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of lunchtime QRP sessions.  I did not get skunked all week, unless you count yesterday, when I had to work through lunch and didn’t get a chance to get outside. The bands seemed decent and this is the week’s tally:

Sometimes with DX, it’s better to be lucky than good. Well, I really shouldn’t say that.  I know nothing of being good when it comes to DX, but I sure can relate to lucky.

Band conditions were good today, and I went out to the Jeep at lunchtime to find 15 Meters hopping!  I heard a huge pileup around 21.023 MHz and I think it was for JA7SGV/6V in Senegal.  He was loud here in NJ, so despite the pileup being furious, and despite having worked Senegal on another band, and because I’m an optimist at heart, I decided to give it a go.  I turned on the “Dual Watch” feature on the KX3, hoping that I would be able to figure out where he was listening.  After listening for a goodly bit, it became apparent that I was not hearing the same stations that the DX station was going back to. So I hoped for the best and started throwing out my call at 21.025 MHz. It seemed as good a place as any to start.

Then all of a sudden, my call comes back to me.  But it wasn’t from the ear bud tuned to 21.023 MHz, but instead from someone transmitting on 21.025 MHz.  I quickly turned off “Dual Watch” and deactivated the split function and twirled the main VFO up to 21.025 MHz.  I thought just maybe it was someone who heard my call sign in the pileup, recognized it, and wanted to say “Hello”.  A half second later, when I got up to 21.025 MHz, the station was still calling me and sending out “W2LJ 579 TU BK” waiting for an acknowledgement.  Obviously, this was NOT someone wanting to say “Hello”. So since the station was loud, auto-pilot and habit kicked in and I sent back “DE W2LJ TU 599 NJ BK”.

It turns out that it was MJ0ASP, located on the Island of Jersey.  A DXCC entity that I have never worked before at all, let alone via QRP!  How cool is that!  Tried for Senegal, but got a brandy new one, instead (albeit by accident!). Add to the fact that New Jersey was named for the Island of Jersey, so there’s a little historical connection there, too..  My hat is off to Elecraft, because if it weren’t for the “Dual Watch” feature on the KX3, I might have missed Jersey entirely.  A very good day on 15 Meters, indeed, as a little while later, I also worked Luca IK3VUT in Italy and Pep EA6FG on the Balearic Islands

I was listening for K3WWP and KC2EGL on 40 Meters, as they were scheduled for another Parkpedition today.  I didn’t hear anything on 7.041 MHz, so I broke down, packed up and headed in. Checking e-mail, it appears that it was raining in Kittaning, so John and Mike put lift off on hold for about an hour or so.  Can’t blame them. Who wants their equipment to get wet?

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

for not posting all week. Whew!  What a week!  It was so busy this week, that I only managed to get one lunch time QRP session in.  The other days, I ended up either working through lunch, or got saddled with “must attend” conference calls during lunch hour.

Last Monday, I had to serve out a jury duty summons.  Here in Middlesex County, you are summonsed for “either one trial or one day”.  You report to the county courthouse with your juror badge, which is mailed to you ahead of time. The badge has your name and a juror number. People are randomly picked throughout the day in groups of 20 or 30 or more. If your number gets called, you go into a courtroom as part of a “panel” where you may or may not be selected to serve on that jury. If your number isn’t selected for any panels and you’re not picked from a panel to be on a jury that day – you go home. My number wasn’t selected for any panels, so I came home and now I don’t have to concern myself for reporting for jury duty for another three years.

Since the week was so busy, I rewarded myself this morning by attending the OMARC Fall Hamfest, down in Wall Township, NJ.  I attended their Spring Hamfest, which was held on Dayton weekend.  I liked it enough to go back.  Again, it’s a small event, but it’s very nice, nonetheless.  Attendance was decent and the people there were really nice, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so it made for a pleasant morning. (Great job, folks from OMARC!  I’ll be back next year, for sure.) My only purchase was a 25 foot length of RG-8X coax with a male PL259 on each end.  This will be used to connect my PAR ENDFEDZ when it is sufficiently high up in a tree.

But, I was given a great idea by two guys who were selling military surplus fiberglass antenna masts.  In particular, I really like this:

They anchored the bottom section of mast in these tripods. I asked them if they were selling them, as one of these puppies would be just perfect for holding my Jackite pole.  They informed me that they don’t sell them, and they acquired theirs at Lowe’s. They are the tripods used to support quartz work lights. Perfect!  I have to look into getting one of these. The two gentlemen had 26 feet worth of mast being held by this particular tripod.  It was slightly breezy and yet it was anchored like a rock.  Looks like a promising concept.

The other thing I noticed at the Hamfest was just a personal observation.  Something that to me, is one of the marked differences between CW and Phone operation.  A little background – you all know that many times I have stated that I am not a big VHF/UHF talker.  I have my handheld mounted in my Jeep because I do enjoy listening to the local repeaters on the way to work and on the way back.  If you’re like me and you do mostly listening, you get accustomed to “the regulars” on the different repeaters and you get to know voices and the personalities behind the voices – and after a while, you form a picture in your mind of what you think the face must look like that goes with the voice you are hearing.

I was walking around this morning and amongst the various conversations going on, I heard some familiar voices – some of the guys I listen to each morning and each afternoon.  I looked up and, Wow!  In each case, the face that I had mentally pictured looked absolutely NOTHING like the actual person!

Then I realized, that this is not something that happens while operating in the CW Mode …… at least for me. Conversing with a guy in code does not cause me to conjure up the face behind the fist.  I love looking at QRP Quarterly and the photos from FDIM and the various QRP “Cons” because I can finally see the faces behind the fists. But for some reason, I am never taken aback by seeing a photo of some QRP op, or other CW op and saying to myself, “He just doesn’t look the way I pictured him”. The only thing that I can think of that may be the reason behind this (for me at least) is because voices are distinctive in tonal quality, while CW fists are distinctive in rhythm and pattern.

Crazy, huh?  These are some of the thoughts that run through my head while mowing the lawn. Maybe I should see someone about this!  😉

Oh, before I forget …… tomorrow is the inaugural Peanut Power QRP Sprint. Hope to catch you all on the air tomorrow afternoon!

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

There are two upcoming outdoor QRP events being held over the next two weekends.  For many part of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather at this time of year can be unpredictable, to say the least. And as we head closer and closer to October, the weather can become even more unpredictable, so now is a good opportunity to take advantage of outdoor QRP conditions as we inch closer and closer to Freeze Your Buns Off weather!

This coming weekend is QRP Afield, which is sponsored by the New England QRP Club.  “Da Rulz” can be found here.   http://newenglandqrp.org/afield

This is pretty much an all day event – from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM EDT this coming Saturday (21 SEP 1500Z – 22 SEP 0300Z ).  If you operate QRP and portable, each QSO is worth 10 points.  So even if you can only get out for a little while, you can potentially rack up a decent score

The event the following weekend is the Peanut Power Sprint that is being sponsored by the North Georgia QRP Club.  This is a shorty, 2 hour afternoon Sprint and here are the rules for this one (courtesy of Jim W4QO):

Sponsored by the North GA QRP Club (NoGaQrP), this sprint will be held on Sept. 29, 2013 from 4PM to 6PM EDT (Sept. 29 – 2000z to 2200z). Full rules are on the NoGaQrP website – nogaqrp.org Click on NoGaNuT PeTe!

The club is making this one different from most other QRP contests.

1. It is open to all amateurs at any power level. This is to attract some new folks to QRP while running their comfortable power – QRO (<100 watts pls) is welcome and there is a category for that. This is a FUN event. Not cut-throat!

2. It is a short sprint lasting only two hours; not tying up the entire afternoon. Although brief, run reasonable CW speeds for all to copy.

3. It starts late in the day (right after close of TX QSO party!) which will mean those on the west coast will begin at 1PM PDT, later than most contests.

4. There are categories for all situations – the prestigious category is the Peanut Power category – 1w CW or less, 2W PEP SSB or less – operating from the field! This is the GOOBER CLASS!  SOTA anyone?

5. Plaques will be award for each of 5 category winners (minimum 3 entries).

6. Sprint will encourage SSB as well as CW contacts.

7. Multipliers count each band/each mode. Work GA ( or any SPC) on 3 bands and 2 modes each = 6 multiplier.   Puts emphasis on switching bands and modes during the event.  Check SSB on the quarter hour.

8. This will encourage activity on the 3 permitted bands – 40, 20, and 15M. There are suggested frequencies for each band/mode. Notice we are encouraging the now almost dead portion of 40M – 7060 khz and up.

9. Logs are not required – simply a score – however, category winners may be asked to submit their logs for verification.  Watch website for results.

10. Work stations holding a Peanut Power Number (PPN) for 7 points. Stations worked who do not hold a PPN yield 3 points. Yes, QRO stations can request and receive a PPN. You do not declare your category until you send in your entry.

To request a PPN, send an email to NoGaNuT JiM at [email protected]  Requests for special numbers are no longer accommodated. See the current list via the website. Include the word PEANUT POWER NUMBER in the title please.

Jim W4QO

Speaking of outdoor events, this weekend was the Brutus Bash which is held each year by the 4 States QRP Group.  Terry WA0ITP posted this video of last year’s event:

Sure looks like all the 4 States guys know how to have a GREAT time, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to see what Terry puts together for this year’s event!

Lunchtime was good today. I worked Rudy IK4VFD in Parma, Italy, but the prize was working 5Q7Y, the Langeland DX-pedition in Denmark on 17 Meters.  The pileup was crazy, but the key was figuring out that they were listening only 1 KHz up. Most of the pileup was calling way higher than that. I get a kick when 5 Watts finds a way to sneak in!

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

Whew!  The 2013 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Soapbox page is 99% done and published!  Hallelujah!  I still have to post Andy WN0I’s photos.  He sent me hard copies through the mail and my scanner is acting up; but I should have them up tomorrow Andy – please bear with me!

To see all the comments and photos published so far – please click here.  And to see the scores and where you placed in the standings, click here.

Many thanks to all of you who participated this year, and thanks for all the photos and comments.  If you sent me something and don’t see it – please resend! The big black hole that is the cyber world probably swallowed your e-mail on me!

Also, a very special thanks to Ward Silver N0AX, who included some nice words about the Skeeter Hunt in this week’s e-mail of  “The ARRL Contest Update for September 11, 2013”.  Muchas Gracias, Ward!

And once again, a very big special word of thanks to the NJQRP Club and it’s members for lending their name and for giving the Skeeter Hunt the credibility that it has.

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

I have about 2/3rds of the 2013 Skeeter Hunt Soapbox comments Webpage composed.  Hopefully, I will finish tomorrow night and will then publish them (I’ll post the link here, of course!).  Thanks to all who submitted soapbox comments and especially for all the photos.  I only wish I was a better Web artist, so that I could give them the layout they truly deserve. Once the soapbox comments are published, I will begin printing and mailing certificates.

It is being said that we are now at the peak of sunspot Cycle 24.  Several articles have pointed to that fact. We may, or we may be not.  I am not an astronomer/astrophysicist, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you that from my own authority.

But I do know that 15 Meters has been good lately, and today’s lunch time QRP session was decent again.

In my limited amount of operating time, I worked the following stations:

HA3FTA
9A287R
DK3GI

The first two contacts were pretty much your average “bang bang” DX QSO exchanges of RSTs. The last QSO with Roland DK3GI was a little bit more in depth.  Roland who lives near Nuremberg, was pushing 200 Watts to a beam.  I also found out that it was rainy and cool where he was – it was only 15C (59F). Typical Autumn type weather.

On the other hand, we’re having a brief re-visit from Summer here in NJ. After some cool days and some downright chilly evenings the past few days, the heat and humidity have come back with a vengeance!  It was a sticky 85F (29C) here today, and it expected to go into the low 90s (32C) tomorrow.  But then clouds will come in Thursday and by the weekend, the temperature is supposed to struggle to reach 70F (21C) on Saturday and Sunday.

As Mark Twain once said this about the weather in New England:

“If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.”

The same holds true for New Jersey!

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

W4P is on the air, as a Special Event station, commemorating the Battle of Lake Erie.