Sunday May 31 2009 and its snowing….

This one is hard to believe but I checked into the North Bay Ontario Net on 3.768 this morning and heard that they had had snow in North Bay Ontario this morning.

Later in the morning I checked the local North Bay Nugget (on line) and they ran a small story along with a couple of pictures.  If you follow the link you will see what I mean.

As I am writing this 1230hrs eastern on Sunday I just heard Mike VA3TJP on local repeater VE3MPC saying that it was snowing in Sand Point which is just outside of Arnprior Ontario (Just north west from Ottawa).

What the heck is going on with damp, rainy and now snowy weather this time of the year…So much for Global Warming and also it seems so much for summer…

73bob

84 EQSL Cards sent out

Yup that right…84 of them and some of them have been waiting for almost 5 years…  Why you might ask???   The biggest reason is that I do not (actually did not) use the EQSL Service.

Last night while surfing on the WWW I found a link and all I had to do was enter my callsign and I would find out if there were any QSL cards for me holding at the EQSL Server.  Just for the heck of it I entered my callsign and found out that there were 84 people who had EQSL’ed me over the years.  The earliest one I found was from September 2005 from the VA3SIE/VA3QV Maple Island QRP DXPedition.

Now to be honest I know very little about EQSL but I figured even though I had specified No EQSL and No LOTW on my QRZ Info Page there would not be that much I had to know about it.  It seems I was in error and now I have signed up for EQSL and am in the process of sending out 84 cards out to those who have sent to me.

If you are one of the 84 and wondering why it took so long for the reply…  Now you know…   I was not expecting any so I never checked…  Even the cards coming in through the BURO have slowed greatly in the last 6 months…  Obivously VA3 (Canada/Ontario) is not that rare for DXCC.  It also seems that FN25 is not a rare grid square either.

I prefer to receive cards direct or via the BURO and will reply with one of my custom made cards which are usually made up for a specific event but if you EQSL me I will now reply.

Here are some examples of my custom cards:

This one is my Winter OP Portable Card

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This one is from the RAC Canada Day Contest

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Heres the card I used for the Canada Winter Contest…

But now I also EQSL…

73bob

Update on the noise/antenna issues

Well as most of you know by now I have switched home HF antennas to an Inverted “L” style of antenna from the infamous folded vertical that I used to operate with.

The change of antennas was brought on by an attempt to improve my signal going out and hopefully improve my receive by lowering my noise floor.

After about a month of messing around I am partially successful.  The signals out have been fantastic and some people have even used the term “armchair copy” to describe my signal.  So far I have been able to make contacts and break pileups on 20, 40 and 80m.  Although the antenna loads up fine using my LDG Z100 auto tuner on all bands 10m to 160m I have yet to make any contacts on 10,12,15,17 and 160m.

On the receive side I have been able to slightly lower my noise floor down to around a S7 to S9 on 80m compared to the +20 plus that I was getting in the past.  The noise level drops greatly the further away from the 80m band I get…  The 80m noise level seems to drop more later in the evenings which makes its easy for late night ragchews but rough for early evening nets…

On that topic I do have a problem hearing the Net Control Stations for the Ontario Phone Net as most of them are in southern Ontario and as I’m in eastern Ontario some nights it becomes rough copy…  To help myself hear whats going on I have been operating  by multi moding….  I transmit on the assigned frequency but in fact am operating split by using a remote reciever that I can access via the internet using ECHOLINK.

I am using the facilities of VE3MAZ-L in Niagara Falls Ontario for receive and the system works great.  Only drawback is that I can hear myself talk (full duplex like when you work sats) and that takes time to get used to.  Good sides are that I can hear all the net along with my own signal so I know how everyone else should be hearing me as well.  Thanks Ken for offering such a wonderful service to the amateur community.  As long as my internet connection is stable I can hear whats going on…

I am still working on the noise issue but so far I seem to be stuck at the S7 to S9 level for 80m.  I have added chokes, ferrite beads and extra grounds and extra radials and to be honest I think thats about as good as it gets.  My last hope is that I have been informed that HYDRO Ottawa will be in later this summer to replace/upgrade some underground wiring and I’m hoping that the work they do will help out with my noise…

Enjoy your weekend and more later

73bob

I have heard the enemy and it is … us???

Good Friday morning,

This morning just around 1130 eastern I was spinning the dial on the 40m band and stopped in on the ECARS Net on 7.255.  The net control station was WB3GVD Joe in Delaware…  We made the contact rather easily which proves the inverted L likes 40m as welll as 20 and 80m so things are good.

Now comes the rant part….  There were one heck of a lot of “Whistles, Tuner uppers, am carriers and much more deliberate interference.  Now unless every pirate station was sitting on 7.255 we have to assume that most of this interference came from the amateur community.

All I can ask is WHY???  If you don’t like the net then spin the dial…  If you don’t like the NCS then come back an hour later and there will be a new NCS….  If you don’t like me then come back in 5 minutes and someone else will be checking in…  If you don’t like amateur radio take up stamp collecting or some other hobby…

This makes no sense….

73bob

Card arrived in the mail

Now you might remember that back in APRIL, I participated in the Project Blue Horizon flight of PBH-9 and that they had mentioned that they would be sending me something to thank me.  The email they sent me is mentioned here.

Well yesterday via Canada Post I got this nice two sided card and I thought I would share it with you….

And the second side looks like this

Like I said earlier….” Nice touch”

73bob

Bill (Ontario) C 118 Update

For those of you who have not heard of this one its a bill that has been passed by the Goverment of Ontario that will severly affect any drivers that drive while destracted.  Although the bill was made with the thought of sticking it to those who text message, and talk on a cell phone without using a hands free device or look at a handheld GPS unit etc.  Really anyone who takes their eyes off the road to look at any handheld device.

Somehow this has the potential to include radios and not the fear is that it will also cover/restrict the use of amateur radio while mobile.

To their credit RAC through the good work of VP Public Relations VE3HG has been looking out for our interests at the Committee Meetings in Toronto.

EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN REASONS FOR JOINING OR NOT JOINING RAC.  IF YOU ARE A MEMBER THIS IS A NEW REASON TO SUPPORT RAC WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP.  IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER THIS MIGHT BE A REASON TO JOIN.

The most recent updates are available on the RAC Blog with the specific articles being here and here and also here …  It makes for good reading and shows you the hard work RAC is doing on our behalf.  They are worthy of our support on this one…

73bob

VA3QV/m to Gananoque and return

If you remember from yesterdays entry…

“Tomorrow AM (Wed AM) Erika and myself will be departing Ottawa early for a trip to Gananoque Ontario to pick up Trisha and return to Ottawa.  I borrowed a mini van from my eldest Daughter and her hubby and can’t really see how I’m going to hook on the 80m hustler for the trip so it looks like it will be 2m only for the trip.  I do have a mount which might work with a bit of luck so give a listen tomorrow on ONTARS along with the usual eastern Ontario Repeaters and I go from here to there and back…”

Well we made it there and we made it back.   I operated on 80m ssb and 2m fm.  On the 2m side I used the following repeaters…  Ottawa 147.150, Lavant 146.640, Christie Lake 145.230 and Kingston 146.940 and had interesting QSOs on every machine.  In between 2m contacts I rode along with the ONTARS Net on 3.755 and was able to check in with 4 different controllers and also have a QSO with Ian VE3HMS.

We travelled from Ottawa to North Gower, to Smith Falls, to Seelys Bay and then South to Gananoque which was taking the “Senile Route Scenic Route”.  The return was a bit quicker taking the 401 East with a stop at the chew and choke in Mallorytown then to the 416 North to Ottawa.  We left Ottawa just before 0800 and returned at 1400 so not bad for a 6 hour trip.

The route we took is here…

The mount I made to support the 80m hamstick on the trailer hitch survived “Just” with the added weight of the Hustler and the 80m coil. Remember that hamsticks are lighter than hustlers… Metal fatique had occured and its a good thing the trip was not any longer as the mount will now have to be re built to take the added weight into concideration.  Good thing it was not a screwdriver or there would be tears ….

It will be  a  “radio active” evening after I get the van dropped back off to my daughter and her family and get back home…

73bob

Noise Level down…antenna is up

Well that line just about says it all.  Today I was able to finish the antenna installation and its as good as its going to get…

It (Homebrewed Inverted “L”) loads up fine with the FT847 and my LDG Z100 Autotuner from 10m to 160m.  I have made contacts so far on 20m, 40m and 80m but I feel confident about the rest of the bands….

The noise level has dropped to between S7 and S9 on 80m and has dropped appropiately on the other bands.  A big change from the S9+30 on 80m the other night.  The noise is down enough that the FT 847′s DSP and noise reduction filters can usually handle things…

In  a perfect world I would have a few more radials but the world ain’t perfect so I am a bit challenged in the west direction seeing that my own residence blocks me to the west so I have no full radials facing west.  Maybe a 10m 1/4w radial at the best but…its better than nothing…

Right now this is the best antenna system I have been able to use from home since the ice storm of 1998 removed the part of the maple tree that held my old G5RV.  Signal reports tend to be good and the noise I have is just what is expected being in an urban location.  Way too many electrical toys in my neighbourhood …

Now all I have to do is work on the 2m and 70cm SSB antennas a bit more and I’ll be ready for the June VHF Contest, Field Day and the RAC Canada Day Contest.  3 Contests in two weeks (and a bit) will be a great time for radio…

Tomorrow AM (Wed AM) Erika and myself will be departing Ottawa early for a trip to Gananoque Ontario to pick up Trisha and return to Ottawa.  I borrowed a mini van from my eldest Daughter and her hubby and can’t really see how I’m going to hook on the 80m hustler for the trip so it looks like it will be 2m only for the trip.  I do have a mount which might work with a bit of luck so give a listen tomorrow on ONTARS along with the usual eastern Ontario Repeaters and I go from here to there and back…

73bob

Timewave ANC4 **MAY NOT** be needed

Yup you read it right….

Yesterday I finally got the weighted line over the tree branch in the front yard and I was able to extend the Inverted L a little higher up and change its direction slightly.  At the same time I was forced (by the length of the driven element) to move the 4:1 Balun about 8 feet away and raise it by 6 feet.

The end result of this is now my noise level as I type this right now is S9 (down from +30) on 80m and it goes down from there.  Outgoing signal reports range from S9 to “30 over” so nothing seems to change much there…

Now this is not the end all of the situation but its a start…  Last night on the 3730 Group I was able to check in and the local noise had dropped to a S7 and for the first time in memory I could hear every station the NCS could hear and he was (according to QRZ.com) 60kms south of me.

I have one minor problem…  the driven element of the Inverted L as it goes over my roof is hooked something thats up there.  Over the next few days I will have to take the tension off the line and try raising it up using one of my portable masts in the hope of being able to flip it over whatever is causing the obstruction.  I got it over one obstruction yesterday but did not have the time to try for the 2nd…

Daytime use of 80 is not the best but the evenings are coming along nicely…

At the same time I was doing this work I managed to raise my 6m dipole about 5 feet higher and aim it east west.  With here being no conditions and no locals on so far all I can report is that the SWR is good.  Hopefully I will be able to test things out in a few days…

It was a great conclusion to yesterday….

73bob

Timewave ANC 4 your honest opinions pse…

Well folks,

It has been suggested to me that I pick up one of these…

And seeing that the price I could find on line was $199.00 US$$$ and figuring in the exchange to Canadian $$$ and duties, taxes, brokerage fees etc and I can see the price getting up around $300.00 or so.

Now before I spend the money to cut my excessive noise level on 80m and moderate heavy noise level on 160m and 40m I would like to hear from a few of you who might have used one in the past.  I can read the eham reviews but these are not as good as talking or exchanging emails with someone who has used it. I trust talking to a person about a piece of equipment rather than reading what he said about it…

So your opinions please…GOOD OR BAD…feel free to leave a comment on this blog posting with your opinions or if you want to keep it between us then just send me an email and we can go from there….

73bob