dimanche 17 janvier 2021

• Another good friend becomes an SK
  Drew Moore W2OU, who I have known for close to 30 years became a Silent Key this morning. I first met Drew when I became a member of the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club back in the day. He was always a fixture there as well as in the Electronic Testing Society of NJ (ETS of NJ) of which I am also (...)
  
  

mardi 12 janvier 2021

• FDIM 2021
  As seen on the QRPARCI groups.io e-mail reflector: Well, I'm sure we have all heard the news that the Dayton Hamvention has been canceled for 2021. The unavoidable consequence of this is that QRPARCI will also cancel the _physical_ FDIM convention. That said, the hard work of lining up (...)
  
  

lundi 11 janvier 2021

• Hamvention 2021 ....... Cancelled!
  Snip taken from Facebook: Meanwhile, David Wayne Cripe NM0S, the President of QRP - ARCI had announced about a week ago that FDIM - Four Days in May, will be virtual this year. 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very (...)
  
  

dimanche 10 janvier 2021

• Virtual Hamfests
  While COVID is still a concern, some Hamfests are going virtual. Here are two that have come to my attention. Saratoga County Amateur Radio Association - January 23rd. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saratoga-county-amateur-radio-association-virtual-hamfest-2021-tickets-134281191659?utm_campaign=new_at
  
  

samedi 9 janvier 2021

• Two friends of mine ......
  are planning some operating events. One on Sunday, the other in February. I'd appreciate if you'd keep an ear open for both of them. Tomorrow - Mark NK8Q in his own words: Due to the NAQP CW contest on Saturday from 1800Z through 0600Z on Sunday I've decided that Sunday would be a better day (...)
  
  

mardi 5 janvier 2021

• As if I don't have enough kits to build
  I went and purchased a Pixie. Just to play around with and maybe experiment a little with. It was under $10, so if I FUBAR it while experimenting, I won't shed a tear. I also procured some crystals for 7.040 MHz. I need to get back into the swing of kit building again. So many to build, so (...)
  
  

lundi 4 janvier 2021

• SWL clones available as kits
  Not through Dave Benson, but through an outfit called Midway Electronics. The kits are claimed to be EXACT duplicates of the SW40+, SW30+, SW20+, and SW80+.- Dave Benson K1SWL's excellent design! For all the details you can go to: (...)
  
  

jeudi 31 décembre 2020

• Good-bye 2020!
  Hey, 2020 ....... I wish I could say it was nice knowing you; but it wasn't. For the most part this was NOT a fun year. Yeah, there were some good times and some highlights, but if my 2020 was a sports highlights film, it'd probably last under a minute. Not to say that I'm not grateful. I am - (...)
  
  

mercredi 30 décembre 2020

• $$$$$
  35 smackers to apply for a new license, renew a license, apply for a vanity call, renew a vanity call, etc. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-184A1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR39VwqE33IKQqHFa3KEKPrgfiCW-9likUKOnpI324_1u6h6pRaElhSKxqo Makes me glad I renewed both W2LJ and NJ2SP in 2020. I won't (...)
  
  

mardi 29 décembre 2020

• This is wild!
  A YouTube vide by K6ARK as he uses a micro-Pixie on a SOTA summit: I'm not a big YouTube watcher; but this was posted by various people on Facebook, and I'm glad I took the time to view it. It's worth sharing here. I would love to do stuff like this! I need to get off my butt and do more (...)
  
  

dimanche 27 décembre 2020

• Caveat Emptor
  Stealing these days isn't limited to grand larceny or "porch pirates" stealing your Amazon packages off your front door step. There's a lot to be found everywhere. Take for instance, this item I saw on eBay: The logo at the bottom of the circuit board material (circled in red) says it was made (...)
  
  

vendredi 25 décembre 2020

• Merry Christmas!
  Joyeux Noël. Frohe Weinachten. Feliz Navidad. Buon Natale. Feliz Natal. Vrolijk kerstfeest. Crăciun fericit. Wesołych świąt Bożego Narodzenia From my house to your house, wherever it may be: A Very Merry and Blessed Christmas to you and yours! 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very (...)
  
  

jeudi 24 décembre 2020

• Christmas Eve 2020
  Behold! Fear not! I bring you tidings of great joy! For today in the City of David, a CHILD IS BORN to us, a Son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulder: And His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. (...)
  
  

mercredi 23 décembre 2020

• Christmas Public Service Announcement
  72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!
  
  

dimanche 20 décembre 2020

• An early Christmas gift
  I had sent a Tweet to Jeff Davis, KE9V that it was time to re-publish "A QRP Christmas" which is a favorite of mine - no .... it would be fairer to say it is THE favorite Amateur Radio Christmas story of mine. Jeff surprised me by granting me permission to share it with all of you. Perhaps (...)
  
  

vendredi 4 décembre 2020

• Crummy year ......right?
  In a lot of ways. COVID, friends and family affected. Social distancing, jobs lost, businesses closed, Hamfests cancelled, the debacle that was Field Day - a pretty bleak year. Wildfires out West, the antics of "protest groups", election year insanity, Churches being torched in Europe and all (...)
  
  

jeudi 3 décembre 2020

• QCX Mini available for orders today
  72 de Larry W2LJQRP - When you care to send the very least!
  
  

mardi 1er décembre 2020

• 2020 - what's next?
  I suppose you've all heard this from other sources by now; but yesterday, November 30th was the last day for Universal Radio - a popular Amateur Radio store here in the USA. The owners, Fred and Barbara Osterman have decided to retire, The brick and mortar store closed with EOB yesterday, but (...)
  
  

jeudi 26 novembre 2020

• Thanksgiving 2020
  Once again, here in the States United, it is Thanksgiving Day, a day set aside to do as the name implies - give thanks. It's been a crazy, insane year. If one wanted to, one could just concentrate on all of that and end up being quite discontent. That would just be a continuation of the (...)
  
  

mardi 17 novembre 2020

• Windy!
  Sunday night we had a cold front come through. We had a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 8:45 PM but none materialized. We did get some, brief heavy rain. The major effect was gusty winds. It was windy all night and you could hear it howling past the second floor windows of our house. (...)
  
  

lundi 16 novembre 2020

• Back in business!
  The rain held off! The day started off sunny in the very early morning, but by lunchtime it had become very overcast. Fortunately there was no rain. It was a bit breezy, but that didn't interfere with getting the W3EDP resurrected. I ended up using 5 mast sections and the apex is up at about 25 (...)
  
  

dimanche 15 novembre 2020

• This is all that left of Ol' Mapley
  Just a stump of its former self. From what I understand, the tree was infested with ants, carpenter and other kinds. The arborist said it was only a matter of time before the tree either died, or succumbed to a wind storm. You can see the HF9V coax in the photo. It was kind of like a "belt" (...)
  
  

vendredi 6 novembre 2020

• Fox hunting
  The 2020 - 2021 QRP Fox Hunt season began this week. Tuesday evening was the 40 Meter Hunt, and I was not able to hear either Fox. I'm not sure if it was because of bad propagation; or that my noise level on 40 Meters seemed to be through the roof, for some reason. I fared much better last (...)
  
  

mercredi 4 novembre 2020

• Election night 2020
  I guess just everybody around the globe knows that the US Presidential Election is today. I feel really strongly about this and want to share this - because I feel it's important. No matter what happens today - no matter who wins this election - the sun will rise tomorrow, the earth will keep (...)
  
  

lundi 2 novembre 2020

• Going back to basics - and purer QRP operating.
  I noticed something Friday night during the Zombie Shuffle. I decided to unhook the HF9V from the KXPA100 and connect it directly to the KX3. After all, it was a QRP event and anything over 5 Watts wasn't kosher - so what did I need the amp for? Signals were noticeably louder and again, there (...)
  
  

samedi 31 octobre 2020

• Guest operator
  I had a guest in the shack last night for the Zombie Shuffle Bonesy and I had a good time last night. I had a bit of trepidation of having only the vertical as my antenna weapon of choice, but it turned out to be less of a hindrance than I thought. In all, I worked 11 stations, three of which (...)
  
  

vendredi 30 octobre 2020

• Zombie Shuffle is tonight!
  And here are some updates from Paul, NA5N: The 2020 23rd annual QRP Zombie Shuffle is almost upon us. Friday, October 30, 2020, 1600-midnight your local time Rules: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/pg.htm The Zombie Shuffle past 3 years has been met with awful bands, solar flux only 62-65 and (...)
  
  

mardi 27 octobre 2020

• Eureka!
  While cleaning out the shack on Sunday, I found some treasure buried in a corner. I had forgotten that I still have about eight of these (just like in the photo): The photo is from eBay, mine were purchased at the Sussex Hamfest years ago. I still have these safely tucked away in the basement (...)
  
  

lundi 26 octobre 2020

• I am officially W3EDP-less.
  The W3EDP came down this morning. It was a little more difficult than I had thought it would be. It was really up there! Unless the entire tree came down that wire wasn't coning down on its own. I began by undoing where the balun was hanging by the house. That was easy enough. Then I loosened (...)
  
  

dimanche 25 octobre 2020

• Saying goodbye to an old friend
  It's time to say goodbye to the maple tree in the back yard - my trusty antenna support over the last 22 years. My neighbor came by today to tell me that his cousin, who has a tree service business will be by sometime this week to take it down. Unfortunately, it's time. The trunk has carpenter (...)
  
  

samedi 24 octobre 2020

• This is the stuff I dream of
  A good Amateur Radio friend, Marc W4MPS recently activated a POTA site. Here's a video he published: Wow! What a beautiful setting! And beside the superb radio operating by Marc, how about that dronesmanship? Eh? Don't those aerial views just add to the beauty of it all? I would love to travel (...)