Contests:

Gene N5GW mentioned on the QRP-L reflector that rightly, most of the FOBB "action" will be on 20 Meters, with a lesser amount on 40 Meters.  He suggested instead of just making oneself an immovable object, to check 40 Meters on the hour and 15 and 10 Meters on the half hour for possible band openings and other activity.

I have all my gear ready to go - KX3 ,EARCHI antenna (9:1 UNUN and 41 foot radiator) ,batteries, earbuds, American Morse DCP paddle and my Joplin ARC antenna launcher. The camping table and chair are already in the back of the car.

I recently purchased a set of these on eBay for when I use the Jackite with my "in the field" support:

The plan for Sunday is to launch a line into one of the 50+ foot trees at Cotton Street Park and use the EFRW as a sloper or pretty near vertical. Just about all the trees in the park are that tall or taller. In a way, I wish this park was more visible to the public as it would be an excellent Field Day site with all the tall trees. It's a beautiful park, but remains one of the less popular parks in town. That makes it ideal for FOBB and the Skeeter Hunt as there are less pedestrians to worry about walking into antenna wires or coax cables, or even mast supports, for that matter.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I received an e-mail with a question from a reader. "Why don't you do videos like so many others seem to be doing?"

I have delved into making a few videos in the past. Unlike the really good videos you find on YouTube, mine have been done with my phone. To make a video properly, and one that is worth watching and is actually enjoyable to watch, you need more equipment than I can muster. One or more cameras of decent quality are required, a decent tripod, and good editing software and a decent computer to run it all on. The most important ingredient, though, is time.

Between work, home responsibilities and some other commitments that I have, I barely find enough time to get on the air and play radio! Making videos at this point would just eat up precious time that I do not have right now. I am hoping, hoping, hoping to retire next May on the occasion of my 68th birthday. If I can do that, maybe I can begin to think about creating a video or two.

However, maybe this weekend during FOBB, I will take some footage with my phone and cobble something together with the free editing software that I have on my laptop to see if I can make something worth watching. It will be rudimentary at best. And believe me, if I think it turns out like a piece of .........., I will not irritate your eyes and ears with something terrible.

In the meantime, W2LJ will just keep on plain ol' vanilla blogging.

The extended weather out look for South Plainfield. Looks like Sunday may be the beginning of yet another heatwave. I hope that personal neck fan arrives in time!

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Yesterday was a CERT day. Like those bumblebee shirts? I should wear it NEXT Sunday! Hi!

As I had mentioned earlier, the South Plainfield Business Association put on their annual "Christmas in July" celebration.  Santa was there for the kids, but it's mostly an opportunity for businesses, mostly local small businesses to display and offer their wares and to increase their visibility within the community. As CERT members, we were there to hand out literature about hurricane preparedness, flooding preparedness and to possibly. recruit more CERT members. 

The event ran from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM in order to beat the peak "hot hours" of the day, but it was still pretty hot. I took out my cellphone around 4:30 to check and see what the temperature was at my weather station located about a mile away, and I was seeing a reading of 93 F (34 C). Captain Born is one smart cookie, though. He set up a fan/mister combo right in front of our canopy which insured many stoppers by. I only wish he had pointed the thing inward instead of outward!

Marv and I both made a mental note to make sure we ask him if we can borrow that for next year's Field Day effort. But sitting there in the heat made me think about next Sunday's 90 F (and possibly higher) temps for FOBB. I'm not going to have the advantage of having that mister at Cotton Street Park. And even though it's pretty shady there, if there's no breeze and the air is still, it can get downright uncomfortable.

So once again, I whipped out the cell phone and ordered one of these portable neck fans.

I know long range forecasts are notoriously unreliable, but according to WeatherBug, this is what I'm looking at for next Sunday:

If this holds true,  I'll definitely be at Cotton Street Park, probably with my EARCHI antenna, which I realized is the exact same thing as the KM4CFT antenna. It's an EFRW with a 9:1 UNUN. 

I've used it before for SPARC Field Day, so it's proven itself in portable ops. I'm going to cut a slightly shorter radiator for it .....41 feet as opposed to 53 feet. I will lose 80 Meters, but since FOBB is a daytime event, no one gets on 80 Meters anyway.

This was an extremely easy build.  If you're interested in putting one together yourself,  you'll find the step-by-step here: https://www.earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

What with Field Day, the W2QW Hamfest and Lake George taking up the past four weekends, I can get back to posting the weekend goings on:

Contests:

LABRE DX Contest - https://www.labre.org.br/contest/en/regulamento/

IARU Region 1 70 MHz Contest - https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Rules-2021.pdf

North American QSO Party, RTTY - https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

CQ Worldwide VHF Contest - https://www.cqww-vhf.com/

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

Next Tuesday night - SKCC Sprint - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/

Special Events:

Hmmmmmmmm ...... nothing for the Anniversary of Apollo 11? This Saturday marks the 55th Anniversary of the first Moon landing.

07/20/2024 | Nuclear Ship Savannah Launch Anniversary

Jul 20, 1300Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7.1 14.1 21.1 28.1. QSL. K3LU, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Single transmitter SSB and CW aboard N/S Savannah. Please check spotting networks for frequencies. Info on QRZ.com www.qrz.com/db/k3s

07/20/2024 | RAGBRAI 51

Jul 20-Jul 27, 0000Z-2359Z, W0R, Durham, NC. AF4ZE. 14.074 21.074. QSL. John Swartz AF4ZE, 6203 Chesden Drive, Durham, NC 27713. W0R Whiskey Zero RAGBRAI. Biking across Iowa for RAGBRAI 51. Will operate bike-mobile, QRP as time permits, likely in the evenings July 20-27, 2024. FT8, CW, SSB. QSL af4ze@arrl.net, LoTW, and QRZ.com. af4ze@arrl.net

07/20/2024 | Railroad Rendezvous

Jul 20, 1300Z-2100Z, W4DOC, Kennesaw, GA. Atlanta Radio Club. 7.250 14.200. QSL. Atlanta Radio Club - Railroad, 227 Sandy Springs Place Suite D-306, Atlanta, GA 30328. Railroad Rendezvous offers the rare opportunity to step aboard the General locomotive, made famous during the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, and tour the cab of the historic steam locomotive, fee applicable. A variety of activities celebrating the railroad and other industrial enterprises will be taking place throughout the day. Send SASE for QSL card. www.atlantaradioclub.org/railroadrendezvous

Don't forget!!!! - If you participated in Field Day, your results have to be in to the ARRL by Tuesday, July 23rd.

For myself, I hope to test out my KM4CFT End Fed Random Wire in preparation for next Sunday's FOBB. I also have an idea how to modify my drive on mast holder so that I can use it with my 31' Jackite pole.

Sunday evening, the South Plainfield Business Association will be celebrating "Christmas in July" in the downtown section of town. The CERT Team will be there manning a cooling tent as it's going to be hot, not quite as hot as last week, but hot enough where we'll be available to anyone who needs some cooling down. I think we'll be handing out some hurricane preparedness literature, too.

Just checked the QRP Labs waiting list and I went from 293rd in line to 249th in just three days! Things are looking good for September!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

until the Flight of the Bumblebees - make sure to get your number!

OVERVIEW & RULE SUMMARY FOR THE ADVENTURE RADIO SOCIETY

Flight of the Bumblebees

Sunday, July 28, 2024

1700 to 2100 UTC

What is the ARS Flight of the Bumblebees and how can I participate?

The Adventure Radio Society Flight of the Bumblebees is a four-hour event held annually on the last Sunday of July. It is open to all QRP CW operators – there is not any membership requirement.  The Bumblebees are the stations that are out in the field who are sought after.

CONTEST PERIOD BY TIMEZONE (Local Times)

1300 to 1700   – Eastern DST

1200 to 1600  – Central DST

1100  to 1500 – Mountain DST

1000 to 1400  –  Pacific DST

0700 to 1100   –   Hawaii DST

This contest period accommodates multiple US time zones simultaneously. No matter where you live, there will be time for Bumblebees to travel to a field operating site, set up their station, operate the contest, and travel home.

WHO CAN PLAY?

Both home-based stations and portable operations are encouraged.

PLAYING IN 2024 FOBB

Everyone in the contest can work anyone else in the contest. In other words: Home-based stations can work Bumblebees and other home-based stations. Bumblebees can work home-based stations and other Bumblebees. However, this event really is all about working as many swarming Bumblebees as possible. Finding and working Bumblebees is the most rewarding thing to do for a Home Station.

WHAT QUALIFIES AS A BUMBLEBEE?

Participants who operate portable from field locations are designated as 'Bumblebees'. They get to their final operating site principally under their own power by walking, biking, boating, and so on. The distance traveled to get to the site is at the Bumblebee’s discretion. Bumblebees will add /BB to their calls.  (NOTE: Home-based stations do not ever add /BB to their callsign.)

BUMBLEBEE NUMBERS

If you plan to operate the 2024 FOBB as a portable field station – you’re invited to request a Bumblebee Number.  Click Here For Instructions for Obtaining a Bumblebee Number There is no limit to the number of Bumblebees.

POWER OUTPUT

To keep with its minimalist theme, Maximum FOBB power output is 5 watts. This Maximum Power Limit applies to Home Stations also.

OPERATION

We operate CW on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters, around standard QRP frequencies.

Call   CQ BB       Or listen for calling stations.

Here are the recognized standard QRP frequencies; https://qrper.com/resources/qrp-calling-frequencies

EXCHANGE

If you are a Bumblebee, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your Bumblebee Number.

If you are Home-Based Station, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your Power.

Here are examples of exchanges:

Bumblebee NE6SW/BB (Bumblebee No. 81) sends: 579, CA, BB 81 or NR 81

Home-based station WN1DWL sends: 579, MA, 5W

How do I know that I worked a Bumblebee?

Bumblebees will put a /BB after their Call, and/or will give you a BB Number. Keep track of how many Bumblebee you work - that will be needed.

SCORING

Working the same Bumblebee on a different band counts as another Contact and another Bumblebee worked. So, try looking for Bumblebees all of the bands that are open during this event.

ENTERING YOUR RESULTS

To report your results, go to 3830scores.com, and select the ‘ARS FOBB’ (on the Left side)  Be certain to properly select 'Home' or 'Bumblebee' so that you end up in the proper Results List  You will enter your [Total_Contacts] that you made and the [Number of Bumblebee] that you worked. If you are a Bumblebee, put a General Description of your Field Location into your Soapbox Comments  Soapbox comments may also include your power, equipment, antennas, band conditions, outdoor experiences, and anything else you wish to comment on.  

Scores will be Automatically Calculated

Reports will be available for both the 'Home' and 'Bumblebee' entrants.

Current Results will be available immediately. 

Once everyone has entered their data, you will see how well you did.

SAFETY:

As with all ARS events, please keep safety in front of mind when conducting operations in the field. Such things as weather, power lines, terrain, dehydration, and fatigue can be lethal. Above all, we want all participants to have a fabulous and safe experience.

Here is a nice video from Bumblebee WG0AT in 2012  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-0-pMH8Y4

And there you have all you need to know!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

 2024 Flight of the Bumblebees

The annual Flight of the Bumblebees will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2024.

The event  will be in a four hour daytime window, from 1700 to 2100 UTC.

This casual QRP CW event consists of 'Bumblebees' who are operating portable stations at outdoor locations, and 'Home Stations' who try to work as many of these 'Bumblebees' as possible.

This event is open to all operators.  Anywhere.  Being at the top of the sunspot cycle, this year's  event has the potential to be very interesting.

Operators who want to go out and setup a portable station at some outdoor location, and be a highly sought after 'Bumblebee', need to obtain a "Bumblebee Number". 

The window for obtaining your 2024 'Bumblebee Number' is now Open.

The https://ars-qrp.com web site will explain the whole process.

I'll be out there as a 'Bumblebee' - hoping to work you during the event.

72,

Jody - K3JZD - 4SQRP 1196

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The  VE Session at the W2QW Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest was a mixed bag. We ended up with 8 candidates. One gentleman was an Amateur Extra who let his license lapse. He successfully passed the Element 2 Technician exam and will get his Extra privileges reinstated.

Two other General Class Hams upgraded to Amateur Extra in advance of that question pool changing at Midnight tonight, and we gained one new Technician. Unfortunately, four candidates walked away empty handed.

A bit of a rant. I send each candidate who contacts me in advance with an e-mail that contains EVERYTHING they need to know about the exam session - date, time, location, and all they need to bring with them. I also include links to the proper places to get an FRN and where they can fill out a 605 form.

Everyone showed up at 8:30 and we started exams promptly at 9:00 AM. A little after 9:30, a candidate showed up to whom I had sent that e-mail several months ago. He had no FRN, no Form 605 and was totally unprepared. Normally, I would have tried to accomodate, but helping him get started from scratch would have been disruptive to the rest of the group. I asked him to come to our next regular session.

I just don't understand how someone can come so late and so unprepared when such pains are taken to make sure they have as smooth and problem free an experience as possible. If only he had followed instructions!!! Argh! I hate it when stuff like that happens.

After the exam session ended, I had intended to walk the flea market, but there were other chores to accomplish. I really didn't need anything, but it would have been nice to hook up with friends. Maybe at the Sussex Hamfest in about two weeks.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!