The Popgun is still firing away…

Well the last few days have been good…. even for a QRP SSB operator….

I haven’t been spending that much time in the shack….  But I have been getting the most out of the time I have been able to spend… Checking the cluster on my Tablet does help….   And taking that into concideration … Here’s what 5W and a vertical antenna gets you in the last 7 days…

VA3QV	J69MV		2013-03-18 23:08	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	LU8EEM		2013-03-18 23:08	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	D44BS		2013-03-18 19:59	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	EA8YB		2013-03-18 19:59	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	8P6FX		2013-03-18 19:59	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	8P6AZ		2013-03-18 19:59	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	CO6LC		2013-03-17 23:54	17m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	CO6LC		2013-03-17 22:59	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	6V7S		2013-03-17 22:59	20m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	CU7AA		2013-03-17 19:44	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	ZF2UL		2013-03-17 18:51	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	W5CW		2013-03-17 16:12	20m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	ED5T		2013-03-16 22:24	20m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	CN2R		2013-03-16 19:55	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	V47JA		2013-03-15 22:57	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	SV2CXI		2013-03-15 16:37	12m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	9A5CW		2013-03-15 16:37	10m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	UU2JQ		2013-03-15 16:25	12m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	UW7LL		2013-03-15 16:25	12m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	SQ2RCM		2013-03-15 14:41	10m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	SM6CVX		2013-03-15 14:33	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	FG5GP		2013-03-14 23:14	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	J69AZ		2013-03-14 23:14	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	PY2COY		2013-03-14 22:24	12m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	9A9DX		2013-03-14 15:46	10m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	YU5RA		2013-03-14 14:54	15m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	RG4F		2013-03-14 14:41	12m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	HA9RT		2013-03-13 01:54	20m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	9A8DX		2013-03-12 15:47	10m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	AC0ML		2013-03-12 15:25	20m	USB	59 59
VA3QV	LZ2DF		2013-03-10 15:33	10m	USB	59 59

Proving that even a little gun can get heard…

Contacts have been made on 10-12-15-17 and 20m and as of March 18th my QRP DXCC count is at 61 different entities and I am having a blast…

So far I have worked 4 continents (maybe 5) North America, South America, Europe and Africa (depending on where a couple of the Russian Stations were … maybe Asia as well).  So far although I have heard VK’s and JA’s I have not been able to be heard there and nothing even heard  in Antarctica.

The signal reports so far…. not that bad…  A few 5/9s and then a lot of 5/5s (expected) and few 5/1s but they did hear me and thats all that matters at the end of the day…

There were some I probally would of snagged if I was still using the FT 450 at 100w but unless I am trying to break a pile up the 5w of the FT 817 seems to be doing the job…

One of these days (if it ever warms up and the snow finally melts) I will be able to get back into the parks and operate in an environment with a lower noise floor and with the room to stretch out wire ( I have a 10-15-20 OCF Dipole along with the W3EDP) I will be  ready to warm up the atmosphere with the 5w of RF that I can provide…

73bob

Portable operating till the end of the month

Reblogged from VA3QV's Weblog:

• 
• 

Well if you take a look at the following stuff from the Weather Network you can see that things are going to be fairly good if you enjoy playing radio in the great outdoors...  At least in the Ottawa Area...

Historic average temperatures for 14 day period:  High 3°C   Low -6°C

High (°C) Low (°C) Conditions Saturday Mar 17

Read more… 492 more words

What a difference a year makes.... Last year at this time I was basking in double digit temps that were on the positive side... This morning it was -17c according to the Weather Network when I went for my morning walk... This year the Electric Vespa is still buried under snow... Heres what last year was like... 73bob

A good start to the weekend (still having FUN)

Ya gotta love it when the band conditions let a Popgun Station like mine make some contacts…

 

And today (Friday) contacts were made with the following stations and DXCC entities:

……………………………………………………………………………….

V47JA …. St Kitts …. 15m

9A5CW …. Croatia …. 10m

UW7LL …. Ukraine …. 12m

UU2JQ …. Ukraine …. 12m

SQ2RCM …. Poland …. 10m

SV2CXI …. Greece …. 12m

SM6CVX ….  Sweden …. 15m

As you can see the “Pipeline” from Ontario to Europe was open today…

Heres what the award will look like once I get the next 43 countries in the log. 

The contacts made today included a couple of new ones for my QRPDXCC and so the count now is at 57…  Getting closer to the 100 needed for the award.

Hope the rest of the weekend goes just as well…

73bob

ps….  GO TEAM CANADA GO….

Team Homan from the Ottawa Curling Club is representing Canada at the World Ladies Curling Championships in Latvia.  Always good to see local talent excel on the World Stage.

A few more contacts… and a lot of fun

Yesterday (Thursday) was a great day for a QRP SSB Radio Operator…

I managed to make the following contacts using my FT 817 and the S9 43 foot vertical…

RG4F….12M….ANDY….EUROPEAN RUSSIA

YU5RA….15M….ATILA….SERBIA

9A9DX….10M….LJUBO….CROATIA

PY2COY….12M….KAKO….BRAZIL

FG5GP….15M….ALAIN….GUADELOUPE

J69AZ….15M….ERNEST….ST.LUCIA

For a QRP SSB operator this was a great time to be playing radio….  I managed a couple of new ones in the chase so my totals are as follows:

DXCC- Now at 151 worked with 105 confirmed with LoTW

QRPDXCC- Now at 54 worked

My Worked all States seems to have just stalled at 50 worked with only 42 confirmed on LoTW. 

This has not really changed in a while now.  Guessing I’m going to have to give this more effort and see if I can fill in the blanks…

So thats how yesterday went…  Hopefully today goes just as well…

73bob

A few contacts and some “neat stuff”

The quest for QRP DX continues (although slowly) with HA9RT in Hungary (20m ) becoming QRPDXCC entity number 51 in the log.

He did say I had a great signal but I think (once again) his beam and tower heard a weak signal and thought it was great… What do you think???

I also managed to get 9A8DX (Croatia) in the log on 10m and AC0ML  (USA) in the log on 20m so I am still making contacts but it was easier “back in the day” with the FT 450…  Regrets????  Not yet…. Well maybe just a little…

Before I sold off all my 100 w rigs my sole exposure to QRP SSB was a couple of outings a month in the local Parks stretching out a decent wire antenna and playing for an afternoon…

This daily operating with 5w and a vertical is slightly harder than I thought it would be and although I am not discouraged I find myself not spending as much time in the shack as before.  In the 100w days it was easier to just sit in front of the rig knowing that if I heard something I could work them…  Now I can still hear them (nothing wrong with the RCVR in the FT 817) but I find myself not being able to work them in some cases with 5w.  I tend to sit in the shack for an hour or so and if I have no luck then try again in the afternoon…

I do have some tricks up my sleeve though and I’ll talk about them now…

A few of you might remember that I had mentioned that I had bought myself a new Samsung Galaxy Android Tablet…

Well now that I’m getting used to it a bit more I have included some really great Amateur Radio Applications and they are helping me in my quest for DX.

The first application I use is the simple DX Cluster.  I can check the DX Cluster from anywhere I have internet access…  My local Timmies and my local Starbucks both have solid WIFI hotspots (FREE) so that covers most of the places I visit on a regular basis.  For the rare times I’m not out having a coffee….

I do have a Wind Mobile 3G mobile Hotspot which covers the rest of the time.  This little toy is the same size as my cell phone and gives me a solid 3G connect just about everywhere I would want to go in the City of Ottawa.  In my opinion its an excellent bang for the buck (for me).  I don’t travel that much so….  Their coverage is still lacking in parts of Eastern Ontario as they build their network but for me it works…  The data plan I have is just fantastic… One of the loyality benefits as I have been with them since they arrived on the scene in Ottawa.

Now the other APP which has been helping me I just found out about…  its a little gem called glSDR and its a FREE app available on the Google store.   It turns your android device into a SDR (Software defined Radio) Receiver.  This RCVR connects to several (you pick which one) remote receivers and you can go from there…

I’m guessing it was just dumb luck but I have a receiver to the east of me in VE9Land and a receiver to the west of me in W8Land and between the both of them I can hear more than I can hear from here at home….

So while I’m not in the shack….  I can check the cluster…. If I see that the bands appear to be opening up I can check on the SDR radio to see if I can hear anything….  If I’m hearing stuff then I can head back to the shack and fire up the FT 817 and try and make some QRP Contacts….  Its a system thats working for me….

As an example I was checking in to the 3730 net last nite and the NCS was in Pickering Ontario…. The band was starting to go long and I was getting him S7 here in Ottawa (about 200 miles away) and my noise was about S7 as well so it was difficult copy.  I turned on the Galaxie and connected to the VE9 Remote Rcvr and he was coming in at S9 with a lower noise floor.  Armchair copy…..  It did not help him hear me…  but it did help me hear the net….

A few of you might remember me saying that I was doing this in the past with an ECHOLINK system that was remoteing the same way and I was using it as a split rcv…  Its the same idea but with much more modern technology and I can do it from anywhere I have a internet connection….  Do I need to rush home if the bands are open….  yes…. but now I know if I need to rush home….  Its working for me…

The added bonus is as I mentioned above, it works anywhere I have an internet connection so I can now check the DX Cluster from my local Parkbench or Picnic Table once the warmer weather gets here…  Another tool for the DX inventory…  I am also testing out a logging program which is Android Based…  it won’t replace HRD but it could cut down on the paper trail while in the park… More on this later…

Enjoy the DX my friends…

73bob

And sometimes things just don’t happen

From watching my “Twitter Feed” over the weekend it looks like lots of my “Tweeps” had a blast and made lots of contacts along the bands…

I listened a bit and found the RCV to just be fantastic however for the 2nd weekend in a row I had minor problems (understated) getting heard with the FT 817…    Just way to hard to break the pileups when every one with 100w or more were trying for the “Rare Ones” and the not so rare ones…  It seems over the weekend anyone calling CQ who was not in North America was generating a pile up…

I did hear VE3FCT (Bill in Kingston) working a Norway station (actually heard the Norway Station working Bill) on 17m but the IC 703 in Kingston beat out the FT 817 in Ottawa as Norway did not make it into my log…

I did manage to get Bulgaria in the log on 10m and that one is already confirmed on LoTW…

But although checking into the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 14.300 is proving that my booming 5w along with the amazing signals coming out of my vertical are working fine…  However when everyone else is running 100w+ and hearing the same signals I am hearing …  well it just not going to get lots of stations in my log…

So the gear is working…  The parks are still snow covered but the snow is slowly melting…  Hopefully should be operating from a Picnic Table in the next little while….

Hopefully there will be some bragging done about contacts in the near future…

73bob

If I tell you when things go right…

…  Its only fair that I also tell you when things don’t!!!

Recently I have had some fantastic luck while flexing my tiny wings operating SSB QRP…  I managed to pick up 8 new QRP DXCC entities over the last week using my FT 817 (5w) and my 43 foot vertical.  10-12-15-17-m were all kind to me and so it was easy to let you know how good things were going….

This week is different and things are not going as well as planned…. It started out with me sitting in the shack seeing if I could find any rare ones on the cluster that I could actually hear….

So far the TX5K has had a fantastic signal all week but between the LIDS who can’t figure out key words like “UP 5″, “Listening UP” and call on the listen frequency which mean I don’t know if they heard my measly 5W signal…  Or the DX COPS who insist on screaming “UP UP UP” every time which jams up the RCV Frequency as bad as the Lids who can’t understand the principals of Split operation…. So far they are not in my log…

Right table and park… Add 24 inches of snow and it could of been yesterdays picture

On Wednesday afternoon I decided to take the gear out to the park and see if  running a horizontal antenna rather than my vertical would make any difference as my luck so far was not the best….  This would also be the first trip to Weston Park for the year…  Once I got there I found out my normal operating position was still snowed in…  I could see the top of the picnic table but had no place to sit…  Also no snowshoes to get there with…

I was able to find a spot where I could sit and also stretch out wire but the conditions were no better for me with the horizontal as they had been with the vertical in my warm shack…  The slight advantage went to my Recieve as there was no man made electrical noise in the park…  The downside to that was ….  The Lids and the DXCOPS were coming in great but the DXPeditions still could not hear me…

It was a great walk….  20 min there…. 20 min to set up to see that I would be looking forward to the 20 min walk back home…. oh well

So today (Thurdsay) I’m back in the shack and still nothing new to brag about…  I am seeing some of the group having good luck according to their Twitter postings but so far I have little to brag about…

I did manage contacts in Poland and Slovenia on Tuesday but that was the popgun putting out a signal that the big gun could hear…

Nothing Rare so far this week….

But the week ain’t over yet

73bob

ps….I ain’t giving up…  its just a hobby and every week can’t go great…  Just wait till next week

Results from the Contest

It was a very small effort put in this year….  It was also the first Major Contest that I had tried to operate QRP and it was not as good as expected….

However as a result of the contest the following was attained….

27 contacts in 19 different DXCC Entities.  Out of those 19 DXCC entities worked 8 of them were new ones for my QRP DXCC and two of them were new ones for my DXCC.

Contacts were made on 10m, 15m, 20m and 40m

This brings me up to 150 DXCC worked with 104 confirmed by LoTW and 50 QRP DXCC worked.

I was operating 5w SSB using my FT 817 radio and my S9 43 foot vertical.  Total operating time would be approximately 4 hours…

I had a great time but did have difficulties working the Big Guns and everyone heard them…  I had much better luck trying to work the 100w stations that I had trouble hearing but they had much better luck working me…  It was very hard breaking pileups with 5w but I did manage it a couple of times…

Next Year…. look for another QRP attempt but this time with some sort of directional antenna to help combat the Kilowatts.  If not a directional antenna then operating from a location where I can stretch out wire antennas to compliment the 43 foot vertical.  There is still lots to learn…

73bob

March RAC Directors Report (North – East Ontario)

The following comes to us from Bill Unger VE3XT who is the RAC Director for North – East Ontario.  The content in it is his and this is a simple “Cut N Paste” of his report  to share with you…  Any comments or questions please contact Bill directly.

================================

North East Ontario Regional Directors Report for March, 2013

On February 15^th to the 17^th RAC Directors, Deputy Directors, the President and Executive Members met for a face to face planning session in Ottawa. Prior to this meeting all of our deliberations over the last several meetings dealt with the fact RAC was going broke.

That is no longer the case and in 2013 our books will show a small profit In addition to increasing our reserves membership is continuing to increase. We now have approximately 260 Maple Leaf Members; 3 years ago we had none. If you have recently become a member or renewed your membership, THANK YOU. If you have let your membership lapse would you please take a moment and send me an email telling me why?

The main purpose of the meeting was to map out the future of RAC for the time frame of the next 2+ years. The 3 primary goals we have set for ourselves are as follows:

• Grow the number of Amateurs in Canada
• Grow the membership of RAC
• Influence public and political opinion on a National, Provincial and Municipal level to protect and enhance Amateur Radio Privileges

As we roll out new ideas you will be kept up to date on our progress. In an effort to hear from more Amateurs RAC has purchased software called Go to Meeting and Go to Webinar. This will allow us to set up group meetings between Executive and Amateurs around the region. This will increase two way dialogs. I hope to begin these sessions in May. Some of the Amateurs I hope to meet with are Deputy and Assistant Directors, Club Presidents, Section Managers and their teams. This would also allow us to start webinars on other topics: DX, QRP, µControllers, Antennas or whatever subjects you care to talk about. If you have some expertise and are willing to share it with fellow Canadian Amateurs let me know.

I am also available to meet with any of your clubs via Skype in the meantime. Let me know if you or your club is interested.

Rita and I will be taking a holiday and I will still have email but it may take a little longer to reply for the next little while. Thanks for your patience.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me at ve3xt@rac.ca

Bill VE3XT

North East Ontario Regional Director

Radio Amateurs of Canada

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Yesterdays contact of the day

OP2A

Ivo in Belgium

20m ( 14.264 USB)

My output power 0.5W

Now if you checked the above link and went to Ivo’s QRZ site you would be correct in guessing that his station did 99% of the work to allow us to complete the contact.

My signal report from the FT 817 at the 5w setting was 5-4 and when I dialed back the power (actually clicked back the power) to the lowest setting which was 1/2w the report dropped to a 5-1.

With an antenna system like his…. How can you not hear the booming half watt signal coming out of my vertical antenna?

And just for your info… The contact worked out to be 7,056 miles per watt or 11,356 kms per watt (for those of you who are into the metric system).  My furthest distance per watt yet… and just to remind you it was SSB (not CW or PSK31)

Just thought it was worth sharing with you

73bob