AmateurRadio.com

Summer 2014 starts this coming Saturday at 6:51 EDT.  After this dreadfully long Winter that seems to have lasted into Spring, I just can’t wait! At that bleary eyed time of the morning, I will be busy, helping out at the annual Raritan Valley Radio Club W2QW Hamfest.

But Saturday, being the first day of Summer, is also the day that I will entertain requests for Skeeter Hunt numbers for 2014.  So please feel free to send e-mails to [email protected], and as soon as I can, I will get back to you with your official NJQRP Skeeter Hunt number!

And I can tell you one thing that is 100% certain.  With the Winter of 2013/2014 still vividly fresh in the ol’ memory banks of W2LJ ….. no matter how hot or how humid it might be for this year’s Skeeter Hunt, I for one, will not complain!

72 de Larry W2LJ

Living in Florida we all talk about being prepared, we have special nets for hurricanes, we have gear that is ready for the storms. There is only so much you could be ready for, but we do our best. Florida Ham take the responsibility serious and it’s great to see it recognized by the local news:

http://nicktoday.com/radio-operators-vital-emergency-response/

Judy and I made a quick Father’s Day bicycle excursion to Old Hill Village. It was a glorious day. Blue sky, windy, as clear as a day could be. I worked Italy, Slovak Rep., W1AW/0 in MN, Scotland, and Belarus… all on 17 meters.

We parked on the south end and rode our bikes north through the woods. A thrush sang a remarkable song as we passed a beautiful cove on the river. We stopped in a field about a mile in, and I tossed a wire into an old butternut tree. It’s a place I’ve stopped many times before.

I set up the KX3 at 5W to a 33 foot wire over the branch. I heard Fabio IZ8JFL in Italy right away. We exchanged quick 599s and I tuned around.

I sat in the grass right at the edge of the old road. There was enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away!

Here’s my log:

15 Jun-14 1940 18.080 IZ8JFL CW 599 599 Italy
15 Jun-14 1950 18.068 OM5XX CW 579 599 Slovak Rep
15 Jun-14 1953 14.030 W1AW/0 CW 599 599 MN
15 Jun-14 1956 18.080 GA3WUX CW 569 599 Glasgow
15 Jun-14 2003 18.086 EW1HI CW 599 599 Belarus

The view from my operating position was great. I gazed across a field on this side of the river toward Knox Mountain in Sanbornton where I often operate.

We stayed about a half an hour soaking in the sunshine and then headed home. Judy made a strawberry shortcake for Father’s Day!

My friend Tony, KD8RTT, is an Extra from Cleveland, Ohio. He has launched a new YouTube channel and is giving away prizes to four lucky hams who subscribe in order to get new followers.

Tony is a sophomore studying engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

It’s always great to see a young ham jump so enthusiastically into the hobby. From his recent trip out to Hamvention to operating maritime mobile from a Disney Cruise, Tony has done a fine job documenting his ham adventures on video.

Great job with your videos, Tony. Keep up the hard work!

I have never really spent much time on the Software Defined Radio arena, but the more I keep loo at them they are becoming so interesting. The CommRadio CR-1a communications receiver is a true SDR (software defined radio), but does not require a computer. Enjoy the benefits and performance of state-of-the-art SDR, but in a conventional radio package.

As much as I hate to say, it might be time for me to make a purchase and spend some time playing with these. I really like the size of the rig in comparison to the SunSDR2 (http://nicktoday.com/sunsdr2-sunsdr-mb1-transceivers-software-defined-radios/). Hard to tell until I see them both in person.

Full story: http://nicktoday.com/commradio-cr-1a-another-sdr-looks-interesting/

Very informative presentation by Randy K7AGE (with George W5JDK behind the camera). Worth watching if you’re interested in expanding into this very effective low-power mode popular on 20-meters.

I decided that I wanted to try something new paddle-wise for my lunchtime QRP portable operations. The main criteria was that it had to be on the inexpensive side. That seems to be my main criteria these days where a lot of things are concerned. Besides working well, it would also be nice if  the paddle was light in weight.

Palm paddles would probably be the ultimate, but are way too expensive and would not fit within my meager budget right now. I needed to keep it under $50 if at all  possible.  That really narrows down the possibilities, let me tell you. I have a Whiterook MK-33 single lever paddle.  It works well and it also fits the bill, but it tends to get a bit sloppy around the 22-23 WPM mark.

I had a Bulldog paddle back when I had my K1 and I liked it. However, I included it as part of the K1 package when I sold that radio to raise money for my KX3. So, relying on my memory, I decided to give another Bulldog a try.  I went to the Website: http://www.amateurradioproducts.com/, only to find out that they no longer manufacture the model I had.  Mine was the one on a small triangular wooden base that had three tiny suction cups.

They have several different models now, and I decided to go with the BD6, the Mini-Iambic.  It arrived on Saturday through the mail, and tonight was the first chance I had to try it out.

I have to admit that I was skeptical when I opened up the package that it came in.  It is indeed ‘mini” – in fact, it gets lost in the middle of the 1.5 inch fender washer that serves as a base! But as usual, it turns out that looks are quite deceiving. This little paddle is smooth and is great to use just as it is, no adjustments were required, although  the accompanying instruction sheet tells you how to go about that, if needed.  I worked both W1AW/5 and W1AW/0 tonight at about the 21 WPM range. The paddles acquitted themselves nicely there. Then I turned up the speed a notch to work EV1R and LZ1WR and C6ATT. Even at the speed where the Whiterook goes kaflooey on me, the Bulldog stays sharp, smooth and flawless and had great feel to it. The fact that it was only $35 was icing on the cake. I will definitely bring these along for Field Day. They may be too small for some of our guest operators, but they work great for me!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!