Can You Trust the Propagation Forecast??...

Over the past two months I, and others, have noticed two things with propagation.  The first thing is that when the forecasted numbers are bad, we're still making good contacts.  The second thing is when the forecasted numbers are good, there's no contacts to be seen.....anywhere.

Today was a good example.  The forecasted propagation. numbers were:  SFI=102, SN=34, A Index=24, and the K Index=3.  It certainly didn't look very good, as an example the SN was at 110 a few days ago.  Today we also had some extremely deep QSB, which made making contacts, and hearing contacts, much harder.

This morning I went to Lemoine Point Conservation Area, VE-5141, for a quick POTA activation. I decided to use my Packtenna 20m EFHW antenna today, instead of my Hamsticks.

The picture to the left shows the 20m EFHW antenna with the 40m extension, and the home-brewed centre piece to hold it on the mast.

Using an analyzer Don, VE3MNE, and I ran the numbers on the End-Fed.  Just configured as the 20m antenna, and without the extension to take it down to 40m.  

The numbers where:  14.040 it was 1.9:1 and at 14.340 it was 1.8:1.   While it is usable, it wasn't so good on 10m, 28.040 was 2.5:1 and at 28.450 it was 2.4:1.  

It worked very well for me on 20m.  I went QRT with 13 contacts in the log after 20 minutes.  This little antenna will definitely get some more use this summer.

Here's todays activation map:

As for the propagation numbers?  Yeah, I think I will continue to note them, but ignore them...maybe I'll make more contacts that way!

Stay safe out there!

Saturday Night on the Bands...

Yesterday evening I decided to drive to Fort Henry and see what I could do on the bands for our clubs bi-monthly QRP Sprint.  The weather has not been the best here this long weekend, in fact we have had three people killed in a severe wind storm by falling trees that afternoon.  Luckily, the area I live in escaped the worst of it and had no damage.  Later in the day it was all over and things were already back to normal.

During the day the bands had been filled with deep QSB and near constant huge static crashes.  As a result I wasn't too sure how things would turn out that evening, but it was very nice out, and the temperature was 22C under beautiful blue skies.  

The propagation numbers for the evening were:  SFI=166, SN=110, A Index=10, and the K Index=2.

As is now usual for me, the radio was my KX3 set at 10w, and Hamsticks for my antenna.

At 2300 UTC I started on 20m, and first up was Luis, EA4TL, immediately followed by Rubens, IU1HJF. I ended up with 29 contacts, including YV1SW in Venezuela, and KP4M in Puerto Rico.  Other contacts were made out to Washington State, Louisiana, and Texas among others.  It ended up being a really good night on the hill.

Here are my contact maps by band, 20m on top and 40m below:

Friday in the Park...

Another day in the park, and another day of bad bands and deep QSB.   The propagation numbers today were SFI=173, SN=154, A Index=10, and the K Index=3.  The good news is that it was blue skies, sunny, and 22C, which certainly made up for those cold activations I did last winter.

Today was probably a good example of when not to use QRP power levels, but I still managed to have a successful activation, it just took longer.  As usual I was running 10w with my KX3, and hamsticks for my antennas.  There was no room at the activation site to set up a EFHW or a dipole.

It took me over an hour today to make 16 contacts, my slowest day ever...so far.   The QSB on 20m and 40m was terrible, quite possibly the worst I've heard it this year.  S9 stations disappeared in nano-seconds...never to be heard from again.

I only managed to get 2 contacts on 40m, and they were both local.  I must have called on 40m for 20 minutes with no luck before I moved to 20m which turned out to be a bit better, but you still had to work to get the contacts.

It's a long weekend here in Canada, so hopefully the bands will improve so we can enjoy ourselves!

Here's todays QSO map:

Stay Safe out there!!

Bad Bands?...

The bands do not seem to be very good these days.  The propagation numbers, while they look good, certainly don't perform the way you would expect them too.

During the day on Saturday the propagation numbers looked good, but contacts were pretty rare. Where I could hear stations calling (and there were not many), they were very much in my noise floor, and I was not able to work them.

On Saturday evening I decided to go to a local park and do a POTA activation, and to be honest, after my attempts during the day, I did not think I would get the 10 contacts to successfully activate it.  Man, was I wrong!

The propagation numbers in the evening were:  SFI=153, SN=120, A Index=7, and the K Index=2.  

I started at 0001 UTC, and in 44 minutes using my KX3 and a set of Hamsticks for 20m and 40m, I made 47 solid contacts, including two out to California, and a DX contact with Manuel, EA1GIB, in Spain.  Not too bad for 10w!!

There was some QSB, and I did have a S5 noise floor on 40m, but the stations kept coming. In the end it was a great night.

The night's QSO map:

A Beautiful Day...

What a great day it was, the temperature got up to a fantastic 23C.  I couldn't let that go to waste, so it was off to play some portable radio with the KX3.

Once again the actual propagation numbers belied how the bands were actually performing.  Propagation numbers this morning were:  SFI=119, SN=89, A Index=6, and the K Index=1.  However, there was very deep QSB on 20m which certainly didn't help matters.  It took me exactly 30 minutes to make 20 contacts, the furthest of which was in Washington State.

After 13 contacts I moved to 40m and made another seven contacts there.  I had been sitting on 14.297, and out of nowhere a noisy Over-the-Horizon Radar (Russian or Chinese??) started up on that frequency and that was it.....time to QSY to 40m.  The IARU Region 1 Monitoring System has been trying to keep track of these interlopers, who seem to keep popping up all over the 20m, 15m, and 10m bands.  I am going to suggest that this will continue as long as the conflict in Ukraine continues.

Apart from the QRM and the bad QSB, it was very nice to be able to operate outside in shorts and a t-shirt again.  

Todays QSO Map:

FT-891...

A new rig found its way into my shack this week, a new FT-891.  What an amazing little rig it is, 160 - 6m in a compact package.  Along with the rig a LDG Z11 Pro II showed up.

This rig will not replace my KX3 for portable operating, for one thing it's quite a heavy little rig, but it will be more a back up rig in the shack.   

I've had my main rig, the FT-950 for 12 years now, and while it's a fantastic radio, I simply do not use it to its full potential.  I'm no longer contesting these days and I feel it's just a waste of radio sitting on my bench.  It will probably be on the market soon.

Tomorrow I'm off to the park for our club weekly meet-up, and will be taking the FT-891 to give it a first work out to see what it can do.  Stay tuned for news on that.

Stay safe out there!!

Another Sunday in the Park...

Getting up early on a Sunday morning, and going off to play radio, is starting to become a habit!!  It was a great day, blue skies and not a cloud to be seen anywhere.  In fact it was 18C when I was in the park, not too shabby for the 1st May around here.

My antenna today was, surprisingly, not a hamstick.  I used what I call my WG0AT antenna, a 41' radiator, and a 17' ground radial.  It's attached to the radio by a BNC to Banana Plug adapter, and not with coax or a Balun.  Steve, WG0AT, kindly provided me with the details of this antenna after I saw a video of him using it on a SOTA activation.

It works on most bands, and tunes down to 1.5:1 for many of them, a couple were 2.1:1.  I can not use it on 80m, 17m, or 12m, it just won't tune them at all.  It's not really an issue as I don't normally activate on those bands anyway.  I must try this antenna with a 4:1 Balun and see what changes with it.

So how did I do?  Well let me start off by saying that the propagation was not the best (that's also becoming a habit!!).  We had very noisy bands with deep QSB, signals were S9 one minute and gone completely the next.

Propagation numbers for today: SFI=120, SN=50, A Index=18, and the K Index=3.

However, I did manage to work three stations in Florida, WB4TDH, N4II, on CW, and N4Y on SSB.  All three were taking part in the Florida QSO Party.  Best contact of the day goes to G7SQW, Andy, who was activating a park in the UK, and my mighty 10 screaming watts grabbed him on my first call.  I'm very pleased with that contact, especially considering todays conditions!

It looks like we have a wet week ahead, so I will have to squeeze any of my planned POTA activations in between the rain drops.....the good news is that it isn't snow in the forecast!

Stay safe everyone.

A nice spot to play radio! 

Sunday morning in the Park...

The propagation numbers this morning seemed to be a lot better than they were yesterday, so off I went after breakfast to the Marshlands Conservation Area, POTA VE-5143, and set up to activate the park.

Let me tell you that the propagation numbers that popped up on the space weather website, had nothing to do with what was actually experienced on air.  The published numbers were:  SFI=160, SN=118, A Index=12, and the K Index=1.

It took me 90 minutes to make 14 contacts on three bands, 15m, 20m, and 40m.  Not at all what I expected when I started. That is the longest amount of time I have ever spent on an activation so far.

The radio of the day was my KX3, but I swapped out my normal mag-mounted hamsticks on my vans roof, to a light-weight camera tripod mount.

This setup uses one 17 foot radial, which I left attached for the whole activation.  Furthest contact was on 20m and was with Mike, W5NXK, in Lufkin, Texas, 2100 kms away.  So I'd say the proof of concept test went well, regardless of the poor band conditions.

There are a couple of things I need to do for the next time I use this setup.  Firstly, I need to find a good way of securing the tripod so it doesn't tip over.  Today was fine, we had zero wind.  

Secondly, I need to add a few more ground radials. Yes, it worked with just one radial, but we all know it needs more.

Today was another first....it was the first time I activated this year and didn't sit in the van, I actually setup outside on a small portable table.  Yes, spring is here!!

Close up of the actual mount

Todays QSO map 

Results - QRP to the Field...

Today is the QRP to the Field event and I joined Bob, VA3QV, at Lemoine Point to do a bit of QRP'ing.  The bands were in an absolute atrocious state.  In fact we couldn't even work a local station, Jelle, VA3JDG, on 40m who was, in a straight line, only eight kilometres away.  Jelle was running 100w, and we still didn't hear him.

The propagation at 10am local was: SFI= 163, SN= 101, A Index= 6, and the K Index= 4.

We did hear some stations on MI and OH calling CQ POTA, but we could not work them at all.  Bob's screaming 5w SSB just wasn't cutting it this morning at all.

It was disappointing, but we still got to play radio in the great outdoors, and Bob got to check out his portable gear, and make sure it worked and had everything he needs. So all was not a total waste.

Hopefully tomorrow morning will have better propagation and we will be able make a few portable contacts when we meet up at Lake Ontario Park for another portable operating session.

Bob, hard at work trying to make at least one contact!

Bob's Xiegu X5105 in action.

Interesting Map...

Yesterday I did yet another POTA activation.  The bands have been not cooperating over the few days, and I was getting cabin fever not having decent conditions.  

As it was a "Support Your Park" weekend, I really wanted to get out and do a very quick park activation, and lucky for me the propagation numbers improved just in time:  SFI=122, SN=78, A Index=8, and the K Index=2.  Those numbers are a vast improvement on what we have had over the past week.

The bands were very busy as we had the POTA event, the Ontario and Michigan QSO Parties, and on Sunday we also had the first ever Quebec QSO Party.  It was very difficult to find an open frequency to start calling on.

I spent some time on 20m, and then moved to 40m.  The map below is interesting because you can clearly see the contacts made on each band without even tagging them.

Stay safe out there !!

QRP To The Field...

Coming up next weekend is this years edition of QRP to the Field.  

QRP to the Field is an annual operating event to encourage QRPers and SOTA stations to get out of the house and operate portable from the field or a local summit.  Find a nice operating location for yourself, or combine it with some buddies for a day-long adventure. QRPTTF encourages participation by QRP hams of all skill levels. 

There's not much SOTA activity in Eastern Ontario due to a lack of suitable summits, but we do have a cornacopua of POTA parks which are great places to operate from.

Both CW and SSB is used in this event.  CW speeds are usually in the 13-20 wpm range. 

It takes place Saturday, April 21, 0800 to 1800 EDT, and the event uses the standard QRP frequencies.

From what I can find this event, and the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt in August, are the only two that have an SSB category.

More information and the rules can be found HERE.

Stay safe out there !!

New Radio...

The Easter Bunny delivered a new radio to my QTH this week, a new FT5Dr, 144/430 C4FM handheld.  

Originally I had the FT2Dr handheld, but recently it was traded for another mobile rig.  That was a mistake, for some reason I forgot that I like to take a HT along with me when I'm off to do a POTA activation.  We have a large contingent of POTA activators here in Kingston, and it's a good way to keep in touch with them on the local C4FM repeater, and keep track of where they all are.  That way two or three operators don't show up independently to the same park to attempt an activation.

This is a great HT.  The RX and TX audio is probably the best I have heard from a small radio before, and so far I have had many compliments on the audio quality.  I have changed out the stock antenna for a Diamond SRH77CA dual band antenna, but to be very honest I don't hear much of a difference between it and the stock antenna.

Is there a downside?  Yes, it takes a full nine hours to charge the battery.  I did purchase extra the AA battery pack for the radio.  I figured I could use that to finish a QSO, or continue to monitor while the main battery charges.

I haven't really started exploring the capabilities of this radio yet, but I very much like what I have seen so far.  Would I recommend it?  Yes, with no reservations.

Stay safe out there !!

Spooky Activation...

It's not very often I go to cemeteries, in fact I can't remember the last time I did.......before last night.  

Sometime last year Cataraqui Cemetery National Historic Site was added to the POTA list as VE-5300.  To be honest, at the time most of the hams in town thought it was kind of disrespectful to do that, myself included.

But then you hear the stories from the old guys about how many hams are actually buried there, so I decided to bite the bullet and activate it.

Let me tell you, it's a very spooky spot at night.  Yep, I did a late shift activation starting at 0001 UTC....but I won't do that again.  In fact I don't think I will ever activate there again, once was enough, thank you very much.

It took me 21 minutes to put 25 contacts in the log.  40m was just hopping, yet the QSB was bad and the propagation numbers weren't the best:  SFI-96, SN-24, A Index-12, and the K Index-3.   It was interesting that in the cemetery I had a constant S9 noise floor, so I know many stations who couldn't make it through the noise floor were missed.  The contacts made were all solid S9 plus.  

I must admit I was very uncomfortable there, it's not really the place to play ham radio, so I closed down with the 25 contacts and went home.

Here's last night's 40m contact map:

Stay safe out there!!

A North American First...

I was very pleased to take part in a first for North America this past Saturday.  It was the first ever "Annual HEMA Day".  HEMA, stands for Hills Excluding Marilyns Award.  In the UK a Marilyn is a hill of any height with a drop of 150 metres or more on all sides, and as this scheme originated in the UK, that's the term they use.

To qualify a Hill for this award, must have a 100m prominence, meaning it sticks up above the surrounding land by at least 100m.

So far there are 196 Hills in Ontario that qualify for this award.  Most are fairly hard to access, but there are some that are fairly easy to activate.

On Saturday I found a local hill, spotted myself on 20m, and called CQ.  Well, to say it was a waste of time was perhaps an understatement!!  The bands were in very poor shape.  I guess I should have paid more attention to the propagation numbers before I left home......I probably would have stayed in bed.

The numbers were:  SFI=147, SN=109, A Index=22, and the K Index=4.  Yeah, I wasn't going to talk anywhere that morning.

I had set up some Scheds with a couple of UK stations, in order to do Hill to Hill contacts, but that was not to be.

Have a look at the HEMA Award Scheme HERE.  If you're interested in getting HEMA up and running in your State of Province, get hold of Rob at: newDXCC at hema.org.uk

Plans are already underway for the next HEMA Day, to be held on October 22nd, 2022.

Stay safe out there!

More Bad Propagation on the Way...

Moderate (G2) to strong (G3) geomagnetic storms will be in the forecast beginning on Wednesday. A pair of coronal mass ejections that were observed on Monday are predicted to combine into one larger shock front and impact Earths geomagnetic field. 

The forecast calls for a passage by late in the day Wednesday (UTC time) and into early Thursday. The forecast doesn't look too good!

Here you go:

Emergency Frequencies....Please Keep Clear

The island of São Jorge in the Azores has suffered over 1800 earthquakes over 48 hours causing concerns and prompting the Regional Government of the Azores to prepare contingency plans to protect the islands population. 

Carlos Nora CT1END, Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator for Portugal reports that a group of nine Radio Amateurs in the towns of Velas and Calheta are working to support emergency communications locally through VHF/UHF repeaters but also long range links back to Portugal on:

80M – 3,750.00 MHz. — 3,760.00 MHz. – LSB (Overnight)
40M – 7,100.00 MHz. — 7,110.00 MHz. – LSB (During the day)
20M – 14,300.00 MHz. USB (For outside region)

This external activity being supported by the Azores DX group and the Portuguese national society REP.

Other radio amateurs are encouraged to listen carefully and avoid causing any QRM to emergency operations on the above frequencies. 

Hard Going...

It was still fairly cold when I left to do a POTA activation this morning at VE-5141, Lemoine Point, but not enough to be uncomfortable.

Because of the CQ WPX Contest on this weekend I chose to avoid 20m and 40m.  Contest traffic on those bands was crammed into every inch of those bands.  I decided to get on 17m and avoid the congestion.  However, as soon as I starting calling CQ, the deliberate QRMing started.  Apparently the Children don't like POTA on 17m, that's too bad, I kept going anyway.

Propagation today was: SFI=112, SN=50, A Index=10, and K Index=1. 

There was some very deep QSB and lots of noise on 17m, which made things quite difficult, along with the deliberate QRMing, to actually complete a contact.  But after a pretty slow thirty minutes I had 14 contacts in the log, including 2 into Spain, and so I went QRT.  

I have to say that I was actually quite proud of the fact that my puny 10w into a 17m hamstick had so many of the regulars on 17m in a complete meltdown.  Some people just don't like to share their space I guess.  They insist POTA is a contest.....which it isn't.

By tomorrow morning the madness of the contest should have settled down, so I'm planning on another portable operating, this time on 10m and 15m, and see what DX I can work.

Here's todays QSO Map:

Remember, POTA is a team sport........Stay safe out there!

Spring has Sprung...

What a great day to be out playing portable radio today!!  It's a balmy +11C here, best day all year...so far. It's warming up fast here, in fact in less than a week the ice has all but disappeared from Lake Ontario.

This mornings propagation was "interesting".  The numbers were:  SFI=95, SN=39, A Index=9, and the K Index=1.   There was a great deal of very deep fading, and a fair bit of QRM going on.

The best contacts of the day were to Jean-Luc, F4GWG, and Jean, F4ILH, both located on the French mid-Atlantic Coast.  Not too shabby for 10w into a 20m Hamstick 😀

The bands are definitely getting better, but they are sure taking their sweet time!

Here's todays QSO Map:

Stay Safe Out There...

Bad Propagation...

This isn't looking too good for the next 24 hours....

A Day Playing Radio...

It was a rough day on the bands, the propagation numbers were not very good:  SFI=113, SN=77, A Index=10, and K Index=5.  So I figured it was a good morning to try and do some portable operating.  Of course, I forgot it was the ARRL DX Contest weekend.

The bands were full of contesters all screaming "CQ Contest", so it was off to 17m where the more saner operators had decided to hang out.

First up this morning was Bob, M0MJA, who gave me a nice signal report of '54'....not too bad for 10w into a 17m hamstick on my vans roof....and that was my last DX of the day.  I managed 7 contacts on 17m and then moved to 40m, which while busy, was still a comparatively sane place at that time of day.

Weather wise it was actually comfortable today, the temperature was hovering around 0C, but there was no wind at all.  Hopefully we'll start to get more days like that now that March is here.

Here's todays QSO Map:

Stay safe out there!

Slava Ukraini !!

ARRL International DX Contest - SSB

Coming up next weekend, March 6th - 7th, is the ARRL international DX Contest - SSB.   This is always a great contest to work on your DXCC.

Rules can be found HERE.

One rule that I don't understand is the fact that we are not allowed to run multi-operator QRP stations.  The rule makes no sense at all to me, I guess I will have to contact the ARRL and ask why this rule is there.

I noticed that propagation went into the toilet this morning, hopefully it will improve before next Saturday!

Take care out there, and stay safe !!

A Quiet Month..so far...

February around here is normally a very quiet month, and this year seems to be no different.  Of course I'm talking about amateur radio here....not trucker convoys causing mayhem across the country.

I was out a few days ago, using my KX3 and my 20m EFHW.  To be honest, I didn't notice any difference between using the EFHW with a 20m Hamstick, the end result seemed to be exactly the same.  In fact if you overlay todays map with a map from last week, or even last month...they look pretty much the same.

Temperature wise it's actually warmed up to a balmy -3C here, although I'm sure we are going to get hit with another round, or two, of snow before the end of March.  It was quite comfortable doing my last POTA activation, I really didn't feel too cold at all.  The older you get the harder it seems you handle the cold.

This year, I am planning on taking part in the ARRL International SSB DX Contest.  This is being held on the weekend of March 5th & 6th.  I will do this contest QRO with my FT-950, as I think it will be a waste of time running QRP.  The Rules for this contest can be found HERE.

Stay warm and safe out there !!

Back Out Activating...

We've had some terrible weather here over the last week.  Another foot and a half (39 cm) of snow is on the ground and some freezing rain was added to it.  Luckily both my antenna have survived the wind and ice, but not much operating was done.

So today started with this strange golden yellow ball hanging in a beautiful deep blue sky, something we haven't seen for a few weeks now.....time to get out and play radio!!

It was still very cold, -20C in the wind, and the wind was gusting to 35 kph, so it had quite the bite to it.  I chose to go to Lemoine's Point, VE-5141, which is fairly close to my QTH.  With the bad propagation we have suffered through this past week I wasn't sure how the bands would be.

Propagation this morning was:

SFI=130, SN=87, A Index=32, and the K Index=3.....so it was going to be interesting.  Lot's of very deep QSB rounded things off.

Once again I stuck with 20m using the Hamstick, KX3 and 10w.  Really, I didn't think I was going to have much luck today operating....but it was nice just to get out of the house with a radio!

What an activation I had!   I put EA1FIC, Spain, and CU3HY, the Azores, in the log along with 26 US states and 2 Canadian provinces.  It turned out to be a great day.  The QSB was pretty deep at times, and I must apologize for the couple that I just could not work because of it.

Here's todays QSO map:

I'll be back out tomorrow doing another activation as the weather looks like it will still be good enough to do one.

Stay safe and warm out there!

Propagation...

Looks like it will be a tough couple of days on the bands....

UPDATED.....1300 UTC, February 2nd

UPDATED.....0300 UTC, February 3rd

Winter Field Day...the aftermath

This weekend was a tough one for operating at QRP levels! The bands were alive with the sound of signals...all weekend...and all right next to each other. While I stuck to 20m and 40m, contacts were heard being made on every band, 10m through 160m. Both WFD and POTA operators were out in force.

Propagation numbers were:

Saturday: SFI=125, SN=77, A Index= 19, K Index=1

Sunday: SFI=125, SN=74, A Index=17, K Index=2

Conditions are now starting to deteriorate in front of the expected G2 Solar Storm that is supposed to hit us on Tuesday, 1st February.

It was bitterly cold here the whole weekend, with temperatures down around -25C. The wind chill made it feel a lot worse than that. I found I could last about 40 to 50 minutes before I was just too cold and had to go and warm up. Because of this I split my operating into two parts, the first Saturday afternoon and the second on Sunday morning. This made the cold a bit more tolerable.

This year I operated in the "1 Outdoors" category, which I may have to reconsider next year. What amazed me the most over the weekend was the amount of stations operating as "1 Home", nearly all from the deep south where they don't have the cold we have here in the north. I have never figured out why people take part in a "Field Day" (Summer or Winter) and do so from home without ever going out to the field.

Once again I was using 10w from my KX3, and a 20m or 40m mag-mounted Hamstick. It saves so much time setting up in the deep cold not having to throw up a wire antenna.

Sunday morning brought some good DX on 20m, first up was CU3HY, quickly followed by CU3BL, both from the Azores. Then it was the turn of EA1FIC from Spain, and the biggest surprise was YV1GIY from Venezuela. I'm really pleased with those contacts.

Here's the map of the weekends 40 contacts:

Stay safe and warm out there!

Good Day Activating...

It was a very cold day here yesterday, so the new PackTenna linked dipole didn't make it out of the container.  Once again I used the 20m hamstick with a mag-mount on the roof of the van to save time out in the cold.  It was -20C without the wind, and the wind was absolutely howling.

Equipment, as usual, was my KX3 pumping out 10 screaming watts into the 20m Hamstick.

Propagation was good when I started.  SFI=102, SN=71, A Index=10, K Index=2.  Shortly after I went QRT the bands died within minutes.

As you can see from the map, 20m started long and as I logged contacts it started to shorten up, and eventually disappeared.

My Bioenno battery certainly doesn't like the cold, and I have noticed that it will remain good for about 40 minutes in deep cold.  

Yesterday I shut things down after 20 minutes with 27 contacts in the log.  The battery was still fine, but it's probably time to re-charge it.

I will have both batteries charged up ready for Winter Field Day this weekend.  I'm planning on doing dual POTA and WFD activations...hopefully that will drum up more business for the log book. 😋

Stay warm and safe out there!

Winter Field Day...

Coming up this weekend, January 29th - 30th, is Winter Field Day.....you know that weekend we get to go play radio and freeze our butts off......oh...and have fun doing it!!!

The Rules can be found HERE.   There are a few changes this year, so have a read of them and make sure you understand them....especially the point about submitting logs.

Both Saturday and Sunday are forecasted to have a high of -11C, but on the plus side, there's no snow on the horizon.

I have just received today, from PackTenna, a new 20m/40m linked dipole. Winter Field Day should be a great opportunity to use it for the first time....if a location can be found where I can put it up.  

20m/40m linked dipole

Stay warm and safe out there!

A Cold Activation...

This weekend the Winter Support Your Parks event is taking place, and it coincided with probably the coldest weekend we have had yet this year.  It was -37C with the wind chill when I left for Lemoine Point, VE-5141.  Absolutely bone chilling.

The propagation, as I reported earlier in another post, was not forecasted to be very good, but it did improve enough for me to think I could squeeze in an activation.   The propagation numbers were:  SFI=83, SN=39, A Index=9, and the K Index=2.

Before I left home I checked both 20m and 40m which were very busy, with very little room between the big signals.  By the time I got to my site, 20 minutes later, the signals on 17m and 15m had totally gone, and those on 40m were quickly disappearing. So I set up on 20m and hoped for the best.

Once again it was my KX3 being used with a 20m Hamstick.  I used the Hamstick today for the simple reason it was the fastest option to get on the air, and get me out of the cold.

Now activating using QRP levels does have a disadvantage, and I knew that going in to this, but the killer today was not the power level, but the extremely deep QSB.  One minute a signal was S9 and the next it had disappeared completely never to be heard again.  

I must admit that when I set out this morning I thought, given the amount of POTA traffic on the bands that it wouldn't take too long to do this, but in the end it took me 30 minutes to make 21 contacts. That's pretty slow for me, even operating QRP.

Todays activation map is below.

Stay warm and safe out there!

Weekend Propagation...

This weekend, January 15th & 16th is the annual POTA Winter Support Your Parks event, and my clubs QRP HF Sprint on Saturday evening.

Well......I think from the forecasted propagation we can just about forget those events....and here is that forecast:

Tomorrow may be a quiet radio day.  Weather wise it's going down to -32C (-25F) tonight and Monday we're expecting over 35 cm of snow (that's over 12" for my American friends).  

This weekend is shaping up to be a golden opportunity to work on some maintenance to my portable wire antennas and get the gear ready for my spring activations.  I need to go over what I have and see if I have to order any new or replacement items.

Stay warm and safe out there!

NOTE:  Updated Saturday Morning, January 15th.

2022 Plans....

Being ever the optimist, I have started making some radio plans for this year.  Although I'm sure the Covid Wizards may have other plans.  To be quite honest, my main plan this year is to simply survive the year without catching anything!

Things have actually been pretty quiet around this QTH apart from activating parks for POTA, yesterday was -38C with the wind, so not much got done around here.  Today it's +4C, you just never know, day to day, what you're going to get weather wise.

Plans are currently being made for some POTA "micro-DXpeditions".  There are a couple of areas of the province that I would like to get on the air this year.  The first one I have planned is down to Chatham in South-West Ontario, and return home along the lakes, activating the many POTA locations as I pass them.  That one will be a 5 day trip with each night at a different park.

Anther will be up to Penetanguishene and around the Georgian Bay POTA parks.  A lovely part of the province and only a days drive from Kingston.  That one will be a 4 day trip, and once again each night will be at a different park.

My trans-Canada trip is planned, and has been approved by the XYL, but I can't see that trip happening this year.  My gut feeling is that there is still far too many covid risks to do that trip yet.  Maybe next year.

The "pre-pre-planning" for both Field Days, winter & summer, has already started.  I'm not sure if the club is planning anything, I doubt it given the covid situation here in Ontario.  So I have decided to push ahead and make my own plans and go from there.

This year Winter Field Day is being held on January 29/30.  I'll post more about that closer to the date.   Their website can be found HERE.

Stay safe out there!!

Good Days on the Bands...

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years.....and is staying safe from the latest round of Covid.

The last two days I have managed to pull off successful activations of local parks for POTA.   Both days I activated on 40m, and had no issue with making contacts.  

For comparison, the propagation for the two days was:

Thursday: SFI=84, SN=24, A Index=3, K Index=0

Friday: SFI=102, SN=35, A Index=2, K Index=0

Both maps look pretty much the same, which is what you would expect given the similar propagation numbers we had.

The weather here has been cold and we have had some blowing snow, so I have not been straying too far from home, so these have been local activations.  I don't see this changing until much later in the season.  We are lucky that the parks are still open around here, given the government covid regulations we now live under....and I can't see those changing until late spring at the earliest.

Thursday's QSO 40m Plot

Friday's QSO 40m Plot

Year End Wrap Up....

Well, it's been a bit of a roller coaster at times, but yet another year of the Covid Plague is coming to a close....is this year two or year three?  I've lost count.  

My family and I have been very lucky, none of us have been sick, and all of us have been able to get our shots and boosters on time with no issues.  Most of my friends have also been lucky and escaped the plague.  Let's hope that luck holds for all of us through next year as well.

On the amateur radio front it has been an exceptional year for me.  Since January 1st of this year I have made at least one QRP contact every day, not a day has been missed.  In fact I have put 3464 QRP contacts in my log this year, yet I still hear that "QRP doesn't work"........yeah, and I have a unicorn for sale to the highest bidder.  All my POTA activations have been done with my KX3, and I have to say that I just love that radio.  I wish I had bought it years ago.

I have activated 130 parks in the POTA program, which, if the truth be told, has managed to keep me sane during these trying times....my wife may argue that fact though.   

Best piece of gear bought this year?  My set of Workman Hamsticks......they win hands down.  You can't beat them for ease of set-up and being so easy to use.  Every day I'm amazed at where I can talk to with them.

At the start of the year I was determined to get on the air using CW.  My Dad, VE7CVQ (SK) was a CW fanatic.  He didn't own a mic, but many keys.  I knew he would be very disappointed with me not knowing and operating CW.  So.....I'm pretty pleased to tell you that this year I have made and completed 394 CW QSO's.  I'm over the moon with that.

Plans for next year are up in the air of course, as they will depend on what the government has to say about inter-provincial travel.  I have several POTA mini-DXpeditions planned to different parts of the province, as well as a trip out west to see family.  I have my doubt the western trip will happen in 2022, the trips within Ontario I'm hoping will happen, but they depend on whether or not the parks open.

I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year, and that you all stay safe.

Here's the QSO map from today, my last POTA activation of the year, Number 130:

December 30th, 2021........17m and 40m.

Merry Christmas...

 

Merry Christmas everyone......let's hope 2022 is a far better year for us all.

Yet Another Good Day...

Have you guys seen the propagation numbers for today?   One word: "WOW".  These are the highest numbers yet this cycle, and I can't remember the last time I saw numbers that high.  I took one look at them and immediately decided to go and do a POTA activation.  

Lemoine's Point, VE-5141, was the destination today.  It was pretty busy with dog walkers and families doing a walk.  I hid in the corner of the top parking lot, and set up for an activation on 17m.

It took 23 minutes and I had 23 contacts in the log, then I was deliberately QRM'ed off the frequency. This has been happening a lot lately, many POTA operators have mentioned this on the POTA Facebook site.  I don't fret about that anymore.  If I have more than the basic activation number of 10 stations, I just go QRT, and head home for a hot cup of tea and relax....which is what I did today.

There were three good contacts out west, one in Idaho, and two in California.  Not too shabby for 10w into a 17m hamstick.

My plan is to do another two parks before Christmas Day, mainly as a way to keep out of the busy XYL's way.  If I can do that, and then one everyday next week, I will end the year with 133 activations this year.  That's going to take some work to beat next year!

The question is......do I try and sneak in a Park on Christmas afternoon....is my life worth it, or am I courting an untimely death by doing so?

Stay safe out there!!

Today's activation map.