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.“
So it would seem that last evening I waslucky/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.
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 choiceand 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.
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 choiceand 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.
For those of you not certain where Uxbridge Ontario is…. Look up for a map.
From the info given on the Global TV site (see above link) I am led to believe that this will be a “Day Use” Park but it will be a “Provincial Park” which means that when the work is complete and the park is opened to the public it will qualify as a POTA entity once it gets assigned a POTA Number.
Looking forward to getting another new park in my log
For those of you not certain where Uxbridge Ontario is…. Look up for a map.
From the info given on the Global TV site (see above link) I am led to believe that this will be a “Day Use” Park but it will be a “Provincial Park” which means that when the work is complete and the park is opened to the public it will qualify as a POTA entity once it gets assigned a POTA Number.
Looking forward to getting another new park in my log
It might be a good thing that this weekend seems like its going to be a VHF Weekend.
Saturday and Sunday our local repeater group are assisting the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour on Saturday and Sunday.
Long time readers of this blog (thank you) will remember that this Tour has been running for many years now and 3 Amateur Radio Groups assist by providing communications for it.
The tour starts in Ottawa (Ottawa Amateurs step up) (VE2CRA Repeater)and take the back roads to Perth Ontario (Perth ARES Group) (VE3KJG repeater) and then from there take the back roads to Kingston (where the Frontenac Amateur Radio Club is located) (VE3FRG Repeater) and spend the night at Queens University.
The map is not exact…. Just shows where the tour starts and finishes
Sunday morning they do the trip in reverse…. Depart Kingston for Perth and then arrive in Ottawa on Sunday late afternoon
For my part I will be at the Saturday Finish at Queens University and will be back again at Queens at 6am for the Start of the Return trip to Ottawa.
But (if you read my previous post) this weekend is also the ARRL June VHF Contest so….
Once I get home after the Saturday shift and my Sunday shift of the Bike Tour I will be trying to give out the rare “FN14” grid square on 2m, 6m and 70cm. No beams here but its the best I can get away with here.
Enjoy your weekend and I hope to get you in my log…
It might be a good thing that this weekend seems like its going to be a VHF Weekend.
Saturday and Sunday our local repeater group are assisting the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour on Saturday and Sunday.
Long time readers of this blog (thank you) will remember that this Tour has been running for many years now and 3 Amateur Radio Groups assist by providing communications for it.
The tour starts in Ottawa (Ottawa Amateurs step up) (VE2CRA Repeater)and take the back roads to Perth Ontario (Perth ARES Group) (VE3KJG repeater) and then from there take the back roads to Kingston (where the Frontenac Amateur Radio Club is located) (VE3FRG Repeater) and spend the night at Queens University.
The map is not exact…. Just shows where the tour starts and finishes
Sunday morning they do the trip in reverse…. Depart Kingston for Perth and then arrive in Ottawa on Sunday late afternoon
For my part I will be at the Saturday Finish at Queens University and will be back again at Queens at 6am for the Start of the Return trip to Ottawa.
But (if you read my previous post) this weekend is also the ARRL June VHF Contest so….
Once I get home after the Saturday shift and my Sunday shift of the Bike Tour I will be trying to give out the rare “FN14” grid square on 2m, 6m and 70cm. No beams here but its the best I can get away with here.
Enjoy your weekend and I hope to get you in my log…
This weekend is the ARRL June VHF contest. Its a fun way to test our your VHF Capabilities and your antenna systems…
The following is a “cut N paste” from the ARRL Website:
About
Contest Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz. Stations outside the US & Canada (and their possessions) may only work stations in the US (and its possessions) and Canada.
Dates: The second full weekend in June. (June 8-10, 2024)
Contest Period: Begins 1800 UTC Saturday, ends 0259 UTC Monday.
Now this is a busy weekend for me (radio wise) as the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour will be in Kingston during that time and its the only scheduled Public Service Event that our local group does every year.The picture on the left was taken the first year I assisted the Kingston Group on the event. Previous to that I lived in Ottawa and I participated with the Ottawa Group on the same event.
Using my Yaesu FT991a I plan to be giving out the “Rare FN14” Grid square on both 2m and 6m SSB.
On Saturday my Bike tour shift will finish around 6pm (EDST) or 2200 (UTC) if I did the conversion correctly… So I plan to operate from 2300 UTC for a couple of hours.
On Sunday my tour will finish around 9am (EDST) or 1300 (UTC) once again if the conversion works and will try again then around 1400 UTC once I get home.
My 2m/70cm antenna will be a simple Halo or loop which will be horizontal at approx 20 feet above ground. The 991a has an output of 50w ssb on 2m. As the loop is “sort of” useable on 70cm I will be able to give some locals an extra multi.
My 6m antenna will be a simple “Buddipole 6m Dipole. The 991a has an output of 100w ssb so it should be able to get a bit of a signal out across the Lake (at least I hope it will).
Later tonight there is a vhf net that starts on 144.250 usb that is based in Eastern Ontario. Check out the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club for more into on that. After that they call the role on 70cm and 6m. I stand a change on 6m and 2m if someone has their beams aimed southwest. More on how this works later.
Lets see who can hear the “Popgun” with the tiny antennas…
This weekend is the ARRL June VHF contest. Its a fun way to test our your VHF Capabilities and your antenna systems…
The following is a “cut N paste” from the ARRL Website:
About
Contest Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz. Stations outside the US & Canada (and their possessions) may only work stations in the US (and its possessions) and Canada.
Dates: The second full weekend in June. (June 8-10, 2024)
Contest Period: Begins 1800 UTC Saturday, ends 0259 UTC Monday.
Now this is a busy weekend for me (radio wise) as the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour will be in Kingston during that time and its the only scheduled Public Service Event that our local group does every year.The picture on the left was taken the first year I assisted the Kingston Group on the event. Previous to that I lived in Ottawa and I participated with the Ottawa Group on the same event.
Using my Yaesu FT991a I plan to be giving out the “Rare FN14” Grid square on both 2m and 6m SSB.
On Saturday my Bike tour shift will finish around 6pm (EDST) or 2200 (UTC) if I did the conversion correctly… So I plan to operate from 2300 UTC for a couple of hours.
On Sunday my tour will finish around 9am (EDST) or 1300 (UTC) once again if the conversion works and will try again then around 1400 UTC once I get home.
My 2m/70cm antenna will be a simple Halo or loop which will be horizontal at approx 20 feet above ground. The 991a has an output of 50w ssb on 2m. As the loop is “sort of” useable on 70cm I will be able to give some locals an extra multi.
My 6m antenna will be a simple “Buddipole 6m Dipole. The 991a has an output of 100w ssb so it should be able to get a bit of a signal out across the Lake (at least I hope it will).
Later tonight there is a vhf net that starts on 144.250 usb that is based in Eastern Ontario. Check out the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club for more into on that. After that they call the role on 70cm and 6m. I stand a change on 6m and 2m if someone has their beams aimed southwest. More on how this works later.
Lets see who can hear the “Popgun” with the tiny antennas…
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 Museumand 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.
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.
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.
Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a “but”!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a “but”!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
Well as you know the bands have been fairly poor so I have no stories to share with you about “Rare DX” and even my Parks on The Air (POTA) activities have been less than usual.
A while back I did post about the “New” Xiegu X6200 and how it looked impressive “on paper” and was waiting to get more info before making any opinions (good or bad) on the unit.
Well the X6200 is now available for sale and from some actual dealers rather than the usual Chinese companies…
The information I comment on today is from the Waters & Stanton website who are selling the unit in the UK….
The prices I quote are from their website including their estimation of Duties and Taxes in Canadian $$$.
The price of the radio is 795.00 in Pound Sterling and from there the websites calculates the following…
So if you take in the above sub totals it looks like the converted price of the radio is $1389.70 (CDN) then you add the Duties and taxes of $226.73 (CDN) giving a total of $1616.43 (CDN)
But remember the disclaimer from above:
The estimated duties and taxes are based on CA$1,389.70 of product and may fluctuate due to changes in currencies, shipping costs, clearance fees or how the items are classified by customs. Duties and taxes may be collected upon delivery of the items.
So at this point I am guessing (yes guessing) that the retail North American Price will be fairly close to the above price in the range of $1600 -$1700 (CDN) but remember that is my “Best Guess”.
From what I can see of the details of the 6100 they will be in competition with the ICOM IC705 and the ELECRAFT KX3.
If it is as good as it seems… It still could be a contender in the upper end of the QRP rigs.
73bob
Disclaimer:This post is me thinking out loud. I am not recommending or endorsing any of the products listed above. I believe that you if you are thinking of purchasing one…. That you should do all your research and draw your own conclusions before you buy one from whatever source you choose.
Well as you know the bands have been fairly poor so I have no stories to share with you about “Rare DX” and even my Parks on The Air (POTA) activities have been less than usual.
A while back I did post about the “New” Xiegu X6200 and how it looked impressive “on paper” and was waiting to get more info before making any opinions (good or bad) on the unit.
Well the X6200 is now available for sale and from some actual dealers rather than the usual Chinese companies…
The information I comment on today is from the Waters & Stanton website who are selling the unit in the UK….
The prices I quote are from their website including their estimation of Duties and Taxes in Canadian $$$.
The price of the radio is 795.00 in Pound Sterling and from there the websites calculates the following…
So if you take in the above sub totals it looks like the converted price of the radio is $1389.70 (CDN) then you add the Duties and taxes of $226.73 (CDN) giving a total of $1616.43 (CDN)
But remember the disclaimer from above:
The estimated duties and taxes are based on CA$1,389.70 of product and may fluctuate due to changes in currencies, shipping costs, clearance fees or how the items are classified by customs. Duties and taxes may be collected upon delivery of the items.
So at this point I am guessing (yes guessing) that the retail North American Price will be fairly close to the above price in the range of $1600 -$1700 (CDN) but remember that is my “Best Guess”.
From what I can see of the details of the 6100 they will be in competition with the ICOM IC705 and the ELECRAFT KX3.
If it is as good as it seems… It still could be a contender in the upper end of the QRP rigs.
73bob
Disclaimer:This post is me thinking out loud. I am not recommending or endorsing any of the products listed above. I believe that you if you are thinking of purchasing one…. That you should do all your research and draw your own conclusions before you buy one from whatever source you choose.
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