It Was A Cold Day...

Very little portable operating has taken place this past week. It has snowed just about every day, and the temperatures have been low enough to make any amount of time outdoors uncomfortable, so it's been a slow radio week.

Today I had to get out of the house, regardless of the temperatures, propagation, and anything else the world could have thrown at me. It was a balmy -12C (10F) when I started, with winds 25 gusting 70, which took the ambient temperature down to where it was damn uncomfortable. Needless to say I didn't spend too much time outside chasing Parks and DX.

The propagation numbers today were: SFI=188, SN=180, A Index=9, and the K Index=1. I spent the whole time on 10m, and I had to fight some pretty deep QSB there. With the KX3 set at 10w and my trusty 10m Hamstick on the roof of my truck I set out to capture some good DX. I did a bit of listening on 15m, but didn't operate there.

The first guy in the log was Pat PD1CW, and he was quickly followed by DL9RP, EA1BUL, F4ILH, DH3TK, EA7FC, and EI6IF. 

I had to pack it in after 40 minutes as my feet started to freeze, and I didn't want to risk hurting them. That's one of the downsides of operating in the winter in Canada.

 Here's today's contact map....more DX contacts than North American contacts:

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!

FYBO 2025...

It's that time again!! This coming Saturday, February 1st, sees the 2025 edition of the Freeze Your Butt Off QRP event, sponsored by the AzScQRPions. 

Rules can be found HERE.

This event runs from 1400 UTC to 2359 UTC, February 1st.  

I'm planning on going out and setting up for this event in my local park, just like I did last year.  The weather forecast is calling for -14C under sunny skies.....should be good for a few hours of QRP fun!!

Make sure you read up on, and understand, the symptoms for Hypothermia before this event.  This is a good page to start for that......click HERE.

Have Fun, and Stay Safe Out There!!

A Cold Activation...

Today was probably the coldest activation I have done this winter. It was -17C (1.4F) this morning, and I felt every one of those cold. negative. degrees. Luckily I can operate from my truck and get out of the wind, which certainly helps a bit. Unfortunately, because of the interference caused by the onboard computers, I can't run the engine, and operate, in order to stay warm. Once I start operating I'm going to be cold in a short time.

I worked 10m again as it was very busty with POTA and the North American QSO Party stations. It took just about 30 minutes to get 20 contacts in the log. First up was Carlos YV1GIY, and following him was OZ4MU, F8EXM, DO9SMS, DL9RP, F5NZO, and finally, GM4OIJ. I'm pleased with that performance, the KX3 worked flawlessly, and I never cease to be amazed at how well the hamsticks work.

Propagation numbers today were: SFI=222, SN=124, A Index=10, and the K Index=3. There was lots of very deep QSB as well to deal with.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

SYP Weekend...

I'm looking forward to this weekends Support Your Park event. POTA holds these events every 3 months, so it's like having 4 extra field days a year. I quite enjoy portable operating these days, the much lower RF background noise in the parks makes it far more enjoyable to me.

Due to the weather, I won't be straying too far from home for this one. Some parking lots haven't been plowed out yet, and more snow is in the forecast, so I fully expect a wet and very sloppy drive in the morning.

I hoping to activate at least 5 of the local parks over the course of the event. 

I don't want to jinx the weekends forecasted propagation, so I'll let everyone look it up for themselves. 

Have a look HERE.

Enjoy the event, and Stay Safe Out There!

A Cold Activation...

It was a pretty cold day here in Eastern Ontario. There's not much snow on the ground, but the lakes are starting to freeze over. 

Parrotts Bay is about half frozen over these days and I expect it will be fully frozen over by next weekend.  The picture to the left looks decidedly warm.....don't be fooled, it was -21C with the wind blowing.

Over about 40 minutes I managed to put 26 contacts in my logbook.  First up was Bruno ON8BM, and he was quickly followed by DK5FF/p, LW2DO, DL1SWB, PD1CW, and EA2BD. The other contacts were mainly from the Central and Western USA.

All contacts were made on 10m with my KX3 set at 10w, and as usual, Hamsticks for my antenna. It's a winning combination and I see no reason to change it right now. Besides, it's too cold to be outside, fumbling around, and trying to get a wire up a tree.

Propagation today was: SFI=162, SN=136, A Index=10, and the K Index=3. The QSB was particularly bad at times.

I was really impressed with my SSB contact with LW2DO in Pehuajo, Argentina, which is a distance of 9,027 km away, or 902.7 km per watt.  Not too shabby!!

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Coming Up Next Weekend...

The bands will be hopping next weekend with a couple of big events.....

First up is the North American QSO Party.  Times are 1800 UTC 18 January to 0559 UTC 19 January.  This contest is sponsored by the National Contest Journal, and nearly always fill the bands up. 

Rules for this event can be found HERE.

Next up is the Winter Support Your Parks Event for POTA. This is a massive event that like the NA QSO Party, fills up the bands.  Timings are 0001 UTC 18 January to 2359 UTC 19 January.

As you can see the two events overlap on their timings, so we can expect some very crowded band conditions.

Stay Safe Out There!

Sunday was Good...

Sunday was a cold, windy and snowy day here, with the temperature hovering around -14C  (7F). A perfect day to get out, do an activation, and get moving into the new year.

I chose the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, CA-0023, to activate. I hadn't activated this location for a while, and thought it would be a great place to start the years activations off. Interestingly, when I got to my spot I was the only car in the parking lot.

I decided to start on 10m as it looked fairly active. First up was Luis EA4TL, followed by IW4EOI, G0BVD, F4GYM, F5NZO, EA1CDH, EA7HW, CT2IWW, IW2MJQ, IW2BNA. Then the big surprise, SV3SFJ in Greece. He was 7728 Km from me, just an outstanding contact for 10w and a Hamstick!! I ended the activation with 29 in the log, and I was pretty pleased with that. It had become very cold, and needed a hot drink and a warm up badly.

The propagation numbers were: SFI=209, SN=191, A Index=32, and the K Index=3. Let's all hope 2025 is a good year for us propagation wise.

Here's the days contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!