Good Day Today...

Today I complete my 68th trip around the sun, and while it sucks getting old, it definitely beats the alternative.  As a way of celebrating I decided to return to Lemoine Point, and do another POTA activation, my 89th at that location.

Propagation numbers looked pretty good today, and I thought I would do well on 15m as I have done the last few times I'm been at the park.  The numbers were: SFI=173, SN=101, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  The Bz was sitting at -0.3, but I've operated with a lot worse than that.

The bad part of today was the fact it was -17C (1F) out, but felt like -21C (-6F) with the wind chill factored in.  As I operate from my truck I figured I would be fine.

The radio of the day was my KX3 set at 10w, and as usual I used a 15m hamstick. I've learned to leave the truck running with the heat blasting away while I set up my antenna, as the door must be open in order for me to reach the roof properly.  

It turns out 15m was good, but it wasn't great.  I managed a total of 19 QSO's before I had to close down due to a failing battery due to the cold. I did get a 2m simplex contact with Jelle VE3THI, who was activating Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, which is about 6.5 km to the west of Lemoine Point.  The lesson of the day was to make sure you also have 70cm simplex frequencies programmed in the radio as well.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

WSPR...

I’ve been playing around with my WSPR transmitter again. I thought with the bad propagation we had forecasted over the past few days, that it would be a good idea to see how my antennas do under those conditions.

After 24 hrs of beaconing I was very surprised where my Zachtek 200 mW transmitter managed to get a signal to. This test was done using an 80m EFHW antenna. The antenna is vertical for the first 45’ and then is horizontal for the remainder of its length, and it’s orientated North-East to South-West.

For those of you who do not know what WSPR is used for, it was introduced back in 2008 as an application for testing antennas, and testing propagation paths on LF, MF, and HF among other things.

I'm also planning on using my WSPR beacon on my trip out west this spring as a way of letting everyone know where I am each night, instead of using APRS.  This idea worked very well for my good friend Kieran VA3KS (SK) last spring on his trip across the USA. I'll set it up each evening after supper and let it beacon for a few hours before I go to bed.

Here's the map from last night (February 13):

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Not Looking Good....

Propagation isn't looking very good for at least the next 3 days.  I expect the bands to be super noisy. This stems from an unexpected coronal mass ejection (CME) that was first detected at 0123 UTC on Sunday, February 11.

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!!

Back to VE-5141

With the bands being in such good shape today I couldn't resist getting out into a park again and doing some operating. It's so much better operating with no noise floor, than the constant S7 at home.

The weather was superb here as well, it got up to +10C, which after the cold we have had, is fantastic.....I think I finally thawed out!

The propagation was: SFI=181, SN=151, A Index=4, and the K Index=2.  I didn't hear any QSB today at all, even with the Bz sitting at -2.5. 

With all the stars aligning I went to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, and set up. It took me 40 minutes to get 25 SSB contacts in the log, using both 10m and 15m.  I put F4ILH, IK2BYY, SO5CAL, G0RQL, 2E0VRX, SP8BJU, DH4PSG, DK1RS, and OE4JHW, which absolutely made my day!  

The fact I'm doing this with my KX3 set at 10w, and only using various hamsticks as my antenna, is just amazing. This weekend, if I can get out, I'm going to try this with my 29' vertical wire, and see what I can do.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

New Milestone...

Finished this off this morning.  I knew I was getting close, and have been trying to complete the 100 activations at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, for over a week now - but life just gets in the way sometimes.

Propagation was excellent!!  SFI=190, SN=144, A Index=8, and the K Index=1.  There was some light QSB, but I didn't find it too bad.

I started off on 40m and managed to put only 8 contacts in the log before the QSO's just dried up.  As a result I moved to 15m and put another 23 in the log.  15m was in great shape, and I managed to get 6 European DX stations, EA1BUL, F4ILH, G4ELZ, EA4TL, IU1HJF, and DH4PSG.  I also put CO6QK in the log, this was the very first Cuban station I have worked doing POTA. 

Radio of the day was my KX3 at 10w, and the antenna was, as usual, a 15m hamstick on the roof of my truck on a 5" mag-mount.

I'm looking forward to doing this again at Lemoine Point, VE-5141, sometime in the next month or two.  I'm at 84 activations there, so only another 16 to go.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!!

Back to the Park...

I had a great time this morning at VE-5142, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area, here in Collins Bay, Ontario.  The weather was great, it was actually +2C, but the wind was still a bit raw - so you still had to wrap up to stay warm.

The propagation was good, although there was some pretty deep QSB.  SFI=137, SN=131, A Index=5, and the K Index=0. These numbers are supposed to stay fairly consistent over this coming weekend. Time will tell!

Once again I spent the whole activation on 15m, with my KX3 pumping out a magnificent 10w into a Hamstick mounted on the roof of my truck.  First up today was Danny ON4ON with a solid S7 signal.  He was followed by Juergen OE4JHW, and Etor F5VMN, both of these two stations were a good S9 to me.  It's always a bonus when you can work some good DX during a POTA activation, especially with QRP power.

Here's todays contact map:

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

FYBO - 2024

This weekend sees the 2024 edition of the Freeze Your Butt Off QRP event, sponsored by the AzScQRPions. 

Rules can be found HERE.

The event runs from 1400 UTC to 2359 UTC, February 3rd.  I'm planning on going out and setting up for this event in my local park.  The weather forecast is calling for +1C under sunny skies.....should be good for an afternoon of fun and QRP!!

Be Well, and Stay Safe Out There!

Winter Field Day....the Aftermath...

We had a good time.  The weather wan't too bad, a little light rain, but it stayed up at about +2C all weekend.  Of course that meant melting snow and mud, but we survived that.

The propagation could have been much better, but it was what it was.  On Saturday it was: SFI=157, SN=52, A Index=6, and the K Index=0. On Sunday it was SFI=148, SN=48, A Index=5, and the K Index=2. Our dear Sun had obviously decided not to be too cooperative for the event.  We had lots of bad QSB as well, one minute a signal was S9+, and the next second they were gone, just disappeared as if they had never been there.

I used my 17' collapsible whip with my mag-mount on the roof of the truck as my main antenna for the weekend, and it worked great on Saturday......not so much on Sunday morning though for some reason.  On Sunday morning Don VE3MNE, kept breaking through and over loading the front end of my KX3, he was on 15m and I was still working 20m, I guess we're going to have to buy some band filters and sort all that out.

We only made about 100 contacts between us, but we had a good time.  We worked SSB and CW....except instead of using the club call, VE3UCC, I stupidly forgot and used my own call when I switched over to CW, so I have to try and sort out that mess.  We live and learn I guess.

The main reason I wanted to do WFD this year was to see if the gear I'm taking on my road trip this year worked as advertised, and I think it's ready, there may be a few more little tweaks, but nothing major as it is really good to go now.

Here's a few pictures of the event:

Jim, VE3ULC, chasing WFD stations.

Getting ready to shoot some antenna lines in the trees.

Don, VE3MNE, chasing Hawaii on 15m.

Our home for the weekend.