A Propagation Upturn...

It's been 10 days since I have been out doing an activation, mainly due to the very poor propagation and the futility of trying to operate QRP in such conditions. Yesterday wasn't too bad on the bands, for a change so I decided to get out and give it a try again.

It took 40 minutes to get 17 contacts in the log. I managed 11 SSB on 20m and 6 CW on 40m, so I was fairly happy with that. The radio in use was my KX2, and my usual hamsticks. The bands look even better this morning, so I think I'll be doing another trip today. 

A few new antenna parts are on order from various companies to put together a ground mounted vertical, more on this when the parts arrive. I'm hoping the new antenna will help simplify things for me. I hate doing POTA activations with a 10 metre collapsible mast, the less attention I can draw to me the better I like it...and let's be honest, not every park is suitable to erect a mast and wire.

Yesterday the propagation was: SFI=119, SN=93, A Index=13, and the K Index=3. There was very deep QSB as well. As you can see for the contact map above, 20m was very short, except for the single opening into St. Kitts and Nevis.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Week That Was...

What a lousy week, both propagation wise and weather wise. No park activations got done, and very little radio at all was done. The propagation doesn't look like it will improve much before Tuesday at the moment. This is thanks to a coronal hole stream heading our way.

We've also had heavy rains and thunderstorms through the area over the past 48 hours, so that hasn't helped either.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get out on Tuesday with a new antenna I would like to test during a POTA activation. Photo's to follow if conditions are good!

Stay Safe Out There!

Back to the Parks...

Circumstances have changed around the QTH over the past few days. My Mother-in-Law, who has lived with us for the past 12 years, will be moving into a long term care home tomorrow, as her dementia has reached the point we can no longer care for her at home, she now needs full time professional care. 

This means that as of tomorrow I will no longer be tied to the house everyday helping take care of her. It also means my sainted wife will now be able to do things she has been putting off for the past few years. While it will be very strange not to have Mother-in-Law here with us, she will be close enough that we can easily visit her every day.

Once a few outstanding chores have been taken care of around here, I will be able to activate local parks as often as I wish. I'm also planning on travelling to new parks that I have not been to yet; I'm really looking forward to this.

It's been a week since I have managed to get out to the local parks and do an activation. This was a 50/50 split between lousy propagation and my obligations around the QTH. 

This morning I managed to get out and actually play radio in a park. Propagation was not the best, the SFI was sitting at 152, SN=87, A Index= 26, and the K Index=2. The old Sun has not been on its best behaviour all week, and today proved no different. It was very surprising at just how quiet 40m was today, with my processor turned off I had no background noise at all, just clear audio. You don't get that very often.

I did manage to put 19 contacts in the log, all on 40m, which was strange as 40m was shown to be in poor shape. There were no prizes given for DX contacts today, just solid contacts around the Eastern Seaboard.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There....and May the Fourth Be With You!!

QRP To The Field...

Here's a surprise.....I've just been told that unknown to everyone, this year's QRP to the Field Event has been delayed a week and will take place this coming Saturday, April 26.

Here's a link to the rules page HERE.

This is good news as the bands were absolute garbage last Saturday when it was originally planned to happen. I didn't do very well because of the conditions, and never submitted a log. Good job I didn't as I can do it all over again this Saturday, and hope for much better conditions.

I can't get upset over this screwup this year at all.  Paul, NA5N, has just within the past 2 weeks lost his wife, and I'm sure he has other things on his mind right now.

So there you go, another chance to get out and play QRP radio coming up this Saturday.

Stay Safe Out There!

This Coming Weekend...

Lots of activities coming up this weekend!

First up is the POTA Support Your Parks Spring Event. This starts at 0001 UTC on Saturday, April 19, and runs till 2359 UTC 0n Sunday, April 20. I'm planning on activating a few parks for this event, and hopefully the propagation gods will cooperate for a change.

These events are a good way of boosting your POTA contacts, and of course you can also upload the same log(s) to the WWFF program.

The next event we didn't think was going to happen, but it will be happening after all. That's QRP to the Field. The link takes you to last year's page, but there have been no changes to the Rules for this year. The page will be updated soon, but Paul, NA5N, lost his wife, Jan, N0QT, a week ago and very obviously has had other priorities in his life. 

The third event this coming weekend is the Ontario QSO Party. I have done this contest in the past, but not for many years now. They do have a QRP category.

It's also the Easter long weekend here in Ontario. Enjoy yourselves, but please stay safe.

A Less Than Stella Day...

Today was the first day this year I have been able to leave the house without a jacket and gloves on - it was that warm. Just a glorious day!

Lemoine Point & Kingston Airport

However, as good as the weather was, the bands were not that good at all. In fact they were really awful. I set out this morning with the goal of completing 2 POTA activations, and while it took a lot longer than normal, I did get the job done. 

The QSB was particularly bad, with signals fading from S9 to S2 instantly. This of course caused me to lose a number of otherwise good contacts. 

I started the day on 10m CW and made a couple of contacts into the USA. When those contacts dried up I moved to 15m SSB and made some contacts into the US Gulf states, and as a total surprise Emanuele, IU3LYJ, in Northern Italy called me and gave me an S5 signal report. Then it was on to 40m SSB to finish off the activation.

I took a break for lunch, and met my wife at a local restaurant - which we don't often do. Once lunch was over it was off to the next activation. Conditions had not improved, in fact they had got worse. That activation was done entirely on 40m SSB, and I was lucky enough to work 2 stations who were at different 3fers, which allowed me to complete the activation.

Today was really not the day to be running QRP, but I did, and to make it worse I used my hamsticks mounted to the roof of my truck. If nothing else I proved to myself QRP can still do it even under very poor conditions.

Propagation today was: SFI=165, SN=80, A Index=20, and the K Index=3.

Here's my contact map from the morning activation:

And here's the map for the afternoon activation:

Let's all hope the propagation starts to improve again!

Stay Safe Out There!

Useful Piece of Gear...

I picked up a useful piece of gear the other day. I own a RigExpert Stick, and have been keeping it in the small cardboard box it came in, and the box doesn't afford much protection for such an expensive piece of equipment.

While surfing a few SOTA / POTA YouTube videos the other day I came across the answer. The ham in question had come across a small case, normally used to protect an electric toothbrush, and realized the case could have a new role.

Have a look at this:

It's a perfect fit, and it's waterproof.

If you're interested in getting one, they are available on Amazon. You can search for "Wilken Electric Toothbrush Case, Universal Travel Case".

Stay Safe Out There!

Another Portable Activation...

Today was a warm -2C under brilliant blue skies, spring must have arrived! Most of the snow around here has melted and faded away, which is fine by me.

Propagation wasn't too bad, SFI=170, SN=178, A Index=6, and the K Index=2. There was however, some very bad QSB on signals. Once again it was the KX3, and Hamsticks, and the location was VEFF-2986, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area. It was to be a WWFF activation today.

First up today was Rui CT1ERY, and he was followed very quickly by YY4EBD, G8IBR, G6ZVL, GW0RMB, SQ2WKQ, OH3RM, OH1MM, and SP9RXP. These contacts were all made on 10m. I switched to 15m and made a number of contacts to the southern US States.

A number of LIDS were out today, tuning up on top of me, whistling into their mic's, and generally being idiots. These antics, and the deep QSB, certainly didn't make it easy to make the contacts. I ended up moving frequencies a couple of times to get away from them, but they always seem to follow me down the band.

This weekend I'm planning on activating a couple of never before activated VEFF parks a little further north than I usually go, but the weather looks good enough to get it done. That will be a write up for next week.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

The Great Melt...

As with most years, this one has been very quiet throughout January and February. Not much POTA has been happening, mainly due to many high-wind and snowy days around here. Many of the parks are very difficult to get into due to roads and parking lots not being plowed out.

I have had only four accessible parks since Christmas. This has started to change as the "great melt" is now upon us and the snow is rapidly disappearing. Once the roads have dried up and the mud cleaned off them, it will be open season again in the parks.

One of the good things that has come out of me expanding my activations into the world of VEFF, is that there're a good number of parks around here that are not in the POTA database. This will allow me to expand my day trips to include these new parks, especially now that I have discovered how to use the WWFF DX Cluster.

Yesterday I activated Lemoine Point once again, CA-5141, and VEFF-2979.  The bands were quite noisy and the QSB was pretty bad. I ended the activation with 23 in the log, including 10 DX. I didn't stay on 10m, I actually made contacts on 40m and 20m as well as 10m. 

First in the log was OS8D, quickly followed by DL8NDG, OH1MM, G0OQK, OH4MDY, DL2ND, IW2BNA, DH3TK, OH5CLP, and KP4YAT. 

Radio was my KX2 set at 10w, and I used various Hamsticks.  The propagation numbers were: SFI=150, SN=100, A Index=7, and the K Index=3.

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

10m Again...

It was another great day on 10m today, although I didn't think it was going to be that good. I worked several CW stations from home early Thursday morning around 1240 UTC, and conditions were not that good. But they definitely improved as the morning progressed.

I have started activating both POTA and WWFF Parks, several have the same number, but most are different. The difference is the WWFF guys really like to chase, and it's great to get all that European DX in the log. The impression I'm getting is that not many VE stations are doing WWFF (or VEFF as we call it here), so you are a rarity on the bands, and you get some pretty good pileups. That was the case today.

My radio today was my KX2 and a 10m Hamstick. Propagation was: SFI=157, SN-139, A Index=13, and the K Index=0. I chose to return to Parrotts Bay, POTA CA-5142, and VEFF-2986, as it's pretty close to my home QTH. I knew the parking lot had been plowed out and I could actually park there with no problem. Currently we are in the middle of the "mud season" here, the big melt is on as the daily temperatures have started to rise above freezing and we are getting lots of rain.

The day started with Pedro EA2CPG getting into my log. He was followed by UT5PI, IW2BNA, OH5TQ, OH4MDY, OH1MM, DL1EJG, ON3YB, I5JFG, and ON4ON. The big surprise for me today was when UT5PI came back to my CQ, he was 7469 km away, just east of Kyiv. That's 933 km per watt. I'm very pleased with that contact.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back out tomorrow and try to repeat today's performance.

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Excellent DX...

It started off here as a very cold day, in fact it was -25C (-13F) when I went out to the truck this morning, and the 30 KPH wind didn't help matters either.

The propagation didn't look too bad, so I decided to go down to Lemoine Point, CA-5141, and do an activation for a few hours. Now I know that 10m will start to fade away soon as spring weather starts to pop up, so I decided to try 10m and see if it was still working.

Wow, was it ever still working!  However, having said that, it was still a slow start to what became a great day. First up was Thierry ON3TDZ, who was followed by HJ2EMJ, SK6QA, F5NZO, GW5GDP, G0RQL, EC7DZZ, OE4JHW, F4ILH, IU3GKJ, and IU2ROI. Not too bad for 8w and a Hamstick, and it looks like 10m is good to go for another few weeks.

I have also started to send my park activation logs to WWFF, and in particular VEFF. This allows me to give credit to hunters who do the WWFF program as well as POTA stations. Thanks to Stuart VE9CF, who got me started on WWFF.

Any program that gets me out of the shack, and operating in the great outdoors, definitely has my full support.

Today's propagation numbers were: SFI=140, SN=107, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. Radio was my KX2 and a 10m Hamstick. 

We're expecting several days of heavy rain starting tomorrow, so I expect I'll be in the shack until at least Friday.  Oh well, it is winter!

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

It's That Day Again...

Today I complete my 69th trip around the sun, and while it does tend to suck getting old, I have to say that it definitely beats the alternative. As a way of celebrating I decided to return, as I did last year, to Lemoine Point, CA-5141, and do another POTA activation - my 126th at that location.

The propagation numbers looked pretty good today, and I thought I would do well on 10m as I have done the last few times I'm been at the park. The numbers were: SFI=210, SN=117, A Index=7, and the K Index=3. The Bz was sitting at 0.0, the QSB was particularly bad, but I've operated with a lot worse than that.

I spent a lot of my time during the activation today thinking of my Dad, VE7CVQ (SK), and the fact that I'm now two years older than he was when he passed away, which is a scary thing. But I was really thinking about what he would think of the modern craze of portable operating....POTA, SOTA, BOTA, WWFF, etc. Dad was a CW rag chewer, a 50 word a minute guy, and had been since he was a high speed morse operator during WW2. If I was really being honest, I don't think he would think much of it. On the positive side, he would be happy with the up-tick of CW use during these portable activations.

I started today on 10m SSB, but I only managed to make 3 contacts before I switched to 40m. There were lots of comments about deep QSB on my signal, and my signal reports reflected that fact. While the number of contacts were down today, it was still good to get out of the house and play radio.

Here's todays contacts map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Changes in the Shack...

Over the past few weeks there have been a few changes in the shack.  Both the G90 and the FX-4CR have been sold.  The two radios, while very good, did not suit my needs.  The G90, with its cooling fan attached, was too big and heavy, and the FX-4CR I just didn't like....it was too "fiddly" to use.  Both have now gone on to new homes.

To replace them both a new to me KX2 and KXPA100 Amplifier have appeared on the bench.  This will soon become my main shack radio as I start to downsize my gear.  My KX3 will stay as my main portable rig for portable operating.

Along with the KX2 I bought a new set of Elecraft paddles.  I've never had much luck using paddles, but I thought it was time to learn, so this will take up my spare time over the next month or so.

I find these days I'm spending more time on CW than SSB, which is a good thing. This is a skill I should have worked on 20 years ago.....but, better late than never.

For those lovers of the KX line you should have a read of this article written by Larry W2LJ on the KX3 and whether or not it's a Dinosaur.  It's a good article.

It's been a quiet month so far for portable operating, although I'm hoping to get out today for an hour.  The weather has been very cold, very snowy, and extremely windy.....not conducive for operating outdoors at all.

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!

Another Decent Day...

It was another decent day on the bands, especially 10m. Today it was off to Parrotts Bay, CA-5142, a delightful spot about 8 km east of my home QTH. 

Of course today, being Sunday, brought the usual lids out to play on the bands. I had them all, the tuner uppers, the whistlers, the "get off my frequency" types, it was a delightful cornucopia of idiots - all of whom failed to ruin my day. If you ignore them they tend to go away and play elsewhere.

Propagation today was: SFI=182, SN=168, A Index=4, and the K Index=3.

First up today was Didier F5NZO, followed by DL9RP, F4ILH, LW2DO, I4JED, IU1HJF, and DL1SWB. Not bad for 10w and a 10m Hamstick!! Things quieted down after the initial run of EU DX, the big surprise of the day was the call from the Argentinian station. I switched to 40m and worked a few more stations closer to home.

It was -10C (14F) with a light wind that brought the temperature down another few degrees. I didn't find it as bad as yesterday though.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

It Was A Cold Day...

Very little portable operating has taken place this past week. It has snowed just about every day, and the temperatures have been low enough to make any amount of time outdoors uncomfortable, so it's been a slow radio week.

Today I had to get out of the house, regardless of the temperatures, propagation, and anything else the world could have thrown at me. It was a balmy -12C (10F) when I started, with winds 25 gusting 70, which took the ambient temperature down to where it was damn uncomfortable. Needless to say I didn't spend too much time outside chasing Parks and DX.

The propagation numbers today were: SFI=188, SN=180, A Index=9, and the K Index=1. I spent the whole time on 10m, and I had to fight some pretty deep QSB there. With the KX3 set at 10w and my trusty 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck, I set out to capture some excellent DX out there. I did a bit of listening on 15m as well, but didn't operate there.

The first guy in the log was Pat PD1CW, and he was quickly followed by DL9RP, EA1BUL, F4ILH, DH3TK, EA7FC, and EI6IF. 

I had to pack it in after 40 minutes as my feet started to freeze, and I didn't want to risk hurting them. That's one of the downsides of operating in the winter in Canada.

 Here's today's contact map....more DX contacts than North American contacts:

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!

FYBO 2025...

It's that time again!! This coming Saturday, February 1st, sees the 2025 edition of the Freeze Your Butt Off QRP event, sponsored by the AzScQRPions. 

Rules can be found HERE.

This event runs from 1400 UTC to 2359 UTC, February 1st.  

I'm planning on going out and setting up for this event in my local park, just like I did last year.  The weather forecast is calling for -14C under sunny skies.....should be good for a few hours of QRP fun!!

Make sure you read up on, and understand, the symptoms for Hypothermia before this event.  This is a good page to start for that......click HERE.

Have Fun, and Stay Safe Out There!!

A Cold Activation...

Today was probably the coldest activation I have done this winter. It was -17C (1.4F) this morning, and I felt every one of those cold. negative. degrees. Luckily I can operate from my truck and get out of the wind, which certainly helps a bit. Unfortunately, because of the interference caused by the onboard computers, I can't run the engine, and operate, in order to stay warm. Once I start operating I'm going to be cold in a short time.

I worked 10m again as it was very busty with POTA and the North American QSO Party stations. It took just about 30 minutes to get 20 contacts in the log. First up was Carlos YV1GIY, and following him was OZ4MU, F8EXM, DO9SMS, DL9RP, F5NZO, and finally, GM4OIJ. I'm pleased with that performance, the KX3 worked flawlessly, and I never cease to be amazed at how well the hamsticks work.

Propagation numbers today were: SFI=222, SN=124, A Index=10, and the K Index=3. There was lots of very deep QSB as well to deal with.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

SYP Weekend...

I'm looking forward to this weekends Support Your Park event. POTA holds these events every 3 months, so it's like having 4 extra field days a year. I quite enjoy portable operating these days, the much lower RF background noise in the parks makes it far more enjoyable to me.

Due to the weather, I won't be straying too far from home for this one. Some parking lots haven't been plowed out yet, and more snow is in the forecast, so I fully expect a wet and very sloppy drive in the morning.

I hoping to activate at least 5 of the local parks over the course of the event. 

I don't want to jinx the weekends forecasted propagation, so I'll let everyone look it up for themselves. 

Have a look HERE.

Enjoy the event, and Stay Safe Out There!