Yesterday was a rainy day, and Marianne and I vegged out for most of the day. The skies started clearing out in the late afternoon:

And we were rewarded with yet another beautiful sunset a few hours later:

This morning dawned sunny, bright and a tad on the chilly side. After breakfast and a few stops, Marianne and I headed out to Kring Point State Park, US-2091 for the second activation of our wedding anniversary getaway.

This time, I did not bring the AlexLoop along, only the Elecraft AX1. I was impressed by its performance on Tuesday and I was not to be disappointed this time, either!

Here are some photos that Marianne took of me doing the POTA thing:

And here are some photos that I took of the setup:

We arrived at the park at about 11:00 (15:00 UTC) and stopped at the Park Ranger booth only to be told that the picnic area was closed for renovation and construction, but that we were free to drive around and look at the park. That's when Marianne noticed quite a few vacant campsites that sure enough had picnic tables! So we stopped at campsite #12 and I headed off to the picnic bench while Marianne did some exploring,

I was set up by15:25 UTC, spotted myself on the POTA app and after calling CQ POTA on 14.062 MHz, I was immediately greeted by Hunters. I didn't want to stay too long as today is actually our anniversary and I didn't think it was polite and proper for Marianne to be bored out of her skull.

I quickly racked up another 14 QSOs in just 32 minutes and I pulled the plug when my batteries started going wonky. More about that in a minute. QSOs were made with New Jersey (NY to NJ on 20 Meters - strange!), WI, a Park to Park with WA9LEY at US-7256 in IL, SC, CA, GA, OH, VA, NC and AR.

The performance from this little antenna just blows my mind. As Craig WB3GCK said to me, "It defies all logic.", but there you have it, the proof is in the pudding. The AX1 will be my go to whenever I activate picnic table portable, The RBN map wasn't as impressive as Tuesday's but the snr figures were very nice! There was not a single skimmer that picked me up with a single digit snr report.

Regarding the batteries. I made sure they were fully charged and they did not last at all. That's probably due to the fact that they've been sitting in the shack for years without being used. I'll have to go to eBay to pick up some fresh ones or perhaps something else that will last a bit longer, but is still small enough to fit in my QMX bag.

Thanks to all the Hunters who worked me this week! My activations were not long or filled with triple digit QSO numbers, but they are valid activations and I had a lot of fun!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Maybe. But I'm going to state it anyway. After what's happened recently to Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.....

You want an EMCOMM Team capable of setting up fast, with a minimum of effort and fuss that can go virtually anywhere at a moments notice?

Recruit some POTA people for your team.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to say the very least.

Around 10:00 this morning, Marianne looked at me and said, "So you want to go to one of those parks you were talking about?" Of course, I didn't miss a heartbeat and answered in the affirmative, so I placed the gear in the Jeep and we headed off for Keewaydin State Park, US-2088, which only a few miles down the road.

We made it up here! We arrived yesterday at Alexandria Bay, NY - the land (or water) of big ships and spectacular sunsets.

Those cargo ships travel up and down the St. Lawrence Seaway, carrying tonnage betwwen the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. And as you can see, the sunsets are breathtaking.

This afternoon, while Marianne took a nap, I set up the QMX and the AlexLoop on our balcony, overlooking the river. 20 Meters was a snap. I was able to get a good enough match quite easily, which kept the QMX happy. I even figured out how to get my pre-programmed messages to transmit, and I called CQ several times, just to see where the Reverse Beacon Network would pick me up, I was happy wiiith the result:

The locations of the spotters was great and the s/n db ratios were pretty darn good too. I had double digit s/n figures for a lot of the spots, indicating that I would have been heard by Hams near those skimmers.

On the other hand, 40 and 30 Meters were disappointments. I could not tune either band in well enough to keep the QMX happy. The procedure is to tune the Alex Loop's capacitor for loudest band noise. Once you do that, you're normally close enough for a decent match, No go on both 40 and 30 Meters, No matter what I did, the QMX's SWR circuitry kicked in and the unit refused to generate RF.

Luckily, the QMX is happy with the AX1, as I have previously successfully tried. That and the Buddistick will have to be the mainplayers for 40 Meters if I get the chance to do some POTAing later this week. Of course, if I decide to stick to 20 Meters solely, the Alex Loop is a more than viable alternative.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

For those of you who will be on the air this weekend, scratching your heads and thinking "What $$%*@! contest is this?", brought to you as a public service:

Contests (not much):

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY - https://www.cqwwrtty.com/

Maine QSO Party - http://www.ws1sm.com/MEQP.html

For those of you who like to chase Special Event Stations:

09/26/2024 | Triple Tree Fly-In

Sep 26-Sep 28, 1200Z-2359Z, W4F, Spartanburg, SC. Spartanburg Amateur radio club. 7.210 14.200. QSL. SPARC, Fly-in, 400 Glenwood Dr, Spartanburg, SC 29303. station to operate during operation of the fly-in. k4ii.org

09/28/2024 | SENARC 1936-2024 ANNIVERSARY

Sep 28-Sep 29, 1521Z-1519Z, W9WKP, Lincoln, NE. SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB. 7.265 7.285. Certificate & QSL. Charles Bennett, PO Box 67181, Lincoln, NE 68506. The SENARC (SENRC) will celebrate 88 years as a club started in 1936. G.C. Bennett, Auburn, NE, W9WKP was the first ARRL emergency coordinator for Nebraska. senebrradioclub@gmail.com

09/28/2024 | Volcano Days WV Oil and Gas History

Sep 28, 1400Z-2200Z, W8PAR, Parkersburg, WV. Parkersburg Amateur Radio Klub. CW 14.050 PH 14.250 CW 7.050 PH 7.200 FT8 on 20 & 40. Certificate & QSL. Jerry Wharton, 1722 20th St, Parkersburg, WV 26101. Relive an exciting chapter in WV history! www.w8par.org

09/29/2024 | Re-enactment of the First Trans-Global Two-Way Radio Communication

Sep 29-Oct 26, 0000Z-2359Z, GB2NZ, Many locations, UNITED KINGDOM. Radio Society of Great Britain and New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (Otago Branch). All bands and all modes depending on operator availability. QSL. See website, for, information, UNITED KINGDOM. www.gb2nz.com

For you POTA Hunters, at some point next week I hope to activate either, or perhaps both of these in Upstate NY -  Kring Point State Park US-2091 and Keewaydin State Park US-2088.  If the weather cooperates and I get the opportunity to activate, I'll post my activation to the POTA app and will perhaps spot myself on the DX Cluster if I get cell phone coverage up there. I scoped out both parks on the Web and it appears both feature picnic tables in their amenities lists. Operating from my vehicle is a last resort - I prefer to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.

I'll have my QMX, my AX1, my AlexLoop, my Buddistick and my EFRW to pick from, so antennas won't be a problem.

The weather outlook for the week isn't too terrible, so maybe I will get an opportunity. A might chilly for my taste, but it's Autumn and I'll pack accordingly. When Marianne and I were up there last year at this time, it was in the 80's during the day, and felt more like Summer than Autumn! What a difference a year makes.

Tomorrow, the South Plainfield Police Dept. is hosting "National Afternoon Out" as National Night Out in August was a rainout. It is going to be held in Putnam Park which was recently renovated. This is the same park where we held Field Day from 2021 to 2023. I wish I could be there, but plans preclude it. Our Boro Council is going to make a presentation to SPARC, honoring the 10th Anniversary of our founding. As one of the founding members, I really hate missing this, but such is life.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP  - When you care to send the very least!

As Hurricane Helene bears down on Florida and Georgia, please be mindful of our brother and sister Amateur Radio ops who will be manning their radios on behalf of public safety. Some HF frequencies to be aware of:

Northern Florida ARES Net (NFAN):

9:00 AM Eastern time Monday through Saturday Frequencies are 7.198 MHz. Backup on 7.242 and 7.265 MHz, all LSB-

Hurricane Watch Net

14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz

To ALL our friends in the Southeast who are in Helene's path ...... our prayers are with you. Take care, be safe and may God be with you.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I saw this on the QRP 14.060 MHz page on Facebook. It's a POTA/SOTA setup by Vasil LZ1WF. I like the enclosure he fabricated for his QMX. I am assuming he built the kit. and designed his own enclosure which is really nice. He has a very nice little portable station!

These qualify as the QRP Image(s) of the Day!

Now for something completely different.

I recently purchased an OTC hearing aid from Nebroo, from an ad they ran online. These are supposedly different from other OTC hearing aids as they are not just sound amplifiers. They tout that these have a chip in them which will allow you to filter out background noise in various settings to allow you to hear voces better. They were delivered on Sunday and so far, they are much better than another pair that I had purchased. These are a stop gap measure as I am saving towards prescription hearing aids, which are mucho expensivo.

Anyway, I wore the one in my left ear (my right ear is so bad that no OTC hearing aid is going to help) during the St. Max Net on Sunday evening and used over the ear headphones instead of my usual earbuds. What a difference! I was able to hear everyone so clearly, I almost forgot what effortless hearing was like! They're very comfortable, too. These are the "in ear" type instead of the "over the ear" kind.

After the net, I went down to the CW portion of the 40 Meter band. I was able to turn the KX3's AF level down towards the lower end of its range instead of the upper end. That was nice, really nice. An additional nice thing is that don't give me any feedback whine like my other ones did.

I'm not running a commercial here, just a happy customer. My Mom always said to me, "Larry, don't get old!",  and I always used to answer, "Ma, there's not much I can do about it!". I wish I had had hearing protection back when I used to photograph concerts for Six Flags when I was a PR photographer in the late 70's. It wasn't a "thing" back then. I'm paying for it now.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Around 1:30 PM yesterday afternoon, I headed out to the patio table and set up the QMX, the 4 States tuner and the AX1. I was very pleased with my session.

First thing I did was to set up for 20 Meters, find a dead spot, and after ascertaining that the frequency was clear, I called CQ about 4 or 5 times just to see where the Reverse Beacon Network skimmers would hear me.

Not bad for just 4 or 5 CQs.

Then I started tuning around the band looking for signals around 14.060 MHz, and there were plenty. I ended up working 6 POTA stations in IL, MI, KY, and NC,  And I even had a very short ragchew with Ed W8EO as he was setting up for his activation, when he answered one of my CQs.

Down towards the Extra portion of the band there were plenty of contest stations, but they were going at about 35 wpm or higher and I just wasn't in the mood to copy.

In addition to working stations, I got more familiar and comfortable with using the QMX. I figured out how to program in the CW memories and Message 1 is now a general "CQ DE W2LJ" type message and Message 2 is now "CQ POTA DE W2LJ". I'll fill in a few other message memories as needed. I'm also comfortable now with the actions of the various buttons and navigating through the menus. I still need to figure out the CW filters, though.

I was also able to get my new CW Morse paddles adjusted just the way I like them. I close the contacts all the way and then just back off about a quarter of a turn of the adjusting screws so that the action feels like a touch paddle. It's a single lever paddle and it's reminds me so much of my Palm paddles, that I used to own. What possessed me to sell those, I'll never know. On of the major blunders of my Ham career.

The 4 States tuner worked like a champ! I was able to match the AX1 to the QMX in a snap and had no trouble whatsoever getting a fully bright green LED and a totally extinguished red LED for a 1:1 match. An added little bonus, I was able to easily hook up the AX1 counterpoise wire to the 4 State tuner's black (ground) binding post.

So in the span of about 90 minutes I was able to learn a lot and make some contacts to boot. I feel like I'll be more prepared now to set up quickly and get to operating without fumbling around as much as I was before.

Later in the early evening, I got a GroupMe message from Marv K2VHW that Suke JM7OLW was on 10 Meters and was loud. I tuned in at 28.019 MHz and sure enough, he was loud as all heck! I guess when you're running a kW to a 9 element Yagi at 90 Feet, you're going to be pretty loud. I did manage to work him and get him in the log. It's been a while since I've worked Japan, and sitting back after the QSO, looking at the world map on HamClock, and realizing the distance between Japan and New Jersey, that magical feeling came rushing back.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP = When you care to send the very least!

For those of you who love the season, that is. For me, it's an occasion to symbolically shed a tear for Summer. I'm not into falling leaves or pumpkin spiced coffee, although I do love pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving. Autumn for me is juat a harbinger of what is to come ....Winter. Yuck!  Give me Spring or Summer any day of the week. Shortly, I'll be back in three layer season - long Tee, golf shirt and sweat shirt on top of it all.

The bands will probably be jumping this weekend - I hope Ol' Sol cooperates!

Contests:

ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest - https://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up

Scandinavian Activity Contest, CW - https://www.sactest.net/blog/rules/

New Jersey QSO Party - http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/njqp/rules.html

Texas QSO Party - https://www.txqp.net/

QRP Afield - https://www.newenglandqrp.org/qrp-afield-2018/

Wisconsin Parks on the Air - http://wipota.com/files/WIPOTA_contest_rules.pdf

New Hampshire QSO Party - http://www.w1wqm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NHQP_Rules.pdf

Washington State Salmon Run - http://salmonrun.wwdxc.org/

Iowa QSO Party - http://www.w0yl.com/IAQP

And next Tuesday evening - SKCC Sprint -https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekday_sprint/

Special Event Stations:

09/21/2024 | Cumberland Amateur Radio Club 60th

Sep 21, 0000Z-2359Z, K3IEC, Mechanicsburg, PA. Cumberland Amateur Radio Club. 7.250 14.300 21.300 28.400. QSL. Frank Mellott, 1010 Good Hope Rd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050. https://www.radioclub-carc.com

09/21/2024 | Liberty Ship Remembrance

Sep 21-Sep 22, 1400Z-1400Z, K8JWB, Baltimore, MD. SS JOHN W BROWN Radio Club. 7.250 14.250 21.250. QSL. Scott Corsano, 108 Old Landing Ct, Fredericksburg, VA 22405. The SS JOHN W BROWN Radio Club (K8JWB) will be operating in remembrance of the day the ship was delivered to the World War II war effort (19 Sep 1942) and Liberty Fleet Day (27 Sep). More than 2,400 Liberty Ships were built over a 4-year span during World War II to supply the war effort in Europe. Questions: scott.corsano@gmail.com www.ssjohnwbrown.org

09/21/2024 | Villa Rica Gold Rush Special Event

Sep 21, 1230Z-1930Z, W4G, Villa Rica, GA. West Georgia Amateur Radio Society. 15, 20, 40, 80 meters; CW SSB digital. Certificate. Will be available, for download from, our website. www.wgars.com

09/21/2024 | W7Y Come and Get Wyoming

Sep 21-Sep 30, 0000Z-2359Z, W7Y, Cheyenne, WY. ShyWy Amatuer Radio Club. All Bands All Modes. Certificate & QSL. Shy-Wy ARC, P.O. Box 22483, Cheyenne, WY 82003. See website for more information. All logs will be uploaded to LOTW and QRZ at the conclusion of the event. https://shywyarc.net/wp/comeandgetwyoming

09/22/2024 | 22nd Annual Padre Pio Festival

Sep 22, 0000Z-2359Z, NJ2KC, Vineland, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club . 14.250 7.250 18.140 21.350. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Ave, Bridgeton, NJ 08302-4822. NJ2KC.org

QRP Afield is this weekend and there have been no announcements on any of the QRP e-mail reflectors that I belong to. I know it's held every September, but it crept up on me and I had forgotten about it until I saw it on the WA7BNM Contest Calendar.

I hate to be critical or harsh, but if you hold an event or contest and you want lots of participation, YOU HAVE TO ADVERTISE AND PROMOTE! You can't rely on folks remembering and coming back automatically. It doesn't work that way!

I wanted to play around more with the QMX from the patio table this weekend; and I plan to do that. How much QRP Afield activity will I hear? I'm betting very, very little, and I hope to Heaven that I am dead wrong!

For that matter, no one has been yakking up the NJ State QSO Party, either. I know State QSO Parties are different than niche QRP Sprints - but still. You'd think SOMEONE would talk it up a bit.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I've decided to make the 4States QRP Group 4S-Tuner the official tuner of the W2LJ QMX Portable Ops bag. So I ordered another one for the shack for when I use the HW-8.  This way, I don't have to keep transferring the one I have back and forth between car and shack.

I really, really like the function of the two LEDs.  Great design feature by David Wayne Cripe NM0S!

When the red one is bright and the green one is out, the SWR is too high. When the two LEDs are of equal brightness, you have a 2:1 SWR. When the green LED is at max brightness, and the red LED is at minimum brightness or out altogether, your SWR is around 1:1.

This is a T-Match Tuner and I find it a bit easier to use, having the inductor in the circuit. Nothing against the ZM-2 as it is a wonderful little unit and will stay in the KX3 bag, should the autotuner fail for whatever reason. But sometimes, I just have a bit of trouble getting that single red LED to dim. I guess it's range is just a little narrower than the 4S-Tuner.

I already know it works well with my KM4CFT EFRW antenna. This weekend, time and weather permitting, I'd like to see how it handles the AX1 from our patio tabletop - a simulated POTA activation. Have to practice, just like the astronauts did! HI HI !

Onto another subject, with all the CMEs and solar flares that have been occurring the past few weeks, I saw this photo on Facebook, taken just yesterday, from the 1,000 Islands region in Upstate NY.

Marianne and I are heading up there soon for some away time for our Anniversary - I know I've mentioned that before. Will this finally be a good chance for me to see the Northern Lights? I hope so! If I'm lucky enough, I'll try to get some photos.

In yesterday's video we saw Alan W2AEW activate Washington Rock State Park with the CFT1 QRP Transceiver. Dummy me! I didn't realize that this is the newest offering from KM4CFT, who also sells the 9:1 UNUN kit that I recently built and put through a test run on Sunday.

Alan also has a YouTube video on the actual build of the kit. I am posting it here as a companion video - a prequel, if you will. It's a little long - close to 40 minutes, but is very interesting.

By the way, if you haven't subscribed to Alan's YouTube channel, you're missing out on a lot of great stuff.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Good friend, Alan W2AEW does a POTA activation with a new QRP rig. 

Boy howdy! These new QRP rigs are popping up so fast, it's hard to keep up with them - what's new, what's what ....... WOW! Going to sound like an oldster, but I can remember when you could count available QRP rigs with the fingers on both hands. Pickin's were slim ...... no more!

Alan was at my favorite spot - Washington Rock State Park, in Greenbrook, NJ.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It was busy, but at the same time productive. Saturday started off with the monthly ETS of NJ VE Session. We had three candidates and only three VEs. I can't tell you the last time that happened as the number of VEs that show up usually way outnumbers the candidates! In fact, I was sweating it out for a while worrying that I would have to tell the candidates that for lack of VEs, they'd have to go home.. Fortunately, a third showed up and we were fine.

We brought one new Tech into the fold and another Tech upgraded to General. The third candidate walked away with nothing, which was extremely disappointing to both him and us. He was a Tech who let his license lapse in 2012. He took the exam and I don't know if it was a case of overconfidence or if he just hurried too fast through the last 10 - 15 questions. He was going great guns, but in that last set of questions, he got enough wrong to put him two over.

I hate when that happens! I offered him the chance to take another version, but he declined. Hopefully, we'll see him again next month after a bit more study. He was so close, I'd hate to see him give up in disgust!

The rest of Saturday was spent doing house chores as on Sunday morning, we had a guest arrive for a visit for this week:

My sister and brother-in-law went down to the Jersey Shore for the week and the AirBnB they are staying at does not allow pets, so Jessie (Harold's "cousin", and also a rescue) has come to stay with us for the week. She took an immediate liking to our son, Joseph as you can see in the photo. She's a good girl, very quiet and very friendly - she loves to be held. A real Momma's girl. She's a demon with her food, though! I put the kibble she eats in her bowl and all I did was blink and it was gone! LOL! Maybe my sister should have named her Hoover!

That reminds me of a story. When I was young, one of the first "real" jobs I had (not working at my Dad's store) was working at a camera store. If you've ever worked retail, you know that when it comes to lunch and eating - you eat fast; or you don't eat at all. It got to be such a bad habit, that when I was eating a meal at home, my Mom would always say, "Larry, take human bites!"

Anyway, getting back on track, in between grocery shopping and cleaning, I did manage to get down to the shack to sneak in a few POTA stations. Geomagnetic activity was quite high on Saturday with the K index getting up to 5 for a bit, but I still managed to work a couple, even though signals were down in the mud.

On Sunday, I finally managed to do something that I've been wanting to do the past few weekends. I finally got the chance to try out my KM4CFT EFRW antenna. I wanted to give it a workout before I put the heat shrink over the UNUN circuit board. Again, due to a prior obligation in the afternoon, I only got a few hours in, but I have to say that I am pleased with its performance.

For starters I called CQ on both 40 and 20 Meters - about maybe a 1/2 dozen times on each band, just to see where the Reverse Beacon Network would pick me up:

This will hold his UNUN and at the same time it has a spool for the wire of his EFHW or EFRW. How neat is this? I don't know if he fabricated a cover to keep the UNUN safe from the elements, but I'm guessing he either has, or will do do.  

 Contests:

WAE DX Contest, SSB - https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/referat-conteste/worked-all-europe-dx-contest/en/

FOC QSO Party - http://g4foc.org/qsoparty/

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

North American Sprint, RTTY - https://ncjweb.com/Sprint-Rules.pdf

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

Special Event Stations:

09/14/2024 | Baltimore Defenders Day

Sep 14, 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

09/14/2024 | Celebrating Arthur Collins' Birthday

Sep 14, 1400Z-1800Z, W0CXX, Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Amateur Radio Club. 14.263 MHz. QSL. Brice AntonJensen, 1110 Lyndhurst Dr, Hiawatha, IA 52233. https://www.qrz.com/db/W0CXX

09/14/2024 | Coast Guard Anniversary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 0900Z-0500Z, W1H, Elkins, NH. KB1QXJ. 7.250 14.285 21.300 18.150. QSL. Bill Hopwood, P.O. Box 272, Elkins, NH 03233.

09/14/2024 | Commemorate 85th birthday of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 0000Z-2359Z, N1A, East Freetown, MA. US Coast Guard Auxiliary. 28.493 14.300 7.190. QSL. Paul G. Sadeck, 90 Doctor Braley Road, East Freetown, MA 02717.

09/14/2024 | Commemorating the 85th birthday of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1415Z-1515Z, N2S, Cape May, NJ. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. 14.310 7.250 18.200. Certificate. Mike Slepian, 12 Continental Lane, Marlton, NJ 08053. The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the volunteer component of the US Coast Guard. We work directly with the Coast Guard in support of an amazing array of missions including search and rescue, on water patrols, communications, public education, watch standing, training and much more. This station will be operating from the historic "shack" originally a Coast Guard station built in 1890, now the meeting place for the Auxiliary Cape May Flotilla. www.cgaux.org

09/14/2024 | Commemorating the 85th birthday of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1600Z-2359Z, N6A, Los Angeles, CA. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. 14330 14065 18160 18075. QSL. Edward Little, 19816 Ridge Manor Way, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. www.cgaux.org

09/14/2024 | Commemorating the 85th birthday of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 0000Z-2359Z, K4D, Homosassa, FL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary District 7 Division 15. 7.074 14.074 14.080 21.074. Certificate. Melissa Frank, 6854 W. Holiday St, Homosassa, FL 34446. melissa.frank09@yahoo.com

09/14/2024 | Commemorating the USS Midway’s commissioning on 9/10/45

Sep 14, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR on Papa system repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

09/14/2024 | Depot Days - Lisle, Illinois

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1500Z-1900Z, W9DUP, Lisle, IL. DuPage Amateur Radio Club. 3.885 14.070 14.045 14.274. Certificate. DuPage Amateur Radio Club - Brian Eder, P.O. Box 71, Clarendon Hills , IL 60514-0071. Annual Depot Days Festival held at Lisle Station Park, celebrating life as it was over 100 years ago. Radio operations will be in the historic 1874 CB&Q train depot. w9dup.org

09/14/2024 | Fred Harvey House Museum on the Air

Sep 14, 1400Z-2000Z, KS0LV, Leavenworth, KS. Pilot Knob Amateur Radio Club. 14.303 21.361 28.355 Also on FT8, JS8Call. QSL. Steve Rice, 6850 Deer Ridge Dr, Shawnee, KS 66226. https://pkarc.org

09/14/2024 | Highest Point in Arkansas

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1400Z-1700Z, W5NX, Springdale, AR. Bella Vista Radio Club. 14.040 14.260 7.040 7.260. QSL. Don Banta, 3407 Diana Street, Springdale, AR 72764. Portable operation from Mount Magazine, highest point in Arkansas. See https://www.qrz.com/db/W5NX for QSL information. https://bellavistaradioclub.org

09/14/2024 | Route 66 On the Air

Sep 14-Sep 22, 0000Z-2359Z, W6H, Rio Rancho, NM. Albuquerque DX Association. 3.866 7.266 14.266 14.033. QSL. Bill Mader, 4701 Sombrerete Rd SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124. Part of the annual Route 66 On-the-Air event. https://adxa.groups.io/g/main

09/14/2024 | State Line Radio Club Annual Picnic

Sep 14, 1400Z-2000Z, W3A, Holtwood, PA. State Line Radio Club. 7.240 14.240 21.280. QSL. Ted Reichenbach, 108 Park Circle, Elkton, MD 21921. Club's annual picnic at Muddy Run Park. Open to the public. Several operating radio stations. Scout groups welcome. www.statelineradioclub.com

09/14/2024 | US Coast Guard Auxiliary 85th Anniversary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1400Z-2300Z, N4A, Crystal River, FL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 15 District 07. 14.250 21.350 28.350 7.250. QSL. D Thomas, 4515 N Loquat Pt, Crystal River, FL 34428-5946. solutionsdebra@gmail.com

09/14/2024 | US Coast Guard Auxiliary Anniversary

Sep 14-Sep 15, 1422Z-1412Z, W4CQF, Inglis, FL. Citrus County ARC. 14.280 mhz 21.280 mhz. QSL. John Bescher, POB 947, Inglis, FL 34449. Citrus County ARC with call W4CQF and US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla will be celebrating anniversary of US Coast Guard Auxiliary. QSL to N4DXI, POB 947, Inglis Fl 34449 on Sep 14-15, 2024 n4dxi@aol.com

09/15/2024 | Battle of Inchon/Operation Operation Chromite

Sep 15, 1500Z-2300Z, NI6BB, Los Angeles, CA. Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association. See website for frequencies. QSL. QSL per , instructions on , our website. biara.org

Doesn't anybody put Special Event Stations on the CW portion of the bands anymore?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP  - When you care to send the very least!

 On Facebook, ON7RF provided a picture of his "modest" station.

Modest? Maybe in terms of $$$$$, but there's plenty enough there to work the world! Rene definitely has the right idea here - "Do more with less." You don't need an uber station or a kilowatt to work the world, and this is much more fun, IMHO.

Only thing I would change here is to use a paddle.  My wrist gets tired from using a straight key after a while.  Undoubtedly, it's probably just poor technique on my part, but I blame arthritis! LOL!

I saw this on a POTA FB page and saved the image for a closer look. Then I went to the webpage.

Portableflagpoles.com - they sell their drive on mast holder with two diameters. The larger one will accept masts up to 2.25" (about 6 cm) wide. The bottom cap of the Jackite is just a smidge over 2", so it will fit in there nicely. The mast holder is only $39 - the question is ...... do I really need it? I have to decide whether or not my homebrew mockup is worth keeping. It does the job all right, but it's nowhere as elegant a solution as this one. The other thing is that this one is metal, while mine is wooden. In the long run, I have to believe that this one would undoubtedly hold up better to being driven upon. And whatever I decide, I have to do it sooner, rather than later. Marianne and I are heading back up to Alexandria Bay soon and there are two parks up there that I'd like to activate.

When I worked at Sinar Bron, my boss who was a Swiss engineer, would always want the "most elegant" solution to a problem. Not necessarily the most elegant in appearance, but the best solution in terms of functionality, ability, dependability and sleek design (if possible, but not as necessary). I guess that's where that got ingrained in me.

He had a knack for bringing me down to Earth. When I would solve a problem that seemed to elude everyone else (even the factories who manufactured the equipment that we sold) he would say (in his thick Swiss accent), "Doo, Larry, even the blind pig finds an acorn every once in a while." Real confidence booster, right? Even so, I sorely miss those days. Working at Sinar Bron was probably the best 22 years I've ever spent at a job.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The Elecraft KH1 isn't even a year old yet. So what am I seeing on the Elecraft KX/KH e-mail reflector?  "Speculation on the KH2" !

Wow! And it that wasn't enough, someone started expounding on what he'd like to see in a KX4!

I must be weird as my KX3 is now over a decade old and I'm still as happy with it as the day I got it. Now I know some of you may be thinking, "But Larry, you just purchased and are playing around with that QMX!" And you would be correct. But I purchased that to keep in the car for impromptu bouts of "radio activity". The price point was such that if my car ever got broken into, and the radio should become attached to someone's sticky fingers, it would not cause me to go jumping off a cliff like a lemming. i would be devastated if my KX3 ever got lifted, especially knowing whomever stole it would have no idea what it was and the radio would probably end up in a dumpster somewhere as they would probably not be able to fence it.

And in turn, the purchase of the QMX has deepened my appreciation for my KX3 even more. I wasn't even sure that was possible!

I've noticed throughout my Ham Radio career, from experiences gleaned by being members of various clubs and organizations that, in one sense, there are basically two types of Hams. And these two types are similar to car owners. "Type 1" will buy a car (or a radio) and will drive it until the wheels fall off (or the finals give out). "Type 2" has to trade in their car every couple of years for the flashiest new design with all the newest bells and whistles (same with radios). They are forever looking for that "penultimate".

Mind you, this is just an observation, Not meant to be disparaging to one type or the other. The second type that I mentioned surely spears on the economy, that's for sure. And I guess they also supply the market for those who are interested in a "pre-owned: model, perhaps looking for a bargain.

I guess it all goes back to "whatever floats your boat". And perhaps without the "Type 2s"  the radio manufacturers would never be motivated to come up with new designs. So "Thank You!" Type 2's for keeping the innovations coming. If it was just us "Type 1s" out here, we'd probably still be using radios that weigh a ton and have tubes in them.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Yesterday was a mixed day. I was happy because I did get to the car at lunchtime and made a POTA contact on 20 Meters with WS4Y at US-1873 in Florida. That was nice. Then, up the band a ways, I heard NV4H in New Mexico. re-tuned the ZM-2 until the red LED went out, as per the instructions, but for some reason, I still got a high SWR warning on the QMX and it went into self-protection mode and would not transmit. I still have a lot of "getting used to" with the QMX ahead of me. I guess I've been spoiled by how easy the KX3 is to use..

When I got home, I was saddened to learn of the passing of two people:

Ed Kranepool was my hero Met when I was a kid. He is the only player who played for the team for his entire career. He was very good first baseman and later in his career, a pinch hitter par exelance. He was a National League All Star in 1965 and was a member of the 1969 World Championship team. To me, he was Mr. Met. I got to meet him in the 90's at a baseball card show and got his autograph on a Major League baseball. He was quite the gentleman.

The other person whose passing away touched me is James Earl Jones.

This clip, from Field of Dreams, is one of my absolute favorites. The world will remember him as the voice of Darth Vader and the voice of CNN, but to me, James Earl Jones will always be Terence Mann, delivering perhaps the finest soliloquy about baseball that I've ever heard.

RIP Eddie and James - I hope you get to meet each other on the Field of Dreams.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!