Posts Tagged ‘amateurradio.com’
All in all – a good day!
February 8th, 2015 | 
Author: There were a lot of things to get done before playing in FYBO, and (channelling Yoda) get them done I did. Believe it or not, my FYBO operation was from the street in front of our house. I live on a relatively quiet side street, so there was no danger of being hit by a car or something like that. I opened up the hatch of the Jeep, just like I do at work, and set up my nylon camping chair and used the "trunk" of my Jeep as an operating table. My antenna was the Buddistick/magmount combo on the roof . I'm sure the neighbors were staring - wondering, "What the heck is he doing now? And what is that tall stick poking up from his car roof?" "And why is our dishwasher going crazy - I'll bet it's him!"
As I set up it was flurrying slightly and the temp was 35F (1C). And then it happened. I tried tuning up the KX3 and couldn't get a decent match. Of course these things always happen at the worst time! Calmly, I took the Buddistick off the roof and inspected it - no problems there. Then the magmount - AHA! Where the coax meets magmount, the dielectric foam surrounding the center conductor wire cracked open (from the cold, I guess, because I keep it in the trunk when not in use). The shield was ever so slightly touching the center conductor and was making for a bad situation. A quick trip to the basement shack was in order. I cut the coax back, soldered on two new ring terminals and put everything back together. The KX3 was a happy camper with a 1:1 match.
In about two hours of operating, here's my summary:
W2LJ
Team Polar Bear
Field - Yes
Category - Single Op
Alternative Power - No (Batteries- Mains charged)
Lowest Temperature - 35
QRPp - No
Final Score - 7780 points
BAND QSOs SPCs NQ7RP Stns
------------------------------------
20 15 12 0
14 10 8 1
------------------------------------
TOTAL: 24 20 1
Score - (24X20) (X4 Temp multiplier) (X4 Field Multiplier) +100 =7780
15 Meters was pleasantly active, affording me 10 of my 24 QSOs. 20 Meters was also busy but noisier, with some TN QSO Party stations and some SOTA stations thrown into the mix. I also was contacted by an SKCC station - I guess they have something going on this weekend, as well as one DX station - G4OBC. I tuned around 40 Meters at the end of my operating time, but heard no FYBOers.
There was no wind to speak of, so it actually didn't feel that bad outside. I think the temperature reached a max of 38F (3C) while I was out. I was comfortable, except that my hands were cold, as I really couldn't send Morse while wearing heavy Winter gloves. And another discovery - the older you get, the more bathroom breaks you need when it's cold! Too much information? Sorry!
Now, if that wasn't enough - my FYBO day was made even better by finally working K1N with 5 Watts. YES!!! I came down to the shack this evening to enter my FYBO log into my Master Log. While doing that, I heard K1N on 20 Meters (haven't worked them there yet) and they were truly 599 loud. I double checked my power setting to make sure I was at 5 Watts and I jumped into the pileup. In about somewhere between 5 to 10 calls, I finally heard my call come back to me. Sweet! My personal goal is now complete. I got K1N in the log for an ATNO, and I also got them in the log using QRP power.
It was a good QRP day. A VERY good QRP day!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
As I set up it was flurrying slightly and the temp was 35F (1C). And then it happened. I tried tuning up the KX3 and couldn't get a decent match. Of course these things always happen at the worst time! Calmly, I took the Buddistick off the roof and inspected it - no problems there. Then the magmount - AHA! Where the coax meets magmount, the dielectric foam surrounding the center conductor wire cracked open (from the cold, I guess, because I keep it in the trunk when not in use). The shield was ever so slightly touching the center conductor and was making for a bad situation. A quick trip to the basement shack was in order. I cut the coax back, soldered on two new ring terminals and put everything back together. The KX3 was a happy camper with a 1:1 match.
In about two hours of operating, here's my summary:
W2LJ
Team Polar Bear
Field - Yes
Category - Single Op
Alternative Power - No (Batteries- Mains charged)
Lowest Temperature - 35
QRPp - No
Final Score - 7780 points
BAND QSOs SPCs NQ7RP Stns
------------------------------------
20 15 12 0
14 10 8 1
------------------------------------
TOTAL: 24 20 1
Score - (24X20) (X4 Temp multiplier) (X4 Field Multiplier) +100 =7780
15 Meters was pleasantly active, affording me 10 of my 24 QSOs. 20 Meters was also busy but noisier, with some TN QSO Party stations and some SOTA stations thrown into the mix. I also was contacted by an SKCC station - I guess they have something going on this weekend, as well as one DX station - G4OBC. I tuned around 40 Meters at the end of my operating time, but heard no FYBOers.
There was no wind to speak of, so it actually didn't feel that bad outside. I think the temperature reached a max of 38F (3C) while I was out. I was comfortable, except that my hands were cold, as I really couldn't send Morse while wearing heavy Winter gloves. And another discovery - the older you get, the more bathroom breaks you need when it's cold! Too much information? Sorry!
Now, if that wasn't enough - my FYBO day was made even better by finally working K1N with 5 Watts. YES!!! I came down to the shack this evening to enter my FYBO log into my Master Log. While doing that, I heard K1N on 20 Meters (haven't worked them there yet) and they were truly 599 loud. I double checked my power setting to make sure I was at 5 Watts and I jumped into the pileup. In about somewhere between 5 to 10 calls, I finally heard my call come back to me. Sweet! My personal goal is now complete. I got K1N in the log for an ATNO, and I also got them in the log using QRP power.
It was a good QRP day. A VERY good QRP day!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Mission half accomplished
Not really believing it myself, I sit here in the shack at 4:42 AM (0942 UTC), coffee-less and typing into this computer. My plan of getting up early and losing very precious moments of sleep did pan out. I now have K1N in the log!
Knowing I was going to be up super early, I decided to leave the shack computer running, after last night's failed attempt on 40 Meters. We must have had a power failure during the night, because when I got down here, the computer was off. So I re-booted and while waiting for the microprocessor to do it's thing, I turned on the KX3. Lo and behold, K1N had not budged from the frequency that they were on when I left them last night.
On a hunch, I decided to activate the KX3's dual watch, sub receiver. This time, after listening for a bit, I was able to determine the split was a manageable "up 5" (not like last night, where the split was something like "up 10-15 and everywhere in between") and I started sending my call. Within 12 minutes at 0912 UTC, I was in the log. As an aside, let me state outright - my fist at 4:00 AM without coffee was NOT a thing of beauty. Not at all - it was almost like I couldn't get my hand to work right. I was actually staring at it for a few moments wondering "What's going on here? You know how to do this!"
After a few seconds of happy dancing, the shock wore off. "What do I do now? Go back to bed?" I really hadn't expected to be successful so soon. Better judgement was telling me to go back and get a few more Z's before beginning the work day, but Ham judgement took over. "No, since I'm up this early, let's try 80 Meters." You'd do the same thing, right?
K1N's signal was a tad weaker on 80 Meters as compared to 40 meters, but I decided to give it a go, anyway. After listening with the KX3's sub receiver, I was able to determine that again, the split was manageable, and not all over creation. Even better, the K1N op's movements were steady and predictable. At 0938 UTC, I was in the log on 80 Meters! Holy cow! Two bands, within a half an hour of each other! The rest of my day is either going to go extremely well, or it's all downhill from here. The KX3, KXPA100 and my W3EDP did their job for me - thanks Elecraft, and mucho thanks to the K1N ops for digging me out of the pileup.
And yes, as per this blog post title, the mission is only half accomplished. With the remaining time that they are there on Navassa, W2LJ will make another attempt, on another band, to get into their log once again - this time with QRP power. Since K1N probably won't be activated for another 25 years or so, the first goal was just to get them in the log with my new DX Rule - WFWQL (Work First Worry About QRP Later). With that monkey off my back, I can relax somewhat and now try to beat the pileups with 5 Watts.
Hopefully, that will be another interesting story that I will be able to write about.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Knowing I was going to be up super early, I decided to leave the shack computer running, after last night's failed attempt on 40 Meters. We must have had a power failure during the night, because when I got down here, the computer was off. So I re-booted and while waiting for the microprocessor to do it's thing, I turned on the KX3. Lo and behold, K1N had not budged from the frequency that they were on when I left them last night.
On a hunch, I decided to activate the KX3's dual watch, sub receiver. This time, after listening for a bit, I was able to determine the split was a manageable "up 5" (not like last night, where the split was something like "up 10-15 and everywhere in between") and I started sending my call. Within 12 minutes at 0912 UTC, I was in the log. As an aside, let me state outright - my fist at 4:00 AM without coffee was NOT a thing of beauty. Not at all - it was almost like I couldn't get my hand to work right. I was actually staring at it for a few moments wondering "What's going on here? You know how to do this!"
After a few seconds of happy dancing, the shock wore off. "What do I do now? Go back to bed?" I really hadn't expected to be successful so soon. Better judgement was telling me to go back and get a few more Z's before beginning the work day, but Ham judgement took over. "No, since I'm up this early, let's try 80 Meters." You'd do the same thing, right?
K1N's signal was a tad weaker on 80 Meters as compared to 40 meters, but I decided to give it a go, anyway. After listening with the KX3's sub receiver, I was able to determine that again, the split was manageable, and not all over creation. Even better, the K1N op's movements were steady and predictable. At 0938 UTC, I was in the log on 80 Meters! Holy cow! Two bands, within a half an hour of each other! The rest of my day is either going to go extremely well, or it's all downhill from here. The KX3, KXPA100 and my W3EDP did their job for me - thanks Elecraft, and mucho thanks to the K1N ops for digging me out of the pileup.
Enjoying a well deserved "Cuppa Joe" after some early morning success!
And yes, as per this blog post title, the mission is only half accomplished. With the remaining time that they are there on Navassa, W2LJ will make another attempt, on another band, to get into their log once again - this time with QRP power. Since K1N probably won't be activated for another 25 years or so, the first goal was just to get them in the log with my new DX Rule - WFWQL (Work First Worry About QRP Later). With that monkey off my back, I can relax somewhat and now try to beat the pileups with 5 Watts.
Hopefully, that will be another interesting story that I will be able to write about.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
FYBO 2015 – this Saturday!
Freeze Your B____ Off 2015 is this coming Saturday - the opening event of the 2015 Outdoor QRP Operating season! If the weathermen are correct, and these days, who knows? Anyway, if the weathermen are correct, Saturday will be the last day before a significant three day snow event here in Central New Jersey. As of right this second, the forecasted high temperature for Saturday is expected to be 39F (4C), with overcast skies. That would be a 4X multiplier at the very least.
So I have several options. I can operate from outdoors - probably the picnic table in the back yard, but that's still covered with ice from last Monday's ice storm - it's never gotten above freezing since that nasty little clipper came through here. I can also operate from inside the Jeep. The advantage there is that all I have to do is plop the Buddistick on the roof - after I chip away the ice that's still on the top of it! But, with the heat off, the temperature inside the Jeep will be the same as the outdoors. Operating in this manner wouldn't qualify for the Mobile category, but it would be much dryer than the picnic table. I have time to decide - there's no hurry, and it will depend how adventurous I feel and how clogged up my head is on Saturday. Don't want this slight head cold that I am dealing with to develop into bronchitis or something worse.
FYBO rules haven't changed much, with the exception that this year, teams are being allowed. Here's the URL for the page with the latest rules posting: http://www.azscqrpions.com/fybo2009rules.html
I guess I should make sure all my batteries are charged up for this weekend!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
So I have several options. I can operate from outdoors - probably the picnic table in the back yard, but that's still covered with ice from last Monday's ice storm - it's never gotten above freezing since that nasty little clipper came through here. I can also operate from inside the Jeep. The advantage there is that all I have to do is plop the Buddistick on the roof - after I chip away the ice that's still on the top of it! But, with the heat off, the temperature inside the Jeep will be the same as the outdoors. Operating in this manner wouldn't qualify for the Mobile category, but it would be much dryer than the picnic table. I have time to decide - there's no hurry, and it will depend how adventurous I feel and how clogged up my head is on Saturday. Don't want this slight head cold that I am dealing with to develop into bronchitis or something worse.
FYBO rules haven't changed much, with the exception that this year, teams are being allowed. Here's the URL for the page with the latest rules posting: http://www.azscqrpions.com/fybo2009rules.html
I guess I should make sure all my batteries are charged up for this weekend!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Repairing a Kenwood TR9500, Part4
The troublesome TR9500 has developed another fault, well it has likely had this fault since I've owned it but I have only just spotted it.
After making repairs to the microphone amplifier and the receiver pre-amplifier the rig seemed to be working fine, I'd even used it several times during the UKAC contests with some success.
The 70cm band is under used locally and activity seems largely restricted to repeaters. Due to it's vintage the TR9500 doesn't have CTCSS tones and so cannot be used to access repeaters without some modification and I've been looking at adding a CTCSS board.
In the meantime I really wanted to use the TR9500 a bit more and was hoping to make it part of a satellite station, the TR9500 acting as the UHF uplink transmitter (LSB) and the VHF 2m TR9000 as the downlink receiver (USB) for the AO73 (FUNCube-1) and other satellites.
The satellite portion of the band plan is at 435-438MHz and it was when setting this up I discovered the TR9500 neither received or transmitted in the upper part of the 70cm band (435-440MHz) below this everything was hunky-dory.
It hasn't taken long to locate the issue, the HET unit employs two crystals L33 (36.6222MHz), L34 (37.1777MHz) which are switched in to the oscillator Q1 depending on the selected frequency. L33 being referred to as low band, L34 as high band the switching occurring around 435MHz.
The switching HL signal (via R10) and transistors Q3/Q4 are working correctly it is just crystal L34 is not resonating. The surrounding diodes, capacitors, inductors and resistors all look fine, no obvious shorts or broken joints.
I have to do some more diagnostics to rule out any of the passive components but if it is the case that the crystal has failed then it may prove difficult to source an economical replacement.
After making repairs to the microphone amplifier and the receiver pre-amplifier the rig seemed to be working fine, I'd even used it several times during the UKAC contests with some success.
The 70cm band is under used locally and activity seems largely restricted to repeaters. Due to it's vintage the TR9500 doesn't have CTCSS tones and so cannot be used to access repeaters without some modification and I've been looking at adding a CTCSS board.
In the meantime I really wanted to use the TR9500 a bit more and was hoping to make it part of a satellite station, the TR9500 acting as the UHF uplink transmitter (LSB) and the VHF 2m TR9000 as the downlink receiver (USB) for the AO73 (FUNCube-1) and other satellites.
The satellite portion of the band plan is at 435-438MHz and it was when setting this up I discovered the TR9500 neither received or transmitted in the upper part of the 70cm band (435-440MHz) below this everything was hunky-dory.
It hasn't taken long to locate the issue, the HET unit employs two crystals L33 (36.6222MHz), L34 (37.1777MHz) which are switched in to the oscillator Q1 depending on the selected frequency. L33 being referred to as low band, L34 as high band the switching occurring around 435MHz.
The switching HL signal (via R10) and transistors Q3/Q4 are working correctly it is just crystal L34 is not resonating. The surrounding diodes, capacitors, inductors and resistors all look fine, no obvious shorts or broken joints.
I have to do some more diagnostics to rule out any of the passive components but if it is the case that the crystal has failed then it may prove difficult to source an economical replacement.
A double edge sword
I'm not trying to brag here, or toot my own horn. But by virtue of living in New Jersey, I can't even count how many times I've worked into the Caribbean with 5 Watts or even QRPp power. Reaching that part of the world has NEVER been a problem for me.
Until, possibly, now.
K1N should be starting up very soon. Navassa Island is nestled comfortably in territory that I have always reliably communicated with. But this little spit of land is so high on the DX wish list, that it rivals North Korea on some DX'ers most wanted list.
I expect nothing less than pandemonium in the near future. Expect mile wide pileups on the HF bands as everybody and their uncle try to work this DXpedition. So, while 5 Watts has never failed me up to now, I haven't decided my approach to K1N, yet. If I decide to jump into the fray very early, it will be with 100 Watts. However, I may also wait for the second half of the expedition, when a 5 Watt attempt may be more doable.
UPDATE: K1N is on the air! I am listening to them on 40 Meters on 7.023 MHz, Currently the pileup is going past 7.035 MHz. I think there might be an issue for the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt Tuesday night.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Until, possibly, now.
K1N should be starting up very soon. Navassa Island is nestled comfortably in territory that I have always reliably communicated with. But this little spit of land is so high on the DX wish list, that it rivals North Korea on some DX'ers most wanted list.
I expect nothing less than pandemonium in the near future. Expect mile wide pileups on the HF bands as everybody and their uncle try to work this DXpedition. So, while 5 Watts has never failed me up to now, I haven't decided my approach to K1N, yet. If I decide to jump into the fray very early, it will be with 100 Watts. However, I may also wait for the second half of the expedition, when a 5 Watt attempt may be more doable.
UPDATE: K1N is on the air! I am listening to them on 40 Meters on 7.023 MHz, Currently the pileup is going past 7.035 MHz. I think there might be an issue for the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt Tuesday night.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
It’s been a while
It's been a while since I really made an effort to use the ol' Vibroplex. I gave the contacts a decent cleaning today and gave it a whirl in a QSO with Art K8CIT. I don't think I sounded terrible - and I hope Art didn't think so either. I could use some more practise, though, and I will continue to use it more often.
I haven't run this piece in a long time. It's from my old webpage on how to adjust a bug:
Using a bug is a real fun part of using Morse Code. Adjusting one properly so that it works right for you and doesn't frustrate the heck out of you is easy; if you take your time and work methodically. Refer to the photo below for reference.
The first thing you do is to back off all the adjusting screws quite a bit. Not all the way; but far enough out so that everything is nowhere near being set. Once that's done you want to adjust the action of the pendulum. Unscrew "A" - this is the pivot point for the pendulum. Slowly tighten it. You'll know you have it adjusted correctly when the pendulum moves from side to side freely with no binding; but, at the same time, you can move the finger pieces up and down with your fingers and feel very little or no play.
The next thing you want to do is to adjust screw "B". Allow the pendulum to hit the damper. Screw in "B" to the point where you can either see or just perceive the pendulum has touched the damper. Stop there and secure the screw with the knurled lock nut. It is important not to move the pendulum too far away from the damper or else you will not be able to reliably stop your "dits".
The next thing you want to do is adjust the left trunnion screw - D. This will control the amount of side to side travel of the pendulum. For smooth code this gap should be very small. I take a piece of ordinary printer paper, fold it in half to double it and adjust the spacing so that the paper will just slip between the point of the screw and the pendulum. This results in a very small amount of side to side travel. The end result is a nice and clean transition between "dits" and "dahs". I do the same thing for the amount of spacing for the "dah" contact at C. I turn that trunnion screw in so that the paper slips in the gap easily with no binding, then I lock the set screw in place to keep the setting.
The next thing you want to do is adjust the "dits" making part of your bug. This is done by adjusting "E". When "E" is adjusted correctly, you should be able to swing the pendulum to make "dits"; and get 10 to 15 "dits" before the pendulum dampens out and comes to a rest.
"F" controls the tension of the "dit" action. I find it best to tension the spring about half way. Hopefully, if you follow this guide and play around a little bit and experiment, you will find the "sweet spot" that will allow you to send really glassy smooth Morse Code.
Sending with a Bug is just as much fun as sending with a keyer and paddles. However, sending with a Bug allows you to add a little personality. Listening to CW sent with a keyer sounds sterile compared to that sent with a Bug.
If you need to slow down the speed of your Bug to a point that's even slower than what you can get with the weight(s) positioned all the way to the end of the pendulum, then clip a clothes pin or a few alligator clips to the end of the pendulum. This will slow down a Bug to an effective speed as low as 13 words per minute or so.
In my opinion, you know that your bug is adjusted properly when you can send characters like X, Y, Q, C, F and L with little effort, and they sound good - or at least recognizable in my case!
Here's a great video that shows you how to do it, also:
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I haven't run this piece in a long time. It's from my old webpage on how to adjust a bug:
Using a bug is a real fun part of using Morse Code. Adjusting one properly so that it works right for you and doesn't frustrate the heck out of you is easy; if you take your time and work methodically. Refer to the photo below for reference.
The first thing you do is to back off all the adjusting screws quite a bit. Not all the way; but far enough out so that everything is nowhere near being set. Once that's done you want to adjust the action of the pendulum. Unscrew "A" - this is the pivot point for the pendulum. Slowly tighten it. You'll know you have it adjusted correctly when the pendulum moves from side to side freely with no binding; but, at the same time, you can move the finger pieces up and down with your fingers and feel very little or no play.
The next thing you want to do is to adjust screw "B". Allow the pendulum to hit the damper. Screw in "B" to the point where you can either see or just perceive the pendulum has touched the damper. Stop there and secure the screw with the knurled lock nut. It is important not to move the pendulum too far away from the damper or else you will not be able to reliably stop your "dits".
The next thing you want to do is adjust the left trunnion screw - D. This will control the amount of side to side travel of the pendulum. For smooth code this gap should be very small. I take a piece of ordinary printer paper, fold it in half to double it and adjust the spacing so that the paper will just slip between the point of the screw and the pendulum. This results in a very small amount of side to side travel. The end result is a nice and clean transition between "dits" and "dahs". I do the same thing for the amount of spacing for the "dah" contact at C. I turn that trunnion screw in so that the paper slips in the gap easily with no binding, then I lock the set screw in place to keep the setting.
The next thing you want to do is adjust the "dits" making part of your bug. This is done by adjusting "E". When "E" is adjusted correctly, you should be able to swing the pendulum to make "dits"; and get 10 to 15 "dits" before the pendulum dampens out and comes to a rest.
"F" controls the tension of the "dit" action. I find it best to tension the spring about half way. Hopefully, if you follow this guide and play around a little bit and experiment, you will find the "sweet spot" that will allow you to send really glassy smooth Morse Code.
Sending with a Bug is just as much fun as sending with a keyer and paddles. However, sending with a Bug allows you to add a little personality. Listening to CW sent with a keyer sounds sterile compared to that sent with a Bug.
If you need to slow down the speed of your Bug to a point that's even slower than what you can get with the weight(s) positioned all the way to the end of the pendulum, then clip a clothes pin or a few alligator clips to the end of the pendulum. This will slow down a Bug to an effective speed as low as 13 words per minute or so.
In my opinion, you know that your bug is adjusted properly when you can send characters like X, Y, Q, C, F and L with little effort, and they sound good - or at least recognizable in my case!
Here's a great video that shows you how to do it, also:
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The storm that wasn’t
By now, most of you have heard that, at least in the New Jersey area, "The Blizzard of 2015" has turned out to be a big bust. The forecasters were warning us of 18-24 inches (45-60 cm), plus. Instead what we actually received was about 4 inches (10 cm).
I am one of the ones who is not disappointed. I would much rather have the weatherman tell me I am going to get 24 inches of snow, and only get 4, as opposed to the other way around. Meteorology is an art, even to this day. To anyone who is forcing the weather people to eat crow today, I say, "Let's see YOU try it for a while!". I am hearing so many people say, "Oh yeah, I knew from the beginning it wasn't going to be that bad." Yeah ..... right.
Listening to New England stations coming through Echolink on the local repeater, I understand they are getting hammered, as predicted. Stay safe, warm and dry, my friends.
Even though we didn't get the snow, we did get the cold and the winds. Not gale force winds, but when I was out there shoveling snow, I was chilled to the bone. And the whole time I was removing snow, I was dreaming of something like this:
Thanks to Sean KX9X for posting this. Some portable outdoor QRP in a nice, warm sunny location is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered, right about now.
On a side note, the office was declared closed for the day last night, when the ominous forecast was still hovering over us. So when the snow stopped this afternoon, having some time available, I went out and switched the coax from the EDZ over to the W3EDP. Much to my relief, the W3EDP hears fine again! It loads up easily on every band and the KX3's auto tuner handles it with nary a whimper.
As it turns out, the coax problem on the W3EDP was entirely may fault. When I went to disconnect the coax from the balun at the end of the W3EDP, I noticed to my horror, that I had never sealed the connection. It's no wonder that water got in there. This time, I double coated the connection with tape, added some plumber's putty over that, and added a final layer of tape. If the W3EDP plays as well as I think it will, I may just end up taking down the EDZ this Spring and keeping the W3EDP as my primary wire antenna.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I am one of the ones who is not disappointed. I would much rather have the weatherman tell me I am going to get 24 inches of snow, and only get 4, as opposed to the other way around. Meteorology is an art, even to this day. To anyone who is forcing the weather people to eat crow today, I say, "Let's see YOU try it for a while!". I am hearing so many people say, "Oh yeah, I knew from the beginning it wasn't going to be that bad." Yeah ..... right.
Listening to New England stations coming through Echolink on the local repeater, I understand they are getting hammered, as predicted. Stay safe, warm and dry, my friends.
Even though we didn't get the snow, we did get the cold and the winds. Not gale force winds, but when I was out there shoveling snow, I was chilled to the bone. And the whole time I was removing snow, I was dreaming of something like this:
Thanks to Sean KX9X for posting this. Some portable outdoor QRP in a nice, warm sunny location is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered, right about now.
On a side note, the office was declared closed for the day last night, when the ominous forecast was still hovering over us. So when the snow stopped this afternoon, having some time available, I went out and switched the coax from the EDZ over to the W3EDP. Much to my relief, the W3EDP hears fine again! It loads up easily on every band and the KX3's auto tuner handles it with nary a whimper.
As it turns out, the coax problem on the W3EDP was entirely may fault. When I went to disconnect the coax from the balun at the end of the W3EDP, I noticed to my horror, that I had never sealed the connection. It's no wonder that water got in there. This time, I double coated the connection with tape, added some plumber's putty over that, and added a final layer of tape. If the W3EDP plays as well as I think it will, I may just end up taking down the EDZ this Spring and keeping the W3EDP as my primary wire antenna.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
