Nice Day Out in the Park...

Today was a great day to go out and play radio in the park.  It was only +9C (48F) here in Collins Bay today, but the sky was a very deep blue, and was absolutely perfect.  This is probably one of the last nice days before the winds and rain arrive for the Autumn.

Propagation today was: SFI=122, SN=72, A Index=5, and the K Index=3.  I had some QSB issues, but the majority of my troubles today was QRM.  People just don't listen before they tune up and press transmit.  One has to wonder how much of it was/is deliberate.

Today was supposed to be just a quick activation of Lemoine Point, VE-5141, but the pile up never stopped for the 30 minutes I was there.  As it was supposed to be a quick one I just used my 20m and 40m hamsticks with a mag-mount on the roof of my van....and the radio was my trusty KX3 set at a whopping 10 watts.

Starting on 40m, which was supposed to have poor conditions, I put 10 contacts in the log in eight minutes.  Not too shabby for a QRP activation.  The remaining 20 contacts were all done on 20m.  

Here's today's contact map:

And......here's the forecasted solar weather for the next few days:

Stay Safe Out There!!

What a Difference a Day Makes...

Yesterday the bands were just hopping, and the propagation numbers were pretty good. We woke up today to see: SFI=109, SN=48, A Index=5, and K Index=5. 

Here's what It's going to look like for the next couple days:

Bands Have Improved...

I did my first activation POTA in a week today, the weather was cool (+5C) and the sky was blue, so I thought "why not?".

So it was off to Lemoine Point after lunch, VE-5141 as it's known in the POTA World. The parking lot was nearly full with afternoon hikers and dog walkers using the trails. Anyway, I managed to tuck myself away in a corner and get on the air.

Today's operating position in the back of my van is shown on the left. My Kent Engineering Standard Morse Key got a good workout with several contacts down into the Southern States.  GA and FL seemed to have a pipeline to my location, as I worked several of them one after the other.

Todays propagation was good, SFI=116, SN=60, A Index=7, and the K Index=0. There was a bit of QSB on the signals, but not enough to worry about or make life difficult.

As usual I was using my KX3 and 20m and 40m Hamsticks.

No DX showed up today on the bands for me, and here's my QSO map for today:

Stay Safe Out There!

Jamboree on the Air 2022...

Hey!!!  This weekend is the Boy Scouts annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). JOTA is a worldwide event, and Scouting stations around the world will be looking for contacts as well. 

In North America keep an ear on the following frequencies:

3.690 and 3.940

7.090 to 7.190

14.290

18.140

21.360

24.960

28.390

Get on the air and work the kids !!!!

Chillycon 2022 - It's over...

Another successful Chillycon is over, and this one while short on attendees, was pretty good.  It turns out a number the regulars didn't come out for it as they thought it as going to be too cold.  In fact the weather was great, yeah it was a little cool first thing in the morning, but it soon warmed up.  At least we had no rain!!

I spent Thursday and Friday doing road trips to various local parks listed on the POTA app, in fact I ended up having to submit 10 separate POTA logs for the time we where at Rideau River Provincial Park.  Ok, so I went a bit nuts this year, it was my holiday - give me a break.

Saturday on the air was spectacular, I made 99 contacts that day, see the QSO map below:

The lines heading off on the right side of the map were heading to Europe, four contacts were made into Spain and one into Poland.  Not too shabby for 10w and a 40m EFHW antenna.

One of the antenna experiments I did this weekend was trying to get on 80m using various pieces of equipment I have.  I used my Buddipole VersaHub with the large Buddipole low-band coil, and then topped it with the MFJ 17' telescopic whip.  Along with that I used three 17' ground radials, and had it working just fine.  The match at 3.750 was 1.2:1.  This is definitely a keeper.  

Eric, VA3AMX, won the DX Trophy, for what seems the 100th time, with a nice cw QRP contact with a VK6.  I guess it helps if you sit up all night waiting for the right moment 😎

Over the past year I have been looking at various cw keys, trying to find the right one, and the most comfortable one for me.  So thanks to Eric, I'm now the proud owner of a Kent Engineering Standard Morse Key, and what a beauty it is!!!  I remember my Dad using one of these keys, but I don't know where it ended up after he passed away.  Anyway, Thanks Eric, it will be used!!

Stay Safe Out There!!

Saturday on the Bands...

Fort Henry from todays "shack"

What a fantastic morning on the bands it was today!!   It was warm and we had blue skies, quite the change from yesterdays activation were it poured down the whole time I was on the radio.

I had 38 contacts in the log when I finished, including 8 park-2-parks.  Both 40m and 20m, while not looking too good on the forecast, actually performed very well.

The propagation numbers where:  SFI=146, SN=128, A Index=12, and the K Index=3.  

I was under the impression that the Fort was closed for the season, but judging by the full parking lot that isn't the case.  I managed to find a quiet spot near the Fort and set up with no hassle...a few strange looks, but no issues.

POTA activations at the Fort always do very well, regardless of the days propagation it seems.  I'm sure the height of the hill has something to do with it.  

Here's todays contact map:

Another view from todays "shack", looking over the 1000 Islands.

Stay Safe out There!!

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!!