Author Archive
Taking things for granted
Before I start this post, I want to dispel any rumors that all W2LJ does at Field Day is take photographs. Here are two of yours truly actually pounding brass and adding points to the NJ2SP Field Day total - courtesy of Mario KD2HPF.
Field Day, or perhaps better said, the end of Field Day often causes me to wax nostalgic. That definitely happened this year, and a large part of it was seen in that video which I posted yesterday. Watching Marv K2VHW working ZL4TT in New Zealand brought back me back, in an instant, to something that happened to me, as a newly licensed Amateur Radio operator so many years ago.
A little context - Bill W2AOF, our Club President, spent a month with friends in New Zealand earlier this year. When he got back, he filled us in on the details of the trip. He had a great time, got to see a lot of wonderful sights, got to eat good food and spend quality time with good people. Yet, there was a price to pay, and I'm not referring to the monetary expense. Sure, there was that, but there was also an expenditure of time.
With all the technological advancements we've witnessed over the last century, getting to New Zealand from New Jersey is comparatively easy compared to 100 years ago. Back then, the ocean voyage took weeks. Flying by air is a snap compared to that, but even that takes time. You don't often think about it, but even flying on a commercial aircraft, going at speeds never dreamt of by the seafaring ships of the old days, it still takes the better part of a day (around 18 hours) to get from New Jersey to New Zealand. And in the middle of the overnight, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, with 5 Watts of power to a hunk of wire hanging in the air, we made that trip and back in seconds, the whole conversation taking a few minutes!
I was struck by that, once again. I wish Bill had been there. He had left a few hours earlier to make sure the A/C was working properly in his home as well as to get some much needed rest. Had he been there. Bill is the kind of guy who would have been taken aback and would have experienced that "Wow factor" of what had just been accomplished. We communicate with all parts of the world. There is really no place too far that our radio waves can't reach. But how often do we let that soak in? How often do we get annoyed when that DX contact isn't made. How often do we take our radios and our hobby and all the physics involved for granted?
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, as I had a similar experience happen to me back in 1979, and I'm sure it's been related somewhere earlier in this blog. But I like to think about it, it's an enjoyable memory and I'll re-tell it again.
I passed my Novice exam sometime back in October/November of 1978. The actual paper "ticket" came in the mail the last week of the year. I didn't even get on the air until the end of January of 1979, as I was busy putting my station together, and building my Heathkit Novice receiver kit that I had gotten as a Christmas gift. I upgraded to General in July and I worked my first DX contact with a Ham in Germany shortly thereafter.
Later that year in October of 1979, my best friend and I decided to take a trip up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire to do some photography. We were two young budding photographers who were working together at a local camera shop and we both needed a road trip. We got our much needed time off and eventually made it all the way to Maine, specifically Bar Harbor. From there we decided that we would follow the coast as we made our way back to New Jersey.
That meant a side trip to Cape Cod, and on the way out to Provincetown for some authentic New England clam chowder we came across a sign indicating that we were approaching the site of Marconi's Wellfleet Station. I had to stop. We were in my car and I was the driver, so what I say goes .....goes. Right? What newly minted Amateur Radio operator would not want to visit a Marconi site?
Not my image, but this is what you see when you visit. ^ This site is part of the National Park's Cape Cod National Seashore entity, so it is well maintained and there is a plethora of history to read about. This is what it looked like back in the day:
A few of the cement pylons that anchored the legs of the antenna towers were still there when I visited. Most had washed away into the sea as a result of beach erosion.
But it was the sea that struck me the most, which is a strange thing to say as I was born, bred and continue to live in New Jersey. I've seen the Atlantic Ocean and it bays hundreds, if not close to a thousand times in my time here on earth. But that time was different.
I had not yet traveled to Switzerland, and would not experience air travel to Europe for another nine years, but standing there, for a VERY long time, where history had been made, just staring at the ocean, looking out upon all that water as far as my eye could see, was an experience unlike any other I had ever had. All I could think of was the radio waves from my Drake 2-NT and my MorGain multiband dipole, flying over all that water to another Ham in Germany. And her radio waves (she was an XYL) travelling back to my Heathkit HR-1680 receiver in a matter of seconds.
That water looked like it would never end. I knew that it did. I knew that on the other side of that vastness was Europe and the rest of the world. To contemplate my radio signals covering all that distance made me feel so tiny, but also filled me with awe at the immensity of Creation at the same time.
We get so busy on Field Day and the rest of the year with making contacts, conducting ragchews, running nets, competing in contests, speaking into microphones, banging away on keys, typing away on keyboards that we forget to notice what is really happening. It's the magical part of Amateur Radio that never grows old for me and I hope I never take it for granted.
Long winded, I know, but thanks for staying with me!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Announcing the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt
The long anticipated announcement for the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt - the 12th Annual, if you can believe that!
For all the details - please go to www.qsl.net/w2lj or go to the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog (the next to last tab on the right - located under the KX3 photo up at the top).
A few points to remember:
1) Due to a personal commitment, the Hunt has been moved to the 4th weekend of August - the 27th, for this year only.
2) New Bonus Point Challenge for 2023:
Eighteen Skeeters have graciously consented to act as Bonus Skeeters. They have been issued numbers that are palindromes (numbers that are the same forward and backward) - Skeeters 11, 22, 33, 44 ...... right through 151. When you work one, that QSO is worth 100 points - and you can work as many as you can up to 1,000 bonus points. The Bonus Skeeters are highlighted on the roster. A clarification - you can only claim the Bonus Skeeter once - so if you work W2LJ (#181) on 40, 20 and 15 Meters, you can only claim 100 Bonus point (not 300).
3) Skeeter numbers for the rest of you will be issued in the same way as they have since the beginning of this event. Send an e-mail with your name, your call sign and the state you will be operating from to either [email protected], or [email protected] NO SOONER THAN 12:01 AM EDT June 21st, the First Day of Summer. You will receive an e-mail back with your sequential number, or you can check the roster, by clicking here. Please do not apply for a number via the Facebook page, as I may very well miss your request - and we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? Numbers will be issued right up until the Midnight before the day of the event.
I hope you'll have fun and enjoy the Hunt this year - good luck and happy QRP'ing!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Announcing the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt
The long anticipated announcement for the 2023 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt - the 12th Annual, if you can believe that!
For all the details - please go to www.qsl.net/w2lj or go to the Skeeter Hunt page of this blog (the next to last tab on the right - located under the KX3 photo up at the top).
A few points to remember:
1) Due to a personal commitment, the Hunt has been moved to the 4th weekend of August - the 27th, for this year only.
2) New Bonus Point Challenge for 2023:
Eighteen Skeeters have graciously consented to act as Bonus Skeeters. They have been issued numbers that are palindromes (numbers that are the same forward and backward) - Skeeters 11, 22, 33, 44 ...... right through 151. When you work one, that QSO is worth 100 points - and you can work as many as you can up to 1,000 bonus points. The Bonus Skeeters are highlighted on the roster. A clarification - you can only claim the Bonus Skeeter once - so if you work W2LJ (#181) on 40, 20 and 15 Meters, you can only claim 100 Bonus point (not 300).
3) Skeeter numbers for the rest of you will be issued in the same way as they have since the beginning of this event. Send an e-mail with your name, your call sign and the state you will be operating from to either [email protected], or [email protected] NO SOONER THAN 12:01 AM EDT June 21st, the First Day of Summer. You will receive an e-mail back with your sequential number, or you can check the roster, by clicking here. Please do not apply for a number via the Facebook page, as I may very well miss your request - and we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? Numbers will be issued right up until the Midnight before the day of the event.
I hope you'll have fun and enjoy the Hunt this year - good luck and happy QRP'ing!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For those of you out there
The State QSO Party Challenge is a competition comprised of other contests, namely state and provincial QSO parties. As explained on the website, the annual cumulative score program is open to any radio amateur who participates in any approved state QSO parties (SQPs).
Participants just need to submit their QSO party scores to 3830scores.com to enter the challenge. Participants’ cumulative scores will be calculated by totaling up the number of reported contacts and multiplying by the number of SQPs entered in the year to date. Periodic standings will be posted to 3830scores.com, the QSOParty Groups.io forum, and the StateQSOParty.com website.
“Using the number of QSO parties entered as a multiplier is expected to encourage radio amateurs to enter more state/province QSO parties,” the program’s organizers said. “The first SQPs in 2020 are the Vermont, Minnesota, and British Columbia QSO Parties in the first weekend of February.”
Entrants must make at least two contacts in a QSO party for it to count as a multiplier. Full details are available on the State QSO Party Challenge website. Challenge sponsors expressed appreciation to Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, for developing the SQP Activity Tracker on 3830scores.com.
This is interesting in a few ways. Even if you decide to not formally participate in this, it can be taken on as a real personal challenge. "How many State QSO Parties can I participate in?". For me, it would be a big deal to participate in all fifty, plus Canada This kind of reminds me of the QRP-ARCI Golden Jubilee event a few years back, where the goal was to work K6JSS stations in all 50 states.
Secondly, would I be able to make "at least two contacts" in all of these? With band conditions the way they are - the state QSO parties in Alaska and Hawaii and some of the Canadian Provinces might prove to be a real challenge. But then, going back to the QRP-ARCI Golden Jubilee event, Alaska and Hawaii were NOT the two states I missed!
Thirdly, this would be a great way for those who are on their way to earning Worked All Sates to actually accomplish that.
Fourthly, for those of you out there who complain about the bands being "flooded with contests" every weekend (you know who you are), this would actually make that a good thing. Instead of disdaining these QSO Parties, it would be an incentive to jump in and make them into an enjoyable and an interesting experience for you. After all, you don't have to stay in them for the entire event if you don't want to - but can you make just two QSOs in each?
I just might be tempted to take on the personal challenge myself!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
If you don’t like the weather in NJ
I've been keeping an eye on the long range weather forecast via WeatherUnderground for this coming Saturday - FYBO day.
A couple of days ago, they were calling for a wet weekend. This morning, they were calling for an ice storm in the morning with some showers in the afternoon after a warm up.
NOW it's supposed to be "just" a cloudy day with just a chance of showers. Meanwhile, last night on the news, the local weather prognosticator was calling for a possible Nor'Easter this weekend. It's enough to make your head spin!
Hey! I almost forgot !!!
As per the ARRL Announcement
Museum Ships Weekend will take place over the June 1 – 2 weekend, sponsored by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station NJ2BB. Radio operation will be from a variety of vintage and noteworthy vessels. This is not a competition.
So far 75 ships are on the roster to take part. All stations working at least 15 different participating ships will receive a certificate, if they send a copy of their log showing these contacts.
While operation on any amateur frequency is allowed, most ships will be operate in the General portion of the bands. PSK31 operation will be on 14.070 MHz, 10.142 MHz, 18.100 MHz, 21.070 MHz, and 28.120 MHz.
Some ships also may be found on 75 meters (3.880 – 3.885 MHz) and on 40 meters (7.290 MHz) using AM, some using the vessel’s original restored equipment.
This is what I love about Summer - there's always something going on, just about every weekend. If you follow the link above, you'll get a list of who will be on the air. Log 15 ships and $4 will get you a piece of wallpaper for your shack.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!