Posts Tagged ‘holiday’
Thanksgiving 2014
November 26th, 2014 | 
Author: 
I’m dreaming of a white …….
What?!?
Yes, Virginia, it looks like the east coast is going to receive a rare white Thanksgiving. Even though it approached 70F (21C) here yesterday, a change is in the offing. By 8:00 AM tomorrow morning, the busiest travel day of the entire year, a classic Nor'easter will be making its way up the coast, bringing much colder air and snow with it. By Buffalo, NY and Great Lakes region standards, we're talking a mere dusting of snow - maybe only 3-8 inches (7-20 cm), but enough to make traveling to Grandma's house a trickier proposition than normal. By the way, the last time it snowed in these parts for Thanksgiving was 1989 - some 25 years ago.
On a Ham Radio note, it appears my W3EDP antenna has gone the way of the DoDo Bird, that is - extinct. I plugged it into the KX3 the other day and I noticed that it is considerably deaf. Stations that I can hear plainly and loudly with the EDZ and the Butternut are but a mere whisper on the W3EDP.
I suspect I know where the trouble is. There are only three parts to this antenna - the actual wire, the balun, the coax. I'm placing my money on the coax. I suppose water could have gotten into the balun and could be wreaking havoc, but it is a commercial brand, popular make balun. I think it's way more likely that water probably got into the coax. I probably didn't weather-proof the connection as well as I thought I had.
Unfortunately, I don't have a piece of coax long enough to replace it right now. Guess I'll be ordering some over the long Holiday weekend. I don't suppose there are any coax stores holding day-after-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales, eh?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Zombie Shuffle Recap – 2014
One of my faves!
One of my favorite contest/Sprints is coming up this weekend. The Hoot Owl Sprint, sponsored by QRP ARCI is this coming Sunday evening. I guess I had lost focus, or wasn’t paying attention, as this came as a surprise to me when Jim W4QO announced this on the NoGA Group reflector yesterday.
The Hoot Owl Sprint is always held on Memorial Day Weekend, here in the US. The rub is that it doesn’t feel like Memorial Day weekend as far as the thermometer is concerned. It feels more like late April or early May around here. It’s been chilly and wet for the most part, lately. We have had very few days where the temperatures have gone into the mid or upper 70s. And the forecast for the weekend is for basically more of the same. Ugh.
I also believe that Monday evening will be the MI QRP Memorial Day Sprint, but I haven’t seen any announcements regarding that, either. Keep your eyes peeled. (Update: As per the MI QRP Website (should have looked there, first – DUH!) there will only be a Labor Day Sprint this year.)
I am hoping that it will stay dry enough so that I can test out a 53 foot radiator with the 9:1 UNUN at the park at some point this weekend. According to the SWR Chart on the Balun Designs website, a 53 foot radiator will yield decent SWRs on all bands 80 through 10 Meters. If I get an opportunity to play and the results bear out, then this will be one of the antennas that will be used at the SPARC Field Day effort.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
Good Friday 2014
Merry Christmas!
Also, a very Happy 239th Birthday to the Marines! Semper Fi, Marines!
Lastly, a Happy Veteran’s Day to my Dad. I was rummaging through some papers in my desk when I came across the Certificate of Condolence that the White House sent upon his passing in 2001. My Dad was a WWII Army Vet who loved to talk about some of the European “sites” he saw during his tour in Europe (including the Passion Play at Oberammergau). He never spoke about combat, though – not uncommon for his generation, it seems. I also came across his wallet sized copy of his Discharge Papers. He was not an Amateur Radio operator, but he was a graduate of the Signal Corps RADAR and Repeater School (which probably explains in some way, my love for Amateur Radio). I also noticed for the first time that he was a recipient of medals for Combat in the European Theater, as well as a Good Conduct medal and one other. He NEVER spoke about those.
For all the Vets who have passed – Eternal rest, grant unto them Oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful Departed, rest in peace. Amen.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!