Chillycon - 2025...

Next week (Wednesday) I'm off to the annual Chillycon gathering of QRPers at Rideau River Provincial Park. This will be the 15th time I have attended the event, and I look forward to it every year. So far the weather forecast is looking good, with no rain expected during the week we are there.

The numbers of attendees at the gathering has dropped some since covid hit us, but hopefully it will start to recover. We are expecting a large crowd to be camping for the weekend, and several others coming out to visit on the Saturday.              

I have several new (to me) POTA parks that I wish to activate, and I'm planning on doing that on Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be spent visiting other attendees and talking radios and antennas. Sunday we do a brunch at a local restaurant and then head home, fired up and ready for next year.

The parks I'm planning on operating from are:

Pine Grove Forest Conservation Area - CA-1579

McCarthy Woods Natural Area - CA-1506

Central Experimental Farm - CA-5095

Hogs Back Conservation Reserve - CA-1596

If I get the time I might also try to activate:

Mer Bleue Conservation Reserve - CA-1516

Mer Bleue Bog Conservation Reserve - CA-1515

These parks are also VEFF Parks and I will submit my logs to them as well.

This weekend will be spent getting my camping equipment sorted out and ready to go. That shouldn't take too long as I just used it for Field Day.

Look for my writeup and pictures after I get home.

Stay Safe Out There!!

The Weekend, and incoming Solar Storm...

The weekend was quite the roller coaster of band behaviour. On Saturday the propagation numbers made us believe that it would be a great day to play portable radio.......we were wrong. While the numbers looked really good, the truth of the matter was they they were not that good and the very deep QSB certainly didn't help matters at all. 

On Saturday it took me 2.5 hours to make 20 contacts. These were split between 40m and 20m, and the last six contacts of the day were on 40m CW. No Canadian or DX contacts were made, but 13 US states made it into the log.

Instead of my usual hamsticks I put up my 29 foot EFRW with a 9:1 Unun, and two 17 foot ground radials. There was no difference in the contact pattern on my contact map, from when I use a simple hamstick. 

Sunday was a different matter.  The SFI had climbed up to 317, the highest point of the cycle I believe, and the bands just rocked, and had all the previous night.

In a little over 40 minutes I managed to get 24 SSB contacts in my log, including two from the UK – G7SQW and G7PNF, one from Belgium – OS8D, and the other from the Netherlands – PA4PA. Not too bad for 10w and a hamstick.

It’s interesting that this morning (Sunday) a US ham published a YouTube video about how QRP operators are killing off POTA. Somehow I don’t think he grasps the concept of either POTA or QRP operating.

All-in-all it was a great weekend on the bands. 

Sunday's Contact Map:

There’s a G2 & G3 Solar Storm warning issued for Monday and Tuesday, we’ll be lucky to have decent stable bands back by Friday.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Saturday in the Park...

Saturday was a brilliant day around here, no humidity and the daytime high was only 23C (73F). There was not a cloud in the sky. It was also the day before my wife came home from her trip out West, so I had to make the most of it. It was the perfect day for playing radio in the park......but which park?

It turned out that Foley Mountain Conservation Area was having an open day, and all entry fees were waived for the day. It also turns out that I had never activated the conservation area for either POTA or VEFF. So it was off to CA-5542.

It's a pleasant drive up to Westport where the park is, and it takes about 55 minutes at the most from my home.

On top of this, propagation was pretty good as well. The numbers were: SFI=123, SN=145, A Index=7, and the K Index=2. Radio was my FT-891 set at 40w, and the antennas in use were my usual hamsticks.  At this activation I made contacts on 40m, 17m, and 15m.

As I got there fairly early in the morning I scored the perfect parking spot, back in the trees with 100% shade...doesn't get better than that. First up was Bob W2FN, in Williamsville, NY. On 17m I put two Austrian Stations in the log, George OE4JHW, and Mike OE4MXB, and on 15m Jose EA1BUL from Spain made a solid contact with me. 

The only downside to the day was the very deep fading on many of the signals which made some contacts pretty difficult. 

It started to get very busy at the park, especially as it was free entry, so I managed to get 25 contacts and then packed up and headed home.  This allowed other people to park and enjoy their day as well.

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

My Second Three Park Rove...

Tuesday dawned bright and early as they say, and I had plans. My wife was away visiting her family and that left me with some spare time to disappear and play radio.

Propagation was not the best, and I was determined to get all three parks I had chosen to activate done in one day. The answer of course was to up my game and take my FT-891, and set it at 40w, instead of the usual KX3 at 10w, which is exactly what I did. The FT-891 was matched with my various hamsticks.

The first park, CA-1045, Puzzle Lake Provincial Park, took just under an hour to get to, it's north-west of my home QTH in a very rural area. I put 12 contacts in the log in about 18 minutes, all of them on 40m. The band wasn't bad, but it was noisy and the QSB pretty bad.  I was sure glad to get the extra 30w behind my signal.

First in the log for the day was Martin AC1LL, in Bremen, Maine.

It was off to my second park, CA-1514, Mellon Lake Conservation Reserve, about 30 minutes from my first stop. This one is difficult to get into, and the first thing I saw in the parking lot was a shot up canoe sign.....never a good thing!

This park saw me on both 40m and 20m. First in the log for this park was Dave W4DMH, in Paw Paw, West Virginia. The noise had settled down and the QSB was not as bad in this park. The surprise of the day was getting Larry F5PYI in the log from Maclas, France. In this park I put 19 contacts in the log in 30 minutes.

Then it was off to the small town of Tweed, in Hastings County, for lunch and a coffee before I attempted the third and final park of the day.

The third park as CA-0404, Stoco Fen Provincial Park, about 10 minutes east of Tweed. There are no facilities here at all, just 20 million mosquitoes...all heading for you! You must park on the side of a pretty narrow gravel road, and hope nobody comes past you.

This park I only used 20m, as it was pretty busy with POTA activations and I knew it wouldn't take long to get activated on that band. First in the log here was Ted N0TTZ, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was followed quickly by Jose EA1BUL in Asturias, Spain, and Larry F5PYI again for a second park. I had 17 contacts at this park, and it took 24 minutes to activate.

Propagation for the first 2 parks was: SFI=146, SN=146, A Index=17, and the K Index=2.

Propagation for the third park was: SFI=146, SN=152, A Index=17, and the K Index=3.

The temperature was 35C (95F) by noon and very high humidity. I was glad to get the engine running after each activation to get the air conditioner turned on so I could cool down. I also went through 3 litres of water during the day.

It was an excellent day, and I have another three (maybe 4) park rove planned for late next week....if the propagation holds good!

Below is the contact map for the third activation of the day at Stoco Fen.

Stay Safe Out There!

A Beautiful Day...

It was a beautiful day here last Wednesday, blue sky, and not a cloud to be seen. It was far too nice to spend it indoors in the shack chasing DX. Instead I decided to head to the Frontenac Biosphere, CA-0023, and activate it.

The Frontenac Biosphere is a huge area covering most of southern Frontenac Country and Leeds-Grenville County. There are an unlimited numbers of spots to pick to operate from, although I tend to favour a site near the old K&P Rail trail. That ensures there's parking nearby.

Propagation was pretty good for a change that day: SFI=152, SN=128, A Index=8, and the K Index=1. Radio used was my KX3 with 40m and 20m Hamsticks.

You can see from the picture on the left that the temperature was extremely uncomfortable. At 1510 UTC it was 37C (98.6F), way too hot to operate for too long.

The answer of course is lots of water, and being able to turn on the trucks air conditioner every once in a while to cool things down.

As it turned out after 12 contacts the bands turned off and the signals simply disappeared, giving me an excuse to go QRT and get home to a cool house.

I don't think I'll be going out again in those kind of temperatures.

Stay Cool Out There!!

Saturday's 3 Park Rove...

Saturday started with high temperatures and humidity, and continued like that all day. So it was decided that it would be a good day to go for a long drive and activate a couple of parks along the way.

Traffic along the 401 corridor was terrible. I have no idea why people have to drive like such idiots on that highway, weaving in and out of lanes, and doing twice the posted speed limit. Needless to say not a single Police car was seen all day.

First park of the day was the furthest away, that was Richardson's Lookout Conservation Area  CA-5649 in Northumberland County, about 175 km to the west of my home QTH. This spot is located on top of a lonely hill that sticks up from the surrounding flat farmland by about 120 metres. 

Propagation here was: SFI=148, SN=125, A Index=8, and the K Index=3. Radio was my KX3, and 40m and 20m hamsticks for the antenna.

I was on the air with the first contact in the log at 1546 UTC, W1BAP had that honour. Only 14 stations made it into the log before I decided to move on the my second park. Best contact of the whole day was a 50 km 2m simplex contact on 146.520 with Chris VE3OZG.

The second park was CA-5645, Ball's Mill Conservation Area, near the village of

Baltimore. This was not the easiest place to find, and it took me an extra 15 minutes messing around to find the site as my GPS took me to the wrong place. 

There were no changes in the propagation numbers at this park, and I continued to use the KX3 and hamsticks with good results.

Band conditions then started to definitely get worse with very high band noise and QSB. I ended up finishing this activation with just the minimum 10 contacts on the log, I just couldn't pull anymore contacts out of the noise.

It was a 30 minute drive to the third and final park, CA-5637, Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area. Unfortunately by the time I got there and set-up, conditions had deteriorated to the point the bands were almost dead. So that activated never even got off the ground.  

All-in-all it was a good day out with 2 of the 3 parks activated. I got to play radio while the bands stayed open, and I got to see part of the province I haven't seen before. 

I'm already planning a return to the area and working some more new parks. Stay tuned!

Stay Safe Out There!

The Summer Support Your Park Event...

Last weekend was the POTA Summer Support Your Park Event, an event held 4 times a year, and one I look forward to.

These SYP Events are held once per season, and encourage us to get out into nature and operate from the big shack under the big blue sky, and that is exactly what I did this weekend.

It's no secret that over the past 3 months the bands have been absolutely terrible, and for those, like myself, who choose to operate QRP only, contacts have been hard to get. Regardless of that fact, I set myself a goal of doing a minimum of 6 activations over the weekend. 

Over the course of 2 days I managed to activate the following parks: CA-4877, CA-4872, CA-6003, CA-4882, CA-0023, and CA-4864. It was difficult to do, as between very noisy bands and deep QSB, contacts were hard to come by over the weekend. It was not unusual to call CQ for 10 minutes with no responses, and then get 2 or 3 contacts in a row.

Propagation over the weekend was:

Saturday: SFI=156, SN=167, A Index=12, and the K Index=2.

Sunday: SFI=153, SN=139, A Index=7, and the K Index=1

Best contact over the event was with Rubens IU1HJF, in Northern Italy on 20m SSB, at 0029 UTC on Saturday. He was my one and only DX all weekend. While I was getting 52 and 53 from North American stations, I received a 57 from Rubens. Needless to say, it made my night, that was my first DC in nearly 3 months. 

It was nice to work a lot of my "regulars" over the weekend. These are the guys and girls who hunt we activators, without them it would not be possible for us to get the job done. 

I'm already looking forward to the Fall SYP event that is held on the third full weekend of October. 

Stay Safe Out There!

What's with the bands?

Today was a quiet day around the house, so I decided to get out to a park and do an activation. It's been a week since I have managed to escape and play radio. Way too much going on around here during the summer months for my liking.

Parrotts Bay was my go-to park today, I thought it would be cooler down by the lake, but In was wrong. The 30C (90F) temperature was a killer with no wind to help cool things down. It was also extremely busy with people parking there and crossing the road to go swimming in Lake Ontario.

Propagation today was: SFI=139, SN=155, A Index=23, and the K Index=1. The band noise and deep QSB were brutal and I'm sure they cost me some contacts. Today's activation was a mixture of CW and SSB on both 20m and 40m. Neither band was very good.

Radio today was my KX3, and I used my JPC-12 vertical antenna with the new 40m coil. It seems to work fine, it's certainly no worse than a ham stick. After an hour I packed up with 12 contacts in the log.

I wonder how long it will be before the sun settles down, the bands open up, and the DX re-appears?

Here's todays contact map:

Stay, cool, hydrated, and safe out there!!

POTA SYP Summer Event

This coming weekend, July 19/20, is this summers Support Your Park Event, where a frenzy of POTA operators try to activate, or hunt, as many parks as they can over the weekend.

Many activators use these events, held once each season, to go for the POTA Rover Award, not as a contest, but as a personal challenge to see how many parks they can activate in a 24 hour period. My best, so far, is 10 parks in 24 hours.

I haven't seen any long range propagation forecasts yet for the weekend. Hopefully it improves and we get a weekend of good weather and good propagation. It's been a long time since that combination happened around here. 

I'll be out Friday evening for a late shift activation, and again Saturday morning. I'm hoping for an easy time this event, and plan on only activating 5 parks which is very easy to do.

This is a world-wide event, so get out and make some contacts!

Stay Safe Out There!!

Field Day 2025 - The Aftermath...

Field Day this year can be summed up in three words: "Hot and Humid". Between the heat and lack of decent propagation it was not a good weekend. 

I managed to give myself a dose of mild heatstroke while we were setting up on Saturday....apparently I still haven't learned, at my age, to wear a hat and drink plenty of water on hot sunny days. That set me up for an even worse weekend than I was going to have.

I manned the 40m SSB station, and my antenna for the weekend was a 29' (9m) EFRW vertical, with a 9:1 Balun and four 17' radials. This worked well, and tuned 6m through 40m with no issues. Now it will tune on 80m, but I'm not too sure it would be very effective there. The only difference between the way I use this antenna, and the way Salty Walt uses his, is the fact he only uses one 17' radial and I use four.

The propagation on Saturday: SFI=118, SN=103, A Index=21, and the K Index=1

The propagation Sunday: SFI=122, SN=104, A Index=9, and the K Index=2.

On top of this the Solar Wind was up to over 550 kps all weekend, and that was causing lots of deep, and unwanted, QSB for everyone. 

We operated QRP, with five stations working on batteries, and we had eight of our club members out for the event, and many thanks to Jim VE3ULC for the use of his property.

I managed to put a rather pitiful total of 67 contacts in the log, all weekend, and most of them I had to really work to get. 

Did I enjoy myself? No, not really. The company and food was great, but I think doing POTA has spoiled me for portable operating in a relaxed environment. Too many participants of this year's Field Day were contesting, instead of treating it as an emergency operating event that it is supposed to be, according to the ARRL. And of course, with POTA, everyday is Field Day so it is no longer special. Will I continue to participate in Field Day? Probably, but not in the way I have done in the past.

Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

Eric, VE3DN, our CW guy!

VE3FI's station

Don, VE3MNE's home for the weekend

Stay Hydrated and Safe Out There!!!

Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour 2025...

This past weekend saw the 52nd running of the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. As usual, our club provided the VHF communications throughout Frontenac County. This was our 19th year providing comms for the event.

We look after nine locations over two separate routes, and this year we only managed to have seven of those locations up and running due to a few technical issues. Part of the issue is the fact that we have had to relocate our 2m repeater this year, and the new site does not cover the whole are as we would like.

For the fourth year in a row the number of riders was down, we hope this will improve next year with a change in the tour management. 

The weather was extremely hot and humid both days, and shade was at a premium at the authorized rest areas. You cannot imagine the amount of water the cyclists drank on route. 

I was operating from the Perth Road Village Community Hall. The ladies auxiliary from the local church sold snacks and coffee there, and they did a roaring trade. I hear the homemade apple pie was to die for.......I stayed strong and didn't eat any!

The quiet before the storm.

They're Here!!!

Are We On An Upturn?...

It was a rough week propagation wise this week. The bands were in terrible shape and very noisy with incredibly deep QSB.  

In spite of this, I decided on Tuesday to head out and try and activate Lemoine Point. The propagation numbers didn't look too bad actually, SFI=151, SN=138, A Index=24 and the K Index=3. I gave up after 40 minutes with no contacts in the log at all. 

On Wednesday I headed out again, this time to Parrotts Bay, and once again the propagation numbers didn't look too bad, SFI=139, SN=112, A Index=9, and the K Index=3. This time I spent an hour calling CQ, both on SSB and CW, and once again I put zero contacts in my log. Pretty discouraging I thought. 

Thursday dawns bright and clear, and I decide to go out and try to operate portable once again. This time it was off to the Frontenac Biosphere. Here's the propagation numbers: SFI=137, SN=113, A Index=13, and the K Index=1. Success!! First in the log was Pierre VE2EH, and I ended up with 13 contacts on 40m, and 2 on 20m. 

Conditions were terrible. The QSB was very bad and some signals completely disappeared in seconds, never to be heard from again. I was just glad to be making a few contacts!

What was very strange is that I, as a 10w QRP SSB station, was getting S6 to S9 signal reports, yet I was hearing them, the 100w home based stations, at about S3 to S4. Very strange conditions.

Here's Thursdays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

Let's Get Out and Support This!!...

I'll be out tomorrow to support this!!

 

Finally, A Break...

We woke up this morning to decent temperatures, a big blue sky, and no haze or smell of smoke from the wildfires. A decent day for an activation I thought, and that was before I looked at the daily propagation numbers.

Although I had my KX3, battery, and logbook with me, it wasn't until after the local clubs coffee meet-up that I decided to give it a try as the numbers looked workable. 

The propagation numbers were: SFI=151, SN=138, A Index=24, and the K Index=3. The bands were very noisy and every one of them had bad QSB. But signals were there.

I started on 40m SSB and first in the log was Elliot KC1WFL. This was a special contact as Elliot is only 6 years old, but a very professional sounding operator. It was great to work him. Only 6 contacts on 40m made it into my log before the band dried up. I then tried 10m and 15m, but had no luck on either of them.

The next 11 contacts were made on 20m SSB. It took a little under an hour to get them in my log, and it was great to get out and activating again. Contacts were made in 15 different Provinces and States.

Hopefully this coming week I'll be able to get out again and get a few more parks in my log book.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

Weekend Propagation...

Well, the propagation certainly isn't looking too good for this weekend. I was hoping to be able to take a new antenna out into the field and do some testing.....but apparently not.

I've actually lost count of how long it's been since we had decent propagation. Hopefully this foolishness will sort itself out shortly and we can all get back to operating our radios with good results.

Here's how it looks:

Stay Safe Out There!!

A Little Improvement...

After nine days of mediocre to poor propagation, today was a little better. I decided to go to Lemoine Point Conservation Area and see how bad it was.

It took an hour and fifteen minutes to get 11 contacts in my logbook. The QRN and QSB were pretty bad, signals were really up and down, and contacts hard to make. I really appreciate the 11 hams who made the contacts with me, and persevered through some brutal band noise.

No DX today, furthest contact was with Tom, W6IJL, in Arizona on 20m.

I'm hoping things continue to improve so I can try and get out again tomorrow, and do it all over again.

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

This Isn't Good...

There's a major G4 solar storm raging at the moment, looks like we will have very poor band conditions for a few days.

Here's how it looks:

Stay Safe Out There!

A Pretty Good Day...

I decided to activate Sharbot Lake and Silver Lake Provincial Parks yesterday, and it turned out to be pretty good. First of all the weather was excellent, 23C (73F) under clear blue skies. The warmest day here so far this year.

I also found out that you don't have to pay the day use fee if you present a veterans card, this is valid Monday through Friday. Needless to say my card will be getting a lot of use this coming season! The cost of entering the provincial parks is getting out of hand.

Propagation wise it was the best it's been in the last few weeks, but still not terrific. The numbers were: SFI=133, SN=102, A Index=8, and the K Index=2. Once again the QSB was very bad and I missed at least  two Park to Park contacts because their signal disappeared completely before I could complete the contact.

Best contact of the day was Larry, F5PYI, on 20m. I managed to work Larry in each park. Radio was my trusty KX3 at 10w, and my usual Hamstick antennas.

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

Good Book...

Just received my copy of Salty Walt's Antenna Book. Highly recommended!! If you're into building your own portable antennas for POTA & SOTA, or just messing about in your garden....this is the book for you.

I bought my copy from Amazon.ca, which was a lot cheaper than direct from the ARRL. 

Lot's of projects for next winter, and while these are shown as "portable" antennas, there's no reason they couldn't be put up on a more permanent basis for the main QTH.

Stay Safe Out There!

A Propagation Upturn...

It's been 10 days since I have been out doing an activation, mainly due to the very poor propagation and the futility of trying to operate QRP in such conditions. Yesterday wasn't too bad on the bands, for a change so I decided to get out and give it a try again.

It took 40 minutes to get 17 contacts in the log. I managed 11 SSB on 20m and 6 CW on 40m, so I was fairly happy with that. The radio in use was my KX2, and my usual hamsticks. The bands look even better this morning, so I think I'll be doing another trip today. 

A few new antenna parts are on order from various companies to put together a ground mounted vertical, more on this when the parts arrive. I'm hoping the new antenna will help simplify things for me. I hate doing POTA activations with a 10 metre collapsible mast, the less attention I can draw to me the better I like it...and let's be honest, not every park is suitable to erect a mast and wire.

Yesterday the propagation was: SFI=119, SN=93, A Index=13, and the K Index=3. There was very deep QSB as well. As you can see for the contact map above, 20m was very short, except for the single opening into St. Kitts and Nevis.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Week That Was...

What a lousy week, both propagation wise and weather wise. No park activations got done, and very little radio at all was done. The propagation doesn't look like it will improve much before Tuesday at the moment. This is thanks to a coronal hole stream heading our way.

We've also had heavy rains and thunderstorms through the area over the past 48 hours, so that hasn't helped either.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get out on Tuesday with a new antenna I would like to test during a POTA activation. Photo's to follow if conditions are good!

Stay Safe Out There!

Back to the Parks...

Circumstances have changed around the QTH over the past few days. My Mother-in-Law, who has lived with us for the past 12 years, will be moving into a long term care home tomorrow, as her dementia has reached the point we can no longer care for her at home, she now needs full time professional care. 

This means that as of tomorrow I will no longer be tied to the house everyday helping take care of her. It also means my sainted wife will now be able to do things she has been putting off for the past few years. While it will be very strange not to have Mother-in-Law here with us, she will be close enough that we can easily visit her every day.

Once a few outstanding chores have been taken care of around here, I will be able to activate local parks as often as I wish. I'm also planning on travelling to new parks that I have not been to yet; I'm really looking forward to this.

It's been a week since I have managed to get out to the local parks and do an activation. This was a 50/50 split between lousy propagation and my obligations around the QTH. 

This morning I managed to get out and actually play radio in a park. Propagation was not the best, the SFI was sitting at 152, SN=87, A Index= 26, and the K Index=2. The old Sun has not been on its best behaviour all week, and today proved no different. It was very surprising at just how quiet 40m was today, with my processor turned off I had no background noise at all, just clear audio. You don't get that very often.

I did manage to put 19 contacts in the log, all on 40m, which was strange as 40m was shown to be in poor shape. There were no prizes given for DX contacts today, just solid contacts around the Eastern Seaboard.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There....and May the Fourth Be With You!!

QRP To The Field...

Here's a surprise.....I've just been told that unknown to everyone, this year's QRP to the Field Event has been delayed a week and will take place this coming Saturday, April 26.

Here's a link to the rules page HERE.

This is good news as the bands were absolute garbage last Saturday when it was originally planned to happen. I didn't do very well because of the conditions, and never submitted a log. Good job I didn't as I can do it all over again this Saturday, and hope for much better conditions.

I can't get upset over this screwup this year at all.  Paul, NA5N, has just within the past 2 weeks lost his wife, and I'm sure he has other things on his mind right now.

So there you go, another chance to get out and play QRP radio coming up this Saturday.

Stay Safe Out There!

This Coming Weekend...

Lots of activities coming up this weekend!

First up is the POTA Support Your Parks Spring Event. This starts at 0001 UTC on Saturday, April 19, and runs till 2359 UTC 0n Sunday, April 20. I'm planning on activating a few parks for this event, and hopefully the propagation gods will cooperate for a change.

These events are a good way of boosting your POTA contacts, and of course you can also upload the same log(s) to the WWFF program.

The next event we didn't think was going to happen, but it will be happening after all. That's QRP to the Field. The link takes you to last year's page, but there have been no changes to the Rules for this year. The page will be updated soon, but Paul, NA5N, lost his wife, Jan, N0QT, a week ago and very obviously has had other priorities in his life. 

The third event this coming weekend is the Ontario QSO Party. I have done this contest in the past, but not for many years now. They do have a QRP category.

It's also the Easter long weekend here in Ontario. Enjoy yourselves, but please stay safe.

A Less Than Stella Day...

Today was the first day this year I have been able to leave the house without a jacket and gloves on - it was that warm. Just a glorious day!

Lemoine Point & Kingston Airport

However, as good as the weather was, the bands were not that good at all. In fact they were really awful. I set out this morning with the goal of completing 2 POTA activations, and while it took a lot longer than normal, I did get the job done. 

The QSB was particularly bad, with signals fading from S9 to S2 instantly. This of course caused me to lose a number of otherwise good contacts. 

I started the day on 10m CW and made a couple of contacts into the USA. When those contacts dried up I moved to 15m SSB and made some contacts into the US Gulf states, and as a total surprise Emanuele, IU3LYJ, in Northern Italy called me and gave me an S5 signal report. Then it was on to 40m SSB to finish off the activation.

I took a break for lunch, and met my wife at a local restaurant - which we don't often do. Once lunch was over it was off to the next activation. Conditions had not improved, in fact they had got worse. That activation was done entirely on 40m SSB, and I was lucky enough to work 2 stations who were at different 3fers, which allowed me to complete the activation.

Today was really not the day to be running QRP, but I did, and to make it worse I used my hamsticks mounted to the roof of my truck. If nothing else I proved to myself QRP can still do it even under very poor conditions.

Propagation today was: SFI=165, SN=80, A Index=20, and the K Index=3.

Here's my contact map from the morning activation:

And here's the map for the afternoon activation:

Let's all hope the propagation starts to improve again!

Stay Safe Out There!

Useful Piece of Gear...

I picked up a useful piece of gear the other day. I own a RigExpert Stick, and have been keeping it in the small cardboard box it came in, and the box doesn't afford much protection for such an expensive piece of equipment.

While surfing a few SOTA / POTA YouTube videos the other day I came across the answer. The ham in question had come across a small case, normally used to protect an electric toothbrush, and realized the case could have a new role.

Have a look at this:

It's a perfect fit, and it's waterproof.

If you're interested in getting one, they are available on Amazon. You can search for "Wilken Electric Toothbrush Case, Universal Travel Case".

Stay Safe Out There!

Another Portable Activation...

Today was a warm -2C under brilliant blue skies, spring must have arrived! Most of the snow around here has melted and faded away, which is fine by me.

Propagation wasn't too bad, SFI=170, SN=178, A Index=6, and the K Index=2. There was however, some very bad QSB on signals. Once again it was the KX3, and Hamsticks, and the location was VEFF-2986, Parrotts Bay Conservation Area. It was to be a WWFF activation today.

First up today was Rui CT1ERY, and he was followed very quickly by YY4EBD, G8IBR, G6ZVL, GW0RMB, SQ2WKQ, OH3RM, OH1MM, and SP9RXP. These contacts were all made on 10m. I switched to 15m and made a number of contacts to the southern US States.

A number of LIDS were out today, tuning up on top of me, whistling into their mic's, and generally being idiots. These antics, and the deep QSB, certainly didn't make it easy to make the contacts. I ended up moving frequencies a couple of times to get away from them, but they always seem to follow me down the band.

This weekend I'm planning on activating a couple of never before activated VEFF parks a little further north than I usually go, but the weather looks good enough to get it done. That will be a write up for next week.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!