… The Choice had to be made…

Field Day 2024 will be starting in 3 hours. In previous posts I had mentioned that I was either going to be operating as a 1B station or a 1D stations depending on the weather. “Mother Nature” helped me make the choice and its not nice (or smart) to argue with Mother.

The choice is “1D” and if you read the following from The Weather Network you will see why.

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Kingston, ON

Special Weather Statement

Issued at Sat 8:59 AM Jun. 22

Issued by: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Description:
Significant rainfall possible this afternoon into Sunday.

Hazard:
Rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 mm. Locally higher amounts possible.

Timing:
This afternoon into Sunday.

Discussion:
The potential exists for multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon into Sunday. Local amounts exceeding 50 mm are possible. A rainfall warning may be required for some areas.

For information concerning flooding, please consult your local Conservation Authority or Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office. Visit Ontario.ca/floods for the latest details.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.

###

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So there you have it….

Setting up in a Park to operate 1B in a Monsoon is one way to ruin my almost new FT891 seeing that as a general rule they don’t like water.

And to be honest it would not be fun for me either.

I still will be participating and hope to give out the rare exchange of 1D ONE to as many stations I can contact during the event. At home I have the chance to operate VHF, 6m, and the HF Bands that the Field Day rules allow.

So have fun, stay safe and make lots of contacts

73bob

… The Choice had to be made…

Field Day 2024 will be starting in 3 hours. In previous posts I had mentioned that I was either going to be operating as a 1B station or a 1D stations depending on the weather. “Mother Nature” helped me make the choice and its not nice (or smart) to argue with Mother.

The choice is “1D” and if you read the following from The Weather Network you will see why.

---

Kingston, ON

Special Weather Statement

Issued at Sat 8:59 AM Jun. 22

Issued by: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Description:
Significant rainfall possible this afternoon into Sunday.

Hazard:
Rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 mm. Locally higher amounts possible.

Timing:
This afternoon into Sunday.

Discussion:
The potential exists for multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon into Sunday. Local amounts exceeding 50 mm are possible. A rainfall warning may be required for some areas.

For information concerning flooding, please consult your local Conservation Authority or Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office. Visit Ontario.ca/floods for the latest details.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.

###

---

So there you have it….

Setting up in a Park to operate 1B in a Monsoon is one way to ruin my almost new FT891 seeing that as a general rule they don’t like water.

And to be honest it would not be fun for me either.

I still will be participating and hope to give out the rare exchange of 1D ONE to as many stations I can contact during the event. At home I have the chance to operate VHF, 6m, and the HF Bands that the Field Day rules allow.

So have fun, stay safe and make lots of contacts

73bob

If you were checking the Trans Provincial Net Website you might of noticed a small blurb mentioning I will be taking the summer off.

“Bob VA3QV will be away starting 18th May till  September 2024.”

I currently cover the 11am (EST) hour 5 days a week and I do enjoy being a NCS…. But… Now that the nicer weather is finally looking like it might arrive… I decided I would prefer to spend it doing other stuff compared to sitting in the shack for a while.

No doubt that radio will be a big part of my summer but it won’t be from the shack unless its raining.

As always if I am doing (or have done) anything interesting in radio you will be able to read about it right here.

73bob

This morning (after coffee) I went out into the back yard with a 33 foot pole with a hook on the end of it and about 60 feet of wire.

Above pic… Wishful thinking on my part

After about 1 hour of hooking thin green wire over the green cedar tree branches its back in the air and working so far. Its the same length as it was before but I was able to get the wire hooked over the branches a bit higher than before.

It seems to work… Using my SGC 237 auto tuner I was able to get a suitable match on all bands between 10 and 80m. 160 was a poor match before and it still is now. First contact was into the Mid Cars Net on 7.258. I received a 5/7 signal report from the NCS who was in OHIO.

As with any stealthy/portable/wire antenna that you re install there is a very good chance that I’ll never get it in the exact same location that I had it in before.

This means that it might work better (hoping) than before or it might work worse (with my luck) but no matter what it will be working at least.

I used to say that I would rather be on the air with a poor antenna than not having an antenna… I made that statement about 30 years ago and I still feel that way today.

73bob

Woke up this morning and after coffee went to the shack. Noticed that the signals were way down and I had no static showing on the meter… Went to the back yard and found 2 sections of green wire on the ground.

A short (25 foot) section still attached to the tuner and then the remainder of the wire laying across some tree branches then on the ground. This means that the break happened about 20 feet above the ground and after looking at the ends of the wire it was a clean cut/break.

No teeth marks on the wire so I’m thinking it as it happened in the tree it must of been the clean cut of a bird beak??? The support tree is not strong enough for someone to climb up 20 feet (or so) with a pair of side cutters so….

Anyway…. I’m heading off to the Kingston Antenna Parts store (some of you might of heard of Princess Auto) and pick up a roll of 18 gauge green insulated wire and try and hide it in the tree this weekend. If successful I will be back on the lower bands and if not then its 10m to 20m for a while.

This could be an issue with my plans for several radio events this coming weekend.

Lets see how this plays out

73bob

ps… I do have an EFHW I could put out as a temporary antenna but would have to take it down when not using it so….