If you remember my previous post where I commented:

“Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.“

“Check out their website for more information.”

So it would seem that last evening I was lucky/skillful enough to get the remaining 6 colony stations in the log along with the WM2PEN Bonus Station in the log.

Last night I did hear the GB13COL Bonus Station on 20m ssb and could not break the pile up.

This morning I did hear the TM13COL Bonus on 15m cw but once again was unable to break the pile up.

So far out of the 14 contacts ( 13 colonies and 1 Bonus station) 3 contacts were made in CW and 11 were made using SSB.

Power levels are 90w for SSB and 40W for CW.

I’m (foolishly) feeling confident that before the event ends on July 7th I should be able to complete the SWEEP including the 3 bonus stations.

After all I only need 2 more…..

The last time I was able to do this was in 2022.

Once again Happy 4th of July to my Neighbors to the South

73bob

Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.

As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.

The goals were as follows:

HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a “dyed in the wool” contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendly… This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.

TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-

Well almost… I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.

Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.

HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contacts…. I just needed more of them.

After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.

Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.

Check out their website for more information.

.

Then it looks like its back to “Playing Pota” again ….

73bob

If you remember my previous post where I commented:

“Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.“

“Check out their website for more information.”

So it would seem that last evening I was lucky/skillful enough to get the remaining 6 colony stations in the log along with the WM2PEN Bonus Station in the log.

Last night I did hear the GB13COL Bonus Station on 20m ssb and could not break the pile up.

This morning I did hear the TM13COL Bonus on 15m cw but once again was unable to break the pile up.

So far out of the 14 contacts ( 13 colonies and 1 Bonus station) 3 contacts were made in CW and 11 were made using SSB.

Power levels are 90w for SSB and 40W for CW.

I’m (foolishly) feeling confident that before the event ends on July 7th I should be able to complete the SWEEP including the 3 bonus stations.

After all I only need 2 more…..

The last time I was able to do this was in 2022.

Once again Happy 4th of July to my Neighbors to the South

73bob

Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.

As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.

The goals were as follows:

HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a “dyed in the wool” contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendly… This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.

TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-

Well almost… I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.

Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.

HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contacts…. I just needed more of them.

After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.

Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.

Check out their website for more information.

.

Then it looks like its back to “Playing Pota” again ….

73bob

That’s a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.

Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.

73bob

That’s a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.

Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.

73bob

The Coles Notes Version:

Operated for approximately 12 hours….

81 SSB contacts…. on 4 amateur bands

54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.

Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.

Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.

My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.

This was a great “Warm up” for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st

Thanks for the contacts…

73bob

If you look at the above map you will be able to relate to the data I am giving you.

According to the data available from Parks on the Air there are (as of the time of writing this) there are 5896 Pota locations spread across Canada.

According to the data available from the Canadian Government there is a total of 88,876 Amateur Radio Licenses issued. However that does not mean that they are all active hams. Some are Club Calls, some are Repeater Calls, some people have more than one call (I hold VA3QV and VA3RCS), some are inactive and some are silent keys whose Callsign(s) have not been returned yet.

Here is the breakdown of the Call Districts along with the number of Licenses issued in that Province:

VO1/VO2 1581

The Coles Notes Version:

Operated for approximately 12 hours….

81 SSB contacts…. on 4 amateur bands

54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.

Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.

Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.

My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.

This was a great “Warm up” for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st

Thanks for the contacts…

73bob

… The Choice had to be made…

Field Day 2024 will be starting in 3 hours. In previous posts I had mentioned that I was either going to be operating as a 1B station or a 1D stations depending on the weather. “Mother Nature” helped me make the choice and its not nice (or smart) to argue with Mother.

The choice is “1D” and if you read the following from The Weather Network you will see why.

---

Kingston, ON

Special Weather Statement

Issued at Sat 8:59 AM Jun. 22

Issued by: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Description:
Significant rainfall possible this afternoon into Sunday.

Hazard:
Rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 mm. Locally higher amounts possible.

Timing:
This afternoon into Sunday.

Discussion:
The potential exists for multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon into Sunday. Local amounts exceeding 50 mm are possible. A rainfall warning may be required for some areas.

For information concerning flooding, please consult your local Conservation Authority or Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office. Visit Ontario.ca/floods for the latest details.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.

###

---

So there you have it….

Setting up in a Park to operate 1B in a Monsoon is one way to ruin my almost new FT891 seeing that as a general rule they don’t like water.

And to be honest it would not be fun for me either.

I still will be participating and hope to give out the rare exchange of 1D ONE to as many stations I can contact during the event. At home I have the chance to operate VHF, 6m, and the HF Bands that the Field Day rules allow.

So have fun, stay safe and make lots of contacts

73bob

… The Choice had to be made…

Field Day 2024 will be starting in 3 hours. In previous posts I had mentioned that I was either going to be operating as a 1B station or a 1D stations depending on the weather. “Mother Nature” helped me make the choice and its not nice (or smart) to argue with Mother.

The choice is “1D” and if you read the following from The Weather Network you will see why.

---

Kingston, ON

Special Weather Statement

Issued at Sat 8:59 AM Jun. 22

Issued by: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Description:
Significant rainfall possible this afternoon into Sunday.

Hazard:
Rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 mm. Locally higher amounts possible.

Timing:
This afternoon into Sunday.

Discussion:
The potential exists for multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon into Sunday. Local amounts exceeding 50 mm are possible. A rainfall warning may be required for some areas.

For information concerning flooding, please consult your local Conservation Authority or Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office. Visit Ontario.ca/floods for the latest details.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.

###

---

So there you have it….

Setting up in a Park to operate 1B in a Monsoon is one way to ruin my almost new FT891 seeing that as a general rule they don’t like water.

And to be honest it would not be fun for me either.

I still will be participating and hope to give out the rare exchange of 1D ONE to as many stations I can contact during the event. At home I have the chance to operate VHF, 6m, and the HF Bands that the Field Day rules allow.

So have fun, stay safe and make lots of contacts

73bob

The Ottawa Amateur Radio Club is holding their Annual Hamfest at the Carp Arena in beautiful downtown Carp Ontario

Use the link (below) for their website

2024-09-07 OARC (Carp) Hamfest

More on this later….

Also hope to hear you during Field Day…. I will be operating from the Kingston Area as either a 1B of if the weather is bad then a 1D

73bob

The Ottawa Amateur Radio Club is holding their Annual Hamfest at the Carp Arena in beautiful downtown Carp Ontario

Use the link (below) for their website

2024-09-07 OARC (Carp) Hamfest

More on this later….

Also hope to hear you during Field Day…. I will be operating from the Kingston Area as either a 1B of if the weather is bad then a 1D

73bob

…. A “new” POTA Park…

Ontario offering free preview of new provincial park under development

For those of you not certain where Uxbridge Ontario is…. Look up for a map.

From the info given on the Global TV site (see above link) I am led to believe that this will be a “Day Use” Park but it will be a “Provincial Park” which means that when the work is complete and the park is opened to the public it will qualify as a POTA entity once it gets assigned a POTA Number.

Looking forward to getting another new park in my log

73bob

…. A “new” POTA Park…

Ontario offering free preview of new provincial park under development

For those of you not certain where Uxbridge Ontario is…. Look up for a map.

From the info given on the Global TV site (see above link) I am led to believe that this will be a “Day Use” Park but it will be a “Provincial Park” which means that when the work is complete and the park is opened to the public it will qualify as a POTA entity once it gets assigned a POTA Number.

Looking forward to getting another new park in my log

73bob

Sunday afternoon after I got home from the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour I set my Buddipole up on my back deck.

Above pic shows the configuration but that’s not my deck…

It was set up as 6m dipole and was approx 20 feet off the ground. Using my Yaesu FT991a (my shack radio) I fired things up and spun the dial….

In a 30 minute time period I managed to get 9 Stations in the log. All of them were SSB contacts and they all were to the South West of my location.

Grid Squares EL87,EM31, EM53, EM73, EM90, EM94, EM98 were logged. And for the record Kingston Ontario (my home) is in FN14

I also tried 2m ssb with the 991 and my 2m halo but no luck hearing and being heard.

But still getting 9 contacts into the log using a simple dipole antenna in a small time period shows us why they call 6m the “Magic Band”

73bob

Sunday afternoon after I got home from the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour I set my Buddipole up on my back deck.

Above pic shows the configuration but that’s not my deck…

It was set up as 6m dipole and was approx 20 feet off the ground. Using my Yaesu FT991a (my shack radio) I fired things up and spun the dial….

In a 30 minute time period I managed to get 9 Stations in the log. All of them were SSB contacts and they all were to the South West of my location.

Grid Squares EL87,EM31, EM53, EM73, EM90, EM94, EM98 were logged. And for the record Kingston Ontario (my home) is in FN14

I also tried 2m ssb with the 991 and my 2m halo but no luck hearing and being heard.

But still getting 9 contacts into the log using a simple dipole antenna in a small time period shows us why they call 6m the “Magic Band”

73bob

Traditionally held on “The Last Rainy Weekend” in June but for the sticklers for the rules its actual date is the 4th weekend in June…

This year it would be on June 22nd and ending on June 23rd

So what will VA3QV be doing???? Its safe to say that my Field Day Station will look a bit like this:

or like this from back in 2017….

So I plan to be operating as a 1B Battery Station from the RAC Ontario East Section (ONE)

The actual location has not been determined yet but there is a good chance the location could be one of the Parks on the Air location in the City of Kingston.

That’s the plan for good weather… and so far the long range forecast is calling for nice (dry). If the weather is not dry then the plan is to operate as a home station in the 1D catagory just to give out points to the participants

If you are new at this then the rules can be found here:

Years ago Field Day was considered a test of our emergency operating skills specifically to set up and operate a station for 24 hours and somehow it has morphed into more of contest with groups of operators putting up equipment that would not be used in a real emergency at power levels that could not be maintained unless you had a generator and an endless supply of gasoline.

I’m a little more primitive by setting up my QRP (5w of power) radio with a wire antenna and using a solar panel to top up the battery as needed.

I will have the option of being under cover (see above pic) as protection from the sun and/or rain most likely be needed at some time . Not sure how long I will be operating but it won’t be for the full 24 hours.

Overnight all I would be doing is listening to static and feeding the mosquitoes…

No egos to stroke…. Just operate and make some contacts with the emphasis of having fun and not taking myself too seriously.

Hope to hear you and be heard by you during the event

73bob

With the HF band conditions as they are today:

It might be a good thing that this weekend seems like its going to be a VHF Weekend.

Saturday and Sunday our local repeater group are assisting the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour on Saturday and Sunday.

Long time readers of this blog (thank you) will remember that this Tour has been running for many years now and 3 Amateur Radio Groups assist by providing communications for it.

The tour starts in Ottawa (Ottawa Amateurs step up) (VE2CRA Repeater)and take the back roads to Perth Ontario (Perth ARES Group) (VE3KJG repeater) and then from there take the back roads to Kingston (where the Frontenac Amateur Radio Club is located) (VE3FRG Repeater) and spend the night at Queens University.

The map is not exact…. Just shows where the tour starts and finishes

Sunday morning they do the trip in reverse…. Depart Kingston for Perth and then arrive in Ottawa on Sunday late afternoon

For my part I will be at the Saturday Finish at Queens University and will be back again at Queens at 6am for the Start of the Return trip to Ottawa.

But (if you read my previous post) this weekend is also the ARRL June VHF Contest so….

Once I get home after the Saturday shift and my Sunday shift of the Bike Tour I will be trying to give out the rare “FN14” grid square on 2m, 6m and 70cm. No beams here but its the best I can get away with here.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope to get you in my log…

73bob