Project Op Notes

02/19/12

     

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2011 ARRL CQ SSB DX
2011 CQ WPX SSB Contest
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12-02-18 Bill - Had some free time today so I spent it out at the project, Got there about 9am and stayed till around 5pm.  Wow what a rain storm we are having, i had the wipers on full speed and they still didn't keep the windshield clear.  I got things opened up and turned on and then went straight to the roof pod to change the air filter on the generator.  Things all looked fine on the roof and with the new filter in place I closed up the pod.

Now back on the ground I started the gen set as I was planning on running the AL 811H (Ed – amplifier). But in about 15 minutes the generator had a hiccup and quit.  Well this was the time for me to build the automatic transfer switch we have needed for a while now.   As I was putting together the transfer switch I had 15 meters on and there was quite a lot of activity. By the time I completed the assembly and gave it a good test run between the two generators I was getting hungry for logging a few contacts.

Sitting down in front of my station I warmed up the AL 811H and went looking for some DX.  15 meters was in great shape, there were signals all across the band.  Seems there was a CW contest on this weekend and the phone portion of the band was still active with great signals.

Calling CQ delta x-ray, CQ delta x-ray a few times netted me some interesting log entries.

·         ZS2XD South Africa

·         PY2LED Brazil

·         HC5EG Ecuador

·         X5AA Serbia

·         YB5OX Indonesia

·         9M6TMT East Malaysia

I also work a few North America special event stations and even another "JR" suffix. Seem in the last while I have been working and exchanging QSL's with other "JR" suffix operators.

GOOD DX

Jeff (VE7JR)

12-02-05 - Bill VE7XS stopped by the project today.  We did the BC QSO party there yesterday, but I had to work - so spent the day on a conference call.  Look for a write up on the QSO Party separate from this write up.

I was talking to Jeff on the phone when I heard 6V7S come up on 15 meters - I politely hung up on Jeff and worked Senegal.  A few minutes later I heard ZS2CR calling - and no one answering her.  I worked her - she was running about 100 watts.  I posted her on the cluster and she got very busy working North America.  A while later I worked Barni in South Africa as well - big pileup and he was working them by the numbers.  Got him second or third call.

20120107 1911  18151.9 USB  VE7XS         59  V5/DJ2HD         59           Namibia 9.5M .1K fourth or fifth call
20120114 2001  21291.0 USB  VE7XS         59  PJ4C                 59           Bonaire Curaco 3.9M .4K First call with power
20120115 1956  18124.0 USB  VE7XS         59  J79XB               57 Mike   Dominca 4.1M .8K
20120115 2110  18142.5 USB  VE7XS         59  FM5WD             59           Martinque 4.1M .8K
20120115 2132  14190.0 USB  VE7XS         59  V5/DJ2HD         59           Namibia 9.5M .8K 4th call
20120128 1935  28450.0 USB  VE7XS         59  LW6DG             59           Argentina .1K 6.7M
20120128 2357  21280.0 USB  VE7XS         59  BA2EX              58 Andy   China 5.9M .7K
20120129 0006  21260.0 USB  VE7XS         59  JE2EHP             59 Yochi   Japan 4.7M .5K
20120129 1748  21275.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HK0NA             59            San Andrees/Providencia 5.5M .7K First call
20120129 1753  21342.5 USB  VE7XS         59  C6AKM             59            Bahamas 3M .7K
20120129 1848  14210.0 USB  VE7XS         59  EA3JE               58 Lou     Spain 5.1M .5K
20120129 1924  21270.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T32CO              59           Easter Kiribati 3.8M .5K
20120205 1828  21310.0 USB  VE7XS         59  6V7S                59           Senegal 6.2M .6K
20120205 1838  21295.0 USB  VE7XS         59  ZS2CR             59 Colitte South Africa 10.1M .6M she was running 100 watts
20120205 1915  21285.0 USB  VE7XS         57  ZS6TQ             57 Barni   South Africa 10.1M .8K

12-01-29 - From Jeff VE7JR

Had a few hours free so I stopped by the project. It was nearing 7:30pm and I wasted no time turning things on. Tuned up on 15 and swept the band a few times but it was very quiet. I loaded up on 20 to find some nice conditions. I worked VP6T with 300 watts and the A3S, a nice entry in the log. Made a few other contacts and decided to move on to 40 meters. To my surprise there was VP6T's loud signal. I called quite a few times, but they had a huge pile up so I had to turn up the power. 600 watts first call and my report was 5/9. I hung around on 40 for a while working a few USA calls and then pulled the plug.

12-01-09 - From Jeff VE7JR -

Bill

I have to say thanks again for Sunday. What a treat it is to have access to such a concept. Your project has gone more than miles in it's growth, and to be part of it means something special to me.

Sunday was a work the world as well as work on the stations day. I tuned up the rig and amp on 15m and spent the day there. There were enough signals to keep occupied as I followed the gray line from coast to coast to coast. Put about a dozen DX contacts into the book as well as a few short rag chews.

I spent a few hours cleaning up my station by velcroing all the wires into groups and labeling things. As we are installing more antennas I wired in a coax switching means at my station.

Now for the best part, we spent some time cleaning up Bill's station. I know Bill we will start with baby steps, hold on it's not so bad.

The great thing about spending time at the project is that people just stop by to say hello. Some work the bands some just hang out and snack or even take part in the great lunches.

Until next Sunday (can't wait)
Thanks again

12-01-02 - Woke up this a.m. with a major cold - have been feeling it coming for a while - but it hit full throttle today.  Was feeling a little out it - and was sitting in the Home Theater at home when Ben texted me.  He had a pass.  So I met him at the project and we spent some time working DX.  Ben worked into Australia, Aruba and Alaska - not bad for a miserable looking afternoon.  Thanks for dragging me out today Ben - enjoyed the company, and I enjoyed working some DX - not a lot, but some.  Long path in Australia isn't too bad either Ben!

20120102 2055  28475.0 USB  VE7XS         54  VK4JGH           57   Graham  va7bkl, Australia, 7.4m.7k longpath
20120102 2108  14265.0 USB  VE7XS         59  P43E                59   Emily     va7bkl, Aruba, 4m.7k
20120102 2110  14265.0 USB  VE7XS         59  P43E                59   Emily      Aruba 4M .7K 
20120102 2140  14200.0 USB  VE7XS         59  K3N                 59                 va7bkl, .1k
20120102 2214  28390.0 USB  VE7XS        59+  KL7LF             59+ Joe        va7bkl, Alaska

12-01-01  - Worked into New Zealand, Namibia and Australia today - N1MM was acting up - would go to log a contact and realize ten minutes later it wasn't in the log?  WTF?  Not sure what happened - but I missed some contacts again today.

20120101 1943  28516.0 USB  VE7XS         57  N9ZWL            53 Keith              
20120101 1946  28516.0 USB  VE7XS         57  K5MWL            59 Bob      Texas 1.8M .1K
20120101 1953  28519.5 USB  VE7XS         57  WT0G              58 Tom      Ohio 1.5M .1K 
20120101 2000  28519.5 USB  VE7XS         59  N0HOY/9          57 Dean    Wisconsin 1.7M .1K
20120101 2003  28519.5 USB  VE7XS         59  N0BDT             59             Minnesota 1.5K .1K
20120101 2007  28440.0 USB  VE7XS         55  ZL3IO              59             7.3M .7K New Zealand
20120101 2057  14175.0 USB  VE7XS         59  V5/DH3WO      59             Namibia .7K 9.5M
20120101 2113  14203.0 USB  VE7XS         33  VK4TUX           32 Adrian   Australia .7K 7.4M

Nice to get this from Tom today -

111231 - Mostly working 100 watts - on 17 meters, Worked into Jamaica and Namibia - first call - awesome!  What a great way to spend a few hours.

20111211 1614  28384.3 USB  VE7XS         59  KCT9               59 IL BC              
20111211 1615  28400.0 USB  VE7XS         59  VA3YP             59 ON BC              
20111218 1657  18121.0 USB  VE7XS         59  MM0EAE           59         Orkney Islands - off Scottland 4.3M .7K
20111227 1937  28310.0 USB  VE7XS         59  W8EP               59                    
20111230 0004  18153.0 USB  VE7XS        59+  6Y5/KD8EZU   59+ Randy   Jamaica 3.2M .7K
20111231 1727  18125.0 USB  VE7XS         59  V5/DJ2HD        59         Namibia 9.5M .75K First call
20111231 1742  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         57  K6ULF/M          57 Lance   S. California
20111231 1743  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  W2RRK            55 Rick    New York State
20111231 1748  18140.0 USB  VE7XS        59+  KB0LKT           59 Dennis  South Dakota
20111231 1814  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         33  K2BKT             59 Mike    NY         
20111231 1842  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  AK0JM             59+ Jim     N. Minn    
20111231 1850  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  VE3MLM           55 Bob     loop antenna
20111231 1855  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  VO1JNS           55 Jason   Nfld       
20111231 1858  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         56  VY2CO             56 Mike    Charlottetown 
20111231 1901  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  W4NA              57 Nate               
20111231 1903  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  KJ4YLW            57 Emmett  Atlanta    
20111231 1906  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  K7DRA             59 DR      Wyoming     
20111231 1907  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         57  W2NO             59 Dan     East Coast 
20111231 1909  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  AC0VI             59 Derek   Ohio       
20111231 1911  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         57  KC8VMV           57 Rich    Michigan   
20111231 1913  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  N8AGU             59 Al      Ohio       
20111231 1917  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         57  W3CWE            57 Dave    Lancaster  
20111231 1919  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  VE9KEN            57 Ken     New Brunswick 
20111231 1922  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  KE7KRT            55 Steve              
20111231 1923  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  KI4NSP            59 Tom     N. Carolina
20111231 1925  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  KB7VWC          59+ Bob     Idaho      
20111231 1926  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  KC0EKF            59 Steve   Idaho      
20111231 1927  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         55  K6DMY             59 Howard  San Francisco
20111231 1931  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  K9RLP              59 Ray     Indiana    
20111231 1933  18140.0 USB  VE7XS         59  K4MSR             59                    
20111231 2000  18150.0 USB  VE7XS         59  N7VQN             59 Wayne   Billings, Montana .1K

 


 

 

 

111204 - Work has been a little challenging of late - got to the project today around 7:00 a.m.  Was there for most of the day by myself.  Heinz had to cancel.  Al dropped by for a while - and then Jeff showed up late afternoon.  Here is what I worked today:

20111204 1551  14207.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IW2CLM           57 Dom     Italy 5.5M .4K
20111204 1601  28475.0 USB  VE7XS         59  TI8II               59             Costa Rica 3.5M .4K
20111204 1653  14200.5 USB  VE7XS         59  HA9RT             58 Joseph  Hungary 5.4K .1K
20111204 1656  14206.0 USB  VE7XS         59  YU1JW            59             Serbia 5.6M .1K First call
20111204 1852  28495.0 USB  VE7XS         59  KK4ERM           51 Sarah    Georgia 2.2M .1K 10 Years old
20111204 1900  28477.0 USB  VE7XS         59  CE3FL              59 Hector  Chile 6.3M .4K
20111204 1908  28510.3 USB  VE7XS         59  PY3PA             59             Brazil 5.8M .3K
20111204 1912  28480.0 USB  VE7XS         57  FG5DH            55 Christian  Guadaloupe 4M .3K
20111204 1920  28485.0 USB  VE7XS         59  WV6ZRF          59 Jay       San Diego .9M .3K
20111204 2005  28630.0 USB  VE7XS        59+  VE9YJ            59 Mark     New Brunswick 2.6M .8K 
20111204 2016  28630.0 USB  VE7XS         55  KG4APH           59            Florida 2.2M .6K
20111204 2025  28630.0 USB  VE7XS         59  KK4EFQ           53 Chris     Miami 2.2M .6K
20111204 2107  28522.0 USB  VE7XS         59  VP5/W5CW      59             Turnks & Caicos 3.3M .6K First call
20111204 2112  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  WB9UVJ           55 Al          1.7M .6K   
20111204 2113  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  KB9IYO           59 Dennis   Illinois 1.7M .6K
20111204 2117  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         53  KD8NYO          58 Howard  Ohio 2M .6K he is running 5W
20111204 2120  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  N2LJJ              59 Jim        Texas 2.3M .6K 
20111204 2123  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  KF5JUH           57 Rich        New Mexico 1.8K .6K
20111204 2128  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  WD8JPP           59 Tom       Dayton Ohio - 2M .6K 
20111204 2132  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         54  WP4JSP           59 George   Puerto Rico 3.7M .6K 
20111204 2147  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  K0DPT             59 Max       Minn 1.5M .6K 
20111204 2226  28525.8 USB  VE7XS         59  W9MNC            59 Mike     Wisconsin 1.7M .6K
20111204 2233  28555.0 USB  VE7XS         59  YS1/HB9KNA     59+          El Salvador 3M .3K 

So not  a bad day at the field office.  Had a great chat with several hams - especially Mike - W9MNC - we spent some time in Germany at the same time - he was just 14 years older then I was, and in uniform!  Great day for radio.

 

111120 - Got to the project today around 9:00 a.m.  Big contest on - bands were alive - and it was a contest I wasn't playing in.  I came up on 17 meters and there were lots of great signals.  It was really cold outside, and inside the project!  My amplifier was registering 2C - and it doesn't like to operate at that temperature.  So - I worked just 100 watts for the first few contacts.  Didn't seem to matter - I was getting out big time.

Tuvalu - 100 watts - worked them first call - first time on 17 meters.  Slovenia - 100 watts off the back of the beam.   Then I worked Spain and Italy - again at 100 watts. 

The 'Project' was cold - left the heat turned up when I left around 3:30 - John VE7EEX and Al VA7MP had come down for a visit, and we had a few laughs.  Jeff VE7JR, is going to the project after he drops his buddy Jason off tonight, and he will work a little radio for 3 or 4 hours tonight.  I left the two main battery banks charged up - so Jeff can operate tonight without having to run the generator.

All of the following contacts were on 17 meters - 5.3M means 5,300 miles, .1K means 100 watts or 10% of a kilowatt

20111120 1743  18147.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T2T              59             Tuvalu 5.3M .1K first call
20111120 1749  18126.0 USB  VE7XS         59  S58N            59             Slovenia 5.3M .1K first call back of the beam
20111120 1755  18122.0 USB  VE7XS         59  EA3BEM        57 Miguel  Spain 5.1M .1K 
20111120 1804  18135.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IW1GGR       56             Italy 5.5M .1K
20111120 1813  18115.9 USB  VE7XS         57  IN3ZNR        57             Italy 5.5M .4K
20111120 1822  18122.0 USB  VE7XS         59  MW0ZZK      59+ Steve Wales 4.5M .5K
20111120 1843  18142.3 USB  VE7XS         57  PA4VHF        57 Dick      Netherlands 4.8M .4K
20111120 1848  18156.5 USB  VE7XS         59  OT4A            59 Cheo    Belgium 4.8M .7K
20111120 2006  18156.8 USB  VE7XS         59  CO6LE          59             Cuba 3M .8K 1st call

 

111119 - Was at the project for a few hours today.   A contest started at 1:00 p.m. local today, but wasn't in the mood to play.  Only made three contacts - but two of them were 'excellent'

Namibia was tough to get - big pileup - took me a couple of hours - but did work him.

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Then I worked Cedric on Madeira Islands - NW Africa V51B - worked him first call!

 

Madeira Island was top left off of the African Coast, Namibia is highlighted in a darker colour on this map - lower left.

20111119 1931 18130.0 USB VE7XS 59     CT3FT    59    Cedric     Madeira Islands - NW Africa 1st call 5.1M .7K
20111119 2039 28496.0 USB VE7XS 59+   KL7AIR  59+  Ron        Anchorage 1.5M .5K
20111119 2135 18150.0 USB VE7XS 59      V51B     59                  Namibia, Africa 9.5M .7K

111113 - Spent a bit of time at the project the last day or so - the log follows.  Some highlights are included as well.

T2T - Tuvalu - DXPedition there - huge problems getting there to run the DX pedition - 5,700 Miles away -

Tuvalu formerly known as the Ellice Islands,[2] is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia.[3] Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls. Its population of 10,472 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.95 km2 (0.75 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).

From QRZ.com "

Effective 1 Nov 2011 Due to incredible problems with major water shortages at Tuvulu the team has been forced to make sacrifices of what equipment gets on the plane. All ops will carry maximum weight of 23kgs with no oversize luggage permitted. We have exploited all possible ways to get all our equipment to Tuvulu including the hire of a private charter but sadly nil is available. There will now be only 2 complete stations active due to this. We will do everything possible to get as much done as we can with the limited antennae etc.

The team is exceptionally disappointed at this outcome its either we go with what we can or we just forget it totally."

KH0O  - Northern Mariana Islands - formerly known as Saipan - about 5,500 Miles - huge pileups

Awesome conditions again today - Al came down and fixed the muffler banging against the pod.  I ran my station off of my EU2000 Honda - and was running some significant power.  Great conditions -spent a lot of time trying to work a rare station or two - some pileups I did not break!

111105 - Got to the project about 10 today - ran the generator, charged the batteries, and worked a little DX.  Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Ukraine, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Spain, France, Michigan, Curacao, Fiji, Bonaire (Caribbean), and Cuba.  I was there about 3.5 hours.  Spent a couple of hours trying to work Namibia and Guyana - no luck though

20111105 1700  14216.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HG8C              59           231 - 001 Hungary 5.4M .3K
20111105 1705  14250.0 USB  VE7XS         59  LZ5K               59           410 - 002 Bulgaria 5.8M .8K
20111105 1707  14255.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IZ4JMA            59 Max    329 - 003 Italy 5.5M .9K
20111105 1711  14258.0 USB  VE7XS         59  UT7E               59           DN - 004 Ukraine 5.4M .4K
20111105 1719  14282.0 USB  VE7XS         59  9A3BIM           59           455 - 005 Croatia 5.4M .4K
20111105 1729  21315.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OK1IWS          59 Wolf   Czech Republic 5.1M .9K
20111105 1740  21325.5 USB  VE7XS         59  EA1ABT           59 Liris   Spain 5.1M .9K
20111105 1815  28515.0 USB  VE7XS         59  CT5KAH          59           Portugal 5.1M .5K
20111105 1820  18142.0 USB  VE7XS         59  EA3DTD          59           Spain 5.1 .5K
20111105 1833  18137.5 USB  VE7XS         59  F6EKS             59 jean    France 5M .5K
20111105 1838  18146.5 USB  VE7XS         59  W0JH              59 Lance  Michigan - Special Event - Ed Fitzgerald
20111105 1919  21303.0 USB  VE7XS         59  PJ2/VA7AM      59           Curacao - David Shipman 4M .9K
20111105 2048  28495.0 USB  VE7XS         59  3D2T               59           Fiji 5.6M .8M
20111105 2059  28440.0 USB  VE7XS         59  PJ4J                59           Bonaire 4M .8K Caribbean
20111105 2102  28475.0 USB  VE7XS         59  CM6FJJ            59          Cuba 3M .8K

 

111022 - Cut and pasted my log below - Got to the project later in the day - stayed about three hours - was working the world - not a lot of Q's, but it was fruitful - got some new band / country combos on ten and seventeen meters

20111022 2008 28425.5 USB VE7XS 59 HI3TEJ 59                 Dominican Repulblic .2K 3.5M
20111022 2024 28473.8 USB VE7XS 59 CO6CAC 59               Cuba 3M .4K
20111022 2027 28490.0 USB VE7XS 59 PJ5/SP6EQZ 59          St Eustatius & Saba 3.9M .4K
20111022 2047 14211.0 USB VE7XS 59 EA3AKP 56 John         Spain 5.1M .6K
20111022 2105 18167.0 USB VE7XS 59 TX7M 59                    Marquesas Islands 4.1M .6K
20111022 2142 18151.0 USB VE7XS 59 V47JA 59                   St. Kitts & Nevis 3.9M .55K
20111022 2146 18145.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59                    Eastern Kiribati 3.8M .5K
20111022 2204 28483.0 USB VE7XS 59 LU7FTS 59 Sabo        Argentina 6.7M .5K
20111022 2208 28463.0 USB VE7XS 59 JH8RJS 57 Ken          Japan 4.7M .5K

111016 - Cut and pasted my log below - several days worth of contacts.  Some great propagation - and I wasn't working it that hard - just keeping busy.  Here are my logs:

20110914 1844 14200.0 USB VE7XS 59 VE7BQM 59 Ed
20110914 1937 14209.0 USB VE7XS 55 G0VQY 51 Penn       England .1K
20110914 1939 14209.0 USB VE7XS 54 M0BKL 42 Steve      England .1K 4.6M
20110914 2007 14220.0 USB VE7XS 55 SV2HJQ 56               .6k 6M Greece
20110914 2046 14224.0 USB VE7XS 57 LZ85R 59                   Bulgaria .7K 5.7M
20110919 2001 14154.0 USB VE7XS 55 F8DHE 55 Piret         France .6K 5M Near Paris
20110919 2006 14203.0 USB VE7XS 59 PD2BA 59 Ben          Netherlands - Central park .6K 4.8M
20110919 2008 14209.0 USB VE7XS 59 PB5X 54                    Netherlands .6K 4.8M
20110919 2013 14180.0 USB VE7XS 59 G0VQY 58 Penn       SW Coast England .6K 4.6M
20110919 2015 14180.0 USB VE7XS 59 M0BKL 57 Steve      SW England .6K
20110919 2020 14165.0 USB VE7XS 59 G1HPD 56 Jamie     London .6K 4.6M
20110920 2344 14210.0 USB VE7XS 57 V21DB 57                 Antigua .6K 4M
20110921 0010 21303.0 USB VE7XS 59 BV100 59 Jimmy     Taiwan .8K 6M first call
20110924 1840 28433.8 USB VE7XS 59 9A3TR 59                 Croatia .6K 5.4M 5 bander
20110924 1849 28482.0 USB VE7XS 59 DK4MD 57 Martin    Germany .6K 5M
20110924 2120 18150.0 USB VE7XS 59 OE3WMA 59             Austria .6K 5.2M
20110924 2126 18155.0 USB VE7XS 54 5Q4B 57 John          Copenhagen .6K 4.7M
20110926 1527 3729.0 LSB VE7XS 59 VE7LGF 59                   Glen Island - weak signal work - putting up an antenna on 160 mts
20111007 2205 28389.0 USB VE7XS 59 ZL2WL 52 Wayne    New Zealand 7.4M .7K Meaghan should go visit
20111007 2215 28432.0 USB VE7XS 55 JH7RTQ 57              4.7M .7K Japan
20111007 2249 28445.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59                    3.8m .9K Eastern Kirbati first call
20111007 2252 21285.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59                    3.8M .8K Easter Kirbati First call
20111008 1906 28485.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59                    Christmas Island
20111008 1958 18117.0 USB VE7XS 59 LZ85R 59                  Bulgaria 5.7M .4K
20111008 2000 18122.0 USB VE7XS 59 HA8JV 59 Paul         5.4M .5K Hungary
20111008 2017 18119.0 USB VE7XS 59 HB9FBJ 57 Andy      Switzerland 5.1M .5K
20111008 2027 28485.0 USB VE7XS 59 TI8II 59                   Costa Rica 3.5M .4K
20111008 2037 21215.0 USB VE7XS 59 OH2T 59                  Contest Finland 4.5M .9K
20111008 2038 21249.5 USB VE7XS 59 SI9AM 59                437 - 002 Sweden 4.4M .9K
20111008 2040 21254.5 USB VE7XS 59 OH7K 59      `         779 -003 Finland 4.5M .9K
20111008 2041 21257.0 USB VE7XS 59 SF3A 59                  406 -004 Sweden 4.5M .9K
20111008 2043 21260.0 USB VE7XS 59 SM3SJN 59             83 - 005 Sweden 4.5M .5K
20111008 2046 21275.0 USB VE7XS 59 OH1F 59                 501 - 006 Finland
20111008 2049 21293.3 USB VE7XS 59 SK3W 59                 570 487 - 007 Sweden
20111008 2050 21304.0 USB VE7XS 59 SK3GM 59               353 - 008 Sweden
20111008 2051 21308.5 USB VE7XS 59 OH6RM 59              817 - 009 Finland
20111008 2051 21312.0 USB VE7XS 59 OG6N 59                 716 - 010 Finland
20111009 1644 14258.0 USB VE7XS 59 HA9RT 59               Hungary 5.4M .1K
20111009 1845 18125.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59
20111009 1922 14180.0 USB VE7XS 59 T32C 59                   about five minutes ago - log issues
20111009 1931 14196.0 USB VE7XS 59 LA5MIA 55 Harold .1K 4.3M Norway
20111009 2144 28520.0 USB VE7XS 57 NZ5E 57 Terry        Mississipi
20111013 2129 28475.0 USB VE7XS 59 D44AC 59
20111013 2137 28475.0 USB VE7XS 59 D44AC 59                Cape Verde 5.7M .1K
20111013 2231 28445.0 USB VE7XS 59 JH2UVL 59 Hato     Near Mt. Fuji
20111013 2232 28445.0 USB VE7XS 59 JH2UVL 59 Hato     4.7M .5K Japan
20111013 2247 28437.0 USB VE7XS 59 JA1OJJ 59 Yoshi
20111013 2305 28383.0 USB VE7XS 59 JL1CHV 59 Japan   .02K
20111013 2310 28398.0 USB VE7XS 59 JA2KSI 59 Japan   .1K
20111013 2324 28446.0 USB VE7XS 59 BG4ACE 58 Bin       Shanghai 5.9M .1K
20111013 2340 28469.0 USB VE7XS 59 DS3HWS 59             South Korea .02W 5.1M
20111015 1830 28454.0 USB VE7XS 59 D4C 59                     918 - 001 .5K 5.8M Cape Verde
20111015 1838 28479.0 USB VE7XS 59 EA5HRB 59 Jose     Spain .5K 5.1M
20111015 1859 28560.0 USB VE7XS 55 GI3DZE 57 Ian        Northern Ireland .4K 4.3M
20111015 2031 28440.0 USB VE7XS 59 CX7BV 59                305 001 Uruguay 6.9M .1K
20111016 1624 28387.5 USB VE7XS 55 EA3DTD 59 Spain   .5K 5.1M
20111016 1634 28450.0 USB VE7XS 59 YO4RYU 58             Maritime Mobile - Romania 5.5M .5K Tanker Ship
20111016 1645 28516.0 USB VE7XS 59 M5LRO 44 Chris      London .5K 4.5M
20111016 1650 28522.5 USB VE7XS 59 F4FZN 57                 France 5M .5K
20111016 1653 28527.3 USB VE7XS 59 IZ5CML 58 Henry   Italy 5.5M .5K
20111016 1655 28531.5 USB VE7XS 59 OE3XMA 44             Austria 5.2M .5K
20111016 1701 28535.0 USB VE7XS 59 MM0BQN 58 John  Glasgow Scotland 4.3M .5K
20111016 1712 28387.5 USB VE7XS 59 EA3DTD 59             Spain
20111016 1723 28427.0 USB VE7XS 59 OZ1KEF 59              Denmark 4.7M .5K
20111016 1728 28438.3 USB VE7XS 59+ F5AD 59 Andre    France 5M .5K
20111016 1802 28484.0 USB VE7XS 59 PI4DX 59                Netherlands 4.8M .5K
20111016 1804 28488.0 USB VE7XS 59 EA5GUI 59              Spain 5.1M .5K
20111016 1845 28457.0 USB VE7XS 59 CT7ACG 59 Colin    Portugal 5.1M .5K
20111016 1853 28457.0 USB VE7XS 59 M3VCQ/SR7 59     Portugal - YL - M3VCQ / SR7 5M .5K shared Yahoo group SPE
20111016 1913 28490.0 USB VE7XS 59 EA4TL 59                Spain 5.1M .5K
20111016 1918 28509.0 USB VE7XS 59 MW0ZZK 59 Steve Wales 4.6M .5K
20111016 1925 28530.0 USB VE7XS 59 FO4BM 59                French Polynesia 4.9M .5K

111015 - Saturday - The following from Jeff - VE7JR

Another day at the project hanging with the bro in the hood.

Had a great day hanging out at the project, Bill - thanks again. Started up the old 751a and the note book while sipping on the leftover coffee in the mug. Once I had a log book and some RF ready I brought up the A4H tuner and all 50 meters of wire. Tuned up on 15 meters and found the band alive. Wow, nice to see my favorite band alive with stations working contests and just chin wagging.

Calling CQ once was all it took to work into Germany, Spain and the UK. Had a bunch of contest contacts and even a nice QSO with a special event station in the Sherwood Forest. Looked around on the other bands but 15 so alive it was back to 21 MHz. Alaska thank you for the 20 over 9, you are 5 9 in my log was the next entry in N1MM.


With the gray line shifting it's now, thanks your 5 9 from JA land. I worked a pile of Japan stations for a while till I came up with a dupe in the log book, seems I had worked this guy before. I don't remember his call but what stood out was that he too was portable in a shipping container off the grid. The propagation path kept moving south and soon I had to pack it in. I decided to check in to the aurora net on 40 meters before I left, heard some great signals.


Sorry Bill I played in the coax transfer room, hope you can still find the switch for the A3S. Seems my long wire is working just fine THANK YOU !! :)

111008 - Had a great couple of hours at the project today.  Here is what I worked - cut and pasted it backwards - but you get the idea:
20111008 2051  21312.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OG6N             59         716 - 010 Finland
20111008 2051  21308.5 USB  VE7XS         59  OH6RM            59         817 - 009 Finland
20111008 2050  21304.0 USB  VE7XS         59  SK3GM            59         353 - 008 Sweden
20111008 2049  21293.3 USB  VE7XS         59  SK3W             59         487 - 007 Sweden
20111008 2046  21275.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OH1F              59         501 - 006 Finland
20111008 2043  21260.0 USB  VE7XS         59  SM3SJN           59         83 - 005 Sweden 4.5M .5K
20111008 2041  21257.0 USB  VE7XS         59  SF3A              59          406 -004 Sweden 4.5M .9K
20111008 2040  21254.5 USB  VE7XS         59  OH7K             59          779 -003 Finland 4.5M .9K
20111008 2038  21249.5 USB  VE7XS         59  SI9AM            59          437 - 002 Sweden 4.4M .9K
20111008 2037  21215.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OH2T             59          Contest Finland 4.5M .9K
20111008 2027  28485.0 USB  VE7XS         59  TI8II              59          Costa Rica 3.5M .4K
20111008 2017  18119.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HB9FBJ           57 Andy   Switzerland 5.1M .5K
20111008 2000  18122.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HA8JV             59 Paul   5.4M .5K Hungary
20111008 1958  18117.0 USB  VE7XS         59  LZ85R             59          Bulgaria 5.7M .4K
20111008 1906  28485.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T32C              59           Christmas Island

111008 - Haven't been very good about keeping this up to date.  Was down at the project yesterday - working from the Field Office, and worked the following:

20111007 2205  28389.0 USB  VE7XS         59  ZL2WL           52 Wayne   New Zealand 7.4M .7K
20111007 2215  28432.0 USB  VE7XS         55  JH7RTQ          57             4.7M .7K Japan
20111007 2249  28445.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T32C             59              3.8m .9K Eastern Kirbati first call
20111007 2252  21285.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T32C             59              3.8M .8K Eastern Kirbati First call

Eastern Kirbati Christmas Island - big DX pedition there.

110731 - Was down at the project this a.m. - ran the generator for a while - but not long enough to fully charge the battery banks.  It has been getting really warm in the pod that holds the generator, and I'm not sure if it is too warm.  I dialed back on the charging amperage, with the idea of not pushing the generator too hard in hot temperatures.  It is showing over 60C in the pod.  It is open to the bottom, and I have a 10 inch barn exhaust fan running near the top on the side.  I'm wondering if the vent cover we put on it might be causing the high heat - as it is not letting the hot air vent out as fast as before?

So band conditions deteriorated by noon.  First thing in the a.m. I worked into South Korea - second call with .5 Kw.  I worked some special event stations around North America - Indianapolis and Osh Kosh if I remember correctly.  John S. picked up an antenna to use at his station.

110715 - Was down at the project today and yesterday, for a few hours.  Today I worked into Thailand with 100 watts, Brunei with 100 watts - nice chat with a retired Lt. Colonel for about 40 minutes.  John VE7EEX also worked him from my station.  I also worked Croatia.  The island of Crete on 17 meters (using an 80 meter dipole) and 500 watts.  Finished charging up the batteries - ran the generator for a total of about five hours between yesterday and today.  We need that Solar installed!

 

110422-23-24 - Not a lot of radio but some

20110422 1814  21295.0 USB  VE7XS         59  T31A                59           Central Kiribati 4.6M 800 watts
20110423 1710  14155.0 USB  VE7XS         59  UA3AUM           58            Moscow 5.1M .8Kw
20110423 1720  14200.0 USB  VE7XS         59  NQ4I/AM          56  Rick    43K feet Aeronautical Mobile
20110423 1746  14218.0 USB  VE7XS         59  R8MC               59 Sergey  Asiatic Russia 5.2M .8Kw
20110423 1753  14222.0 USB  VE7XS         59  TO2FH              59            Mayotte 9.8M 1Kw 
20110423 1811  14214.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HB60RF            59            186 001 Switzerland 5.1K .8Kw
20110423 1823  14211.0 USB  VE7XS         59  UX6IZ              57 Vladislov  Ukraine 5.4M .8Kw
20110423 1905  14220.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HB9AW             59           161lu 002 Switzerland 5.1M .8Kw
20110423 2056  14218.0 USB  VE7XS         59  4A0IARU           59            Mexico 2M .8Kw
20110423 2112  14275.2 USB  VE7XS         59  TK4DS              59            Corsica Island 5.4M .8Kw
20110423 2157  14245.0 USB  VE7XS         59  F4FGC              59            France 5M .9Kw
20110424 1731  14218.5 USB  VE7XS         55  PA3EWP           55            Netherlands 4.8M .9Kw

T31A – Population 24 or so http://www.t31a.com/kanton.php

NQ4I – Aeronautical Mobile - http://www.nq4i.com/

Mayotte – Long way from here! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayotte

Corsica Island – belongs to France – close to Italy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsica

110417 - Not a lot of radio - mostly working on the project

20110416 1550 14213.0 USB VE7XS 59 9A6XX      59                       Croatia 5.4M 800w
20110416 1612 21230.0 USB VE7XS 59 RG50F      59                       European Russia 4.9M 1.2K
20110416 1615 21250.0 USB VE7XS 59 IZ4JMA     59  Max             Italy 5.5M 1.2K
20110416 1626 14212.0 USB VE7XS 59 4X1IM      59  h06hf 001   Israel 6.7M .8K
20110416 1636 21246.0 USB VE7XS 59 2M0YIO    57  Brian           Scotland 4.3m 1.2K
20110416 1654 21257.8 USB VE7XS 59 ON4UN     59  John            Belgium 4.8M 1.2Kw
20110416 1658 21277.0 USB VE7XS 59 EA5WP     59                      Spain 5.1M 1.2Kw
20110416 1710 21300.0 USB VE7XS 59 LZ1ANA    59                      Bulgaria 5.7M 1Kw
20110416 1929 21267.0 USB VE7XS 59 HA8JV      59  Paul             Hungary 5.4M 100 watts
20110417 1612 14225.0 USB VE7XS 59 RV3MA/3  59                     Moscow 17watts
20110417 1701 21307.0 USB VE7XS 59 DO7DSV   55  Ken             Germany 4.9M 100 watts
20110417 1943 14222.0 USB VE7XS 59 G0DBE     59  Lee               England 4.6M 900 watts
20110417 1955 14258.0 USB VE7XS 59 OP2A       59  Ivo               Belgium 4.8M 900 watts
20110417 2005 14208.0 USB VE7XS 59 OM3IM     57                      Slovakia 5.3M 900 watts
20110417 2119 14195.0 USB VE7XS 59 IT9RYH    59+Nino           Sicily 5.5M 1kw

110410 - Worked the project on Sunday - was down there early and spent a good chunk of the day down there.  The ones with John VE7EEX were calls worked by John, from my station, but using his call sign.

20110410 1513 14207.3 USB VE7XS 59 R3K 59   European Russia 5.1K 900 watts  
20110410 1521 14200 USB VE7XS 59+ 9M2ODY 59 Ody West Malaysia 7.9K 900 watts  
20110410 1525 14247 USB VE7XS 59 9M6TMT 59 Tom Borneo East Malaysia 7.5K 900W first call!  
20110410 1531 14254.8 USB VE7XS 59 W4A 59   Georgia QSO  
20110410 1623 14210 USB VE7XS 59 9M6BOB 59+  Bob Borneo Island East Malaysia 7.6K 900 watts  
20110410 1639 14262 USB VE7XS 59 IN3ACQ 59   Northern Italy 5.5K 800 watts  
20110410 1835 21286.5 USB VE7XS 57 EA5DY 59 Sal Spain 5.1K 700 watts  
20110410 1837 21300 USB VE7XS 59 EI0CL 57 Mike Ireland 4.4K 700 watts  
20110410 1856 14186.8 USB VE7XS 59 EI0CL 57 Mike Ireland 4.4K 800 watts  
20110410 1911 14242.8 USB VE7XS 59 S59EKL 57 Borut Slovenia 5.4K 1kw  
20110410 1943 14199.5 USB VE7XS 59 HA7TM 57 Tibi Hungary 5.4K 900 watts  
20110410 2012 14191 USB VE7XS 59 IK1BXK 57   Italy 5.5K 900 watts  
20110410 2033 14210 USB VE7XS 59 ER4DX 59 Vasily Moldova 5.6K 1Kw  
20110410 2034 14228 USB VE7XS 59 E79D 59   Bosnia-Herzegovina 5.5K 1Kw  
20110410 2039 14220.5 USB VE7XS 59 HA8JV 59 Paul Hungary 5.4K .9kw  
20110410 2050 14300 USB VE7XS 59 N0DFP 59   Maritime Net eex John VE7EEX
20110410 2058 14266 USB VE7XS 59 IW4CJM 59 Andy Northern Italy John VE7EEX
20110410 2112 14252.5 USB VE7XS 59 W4AW4A 59   Georgia - eex John VE7EEX
20110410 2123 14273 USB VE7XS 59 WA4TII 59   Richmond Cnty Georgia John VE7EEX
20110410 2130 14266 USB VE7XS 59 K4NV 59   Heron County Georgia eex John VE7EEX
20110410 2136 14257.5 USB VE7XS 59 N4Q 59   Henry County Georgia John VE7EEX

 

 

110407 - Worked from the field office for a few hours today - had a tradesman working on the kitchen floor.  Just had an ear out and worked the following:

20110407 2216  14195 USB  VE7XS         59  JW/F8DVD        59             Svalbard 3.5K 800 Watts ½ way between Norway & North Pole  
20110407 2135  14229 USB  VE7XS         59  OZ4Z                 59             Denmark 4.7K 700 Watts  
20110407 2100  14220 USB  VE7XS         59  EA3AGB           57              Jav       Spain 5.2K 700W VE7SV is his QSL mgr  
20110407 2036  14190 USB  VE7XS         59  PD0PZR            59              Andre   Netherlands 4.8K 600W  
20110407 2003  14202.3 USB  VE7XS         59  DL5RBW           59              Roger   Munich 5K 100 Watts  

 

110328 - Worked the CQ WPX SSB contest on the weekend.  337 contacts - 67 Entities (Countries)

110320 - Was down at the project at 6:00 a.m. today - bands weren't great, but I managed to work a few stations.  Highlights were East and West Malaysia - I've worked one of the stations before - but it was great to work him again.  The 5.5K is 5,500 mile - all distances are in Miles.

20110320 1512  18130 USB  VE7XS         59  W5NQH            59 Dave    West Texas 100 watts
20110320 1540  14225 USB  VE7XS         59  9M2ODY           59 Ody     West Malaysia 7.9K 900 Watts
20110320 1552  14220 USB  VE7XS         59  9M6AH            59 Al      East Malaysia 7.6K 900 watts
20110320 1628  14201 USB  VE7XS         59  IN3BJU           58 Umberto  Italy 5.5K 700 watts
20110320 1634  14210 USB  VE7XS         59  ON4DRX           57 Ronny   Belgium 4.9K 900 watts
20110320 1722  14237 USB  VE7XS         59  E79D             59   Bosnia-Herzegovina 5.5K 900 watts
20110320 1741  14208 USB  VE7XS        59+  RA3PCI          59+ Nicolay  European Russia - 5.2K 600 watts ua3pq
20110320 1746  14220 USB  VE7XS         59  UR3IFD           59 Oleg    Ukraine 5.4K 600 watts
20110320 1933  14207 USB  VE7XS         59  DL5MEV           59 Rudy    Germany 5K 700 watts
20110320 1937  14214 USB  VE7XS         59  IK0PHY           59 Marco   Italy 5.5K 700 watts

I had a great couple of chats with Mike B. VE7WY.  Mike was on 17 meters, at his home QTH in Chilliwack and had a great run on 17 meters.  I was impressed; I listened to him quite a bit, and he was excellent at working the pileups - Mikey - awesome.  I have to use my 80 meter dipole with a tuner on 17 meters - I can get out, I just can't manage a pileup at this time.  We have a five band Cushcraft yagi ready to set up, and I am looking forward to it.

110319 - I went down to the project today -

 20110319 1805  14183.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HA3DX            Hungary
 20110319 1812  14201.0 USB  VE7XS         59  HA5JI             Hungary
 20110319 1814  14200.8 USB  VE7XS         59  P3N                Cyprus
 20110319 1816  14203.8 USB  VE7XS         59  SO8N              Poland
 20110319 1819  14223.0 USB  VE7XS         59  RO2E              Russia
 20110319 1821  14237.8 USB  VE7XS         59  SO8A              Poland
 20110319 1823  14242.8 USB  VE7XS         59  9A7A              Croatia
 20110319 1825  14247.5 USB  VE7XS         59  LY9Y              Lithuania
 20110319 1826  14252.0 USB  VE7XS         59  RU1A             Russia
 20110319 1831  14264.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IK4HLQ         Italy
 20110319 1833  14278.8 USB  VE7XS         59  HB9EP           Switzerland
 20110319 1836  14284.8 USB  VE7XS         59  OL9Z             Czech Rep
 20110319 1838  14287.5 USB  VE7XS         59  LA6YEA         Norway
 20110319 1840  14291.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IK3SCB         Italy
 20110319 1843  14295.0 USB  VE7XS         59  DL1A            Germany
 20110319 1845  14305.0 USB  VE7XS         59  F8KHF          France
 20110319 1848  14315.0 USB  VE7XS         59  UA5MA         Russia
 20110319 1849  14320.5 USB  VE7XS         59  YL2SM          Latvia
 20110319 1851  14276.5 USB  VE7XS         59  E73W          Bosnia Herzegovina
 20110319 1854  14269.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OT2A           Belgium
 20110319 1857  14267.0 USB  VE7XS         59  LA5W           Norway
 20110319 1858  14265.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IK2SLQ        Italy
 20110319 1902  14250.0 USB  VE7XS         59  PA1NHZ       Netherlands
 20110319 1929  14238.5 USB  VE7XS         59  S51CK         Slovenia
 20110319 1944  14210.5 USB  VE7XS         59  GM2V           Scotland
 20110319 1945  14207.0 USB  VE7XS         59  9A1P            Croatia
 20110319 1947  14199.8 USB  VE7XS         59  8S0C            Sweden
 20110319 1948  14195.5 USB  VE7XS         59  YU1AAV       Serbia
 20110319 1952  14170.0 USB  VE7XS         59  SK3W          Sweden
 20110319 1958  14158.5 USB  VE7XS         59  DL1QQ         Germany
 20110319 2010  14218.0 USB  VE7XS         59  YT0W           Serbia
 20110319 2013  14227.5 USB  VE7XS         59  YT1A           Serbia
 20110319 2015  14244.0 USB  VE7XS         59  PD1KSA       Netherlands
 20110319 2026  14267.0 USB  VE7XS         59  9A5W          Croatia
 20110319 2027  14271.5 USB  VE7XS         59  E73M           Bosnia Herzegovina
 20110319 2034  14292.0 USB  VE7XS         59  OG6N           Finland
 20110319 2035  14283.0 USB  VE7XS         59  SP4JCP        Poland
 20110319 2044  14241.5 USB  VE7XS         59  GI5K            Northern Ireland
 20110319 2048  14206.5 USB  VE7XS         59  DF2SD         Germany

I was working the radio, and not hard, for about three hours.  I had VE7BX drop by to upgrade a VHF radio (thanks Dave) and I was pretty steady Search and Pounce.  Only 20 meters was open, so all of these contacts were on 20 meters.  There are 22 district entities represented here.  I was running power - 700 to 900 watts - and got most of the contacts on the first call.

Country
Belgium Count 1
Bosnia Herzegovina Count 2
Croatia Count 3
Cyprus Count 1
Czech Rep Count 1
Finland Count 1
France Count 1
Germany Count 3
Hungary Count 2
Italy Count 3
Latvia Count 1
Lithuania Count 1
Netherlands Count 2
Northern Ireland Count 1
Norway Count 2
Poland Count 3
Russia Count 3
Scotland Count 1
Serbia Count 3
Slovenia Count 1
Sweden Count 2
Switzerland Count 1
Grand Count 39

 

110316 - I went down to the Field Office early today.  Worked down there for most of the day.  I had the radio on in the background, and we had some awesome openings.  Took advantage of them and worked a little DX - most of it first call.  Here is the list of contacts today:

20110316 1639  14240.0 USB  VE7XS         59  DK1AX             57 Klaus       Germany 5K miles - 900 watts
20110316 1921  14222.0 USB  VE7XS         59  RL3A                59 Slavo      Moscow 5K miles - 1.1 Kw 
20110316 1953  14188.0 USB  VE7XS         59  IZ1MYT            59+             Italy 5.5K Mile - first call
20110316 2023  14238.5 USB  VE7XS         59  LY1A                59               Lithuania 5K miles 1.1KW
20110316 2025  14243.2 USB  VE7XS         59  YL3FT              55 Yuri         Latvia - 4.9K miles - worked him 26 watts
20110316 2038  14238.0 USB  VE7XS         59  LY21A              59               Lithuania 5K miles 100 watts
20110316 2045  14209.0 USB  VE7XS         59  GB5SPD           59 Eamon    St. Paddy Day 4.3K Miles 100 watts 
20110316 2140  14196.0 USB  VE7XS         59  EA8CCQ           59 Orlando  Canary Islands 5.5K Miles  .9KW

So - I worked a lot of these stations with power - as I had 'real work' to do - and was working stations on my coffee and lunch breaks ;>}}  I accidently worked Latvia on 26 watts - forgot to bring the Amplifier on line.  Worked the Northern Ireland station barefoot - he was booming in and they were so pleased to be working North America - was a Saint Patrick Day's special event station.  You can see that a lot of these contacts were in the 4.3K to 5.5K mile range. 

There was a station from India in there - I couldn't work him today - too bad, as I don't think I have India.  There were some other DxPeditions in there as well - didn't work them either - but I will!
 

One of the herds of deer were down there - all three of them

110313 - Spring ahead today - lost an hour's sleep, and woke up really early.  Got out quickly, picked up some coffee and some breakfast, something for lunch and headed to the project.  Charged the batteries for a couple of hours, did a bit of work, and worked on getting DDUTIL working better.  I identified an issue, and Steve, the author, skyped into me and we walked through my concerns.  At the time I thought we had settled them, but some more testing, and I'm not convinced I have a belt and suspender solution yet - it is possible for someone using my radio to accidently overdrive the amplifier.  I will follow up with Steve.  Regardless - thank Steve for taking the time on a Sunday to help me out - it is appreciated.

Bands were a little funny today.  Here is what I worked:

    • 4A4A 20 meters 100 watts Reville Gegedo - DxPedition to an Island of of Mexico - big pileups

    • EW6GF 20 meters 100 watts Belarus 5110 Miles away - Eastern Europe - Near Minsk

    • OP2A 20 meters 100 watts Belgium 4872 Miles

    • KI6KVR 17 meters 100 watts California - Mobile

    • SV9CVY 15 meters 900 watts Crete 6374 Miles - first call - well maybe 1100 watts

    • S58FA 15 meters 600 watts - Slovenia - Central Europoe

    • HA5JI 15 meters 100 watts Hungary 5406 miles

    • F4GBU 15 meters 100 watts France 5069 miles

    • E77DX 15 meters 100 watts Bosnia-Herzegovina 5546 miles

    • VE3AXW 15 meters 20 watts - 100 watts Ontario

    • KE5SAK 15 meters 50 watts - he was 5 watts picnic table portable Arizona - amazing signal 5/9 signal - Gary VE7AS was down there and we both couldn't believe the quality of his signal - he was perfectly readable - we carried on a QSO for fifteen minutes or so - awesome - part of the magic of Ham Radio

    • LA5MIA - Northern Norway - 900+ watts - worked Harold a few times

110312 - Went to the project today - got there about 10:30 or so.  I made a contact or two, and then mucked into getting DDUTIL working.  I made some pretty good progress, but ran into a few problems.  I posted my issues on the Yahoo Groups for DDUTIL, and Steve Nance (the author of the software) got back to me very quickly and got me pointed in the right direction.  I still have to do some more testing - but I know that I am going in the right direction.  I now have N1MM - the logging program, following the VFO - so my logs will get that much better by having the correct frequency in there for the log.

I also have it controlling my SPE Expert 1K amplifier.  I need to spend some more time with it - after Steven pointed me in right direction, I had it working.  However, I would like to test it some more and make sure that I have all of the bases covered.  So Al (VA7MP) and John (VE7EEX) dropped by for a visit - and we had a good chat.

Big opening today on 15 and 10 meters.  I didn't have enough time to work what I would have liked to, but managed to work the following:

  • A couple of good old boys in Virginia

  • I heard kh6xl - from Hawaii - off of the back of the beam.  He was coming in 5/9.  I let the individual I was talking to know that I thought his buddy was calling him.  He contacted the Hawaiian station and I heard that he was running 100 watts into an Outbacker antenna - horizontally polarized, at 150 feet, from his apartment  He had an awesome signal.  I worked him as well - at 100 watts

  • 4A4A Reville Gigedo - 600 watts 20 meters - From QRZ - An international team consisting of Mark XE1B, Javier EA5KM, Javi EC4DX, Fernando EA5FX, Vicente EA5AFP, Santos EA4AK, Edu EA8AUW will activate Revillagigedo Archipelago (IOTA NA-030) between 3 to 20 of March .For more information, a website is available http://revillagigedo2011.com/ QSL via EB7DX.

  • ZL2CS - New Zealand - 600 watts 10 meters - He was calling CQ - I worked him and then posted him

  • XE2YHR - Mexico - 10 meters - 600 watts

110212 - Was at the project today.  Gary VE7AS and his wife Theresa dropped by for a visit. Gary, thanks for fabricating the stand for the antenna rotator - works huge. Dave VE7DPe, dropped by and updated the firmware in the wireless gear we will use for bringing in the Internet.  He also worked my station, and bagged Cameroon in Africa - third or fourth call with power.

I was down there about five hours.  Miserable, cold, windy and rainy day.  I was nice and warm in the shack; about 7 degrees Celsius outside.  Band conditions started out slow - then starting picking up.  Worked some North American stations barefoot at 100 watts.  Had a very nice chat with a gent in Chicago.  Then the band opened up and I worked Namibia, Saint Helena, Cameroon, Japan and Trinidad.  There were some big pileups on some of the stations, but they were mostly polite.

Now to put it in perspective, Namibia in Southern Africa is about 8,200 miles from Langley.  Saint Helena is a tiny island, one of the most isolated islands in the world.  Cameroon is in Africa as well.  Japan - I worked him long path, so around the world the long way.  The Trinidad station had some big pileups going, and was working the stations by the numbers.  I worked him second call.

All of the above were on 20 meters.  I checked into the 40 meter noon time net, barefoot, and got a 40 over signal report.  Our stations are really getting out from the 'Project'.

Fifteen meters had an opening earlier in the day, and there was some North American activity.  Two weeks ago, I worked a few good DX stations.  Gibraltar - 100 watts and he was a mobile station. Azores - 100 watts.  British Virgin Islands.  St. Lucia - huge pileup, a Canadian who had just put up a 65 foot tower and a new beam - 1.2KW and finally the Marshall Islands - 1.2 KW.  The Marshall Islands is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. 

This isn't intended to brag - just to share some of the DX thrills - and to document how the 'Project' continues to get out well.  Given the state of propagation the last few years, I'm pretty happy with these results.

As I was leaving, I saw four deer out in front of the location.  Picture is kind of lousy - but you can see the deer and the miserable day that was down there.

101120 - Went back to the Project this afternoon - and spent a few hours down there by myself - working North America.  Here is a picture of my Pan adapter -big signals - in tight with each other.  The filters on the Flex are amazing - and I was able to work a number of stations.  Work got in the way of things though - I'll go back tomorrow.

Was down at the project this a.m. - Big Al was with me for a while.  Everything seemed to have survived the storm last night, although I had a bit of a challenge getting up the driveway when I left.  I'm going back there this afternoon to work the Sweepstakes for a few hours.  Weather is cold, windy and snowy.  Sun is coming out - and the 'Project' is nice and toasty warm.

Here is my workstation - cleaned up - believe it or not.  Flex 5000A, SPE 1.2Kw all band, solid state amplifier.

 

101119 - Jeff was at the project yesterday - added another radio to his bench -he is getting 'diversity' reception by adding multiple transceivers!

 

101114 -  Was down at the project by myself for a half a day today.  Worked into the US, coast to coast, then worked Brazil, Martinique, Guatemala, Falkland Is. and Japan.  15 was open, off and on - worked a lot of these barefoot at under 100 watts

101031

Operating notes from Oct/30/2010-Oct/31/2010 - courtesy of Jeff - Bill was back in Ottawa at a RAC Board / Executive Special Meeting

Well for the first full blown contest we operated in I must say this, Thanks everyone.

It was because of everyone’s help that this event went so well

Saturday Oct/30/2010

 I got to the farm around noon and unpacked the goodies from my truck.

Changed the oil in the generator and left the pod door opened for extra ventilation. I proceeded to clean up the shack a bit while firing up station two.

All I heard was CQ contest, CQ contest. I spun the VFO and again all I could hear was a band full of contesters. It’s been quite some time since I have contested and the heterodyne was music to my ears. 20 meters seemed to be full from band edge to band edge. I did not make any calls as I was waiting for the others to show up.

The first person to show was Dave (7DPE); we got his station up and running on Bill’s bench (sorry Bill we had to move a bunch of wires on your bench). Dave started to work 15 meters as I had a good handle on 20, so we started to log contacts. Al (7MP) swung by with some chicken and salads for lunch but only stuck around for a while. Dave and I continued to work contacts for a few hours until John (7TDI) was dropped off by his wife Doreen (7WAR). I then got John up to speed on 40 meters. I know 40 can be a difficult band to work but John took to the challenge.

At this point we now had three stations on the air and we were all logging contacts left right and center. This went on for a few hours until around 6:30pm. At this time I started to cook up dinner. Ben (7BKL) and a friend dropped by for dinner and to play radio. Ben gave his buddy a tour of the project then joined us for burgers. Al (7MP) was with us at this time, so we shut down for dinner

After dinner it was back to the radios. We kept the three stations on the air for several hours but the bands were not as productive. Al, Ben and his friend left, leaving only Dave, John and I to hold down the fort. The three of us worked the world for many hours logging contacts. As most contesters know the contact ratio drops off quite a bit in the wee hours of the night, but we kept on working anyone who heard our calls.

It was about 3am when Dave unpacked his big comfy fold up cot. John passed out on the couch for a while but my excitement working the world kept waking him up. Dave decided to hit the pillow some time after 3am and went down only for a few hours. The next thing I knew Dave’s alarm was ringing and he returned to the radio. I think I fell asleep at the helm because John said I was quite a loud snorer (sorry guys). Now that Dave and John were up and logging contacts I went down for a few hours of rest.

 With the breaking of the new day we were all up and I made a pot of coffee. 15 and 20 meters were starting to liven up with signals so it was back to logging contacts. I guess with the morning coffee comes the morning constitution so a trip to the local sitting stall was required. While I manned the fort, 15 meters was full of new stations. I got into a pattern and the hit ratio was increasing. The next thing I saw was the ratio meter showing 18 contacts in 1 minute (not bad for a rusty old man).

By mid morning the sounds of our empty tummies were too much too listen to so I made up some pancakes. The rest of the morning went on without a problem, and it wasn’t long before we had some drop in visitors. John (7EEX) and Erik (7ESA) were in the shack snooping around and taking some pictures (thanks for the shots John; I’ll add them to my report). John and Erik sat in front of the radios and started increasing our scores. Erik mentioned we worked most of the stations he heard as they kept coming up as dupes in the log. John got his first taste of contesting on 20 meters and seemed to like it.

It’s now lunch so I put together some sandwiches for the gang (thanks John ((7TDI)) for the supplies). Al dropped in again (can’t get enough hey Al), and so did Robert (7AXC). We snacked on some sandwiches and had some drinks at the radio benches. Dave was too busy to stop for lunch, his meal sat around for a while as he continued working QSO’s.

By around 3pm we decided to shut down the farm, so we cleared with a sad QRT report. As some of you know shutting down the farm is no small task, off go the rigs, off go the power inverters, off goes the heat, off goes the lights.

Thanks for everyone’s help with cleaning up the place.

In closing I have to extend a huge THANK YOU to Bill (7XS) for what he has put together with his friends. There are very few people around the Amateur word who have access to such a great station, Thanks again Bill (we missed you).

It took me a few days to collect and proof our log book but here is what we came up with. 

We worked;

                        24 hours

                        212 contacts

                        137 multipliers

                        55 countries

                        69,733 points

 

And the log file

101026 - From Jeff - VE7HPS

Here is a quick note from yesterday at the farm.

I spent the day out at the farm working “DX” and “DX” did I work.

To get the day started I posted some documents at my station (see picture)

            Station license

            ARRL contest awards

            RAC contest awards

            And a few colored band plans        

The morning started off on 20 meters, the band was a bit light but stable.

Worked some friends down south on 14.332    http://www.ylsystem.org/  (just to warm up the rig)

I checked the prop logger and 15 meters looked like it was in fair shape so off I went.

As some of you know 15 meters is my favorite band, so to spend a day chasing DX on 21 MHz is just fine.

The band started of good and strong, not too much QSB with a fair number of operators working the DX window.

I worked the band for several hours and managed to add a bunch of new countries to my log.

Later in the afternoon the band (15m) became unstable (the way 15 is most of the time, lots of QSB), but with NO NOICE FLOOR it was no problem working who ever I heard.

 I think the best part of the day was breaking a HUGE pile up on 21.335. There must have been 1000 stations calling out after the “DX” station said QRZ.

There were so many stations calling all you could hear was noise. I had to call a few times but when “HC8A” from the Galapagos Islands said the portable station only I knew I had him.

“Thanks for the 5/9 you are also 5/9” 

 The band (15m) started to change direction in the late afternoon and I had a shack full of Japan in no time. I could not resist working a few JA’s and JO’s just to mention a few.

 After a while I tuned up on 40 meters to check in on the ARORA net (7.055MHz) and found the band was in great shape.

I stayed on 40 for a while and worked a nice long QSO with a station down south (AB3LS).

The band was experiencing some static crashes that grew louder as the storm settled in.

 Off to 80 meters so I could check the BC Net. Band conditions were in good shape VE4’s had “S9+ signals.

I did not stick around on 80 for long due to 40 being in such great shape so I QSYed.

 Now back on 40 meters I heard a great big pile up so I hung a round for a while and am I glad I did.

I was able to work a “ZS3” from South Africa. Not to bad as he was working a 3 element beam and 600 watts.

All I had to play with was a 40 meter rotatable dipole and 50 watts.

After about 12 hours at the farm I figured I had enough so I started shutting down.  Just another great day out at the farm.

 THANKS BILL

 

 

101024 - Bill went to he project today - he was there at about 7:30 a.m. - ran the generator for a couple of hours.  He wired in the 80 meter dipole to a two position coax switch at his workstation.  One side was wired to the Flex, the other to the Amplifier.  This allowed him to bring up the second receiver in the Flex - when the dipole was turned to the Flex option.  This allowed him to try diversity reception - utilizing the dipole and the A3S beam.  When turned to the Amplifier - it allowed the primary receiver to receive and transmit on the 80 meter dipole.  Some good learnings today - but lots more to come!

He also wired in some 8 gauge wire from the batteries under his bench (160 amp/hours * 2) to the Rigrunner.  Future, is a 24 to 12 volt converter - but it is a week or more away.  Al dropped by the Project today - it was his birthday - so a big thank you for taking the time.  I worked at the project until about 1:00 p.m. - worked Mozambique for the first time.  Had a great chat with a ham on the Big Island in Hawaii - his station was off of the grid - as was his house.  Wow - We were impressed.  We had another ham from Texas join in, and offer some opinions on wind turbines.  And Jeff - it was on 15 meters!

Bill - I need to work on my soldering skills - the patch cables were a little painful to make - and I need a wack more of them.  Great day at the project - weather sucked - wind, rain and cold outside.  But it was still a great day

101021 - The project is a lot more operational than it was before.  We are spending more time at the Project, actually working the world - and I wanted to create a place to document what was going on down there.  We won't document every visit - but some of the ones that stood out.  Here are a couple!

101021 - Jeff (VE7HPS) and John (VE7TDI) spent the day at the project.  Here is a picture and a summary of the operating times.  Enjoy.

Just letting you know how yesterday went.

 Spent 80% of the day on battery power

            Started the generator but found not needed only charging 17 amps @ 24 volts.

            Gen ran fine no over speeding

            Charged station one’s 12 volt bank started at 20 amps but dropped to 5.

            Couple pots of coffee made on 24v.

            1 minute of microwave 94 amps @ 24 volts

            13 amps @ 24 volts to run two rigs

 Had two HF stations on together

            100 watts each

            10 meters through 80 meters

            Very little cross band interference

                        10-15 ok, 15-20 ok, 20-40 not good

            Propagation was low, bands had operators on them just had to find them

            8 DX contacts 6 new countries (some seem simple but a new log book for the site)

                        CO6, HK1, VP5, I8U, PJ4, VO1,

            20 meters was strong but I think 15 meters was better (15 meters RULES)

            40 meters VE4’s S-9 on my meter when it was not reading “0” yes I do mean “0”

 Bill dropped in for lunch and a few hours of work (real man’s work ((I don’t know how you do it)))

            I took a photo of him but he is hard to see sitting at his station with all those wires

                        Hey bill?????????? WHAT WIRE GOES WHERE???????

 Worked on the project only a bit this time needed a good dose of “RF”

            Put on a few electrical cover plates

            Cleaned up a bit

Thanks again Bill

John (VE7TDI)

And Gary VE7AS

Gary worked a little DX - and checked in on the 40 meter noon time net on 5 watts - not bad eh?

"F-A-N tastic!! I have never been able to get 100% contact on the first call when working DX. And all with a 5-9 signal report! Working the Flex5000 was amazing -- click on a signal, step of the foot PTT switch and log a 59 contact! It was that simple! No S9 noise level like my QTH, just signals everywhere on just about every band...

What a great day operating!"

Hows that Bill and Jeff?

Looking forward to working the ARRL 10 meter contest there if we can...

Gary, VE7AS