Next Year...

In between POTA contacts today I decided to start my list, as I do every year, of what ham radio related activities I wanted to do in the new year.  

Well, I'm not sure about 2021, I don't think things will be back to normal.....or anywhere near normal.....until late next September.  I hope I'm wrong, but that's how I see things play out.

So is it a waste of time making plans?  What do you guys think??  Some of my ham buddies here think it is.  Well, I don't think it hurts to dream, and you never know, things may get better far faster than people think it will.

I have a cross-country road trip all planned out, but that is really not going to happen, as much as I want to visit my brother in British Columbia, that trip is going to have to wait until at least 2022.  Instead I'm going to stick with local POTA, Islands, and Lighthouse activations for the foreseeable future.  They're pretty safe as I can do them by myself. 

There will be a multi-day, mini-DXpedition for POTA though, that's my only exception.  I have six POTA sites that I want to activate, and if the parks open (which I doubt they will) then I will make it happen.  

As you can see I'm not overly optimistic that things will be much better next year.  I hope I'm wrong, but I'm going with my gut on this one. 

Stay safe everyone!

Merry Christmas...

 Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and the hope that 2021 will 

be a much better year!!

RAC Winter Contest...

The Winter Contest is one of the few things, along with the Canada Day Contest that RAC does correctly......in my opinion. It's always a very friendly contest, where friends take time to chat for a few minutes and pass along news and season's greetings to each other.  It's also a very good way of collecting all the provinces and territories in a single day.

This year the contest runs from 0001 to 2359 UTC on December 19th, and the rules can be found HERE.    

A Night Out ...

It was far too nice to stay home last night......yeah, it's December in Canada and the evening temperature was still hovering around +7C (or 45F).....so, it was off to Fort Henry again for another late night POTA activation of the Kingston Fortifications, VE-4872.    

 

To be honest, I wasn't sure I would make any contacts given the state of the bands this week.  At 2359 UTC the propagation was:  SFI=83, SN=11, A Index=8, and the K Index=2.  Lot's of room for improvement there!

I made a 2m SSB contact with a local ham and then switched to 40m after sending out a spot.  Normally you have a response after your first CQ.  Not last night....it was 10 minutes of calling before I got a response.  I was starting to think it was not the night to be using the KX3 with its 10 mighty watts.  The calls came in small spurts, and with 19 in the log I shut down and went for a coffee.   

Contacts came from ON, NB, MI, IA, OH, TX, WI, FL, AL, SC, and IN.  Not too bad for 10w into a Wolf River Coil Mini with a 9.5' whip.  

I'm probably going to get once last activation in before it gets too cold....but you just never know.  

 

ARRL 10m Contest...

This coming weekend, December 12 - 13, this years ARRL 10m Contest will run.  It starts 0000 UTC Saturday; runs through 2359 UTC Sunday.  

Given the amazing propagation we have had over the past week, I'm expecting this years contest to be outstanding.  Of course there are some rumours around of a G1 Solar Storm over the next 2 days, so hopefully all will be OK for the weekend.

Rules can be found HERE.  Give them a read, they will answer any of your questions.

The only decision I have to make is QRO or QRP this year?  I guess I'll wait for Friday before I make that call.

Another Night on the Bands...

Unlike my last night time operating session, tonight was a bit warmer at +4C.  I drove north of the city out into farmland and activated VE-0023, the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, for Parks on the Air.

It was a great night, band noise on 40m was not too bad, and I could hear all the stations calling me - 16 contacts were put in the log in 28 minutes.   I used my KX3 set at 10w, into my Wolf River Coil Mini and the 9.5 foot whip.  

Contacts were made to stations in ON, IA, SC, TX, GA, TN, ID, ND, CO, KS, and MN.  Furthest contact was to N5HO in Castle Rock, Colorado, 2,393 km distant.

As most of you will know, the propagation has been fantastic over the last week.  Tonight was no exception.  The SFI=110, SN=60, A Index=10, and K Index=2.  We are at the beginning of this new cycle, I wonder where the numbers will go to in three or four years?

I'll be out again tomorrow morning activating another local park.  I may as well, the weather is great for this time of year, and it will be hard to activate some parks once the snow begins to fly.....and that will more than likely be pretty soon.

Stay safe!!

A Good Night...

It was a dark and stormy night......well, it was dark and cold, the storm arrived this afternoon. During last nights ARRL Sweepstakes I was up on Fort Henry Hill...enjoying myself in the cold.

No, I wasn't there to take part in the Sweepstakes, I was there to take part in my local clubs QRP Sprint. This was the last Sprint to be held this year, and as the score is accumulative over the year, an important one to take part in.

It's a little bit creepy up there at night, although the view of the city, all lit up, is spectacular. The Fort has been a haven for ghost hunters for years as was the subject on one of the TAPS TV show.

I was set up ready to operate on Fort Henry Hill by 1900 local.  My 9.5' whip and Wolf River Coils Mini were ready for any 40m action that came my way.....and come it did, although it was a very hard slog with the thousands of other hams screaming "CQ Sweepstakes" with 1500w and stacked Yagi's.  

Propagation was not the best either, SFI=85, SN=11, A Index=12, and the K Index=3.  There was some pretty heavy QSB going on as well.

It was interesting working in the back of the van, with little light.  It did prove that you need to know where all your gear is so you don't spend hours searching for it. I must also remember to bring a hat and some hand-warmers next time....it's hard to paper log when your hands are shaking with the cold 😃

My KX3 was in top form though, I made contacts in TN, NC, TX, MN, ON, IA, MO, FL, NE, and SD.  At 2100 I closed down with only 13 contacts in the log.  I was happy with that, most contesters ignore weak signals, so a huge thank-you to those who pulled me out of the mud and worked me.

I am really impressed with the Wolf River Coils Mini, it works so well with the 9.5' whip.  On average I was making 2000 km SSB contacts with 10w, you can't complain about that.  

Another POTA...

Today was one of those beautiful sunny fall days, +7C under a deep blue sky...so, it was perfect for another Parks On The Air activation.

I chose to go to Fort Henry Hill National Historic Site, VE-4864, and operate from the parking lot.  Now that they have broke all of the plasma TV's they had set up in their information building it, once again, has a S0 noise floor....let's hope stays that way.

The Fort is actually closed for the season but the parking lot is still open.  I was surprised that there were so many people walking around the site trying to get some exercise, while still trying to stay safe with social distancing.  

The propagation today wasn't too bad:  SFI=82, SN=24, A Index=3, and the K Index=1 at 1600 UTC.

A new antenna was in use today.  I recently took possession of a Wolf River Coils Mini, and I had found in my garage an old AT-271 whip antenna for the AN/PRC-25 radio.  It's 113.5 inches long and is a perfect match for the coil.  I have it all mounted on a 6 inch mag-mount on the roof of my van (for stationary ops only), and it certainly worked well today.

I had the site officially activated in about 10 minutes after I arrived there, and I had 52 contacts in my log when I wrapped things up after 45 minutes.  Radio of the day, as usual, was my KX3 with a screaming 10 watts.  Stations were worked from New Brunswick to Kansas, and all done on 40m.  

We have a bit of heavy weather coming in for the next few days, but I'm hoping things will have settled down enough to get back out on Thursday and try out the same antenna setup on 20m.  

Thanks to all my chasers today!

The coil and whip mounted on the roof of my van.

The AT-271 whip antenna.