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It was about 35 degrees (2C) when I set out for the Jeep at lunchtime. Not as breezy as yesterday, but it still felt nippy. Though that was a lot better than the 19F (-7C) that I woke up to earlier in the morning. New Jersey is not supposed to be quite this cold around this part of November!  Anyway, once again I operated from inside the Jeep as opposed to standing outside.  I didn’t need to turn on the heater as my upholstery is black and on a sunny day like today, the car can get rather warm on the inside. Solar power at its best!

The bands may still be in good shape, but once again, activity seemed sparse. Maybe it was because I wasn’t hearing 25 kHz wide DXpedition pileups, so it just seemed more quiet. I called CQ and was awarded with a nice QSO with Terry W9UX (who’s name I remembered, BTW!) in Madison, WI.  Terry is an avid and active QRPer, so I was rewarded with a 2X QRP KX3 to KX3 QSO (THAT’S a mouthful!).  We talked for a bit, and then, just as I was mentioning how the bands seemed to have lost some of their zip lately, wouldn’t you know?  We both QSB’ed from 589 to maybe 219 (generous).  We were both at ESP levels and couldn’t hear each other for anything as the band dropped out on us like the proverbial lead balloon.

A lesson re-learned, as sometimes I can get a bit too wordy in my QSOs. When band conditions are subject to volatility, it’s best to stick to a lot of our CW abbreviation lingo and not spell too much out, word for word.  CW abbreviations – the original texting shorthand!

TNX QSO – BCNU AGN SOON,  73 ES GB

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

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/design/2013/10/how-the-telegraph-went-from-semaphore-to-communication-game-changer/

and

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183940409194498

No luck today at lunchtime. One of those rare days where I got skunked.

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

After reading Larrys post this morning about 15 meters being open, I thought I would check that band out first today when I arrived at the park for some lunch time portable operation.  It has been a week since I have been on the air, so I was itching to get back to some CW.

Sure enough, right off the bat I had success…

DL4MO – I heard Loy finishing a QSO and when they wrapped it up I gave him a call.  He came right back to me with a 449 report – he was 599 here in Kansas.  Interesting thing is this was more than a quick report and “see ya” – I don’t think he could believe I was at 5 watts – he had me repeat my power after I sent it to him.  Loy lives in Germany – a new country for me.  His location is almost smack dab in the middle of the country.

SM5CAK – I heard Lars calling CQ and gave him a call – he was booming in here at 599, he gave me a 559.  Lars lives in Motola, Sweden – looking at Google Earth, it looks like a beautiful area.

I didn’t hear anyone else that was not in a QSO or very strong, so I decided to throw out a CQ on 15 meters…

F5RQQ – Jean-Marc is located in France.  We exchanged a quick report, he sent me 549 and I sent him 599.  Nice quick contact.

With 40 minutes left of my lunch hour, I decided to chase me some SOTA Activators…

K7SO – Sat was on W5N/PW-012 in New Mexico.  I worked him on 30 meters – he was booming in here at a 599 and I got a 549.

NM5S – Alan was on the same peak with K7SO but he was working 40 meters.  He gave me a 539 and I sent him 579.

KE5AKL – Mike was on W5N/SS-001 – Wheeler Peak, which is the highest peak in New Mexico at 13,167 ft.  I found this panaroma photo of the peak at Wikipedia – pretty cool shot.

Panorama of Wheeler Peak, NM – KE5AKL was here when I worked him!

With so many quick contacts, I still had about 8 minutes before I had to tear down, and I spun the dial on 20 meters looking for a CQ….

NK6X/4 – Bill was sending almost to fast for me, but I enjoyed it!  Sometimes it is good to be pushed.  He was in Dallas, GA, which appears to be part of metro Atlanta – I didn’t even know there was a Dallas, GA.  We had a nice QSO for the rest of my lunch hour, but I was having problems with the KX3 key.  Sometimes, it just will not send the dits and dahs when you push the arm.  Not sure what the deal is!

FUN FUN day today!  Thanks to all those that worked me!

As I have mentioned before, in May we moved our family from the Kansas City area to Wichita, KS.  While everything is unpacked and pretty well settled in, there is still some organizing that needs to be done.

The weather today in Central NJ was a very sunny 72F (22C) when I headed out the door from work at lunchtime.  I wanted to accomplish two things.  I wanted to try the 18 MHz wire that I cut for the PAR ENDFEDZ, and I also wanted to set up the Jackite pole again using my drive on mast holder.

I went to the same park that I went to last week; but I went to the other side.  This was away from the tree-filled picnic area and towards the soccer fields and some other baseball fields.  I set up right in the parking area:

Set up went very fast, and since the 17 Meter wire is much shorter than the regularly supplied 10/20/40 MKII radiator, I needed to use a piece of coax that I normally carry for when I use the Buddistick.  I called CQ and was answered by Mike K8NS who lives in Florida, in the Daytona Beach area.

Mike was 589 here, and he gave me a 569 in return. Copy was solid in both directions. Mike was using an Icom IC-725 to a vertical antenna.  My PAR ENDFEDZ was more or less a vertical, although it did slope somewhat.

It was just turning 90F (32C) for the day at Mike’s QTH; but he informed me that there was a nice off shore breeze that was keeping things bearable.  I couldn’t stay too long as I had to get back to work; but it was a rewarding effort.  I made a QSO, the wire worked well and the drive on mast support continued to work like a charm.  A very productive lunchtime, indeed.

What’s that about the blog post title, you ask?  Well, off to the right of me, about 75 yards or so was a very big, open field.  There were some older gentlemen there flying RC model planes.  I was watching them while I was operating; and I guess they were watching me.  One of them came over, of course, to ask what I was doing and I started explaining about Amateur Radio (you would think model RC pilots would know something about radio).  He asked me if I was actually working anyone, so I took the earbud jack out of the KX3, so he could hear me as I worked Mike K8NS.

“Morse Code ….wow! People still use that?”

“Yes”, I replied. “It’s still very popular”.

“Isn’t that nice.  It’s good to know there are folks out there using older technology than what I use.”

I started explaining about SDR, microprocessors, SMD technology and all that; but I was getting a glassy-eyed stare (and you could almost hear the crickets chirping), so I ended up just letting it go at that.

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

Two things pointed out to me by Bob W3BBO, who directed me to the “ARRL Contest Update” e-mail, which I had just kind of glossed over without reading properly:

I spent the evening conversing with Ed, KN9V on 40 Meters. Ed sent me an e-mail a few weeks back, asking him if I would meet him on the air for some real live CW practice. We tried earlier this week, but the propagation gods were against us. Tonight we had a much better go.

Ed feels that he’s a little rusty, but it was evident that he’s really doing fine. We were about 559 both ways, and we were able to enjoy a QSO for just about an hour. A little QSB and QRM made it interesting, but it was a very nice QSO.

I hope to meet Ed on the air again soon.

If you feel your Morse Code needs a little work and that you need a CW buddy, then send me an e-mail at [email protected].

Time permitting, I’d love to make a sked with you and work with you on the air. Now that the KPA3 amp is installed in my K3, I can turn on the afterburners so that you wouldn’t have to strain to hear me. Although, if you’re so inclined as to want to attempt a 2X QRP QSO, you wouldn’t get any arguments from me!  I am comfortable sending anywhere between 5 to about 23 WPM, and I can go on any band from 160 to 6 Meters.

I am available most weeknights, and would be glad to hear from you.

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