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.