Year End Wrap Up....

Well, it's been a bit of a roller coaster at times, but yet another year of the Covid Plague is coming to a close....is this year two or year three?  I've lost count.  

My family and I have been very lucky, none of us have been sick, and all of us have been able to get our shots and boosters on time with no issues.  Most of my friends have also been lucky and escaped the plague.  Let's hope that luck holds for all of us through next year as well.

On the amateur radio front it has been an exceptional year for me.  Since January 1st of this year I have made at least one QRP contact every day, not a day has been missed.  In fact I have put 3464 QRP contacts in my log this year, yet I still hear that "QRP doesn't work"........yeah, and I have a unicorn for sale to the highest bidder.  All my POTA activations have been done with my KX3, and I have to say that I just love that radio.  I wish I had bought it years ago.

I have activated 130 parks in the POTA program, which, if the truth be told, has managed to keep me sane during these trying times....my wife may argue that fact though.   

Best piece of gear bought this year?  My set of Workman Hamsticks......they win hands down.  You can't beat them for ease of set-up and being so easy to use.  Every day I'm amazed at where I can talk to with them.

At the start of the year I was determined to get on the air using CW.  My Dad, VE7CVQ (SK) was a CW fanatic.  He didn't own a mic, but many keys.  I knew he would be very disappointed with me not knowing and operating CW.  So.....I'm pretty pleased to tell you that this year I have made and completed 394 CW QSO's.  I'm over the moon with that.

Plans for next year are up in the air of course, as they will depend on what the government has to say about inter-provincial travel.  I have several POTA mini-DXpeditions planned to different parts of the province, as well as a trip out west to see family.  I have my doubt the western trip will happen in 2022, the trips within Ontario I'm hoping will happen, but they depend on whether or not the parks open.

I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year, and that you all stay safe.

Here's the QSO map from today, my last POTA activation of the year, Number 130:

December 30th, 2021........17m and 40m.

Merry Christmas...

 

Merry Christmas everyone......let's hope 2022 is a far better year for us all.

Yet Another Good Day...

Have you guys seen the propagation numbers for today?   One word: "WOW".  These are the highest numbers yet this cycle, and I can't remember the last time I saw numbers that high.  I took one look at them and immediately decided to go and do a POTA activation.  

Lemoine's Point, VE-5141, was the destination today.  It was pretty busy with dog walkers and families doing a walk.  I hid in the corner of the top parking lot, and set up for an activation on 17m.

It took 23 minutes and I had 23 contacts in the log, then I was deliberately QRM'ed off the frequency. This has been happening a lot lately, many POTA operators have mentioned this on the POTA Facebook site.  I don't fret about that anymore.  If I have more than the basic activation number of 10 stations, I just go QRT, and head home for a hot cup of tea and relax....which is what I did today.

There were three good contacts out west, one in Idaho, and two in California.  Not too shabby for 10w into a 17m hamstick.

My plan is to do another two parks before Christmas Day, mainly as a way to keep out of the busy XYL's way.  If I can do that, and then one everyday next week, I will end the year with 133 activations this year.  That's going to take some work to beat next year!

The question is......do I try and sneak in a Park on Christmas afternoon....is my life worth it, or am I courting an untimely death by doing so?

Stay safe out there!!

Today's activation map.

A Cold Day Operating...

What sort of a nut goes out and activates a park for POTA when it's -3C and blowing snow?  Oh, that would be me 😁

I knew it would be a cold activation, and initially plans were to activate two parks, but after finishing the first park I realized it was just too cold and needed to go and get warm before I got hypothermic.  The wind just drew what little heat you had right out of you.

Thanks goodness I had a package of hand-warmers in the van!  They really helped.

The propagation numbers were great today, not as good as yesterday.  They were: SFI=119, SN=119, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  There was a fair bit of deep QSB, and the bands were busy with contests, including the RAC Winter Contest.

One thing that did stand out today was the fact that I suffered no deliberate QRM that we POTA activators have been suffering with for the past few months.  Apparently a number of individuals don't like the POTA program and are trying to cause enough trouble to get people to walk away from it.  Their plan isn't working, in fact POTA seems to be growing everyday to new countries.

So using my now usual routine - the KX3 with 10 screaming watts output into a 20m hamstick - I managed to work Mike CU3HY, Manuel CU3BL, and Jerry HI5YJM.   Contacts were also made in IL, CA, TN, GA, AL, LA, MO, and TX.

The wind and snow is supposed to stop late this evening, so tomorrow I can dig out and set off to another park and do it all over again 😊

Today's QSO Map

Not Your Typical Sunday...

Last night, December 11th, we had probably the biggest wind storm hit us in the sixteen years I have lived here.  We had sustained winds of 80 kph, and gusts over a 100 kph.  There were lots of power outages, trees down over the roads, and even a barn roof blew off and landed on the railway tracks halting rail travel between Toronto and Montreal for many hours.

This morning the clean up began as power was slowly restored and roads were re-opened, but parts of the city looked worse for wear.  Luckily, my house didn't lose any power or suffer any damage, and my antennas even managed to stay up in the air.

It was the turn of the Marshlands Conservation Area, VE-5143, to be activated today, and I chose 20m to start with.  Twenty metres was in great shape, and in no time I had I4DRY, and OK1IWS in the log.  Not bad for 10w from the KX3 into a 20m Hamstick.  After a short while it seemed I had worked 20m out, so I QSY'ed to 40m and picked up another 15 contacts before I went QRT.

I put 35 contacts in the log in 30 minutes.  It was nice to work Puerto Rico, CA and WA as well today.  NB and SK also made it into my log.  

Propagation today was: SFI = 77, SN = 0, A Index = 5, and the K Index = 1.  This was my 117 POTA activation of the year, and I'm hoping to get to 120 before the end of the month.......I don't think I'll have a problem doing that 😁

Stay safe out there!

Today's activation map.

ARRL 10m Contest...

Don't forget this weekend is the ARRL 10m contest.    I'm hoping that this year we actually get an opening and are able to work some good DX.  The band has been open, once in a while, lately, but I'm not convinced it will be this weekend though.  Only time will tell.

The rules can be found HERE.

As usual I will be doing some casual operating, handing out points if I manage to hear and work somebody.

Stay safe out there!

Portable Antennas...

I've had several people email me recently asking what antennas, other than my hamsticks, I use for POTA and portable operating. It must be admitted that over the past few months I've got lazy and only used the hamsticks...mainly for the convenience.

There are several different portable wire antennas in my rucksack.  The following are a few of my favourites, but please remember, antennas are like opinions...everyone has one and everyone has their favourite.

A few years ago I was having some trouble getting a Bandspringer Midi antenna I had bought from Sotabeams to tune up with sufficiently low SWR....the SWR I had was over 25:1 over all bands and nothing I did would change that fact.  It just wasn't happening, and the thing was, to me, completely unusable so it was put away in a drawer.  Shortly after this I was watching a video of Steve, WG0AT, operating SOTA from Mount Herman in Colorado, and I noticed he was using a simple wire antenna.

I emailed Steve about it, and he told me it was a 41' radiator and a 17' counterpoise, and with his KX2 he could tune it on all the bands he needed.  No balun required, just a binding post to BNC converter, and you're in business.  That afternoon I took the Sotabeams antenna and spent a few hours doing surgery, and transformed it into what I now call my "WG0AT Antenna". It works like a charm and I have made hundreds of contacts with it on all bands 40m through 6m.

Probably the most used antenna in my collection is a 40m EFHW.  This was built with a LnR Precision transformer that I found hiding in a drawer one day.  This antenna works on 40m through 6m and I have never had any bad SWR issues with it.

Just 63' of wire, no counterpoises, and you're on the air.  I used this antenna at Chillycon this year as my campsite antenna, and made over 200 contacts with it all over Europe and North America. A great antenna.

My 20/40 linked dipole has also seen a lot of use in the past, but not so much lately.  This was built from plans found on Google, and it does match and work very well on 10m/15m/20m/40m. It is a bit of a pain to put up, but it is a solid performer. I plan on re-making this antenna out of lighter gauge wire as at the moment it is far too heavy to carry.

It is well worth the time and effort to make one.

The Packtenna Mini is the only store bought wire antenna in my possession.  It works very well.

This is a 9:1 transformer and 66' of wire.  The instructions state that you don't need a radial....but....I find that I must use ground radials with it as well as an RF isolator to get the SWR down to were I want it.  I have made a set of three radials on a large alligator clip that I use with it.

To be very honest, while this antenna works extremely well, it doesn't work any better than any of my home-brewed antennas, and it wasn't cheap to buy either. 

So there you have it, my wire antenna collection - and my thoughts on them.  I very rarely use them for POTA activations these days as they all need a portable mast or a tree, and in the crowded conditions of some parks, it's just far easier, and safer, to use the hamsticks.

Stay safe out there!

Did I Hear The Bands Turn Off?...

It was a great morning up on Fort Henry Hill.  It's a very quiet RF site now that the dozens of plasma TV's they had installed in the information centre have all broke and been removed.  The down side was the temperature which sat at -7C, not including the wind chill factor.

Todays propagation, not spectacular by any means, was:  SFI=92, SN=20, A Index=4, and the K Index=1.

I managed to work 17 stations on 20m, including CU3HY in the Azores, and KN6KI in California.  There were a number of repeat offenders who seem to find me every time I activate, and I'm very grateful for them.  

About 1500 UTC the bands instantly went quiet, the signals just disappeared.  There had been a great deal of very deep QSB on 20m, but at least you could hear something.  I spun the VFO several times across 20m, 40m, and 17m, and heard nothing, just static.  The bands, it seemed, had turned off.

I'm hoping that they turn back on in time for another couple of POTA activations tomorrow.  My original plan was to stop activating this year when I reached 100 activations...now I plan to keep going until the weather makes it uncomfortable to activate.  So I'll probably get about 10 more.

Stay warm out there!

Todays Contact Map.  10w from the KX3 into a 20m Hamstick.

A Milestone has passed...

A year ago this month I decided to get involved with the Parks On The Air (POTA) program, and I have absolutely had a blast doing it.

Yesterday, November 26, I achieved my 100th park activation this year, and have managed to put 2856 contacts in my log carrying out activations or hunting parks.  On top of this I have actually started to get my money's worth out of my KX3!!

Also this week my new powered speaker from West Mountain Radio arrived.  What a difference that has made to operating the KX3.  I can actually hear things properly now.  The signals I am hearing are now crystal clear, and there is no more of the famous KX3 distortion.

This speaker is a game changer for people, like myself, who have hearing issues.....and I have way too much time flying very noisy Chinook Helicopters.  And of course, as we get older our hearing gets worse.  

I've a few more activations to go before the snow starts to fall (which it did today for a short time).  It's definitely getting colder, and sitting in the back of the van doing an activation isn't the most comfortable of places these days.

The KX3 and new speaker set up in the van.

Stay warm out there!!

Great Morning on the Bands...

It was a cold morning here, just -1C when I left to activate the Frontenac Biosphere, VE-0023.  I didn't expect to have much of an activation, I know I'd get the ten required contacts, but I assumed it would be just the normal chasers.

How wrong I was.   The propagation this morning was SFI=78, SN=22, A Index=5, and the K Index=1.  The radio in use was my KX3, and I had a 20m hamstick on a mag-mount on the roof of my van.  This has been my normal setup for a few months now, and it never ceases to amaze me just how well the Hamsticks perform.  Today was no exception.

So with 10 screaming watts into the hamstick I worked Mike, CU3HY in the Azores, Jean, F4ILH in France, Rodolfo, I4RHP in Italy, and Bryan, KP4M in Puerto Rico.  I was just amazed as the DX stations called me, I never thought I would be doing cross-Atlantic contacts today.  It was just amazing.

Here's the contact map from today:

Looking forward to more of this!!

Good Results On The Bands...

The last two days I have taken the time to do a couple of POTA activations.....now there's a surprise.  But, I really felt the need yesterday, November 11th, to get out and operate as I really felt my Dad's presence.  He was a Signaller and a WW2 Veteran, and although he died 28 years ago, very rarely does a day go by when I don't think of him.  

Propagation wasn't too bad, SFI=87, SN=37, A Index=8, and the K Index=2.

I packed up the KX3 and Hamsticks and made a few successful calls using his, and now my call, VE7CVQ, and then spotted myself on the POTA app using my VE3FI call.  The results on 20m were an amazing 24 contacts in 19 minutes.  Here's the contact map below:

Today, Friday, I decided to go and operate after my morning walk.  I ended up at Lemoine Point and put 32 contacts in the log in 24 minutes, all on 40m with the KX3 and Hamsticks.

Propagation today was: SFI=84, SN=39, A Index=4, and the K Index=1.  Here's todays contact map:

Today was my 92nd POTA Activation this year (I'm shooting for 100) and I've put 2,632 POTA contacts in my log since January 1st.  Every time I do an activation I am constantly amazed just how well the KX3 and Hamsticks work together.  

It was a good couple of days, and I'm glad I got out to operate.

In Remembrance...

In Loving Memory

of the 

Officers, NCO's, and Men

of

2816 Squadron, RAF Regiment

December 1941 - June 1946

GONE, BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN

PER ARDUA

Back At It...

It didn't look a good day to play radio today, this morning the propagation numbers were:  SFI=84, SN=28, A Index=69, and the K Index=3.  It was pretty noisy and there was lots of deep QRM.

By mid-afternoon the effect of the last CME on the propagation had started to settle down.....so it was off to play POTA.

It's a short drive from my house to Lemoine Point, VE-5141, and I set up the KX3 and 20m Hamstick upon arrival.  It took 27 minutes to get 25 contacts in the log, including EA1AF in Spain, W6KC in California, and K7SEN in Arizona.  I did not expect to make half the contacts I made, it was amazing the way they kept answering my QRZ.

I'm hoping that band conditions hold up all weekend so I can get a few more activations in.  I've done 87 activations so far this year, and my goal is to complete 100......13 to go!!

Here's a look at todays contact map....

K Index = 7 !!!

It's not often you get to see a K Index of 7 !!!!  I don't imagine the bands are going to be very good for the next few days.

Updated as of 1510 UTC, November 4th....still looking bad:

Sunday Morning Propagation...

Well, the bands are still fun of screaming contesters....no sign of the CME yet.

Here's the latest graph showing what is forecasted.

I guess it's a game of "wait and see".....but I'm off to do a POTA activation before things get really bad 😁

Saturday Morning on 17m...

Not a very nice day here in Kingston this morning, it was 7C in heavy rain.  As soon as you stepped out of the front door the damp cold hit you.  But there was no  time to complain, I was off to do a POTA activation at Parrott's Bay, VE-5142, not very far from my home.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much today after the X1 flare and CME warnings that we have had over the past two days.  However, the bands seemed to be in good shape, except for the million and a half rabid contesters all screaming "CQ Contest" on 20m and 40m.  

I knew I wouldn't stand a chance of being heard on either 20m or 40m, so I chose to activate on 17m, something I haven't done before.  

Today's propagation numbers were: SFI=112, SN=82, A Index=3, and the K Index=1.  Those numbers are down from yesterday, but not by much.

Even with the pouring rain it didn't take me very long to set up.  This was the first time I had used my 17m Hamstick so I was off in unchartered territory.  I was a bit worried as there was only two POTA stations on 17m when I started, so I didn't think my chances of being successful were too good.  

It worked great with my KX3 set at 10w.  First in the log was KP4RK in Puerto Rico, he was operating with 5w SSB, and we were 53 both ways.  Later I worked VE5XU, Clarence, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and it was 53 both ways as well.  

Tomorrow will be a day off from Radio, well, until at least the evening when the worse of the CME hit has blown through.  

Parrott's Bay from the air.

Today's contact map.

Propagation Has Exploded...

What a great morning I had today playing radio!!  The propagation news yesterday wasn't very good, apparently we had a X1 flare and an earth-bound CME.  The CME isn't expected to hit us till late Saturday, but the X1 flare sure messed things up.  So I didn't expect good results today at all.

I drove to the Frontenac Biosphere, VE-0023, and set up to do a POTA activation.  As usual I used my KX3 at 10w, and 20m Hamstick with a mag-mount on the roof of my van.  

What a surprise I had....first up was Joe, KI7IOC in Bend, OR, with a tremendous 59 signal, and he gave me a 53.  Then it was the turn of Heinz, VA7AQ, in Langley, BC, with another great 59 signal, and I received a 57 from him.  I then worked Raffaele, IK4IDF in Ravenna, Italy with a 58 signal, and he gave me a 55....which I was very happy to get.  Towards the end of my activation I worked Gerry, VE8GER, up in Inuvik, NT, and it was 44 both ways...but we had a small rag-chew before we said 73.  

I also worked stations in OR, CA, TN, FL, AR, AL, IL, and MN.  The log had 20 contacts in it when I went QRT.  My expectations of this activation was not very high when I left home today, so I was extremely surprised to have contacts where I did.

Propagation numbers this morning were:  SFI=113, SN=96, A Index=3, and the K Index=0.  A lot better than was advertised yesterday.  

We'll have to see what happens with the propagation tomorrow, and see if we can sneak in another POTA activation.

Today's map of contacts

Not looking good for the next few days!!

Updated Saturday morning, Oct 30th.

This Weekend...

 

I will be hiding out on 12m, 17m, and 30m activation parks for POTA.  

But you contesters have fun!

A Great Day...

What an outstanding day on the bands it was, and weather wise it isn't bad either.  Listening on the repeater I heard the guys talking about how hot 40m was, so I packed my things and headed out the door to VE-0023, the Frontenac Biosphere.  

I have found that normally after you have worked 6 or 7 hunters the pile-up dries up and you need to re-spot yourself on POTA Spots to keep the traffic heading your way.  Not this morning!!  The pile-up didn't dry up until after I had 25 contacts in my log, and then a quick CQ POTA call brought in another 11 contacts.

So 36 contacts in the log in twenty-five minutes.  You can't beat that!  Radio, as usual, was my KX3 running 10w into a 40m Hamstick on the roof of my van.

Propagation numbers today were:  SFI=91, SN=32,  A Index=3, and the K Index=1.   It looks like things are picking up propagation wise.

So far this year I've done 86 POTA activations and logged over 2300 QSO's.  I'm hoping to have 100 activations completed by Christmas.

The weather this coming week doesn't look too promising, it's looking like rain every day, but I'm hoping to get at least another 2 activations in before the end of the month.

Todays QSO Map

More Portable Ops...

It was a beautiful day here in Kingston, although it was a little chilly....winter is definitely on its way.  I checked the propagation websites and it didn't look too bad for a change.  SFI=86, SN=28, A Index=4, and the K Index=1. So I decided to go and activate a park. 

I went to Lemoine Point first, and couldn't get a parking spot.  VE3SIQ was already operating at Parrotts Bay, and there isn't room there for two ops to work there comfortably.  So it was off the Marshlands Conservation Area, VE-5143.  Surprisingly when I got there the parking lot was completely empty.

It only takes me a few moments to get set up, as usual it was my KX3 and a hamstick on the roof of the van.  I managed to put 26 in the log in a little over thirty minutes, ten on 20m and sixteen on 40m.    

Overall it was a good activation, and my plan is to go out Sunday morning if the propagation holds, and activate another location.  I suspect next weekend with the CQ WW DX SSB Contest will not be a good weekend for POTA, so I'm getting my fill now.

Saturday's QSO Map

JOTA 2021...

Scouting’s largest event in the world, Jamboree-on-the-Air is this weekend, October 15 – 17. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and hams around the world.

We all bitch and complain about the lack of youth in the hobby, so here's your chance to show them what we can do and get them interested.

You can use any mode and any band.  Below is the frequency chart used by the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

The World Federation of Independent Scouts also runs JOTA this weekend, normally on and around the same frequencies.

Get on the air and talk to the Scouts!!

This doesn't look good....

 It might be hard going for the next couple of days if you're chasing DX.....

Bands are........hmmmm

The bands didn't see too bad Thursday morning.  I did manage a quick POTA activation, and for a change did it on 20m.  40m didn't seem that good.  

It was certainly nice to work the west coast again, it has been a while, as had any contacts with Newfoundland, but I made a contact there as well.

Today, Sunday, the propagation is not that good.  Bands are noisy and the QSB is very bad.  

SFI = 91, SN=28, A Index=14, and the K Index=3.  I have managed to only make 2 contacts today, one to VA and the other to OH.

Hopefully things will improve soon.

Chillycon 2021...

This years Chillycon is over for another year.  Always held on the last weekend the park is open, the annual gathering of Eastern Ontario QRP'ers was held last weekend at Rideau River Provincial Park, and a good time was had by one and all.

This year, due to the continuing saga of Covid-19, we only had 10 attendees.  The weather was great, not a drop of rain was seen, and the propagation was ok, not great.....but ok.

Eric, VA3AMX, once again won the DX trophy for the furthest DX contact, beating the second place finisher by about 600 kms.

I managed to do 12 POTA activations over the five days we were at the park, and enjoyed every one.  Thursday had me at Baxter Conservation Area, VE- 5295, and the WA Taylor Conservation Area, VE- 5295.  Kieran, VA3KS, drove down from Ottawa on Friday and together we activated the Merrickville Blockhouse, VE-4874, and the Rideau Migratory Bird Sanctuary, VE-0364.  All four of those activations produced large pileups which were fun to handle.

It was certainly nice to see some people we haven't seen for two years, and hopefully next year we will start to get back to normal and have more people out for it.

Don, VE3MNE, working on an antenna.

The Glider Field at Baxter Conservation Area.

It's always so peaceful at night.

Canary Island Emergency...

 Please keep these frequencies clear...

Lemoine Point...

Friday was a quiet day around here, and the weather was absolutely perfect.   With nothing on the "Honey-Do" list, I decided to drive to Lemoine Point and do a POTA activation.  Now that most people are back at work, and the kids in school, the place would be nice and quiet.

I checked the propagation numbers before I left and was pleased to see they were:  SFI=101, SN=124, A Index=6, and the K Index=1.  Absolutely the best numbers I have seen in years.  It's a 10 minute drive to Lemoine Point, I'm sure I did it in 5.  

What an activation!  Normally you will get 4 or 5 stations calling you after your spot has been sent, and then you will have a lull before it picks up again.  Not that day!  In 15 minutes using 10w and a 40m Hamstick, I put 24 stations in the log. The bands were in great shape, and it showed by how active they were.

I imagine that this great improvement in the propagation is just a slight "blip" in the universe, and things will go back to the slow days we have suffered through over the past while.  However, I'm hopeful propagation will continue to improve as cycle 25 gains its legs.

I also managed to work some non-POTA stations in the UK, France and Spain before calling it a day.  I'm hoping these conditions last for another few days at least.

Bands are Improving...

Nice to see the bands getting better as the propagation improves.  We're perhaps not where we want to be, but we're definitely on the way!

Over the past few months all of my POTA activations have been done with Hamsticks, mounted to the roof of my van with a 5" mag-mount.  I have noticed that the roof of the van is starting to get scratched by the magnet, so I have had to do something about this.

I had a camera tripod that wasn't being used, and I have decided to try and use it to mount my Hamsticks.  The radials/counterpoises will be attached to the plate with alligator clips.

Here's some pictures of what I threw together:

I'll write a full report of how well.....or how not so well, it wrks after I have used it a few times.

Bad Propagation = Great Weekend...

The propagation Saturday was not very encouraging, SFI = 92, SN = 73, A Index = 19, and the K Index = 3.  It was super noisy and the QSB was incredibly deep, one second they were S9 and the next they were S0.   We also had large thunderstorms in the area, which didn't help matters at all.

So it with all this in mind I set off to the Ann Baillie Building National Historic Site, at Kingston General Hospital, VE-5293, with the idea of doing an activation.  I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but it was worth the try I thought.

The first issue I faced was trying to find a suitable spot to park.  There's not much of it around the site, but eventually I found one and set up my gear.  I used my 40m Hamstick on a 5" magmount on the roof of my van.  There is no space at all there for stringing antennas up, in fact I was waiting the whole time for the Hospital Security guys to show up and ask me to leave....but they didn't.

To recap, bad propagation, thunderstorms in the area, compromised antenna, and the KX3 at 10w....what could go wrong?  Well, surprisingly nothing.  I managed to get 22 contacts in 35 minutes, all on 40m.  Thanks to my "pilots", VA3AMX and VE3ULC for re-spotting me on the POTA site for people to find me.  

About half way through the activation, a husband and wife stuck their heads into my van to see what I was doing sitting there talking to myself.  The husband realized I was a ham, and immediately asked if I knew their neighbour, Dave, from Newark, New Jersey, who is also a ham.  Unfortunately I don't know Dave, but if any of you do know him, please let him know his neighbours are having a great time and say Hi!

Below is a map of the contacts I made from the Hospital site, not too bad for 10w and a hamstick!!

Bad Propagation?...

 I hear the bands are bad these days....well,  here's what 10w into a 20m Hamstick can do these days. 😁

I'm really pleased with this contact, Hawaii to Ontario.   I had just cleared with Peter, G7VKK in the east of England, when I made this contact with Mark.  Definitely a good night!!

Parrott's Bay POTA Activation...

It was an absolutely beautiful day here in Kingston..but, we had high humidity which made things just a little bit uncomfortable. It was also 29C before the humidity was added on.

The propagation wasn't very good, again.  It's like a broken record these days, bad QRM and very noisy bands.  Todays propagation was: SFI=77, SN=14, A Index=5, and the K Index=1.  Hopefully the propagation Gods will wake up soon and let Cycle 25 start to take off.

After morning coffee I decided to drive to Parrott's Bay Conservation Area, about 15 minutes from my home QTH. It was fairly busy there with many trail walkers coming and going.  It is right on Lake Ontario, and therefore it get's a pretty good breeze, so it was a good place to operate from today in the heat.

The 40m band was the band of choice as it seemed to be operating better than the others.  It took me a little over 20 minutes to get 14 contacts in my log, which was good, because by then I needed another shower and some dry clothes.  The heat was incredible, and not at all comfortable.

All of my contacts were from the east today,  but given the fact I was using a 40m hamstick on the roof of my van with a 5" mag-mount, and 10w from my KX3, I'm pretty happy with the result.

I had 5 good Park to Park contacts which made things more interesting.  

These days I notice I have to make sure to read back the other stations callsign to them.  After all the years I spent flying Chinook helicopters in the Air Force, my hearing has suffered a great deal. So I have to make sure I have the correct call in my log.

I think I'm going to have to start wearing a headset all the time now, I hate to log an incorrect call, and I just refuse to do digital modes....I detest them.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm off to activate a local light house for the ILLW.  Let's hope the bands are in much better shape.

Stay safe out there!!

New Paddles...

My new set of paddles arrived today.  They look very well made, and I'm looking forward to learning how to use them so I can send correct CW, and not something that comes out as Klingon.

These are made by CWMorse.US in Bon Wier, Texas.

I've only ever used a straight key before, so this will be a new adventure for me to explore. I'm sure learning how to use them will set my CW standard back several years, but it's great to learn new skills.

Of course now I have to dig out the manuals for my FT-950, and the Elecraft KX3, so I can figure out how to change the menu settings to allow paddles instead of a key to be used.

It's going to be interesting!!