It's always a pleasure to work Bert (F6HKA) in France but especially so this morning when I heard the familiar strong signal here on the east coast. He always has a 599 signal. This morning I worked him on 10 meters. I've been very busy since the beginning of the new year and Bert was my first DX contact for the 2014 log book. He was sending K3Y/EU but I knew exactly who he was when I hear him. We've worked 9 different times now and he always takes a few extra moments to say hello and how are you? He's a true gentleman and he enjoys working QRP stations.
I was skipping across the bands now and I worked the next station who was in Madrid and on 12 meters. This contact into Spain was much more difficult but I finally worked EC4DEX after several attempts.
I now dropped down to 15 meters and caught this station (IQ2CJ) in Northern Italy. It was also difficult to copy but we finally managed to exchange call signs and move onward to other stations. I was hearing a station in Ireland but couldn't work him.
It's freezing cold this morning. The temperature is -11 Celcius and the wind is blowing at 32 kph. We're expecting a low tonight of -20 Celcius with a wind chill of -39 C. BBBBrrrrrrrrr..........
I don't plan to go outdoors today because of the windy cold weather.
As I continued to travel towards the lower bands; I stopped on the 30 meter band and threw my call out on the QRP frequencies. I was answered by Hal (KA4SDU) in nearby Louisville Kentucky. He lives next to the Ohio River and enjoys watching the barge traffic as it moves downstream. We both being Navy Veterans, we had a delightful talk about several different things.
Hal loves to play with antennas and produces a really neat one called Hal's Bamboo Beast
The month of December brought NO outside activity for the WV Chapter of the NAQCC Club and I doubt for the next couple of months. I don't want to end up like that frozen rabbit in the upper picture.
Our monthly club breakfast, at the Charleston downtown restaurant, is this coming Wednesday. A few days later Eric (AC8LJ) will drive to a fellow CW operators home to see a variety of different keys. I'm assuming the weather will be a little warmer at that time.
Don't want to end up like that frozen rabbit......
4 comments:
Good evening John, WOW I will say you sure have had some great contacts with your radio activity. I am looking forward to getting my antenna situation on track here so the contacts will also come. Great work John and stay warm wit those very low temps.
Mike
Hello Mike,
I'm actually looking forward to being forced to stay indoors for a few days.
You can get the same results I'm sure but the BIG difference here is I'm retired. Those stations are out there every day around 9 to 12 noon. It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
The WX is so cold here tonight that it's a real chore to get the dog out for the nightly chore. I had to dress him up like an Eskimo . Hihi
I bet it's a bit cool up there too?
Hi,John! Well, I'm sure used to any of these temperatures and even with a few days below zero here already this winter, I'm still finding myself over dressed when I go outdoors. I guess I still have the arctic blood in my veins.
I have worked Bert now a few times with my small set up. You're right, he has always been strong. He was an assured "F" contact for me while I was in Alaska and it sure looks the same here as well. I worked Bert in many of the SKCC outings and of course, several of the CW contests. He always sounds fantastic! Matter of fact, or last CW QSO this weekend, he joked that he forgot I had moved and changed my call and made mention that Alaska will be a bit harder for him to get now. ;0)
Temps here are dipping back down. We had freezing rain this morning at our house so everything was ice. Once we arrived at the office, it was only rain there on the coast and it peaked into the 50's I do believe. Now, we have the cold windchill forecasted for tomorrow. Life in New England I guess. All the more reason to play radio indoors where it's warm.
Hello Phil,
He gave me a 549 this morning. He truly gets a kick out of working QRP station and is also a member of the NAQCC Club. There aren't many club QRP stations that I can work in Europe but he is one of them.
If my memory serves me right, he dropped his power down to 5 watts once just to see if we could still hear each other. I could tell a difference but still a good solid copy. Hihi
It's supposed to warm up here this weekend but tomorrow the temperature will only reach 13 (f).
Right now it's 1 degree (10:45 pm)
It's going to be another indoor day tomorrow. Hihi I hope the bands are up again.
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