jeudi 27 juin 2024

• I've never played with one of these before
  Last Saturday, as I was taking a few minute break from pounding brass, Dave W2OIL from the K2ETS club came by and sat down next to me. He handed me a plastic bag and inside was a You Kits HB-1B radio with a bunch of other stuff. Besides the radio was a Bulldog Clip paddle (like the one I have (...)
  
  

mercredi 26 juin 2024

• Another one bites the dust
  During the middle of the night on Saturday/Sunday, I got a low battery voltage warning on the KX3. That struck me as odd, as I had recently charged up my 12V 10 Ah battery. I was expecting it to last the entirety of Field Day. But in the heat of battle you really don't think twice about it, so (...)
  
  

mardi 25 juin 2024

• You know what we could use next Field Day?
  Just some quick thoughts. Someone mentioned on Facebook that these worked great for them. Personal neck fans - I have to tell you, anything that would have helped beat the heat would have been nice. The temps were in the 90s with the Temperature Humidity Index over 100F. I am going to purchase (...)
  
  

lundi 24 juin 2024

• Come and gone - again.
  Before I begin, some sights from SPARC Field Day 2024, I provided some sounds on the previous post: Dave KD2FSI setting up the 6 Meter antenna and VHF/UHF Antennas. We were visited by Councilman Derryck White. That's Bill W2AOF, the Councilman, Tim AB2ZK behind him and Marv K2VHW to the right. (...)
  
  

dimanche 23 juin 2024

• NJ2SP Overnight Crew
  Hillary KC2HLA and Marty WB2BEW on SSB, Marv K2VHW on CW, Dave KD2FSI on FT8 Moon over South Plainfield in between thunder storms. You haven't experienced Field Day until you've stayed overnight ! 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very (...)
  
  

vendredi 21 juin 2024

• The weekend is here!
  'Nuff said! It's here! Hope to work you on Field Day! Please listen for NJ2SP on the bands. 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!
  
  

jeudi 20 juin 2024

• SPARC makes the local press!
  By Larry MakoskiPublishedJune 19, 2024 at 12:04 PM SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ - Members of the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 22 – 23, at Spring Lake Park in South Plainfield. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North (...)
  
  

mercredi 19 juin 2024

• It's been said over and over again
  That when all else fails, Amateur Radio is able to come to the rescue. Here's a story that appears on the ARRL Webpage: Amateur Radio Connects Family Members During Utah Boating Emergency 06/14/2024 On June 5, Isaac Stiles, KJ7FAY, and his 3-year-old son were involved in a boating accident. (...)
  
  

mardi 18 juin 2024

• Proclaimed
  Amateur Radio Week was indeed proclaimed at the Boro Council Meeting last night. Neil WA2EGE, Marv K2VHW and W2LJ are standing next to our Mayor, the Honorable Matthew Anesh. So why does W2LJ have that "deer in the headlights" look? The group was asked to say a few words, and neither Neil or (...)
  
  

lundi 17 juin 2024

• A hot time in the old town tonight!
  Wow! Summer starts on Thursday, but you would think by the forecast temps that it starts today! 90s all week, but my attention is on Saturday and Sunday, of course. Looks like set up and tear down for Field Day will be OK. But the boomers for Saturday can start as soon as 2:00 PM. And of (...)
  
  

dimanche 16 juin 2024

• Happy Father's Day
  Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! To rehash an old axiom - Any man can be a father, but it takes a special kind of man to be a Dad. Thank you to all you Dads - so many times your efforts go unnoticed. Enjoy your day! 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very (...)
  
  

samedi 15 juin 2024

• Amateur Radio Week
  For the past 10 years, since the birth of SPARC, South Plainfield has declared the week before Field Day weekend to be Amateur Radio Week in our town. This year is no exception, as we received this e-mail from our Director of Emergency Management, Captain Wendell Born: Good Afternoon CERT / (...)
  
  

vendredi 14 juin 2024

• Father's Day weekend - and a big announcement
  This weekend in the USA, we celebrate Father's Day on Sunday. I've had the honor and privilege to fulfill that duty for 24 years now. I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything. Before I get into the on-the-air happenings for the weekend - the big announcement: Next Thursday, June 20th marks (...)
  
  

jeudi 13 juin 2024

• A rarity
  Yesterday I did something I rarely do. As I was travelling home, I heard the NJ2SP repeater identify while I was in a location still pretty far away from South Plainfield. I picked up the microphone and announced that I was listening. Marv K2VHW came back to me and we had a nice conversation (...)
  
  

mercredi 12 juin 2024

• Radioddity
  Is stating that the new Xeigu X6200 will start shipping next week - Radio Shipping Out Date - Before June 17th. And here's the sales pitch:Precision RF Direct Sampling: Transform your communication with our advanced RF Direct Sampling System. Enjoy crystal-clear signal quality across HF/50MHz (...)
  
  

lundi 10 juin 2024

• Volunteer weekend
  The weekend was Ham Radio related (sort of) without any time on the HF bands. Saturday was our monthly VE Session, and we had a good one. Three new Techs and a General who upgraded to Extra. In June we usually have two sessions and this year is no exception. On June 29th, the Saturday after (...)
  
  

vendredi 7 juin 2024

• I sometimes wonder
  if there will ever be another generation like "The Greatest Generation"? Life for them was no picnic. My Dad was born in 1921, my Mom in 1929. They lived through the Great Depression, only to have that end with WWII. It was like they couldn't catch a break. While it wasn't a cakewalk, my (...)
  
  
• The weekend
  Here's what scheduled for this weekend: Contests: VK Shires Contest - https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/wavks/ SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/ Portugal Day Contest - https://portugaldaycontest.rep.pt/rules.php GACW WWSA CW DX (...)
  
  

mercredi 5 juin 2024

• Hearing things? Or Poltergeists? Nah .............
  I awoke at about 2:30 AM, like many men of my age do, with the necessity to make a trip to the bathroom. I made my way downstairs and when I got to the kitchen I heard a tiny voice saying something. The voice was so low and tiny, I couldn't make out what was being said. I was able to discern (...)
  
  
• CERT Sunday
  Saturday was super busy as I had to clear out things for a free Sunday. I did way too much on Saturday and felt it dearly at the end of the day. I was bushed! Sunday was "Cops and Bobbers" - the South Plainfield Police Department put on a fishing tournament for the town's kids at Spring Lake (...)
  
  

vendredi 31 mai 2024

• Field Day and the weekend
  I spent a little time (and money) on the Vistaprint site last night, designing an additional and special banner for SPARC's Field Day effort: We will be marking the 10th Anniversary of our founding and 10 years of service to our community. There will be cake! Oh yes, there will be cake! I'm not (...)
  
  

jeudi 30 mai 2024

• Interesting speculation
  This appeared on Facebook regarding the IT situation over at the ARRL: This was reported by Chris NW6V Mike Ritz, W7VO, ARRL 2nd Vice President, was at the WVDXC club meeting last night, having just attended an ARRL board meeting to discuss the outage. Mike reported those meetings are a weekly (...)
  
  

mercredi 29 mai 2024

• It's baaaaack!
  Remember the monster sunspot that caused all the CME's and X-Ray flares a few weekends ago? You know, the mini-Carrington Event? Well, guess who's coming back? AR 3697 was the cause of the ruckus that weekend and is coming around for a second shot at things. And AR 3691 is no small matter, (...)
  
  

mardi 28 mai 2024

• Hootowl Sprint
  I got on the air last night for the Hootowl Sprint. Activity was not the busiest, but that was probably because the CQ WW PX contest was dominating the bands, especially 20 Meters, I called "CQ QRP" there for a while with no joy. I did hear Mark WB9HFK calling CQ with a FB 599 signal and worked (...)
  
  

lundi 27 mai 2024

• Memorial Day Weekend 2024
  This is the American Cemetery at Normandy. This is why we celebrate this weekend in the United States. These men and women, and countless others, gave their very lives to defend our country, our way of life, and ultimately, for you and me. Honor their sacrifice by volunteering, or by doing (...)
  
  

vendredi 24 mai 2024

• CW Bands should be crowded this weekend!
  Contests: CQ WW WPX Contest, CW - One of the biggies! - https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint - http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint Special Events: 05/19/2024 | National EMS Week May 19-May 25, 0000Z-0000Z, N4E, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School Amateur Radio (...)
  
  

jeudi 23 mai 2024

• Danged if you do, danged if you don't
  Short post today, but just wanted to mention something I've noticed about Hams through e-mail reflectors' and social media, regarding Logbook of the World. Type 1 are those who hate it. It's "too complicated" or "I can't get it to work" or "It doesn't work well, so I'm not going to bother using (...)
  
  

mercredi 22 mai 2024

• Aggravation!
  I was supposed to run the South Plainfield ARES/RACES Net last night at 7:00 PM local time. We hold it on the third Tuesday of the month. I went down to the basement and turned on my VHF/UHF radio that sits on the bench and ........nothing! By rights, I should have run upstairs for an HT, or (...)
  
  

lundi 20 mai 2024

• That's it! I'm going!
  To Hamvention and FDIM next year! God willing and the creek don't rise and I'm in good health and there are no family emergencies. I mentioned to Marianne that I'd like to go and that attending FDIM is on my bucket list and she had no problems. May is always a busy month for us as both out (...)
  
  

vendredi 17 mai 2024

• Hamvention Weekend
  Even though the big shebang is taking place in Xenia this weekend, there will still be happenings on the bands this weekend: Contests: NZART Sangster Shield Contest - https://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contests/sangster-shield His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW - (...)
  
  

jeudi 16 mai 2024

• QRP Labs has done it again!
  The QMX+ 160 - 6 Meter QRP Transceiver. Even ordered pre-assembled, it comes to around a $200 dollar price point. Wow! A QRP CW rig with all bands for around two hundred bucks. Unbelievable! All the technical details can be found here: - https://shop.qrp-labs.com/qmxp Here are some photos: I (...)
  
  

mercredi 15 mai 2024

• Hamvention this weekend!
  Hamvention and more importantly, Four Days in May will be happening this weekend! Oh how I wish that I could attend! I'm in a situation where I do not receive PTO - that is, if I'm not at work, I don't get paid. Maybe, just maybe, next year, if God is willing and I can retire next May, I will (...)
  
  

lundi 13 mai 2024

• Disappointing weekend
  Not only were the bands kaput, but also were the nighttime skies. Only in NJ could the skies be cloudy Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights during the geomagnetic storm of the decade. Saturday night, the clouds were thin enough that they turned pink, so the aurora must have been pretty intense (...)
  
  

dimanche 12 mai 2024

• In Layman's Terms
  You've seen the numbers, you've viewed the graphs, you've read the articles, and have watched all the videos about this weekend's Geomagnetic storm. Count on someone on Facebook to sum it all up nicely: Currently, the K Index is down to 3. We are in recovery ....and we survived! The world did (...)
  
  

samedi 11 mai 2024

• Must have been a slow news day!
  Yesterday, in my "weekend" post, I mentioned the upcoming solar weather conditions for the weekend. No big deal, right? Well, if you went on the internet yesterday you got treated to apocalyptical, end-of-the world-as-we know-it warnings and messages. "Worst geomagnetic storm to hit the Earth (...)
  
  

vendredi 10 mai 2024

• This was always cool!
  From the ARRL: 05/09/2024 The US Department of Defense (DOD) is hosting this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on Saturday, May 11. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is an interoperability exercise between amateur and government (...)
  
  

jeudi 9 mai 2024

• Stuph
  I looked at the QMX order list yesterday. I am # 670 in line. If QRP Labs continues to manufacture around 200 pieces a month, I figure I should see mine maybe in August or September. I can live with that. For my birthday, Joseph and Marianne asked me what I wanted. My no name cheapie bargain (...)
  
  

mardi 7 mai 2024

• Field Day Plans Coming Together
  Thanks to the due diligence and the yeoman efforts of Dave KD2FSI, our Field Day location has been secured. We are returning to Spring Lake Park, which is in South Plainfield, but is part of the Middlesex County Park System.This was our Field Day home from 2014 to 2019. Of course in 2020, there (...)
  
  

vendredi 3 mai 2024

• First weekend in May
  It's May already! Where's the time going? Here's to warmer weather, outdoor cookouts, possible POTA activations and all the other stuff associated with warm weather. Contests this weekend: 16 State QSO Parties this weekend! A lot of states are grouped into two area QSO Parties - specifically (...)
  
  

jeudi 2 mai 2024

• 3G0YA in the log
  But not without some drama. I had to turn off HamAlert until I got home from work yesterday. It was going off so frequently that it was driving me nuts! I also got a few stares from people who heard Morse Code originating from my pocket! But in the back of my mind, that gave me hope, as I was (...)
  
  

mercredi 1er mai 2024

• HamAlert - 3G0YA
  I've set up HamAlert to let me know when the Easter Island DXpedition is on the CW portion of the bands. I worked Easter Island probably about 15 or so years ago, but I never got a QSL card or a confirmation via LOTW. Time to set that straight. Several of my friends have worked them already, so (...)
  
  

mardi 30 avril 2024

• Why the need?
  I come across this so many times on the internet; "Stations won't work me because I'm QRP!" Dude ..... why the heck are you even telling them you're running QRP? That is the biggest mistake you can make, especially in a contest. Don't wear a "QRP Badge of Honor". It's not going to get you much, (...)
  
  

lundi 29 avril 2024

• Were the bands cruddy or what?
  Yesterday.. I got the chance to get on in the early afternoon.. I did not hear anyone on any band save for a few Florida QSO Party participants Other than those guys', the bands were just noise. I went to the POTA spotting page and saw my friend Brian KB9BVN listed as doing an activation - (...)
  
  

samedi 27 avril 2024

• Letting you in on a secret! (Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!)
  Wanna be successful in QRP? Wanna be really, really successful in QRP? Wanna be really, really successful in QRP with a minimum of frustration and anxiety? Wanna really, really enjoy QRP and keep coming back for more - just like Lays potato chips? Shhhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone who doesn't (...)
  
  

vendredi 26 avril 2024

• It's Friday! (And some important news at the bottom of the post)
  You know what that means! Contests: SP DX RTTY Contest - http://www.pkrvg.org/strona,spdxrttyen.html Helvetia Contest - https://www.uska.ch/events/uska-helvetia-contest-concours-helvetia-hf/ Florida QSO Party - http://floridaqsoparty.org/rules/ BARTG Sprint 75 - (...)
  
  

jeudi 25 avril 2024

• Bad boys, bad boys .....watcha gonna do?
  Abbot and Costello were a favorite of my childhood, right up there with Laurel and Hardy. I always get a chuckle when I hear Lou Costello tell Bud Abbot, "I've been a baaaaaad boy!". So what did W2LJ do that's so bad? Depends on your point of view. If you're a brother or sister Ham - nothing! (...)
  
  
• How this all started!
  Thanks to Drew W2OU, Rich W2PQ, Bob WB2UDC and Rich W2VU for being part of that with me that day. It was an honor to give that presentation with them that day and who knew it would give birth to a blog that's lasted some 20 years! 72 de Larry W2LJQRP - When you care to send the very (...)
  
  

mardi 23 avril 2024

• RFTB / W8DIZ Memorial Sprints
  Dan Shepard N8IE has announced that the Flying Pigs QRP Club will be holding combined RFTB / W8DIZ Memorial Sprints each month through March 2025 to honor the memory of Diz Gentzow SK. These Sprints will feature participation of the Club call sign W8PIG/# from as many call sign areas as (...)
  
  

lundi 22 avril 2024

• That didn't go as planned
  The weekend, I mean. It started on Thursday with some soreness in my right foot. It elevated Friday and by the time I got home from work, I knew I wasn't going to make it to the library on Saturday with the rest of SPARC. An ugly bout of gout came to visit me. I haven't had an attack in about 7 (...)
  
  

vendredi 19 avril 2024

• Happenings - including QRPTTF and the W8DIZ Memorial RFTB
  For the weekend: Contests: (For those who perpetually ask: "What's all this on the bands? Is there a contest?") QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) : http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html CQMM DX Contest : http://www.cqmmdx.com/rules/ Michigan QSO Party : https://miqp.org/index.php/rules/ Ontario QSO (...)