Chillycon 2022...

Coming up on September 30th to October 2nd is this years edition of Chillycon.   In normal years this would have been held last weekend, but the park has decided to stay open a few more weeks this year, so we took the option of going later in the year with the hope the campground will have less visitors and be a heck of a lot quieter than last year.

Chillycon is the annual gathering of QRP'ers in Eastern Ontario, and many lively discussion on various radios and antennas will be held around a campfire.  This year there will be a large gathering of Eastern Ontario POTA operators, so it will be interesting to hear about their activation stories and techniques. This year I expect there will be a good number of local POTA activations in the area around the park.

So far the weather looks cold but dry....which is a lot better than cold and wet!  I just hope the propagation is good for the weekend, as we have to beat Eric, VE3AMX, in the DX Trophy Contest that weekend.

I'll be spending this weekend cleaning and packing camping equipment.  My portable radio gear is already to go as it is my normal POTA gear that I use almost daily.

I'll have a full report of the event after I return home.  Until then, Stay Safe!

Hurricane Net - 2022...

Tis the Season....

This info is just in......this years Hurricane Watch Net is up and running. Please keep clear of the following freqs so they can work emergency traffic if needed:

14.325

7.286

In addition the Dominican Republic Amateur Radio Society is currently operating on 7.065 and 3.785 as Hurricane Fiona is working its way towards them.

Let's all hope the Nets are not needed!!

Back at it...

What a great day it was on the bands today.  They seem to be settling down again nicely, the QSB has all but disappeared, and the POTA Hunters are back out in force.

The next couple of days seem to be a good time get out and do some more portable operating in the local parks:

This afternoon I headed over to Lemoine Point Conservation Area and did a quick activation.  It took me 30 minutes to get 19 contacts in my logbook.  Nothing spectacular, and no DX, but it was just nice to get out and operate for the first time in a week.

The propagation numbers this afternoon were:  SFI=127, SN=72, A Index=19, and the K Index=2.

Here's todays QSO map:

I'm planning another operating session in a local park for tomorrow.  More than likely it will be in Marshlands Conservation Area, close to downtown.  The propagation and the weather both look good for a change!

Stay Safe Out There!

Solar Storm...(Updated 0230 UTC, 5th September)

The bands are not looking very good today.....or tomorrow, from the space weather forecast.

Updated - 0230 UTC, September 5:

The Bands Are Hopping...

What a great afternoon chasing POTA stations I had today.  Finally the propagation seemed to be good enough to make good contacts.  I managed to put 31 contacts in my log in 28 minutes.  That including having to switch Hamsticks from 40m to 20m.

The propagation was: SFI=116, SN=50, A Index=7, and the K Index=2.

It took my exactly 6 minutes to get the 10 qualifying contacts for the park I was in, in my log.  Just amazing after so many weeks of bad bands and lousy propagation. 

Here's todays contact map.  You can see the 40m ring of contacts and further out the 20m ring:

Unfortunately it doesn't look like this good patch of propagation will last.  Here's the outlook for the next few days:

It may be a quiet weekend on Ham Radio this weekend, but hopefully things will improve by next week.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Well, It Could Have Been Better!!...

Last Saturday I, and three other members of the Upper Canada QRP Club, set off early to activate 2 separate islands for the W/V Island QSO Party.  It was also convenient that both of the islands fell within the boundaries of VE-0023, and VE-4882, which are local POTA entities.

Don VE3MNE, and I set off for Lower Brewers Mill and Washburn Island.  George VE3SIQ and the Bob VA3QV went to Upper Brewers Mill Island, about 3 km north of us.

This was actually the very first official club activity since we shut things down for Covid.  It was sure nice to get club activities going again.  The weather was somewhat cool, with a stiff wind blowing in the morning, but that soon gave way to blue skies and warm temperatures.

When Don and I arrived at Lower Brewers Mill we found that it was a construction site, with no real parking.  It turns out that the single lane wooden bridge that takes traffic across the canal is being rebuilt, and the parking lot was filled with construction trailers.  

We worked things out and spread out in order to not interfere with each other.  The bands were in terrible shape, with very deep QSB and near constant static crashes.  The propagation numbers were:

SFI=119, SN=90, A Index=7, and the K Index=4.

So in three hours I managed a grand total of 15 contacts, and Don didn't do much better.  The best part of the day was that fellow club member Dave VA3ORP, paddled down the canal from his QTH and joined us for a while.  It was nice to catch up with him.  I even managed a couple of CW contacts with him as he paddled up and down the canal.  

Best contact of the day?  Juan-Jose, EC5CSW, in Valencia, Spain.  Not too bad for 5w SSB !! 

Here's a picture of Dave VA3ORP, as he arrived:

Yes, that's a Hamstick mounted on the Kayak, and a 2.5w tuna can CW rig in his hands.

I wonder what the next adventure will be?

Stay Safe Out There!!

And Here We Go Again...

Propagation is not looking very good for the next few days!!

W/V Island QSO Party...

Tomorrow, August 27th, sees this years W/V Island QSO party.  The QSO party runs from 1200 UTC August 27, to 0300 UTC August 28.

If you wish to take part, the Canadian Island Number list is available HERE.

The Rules for the event can be found HERE.

Many Canadian Islands are also within Parks on the Air entities and can generate a good number of QSO's during the contest.

I'm planning an early start and will be heading up to Washburn Island, ON-289, which is about 25 km north of my QTH.  Washburn Island is fortunate to be also within the boundaries of two POTA entities, VE-0023 (Frontenac Biosphere), and VE-4882 (Rideau Canal National Historical Site), which I will also activate. 

I'm hoping the weather and the propagation both behave themselves, and allow me to have an excellent day out playing portable radio.

The bridge over the canal at Washburn Island.