WSPR...

I’ve been playing around with my WSPR transmitter again. I thought with the bad propagation we had forecasted over the past few days, that it would be a good idea to see how my antennas do under those conditions.

After 24 hrs of beaconing I was very surprised where my Zachtek 200 mW transmitter managed to get a signal to. This test was done using an 80m EFHW antenna. The antenna is vertical for the first 45’ and then is horizontal for the remainder of its length, and it’s orientated North-East to South-West.

For those of you who do not know what WSPR is used for, it was introduced back in 2008 as an application for testing antennas, and testing propagation paths on LF, MF, and HF among other things.

I'm also planning on using my WSPR beacon on my trip out west this spring as a way of letting everyone know where I am each night, instead of using APRS.  This idea worked very well for my good friend Kieran VA3KS (SK) last spring on his trip across the USA. I'll set it up each evening after supper and let it beacon for a few hours before I go to bed.

Here's the map from last night (February 13):

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Not Looking Good....

Propagation isn't looking very good for at least the next 3 days.  I expect the bands to be super noisy. This stems from an unexpected coronal mass ejection (CME) that was first detected at 0123 UTC on Sunday, February 11.

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!!

Back to VE-5141

With the bands being in such good shape today I couldn't resist getting out into a park again and doing some operating. It's so much better operating with no noise floor, than the constant S7 at home.

The weather was superb here as well, it got up to +10C, which after the cold we have had, is fantastic.....I think I finally thawed out!

The propagation was: SFI=181, SN=151, A Index=4, and the K Index=2.  I didn't hear any QSB today at all, even with the Bz sitting at -2.5. 

With all the stars aligning I went to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, and set up. It took me 40 minutes to get 25 SSB contacts in the log, using both 10m and 15m.  I put F4ILH, IK2BYY, SO5CAL, G0RQL, 2E0VRX, SP8BJU, DH4PSG, DK1RS, and OE4JHW, in my log which absolutely made my day!  

The fact I'm doing this with my KX3 set at 10w, and only using various hamsticks as my antenna, is just amazing. This weekend, if I can get out, I'm going to try this with my 29' vertical wire, and see what I can do.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

New Milestone...

Finished this off this morning.  I knew I was getting close, and have been trying to complete the 100 activations at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, for over a week now - but life just gets in the way sometimes.

Propagation was excellent!!  SFI=190, SN=144, A Index=8, and the K Index=1.  There was some light QSB, but I didn't find it too bad.

I started off on 40m and managed to put only 8 contacts in the log before the QSO's just dried up.  As a result I moved to 15m and put another 23 in the log.  15m was in great shape, and I managed to get 6 European DX stations, EA1BUL, F4ILH, G4ELZ, EA4TL, IU1HJF, and DH4PSG.  I also put CO6QK in the log, this was the very first Cuban station I have worked doing POTA. 

Radio of the day was my KX3 at 10w, and the antenna was, as usual, a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck on a 5" mag-mount.

I'm looking forward to doing this again at Lemoine Point, VE-5141, sometime in the next month or two.  I'm at 84 activations there, so only another 16 to go.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!!

Back to the Park...

I had a great time this morning at VE-5142, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area, here in Collins Bay, Ontario.  The weather was great, it was actually +2C, but the wind was still a bit raw - so you still had to wrap up to stay warm.

The propagation was good, although there was some pretty deep QSB.  SFI=137, SN=131, A Index=5, and the K Index=0. These numbers are supposed to stay fairly consistent over this coming weekend. Time will tell!

Once again I spent the whole activation on 15m, with my KX3 pumping out a magnificent 10w into a Hamstick mounted on the roof of my truck.  First up today was Danny ON4ON with a solid S7 signal.  He was followed by Juergen OE4JHW, and Etor F5VMN, both of these two stations were a good S9 to me.  It's always a bonus when you can work some good DX during a POTA activation, especially with QRP power.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

FYBO - 2024

This weekend sees the 2024 edition of the Freeze Your Butt Off QRP event, sponsored by the AzScQRPions. 

Rules can be found HERE.

The event runs from 1400 UTC to 2359 UTC, February 3rd.  I'm planning on going out and setting up for this event in my local park.  The weather forecast is calling for +1C under sunny skies.....should be good for an afternoon of fun and QRP!!

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Winter Field Day....the Aftermath...

We had a good time.  The weather wan't too bad, a little light rain, but it stayed up at about +2C all weekend.  Of course that meant melting snow and mud, but we survived that.

The propagation could have been much better, but it was what it was.  On Saturday it was: SFI=157, SN=52, A Index=6, and the K Index=0. On Sunday it was SFI=148, SN=48, A Index=5, and the K Index=2. Our dear Sun had obviously decided not to be too cooperative for the event.  We had lots of bad QSB as well, one minute a signal was S9+, and the next second they were gone, just disappeared as if they had never been there.

I used my 17' collapsible whip with my mag-mount on the roof of the truck as my main antenna for the weekend, and it worked great on Saturday......not so much on Sunday morning though for some reason.  On Sunday morning Don VE3MNE, kept breaking through and over loading the front end of my KX3, he was on 15m and I was still working 20m, I guess we're going to have to buy some band filters and sort all that out.

We only made about 100 contacts between us, but we had a good time.  We worked SSB and CW....except instead of using the club call, VE3UCC, I stupidly forgot and used my own call when I switched over to CW, so I have to try and sort out that mess.  We live and learn I guess.

The main reason I wanted to do WFD this year was to see if the gear I'm taking on my road trip this year worked as advertised, and I think it's ready, there may be a few more little tweaks, but nothing major as it is really good to go now.

Here's a few pictures of the event:

Jim, VE3ULC, chasing WFD stations.

Getting ready to shoot some antenna lines in the trees.

Don, VE3MNE, chasing Hawaii on 15m.

Our home for the weekend.

Here we go Again...

Propagation is not looking good for the next few days.  Here's the latest forecast:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Winter Field Day...

Coming up next weekend is Winter Field Day. This version of Field Day is somewhat different from its warm weather brother in June. This is a chance to practice our Emcomm and deployment skills under cold weather conditions, instead of the bugs and oppressive high heat of June. As the association states: "Not all emergencies happen in the good weather".

Rules can be found HERE.

The event starts at 1900 UTC on Saturday, January 27, and ends at 1859 UTC on Sunday, January 28.

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Friday in the Park...

It was a nice day yesterday....for January, and around this part of Canada.  It was a balmy -5C under cloudy grey skies, but it wasn't snowing or raining!

The days propagation was the best I've seen in a long time, and that's what gave me the kick to get out and play radio.  The propagation was: SFI=193, SN=180, A Index=6, and the K Index=0. There was a bit of QSB out there, but it wasn't too bad.

First up was Manuel EA2DT, and he was quickly followed by Jose EA1BUL.  These two operators always seem to find me when I'm out in a park.  I did have one interesting thing happen, I was working KI5MM, Lee in Texas, and I became aware of a very faint station under him also talking on the frequency. Up to now I had had no interference so I was a bit surprised.  Then it hit me, I had called for the Texas station by asking for the "Mike" station, and back came Lee.  However, David M0YDB must have thought I was calling him. Anyway I finished with Texas and called for any UK stations, and back came David again to make sure he was in my log.

Radio was my usual KX3 set at 10w, and the antenna was a 15m Hamstick on the roof of my truck. I put 37 contacts in the logbook in 30 minutes, so I was very pleased with that. My plan was to go out again today, but an overnight snow storm put an end to those plans.  We also have another large snow storm coming in overnight tonight, so it looks like there will be no radio in the park on Sunday either.

Here's the contact map for the day:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Back on the Air...

It's been a long 3 weeks but I'm finally testing negative for covid.  I've had a headache and have been coughing for weeks, and while the headache has gone, the coughing remains...just as bad as it has been all this time.  However, it's nice to be able to taste food again and my sense of smell has also returned.  I guess I'll have a few more weeks from what I have read of the lingering effects....but I sure don't want to go through covid again.

Today I had had enough of sitting around the house, so I decided to go and do a POTA activation at Parrotts Bay, which is about 15 minutes from my home.  It has been a very cloudy day with temperatures hovering around -5C, in fact it's just started to snow.

This was my first activation in a month, and I must tell you all that with the covid brain fog that comes with having covid, it was a struggle to remember how to do things at times.....I managed to get through it.

Propagation today was: SFI=153, SN=128, A Index=5, and the K Index=0.  Radio was my KX3 set at 10w, antenna was a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck.  I put 20 contacts in the log, all on 15m, and I'm happy with that.  By contact number 20 I was ready to go home and have a hot mug of tea, I find I still get tired very fast.

Hopefully I will be able to get out and do more POTA activations over the next week as my health slowly improves, it's good for my soul it seems.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe and Well Out There!!

Merry Christmas....

I'm still ill with Covid, but I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a very safe and Happy New Year.

There's lots more adventures planned for next year.  Several first time POTA activations, and other POTA locations will be on the air that haven't been activated for a couple of years, are all on the cards, as well as a few surprises.

 

Have a safe holiday everyone!

Really??

Well, the bands may be getting better, and the propagation improving, but it'll be a while before I get out to play radio again.  I tested positive for Covid today....so I'm not a happy camper.  I thought I had escaped the plague by now, but apparently not.

See you all in a few days.

It's Getting Better...

After a pretty rough week for propagation, things are finally starting to get better.  

I set my WSPR transmitter (on the left) up to transmit on 80m, 40, and 30m overnight, using 200mW.  The antenna in use was a 80m EFHW, up at 45' in the maple trees, and using a 49:1 transformer.

Unusually for me, I did not record the propagation numbers for the evening.  Oh well, there's always next time.

I was pleased to see stations reporting my signal from as far a way as Antartica...another first for me.  80m was not that good last night, in fact very few stations reported my signal.  40m was also so-so, but 30m was the big winner, all the DX reporting hearing me was for my 30m signal.  

The next time the propagation goes in the toilet I'm planning on getting the WSPR beach on the air and see who can hear me in very poor conditions, I think that will be an interesting experiment.

Here's last night's WSPR reporting map:

Stay Well and Safe Out There!!

Propagation...

Looks like another interesting three days propagation wise is coming up, there are some G2 Solar Storms coming in.....

 

Stay Well and Stay Safe!

Saying Goodbye...

Friday morning I left Kingston around 1000 local and heading towards Ottawa.  

I had to be in Ottawa for the funeral of Kieran, VA3KS.  My plan was to meet up with Eric VE3DN at his QTH, and he would drive us to the funeral home for the service as I don't know downtown Ottawa...it's been 37 years since I last lived there.

I made good time on the roads as they, for the most part, were clean and dry, but we had had a significant snow fall over the previous few days.

There was a quick stop for a coffee in Smiths Falls and then it was on to Eric's place.

The funeral was held at Hules, Playfair & McGarry funeral chapel in downtown Ottawa.  Both Eric and I were shocked when we arrived.  It was so full of people that they were standing up at the back as they ran out of seats, a quick count showed about 260 people were there to remember Kieran.   Listening to the stories of how he had affected other peoples lives in such positive ways, certainly helped ease the pain of losing my old friend.

After a night in a local hotel, Saturday morning saw me heading for Smith's Falls to meet up with another friend, Ranson VE3RCD, for lunch and then to activate in Kieran's memory, a new park, VE-6199 - the Smith's Falls Bascule Bridge National Historical Site. The band conditions were excellent, although I had an S7 noise floor on 40m the whole time I was activating.

The propagation numbers today were:  SFI=133, SN=122, A Index=4, and the K Index=0.  Radio was the KX3 at 10w and, as usual, the antenna was a 40m hamstick. I called it day after 34 contacts as I still had an hours drive home and it was already starting to get dark out.

During the activation I mentioned several times why we were activating today, and I was surprised at the number of VE3 stations that worked us who had worked Kieran in the past.  It was nice to talk to them about him.  

Kieran was known locally as the "POTA King", and I like to think he would have appreciated our activation in his honour today.

Good bye old friend, I miss you.

Today's contact map.

WSPR...

I haven't dabbled with WSPR for a few years now, but on the advice of Kieran VA3KS (SK) I decided to buy a Zachtek WSPR Desktop Transmitter. It's a nice piece of gear, and it took no time at all to get it on the air.

My plan is to use WSPR instead of APRS on my Western Canada trip next spring. I find APRS set up to be a real pain in the behind with the FTM-500, but I can set up the WSPR each evening from my camp and the guys back home can see where I am that day.

Here's tonights initial operating of the transmitter:

40m at 0230 UTC, Wednesday, December 6.

80m at 0245 UTC, Wednesday, December 6.

Stay Safe Out There!

G3 Solar Storm...

We have a G3 solar storm heading our way for Friday, December 1st, and a K7 level is expected.  Needless to say this will have a negative impact on any portable operating this coming weekend I had planned.

Stay Safe Out There!

Devastating News Yesterday...

I'm very lucky in my life to have some of the best friends ever.  They're scattered all over Canada, and I know if anything bad was to happen I could count on them 100%.

Kieran Shepherd, VA3KS, was one of those friends.  We share an interest, POTA, that we both enjoy very much.  We both like doing portable operating in quiet places away from the intense RF noisy areas we live in, and we both enjoy camping and hiking.  

Kieran and I have done many shared activations over the past 3 years, travelling to meet up at remote spots, so we could spend a few hours together "playing radio".  Portland Bay Conservation Area was one of our favourite spots, a few hours activating the conservation area, Fish and Chips and a Pint for lunch at the Portland Restaurant, a few more hours on the radio, and then we each head for home.  A perfect radio day.

Next spring I'm planning a 30 day road trip to activate some of the remote, and not so remote POTA parks in Western Canada. At the same time Kieran was planning a trip to Nevada to visit his son and grandkids, we were trying to figure out how to meet up in Alberta and drive the return trip in convoy, activating more parks as we travelled.

These plans, and future plans came to a screeching halt early yesterday morning when I received an email from Jennifer, Kierans wife, letting me know he had passed away suddenly, and totally unexpected, during Thursday night.  He was 64 years old.

Kieran was a great friend to me, and I learned a great deal from him about portable operating and POTA. I valued his advice. He was a prolific POTA activator with 563 activations completed. His last activation was on the morning of Thursday, November 24th, the day we lost him.

His passing serves to teach us that any one of us could go at any time, we have no control over that. So don't wait to start doing your bucket list, time is valuable, and short.

Goodbye old friend.

Kieran Shepherd

VA3KS

January 30, 1959 – November 24, 2023

10m was rocking!!

Yesterday, November 15th, I decided to do a mid-morning activation of VE-5141, Lemoine Point Conservation Area, a local to me, POTA spot.   

The weather, for this area, at this time of year, was spectacular.  Sunny, +7C (44.6F), and a deep blue sky.  Not a drop of rain or snow in sight.  It was just an absolutely beautiful day.

The day before during an activation of VE-5142, Parrott's Bay, I had great success on 10m, so today I decided to do the whole activation, if I could, on 10m.  Many of my activations have been done only on 40m, but I had never tried to do this on another band.

Luckily for me 10m was just alive with good signals.  First in the log was F4FTJ, and in rapid succession PU1JSV, 2E0VRX, OE4JHW, F4ILH, IK1GPG, EA1BUL, and F4HZR followed.  This was the first time I made POTA contacts with Brazil and Austria, that just made my day.  The Brazilian station was S9 +20 to me, just an outstanding signal.

The radio was my KX3 set at 10w.  The antenna of the day was a 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck using a 5" mag-mount.  

The day's propagation was: SFI=124, SN=40, A Index=6 and the K Index=3.  There was no, to very little QSB, and the LIDS and deliberate QRM'ers stayed away for a change.

Hopefully if this run of good weather and decent propagation holds for a few more days, I can get out and do a lot more portable operating, because you know before long the snow will start to fly around here.

Here's the days contact map:

Keep Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Remembrance Day 2023

In Loving Memory of the

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment

December 1941 -  June 1946

LEST WE FORGET

Another CME Headed Our Way......

Yesterday we had a Halo CME ejection at 1000 UTC that is headed directly towards earth.  This means another weekend of bad to mediocre propagation.

Here's the 3 day forecast for the weekend in 6 hour blocks:

Stay Safe Out There!

Saturday at Portland Bay...

I had four great POTA activations last Saturday. The weather was nice and dry in Portland, and the propagation even behaved for a few hours. I had arranged to meet up with Kieran VA3KS there, and we had a great time, and lots of good radio contacts.

I started the morning on 40m, and surprisingly I worked my usual "customers", and even with the 45w amp in use, it didn't seem to make that much of a difference to who I was working distance wise. After 15 contacts on 40m Eric VE3DN, texted me and told me to get up on 10m, and what a time I had there.  

In the end I finished up with 11 European stations in the log, all on 10m. IK1GPG in Italy, SP8DJY in Poland, EA2CCG, EA4TL, and EA1BUL in Spain, 2E0VRX and M7CBI in the UK, F4ILH and F4FTJ in France, DL3LJ in Germany, and PD1CW in the Netherlands. That's my best day of DX in a long time. So it looks like the small amp is working very well indeed when it comes to DX, and it looks like it really does allow me to punch my signal out that bit further.

Then it was off to Mill Pond Conservation Area, a small site about 15 minutes further north of Portland. This is a very strange site, and it gives off some creepy vibes....everyone who has operated there has said the same thing. It was after lunch by now and contacts were getting harder to get. It took me about 20 minutes to get 16 contacts in the log, after which I packed up and started the hour long drive back to Kingston.

Propagation for the day was: SFI-156, SN-82, A Index-4, and the K Index-1. The weather, while sunny, was pretty cold, it was 3C so it was a good job I was dressed warmly. Well, at least it wasn't snowing!

Below are my contact maps for the day.

North American Contacts

European Contacts

Stay Safe out There!

Rough Day...Updated

It looks like it may be a rough couple of days propagation wise coming up.  Here's the three day forecast:

Here's the update showing the K Index levels for the past few days:

Stay Safe Out There!!

A Couple of New Toys...

This week a couple of new toys showed up in the shack, both of them are on the list of wanted gear for my 30 day, 61 POTA Parks, west coast trip I have scheduled for next spring.....more about that later.

Both items were picked up from eBay, and several friends also have these items...so I know they work.  I was concerned that the 15w maximum of the KX3 may not be enough to get a good signal out of some of the deep valleys I'll be in.  So first to be bought was a MX P50M 45w amplifier to help push my signal out a bit further.

I'm also building a new 20m/40m linked dipole for the trip which will also help get a signal out better than my 40m EFHW or Hamsticks.

Next to arrive was a ATU-100 external antenna tuner, this is needed as I mainly use non-resonant antennas, and the amp will need to find a good match.  This tuner works on 10m through 80m, so it will cover all the options I need.

One last item has still to arrive, the PTT/Switching control cable for the KX3.  The tuner comes with the cable for the FT-817, which is no good to me as I have just sold my 817.

Once I have all the parts I can start testing how it will work for me.  It will be interesting to see how the extra power changes my normal contact area that you see in the QSO maps I publish every once in a while.

Now it's off to tidy up the maps for the routes I have chosen.  

Stay Safe Out There!

15m Rocks!!

I decided at the last minute to do a POTA activation at Parrotts Bay Conservation Area this morning. After looking at the propagation forecast I thought it would be ok to give it a try, and I wasn't sorry I did.

While looking at the POTA Spots page I noticed that 15m was working well, so I decided to start there.  In the end I ended up with 21 contacts on 15m and another 3 on 40m.  It took 20 minutes to get the 24 contacts in my log.  

The propagation this morning was: SFI=122, SN=34, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  As usual I used my KX3 at 10w, and the antenna was a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck.

I was really shocked to get a Park-to-Park call from Florian, DK5FF in Northern Germany, and then a good solid S9 contact with Jose, EA1BUL in Northern Spain.  It was also nice to get Jerry, VE8GER back in the log again from Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories.  Jerry has hunkered down now for the long cold winter that happens in his part of the country.  It'll be a few months before he sees sunlight again. 

Overall it was a great QRP day!!

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

This Weekend...

Coming up this weekend is the POTA Support Your Parks Fall Event.   The event runs from 0001 UTC 20 October to 2359 UTC 21 October.

All bands are usable as this is not a contest.

I have plans in place to activate both Portland Bay, and Mill Pond Conservation Areas on Sunday, hopefully along with a couple of other hams, so keep your eyes on POTA Spots or VE3FI.  

The WX doesn't look too good at the moment with lots of rain in the forecast, it's not going to be very warm either.  I will have do deal with a wet activation when I arrive at the first park, although sitting in a wet jacket and pants in my truck isn't how I want to spend my day.

Stay Safe Out There!

Fall Activating....

It was a good day to be on 20m this morning, not so good if you were looking to get on 40m.  I understand that 17m, 15m, 12m, and 10m, were also very good, but I didn't have the time to check them out today.

Propagation today was: SFI=164, SN=133, A Index=4, and the K Index=1, with lots of QSB as well. Some stations just disappeared after giving their callsign....never to be heard again.

Today was the first time I've managed to get out to play radio in a week, and it felt good to get on the bands, even for a short time.

Radio, as usual, was my KX3 set at 10w, and the antenna was a 20m hamstick on the roof of the truck using a 5" mag-mount.

The weather is starting to get cool during the day, so I am making sure I can operate comfortably from the cab of the truck, especially for when the snow starts to fly.......which I'm sure won't be that long.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There....

Monday at the Park...

The weather and propagation forecasts didn't look very promising when I first looked at them in the morning, it was supposed to be cool and poor propagation.  By the time I had finished my daily walk, things had improved.  So it was home to grab my radio gear and off to Parrotts Bay and another activation.

Parrott's Bay is named after James and Marie Parrott, who arrived there in 1784 as United Empire Loyalists fleeing New York in the aftermath of the American Revolution.

Considering how nice the day had turned out, I was very surprised to find I was the only person at the Conservation Area, and the trails and parking lot were all empty.  It was a very peaceful spot, and the scenery wasn't too bad either.

By the time I finally got myself setup  and ready to go on the air, it had reached a temperature of 21C, under a deep blue sky.  I had to remind myself that it is now October and this type of weather here is highly unusual.  

Radio of the day was my KX3, and my antenna was a hamstick for whatever band I was on.  I could have put up a wire antenna....but I was too lazy 😎

The propagation numbers were: SFI=159, SN=92, A Index=10, and the K Index=2.

I setup first for 40m and managed a total of 7 contacts there before the band went quiet.  I then moved to 20m and didn't make a single contact - between a very noisy band, deep QSB, and it being far too busy to find a quiet spot to operate on, I was wasting my time.  In the end, in a last ditch effort to save the activation I moved to 15m, and what a ride that was.

15m was wide open and busy with signals.  First up was Neal 2E0MNG, closely followed by Jose EA1BUL.  Next up was Steven AC6DX in California......and the rest of the activation went just like that, a non-stop pileup.  

Here's the days contact map:

The Fall Colours are starting to pop out these days.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Mohawk Island....

This Saturday weather permitting, there will be four operators kayaking to activate the old Gull Island Lighthouse on ON314 Mohawk Island and VE-0058 Mohawk Island National Wildlife Area.

The island is a couple miles off the northeast shore of Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada. 

Keep your eyes on the POTA spotting page on Sept 30 for K2EAG/VE3 (CW), N3ARB/VE3 (SSB), VE3GKT (SSB/FT8/4) and VE3JZT (CW/SSB). 

They will operate phone, digital and CW, on as many bands as possible.