AmateurRadio.com

Greetings and Happy New Year!  Our celebration last night was one that married 40-somethings with kids often have — a night spent at home watching Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve.

On the amateur radio front, this past weekend I participated in the Stew Perry Challenge, a 160m all CW contest.  I debated whether to go QRP or 100 watts and decided to go with 100 watts.  Although I can’t brag about the amazing performance that QRP and a rather modest inverted L would have given, I certainly had as much if not more fun than last year’s event.  I netted over 180 contacts in my casual operating effort, even bagging about six west coast stations.  I think the Stew Perry Challenge is a cool little contest, perhaps underrated.  Its uncommon exchange for an HF contest, grid squares, and its unique scoring that takes into account distance and worked station transmitter power makes for an interesting contest.  I wrote in my notes for 2013 that I have make a serious effort and do all 14 hours in the test next year.

I can’t say I have any hardcore amateur radio News Years resolutions, other than “do what I like and like what I do”.  I started following this mantra three years ago and it has served me well. I tend to avoid getting into rituals but one I do want to start after authoring one last year is getting at least one amateur radio article published each year in a mainstream magazine (i.e. QST or CQ). I also tend to avoid competition, but I want to “up my game” in the PA QSO Party and also make more than a casual effort in one of the big contests.

In the Radio Artisan lab there are two main projects in progress. I have a working prototype of the Arduino based balanced antenna tuner. It’s been a technically challenging project, but very interesting. I still need to improve the SWR sensor performance and develop some shortcuts in the tuning algorithm to lessen the tune time. The other project is learning KiCad, an open source EDA program for developing schematics and PC boards. In the next week or two I will publish a post on my experiences. It’s not perfect but it’s definitely a viable replacement for the venerable and popular Eagle program.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2013. Work, eat, sleep, and play radio.

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

Monument, Colorado
Saturday April 13 and Saturday April 20 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2013
Location: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Station 1
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Radio Association

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio…

• Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
• Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
• Live equipment demonstrations
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Find out how to participate in emergency communications

There is no cost for the class (donations accepted)
However, students must have the required study guide:
HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course $19.95
And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $15.00

Advance registration is required (no later than one week before the first session)
This class usually fills up, so don’t delay!

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR
Email: [email protected] or Phone: 719 659-3727

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org or www.wedothat-radio.org

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ……”

Mr. Dickens could not have written more appropriate words to describe my 2012.  I have never been a big reveler of the New Year holiday; but this year, I am quite eager and pleased to see the ushering in of a new year and with it, new beginnings and new possibilities.

2012 was not all depression, sadness and tears, however.  It did have highlights, particularly with regard to Amateur Radio.  The KX3, which I had so diligently saved up for, and ordered on the first night of availability in December of 2011, arrived at the end of May.  For me, it has lived up to and has exceeded my expectations.  I am quite happy with it and am so glad that it is an available part of the W2LJ “radio stable”.  Quite unexpectedly, a K3/10 joined the ranks as well.  I hadn’t dreamed of or intended purchasing one – but consider this to be my dear Mom’s last gift to me.  It is an amazing radio; and I am so lucky and fortunate to have use of both of these fine pieces of gear.

The inaugural 2012 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt was an integral part of my year.  Once again, so many thanks to George N2APB and Joe N2CX and the entire NJQRP Club for agreeing to sponsor this new operating event.  Also thanks to Bob W3BBO who helped me ruminate and come up with some of the details  for this new outdoor QRP sprint.  I had such an enjoyable time assigning Skeeter numbers, actually operating in the event and then collecting and tabulating and posting the results.  I am so happy that my fellow QRPers seemed to have as good a time as I did, and I eagerly look forward to the 2013 edition of the Skeeter Hunt.

I got two new antennas up in the air this year.  My venerable G5RV finally made way, after a dozen or so years, for the 88’ EDZ antenna.  Later in the year, post-Sandy, the W3EDP went up to join it in the W2LJ antenna garden.  Too small to be a “farm”, the antenna garden consists of the Butternut HF9V and the two aforementioned wires.  I pray these wires will last as long as the G5RV did.  There were plenty of hurricanes and nasty winters and wind storms that the G5RV made it through – may these two new wires be as resilient.

I have to include as one of this year’s highlights, my decision to purchase the PAR END-FEDZ 10/20/40 antenna.  This simple wire is a delight for portable QRP ops. It’s super easy to deploy as a sloper or inverted “L”.  It tunes up with nary a problem and is neatly and easily storable in my “Go Bag”.  I can’t think of any downsides to this antenna. It’s well worth the price and comes along with instructions on wire lengths to cut so that you can use it for other bands, if you so desire.  This antenna, as well as my Buddistick have become my aerials of choice for portable QRP ops.

Due to all the unfortunate events which took place this year, and their aftermath, I was not able to actually get on the air nearly as much as I had intended.  I actually had “a QSO a Day” going until the middle of February, when events started taking unexpected turns. From that point forward, “unexpected” became  the norm for 2012, and as a result, severely curtailed my on-the-air time  My major 2012 New Year’s Resolution, to complete the ARRL’s Diamond DXCC Challenge, didn’t even come close to happening.  So as 2013 arrives, I am going to tempt fate once more, and will try for a QSO a Day in 2013.  I am not so foolhardy as to think I will be able to pull it off, but I will do my best – hence my ever present New Year’s Resolution “To get on the air more”!

In addition to day-to-day operating,  managing the Skeeter Hunt and sending out notices for The Run For The Bacon each month, this blog (which will be entering its 9th year in 2013) has become a huge part of my Amateur Radio experience.  It is a most enjoyable part of Ham Radio for me, and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere thanks to all of you out there who take time out of your busy day to read this and share the Amateur Radio world with me.  You are the best friends a Ham could ask for. You all have helped me to deal with what would have otherwise been a most sorrowful year.  A very Happy, Blessed, Joyous and Prosperous New Year to all of you!

Lastly, I hope you all enjoy Straight Key Night tonight and tomorrow. W2LJ will be hanging out near and at the various QRP “Watering Holes” (I will spot myself on QRPSPOTS, so be sure to look out for me). I will be using my Vibroplex Original as my aging wrists just can’t stand up to a classic straight key any longer. If we have the good fortune to work each other, please excuse my less than stellar “Bug fist”.  I haven’t had much practice lately!

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

This is a very cool comic strip, drawn by Brian Basset – about a boy and his dog, growing up together in the 60s.

http://www.gocomics.com/redandrover/2012/12/31

It has a Morse Code theme today, so be sure to visit!  Since the image is copyrighted, I don’t want to post it here – but the link was meant for sharing with the blessing of the author and the comic syndicate.

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