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I picked up the office chair that I had ordered from Staples on Saturday. It is their Lockridge Manager’s chair which is currently on special. It normally goes for $89.99, but is $50.00 off for an online price of $39.99.

It is definitely filling the bill. I spent 90 minutes behind the key tonight hunting Foxes on 40 Meters. Not only did I bag two pelts, but when I got out of the chair to head upstairs, my back and hips gave nary a whimper. This sure is a far cry from that folding metal chair that I was using. When I would get out of that thing, I felt like I was ready for either a walker or a chiropractor.

Band conditions were so-so. Both Foxes were loud for a good portion of the hunt, but at times the QSB was tough to deal with.  I am also pretty sure both Foxes had high local QRN to deal with as each one was asking for multiple repeats of exchange information. Once again, persistence paid off and both Foxes were worked. Hats off to Paul K4FB and TJ W0EA.

I am going to be placing an order in the next few days with either Mouser or Jameco for some parts.  There are plans in the latest Sprat for a rather simple 40 Meter WSPR transmitter. I don’t plan to get too involved with the mode, but it looks like a rather easy build, and I am itching to really homebrew something.

I haven’t built anything in a while that wasn’t pre-kitted. I enjoy the process of buying and gathering the parts. From the looks of the article, this seems to be a project that lends itself well to perf board construction. I already have an ample supply of NE612s, so this will be a purchase of various needed resistors and capacitors, depending on whatever is not already in my junk box.

The final cost should be way under what I have seen some kit prices going for.

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

We had two very good QRP ops serving Fox duty tonight. Dave N1IX in New Hampshire and another Dave, AB9CA in Alabama. Double barrel Daves!

As the hunt began, my gut instinct was to listen for N1IX first. I mean, go figure, right? New Jersey to New Hampshire — 80 Meters — in the Winter and at night. No brainer, right?

Right!  But even though Dave N1IX was a relatively easy catch, he wasn’t as loud as I thought he would be. I was expecting 599 or better. He ended up being 569/579 at best. But I did get his pelt in my bag, so it was off to hunt for Alabama Dave.

I found him, rather easily, also. However, his signal swung wildly. He was either 559 at best, or was completely in the mud. I ended up having to turn the K3’s AGC off so I could hear him decently. The static crashes did wonders for my bleeding ears!

Even though I was able to hear Dave AB9CA throughout, it seemed he just wasn’t hearing me.  I kept switching between the HF9V, the W3EDP and the EDZ, but no matter which antenna, nothing seemed to be working. I was considering lighting a signal flare, but that would not have been Kosher.

And Dave must have been having receiving problems also. He went back to several stations, only to have them fade away on him, and forcing him to send them a “nil”. And he was also changing his listening frequency often, probably to get away from local QRM and QRN on his end. In all, it made for an interesting time.

But luck was on my side, and with about 15 minutes left in the hunt, Dave finally picked me out of the muck. Conditions were bad enough that I had to repeat my half of the exchange for him once. But in the end, I got a “TU”, so all’s well that ends well.

QRP – patience and perseverance DO pay off!

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

I played in the 80 Meter QRP Foxhunt tonight and was quite successful. I ended up bagging both pelts, but it was a close call.

Jim N0UR in MN was first in the bag and was pretty easy. He was using the “standard” 1 kHz “up” split and it was just a matter of working him.

Ray K9XE in IL was another matter. Ray was loud, but was buried under some even louder local QRN. I wasn’t getting a feel for hearing Ray, no matter how I adjusted the K3. With time running out, I decided to switch on over to the KX3. Both radios are new to me, but over the past few months I have acquainted myself with the KX3 just a bit more.

In a matter of minutes, using the Dual Watch feature, and by adjusting the passband tuning, I was able to isolate Ray’s signal. I was also able to determine his split via Dual Watch, as mentioned before, and nabbed his fur with six minutes to go.

There are various reasons that I prefer the K3 as my main station rig. One of the best features, for me, is the built in antenna switch. I can switch between the vertical and the wires in an instant, and use whichever antenna is best suited for the job.

The KX3 only has the single antenna input. To switch between all my antennas, I will have to acquire a better antenna switch than what I currently have. I am thinking of perhaps a Daiwa or a Diamond. In the past, I had been using a no name, bargain brand switch with my K2. Quite by accident, I had found out that when I removed my Butternut from the antenna switch, and connected the vertical directly, the difference was like night and day. Due to the poor quality of that particular switch, it was as if I had an attenuator in line. Needless to say, that switch got tossed. The remaining one that I am using now, is better quality but only has two positions – I need at least three.

I think a Diamond or Daiwa will do a better job and will allow me to use the KX3 more often from the shack. It’s a great rig for Fox hunting!

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

Pepe’ le Pew was my companion in the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt tonight.  I was not successful in working either Fox – WA4ILO or K4AXF.

Conditions on 40 Meters were very long. I was able to hear Hounds from WY, TX, NM, OK and CO quite well. While I did not hear K4AXF in Virginia at all, I was able to hear WA4ILO in Georgia for about 15 minute’s worth of the 90 minute hunt. Jim went from ESP to 229, to about 339 at best and then quickly back down to ESP for the balance of the hunt.

I have been batting .500 or better so far this season. This is going to set my average back. Hope I don’t go into a slump!

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

I haven’t been a Fox in a couple of years now. But in going through the logs that our current crew of Foxes have been posting after the hunts, I am seeing a lot of new calls compared to the logs that I had posted in the past.

Now this could mean one of two things:

1) Guys are changing their calls through the Vanity system, or:
2) We’re attracting a nice group of newer hounds.

I think it’s the latter and that’s a really good thing to see. The news of how fun this is, is getting out to people just getting into QRP. And as a bonus, I am still seeing a lot of the familiar calls that you would expect to see, so obviously retention is high.  Just goes to show how addictive that QRP Fox hunting can be.

If you’re a QRPer and you’ve never tried this before, you are in for a world of fun.  The entire concept and the rules can be found here:  http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/

It’s not hard and there’s nothing to be afraid of – it’s all about a bunch of wacky QRPers getting onto the air and causing our own, friendly melee’.  Nobody bites and nobody gets hurt – even the Foxes. (For the PETA crowd – NO actual Foxes were hurt or killed in the process of the QRP Fox Hunts!) About the only bad thing that can happen is getting your ears blown out by a strong signal; but if you keep your AGC on …

then nobody gets hurt.

So ….. what are the benefits of participating in “The Hunts”?

A) You get to know your equipment better.  The ins and out of it – what works and what doesn’t.  Pardon the over done cliche’, but you really do “become one with your rig”.
B) You get schooled in several virtues – patience, humility, persistence being among them.
C) You have fun
D) You learn the proper way to operate in a pileup (as well as the NOT proper ways) – and if you choose to volunteer to be a Fox, you learn this from BOTH sides, in a microcosm sort of way.  I really have to attribute the experience I gained through the Fox hunts as a major help in allowing me to successfully navigate several DXpedition pileups with only QRP power.
E) You have fun.
F) You learn about propagation and your antennas and what works compared to what you THOUGHT would work.  You learn that conventional wisdom isn’t always so …… conventional.
G) You have fun.
H) You can make some really great, long lasting friendships with some outstanding folks – who you might never meet face to face.  But these friendships can end up becoming your most valued ones.

Did I mention that you have fun?

Now a thought had come to me – a question really …….

I know the QRP Fox Hunts were the brainchild of Chuck Adams K7QO – I was actually there, in the beginning, participating as N2ELW.  But has this caught on in other countries besides here?  I don’t see it mentioned on any of the major QRP e-mail lists and I know there are a ton of you dedicated QRPers out there that read this blog that are not from this side of The Pond.  Is there a European or UK or other (Russian, VU ……. ) version of this going on?  If there’s not, there should be!  It’s so much fun and in addition to that, the friendships that are forged because of the hunts are just priceless.  Heck, the friendships made are more valuable than the hunts themselves!

Just sayin’

All that said – the QRP Fox Hunt Committee, the Foxes, and yes, even the Hounds do such a great job, keeping this fun (there’s THAT word again) and exciting. A big tip o’ the hat and a hearty “Thank You” to all of them.

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

Wow – what a difference a different wire makes.

I signed on to the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt tonight and spotted Dave AB9CA pretty much right off the bat.  He was a bit on the weak side – and then I switched on over to the W3EDP from the EDZ  Dave went from super weak to 569 – easy!  To say I was amazed by the increase in his signal by changing wires is an understatement.  I went from thinking that I might not have a chance to getting in the log.

Drew K9CW in Illinois is even tougher.  No matter which antenna I switch to, this is going to be tough. I am hearing him the best on the W3EDP, though. Right now about 339 at best.

Fingers are crossed for an improvement in propagation.

Addendum – Got Drew ……… using the Butternut HF9V!  Didn’t think the vertical was the best club in the bag for 40 Meters; but it did the trick.  So much for conventional wisdom!

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

Not a good start for W2LJ in the inaugural week of the 2012/2013 Winter QRP Fox hunt season.  I only worked one of the four foxes – Jim K4AXF who was one of the 80 Meter Foxes tonight.  I was able to hear Ron KI0II in Colorado rather well for 80 Meters, but could not make myself heard to him.

The 40 Meter hunt on Tuesday night was a complete bust.  I never heard AA4XX at all, all night long.  I did hear Kevin W9CF in Arizona very weakly; but then W1AW code practice came on and that, as they say, was the end of that.

It’s supposed to go up into the 50s to near 60 this weekend.  Maybe I will be able to build and hoist that W3EDP antenna, now that the hurricane and snowstorms have passed.   Maybe I can make the weekend “a twofer” as we say in the Fox hunt world – antenna in the air and leaves off the ground!

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