At Lake George last week, I had the opportunity to use four different antennas. My thoughts and impressions of each:
My Buddistick magmounted to the car roof was a clear winner. I was able to work a couple of European stations within minutes of each other. Had I brought along my camping chair, I would have stayed with the Buddistick a lot longer. Standing hunched over behind my open hatch back was aggravating the bursitis in my hip. I have used this setup before when I used to do a lot of lunchtime radio from tbe parking lot at work, and in fact, I had written an article about it that appeared in the February 2014 edition of CQ magazine. I am hoping the nano VNA will help me determine sweet spots for 40 through 10 Meters.
Second was the PAR ENDFEDZ used as a sloper in conjunction with a 20 foot Shakespeare crappie pole as a mast. This worked exceedingly well, also. Next year, I plan to bring the Jackite for an added extra 11 feet in height. Wire antennas seem to be a favorite of mine going back to my Novice days. I know that wire in the air will not disappoint.
Third was the AlexLoop. This antenna performed satisfactorally and was the clear winner for ease in changing bands, Just tune the capacitor and you're good to go. It might not have heard as well, or gotten out as well as the Buddistick or Par, but I was glad I brought it along and will continue to do so in the future.
AX1. I didn't use it long enough a proper evaluation. On first try, I was not really impressed, but I have it used before with decent results. It would think that going forward, it will be my last resort if any other solutions appear viable. But I have to keep in mind that many KX2 and KH1 users rave about this antenna, so I will keep an open mind.
I try to make only one post per day, but since tomorrow is a travel day, I'm going to let my self-imposed rule slide for today.
Final POTA activation today:
I started the activation on 20 Meters with the Buddistick mag-mounted to the roof of the Jeep. I haven't used it in a long time, so I just kind of tried to remember how I used to configure it to the best of my recollection. I must have been not far off as you can see by the RBN map. I worked Sweden and Italy. I didn't bring the Nano VNA along. I think that will help me get it configured even closer to ideal.
I didn't bring the camping chair along and standing behind the Jeep's open back hatch was setting off the bursitis in my hip, so I opted to switch to the AlexLoop and sit on the cabin porch for the rest of the activation.
16 Hunters worked including Sweden, Italy, Quebec, MO (for a Park to Park with NU7J), ME, MA, VA, WI, PA, FL, NC and I think that's everyone.
I am by no means a hard core or even semi-hard core or even a semi-semi-hard core POTA activator. I just like to have fun and get to play radio - even if it's just for a little while. I also like to remind myself every now and then how far I can get with 5 Watts. Sometimes I take that for granted.
Another year, another vacation coming to an end. This morning we left a deposit on our cabin for the same time next year. Unfortunately, that's 52 weeks away. Lord willing, we'll make it back up here. Who knows, maybe this time next year I'll actually be retired and won't quite dread returning home so much. Mind you, it's not home that I dread returning to. It's work. After 46 continuous years of work days, I've had just about enough.
Right now, the lawn maintenance people are busy outside, cutting grass and trimming. Once they are finished, I'll set up one last time to give out some contacts from US-2001. It's not quite so hot today as it has been, but I'll probably drape a white towel over the KX3 to reflect some of the sun's rays away.
The weekend forecast for home shows a flash flood watch has been issued for today and tomorrow. Sunday is the Sussex ARC Hamfest, probably ranked as the biggest, or at least one of the top two biggest Hamfests in New Jersey. That's a good hour's ride from home. After driving home tomorrow, and then going to pick up Harold from my sister, I doubt I'll be in a driving mood come Sunday morning. I'm not in the market for any gear, but it's always nice to run into familiar faces.
On a side note, I did not bring the laptop with me. I've been doing all the computer stuff that I need to do with a (very) old Samsung Galaxy tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard. It has worked out pretty well, above comic notwithstanding. The tablet was originally mine, but I gave it to Marianne when hers gave up the ghost. After a few years of her using it, I bought her a new one last Christmas. This one has a few cracks in its glass and the processor is notably, and sometimes maddeningly slow, but it does what I need it to do, eventually. I have been able to keep up with Skeeter Hunt number requests ..... we're up to 123 now, and I've been able to add my POTA QSOs to their database. I've also been able to keep up with the Ham Radio blogs that I read and of course, my daily needed dose of comic strips. You know, the important stuff!
Another 10 stations in the log. I have to be upfront about this. This isn't a POTA vacation like some of the real die-hards do. This is a time to be away with family and just to enjoy each other and our down time together. Nonetheless, they do respect my love for Amateur Radio and afford me some solo time for my favorite pasttime.
The set up of the crappie pole and PAR ENDFEDZ went like a hot knife through butter. Easier, and it went up even more quickly than expected. Literally in a matter of minutes, the antenna was up and ready to go. Hindsight being 20/20, the Jackite pole would have been the better option, giving me an additional 10 feet in height. That's on my mental list for next year. Tear down and stowaway went just as smoothly.
After these sessions, I like to go to the Reverse Beacon Network for an "after action report". I was getting out pretty well. The PAR even tunes up well enough on 15 Meters that I was able to be heard out Arizona-ways.
The best contact of the day came at 18:47 UTC, when my "CQ POTA" on 20 Meters was answered by SM5DXT, Chris in Sweden. I got a 419 report from him. Weak signal, but pretty readable. I'll take that any day of the week.
I had QSOs with Hunters in MO, ON (this one was a Park to Park), WV, GA, PA, MD, and NJ. Good enough to satisfy my Ham Radio craving for the day. We're supposed to get the remnants of Hurricane Beryl visiting us today. It's kind of sunny right now, but the overcast is gaining ground. 1 - 3 inches of rain are supposedly coming according to WeatherBug. If I get on the air at all today, it just might be from the covered porch with the AlexLoop.
Yesterday was somewhat of a good radio day up here at the Lake, all be it with a scare thrown in for good measure. From public property, I made my 10 QSOs for a successful activation of US-2001, Adirondack State Park.
I was operating from a picnic table and started out using the AX1. I worked John N0EVH who was at US-6470 for a Park to Park. But after him, I wasn't hearing much of anything on 20 Meters. So I shut off the KX3 and decided to switch to the AlexLoop. This is where the scare came in. When I went to turn the KX3 back on, it would't turn on! After about 5 tries, it eventually came back to life, but to say I was concerned is an understatement.
I went to my phone and was going to Google "KX3 fails to turn on" and that's when I found the answer in a roundabout way. W2LJ, the KX3 and the cellphone were all sitting in the hot sun. My cellphone gave me a warning message. "Your phone is too hot. Apps will not open." Everything was too hot, as my little Radio Shack clock/thermometer (which is in a WHITE plastic case) confirmed that it was over 100F in the sun.
Later, after bringing the KX3 back into the cabin and allowing it to cool down, it repeatedly turned on and off as it always has. Before shutting down and coming inside, I did manage to work the requisite amount of stations with contacts on 20 and 40 Meters ranging from NY to AL, MN and NE.
A while back, I saw in one of the Elecraft user Facebook pages where a guy took his brand new KX2 and painted the case with a desert sand colored paint. I have to admit that I thought he was nuts, but after yesterday, I recognize his wisdom. The light color reflects the hot sun instead of absorbing it. Additionally, Bob W3BBO reminded me that was probably the reason of the PFR3 was bright yellow. I'll have to come up with some kind of shading solution.
Now for the title part of this post and my statement about not being MacGyver.......
We've been coming up to this place at Lake George for 21 Summers now. This is our 20th year at this particular place called Stepping Stones. We have been in various cabins throughout our years here, but about 5 years ago, we were able to snag one of the two cabins closest to the lake. This is what's right outside our window - between us and the lake. For years I did not notice this !?!
Fence posts! I can bungee my crappie pole (or the Jackite, if I bring it) to one of the fence posts and then run the PAR ENDFEDZ right to the porch! If I bungee it to the farthest fence post, even the mast will disappear in the foliage and no one will know it's there. Added bonus ...... I can set it up and take it down in minutes.
Sometimes I am so slow on the uptake that I disgust even myself. Angus MacGyver I am not. If you're ever in a situation where there's a bomb ready to go off and all we have is some shoelaces, chewing gum, and rubber bands, I am NOT the guy you want to have at your side!
This is going to be a long post. In our last episode, I was telling you all about the musings and thoughts I have had about the original W2LJ ...... who he was and what he was like. The experience I have had over the past couple of days has just been amazing and more than I could ever have hoped for.
In my Google search, I had mentioned that Ed and Norma had a daughter. I also saw in the Google results that his daughter has a Facebook page. Not totally sure that I would be addressing the right person, I decided to send a Facebook message, anyway. I introduced myself and explained why I was contacting her. After all, I didn't want her to think that some creepy stranger from out of left field was contacting her for nefarious reasons. Lord, knows, we have enough of that, these days. Between scams, phishing and other evil intentions, I wanted his daughter to know this was harmless.
I didn't know what to expect, or even if I would ever get a reply. What happened next was one of the most gracious and kind exchanges from Carmen, Ted's (as he preferred to be known) daughter, and his grandson, Jon. Two of the most remarkable people who I am so glad to know, and will be eternally grateful to.
Carmen answered me via e-mail. (I have their permission to post - I would never do that without their consent):
Hi!
Yes, I am the daughter (and only child) of Edward (Ted) Roscoe Swoffer who was a ham radio operator since adolescence. He was born and brought up in Walnut Grove, Minnesota one of eight children. He signed up for duty in World War !! And served on submarine duty (Peto and the Albacore). The Albacore was torpedoed shortly after he got off to marry my mom. He studied Electrical Engineering at Penn State and worked for Singer Link in Binghamton for many years. He and my mom (Norma) were amazing grandparents to my three children and I am so grateful.
My father was very quiet and humble, never boasting of his many accomplishments. He was not very social, although well liked by all. I am not sure what all those letters mean concerning his equipment etc. I do have many of his postcards from far and near and would be glad to send you one. Let me know if you have further questions and let me know your address if you want one of his postcards from other ham operators. I donated a Morse Code machine and some other stuff to a local museum called Tech Works.
I look forward to your response!
Carmen
Wow! I was floored! I was hoping for some kind of response and was so glad to receive such a warm and welcoming one!
I had cross posted to the AmateurRadio.com site hoping that other folks who might have known Ted would offer some tid bits about him. His grandson Jon replied there:
Hi Larry – Thanks so much for your post and your curiosity. Ted Swoffer (“Pappy” to his grandkids) was my grandfather. He was a great one. So much I could share with you about him. He started building radios as a kid in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, had multiple tours of duty in the pacific theater in WWII as a radio/sonar guy aboard two USN submarines (USS Albacore and USS Peto), and after the war graduated from Penn State with an engineering degree. Joined Singer Link in Binghamton, NY as an aeronautical engineer, working on flight simulators for several warbirds. While I spent much of my childhood being fascinated with his many hobbies, he was a quiet man. And amateur radio remained something that he did by himself. Perhaps that’s why nobody else in the family continued the craft. I think he would be so pleased to know that his call sign lives on through you.
And Jon also sent me an e-mail:
Hi Larry - attached is a wartime photo of Ted Swoffer. Also attached is a picture of a collage of post cards to W2LJ from all over the world that I made a few years ago.
I’ll look through other things to see if I have any other W2LJ stuff I could send you
And also from Jon:
Larry - thanks for sharing! Very cool to see the W2LJ license plate.
Ted was a Morse coder like you. You two would have had a lot in common.
And here's the photos that both Carmen and Jon sent.
Ted, the original W2LJ was an amazing man! And to borrow a radio term, I found some resonance between him and my own Dad. Both faithfully and bravely served in the Armed Forces during WWII. While Ted was a Navy sonarman, my Dad's first assignment with the Signal Corp was a detachment to the joint British/American team that was developing enhancements to radar. Unlike Ted, my Dad never went on to getting an Amateur Radio license. Perhaps that skipped a generation and was my destiny.
Carmen also informed me that her Dad was a CW man. Yay! I was elated to find that out. It makes me feel like i'm somehow carrying on his legacy, even though I never knew him. I did mention to Carmen and Jon that I wished I had known Ted back in 1978 when I was studying for my own Novice license and beyond. I know in my heart of hearts he would have been a fantastic Elmer, and boy, I could have used one back then.
As I said before, this was an amazing experience. I got to double dip! Not only did I learn so much more about this amazing man who originally held the callsign W2LJ, but I was also able to meet and converse with his daughhter and grandson - two of the most kind, warm, and friendly people you'd ever want to know. Thanks so much, Carmen and Jon! I can only hope that my Amateur Radio career would make Ted proud that W2LJ lives on.
One thing about me, and maybe it's in my Polish genes, I can be stubborn at times.
Case in point, I really didn't understand how that PowerWerx deep cycle battery could go bad in just a year. It was purchased new, and has not gone through many recharge cycles at all.
I decided to hook it up to my older ACME SLA charger. I figured that I didn't have anything to lose, even though my new fangled "smart charger" was telling me the battery would not accept a charge.
As soon as I hooked it up, the indicator on the ACME glowed amber. This means the battery was not full and was accepting a charge. After some time, it eventually turned to green, meaning the battery is fully charged and was then in a trickle charge state.
So now the conundrum. Bad battery, or bad charger? I'm going to give it some work and see how long it's legs last. If it doesn't crap out on me and holds its charge well, I'm going to have to assume it's the charger.
I often wonder about Edward Swoffer. He was the original W2LJ before I took on the call sign. Ed lived in Binghamton, NY and other than that, I know not much about him.
Was he an SSB guy? Was he a CW devotee like I am? Was he into DX? Traffic Handling? Or maybe he was just an inveterate rag chewer? By some oddball chance, could he have been a QRPer? What clubs, if any, did he belong to? Did he participate in Field Day with his Ham buddies? What kind of station did he have? What was his antenna farm like? A search on Google maps shows their address (which is public info) has a decent sized back yard with lots of trees. I'm betting he was a wire antenna guy.
He was an Amateur Extra, so I have to believe that, at least for a while, he was more than just a casual operator.
Doing a Google search on W2LJ doesn't lead to anything other than stuff about me. By doing some digging on the name Edward Swoffer AND Binghamton, NY I was able to find out that Ed was born in 1919 and died in 1993. That makes him two years older than my Dad. He was married to Norma Thompson who passed away in October 2009, They had a daughter who earned a degree in Philosophy. Other than that, zip.
Why the fascination? No reason, really. It's just that it would be neat to sit down and talk with him and find out if we have anything else in common besides being W2LJ. Or, for that matter, a family member who could tell me more about him.
What would be the icing on the cake would be to somehow acquire one of his QSL cards. THAT would be a treasure!
History was my favorite subject in school. As a kid, I loved reading biographies and still do. I have an appreciation for things from the past. It would be fun to know more about the original W2LJ.
Logbook of the World seems to be back. I was able to log on and see my QSOs - which reminds me, I haven't done an upload in a while. I'll make sure to do that over the long holiday weekend. I also checked to see if our July 13th VE Session was removed from the calendar. It wasn't, even though I had sent an e-mail to the ARRL requesting that be done. I received a reply informing me that they still could not access that server. I'll be away that day and rather than put the onus on someone else to act as "Liaison for the Day", I decided to cancel.
Our annual trip to Lake George will be happening soon. This year, in addition to the AlexLoop and the AX1, I'm going to bring along the PAR ENDFEDZ 40-20-10 as well as my drive on mast base and my 20 foot crappie pole. I'd like to bring the Jackite, but it doesn't slip into the mast holder - it's too wide/thick. Usually, each time we go up to the Lake, I take some time to head up to Mt. Prospect (which is not a SOTA peak) and set up in the parking lot that is near the summit. There's a solitary picnic table there (in the parking lot!) and in the past I've parked the car some 20-30 feet away and have used the end fed as a sloper. There are other picnics tables in a wooded grassy area off to the side, but those are usually occupied by picnickers. Who wants to picnic in a parking lot, right? I usually have that table to myself. I can do a POTA activation as it's part of the Adirondack State Park - US-2001.
We had a CERT meeting in town last night and Marv K2VHW and I were asked to do some kind of licensing class for the CERT members in town. The two words I hate to hear the most were bandied about - "Ham Cram". I know Marv feels the same way I do. But what I'm thinking is maybe to have a period of reading the licensing manual beforehand with some Zoom meetings interspersed where we can answer questions and explain more "difficult" topics culminating in a day of review - the "cram" - followed by the exam session.
Looking at the QRP Labs website, I'm calculating that based on the number of built kits that leave the factory every month, I may see my QMX sometime in August. It would be neat to have it for the Skeeter Hunt. I was smitten by that HB-1B that I was given the opportunity to play with. I'm looking forward to adding the QMX to my small herd of radios.
Finally, I signed up and am Bumble Bee # 57 for this year's FOBB. The Heinz Bee - LOL! I will probably head over to Cotton Street Park for the event, although if I decide to head up to Washington Rock State Park it would be a two-fer ...... FOBB and a POTA activation.
Thirteen Colonies started Sunday night, I guess. I've no interest in participating in that at all, for reasons which I will not go into here. The best I can say about it is that it generates a lot of activity on the bands. I'll leave it at that.
BTW, NJ POTA folks. Today starts the new fiscal year for New Jersey. The "holiday" for free entry into NJ State parks has ended. For a lot of them (but not all), there is now a $5 entry fee. Seniors can continue to get in for free by applying for a special permit https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/getinvolved/stateparkpass.html
I filled mine out, I have to get it in the mail.
And lest I forget ......
Happy Canada Day to all our brother and sister Amateur Radio ops north of the border!
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 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.
I will be conducting a VE Session at the W2QW Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest at the Piscataway High School parking lot at 9:00 AM.
But for the rest of you:
Contests:
None this weekend. Hmmmmm .... I guess everyone is still in "Recovery Mode" from Field Day.
Special Events:
06/29/2024 | 83d Annual National Speleological Society (NSS) Convention
Jun 29-Jul 6, 1700Z-2200Z, N4V, Sewanee, TN. National Speleological Society K7NSS. 7.050 7.195 14.050 14.285. QSL. Sam Rowe KG9NG, 2749 Commercial Ave, Madison, WI 53704. N4V@NSSCES.ORG
06/30/2024 | Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Special Event Station
Jun 30-Jul 1, 1500Z-0300Z, N7GMH, Prescott, AZ. Yavapai Amateur Radio Club. 14.319 ±QRM 7.219 ±QRM 21.319 ± QRM 18.119 ±QRM. Certificate. Mike Belanger, W1DGL, 219 W Leroux St, Apt. 202, Prescott, AZ 86303. This event is open to the public. More details, including QSL information is at http://www.qrz,com.db/n7gmhhttps://www.w7yrc.org/granite-mountain-hotshots
I have an ETS of NJ Club meeting tonight, where I will return to Dave W2OIL his HB-1B transceiver and accessories. I hope the meeting doesn't go long as I have to be up at 4:00 AM on Saturday. In addition to conducting the VE Session, I also help the RVRC by directing vendors to their parking spots. They're supposed to arrive at 6:00 AM, but many start coming as soon as 5:00 AM.
I'm hoping that after the VE Session, I can walk the Hamfest. I really don't need too much of anything, but could always use some power connectors (3.5mm and 2.5mm - NOT Powerpoles - I don't like them) and the like. But, you never know what may hit your eye. Maybe a new HT antenna or a unique project box or something like that.
I'm also hoping Sunday will be "don't do too much of anything" kind of day. The forecast for Sunday is scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, so there might not be much radio for W2LJ.
Last Saturday, as I was taking a few minute break from pounding brass, Dave W2OIL from the K2ETS club came by and sat down next to me. He handed me a plastic bag and inside was a You Kits HB-1B radio with a bunch of other stuff. Besides the radio was a Bulldog Clip paddle (like the one I have and use) a wall wart, a lithium battery, what appears to be a wire antenna and a printed out QST review of the radio. Dave told me the radio was bequeathed to him from the estate of our late Hudson Associate Division Director, Bill Hudzik W2UDT. Dave wanted me to make sure all was well and in working order.
I got my first chance to play with it Tuesday night and I have to say, i was quite pleased with the opportunity. It appears this one covers 80 through 20 Meters. It took some getting used to. Some of the functions are quite intuitive ,such as changing modes, tuning speeds, etc. Some are not. Luckily I had my phone with me and I was able to Google how to change keyer speeds and how to program in your call sign to get the "auto-calling CQ" function to work.
I had it hooked up to the the Alex Loop at the backyard patio table and did not work anyone. There weren't many POTA stations on at the time and for the one or two that I was able to hear, I was not able to break through the ravenous pile ups before it got dark and I had to go inside for the evening. Before that, however, I had called CQ manually on 40, 30 and 20 Meters, just so I could see where I was being spotted by the Reverse Beacon Network. Not too shabby!
The Gray Line is a bit deceptive in the screen shot below as I did the look up the day after. For some reason the RBN wasn't working properly on my cell phone when I was actually calling CQ. It wasn't showing any spots. In reality, the Gray Line was much closer to my QTH at the time, and undoubtedly helped with the propagation to Europe.
I promised Dave that I'd bring all this back to him at the club meeting this Friday night. I'm kind of disappointed that I won't get to play with it for too much longer. I was going to take it down to the shack tonight after work, and hook it up to the W3EDP and the Butternut and really give it a whirl, but we're forecasted for thunderstorms this evening.
I had an extra little IBM pouch from a USB CD Drive that I rescued from the recycle pile at work. The drive got recycled, but I kept the pouch as it was only going to be trashed anyway. That will provide ample cushioning and protection for this little radio. It deserves better than a plastic baggie. I'm thinking of stopping off at the grocery store and picking up a plastic kitchen storage box that is big enough to store everything that was in the baggie, and I'll hand it all back to Dave in a nice neat package, along with the printed out manual. Every radio deserves a nice home!
Bottom line? I guess I'm spoiled by my KX3, but this little guy seems to be fun to use, and would probably hold its own at a POTA activation or during a QRP Sprint. I wouldn't mind having one., and it makes me wish my QMX would get here faster!
During the middle of the night on Saturday/Sunday, I got a low battery voltage warning on the KX3. That struck me as odd, as I had recently charged up my 12V 10 Ah battery. I was expecting it to last the entirety of Field Day. But in the heat of battle you really don't think twice about it, so I took it off line and hastily replaced with a recently purchased 12v 5 Ah battery that I had gotten about two weeks ago. THAT battery lasted the second half of Field Day without a whimper.
When I got home from work on Monday, I put the 10 Ah battery on my charger and was getting a battery failure indication. It was reading at a level of 10V and 0% capacity and would not accept a charge, I was wondering how can this be? It was purchased new and I haven't put it through nearly enough cycles to have exhausted it. I figured it must be a battery charger fault, so I hooked up the 5 Ah battery to the charger to see what it said. The 5 Ah (which was in use for roughly the same amount of time, if not more) was down to only 11.8 Volts and had 89% capacity left in it! And the charger's fan started running as soon as I hooked it up.
No charger fault - I got a bad 12V 10 Ah battery. Dang!
I don't remember where I purchased it, whether it was from eBay or Amazon, but it doesn't matter. Its not like you can return a battery some 11 months after you've bought it online. I had purchased it after the 2023 Skeeter Hunt when my last deep cycle battery gave up the ghost. I don't want to be scrambling for electrons during the Hunt this year, so I went on eBay and found an economically (cheaply) priced 12V 10 Ah Deep Cycle Gel Cell battery.
I know, you guys are probably thinking, why didn't he go lithium? Price mainly, but also because I don't feel like purchasing a dedicated lithium battery charger. I once ruined a small lithium battery by not using the correct charger on it and I don't want to relive that escapade. I learned that lesson well. However, should this battery not last longer than a cycle or two, I guess I'll bite the bullet. Maybe spending a little more right now would be the right thing to do in the long run, but I guess I'm too frugal to have reached that point yet.
It should be at my house in about a week - long before it's needed for the Skeeter Hunt on August 18th - which, by the way, we've had 93 sign ups so far and the 1st Day of Summer was only 6 days ago!
And looky see what came in the mail yesterday!
Not an ATNO, but an ATNC - All Time New Confirmation. I've worked Easter Island before, but never got a QSL card.
Someone mentioned on Facebook that these worked great for them.
Personal neck fans - I have to tell you, anything that would have helped beat the heat would have been nice. The temps were in the 90s with the Temperature Humidity Index over 100F. I am going to purchase one of thee for myself sometime before next Field Day. (Of course, once I do so, that will GUARANTEE that next year, Field Day will be chillier than normal! Just like buying a snowblower insures a snow-less Winter!)
And one of these might have been nice - an electric bug zapper.
We were overrun by beetles during the overnight. I thought they were Japanese beetles as that's what they looked like to me, but I was told they were not. But whatever type of beetle they were, they were pesky little varmints. And they were getting into everything! A few flew into my hair, a couple more down my shirt. Ugh. If you were drinking anything from an open cup, you always had to take a look before taking a sip. Yuck.
Maybe spraying the area with one of those commercial yard foggers before we set up might help, too. The heavy rain we experienced kept the mosquitoes at bay, but the beetles were something else, again. I had forgotten about those little devils from previous Field Days. They made a nuisance of themselves at Putnam Park, too.
Before I begin, some sights from SPARC Field Day 2024, I provided some sounds on the previous post:
Dave KD2FSI setting up the 6 Meter antenna and VHF/UHF Antennas.
We were visited by Councilman Derryck White. That's Bill W2AOF, the Councilman, Tim AB2ZK behind him and Marv K2VHW to the right.
Marty WB2BEW hard at work making SSB contacts.
Dave KD2FSI making FT8 contacts and Dave was also our GOTA Coach.
KD2FSI and K2VHW burning the Midnight oil.
A panoramic shot of Spring Lake Park and our Field Day site courtesy of Mario KD2HPF
The anniversary banner proudly displayed. Photo by KD2HPF
Harry KC2PGX playing with lemons - more about that below. Photo by KD2HPF.
And there was cake!
So where does one begin? We'll start by a brief weather report. It was hot, hot, HOT! The heat and humidity and thunderstorms made this Field Day an extra effort this year, but it turned out to be worth it. Set up and tear down were not complicated by rain, but working in the hot sun takes its toll, especially when you're not a spring chicken anymore!
Despite the weather, this was perhaps our best Field day effort ever. We had a lot of visitors, and the educational activity with the kids was a success - at least IMHO. We had five kids show up and we explained what batteries were and how they worked. Then the kids were each given a lemon, some copper and zinc coated nails and a cheapie Harbor Freight VOM. The got to see their lemons actually produced voltage from anywhere from 0.8 V to a little over a Volt. And we all found out together, courtesy of Harry KC2PGX, that it takes six lemons connected in series to light up a 2 Volt LED.
After the educational activity, there was pizza and cake. That, of course was more satisfying and welcome than the educational activity, but the kids and their parents or grandparents left happy, I think.
We also had a few non-member Hams show up to guest operate and the kids who came for the educational activity attempted to make contacts on the GOTA station, thanks to the watchful eye and coaching of Dave KD2FSI.
Because of the educational activity and the thunderstorms, there might be fewer QSOs in the log this year. We had to shut down and disconnect antennas three times during the event. The thunderstorms were pretty intense with some pretty close lightning strikes. Marb K2VHW was keeping an eye on that via https://map.blitzortung.org/ In all we may have lost a good two or three hours of operating time.
But the time we were able to spend on the bands was time well spent. There was a ton of activity and we were making contacts right up until around 1:00 PM on Sunday when it seemed that activity was significantly slowing down and we decided to pack it in.
From the top of my foggy head, I believe we made 230 CW contacts, 97 FT8 contacts and about 75 or so SSB contacts - all at 5 Watts, all done on battery powered transceivers. The two MFJ end feds once again did an outstanding job for us. Great results with a minimum of hassle in time and effort to spend setting them up and stowing them away. And Ol'' Sol behaved this weekend! No solar flares or Coronal Mass Ejections to ruin the weekend with HF blackouts.
The core group of SPARC members did an outstanding job of pulling Field Day 2024 off. I'm proud and honored to be a member of that core group. And publicly, I would like to state that it was another honor and pleasure to be partnered up with Marv K2VHW as the primary CW ops. Marv is by far the best CW op that I know. I'm nowhere close to being in his league and I appreciate being teamed up with him.
Before I close - a disclaimer. Please excuse any typos or other goofs I may have made in this post. My brain is still in a fog from the spending the majority of the weekend without sleep. I don't think I've messed up too badly.
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