Friday, 19 February 2021

Demographic's and Ham Radio...

Frank M. Howell, K4FMH,  wrote in a recent Blog post: Can we defuse the demographic time-bomb?

"Hams, as indicated by the proxy of ARRL membership and in the National Contest Journal past and present subscriber data, are sorely under-represented in the pre-50 age ranges"

"Traditional radio sport is facing a demographic cliff of ageing ham contesters." 

"It is often attributed to the social thinker August Comte to have said, Demography is Destiny. But it does not have to be so. (see my talk to the Sutton & Cheam Society in London) It does require taking the blinders off of tradition and evaluate it for what it is today and what it means for the future. This almost always requires those in power to make such decisions to forsake their own vested interests in favor of change. 

Like the famous Lemmings advertisement by Apple, not everyone has to walk off this demographic cliff. We just have to take the blinders of tradition off our eyes, wake up, act for the common good, and smell the demographic coffee. Because it’s brewing…"

 

I am so sick of reading this crap!!!!!! Ham radio seems to have ALWAYS been an “old guys” activity from the very early days. 

 

First of all, not all hams are interested in membership in their national radio society, ARRL or otherwise. Most do not subscribe to a ham radio magazine, so the numbers he used to project that theory are flawed from the very start.

 

Secondly not all hams are into contesting. I was at one time, I took part in every contest I could. Then I had an epiphany, sitting on my ass for 14 hours a day contesting is not very healthy....so I stopped. Yes, I still dabble, for an hour or two at a time. But my health is far too important to sit in a chair for many hours at a time.

 

Thirdly, many people get a ham license and do nothing with it, they don’t even buy a radio. Or, in the case of two local hams I know here in town, have many radios and yet haven’t been on the air at all in over 10 years.

 

Fourthly, a good number of hams get their license in their teens, I know a couple who were aged 9 and 11, but they leave the hobby for work or higher education reasons....then come girls and raising a family. But, eventually, 25 or 30 years later, they come back to the hobby as they now have the time and, more importantly, the money to buy good equipment.

 

How many people have got their license over the past decade or so, been treated like crap by the ‘good old boys’ on the local repeater, and have left the hobby for good? A good number from what I have read, and yeah, I bet they give the hobby great reviews when the subject of amateur radio comes up in conversation!

 

To me, rather than trying to fill the bank accounts of national radio societies with new members, we should looking at finding ways to rid our hobby of the chronic rule breakers. You know, those hams that use 1500w to talk across their small town to talk about medical issues that nobody wants, or needs, to hear instead of using the lowest power setting to do so as required by law. 

 

Or, how about trying to find a way to rid the hobby of the those who sit all day on a certain 40m frequency and spout obscenities at all comers, the same goes for the individual with a VE7 call, who sits all afternoon on 14.313 spouting death threats to all and sundry. I mean it’s the place to go if you’re looking to learn a few new swear words each day, but it’s not ham radio as I was brought up to believe.

 

My Dad, VE7CVQ, became a Silent Key in 1993, and you could hear the complaining about it being an old guys hobby back then. Nothing has changed and nothing will ever change as long as this hobby is allowed to continue. You cannot force youngsters into the hobby, so go with what we’ve got.

 

A better way of looking at the ‘numbers’ in ham radio is to look at the historic level of participants over the years, and I’m sure you’ll find them fairly constant.

 

You see to me, ham radio is not about “the number of participants” at all. It’s about experimenting with antennas, different modes, and different power levels to see who and what you can work. 

 

Stay safe out there!

Monday, 1 February 2021

Freeze Your Butt Off...

Had enough cold at WFD ??   Well, get your winter gear dried out and ready again !! 

The FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Sprint, sponsored by the Arizona ScQRPions, is being held Saturday, February 6, 2021, from 1400Z-2400Z.

Rules can be found HERE.

Sunday, 31 January 2021

Winter Field Day.....

This was the 15th Annual Winter Field Day, and it has now become a regular event on the ham radio calendar.....and what an interesting weekend it was.  

This year was not without its problems, Covid-19 being the major issue.  Just like the ARRL Summer Field Day, many of the participants chose to operate from home as a "1 Hotel" stations.  Much like the issues with the "1 Delta" stations last summer, the "1 Hotel" stations overwhelmed the QRP and low power stations to the point some gave up and simply went home.

The event is called Winter FIELD DAY.  Yet, of the 70 stations I logged over the weekend, only 9 were operating outdoors.  The rest were home based stations using multi-kilowatt amps and huge commercial antennas.  This is not the spirit of Field Day, either Summer or Winter.

Did I have a hard time with 100w and a EFHW antenna?  Yes I did.  It was extremely hard to break the pileups and it was impossible to hear the QRP and low power stations as everyone trampled all over them. It didn't help that the bands went dead around 0100 UTC and stations struggles even more to make contacts.

However, as bad as things got I still managed on Sunday morning QSOs with Fernando PY4BZ, and HH2AA, the Haitian Amateur Radio Club Station, both on 20m.

Winter Field Day has, since the beginning, been proud of the fact that it is not a contest, but an emergency comms exercise under winter conditions.  This year the big guns turned it into a fully-fledged contest and totally ruined the spirit of the event.

I'm hoping the WFD Committee, of which I'm one, will sit down and totally review the rules and make some hard decisions about the future of this event.

The map of my contacts this weekend.  Not my best performance by far!!

Thursday, 21 January 2021

What's Going On??...

It's been a few weeks since I updated this page.  Too be very honest, not much has been happening.  We're in the middle of the "Winter Doldrums" here in Eastern Canada, and while we have not yet seen the usual period of deep cold that we expect around this time, it's still been cold enough to keep us home....along with the Covid-19 stay at home orders we are under.

I have not been ignoring my radio.  In fact I have been busy honing my CW skills, and I'm pleased to tell you that today I completed my 25th CW QSO.  There's a long way to go yet, but I'm really enjoying it.

Hunting contacts for POTA from home has also been keeping me busy, and I recently received a certificate for completing 400 park contacts since September 2020.  Unfortunately going out to do park, island, or lighthouse activations will have to wait for a while longer.

Coming up on the 30th - 31st January is Winter Field Day.  I'm not sure how or where I will be taking part in this event, but I will be taking part.  Information and the Rules for Winter Field Day can be found HERE.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in these trying times.

Winter Field Day - January 30 - 31.


Thursday, 7 January 2021

Strange Day on the Bands...

What a strange day it was on the bands today!!  I was trying, as usual, to hunt some POTA stations, and I just was not hearing a thing...on either 20m or 40m.  What few North American stations I could hear, all had very deep QSB and were impossible to copy.

So, I decided to spin the VFO up 17m and see what I could hear....and there was Mike, C6ANX, in the Bahamas calling CQ, loud and clear, with nobody going back to him.  Well, he's in my log now, as is Slavco, S57DX, who I caught a few minutes later on 20m doing the same thing.  

Hopefully propagation will get back to normal soon and I can continue to hunt POTA stations.

Stay Safe out there!!

Sunday, 3 January 2021

Coming Up...

 


1700 UTC Saturday, January 30th - 1700 UTC Sunday, January 31st

Don't miss it!!

Rules are HERE

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Happy New Year...

If you're reading this - congratulations, you made it through 2020!!!  

Many of us have had a difficult year this year with illness, loss of loved ones, uncertain employment, and isolation due to COVID-19. 

Let's hope that will all be behind us shortly so we can get on with our lives.

Here’s to a year full of joy, laughter, and unforgettable memories with unforgettable friends...Happy New Year everyone!

Sunday, 27 December 2020

Next Year...

In between POTA contacts today I decided to start my list, as I do every year, of what ham radio related activities I wanted to do in the new year.  

Well, I'm not sure about 2021, I don't think things will be back to normal.....or anywhere near normal.....until late next September.  I hope I'm wrong, but that's how I see things play out.

So is it a waste of time making plans?  What do you guys think??  Some of my ham buddies here think it is.  Well, I don't think it hurts to dream, and you never know, things may get better far faster than people think it will.

I have a cross-country road trip all planned out, but that is really not going to happen, as much as I want to visit my brother in British Columbia, that trip is going to have to wait until at least 2022.  Instead I'm going to stick with local POTA, Islands, and Lighthouse activations for the foreseeable future.  They're pretty safe as I can do them by myself. 

There will be a multi-day, mini-DXpedition for POTA though, that's my only exception.  I have six POTA sites that I want to activate, and if the parks open (which I doubt they will) then I will make it happen.  

As you can see I'm not overly optimistic that things will be much better next year.  I hope I'm wrong, but I'm going with my gut on this one. 

Stay safe everyone!

Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Merry Christmas...


 Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and the hope that 2021 will 
be a much better year!!

Sunday, 13 December 2020

RAC Winter Contest...

The Winter Contest is one of the few things, along with the Canada Day Contest that RAC does correctly......in my opinion. It's always a very friendly contest, where friends take time to chat for a few minutes and pass along news and season's greetings to each other.  It's also a very good way of collecting all the provinces and territories in a single day.

This year the contest runs from 0001 to 2359 UTC on December 19th, and the rules can be found HERE.    

Saturday, 12 December 2020

A Night Out ...

It was far too nice to stay home last night......yeah, it's December in Canada and the evening temperature was still hovering around +7C (or 45F).....so, it was off to Fort Henry again for another late night POTA activation of the Kingston Fortifications, VE-4872.    

 

To be honest, I wasn't sure I would make any contacts given the state of the bands this week.  At 2359 UTC the propagation was:  SFI=83, SN=11, A Index=8, and the K Index=2.  Lot's of room for improvement there!


I made a 2m SSB contact with a local ham and then switched to 40m after sending out a spot.  Normally you have a response after your first CQ.  Not last night....it was 10 minutes of calling before I got a response.  I was starting to think it was not the night to be using the KX3 with its 10 mighty watts.  The calls came in small spurts, and with 19 in the log I shut down and went for a coffee.   


Contacts came from ON, NB, MI, IA, OH, TX, WI, FL, AL, SC, and IN.  Not too bad for 10w into a Wolf River Coil Mini with a 9.5' whip.  


I'm probably going to get once last activation in before it gets too cold....but you just never know.  

 

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

ARRL 10m Contest...

This coming weekend, December 12 - 13, this years ARRL 10m Contest will run.  It starts 0000 UTC Saturday; runs through 2359 UTC Sunday.  

Given the amazing propagation we have had over the past week, I'm expecting this years contest to be outstanding.  Of course there are some rumours around of a G1 Solar Storm over the next 2 days, so hopefully all will be OK for the weekend.

Rules can be found HERE.  Give them a read, they will answer any of your questions.

The only decision I have to make is QRO or QRP this year?  I guess I'll wait for Friday before I make that call.

Saturday, 28 November 2020

Another Night on the Bands...

Unlike my last night time operating session, tonight was a bit warmer at +4C.  I drove north of the city out into farmland and activated VE-0023, the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, for Parks on the Air.

It was a great night, band noise on 40m was not too bad, and I could hear all the stations calling me - 16 contacts were put in the log in 28 minutes.   I used my KX3 set at 10w, into my Wolf River Coil Mini and the 9.5 foot whip.  

Contacts were made to stations in ON, IA, SC, TX, GA, TN, ID, ND, CO, KS, and MN.  Furthest contact was to N5HO in Castle Rock, Colorado, 2,393 km distant.

As most of you will know, the propagation has been fantastic over the last week.  Tonight was no exception.  The SFI=110, SN=60, A Index=10, and K Index=2.  We are at the beginning of this new cycle, I wonder where the numbers will go to in three or four years?

I'll be out again tomorrow morning activating another local park.  I may as well, the weather is great for this time of year, and it will be hard to activate some parks once the snow begins to fly.....and that will more than likely be pretty soon.

Stay safe!!

Sunday, 22 November 2020

A Good Night...

It was a dark and stormy night......well, it was dark and cold, the storm arrived this afternoon. During last nights ARRL Sweepstakes I was up on Fort Henry Hill...enjoying myself in the cold.

No, I wasn't there to take part in the Sweepstakes, I was there to take part in my local clubs QRP Sprint. This was the last Sprint to be held this year, and as the score is accumulative over the year, an important one to take part in.

It's a little bit creepy up there at night, although the view of the city, all lit up, is spectacular. The Fort has been a haven for ghost hunters for years as was the subject on one of the TAPS TV show.

I was set up ready to operate on Fort Henry Hill by 1900 local.  My 9.5' whip and Wolf River Coils Mini were ready for any 40m action that came my way.....and come it did, although it was a very hard slog with the thousands of other hams screaming "CQ Sweepstakes" with 1500w and stacked Yagi's.  

Propagation was not the best either, SFI=85, SN=11, A Index=12, and the K Index=3.  There was some pretty heavy QSB going on as well.

It was interesting working in the back of the van, with little light.  It did prove that you need to know where all your gear is so you don't spend hours searching for it. I must also remember to bring a hat and some hand-warmers next time....it's hard to paper log when your hands are shaking with the cold 😃

My KX3 was in top form though, I made contacts in TN, NC, TX, MN, ON, IA, MO, FL, NE, and SD.  At 2100 I closed down with only 13 contacts in the log.  I was happy with that, most contesters ignore weak signals, so a huge thank-you to those who pulled me out of the mud and worked me.

I am really impressed with the Wolf River Coils Mini, it works so well with the 9.5' whip.  On average I was making 2000 km SSB contacts with 10w, you can't complain about that.  

Saturday, 14 November 2020

Another POTA...

Today was one of those beautiful sunny fall days, +7C under a deep blue sky...so, it was perfect for another Parks On The Air activation.

I chose to go to Fort Henry Hill National Historic Site, VE-4864, and operate from the parking lot.  Now that they have broke all of the plasma TV's they had set up in their information building it, once again, has a S0 noise floor....let's hope stays that way.

The Fort is actually closed for the season but the parking lot is still open.  I was surprised that there were so many people walking around the site trying to get some exercise, while still trying to stay safe with social distancing.  

The propagation today wasn't too bad:  SFI=82, SN=24, A Index=3, and the K Index=1 at 1600 UTC.


A new antenna was in use today.  I recently took possession of a Wolf River Coils Mini, and I had found in my garage an old AT-271 whip antenna for the AN/PRC-25 radio.  It's 113.5 inches long and is a perfect match for the coil.  I have it all mounted on a 6 inch mag-mount on the roof of my van (for stationary ops only), and it certainly worked well today.

I had the site officially activated in about 10 minutes after I arrived there, and I had 52 contacts in my log when I wrapped things up after 45 minutes.  Radio of the day, as usual, was my KX3 with a screaming 10 watts.  Stations were worked from New Brunswick to Kansas, and all done on 40m.  

We have a bit of heavy weather coming in for the next few days, but I'm hoping things will have settled down enough to get back out on Thursday and try out the same antenna setup on 20m.  

Thanks to all my chasers today!

The coil and whip mounted on the roof of my van.


The AT-271 whip antenna.

Monday, 9 November 2020

In Remembrance...



In Loving Memory

of the 

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment

December 1941 - June 1946


Per Ardua

Sunday, 8 November 2020

POTA Activation...

What a beautiful November day it was here.  Not a cloud in the deep blue sky, and the temperature was an unbelievable 15C...almost unheard of in mid-November.

It was still early when I headed off down the highway to Lower Brewers Mill Locks on the Rideau Canal. This is site VE-4882, the Rideau Canal National Historic Site.  It's not a rare one, it's been activated several times...but given the large crowds out enjoying this good weather, it was my only choice to avoid the crowds.

I used some very simple antennas today, just a MFJ-1979 17' telescopic whip mounted on a Buddipole Versa-Tee about 7' off of the ground with a single 17' elevated counterpoise for 20m.  I also borrowed a 40m Ham Stick, mounted on large mag-mount thrown on the roof of my van.

Surprisingly, both antennas worked very well.....way better than I thought they would.  Contacts were made in ON, FL, AL, KY, LA, IN, PA, NJ, WV, and MI.   Most of my signal reports were 55 to 59 and I'm really pleased with that.   I managed to put four P2P contacts in the log today and had the site activated within the first 30 minutes.

Radio used today was my KX3, powered by a 1212a Bioenno Battery, and it worked flawlessly.   I'm really looking forward to doing many more POTA activations over the winter months from several locations around Kingston.  

Today's propagation numbers!

The Lock at Lower Brewers Mill


Rideau River

Thursday, 5 November 2020

Great Propagation!!!!

Well, have you guys seen the propagation numbers tonight?  They are outstanding, I haven't seen numbers like this is 4 years!!


Hopefully this is a sign of even better propagation to come!

Thursday, 29 October 2020

NA SSB Sprint...

Looking for something to do this weekend?  The North American SSB Sprint takes place on November 1st, from 0000 UTC to 0359 UTC.  I'm hoping to have more success doing the Sprint than I did last weekend doing the CQ WW DX Contest. 

The Rules can be found HERE.

I have decided that in future I will stay away from the BIG contests, and stick to the smaller ones....you know the ones, the type the big guns don't bother with.  I, and others, have quickly reached the conclusion that individuals who play within the set rules of a contest will never win.  There seems to be too many people running power levels far above the legally allowed limit, and who openly brag about it on the air without fear of any repercussions from the authorities, whether that's the FCC or Industry Canada. 

When you hear hams, on the air, complaining that even though they are running 3k and in one case, 5k of power in order to make contacts, something is wrong.  Yes, I know propagation was bad last weekend for the contest, but that's the cards you play with.  It doesn't mean you can continue to turn up the power until somebody hears you.  The rules are there for a reason, it's time people followed them.

Monday, 19 October 2020

CQ WW DX SSB Contest

This weekend see this years CQ WW DX SSB Contest kick off.  I will not be operating from the VE9FI contest station this year....for obvious reasons, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it this year.  

Luckily for me my home antennas and other gear are in good shape and I will be able to take part from the VE3FI shack.   The FT-950 is warming up after being neglected as the KX3 has been the radio of choice for the past while.

I was going to activate a local POTA Park this weekend, but I'm beginning to think that would be a waste of time given how busy the bands will be with the contest.  The POTA activation will have to wait for the weekend after....hopefully the weather will still be good and warm enough to do it, that's always a risk this time of year.  I hate putting up portable antennas in the cold and snow.

This past week I have spent chasing POTA activations and having some fun on the HF bands now that they are starting to improve.  I read that over the winter activations from the Northern States and Canada start to drop off due to the cold weather, and the stations in the Southern States take up the slack to keep things ticking over.  I have plans for at least 6 local activations over the winter, and depending on the snow conditions, perhaps a few more.

I hope you're all staying safe out there!!

Sunday, 11 October 2020