2m -- the lonely band...

A few years ago I wrote here about the lack of use on 2m in Canada, and today I was thinking about how nothing has changed over the years regarding the use of that band.

Interestingly though, recently I have made a few contacts on both 2m and 70cm during POTA activations, but most of them were pre-planned before I left the house. We are always hearing that if we don't use our allotted frequencies we could lose them, and as I have said before, given the level of corporate greed out there these days, we should take absolutely nothing for granted.

I am a keen follower of the following blogs, Irish Ham Radio, The Radio Rover, and Chris M0RSF. I'm always amazed at the amount of traffic those three gentlemen generate on 2m simplex during their WWFF and SOTA activations.

We have hams here who collect Grid Squares, but it seems only during contests, and it's primarily only done on 6m.  We have SOTA in North America also, but not much is done on 2m simplex, especially here in Ontario.  It’s nowhere near as popular here as it is in Europe.

The UK, and several other countries, also has HEMA, an organization that is similar to SOTA, but for smaller summits.  It’s very popular, but it appears to be only operating in VE3 land here in North America.  We also have the GMA, which also has a summit in VE3 land, hopefully that's just the start.  All of these activities support 2m activity, yet there seems to be very little of it here in Canada and North America in general.

While there are plenty of activities to do on 2m, it would seem, however, the real issue is getting people out of their shacks, and getting involved in some of these activities to make sure we don’t lose our frequencies.

Remember, the Europeans only have 144 to 146 and do all of the above activites.  Here in North America we have twice that amount of frequency, 144 to 148, and apart from a pile of dead repeaters that get used once a week for a poorly attended net, not much else goes on.  

I have just discovered that the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, does in fact hold an annual 2m contest!  Here's the link to the RULES. 

So don't forget about 2m...and 70cm...during your portable operations!

Coming Up August 19th & 20th...

This weekend, as well as the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, is the North America QSO SSB Party. The contest runs from 1800 UTC August 19th to 0559 UTC August 20th.  

It's nice to see they have a QRP classification for this contest, I might have to dabble in it.

Rules can be found HERE.

Stay Safe Out There!

Monday at the Park...

As promised there was another POTA activation completed on Monday morning.  The weather was fantastic, a clear sky and a good breeze to keep the bugs away....can't ask for more than that!

This time I used my 33' mast, and a 29' radiator with two 17' ground radials and a 9:1 unun.  It worked very well and contacts on 20m were made to WA, NM, and TX, 14 amongst other states on 40m. 

Propagation was about the same as Sunday, SFI=150, SN=85, A Index=5, and the K Index=0.

This antenna will definitely get used more often.

Monday's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There !!

Good Bands...

The HF bands were not too bad today.....for a change!  For the first time in over a month I went out and did a POTA activation, while I won't win any prizes for the number of contacts I made, it was still fun. My big issue today was learning how to operate in the cab of the new truck, it's not a roomy as my old van, and I can see this might be an issue deep in the cold winter months. But we have time to see how we can best operate comfortably in it.

Propagation numbers today were:  SFI=148, SN=78, A Index=8, and the K Index=0.  There was very, very, deep QSB on all the signals, especially those on 20m and 40m.

I'm hoping to get out again tomorrow and see how things go.  Instead of hamsticks I'm planning on using my new 33' mast, and the new hitch mount I bought for the truck.

This mast will give me several wire antenna options to use, and it should still be usable in the winter with snow on the ground.  Tomorrow I'm planning on using a 29' vertical with a 9:1 unum and a couple of 17' ground radials to see what I can do with that.

Stay tuned for that write up.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend...

The International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend is coming up fast and will take place on August 19th & 20th.  

An average year sees over 400 lighthouses on the air, and this year should be no different....but so far there are only five Canadian lights registered., pretty sad for a country with three different coastlines!

The rules and other information can be find HERE.

Stay Safe Out There!

K Index of 6+...

Unfortunately for the Colorado 14er Event this weekend the propagation does not look very good. A Strong (G3) geomagnetic storm condition was observed starting at 0600 UTC this morning, the K Index was then at 6+.

Hopefully things will settle down quickly and we can start working DX again.

Stay Safe Out There!

Colorado 14er Event, 2023...

This weekend sees amateur radio operators from around the State of Colorado climbing their high Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. 

Feel free to join in on the fun during the annual event by activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations. Be aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by (1800 UTC) noon due to lightning safety concerns.

This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Again this year, we will add two bonus days to the Colorado 14er Event. The main two days remain Saturday and Sunday (Aug 5 & 6), while the bonus days are Friday Aug 4 and Monday Aug 7th, for those SOTA enthusiasts that need more than two days of SOTA fun!

The 14er event includes Summits On the Air (SOTA) peaks, which provide over 1700 summits to activate. The Colorado 14er Event was started in 1991, about 19 years before the SOTA program was set up in Colorado. As SOTA grew in popularity, this event expanded from just the 14,000-foot mountains (14ers) to include all of the SOTA summits in the state. They still call it the Colorado 14er Event because, well, that's where it all started and the 14ers are the iconic summits in the state.

Important: The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 146.58, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the North America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58). The National Simplex Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. There will be plenty of action on the HF ham bands, especially on 20m. 

Stay Safe Out There....and SOTA & POTA On!!

Not Looking Good...

It's been mighty quiet around the VE3FI property for the past month.  I haven't done a POTA activation, or any portable radio during July.....just taking a break.  Some days the propagation around here has been so bad we couldn't talk across the street....never mind across the big pond!

However, the propagation over the next few days sure doesn't look too good.

A K Index of 4 or 5 does not make for happy band conditions.  

Stay Safe Out There!