The First 100 Years Are The Hardest

I don't have a 160m antenna but was able to get on the air with an OCF dipole and a tuner.   Not very efficient on TX but the band was in great condition so I couldn't resist.  I kept the power down and worked up from 30w to 75w.   50w seemed to be the sweet spot with tuner.   I worked 15 QSOs, choosing only the strongest signals so as not to QRM the other contesters.   I heard OR, CA, CO, IL and WTX sections on the are in addition to the ones I worked.  Nearby stations could copy me easily, the more distance stations could not.  Makes me want to get a proper antenna for 160M but at least I have a little experience with the top band!  Exchange for these contests is simple:    W/VE: RST + ARRL/RAC Section 73,  Chris de WX7V

I checked into the Intercontinental Sideswiper Net (SSN) today using the FX4-CR transceiver by BG2FX, and the W2LI MapLoop QRP antenna made by the folks at Tri-County Radio Association.   I ran 5W Power for both the 20M and 17M nets.  Signals were helped with Solar Flux (SFI) 277, and 162 Sunspot Number (SN) but offset a bit by Kp 3.33 (Unsettled) and A 7. Gotta love Solar Cycle 25 which is expected to peak in 2025. WX clear skies and cool, cool at 83F / 28C by end of 17M Net. Reports: 20M 14.055 AA7FV 599+ N8LAG 579 KN6BAZ 559 W0BET 589 17M 18.088 AA7FV 599 No other stations heard loud enough for good copy on 17M. I did work some POTA stations before and after the net with the magloop with generally good reports on both 20M and 17M bands. I was operating from bed of the truck with the mag loop mounted on a camera tripod I picked up cheap at the Hamfest in Belton TX yesterday. I had plain of the loop broadside to EU, which may explain why i didn’t have any luck w...

Successfully tested my new W2LI QRP mag loop antenna had made by the folks at Tri Country Radio Association .   The TCRA will operate a Special Event Station celebrating its 90 year history of Amateur Radio service over the weekend of  October 19-20, 2024. The W2LI antenna is easy to assemble.  Push together a few sections of PVC pipe, connect the ends of the LMR-400 coax to the control box and your done.   Supply your own feedline from the transceiver to the transmit loop.  I added a BNC adapter to the transmit loop since most of my QRP rigs use BNC connectors. I tested the loop in the garage with the antenna mounted on a small camera tripod.  The SWR is easy to match: turn the capacitor knob on the tuning box till you hear maximum noise, then hit the tune button on the radio.  Fine tune the SWR by slightly adjusting the knob till you get the desired match on the radio- in my case 1.4:1 on the KX3 within a few seconds.   I was able...

I finally got around to setting up RBN Aggregator v6.5 and CW Skimmer 2.1 for my Dallas Station (EM12ou).   I’m using a Flexradio 6400 with 2 bands / 2 slices (usually 20M and 40M).  The RBN Aggregator pulls the spots consolidated by Slicemaster from each of the CW skimmers running. RX is via a W6LVP amplified receive only magentic loop antenna that provides frequency coverage from below 100 kHz to above 30 MHz with no tuning or adjustment required.   I ordered mine directly from Larry with an additional 5-pole 1,700 kHz high-pass filter in the preamp to attenuate the strong signals from local AM transmitters in Dallas.  The filter cover from 1,800 kHz (160 meters) through 30 MHz (10 meters). The 2 band set up will do until I get a dedicated Red Pitaya receive only SDR https://beta.reversebeacon.net/main.php?rows=100&max_age=24,hours&spotter_call=wx7v/5&hide=distance_km Refer to this guide  from HamSCI for additional help configuring your node for Fl...

Received the Platinum Activator Certificate today after activating US-3001 Copper Breaks State Park in North (West) Texas.   60 activations, 40 unique parks, and looking forward to many more.   This was the third activation that I took my dad on.  He listened to a few CW QSOs, then asked if we could switch over to voice mode so that he could record the convo!   There’s a lot of history in each location, and a lot of learning if you stop to look.  We make an effort to go into the visitor center to learn a little bit about the park and its history.  We visited with the park ranger during the registration.  The ranger was super nice- when she saw my Texas State Park Pass, she asked “POTA, huh?”  Turns out her husband is also a ham and president of the local amateur radio club and does his share of activations! 73,  Chris de WX7V.

I travelled to Salt Lake City for a strategy and planning session in July and was able to spend the afternoons exploring all that Utah has to offer - which includes more than 654 State and National Parks registered thru POTA!  The elevations ranged from 4700ft to 6200 ft.  Solar flux (SFI) each day was above 200 which helped the QRP signals immensely,  even with the compromise AX-1 antenna. 81 contacts made at 4 parks over the past 5 days, all CW and with QRP from my Elecraft KX3: US-5926 Fort Douglas National Historical Park: Established in October 1862 to protect the overland mail services and telegraph lines as part of the Central Overland  Route.  Also served as an internment camp for both World Wars.  The fort was transferred to the University of Utah who maintains the properties and historic buildings. US-3080 Jordanelle State Park created in 1993 with completion of the Jordanelle Dam which resulted in the submergence of the towns of Keetley , Hailsto...