The JPC-12 and a Hamstick...

The weather was great today, it was 22C under a beautiful blue sky when VE3WTN, VE3MNE, and I descended on Lake Ontario Park here in Kingston to do some antenna testing and analyzing.  It was a good thing we had some antenna work to do as the bands were absolutely terrible.

A few months ago I bought a JPC-12 antenna and have been waiting for the weather to warm up, and the ground to soften up, so I could get it in the ground to test.  Last week I did get it out and did some tests to see if I could figure out the band settings for it....as you don't get any with the antenna.  

Today we set up the JPC-12 for 40m with four 17' ground radials attached to the baseplate.  We also had a 40m hamstick, on a 5" mag-mount, on the roof of the van...where we normally have it.  Later on we also set the same configuration up for 20m.

It takes about one minute to set up a hamstick, and approximately ten minutes to set up the JPC-12 and radials.

After a search for some nets we found some fairly loud signals on the bands.  Switching back and forth between the two antennas the interesting thing we found was that there is less than a single S Unit between the two antennas.  On both of the bands we ran tests on the JPC-12 came out on top.  

I think if I was camping for the weekend, or spending the whole day at a park doing POTA, I would set up the JPC-12, but for my usual activations of an hour or less, I'll stick with the hamsticks, they are just too convenient.  My opinion is that there is just not enough difference between the two to worry about.

Stay Safe Out There!

There's Definitely an Improvement...

The bands are definitely improving.  Here's the latest contact map:

Still not hearing any DX stations, but I'm sure they will return soon.  There was still a bit of deep QSB, but nowhere as bad as yesterday.

Today the propagation numbers were: SFI=138, SN=109, A Index=4, and the K Index=1.

I have no activities planned now until Sunday, when my plan is to go to the local park and test and compare my 20m and 40m hamsticks against my JPC-12 antenna.  Stay tuned for those results.

Stay Safe Out There!

Bands are definitely better...

I've done two POTA activations in the past two days, and while my contact numbers are still low right now, the bands do seem to be getting better.  I'm not seeing any trans-Atlantic traffic, but give it another week and they should start showing up.

Tuesday saw me at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142.  The propagations was: SFI=135, SN=94, A Index=6, and the K Index=1.  There was lots of deep QSB which played havoc for both ends of the conversation.   

Here's Tuesdays contact map:

Wednesday saw me at Lemoines Point, VE-5141.  The propagation numbers were: SFI=134, SN=92, A Index=8, and the K Index=1.  The QSB was still there, but not as bad as Tuesday.

Here's Wednesdays contact map:

There's not much difference between the two, which is good, as I used the KX3 set at 10 watts and Hamsticks for both activations.

Stay Safe Out There!

Another Day in the Parks...

It was another beautiful day here in Eastern Ontario, lots of sun and blue sky.   Todays activation was VE-6003, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.  The trail runs along the Ontario shores of the Great Lakes from the Quebec border to the Manitoba border, and luckily for us here in Kingston, passes through four of our local POTA Parks.

Today, for the first time in a long time, I did not use my Hamsticks.  Instead I used my tactical mini SOTA pole and a QRP EFHW antenna cut for 40/20/15/10m.  Along with the antenna was a 1:1 Common Mode Choke.  The antenna and choke came from Tim, N9SAB, in Waukegan, IL.  The antenna also works very well on 17m and 6m.  I know it doesn't load at all on 12m, but I have never tried it on 30m.  The support pole is 6 metres high, or 19'6".

To be very honest I did not see any difference between using the hamsticks or the EFHW.  I suppose the only difference was the better signal reports I received today,  but as you will see from the map below, there was no real difference from where my signals normally reach with just the hamsticks.

Propagation today was:  SFI=144, SN=109, A Index=13, and the K Index=2.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Back Out In The Parks...

After 12 days of garbage propagation, today was finally a good day and I managed to pull off a successful POTA activation.  Not only was the propagation good, the weather was spectacular.  Of course something had to spoil the day, and I forgot my clipboard so it made writing my log a bit difficult.

The propagation numbers were:  SFI=149, SN=118, A Index=19, and the K Index=1.  There was quite a bit of QSB, but it was easy to work around it.  

Here's todays contact map:

While the contacts were not very spectacular, the idea that the bands were good enough to actually make contacts again was spectacular.

Nine of the contacts were made on 40m, and six were made on 20m.  I did try 15m but nobody answered my CQ's.  The radio was my KX3 with hamsticks.

I'm looking forward to getting out tomorrow morning and doing it all over again.  Hopefully this time I'll get a few more contacts.

Stay Safe Out There!

An Update to my Updates...

Looks like another few days of rough radio work.   Hopefully it will sort itself out for next week.

Here's the latest chart:

Stay Safe Out There!

And.....Here We Go Again...(Updated) and (Updated again)...

Here's the Space Weather forecast for the next three days, it's certainly not looking very good.  So far I'm not very impressed with the propagation of this solar cycle, it certainly isn't shaping up to be what they originally forecast for it.

This past week the propagation has been abysmal and it looks like next week won't be any different!

Update as of 0200 UTC, 7 May:

Update as of 1800 UTC, 9 May:

Not Much Improvement...

It was a rather mediocre time on the bands this morning, the affects of the last round of poor propagation was still being felt. Hopefully that will change over the next few days.

The propagation numbers were:  SFI=154, SN=79, A Index=10, and the K Index=1.

Weather wise it was wet, cold, and very windy, not at all what you would expect from there 1st May. It was, in fact, what my friends would call a "hot chocolate" type day.

Here's todays contact map:

All of my contacts, but one, were on 20m today.  Normally it is the other way around.  Along with poor propagation we also had some severe QSB, which certainly didn't help matters.  Radio was my KX3 and a 20m and 40m Hamstick.

It took nearly an hour to put 13 contacts in my log book, it normally never takes that long.  I'm hoping the bands improve and the good propagation returns soon.

Stay Safe Out There!