Author Archive
A very special evening
March 4th, 2016 | 
Author: The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club has two meeting nights each month. The fourth Wednesday of each month is our "official" business meeting, where we take care of all the normal matters that come before any Amateur Radio club.
Designed by Dave Hackett KD2FSI
The first Wednesday of each month is our informal "Operating Night" meeting. This tradition was instituted by our founding and current Club President, Marv K2VHW. His idea was to have an evening set aside where the older members of the club could meet with the newer Amateur Radio ops and engage with them about some radio or operating related topic.
Marv has been down and out with some back troubles, so at our February meeting, Ron N2LCZ. our Recording Secretary, suggested that for the March operating night, that we should do an NPOTA activation. The Washington-Rochambeau National Historical Trail (TR23) runs right in front of our meeting place, the South Plainfield CERT Building, which is on the corner of Hamilton Boulevard and New Market Avenue - Hamilton Boulevard is part of the trail.
We are, quite literally, only about 25 feet or so from the roadway, and the Trail. Our meeting place was originally a gasoline filling station that was converted by the South Plainfield Police Department into a satellite Community Policing Building. When the SPPD took over the mantle of Emergency Management, they generously offered use of the building to the South Plainfield CERT/RACES team. SPARC is allowed to use the building for its meetings.
So last night we got together to put NJ2SP on the air. Dave KD2FSI set up some equipment, his Yaesu HF transceiver and ran some coax out to the screwdriver antenna on his van. Power was provided by a Werker deep cycle battery. We started out on 20 Meters, where unfortunately, we had a close to S9 noise level. Even so, we made QSOs from the West coast to Suriname.
When 20 Meters dried up, we switched over to 40 Meters where the background noise level was slightly lower, but the incoming signals were much louder. And that's where the bulk of our 51 QSOs were made. We were busy for the better part of an hour.
The best part about it all was that neither Dave or I made the QSOs. I sat there as a logger and "QSO Coach" (and control operator) while some of the other members of SPARC, who have no regular access to HF took over. It was not hard to tell that they had a blast and after one or two QSOs, they were behaving like HF veterans.
The high point of the evening was when a visiting YL sat down and took over the microphone. I scribbled out a brief script for her, so she would know what to say and she took off and hit the ground running. 40 Meters seemed like it was quieting down, but as soon as her voice went over the air, the dam broke loose and we had another pileup on our hands. Lee Ann has visited our club a few times and is deciding whether or not she would like to pursue obtaining her own license.
I am willing to bet that last night sealed the deal.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The first Wednesday of each month is our informal "Operating Night" meeting. This tradition was instituted by our founding and current Club President, Marv K2VHW. His idea was to have an evening set aside where the older members of the club could meet with the newer Amateur Radio ops and engage with them about some radio or operating related topic.
Designed by Dave Hackett KD2FSI
Marv has been down and out with some back troubles, so at our February meeting, Ron N2LCZ. our Recording Secretary, suggested that for the March operating night, that we should do an NPOTA activation. The Washington-Rochambeau National Historical Trail (TR23) runs right in front of our meeting place, the South Plainfield CERT Building, which is on the corner of Hamilton Boulevard and New Market Avenue - Hamilton Boulevard is part of the trail.
We are, quite literally, only about 25 feet or so from the roadway, and the Trail. Our meeting place was originally a gasoline filling station that was converted by the South Plainfield Police Department into a satellite Community Policing Building. When the SPPD took over the mantle of Emergency Management, they generously offered use of the building to the South Plainfield CERT/RACES team. SPARC is allowed to use the building for its meetings.
So last night we got together to put NJ2SP on the air. Dave KD2FSI set up some equipment, his Yaesu HF transceiver and ran some coax out to the screwdriver antenna on his van. Power was provided by a Werker deep cycle battery. We started out on 20 Meters, where unfortunately, we had a close to S9 noise level. Even so, we made QSOs from the West coast to Suriname.
When 20 Meters dried up, we switched over to 40 Meters where the background noise level was slightly lower, but the incoming signals were much louder. And that's where the bulk of our 51 QSOs were made. We were busy for the better part of an hour.
The best part about it all was that neither Dave or I made the QSOs. I sat there as a logger and "QSO Coach" (and control operator) while some of the other members of SPARC, who have no regular access to HF took over. It was not hard to tell that they had a blast and after one or two QSOs, they were behaving like HF veterans.
The high point of the evening was when a visiting YL sat down and took over the microphone. I scribbled out a brief script for her, so she would know what to say and she took off and hit the ground running. 40 Meters seemed like it was quieting down, but as soon as her voice went over the air, the dam broke loose and we had another pileup on our hands. Lee Ann has visited our club a few times and is deciding whether or not she would like to pursue obtaining her own license.
I am willing to bet that last night sealed the deal.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For those of us who are less technically inclined.
You may be like me. I've been at this hobby for a while now. I've built a ton of kits, made a bunch of antennas, passed all my exams with no problem. I was in the electronics repair biz for over 20 years, trouble shooting and repairing circuit boards down to the component level. But yet, to this day, I can open up a "QRP Quarterly" or a "QST" and look at the technical articles and feel like they are "WHOOSH" - about a mile over my head.
For those of you in the same boat, I would highly recommend the contents of the You Tube channel provided and maintained by Alan Wolke W2AEW. Alan is a fellow member of the Raritan Valley Radio Club. As a VE, I've attended a couple of Ham Crams where Alan was the lead instructor - I can readily testify that Alan knows his stuff, inside and out, upside down and backwards.
Alan has "The Knack" in more ways than one. Not only is he technically gifted, but the also has the ability to take the Greek out of electronics (no offense to my friends from Greece or of Greek decent), and make difficult concepts understandable, in plain English. And that's a pretty good talent to have when you're a Technical Specialist for Tektronics.
In addition to Alan's You Tube channel, to which I think just about every Amateur Radio op should be subscribed to, Alan gave an excellent interview to Eric on "QSO Today". You can listen to it here - http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/w2aew
Now, I'm not saying that if you watch all of Alan's videos that you'll be able to instantly comprehend every technical article you read in any Amateur Radio publication. But I can tell you that more and more of the content will be understandable and that you won't be totally clueless - like I used to feel. I'm getting better, but still have a long way to go.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For those of you in the same boat, I would highly recommend the contents of the You Tube channel provided and maintained by Alan Wolke W2AEW. Alan is a fellow member of the Raritan Valley Radio Club. As a VE, I've attended a couple of Ham Crams where Alan was the lead instructor - I can readily testify that Alan knows his stuff, inside and out, upside down and backwards.
Alan has "The Knack" in more ways than one. Not only is he technically gifted, but the also has the ability to take the Greek out of electronics (no offense to my friends from Greece or of Greek decent), and make difficult concepts understandable, in plain English. And that's a pretty good talent to have when you're a Technical Specialist for Tektronics.
In addition to Alan's You Tube channel, to which I think just about every Amateur Radio op should be subscribed to, Alan gave an excellent interview to Eric on "QSO Today". You can listen to it here - http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/w2aew
Now, I'm not saying that if you watch all of Alan's videos that you'll be able to instantly comprehend every technical article you read in any Amateur Radio publication. But I can tell you that more and more of the content will be understandable and that you won't be totally clueless - like I used to feel. I'm getting better, but still have a long way to go.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For those of us who are less technically inclined.
You may be like me. I've been at this hobby for a while now. I've built a ton of kits, made a bunch of antennas, passed all my exams with no problem. I was in the electronics repair biz for over 20 years, trouble shooting and repairing circuit boards down to the component level. But yet, to this day, I can open up a "QRP Quarterly" or a "QST" and look at the technical articles and feel like they are "WHOOSH" - about a mile over my head.
For those of you in the same boat, I would highly recommend the contents of the You Tube channel provided and maintained by Alan Wolke W2AEW. Alan is a fellow member of the Raritan Valley Radio Club. As a VE, I've attended a couple of Ham Crams where Alan was the lead instructor - I can readily testify that Alan knows his stuff, inside and out, upside down and backwards.
Alan has "The Knack" in more ways than one. Not only is he technically gifted, but the also has the ability to take the Greek out of electronics (no offense to my friends from Greece or of Greek decent), and make difficult concepts understandable, in plain English. And that's a pretty good talent to have when you're a Technical Specialist for Tektronics.
In addition to Alan's You Tube channel, to which I think just about every Amateur Radio op should be subscribed to, Alan gave an excellent interview to Eric on "QSO Today". You can listen to it here - http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/w2aew
Now, I'm not saying that if you watch all of Alan's videos that you'll be able to instantly comprehend every technical article you read in any Amateur Radio publication. But I can tell you that more and more of the content will be understandable and that you won't be totally clueless - like I used to feel. I'm getting better, but still have a long way to go.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For those of you in the same boat, I would highly recommend the contents of the You Tube channel provided and maintained by Alan Wolke W2AEW. Alan is a fellow member of the Raritan Valley Radio Club. As a VE, I've attended a couple of Ham Crams where Alan was the lead instructor - I can readily testify that Alan knows his stuff, inside and out, upside down and backwards.
Alan has "The Knack" in more ways than one. Not only is he technically gifted, but the also has the ability to take the Greek out of electronics (no offense to my friends from Greece or of Greek decent), and make difficult concepts understandable, in plain English. And that's a pretty good talent to have when you're a Technical Specialist for Tektronics.
In addition to Alan's You Tube channel, to which I think just about every Amateur Radio op should be subscribed to, Alan gave an excellent interview to Eric on "QSO Today". You can listen to it here - http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/w2aew
Now, I'm not saying that if you watch all of Alan's videos that you'll be able to instantly comprehend every technical article you read in any Amateur Radio publication. But I can tell you that more and more of the content will be understandable and that you won't be totally clueless - like I used to feel. I'm getting better, but still have a long way to go.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
A word of advice
This past Saturday, I served as a Volunteer Examiner at the finish line of a "Ham Cram". The Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management offered the day long session in order to allow CERT members from various municipalities throughout the county the chance to earn their Technician licenses. There were twelve participants, and at the end of the day, half of them had earned their licenses.
All of these people were all enthusiastic and determined to become Amateur Radio operators. So what went wrong? Why wasn't there a higher success rate? What went wrong was a lack of lead time and mis-communication. Some had learned of the Ham Cram session only three days beforehand. The information about the session was directed to the participants through their local municipal OEM directors. Middlesex County OEM did their due diligence by sending out the information in plenty of time, but we all know that information that goes through the chain-of-command can travel particularly slowly, especially if the "powers that be" aren't all that familiar with the information they are passing on. Not realizing that this information was time sensitive proved to be a major handicap.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, or the concept, a Ham Cram is defined as a six or more hour long session where prospective Hams are crammed with the info they need to earn their license. Think of the all-nighters you may have endured before a particularly tough exam in college. The concept is the same.
The problem with the Ham Cram concept is that many people think they can walk into one as a blank page, and will then walk away as a book filled with all the knowledge they need to pass the license exam.
For the Ham Cram concept to work (and it works remarkably well if implemented correctly), the students need to get their hands on a license manual and read and study for six to eight weeks prior to the Cram session. The Ham Cram session educator needs something to work with. It's highly improbable that someone can walk "cold" off the street and earn their ticket after only six hours of cursory study - unless of course, you have a photographic memory.
Again, going back to the "all-nighter" session in college. That exam prep marathon came after an entire semester of classes. You were, in essence, reviewing what you had hopefully learned throughout the proceeding months. We all know that if you waited until that evening to crack open a book, then you were toast.
Or if you want to think of it another way, the Ham Cram instructor is like a diamond cutter. With a raw diamond he can produce a work of art. Give him a piece of coal and he'll be out of his element. So if you know of a prospective Ham and he or she is talking about participating in a Ham Cram, then the sagest advice you can impart upon them is that they should begin the studying process WAY in advance (weeks/months). Then they'll arrive at the Ham Cram as a rough diamond ready to be polished into a prized jewel.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
All of these people were all enthusiastic and determined to become Amateur Radio operators. So what went wrong? Why wasn't there a higher success rate? What went wrong was a lack of lead time and mis-communication. Some had learned of the Ham Cram session only three days beforehand. The information about the session was directed to the participants through their local municipal OEM directors. Middlesex County OEM did their due diligence by sending out the information in plenty of time, but we all know that information that goes through the chain-of-command can travel particularly slowly, especially if the "powers that be" aren't all that familiar with the information they are passing on. Not realizing that this information was time sensitive proved to be a major handicap.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, or the concept, a Ham Cram is defined as a six or more hour long session where prospective Hams are crammed with the info they need to earn their license. Think of the all-nighters you may have endured before a particularly tough exam in college. The concept is the same.
The problem with the Ham Cram concept is that many people think they can walk into one as a blank page, and will then walk away as a book filled with all the knowledge they need to pass the license exam.
For the Ham Cram concept to work (and it works remarkably well if implemented correctly), the students need to get their hands on a license manual and read and study for six to eight weeks prior to the Cram session. The Ham Cram session educator needs something to work with. It's highly improbable that someone can walk "cold" off the street and earn their ticket after only six hours of cursory study - unless of course, you have a photographic memory.
Again, going back to the "all-nighter" session in college. That exam prep marathon came after an entire semester of classes. You were, in essence, reviewing what you had hopefully learned throughout the proceeding months. We all know that if you waited until that evening to crack open a book, then you were toast.
Or if you want to think of it another way, the Ham Cram instructor is like a diamond cutter. With a raw diamond he can produce a work of art. Give him a piece of coal and he'll be out of his element. So if you know of a prospective Ham and he or she is talking about participating in a Ham Cram, then the sagest advice you can impart upon them is that they should begin the studying process WAY in advance (weeks/months). Then they'll arrive at the Ham Cram as a rough diamond ready to be polished into a prized jewel.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
A word of advice
This past Saturday, I served as a Volunteer Examiner at the finish line of a "Ham Cram". The Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management offered the day long session in order to allow CERT members from various municipalities throughout the county the chance to earn their Technician licenses. There were twelve participants, and at the end of the day, half of them had earned their licenses.
All of these people were all enthusiastic and determined to become Amateur Radio operators. So what went wrong? Why wasn't there a higher success rate? What went wrong was a lack of lead time and mis-communication. Some had learned of the Ham Cram session only three days beforehand. The information about the session was directed to the participants through their local municipal OEM directors. Middlesex County OEM did their due diligence by sending out the information in plenty of time, but we all know that information that goes through the chain-of-command can travel particularly slowly, especially if the "powers that be" aren't all that familiar with the information they are passing on. Not realizing that this information was time sensitive proved to be a major handicap.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, or the concept, a Ham Cram is defined as a six or more hour long session where prospective Hams are crammed with the info they need to earn their license. Think of the all-nighters you may have endured before a particularly tough exam in college. The concept is the same.
The problem with the Ham Cram concept is that many people think they can walk into one as a blank page, and will then walk away as a book filled with all the knowledge they need to pass the license exam.
For the Ham Cram concept to work (and it works remarkably well if implemented correctly), the students need to get their hands on a license manual and read and study for six to eight weeks prior to the Cram session. The Ham Cram session educator needs something to work with. It's highly improbable that someone can walk "cold" off the street and earn their ticket after only six hours of cursory study - unless of course, you have a photographic memory.
Again, going back to the "all-nighter" session in college. That exam prep marathon came after an entire semester of classes. You were, in essence, reviewing what you had hopefully learned throughout the proceeding months. We all know that if you waited until that evening to crack open a book, then you were toast.
Or if you want to think of it another way, the Ham Cram instructor is like a diamond cutter. With a raw diamond he can produce a work of art. Give him a piece of coal and he'll be out of his element. So if you know of a prospective Ham and he or she is talking about participating in a Ham Cram, then the sagest advice you can impart upon them is that they should begin the studying process WAY in advance (weeks/months). Then they'll arrive at the Ham Cram as a rough diamond ready to be polished into a prized jewel.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
All of these people were all enthusiastic and determined to become Amateur Radio operators. So what went wrong? Why wasn't there a higher success rate? What went wrong was a lack of lead time and mis-communication. Some had learned of the Ham Cram session only three days beforehand. The information about the session was directed to the participants through their local municipal OEM directors. Middlesex County OEM did their due diligence by sending out the information in plenty of time, but we all know that information that goes through the chain-of-command can travel particularly slowly, especially if the "powers that be" aren't all that familiar with the information they are passing on. Not realizing that this information was time sensitive proved to be a major handicap.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, or the concept, a Ham Cram is defined as a six or more hour long session where prospective Hams are crammed with the info they need to earn their license. Think of the all-nighters you may have endured before a particularly tough exam in college. The concept is the same.
The problem with the Ham Cram concept is that many people think they can walk into one as a blank page, and will then walk away as a book filled with all the knowledge they need to pass the license exam.
For the Ham Cram concept to work (and it works remarkably well if implemented correctly), the students need to get their hands on a license manual and read and study for six to eight weeks prior to the Cram session. The Ham Cram session educator needs something to work with. It's highly improbable that someone can walk "cold" off the street and earn their ticket after only six hours of cursory study - unless of course, you have a photographic memory.
Again, going back to the "all-nighter" session in college. That exam prep marathon came after an entire semester of classes. You were, in essence, reviewing what you had hopefully learned throughout the proceeding months. We all know that if you waited until that evening to crack open a book, then you were toast.
Or if you want to think of it another way, the Ham Cram instructor is like a diamond cutter. With a raw diamond he can produce a work of art. Give him a piece of coal and he'll be out of his element. So if you know of a prospective Ham and he or she is talking about participating in a Ham Cram, then the sagest advice you can impart upon them is that they should begin the studying process WAY in advance (weeks/months). Then they'll arrive at the Ham Cram as a rough diamond ready to be polished into a prized jewel.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I got to be the Flea on the Hound last night
Last evening's QRP Fox hunt was of the 80 Meter flavor. Our esteemed Foxes were Brian K0DTJ in California and Dave N1IX in New Hampshire. "Conventional Wisdom" told me that I'd probably have a good shot at working Dave in NH, but probably not so much for Brian in CA.
This time, Conventional Wisdom did not disappoint.
I worked Dave pretty quickly. According to my log, I nabbed him at 0203 UTC. And as I suspected, Brian was nowhere to be heard. Actually, Brian and his pack of Hounds were nowhere to be heard, except for an occasional "Woof" and "Arf" from a Hound here and there.
I ended up spending the evening listening to Dave handle his pileup. It was a treat as N1IX is an accomplished Amateur Radio Op, to say the least. He handled all calls rapidly and without error. He also QRS'ed (slowed his code speed for those of you not familiar with the Q Code) from time to time when it was warranted. Dave is a member of the A-1 Operators Club, which is no surprise, and his inclusion is well deserved.
Towards the end of the hunt, Dave had fewer and fewer Hounds baying at him, and as a result, he was calling "CQ FOX" quite a lot. QUITE a lot. And, at the same time, his signal strength to me was actually increasing.
So at 0311 UTC, I decided to do something that I've never done before. I dialed the KX3's power output down to the flea power neighborhood - 100 milliWatts (that's 1/10th of 1 Watt for those of you, who like me, sometimes scratch your head when it comes to scientific notation), and gave Dave another call. In the past, I've only called a Fox a second time if I wasn't positive about being in the log, and I've certainly have never done it QRPp.
Thanks to Dave's excellent ears and superb station, I made it into "Official" log at 0311 at 100 milliWatts of power. According to QRZ, Dave lives 233 miles from me as the proverbial crow flies. So that means the QSO was accomplished last night as a rate of 2330 Miles per Watt.
Not too shabby, and you just GOTTA love this QRP stuff!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
This time, Conventional Wisdom did not disappoint.
I worked Dave pretty quickly. According to my log, I nabbed him at 0203 UTC. And as I suspected, Brian was nowhere to be heard. Actually, Brian and his pack of Hounds were nowhere to be heard, except for an occasional "Woof" and "Arf" from a Hound here and there.
I ended up spending the evening listening to Dave handle his pileup. It was a treat as N1IX is an accomplished Amateur Radio Op, to say the least. He handled all calls rapidly and without error. He also QRS'ed (slowed his code speed for those of you not familiar with the Q Code) from time to time when it was warranted. Dave is a member of the A-1 Operators Club, which is no surprise, and his inclusion is well deserved.
Towards the end of the hunt, Dave had fewer and fewer Hounds baying at him, and as a result, he was calling "CQ FOX" quite a lot. QUITE a lot. And, at the same time, his signal strength to me was actually increasing.
So at 0311 UTC, I decided to do something that I've never done before. I dialed the KX3's power output down to the flea power neighborhood - 100 milliWatts (that's 1/10th of 1 Watt for those of you, who like me, sometimes scratch your head when it comes to scientific notation), and gave Dave another call. In the past, I've only called a Fox a second time if I wasn't positive about being in the log, and I've certainly have never done it QRPp.
Thanks to Dave's excellent ears and superb station, I made it into "Official" log at 0311 at 100 milliWatts of power. According to QRZ, Dave lives 233 miles from me as the proverbial crow flies. So that means the QSO was accomplished last night as a rate of 2330 Miles per Watt.
Not too shabby, and you just GOTTA love this QRP stuff!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I got to be the Flea on the Hound last night
Last evening's QRP Fox hunt was of the 80 Meter flavor. Our esteemed Foxes were Brian K0DTJ in California and Dave N1IX in New Hampshire. "Conventional Wisdom" told me that I'd probably have a good shot at working Dave in NH, but probably not so much for Brian in CA.
This time, Conventional Wisdom did not disappoint.
I worked Dave pretty quickly. According to my log, I nabbed him at 0203 UTC. And as I suspected, Brian was nowhere to be heard. Actually, Brian and his pack of Hounds were nowhere to be heard, except for an occasional "Woof" and "Arf" from a Hound here and there.
I ended up spending the evening listening to Dave handle his pileup. It was a treat as N1IX is an accomplished Amateur Radio Op, to say the least. He handled all calls rapidly and without error. He also QRS'ed (slowed his code speed for those of you not familiar with the Q Code) from time to time when it was warranted. Dave is a member of the A-1 Operators Club, which is no surprise, and his inclusion is well deserved.
Towards the end of the hunt, Dave had fewer and fewer Hounds baying at him, and as a result, he was calling "CQ FOX" quite a lot. QUITE a lot. And, at the same time, his signal strength to me was actually increasing.
So at 0311 UTC, I decided to do something that I've never done before. I dialed the KX3's power output down to the flea power neighborhood - 100 milliWatts (that's 1/10th of 1 Watt for those of you, who like me, sometimes scratch your head when it comes to scientific notation), and gave Dave another call. In the past, I've only called a Fox a second time if I wasn't positive about being in the log, and I've certainly have never done it QRPp.
Thanks to Dave's excellent ears and superb station, I made it into "Official" log at 0311 at 100 milliWatts of power. According to QRZ, Dave lives 233 miles from me as the proverbial crow flies. So that means the QSO was accomplished last night as a rate of 2330 Miles per Watt.
Not too shabby, and you just GOTTA love this QRP stuff!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
This time, Conventional Wisdom did not disappoint.
I worked Dave pretty quickly. According to my log, I nabbed him at 0203 UTC. And as I suspected, Brian was nowhere to be heard. Actually, Brian and his pack of Hounds were nowhere to be heard, except for an occasional "Woof" and "Arf" from a Hound here and there.
I ended up spending the evening listening to Dave handle his pileup. It was a treat as N1IX is an accomplished Amateur Radio Op, to say the least. He handled all calls rapidly and without error. He also QRS'ed (slowed his code speed for those of you not familiar with the Q Code) from time to time when it was warranted. Dave is a member of the A-1 Operators Club, which is no surprise, and his inclusion is well deserved.
Towards the end of the hunt, Dave had fewer and fewer Hounds baying at him, and as a result, he was calling "CQ FOX" quite a lot. QUITE a lot. And, at the same time, his signal strength to me was actually increasing.
So at 0311 UTC, I decided to do something that I've never done before. I dialed the KX3's power output down to the flea power neighborhood - 100 milliWatts (that's 1/10th of 1 Watt for those of you, who like me, sometimes scratch your head when it comes to scientific notation), and gave Dave another call. In the past, I've only called a Fox a second time if I wasn't positive about being in the log, and I've certainly have never done it QRPp.
Thanks to Dave's excellent ears and superb station, I made it into "Official" log at 0311 at 100 milliWatts of power. According to QRZ, Dave lives 233 miles from me as the proverbial crow flies. So that means the QSO was accomplished last night as a rate of 2330 Miles per Watt.
Not too shabby, and you just GOTTA love this QRP stuff!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
