Good Bands Today...

It was snowing when I got up this morning, the very first snow of the season.  So, what was I to do other than go out and activate another park!

Todays propagation was: SFI=137, SN=74, A Index=5, and the K Index=1.  Given those numbers the bands were not too bad, the QSB was there, but it wasn't bothersome.

No DX to speak of, but the 23 contacts made me happy.  Radio today was my usual KX3, the antenna was a Packtenna 40m EFHW held up with a SOTABEAMS Tactical-mini mast.  By the time I had finished the activation of VE-5142 the snow had stopped and it had warmed up to a stunning +1C.  

Old man winter has arrived, let's all hope next April comes quickly!!

Stay safe and warm out there!!

Remembrance Day....

In Loving Memory of the

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron RAF Regiment

1941 - 1946

"PER ARDUA"

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today."

Bands are Improving...

As most of you will know, the propagation has not been the best over the past few days. So it was a pleasant surprise today to see the bands had improved somewhat.

Yesterday (Friday) I managed to pull off a POTA activation at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142.  I had deep QSB and found it very hard to hold a QSO without the other station disappearing totally. In the end I closed down after 27 minutes with 17 contacts in the log.  

The propagation numbers were: SFI=125, SN=82, A Index=26, and the K Index=3.

Oh yeah, after the activation I went and got my Extra Strength Flu shot for this year. So far other than a sore shoulder, I'm OK.

Today (Saturday) I decided to go to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, for another morning activation.  It was a great day, the temperature was +21C, and I was in shorts.....in November....in Canada!!!!!  While the QSB was bad, it wasn't as bad as yesterday. In fact I managed, after 40 minutes, to put 39 contacts in the log.  While I had no Trans-Atlantic DX, it was still a really good day.

Today, the propagation numbers were: SFI=118, SN=82, A Index=16, and the K Index=3.

As is usual for me I was using my KX3, set at 10w, and my 20m and 40m Hamsticks.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!!

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!!