Another Good Day on the Bands...

Another Canada Day Contest is over.  I particularly like this contest, it is a lot more relaxed than other ones.

It did start off slow, but I think that as it was held mid-week this year, that certainly didn't help.  20m was the 'go-to' band for most of the weekend.  Contacts were made on all bands, 80m through 2m, in fact the only band I didn't manage a contact on was 160m.

Propagation was the now 'normal' low numbers.  As of 0030 UTC on Wednesday, the numbers were SFI = 69, Sn = 0, A Index = 4, and the K Index = 1.  Those numbers didn't improve all contest.

I did managed to work all Provinces, and the North West Territories.  I can't remember the last time I worked a VE8 station, so that was a real bonus.  

As usual the RAC HQ Stations were the centre of activity, with huge pileups every time they popped up on the bands.   Only the VE2, VE3, and VY2 RAC Stations never made it into the log, and it wasn't for the lack of searching for them. 

Once again I operated QRP using the KX3 and the EFHW antenna.  60 contacts are in the log, and that means last years score was beaten, as was the number of mults, so I'm pretty pleased with that.

Canada Day 2020

Coming hot on the heels of Field Day is the RAC Canada Day Contest.  This contest runs from 0000 UTC  to 2359 UTC on Wednesday, July 1st.

The Rules can be found HERE.

This is one of my favourite contests, it is not a fast paced one....in fact most of the ops will take time out to chat with old friends they haven't talked to since last year.  

Once again I'll be operating QRP with the KX3 and the EFHW.

Have fun, and stay safe!!

Field Day 2020 - the outcome...

It was just not the same operating on my own rather than with the guys in the club.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and a tough slog, but, we have to stay safe - especially as we have had another outbreak of the covid-19 here in Kingston this week.

This year I entered the event as 1B, QRP, and SSB only.  This is the first time I have entered Field Day as QRP since we formed the QRP Club.  It certainly was a learning experience.

The starting propagation at 1801 UTC on Saturday was:  SFI = 67, SN = 0, A Index = 4, and the K Index = 1.   As is becoming usual around here, these numbers were not the best.  We have operated Field Day QRO a few years ago with numbers very similar to these and still did a good job, so there was hope.

Coupled with the poor propagation numbers was some extremely deep QSB on all bands.  A station would be S8 and a second later they would be totally gone.  Very tough conditions to work.

The ARRLs decision to temporarily modify the rules was, in my opinion, an absolute disaster. I'm sure the ARRL will scream that this year was the "Largest Field Day Turnout in History!" within the next couple weeks as the logs begin to roll in, and of course the numbers look good for their amateur radio publicity, but Field Day should not be a numbers game. It might just well have been any other contest weekend. 

 

The people who actually participated in the real SPIRIT of Field Day had absolutely no chance at all. They were getting completely blown away by the D and E stations running large antennas and amplifiers. That's all you heard. I'm just guessing right now without looking at my log, but I would say easily 95% of the contacts I made were Class D and E. 

 

Radio used was the KX3, and the antennas were my 80m OCF Dipole and the 80m-10m EFHW.  Thankfully, I had no issues with any of my equipment at all, it all worked perfectly.

I mainly used the EFHW as I wanted to give it a really good workout this weekend, and a good workout it got.  I managed to work stations from Southern California to Northern Ireland, all with very little problems.  If I could hear them, I always managed to work them.  

On Saturday 20m was operating very short, and it was very noisy no matter which antenna I used.  Of course we had thunder storms all over the place and I actually had to shut down for 1.5 hours while one raged over me before it slowly moved away to the east.  

My main band on Saturday was 40m as 20m was a nightmare.  There were many high power 1D and 1E stations calling and splattering all over.  There were not so many 1B's though, which is a great shame.  In fact 40m kept me so busy, even into the late night, that I forgot to go down to 80m and have a listen around to see who was there to work.

Sunday morning came very early, and the propagation was the same, except for the SFI which had risen to 68.  Not much of a difference I know, but it seemed to help.

I have always enjoyed operating Field Day on Sunday morning.  It seems to me that the band quiets down as many of the American operators shut down and go to church.  That allows we pagan QRP'ers to get some good contacts in the log.   Stations I could not get near for the large pileups on Saturday were answering me on the first call Sunday morning.  It was great.  In fact my rate went up to 16 contacts an hour......not bad for QRP!!

On Sunday I managed to work stations on 20m, 15m, and a big surprise....on 10m as well.  The QSB was not as bad as Saturday, but it was still there.  It was great to hear 10m open....However......some of the worse behaviour of the weekend was heard there.  It seems to me that some operators, note I did not call them hams, like to go out of their way to cause trouble.  I just don't get it.

At 1800 UTC I shut down with 111 QRP SSB contacts in the log.  I'm very happy with that, in fact it's many more than I thought I would make.

The map below, from the N3FJP logging program, shows the Provinces and States worked, and it shows the reach of the new EFHW antenna.  I'm sure you will agree that it's working pretty well.

My contact breakdown is:

40m = 60

20m = 23

15m = 21

10m = 7

Overall it was a great weekend, different from the usual Field Day, but hopefully we can all get safely back to normal times, or as normal as it can get, next summer. 

I hope you are all staying safe!!

A Good Night...

It was an excellent night on 20m tonight.  After dinner I went to the shack and set up the KX3 as I wanted to use it for the local 80m QRP net our club holds on Monday evenings.

After the net I decided to go to 20m and try my luck.  I didn't hold out much hope of making many contacts, but I thought I'd make a few North American QSO's and see how the EFHW is working.

The propagation tonight was: SFI = 67, SN = 0, A Index = 5, and the K Index = 1.

So you can imagine my surprise when I worked in a pretty short time:

EI9HX, Patrick in Ireland,
DG7LAL, Rainer in Northern Germany, and
S51DX, Janez in Slovenia.

These QSO's were all done with 10w SSB.  

I'm very pleased with this evenings QSO's, obviously the EFHW antenna is doing a fine job for me.  Made of 132' of No.16 insulated wire, and is set up as an inverted 'L'.  It's vertical about 50' and the rest is horizontal to a 70' fir tree in the north-east corner of my garden.  It seems to work like a charm.

Field Day 2020...

Next weekend is Field Day, and for the first time in almost 20 years I'll be doing it on my own due to the current covid-19 restrictions.

My plan is to set up and operate at the far end of my very large back garden, using my small screen tent for protection against the millions of bugs flying around that area.  

The station will be operating QRP, and will be totally on battery power, the charging process for my 3 batteries has already began....I'd hate to run out of power half way through the event. 

Radio will be the KX3.  For antennas I will be using my new EFHW and a 20m vertical mounted 8' off the ground, made from some Buddipole parts and a MFJ 17' telescopic whip.  If time and weather permits I may also put up my PackTenna Mini using one of my 33' collapsable masts as a backup.

I have been using the N3FJP logging software, but it doesn't work on Linux or Mac.  If anyone has any recommendations for a good Linux capable logging program, I'd love to hear from you.

This years Rules, including the amendments for this year, can be found HERE.

Have fun and stay safe!!

80m - 10m EFHW Antenna...update

The new antenna has been up in the air for about 2 days now and I have had a chance to make a few QSO's on it, both local and DX.

So far contacts have been made to:

Mexico on 20m

Slovenia on 20m

Guadaloupe on 20m

North Carolina on 40m

Alabama on 10m

Ohio on 40m

Ontario on 40m and 80m.

Reports have all been very good.  I have explained it's a new antenna and asked for a true signal report, not a canned '59'.  So far I'm pretty pleased with it.

Of course the first 'true' test will be in a couple of weeks during Field Day.  I think I will give it a try out during that event, but I haven't decided what other antennas to put up for Field Day....no doubt it will be a last minute decision as usual 😎.

Would I recommend this antenna?  Yes, I think it's a good one, and I plan on keeping up in the trees to use.

EFHW Antenna...

I've been looking at replacing my 80m OCF Dipole for quite some time now, and the time has finally come.  Don, VE3MNE, made me a home brewed, double core, 49:1 balun for use with an End Fed Half Wave Antenna or EFHW.  

Many of the hams in my club already use them, right down to QRP power levels, with great success.  Many of them have a second one they use for portable operating.

So in the race to prepare for this years Field Day, which I will be operating from home this year, I need to get this antenna built and up in the trees pretty soon.

Once it's up in the air, and in use, I'll post a report on how it does.

2020 Updated Field Day Rules...

Hot off the press....

With one month to go before 2020 ARRL Field Day, June 27 – 28, the ARRL Programs and Services Committee (PSC) has adopted two temporary rule waivers for the event:

1)      For Field Day 2020 only, Class D stations may work all other Field Day stations, including other Class D stations, for points.

Field Day rule 4.6 defines Class D stations as “Home stations,” including stations operating from permanent or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D stations ordinarily may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C, E, and F Field Day stations, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows Class D stations to count contacts with other Class D stations for QSO credit.

2)      In addition, for 2020 only, an aggregate club score will be published, which will be the sum of all individual entries indicating a specific club (similar to the aggregate score totals used in ARRL affiliated club competitions).

Ordinarily, club names are only published in the results for Class A and Class F entries, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows participants from any Class to optionally include a single club name with their submitted results following Field Day.

For example, if Podunk Hollow Radio Club members Becky, W1BXY, and Hiram, W1AW, both participate in 2020 Field Day — Hiram from his Class D home station, and Becky from her Class C mobile station — both can include the radio club’s name when reporting their individual results. The published results listing will include individual scores for Hiram and Becky, plus a combined score for all entries identified as Podunk Hollow Radio Club.

The temporary rule waivers were adopted by the PSC on May 27, 2020.

ARRL Field Day is one of the biggest events on the amateur radio calendar, with over 36,000 participants in 2019, including entries from 3,113 radio clubs and emergency operations centers. In most years, Field Day is also the largest annual demonstration of ham radio, because many radio clubs organize their participation in public places such as parks and schools.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many radio clubs have made decisions to cancel their group participation in ARRL Field Day this year due to public health recommendations and/or requirements, or to significantly modify their participation for safe social distancing practices. The temporary rule waivers allow greater flexibility in recognizing the value of individual and club participation regardless of entry class.

ARRL is contacting logging program developers about the temporary rule waivers so developers can release updated versions of their software prior to Field Day weekend. Participants are reminded that the preferred method of submitting entries after Field Day is via the web applet. The ARRL Field Day rules include instructions for submitting entries after the event. Entries must be submitted or postmarked by Tuesday, July 28, 2020.

The ARRL Field Day web page includes a series of articles with ideas and advice for adapting participation this year.

Portable Ops...

It was a great day here today.  I managed to get out and play portable radio in the local park.  First time out playing radio this year, other than Winter Field Day.  There were not too many people at Lake Ontario Park, and nobody near me, so it was safe enough.  In fact it might be safe enough to start operating there on a semi-regular basis...unless the city regulations change again

Not many contacts made it into the logbook as the bands were not in the best condition.  The QSB on 20m was particularly bad, stations went from an S9 to S0 in seconds.   The propagation numbers were:  SFI=68, SN=0, A Index=4, and the K Index=1 at 1730 UTC.

Radio in use today was my KX3 which performed flawlessly as usual.  The antenna today was the Packtenna Mini, cut to 41.5 feet.

Supposedly you do not need radials with this antenna, but I find it works better with them.  I use a large alligator clip and attach it to the outer ring of the BNC connector as you can see in this picture.

While I normally homebrew my antennas, this one was certainly worth the money I paid for it.

Don, VE3MNE, came with me and worked on a new antenna project he has in the works for Chillycon this year.  So far it looks very promising, a few more tweaks and it will definitely give Eric, VA3AMX, a good run for his money if we can run the event this year. 😆

Once in a while I mention LIDS, and today we had a doozy, a G3 station (I have his full call) from Birmingham, England, called for over 20 minutes on top of a YL net.  The G3 knew the YL's were on frequency as he told them to go away while he tried to work DX.  I guess he must be special and owns his own frequency.  Good on the YL's for ignoring him and continuing, and I hope they send a recording of his behaviour to OFCOM.

VE3MNE working on his new portable antenna.

Today's operating position

May QRP Sprint...

Another great night on the bands!  Lots of signals on 20m and 40m tonight and many European stations calling North America as well.

Saturday night was the third  2 hour QRP Sprint in a series of six sprints this year that the Upper Canada QRP Club sponsors.  The score is accumulative over the course of the year, so far Eric, VA3AMX, is in the lead, but that may change after tonights scores trickle in.

Propagation tonight at 2309 UTC was...SFI=69, SN=0, A Index=3, and the K Index=1. There was quite a bit of bad QSB as well, but it wasn't there all the time.

Best DX for me tonight was two contacts with the Azores, not bad for 10w RF into the OCF Dipole.  On top of that I worked 2 provinces and 4 states.  Not the best of results, but I am pleased with it.

I put the following in the log:

CQ8THANKS in the Azores
W0ZF in MN
CU3HN in the Azores
W8BI in OH
VE9FI in NB
KB3CMT/p in WV
K9GPV in IN
VA3QV in ON

I'm looking forward to the next sprint in July, hopefully the weather will be good and I can operate portable for that one.

Portable Ops......FOILED!!!!

Having been cooped up in the house for quite a while, I was making plans to sneak out of the house and do a POTA at Fort Henry, VE-4864.

However, it was foiled at the last minute.

John, VE3JPW, tried to get up there last night to do a check on his new HF portable antenna.  He discovered that they have blocked the access roads to keep people and cars away.  Isn't that nice!!

Oh well......I'm off to formulate "Operating Plan B".

The red lines in the Google Map shot below shows where the barriers are placed.

QRP Weekend...

In a word, it was disappointing.   The propagation was in the toilet, the weekend numbers were: SFI=69, SN=0, A Index=7, and the K Index=1.  This coupled with some deep QSB made for some very noisy bands.  Hopefully the propagation Gods will start to wake up and allow things to improve....quickly!

This weekend saw the QRP to the Field event and the Europe to North America SOTA event.  I hung around the usual QRP watering holes but never heard a sound from any station looking to make contacts for these events.  I have not even seen any news on the SOTA event on the SOTA reflector, so it was probably just as bad on the European end as it was ours on this side of the pond.  Perhaps by the November SOTA cross the pond event propagation will have improved.

The Ontario QSO Party for a QRP SSB station was just as bad.  I managed to make contacts on 80m, 40m, 20m, 6m, and 2m.   But my final score was less than half of last years.  I did manage to make contacts from VO2 land to VE7 land, so contacts where out there to be made, just extremely difficult to do by QRP apparently.

Next weekend is the Florida QSO Party.  Rules for that event can be found HERE.

2020 Summer Field Day...

As of todays date, it would seem the ARRL Programs and Services Committee has in fact considered the Wuhan Flu issue, and has decided not to make any rule changes. 

This is disappointing, current social distancing requirements as well as our new provincial and municipal laws very likely will impact just how, and even whether, we are able to participate in Field Day this year.

It would have been very easy for the ARRL to put rules in place that encourage social distancing early enough for clubs, and individuals, to make alternative arrangements.  Part of the Field Day concept has always been adapting your operation to the situation at hand, and this year we have a real doozy of a situation. 

I really hope everyone who wishes to participate in Field Day is able to do so this year, and can do so in a safe manner, even if you must operate from home.