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It was another very cold morning when I arose today with the temperature around -17 (C) . It actually dropped down to -20 (C)   last night. I had no desire to get outdoors for anything; so my morning routine was much like yesterday.

My radio contacts this morning were much like yesterday too. The contacts were difficult today but I still managed to work another five DX stations.

Although I’ve worked 12 stations in Denmark now, OZ1AAR, on 12 meters, was my first “OZ1″ Station in that country.

Also like yesterday, I moved along the bands as they drifted, and soon worked KP4ED, in Puerto Rico, on 15 meters. He was searching for SKCC members and we exchanged club numbers. His is # 6589 and mine is #4525.

I found 17 meters open this morning and worked the rest of my stations on this band.

Steve (G3VMW) was in England. He is my 8th G3 station now among 21 contacts into that country. I worked a German station (DL1DGS) who was the 4th “DL1″ station of 47 contacts now in that country. Last but not least, I worked the Italian station IK3VUT for the 4th time now. He was the 39th contact I’ve worked in Italy.

Tomorrow morning our WV Chapter of the NAQCC Club will have breakfast in Charleston at 8:30 am so I will “miss the window” for most DX stations. I’ll look forward to working some local radio people.

I made a comment in yesterdays post about being “Back in the Saddle Again” which made me think of a neat QRP station I worked several days ago.
                                   
 This  QRP station in the state of Utah (K7JHM) fit’s that description perfectly!

It’s always a pleasure to work Bert (F6HKA) in France but especially so this morning when I heard the familiar strong signal here on the east coast. He always has a 599 signal. This morning I worked him on 10 meters. I’ve been very busy since the beginning of the new year and Bert was my first DX contact for the 2014  log book. He was sending K3Y/EU but I knew exactly who he was when I hear him. We’ve worked 9 different times now and he always takes a few extra moments to say hello and how are you? He’s a true gentleman and he enjoys working QRP stations.

I was skipping across the bands now and I worked the next station who was in Madrid and on 12 meters. This contact into Spain was much more difficult but I finally worked EC4DEX after several attempts.

I now dropped down to 15 meters and caught this station (IQ2CJ) in Northern Italy. It was also difficult to copy but we finally managed to exchange call signs and move onward to other stations. I was hearing a station in Ireland but couldn’t work him.

It’s freezing cold this morning. The temperature is -11 Celcius and the wind is blowing at 32 kph. We’re expecting a low tonight of -20 Celcius with a wind chill of -39 C. BBBBrrrrrrrrr……….

As I continued to travel towards the lower bands; I stopped on the 30 meter band and threw my call out on the QRP frequencies. I was answered by Hal (KA4SDU) in nearby Louisville Kentucky. He lives next to the Ohio River and enjoys watching the barge traffic as it moves downstream. We both being Navy Veterans, we had a delightful talk about several different things.

 Hal loves to play with antennas and produces a really neat one called Hal’s Bamboo Beast

The month of December brought NO outside activity for the WV Chapter of the NAQCC Club and I doubt for the next couple of months. I don’t want to end up like that frozen rabbit in the upper picture.

Our monthly club breakfast, at the Charleston downtown restaurant, is this coming Wednesday. A few days later Eric (AC8LJ) will drive to a fellow CW operators home to see a variety of different keys. I’m assuming the weather will be a little warmer at that time.

Don’t want to end up like that frozen rabbit……



    
                                                         

How has the radio year 2013 been to you? Have you made additions to your shack? Did Santa bring you unexpected toys this year? 

I was elated to work ZD8X on “Ascension Island” last month. I considered myself both fortunate, and lucky, to work this new DX entity for me. At the time, there were hundreds of operators trying to work him. This isolated Island in the Atlantic Ocean, between South America and Africa, was a long, long way from West Virginia, and there were thousands wanting him in their log books. .

I remember Jorma (OH2KI) skillfully pulling my 3 watt QRP signal out of the enormous bee hive. It was a difficult contact. My salutations and congratulations are to him for such a wondrous accomplishment!

Anyone who can do such a thing at 5,362 miles, is a true magician!

I rarely request a confirmation QSL card from a long distance DX station, and this card was no exception. My verification’s are normally done through the E-QSL site since postage is much too expensive now. For those wanting a paper card, I always require a SASE, and am happily willing to return my card to them. I’ll put his return card in the mail immediately.

The thing that really impresses me about this card is the time Jorma (OH2KI) took to send me an additional special acknowledgement:

He apparently read my comments from my earlier blog entry, and made the special effort to send me this note. Professional operators such as this, and the entire ZD8X team, are what makes this hobby so rewarding and fulfilling for all of us.

This is a nice Christmas present for me.

Thank You!

I’ve always believed music is the universal language of the world. It comes in many shapes and sizes and at many different places in the world. Today when I worked EI13CLAN in Northern Ireland, and saw their QSL card on the web, made me think of the times I’ve showed up to “pick and grin” at different Irish bars.
“The Irish Radio Transmitters Society” was celebrating with this “special event station” today on 12 meters, and fortunately, I was able to easily break the pile up with only a few attempts.

I also logged GI100RSGB in Northern Ireland today celebrating a “century” of radio in their country.

The picture above (not a very good one) is me playing the guitar in an Irish bar in New York. We had a great time that night with a mandolin, a fiddle, and a drummer.

Today was another great DX day for me. I had a nice chat with F5JWH in France and DF3CB in Germany. This afternoon I also worked HC2IMP in Ecuador again. This station is a puzzle for me. I’ve heard a nice “crisp chirp” at times from him but today, it was back to a dull buzz. I’m thinking voltage is playing a part in this signal. South America isn’t known for real stable electricity in that part of the world ?

I totally forget I’m running QRP when I start chasing DX on the bands, and with good reason. Most of the the stations I worked today were using quite a bit of power, with good “gain” antennas, which meant close to a KW of effective radiated power.

Two of the stations I worked today were running 400 and 500 watts , respectively, into those gain antennas.

I’ll be the first to admit all the “work” is on their part, but I sure love placing “QRP @ 3W and Indoor Random Wire” in the remarks sections of those DX Clusters.

It makes me feel pretty good….

I had no idea Santa had a CW station near the Arctic Circle. Much to my surprise, I heard him transmitting on the 10 meter band this morning. His helper was OF9X in Muonia Lapland Finland, who, by the way, was a courteous ‘ol fellow who actually adjusted the jolly ‘ol beam a bit to pick out my 3 watt signal from West Virginia.

What a nice Christmas gift for me!

This “Official Santa Claus HQ Station” was a joy to work, and at 4,159 miles, with 3 watts of power, qualifies for a jolly ‘ol “1000 miles per watt” contact.

Here’s a link to the “Official Radio Station”:

Official Santa Radio

BTW/ He’s a good CW operator!

I’ve been listening to PJ7/ G3TXF on Sint Maarten Island for several days now and hoping for the opportunity to add another new DX entity to the log book. I made this contact easily last night with a single attempt on the 30 meter band.

Sint Maarten is another one of those small islands in the Caribbean area and a tourist destination within a few short hours flight time from the United States. Princess Juliana International Airport is an unusual landing spot because it’s very short runway for these big planes. They need every foot of pavement possible to avoid an embarrassing “dip in the pool”.  

Not for the faint of heart, standing on the beach here is a unique opportunity to experience a new form of wind surfing. Watching giant aircraft landing overhead is spectacular enough, but the “take offs” are quite another thing. Wind surfing takes on an entirely new form, from the rear of one of these planes, when they take off for the home flight.

My DXCC list is getting really short now. Despite my enjoyment of a long CW QSO the last few months.