Better Weather...

Finally the weather has warmed up enough to get out and do another activation. We have had two weeks of bitterly cold weather, with the occasional heavy snow storm. This isn't unusual for Eastern Canada, but this year we have had a colder and much snowier than usual winter.

So two things happened today, the weather Gods got their act together, and the propagation Gods decided to smile upon us...and the two of them allowed a good morning of radio work.

Propagation was: SFI=122, SN=43, A Index=11, and the K Index=2.

I decided to use 15m SSB today and had great luck on that band. When it went quiet I moved to 17m and made a few more. The 17m contacts were made using the 15m hamstick, it works no problem with the KX3 tuner.

First up today was Luca IU8CNE, followed by SQ9MDF, DH4PSG, EA7DZZ, EA1FXZ, EA2CPG, and DG5LAC. 

I'm hoping to get out again tomorrow as well, before the weather changes back to the incoming snow storm this weekend.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Good Conditions...

Tuesday morning saw me head off to Parrott's Bay, CA-5142, hoping the parking lot had finally been plowed out after our last big storm....it had!! I had the parking lot to myself, no joggers or dog people out at all.

Looking at the propagation numbers before I left home I had a feeling that I should start on 15m, so I did, and certainly didn't regret that. In fact I did the whole activation on 15m SSB. 

The propagation numbers were: SFI=174, SN=127, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. And no QSB for a change.

First in the log at 1530 UTC was Adrian M7EFA, and he was followed by EA2CCG, G4TDX, DH4PSG, and OZ4MU. A hamstick and 10w, and my report from these guys was S5 across the board. Very happy with that...but I do read in places that life is too short for QRP......😎

Local daytime temperatures are expected to rise over the next two weeks before they are expected to plunge back into the deep negative numbers. I plan on doing a few more activations to satisfy my POTA addiction before it gets too cold again.

Here's the contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!

A First...

The Old Mill in Delta

Yesterday, January 31st, I believe the first Mills On The Air (MOTA) activation took place in North America with the activation of X03429, the Old Stone Mill in Delta, Ontario. Eric, VE3DN, and I also activated POTA CA-0023, the Frontenac Biosphere. 

Delta is about one hour north of Kingston, and is a small village with the population of a couple of hundred people.

I had planned my activation to take place starting at 1400 UTC and had posted notice of the activation on the GMA Alert pages to see if it would drum up any more business for me, especially from Europe......it didn't.

Propagation was "interesting". There was lots of QSB to start, but that disappeared quite quickly. Stations I worked were not very loud, and there seemed to be no power behind their signals. The numbers for the day were: SFI=128, SN=79, A Index=10, and the K Index=0. Weather wise it was -28C (-18F) but it did warm up to a much more enjoyable -22C after lunch.

The only DX of the day came from Dariusz, SP5XTY, in Poland. The other 22 contacts were all in North America, but I did snag a star...I managed to work "Salty Walt", K4OGO. It was great to finally work him.

Radio was my trusty KX3, and the usual hamsticks for antennas. Contacts were made on 15m, 20m, and 40m SSB.

Eric arrived from Kanata in time to go to the Bastard Coffee House for lunch. Bastard being the name of the old Township before it was amalgamated with others to form Rideau Lakes Municipality. The cafe is also the home of the Bastard Amateur Radio Federation who meet there once a month on a weekday afternoon.

After lunch Eric decided to activate CA-0023 with his QCX Mini using a 20m hamstick, and managed to put 21 CW QSO's in the log. The QCX was putting out about 2w maximum. It's an interesting little radio.

I left for home around 1900 UTC, and left Eric to close up his station before he too headed for home.

All-in-all, a very enjoyable day, one I hope to duplicate again soon.

Here's my contact map:

Here's a couple of pictures provided by Eric:

The QCX Mini.

Eric's contact map.

Stay Safe And Warm Out There!!!