CQ WW WPX Contest 2015

Well, it's over for another year............let's hope CQ Magazine manages to survive and sponsor it again next year.

Conditions when we kicked off at 0000Z Saturday were just great.  Within minutes I had worked ZL2IO in 10m and got him on the first call with 10w.  New Zealand was quickly followed by Moldova, San Marino, French Guiana, Japan, and Morocco, and I had a blast!

After a few hours sleep and coffee with the boys, it was up and at them again Saturday morning.  The propagation numbers for the morning were SFI=137. SN=109. A Index=8, and the K Index= 3.  Bands were very noisy and had some QSB.  On 20m I could only hear US stations calling for Europe, 15m was full of Europeans calling North America, but they weren't hearing us calling them.  The only decent band was 10m and that was full of Caribbean stations, and I think I worked them all.

Again my three big bitch subjects have to be mentioned.....Hispanic stations giving their callsigns at triple the speed of light.  These guys need to understand that if we can't make out your callsign we are not going to work you.  Then there were the LIDS tuning up right over the calling stations....why do they do this?  And then there were those "Alligator" stations again who were all being received here at 59+++ yet they couldn't hear the stations replying to them at all.  More proof that 1500w is no better than 100w at times.

The main band in use on Saturday was 10m and it was pretty good.  I had the occasional foray to 15m and 20m but really didn't have enough luck there to stick around.  40m opened up in the evening and I made a few good contacts into Europe there.

Sunday was a waste of time.  The bands never seemed to open here, and when they did they had some pretty good deep QSB on them.  The propagation numbers on Sunday were the same as on Saturday.  10m and 15m seemed to be totally dead most of the time with not a station to be heard on them, and 20m was full of US stations calling CQ looking for Europe.

My final score was 134 contacts with 110 multipliers, and I worked 81 countries.  So I guess overall it wasn't that bad.....the lack of constant action just made the weekend drag on and I found that it just wasn't very enjoyable this year for me.

So, when's the next contest ???????

Problems with an IC-7000

One of the members of the Frontenac Radio Group, my local club, had an issue yesterday with his ICOM 7000.........the radio would turn off as soon as he modulated on transmit.  After an incredible period of frustration checking coax connectors, RF feedback in the shack, too much mic gain, too much compression and reading the service manual for clues he ran across an article in QRZ that mentioned a possible voltage drop.

Interestingly, as soon as he spoke into the mic on full power (100 watts) the current should be about 15 to 25A and the voltage should remain constant at 13.8 to 14.0 volts, if not , the ICOM shuts down and then reboots in a few seconds.

The ICOM power cord has two (2) 30A inline fuses. The article suggested that one should pull them (they are auto style bayonet type) and check the lugs for any corrosion or water damage.  He pulled both fuses and thoroughly cleaned the lugs and reinstated them back in the power cord. Voila, he had full power and the rig did not turn off.

It seems the ICOM is very voltage sensitive below 13 vdc and will automatically shut off. When he tried to power up the transmit mode there was a demand for high current and the resistive contacts made by the fuse blades dropped the voltage below 13 volts and the rig shut down. 

So there you have it, an easy fix to a very frustrating issue.  Hopefully Derek's experience will save you from learning some new swear words if this happens to you and your IC-7000.

WL2K Mobile

The VE3CLQ digital Go-Box

It was a pretty good day yesterday, the Frontenac Emcomm Group held their first WL2K deployed exercise of the year after doing a lot of RMS Express classroom work, and I deployed up to Perth Road Village, about 28 km north of Kingston.

We had eight stations up and running on the air, several from their home QTH and several from deployed locations around Frontenac County.  Over the past 18 months we have been building up a digital network here so we can stop using the archaic ARRL message forms and take Emcomm into the 21st Century.

So far in Frontenac County we have the following Gateways and Nodes:

VE3UDO-7, located in Clarendon Station this Node covers all of Northern Frontenac, most of Northern Lennox-Addington County, and a good portion of Lanark-North Leeds.

VE3FPN-7, the Node is located at the Sydenham Firehall and covers all of Central Frontenac as well as most of Central Lennox-Addington County.

VE3FRG-7, this Node is located in South Frontenac and covers all South Frontenac, the Frontenac Islands, the City of Kingston, South Lennox-Addington County, and Northern Jefferson County in New York State as far south as Watertown.

VE3MNE-10, this Gateway is located in West Kingston and covers a very large area.  The Gateway is able to connect to all of our Nodes.

VE3DTG-10, this Gateway is located in Central Kingston and is able to connect to our Nodes.

The Frontenac Club recently authorized the purchasing of equipment to build two portable Nodes which will help fill in a few holes in our coverage, and they will be able to be moved and placed where they are most needed to extend our coverage in an emergency.

All of our WL2K Gateways and Nodes operate on 145.070 and are on the air 24/7/365.

My Digital Go-Box consists of a Motorola CDM-1250 VHF radio along with a Coastal ChipWorks TNC-X and a ACER Notebook.  It performed very well.

We had a few learning experiences, we found that the Gateways will support heavy traffic with little problem.  The Nodes did get overloaded so we have a few issues to work out there.  Overall we passed the traffic we were supposed to with only a few hiccups.  It was a good training exercise and I'm looking forward to the second half of it in April.

Aurora Bounce

Interesting times on 6m tonight.  I spent a pleasant hour bouncing signals off the Aurora.  There were many stations calling from all over the US and this was the first time I have ever heard the Aurora Flutter.


Aurora Flutter normally occurs when radio signals are reflected from the auroral curtain.  SSB signals that are reflected sound very raspy, sound like the other operator is talking in a quiet whisper, and are difficult to understand and tune in.


At 2300 UTC the A Index was at 100 and the K Index was 7.  I have never seen the A Index that high before.

Your Answer To Your HOA.....

Once in a while a person's HOA gets a bit "uppity" about the supposed "stealth" antennas you're using, especially when a neighbour complains about it.  Well have I got an answer for this for you !!  

How about a portable antenna system that is mobile and can be folded, and rolled away.  This allows you to use it at night when those complaining neighbours are fast asleep.  

This system is available for a good price at your local friendly Russian Army Surplus Store.  Order it quickly, they're going fast!!

P5 Activation February 2016

This just in:

That Dom 3Z9DX had written permission to operate amateur radio from a VERY wanted DXCC entity. Today, we can reveal that entity is North Korea (P5).



Dom 3Z9DX explains he has received a further letter from authorities in Pyongyang inviting him to a final meeting to discuss [and for he to accept] rules by the North Korean military and the relevant telecommunications department.



This meeting will take place in December with activity planned for January or February 2016.

According to P5 telecoms, Dom will be permitted only three bands (20-15-10) likely using a multiband vertical from a secured place in Pyongyang with two government supervisors over-looking 24/7.

Activity will last for 5 days.



At the moment this is a solo expedition to the #1 Most wanted entity using SSB only. He is working hard behind the scenes to get one more op (CW) to join him.



Please realise this project is a work in progress and to understand that it may only be Dom who operates from North Korea.

More updates / website throughout 2015.

I never expected to see this activation in my lifetime, but I don't think very many of us will get this P5 callsign in our logbooks. As this solo DXpedition is only for 5 days, and it is the number one most sort after country, and has been for many years, I can only imagine the pile-ups, deliberate QRM, LIDS, and band police that will be out and about in full force during those 5 days.  I hope I'm wrong, but history has shown (K1N for example) I'm probably right.

The Ottawa Trip......

Had a great day yesterday, a road trip to Ottawa was on the menu.  It was good to finally get out of Kingston for a day after months of freezing cold weather and numerous feet of fallen snow.  The trip up to Ottawa was great, bare dry roads and a beautiful blue sky.  The temperature actually rose to +8C.......a heatwave !!

2m was pretty active, and I managed contacts in Perth, Westport, Franktown and Ottawa.  Much different results from last summer's cross Canada road trip.

First on the agenda was to drop three sealed gel cells off to Bob, VA3QV, at his QTH.  He's a scruffy looking bugger these days as he hasn't shaved all winter.  I will be taking up a collection later to buy a package of disposable razors to mail to him........  I know Bob appreciated getting the batteries, and I was surprised to hear from Liz, his XYL, later in the day just how happy she was when they were dumped in the middle of her living room......Oh Robert, you may need the mobile love shack a lot sooner than you know !!!!!!!

The gang at the Newport.
Picture (C) Chris VA3CME

After taking care of some business in town it was off to 322 Churchill Ave North, the location of the Newport Restaurant.  Outstanding Pizza, and the beer was good too !!   This spot is the monthly meeting place of the Ottawa Valley QRP Society 

Now normally I only get to see these guys once a year at Chillycon, so it was a real treat for me to be able to arrange my trip and get to see them all last night, all 17 of them which I understand is a bit of a record for attendance.  Nice to see the QRP community growing!

Bob, VA3QV said it best on his blog today....and I quote:   "You can only imagine what the QRM level is like inside the restaurant when you have 17 hams all describing their last DX contact, their latest antenna and how they did in the last contest all at the same time…".  It was a great evening.

Being back in Ottawa was interesting for me, I was stationed at CFB Ottawa South (Uplands) in the 1980's when I was flying on 450 Squadron.  What changes have gone on, how the ethnic makeup of my old stomping grounds have changed, and how the City has contracted urban sprawl!!  Yeah, I know things change, I'm just not convinced it's all for the better.

The 2m rig was pretty quiet on the way home, most hams must have been in bed!  Luckily the VE3FRG machine in Kingston was active and I spoke to Richard, VA3VDP, and Leo, VE3BLR.....and so ended a great day.

2015 ARRL International DC Contest - SSB

What a great weekend on the bands, over 600 contacts in the log and I'm ready for bed.   The main workhorse of the weekend was 10m....as usual.  20m wasn't far behind, and I also managed a pile of contacts on 15m and 80m.

The opening propagation figures for 0000Z 7 March was: SFI=127. SN=31. A=13. K=3.  Not too bad, we've all worked with a lot worse than those numbers.

Best contact of the weekend was with Herik, FR5DX, on Reunion Island, AF-016 in the Indian Ocean.  100 watts both ways using dipoles.....who needs beams???  It was an interesting contest this year as a lot of the usual suspects didn't show up for it.  I heard no JL's and no middle east stations.  One station I have worked every contest I have ever worked, D4C in Cape Verde, was also conspicuous by his absence.

The usual idiots were out in force, those that whistling over QSO's, and tune up right over the on-going QSO.  I'm sure they would just love it if we did it to them!

My other pet peeve was also out in force this weekend, those operators that insist on giving their callsign at triple the speed of light.  You hear them all the time calling and calling and calling....and all the time getting no response while all around them people are working stations hand over fist!  They never get it.

The other telling item was the very large number of stations working a kilowatt.  My experience was that those running a Kilowatt had, for the most part, crap signals and they were transmitting far beyond what they could hear.  I think the power they run is to compensate for poor antenna systems they may have.  They fail to memorize the first rule of ham radio.......put your $$ into the antenna system, not the radio!!   The stations running 100w had cleaner signals and were easier to understand and work.

I had great success with my 15m vertical.  This antenna is a $20 hamstick attached to a painter pole, and it sits up at about 11'.  It also has two 11' 8" radials on it.  With this antenna, if I could hear them I could work them.  It went beyond my expectation, especially as it was only put up as a stop-gap approach over the winter.  It may stay up now!!

Overall it was a great weekend, really enjoyed myself, and we'll do it all over again on the last weekend of this month for the CQ WW WPX Contest SSB.

And the Season Starts.........

The 2015 contest season officially kicks off this coming weekend with the ARRL International DX Contest (SSB).  This contest starts at 0000Z on March 7th, and end at 2359Z on the 8th March.  Always a great contest for getting those DX stations in the log.

Of course the weather is perfect for radio sport activities right now, as it is not exactly conducive for outdoor activities unless you're a very well dressed Inuit.

Rules are HERE.

Having seen the SFI numbers over the past few weeks I think this contest will  be done by VE3FCT as QRO.  So let's hope the propagation Gods smile this weekend.

Good luck to everyone taking part!!

February - A Quiet Month

February is one of those strange months, you know, one without any major ham radio contest in it, and I'm sure we're all getting quite fed-up with the cold winter and piles of snow about the landscape.

I'm hoping that March will be much different with two major contests during the month, the ARRL International SSB DX Contest on March 7th & 8th (Rules HERE), and the CQ World-Wide WPX SSB Contest on March 28th & 29th (Rules HERE).

I've also been looking at the calendar planning my spring, summer, and fall portable activities.  The problem is there is little new around here to do.......all of the islands have been activated, several times over the last few years, as have all the local lighthouses.  So it looks like I will have to travel further afield this year.....well, not as far as last years trip to the west coast.  My bank account is still recovering from the fuel bill!!

There are the regular annual items already on the calendar, Field Day, International Lighthouse Weekend, Chillycon, and the W/VE Island QSO Party.  These are pretty staple now, but they've all been done before.  So there needs to be a weekend mini-DXpedition on the horizon and I'm going to have to start looking for ideas so I can get planning.

Oh well, back to the maps and atlas to see what I can conjure up..........

Is spring coming soon ????????

SPAR Winter Field Day

Many of us over the past nine years have enjoyed participating in the SPAR Winter Field Day.  It was another opportunity for us to gather our gear and head for our favourite spots to play portable radio....as if we really need an excuse to do that.....even when the temperatures where down below zero, and in some cases, way below zero.

This year, 2015, was the ninth year Winter Field Day has taken place, and it was this year that it finally seemed we had reached critical mass, and had enough operators on the bands calling "CQ Winter Field Day" to actually stay busy.  

After Winter Field Day this year reports started to appear that the electronic log submission system was bouncing and nobody could submit their logs.  Many people posted questions on the SPAR Forum about this, but there was no response from any of the SPAR team.  However, today we sadly learn that Walt, W5ALT, who was, and always has been, the driving force at SPAR behind Winter Field Day, has had a stroke and is unable to look after things and probably won't be able to for a long while.

There has been a suggestion on the SPAR website that another organization will take over the running of Winter Field Day.  Let's hope this event does continue and that another organization will take over the management of it.  It's a pretty valuable tool in the Emcomm war chest.  Yes, there are issues we overcome during the annual ARRL June Field Day, mainly bugs and heat.  But nothing proves your Emcomm group is ready for anything that can be thrown at it if you can set up and complete a Winter Field Day in sub-zero temperatures.

I wish Walt a speedy, and a full recovery from this stroke.  Hopefully we'll hear him on the bands soon.

How to Spot Made in China Food Items

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS ON THE FOODS YOU BUY--NO MATTER WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BOX OR PACKAGE SAYS, TURN IT OVER AND READ THE BACK---CAREFULLY!

With all the food and pet products now coming from China, it is best to make sure you read the label at the grocery store and especially Walmart when buying food products.

Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located.

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS ON THE FOODS YOU BUY--NO MATTER WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BOX OR PACKAGE SAYS, TURN IT OVER AND READ THE BACK---CAREFULLY!

It is important to read the bar code to track it's origin.  How to read Bar Codes .... interesting!

This may be useful to know when grocery shopping, if it's a concern to you.

GREAT WAY TO "BUY USA & CANADA " AND NOT FROM CHINA!!

The whole world is concerned about China-made "black hearted goods".  Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China?

If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.

471 is Made in Taiwan.  This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves.

Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA ", so they don't show from which country it is made.

However, you may now refer to the barcode - remember if the first 3 digits are:

690-692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA

00 - 09 ... USA & CANADA

30 - 37 FRANCE

40 - 44 GERMANY

471 ... Taiwan

49 ... JAPAN

50 ... UK

BUY USA & CANADIAN MADE by watching for "0" at the beginning of the number.

Not much radio work going on........

Been a very interesting week.  Spent a few days up at CFB Petawawa visiting my old Air Force squadron.....so no amateur radio.  It's been 27 years since I had last been on the squadron lines so it was quite the trip down memory lane for me.

The squadron has had new facilities built for them and the 15 brand new F Model Chinook helicopters it now operates.  The building is huge, 53,000 square metres, and it's 800m in length.  Just HUGE, and a very far cry from the facilities we had when I was flying the C Model Chinooks back in the mid-1980's at CFB Uplands in Ottawa.

As I was given the tour of the hangers and training facilities the thought came to me that the Chinook world had gone from the era of the Flintstones to that of Star Wars in the time since I had left the squadron.  The changes really were mind blowing for me.

Outwardly the machines are the same, but mechanically they are very different.  For example the engines in my day were rated for 3,700 shaft horsepower each, today the new engines are rated for 4,777 shaft horsepower each.  That's a lot more usable lift capability, especially in an emergency.

I really have to thank LCol Chris McKenna, the Commanding Officer, for allowing the visit, and the the guys and girls on the squadron who made the visit so memorable.

Getting ready to do the hook up

In the Log !!!

Yeah!!!!  K1N is in the logbook!!!!  At 0422 local this morning, and on 20m, in she went.  Done on the very first call...smooth as silk, even talking very quiet as to not wake the rest of the house up.

No LIDS, No Band Police, and No Space Cadets about at all at that time of the morning, they're all snoring away saving their energy to create havoc later in the day.  I was greeted by the operator with "VE3FCT, Good Morning, You're up very early and a solid 59+!!"

So there you have it folks, want to work them in real peace and quiet without the DQRM and the multitude of LIDS on the frequency........get up very early.

No more worries, no more chasing them, and no need for a second contact on a different band.  In the log and done with........and on to the "Honey Do" List.

K1N Navassa Island

Well, as forecast, the Band Police and LIDS are out in full force this morning.  I even learned a new swear word from one of the band police.....who knew you could use language like that on the air?

I just can't imagine how bad the DQRM will get on this DXpedition's frequencies.  Some idiots just seem to love screwing things up for the rest of us.

It's a good job my FT-950 has a large VFO to spin, I've got better things to do than listen to that mess all day!

An Ontario Radio Society?

I have just discovered the following article on the blog site of Rod Hardman, VE3RHF, and it was written last November.......and what a marvellous idea that article is !!  

Now Rod, as you may know, was up to a few months ago, the RAC Director for Ontario South, that is before he resigned after about eight months into his term....you'll have to ask Rod why he resigned.  Before he was elected as the Ontario South Director Rod actually contacted me looking for my thoughts on what I thought was wrong with RAC, and I sent him a long email in return.....which turned into quite the exchange of emails. 

To be honest I had high hopes that finally, somebody with high ethical standards, actual proven leadership skills, and somebody who actually gave a crap about what happened to hams in Canada was going to be on the RAC Executive.  I don't blame Rod for packing it in, I think we can all understand the level of intense frustration he must have been going through.

Anyway, let's have a look at his Blog article:                 

I'm hearing rumbling from Ontario Hams about a desire to form (reform) an Ontario Amateur Radio Society.

Imagine a unified annual membership, initiated at the club level, that would fund the Club, The Ontario Society and RAC.

Each level is funded for services it provides, with clear division of responsibility. Members choose to belong to a Club and elect an executive, Clubs belong to a Provincial Society and elect an executive, and the Provincial Society chooses to belong to RAC and appoint Provincial Directors. It's a bottom up structure and the financial flow ensures a Servant-Leader approach. If RAC fails to serve the provinces they may not get funded!

It is an interesting "inversion" of President Bawden's recent TCA message regarding ARES, pushing responsibility for ARES leadership down to the regions, effectively "outsourcing" the problems associated with lack of national leadership in Field Services.  Instead of outsourcing a problem down, the Clubs and Provinces would hold RAC accountable, or we will find a more responsive National Society to spend out dollars with. 

Imagine that, People that pay the fees being treated as customers instead of a tax base!

I think there may be some sound thinking behind this - at a minimum it is worth looking into. The numbers certainly tell a supporting story. Ontario has a significant percentage of Canada's Amateurs and is underrepresented on the RAC board. 
This might just be the method to shake up the status quo at RAC and force the Executive to be responsive to the needs of Ontario Amateurs. 

I think it's worth a look. 

I agree, it most certainly is worth looking at, especially if it is going to hold RAC totally accountable for it's actions.....................where do I send my membership fee???

Winter Field Day

Well, it's that time of year again.....winter field day, you know, the one were the mosquitoes don't bother you!!  As the SPAR website states: "Since emergencies and natural disasters don't always happen in the summer, during Winter Field Day, frigid winds, icy limbs and bitter cold replace the thunderstorms and blistering heat of summer." 

Winter field day is designed to test our abilities to respond to a disaster or emergency under winter conditions, and living in a part of Canada that has five good months of winter, it's probably a good thing we practice these skills.  It's a hell of a lot different setting up at -20C than it is at +30C.  In fact it takes about four times as long to set up in the cold as it does in the summer.

This years rules can be found HERE.  Read them, they've changed this year.

I will not be able to take part until the late afternoon as I must attend the first planning meeting of the communications coordinators for the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour.  So, listen for VE3 Frozen Canadian Toes transmitting from Fort Henry Hill.

NA QSO Party - SSB

Coming up next weekend is the NA QSO Party - SSB.  The contest runs from 1800 UTC on January 17th to 0600 UTC on January 18th.

Rules can be found HERE.

Looking forward to this one as it's the first one of the year.  Time to shake off the winter blahs and get the radio humming again.    The XYL is away that weekend so I'll have no distractions or Honey Do List to impede the score this year.....I hope she doesn't read this !!

Island Activation

Just worked what I believe to be the very first island activation of 2015 here in Ontario....and probably Canada.

John, VE3ISE, from Grimsby was activating Henley Island, ON-007, near St. Catherines this morning.  He was using an FT-897D and a Hustler Mobile antenna mounted on his car, but he was a lovely S9+20 here in Kingston on 40m, but he was having issues with a S9 background noise at his location.

John was also having some issues with the weather, he had snow with freezing rain on the way.  He sounded happy to be on the air non-the-less.

For those of you interested in activating islands, or just chasing them from home.  Check out this WEBSITE, it has all the information you will need to get started.

SkyWhip Portable Telescopic Antenna

Ground mount for the SkyWhip antenna
(Photo belongs to Durham Radio)

Just picked up a new toy.  I picked up a SkyWhip Portable Telescopic Antenna from Durham Radio.

Interesting piece of kit, it's a 16' 8" whip that can be used as a vertical, or two of them can make a portable dipole.  You can adjust them for 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, and 6 metres, and of course if you adjust it properly you won't need a tuner.

The best thing about it for me is that with the adapter I bought with it, it will fit my Buddipole set as well.  This will give me even better options for island and lighthouse activations now as I will have the ability to put up multiple antennas, both vertical and dipoles.

I'm off to read Ground Systems for HF Verticals by Rudy Severns, N6LF, to get the best idea of what the best radial system will be for it.

Once I've had it on the air I'll post a full report on it.

The DX-marathon

It's January 1st, so I have just submitted my score sheet for the 2014 CQ magazine DXmarathon. 

Starting January 1 of each year, the DX Marathon is the perfect answer for the DXer who needs that extra incentive to get on the air every day. Simply work as many countries and CQ Zones as you can in each calendar year, regardless of the band or mode. 

Each country and zone counts only once, so you can concentrate on working new ones rather than working the same ones on multiple bands and modes. 

Last year I managed to work 104 countries and 26 zones.  Hopefully I can do better than that this year.

Bob VA3QV....is BACK !!!!!

BREAKING NEWS !!!!

Yes, after a whole year of being AWOL, the big Bobster, VA3QV himself, is back in the Land of Bloggers !!  

I just knew he couldn't stay away, that he would eventually show up and let us know what trouble he was causing.

He says on his blog that he's working at getting back to normal.....Hmmmm.......I ain't going to touch that comment until after I hear from Liz, Bob's XYL !!

Good to see you back Bob, I'm looking forward to a daily dose of Ottawa Valley Ham Radio QRP News once again.  And for all of you who have forgotten just where Bob hangs out, he's HERE.