A Couple of New Toys...

This week a couple of new toys showed up in the shack, both of them are on the list of wanted gear for my 30 day, 61 POTA Parks, west coast trip I have scheduled for next spring.....more about that later.

Both items were picked up from eBay, and several friends also have these items...so I know they work.  I was concerned that the 15w maximum of the KX3 may not be enough to get a good signal out of some of the deep valleys I'll be in.  So first to be bought was a MX P50M 45w amplifier to help push my signal out a bit further.

I'm also building a new 20m/40m linked dipole for the trip which will also help get a signal out better than my 40m EFHW or Hamsticks.

Next to arrive was a ATU-100 external antenna tuner, this is needed as I mainly use non-resonant antennas, and the amp will need to find a good match.  This tuner works on 10m through 80m, so it will cover all the options I need.

One last item has still to arrive, the PTT/Switching control cable for the KX3.  The tuner comes with the cable for the FT-817, which is no good to me as I have just sold my 817.

Once I have all the parts I can start testing how it will work for me.  It will be interesting to see how the extra power changes my normal contact area that you see in the QSO maps I publish every once in a while.

Now it's off to tidy up the maps for the routes I have chosen.  

Stay Safe Out There!

15m Rocks!!

I decided at the last minute to do a POTA activation at Parrotts Bay Conservation Area this morning. After looking at the propagation forecast I thought it would be ok to give it a try, and I wasn't sorry I did.

While looking at the POTA Spots page I noticed that 15m was working well, so I decided to start there.  In the end I ended up with 21 contacts on 15m and another 3 on 40m.  It took 20 minutes to get the 24 contacts in my log.  

The propagation this morning was: SFI=122, SN=34, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  As usual I used my KX3 at 10w, and the antenna was a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck.

I was really shocked to get a Park-to-Park call from Florian, DK5FF in Northern Germany, and then a good solid S9 contact with Jose, EA1BUL in Northern Spain.  It was also nice to get Jerry, VE8GER back in the log again from Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories.  Jerry has hunkered down now for the long cold winter that happens in his part of the country.  It'll be a few months before he sees sunlight again. 

Overall it was a great QRP day!!

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

This Weekend...

Coming up this weekend is the POTA Support Your Parks Fall Event.   The event runs from 0001 UTC 20 October to 2359 UTC 21 October.

All bands are usable as this is not a contest.

I have plans in place to activate both Portland Bay, and Mill Pond Conservation Areas on Sunday, hopefully along with a couple of other hams, so keep your eyes on POTA Spots or VE3FI.  

The WX doesn't look too good at the moment with lots of rain in the forecast, it's not going to be very warm either.  I will have do deal with a wet activation when I arrive at the first park, although sitting in a wet jacket and pants in my truck isn't how I want to spend my day.

Stay Safe Out There!

Fall Activating....

It was a good day to be on 20m this morning, not so good if you were looking to get on 40m.  I understand that 17m, 15m, 12m, and 10m, were also very good, but I didn't have the time to check them out today.

Propagation today was: SFI=164, SN=133, A Index=4, and the K Index=1, with lots of QSB as well. Some stations just disappeared after giving their callsign....never to be heard again.

Today was the first time I've managed to get out to play radio in a week, and it felt good to get on the bands, even for a short time.

Radio, as usual, was my KX3 set at 10w, and the antenna was a 20m hamstick on the roof of the truck using a 5" mag-mount.

The weather is starting to get cool during the day, so I am making sure I can operate comfortably from the cab of the truck, especially for when the snow starts to fly.......which I'm sure won't be that long.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There....

Monday at the Park...

The weather and propagation forecasts didn't look very promising when I first looked at them in the morning, it was supposed to be cool and poor propagation.  By the time I had finished my daily walk, things had improved.  So it was home to grab my radio gear and off to Parrotts Bay and another activation.

Parrott's Bay is named after James and Marie Parrott, who arrived there in 1784 as United Empire Loyalists fleeing New York in the aftermath of the American Revolution.

Considering how nice the day had turned out, I was very surprised to find I was the only person at the Conservation Area, and the trails and parking lot were all empty.  It was a very peaceful spot, and the scenery wasn't too bad either.

By the time I finally got myself setup  and ready to go on the air, it had reached a temperature of 21C, under a deep blue sky.  I had to remind myself that it is now October and this type of weather here is highly unusual.  

Radio of the day was my KX3, and my antenna was a hamstick for whatever band I was on.  I could have put up a wire antenna....but I was too lazy 😎

The propagation numbers were: SFI=159, SN=92, A Index=10, and the K Index=2.

I setup first for 40m and managed a total of 7 contacts there before the band went quiet.  I then moved to 20m and didn't make a single contact - between a very noisy band, deep QSB, and it being far too busy to find a quiet spot to operate on, I was wasting my time.  In the end, in a last ditch effort to save the activation I moved to 15m, and what a ride that was.

15m was wide open and busy with signals.  First up was Neal 2E0MNG, closely followed by Jose EA1BUL.  Next up was Steven AC6DX in California......and the rest of the activation went just like that, a non-stop pileup.  

Here's the days contact map:

The Fall Colours are starting to pop out these days.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Mohawk Island....

This Saturday weather permitting, there will be four operators kayaking to activate the old Gull Island Lighthouse on ON314 Mohawk Island and VE-0058 Mohawk Island National Wildlife Area.

The island is a couple miles off the northeast shore of Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada. 

Keep your eyes on the POTA spotting page on Sept 30 for K2EAG/VE3 (CW), N3ARB/VE3 (SSB), VE3GKT (SSB/FT8/4) and VE3JZT (CW/SSB). 

They will operate phone, digital and CW, on as many bands as possible.

Chillycon 2023 - the Aftermath...

Another Chillycon has come and gone, and what a camp it was this year!  We could not have asked for better weather, five days of brilliant sunshine with decent temperatures in the high 20's most days, and not a drop of rain.

A number of the usual regular campers did not attend, although two of them did in fact come and spend most of a day with us. Obviously the change of dates from purely a weekend event to a mid-week event didn't suit some people.  I understand next year it will go back to a weekend event only.

The propagation forecast for the week did not look too good at first, but actually things worked out very well, and we had a few days in a row of really good propagation for a change.  

Eric VE3DN, last years winner of the DX Trophy couldn't make it to the camp, but did show up for a few hours on Friday to do some operating - and try to save his winning reputation.........unfortunately it wasn't to be.  The winner of this years Upper Canada Trophy for DX Excellence is Eric VA3DXP, a first time attendee, with a 6w CW contact with YC2VOC in Indonesia, 15,000 km away, or 2500 km per watt.  Well done Eric!!  It's great to see somebody give the other Eric some serious competition!

I managed to put 155 contacts in my log over the three day period, operating very casually, and I really enjoyed myself.  This event is a great way to get rid of the stress in your life, and this year I needed the break.  

Below are some pictures of the event....

The winning DX Contest Station

Don VE3MNE and Matt VA3UMM building an antenna

 

The gathering of the minds....

Eric VE3DN presenting the DX Trophy to Eric VA3DXP

Eric VE3DN with Eric VA3DXP.

Good day on the Bands...

Yesterday was a great day to be out doing portable radio.  It was dry, warm, and very sunny.....and yes, the propagation wasn't too bad.

Propagations was: SFI=139 SN=86 A Index=7 and the K Index=1.  

I went to Lemoine Point and did two activates at the same time, I activated it for POTA, and I took part in the QRP Afield Contest for a few hours.  There did not seem to be too many QRP'ers about, but I still managed to get 22 in the log.

I started off on 40m and it wasn't too bad, there was a bit of QSB, but nothing that couldn't be worked around, and all of the contacts were within the usual 40m range.  The band soon dried up and after 14 in the log I decided to move to 15m and see what I could do there.  First up was Jose EA1BUL, from Asturias, Spain, he gave me a 59 signal report.  He was immediately followed by two back-to-back K6 stations out of California.  The band seemed to change and I finished the day with 3 contacts into Florida. Not too shabby for a KX3 at 10w and a Hamstick!

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!