Working for a string of QRP Contacts

35 degrees
light (but constant) rain

The weather threatened to be messy here, but the freezing temperatures are just above us in Massachusetts.  We've had probably 1/2 inch of rain in the past 24 hours.

I answered NU5X, Jim in Arkansas tonight with 5 watts on 40 meters.  He picked up my call on the first try with a 339 signal report.  We worked 30 meters earlier in the year.

I've decided no New Year's resolutions for 2013.  I don't tend to keep them.  But I hope this will be the beginning of a string of QRP contacts for the coming year.  I have my eye on some NAQCC and SKCC low power awards.

Straight Key Century Club WES

I hoped to start this weekend with some hiking and portable radio operating. A large to-do list for the weekend, and a cool drizzle called for a change of plans. I decided to set up in the backyard and hold a DOTA. You know, "Driveway on the Air". This turned out to be a nice opportunity to check out my portable setup, which had been packed away for most of this summer. I soon realized I was missing the pipe for my fiberglass Jackite Jack pole mount. That was solved by a quick trip to the local hardware store.

I set up my Yaesu 817, Par N-Fed 20/40 meter antenna, and American Morse iambic key.

I called CQ on 20 meters for about 30 minutes without luck. As I tuned down from 14.060, I heard a number of strong CW signals. The Straight Key Century Club WES started early this month!

I didn't have much time left. However, I quickly made 3 contacts with SKCC members. Thanks to N9ZXL, W4CUX, and W9DLN for picking my call out if the ether.

Can you spot the vertical?

This is my final post while traveling in Jerusalem. I take a portable radio kit on some trips, but decided early on to leave the gear behind for this trip to the Middle East. That doesn't mean you can't think about radio while on the road!

While scanning the skyline in a Jerusalem neighborhood near the YMCA , I couldn't help but notice all the antennas on home rooftops.

There's such diversity within a single block: homes, markets, and shops all having there place here. This is quite a contrast to the growing deed restricted neighborhoods we have at home where uniformity is encouraged, if not enforced.

The antennas are most always UHF and VHF designs for television with an occasional vertical in the mix. But wait! Today I spotted a commercial multi-band HF vertical antenna. Straight out if the QST classifieds. While my photo rendered drawing doesn't do a good job of showing the capacitance hats, see if you can find it.

I ONLY HEARD ONE SIREN

As a kid growing up in the Southern United States, I heard my share of civil defense sirens when tornadoes threatened.  There was the fear of dangerous weather, and the comfort of knowing that you would be safe when the weather front passed.

As I write this post, minutes after the Israel - Gaza cease fire, our family has spent the week in Israel celebrating a long planned family reunion and celebration.  We left JFK as tensions were rising, but before large scale rocket attacks had begun.   We've been quite fortunate so far, as our home base of Jerusalem has only been the target of rocket fire from Gaza on two occasions.  The first last Friday right after we arrived, the second time later in the week as we traveled in the West Bank. There's been no damage.

At the first siren, our family was getting settled in our rental unit after a long flight from the US.  It took time to realize exactly what was happening.   We took shelter in our apartment's safe-room (after I pulled my son off the balcony as he searched for rockets!).   The only thing more eerie than the wailing sirens throughout the Holy Land, was the dead silence that followed.  Nobody was around to announce "It's OK to come out".  A rocket fired by Hamas fell short, outside of Jerusalem.

As the days have passed, and literally hundreds of rockets have been fired toward Israel, I have witnessed an amazing culture.  Israelis move forward, going to work, going to school (when possible) and carrying on life as normal, despite being the target of terror.  I ONLY HEARD ONE SIREN, but now think twice when an ambulance passes.  And have difficulty going to sleep thinking about what I'll do if a siren sounds in the middle of the night.  Or think where I would shelter my family as we walk down a crowded city street.  I can't image the horror that many Israel residents have endured over 8 days, with dozens if not hundreds of rocket warnings.

 I've gained a new appreciation for social media as a public service tool for Emergency Communications, adding @push321 @MDais @IDFSpokesperson to my Twitter feed to follow the rocket threat in real-time.  I understand there is an iPhone app on the Israel iTunes Store that announces rocket threats by your location.  I think we could learn from their experience here in the United States, particularly in light of wordy, repetitive statements issued by our National Weather Service when a storm approaches.  And to my knowledge, we have no real "functional, contemporary" public warning system for IMMEDIATE threats, whether natural or man-made in the United States.   Correct me if I'm wrong...

I ONLY HEARD ONE SIREN, but it changed me in many ways forever.  Unlike tornadoes of the Deep South, the terrorist threat remains even after a cease-fire has been singed.  I strongly support the right of all nations to defend their citizens, especially Israel that seems to be the never ending target of aggression from extremist groups.  (What would the US do if another country launched over 500 bombs into of our our States?  I think the answer is obvious.)  I want my kids to understand the complex, and sometimes dangerous world we live in.  I hope they'll be better Americans and World Citizens in the process.  I'm going to increase my personal knowledge of emergency communications, and I'm ready to embrace internet technologies that complement traditional radio (echolink, IRL, D-star)  And finally, I'm going to be more thankful for the security and comfort I have as an American.

This morning a Jerusalem taxi driver gave me an interesting insight not provided by the talking heads of cable news services: "Hamas is ready for a cease fire....they've just about exhausted their rockets...they need time to replace their stockpile."
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photo - aged tower on top of Mount Herzl, Jerusalem....warning siren?

Radio Active

A part of most contacts I make is checking out the QRZed site for more info on the call, location, station, and interests of the operator. I can't help but notice how many people state "I was inactive for xx years"...

I can understand. Sometimes the demands of family, career, and maybe even your own health make radio take a far back seat. Hey, those things are just more important.

This summer has been a challenge for me. We've been fortunate as a family to travel quite a bit. Bringing along the radio and launching a wire into a nearby tree just doesn't seem to be tops on the family list of "fun things to do".

But hey, I'm proud to say that I still enjoy trying to make a QSO several evenings each week. I especially try to frequent sprints or the occasional contest where I'm most likely to make a contribution to my log.

Some people may not think much of this. I'm reminded of several exchanges during the recent ARRL Sweepstakes contest. Hours into the tst, I'm contacting a station with NR 104, and I'm sending T T 3. There's a silence on the other end, maybe a ?, maybe a TU.

Hey, just proud here to stay Radio Active.

Pi Day QSL

SKCC Revolutionary Weekend Sprintathon

For tonight's Straight Key Century Club Weekend Sprintathon, I used my J-38 Morse Code Key on a "custom base" made years ago by my youngest son...after his first woodburning class.  The J-38 came from e-bay for maybe $40.  The base is priceless :)

Great WES with lots of activity.  Made it on the air hear and there over the 24hrs; gardening and kid's lacrosse kept me busy.  Never really figured out the propagation, but had some nice suprises.  Started Saturday evening with one of my few 13 colonies contacts, my neightbor Lee, K1LEE, here in CT.  This was my first sprint to use the new SKCC by AC2C, and it was great to work and log Ron later on last night.  Thanks Ron for a FB addition to the SKCC software pool. Started Sunday morning with quiet bands, and then heard one of the strongest and finest continous waves to ever come across my little 857d.  I thought this must be my ham the next neighborhood (who I've never meet or heard).  Well, it turned out to be W5ZR, Bert in Louisiana!  599+  Finally closed out with S57WJ, Gabor in Slovenia.  Thanks for the new SK DX.  73 to all. Phil, N1DN