jeudi 18 avril 2024

• Happy World Amateur Radio Day!
  A good day to get on the air, if you can! And as I'm sitting here, typing this, HamAlert is letting me know that my good friend, Dave KD2FSI is just doing that! He seems to be busy on 40, 30 and 20 Meters. I didn't realize that our "Amateur Radio Day at the Library" was so close to World (...)
  
  

mercredi 17 avril 2024

• Boo Yah!
  I received two emails from UPS that two packages are due to be delivered tomorrow. The first is the new console for my Ambient weather station. Here's what the current one looks like: And here's what the new one looks like: Not too much of a difference, eh? The important thing is that wifi (...)
  
  

mardi 16 avril 2024

• A quick reminder and another announcement
  QRPTTF, QRP To The Field is this Saturday - another annual effort by Paul NA5N which is very worthy of your time if you are able to participate. Details here: http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html I'm hoping that I can get an end fed up at the library for SPARC's "Amateur Radio Day at the (...)
  
  

lundi 15 avril 2024

• Busy, busy, busy weekend!
  And not all that much radio to show for it - oy! Although I did get on Friday night for a couple hours after dinner to partake of the QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party, which ran from 8:00 PM to Midnight, my local time. There was a decent amount of activity, which was really, really nice to see/hear. I (...)
  
  

samedi 13 avril 2024

• Sad news
  If you've been a regular reader of Jeff KE9V's blog, you'll know that he's wondered a few times as to what's happened to the ARS Spartan Sprint. There have been no updates since January, and that is very strange, indeed. In an e-mail on the QRP-L e-mail reflector Phil K4PQC confirmed that he (...)
  
  

vendredi 12 avril 2024

• April 12th
  If you're a "Space Race Kid" like I am, April 12th holds significant meaning. It was on this day in 1961, that Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Vostok 1 to become the first human being to orbit the Earth. Exactly 20 years later, on April 12th, 1981, Astronauts (...)
  
  

jeudi 11 avril 2024

• Good news and bad news
  First the good news ....... there is no bad news! I spent a bit of time in the shack after dinner last night, and I hooked up the Vibroplex to the computer via that adapter from Ham Radio Solutions. The first thing I found out was that, as it has been such a long time since I last used it, the (...)
  
  

mercredi 10 avril 2024

• "Amateur Radio Day at the Library"
  As I have previously mentioned, the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club will be at the Westergard Library in Piscataway, NJ on Saturday, April 20th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM presenting Amateur Radio to the public at large. If you're in the area, please stop by! We're going to have an FT8 (...)
  
  

mardi 9 avril 2024

• Odds and ends
  I managed to get outside for just a few minutes yesterday as the moon was approaching maximum coverage of of the sun (90%) at 3:24 PM local time. I took a small shipping box and punched a hole in the side with a thumbtack. It projected a very tiny, but totally sharp image of the moon covering (...)
  
  

lundi 8 avril 2024

• Another resource - QRP Builder
  If you haven't heard about it, Ken WA4MNT has a great website QRPBuilder.com. He offers some neat items in kit form. One that has me especially intrigued is his QX1 antenna, which is an alternative to Elecraft's AX1 and AX2 antennas. I'm going to paste in Ken's description of the antenna: The (...)
  
  
• Cheating? Yay or Nay?
  What say you? I have a very good Ham friend who is in a dilemma. He is a senior Ham, and a few years ago, he moved into his daughter and son-in-law's house after his wife passed away. He's always been active, having great stations and decent antennas when he had his own house. Not wishing to be (...)
  
  

samedi 6 avril 2024

• Looking to increase your code speed?
  The Flying Pigs QRP ARCI holds a two hour Sprint each 3rd Sunday of the month called "Run For The Bacon". They also hold two "contests" or operating events each month designed specifically for those you who would like to send and receive CW at a speed no higher than 13 WPM. Remember - the more (...)
  
  

vendredi 5 avril 2024

• Earthquake!
  Rare second post for the day. Lebanon, NJ, which was the epicenter, is just a mile or two down the road from work. New Jersey has experienced Earthquakes before, but they were mild. When I lived in East Brunswick, I lived on a road what saw a lot of truck traffic, so when we had Earthquakes, I (...)
  
  
• The weekend a cometh!
  My weekly list of what's going on: Contests: Louisiana QSO Party - http://laqp.louisianacontestclub.org/laqso_rules.htm SP DX Contest - https://spdxcontest.pzk.org.pl/2024/rules.php - The land of my ancestors! I'll be trying to work some Polish stations this weekend! Mississippi QSO Party - (...)
  
  

jeudi 4 avril 2024

• The internet - a double edged sword.
  No doubt about it - the internet is a double edged sword. There's a lot of fake news, garbage, hate, bigotry and plain ol' vanilla stupidity to be found on it, and particular that's true for social media. But if you know where to look, there's a ton of golden nuggets to be found as well. For as (...)
  
  

mercredi 3 avril 2024

• Seems I'm always late to the dance!
  I'll see something that is "new" to me - only to see that it has been thoroughly reviewed and talked about by Tom K4SWL, Alan W2AEW and Mike K8MRD. This one has me enthused though, and you have all probably heard about it by now. But if you're like me and you've missed the bus, here's an (...)
  
  

mardi 2 avril 2024

• World Amateur Radio Day - April 18th
  From the ARRL: World Amateur Radio Day is April 18, 2024 World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) is celebrated each year on April 18. The theme for 2024 is, "A Century of Connections: Celebrating 100 Years of Amateur Radio Innovation, Community, and Advocacy." The global event covers all of the (...)
  
  

lundi 1er avril 2024

• New AX1 holder/stand
  I have to be 100% honest, with you, my readers. When I did that activation of K-1635 Washington Rock State Park a few weekends ago, I was less than enthused with Elecraft's bipod holder for the AX1. Maybe I didn't set it up correctly, but it seemed a little bit wobbly and wonky to me. That (...)
  
  

dimanche 31 mars 2024

• Easter Sunday 2024
  He has risen! He has risen, indeed! This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad! A happy, joyous, and blessed Easter to all! 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!
  
  

vendredi 29 mars 2024

• Good Friday 2024
  Mausoleum stained glass - Holy Redeemer Cemetery - South Plainfield, NJ Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before Him, like a shoot from the parched earth; He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw (...)
  
  

jeudi 28 mars 2024

• "Marc" your calendars
  From the ARRL: International Marconi Day 2024 03/22/2024 This year, International Marconi Day (IMD) is on April 27. Italian inventor and electrical engineer Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi was born on April 25, 1874, and is credited for inventing the radiotelegraph system, creating Marconi's (...)
  
  

mercredi 27 mars 2024

• You know what happens when you make assumptions .....
  There are things you take for granted in life - and other things that you shouldn't. One of the things that I've taken for granted, and I guess I shouldn't have, is for the definition of what power level is QRP - amongst QRPers. I can understand varying answers from the QRO crowd. In e-mails (...)
  
  

mardi 26 mars 2024

• Stowing the AX1
  The Elecraft AX1 comes in a cardboard shipping box, as you'd expect. Not exactly what you might have in mind for including in your backpack, tote or whatever you use to carry your portable ops equipment. To my knowledge, Elecraft doesn't offer an AX1 pouch, so I had originally put mine into a (...)
  
  

lundi 25 mars 2024

• I love stuff like this!
  Definitely from the "Don't believe everything you see on the internet" file. In all my 67 years of living in New Jersey and in the some 45 years of paying attention to this stuff as an Amateur Radio operator, I have never seen aurora in New Jersey, ever! I think it would take an almost (...)
  
  
• Yikes !!!
  A Coronal Mass Ejection (or other solar phenomena) has rendered the bands positively yucky today. But for the limited amount of time that I spent behind the key today, I still managed to snare six POTA stations for the log. WD8RIF at US-1994 K2EAG at US-1619 KU8T at US-1637 WI2X at US-1611 (...)
  
  

dimanche 24 mars 2024

• A change in how you will log into CORES (PSA)
  Every Ham in the US should be registered on CORES, the FCC's COmission REgistration System. This is doorway to access your account with the FCC in the Universal Licensing System. According to the ARRL, starting next Friday, March 29th, the FCC will begin utilizing Two Factor Authorization. Here (...)
  
  

vendredi 22 mars 2024

• It's Friyay! (No, that's NOT a typo!)
  Here's what's up for the weekend: Contest (only one): FOC QSO Party - http://g4foc.org/qsoparty/ Special Event Stations: 03/17/2024 | GERATOL NET ANNIVERSARY Mar 17-Mar 23, 0100Z-2359Z, W1G, Wheelwright, MA. Geratol WAS Net. 3.668 SSB 40 Meter SSB. QSL. Kevin Lynch, POB 124, Wheelwright, MA (...)
  
  

mercredi 20 mars 2024

• Good to hear someone else say this stuff!
  I saw a link to this YouTube video posted on Facebook. There'a a lot of good content in this video, and while most of it is geared towards QRP Newbies - us old grizzled veterans can use a review every now and then, too. Some of it I have been preaching for years here on "W2LJ QRP - When you (...)
  
  

mardi 19 mars 2024

• Theme for Field Day 2024
  From the ARRL website: 2024 ARRL Field Day Theme: Be Radio Active 03/15/2024 The theme for 2024 ARRL Field Day is "Be Radio Active." The event will run on June 22 - 23, and it will be one-part contest, one-part emergency communications exercise, and one-part open house -- and a great time. The (...)
  
  

lundi 18 mars 2024

• Monday morning - ugh!
  The week is not starting off on the greatest note. I got into work, flipped the light switch on here in the storage room that they call my "office" aaaannnnnddd . nothing! All the wall outlets work, just not the overhead lights. I have the door propped open, so there's enough light from the (...)
  
  

dimanche 17 mars 2024

• Mission Accomplished
  So, I did get the grocery purchasing done early enough yesterday. It looked like a POTA activation would be a possibility. In fact, I was done and back home by 9:30 AM. It took another half hour or so to tote everything inside from the car and put everything in its proper place. However, at (...)
  
  

vendredi 15 mars 2024

• St. Patrick's Weekend
  What's in store - hopefully plenty of these: Oh, yeah ........Amateur Radio-wise: CONTESTS: Russian DX Contest - https://www.rdxc.org/rules_eng Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/ Virginia QSO Party - (...)
  
  

jeudi 14 mars 2024

• New piece of gear
  I know there are a lot of Baofeng haters out there, but ......... for the limited time I spend on VHF/UHF, I'd rather put the big bucks into HF gear or accessories. I purchased this Baofeng K5 Plus after hearing glowing reports on the nightly Middlesex County Chat Group Net from two local Hams (...)
  
  

mercredi 13 mars 2024

• Propagation is a funny thing
  When you think you have it even somewhat figured out ...... you don't. I had two VHF ARES Nets to check into last night. One for the Southern District of NNJ at 7:30 PM and then the actual NNJ Section ARES Net at 8:00 PM. Before, between and after I decided to do some POTA hunting. I worked (...)
  
  

mardi 12 mars 2024

• Sweet dreams are made of these.
  Steve WG0AT from Facebook: Doing one of my Favorite things is sitting on a rock at 12k' working my good friends aka SOTA chasers with Morse Code! Elecraft's KH1 is really an amazing game changer HF radio! W2LJ is thinking that "Right now I'd settle for a picnic table in a park!" 72 de W2LJ (...)
  
  

lundi 11 mars 2024

• New portable ops logger
  Saw this on Facebook this morning. There's been some contention in POTA circles lately as park designators are changing. For instance, parks in Canada have gone from VE-XXXX to CA-XXXX. If I'm not mistaken, the parks un the USA are going to be changing to US-XXXX from what I've read. (Again, I (...)
  
  

dimanche 10 mars 2024

• Another opinion piece
  which will get me mixed, or maybe mostly negative reviews. But that's OK, it's just me cogitating. Yesterday we had our monthly VE session. We had five candidates and all were successful. Five new Technicians, one of which was a young man of about 10 -12 years of age. We also had one Tech come (...)
  
  

samedi 9 mars 2024

• For you, or someone you know
  who might be interested. This was posted by Craig Buck on Facebook. Sounds great for the newbie or neophyte Ham: FREE ON-LINE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING CLASS A free, weekly, 3-hour Amateur Radio Operating Class on Zoom will begin on Thursday April 4 and run through June 20 at 6:30 PM Eastern (...)
  
  

vendredi 8 mars 2024

• The weekend is upon us, once again
  Here are some of the goings on: Contests - to either be aware of, or participate in: RSGB Commonwealth (BERU) Contest - https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2024/rcwc.shtml SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/ AGCW QRP Contest - (...)
  
  

jeudi 7 mars 2024

• Something ya'll may want to look out for tomorrow
  To celebrate International Women's Day - Amateur Radio style! From the ARRL website: YLRL Celebrates International Women's Day with Special Event03/01/2024 The Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) is hosting an International Women's Day YL Parks on the Air® (POTA) Party from 0000Z - 2359Z on March (...)
  
  

mercredi 6 mars 2024

• Rejoining the Land of the Living
  I can SLOWLY feel myself coming back to myself. January and February were tough months. With the arrival of March I have felt some energy and stamina returning. I can walk farther without getting winded, I can lift a bit more weight, I feel less exhausted at the end of the day. That of course, (...)
  
  

mardi 5 mars 2024

• The latest thing
  Amateur Radio is a hobby of niches. Not all facets of the hobby are popular with everyone. That being said, it seems to me, in my most humble opinion, that there are periods where a certain "thing" becomes all the rage. A few years ago, it seemed like you couldn't swing a dead cat in the (...)
  
  

lundi 4 mars 2024

• That sinking feeling
  Oy! You know that sinking feeling you get when you step into the shack and you turn eveything on and something isn't right? And the last time you were in there, everything was working perfectly? That happened to me yesterday. I stepped into the shack, turned everything on and the KXPA100 sat (...)
  
  
• A good HF day
  Yesterday was a good radio day. Not only was it a good radio day, but it was a good day weather-wise, as well. It got up to 68F (20C) in the afternoon, making the basement shack a lot warmer as well, where it was 62F (16C). Still not ideal, but a lot more comfortable than it has been and I was (...)
  
  

vendredi 1er mars 2024

• Another biggie this weekend
  ARRL DX SSB. Except for a weekly 75 Meter net, I rarely use the microphone. Maybe there will be plenty of POTA CW this weekend! Contests: ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB - http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx Novice Rig Roundup - http://www.novicerigroundup.org/ Wake-Up! QRP Sprint: - (...)
  
  

jeudi 29 février 2024

• If you don't like the weather
  in New Jersey, just wait a few hours. I guess everyone says that about their QTH, but when I went horizontal last night, the temperature outside was 59F (15C). When I woke up this morning, it was 30F (1C). If we had any thunderstorms last night, I slept through them. This burst of cold air is (...)
  
  

mercredi 28 février 2024

• Weather and band conditions
  I worked the 40 Meter Fox Hunt last night - for the first time in a while, I actually had enough energy to stay up and do it. Added to that, the basement had warmed up to the low 60s, as we're in the midst of Spring time temperatures. The overnight low held at 54F (12C) and it was rainy. The (...)
  
  

mardi 27 février 2024

• 5 years already?
  My thanks to KC Kerchner for posting this on Facebook: Hank Greeb, N8XX passed away on February 26, 2019. Licensed as WN∅FVD in 1951, he wrote about his TX for CQ in 1952. An active QRP operator, he enjoyed NPOTA. Hank will be missed far and (world) wide. Hank was most definitely a dedicated (...)
  
  

lundi 26 février 2024

• On the air
  I was able to get on the air sporadically, yesterday. For a few hours at a time, over the course of a couple casual sessions, I was able to work over a dozen POTA stations, most who were located in North Carolina. The North Carolina QSO Party was going on and these ops were "double dipping", as (...)
  
  

vendredi 23 février 2024

• Upcoming stuff
  After a short workweek, the weekend is once again upon us. Here is some stuff that will be going on: Contests: CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB (has a QRP Category) - http://www.cq160.com/rules.htm South Carolina QSO Party - http://scqso.com/ North American QSO Party, RTTY - (...)