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.

In Remembrance...

In Loving Memory

of the 

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment

December 1941 - June 1946

Per Ardua

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

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!

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.

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!!

Tuner Uppers !!!

Sunday in the Park

I managed to spend a few hours Sunday morning down in the local park testing out an antenna and chasing POTA Stations...it was very relaxing.

It was not really a good day, propagation wise, to be out playing portable radio.  The numbers looked terrible.  SFI=73, SN=0, A=26, K=2.  It was only later after I got home that I saw the numbers had actually got a lot worse.

 So I was quite surprised when I called K5CIP on 20m and he came right back to me.  He was operating from the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, 80 km west of Austin, Texas. Not too shabby for 10w SSB into a non-resonant antenna.

The other two contacts of the day were N8LEK and KC9IL, both stations were in Michigan, and done on 40m.

I answered many more but the KX3 and 10w just didn't cut it that day.  I did manage a "contact" of sorts with Steve, WG0AT on top of Mt Herman, Colorado.  I answered his CW CQ, he sent back my callsign, and then my key decided to stop working!!  I sent an email to Steve when I got home explaining what happened, and he was very gracious about it.

The antenna in use was what I call the "Whiskey Goat".  It was built using dimensions sent to me by Steve, WG0AT a year or so ago.  It is a 45.5' radiator and a single 17' radial.  It allows me to operate on all bands from 40m to 6m, and I have even made an 80m contact with it.  It's made with 26 gauge wire and weights nothing.  The KX3 tuner has no issues with it at all.

Stay safe out there!!

Parks on the Air

One of the things I did over the Chillycon weekend was to activate two Parks on the Air locations.  The first one I did was Rideau River Provincial Park, VE-0365. This was the first one I have ever done, and it was a lot of fun.

My first contact spotted me on the POTA system and all hell broke loose on my frequency. Honestly, it was like being at some exotic South Pacific Island on a DXpedition it was that busy. 

The second activation I did on Saturday, was the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, VE-4882. Again, it was a lot of fun and it created pileups on the frequency.  

What was the amazing part about all this is the fact I was QRP the whole time. 10w out of the KX3 into my 20m /40m linked dipole....and still creating pileups. I had contacts from PEI to Montana and everywhere in between.

After doing a bit of research I find that here are a number of POTA locations in and around Kingston that I can activate, so I think I have found a new niche in the hobby.

Stay safe out there!

We Survived...

This year we have changed the name from Chillycon to "Freezingcon".  This was without a doubt the coldest Chillycon I have attended over the past 13 years.....but at the same time it was one of the few we had no rain over the weekend.

Participant numbers was down from previous years, but we expected that with the Wuhan Flu going about.  We had 6 from Kingston, 6 from Ottawa, and a visitor on Saturday from Quebec.  Instead of the traditional Pizza supper on Saturday night, we had BBQ steak instead......and I think we now may have a new tradition 😎

Something new this year, I did two successful POTA activations from the park, and had a really great time doing them.  Friday morning I was spotted on the POTA website and within seconds I had a pileup.  It was the same on Saturday morning.  

I operated from inside the van over the weekend due to the cold temperatures.  It wasn't really comfortable and I'm going to have to rig up a portable operating position I can install and remove as needed.

Radio was the KX3, and the antenna was my 20/40m linked dipole, set up for 40m..and where it stayed all weekend.  I didn't even try 20m.  My 33' MFJ mast finally failed when I took it down on Sunday morning.  It's served me well over the past 14 years, but it was still not a pretty scene seeing it there broken.

The bands were not in the best condition over the four days, there was very deep QSB, and that made it harder for QRP stations such as myself.  I still managed to put 24 QRP contacts in the log though, so I'm well pleased with that.  The propagation numbers on Friday was: SFI=69, SN=0, A Index=4, and the K Index=2.

VA3AMX getting the
trophy from VE3MNE

Of course the highlight of the weekend is the DX Contest, sponsored by the Upper Canada QRP Club.  Over the past three years Eric, VA3AMX, has tried very hard to win the trophy......all with no success.  He has tried hard, and has placed second a couple of times.  This year, due to a lack of participants, the expert DXers amongst them, he won, with a DX contact to Bulgaria.....beating the second place station by 143 km.  I'm going to assume that the Kingston Skunk Works and DG Engineering will be working overtime this winter on new antenna designs to be ready for next year.

So that's it for another year.  Hopefully we will be back to normal by next September and we can have a non-social distancing Chillycon with the numbers of participants back to normal numbers.

Stay safe out there!!

The Battle of Britain...

Today is Battle of Britain day. 

Remember the sacrifices made by this bravest of generations. 

Forever indebted.

Chillycon...part 2

We're all packed and loaded.....except for the radio...and ready to roll out of here.  Of course this afternoon I had to take the van into the shop due to a strange noise when I turned left.....and only left.   Turns out I had a bent rotor guard, and no idea how it got bent....but it's fixed 😁

I'm hoping the propagation improves before the weekend, so far this week the numbers are in the toilet!!  There is a good amount of planned activity on the bands this weekend.  There are five State QSO Parties, IA, NJ, WI, NH, and WA, as well as QRP Afield.  On top of those, this Saturday night we will be holding our bi-monthly club QRP Sprint.  

As of 1800 UTC today, the propagation numbers are:  SFI=68; SN=0; A Index=6; and K Index=3.   Not too good.

So far they are not calling for any rain over the weekend, but it is going to be very cool at night, down to 1C.  During the day it won't be so bad as they are calling for 15C to 17C.  

Stay tuned for pictures of the event....if we survive 😉

Chillycon Preparations...

It's starting to cool down here during the day, so that means that once again it's time for this years Chillycon.  Coming up September 18-20, and held at Rideau River Provincial Park.  While it's going ahead, there are lots of social distancing event rules in place with regard to the Chinese Flu.

Chillycon has now become the largest annual gathering in Eastern Ontario for QRP'ers, and is an excellent place to learn about portable antenna's and QRP DXing.

The highlight of the weekend is, of course, the annual DX Contest, were a trophy is awarded for the contact at the furthest distance.  This has become so popular that the guys in Kingston have built their very own "Skunk Works" for portable antenna design in order to win.  The Kingston Skunk Works has more security than the Manhattan Project did........😎

Now, for the past three Sundays the guys in Kingston have been at Lake Ontario Park, playing with new antenna designs and home-brewed baluns looking for that perfect combination.....and it looks like we have one.  BUT.....no comment on it until after Chillycon, we don't want the competition to get wind of it, and he reads this Blog.

Here's a few photographs of the Skunk Works in action.....

VE3ULC at the controls while VE3JPW supervises.

VE3WTN and VE3MNE.

VE3WTN and VE3JPW.

W / VE Island QSO Party

Next weekend, August 29 - 30 is this years Island QSO Party.  This year it runs from 1200 UTC 29 August to 0300 UTC 30 August.....15 hours of Island Fun.

Rules for the event can be found HERE.

Due to the restrictions due to the Wuhan Flu, I'm not sure where I am going to operate from......more than likely it will be as a QRP Expedition, on an island in the Rideau Canal system, which will also allow me to play POTA at the same time.

So far the long range wx forecast shows warm and sunny for the event, let's hope it stays that way.

See you on the bands, and stay safe!

Hurricane Net

The US Hurricane Center has has issued a statement requesting that during the day, 14.325, and during the night, 7.268, be kept clear for Hurricane traffic.....it's that time of year again.

There are two hurricanes converging on New Orleans and Houston this week...a double hit and it may get nasty down there.

If you have time please consider monitoring these frequencies for a period.  Sometimes net control requires a relay, and you maybe in the right place to help out.

The Hurricane Center is reporting that they expect this year to be a busy one for Hurricanes.

Great Day at the Park

Todays operating location.

It was a beautiful day here in Kingston, a high of 23C with a light wind to keep the bugs away.  So, with nothing else to do it was off to the park after my morning walk to chase some POTA with VE3MNE and VE3ULC.

At 1700 UTC the propagation numbers were:  SFI=71, SN=12, A Index=6, and the K Index=1.   I had my KX3 with me and my new home-brewed 20m/40m linked dipole.   As my new Bioenno battery hasn't arrived yet I had my old 12v 7 amp SLA with me.

I finally managed to get the linked dipole on the analyzer and was very happy to see that I did not have to make any adjustments to it.  It looks good to go on 15m, 20m, and 40m.  I did not get it up very high in the trees, in fact the apex was only at about 20 feet, and the ends were about 3.5 feet off the ground.

I had a look at the POTA app on my phone and saw that Ed, W5LST, was active on 20m, so I gave him a call.  He came right back, and gave a me a lowly 22 - he was S9+10 at my end.  None the less I was happy as even at that low height I still managed a contact into Arkansas.

I have discovered that there are 7 POTA locations in or near Kingston, so it looks like I will be doing some activations in the very near future.

The finished linked dipole.

Lighthouses!!

I'm looking forward to this coming weekend, it's the annual International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend.  Timings are 0001 UTC August 22 to 2400 UTC August 23.

There are no rules, but the event guidelines are available HERE.

I think this will be a good event to do given the local Wuhan Flu restrictions we have here in Kingston.

My plan as of today, is to activate the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Light on the Saturday.  I'll be using my KX3 and a 20m-40m home-brewed linked dipole.   Unfortunately my new Bioenno battery has not yet arrived, so it looks like I will have to charge up my small SLA's.

Hopefully the weather and propagation will cooperate.

NA QSO Party

The Fall edition of the NA QSO Party is being held on the weekend of August 15 & 16.   This contest is for any ham, regardless of QTH.  The object is to work as many North American stations as possible.

Rules for this year can be found HERE.

This seems to be a contest I normally don't take part in, this is because most years the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend takes place the same dates, and that's an event I like to do.   However, this year the ILLW has been pushed back a week due to the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Pacific war.

I'm not sure I will enter as a QRP station, I don't think the bands are going to be good enough, so I think this will be a QRO weekend.

Any weekend on the air is better than doing yard work 😊

Stay safe out there!!

IOTA 2020

This coming weekend, July 25-26, is the 2020 IOTA Contest.   There are a few rule changes for this year, and they can be found HERE.

There are a couple of rule changes that just don't make sense to me.  One is that there will be no DXpedition stations allowed, only home stations and single operators will be allowed.  

I understand completely that most remote DX islands are out of reach this year, I think we can all see that, but this rule seems to include mini-DXpeditions to local islands.  If local rules and laws allow for this type of activity under the current Covid-19 issue, I can see no problem with operating from a local island.

Let's be honest here, YOU know your current local situation and rules far better than some IOTA committee sitting in RSGB HQ in the UK does.

August Events...

Tired of sitting at home staying safe from Covid-19?  Is the XYL tired of you being in the house under her feet all the time?  Need an excuse to hide in the shack out of her way?  Have we got something for you!!

On the weekend of August 1st & 2nd, the annual Colorado 14er event is on.  Here's what their website has to say on this:

"Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains and Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the 29th annual event and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. The covers the entire weekend but many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by noon due to lightning safety concerns."

A link to their website and other details is HERE.

That same weekend the South California SOTA guys are having an event called "SOTAFEST".  I believe this is the first time for this event.  

Details can be found HERE.

Having both of these events on the same weekend means there will be lots of summits on the air, all calling for contacts.  

So there you go, the weekend of August 1st & 2nd is planned for you.  Have fun.......stay safe......and you're welcome. 😊 

Linked Dipole

There's not much going on in the VE3FI household these days, due to covid-19.  As a result I decided to go through the rucksack that holds my KX3 and other portable radio gear and thought, "you need another antenna".  So, I looked at what I had, an EFHW and a Packtenna, and decided to build a linked dipole for 20m & 40m.

Good things have been written about linked dipoles, and I'm hoping that I will get 15m as a bonus on the one I'm building as a harmonic of 40m.....only testing will tell.  The beauty of it is that is will give me a full sized dipole on each band.

I've assembled all the parts, except for the four alligator clips I need.  I was sure I had some in my spare parts box, but apparently not.  I've ordered some and they should be here this week.

So far I have about $25 in wire and other parts which is certainly better than the $85 that a certain UK company wants for the same antenna.  

Pictures and results of the finished antenna will follow soon.

IARU HF Championship

Coming up this weekend, July 11 - 12, is the IARU HF World Championship.  The contest runs from 1200 UTC Saturday and ends at 1159 UTC on Sunday.

Rules for this contest can be found HERE, and I would suggest you read them before you start the contest.

Always lots of good DX available during this event, let's hope the propagation picks up before Saturday.

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