Good day on the Bands...

Yesterday was a great day to be out doing portable radio.  It was dry, warm, and very sunny.....and yes, the propagation wasn't too bad.

Propagations was: SFI=139 SN=86 A Index=7 and the K Index=1.  

I went to Lemoine Point and did two activates at the same time, I activated it for POTA, and I took part in the QRP Afield Contest for a few hours.  There did not seem to be too many QRP'ers about, but I still managed to get 22 in the log.

I started off on 40m and it wasn't too bad, there was a bit of QSB, but nothing that couldn't be worked around, and all of the contacts were within the usual 40m range.  The band soon dried up and after 14 in the log I decided to move to 15m and see what I could do there.  First up was Jose EA1BUL, from Asturias, Spain, he gave me a 59 signal report.  He was immediately followed by two back-to-back K6 stations out of California.  The band seemed to change and I finished the day with 3 contacts into Florida. Not too shabby for a KX3 at 10w and a Hamstick!

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

This Weekend...

This Saturday, September 16th, is the date for this years QRP Afield event, sponsored by the New England QRP Club.

This is one of the few QRP Contests, that I have found, that allows all modes - and it runs from 1500 to 2100 UTC.  Six hours of QRP bliss!

Rules for this event can be found HERE.

Looking forward to working some of you in the contest.

As an added bonus, the weekends propagation doesn't look too bad.....well, after this weeks surprise CME, it couldn't get much worse.  However, here's the forecast for Saturday, the 16th:

Have fun, and Stay Safe Out There!

Back At Lemoine Point...

I had a great day today activating Lemoine Point, VE-5141, for POTA. The extremely high heat and humidity of last week has gone away, and the weather is certainly more autumn like these days - and I'm loving it!

Today's propagation was mediocre at best.  There was lots of very deep QSB going on, and this was coupled with high noise on 20m and 40m. The propagation numbers were: SFI=161, SN=127, A Index=8, and the K Index=1. Having said it was a mediocre day, it was the best day we have had for over a week.

The antenna today was my 29' vertical random wire, with a 9:1 unun, and three 17' ground radials. The radio was my KX3 set at 10w.

While todays contact map is nothing spectacular, I had a pleasant hour and a lot of fun working the park hunters.

Here's todays map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Not Looking Good...Updated

This weekend is shaping up to be not so good propagation wise.  Here's the official forecast:

"The geomagnetic field is expected to be primarily at quiet to unsettled 
levels on 1 Sep due to weak, positive polarity CH HSS effects. By late
2 Sep to early on 3 Sep, active conditions are expected, with a minor G1
storm level more than likely and a chance for moderate G2 conditions,
when the 30 Aug CME is now predicted to arrive."

Update as of 1111 UTC:



Let's see how this plays out over the next few days.

Stay Safe Out There!

W/VE Island QSO Party...

Coming up this weekend....

Get out and have some fun.......and Stay Safe Out There!!

2m -- the lonely band...

A few years ago I wrote here about the lack of use on 2m in Canada, and today I was thinking about how nothing has changed over the years regarding the use of that band.

Interestingly though, recently I have made a few contacts on both 2m and 70cm during POTA activations, but most of them were pre-planned before I left the house. We are always hearing that if we don't use our allotted frequencies we could lose them, and as I have said before, given the level of corporate greed out there these days, we should take absolutely nothing for granted.

I am a keen follower of the following blogs, Irish Ham Radio, The Radio Rover, and Chris M0RSF. I'm always amazed at the amount of traffic those three gentlemen generate on 2m simplex during their WWFF and SOTA activations.

We have hams here who collect Grid Squares, but it seems only during contests, and it's primarily only done on 6m.  We have SOTA in North America also, but not much is done on 2m simplex, especially here in Ontario.  It’s nowhere near as popular here as it is in Europe.

The UK, and several other countries, also has HEMA, an organization that is similar to SOTA, but for smaller summits.  It’s very popular, but it appears to be only operating in VE3 land here in North America.  We also have the GMA, which also has a summit in VE3 land, hopefully that's just the start.  All of these activities support 2m activity, yet there seems to be very little of it here in Canada and North America in general.

While there are plenty of activities to do on 2m, it would seem, however, the real issue is getting people out of their shacks, and getting involved in some of these activities to make sure we don’t lose our frequencies.

Remember, the Europeans only have 144 to 146 and do all of the above activites.  Here in North America we have twice that amount of frequency, 144 to 148, and apart from a pile of dead repeaters that get used once a week for a poorly attended net, not much else goes on.  

I have just discovered that the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, does in fact hold an annual 2m contest!  Here's the link to the RULES. 

So don't forget about 2m...and 70cm...during your portable operations!

Coming Up August 19th & 20th...

This weekend, as well as the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, is the North America QSO SSB Party. The contest runs from 1800 UTC August 19th to 0559 UTC August 20th.  

It's nice to see they have a QRP classification for this contest, I might have to dabble in it.

Rules can be found HERE.

Stay Safe Out There!

Monday at the Park...

As promised there was another POTA activation completed on Monday morning.  The weather was fantastic, a clear sky and a good breeze to keep the bugs away....can't ask for more than that!

This time I used my 33' mast, and a 29' radiator with two 17' ground radials and a 9:1 unun.  It worked very well and contacts on 20m were made to WA, NM, and TX, 14 amongst other states on 40m. 

Propagation was about the same as Sunday, SFI=150, SN=85, A Index=5, and the K Index=0.

This antenna will definitely get used more often.

Monday's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There !!

Good Bands...

The HF bands were not too bad today.....for a change!  For the first time in over a month I went out and did a POTA activation, while I won't win any prizes for the number of contacts I made, it was still fun. My big issue today was learning how to operate in the cab of the new truck, it's not a roomy as my old van, and I can see this might be an issue deep in the cold winter months. But we have time to see how we can best operate comfortably in it.

Propagation numbers today were:  SFI=148, SN=78, A Index=8, and the K Index=0.  There was very, very, deep QSB on all the signals, especially those on 20m and 40m.

I'm hoping to get out again tomorrow and see how things go.  Instead of hamsticks I'm planning on using my new 33' mast, and the new hitch mount I bought for the truck.

This mast will give me several wire antenna options to use, and it should still be usable in the winter with snow on the ground.  Tomorrow I'm planning on using a 29' vertical with a 9:1 unum and a couple of 17' ground radials to see what I can do with that.

Stay tuned for that write up.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend...

The International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend is coming up fast and will take place on August 19th & 20th.  

An average year sees over 400 lighthouses on the air, and this year should be no different....but so far there are only five Canadian lights registered., pretty sad for a country with three different coastlines!

The rules and other information can be find HERE.

Stay Safe Out There!

K Index of 6+...

Unfortunately for the Colorado 14er Event this weekend the propagation does not look very good. A Strong (G3) geomagnetic storm condition was observed starting at 0600 UTC this morning, the K Index was then at 6+.

Hopefully things will settle down quickly and we can start working DX again.

Stay Safe Out There!

Colorado 14er Event, 2023...

This weekend sees amateur radio operators from around the State of Colorado climbing their high Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. 

Feel free to join in on the fun during the annual event by activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations. Be aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by (1800 UTC) noon due to lightning safety concerns.

This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Again this year, we will add two bonus days to the Colorado 14er Event. The main two days remain Saturday and Sunday (Aug 5 & 6), while the bonus days are Friday Aug 4 and Monday Aug 7th, for those SOTA enthusiasts that need more than two days of SOTA fun!

The 14er event includes Summits On the Air (SOTA) peaks, which provide over 1700 summits to activate. The Colorado 14er Event was started in 1991, about 19 years before the SOTA program was set up in Colorado. As SOTA grew in popularity, this event expanded from just the 14,000-foot mountains (14ers) to include all of the SOTA summits in the state. They still call it the Colorado 14er Event because, well, that's where it all started and the 14ers are the iconic summits in the state.

Important: The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 146.58, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the North America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58). The National Simplex Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. There will be plenty of action on the HF ham bands, especially on 20m. 

Stay Safe Out There....and SOTA & POTA On!!

Not Looking Good...

It's been mighty quiet around the VE3FI property for the past month.  I haven't done a POTA activation, or any portable radio during July.....just taking a break.  Some days the propagation around here has been so bad we couldn't talk across the street....never mind across the big pond!

However, the propagation over the next few days sure doesn't look too good.

A K Index of 4 or 5 does not make for happy band conditions.  

Stay Safe Out There!

More Propagation Woes...

So far this month I have not done a single outdoor activation, in fact I've hardly been on the radio at all. Between the very high heat and humidity, and the lousy propagation, I just haven't felt the "love"....and that's OK, sometimes a nice break is a good thing.

Another reason for my lack of radio activity is that I have sold my van and bought a new truck. Before I can get the truck set up for operating I need to wait for the new canopy to arrive, hopefully that will be in a few more weeks.

While I enjoyed working from the van it was getting old and starting to show its age.  I'm looking forward to many new adventures in the new vehicle, including a cross-country POTA trip next year. Details to follow.

And my last excuse for the lack of operating and posts here is this.....what seems to have become a typical day around here propagation wise:

Stay Safe Out There.......and try and stay cool!!

IARU HF World Championships...

Coming up this weekend is the IARU HF World Championships.  One of the premier contests of the year...if you run power...it's not a particularly good contest for QRPers, but there's always good DX to be found.

The contest runs from 1200 UTC July 8th to 1159 UTC 9th July.

The rules can be found HERE.

Best Day in Weeks...

Today was my best day on the air in many weeks.  It seems the bands and the propagation Gods got their act together and gave us a decent day to play radio!

At 1430 UTC today the propagation numbers were: SFI=158, SN=119, A Index=8, and the K Index=2.  The bad news was that there was still some very deep QSB happening.  After seeing the propagation forecast for the next few days, I'm glad I got out today and operated portable.  Hopefully it will improve considerably in time for Field Day next weekend.

In 50 minutes I managed to get 39 contacts in my log, including a good contact with Mike, CU3HY, in the Azores.  That was my first QSO with Mike since December of last year.  Todays breakdown was 5 contacts on 40m, and 34 contacts on 20m.

Radio was my KX3, the antenna was a 20m or 40m Hamstick, and I was transmitting a whopping 10w.  

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

Field Day is Coming!! ...

Get ready....coming up on June 24th & 25th is this years edition of Summer Field Day.  

I'm not a huge fan of the new rule changes that the ARRL has made over the past two (3?) years, in fact I think they are really ridiculous. So this year I'm taking part more on a social basis than a serious contesting basis.  And, as I did last year, I'll be operating QRP.

Don, VE3MNE, and myself have been invited down again by the Northumberland County QRP Club.  This is our second year taking part with them.  

We have plans this weekend to refurbish our collection of notch filters that we haven't used in the past 3 years.  I think they probably need a good looking over after sitting in my garage for that long.  The rest of the equipment I'll be taking, masts, antennas, and the camping gear, will also need a good inspection to make sure it is all serviceable for the weekend.

Rule for Field Day 2023 can be found HERE.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Messing with Antennas...

With the Ottawa - Kingston Bike Tour cancelled last weekend, and having a lot of spare time, I took the time to dig out some of my antenna parts and try an experiment.

The one band I have issues with operating portable is 80m. Most of the spots in and around Kingston are not large enough to string up an 80m dipole.  And those that are large enough are normally far too busy with dog walkers, or kids running around to safely use one.  So what is the answer? Well, I threw some Buddipole parts in the van and headed out to the local park to find out.

I took my Buddipole Versahub and tripod legs, the large Buddipole coil, a 17' MFJ collapsible whip, and two 66' radials.  Using these parts I guessed would allow me to get on both 40m and 80m.  Not that I needed another 40m vertical, but this version does have more metal in the air, so that must be a good thing.

Don, VE3MNE brought out his analyzer and had a look at the 40m variant.  We used two 17' ground radials for this antenna. It looked great right from the start, we but tweaked it a little more and got it closer to a 50 ohm match.  The reactance was sitting at +4 when we finished, so I didn't think we could get any better, so on the air we went.

Bob, VA3RCS, told us it sounded very good on air and to leave it alone, he gave us an S9+ report, so we decided to take his advice and not change things, and then we moved to the 80m version.

The 80m version with two 66' ground radials is not so good.  While the analyzer certainly gave us good numbers, and everything looked really good, our quick QSO with Bob didn't go so well.  After giving us S9+ on 40m, he gave us a S3 on 80m, and told us we were right in his noise floor.  Pretty disappointing, and the bottom line is I'm still searching for a solution to get on 80m in the parks.

Here's a few more pics:

Don VE3MNE in action with the analyzer.

A close up of the large coil and the band clips.

More experiments to come......Stay Safe Out There!