First Snow of the Year...

It had to happen, we've had it far too easy this winter so far. We awoke to a gentle snowfall that is supposed to last until at least noon. I doubt we will get too much of an accumulation, but it is a reminder of things to come!

Lemoine Point was calling my name today, it was time to get another activation done down at CA-5141.

Conditions today were cold and snow. Propagation wise the numbers were: 

SFI=225, SN=137, A Index=5 and the K Index=0. The QSB wasn't too bad, especially compared to yesterday.

Only 20 contacts in the log today during a short 30 minute activation....guess who didn't bring a warm jacket with him? They say that if you don't like the cold you're not a true Canadian. For the first time in a very long time, I was the only person in the parking lot, so I got to choose the best spot to operate from.

Contacts were made on 10m SSB, with the KX3 and a Hamstick on the roof of my truck. It's too cold to fool around with masts and wire antennas. This year my winter philosophy is to get there, get it done, and get home where it's warm. It's true that the older you get the more you feel the cold.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe & Warm Out There!!

VA3KS Memorial Event - Part 2...

It was a great activation today up at Portland Bay, CA-5957, for the actual Memorial Event.  The weather wasn't so good, it was -1C (30F) while I was there, with a stiff icy breeze coming off the lake. To top it off there was a brief snow shower around noon.

Propagation wasn't too bad, unfortunately the QSB was not very good.  The numbers for the day were: SFI=200, SN=148, A Index=8, and the K Index=1.

Due to the breeze I decided not to put up my mast and Rybakov antenna. I stuck with what works well for me, my KX3 set at 10w, and a Hamstick for whatever band I'm on.

The day started off great, I had 14 contacts in my log in the first 11 minutes. First up was 2E0VPF from England, then in very quick succession stations from Poland, France, Norway, Brazil, Belgium, Spain, Venezuela, Austria, and Sweden.

A number of my contacts mentioned that they had worked Kieran in the past, and a few shared some stories, which made the day even more special.

The day ended with 71 contacts in my log, so I was extremely pleased with that. Bands used were 10m, 15m, and 40m. I did try 20m but the noise floor was far too high for me to copy any stations at that location. Thanks to all of you who chased me on 40m. They were difficult QSO's to complete due the bad QSB, but I'm sure I worked all who called me.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

VA3KS Memorial Event...

It will soon be one year since we suddenly lost our good friend Kieran VA3KS. I have missed his wise counsel greatly, as well as his totally warped sense of humour. The thing I have missed the most though, is meeting up with him at different locations and doing POTA activations.

Next Sunday, November 24th, is the one year anniversary of his passing. Here in Kingston, several parks will be activated in his memory, and I will be activating one of his favourite places, Portland Bay Conservation Area, CA-5957.

Eric VE3DN, will have the Pinhey Forest Conservation Area, CA-1581, on the air as well for the event. This was the last park Kieran activated. 

Those stations taking part will put "VA3KS Memorial Event" on the comment line on their spotting page. If you see us on the spotting page, give us a call, and help celebrate the memory of a great ham, and a fantastic friend.

Stay Safe Out There!

FX-4CR...

The new tuner arrived this week, and works perfectly with the radio. I'm very pleased with it. It's taken a bit of time to remember to reduce power to 5w and switch to FM mode in order to tune, but repetition will make it easier to do.

This particular tuner was originally designed for the FT-817/FT-818, and actually comes with a CAT cable for those radios. Thankfully it also works with most QRP radios, and the tuner is actually good for up to 30w.

So far it's worked with my 138' EFHW, and my Hamsticks, so it's definitely a keeper.

The radio itself is pretty intuitive, and it gets easier to use every time I get it out of the case. I actually busted a pile up with it the other day, I heard a station in South Dakota calling CQ POTA, and he was immediately hit with a  pile of stations calling him.....and I was the guy who got through with 20w!!!  It made my day!!

Stay Safe Out There!!

Remembrance Day 2024...

 

In Loving Memory of the

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment.

December 1941 -  June 1946

Lest We Forget.

It Arrived...

The FX-4CR arrived yesterday, and what a little beauty it is!!! I'm very impressed with the quality and workmanship, it's absolutely top notch!

It's a 20w, all mode transceiver (SSB, CW, AM, FM) that will fit in the palm of your hand. It also has CAT Control via Bluetooth.

The manual is written in perfect English, and is easy to understand. 

I've done a lot of listening on it today on it, trying to get used to its menu system. I don't have a resonant antenna at home so I can't transmit until the MTU-MAT-10 ATU I ordered from DX Engineering arrives; it should be here next week. By then I should have the menu system down pretty good. 

The screen is very much like that on the G90, and it's crystal clear, very easy to read. I'm not sure the waterfall is going to be big enough to be a help, but it will, at least, give you an idea of what is happening on the band of choice.

I'll post more as I start using it in the field.  I think this radio is going to be a game changer!

Right side of radio.

Left side of radio.

Heatsink on the bottom of the radio.

Stay Safe Out There!

Arriving Next Week...

I recently bought a brand new G90 radio. While it's a great radio, and I really do like it, it doesn't fill the niche I thought it would. It's a bit heavy to throw in a backpack and hike to a POTA or SOTA site for my liking........your results may vary.

After using the G90 a couple of times I found it got very hot after operating for a while, so I bought the external cooling fan for it.....adding even more weight and bulk to the radio.

Now, I do have a reputation for packing more gear than I actually need. With that in mind I've decided to get rid of the G90, and replace it with a brand new FX-2CR, which will arrive next week. I'm hoping that with this small 20w radio I'll be able to finally get all my needed radio gear in a single small pack, and travel lightly.

From all I have read, and the Youtube videos I have watched, this radio looks to be just what I'm looking for. It's not a replacement for my KX3, that radio is staying, but the FX-2CR is going to be a fantastic addition to my portable shack equipment.

Stay tuned for some field reports!

Stay Safe Out There!!

A 10m Day - Part 3...

There was not supposed to be a "Part 3" to my 10m adventures, but I had such a great day yesterday I couldn't resist!

It was one of those perfect fall days, it was 19C (66F) outside, under a beautifully deep blue sky.  The local trees are well into their change of colour these days, with brilliant flashes reds and yellows dotting the views all over the city.

A few days a month I get to leave my house, take my time, and not have to worry about things. My Mother-in-Law lives with us; she suffers from Dementia, and can't be left alone at all. Yesterday was our respite care day and a PSW looks after her allowing my wife and I some "us" time. The break is always very welcomed.

I decided to spend my time at Fort Henry National Historic Site and do yet another POTA activation.  It's been a while since I was at Fort Henry, it's normally a very busy place, but as it was a week day, yesterday wasn't busy at all.

The only spot left at Fort Henry to activate from these days is the parking lot - all other roads around it are either closed off or have no parking signs on them.  Seeing that there was the only one choice to operate from, it was the KX3 and a 10m Hamstick kind of day!

Propagation was "interesting".  The SFI=176, SN=94, the A Index=8, and the K Index=3.  There was also some very deep QSB throughout the whole time I was on site.

First in the log was Kurt ON4CCN at 1522 UTC.  The last station, Sean KI5UCO/qrp, went into the log at 1732 UTC.  I ended up with 62 contacts in the log, with 22 DX stations, and 13 Park 2 Parks included.  It was just a fantastic day on the radio.  All my contacts were on 10m, and I really enjoyed the several mini-pileups I had throughout it.

Here's the contact map:

I'm hoping to do this again next Sunday....if the bands stay as good as they have been.

Stay Safe Out There!

 

A 10m Day - Part 2...

It was colder here today than it was yesterday, it was 6C (452F) when I was out in the park, with an icy cold hard wind blowing in across Lake Ontario.  Shades of things to come in the next few months.

As it was yesterday, 10m was filled with signals, so that was my band of choice again.

The propagation today was SFI=195, SN=127, A Index=5 and the K Index=1. My radio set-up was the same as yesterday, my KX3 at 10w, and a 10m hamstick on the roof of my truck. There was some quick deep fading, and I know I lost a few contacts as they disappeared before I could write down their callsigns.

It didn't take long for the DX to start rolling in. First up was Hiram XE1AQY, followed quickly by Ron PE1ISP, and Thiery F4IDN. After a couple of US stations the European DX flowed.  I worked PD4US, SK6QA, F5NZO, EA1DD, F6OYU, YL3BF, and G7SQW.  I also had a German station call me, DC1FLO, but he was portable /W4 in Florida.  

I ended the activation with 18 contacts in the log.  Not too bad I thought!

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

A 10m Day...

It was a dark and cloudy day here today, temperature was hovering around 10C (50F), and we had light rain coming through the area.  Over all, not a nice day...but a perfect day for playing portable radio!

Ten meters was today's go-to band, it was filled with signals, and most of them coming in from Europe. I decided to make that the first band I tried, and it ended up being the only band I needed.

Up first was Jerry F4HJO, followed by Danny ON4VT, and Thomas SM3NRY. Then, for some reason, I worked five stations from Texas in a row. As quick as it arrived the pipeline to Texas disappeared and I was once again making contacts into Europe. S57MS, M0TTQ, EA4TL, GW5GDP all went into the log, one after another.

Today's propagation was nothing special, SFI=214, SN=108, A Index=20, and the K Index=1, but it was certainly working for me. Radio was of course my KX3 set for 10w, and I was using my normal antenna, a 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck.  

The activation of CA-0023 ended with 21 contacts in my log, and I'm quite pleased with that.

Here's todays contact map:

I'm planning on going to a different park tomorrow, so we shall see how that turns out!

Stay Safe Out There!

More Bad Propagation...

This just in......

It looks like Thursday and Friday are going to be very poor radio days!!

Stay Safe Out There!!

Propagation...

It's going to be a rough few days on the bands by the look of the latest forecast from SolarHam:

"The latest geomagnetic forecast as of 00:35 UTC (Oct 4).

While there is (G3) storming in the forecast for Friday due to the X7.1/CME predicted to pass Earth, that plasma cloud was fairly faint and there is less certainty with the dynamics of that particular event. The stronger CME observed on Thursday associated the X9.0 flare is more likely to impact our geomagnetic field with a passage predicted sometime on Saturday (Oct 5). Keep in mind the timing of this hourly forecast is all dependent on the CME's arriving past Earth as predicted."

Stay Safe Out There!!

Chillycon 2024...

Chillycon 2024 was held this year from September 20th through the 22nd. The weather was absolutely superb, no rain and no "Chilly" periods, it was just glorious!!

Propagation wise it could have been a bit better, but we made do and we all made some good DX contacts. This year we introduced a new trophy for SSB DX, to complement the CW DX award we have had for the past 10 years. This new award was generously donated by Eric, VE3DN.

The downside of the event was the very poor attendance.  This year we only had 8 people show up.  A few more did show up on the Saturday and spent a few hours at the camp, but overall it could have been a lot better, especially given the weather we had.

The winner of the Upper Canada QRP Club Award for CW DX was Tom VA2NW, and the new VA3KS Memorial Award for SSB DX was Don, VE3MNE.  

One of the highlights of the weekend was the visit on Friday evening by Jennifer, the widow of Kieran, VA3KS. She came to meet with us and talk about the shenanigans we used to get up to with Kieran. He was very good at leading us astray! As she was leaving she very kindly left on the table an unopened bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich single malt scotch, with which we toasted our old friend as we sat around the campfire that evening.

Here's some pictures of the event:

Don VE3MNE being presented with his award by Eric VE3DN.

Tom VA2NW being presented with his award by Eric VE3DN.

Jennifer being shown Kieran's memorial award for the first time.

Stay Safe Out There!

Hay Bay...

It's been a long time since I have been out to Hay Bay, to the west of Kingston. Last Thursday a new POTA site was authorized, CA-6350, Hay Bay Church National Historic Site, and I decided to get out there today (Sunday, September 15) and get it activated for the very first time.

The propagation numbers were in the toilet most of the day, and I did not think I would do very well, but it turned out to be a great activation after all! CA-6350 is a nice spot to activate from, the noise floor is S0, totally quiet.  

Today the propagation numbers were: SFI=172, SN=68, A Index=21, and the K Index=3. The BZ was +2.5, but did slip to -6.6 during the activation.

I met the two caretakers of the Church and property, Terry & John, and they told me they have no issue with us being on the property to activate the Church at all. There is parking to the west side of the Church, and there are picnic tables and a couple of large trees for shade as well....they would prefer if we didn't put wires for antennas in the trees though.

I was on the air at 1505 UTC and I had the site activated with 10 contacts by 1511 UTC....a whole 6 minutes. The day ended with 49 contacts in the log, with 40m 15m and 20m being used, and three European DX stations made it in the log as well, two Spanish and one from France, not too bad at all considering the state the bands were in.

Radio used was my KX3 set at 10w and I only used my Hamsticks on my truck roof.

Thanks to all those in Kingston, and surrounding places, who chased me, it was good to get you in the log.

Here are a few more pictures of the old Church....

And here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Sneaking Out for an Hour...

It's been pretty busy around the homestead over this past week, and time for radio work was at an all time high premium. However, I did manage to sneak away for an hour and get an activation in at Lemoine Point, my closest POTA site.

My past three or four recent activation have been hampered by very bad QSB, today was no different. It took a while to drum up the contacts, but after a few minutes calling CQ, they started to flow in.

As I was short on time I used my KX3, and Hamsticks, for this activation. The hamsticks do very well, and I'm constantly surprised with who I can have a QSO with using them. The propagation today was: SFI=241, SN=134, A Index=7, and the A Index=3. 

Given the poor propagation numbers I was surprised at how well I actually did. The big surprise of the morning though was working Michael, KB9VBR, a well known Ham Radio YouTuber. Anyway, with 19 contacts in the log I had to shut it down and get back home to help the XYL with chores.

Here's today's contact map:

 Stay Safe Out There!!

Xiegu G90

A new rig appeared in my shack a few weeks ago, an Xiegu G90. It's an interesting radio, 20w max output and has a built in ATU, which truthfully could tune a wet piece of string it's so good.

So far I have used it on just one POTA activation, which was not really a hot day, but I was very surprised at how hot the radio got after 10 minutes of use at 20w. Because of this I decided then and there to purchase the cooling fan unit that goes with the radio.

I have not had a chance to use the radio outdoors with the fan yet, but I'm hoping to this weekend. Hopefully it will do the trick and keep the radio cool.

Here's a couple of pictures showing the cooling unit:

Stay Safe Out There!!

A Little Island Activating...

This past weekend was the W/VE Island QSO Party....well it should have been, except for the fact that the US Island guys who run the event decided that VE stations could no longer enter the contest due to our low numbers. Whatever, we'll play on our own islands and have just as much fun.

So, today I drove up to Washburn Island, ON-289, with Don VE3MNE, and had an excellent time. The island is also a POTA "2fer", with CA-4882 and CA-0023...so an even better time was had.

Propagation wasn't too bad, compared to what we had at the beginning of the week, but it's still got a ways to go before it's really good. The numbers today were: SFI=232, SN=188, A Index=10, and the K Index=1.

I changed things up a bit today, instead of my usual Hamsticks on the roof of my truck, I chose to erect a 29' Rybakov antenna with two 17' ground radials and use it with my KX3. It's a good antenna, worked as advertised by several YouTubers, and I was very pleased with it. You will see this antenna built with either 25' or 29' of wire. Furthest DX was Thomas SM3NRY, in Sweden, closely followed by Chris K2MMT, in California.

Shown on the right is my 4:1 Unun, Rybakov and four 17' radials, although I only used 2 today. I think this antenna is going to get a lot more use, as I really enjoyed being able to switch bands without unscrewing various whips in order to do so.

I ended the day with 27 contacts in the log on 40m, 20m and 15m. I did try 12m but had no luck there at all.

Here's todays contact map:

And here's how I hold the DX Commander up in the air:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Lucky Activation...

I was up and out the door pretty early (for me) today, as I wanted to get back home before lunch to help my wife....and I accomplished that mission with no problem.

The propagation, as I started my activation, was: SFI=225, SN=171, A Index=8, and the K Index=1. The QSB was hellish, stations were S9 one minute and completely gone in an instant. It was a 2fer I was after today, Lemoine Point and the Waterfront Trail together, and I managed to get 16 contacts in the log in a little over 40 minutes, which was slow for me, but given the state of the bands I was happy with it.

As usual I was using my KX3 set at 10w, into a hamstick on the roof of my truck. SSB only today, CW will have to wait until tomorrow.

Starting on 40m as I usually do, it didn't take too long to get 8 contacts in the log.  Then the band dried up, I called and called with no response, so I moved to 15m.  This band switch got me another 8 contacts, including a solid S8 contact with F4ILH in Ecuras, France....which made my day.

Sixteen was all I could pull out of the hat today, the band seemed to be getting worse, even though it was supposed to be improving.  Well, it turns out we had a surprise G3 solar storm that hit about 15 minutes before I switched everything off.....no wonder I couldn't get contacts.

Here's todays contact map:

You can clearly see the ring of 40m contacts vice the 15m contacts on this map.

Stay Safe Out There!!

A Good Day...

Today was one of those rare days that I get almost totally to myself.  It was sunny, hot, and pretty humid out...so a good day to find a new park to activate!

Recently a new yellow dot has popped up on the POTA map showing a new park in Gananoque, about 35 kms (22 miles) east of my home.  The POTA website showed it had been activated 3 times before, but only with digital modes, never SSB or CW.  

This park, CA-6346, Agnes Maule Macher National Historical Park, is not very big...in fact it's quite small. There is a small gravel parking lot that can hold maybe 8 or 9 cars if they all park correctly. As you can see in the photo on the left, the park is full of tall, mature, trees, all ready for a good wire antenna. I found a solitary picnic table there, and it's located right under a big shade tree. On the downside, there are no toilets there.....at all.

For the few days before this activation the propagation numbers have been almost off the charts, and I did not think I would be able to get this activation done. But the numbers "kind of" settled down overnight and I thought it would be ok to go ahead and get it done while I had the free day.

Today's propagation numbers were: SFI=260, SN=177, A Index=17, and the K Index=1. Definitely not the best, but certainly a lot better than the previous few days. There was also a lot of very deep QSB on all the bands.

No DX was worked, although I could faintly hear a EA2 station trying to call me on 20m, but he was so far below my noise floor I couldn't make out the call. 

I ended up with 26 contacts in the log, 23 SSB and 3 CW. I'm very pleased with this, given todays conditions. Hopefully the conditions will continue to get better and I can get back there and get more contacts another day.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Coming Up Next Weekend...

It's shaping up for a busy few days next weekend, we have the following big events:

1.  The International Lightship & Lighthouse Weekend.  That runs from 0001 UTC Saturday, August 17 to 2359 UTC Sunday, August 18.

2.  The North American QSO Party SSB.  That runs from 1800 UTC Saturday, August 17 to 0600 UTC Sunday, August 18.

3.  The New Jersey QRP Skeeter Hunt.  From 1700 - 2100 UTC, Sunday, August 18.

Click on the above event names to take you to the relevant rules and information pages.

Let's hope the propagation greatly improves for next weekend so we can get out and really enjoy ourselves on the bands!!

Stay Safe Out There!!

Plugging Away....

Yesterday was a very hot and muggy day here in Eastern Ontario.  The temperature was 27C (80.6F), but felt like 37C (98.6F) with the humidity.....in other words, very uncomfortable, and to top it off we had no breeze at all.

I made the mistake of not looking at the daily propagation numbers before I left home to activate CA-5141, Lemoine Point Conservation Area. If I had I probably would not have left home! The numbers yesterday morning were: SFI=245, SN=182, A Index=10, and the K Index=4. As well, the BZ was an unbelievable -13.5.

In 62 minutes I managed to put just 10 contacts in my log, just the bare minimum to get the activation done, 7 SSB and 3 CW. Now I'm well aware that the propagation we had was not conducive to QRP operating, but that's what I did......10w and a 40m hamstick on my truck roof.  

Given the conditions I was very happy to get the minimum 10 contacts, no DX was worked of course, but you wouldn't expect to on a day like that.

I'm looking forward to the cooler weather that is coming, and some much improved band conditions.

 

The days contact map.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Incoming Solar Storms...

Strong (G3) Geomagnetic Storm Watch.

Not just one....but a series of coronal mass ejections (!!!!) are predicted to possibly merge and contribute to a combined impact by July 30th. Moderate (G2) to Strong (G3) geomagnetic storm conditions will be possible within the next 48-72 hours.

Going to be a fun few days on the bands.

Stay Safe Out There!

Farewell to the FT-950...

After 15 years of sitting on my shack bench I have officially retired my FT-950. I'm going to miss the old beast, it never let me down, and it has done well over 21,000 SSB & CW QSO's since I bought it new.

I started to realize that the new rigs had much better roofing filters....and just about everything else. So it was time for it to go to another home. In its place will be a much smaller FT-891. It's all I really need in the shack as 90% of my operating is POTA, lighthouse, or island activations, and this means a huge rig wasn't really needed.  The plus side is I now have much more room on the bench for more junk!!

My thoughts so far on the FT-891? What a royal pain in the 'backside' the menu system is, and the manual that comes with the radio is just about useless.  I've always used Yaesu or Elecraft......this may be my last Yaesu. I can't figure out why I must set the band settings for each individual band, instead of just doing it once, and allowing the on board computer to assign those setting to all bands. 

I'll give it a while and try to really learn this rig....but I can't promise it'll be around for another 15 years!

Stay Safe Out There!

Support Your Park Event - Summer...

It's been a busy first 24 hours of this summers Support Your Park Event. So far I have 5 successful activations completed, and a couple more planned for tomorrow. The five completed parks so far are: CA-5142, CA-6003, CA-4872, CA-4864, and CA-5143.

The weather last night and today was superb, comfortably warm, with a light breeze and blue skies. Great weather for being outside playing radio.

Propagation wise it was good on Saturday until 1530 UTC, after that contacts were very hard to get as the conditions started to deteriorate.  The numbers were: SFI=202, SN=197, A Index=5, and the K Index=1. However, there was very deep QSB on the bands which certainly didn't help me.

One of the issues I'm finding here in the parks around Kingston is the fact that they are so busy in the summer. I know we're a tourist town, and it's good for business if the town is busy, but it gets difficult to find a parking spot in the parks unless you're there at the crack of dawn. Because they are busy it's also difficult to put up a wire antenna, I certainly don't want a lawsuit because some person, not watching where they're going, tripped over my radials or coax.

As my regular readers will know, my go-to antennas - for a long time - has been hamsticks, mounted on my truck's roof with a 5" mag-mount. I'm always surprised at how well they do, especially with 10w SSB. Last night, for a change, I dug out my Slidewinder coil with the 9.5' Buddipole whip, and used that. While it makes changing bands very easy, and it works very well, I didn't notice any significant improvement over my hamsticks.

We'll see how they do tomorrow....if the bands are usable again.

Stay Safe Out There!!