80 Meter Fox and the weekend

Last night was my final appearance as a Fox for this season. Whew! I pulled both a 40 and 80 Meter stint for Steve WX2S while he was busy dealing with some family issues, as well as my own two 80 Meter sessions. It was a lot, but it was fun! The jury is still out on whether or not I'll volunteer next season. Since I don't post to the K4OAQ real time maps, if I do volunteer again, I might just get turned down. Time will tell and I have a long time to think about it.

Band conditions were not the best last night. The k Index was a tad over 4 and there was ferocious QSB at times. It seemed particularly bad when I was trying to work Don K9DRP. I just could not copy his call! Veteran Ham that he is, Don took his code speed down a notch. Once he did that, his callsign lasted longer than the QSB dropout and I was able to hand him a pelt. Thanks, Don!

I noted in my comments to the Fox Hunt e-mail reflector that slowing down the code speed is something Tim KR0U does, often. When you have 5 or 6 Hounds baying at you all at the same time, a call sign sent at a slower speed really stands out. That's something that I will have to remember myself!

In all, including the two Foxes, I was able to hand out 49 pelts - just one short of my self imposed goal. I'm predicting that between John K4BAI and myself, that we were able to hand out somewhere around 120 pelts - my close to 50 and his probably around 70.

Here's the RBN map from last night:

The screen shot was taken this morning, so the grey line is wrong, but you can get an idea where the skimmers picked me up last night. I made it as far as Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming  - which this map does not indicate.

Now - onto the weekend:

Contests:

ARRL International DX Contest, CW - https://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

FISTS Sunday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints

K1USN Slow Speed Test - http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html

Special Event Stations:

02/14/2025 | Arizona Statehood Day SES

Feb 14-Feb 15, 1500Z-0000Z, K7A, Prescott, AZ. Yavapai Amateur Radio Club. 28.313 21.313 14.313 7.213. Certificate. Mike Belanger, W1DGL, 219 W Leroux St, Apt. 202, Prescott, AZ 86303. We will be self-spotting to let you know where we are in case the above frequencies are either in use already or QRM/N is too high there. We will start on or as close to the 10m frequency listed and work from there as the day goes on. Happy 113th birthday, Arizona! www.w7yrc.org/club-station

02/15/2025 | Ice Station W0JH - Frozen Minnesota Lake Portable

Feb 15-Feb 17, 1600Z-2300Z, W0JH, Stillwater, MN. Stillwater (MN) Amateur Radio Association - SARA. 21.360 14.260 7.260 3.860. Certificate. E-certificate only, send QSL info , to, W0JHrequest@gmail.com. W0JH will operate portable from a frozen lake in Washington County, Minnesota (Grid Square EN34). In a meager attempt to drive away the remainder of Minnesota winter, the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association will be generating as much RF as possible over the President's Day weekend. (Please help us!!) Certificates will ONLY be sent via email in PDF format. (Send requests with standard QSL confirmation info to: W0JHrequest@gmail.com). There is no need to send a QSL card. www.Radioham.org

02/15/2025 | K4US - George Washington's Birthday at Mount Vernon

Feb 15-Feb 16, 1500Z-1600Z, K4US, Alexandria, VA. Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club. 7.042 7.242 14.042 14.242. QSL. MVARC, P.O. Box 7234, Alexandria, VA 22307. MVARC will host a special event station to commemorate our first president's 293rd birthday. Members will be at the Mount Vernon greenhouse on the original grounds of the former plantation of George Washington and his wife, Martha Washington mvarc.org , K4US@mvarc.org

02/16/2025 | The White House Communications Agency Amateur Radio Club Presidents Day 2025 Commemoration

Feb 16-Feb 18, 0000Z-0000Z, W0H, Jackson, OH. White House Communications Agency Amateur Radio Club. 3.875 MHz 7.275 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.550. Certificate. Lowell Yates, 6809 Four Mile Rd, Jackson, OH 45640. The White House Communications Agency Amateur Radio Club is excited to honor all of our Presidents this Presidents Day. We would like to especially recognize the Presidents for whom the White House Communications Agency "(WHCA) has provided communications support since its founding in 1942. A WHCA-ARC Special Event certificate will be awarded to commemorate this special occasion. For more information, please visit our events page. https://whitehousecomms-arc.org/events/whca-arc-presidents-day-special-event/ https://whitehousecomms-arc.org

BTW, in relation to my post yesterday about the KX3 ........ there are already folks out there discussing what they want to see as the successor to the KH1! That rig was introduced like what? A couple of years ago? Wow!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

KX3 a dinosaur?

Wow! I was slightly taken aback reading a thread on the Elecraft AX/KX/KH1 groups.io reflector the other day. Someone was asking if there was any news about updates/upgrades to the KX3 at Orlando Hamcation.

Admittedly, I'm biased - I absolutely love my KX3 and at this point, the only way you're going to take it away from me is to pry it out of my cold dead fingers. I also admit, I'm not an EE and I'm not the tech wizard either. I also don't need to change rigs as often as I change my underwear - still, I was surprised by ....

"a new model must be designed to succeed the KX3. There are just too many things to improve, including the basic circuitry" - Really?

Another wrote "I agree primarily that the KX3 is a bit long in the tooth."

Still another wrote "Almost everyone I know who either bought a KX3 or seriously looked at a KX3 has gone with the Icom 705." Oooooh! Oooooh! Not me! Not me!

And to be balanced in this post, there were also comments from other Hams (including myself) who voiced favorable opinions about the rig. I guess I'm just old fashioned enough where I don't need a waterfall display (or bandscope, or whatever you want to call it), and just the latest and the greatest bells and whistles. I'm happy to be able to interface with the rig via buttons and dials and menus that don't dive down to the Earth's core. I like the human element - I don't need or want everything to be cyber.

Of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion, and I don't denigrate anyone for it. I was just surprised that so many KX3 owners seem to be less than satisfied with their radio. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Took a plunge!

An e-mail popped up on my phone today that eBay had some new listings of RigExperts antenna analyzers. I've been wanting one for a very, very long time and a pre-owned AA-30 Zoom was up for (just) under $150.

The seller, who has a high satisfaction rating, stated that it's in "very good used condition". I decided to take my chances and took the plunge. This will be so handy in setting up / tuning the Buddisitck on the magmount on top of the Jeep. 

I figured that it might be a long while before I'd see a RigExperts analyzer that was affordable, again. It may arrive at my QTH as early as Friday, but knowing my luck, it will probably be here next week. Friday would be nice because it would give me the longer President's Day weekend a chance to get familiar with it.  (Just got a shipping update - Wednesday, 2/19 - of course!)

The nice thing is that even if it does not come with documentation, I can download that from the DX Engineering website.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Did get on the iar last night

For the Saint Max Net, which was very light due to some sort of football game that was taking place in New Orleans last night. I jest, but can you imagine if the Superbowl had taken place a few weekends ago when the Big Easy had that snowfall? The game is moved to a neutral site where the weather is supposed to not be a problem, right?

Anyway, that DuraFlame space heater I purchased last year made all the difference again. It raised the temp down in the basement just enough to make it somewhat comfortable. 

We had snow and ice Saturday night into Sunday morning. just enough to be an annoyance. We have another disturbance forecasted for Tuesday into Wednesday and I hope it does not play havoc with this cardiologist appointment that I have for Wednesday afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting through this chapter and moving on.

The weather guy I follow on Facebook is calling for a continued series of snow/ice events through the month of February. That's only three weeks - the year is moving so fast, already. I am looking forward to the beginning of March and the return to Daylight Savings Time. Anything that makes the daylight last longer is fine with me. I can deal with darkness in the morning on my way to work.

I just checked the 80 Meter Fox Hunt schedule and I see that for my final stint, that I am paired up with John K4BAI on Thursday night. I'm sure that will be epic with the both of us handing out over 100 pelts. His 70 to my 30! HI!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

More updates and some thoughts

I haven't been posting much as of late, and for that I apologize to all of you who follow my exploits. This heart issue has kept me pre-occupied. It's not as dire as my imagination likes to run away with and think that it is, but it still leaves me unsettled at times.

The cardiac catheterization last Tuesday went well. All these years of this American of Polish descent eating ham, kielbasa and stuffed cabbage and my arteries are still clear! However, I do have a  mitral valve leak which needs to be taken care of. So I have an appointment with another cardiologist who specializes in taking care of this kind of thing at a bigger hospital than the one I went to last week. That's this coming Wednesday. I will find out more then.

In the meantime, I'll most likely check into the St. Max Net tonight and I might even get on the air this afternoon for a little POTA hunting.

This coming Thursday evening is my last turn as being a Fox in the QRP Fox Hunts for the season, and it may well be my very last time ever. There is a feature designed by Fritz K4OAQ, where Foxes can real time log to a map, so when a Hound is worked, his QTH pops up as a dot on a map of the US. Ingenious really, as a Hound can ensure he nabbed a pelt and thus it eliminates dupe QSOs to a large extent. All Foxes are strongly encouraged to use this feature.

My problem is that I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time and trying to work stations and then type in call signs and real time log would be an absolute debacle. I can only imagine that if I tried this, my QSO count (which is never very high compared to other Foxes to begin with) would go way, way down.  So I will paper log this last time, publish it the next day and I will bow out of volunteering for Fox duty to more capable hands than mine. I dare say that my difficulty is not an age thing, it's a lack of coordination thing, and I don't want to spoil anyone's fun or be a hindrance to the process.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Golden Age?

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, when I was a Novice we had:

QST

CQ

73 Magazine

WorldRadio

HamRadio

Ham Radio Horizons

Now all that's left is QST and a few digital ARRL publications? NCJ, QEX, On the Air? I think the ARRL's "On The Air" is the only publication left with new comers in mind? 

Filling the void somewhat are e-zines like the K9YA Journal that's written in a style a lot like WorldRadio. More human interest stuff than technical; and we need that. WorldRadio drew me deeper and deeper into the hobby. I was never the electronics engineer type and contesting was never my bag. I enjoyed reading about the non-technical side of the hobby, and what other people were doing and some good historical articles, too.

I wish we had more publications like that today. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Updates

 Well, the news from the echo cardiogram wasn't the greatest. Going in for a cardiac catheterization on Tuesday, February 4th. I'm on 4 different meds for the time being and suddenly feel really, really old.

Boy, this is a far cry from the days on my 20's when I would cycle around 100 miles a week and had a resting pulse of about 60 BPM. 

So I haven't been much in the mood for radio. And I should add, not only because of this heart thing, but also because of the cold and the basement being an uncomfortable space. This weekend we're supposed to go above the freezing mark for the first time in a long time, so maybe I'll get the chance to get on the air.

This weekend is Winter Field Day, but more importantly, NEXT weekend is FYBO - Freeze Your Buns Off - the classic kickoff to the outdoor QRP Season for 2025.

The rules haven't changed much over the years. 

https://azscqrpions.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/FYBO_General-Near-Forever-Rules.pdf

This year FYBO takes place on February 1st. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least

Surprise (again) !

Imagine my surprise yesterday afternoon as I took a quick break at work and checked my e-mail, and saw this, posted by Dean N2TNN:

"I’ll be one of your two foxii on 80 meters Thursday night, along with Larry, W2LJ, in New Jersey.  I'll be operating from Gloucester VA, between 0200 and 0330Z and within +/- 10Khz of 3.560 MHz.  I’ll be running my K3 throttled down to 5 watts into an 160 meter full loop up 55 feet."

I've been so pre-occupied as of late that I totally forgot about Fox duty last night! But in a way, it was a blessing in disguise as it took my mind off of the echo cardiogram that I went for today. The good news there is that no one screamed "Oh my! Rush this man to a hospital!" My cardiologist (I still can't quite come to terms that I actually need one!) will call sometime next week with the results. (Fingers crossed for no really bad news.)

The Fox Hunt was a good time, as I was lower Fox. This was Dean's baptism by fire as his first time as a Fox. A bit more on that later. I put myself at 3.5575 MHz, listening up one. That worked well until about 0254 UTC when a QRO and QRS QSO obliterated my ability to hear any Hounds calling me, so I had to go simplex.

In all, not counting the two Foxes, I was able to hand out 45 pelts. I more or less divided my time up between the EFRW and the HF9V. Neither seemed to have an advantage over the other. QSB was a vicious beast at times last night, but even so, I had fun and was able to concentrate on something other than "concerns" for a while. The RBN map from last night isn't all that impressive, but here it is:

I was able to make it all the way out to Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, even though the map doesn't show me as having been picked up by skimmers out that way.

Dean's first time as Fox was phenomenal! He handed out 50 pelts - a true testament to the superb operator that he is! If I remember correctly, the first time I was a Fox so many moons ago, I was so nervous that I was lucky to hand out 30!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

My apologies for not posting lately

 But as John Lennon wrote, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

I went for a physical last September with my Primary Care Physician, and his EKG machine was down, so he suggested "at your age, you should have a stress test done." I went for a consult last Wednesday, and the cardiologist (the same one my wife Marianne goes to) told me I had "an abnormal EKG". Something about "left branch bundle block", or something. So now I'm wearing a heart monitor for a month, and I go for a cardiac ultrasound on Friday and a stress test on March 19th. A follow up visit with the cardiologist in April will decide how we tackle this problem.

Then, on Friday, as I was driving to work at 6:00 in the morning, I noticed I was being tailgated by someone driving one of those stand up electric scooters. I slowed down, pulled off to the side so he could pass me - I figured he was in a hurry.

Turns out that he must have been drafting me, using my Jeep to block the cold winds that were blowing that morning. I told him that it was stupid to tailgate - that if I had to stop short because of a deer running across the road or for some other reason, he could be seriously injured.

Instead of going on his merry way, he started cursing me out and punched out my driver side rear view mirror.

He then proceeded on his way towards Plainfield. Besides be shocked as all get out, I didn't want to follow him, because I figured if he got injured or hit by a car while trying to evade me, I'd probably be open to some kind of crazy civil suit. I called the South Plainfield Police Dept as soon as I got into work and left a voice mail with the Traffic Safety Department, explaining the whole incident.

Being a CERT Member in town may have paid off a bit as I know the Mayor and the Council Members. I asked one of them if it would be possible to have a police car keep an eye on that section of town early in the mornings for a while. This guy is either going to kill himself or injure someone else if he keeps this up. Several residents posted on Facebook that they've seen this guy do this to other drivers, as well as buzz people on the walking trails of Spring Lake Park.

So I haven't been on the radio lately as I haven't really been in the mood - hence, not much to write about. Maybe I'll get on the air tonight for the 40 Meter QRP Fox Hunts. John K4BAI in GA and Dave N1IX in NH will be serving as Foxes. We'll see how I feel tonight. Physically, I feel OK - just been bummed out a bit. To add to it, I spent the weekend "de-decorating" the house from Christmas and that always depresses me.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Just as i thought

I went down to the shack at about 6:00 PM to turn the space heater on so that I could check into the St. Max Net at 7:00 PM - 00:00 UTC. I turned the KX3 on and went to 40 Meters, where I usually keep it parked at about 7.038 MHz. There was RTTY all over the band way down into the 7.030's!

I expected as much as yesterday was the RTTY Roundup. However, I remember when I used to participate back in the 90s, we strove to try and not go below 7.060 MHz. I suppose with the proliferation of software that doesn't require you to use a TNC anymore, that there are way more participants than there used to be. And I guess that's a good thing.

I enjoyed the RTTY Roundup back in the days of my Icom IC-751A and my KAM TNC. Guess I'm really dating myself. Maybe I'll look into downloading some software so that I can jump in next year. I still have my certificates from placing well in the NNJ section.

The St. Max Net was a good time with some 20 check-ins. Turning on the space heater made it comfortable down in the shack. From 58F to about 63F in that hour. If I had turned it on even earlier, it would have been warmer, but I don't want to drive up the electric bill too much.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The first weekend - January 4th and 5th

Before I get into the happenings of the weekend, I DID get on the air last night for the 80 Meters Fox Hunts. I thought they'd be slam dunk, easy peasy. I was wrong, again! I nabbed both pelts but it was far from easy and this is probably why - the k Index was 3 and these were the band conditions for the night:

"Fair" was being generous - at least from my QTH. I was able to find both Foxes, but from the beginning, both were at ESP levels, with Steve WD4CFN in TN having just a bit of an edge. Once I found Steve and realized I probably wasn't going to work him for a while, if at all, I went looking for John AJ1DM in RI. I found him and he was way down in the background as well. I made a note of each Fox's frequency and kind of bopped back and forth to continuously check for signal improvement. 

I finally snagged Steve at 0241 UTC and then John at 0247 UTC, and I was thrilled, as for a long time, I didn't think I was going to get either. Not only were Steve and John weak, but the Hounds that i normally hear booming into NJ were down in the mud as well. I could barely hear Rick NK9G and Todd N9NE, two regular signal giants here in NJ. About the only Hound that blew my headphones off was Dean N2TNN down in Virginia. Even John K4BAI's signal was a ghost of its normal self.

I'm sure glad I have that space heater down in the shack. We're heading into an Arctic blast here in NJ over the next days and it was a might chilly in the shack. The space heater made it bearable. Not totally comfortable as I didn't start it up until I went downstairs for the Hunt. If I had turned it on an hour or 90 minutes ahead of time, it certainly would have been comfortable.

Anyway, enough of my escapades - here's what's going on this weekend. Again, I do this so you can have a good idea of "What's that contest I hear?" is.

Contests:

Marconi Club ARI Loano QSO Party Day - http://www.ariloano.it/marconiclub/mcd_reg/regolamentomcday_ENG.pdf

WW PMC Contest - http://www.s59dcd.si/index.php/sl/ww-pmc/ww-pmc-contest-rules

ARRL RTTY Roundup - https://www.arrl.org/rtty-roundup - Expect RTTY signals WAY down into the CW subbands!

EUCW 160m Contest - https://www.uft.net/activites-et-concours/concours-eucw-uft-on5me/

Monday night - ARS Spartan Sprint - http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html

Special Event Stations:

01/02/2025 | "Remembering WØJH Father Metcalf" at Belwin Conservancy

Jan 2-Jan 4, 1600Z-2300Z, W0JH, Stillwater, MN. Stillwater (MN) Amateur Radio Assn - SARA. 3.860 7,260 14.260 21.360. Certificate. Shel Mann - N0DRX, 1618 Pine St W, Stillwater, MN 55082. This event pays tribute to the original W0JH, Father George Metcalf. As a WWII Chaplain for General Patton, Fr. Metcalf drafted the famous “Weather Prayer.” The General and his troops believed it ended 3 months of cloudy, rainy skies in December, 1944. QSL certificates may ONLY be requested and will ONLY be sent via email. Send requests WITH W0JH QSO CONTACT INFO to: W0JHrequest@gmail.com. IMPORTANT: ONLY W0JH confirmed contacts qualify (See www.radioham.org and QRZ.com (W0JH) for more details.) www.radioham.org

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Let's face it ........ I suck

when it comes to using a straight key. I am so out of practice, that I was embarrassed how my fist sounded on Straight Key Night. I only made two QSOs, and for the second I switched to my Vibroplex Original. Can you imagine that? I sound better on a bug than I do on a straight key! How pathetic is that? 

I've dropped a long way off from my Novice days, which were completed entirely with a Nye Viking straight key.  I suppose given time, I could get my straight key fist sounding reasonably decent again, but if I'm going to go mechanical, I'll stick with my bug. My fist there may not be the best, either, but it's yards better than my straight key fist! 

As far as only two QSOs go on Straight Key Night, I took a break after the second QSO and came upstairs to get some iced tea. While I was in the kitchen, I saw a bright flash and heard a very loud rumble of thunder. I raced back down to the shack to shut down and disconnect the antennas. We had intermittent thunder and lightning for the next couple of hours. New Year's Eve thunder and lightning - wacky weather!

Tomorrow, Friday, we're supposed to get another Arctic blast and we're looking at a possible snow event next Monday into Tuesday. I'll have to make sure the outside Christmas decorations come in this weekend. We've already have had wind gusts exceeding 20 MPH, that have knocked a few things over. It won't be pleasant doing this in sub-freezing temps, but it will have to get done while the ground is not covered with snow.

On another note, that SpaceWeather Live app has been sending me all kinds of alerts. We're experiencing a lot of geomagnetic activity and just a few minutes ago, I received a notification concerning a large trans equatorial coronal hole that is directly facing the Earth. Looks for band conditions to be on the wild side for the next few days.

The QRP Fox hunts resume tonight on 80 Meters and the Foxes are "local" enough that i should be able to work both. For whatever reason, I slept terribly last night, kept waking up every few hours it seemed like. I may be sawing wood tonight by the time the Hunts begin at 9:00 PM local time.

Mom was right when she used to tell me, "Larry, don't get old." I always used to answer, "There's not much I can do about it." But boy howdy, was she ever right!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Happy New Year 2025!

Here are my wishes for you for 2025:

May you get on the air a lot.

May you get that DXCC entity you always wanted.

May you work all the POTA stations you can and conversely, may all your activations be successful

May your equipment never fail or break in 2025.

May Amateur Radio treat you very well and bring you many hours of enjoyment this coming year.

And seriously, may you be graced with good health, and good fortune in 2025.

May your worries be few and your good times be plentiful.

Happy New Year de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Time honored tradition for New Year's Eve and Day:

Straight Key Night!

I already have a couple of tickets for another event tonight:

 But maybe I'll use these after getting on for a QSO or two for Straight Key Night.

As per the ARRL Website:

ARRL Straight Key Night: January 1, 2025

12/25/2024

ARRL Straight Key Night is January 1, 2025, from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. This 24-hour event is not a contest but rather a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage -- radio communications by Morse code.

Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs (radio contacts). The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. There are no points scored and all who participate are winners. All authorized amateur frequencies may be used but activity has traditionally been centered on the HF bands.

Entries for Straight Key Night must be received by January 3, 2025. Votes for "Best Fist" and “Most Interesting QSO” will be tabulated and included in the results. Send your information to straightkey@arrl.org or by mail to ARRL Straight Key Night, 225 Main Street, Newington, Connecticut 06111. For more information, contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232.

Visit the ARRL website for more details: www.arrl.org/straight-key-night.

The cold weather has moderated in NJ with it being rather warmish the past couple of days, so I should be able to spend some time in the shack without turning the space heater on. But there is a local meteorologist that I follow on Facebook, and the reason I follow him is that his forecasts are usually spot on. He's right more often than he's wrong, which can be said to be unusual for a weatherman. His latest post included forecasts for New Year's Eve and Day, but ended with an ominous note.  (Paraphrasing here) "After the New Year, Winter is going to bite us on the butt (his exact words) in early January, with way below normal temperatures and the possibility of significant snow events."

Not exactly my idea of kicking off the new year in good fashion.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Christmas Day 2024

 

From our house to yours, best wishes for the Merriest of Christmases! May God bless and keep you all in the palm of His hand!

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP  - When you care to send the very least!