We Must Be in Nevada... QSO de JG0AWE!!!

By: noreply@blogger.com (antigrav_kids KD0FNR)

24 May 2024 at 03:22

This morning at the 2nd POTA activation here, I got to talk (OK, CW), with JG0AWE again!

Just like last year!

I was using a bit more power this year. Project TouCans is running somewhere between 3 and 5 Watts at the moment.

He caught me just before the gang go the oatmeal ready, (we're camping on the edge of Great Basin National Park), On top of that, a RBN station in Japan had spotted Project TouCans about half an hour before. There wasn't a grey line between our locations, so I'm curious about what was going on, but delighted to have made the QSO!

Here's the activation in Cesium so you can see where the sun was in relation to the QSO. The QSO takes place at 14:49 near the end of the animation.

Copasetic Flow
Twenty meters looking pretty good this morning
17 May 2024 at 12:53

Twenty meters looking pretty good this morning

Copasetic Flow

By: noreply@blogger.com (antigrav_kids KD0FNR)

17 May 2024 at 12:53

The band's looking alright to Project TouCans this morning!

The map covers the following half hour table. Project TouCans is still running five watts or less.

spotter	● spotted	distance mi	freq	mode	type	snr	speed	time	seen
K3PA-1	KD0FNR/6	1360 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	8 dB	18 wpm	1244z 17 May	3 minutes ago
ND7K	KD0FNR/6	385 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	7 dB	18 wpm	1244z 17 May	3 minutes ago
W6YX	KD0FNR/6	207 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	13 dB	17 wpm	1244z 17 May	4 minutes ago
W1NT-2	KD0FNR/6	2601 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	8 dB	17 wpm	1243z 17 May	5 minutes ago
W1UE	KD0FNR/6	2579 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	4 dB	18 wpm	1242z 17 May	6 minutes ago
KO7SS	KD0FNR/6	533 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	6 dB	18 wpm	1239z 17 May	8 minutes ago
TI7W	KD0FNR/6	2746 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	8 dB	17 wpm	1238z 17 May	10 minutes ago
AC0C-1	KD0FNR/6	1376 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	4 dB	17 wpm	1237z 17 May	10 minutes ago
ZF9CW	KD0FNR/6	2633 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	9 dB	18 wpm	1237z 17 May	11 minutes ago
VE6WZ	KD0FNR/6	1154 mi	14057.2	CW	CQ	11 dB	18 wpm	1236z 17 May	12 minutes ago
W6YX	KD0FNR/6	207 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	12 dB	18 wpm	1234z 17 May	14 minutes ago
K5TR	KD0FNR/6	1272 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	5 dB	17 wpm	1234z 17 May	14 minutes ago
ND7K	KD0FNR/6	385 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	12 dB	18 wpm	1234z 17 May	14 minutes ago
K3PA-1	KD0FNR/6	1360 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	10 dB	17 wpm	1233z 17 May	14 minutes ago
W1NT-2	KD0FNR/6	2601 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	4 dB	17 wpm	1232z 17 May	15 minutes ago
W4KAZ	KD0FNR/6	2261 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	6 dB	18 wpm	1232z 17 May	16 minutes ago
K6FOD	KD0FNR/6	118 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	4 dB	17 wpm	1231z 17 May	16 minutes ago
W3OA	KD0FNR/6	2145 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	4 dB	17 wpm	1231z 17 May	16 minutes ago
ZF9CW	KD0FNR/6	2633 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	6 dB	17 wpm	1230z 17 May	18 minutes ago
KA7OEI	KD0FNR/6	569 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	16 dB	18 wpm	1229z 17 May	19 minutes ago
KO7SS	KD0FNR/6	533 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	6 dB	18 wpm	1228z 17 May	20 minutes ago
VE6WZ	KD0FNR/6	1154 mi	14057.3	CW	CQ	12 dB	17 wpm	1226z 17 May	22 minutes ago
N0OI	KD0FNR/6	161 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	7 dB	17 wpm	1225z 17 May	23 minutes ago
W6YX	KD0FNR/6	207 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	12 dB	17 wpm	1224z 17 May	24 minutes ago
ND7K	KD0FNR/6	385 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	8 dB	18 wpm	1224z 17 May	24 minutes ago
AC0C-1	KD0FNR/6	1376 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	7 dB	17 wpm	1223z 17 May	24 minutes ago
K3PA-1	KD0FNR/6	1360 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	12 dB	18 wpm	1223z 17 May	24 minutes ago
WA7LNW	KD0FNR/6	348 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	6 dB	17 wpm	1223z 17 May	25 minutes ago
K5TR	KD0FNR/6	1272 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	6 dB	18 wpm	1223z 17 May	25 minutes ago
TI7W	KD0FNR/6	2746 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	5 dB	17 wpm	1223z 17 May	25 minutes ago
KA7OEI	KD0FNR/6	569 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	28 dB	18 wpm	1218z 17 May	30 minutes ago
W8WWV	KD0FNR/6	2078 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	5 dB	18 wpm	1218z 17 May	30 minutes ago
VE6WZ	KD0FNR/6	1154 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	11 dB	21 wpm	1215z 17 May	33 minutes ago
K7CO	KD0FNR/6	530 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	2 dB	21 wpm	1215z 17 May	33 minutes ago
W6YX	KD0FNR/6	207 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	18 dB	20 wpm	1213z 17 May	34 minutes ago
ND7K	KD0FNR/6	385 mi	14057.4	CW	CQ	3 dB	21 wpm	1213z 17 May	34 minutes ago
K3PA-1	KD0FNR/6	1360 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	17 dB	20 wpm	1213z 17 May	34 minutes ago
WA7LNW	KD0FNR/6	348 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	7 dB	20 wpm	1213z 17 May	35 minutes ago
AC0C-1	KD0FNR/6	1376 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	13 dB	20 wpm	1213z 17 May	35 minutes ago
K5TR	KD0FNR/6	1272 mi	14057.5	CW	CQ	9 dB	21 wpm	1213z 17 May	35 minutes ago

Copasetic Flow
Project TouCans Comes in Third at California QSO Party and Fourth-ish in GQRP Construction Competition!
1 May 2024 at 20:00

Project TouCans Comes in Third at California QSO Party and Fourth-ish in GQRP Construction Competition!

Copasetic Flow

By: noreply@blogger.com (antigrav_kids KD0FNR)

1 May 2024 at 20:00

Project TouCans has had a big couple of months!

It received a certificate of commendation in the GQRP building contest, as well as fourth place in the QRP division at the California QRP party!

Both of these things surprised me a bit. I've been inundated since junior high school with the 'QRP can't do much' schtick, and well? It just ain't true!

TouCans is strung up on a dipole stretching from our roof to a wood pole mounted on our back fence. (Mota, the 11 year-old, and I levered a construction clamp over the lip of the roof using a broom handle from the kitchen window. I did all the window leaning... It was an adventure.) I didn't even realize the QSO party was the weekend it was, and yet that little pineapple can based rig came in pretty close to third!

KO6BTY and I were also tickled pink to receive Certificates of Commendation in the GQRP construction competition! We've done a lot of work on the rig bringing it to it's completely wireless state a few months ago. We've learned about RFI and digital supply noise and Bluetooth audio transmitters as well as Raspberry Pi Pico-Ws and microPython. The whole endeavor actually inspired a microPython class at our local maker space for homeschooling kids (and anyone else who's interested at our local maker space taught by yours truly. Who'd have thought you could have so much fun with a pineapple can? OK, OK, yeah, it was me. I was the one that thought it. :)

Normal view