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Feb 2010 PBMME is History
Feb 27th, 2010 by kmack

Grrrrrr!

Tuff day on the ice floes in Central Florida. I was not able to use my
target location because of rain and wind direction, so I operated from
the back porch of our condo with my Sierra and SST working through my
Buddistick up about 15 ft on a painter’s pole. Temp hovered in mid to
upper 40’s but with the wind and dampness it felt colder at times.

Band condx were poor with brief bright spots when the QSB let up and
signals sounded fairly decent. I started on 30m but it was pretty quiet
so I tweaked the antenna in the rain for 20m and found it even
quieter… :-( Back to 30m after checking 40m which also was noisy and
almost no signals heard.

First QSO was K9DP Dan in Smithville, TN… He was 569 until QSB hit
hard but we had a 25minute ragchew that was nice. He gave me a 599 and a
couple others did later making me wonder why they could hear me better
than I was hearing them? Then read the mail for a bit on a few other
stations but didn’t get a rise when I tried to connect. Tried to connect
with K9QB but after a few weak QRZ’s we both moved on for better luck.

Finally heard a PB on 20m, WD4MSM, Barry in Indiana working someone
else. When they finished the QSO I called Barry and we had a short QSO
although the QSB was up and down and made copy tough at times. It was
good to be able to Grrrrowllll. Tried to find others and even using the
QRP Spots and K3UK spotting pages could not connect. Then I called CQ
and Guy rose out of the Band N7UN was in the log… Good to connect with
another Bear but the copy deteriorated quickly so we kept it very short.
Thanks Guy for digging my signal out. Next was Frank,, KB3AAG to finish
my day. His signal totally got lost in the noise and so it was a short
QSO to end the day.

Whew… many antenna changes, tweaks and lots of tuning, listening,
trying to hear today. I think the bands were pretty void of activity
except for us QRP types. Not often that happens, eh?

Thanks to all who went out and gave it a go. Missed talking to our
Canadian and West Coast guys this time… let’s keep trying. Also quiet
without Ken Bear raising a ruckus from MI and no Alpha Bear on the AT…
See ya in March… Grrrr!!!!

72,
Kelly K4UPG PB #173

Who’s Polar Bear Enough?
Feb 26th, 2010 by kmack

Yahoo! This weekend is another outing of the Polar Bear QRP Group. Who will venture out into the winter weather and once again seek to contact fellow Polar Bears for a nice BSO?

Which of the intrepid bunch of QRP crazed Polar Bears will overcome the cold and actually enjoy the challenge of punching a peanut whistle signal through another weekend’s RTTY contest bunch?

Will the sunspots be with us and bounce our signals out of the neighborhood and enable us to contact our Polar Bear cuzzins in Canada (VG3SIE/P) on the mountain tops, in Alaska on the ice floes( KL7WP & KL8DX ) , in Scotland in the highlands ( MM0CWJ & MM0FMF ), outside Buckingham Palace ( 2E0RKY ), in Spain’s coastal range ( EB3EPR ), or in a dark snow den in New Jersey ( N7UN/2 ) On a windy slope in Utah ( AD7KG )?Will our Ohio Bears freeze their acorns off in the park ( WB2DFC ) ? What will it take to get a signal into the Goat Den to our pals Rooster and Peanut and the old Goat himself ( WGØAT )? Will the Revenuers catch up to Hillbilly Bear in the park at Chickasaw ( AF4O ) ? Who will connect with K3YTR and the 2m HT from the hospital bed in Pottstown? Can anyone guess which antenna trick will be used by our Illinois Bear (N9SKN) ? How will the Florida Bears fare with the rain and cool wind from the northwest can it dampen their signals ( K4UPG & KC4TM ) ? And how about the Alpha Bear ( WB3AAL )on the Appalachian Trail with his snowshoes and 4 wheel drive truck for backup?

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES… Grrrrrr!

FYBO 2010 Central FL Style!
Feb 15th, 2010 by kmack

We enjoyed decent weather, though cold for us southern types at 60F. The bands were in pretty good shape too but we had a good bit of competition in the QRP section of the bands with several state QSO parties on the air at the same time.

Setup started a bit before 9 am local time.

KG4LAL K3RLL KJ4BR

KJ4BR K3RLL KG4LAL setting up 40m SSB Station


Wally calling CQ on 40m SSB

Wally calling CQ on 40m SSB


Jim K4AHO is ready to go on 20m CW

Jim K4AHO is ready to go on 20m CW


Jim's got one for the log!

Jim's got one for the log!


Don K3RLL (ex-WA3ZBJ) working 20m on Kelly's Sierra

Don K3RLL (ex-WA3ZBJ) working 20m on Kelly's Sierra


Kelly K4UPG working 20m CW

Kelly K4UPG working 20m CW

We spent more time talking than operating, but this was a fun event for us and none of us thinks we are heavy duty contesters! We love to make qso’s and shoot the breeze about our antennas and homebrew gear.   In between conversations and coffee breaks we did work a few stations.

Final Score  29 QSO’s X 22 SPC = 638 X Temp Multi (x2) = 1276 x Field (x4) = 5104 X (alt pwr dna) = 5104 + WQ7RP (+100) = 5204 measly points

We moved to the larger pavillion of picnic area A at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford and had more trees and space to hang wire and put up verticals. This spot seems to be a winner for us and we are planning to hold GatorCon 10 there in July. We’ll be recruiting more active QRP ops for that one. Stay tuned!

BSO day!
Jan 30th, 2010 by kmack

Today was Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event! I wore my new Polar Bear hat and it brought me luck. I setup in the 3 story prayer tower at Pioneers, my ministry headquarters. That kept me out of the weather and got me up in the air a bit which helped my W3EDP antenna do its thing.

Pioneers Headquarters Prayer Tower on left

Pioneers Headquarters Prayer Tower on left

Bands were pretty good and there were a lot of QRP signals out there as well as SKCC and FIST ops. I worked a few of my fellow Polar Bears:

  1. K6BBQ Rem in California
  2. WA8REI Ken in Michigan
  3. VA3RCS Martin in Canada operating a club call
  4. N0EVH John in MO

Then I worked a few non-PB’s and had some good QSO’s with SKCC members.

  1. AD4YB Ed in NC
  2. WD0ESF Mike in KS
  3. KK7YJ Jim in MT
  4. KK7UV Steve in MT
  5. K3y/7 Alan (K07X) in WY
  6. K2USA Howard the op in NJ on 20m SSB to test my Argonaut 509  in that mode

Next weekend is the FYBO and the Central FL QRP Group will be operating its first multi station- multi operator event at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford, FL. If you’ll are down this way look us up. If not, give a listen for K4AHO which is the call sign we will be using.

Here’s to many good QSO’s. Thanks to all the good ops with good ears that heard my peanut whistle 2 watts today.

Nite Ops QRP Portable Style
Nov 25th, 2009 by kmack

Having fun playing radio in the backyard at my in-laws! Extra fun since I cannot keep an antenna up full time so being able to get on the air when I can is a treat.

Entered my first SKCC SKS Sprint and the rain drove me to cover but managed to make a decent first showing for a QRP guy with rusty CW.

I put together a W3EDP antenna of 84 feet and a parallel 17 foot countepoise that sloped up to about 35 foot high branch. I used #24 teflon wire and some 1/4 in plastic tubing cut into 7 in pieces which I taped to the wires as spacer. Lightweight and nearly invisible in the air makes it a good candidate for QRP portable ops. It’s long, but seems to hear well and worked even after I bent it into an L when I had to get under cover from the rain! Hope to do more testing  with this one.

Earning my Polar Bear wings by being out in the COLD. This Florida Bear ain’t used to below 40 degree wx. Brrrr and Grrrrrr!

Nite Ops from the backyard

Nite Ops from the backyard

Nite Ops from the Deck

Nite Ops from the Deck

Polar Bears in Florida!!! Global Warming????
Nov 15th, 2009 by kmack

Several Polar Bears gathered at Lake Sylvan Park, Sanford, Florida and heated up the airwaves with their beary strong QRP signals! Grrrrrrr! Who says global warming is upon us?

Central Florida QRP Group members, Jim Diggs K4AHO, Don McBride WA3ZBJ, and Kelly McClelland K4AHO are also known as PB#185, PB #183 and PB #173 and were looking for BSO’s with fellow Polar Bear QRP Club members. We are still working on some of the other guys including Wally Crew KG4LAL,  Matt W1MDG,  and Larry to get PB numbers and get involved with the pack on the ice floes of Central Florida.

The Novembear Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event turned out to be a fun time. Our group had our traditional very early breakfast and headed out to Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford, FL. Our normal pavillion was already taken so we moved to the B (for BEAR) area and setup shop. It was a bit more difficult to setup antennas but we managed to get 3 verticals, a 40m inverted V and a mini-bac delta loop into the air. We also managed to stomp on each other with cross mod from time to time.

I can BEARLY wait! Grrrrrrrrrrr!
Nov 8th, 2009 by kmack

Almost time for another Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event! Grrrrrrrrr! This coming weekend, Saturday 14 Nov 2009, Polar Bears will be clamoring for position in the ice field and slammin pawerful signals into the air. Bring a rig and join us.

Tiny K4UPG pounding brass and gittin' ready for the PBMME!

K4UPG Bear pounding brass and gittin' ready for the PBMME!

K4UPG Bear #173 is excited because some other bears is gonna be gathering with the Central Florida QRP Group which is scheduled to meet that same day!  So come on out to the Cracker Barrel in Sanford, FL for some sammin pancakes or sumpin else at 0730 EDT breakfast time. If you cannot make the feeding, then meet up with the rest of us bears at Sylvan Lake Park in the A Pavillion area at around 0900 EDT. Ya’ll come, hear??? Grrrrrrrrr!

72,

Kelly K4UPG

QRP ARCI Fall QSO event first day
Oct 17th, 2009 by kmack

Since I was not feeling well, I did not push myself too hard. But I did set up my Buddistick in the back yard between the condo’s here in Orlando. There is a bit of QRN from the TV’s, Computers and Air Conditioners, but it is tolerable.

I used a step ladder for a support for the painter’s pole and that seems to work fine in this location. It is fast and simple though I do guy the pole just to make sure it doesn’t blow over in the frequent gusts of wind.

40m was in poor shape so I quickly shifted to 20m and got tuned up easily with a 1:1 to 1 SWR.  Sweet! Made a handful of QSO’s with NY, CT, TX, PA and heard CA, ME, WA, IA and a few others but did not make the connection.

Lord willin’ I’ll be able to make a few on Sunday too. Here’s some pics from today’s effort with my Sierra and J-47 key.

Buddistick in the backyard between condos

Buddistick in the backyard between condos

Back Porch portable at my condo

Back Porch portable at my condo

PBMME first outing PB #173
Oct 3rd, 2009 by kmack

Grrrrrrr! Brand new Polar Bear #173 ventured out to Lake Fredrica today to stir up some fellow PB’s on the air. Setting up the mini bac Delta Loop Beartenna went well and I started on 40m. The band was OK, but I couldn’t seem to raise any BSO’s with my fellow Polar Bears. After a few minutes I switched to 20m with my Wilderness Sierra and WOW! The band was full of California ops in some sort of contest. Most of them blew me away with their fast CW and very strong signals but it was good to hear so much cw activity and the band was pretty good.

I setup my trusty Buddistick for 30m and almost got a perfect SWR. My Wilderness SST on 30m was hearing a good bit of activity and I managed brief qso’s with fellow Polar Bear QRP members W05X and N9SKN despite pretty heavy QSB on both signals. I heard W6BBQ and WG0AT but could not get a reply when I called them.

A bit later the band opened to Europe and I also was hearing West Coast (California and Washington) stations. I came back to S57MU and he gave me a 559 into Slovenia! Not bad for 2.1 watts out and it was a good way to end a fun day.

Thanks to the Polar Bear QRP Group for allowing this baby bear to participate. I look forward to future portable events and I’ll keep workin’ on a super-duper Beartenna so I can hear ya’ll even better. Grrrrr!

PBMME Oct 09 portable site at Lake Fredrica Orlando, FL

PBMME Oct 09 portable site at Lake Fredrica Orlando, FL

Tuning for Bears on 30m

Tuning for Bears on 30m

My project this week was a Ten Tec 1051 Noise Bridge. I used a Ten Tec enclosure and it all went together quickly and even worked on the first try! It is a sweet tool for tuning an antenna when using a tuner without putting a signal on the air. I think it will help me and my BLT+ find the sweet spot a good bit faster than doing it otherwise. In the future, I plan to upgrade it to a full RX bridge so I can do some measurements too. Here it is…

TT 1051 rear view

TT 1051 rear view

TT 1051 Noise Bridge simple front view

TT 1051 Noise Bridge simple front view

QRP Portable in St Louis and Orlando this week
Sep 26th, 2009 by kmack

I took my radio with me to St Louis and tried my hand at Hotel Portable ops. The conference schedule did not allow me much time, but I did get a break one afternoon and took 30 min to play radio in the courtyard. I threw my Coleman Clothesline reel over a tree limb at about 15 feet and paid out about 30 feet of wire and placed about 16 feet of wire on the ground as a counterpoise. It loaded well on 40m with my BLT+ and I worked three stations in about 20 min. Not bad!

St Louis Hotel Portable Airport Hilton

St Louis Hotel Portable Airport Hilton

St Louis Airport Hilton Loading the Window frame!

St Louis Airport Hilton Loading the Window frame!

After returning home, the weather in Orlando was great and I hit the nearby lake park for some antenna testing with a Mini Bac in various configurations. I was really happy with the Delta Loop which loaded well on 20m and 40m. This antenna is a keeper and I’ll be doing more testing and learning about how to deploy it.

Lake Fredrica operating position

Lake Fredrica operating position

Buddistick deployed for comparison

Buddistick deployed for comparison

Here is the Delta Loop! Can you see the 26 gauge teflon coated wire? Here is a link to an outlined view of the Delta loop. CLICK HERE.  The Red line is the feed line which is twisted 1 turn per foot and held together with masking tape. Pretty slick. The “insulator” I used is also masking tape, as are the corner point markers and peak of the Delta. As I measured it I stuck a small piece of tape on the wire.

Mini Bac antenna in 14MHz Delta Loop Configuration

Mini Bac antenna in 14MHz Delta Loop Configuration

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