOkGQOYVt2jbXekgCvtr4ONr9_4J1NMtsCbumI_GJjuJK8b8WNURcQryWEG6U8wdZAcqfmKE7umUUd6Tpg_rU8fCJwywmak9j2uLaLwg3z-3TTSvIsdE3klPq1JffTw/s2992/20231219_195907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXfteCdSTomFj2n3e6qfgpQuP6KMUw43qC2cnUDKEczoy-pJGglvJWF4jlS6SXOkGQOYVt2jbXekgCvtr4ONr9_4J1NMtsCbumI_GJjuJK8b8WNURcQryWEG6U8wdZAcqfmKE7umUUd6Tpg_rU8fCJwywmak9j2uLaLwg3z-3TTSvIsdE3klPq1JffTw/w186-h186/20231219_195907.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>After a pretty rough week for propagation, things are finally starting to get better. <p></p><p>I set my WSPR transmitter (on the left) up to transmit on 80m, 40, and 30m overnight, using 200mW. The antenna in use was a 80m EFHW, up at 45' in the maple trees, and using a 49:1 transformer.</p><p>Unusually for me, I did not record the propagation numbers for the evening. Oh well, there's always next time.</p><p>I was pleased to see stations reporting my signal from as far a way as Antartica...another first for me. 80m was not that good last night, in fact very few stations reported my signal. 40m was also so-so, but 30m was the big winner, all the DX reporting hearing me was for my 30m signal. </p><p>The next time the propagation goes in the toilet I'm planning on getting the WSPR beach on the air and see who can hear me in very poor conditions, I think that will be an interesting experiment.</p><p>Here's last night's WSPR reporting map:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWYSPEjDgTLXTJLB5kiEW1XxwPjZK-p0A7nMw7l0pawuPIc6_oyQ5Q817qx48YQocqCwEMjGwFPwcJ-c81ElUsF_grkKm0ND1R5XcLamudxNM7_m1iJVbCwRaZg0QQGvIi1P8xo5RRpjGNdV8aPGi2UW4x8m7T-llv-JTgj3A-FUGeDDiMs_EYJ9jSSM/s2158/Screenshot%202023-12-20%20at%2011.38.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1612" data-original-width="2158" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWYSPEjDgTLXTJLB5kiEW1XxwPjZK-p0A7nMw7l0pawuPIc6_oyQ5Q817qx48YQocqCwEMjGwFPwcJ-c81ElUsF_grkKm0ND1R5XcLamudxNM7_m1iJVbCwRaZg0QQGvIi1P8xo5RRpjGNdV8aPGi2UW4x8m7T-llv-JTgj3A-FUGeDDiMs_EYJ9jSSM/w551-h412/Screenshot%202023-12-20%20at%2011.38.09.png" width="551" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Stay Well and Safe Out There!!</p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-20212246480265856782023-12-15T14:27:00.003-05:002023-12-15T21:57:34.165-05:00Propagation...<p>Looks like another interesting three days propagation wise is coming up, there are some G2 Solar Storms coming in.....</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbJ0hYR7ScPy4CEWCRkv7339tfusSiJaNNfZ5AFmKbX0QE_k3QI6AkToDhJfpZIa-DMokUow3uXm2S-bmMY521fFhNALp_tzVRk1xSVqqaj2gvyn8FXMKtNIxP2ZF5swsZRzW2nEjN1PU87jtAZmc5aDi08ngJoffQAb3vqnGRZ1wNi37hJnylm4tehY/s2606/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2014.21.59.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2606" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbJ0hYR7ScPy4CEWCRkv7339tfusSiJaNNfZ5AFmKbX0QE_k3QI6AkToDhJfpZIa-DMokUow3uXm2S-bmMY521fFhNALp_tzVRk1xSVqqaj2gvyn8FXMKtNIxP2ZF5swsZRzW2nEjN1PU87jtAZmc5aDi08ngJoffQAb3vqnGRZ1wNi37hJnylm4tehY/w505-h148/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2014.21.59.png" width="505" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WYK8wr9mkqJT3RLdBrq7bf41lJnEUOgs-W4D_NgCtdtVbL_n6mi4gwvShcWhdP8u1RJQxz66Grpg1giqfKqpZOC_9akSGFeWDkJFCC5ZFeVa5_cVobWKAO17bGVC2mf79sAeEXwv5xBfmTwm2VVpaqDDiljCC6kIc_M6x5R8NckCEWIcKPddrj22zOs/s854/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2016.04.11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="854" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WYK8wr9mkqJT3RLdBrq7bf41lJnEUOgs-W4D_NgCtdtVbL_n6mi4gwvShcWhdP8u1RJQxz66Grpg1giqfKqpZOC_9akSGFeWDkJFCC5ZFeVa5_cVobWKAO17bGVC2mf79sAeEXwv5xBfmTwm2VVpaqDDiljCC6kIc_M6x5R8NckCEWIcKPddrj22zOs/w371-h186/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2016.04.11.png" width="371" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stay Well and Stay Safe!</div><p></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-4746060515657571192023-12-09T22:03:00.007-05:002024-01-05T09:00:53.733-05:00Saying Goodbye...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtpav66LCl4qYlg2XmXDNJT7kZrwyMivzMRiZXLsSMTHn3dqZSNcGw7lCUdaA8WQRMwrMVNha0fY-wKOg-nckMhYK_22-p03MH0-PfL2d-9-Z4rpWZ1nbl3YbMvWHLhSpmpMUU2EgigxWgLPeHfiYA9Mido1enCO4czHeV-4pThS1Xw3cPdpg02Hqseo/s2992/20231209_094603.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtpav66LCl4qYlg2XmXDNJT7kZrwyMivzMRiZXLsSMTHn3dqZSNcGw7lCUdaA8WQRMwrMVNha0fY-wKOg-nckMhYK_22-p03MH0-PfL2d-9-Z4rpWZ1nbl3YbMvWHLhSpmpMUU2EgigxWgLPeHfiYA9Mido1enCO4czHeV-4pThS1Xw3cPdpg02Hqseo/w181-h181/20231209_094603.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>Friday morning I left Kingston around 1000 local and heading towards Ottawa. <p></p><p>I had to be in Ottawa for the funeral of Kieran, VA3KS. My plan was to meet up with Eric VE3DN at his QTH, and he would drive us to the funeral home for the service as I don't know downtown Ottawa...it's been 37 years since I last lived there.</p><p>I made good time on the roads as they, for the most part, were clean and dry, but we had had a significant snow fall over the previous few days.</p><p>There was a quick stop for a coffee in Smiths Falls and then it was on to Eric's place.</p><p>The funeral was held at Hules, Playfair & McGarry funeral chapel in downtown Ottawa. Both Eric and I were shocked when we arrived. It was so full of people that they were standing up at the back as they ran out of seats, a quick count showed about 260 people were there to remember Kieran. Listening to the stories of how he had affected other peoples lives in such positive ways, certainly helped ease the pain of losing my old friend.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23GixeWmeqjvGOC6UVaxm58bzXdDG5wZ7NJQc5ihnpFkdzSMQ-vWglbMVB53pCWGYsQC0jnhT6bk_fQaB_I_NYprVTlM3X_STp9u5fL-ly_ORkNcQGdatJ9lSuLmTZ67NPv_kq8FG3kM_2tkXDR_dasEJryTcGp9MkCykP0tkGqkBL6TVuSfF8_IiJGQ/s2992/20231209_142142.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2992" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23GixeWmeqjvGOC6UVaxm58bzXdDG5wZ7NJQc5ihnpFkdzSMQ-vWglbMVB53pCWGYsQC0jnhT6bk_fQaB_I_NYprVTlM3X_STp9u5fL-ly_ORkNcQGdatJ9lSuLmTZ67NPv_kq8FG3kM_2tkXDR_dasEJryTcGp9MkCykP0tkGqkBL6TVuSfF8_IiJGQ/w256-h256/20231209_142142.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>After a night in a local hotel, Saturday morning saw me heading for Smith's Falls to meet up with another friend, Ranson VE3RCD, for lunch and then to activate in Kieran's memory, a new park, VE-6199 - the Smith's Falls Bascule Bridge National Historical Site. The band conditions were excellent, although I had an S7 noise floor on 40m the whole time I was activating.<p></p><p>The propagation numbers today were: SFI=133, SN=122, A Index=4, and the K Index=0. Radio was the KX3 at 10w and, as usual, the antenna was a 40m hamstick. I called it day after 34 contacts as I still had an hours drive home and it was already starting to get dark out.</p><p>During the activation I mentioned several times why we were activating today, and I was surprised at the number of VE3 stations that worked us who had worked Kieran in the past. It was nice to talk to them about him. </p><p>Kieran was known locally as the "POTA King", and I like to think he would have appreciated our activation in his honour today.</p><p>Good bye old friend, I miss you.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmS4ugKgxwPvcqnl3h8yYjpPs9qC9GfPL-jEDf3t6GDm_HkGh4IKB9LSSUg3fEqPQrzHT3UUEG4Lp_8y7q1YD4KOt1PsTvdSqbAR_fDV0Iemx8V4gPkn8tcsmIeTQw8hvjI1BMmAI9ejVzomOsplyEHsRVNVtl-01JgqJGEL7xtWC92mNhoZZs4Z88EI/s1924/Screenshot%202023-12-09%20at%2018.11.21.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1924" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmS4ugKgxwPvcqnl3h8yYjpPs9qC9GfPL-jEDf3t6GDm_HkGh4IKB9LSSUg3fEqPQrzHT3UUEG4Lp_8y7q1YD4KOt1PsTvdSqbAR_fDV0Iemx8V4gPkn8tcsmIeTQw8hvjI1BMmAI9ejVzomOsplyEHsRVNVtl-01JgqJGEL7xtWC92mNhoZZs4Z88EI/w534-h424/Screenshot%202023-12-09%20at%2018.11.21.png" width="534" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Today's contact map.</td></tr></tbody></table>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-76706371663419457832023-12-05T22:09:00.007-05:002023-12-20T14:57:22.786-05:00WSPR...<p>I haven't dabbled with WSPR for a few years now, but on the advice of Kieran VA3KS (SK) I decided to buy a <a href="https://www.zachtek.com/product-page/wspr-desktop-transmitter" target="_blank">Zachtek WSPR Desktop Transmitter</a>. It's a nice piece of gear, and it took no time at all to get it on the air.</p><p>My plan is to use WSPR instead of APRS on my Western Canada trip next spring. I find APRS set up to be a real pain in the behind with the FTM-500, but I can set up the WSPR each evening from my camp and the guys back home can see where I am that day.</p><p>Here's tonights initial operating of the transmitter:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qQlGtOmuKfUeTrYcny_B0Lm30hyphenhyphenIL7qQT9nSyDG1vdH60Ecg3JnIQpZfOrxQrP6rrNw4iRoa8YwsWeqJWTVu4WN4IEYOoSFj2QSOhBFQJD8Ya2dnDoOJkVtdSYjz0Vp_UjcXK6MJpmq24NVsLBQpnRlOBshw5SYBFgQd2jNWCobEYvi_CwjXvm_GOQA/s2396/WSPR%2040m.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="2396" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qQlGtOmuKfUeTrYcny_B0Lm30hyphenhyphenIL7qQT9nSyDG1vdH60Ecg3JnIQpZfOrxQrP6rrNw4iRoa8YwsWeqJWTVu4WN4IEYOoSFj2QSOhBFQJD8Ya2dnDoOJkVtdSYjz0Vp_UjcXK6MJpmq24NVsLBQpnRlOBshw5SYBFgQd2jNWCobEYvi_CwjXvm_GOQA/w555-h232/WSPR%2040m.png" width="555" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">40m at 0230 UTC, Wednesday, December 6.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQHzv21su_-RbOvpDNdqU0IKD13VgByYfBOdQ-zKwVnpodiJLv3J4E0AiU1bWklo3_W50vNapUpwavdylJNdg5AmmIbUQHFkbo0PXKvUMfG-589M8QSlMxP1gKj3PAfMeS7pdmBA_U_QALDakHeUsEYcTjRNqsvif0szYHgdepQ2XoVHwJBPVESLLPDs/s2916/WSPR%2080m%20.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1710" data-original-width="2916" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQHzv21su_-RbOvpDNdqU0IKD13VgByYfBOdQ-zKwVnpodiJLv3J4E0AiU1bWklo3_W50vNapUpwavdylJNdg5AmmIbUQHFkbo0PXKvUMfG-589M8QSlMxP1gKj3PAfMeS7pdmBA_U_QALDakHeUsEYcTjRNqsvif0szYHgdepQ2XoVHwJBPVESLLPDs/w559-h328/WSPR%2080m%20.png" width="559" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">80m at 0245 UTC, Wednesday, December 6.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Stay Safe Out There!</div></td></tr></tbody></table>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-57759623968943921852023-11-29T16:02:00.002-05:002023-11-29T16:02:27.246-05:00G3 Solar Storm...<p>We have a G3 solar storm heading our way for Friday, December 1st, and a K7 level is expected. Needless to say this will have a negative impact on any portable operating this coming weekend I had planned.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48FRrR7WVKb77DsuUo3JzVz0hC0biIhyphenhyphen0EcX9bLXcRo2v-zSQyUhyphenhyphenH_9VExLmV5DObFP3R3_ekZJMYyXfGmxDmGkhk8xKR0ILX2FlwnR4XOmqgUGtFp1WbUfkO3yaZj26LM609_yGjSjGS6jtBr-T7l3srzu38Ppj6V6aTF1kecZYis867QMWhg3-bbk/s864/Screenshot%202023-11-29%20at%2015.51.21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="864" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48FRrR7WVKb77DsuUo3JzVz0hC0biIhyphenhyphen0EcX9bLXcRo2v-zSQyUhyphenhyphenH_9VExLmV5DObFP3R3_ekZJMYyXfGmxDmGkhk8xKR0ILX2FlwnR4XOmqgUGtFp1WbUfkO3yaZj26LM609_yGjSjGS6jtBr-T7l3srzu38Ppj6V6aTF1kecZYis867QMWhg3-bbk/w372-h185/Screenshot%202023-11-29%20at%2015.51.21.png" width="372" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay Safe Out There!</div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-72882647897901474632023-11-25T14:37:00.005-05:002023-12-20T14:59:20.637-05:00Devastating News Yesterday...<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm very lucky in my life to have some of the best friends ever. They're scattered all over Canada, and I know if anything bad was to happen I could count on them 100%.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kieran Shepherd, VA3KS, was one of those friends. We share an interest, POTA, that we both enjoy very much. We both like doing portable operating in quiet places away from the intense RF noisy areas we live in, and we both enjoy camping and hiking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kieran and I have done many shared activations over the past 3 years, travelling to meet up at remote spots, so we could spend a few hours together "playing radio". Portland Bay Conservation Area was one of our favourite spots, a few hours activating the conservation area, Fish and Chips and a Pint for lunch at the Portland Restaurant, a few more hours on the radio, and then we each head for home. A perfect radio day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next spring I'm planning a 30 day road trip to activate some of the remote, and not so remote POTA parks in Western Canada. At the same time Kieran was planning a trip to Nevada to visit his son and grandkids, we were trying to figure out how to meet up in Alberta and drive the return trip in convoy, activating more parks as we travelled.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">These plans, and future plans came to a screeching halt early yesterday morning when I received an email from Jennifer, Kierans wife, letting me know he had passed away suddenly, and totally unexpected, during Thursday night. He was 64 years old.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kieran was a great friend to me, and I learned a great deal from him about portable operating and POTA. I valued his advice. He was a prolific POTA activator with 563 activations completed. His last </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">activation was on the morning of Thursday, November 23rd, the day we lost him.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">His passing serves to teach us that any one of us could go at any time, we have no control over that. So don't wait to start doing your bucket list, time is valuable, and short.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodbye old friend.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Kieran Shepherd</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>VA3KS</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">January 30, 1959 – November 24, 2023</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2clW88d_7gjbzOft3s7-w_qRYRWU2vSl7L-O3n-_c4ijVT5oDoWV5co50TZtBCBHBizsPSurHBSgKMi9wNWA_qFxelrEjK71V2ulKztrq1P8bjQVnNmeLN5Sa1OS0ULZGENpAMN1UU9LsOJe6Ytv1Mf5jJZeq_Oe1KjABi75AuS0nn_GK9q4vkmQBuA/s1199/VA3KS%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1199" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2clW88d_7gjbzOft3s7-w_qRYRWU2vSl7L-O3n-_c4ijVT5oDoWV5co50TZtBCBHBizsPSurHBSgKMi9wNWA_qFxelrEjK71V2ulKztrq1P8bjQVnNmeLN5Sa1OS0ULZGENpAMN1UU9LsOJe6Ytv1Mf5jJZeq_Oe1KjABi75AuS0nn_GK9q4vkmQBuA/w399-h300/VA3KS%204.jpg" width="399" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZp2kCxjdYvr22vgoO_w_MncQooEs0bDSZYDx0gDM9UM7r6Y1DfGrqL-19Umj3cgIA7V622pnaH-DvA6eSHYHiSr1dYSC6nOVgS_hPpzz1oI13blTYVFjJ-NU58pPmxBAez6VKKbJonEV0SBdvV0DsAEvlNvtE8a2OMCTedetBivQ_XyFL29DEYALbBk/s1200/VA3KS%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZp2kCxjdYvr22vgoO_w_MncQooEs0bDSZYDx0gDM9UM7r6Y1DfGrqL-19Umj3cgIA7V622pnaH-DvA6eSHYHiSr1dYSC6nOVgS_hPpzz1oI13blTYVFjJ-NU58pPmxBAez6VKKbJonEV0SBdvV0DsAEvlNvtE8a2OMCTedetBivQ_XyFL29DEYALbBk/w398-h299/VA3KS%207.jpg" width="398" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-827324372917830522023-11-16T16:44:00.001-05:002023-11-16T16:44:34.835-05:0010m was rocking!!<p>Yesterday, November 15th, I decided to do a mid-morning activation of VE-5141, Lemoine Point Conservation Area, a local to me, POTA spot. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei-A8dwcDeYwqVUh9AipnfJcwZzGFGar1ESz1bwZhnmLUzY3WXebPrLSwtyPBIMQ9NR6AJH7l9yDNZ4m4nCr4Wr-hgtGSjR8Fiv5vtc1AIOYkxXXGwLQnngRpc3DGDMz6bAPZPiwovB7cX8b8OYuUNAlNnK_hcBZArdVTSDEV9KKzg2Lnwm8m6caHXF8/s4000/20230922_161244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei-A8dwcDeYwqVUh9AipnfJcwZzGFGar1ESz1bwZhnmLUzY3WXebPrLSwtyPBIMQ9NR6AJH7l9yDNZ4m4nCr4Wr-hgtGSjR8Fiv5vtc1AIOYkxXXGwLQnngRpc3DGDMz6bAPZPiwovB7cX8b8OYuUNAlNnK_hcBZArdVTSDEV9KKzg2Lnwm8m6caHXF8/w245-h184/20230922_161244.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>The weather, for this area, at this time of year, was spectacular. Sunny, +7C (44.6F), and a deep blue sky. Not a drop of rain or snow in sight. It was just an absolutely beautiful day.<p></p><p>The day before during an activation of VE-5142, Parrott's Bay, I had great success on 10m, so today I decided to do the whole activation, if I could, on 10m. Many of my activations have been done only on 40m, but I had never tried to do this on another band.</p><p>Luckily for me 10m was just alive with good signals. First in the log was F4FTJ, and in rapid succession PU1JSV, 2E0VRX, OE4JHW, F4ILH, IK1GPG, EA1BUL, and F4HZR followed. This was the first time I made POTA contacts with Brazil and Austria, that just made my day. The Brazilian station was S9 +20 to me, just an outstanding signal.</p><p>The radio was my KX3 set at 10w. The antenna of the day was a 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck using a 5" mag-mount. </p><p>The day's propagation was: SFI=124, SN=40, A Index=6 and the K Index=3. There was no, to very little QSB, and the LIDS and deliberate QRM'ers stayed away for a change.</p><p>Hopefully if this run of good weather and decent propagation holds for a few more days, I can get out and do a lot more portable operating, because you know before long the snow will start to fly around here.</p><p>Here's the days contact map:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbqnC0dx1UGarrlL1ZLU5QgXZqXNsWzGTZG3O6AOkxwRrN7TM_B6PFe9XXwUSzbJryR59Y7N5h96ZlcFLmuHo4uzDvte_4IyjEEvns-sd6C7SaxA4WQOP7z6SCk2VlMxu0gJvIhyphenhyphenFxsYXZtdReFKghDjf_8Eq7kBbIwfLoiWm_7Ote1RCIw26k5aHP5o/s2222/Screenshot%202023-11-15%20at%2015.19.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1414" data-original-width="2222" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbqnC0dx1UGarrlL1ZLU5QgXZqXNsWzGTZG3O6AOkxwRrN7TM_B6PFe9XXwUSzbJryR59Y7N5h96ZlcFLmuHo4uzDvte_4IyjEEvns-sd6C7SaxA4WQOP7z6SCk2VlMxu0gJvIhyphenhyphenFxsYXZtdReFKghDjf_8Eq7kBbIwfLoiWm_7Ote1RCIw26k5aHP5o/w583-h372/Screenshot%202023-11-15%20at%2015.19.55.png" width="583" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Keep Well, and Stay Safe Out There!Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8624489111207838168.post-9164942127638163562023-11-10T21:03:00.003-05:002023-11-11T21:45:05.315-05:00Remembrance Day 2023<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWey_9ICkGph7rXhcTYIR-AQChqcQmAIu_pzOsjffYcysn2bJ_aq8ZKMHL4SfE6zXGlYfeEsb2rmJi8rfzFB55P4d7J3xiUmbj86gguX_TcEXOO8CrfV4SLMh8zP3OYUG3-XJPMj9GWuVs8-91aoyncDClZmA95yOsNU-hPs5eHhwppdsX8NdgUKPDtM/s790/phpThumb.php.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWey_9ICkGph7rXhcTYIR-AQChqcQmAIu_pzOsjffYcysn2bJ_aq8ZKMHL4SfE6zXGlYfeEsb2rmJi8rfzFB55P4d7J3xiUmbj86gguX_TcEXOO8CrfV4SLMh8zP3OYUG3-XJPMj9GWuVs8-91aoyncDClZmA95yOsNU-hPs5eHhwppdsX8NdgUKPDtM/s320/phpThumb.php.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">In Loving Memory of the</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Officers, NCO's, and Men</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">of</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">December 1941 - June 1946</span></strong></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwvPJ3C7qnr-2hbYMXrIoQvw9wt8C7KwbcwqpkrkgYP3_3Wv09fvEgxtxyMLCjaC7DtoprIUo2UPIZ85wOBoboFc-SMxPB_n7fsmjRMKEieKNm3srOOOO5X5WvwJmmuQ-57hfjMVAm8zLLAd6xkhLh230m9BXLjEqu4-H-SJ4eoyZURTGhhAu0BdcQD0/s1600/RAF%20Regt%20Signaller.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwvPJ3C7qnr-2hbYMXrIoQvw9wt8C7KwbcwqpkrkgYP3_3Wv09fvEgxtxyMLCjaC7DtoprIUo2UPIZ85wOBoboFc-SMxPB_n7fsmjRMKEieKNm3srOOOO5X5WvwJmmuQ-57hfjMVAm8zLLAd6xkhLh230m9BXLjEqu4-H-SJ4eoyZURTGhhAu0BdcQD0/w227-h382/RAF%20Regt%20Signaller.png" width="227" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.523999px; text-align: center;"><strong style="font-size: 13.523999px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">LEST WE FORGET</span></strong></div>Blogmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03610958641060401956noreply@blogger.com0