This afternoon just after noon (!600 utc) I decided to grab the 817′s backback and head over to Weston Park to enjoy the fantastic afternoon WX. The great band conditions I noticed from the shack might of had a bit to do with it as well,,, But the Weather was sunny and the temps close to 20 deg C so it was an afternoon that I will remember for a while… Sooner or later we will get back to seasonial weather and that season that is quickly approaching is winter….
The antenna (W3EDP) I brought to play with today is the same antenna I will be using on Saturday when we give the Boy Scouts some communications for the Jamboree on the Air from Apple Hill Scout Camp in Eastern Ontario…
Above pic shows roughly where the weighted line made it over…
I managed to get the weighted line over a tree branch up about 40 feet agl and then the bottom of the antenna was attached to the picnic table I was operating from… This would turn the antenna into a sloper that was favoring South East… The bands were great and I managed contacts on 10m, 12m and 17m and were as follows:
10m…1712utc…F6IGS… Gerry…Bordeaux France…3500 miles or 700 miles/watt
17m…1738utc…KD0ETC…Steven… Duluth MN…795 miles 0r 155 miles/watt. The interesting thing about this call is that Steven was operating from a Picnic Table with a Yaesu FT 857 and an end fed long wire. In addition once I got home I found that after checking the log we had worked before. The only difference was that last time I was in Hutton Park rather than Weston Park…
So in effect today we had a Picnic Table Portable to Picnic Table Portable QSO
10m…1750utc…KF5CRF…School Club…Lawton OK…1410 miles or 282 miles/watt
10m…1753utc…EC1KR…Jesus… Spain…3500 miles or 700 miles/watt
10m…1755utc...VE3SJN/m…Rob in Ottawa… Groundwave contact. This was another interesting conact as Rob and I were friends before Amateur Radio. We met in our early radio days (you can guess where…) but we go back about 25 years or so…Very rarely do we find eachother on the radio so… This contact was a treat.
12m…1805utc…CU2CE… Joe in the Azores… 2600 miles or 520 miles/watt
Soon after that contact I remembered that the school kids would be getting out and as it was beautiful day be heading over to the park… I packed up and walked back home…
The recap was that I made 6 contacts in 5 countries on 3 bands all while operating QRP SSB. In addition my doctor would be happy as it was a 1km walk there and a 1km walk back… Exercise, fresh air and radio made it a great day…
And yes the scenery was good as well…
Above Pic- Same park… even the same area of the park… but in mid Jan when we do the Winter Field Day event…
73bob
Tags: amateur radio, Amateur Radio DX, Amateur Radio Portable Operations, W3EDP Antenna, Weston Park, Yaesu FT 817
