AmateurRadio.com

Saturday being PI Day 3.14 on the calendar and with still major remnants of cabin fever after what seems to be a very long and never ending winter I decided to head out to a place South of Thunder Bay towards the ON/MN border.

The site is located off of Memory Road and is a slight walk up to the top of the hill and from there is a beautiful look at Pine Bay and Lake Superior.

The wind was quite strong but at 4C and bright sun peeking through the clouds made this outing a great one.  I snowshoed in as the snow was soft but had to take them off when I got to the hill for the last part of the climb to prevent sliding down. Once at the top the view is awesome, there is also a Shrine that was built many years ago now and serves as place for people to go and share some thoughts I guess, as well on the way up are benches for resting with the words, LOVE,HOPE and FAITH on them, As well there are various pictures of Jesus carrying the cross.

I brought my PRC-104 with me and the PRC-74 antenna with counterpoise and figured that since we were in the time frame for both RaDAR and the HFPack roundup on 18157.5 I would call CQ if the band was not busy, I used cw first and was able to work KC5UN, after that I worked WB4ETT on voice. I then tried the other bands but no joy. I then went and checked into the MMN on 20 meters on 14.300 and checked in with NCS.

PRC-74 antenna

PRC-104 Radio

So once again another good day to take the radio out and enjoy the day and just to get out. The video of my outing can be seen on my YouTube Channel at:

I do say Trout Bay in the video but it is Pine Bay, Trout Bay is just a bit further down the road from where I was but is also a bay along the shores of Lake Superior. I thanks all those who listen and work me, and for all the others who enjoy the hobby as much as I do. Portable Ops have really taken the front seat for me and I have no ambition to be cooped up inside the house in a room, but would much rather be outside. The cold I can kinda deal with in my outings, but come summer it brings along the mosquitoes, ticks and blackflies that really have no way to stop or get away from, unless you wait till after 11 PM at night when things cool off and the bugs slow down. But lets see how things work out. See you all down the logbook and have fun. Next RaDAR event is April 4th and I look forward to operating from the same place my winter survival shelter is located near Prince-Jarvis Bay.

73

Fred

VE3FAL

Thunder Bay, Ontario

I was able to get outside Monday March 9th just after 1600z. I was on 18157.5 HFPack frequency using the PRC-104 with the PRC-74 antenna and a 10’7″ counterpoise. The PRc-104 runs 20 watts out on SSB. I also had the KY-116/U key on as well.

I called CQ a few times with no answers, then I heard Paul in CO. W0RW call me after seeing my posting on HFNow. He said my cw cq was a 559 and my SSB signal was a 3×3. We were able to work each other and complete a qso. Paul was a solid 5×9.

I then worked KBOSFP in MO. He was a 5×9 and I was a 5×5.

Then all the way over to Seattle Washington to Byron W7SWC also a 5×9 here in Thunder Bay and I was a 5×4, yet again another great qso.

One of the regulars from the Military Radio Net Paul WB4WCJ also was able to copy me and send me a report, Paul from South Carolina was a 5×5 and I was also a 5×5 but had some fading.

Then just before I was ready to pack things in on this 4c degree day with light snow falling I heard Greg N4KGL in Florida give me a call. Greg is a RaDAR member as well and was operating the AlexLoop with his KX3. He was a 5×5 and I was a 5×3 into Florida.

So it was a great Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio (RaDAR) session by far. I hope to work many more of you while I am portable. I am working on a few more backpack setups for my IC-703 and My KX3 as well.

Here is the link to the video of yesterdays outing.

Once again many thanks to all those who enjoy the hobby, HFNow and GORC for the groups to be able to post such outings. Those who listened but I was not able to work. Gurus and elmers like W0RW, WA3WSJ, wG0AT and others.

This is a great hobby and has so much to offer be it new or old technology, it all is fun and never gets boring.

72/73

Fred

VE3FAL

(The Ice Man)

Thunder Bay,ON EN58hh

As a young boy I recall listening to long distant A.M. radio stations in the evening on my transistor radio. As a young boy I had two hobbies that thrilled me, that was rock collecting and electronics. At a very early age my parents would buy me Radio Shack perfboard kits, 101 in 1 project kits and then an AM radio kit to build and then I was fortunate enough to get a Radio Shack Globe Patrol SWR to put together and listen to the world.

But what I recall most of all was having a tie to many of the local AM stations as I had an Uncle who was a DJ on many of them and then he eventually became Chief News Editor in Thunder Bay for CBC (CBQ). In the day we had 3 A.M. stations that ran full time, 580 CKPR , 800 CBQ and then 1230 (CJLX, CFPA), and then not being too far from Duluth MN where we are located I could usually hear at least 2 stations from there both day and night, one in particular was around 560.

I best recall listening to many programs at night, everything from Grand Old Opry, CBS Mystery Theater, The Great Gildersleeve and The Life of Riley, Dragnet and others. Of course WLS 890 was always loud here in Thunder Bay, ON (Formerly The Twin Cities of Fort William and Port Arthur)

There are no more A.M. stations in Thunder Bay, all have migrated to F.M., however as you drive along the North Shore of Lake Superior you will find many low power A.M. stations that rebroadcast some of the larger stations.

Here is a look at a few of the reminders of those once powerful and notable stations that once took on the air waves.

Been a long while since I played with satellites or even the ISS for that matter. In fact 2 meters has taken a total backseat for me as it no longer thrills me as far as APRS or even repeaters. IRLP nodes as well just don’t do it like they used to, combine that with only one telephone provider (Thunder Bay Telephone) and major dropouts etc on the IRLP it makes it no fun on nodes.

So turned the FT857 on today after reading about the ISS sending SSTV pictures down to earth. Using a dual band vertical at 25′ and using MMSSTV I was able to copy these pictures this afternoon. (Monday afternoon in Ontario)

So kinda made my day to see the pictures up on the screen when I got back into the shack.

Cheers

Fred

VE3FAL

My plans today were to get out to my Winter Survival shelter and operate in FYBO and the RaDAR event. But snow and a very low windchill changed my mind on the outdoor adventure, but with about 45 minutes in the RaDAR event left I decided to saddle up my PRC-104 with Chameleon whip and give 15 meters go. With luck I was able to work a few RaDAR stations. Even in -15c (-21c with blowing snow) a warming smile was brought upon my face.

Thanks to those who pulled me out and gave me the opportunity to play late in the game.

http://youtu.be/lQO2CmgP7cQ

Other videos of my hobbies can be seen on my YouTube channel at :

https://www.youtube.com/user/VE3FAL1/videos

I could not feel my fingers when I got back into the house but it was a great experience none the less.

Fred

VE3FAL

YouKits Canada has announced the latest version of the TJ2B SSB handheld radio, that now also will provide cw mode after many requests from users of this radio.
The unit has also received some great reviews by the techs at ARRL test lab and have been published recently in QST.
Yimin strives to do his ultimate best with QC and trouble shooting as well as refunds and repairs. Not unusual for him to send a replacement radio before he has accepted the problem unit.
The HB line of radios has proven themselves over again in the field. many new projects are being developed by YouKits and we look forward to seeing these new items in the future.

http://www.youkits.com/#TJ2B_MK2_5_Band_SSB_Handheld_Transceiver

73 Fred Lesnick

VE3FAL

YouKits has introduced a new product into their line of amateur radio transceivers, kits and accesories.
The latest is the DP-1 QRP Digital Power and SWR Meter.

• Assembled and ready to use.
• Power consumption: 30mA
• Size: 60x100x37mm
• Can install our 18650 battery pack (option)
• Can power other radios with internal battery pack.
• Power measure: 10mW-25W
• Frequency covering 1-30Mhz
• Only $129

Shipment will be started on 05/Feb

http://www.youkits.com/