Free Club Membership

I've been making a bunch of contacts on the 40 meter CW QRP frequencies this week and can't figure out why there are so few memberships in FREE clubs. It's not that CW use is declining. As a matter of fact, I believe it's just the opposite.

So.........Why would YOU not join a "free" club?

I admit my criticisms are for "selfish reasons" but I bet, out of my last dozen contacts, there's only been one or two that are members of ANY club. I just don't understand......

I'm very partial to QRP contacts and belong to three different CW clubs. Every one of which has oodles of "awards" for making contacts with their members. I can understand that you can't join ALL the clubs out there, but there are very few that charge for membership. You can probably guess where I'm going with this now....

Maybe this is an explanation:

1. It cost too much money (free is pretty cheap)
2. I don't have a computer to keep up on club activities. (there's one in every library)
3. I just don't like groups. (why did you go to the trouble of getting your ticket?)
4. I don't know how to read and write (the very less said about this the better)
5. I'm not very good with code (who cares as long as you can send your Call, Name, RST, and QTH? )

As I said earlier, all my criticism is for selfish reasons. (I like those club contacts) but if it doesn't cost anything, at least give me the pleasure of adding to my list of club contacts by getting a free membership number. It's painless, there's NO hidden fees, there's NO fine print......it's FREE.

(All said with a sense of humor)

End of Rant......

Radio St Helena Broadcast

Saint Helena is a small island about half way between South America and Africa with a population of only about 4,000 people. It was the final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1821.

For the last several years "Radio St Helena" has made a "special" broadcast on just "ONE" day of the year. (Indeed a rare catch). I've logged it several times with a very modest portable receiver, so if you're living on the east coast of the United States, you should be able to hear them when the antenna is focused in our direction.

You can find all the details for the broadcast towards your part of the world from the above listed web site. They also have information about thier local FM station which has "live Internet streaming". I've downloaded the "plug in" and am listening to it now as I make this entry.

They will broadcast to the US between the hours of 2330z and 0100z. on November 14th, 2009.

That's only a few days from now!

They're broadcasting in SSB so set your rig accordingly and tune to 1109.5 MHz.

The above pictures are courtesy of "Wikipedia".

Dolly Sods Wilderness Area

I've been very busy with a number of things these last few weeks. My wife and I have been members of the Kanawha Trail Club for several years, (we actually met on a hike) and although I can't keep up with the younger folks now, (back injury just before retiring) we gather with them several times a year for special outings in the mountains.

Last weekend we drove to Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis West Virginia and the week before that, we spent a weekend at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park to celebrate my birthday.

But after our hiking at Blackwater Falls (we took a very short hike of about 3 miles) we decided to drive to a place I've always wanted to go called the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area . It's at an elevation of about 4,000 ft and would be a GREAT radio spot to spend a weekend. We drove 'upwards' for what seemed forever to get there because it's an old "service road" that only allows you to drive about 20 mph (for at least 20 miles) before reaching the ridge and a 360 degree view of too many miles to count.

This week the temperature will drop into the 30's here in the valley and I expect Dolly Sods will be under several feet of snow. The wind just screams up there during bad weather. You wouldn't want to go there unless you were an expert woodsman and prepared to stay awhile till the snow melts.

Here's a few more pictures of the view from up there last week. Maybe next summer I can spend a few days and take the HF rig along? I'm not real sure I'd want to camp overnight here because of the isolation and the "rocky barren ground".

First SWL Radio

I think all SWL'ers remember their first radio. Several weeks ago N2UGB made a post about his early Hallicrafter receiver and I looked everywhere for picture of mine. I've owned several but this was my first SWL radio. After much searching..... I found one. It was a Knight Kit Span Master. (a simple 2 tube regenerative reciever with headphones)

One of the neighbors GAVE it to me and I'm sorry to say, he's passed away now. It was a "kit" (I think about $30 at the time) and for some reason, he decided to spark the interest in a "young person". It probably had to do with the "Boy Scouts" since I was developing an interest in the outdoors at the time. Ralph Moore was an advocate for the BSA organization and even had his picture published on the cover of "Boy's Life". I saw it at his funeral and would have never guessed it was his smiling face gazing out the flaps of a pup tent.

These were my late "high school" days around 1963 and the "Voice of Moscow" was spouting the "10 year plan" and the danger of "Imperialist America". Cuba was a mirror image and a LOT of Shortwave broadcasts were political soundboards and nothing more.

Those were the days....

Today, I've thought it rather bizarre that the "Voice of America" doesn't broadcast to America. And if I'm not mistaken, the armed forces radio only uses the SSB mode. I've thought short wave radio to be perfect medium to share and exchange hopes and aspirations with other parts of the world. I like hearing about others lives and the countries where they live.

The radio that Ralph gave me "peaked" an interest in Morse code for me. Although I wasn't active in the Boy Scouts until the early 80's (I was a heavy equipment mechanic at the time), I learned Morse Code from the handbook.

In the Navy, during the late 60's, I was able to "read" the searchlights on other ships in the fleet. It was a 'natural' for me and I transferred to the signal bridge.

I've recently joined a SWL group on the web with the hopes of finding some of those rare stations on the air again. I use my ICOM 703 for the "serious stuff" but my most used SWL receivers now are a few "Grundig" shirt pocket rigs I use when traveling. They're pretty simple but with the satellite feeds, they get the job done.

My favorites are Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

N8A Log Book

I put the finishing touches on my N8A Log Book this morning and sent it, and a summary, to those keeping the records for the week long 5th Anniversary NAQCC Celebration. I enjoyed participating and will look forward to the event next year about this time.

It's different being the one pursued in a contest. I hope all call signs, times, freq's, and dates reflect accuracy. Some of the stations I worked were VERY weak. (there were a LOT of 229's). I found it a GREAT way to add QRP (especially NAQCC members) to my growing list of club stations.

I worry that my location here in the valley and antenna configuration was a "little too much" for some stations to work and I was really glad that another station near Akron Ohio (KB8FE) was able to jump in for a few calls near the weekend.

Those that worked me really "earned" the rare #8 call of N8A.

My totals were :

Total Number of QSO’s = 22
Club 5th Anniversary Stations = 3 ---N2A, N3A, N0A
Club Members = 14
States= 14
Dx Stations= 1 (France)
Canadian Stations = 2

My States List: Alabama , Arkansas, Canada (2), Illinois, Michigan (2), Minnesota, New Jersey (2) New York, New Mexico, New Hampshire (2), Pennsylvania (2), Texas (2), Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

1000 MPW Certificate

My NAQCC "1000 Miles per Watt Award Certificate" arrived yesterday.

I really don't have a "shack" for my simple station. I keep the radio, my key, and a small GMT clock on a table underneath my Isotron 80-40-20 combo that I use for my "antenna farm".

I keep it this way because (if I choose to do so) I can pack it up in a matter of minutes and be on the road where I can use a 4,000 ft radio tower. (That translates into one of the nearly 'one hundred' mountain tops in West Virginia above 4,000 ft.)

I will hang it in my "computer" room.

Today will be the last day of the "5 year celebration" of the NAQCC club and I will be on the air tonight for the last time with the N8A call. It was a "profitable day" yesterday since there were MANY QRP operators on the air with the ARCI club...... and it was a "gold mine" for me. I worked seven different QRP stations. Two of which I worked with both my N8A and my N8ZYA call signs.

I realise my "simple station" is at a great disadvantage because of my location and the fact that the antenna is mounted "indoors" on a painters pole, bungee corded to the bedpost, in a spare room. But I have FUN with it...and to me....that's ALL that matters.

This morning I heard (I worked this station earlier this year on 40 meters) W6DDB in California but the static between him and I prevented me from working him again. He is over 2,000 miles from me.

My 5,219 mile contact is a "highlight" for me. I keep adding new QRP operators to the log book every day but regardless of the distance....., I have a good feelings when I meet another nice person on the air. Many of the people I've worked on the air have become "good friends" and I feel especially close to those that drop by and comment on the blog. It lets us all learn about our hobby and our native countries.

For those 10,000..... that have dropped by to read and say "hello" since I began blogging about QRP radio, I say Thank You.

Your comments and suggestions have been appreciated very much. I hope you continue reading and hope (if you're not into this hobby) it's sparked an interest for you to join in the fun.

N8A Air Time

I've enjoyed my N8A air time on 40 and 80 meters this week. Working QRP can be a real challenge sometimes but it offers great rewards for those that are persistent and apply themselves to this unique mode.

I don't think the bands can get much worse but I'm still having fun trying to make the best of my contacts. Yesterday was my most rewarding day this week.

It started off on my "morning" 40 meter excursion when a very strong K9ESE returned my pitch into the wind. Jeff is my third "ESE" station that I've worked the last few months.

His QTH was also Charleston WV......

I figured he was "mobile" and traveling along the interstate pushing a ground wave for a brief few minutes. But as we talked, it became apparent he was using a 20 ft. piece of wire for an antenna with his "home brew" ATS QRP radio. It seems we're only a living a few blocks from each other and we will have a "cup of coffee" the next day or so....

I've been hearing N1LU and N0A most mornings but not today. The band has shifted a little. I worked the N5A station this afternoon on 20 meters. He was SO strong (from Texas) that I couldn't tell his exact frequency. We had inadvertently transmitted on the same frequency and I moved up some to avoid conflict. (we're about a thousand miles from each other).

I also knocked myself out trying to work a station in the Canary Islands (off the coast of Africa) but just couldn't get him to hear me.

A few hours later I went "hunting" and worked a Special Event Station (K8A) in Mio Michigan. I chuckled and sensed a little hesitation when exchanging (1x1) calls both ways. He was transmitting from a Wildlife Refuge in Michgan.

About an hour later I worked VE2PID in Canada. Pierre and I have QSO'd several times in the past and I explained my NAQCC N8 call this time.

It seems (with the exception of the French and Canadian station) my distance is around 300-500 miles on 40 meters and 1,000 miles on 20 meters. I've worked several New York and New Jersey stations. This morning I worked K2MEN in New Jersey (neat call).

The 17 stations I've worked so far have worked really hard for the contacts.

This weekend there is another 8 station coming aboard from near Akron Ohio. I'm glad to see this since the bands have been so bad this week. It will give some club members and extra shot at the "rare" #8 contact.