Another recent POTA activation turned out to be a useful learning experience for me. It was a moderately cold February day. The temperature had dipped to -20degC overnight, but by afternoon it had risen to a relatively balmy -7degC. It was also the occasion of the Polar Bear QRP Ops February Polar Bear Moonlight Madness … Continue reading 20m Band – The Long and the Short of it
Tag: CW
I Fell Off the QRP Wagon and Regretted It Already
Only use enough power to make the contact. That's the advice often given to hams. How much is enough? One way to find out is to get on the air and start making waves. Or, I thought, check the propagation numbers, evaluate the site elevation and make a turkey-brained guess about how much power I … Continue reading I Fell Off the QRP Wagon and Regretted It Already
A Magic Ground Mobile Antenna
Let me start by confessing; I don't operate HF mobile. So my "mobile" HF antenna is only suitable for stationary "shack-in-a-truck" operations. Driving requires my full attention ... and so does CW operation! I mount one of my two portable vertical antennas on a short aluminum pole which in turn is mounted on the hitch … Continue reading A Magic Ground Mobile Antenna
Snow and Freezing Spray – QRP Madness
Saturday 7th January was the date of the first Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME) of the year. In fact, as a new member of the group, it was my first ever PBMME. The group is called the Polar Bear QRP Ops. It is an amateur radio group who are active with portable QRP operation … Continue reading Snow and Freezing Spray – QRP Madness
Let’s Dump RS(T) Signal Reports!
How much use is a signal report - really? In theory it is a good idea to tell the ham at the other end of the magic, invisible wire how well you are receiving their signal. In practice the report you send is of little to no use whatsoever. Why is that? I can cite … Continue reading Let’s Dump RS(T) Signal Reports!
QRP On Deck
We had a little light snow today and the temperature was hovering just below freezing, but I wanted to get outside and check out one of my old QRP rigs. The radio of the day was my Hendricks PFR-3. The "PFR" stands for Portable Field Radio. The PFR-3 is (or was; I'm not sure if … Continue reading QRP On Deck
Winter POTA Activations? No Problem!
Southern Ontario had a long, balmy Indian Summer this year. Indian Summer is defined as a warm period following the first frost. It was quite unusual to be able to continue Parks On The Air activations right into mid-November using exactly the same kit I used in the summer. But then winter came suddenly and … Continue reading Winter POTA Activations? No Problem!
How to Turn a 20+ Year Old Yaesu FT-817 into a CW Mean Machine
It was my very first HF radio. A Yaesu FT-817; the original vintage before the ND version was introduced. I was very excited; it was the perfect solution to serve my passion for getting outdoors into the Big Blue Sky Shack to play radio. I had a lot of success. My outdoor antenna was a … Continue reading How to Turn a 20+ Year Old Yaesu FT-817 into a CW Mean Machine
The Dog That Knew Morse Code
When we refer to an amateur radio operator as "SK" we mean they are a Silent Key; they are deceased, gone to join the choir invisible, ceased to be, etc. The term derives from the days when most hams were CW operators. Their telegraph keys were no longer clattering and sending streams of dits and … Continue reading The Dog That Knew Morse Code
What’s in my POTA Backpack?
A recent post by Thomas K4SWL on his QRPer.com blog that I follow inspired me to write about my own portable operations backpack. Thomas' post was entitled A tour and deep-dive of my SOTA/POTA Backpack (Spec-Ops Brand T.H.E. Pack EDC). Thomas and I approach our outdoor operations from a different perspective. While Thomas gets involved … Continue reading What’s in my POTA Backpack?
Ham Radio Outside the Box 