Posts Tagged ‘amateurradio.com’
Prepping for some more /p
July 5th, 2015 | 
Author: Following the eggcitement of last week I am been taking it a bit easier this weekend preparing for some portable operation in Scotland.
I have made a linked dipole inspired by the ones sold by SOTAbeams, it is a simple inverted vee supported by a 9 meter fishing pole the wire elements are made of sections which are joined together depending on the band required. I have made a two band version, 20m/40m and it tuned nicely using the analyser.
As a backup I have also revisited the "Magitenna" which disappointed last time I tried to used it. Firstly I replaced the original wire which was too heavy for the low power I run and is very prone to kinking.
While doing this I discovered that the terminal post on "the special matching unit" was simply turning when I tried to tighten the wing nut. This pointed to a broken or at best poor internal connection and I was forced to open up plastic box to make a repair, sadly "forced" was the operative word.
One of the four screws was inexplicably super-glued in place and being cack-handed I soon ruined the head trying to remove it and had to drill it out. Once the screws were removed I then found the lid too was glued in place at several points and had to prise the lid off trying to minimise any damage in the process.
Given that nearly all other ham equipment I own is designed to be serviceable, including rigs worth several hundred pounds I found this annoying and unnecessary for a simple antenna, especially as the ethos is for amateurs to experiment and modify things. It certainly wasn't glued for weatherproofing as it would be have sealed all round, it could only have been to stop it being opened. I could understand this if it were protecting some patented, copyright design but it wasn't, behold the magic within the "special matching unit" nothing but a simple un-un which I suspected already.
Anyway I was able to tighten up the simple screw and bolt and ironically I used some epoxy resin on the screw head to try to stop it coming loose again. Hopefully this loose terminal was the reason for the poor performance last time.
I am looking forward to having another go from operating in Scotland this year with some more experience I hope to improve on last years efforts
While tinkering in the shack I kept the FT857 on and tuned around looking to give points away for the VHF Field Day and made a number of decent DX contacts using just 30W
I have made a linked dipole inspired by the ones sold by SOTAbeams, it is a simple inverted vee supported by a 9 meter fishing pole the wire elements are made of sections which are joined together depending on the band required. I have made a two band version, 20m/40m and it tuned nicely using the analyser.
As a backup I have also revisited the "Magitenna" which disappointed last time I tried to used it. Firstly I replaced the original wire which was too heavy for the low power I run and is very prone to kinking.
While doing this I discovered that the terminal post on "the special matching unit" was simply turning when I tried to tighten the wing nut. This pointed to a broken or at best poor internal connection and I was forced to open up plastic box to make a repair, sadly "forced" was the operative word.
One of the four screws was inexplicably super-glued in place and being cack-handed I soon ruined the head trying to remove it and had to drill it out. Once the screws were removed I then found the lid too was glued in place at several points and had to prise the lid off trying to minimise any damage in the process.
Given that nearly all other ham equipment I own is designed to be serviceable, including rigs worth several hundred pounds I found this annoying and unnecessary for a simple antenna, especially as the ethos is for amateurs to experiment and modify things. It certainly wasn't glued for weatherproofing as it would be have sealed all round, it could only have been to stop it being opened. I could understand this if it were protecting some patented, copyright design but it wasn't, behold the magic within the "special matching unit" nothing but a simple un-un which I suspected already.
Anyway I was able to tighten up the simple screw and bolt and ironically I used some epoxy resin on the screw head to try to stop it coming loose again. Hopefully this loose terminal was the reason for the poor performance last time.
I am looking forward to having another go from operating in Scotland this year with some more experience I hope to improve on last years efforts
While tinkering in the shack I kept the FT857 on and tuned around looking to give points away for the VHF Field Day and made a number of decent DX contacts using just 30W
Field Day 2015 – Comprehensive Report
Most of the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club showed up at Spring Lake Park at 10:00 AM or a little beforehand. There was enough pre-Field Day organization that we all pretty much knew what had to be done and what our roles were. Set up went well:
First - set up the antennas, and organize the tent - our "home" for the next 24+ hours.
First - set up the antennas, and organize the tent - our "home" for the next 24+ hours.
South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club - NJ2SP - 3A - NNJ
Battery - all power provided was from solar charged batteries. No generators were used or fossil fuels burned to generate RF for the weekend.
Ron N2LCZ helping with the "tower" guys.
In addition to helping up with setting up antennas, Ron devised and built a network so that we could link the logging computers together. No small feat under the conditions we were operating under. N2LCZ is truly SPARC's resident Computer Expert (in addition to his yeoman's work as Club Secretary).
Notice the ominous looking sky - it was a harbinger of what was to come.
Dave KD2SFI (black t-shirt) putting together antennas for GOTA and VHF/UHF.
Dave Hackett KD2FSI, was our Field Day Committee Chairman this year. Dave was the "gasoline" in our Field Day "engine". Dave may be recently licensed, but he's already built up a good knowledge of what will work and what won't. He's got an enthusiasm for Amateur Radio and Field Day that is positively infectious. Dave is the kind of guy that makes you can't wait for the next operating event. If I was putting together a DXpedition to a very rare and exotic locale, Dave would be #1 on my short list of Hams who absolutely had to be part of the crew.
We had the tri-band beam set up on an extension ladder tower affair designed and constructed by our own Philip DeFort, KD2HPG. Phil is a graduate of our Technician class from last Autumn. In addition to his mechanical contributions, he also added to our score by making some of his first on-the-air contacts as a Ham. He brought along his teen-aged son (also named Philip) who is now serious about getting his own ticket.
Here's a photo of Phil making some of his first contacts.
In addition to the tri-band beam, we brought back the EARCHI for another year. We had a ten meter dipole for GOTA and some VHF/UHF antennas built by Dave KD2DSI. We also had a W3EDP antenna up, which was built for the SSB station in anticipation that 20 Meters would probably close for the evening at some point.
We got through set up high and dry and were on the air promptly for the 2:00 PM EDT Field Day start. And that's when things started to go wrong. First, the winds kicked in and then it started raining buckets. It ended up being the soggiest Field Day that I can remember. In addition, it was pretty chilly all day. I was wearing a t-shirt with a sweat shirt on top, and resorted to adding a jacket as temperatures fell and humidity increased to 100%. There were several times during the night when some of us went to our cars and just sat for about a half hour or so with the heaters on in order to get warm and dry out for a little bit.
Soon after the start, it became apparent that something was drastically wrong with the beam. The KX3 took a long time to find a match and even when it did, the antenna was not performing as expected. My Autek antenna analyzer showed the driven element was somehow resonant way out of band, so we switched the SSB transceiver over to the W3EDP and limped along for the weekend with that. Unfortunately, the W3EDP didn't perform much better, as I think there may have been a balun problem there. We would have been better off using Marv K2VHW's G5RV as we did last year, but it was already raining buckets and I wasn't about to risk pneumonia just to get another antenna up into the trees.
But even with the antenna mishaps, there were bright spots. Marc Sullivan W4MPS, who is a good QRP friend from North Carolina was in town to visit his daughter. He came by the Field Day site with his wife for a quick visit to say "Hello" before heading to his daughter's house. He came back by himself shortly after the starting gun sounded for a longer visit. And Marc's presence was truly a God-send because right around that time, the digital station was having some RFI problems which was causing their laptop to freeze. They needed some clamp on ferrites, which I had at home. Marc volunteered to keep our CW station busy while I was off fetching the ferrites and doing some other things.
Thank you, Marc W4MPS for helping out!
In the photo of Marc W4MPS, the guy in background in the rain poncho is SPARC's own Mario KD2HPF. Undoubtedly due to his experience in Scouting, Mario was about the only one with proper foresight to come properly attired for the weekend. Mario was also a graduate of our last Technician class held in Autumn, along with Phil KD2HPG. Mario was active in the Rookie Roundup and he was active again for Field Day. In addition to being a valuable part of the set up and tear down teams, Mario put in a lot of chair time at the 6 Meter station. He was our mainstay in keeping an eye open for any openings that may have occurred on that band. Mario had a Go Pro with him, and I think there's a video of him calling CQ on 6 Meters kicking around somewhere on the Web.
It was a long chilly night, but it was made bearable by visits from friends from our two neighboring clubs, the Electronic Testing Society of NJ, and the Raritan Valley Radio Club. So many showed up, that it's hard to remember them all and I beg pardon if I forget to mention any - but special thanks to:
Pete KD2ARB for the pizzas, Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC for the home made brownies, the hot coffee and the help with tear down at the end. Marty WB2BEW donated the use of his pop up canopy, kept us company when it got lonely, and was just an all around morale boost. Marty is good people and it was good to have him with us. Same goes for Craig AC2FE, who came in the evening to keep us company for a while. And Hank N2MU who was not only a friendly visitor, but also a critical thinker who helped us iron out some technical glitches. Again, if I left out any K2ETS or W2QW members, or any other visitors who showed up, I apologize, but my brain is still a little addled from the weekend.
On Sunday, around Noon, Mayor Matt Anesh and councilman Rob Bengivenga showed up at the site. We gave them the nickel tour and explained the operation and its purpose to them. The mayor was by last year, so he was familiar with Field Day, but Councilman Bengivenga was not.
Yours truly talking antennas with Councilman Bengivenga.
Marv K2VHW, SPARC President, explaining Field Day and the equipment with the Mayor and Councilman.
And wouldn't you know it, when the dignitaries appeared, the skies brightened up and the sun came out! I was joking around with Mayor Anesh that had we known that he was bringing better weather with him, we would have invited him over on Saturday!
And once again, South Plainfield's Finest parked one of their cruisers by our tent to serve as a little bit of an extra added deterrent against any possible mischief during our overnight stay. Police Chief Parker has been very accommodating towards SPARC, and as the SPPD takes on the role of OEM, we look forward to working with him. I didn't notice it, but fellow SPARC member, Tim Halloran AB2ZK pointed out to me the cruiser's official designation number.
Car 73 - how appropriate!
So even though it was cold, wet and miserable, and we had antenna problems, and band conditions for Field Day weren't as good as they were in 2014, I think it's safe to say we all had a blast, and that SPARC is eagerly looking forward to Field Day 2016. We're going to remedy our problems and we'll be back, ready to once again take on whatever Mother Nature and Old Man Murphy dish out to us.
Drew W2OU working the digital station.
Drew Moore W2OU is our AC Log expert, fellow CERT member from Piscataway and a very valued member of SPARC. Drew is a "Ham's Ham" and is a fun guy to be around and to just sit around and shoot the breeze with. Drew is also an ARRL official, so it's nice to have a little bit of the League with us all the time.
Tim AB2ZK and John AB2VE sharing a laugh during a lighter moment.
Tim AB2ZK was our "food guy" this year. Tim ran out Saturday night at 10:30 PM in the chill and pouring rain to bring us some hot sandwiches. He's always got a joke or quip up his sleeve exactly when one is needed. He was in South Plainfield's first CERT class and was a graduate of our first Technician licensing class back in 1995. John AB2VE helped me set up the W3EDP and the EARCHI antenna. When I was getting a bit frustrated with the way the wind was blowing around the antenna lines I was launching, John kept me focused and on target. John is a veteran member of the South Plainfield Rescue Squad and is a very good friend to have.
W2LJ explaining the KX3 and the CW station to some visitors.
Lastly, two more SPARC members that I want to mention. Wayne Grennier N2LRE is our Vice-President. He's also our publicity guru who gets and keeps SPARC in the town's local publications. There are so many times that friends come up and say, "Hey Lar, I saw your picture in the Observer about that Amateur Radio thing you're involved with." Word of SPARC gets out because of Wayne. I wanted to snap a Field Day photo of him, but he was too busy flitting around with his camera, getting photos of the rest of us!
And our President, Marv K2VHW. Marv saw the need for a new Amateur Radio club in South Plainfield and did something about it. He's our navigator as we sail through uncharted waters. He has a good sense for what's good for the club and he's not afraid to try new things or to listen to a new opinion. SPARC is what it is because of Marv's leadership. We will forever be indebted to him. He keeps us engaged and active - and if a club is going to succeed, that's exactly what you need.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
First HAB flights were a success
Two years after discovering the hobby of High Altitude Ballooning I have migrated from being just a passive tracker and finally completed my first flights assisted by other members of the South Kesteven ARS.
Back in March I posted about the opportunity I had to make a launch at this years Swaton Vintage Day and the 10th World Egg Throwing Championship
South Kesteven ARS were going to hold a special event station with the call sign GB2EGG. During the planning stage I jokingly suggested throwing an egg in to space on board a balloon, I shouldn't have yoked...
The whole venture captured everyone's imagination, sadly putting the special event station in the shade but we certainly got a lot of publicity for the club and amateur radio in general.
There was certainly a lot to learn and get organised, not only did I have to design and build the flight computer which was the easy part but I had to build the payload containers get the balloon, parachute, cord the lifting gas (Helium) and build a filler assembly as well as getting official permission from the CAA for the launch.
The information on the UKHAS wiki as well as Dave Akerman's High Altitude Ballooning, From The Ground Up (and back again) were invaluable.
The cost of this venture was not insubstantial and thankfully MADHEN - The Ultimate Party Band agreed to sponsor the flight which helped greatly and I received a nice donation from fellow club member Mark Orbell (M0OBL)
Months of work and lots of last minute hitches but I was ready.
Two flights were planned an altitude 'burst' flight with a raw egg payload with a parachute decent. The main tracker MADHEN would broadcast SSDV images and telemetry with a telemetry backup tracker EGG1 suspended below it. The second flight was a foil party balloon 'floater' with a tracker kindly donated by Steve Smith G0TDJ of ProjectAVR
Both flights flew and were a great success, unfortunately the SSDV tracker failed early in the flight so no in flight images were received.
The main payload is pictured below before the flight resting on its side. The Styrofoam box contained the flight computer and radio transmitter with a camera attached to the Raspberry Pi and the "flying saucer" model which contained the egg was positioned to be visible.
As this test image shows the 'egg saucer' should have had the earth below it.
However the arduino based backup tracker which was suspended below it worked perfectly.
There were some issues with getting CAA approval because the sky was very busy on the day including the last remaining Vulcan Bomber VH-558 making its farewell flight in the area, cue jokes about the Vulcan getting scrambled... but approval was given for a morning flight, not ideal for the organisers but we were still a spectacle for the handful who were there early.
It started so well, I was receiving telemetry and image packets and then transmission stopped
However as I said the other tracker worked brilliantly and this was the final flight path as visualised in Google Earth. The ascent and decent rate and the burst altitude were exactly as planned and predicted, so I know I got the neck lift measurement right even with the high wind on the day.
A splashdown at sea was inevitable due to the wind conditions, hopefully it it survived the landing it may wash up on a beach somewhere and we can retrieve the images.
With what little Helium remained I was able to lightly fill and launch a foil party balloon carrying a blown egg shell as a 'floater' which made a valiant attempt to reach the continent at 6-7km high travelling at 120+km/hr where it reportably hit bad weather and was downed.
All in all an eggscellent day!
 |
| Ready to launch |
South Kesteven ARS were going to hold a special event station with the call sign GB2EGG. During the planning stage I jokingly suggested throwing an egg in to space on board a balloon, I shouldn't have yoked...
The whole venture captured everyone's imagination, sadly putting the special event station in the shade but we certainly got a lot of publicity for the club and amateur radio in general.
 |
| Featured on front page of local paper |
There was certainly a lot to learn and get organised, not only did I have to design and build the flight computer which was the easy part but I had to build the payload containers get the balloon, parachute, cord the lifting gas (Helium) and build a filler assembly as well as getting official permission from the CAA for the launch.
The information on the UKHAS wiki as well as Dave Akerman's High Altitude Ballooning, From The Ground Up (and back again) were invaluable.
The cost of this venture was not insubstantial and thankfully MADHEN - The Ultimate Party Band agreed to sponsor the flight which helped greatly and I received a nice donation from fellow club member Mark Orbell (M0OBL)
Months of work and lots of last minute hitches but I was ready.
Two flights were planned an altitude 'burst' flight with a raw egg payload with a parachute decent. The main tracker MADHEN would broadcast SSDV images and telemetry with a telemetry backup tracker EGG1 suspended below it. The second flight was a foil party balloon 'floater' with a tracker kindly donated by Steve Smith G0TDJ of ProjectAVR
Both flights flew and were a great success, unfortunately the SSDV tracker failed early in the flight so no in flight images were received.
The main payload is pictured below before the flight resting on its side. The Styrofoam box contained the flight computer and radio transmitter with a camera attached to the Raspberry Pi and the "flying saucer" model which contained the egg was positioned to be visible.
As this test image shows the 'egg saucer' should have had the earth below it.
However the arduino based backup tracker which was suspended below it worked perfectly.
There were some issues with getting CAA approval because the sky was very busy on the day including the last remaining Vulcan Bomber VH-558 making its farewell flight in the area, cue jokes about the Vulcan getting scrambled... but approval was given for a morning flight, not ideal for the organisers but we were still a spectacle for the handful who were there early.
 |
| Starting the fill |
 |
| Checking the neck lift, made difficult by the wind |
 |
| Stewart (M0SDM) helping me tie off the balloon and payload cord |
 |
| The strong gusty wind made launch difficult |
 | |
| Me and Stewart making a dash to assist the launch |
Someone was on hand to capture it on video for The World Egg Throwing Federation
It started so well, I was receiving telemetry and image packets and then transmission stopped
However as I said the other tracker worked brilliantly and this was the final flight path as visualised in Google Earth. The ascent and decent rate and the burst altitude were exactly as planned and predicted, so I know I got the neck lift measurement right even with the high wind on the day.
 |
| Path of MADHEN/EGG1 |
A splashdown at sea was inevitable due to the wind conditions, hopefully it it survived the landing it may wash up on a beach somewhere and we can retrieve the images.
With what little Helium remained I was able to lightly fill and launch a foil party balloon carrying a blown egg shell as a 'floater' which made a valiant attempt to reach the continent at 6-7km high travelling at 120+km/hr where it reportably hit bad weather and was downed.
 |
| Path of EGGDX in comparison to MADHEN/EGG1 |
All in all an eggscellent day!
First HAB flights were a success
Two years after discovering the hobby of High Altitude Ballooning I have migrated from being just a passive tracker and finally completed my first flights assisted by other members of the South Kesteven ARS.
Back in March I posted about the opportunity I had to make a launch at this years Swaton Vintage Day and the 10th World Egg Throwing Championship
South Kesteven ARS were going to hold a special event station with the call sign GB2EGG. During the planning stage I jokingly suggested throwing an egg in to space on board a balloon, I shouldn't have yoked...
The whole venture captured everyone's imagination, sadly putting the special event station in the shade but we certainly got a lot of publicity for the club and amateur radio in general.
There was certainly a lot to learn and get organised, not only did I have to design and build the flight computer which was the easy part but I had to build the payload containers get the balloon, parachute, cord the lifting gas (Helium) and build a filler assembly as well as getting official permission from the CAA for the launch.
The information on the UKHAS wiki as well as Dave Akerman's High Altitude Ballooning, From The Ground Up (and back again) were invaluable.
The cost of this venture was not insubstantial and thankfully MADHEN - The Ultimate Party Band agreed to sponsor the flight which helped greatly and I received a nice donation from fellow club member Mark Orbell (M0OBL)
Months of work and lots of last minute hitches but I was ready.
Two flights were planned an altitude 'burst' flight with a raw egg payload with a parachute decent. The main tracker MADHEN would broadcast SSDV images and telemetry with a telemetry backup tracker EGG1 suspended below it. The second flight was a foil party balloon 'floater' with a tracker kindly donated by Steve Smith G0TDJ of ProjectAVR
Both flights flew and were a great success, unfortunately the SSDV tracker failed early in the flight so no in flight images were received.
The main payload is pictured below before the flight resting on its side. The Styrofoam box contained the flight computer and radio transmitter with a camera attached to the Raspberry Pi and the "flying saucer" model which contained the egg was positioned to be visible.
As this test image shows the 'egg saucer' should have had the earth below it.
However the arduino based backup tracker which was suspended below it worked perfectly.
There were some issues with getting CAA approval because the sky was very busy on the day including the last remaining Vulcan Bomber VH-558 making its farewell flight in the area, cue jokes about the Vulcan getting scrambled... but approval was given for a morning flight, not ideal for the organisers but we were still a spectacle for the handful who were there early.
It started so well, I was receiving telemetry and image packets and then transmission stopped
However as I said the other tracker worked brilliantly and this was the final flight path as visualised in Google Earth. The ascent and decent rate and the burst altitude were exactly as planned and predicted, so I know I got the neck lift measurement right even with the high wind on the day.
A splashdown at sea was inevitable due to the wind conditions, hopefully it it survived the landing it may wash up on a beach somewhere and we can retrieve the images.
With what little Helium remained I was able to lightly fill and launch a foil party balloon carrying a blown egg shell as a 'floater' which made a valiant attempt to reach the continent at 6-7km high travelling at 120+km/hr where it reportably hit bad weather and was downed.
All in all an eggscellent day!
|
| Ready to launch |
South Kesteven ARS were going to hold a special event station with the call sign GB2EGG. During the planning stage I jokingly suggested throwing an egg in to space on board a balloon, I shouldn't have yoked...
The whole venture captured everyone's imagination, sadly putting the special event station in the shade but we certainly got a lot of publicity for the club and amateur radio in general.
|
| Featured on front page of local paper |
There was certainly a lot to learn and get organised, not only did I have to design and build the flight computer which was the easy part but I had to build the payload containers get the balloon, parachute, cord the lifting gas (Helium) and build a filler assembly as well as getting official permission from the CAA for the launch.
The information on the UKHAS wiki as well as Dave Akerman's High Altitude Ballooning, From The Ground Up (and back again) were invaluable.
The cost of this venture was not insubstantial and thankfully MADHEN - The Ultimate Party Band agreed to sponsor the flight which helped greatly and I received a nice donation from fellow club member Mark Orbell (M0OBL)
Months of work and lots of last minute hitches but I was ready.
Two flights were planned an altitude 'burst' flight with a raw egg payload with a parachute decent. The main tracker MADHEN would broadcast SSDV images and telemetry with a telemetry backup tracker EGG1 suspended below it. The second flight was a foil party balloon 'floater' with a tracker kindly donated by Steve Smith G0TDJ of ProjectAVR
Both flights flew and were a great success, unfortunately the SSDV tracker failed early in the flight so no in flight images were received.
The main payload is pictured below before the flight resting on its side. The Styrofoam box contained the flight computer and radio transmitter with a camera attached to the Raspberry Pi and the "flying saucer" model which contained the egg was positioned to be visible.
As this test image shows the 'egg saucer' should have had the earth below it.
However the arduino based backup tracker which was suspended below it worked perfectly.
There were some issues with getting CAA approval because the sky was very busy on the day including the last remaining Vulcan Bomber VH-558 making its farewell flight in the area, cue jokes about the Vulcan getting scrambled... but approval was given for a morning flight, not ideal for the organisers but we were still a spectacle for the handful who were there early.
|
| Starting the fill |
|
| Checking the neck lift, made difficult by the wind |
|
| Stewart (M0SDM) helping me tie off the balloon and payload cord |
|
| The strong gusty wind made launch difficult |
| |
| Me and Stewart making a dash to assist the launch |
Someone was on hand to capture it on video for The World Egg Throwing Federation
It started so well, I was receiving telemetry and image packets and then transmission stopped
However as I said the other tracker worked brilliantly and this was the final flight path as visualised in Google Earth. The ascent and decent rate and the burst altitude were exactly as planned and predicted, so I know I got the neck lift measurement right even with the high wind on the day.
|
| Path of MADHEN/EGG1 |
A splashdown at sea was inevitable due to the wind conditions, hopefully it it survived the landing it may wash up on a beach somewhere and we can retrieve the images.
With what little Helium remained I was able to lightly fill and launch a foil party balloon carrying a blown egg shell as a 'floater' which made a valiant attempt to reach the continent at 6-7km high travelling at 120+km/hr where it reportably hit bad weather and was downed.
|
| Path of EGGDX in comparison to MADHEN/EGG1 |
All in all an eggscellent day!
Getting ready for Field Day
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the radio is so delightful .... And since we have nowhere to go .... let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!"
That may very well be the tune we'll be singing this Field Day 2015. And we're supposed to be luckier than a lot of our fellow Hams in NY, CT, MA and PA. Our little patch of Central New Jersey should see just under an inch of rain, while some of those other spots are supposed to see a lot more. And it will all be a matter of timing. Looking at WeatherUnderground, we just may luck out with the heaviest rain falling AFTER set up and ending BEFORE tear down.
So the intrepid Hams from the South Plainfield Radio Club will do our best to stay high and dry as we put NJ2SP on the air for a second year. This year, we will be 3A Battery with a GOTA station in the mix. The Mayor and Town Council have already declared this week to be Amateur Radio Week in our town. The Proclamation was presented last Monday evening.
I wasn't there for the presentation - I was picking up Marianne from the hospital, but my buds were there!
In addition, the Office of Emergency Management procured a tent for us, so we should remain dry and comfortable despite whatever Mother Nature may dish out.
SPARC in the Park - Field Day 2015
Listen for us! We will have a KX3 for SSB, a KX3 for CW and FT-817 for Digital and I think a FT-897 for the GOTA station, which will use call sign KD2FSI. Our antennas will be the EARCHI EFHW for CW, a Tri-band Yagi (using a 20' extension ladder as a tower), and a W3EDP for the lower bands for SSB. The GOTA station will have a 10 Meter beam for its use.
We will be operating totally from battery again this year. No generator, except for a short while that will power a TV monitor that we will be using for an "educational event". We have local Boy and Girl Scout troops heading over for a lesson on radio. We also have ARRL and Town dignitaries scheduled to visit, so it will be an eventful weekend.
I really should have taken Monday off from work - hindsight is 20/20.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Are you ready?
Skeeter Hunt numbers will be issued starting this coming Sunday - which is not only Father's Day here in the US, but also the First Day of Summer for all of us in the Northern Hemisphere.
Have you sent in your e-mail? I've gotten only a few, so far. You don't have to wait until Sunday to request a number - but that is the day when I will start posting them to the roster.
A word to all those who have already requested a Skeeter number - In addition to having your name and call posted on the Skeeter Hunt roster, you WILL receive a confirming e-mail from me with your number, some time on Sunday. If you have already applied and do not have your number by Monday morning, let me know! In fact, throughout this process, ALL applicants will receive a confirming e-mail which will include their Skeeter number.
Now.....here's my pledge to all of you who participate in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt.
You go out of your way to join in on the fun. Some of you travel some distance to find the right spot - some of you operate from home or your back yards. But no matter where you operate from, you are the ones on the air, making the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt a success.
I will always do my level best to get your scores (and soapbox comments) posted in a timely manner. I can tell you right off the bat, that since log summaries are due two weeks after the event, you won't see anything for at least those first two weeks. But after that, I will get all that good stuff posted as fast as I can without sacrificing accuracy and completeness.
You, the participants, deserve as much. And if for some reason, I can't make this self imposed deadline, I'll communicate that to you and will let you all know so that you're not left in the dark, scratching your heads, wondering what's going on. You make the effort, you want to see how you did and how you stacked up amongst your peers. You want to see how that new rig or new antenna performed for you - I get that, and will do my best to let you see how it all panned out.
Certificates and plaques take a bit longer. But again, I will do my best to get those out within a couple months following the event. Just so you all know, Skeeter Hunt swag is available through CafePress. All proceeds go to help pay for paper, envelopes, ink, and postage.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Have you sent in your e-mail? I've gotten only a few, so far. You don't have to wait until Sunday to request a number - but that is the day when I will start posting them to the roster.
A word to all those who have already requested a Skeeter number - In addition to having your name and call posted on the Skeeter Hunt roster, you WILL receive a confirming e-mail from me with your number, some time on Sunday. If you have already applied and do not have your number by Monday morning, let me know! In fact, throughout this process, ALL applicants will receive a confirming e-mail which will include their Skeeter number.
Now.....here's my pledge to all of you who participate in the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt.
You go out of your way to join in on the fun. Some of you travel some distance to find the right spot - some of you operate from home or your back yards. But no matter where you operate from, you are the ones on the air, making the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt a success.
I will always do my level best to get your scores (and soapbox comments) posted in a timely manner. I can tell you right off the bat, that since log summaries are due two weeks after the event, you won't see anything for at least those first two weeks. But after that, I will get all that good stuff posted as fast as I can without sacrificing accuracy and completeness.
You, the participants, deserve as much. And if for some reason, I can't make this self imposed deadline, I'll communicate that to you and will let you all know so that you're not left in the dark, scratching your heads, wondering what's going on. You make the effort, you want to see how you did and how you stacked up amongst your peers. You want to see how that new rig or new antenna performed for you - I get that, and will do my best to let you see how it all panned out.
Certificates and plaques take a bit longer. But again, I will do my best to get those out within a couple months following the event. Just so you all know, Skeeter Hunt swag is available through CafePress. All proceeds go to help pay for paper, envelopes, ink, and postage.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
WA6ITF – Bill Pasternak – SK
It was announced last night / early this morning on Facebook that Bill Pasternak WA6ITF has become a Silent Key, after a long illness.
Bill was the founder and producer of Amateur Radio Newsline and founder and administrator of the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award (co-sponsored by CQ Magazine). Bill was the author of many columns for many Amateur Radio publications over the years.
Bill was an outspoken advocate for all thing Amateur Radio. His achievements in Amateur Radio and in the promotion of it are too numerous to mention. I met him a long time ago (on-line) back in the good ol' days of Prodigy. Bill was always friendly, outgoing and willing to help anyone in any way he could. He will be sorely missed, and he has left us with a very large pair of shoes to fill.
My condolences to his wife Sharon KD6EPW and the rest of his family.
73, OM.
Larry W2LJ
Bill was the founder and producer of Amateur Radio Newsline and founder and administrator of the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award (co-sponsored by CQ Magazine). Bill was the author of many columns for many Amateur Radio publications over the years.
Bill was an outspoken advocate for all thing Amateur Radio. His achievements in Amateur Radio and in the promotion of it are too numerous to mention. I met him a long time ago (on-line) back in the good ol' days of Prodigy. Bill was always friendly, outgoing and willing to help anyone in any way he could. He will be sorely missed, and he has left us with a very large pair of shoes to fill.
My condolences to his wife Sharon KD6EPW and the rest of his family.
73, OM.
Larry W2LJ
