AmateurRadio.com

Wow!  I can’t believe it has has been over a week since I have played radio.  On this, the last day of September, I just had to get out.  The weather here in Kansas was awesome – 75 deg, sunny and a light wind.

After getting setup, I heard a very faint CQ on 20 meters….

AK4JA (the QRPper) – Bob was calling CQ and was very faint, but readable.  He was in Georgia.  After reading his QRZ profile, he is a dedicated QRP addict, just like me.  I had a bit of trouble copying him, but I believe he said he was running 200 MW!  Thanks for the nice contact Bob!

Still on 20 meters….

N7IV/M (the mobile station) – Joe was calling CQ and was nice and strong here.  He was calling from Minot, ND (which might be a new state for me) – he was running 200 watts from a TS 480 into a Hustler vertical antenna on rear fender.  I believe he said he was on a long bike ride (but my CW skills were having a hard time keeping up 🙂 ).  He thought my lunch time activities sounded amazing – and I agree!  However, I think bicycle mobile sounds even better!

Now it was time to hit my favorite band for DX – 17 meters…

F8EMH (the first Frenchman) – Flo was calling CQ and after a couple of calls I was finally able to work him.  He gave me a 229 – so he has good ears.  He was 579 here and sounded great.  Looking at the map, he looks to live in the northern part of France, really close to the border.

F8AAN (the second Frenchman)  – David was also calling CQ at the bottom of 17 meters.  It took a few calls for him to hear me, but we finally connected.  He also had great ears giving me a 419 – he was 599 in here.  He lives in the western part of France, almost on the coast it appears.

So after a week away, things were still just as fun!  Today brought some interesting contacts, and some fun DX to boot.