ARRL DX SSB Contest 2012

Another great contest weekend is over, and the bands were in pretty good shape, but there was some pretty deep QSB at times.

I played at it for a few hours on Friday and Saturday nights, and most of the day on Sunday.  I managed to log over 200 contacts in 63 countries and put three new countries in the log.

Funniest incident?  How about a PA0 in the Netherlands asking a N5 station in Texas to "please speak English".   I thought the Texan was going to have a fit!

I actually heard VA3QV this weekend on 40m, but didn't get a chance to work Bob. 

For the most part behaviour on the bands was pretty good, but the LIDS were still out in force tuning up over active QSOs.  Do the guys who do that ever listen before they press tune?   I don't think they do.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with the new FT-950 and the way it performed over the weekend.  I've still got a few things to master and remember how to do....such as working split, but the filters really make a huge difference in the pile ups.

I'm looking forward to the CQ WW DX SSB Contest at the end of the month and giving the rig another good workout.

Winter Field Day - The Sunday Report

It was a dark and windy morning…….so goes the tale! Well, at 0600L at Lamoine Point on Sunday morning it was very dark and very windy; thankfully the snow never really arrived in force.


Jim - VE3ULC

We set up five HF stations with only headlamps and flashlights bobbing around in the dark. The surprising thing was that it didn’t take us much longer to set up than it does during the summer, and nobody got hurt.  Granted the weather wasn’t that bad…..and it could have been a lot worse, but still, I believe that the many island and lighthouse activations we do over the summer really are helping us get our act together.

The Motley Crew on Sunday Morning

We had VE3MNE, VE3HRW, VA3TBZ, VA3ORP, VE3ULC, VA3VDP, and VE3CLQ in attendance. Thanks must go to Dave-VE3DZE who arrived around 0800L to do a coffee and bathroom run for those that needed it, and a very welcome sight he was to!

Thanks also must go out to Les-VE3KFS and Tim-VA3TIC, these guys couldn’t be on site but they were on the air making sure we made a few contacts.

Special mention must also go out to Bob-VA3QV in Ottawa, who also came looking for us on 40m. It’s always good to chat with Bob on, or off, the air, unfortunately I was on the 20m radio when he called in, but his message was passed to me via 2m simplex.

Don VE3MNE

We made contact with 11 countries: Canada, USA, France, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Iceland. We had 43 HF contacts, 2 VHF contacts, and 2 PSK31 contacts. All contacts were done on battery power.

Overall it was a good time; everyone was cheery and seemed to have a good time at the park.  Winter Field Day next year? You bet, the plan is to find a cabin or cottage like we did in 2011 and make it a weekend event.

Until next year………stay warm!

VA3QV.......not so elusive!

Got him!!!  After searching for Bob-VA3QV for the past three or four contests with no luck at all, I can finally report that he was found skulking around 7.080 at 1657Z........and he's now in the log!!

The RAC Winter Contest is now over, and rigs and power supplies are starting to cool down after a frantic 24 hours of go-go-go.  It was a good contest, I had a great time, and managed to work all provinces and territories except Yukon and New Brunswick.  Yukon is hardly ever heard, but the absence of any VE9's really surprised me.

The contest started with a noise floor around S8 which continued until 2045Z when it fell to S3.  No idea what was causing it, and as nothing was turned off at 2045Z in my house, I can only assume that it was something next door.

As you can see from the Solar Data Banner on the left, the SFI and other numbers were not the best on the 17th December.  We've all seen a lot worse of course, but after the past few months of great DXing, it's hard to see it sink back to these levels again.

I had a couple of good catches today (besides Bob!).  Osvaldo-LU2QC in Argentina, Norman-V31NB in Belize, and Bob-G3ORY in the UK.  All three of these stations were calling "CQ RAC Contest", it's nice to see other countries taking part in the Winter Contest.

All in all I'm very pleased with my new 40m OCF Dipole.  It works extremely well, even to the point of tuning up on 80m and allowing me to make contacts in Newfoundland and BC.  I took the design from the Buxcom website.  For more information on this antenna, and others like it, click HERE.

Hope to see everyone back on the bands for the NA QSO Party on January 21 and 22.

ARRL 10m Contest

Another good weekend on the contesting scene is now behind us. This years ARRL 10m Contest was a pretty good time, with lots of activity on the band during the day.

I decided to do this contest strictly as an SSB QRP station, and I used my IC-703. The receiver on the 703 is pretty good, and basically if I could hear them, I could work them. It was amazing what I managed to work. The furthest east I managed to work was LZ5R in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The furthest south was LP1H in Cordoba, Argentina, and to the west I worked a pile of Californians.

By the time the band died here around 1700L on Sunday I had managed to work 100 stations with 43 multipliers, giving me a total of 8600 points. Not too sure how that will stack up to the rest of the entries, but I had fun doing it.

The lack of Canadian stations was noteworthy, and several DX stations commented on that fact. No idea why, except it may be have been due to Christmas shopping, and everyone was out buying their XYL an expensive gift…..like a new FT-950.

Behavior on the band was pretty good for the most part, but I did hear a couple of altercations over “who owns the frequency”…..some people just never learn it seems.

AND.....once again the ever elusive VA3QV managed to elude me on the bands, I even searched for him!!  I did hear however that he was out and about on his "chick magnet" scooter as the weather was so good.  Maybe this coming Friday night Bob, during the RAC Winter Contest.....up on 40m????

CQ WW SSB Contest 2011

Wow!!  What a weekend!!  The conditions for this years CQ WW SSB Contest were outstanding as most of us will know.  This had to have been the best weekend we have had for DX chasing in many, many, years!  The bands were packed - wall to wall with strong signals.

It seemed everybody was having a great time, and what was most surprising was the behaviour on the bands...I didn't hear one piece of rude or obnoxious behaviour like we have heard in previous contests.  Also missing this weekend were the "Band Police", and given the size of some of the huge pileups I heard, that's just amazing.

This contest was the first big test for my new 40m OCF Dipole and boy did it pass with flying colours!  However, as expected it will not tune on 15m, but I certainly feel it way out performs my old 80-40-20 fan dipole by a long shot.  This antenna tunes on 40 - 20 - 17 - 12 - 10.

While I did work stations on 40m and 20m, the vast majority - 90% - of my contacts for the weekend were made on 10m.  It's been a long time since I have heard 10m open like that.  In fact I think my Dad was still alive and operating VE7CVQ when we last had similiar openings.

I worked 58 countries this weekend, a new record for me, and on top of that I managed to put seven new countries in the log book.  Some of the 10m highlights were:  8R1EA in Guyana; C5A in The Gambia; and ZM4T in New Zealand.  However....VA3QV eluded me all weekend!!

Just a phenomenal time on the bands!

Iroquois Hamfest

It was a good day to go for a drive.....so Dave-VE3DZE and Don-VE3MNE and I decided to get up early and go to the Iroquois Hamfest, as none of us had been there before.  The drive there and back was great, spring has sprung and nobody was complaining about the +8C sunny weather we had to put up with.  Thanks to Dave for doing the driving.

VE3CLQ with Santa - aka VA3QV

The Hamfest was another matter, nothing of interest there at all!  I had a wallet full of cash and not a decent rig in sight to buy.  Pretty disappointing really.

Here's a hint for all the vendors next year....it's called a "Hamfest", that means people attend to look for amateur radio items........not old used flashlights, computer parts, old VCRs, or 30 year old CBs.

However, it wasn't a total loss.  I did get to see Bob-VA3QV and Bob-VE3MPG, and that is always a delight!  Bob-VA3RCS told me that it looks like the Ottawa QRP Societies "Chilicon" will happen again this year.

Is it just me or have Hamfests gone down the toilet since EBay came on the scene?  It sure seems that way.