Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Yesterday — 6 July 2024Main stream

Missed it by “that much”

By: VA3QV
6 July 2024 at 22:34

Due to some family stuff I have to give up on my attempts to reach the Bonus Station GB13COL in the 13 colonies event this year.

I did manage to get all 13 stations in the log along with the PA Bonus station and the French (TM13COL) bonus station. Most were SSB but I did get a few in the log using CW.

I did hear GB13COL on SSB and CW but had no luck breaking the pileups in either mode.

The people who could not understand the concept of “Split” added to the problems and the DX Cops trying to get their point across by adding to the QRM with the words “UP UP” over and over.

That really did not help my popgun station hear what I was trying to listen for.

So with 90 minutes left to go…. Its time to cut my losses and run….but for the most part if was fun. Thanks for a job well do goes out the the Event Organisers along with the station operators of the stations involved in the event.

Happy 4th and lets try again next year….

73bob

Before yesterdayMain stream

13 Colonies update

By: VA3QV
3 July 2024 at 16:02

If you remember my previous post where I commented:

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

Check out their website for more information.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

After all I only need 2 more…..

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

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

73bob

RAC Canada Day Contest-report

By: VA3QV
2 July 2024 at 23:04

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

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

The goals were as follows:

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

TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-

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

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

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

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

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

Check out their website for more information.

.

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

73bob

2024 Museum Ships Weekend

By: VA3QV
3 June 2024 at 15:29

The event was held on June 1st and finished on June 2nd. At the time of posting this there were 106 Museum Ships (including memorials) on the list. For more info on the event check out: https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ .

In Kingston we were fortunate enough to have the SS Keewatin berthed at the Great Lakes Museum and so for this event it was a 45 min bus ride with all the radio gear I needed to participate.

Here is a couple of pics I took while at the museum.

The gear I used for operating from alongside the Keewatin was my POTA Station that consisted of my Yaesu FT891, Eco-Worthy 20ah LIPO 4 battery and a MFJ 33 foot telescopic mast to support the home brewed 63 Foot End Fed Half Wave (10m to 40m) antenna.

It looks rather small compared to the size of the Keewatin… Thanks to the Taxi Driver who moved into the pic so I could show the size of the ship easier. No I did not use the taxi… Kingston Transit bus #3 stops right at the front door of the Museum.

All my gear fit in my wife’s laundry cart… She may never get it back now…

I used some bungy cords to secure the mast (right of the pic) to a fence behind the tree cover. It suspended the EFHW in a “inverted Vee” configuration and worked well for me with no tuner needed.

I was able to operate for about 3 hours (or less) each day. The gear worked without a hitch but not so much the operator.

As the radio room in the Keewatin has not been updated yet, I was forced to operate from alongside (the above pic) so I was unable to leave the gear to use the facilities and so once nature called… it was time to pack up.

At the end of the event according to my logs I actually was contacted by 100 stations that were “Welcomed on Board the Keewatin”… of those 100 contacts 12 of them were other Museum Ship and their details follow.

(Pictures above the name of the ship)

Col James M Schoonmaker

USS Lafferty

USS Thresher Memorial

USS Massachusetts

Tall Ship Elissa

USS Nautilus

Claud W Somers

USS North Carolina

Watson Naval Museum

USS Salem

USS Cobia

This was a “spur of the moment” style of activation. I was going past the ship a week before and then found out the Museum Ships event was the next weekend. Although the Keewatin does have a valid Callsign without the radio room ship shape they were not in a position to activate.

I asked if I could do it and was given the green light to operate (using my own personal callsign) from where I did. (alongside but outside the fence)

As the Drydock is part of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (POTA CA-6003) some amateurs also got a new park in their logs.

Long story short… The activation was a success…. At least 100 amateurs now know of our ship and the Museum Ship community welcomed the Keewatin and its my hope that next year the ship itself will the on the air.

If we made the contact, thanks again. My logs for the two day event have been uploaded to EQSL, QRZ.com, the Museum Ships Group and will be uploaded to LoTW when they have fixed the security issue. I will also offer a copy of my logs to the Keewatin Radio Operators (see above link) for their records.

73bob

SS Keewatin will be on the air

By: VA3QV
27 May 2024 at 15:33

The lastest (and largest) addition to the Great Lakes Museum collection in Kingston Ontario is the SS Keewatin.

I took this pic Saturday May 25 just before the Museum opened the exhibit.

Its new home is in the Kingston Drydock which is on the shore of Lake Ontario and its history goes back before Canada’s Confederation.

The above shows the Keewatin in the Drydock over the winter. Thanks to Google Maps and Doug Knutson for the Graphics.

Now on the the Radio Part of this….

This coming weekend is the Museum Ships Weekend event (June 1st and 2nd) and the Keewatin will be on the air for this event and we are in really good company.

SHIPS PARTICIPATING FOR 2024 – 101 Ships

updated 26 May 2024
NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN

K1USN Watson Museum Braintree, MA K1USN
USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC
USS Midway Aircraft Carrier San Diego, CA NI6IW
USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi, TX W5LEX
USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier Charleston, SC WA4USN
ST-695 Angels Gate Army Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA
USS Montrose Memorial Attack Transport(Haskell Class) Montrose, CO N0P
USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, AL KQ4RXA
USS Massachusetts Battleship Fall River, MA NE1PL
USS New Jersey 8am to 6pm from drydock Battleship, New Jersey NJ2BB
USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB
USS Wisconsin Battleship Norfolk, Virginia N4WIS
USS Iowa Battleship San Pedro, CA NI6BB
USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, NC NI4BK
USS Oklahoma Mast Memorial Battleship Mast Memorial, OK WW2OK
**HS Georgios Averof Battleship Paleo Faliro, Greece SZ1AB
USS Tennessee Museum Battleship Museum Oneida, TN W4BSF
SS Col. James M Schoonmaker Bulk Carrier Toledo, OH K8E
**SS William A Irvin Bulk Ore Carrier Duluth, MN W0GKP
Claud W Somers Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Reedville, VA W4NNK
CSS Neuse (Jun 1 only) Civil War – Ironclad Gunboat Kinston, NC KN4RAM
MV Iris-Joerg Cargo Ship Wischhafen,Germany DL0MFM
MV Cap San Diego Cargo Ship Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH
USCG Ingham CG Cutter Key West, FL NR4DL
USS Potomac CG Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. NE6JP
USS Indianapolis CA-35 Memorial Cruiser Indianapolis, IN WW2IND
USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, NY W2PE
USS Olympia Cruiser Philadelphia, PA WA3BAT
USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA N1SLM
HMAS Vampire Destroyer Sydney, Australia VK2VMP
USS Turner Joy Destroyer Bremerton, WA NS7DD
USS Cassin Young Sat only 9am-3pm EST Destroyer Boston, MA WW2DD
USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, NY K2EAG
USS Orleck Destroyer Jacksonville, FL K4D
USS Laffey Destroyer Charleston, SC NT4HI
USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY WW2DEM
USS Stewart Destroyer Escort Galveston, TX N5FKP
Evelina M Goulart Fishing Schooner Essex, MA W1E
**HMCS Sackville Flower Class Corvette Halifax, Nova Scotia VE0CNM
SS Grandcamp Memorial French Liberty Ship Texas City, TX K5BS
HDMS Peder Skram Frigate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN
SS Hope Memorial Station Hospital Ship Memorial Chatham, MA W1HNJ
Krasin Icebreaker St. Petersburg, Russia R1LK
SS Sankt Erik Icebreaker Stockholm, Sweden 8SØHRA
**Ernest Lapointe Icebreaker L’islet, Qc, Canada VB2MMQC
USCGC Mackinaw WAGB-83(Maritime Museum) Icebreaker, MI W8AGB
SS Jeremiah O’Brien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6JOB
SS John W Brown Liberty Ship Baltimore, MD K8JWB
Amrumbank /Deutsche Bucht Lightship Emden, Germany DF0MF
LS Ambrose Lightship East River, NY City, NY W2AQ
LS Westhinder III Lightship Antwerp, Belgium ON9BD
Borkumriff Lightship Island Borkum, Germany DL0BRF
USS LST-325 LST Evansville, IN WW2LST
LST-393 LST Muskegon, MI N8LST
Chatham Radio/WCC Station Maritime Radio Station Chatham, MA W1WCC
SS Selma Merchant ship WWI(Concrete Hull) Galveston, TX W5MSQ
**Edwin Fox Museum Merchant Ship Picton, New Zealand ZL2KS
USS Lucid Minesweeper Stockton, CA N6MSO
HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder, NL PA38AC
HNMS Mercuur Minesweeper Port of Vlissingen, NL PA6PARE
KRS 575 “Hans Beimler” Missile Corvette Peenemuende, Germany DL0MFN
Farragut Nav Training Sta.Brig Naval Training Station Athol, ID N7F
NS Savannah Nuclear Merchant Vessel Baltimore, MD K3SAV
SS Hohentwiel Paddle Steamer Bodensee, Austria OE6XMF/9
RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO
SS Rotterdam Passenger Ship Port of Rotterdam PI4HAL


SS Keewatin Passenger Steamship Kingston, ON VA3QV


HMAS Gladstone Patrol Boat(Fremantle Class) Gladstone QLD, VK4GLA
**USS Pueblo Memorial Research Ship Pueblo, CO N0K
MK1 PBR #105 River Patrol Boat Charleston, SC WD4PBR
PB Niederoesterreich (Jun 2 only) River Patrol Boat Danube/Vienna, OE3XNO
Tall Ship Elissa Sailing Barque Galveston Island, TX N5E
MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven,Germany DK100DDSR
USS Ticonderoga (1814) Schooner Whitehall, NY W2C
USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, OH W8COD
USS Cobia Submarine Manitowoc, Wisconsin NB9QV
USS Blueback Submarine Portland, OR W7SUB
USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama K4DSR
USS Razorback Submarine N.Little Rock AR N5R
USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT N1S
U-995 Submarine Laboe Germany DL0DMB
USS Croaker Submarine Buffalo, NY N3ARB
USS Albacore Submarine Portsmouth, NH NM1JY
Flore Submarine Lorient, France TM2FLO
HMCS Onondaga Submarine Pointe-au-Père, Quebec VA2GNQ
Nazario Sauro Submarine Genoa, Italy II1NS
S-61 Delfin Submarine Torrevieja Spain EH5DLF
USS Batfish Submarine Muskogee, OK WW2SUB
USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT
USS Cavalla Submarine Galveston, TX N5FKP
USS Silversides Submarine Muskegon, MI N8SUB
H. L. Hunley Submarine – Civil War Charleston, SC N4HLH
Novosibirskij Komsomolec (B-396) Submarine 641-B Moscow, Russia RU3AWK
USS Thresher Memorial Submarine Memorial Kittery, ME W1WQM
USS Parche Memorial Submarine Memorial Bremerton, WA N7P
**”The Fin Project” Submarine Fin Memorial Seattle, WA NR7WL
**CSS Acadia Survey Vessel Halifax Nova Scotia VE0MMA
USS Hoga YT-146 Tugboat N. Little Rock, AR N5H
USAT LT-5 Tugboat/Cargo Transport Oswego, NY W2LGA
SS American Victory Victory Ship Tampa, FL W4AVM
Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, CA K6YVM

And as you can see we will be in pretty impressive company…

Now the only issue with this (the first) activation of the new museum ship is that the passenger areas of the ship are open to the public but the Radio Operators Room is still waiting for some period equipment to be set up as a display. So until that is done we can’t install as we don’t know how much room there will be for the “modern” equipment.

So for this event I will be operating from “alongside” the ship (see below pic)

The Radio I use for this event will be my POTA Station gear which is a Yaesu FT891 along with a 40m (64:1 unun) EFHW supported by a 33 foot MFJ Telescopic mast. Backup antenna will be a 17.5 foot vertical (using same mast) fed by a 9:1 unun with a single raised counterpoise.

The operating plan is to be operating from the “American General” parts of the different bands. Hoping that 20m and 40m will be good for us but we have the equipment to operate from 6m to 40m

I hope to start operating at 1300 (UTC) and run till the 20ah battery dies out ( or darkness arrives) on both days.

Will be operating as VA3QV and will uploading logs to LoTW, EQSL and QRZ.com.

This page will not be updated so check my QRZ page for last minute updates….

73bob

SS Keewatin will be on the air

By: VA3QV
27 May 2024 at 15:33

The lastest (and largest) addition to the Great Lakes Museum collection in Kingston Ontario is the SS Keewatin.

I took this pic Saturday May 25 just before the Museum opened the exhibit.

Its new home is in the Kingston Drydock which is on the shore of Lake Ontario and its history goes back before Canada’s Confederation.

The above shows the Keewatin in the Drydock over the winter. Thanks to Google Maps and Doug Knutson for the Graphics.

Now on the the Radio Part of this….

This coming weekend is the Museum Ships Weekend event (June 1st and 2nd) and the Keewatin will be on the air for this event and we are in really good company.

SHIPS PARTICIPATING FOR 2024 – 101 Ships

updated 26 May 2024
NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN

K1USN Watson Museum Braintree, MA K1USN
USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC
USS Midway Aircraft Carrier San Diego, CA NI6IW
USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi, TX W5LEX
USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier Charleston, SC WA4USN
ST-695 Angels Gate Army Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA
USS Montrose Memorial Attack Transport(Haskell Class) Montrose, CO N0P
USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, AL KQ4RXA
USS Massachusetts Battleship Fall River, MA NE1PL
USS New Jersey 8am to 6pm from drydock Battleship, New Jersey NJ2BB
USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB
USS Wisconsin Battleship Norfolk, Virginia N4WIS
USS Iowa Battleship San Pedro, CA NI6BB
USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, NC NI4BK
USS Oklahoma Mast Memorial Battleship Mast Memorial, OK WW2OK
**HS Georgios Averof Battleship Paleo Faliro, Greece SZ1AB
USS Tennessee Museum Battleship Museum Oneida, TN W4BSF
SS Col. James M Schoonmaker Bulk Carrier Toledo, OH K8E
**SS William A Irvin Bulk Ore Carrier Duluth, MN W0GKP
Claud W Somers Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Reedville, VA W4NNK
CSS Neuse (Jun 1 only) Civil War – Ironclad Gunboat Kinston, NC KN4RAM
MV Iris-Joerg Cargo Ship Wischhafen,Germany DL0MFM
MV Cap San Diego Cargo Ship Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH
USCG Ingham CG Cutter Key West, FL NR4DL
USS Potomac CG Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. NE6JP
USS Indianapolis CA-35 Memorial Cruiser Indianapolis, IN WW2IND
USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, NY W2PE
USS Olympia Cruiser Philadelphia, PA WA3BAT
USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA N1SLM
HMAS Vampire Destroyer Sydney, Australia VK2VMP
USS Turner Joy Destroyer Bremerton, WA NS7DD
USS Cassin Young Sat only 9am-3pm EST Destroyer Boston, MA WW2DD
USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, NY K2EAG
USS Orleck Destroyer Jacksonville, FL K4D
USS Laffey Destroyer Charleston, SC NT4HI
USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY WW2DEM
USS Stewart Destroyer Escort Galveston, TX N5FKP
Evelina M Goulart Fishing Schooner Essex, MA W1E
**HMCS Sackville Flower Class Corvette Halifax, Nova Scotia VE0CNM
SS Grandcamp Memorial French Liberty Ship Texas City, TX K5BS
HDMS Peder Skram Frigate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN
SS Hope Memorial Station Hospital Ship Memorial Chatham, MA W1HNJ
Krasin Icebreaker St. Petersburg, Russia R1LK
SS Sankt Erik Icebreaker Stockholm, Sweden 8SØHRA
**Ernest Lapointe Icebreaker L’islet, Qc, Canada VB2MMQC
USCGC Mackinaw WAGB-83(Maritime Museum) Icebreaker, MI W8AGB
SS Jeremiah O’Brien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6JOB
SS John W Brown Liberty Ship Baltimore, MD K8JWB
Amrumbank /Deutsche Bucht Lightship Emden, Germany DF0MF
LS Ambrose Lightship East River, NY City, NY W2AQ
LS Westhinder III Lightship Antwerp, Belgium ON9BD
Borkumriff Lightship Island Borkum, Germany DL0BRF
USS LST-325 LST Evansville, IN WW2LST
LST-393 LST Muskegon, MI N8LST
Chatham Radio/WCC Station Maritime Radio Station Chatham, MA W1WCC
SS Selma Merchant ship WWI(Concrete Hull) Galveston, TX W5MSQ
**Edwin Fox Museum Merchant Ship Picton, New Zealand ZL2KS
USS Lucid Minesweeper Stockton, CA N6MSO
HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder, NL PA38AC
HNMS Mercuur Minesweeper Port of Vlissingen, NL PA6PARE
KRS 575 “Hans Beimler” Missile Corvette Peenemuende, Germany DL0MFN
Farragut Nav Training Sta.Brig Naval Training Station Athol, ID N7F
NS Savannah Nuclear Merchant Vessel Baltimore, MD K3SAV
SS Hohentwiel Paddle Steamer Bodensee, Austria OE6XMF/9
RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO
SS Rotterdam Passenger Ship Port of Rotterdam PI4HAL


SS Keewatin Passenger Steamship Kingston, ON VA3QV


HMAS Gladstone Patrol Boat(Fremantle Class) Gladstone QLD, VK4GLA
**USS Pueblo Memorial Research Ship Pueblo, CO N0K
MK1 PBR #105 River Patrol Boat Charleston, SC WD4PBR
PB Niederoesterreich (Jun 2 only) River Patrol Boat Danube/Vienna, OE3XNO
Tall Ship Elissa Sailing Barque Galveston Island, TX N5E
MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven,Germany DK100DDSR
USS Ticonderoga (1814) Schooner Whitehall, NY W2C
USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, OH W8COD
USS Cobia Submarine Manitowoc, Wisconsin NB9QV
USS Blueback Submarine Portland, OR W7SUB
USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama K4DSR
USS Razorback Submarine N.Little Rock AR N5R
USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT N1S
U-995 Submarine Laboe Germany DL0DMB
USS Croaker Submarine Buffalo, NY N3ARB
USS Albacore Submarine Portsmouth, NH NM1JY
Flore Submarine Lorient, France TM2FLO
HMCS Onondaga Submarine Pointe-au-Père, Quebec VA2GNQ
Nazario Sauro Submarine Genoa, Italy II1NS
S-61 Delfin Submarine Torrevieja Spain EH5DLF
USS Batfish Submarine Muskogee, OK WW2SUB
USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT
USS Cavalla Submarine Galveston, TX N5FKP
USS Silversides Submarine Muskegon, MI N8SUB
H. L. Hunley Submarine – Civil War Charleston, SC N4HLH
Novosibirskij Komsomolec (B-396) Submarine 641-B Moscow, Russia RU3AWK
USS Thresher Memorial Submarine Memorial Kittery, ME W1WQM
USS Parche Memorial Submarine Memorial Bremerton, WA N7P
**”The Fin Project” Submarine Fin Memorial Seattle, WA NR7WL
**CSS Acadia Survey Vessel Halifax Nova Scotia VE0MMA
USS Hoga YT-146 Tugboat N. Little Rock, AR N5H
USAT LT-5 Tugboat/Cargo Transport Oswego, NY W2LGA
SS American Victory Victory Ship Tampa, FL W4AVM
Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, CA K6YVM

And as you can see we will be in pretty impressive company…

Now the only issue with this (the first) activation of the new museum ship is that the passenger areas of the ship are open to the public but the Radio Operators Room is still waiting for some period equipment to be set up as a display. So until that is done we can’t install as we don’t know how much room there will be for the “modern” equipment.

So for this event I will be operating from “alongside” the ship (see below pic)

The Radio I use for this event will be my POTA Station gear which is a Yaesu FT891 along with a 40m (64:1 unun) EFHW supported by a 33 foot MFJ Telescopic mast. Backup antenna will be a 17.5 foot vertical (using same mast) fed by a 9:1 unun with a single raised counterpoise.

The operating plan is to be operating from the “American General” parts of the different bands. Hoping that 20m and 40m will be good for us but we have the equipment to operate from 6m to 40m

I hope to start operating at 1300 (UTC) and run till the 20ah battery dies out ( or darkness arrives) on both days.

Will be operating as VA3QV and will uploading logs to LoTW, EQSL and QRZ.com.

This page will not be updated so check my QRZ page for last minute updates….

73bob

DXPeditions and working split

By: VA3QV
23 April 2024 at 18:56

I enjoy chasing DX. But operating a “Stealth Station” sometimes has its disadvantages when the pile ups are massive.

Often when listening you will hear the DX station giving out their callsign along with “listening up or up 5-10 or???”

Now the operators who can’t figure it out will toss their callsign out where no one is listening for it and then the DX COPS will jump in and scream at the operator for not following the instructions which now means the people who followed the instructions are not hearing anything but Lids and Cops…

Now here is the best video I have found (so far) that covers the topic so well that I wanted to share it with you.

Seems fairly simple and easy to understand… and although he is using a IC7300 for his example…. Most (if not all) of the newer HF Radios will work in the same way.

Thanks to Matt K0LWC for the video. If you like it head over to his YOUTUBE site more more content.

And that my friends is the view from the “Cheap Seats”

73bob

A weekend of “giving”

By: VA3QV
22 April 2024 at 14:18

The weather this weekend was not nice enough (for me) to seriously consider taking the Portable Station out any of the local POTA Parks as I had previously mentioned. Although the temps were above the freezing mark I find the cold harsher now and it was a bit too cold for me to be sitting at a picnic table.

Now it was not as bad as the above but it sure felt like it so…

So my Plan “B” was to just operate from the shack and give out contacts….

So starting on Saturday (0000hrs utc) I started spinning the dial and giving out contacts to whoever I could hear in whatever contest/event they were participating in. Contacts were made in the following contests/event:

POTA Support Your Parks, Ontario QSO Party, Michigan QSO Party, Nebraska QSO Party and the Quebec QSO Party. A few Special Event Stations were also in the log as well.

All the contacts were given a 5/9 ON exchange with the Ontario QP Participants getting a “5/9 FRO (Frontenac County)”.

I managed to give out 40 OQP exchanges .

The POTA activators were really busy and I found (in some cases) hard to break the pileups. That part of our hobby is growing in leaps and bounds. I hope that some of the newer operators were not discouraged by the sheer numbers of stations calling.

According to my records I managed to raise my Unique Parks worked count to 2565 logged. Slowly heading towards the 3000 mark which is my next goal.

With the promises (would the Weather Person lie to me?) of better (warmer/dryer) weather in the next week I am still planning to give the Portable station’s new 17 1/2 foot vertical a testing out from the field. Don’t know which day (yet) as the band conditions have to cooperate along with a bit warmer weather from “Mother Nature”

Hope to get you in the log soon

73bob

.

❌
❌