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It’s a good thing that I have my lunchtime QRP opportunities, as lately, I seem to get more “on the air” time from work than I do from home! The weekends seem to be filled with nonstop chores and house responsibilities. Time for Ham Radio is scarce and at a premium.

But during the work week, I get that one hour break for lunch. If I’m lucky, I’ll get out to the parking lot to find the bands hopping. This afternoon, I got lucky again.

I started my lunchtime session on 17 Meters, as has become my custom. I was fortunate enough to work two DX stations, S573DX in Slovenia and F5NTV in France.

After finishing with those two, I headed on over to the QRP Watering hole on 20 Meters. Once there, I called CQ for a bit, to be answered by John KG9HV, in Lafayette, IN. We had a nice 2X QRP QSO. I was on the KX3 and Buddistick, while John was using his Kenwood TS-570S to a dipole at 5 Watts. Even though the QSO was plagued by QSB at both ends, we were able to have a very nice conversation. And in fact, when the QSB let up, at times John was actually as good as 589!

The one bad thing about operating from the parking lot is dealing with the weather, kind of like a mini Field Day. It was hot (close to 90F – 32C), and it was the Noon hour, so the sun was at its peak. I didn’t feel like wasting gas to run the AC, though, so I just lifted the tail gate (rear door) of the Jeep and allowed it to provide some needed shade. The nice thing was that the building’s AC provided a nice refresher …… after a nice radio session.

Hamlog for Android is perfect for my portable logging needs. It’s super easy to use and has so many neat added on tools. I don’t even bother with plain paper, anymore. I recommend it highly.

As luck would have it, there’s not much to do at home tonight. While it would seem like it would be the perfect opportunity to get on the air, unfortunately there’s also a severe thunderstorm watch on until 10:00 PM.  I may get on for a bit; but I’ll have to be ready to pull “The Big Switch” at a moment’s notice.

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

When I was a kid, I vaguely remember a comedian on TV, who would say in a thick, mock German accent, “Peoples is crazy!” or something very similar to that.  That line kept running through my mind tonight as I volunteered as a CERT member for South Plainfield Emergency Management at the South Plainfield High School graduation ceremony, held at the football field.

We provided a whole bunch of services. We directed people to parking spots, and as it was a hot day – we handed out cold bottled water to anyone who desired it, we provided “a presence” and kept our eyes peeled for anyone who looked like they might get ill or faint, or might otherwise need assistance.

By the end of the ceremony, 260 high school grads received their diplomas after many speeches, much cheering and screaming and hoopla.

The best came at the end of the night, though, as dusk was falling and the near full moon started to rise.  On three separate occasions, I kept spectators from jumping over the chain link fence and running onto the football field to greet their graduates.  In each case, I’m not talking about kids here. I am referring to older “Dad types” who should have known better than to attempt such a stunt.  On each occasion, as the improbable was about to be tried, I simply but firmly stated, “Please go around to the gate and don’t jump over the fence.”  The first two guys said nothing – and just complied.

The third guy?  Oh, he was a good one. A rather snarky “And why should I listen to you?” was what I got for my request.  Rather than argue, I just very politely asked, “Sir, do you really want your son or daughter to remember their high school graduation night as the time that Dad had to go to the Emergency Room to get stitches in his leg after he cut it while trying to jump the football field fence?” He looked at me, thought about it for half a second and went around to the gate.

Peoples is crazy!

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

Follow up – Saw my fence jumper today at the A&P – yep, the third guy.  While I was shopping, he tapped me on the shoulder, shook my hand, and thanked me for preventing him from doing something “potentially very stupid”, as he put it.  Sometimes it’s all worth it.

The good news is that I am comfortable enough at the new job, where now I don’t mind heading out to the car to conduct lunchtime QRP sessions. You always kind of wonder at a new place …. what will they say, you know ……. about that guy that sticks the antenna on his car roof and starts doing something with a small radio ….. is he a spy?  A drug dealer?  Some kind of foreign agent?  As it turns out, the parking lot is HUGE and nobody pays me any mind.

The past few days, I was getting skunked. No contacts, and in fact I wasn’t even hearing much of anything. And silly me, the last thing I think is “dead bands” – nope, the first thing I think is “Crud!  What did I do to the rig?”  “Did I mess up the antenna?”  Stuff like that – the first thing I think is that it was me,  I screwed something up!

But today ……. today allayed all my concerns.  Today, 17 Meters during lunchtime was almost magical.  In short order I worked Milan OK1KW in Praha in the Czech Republic.  Milan was calling “CQ FISTS” and I answered and we ended up having a very pleasant QSO.  Milan was 589 in NJ and I received a 549 in return.

After ending the QSO with Milan, I heard Frank OV1CDX calling “CQ DX”.  I figured to myself, “Hey, I just worked the Czech Republic, so why not Denmark?”  I put my call out  a few times and Frank answered. He was a good strong 599 in NJ and I earned a 559 in return.  Cool – the band was hot!

So now the decision comes about ….. “I have 15 minutes left. Do I tear down and head back in, or do I try for one more?” No contest! Try for one more, as the signals were abundant.  And I did, and I made it!

This time I worked Serge R6YY.  This was the tough one of my session, as I had to send my information to Serge several times.  Thanks to his fantastic ears, we were able to complete the QSO.  Serge was only 579 here in NJ, and I was only 439 in return.  A tough one, but we did it!

A lot, if not most of you probably have Field Day plans for the weekend. Not me.

There are several clubs in the area that have operations going on, but none really super close. Marianne is working on Saturday, and I don’t want to go anyplace farther from home, while leaving the kids home alone.

So, if everything goes according to plan, I want to spend the afternoon putting down more radials for the Butternut. The goal is to get about a dozen to twenty more radials down, after mowing the lawn. That would give me a total of 36 to 46 radials total, depending on how many I get down.

The Butternut really plays well with the current 25 radials that I already have in place. Some more can only make things better.

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

While the rest of the blogosphere and Amateur Radio world seems to be having a spit-feckled nutty about Heathkit zombies, I decided to get on the air tonight (only after replacing the towel rack in the XYL’s bathroom, mind you).

On 40 Meters, I had a pleasant, but rather taxing QSO with Bruce W1CVE from Providence, RI. Summertime conditions were the rule for 40 Meters with lots of band noise, QRM, QRN and QSB. Despite it all, Bruce and I had a pleasant chat. He was 579 here and I received a 559 in return – not terrible.

On 20 Meters, I had a brief QSO with EW1DJ in Belarus. Alex was 599  here, and I received an honest report of 579 in return (not the automatic 599 DX report that you usually get). For this one instance, the haul from NJ to Belarus was far easier than the haul from NJ to RI. Go figure.

A word about last night’s post regarding the tuner and amp for the KX3. In no way did I mean to disparage anyone who has already ordered, or is considering ordering these pieces for their KX3s. If the KX3 is your only radio and you have the funds to afford these, then I am heel clicking, somersault tumbling, high fiving happy for you! I was commenting on my own situation and was not attempting to cast sour grapes upon the Amateur Radio landscape.

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

In my e-mail box was a special announcement from Elecraft. Today they announced they were taking orders for the KXPA100 amplifier for the KX3, and the KXAT100, the auto tuner for the amp.

The amp is $700 and the tuner is another $300.

At this point, I don’t think these are in the cards for me, for a couple of reasons.

1) Price – I just don’t have an extra thousand bucks laying around. Of course, I could always part ways with something, like my K3, but I’m not too crazy with that idea.  I bought it soon after my Mom passed, so it holds a lot of sentimental value.

2) Practicality – I like the idea of having two rigs. My K3 and my KX3 are mutual backups. If something were to happen to one, I still have the other. If I were to sell the K3 in order purchase the KXPA100 and the KXAT100, I would no longer have a backup. I also like having a main station rig and a dedicated portable rig.

3) Personal – I need to be happy with what I have and not always be on the lookout for “more”. I am very fortunate to have what I already own, and while it may be less than some, it’s still a lot more than even others. I need to enjoy what I have and get off the “consumer hamster wheel” of always wanting more.

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

I was able to get on the radio for a bit today.  15 Meters seemed to be alive jumping with “AA” contest stations.  I didn’t have much interest in competing in the contest, but it’s always interesting to work Asian stations using QRP power. I managed to work several JA stations, cherry picking my way around, and trying the loudest ones. I also worked a few Asiatic Russian stations. Unfortunately, I did not hear or work anything more exotic.

I attempted to work Met TA3AX on 17 Meters, but this time QRP. Alas, Turkey was not to be had with 5 Watts – today. 😉

I finished the day by participating in the Run For The Bacon, the Flying Pigs monthly QRP sprint. Not a whole lot of activity, probably due to it being Father’s Day, but I did manage to work fellow blogger, Chris KQ2RP, and I also worked Jim W4QO and John K4BAI, twice. Earlier in the day we had another brief contact, so today was able to put John in the log three times today. I think that’s a record.

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