Well this time the title says it all…
I left my house at 0715 and was on the bus heading down to the canal at 0735. One quick transfer at the Billings Transit Station and I was at Landsowne Park at about 0825. One of the building was open to the public so I took a break and warmed up before arriving on Pig Island about 0850.
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You can see Pig Island just right of the Stadium (in the Canal)
The antenna for today was my 80m Hustler Mobile antenna which fits nicely on a small Tripod along with an adjustable counterpoise for 80m and upwards depending on what coil I am using at the time with the Hustler system.
I was able to check into the North Bay Net on 3.768 with Paul VA3PC just outside of North Bay Ontario but shortly after that I needed relays from VE3VGI John who is in St Charles Ontario which as you can see from the map (below) is just across the lake to the west of North Bay.
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Unfortunately they were the only real “non groundwave” contacts made that day.
During this time Martin VA3SIE arrived on the Island and got his KX1 and antenna up and running and we were waiting for the OVMRC Pot Hole Net on 3.760 which started at 1000EST.
I always like to try and check into local nets (inside Ontario) when operating portable whenever possiable not for the easy contacts but more to let my friends know what crazy stuff I am up to. There is also the hope that I might encourage a few of them to dust off their outdoor gear and get them to get outside and ont the air…
But often when you are running QRP its harder to make a contact on 40m or 80m than it is on the higher bands 10-15-20 just due to the antenna lenghts…
The net started at 10am with Ernie VE3EJJ as the NCS, I checked in with Ernie and managed to talk to Ed VE3GX, Patrick VA3CMD (operating the VE3JW Museum Station) as well as Frank VE3YY and George VA3GFW. George was close in being about 1km as the crow flies so his station was really strong. There were some other participants but I could not hear them over the sounds of my chattering teeth…
If you check Martins VA3SIE Blog you will see a bit more information and also links (should be up soon) to a couple of videos he took while there…
In my case I was just burnt…. The cold had gotten to me and I was no longer thinking of radio and it was time to pack up. So just after 11am that was it for me… The temps with the wind chill on the canal were close to -18 deg C and even though I had dressed warmly it was just too much for my tired old chilled bones… I quickly tore down, packed up… Wished Martin good luck and headed back across the ice, retracing my steps and stopping at the public building at the Landsowne Park complex so I could warm up a bit…
I stayed there for about 30 minutes and when the shivering stopped I layered back up and headed home…
For me the CISA Activation failed… or at least was not successful… any time I can get outside and play radio for a while its a good day even if I only make a couple of contacts…. In the past I have even struck out but was happy just with the walk and the fresh air… Sundays attempts have me thinking of holding off on my plans for the Winter Field Day and the FYBO this year unless I can find a place to easily operate from that has WARM real close by…
But thats just the way I feel today as I’m honestly feeling my age…
Thanks to those who tried to make the contacts or listened in the hopes of making a contact…
73bob
Tags: amateur radio, Amateur Radio DXPedition, Canadian Islands Awards Program, Pig Island, Really Cold out there
January 11, 2011 at 2:19 am |
Bob,
Your Dxpedition today, in my estimation, was neither a failure nor was it unsuccessful. You did what thousands of hams didn’t do – or for that matter, wouldn’t do! You went out in the freezing cold, set up and operated in some pretty harsh conditions. I defy anyone not to feel their age after that!
No, you deserve a huge “Well Done!” for showing the younger hams how it should be done!
January 11, 2011 at 4:54 am |
Thanks Bill……….
73bob
January 11, 2011 at 5:34 am |
I think it was the wind chill that got us, Bob as well as having to stand in snow and sit on icy rocks. The Rideau Canal is notorious for funneling icy wind down its length.
I couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering by the end and I was just stuffing antenna wire into my pack blindly as I packed up, not taking the time to wind it all nicely. Fariba came down with a cold or flu and I hope it was not her visit to Pig Island that was the cause!
Also having to lug all your gear there yourself soon after dawn did not help I’m sure. I’d have offered you a ride but I didn’t even know I was getting a ride myself until 30 minutes before leaving. I was originally planning to walk too.
Like Bill I consider it to have been a very successful outing and my hat’s off to you Survivorham!!
We put ‘pig island’ on the air and gave some folks a chuckle working us. Especially those that are members of the flying pig QRP society.
I always learn things on these outings and this weekend was no exception. Next time I will pack my thermarest pads so that a forgotten camp chair is not such a big impact, and I will add toe warmers to my inventory (glove warmers are a little bit to big to stuff into boots. Also I will choose a better location which is sheltered from the wind more. I think that could have been achieved at Pig Island.
So – although I am out of town for SPAR (snowshoeing with Ante’s group) – I can suggest that we do another winter op for FYBO together and this time I will ensure I have the car, and I will take spare chairs and we can make sure we are sheltered from the wind and if we need to use the car to warm up it’s possible.
It was *super* fun Bob… thanks for inviting me, I had a blast.
I think you will enjoy the video which should finish uploading to youtube in about 25 minutes from now.
73
Martin.
January 11, 2011 at 9:57 pm |
Thanks for the pep talk Martin…. Been a long time since I felt that cold… As Liz mentioned to me later when I was feeling sorry for myself about having to give up so early….
“Think it could be blood thinners???”
Oh Ya… My doctor has me on blood thinners since my minor heart issues showed up a few years ago… I feel the cold more since then….
Next time I dress even warmer and see how it goes
DUH!!!!
73bob
January 12, 2011 at 12:41 am |
[...] Wow… I must say that was great fun. Also check out Bob’s blog entry here. [...]
January 14, 2012 at 3:30 pm |
[...] of you might remember my failed attempt of activating Pig Island in Ottawa for the CISA Program about a year ago. Martin VA3SIE who was with on the attempt also blogged about it. Well with the [...]