AmateurRadio.com

Two blogs that I would like to point out, just in case you haven’t visited them.

The first is the post by Tom K4SWL on the “QRPer” entitled “VA3OOG covers Bowie like no other”. After reading Tom’s account, I have seen this covered on some of the Internet news services. This is a really cool video and the fact that Commander Hadfield is a fellow Amateur Radio op is just over the top. Thanks, Tom, for picking up on that. This should put to rest the notion that we Hams are all just geeky nerds without an artistic bone in our bodies.

The second post appeared in John “K3WWP’s Diary”. Just as I got all pumped up for having successfully worked Z81X on Saturday, I read in John’s diary how he did it quite “easily” (a term he uses more than once) with QRP. For having succumbed to “the Dark Side” and for having used 85 Watts, I bow humbly before the QRP Master. I think I had better send in my QRP credentials to the QRP-ARCI, as I obviously lost the faith and did not fully give QRP the chance it deserved. 😉

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

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

This afternoon I hiked to Knox Mountain. It was a beautiful spring day. I worked Croatia, Minnesota, the UK and Spain.

It’s been in the 70s for a more than a week. The trees are leafing out and the grass is high. Today the weather changed. It was 50F and windy. No matter, the trail was beautiful.

I crossed the first bridge and took a couple of snapshots of the brook.

Viburnum with its white flowers decorated the trail along the brook. The cool breeze kept the black flies away.

The second bridge has been removed. I placed a board between some rocks to facilitate a dry crossing a few weeks ago. I was glad it was still there.

The pond was full. It looks like the beaver have maintained their small dam at the near end. I tossed a line over a high branch on the cherry tree next to the cabin and pulled up a half wave wire for 15 meters. I used the ATS-4 by KD1JV with the Elecraft T-1 tuner. Here’s my log.

13 May-13 1916 21.018 9A4KW CW 599 599 Croatia
13 May-13 1922 21.013 KW7D CW 559 589 MN
13 May-13 1934 21.005 MI0VKO CW 449 579 UK
13 May-13 1951 21.011 EA8TL CW 599 599 Spain

This is the view of the pond from my operating position. After packing up, I made a quick trip back to the car. I was cold and ready for a cup of tea. Thank goodness spring is here.

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Setup for test. (Laptop running Ubuntu update)

The propagation conditions have not been all that great over the last couple of days so what a better time to do some on air Alexloop vs attic dipole comparisons! Here is the setup I used my Elecraft K3 putting the Alexloop in antenna 1 on the K3 and left the dipole on antenna 2 on the K3. This way I can use the internal tuner for the dipole and remove the antenna tuner for the Alexloop with just the push of a button on the K3. The power output was 5 watts, figured I would go to the top end of QRP considering the atmospheric conditions being not so hot. The Alexloop was up in my radio room facing West out the widow and East through my house walls. The Dipole is in a "Z" configuration in the attic so it kinda is facing most all directions. The Alexloop frequency was 14.061 and the dipole was 14.059 and I was using CW along side the Reverse Beacon network. The current atmosphiric conditions at the time of the test were:
A-5
K3
SFI 157
SN 173
Below is the results of the test.....not so well it would seem the Alexloop netted zero and the dipole only one. So is seems for a more acurate comparison better conditions are needed.


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

112 miles. 10,000ft of climbing on roads up to 30% gradient in the wind and rain of a very ‘normal’ West Cumbria. Fred Whitton Challenge. All 6 passes in the lakes in a day. Radio is a whole load less tiring, even when its not going well. Looking forward to getting back on the air

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

A few days ago my Fox Delta WX1 Micro Weather Station stopped working. As it turned out, I just had to switch off the power and switch it on and it started working again . But while I was waiting for the rain to stop so I could go out and look at the device I began thinking about getting a better weather station – one that measures wind speed and direction and rainfall as well as temperature, humidity and pressure.

When you start to look at weather stations the choice is overwhelming. My first priority was that it should work with APRSISCE and generate the file wxnow.txt that it uses to update weather objects. That requirement led to the stipulation that it should be compatible with the free weather software Cumulus, which creates the required file. There is a list of weather stations that work with this software, which narrowed the choice down a little. After reading many reviews the best choice seemed to be the Davis Vantage Vue. Unfortunately this cost about four times more than I was willing to pay, so it was back to the drawing board.

The weather stations made by the Chinese firm Fine Offset and sold under the Watson brand name seemed to meet my criteria at a more reasonable price. However, browsing through the reviews on Eham.net and elsewhere there were quite a high proportion of dissatisfied users. Complaints about anemometers that stopped rotating, poor wireless reception and so on. With weather stations as with everything else, it seems, you get what you pay for.

Despite the reviews I am tempted to get one of the Watson W6861 solar weather stations. But before I did I thought I would take the opportunity to ask my readers for their experiences. Many of you must have home weather stations. So which ones are good, which are bad and which should be avoided at all costs? I await your comments with interest.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

It's always nice to get new toys. Toys are usually never in the category of "needed", but almost always in the category of "wanted". Over the past week I've had two new additions to the shack that are definitely "wanted toys"

I received the Begali Adventure paddle. What a work of art. This paddle is another example of the precision workmanship found in Begali keys. I installed the key on my KX3 (you must plug the key into the key port on the side of the radio) and it is pure joy to operate. So a KX3, with a Begali key, this isn't your your Dad's QRP. Most luxurious.

The key also had available hardware that will allow this key to be used with the KX1 and FT-817.



Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

The weekend was busy, with lots of stuff to do in order to get ready for Mother’s Day, as well as actually celebrate it.  Even though I did not have much radio time, I did manage to get some time in behind the K3 and some good things happened.

The first good thing to happen this weekend was a package that arrived through the mail on Saturday:

Yes – my JARC Antenna Launcher Kit arrived through the mail. Thanks you Joplin Amateur Radio Club! This is going to be a tremendous help with portable operations this summer.

Late Saturday afternoon / early evening, shortly after my weekly Echolink ragchew with W3BBO,  Bob sent me an e-mail, letting me know that 15 Meters was wide open and that he had worked Z81X in the Republic of South Sudan.  I had just finished washing the floors, so I put down mop and bucket and ran down (literally) to the shack.  Sure enough, there was Z81X on 21.030 MHz, working split and sounding louder than all get out.  The pile up was tremendous!  So following my tenet of when the pile up is fierce and it’s a new one,  to  “Work ’em first, get ’em QRP later”, I turned the K3 up to 85 Watts.  After a half hour of chasing, I landed them in my logbook.  Z81X was like one of our wiley Foxes in the QRP Fox hunts in that he kept moving his listening frequency.  Once I established the pattern, and inserted myself in his path, it just became a matter of time.  Bob worked Z81X at 23:08 UTC and I got him a mere half hour later at 23:38 UTC.  Bob checked the on-line log this morning; and yep, we’re both in there. Sweet – a new DXCC entity for both of us!

Then today, I got some time this afternoon behind the dial and got two more new DXCC entities, and these I worked at QRP power.  15 Meters was hopping and netted me UN3M in Kazakhstan, as well as RI1FJ in Franz Josef Land.  The pile ups in these two instances were very small, so I tried QRP from the get-go here and was richly rewarded in both instances.  When the competition is not so fierce, you can afford to “be a purist”.

There was another station that I worked on 15 Meters that caught my ear, as it was a long and strange call sign – LZ1876SMB.  I have worked Bulgaria many times with QRP, but this was a Special Event Station to commemorate the Bulgarian Saint Martyrs of Batak.  A little Googling revealed that these were 700 members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church who were martyred for their faith in an uprising against Ottomans in 1876.

If you go on QRZ, you’ll find out that LZ1876SMB is just one of many stations that will be on the air commemorating the Bulgarian Saints. For us Stateside ops, if we work five of these different LZ Saints Stations, a very beautiful diploma can be earned.

One down – four to go. I am going to keep my ears open for these stations. Bulgaria is usually (although not always) a fairly easy trip from NJ via QRP.

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

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].