Back at it...

What a great day it was on the bands today.  They seem to be settling down again nicely, the QSB has all but disappeared, and the POTA Hunters are back out in force.

The next couple of days seem to be a good time get out and do some more portable operating in the local parks:

This afternoon I headed over to Lemoine Point Conservation Area and did a quick activation.  It took me 30 minutes to get 19 contacts in my logbook.  Nothing spectacular, and no DX, but it was just nice to get out and operate for the first time in a week.

The propagation numbers this afternoon were:  SFI=127, SN=72, A Index=19, and the K Index=2.

Here's todays QSO map:

I'm planning another operating session in a local park for tomorrow.  More than likely it will be in Marshlands Conservation Area, close to downtown.  The propagation and the weather both look good for a change!

Stay Safe Out There!

Solar Storm...(Updated 0230 UTC, 5th September)

The bands are not looking very good today.....or tomorrow, from the space weather forecast.

Updated - 0230 UTC, September 5:

The Bands Are Hopping...

What a great afternoon chasing POTA stations I had today.  Finally the propagation seemed to be good enough to make good contacts.  I managed to put 31 contacts in my log in 28 minutes.  That including having to switch Hamsticks from 40m to 20m.

The propagation was: SFI=116, SN=50, A Index=7, and the K Index=2.

It took my exactly 6 minutes to get the 10 qualifying contacts for the park I was in, in my log.  Just amazing after so many weeks of bad bands and lousy propagation. 

Here's todays contact map.  You can see the 40m ring of contacts and further out the 20m ring:

Unfortunately it doesn't look like this good patch of propagation will last.  Here's the outlook for the next few days:

It may be a quiet weekend on Ham Radio this weekend, but hopefully things will improve by next week.

Stay Safe Out There!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I wonder what the next adventure will be?

Stay Safe Out There!!

And Here We Go Again...

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

W/V Island QSO Party...

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

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

The Rules for the event can be found HERE.

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

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

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

The bridge over the canal at Washburn Island.

Let's Go Activate...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay Safe Out There!!

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

Here's the latest update:

Stay tuned for more updates!!

Buddipole Parts, Part 2...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John VE3WTN, with his Xiegu X6100 Radio

Don VE3MNE, contemplating life with his Analyzer

Stay Safe Out There!!

Buddipole Parts...

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

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

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

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

More to follow as testing continues...

2022 Island QSO Party...

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

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

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

Rules can be found HERE.

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

7.250,  14.250 - 14.260,  and 50. 130.

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

Stay safe out there!

Radio need Cooling?...

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

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

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

This item runs on two AA batteries:

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

Stay safe out there!

Saturday on the Bands...

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

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

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

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

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

Stay safe out there!

2022 IOTA Contest...

Coming up this weekend is the Islands on the Air contest.  It's always interesting working the various islands that pop-up on the air, and I'm sure this weekend will be no different.

This year the dates and times are: 1200 UTC July 30th to 1200 UTC July 31st.

Rules can be found HERE.

Have fun, and stay safe!

Great Day on the Bands...

I decided to finally get out and do a POTA activation today.  The bands have not been the best over the last couple of weeks so I have not been up to too much.  I read today that the experts are calling what has been going on a "Propagation Tsunami" of back-to-back CME's and Solar Storms.

Todays propagation numbers while I was activating were: SFI=111, SN=83, A Index=17, and the K Index=2.

I drove down to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, and in 26 minutes had 24 contacts in my log.  Contacts were made on both 20m and 40m.  

Here's todays QSO map:

Radio in use today was my KX3, set at 10 watts.  Antenna was either a 20m or 40m hamstick, both worked very well.

Hopefully the bands will now start to behave and settle down.

A Tale of Two Hamsticks...

Over the past year I have mainly, for convenience, used Hamsticks for my portable activations, and I have been very happy with them.  The problem I have is switching between the various bands....especially in the winter!  That means getting out of the warm van and changing whips, it's a real pain and takes time, especially when it's -25C.

My hope was that I could set up Hamsticks for two different bands, and just use a coax switch to change bands, it would also speed things up in the long run.

So with this in mind, last week I decided to conduct an experiment with two 20m Hamsticks.  One would be mounted on the roof of my van with a 6" single mag-mount.  The other would be mounted on a camera tripod, and would have five 17 foot ground radials set out.

I set up my KX3 and went searching for a very loud 20m CW signal, and there were lots to chose from that day.

The coax for both antennas was connected to a two-position switch, with a RF isolator placed in line between the switch and the radio.  

Wow, what a difference!!  The hamstick mounted on the van roof was 4 db louder than the one mounted on the tripod.  I knew there would be a difference, but not that much.  Obviously this is not going to work for me.

Hopefully I'll come up with another idea before the snow flies again this year.

The set-up in the back of the van.

Come on Canada!!...

Coming up next month, 0001 UTC August 20 to 2359 UTC August 21, is the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend.   This year, 2022, is the 25th Anniversary of this event.  The International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend is an annual 48 hour amateur radio event held on the third full weekend in August.

Over the past few years the event has seen very few Canadian Lighthouses on the air.  We have lights on our three coasts and the Great Lakes, surely we can get a few more lights on the air this year?

The website with the Rules and Registration page is HERE.

Let's see if we Canadians can support this event better!

Solar Storm...

This doesn't look too good!!   This is the forecast for Monday to Wednesday.  Wednesday does not look to be a good day for chasing DX or POTA stations.

Updated 1550 UTC 5 July: