Looking for something to do this coming weekend instead of shoveling snow? There are two State QSO Parties this weekend that will keep you busy.
First up is the Louisiana QSO Party. This takes place from 1500Z February 12th to 0300Z February 13th. For the rules, click here.
Then we have the New Hampshire QSO Party from 1600Z February 12th to 0400Z February 13th and 1200Z to 2200Z February 13th. For their rules, click here.
The forecast propagation looks promising for the weekend. If you hear VE3FCT calling CQ, give me a shout.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Winter Field Day - - - - - - The Aftermath
Well it was a great weekend for Winter Field Day. VE3FRG operated as a multi indoor station. On Saturday we had light snow and -5C and on Sunday we had heavy snow and -18C, and luckily there was very little wind.
The narrow road into the cottage was interesting as it was not properly ploughed out, and the “slide all over the road” factor was high, but we all made it safely, including Bill-VA3WOW, who arrived from Belleville.
Once we unloaded the small mountain of gear into the cottage and got the wood stove going it was back outside to string up the antennas. It took us a little over two hours to get two dipoles in the air and run the coax for them. Dave-VA3ORP erected his vertical and radial system on the lake ice and that took him over an hour to do.
It really is amazing just how much longer it takes to do simple things in the cold weather, and with heavy gloves on.
It took a good five hours for the cottage to warm up to a comfortable level, but after seeing the photo’s of Bob VA3RCS standing out in the cold operating I shall not complain…….because I know Bob would never let me forget it :-)
Don-VE3MNE made his normal field day supper...."Gilroy's Gourmet Road Kill Chilli", and as usual it was superb, Bill-VA3WOW contributed a very nice bottle of cabernet merlot, called "Cape One", it's a blend of Canadian and South African red wines and was outstanding.
Operating wise we made 70+ contacts, 35 on SSB, 1 on PSK31, and the remainder on CW. For the most part the daytime propagation on the bands went from “bad” to outright “bloody miserable”. But on Saturday evening 160m was just hopping with CW signals, but no SSB was to be heard. George VE3SIQ operated 20m to good success, and Don VE3MNE and I operated 80m and 40m SSB and PSK.
We made a number of good DX contacts on Sunday morning including, EC2DX, Imanol in San Sabastian, Spain, YT1A, Vladan in Kraljevo, Serbia, PI4DX a club station in Walsoordeu, Netherlands, and IK6CWQ, Lou in Torrebecchia, Italy. We also completed a QRP CW contact to Paris, France, but I do not have the CW log to note the callsign.
Sunday morning I checked into the Pothole Net and had three short QSO's with ED-VE3GX, Glenn-VE3XRA, and Ernest-VE3EJJ. I was hoping to have a short contact with Bob-VA3RCS or Martin-VA3SIE, but they where nowhere to be found.
The antennas all worked as advertised, so Bob-VA3RCS can share the glory :-)
The narrow road into the cottage was interesting as it was not properly ploughed out, and the “slide all over the road” factor was high, but we all made it safely, including Bill-VA3WOW, who arrived from Belleville.
It really is amazing just how much longer it takes to do simple things in the cold weather, and with heavy gloves on.
It took a good five hours for the cottage to warm up to a comfortable level, but after seeing the photo’s of Bob VA3RCS standing out in the cold operating I shall not complain…….because I know Bob would never let me forget it :-)
Don-VE3MNE made his normal field day supper...."Gilroy's Gourmet Road Kill Chilli", and as usual it was superb, Bill-VA3WOW contributed a very nice bottle of cabernet merlot, called "Cape One", it's a blend of Canadian and South African red wines and was outstanding.
Operating wise we made 70+ contacts, 35 on SSB, 1 on PSK31, and the remainder on CW. For the most part the daytime propagation on the bands went from “bad” to outright “bloody miserable”. But on Saturday evening 160m was just hopping with CW signals, but no SSB was to be heard. George VE3SIQ operated 20m to good success, and Don VE3MNE and I operated 80m and 40m SSB and PSK.
We made a number of good DX contacts on Sunday morning including, EC2DX, Imanol in San Sabastian, Spain, YT1A, Vladan in Kraljevo, Serbia, PI4DX a club station in Walsoordeu, Netherlands, and IK6CWQ, Lou in Torrebecchia, Italy. We also completed a QRP CW contact to Paris, France, but I do not have the CW log to note the callsign.
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| VE3MNE & VE3SIQ working the bands |
The antennas all worked as advertised, so Bob-VA3RCS can share the glory :-)
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| View over Leggat Lake |
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| VA3ORP setting up the "Blue Pill" vertical Photo by VA3WOW |
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| VE3CLQ and VE3MNE checking out the digital station Photo by VA3WOW |
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| View over the lake and the 80m OCF dipole Photo by VA3WOW |
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| Another view of the digital station Photo by VA3WOW |
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| VA3ORP's car and operating position |
Sunday, 23 January 2011
W3EDP Antenna
Next weekend is Winter Field Day and the group which is taking part from the Frontenac Radio Group decided today which antennas we will be using. So, the choices are: a 80m OCF Dipole, a 20m Delta Loop, a W3EDP, and a 20m Buddipole Vertical.
(See updated article HERE)
(See another W3EDP article HERE)
We had everything but the W3EDP...but that got built tonight. Many thanks to Bob, VA3QV, for his comments and thoughts on this antenna............and I'm sure you'll agree that it's also nice to have somebody else to blame if it doesn't work :-)
Everyone I have spoken to who has used this antenna speaks highly of it. We'll give it a try and see how it works out.
We are already planning several Lighhouse activations next summer and this type of antenna will be very useful on those trips....when it's -30C it's always nice to dream of next summer's fun when it will be +30C !!
For all of you going out next weekend to take part in the Winter Field Day, be careful, dress warm, stay safe, and please remember that it takes four times as long to do tasks in the cold as it does in the warm weather, so take your time.
(See updated article HERE)
(See another W3EDP article HERE)
We had everything but the W3EDP...but that got built tonight. Many thanks to Bob, VA3QV, for his comments and thoughts on this antenna............and I'm sure you'll agree that it's also nice to have somebody else to blame if it doesn't work :-)
We are already planning several Lighhouse activations next summer and this type of antenna will be very useful on those trips....when it's -30C it's always nice to dream of next summer's fun when it will be +30C !!
For all of you going out next weekend to take part in the Winter Field Day, be careful, dress warm, stay safe, and please remember that it takes four times as long to do tasks in the cold as it does in the warm weather, so take your time.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
NA QSO Party is over!
This years NA QSO Parties, both CW and SSB are now over. Lots of fun, but the propagation just wasn't there. The SFI was down to 80 with the A and K indexes not very good either for the SSB party.
There did not seem to be the participation we have seen in the past for the SSB weekend. It seemed to start slow and never really picked up. I did manage to work stations on 80m, 40m, 20m, and 15m, but I never heard a soul on 10m everytime I had a look around there.
One item that did work out well for me was using my second call sign - VE3FCT. Unlike when I use VE3CLQ, VE3FCT seems to punch through phonetically. Normally I'm asked to repeat "Charlie Lima Quebec" several times before the other operator gets it, but this did not happen using "Fox Charlie Tango". Not once was I asked to repeat my call this time.......I may have a winner!
My Log
Time(Z) Band Call RST Name QTH
1812 40m KJ4ADN 56/56 Bill Axton, VA
1832 40m K4HTA 59/59 Pat Vienna, VA
1834 40m W4PV 57/56 Pat Knoxville, TN
1837 40m NA2M 59/59 Bill Mohegan Lake, NY
1840 40m WA2TPU 59/59 Don Afton, NY
1845 40m KW3A 59/59 Steve Springfield, PA
1913 40m K4VV 58/58 Jack Paeonian Springs, VA
1916 40m KB2AMY 59/59 Evan Westbury, NY
1919 40m KC2SNV 58/58 Ken Black Wood, NJ
1922 40m KG2GL 59/59 Tony Nutley, NJ
1925 40m KC9CDW 59/59 Gary Kiel, WI
1931 20m K4AB 59/59 Tom Hazel Green, AL
1933 20m VE3CX 59/59 Matti Kaministiquia, ON
1942 20m KT4ZB 55/56 Mark Savannah, GA
1947 20m AG5Z 59/58 Larry Purvis, MS
1955 15m WA7NB 56/55 Art Tuscon, AZ
2002 15m WR7Q 55/55 Bob Murray, UT
0108 40m K9JF 59/59 Jim Vancouver, WA
0120 40m N1SNB 59/59 Jeff Haverhill, MA
0135 40m W5WMU 59/59 Pat Lafayette, LA
0145 80m W4YCC 59/59 Bob Rock Hill, SC
0146 80m VA2OP 59/59 Jay St. Colomban, QC
0150 80m K9CT 59/59 Al Trivoli, IL
0152 80m W1SJ 59/59 Mitch Essex, VT
0155 80m WA7NB 58/57 Art Tucson, AZ
0201 80m KW8N 58/59 Bob N. Ridgeville, OH
0209 80m K0RH 56/57 Jim Valley Center, KS
All in all an enjoyable day. Lets hope that the SFI starts to improve in a hurry!
There did not seem to be the participation we have seen in the past for the SSB weekend. It seemed to start slow and never really picked up. I did manage to work stations on 80m, 40m, 20m, and 15m, but I never heard a soul on 10m everytime I had a look around there.
One item that did work out well for me was using my second call sign - VE3FCT. Unlike when I use VE3CLQ, VE3FCT seems to punch through phonetically. Normally I'm asked to repeat "Charlie Lima Quebec" several times before the other operator gets it, but this did not happen using "Fox Charlie Tango". Not once was I asked to repeat my call this time.......I may have a winner!
My Log
Time(Z) Band Call RST Name QTH
1812 40m KJ4ADN 56/56 Bill Axton, VA
1832 40m K4HTA 59/59 Pat Vienna, VA
1834 40m W4PV 57/56 Pat Knoxville, TN
1837 40m NA2M 59/59 Bill Mohegan Lake, NY
1840 40m WA2TPU 59/59 Don Afton, NY
1845 40m KW3A 59/59 Steve Springfield, PA
1913 40m K4VV 58/58 Jack Paeonian Springs, VA
1916 40m KB2AMY 59/59 Evan Westbury, NY
1919 40m KC2SNV 58/58 Ken Black Wood, NJ
1922 40m KG2GL 59/59 Tony Nutley, NJ
1925 40m KC9CDW 59/59 Gary Kiel, WI
1931 20m K4AB 59/59 Tom Hazel Green, AL
1933 20m VE3CX 59/59 Matti Kaministiquia, ON
1942 20m KT4ZB 55/56 Mark Savannah, GA
1947 20m AG5Z 59/58 Larry Purvis, MS
1955 15m WA7NB 56/55 Art Tuscon, AZ
2002 15m WR7Q 55/55 Bob Murray, UT
0108 40m K9JF 59/59 Jim Vancouver, WA
0120 40m N1SNB 59/59 Jeff Haverhill, MA
0135 40m W5WMU 59/59 Pat Lafayette, LA
0145 80m W4YCC 59/59 Bob Rock Hill, SC
0146 80m VA2OP 59/59 Jay St. Colomban, QC
0150 80m K9CT 59/59 Al Trivoli, IL
0152 80m W1SJ 59/59 Mitch Essex, VT
0155 80m WA7NB 58/57 Art Tucson, AZ
0201 80m KW8N 58/59 Bob N. Ridgeville, OH
0209 80m K0RH 56/57 Jim Valley Center, KS
All in all an enjoyable day. Lets hope that the SFI starts to improve in a hurry!
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
NA QSO Party
Don't forget, this weekend is the NA SSB QSO Party! You can find the rules here.
This will be my first contest under my new call - VE3FCT, which I'll be using for contesting as the phonetics are easier to get across than CLQ......at least that's the theory!
I'll be working all bands on low power, and hopefullt the SFI will improve a wee bit for the weekend.
Hope to work you on the air this weekend!
This will be my first contest under my new call - VE3FCT, which I'll be using for contesting as the phonetics are easier to get across than CLQ......at least that's the theory!
Hope to work you on the air this weekend!
Thursday, 6 January 2011
The Fifth Annual SPAR Winter Field Day!
I'm looking forward to the 2011 Winter Field day, which is being held over the weekend of 29th/30th January. This will be the fourth year I have taken part in this event.
Now I'm not a fan of winter, and I hate the cold with a passion....but I do believe that SPAR has it right, emergencies and disasters do not always happen in the "good months". And it is because of this that ARES members must train and operate in less than ideal conditions.
This year six of us will be deploying to Leggat Lake, about 7 kms north of Parham (40 kms north of Kingston). We have the use of by brother-in-laws uninsulated summer cottage, that thankfully does have an operating woodstove, and you'll find me very close to it.....if not sitting on top of it for most of the weekend.
The rules for the SPAR Winter Field Day can be found HERE. We plan of having three HF stations on the air - 2cw and 1 ssb. We have a 80m OCF dipole, a 20m loop, and a Buddipole system ready to go.
Hope to work you guys on the air that weekend.
Now I'm not a fan of winter, and I hate the cold with a passion....but I do believe that SPAR has it right, emergencies and disasters do not always happen in the "good months". And it is because of this that ARES members must train and operate in less than ideal conditions.
This year six of us will be deploying to Leggat Lake, about 7 kms north of Parham (40 kms north of Kingston). We have the use of by brother-in-laws uninsulated summer cottage, that thankfully does have an operating woodstove, and you'll find me very close to it.....if not sitting on top of it for most of the weekend.
The rules for the SPAR Winter Field Day can be found HERE. We plan of having three HF stations on the air - 2cw and 1 ssb. We have a 80m OCF dipole, a 20m loop, and a Buddipole system ready to go.
Hope to work you guys on the air that weekend.
Monday, 20 December 2010
The Worked All Neighbours Award
The other weekend Don, VE3MNE, and I built an 80m OCF dipole to replace my current 80m-40m-20m fan dipole. We had built several of the OCF dipoles over the past 12 months, and had used two of them, an 80m and a 160m, at Don’s cottage for field day and the IARU World Championships last summer….all with no problem. In fact this year we had the best field day score we have had in years. The plans came from the Bux Comm website.
So, on a cold Sunday (why do it in the warm weather…right?) we hauled down the fan dipole, which had given me sterling service for nearly five years, and put up the new 80m OCF dipole. It took us a while to tune it, this antenna works on 80m-40m-20m-10m and 6m, and when tuned properly can give you a 1.5:1 SWR across the bands. We could not quite get 1.5:1, but we did get close to that.
I fired up the rig and found that the ATU wasn’t required, and proceeded to call CQ. Well, it wasn’t too long before the XYL was in the shack complaining that I was playing hell with the TV. So, looking around to see what I had missed I found the low pass filter which I had neglected to reinstall. On went the low pass filter and off I went again calling CQ.
Within minutes I had a neighbour knocking at the front door and the XYL back in the shack, both complaining of interference with their respective TV’s. Off went the rig for the night and I sat and contemplated what the hell could be wrong.
The rig sat idle for about a week, and during that time I replaced every bit of coax in the shack with brand new pieces. On went the rig, called CQ, more complaints came from the neighbours, and off went the rig.
What to do and more to the point, what the hell is going on. We know these antennas work, and all my neighbours are on cable. Could it be the 4:1 Balun? Nope, checked that out and it works fine, and it was back to contemplating this issue for a few more days.
I had to do something fast as the RAC Winter Contest was coming up, and I needed a working antenna that wasn’t going to get me strung up by my neighbours. So, I did what any good ham would do…the damn thing came down, the old one went back up, and we’re back on the air with no complaints!
And that’s how I earned the “Worked All Neighbours Award”.
So, on a cold Sunday (why do it in the warm weather…right?) we hauled down the fan dipole, which had given me sterling service for nearly five years, and put up the new 80m OCF dipole. It took us a while to tune it, this antenna works on 80m-40m-20m-10m and 6m, and when tuned properly can give you a 1.5:1 SWR across the bands. We could not quite get 1.5:1, but we did get close to that.
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| From the Bux Comm website |
Within minutes I had a neighbour knocking at the front door and the XYL back in the shack, both complaining of interference with their respective TV’s. Off went the rig for the night and I sat and contemplated what the hell could be wrong.
The rig sat idle for about a week, and during that time I replaced every bit of coax in the shack with brand new pieces. On went the rig, called CQ, more complaints came from the neighbours, and off went the rig.
What to do and more to the point, what the hell is going on. We know these antennas work, and all my neighbours are on cable. Could it be the 4:1 Balun? Nope, checked that out and it works fine, and it was back to contemplating this issue for a few more days.
I had to do something fast as the RAC Winter Contest was coming up, and I needed a working antenna that wasn’t going to get me strung up by my neighbours. So, I did what any good ham would do…the damn thing came down, the old one went back up, and we’re back on the air with no complaints!
And that’s how I earned the “Worked All Neighbours Award”.
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Winter Field Day
For the past 4 years the Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio (SPAR) has sponsored an annual Winter Field Day, always held the last full weekend of January.
Not only during Field Day in June, do the bands come alive with improvised signals proving the ability to respond to emergencies. Since emergencies and natural disasters don't always happen in the summer, during Winter Field Day, frigid winds, icy limbs and bitter cold replace the thunderstorms and blistering heat of summer. In 2007 SPAR established a Winter Field Day event and invited all Amateur Radio operators to participate. The event was repeated in 2008 and was considered a success, so it was then designated an annual event to be held the last full weekend each January. In 2007 - 2010 the event was enjoyed by many, but it is time to issue the invitation for the Fifth Annual SPAR Winter Field Day!
The 2011 Winter Field Day will be held from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday January 29, 2011 through 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Sunday January 30, 2011.
The object of the event is familiar to most Amateur Radio operators: set up emergency-style communications and make as many contacts as possible during the 24 hour period. The rules encourage as many contacts on as many bands and modes as possible, because during a real emergency, the most important factor is the ability to communicate, regardless of band, mode or distance.
Mark it on your calendars, it's too much fun to miss!
Not only during Field Day in June, do the bands come alive with improvised signals proving the ability to respond to emergencies. Since emergencies and natural disasters don't always happen in the summer, during Winter Field Day, frigid winds, icy limbs and bitter cold replace the thunderstorms and blistering heat of summer. In 2007 SPAR established a Winter Field Day event and invited all Amateur Radio operators to participate. The event was repeated in 2008 and was considered a success, so it was then designated an annual event to be held the last full weekend each January. In 2007 - 2010 the event was enjoyed by many, but it is time to issue the invitation for the Fifth Annual SPAR Winter Field Day!
The 2011 Winter Field Day will be held from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday January 29, 2011 through 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Sunday January 30, 2011.
The object of the event is familiar to most Amateur Radio operators: set up emergency-style communications and make as many contacts as possible during the 24 hour period. The rules encourage as many contacts on as many bands and modes as possible, because during a real emergency, the most important factor is the ability to communicate, regardless of band, mode or distance.
Mark it on your calendars, it's too much fun to miss!
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