Mills on the Air...

It's been a week, or more, since I did a POTA activation. The weather has been a never ending tale of heavy snow falls and brutal cold. Last Saturday it was -41C (-41.8F) and just too cold to sit either outside or in my truck to do an activation.

During this time I've been looking at different portable activation schemes, looking for something other than POTA. You have to stop getting bored, or burnt out, doing the same thing all the time.

There is an annual, non-competitive amateur radio event held globally during the second weekend of May, where operators set up stations at historic windmills or watermills to promote their heritage, but other activations occur on a regular basis throughout the year as well.

I also discovered that there are over 64 mills here in Eastern Ontario, so I have my pick of places to go and spend the day activating. Many of them are also POTA locations, so they're good for dual activations if I wish to do so.

In case you're interested, here's a link to the MOTA map: https://www.cqgma.org/gmamap/

Stay Safe Out There!

Propagation...

It's not looking very good propagation wise for tomorrow, January 20th. A good day for repairing antennas and cleaning radios I think.

Stay Safe Out There!

Flu Season...

It was the first time in 10 days that I have been on the HF bands today. While I'm still not over the flu, I'm actually feeling a lot better with the exception of the cough which I just can't get rid of. I must apologize to those operators to whom I had a coughing fit while trying to answer their calls.

We have had quite a bit of snow in the past week, and many of the local POTA spots are unaccessible due to fact they haven't been plowed out yet. Knowing how things operate around here, it may be some days before the clean up is done. The only place I could get to was CA-5141, Lemoine Point, they had actually plowed out the access road and parking lot. 

The daily propagation didn't look very good, but I thought it was worth a try. The numbers were: SFI=159, SN=126, A Index=27, and the K Index=2. There was also lots of very deep QSB on all the bands. It was also -10C (14F) with several snow squalls coming through the area while I was there. 

I decided to start the activation on 10m SSB as it looked promising and eventually moved to 15m. First up was Pedro, PR8ZX, in Brazil and 6254 km away. Pedro was followed by DL1AX, IZ4DYQ, and F5NZO. I ended the day with 15 contacts in the log.

It was nice to be able to get out of the house for a change of scenery, made even better by being about to do a POTA activation, especially for the SYP Winter Event. Radio was my trusty KX3 set at 10 screaming watts and ham sticks. 

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

Better than I Expected...

I have to admit the bands were in far better shape than what I had been led to believe by yesterday's propagation numbers. 15m was the money band.

I've actually been sick the last few days with the flu, and a very bad cough, so I really wasn't planning on going out to do a POTA activation.....but there we were, rocking it!

The propagation numbers were: SFI=135, SN=82, A Index=4 and the K Index=2. The QSB was bad and S9 signals completely disappeared in seconds leading to a pile of missed contacts.

First in the log was Etienne OS8D in Belgium, followed by SP8DJY, SQ2HEN, F5NZO, and OE4JHW. Not too bad for mid-morning on 15m.

I finished the activation with 5 CW contacts, all on 20m. It was a good morning and I'm glad I decided to go.

It'll be a few days before I'm ready to go out again though, I want the weather and temperatures to improve first, and my throat needs to heal.

Here's the contact map:

Stay Safe Out There.

Plans for 2026...

Here we are in 2026 and wondering what surprises this year will bring - and given the current state of the world, who knows what will happen.

I've been spending a few days making my amateur radio plans for this year, such as continuing my QRP operating, regardless of our place in the solar cycle and continuing my portable operations.

I'm still doing my "do my own thing" agenda that I started in 2017. I'm doing what I want to, when I want to do it....on my time and my space. It's a healthy "no stress" way of living, and I feel a lot better for it...and of course the older you get the better that approach is for you.

I want to restart my weekend morning QRP activities, and hopefully I can get them restarted as soon as the temperatures come out of single digits and the snow/ice disappears from the local POTA operating locations. These activities will be open to other local hams who want to join me. This is an extremely relaxing time for me, just a great way to spend a quiet morning...you guys should try it.

Plans are still being made to take part in Winter & Summer Field Days, the ILLW, and the US Island QSO Party. These have become staples in my yearly operating calendar, as have the four annual Support Your Park events for POTA.

This year I'm also planning another long road trip back home to the West Coast....I'm calling it the "Ultimate Odyssey Tour 2026" - 31 days, 10,500 km, and 52 POTA Parks, including 11 ATNO's. This will in all probability be my last solo trip home....The "Boss" has spoken.

The truck is still ready to go as I didn't remove the bed or storage racks from the last trip of last year. I've just got to clean the camping equipment, and the back of the truck, and I should be ready to roll. Hopefully I will have better weather than I had in 2024.

And as usual I look forward to writing about my adventures...or the lack thereof!

Stay Safe Out There!

First of the Year...

The first activation of 2026 happened this morning and conditions were not too bad. Lemoine Point, CA-5141, was fairly deserted when I got there, which I fully expected after the large snowfall we had yesterday....in fact it's still snowing.

15m SSB was the "go-to" band today, lots of activity there....as well as the now traditional tuner-upper and whistlers. I did try 10m and 17m but had no luck there.

First in the log today was Stuart, M0TTQ, followed by OS8D and GW0RQC. To be honest, I didn't expect any DX today given the band conditions, so these three were a nice surprise. I handed out a good number of S9 signal reports and received in return S5 to S9, so the hamstick was working well, and the 10w was definitely getting out and doing its job.

Propagation was: SFI=166, SN=124, A Index=24, and the K Index=2. There was some QSB, but not enough to worry about. The temperature was a rather frigid -16C (3F).

I have a new rule starting this year, any antenna I use on an activation that takes more than 10 minutes to erect, will not be used. I'm no longer "faffing" about with them, and for the most part my experience with them is that they don't work any better than my hamsticks do. I will therefore be in stealth mode for most of my activations. 

All-in-all a good start to 2026, and let's hope it gets better from here!

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!