Author Archive
NPOTA success – WR03
October 2nd, 2016 | 
Author: The day dawned gray. misty and chilly, but it wasn't downpouring. So I collected this bag of bones out of bed. I showered, shaved, got dressed and packed the Jeep with everything necessary for a ride to NPOTA land.
As stated a few days ago, the destination was WR03, the Delaware National Scenic River, via Washington's Crossing State Park, in Titusville, NJ. Thanks to the fact that there was hardly any traffic on an early Sunday morning, I arrived in about 45 minutes.
This is a re-creation of one of the "boats" that were in use during Colonial times to ferry people and supplies across the river. It's really not much more than a glorified raft. So the painting IS right. Washington stood ...... and do did everyone else!
As stated a few days ago, the destination was WR03, the Delaware National Scenic River, via Washington's Crossing State Park, in Titusville, NJ. Thanks to the fact that there was hardly any traffic on an early Sunday morning, I arrived in about 45 minutes.
Everything was wet from the light rains and heavy mist that fell throughout the night. I made the decision to forgo using a soggy, leaf covered picnic table and used my camping table and folding chair from the parking lot, instead. This was not the main parking lot, but a smaller one, farther in the park. It was literally a stone's toss from the river.
You can see the 25' piece of coax going up to the PAR in the tree.
The set up was the usual, the KX3 at 5 Watts to a PAR END FEDZ 40/20/10 in a tree. I got really good height this time. The PAR was easily 50 -60 feet up in the air this time. And that was evident with the results - 43 QSOs in under 90 minutes. 20 Meters was LONG! I worked Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Mexico, California, Montana and appropriately enough, Washington State. 40 Meters got me up and down the east coast and as far west as Minnesota.
I called it quits after about 90 minutes as the QSOs were drying up and I was starting to get a bit chilled. Oh, and there were skeeters! But NOT the kind that I like. I was swatting at them the whole time I was there. Who would have thought that mosquitoes would be out and about on a damp, and chilly day in the high 50s? After I packed up, but before leaving, I walked around to snap a few more photos.
The house owned by the "ferry operator".
Later, when I had time to think about all of this, it was truly amazing. 2,400 men, some horses and artillery began silently crossing the river as soon as it got to be dark (There were British spies all over). Once they all reached the New Jersey side,they all marched the 20 or so miles to Trenton throughout snowy fields and made it there by daybreak. The effort just to get to Trenton must have been exhausting given the distance, the cold and the snow. Then they surprised the Hessians and won the battle without one Continental soldier being lost. Astounding!
All in all, it was another good NPOTA day. I thank all the chasers who worked me and I look forward to another adventure in a few more weeks - this time, maybe the NJ Pine Barrens.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Weekend plans go semi awry.
I had planned on two Amateur Radio activities this weekend. I almost ended up going 0 for 2, but ended up batting .500 instead.
My first planned activity was to participate in the NJ QSO Party on Saturday. The work party that I attended at the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management went longer than I anticipated. I'm glad we got the work done that we did, though, as it was important that it got done before the Simulated Emergency test in October. When I got home, there was still plenty of time to participate in the contest - no doubt. Other chores had to be taken care of first, though; and I made sure I got those done. End result? One very tired W2LJ and no NJQP on Saturday.
After dinner, I sat down with the tablet and saw on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page that Peter K0BAK was doing a sweep of NJ activations this weekend, including AA17, the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. My heart sank a bit because he's such a superb operator and activator - does AA17 really need to be activated twice the same day? And if you had the chance to work either me or Peter .... heck, even I'd rather work Peter than me !!!
My first planned activity was to participate in the NJ QSO Party on Saturday. The work party that I attended at the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management went longer than I anticipated. I'm glad we got the work done that we did, though, as it was important that it got done before the Simulated Emergency test in October. When I got home, there was still plenty of time to participate in the contest - no doubt. Other chores had to be taken care of first, though; and I made sure I got those done. End result? One very tired W2LJ and no NJQP on Saturday.
After dinner, I sat down with the tablet and saw on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page that Peter K0BAK was doing a sweep of NJ activations this weekend, including AA17, the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. My heart sank a bit because he's such a superb operator and activator - does AA17 really need to be activated twice the same day? And if you had the chance to work either me or Peter .... heck, even I'd rather work Peter than me !!!
When I went to bed last night, I was really iffy about making the effort. The weather was supposed to be suspect but I decided to sleep on it, thinking perhaps that maybe it might be better to wait for another weekend.
Sunday morning dawned muggy and overcast. Not exactly the greatest of weather conditions. But then the thought occurred to me that K0BAK normally does most of his operating on SSB, and mine was to be CW; so I decided to throw caution to the wind and decided to go to Cheesequake State Park, anyway.
I left the house a little after 9:00 AM and got to the park just around 9:30 AM. I found the Spring Hill Picnic Grounds to be deserted, save for a few parked cars. The occupants of those cars were all going off on hikes as the lot also served as the starting point for one of the park's many trailheads. With the picnic tables all to myself, I set up the PAR ENDFEDZ 40/20/10. The line went up over a 60 foot tree with ease thanks to my trusty Joplin MO ARC Antenna Launcher. I literally had the antenna up within minutes. I've had enough practice with the launcher to now get a good shot on the first try, at least 90% of the time.
The setup was the usual, KX3 to antenna, the Power Werk deep cycle battery, the Palm Micro paddles and a set of ear buds. The ear buds turned to be a life saver, as the picnic area turned out to be pretty gosh darn close to the Garden State Parkway, and there was lots of highway noise. In some cases, there were also some ignition noise moments. I thought I was far enough away where that wouldn't be a concern; but there must be a few vehicles out there that are close to being spark gap transmitters!
I got on the air at 1400 UTC, calling "CQ NPOTA" on 40 Meters at 7.034 MHz, and had my first QSO with W3JRR at 1415 UTC. I stayed on 40 Meters for about 45 minutes before taking a break to stretch my legs and to use the rest facilities. Thank the Lord they were open! I came back to the ear buds, and I could have sworn that I heard "BBO". I thought that was my good friend W3BBO looking for me; as I spotted myself on the Cluster. I called him a few times and heard no come back; so I decided to move on up to 20 Meters.
20 Meters turned out to be the better band. My farthest DX QSOs happened there with S58AL in Slovenia and ON4RO in Belgium. I also ended up working Arizona and Washington state on 20 Meters. So even though I made it to Europe, this is where the Reverse Beacon Network picked me up:
Just before 1600 UTC, I was visited by a Park Ranger who came to put up a sign showing that the picnic grounds had been reserved by a Baptist Church group for a BBQ. It was booked for 1:00 PM local or 1700 UTC. I decided to pack it in, anyway. My original plan was to put in about two hours, so that I wouldn't be away from the family for the entire day; and I put in my two hours, so I was happy.
The highlights of the day were working Kay Craigie N3KN, Dave Benson K1SWL of Small Wonder Labs and Rockmite fame, as well as Paul Signorelli W0RW, of QRP and Paraset Pedestrian Mobile fame. It's always cool when you go on an outing like this and hear the call signs of people you regard as friends. Not to say that ALL of you aren't friends ........ but you know what I mean!
37 QSOs later, my activation of AA17 was in the books for the day. I still hope to join up with Dave Hackett KD2FSI to activate the Pine Barrens and the Delaware Water Gap and the Appalachian Trail before NPOTA comes to a close - so stay tuned!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Weekend plans go semi awry.
I had planned on two Amateur Radio activities this weekend. I almost ended up going 0 for 2, but ended up batting .500 instead.
My first planned activity was to participate in the NJ QSO Party on Saturday. The work party that I attended at the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management went longer than I anticipated. I'm glad we got the work done that we did, though, as it was important that it got done before the Simulated Emergency test in October. When I got home, there was still plenty of time to participate in the contest - no doubt. Other chores had to be taken care of first, though; and I made sure I got those done. End result? One very tired W2LJ and no NJQP on Saturday.
After dinner, I sat down with the tablet and saw on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page that Peter K0BAK was doing a sweep of NJ activations this weekend, including AA17, the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. My heart sank a bit because he's such a superb operator and activator - does AA17 really need to be activated twice the same day? And if you had the chance to work either me or Peter .... heck, even I'd rather work Peter than me !!!
My first planned activity was to participate in the NJ QSO Party on Saturday. The work party that I attended at the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management went longer than I anticipated. I'm glad we got the work done that we did, though, as it was important that it got done before the Simulated Emergency test in October. When I got home, there was still plenty of time to participate in the contest - no doubt. Other chores had to be taken care of first, though; and I made sure I got those done. End result? One very tired W2LJ and no NJQP on Saturday.
After dinner, I sat down with the tablet and saw on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page that Peter K0BAK was doing a sweep of NJ activations this weekend, including AA17, the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. My heart sank a bit because he's such a superb operator and activator - does AA17 really need to be activated twice the same day? And if you had the chance to work either me or Peter .... heck, even I'd rather work Peter than me !!!
When I went to bed last night, I was really iffy about making the effort. The weather was supposed to be suspect but I decided to sleep on it, thinking perhaps that maybe it might be better to wait for another weekend.
Sunday morning dawned muggy and overcast. Not exactly the greatest of weather conditions. But then the thought occurred to me that K0BAK normally does most of his operating on SSB, and mine was to be CW; so I decided to throw caution to the wind and decided to go to Cheesequake State Park, anyway.
I left the house a little after 9:00 AM and got to the park just around 9:30 AM. I found the Spring Hill Picnic Grounds to be deserted, save for a few parked cars. The occupants of those cars were all going off on hikes as the lot also served as the starting point for one of the park's many trailheads. With the picnic tables all to myself, I set up the PAR ENDFEDZ 40/20/10. The line went up over a 60 foot tree with ease thanks to my trusty Joplin MO ARC Antenna Launcher. I literally had the antenna up within minutes. I've had enough practice with the launcher to now get a good shot on the first try, at least 90% of the time.
The setup was the usual, KX3 to antenna, the Power Werk deep cycle battery, the Palm Micro paddles and a set of ear buds. The ear buds turned to be a life saver, as the picnic area turned out to be pretty gosh darn close to the Garden State Parkway, and there was lots of highway noise. In some cases, there were also some ignition noise moments. I thought I was far enough away where that wouldn't be a concern; but there must be a few vehicles out there that are close to being spark gap transmitters!
I got on the air at 1400 UTC, calling "CQ NPOTA" on 40 Meters at 7.034 MHz, and had my first QSO with W3JRR at 1415 UTC. I stayed on 40 Meters for about 45 minutes before taking a break to stretch my legs and to use the rest facilities. Thank the Lord they were open! I came back to the ear buds, and I could have sworn that I heard "BBO". I thought that was my good friend W3BBO looking for me; as I spotted myself on the Cluster. I called him a few times and heard no come back; so I decided to move on up to 20 Meters.
20 Meters turned out to be the better band. My farthest DX QSOs happened there with S58AL in Slovenia and ON4RO in Belgium. I also ended up working Arizona and Washington state on 20 Meters. So even though I made it to Europe, this is where the Reverse Beacon Network picked me up:
Just before 1600 UTC, I was visited by a Park Ranger who came to put up a sign showing that the picnic grounds had been reserved by a Baptist Church group for a BBQ. It was booked for 1:00 PM local or 1700 UTC. I decided to pack it in, anyway. My original plan was to put in about two hours, so that I wouldn't be away from the family for the entire day; and I put in my two hours, so I was happy.
The highlights of the day were working Kay Craigie N3KN, Dave Benson K1SWL of Small Wonder Labs and Rockmite fame, as well as Paul Signorelli W0RW, of QRP and Paraset Pedestrian Mobile fame. It's always cool when you go on an outing like this and hear the call signs of people you regard as friends. Not to say that ALL of you aren't friends ........ but you know what I mean!
37 QSOs later, my activation of AA17 was in the books for the day. I still hope to join up with Dave Hackett KD2FSI to activate the Pine Barrens and the Delaware Water Gap and the Appalachian Trail before NPOTA comes to a close - so stay tuned!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New Jersey QSO Party this weekend!
Not one of the biggies, by any means, but the Burlington County Amateur Radio Club has been working their tails off to get the NJ QSO Party back in the mainstream. For years, there was a lack of participation; but due to their diligence, it seems to be making a comeback.
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New Jersey QSO Party this weekend!
Not one of the biggies, by any means, but the Burlington County Amateur Radio Club has been working their tails off to get the NJ QSO Party back in the mainstream. For years, there was a lack of participation; but due to their diligence, it seems to be making a comeback.
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Haven’t said this in a while
but "Thank You" to all of you who read this blog. It would be foolish and time wasting for me to do this if you weren't out there. From the e-mails, photos and comments I receive, I know that you all are, indeed, out there. Again, thank you so very much.
On the QRP side of things, I see from an e-mail by Doug KI6DS to the QRP-L list that the QRPGuys have a new kit offering out. The following is their description:
The QRPGuys Multi-Tuner is a Z-match design that will match a wide range of coax fed, long wire, and balanced line antennas, like high-impedance, low-loss UHF twinlead or ladder line for 40m-10m.
It uses the N7VE integral led swr indicator with an absorptive bridge to protect your final transistors from a poor match. In the TUNE position, you cannot damage your transmitter caused by a high SWR. It is looking at a 50 ohm load and the LED is indicating only the reflected power. At full brilliance your SWR is 4:1 or greater, at half brilliance your SWR is approximately 2:1, and the LED will completely extinguish at 1:1.
Rated for 5 watts continuous, 10 watts intermittant, weighs (4.3 oz.) and comes with female BNC connectors for the input/output, with S.S. hardware for the long wire and balanced line connections. There is no point to point wiring. All connections are accomplished by mounting the components on the PCB. This kit can be built in a couple of hours. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 3.
For more information, and ordering, you can go to http://www.qrpguys.com/
I don't have to tell you (but will, anyway) how important it is for us to patronize concerns like QRPGuys, QRPMe, QRP Kits, SOTA Beams, and the numerous other QRP vendors around the world that are out there. Blogging is my way to give a bit back to the hobby. Offering kits is the way these guys give back to the hobby. Yeah, they are there to make a buck or two; but they're definitely not in this with visions of becoming the next Elecraft. You keep me "in business' by reading; and we keep them in business (and as a result, keep the QRP hobby alive) by purchasing their wares.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
On the QRP side of things, I see from an e-mail by Doug KI6DS to the QRP-L list that the QRPGuys have a new kit offering out. The following is their description:
The QRPGuys Multi-Tuner is a Z-match design that will match a wide range of coax fed, long wire, and balanced line antennas, like high-impedance, low-loss UHF twinlead or ladder line for 40m-10m.
It uses the N7VE integral led swr indicator with an absorptive bridge to protect your final transistors from a poor match. In the TUNE position, you cannot damage your transmitter caused by a high SWR. It is looking at a 50 ohm load and the LED is indicating only the reflected power. At full brilliance your SWR is 4:1 or greater, at half brilliance your SWR is approximately 2:1, and the LED will completely extinguish at 1:1.
Rated for 5 watts continuous, 10 watts intermittant, weighs (4.3 oz.) and comes with female BNC connectors for the input/output, with S.S. hardware for the long wire and balanced line connections. There is no point to point wiring. All connections are accomplished by mounting the components on the PCB. This kit can be built in a couple of hours. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 3.
For more information, and ordering, you can go to http://www.qrpguys.com/
I don't have to tell you (but will, anyway) how important it is for us to patronize concerns like QRPGuys, QRPMe, QRP Kits, SOTA Beams, and the numerous other QRP vendors around the world that are out there. Blogging is my way to give a bit back to the hobby. Offering kits is the way these guys give back to the hobby. Yeah, they are there to make a buck or two; but they're definitely not in this with visions of becoming the next Elecraft. You keep me "in business' by reading; and we keep them in business (and as a result, keep the QRP hobby alive) by purchasing their wares.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Haven’t said this in a while
but "Thank You" to all of you who read this blog. It would be foolish and time wasting for me to do this if you weren't out there. From the e-mails, photos and comments I receive, I know that you all are, indeed, out there. Again, thank you so very much.
On the QRP side of things, I see from an e-mail by Doug KI6DS to the QRP-L list that the QRPGuys have a new kit offering out. The following is their description:
The QRPGuys Multi-Tuner is a Z-match design that will match a wide range of coax fed, long wire, and balanced line antennas, like high-impedance, low-loss UHF twinlead or ladder line for 40m-10m.
It uses the N7VE integral led swr indicator with an absorptive bridge to protect your final transistors from a poor match. In the TUNE position, you cannot damage your transmitter caused by a high SWR. It is looking at a 50 ohm load and the LED is indicating only the reflected power. At full brilliance your SWR is 4:1 or greater, at half brilliance your SWR is approximately 2:1, and the LED will completely extinguish at 1:1.
Rated for 5 watts continuous, 10 watts intermittant, weighs (4.3 oz.) and comes with female BNC connectors for the input/output, with S.S. hardware for the long wire and balanced line connections. There is no point to point wiring. All connections are accomplished by mounting the components on the PCB. This kit can be built in a couple of hours. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 3.
For more information, and ordering, you can go to http://www.qrpguys.com/
I don't have to tell you (but will, anyway) how important it is for us to patronize concerns like QRPGuys, QRPMe, QRP Kits, SOTA Beams, and the numerous other QRP vendors around the world that are out there. Blogging is my way to give a bit back to the hobby. Offering kits is the way these guys give back to the hobby. Yeah, they are there to make a buck or two; but they're definitely not in this with visions of becoming the next Elecraft. You keep me "in business' by reading; and we keep them in business (and as a result, keep the QRP hobby alive) by purchasing their wares.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
On the QRP side of things, I see from an e-mail by Doug KI6DS to the QRP-L list that the QRPGuys have a new kit offering out. The following is their description:
The QRPGuys Multi-Tuner is a Z-match design that will match a wide range of coax fed, long wire, and balanced line antennas, like high-impedance, low-loss UHF twinlead or ladder line for 40m-10m.
It uses the N7VE integral led swr indicator with an absorptive bridge to protect your final transistors from a poor match. In the TUNE position, you cannot damage your transmitter caused by a high SWR. It is looking at a 50 ohm load and the LED is indicating only the reflected power. At full brilliance your SWR is 4:1 or greater, at half brilliance your SWR is approximately 2:1, and the LED will completely extinguish at 1:1.
Rated for 5 watts continuous, 10 watts intermittant, weighs (4.3 oz.) and comes with female BNC connectors for the input/output, with S.S. hardware for the long wire and balanced line connections. There is no point to point wiring. All connections are accomplished by mounting the components on the PCB. This kit can be built in a couple of hours. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 3.
For more information, and ordering, you can go to http://www.qrpguys.com/
I don't have to tell you (but will, anyway) how important it is for us to patronize concerns like QRPGuys, QRPMe, QRP Kits, SOTA Beams, and the numerous other QRP vendors around the world that are out there. Blogging is my way to give a bit back to the hobby. Offering kits is the way these guys give back to the hobby. Yeah, they are there to make a buck or two; but they're definitely not in this with visions of becoming the next Elecraft. You keep me "in business' by reading; and we keep them in business (and as a result, keep the QRP hobby alive) by purchasing their wares.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
