WFD 2018 - Getting Ready

I spent quite a bit of the afternoon sorting through portable radio gear getting things sorted out for this years Winter Field Day (WFD).......I didn't realize I have so much "stuff" !!

I have three antennas packed up and ready to go, a 31' vertical with a 4:1 Balun and two 31' radials, a 65' long wire with a 9:1 Balun, and a 17' collapsible whip, tripod mount and three 33' radials.  Those should cover all of my needs for the weekend.  I've used them all before on various outings and they all work very well, and have lots of great DX to their credit.  No need to change what works at this late date.

Two radios will make the trip with me, my FT-817ND and my FT-897D.  I received a BX-8x7 Dynamic Compressor kit V2.0 for Christmas.  This piece of gear works on the 817, 857, and the 897.  So far on the tests I have done this has lived up to its promise of pumping out an extra S Unit on transmit.  So hopefully the extra punch will help on the WFD weekend.

Two portable masts will be going with me, my MFJ 33' collapsible mast, and a 22' painter pole, along with a bag of rope and another one of bungy cords to make sure they stay up.

My shack, at the moment, has piles of gear scattered all over the floor, all waiting to be either stacked ready to go or to be put away, awaiting another suitable adventure.

There are four of us going to a cottage on Burridge Lake, near Westport, Ontario, for the event.  Hopefully the road will have been plowed before we attempt the journey.  I believe we will be using the VE3UCC callsign that belongs to the Upper Canada QRP Club, so give a listen for us.

Burridge Lake, north of Kingston.

Plans for 2018

Here we are in 2018 and wondering what surprises this year will bring.  I'm making my amateur radio plans for this year such as continuing my QRP operating, regardless of our place in the current solar cycle and continuing my portable antenna experimentation.

I'm continuing with the "do my own thing" agenda that I started back in October 2017.  I'm doing what I want to, when I want to do it....on my time and my space.  It's a healthy "no stress" way of living, and I feel a lot better for it.

The Sunday morning QRP group activities will continue as soon as the temperatures come out of the single digits and the snow disappears from the operating location at Lake Ontario Park.  This is an extremely relaxing time, lots of radio talk, lots of building portable antennas and lots of operating.  Just a great way to spend a Sunday....you guys should try it.

I still have a pile of islands that I want to activate and will definitely be taking part in Winter Field Day, the ILLW and the W/VE Island QSO Party.

I'm also leaning towards another long road trip home to the West Coast again this year if I can fit it in amongst everything else that needs to be done.

And as usual this year, I look forward to writing about my adventures....or lack thereof !!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone 
and
Stay Safe Out There !!

VE3 SOTA

For those of you looking for up-to-date information on the new VE3 SOTA Association, have a look HERE.   New information was posted there today.

Merry Christmas

It's that time of year again, when people around the world start talking about peace and goodwill.   Perhaps one day they will think about peace and goodwill all year long.

I hope you all have a wondrous Christmas, but please - remember those less fortunate than us.

Winter Field Day - 2018

Coming up quickly is the 2018 Winter Field Day!

Not only during summer 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 good weather, during Winter Field Day, frigid winds, icy limbs, and bitter cold replace thunderstorms, mosquitoes, and the blistering heat of summer.

Rules for the event can be found HERE.

Remember to give yourself and your team a lot longer to complete the site setup, it can take up to four times longer than in the warm weather.

Make sure you watch out for each other for signs of Frostbite and Hypothermia.  Stay safe out there!!

December QRP in the Park...

VE3ULC operating and dressed for the
weather today.

Great day on the bands today !!!   Jim, VE3ULC, and I went to Lake Ontario Park and operated QRP portable for a few hours, probably for the last time this year as the snow is due to start coming down next week.

The propagation numbers today, at 1730 UTC were:  SFI = 70, SN = 0, A Index = 4, and K Index = 0.    The bands were very quiet and luckily we had an absolute S0 noise floor in the park.  Just about every signal we heard was just booming in to us.

One of our goals was to work Rick, VE3ORY/W4 in Florida, as he's emigrated down there for the winter.  Jim managed to work him on 40m with Olivia 8-500, and again on 20m using PSK-31, and we both worked him again on 20m SSB.

Best contact of the day for me was with GI0AIJ in Northern Ireland who was a solid S9++ to me and he kindly gave me a 56 in return...not too bad for 5w into an MFJ 17' collapsible whip antenna.

I also managed to get KC0ZNI in the log.  Phil is in Paola, Kansas, and was activating one of the state parks today.  Booming signal from him, and I received a 57 from him....again, not too bad for a QRP signal.

All in all a great day outside playing radio.

VE3FI operating today at Lake Ontario Park....dressed for the Ontario Winter.

VE3ORY/W4 operating today in Florida....dressed for the heat wave down there !!!!!

2017 ARRL Sweepstakes

Starting this Saturday afternoon, at 2100 UTC, this years ARRL Sweepstakes starts !!   Since winning the 2013 Canadian Division trophy for QRP I haven’t really tried hard at this contest….but this year I might give it a good push and see what I can do, but I want to have a good look at the upcoming propagation first.

The link to this years Rules are HERE.

Propagation wise we could be in for an interesting time.  One of the sites I frequent has this to say about the next few days:

"No G1 (Minor) or greater geomagnetic storms are expected.  No significant transient or recurrent solar wind features are forecast".

Hopefully everything will go smoothly......but you just never know.....

Good Luck to everyone!