The great November weather continues and so does my enthusiasm for getting out into the Big Blue Sky Shack and doing some more Parks On The Air activations. A few days ago my wife and I took a short drive to Ontario's beautiful Beaver Valley. My target was to activate Old Baldy Conservation Area (VE-5654). … Continue reading 3 (not 4) Activations in the Beaver Valley
Category: Miscellaneous topics
Flirting with Radiation at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
The first of November 2022 was an unusually warm day in Southern Ontario so the urge to go and activate a new-to-me park was irresistible. Wasaga Beach Provincial Park (POTA entity VE-0426) is about a one hour drive from my home in Owen Sound but it's a very pleasant drive along the south shore of … Continue reading Flirting with Radiation at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
Can You Legally Activate an Ontario Park That is Closed for the Season?
We have reached the time of year when most Ontario Provincial Parks have closed for the season. Gates are shut and padlocked, water and electricity are turned off and washrooms (aka restrooms for US visitors) are locked. But can visitors still enter provincial parks on foot without violating any rules? For POTA activators this is … Continue reading Can You Legally Activate an Ontario Park That is Closed for the Season?
Beware of Old Coax!
Don't mess with old, untested coaxial cables! Really, it just isn't worth the risk. It might seem like a good idea when you need another cable, but there are hidden gremlins in old coax as I recently discovered. Corroded, blackened braid on old coax I have a box full of old coax cables. Some of … Continue reading Beware of Old Coax!
DX with 1 Nanowatt?
A nanowatt is one billionth of a watt; yes, one billionth! On that scale a QRP transmitter puts out five billion nanowatts and a standard ham rig puts out 100 billion nanowatts. But is a nanowatt enough to work DX? Yes. But, of course, manufacturers don't make radios that only put out a nanowatt and … Continue reading DX with 1 Nanowatt?
VE3KOT meets VA3KOT
The Ontario QSO party was in full swing and I was having a ball logging lots of CW QSOs, mostly US stations hunting for VE3s and VA3s. Then I heard another Ontario station calling and I thought to myself "I just gotta bag this one!" So I called him back and then the frequency fell … Continue reading VE3KOT meets VA3KOT
Enough About Winlink Already!
The most important task that amateur Radio operators could be asked to perform in an emergency is … to send emails? The amateur radio emergency preppers have circled their wagons around a technology called Winlink. This proprietary collection of software facilitates sending emails over radio. Those who live in the Winlink bubble have made sending … Continue reading Enough About Winlink Already!
Ham Radio Outside the Box 