As one of the many antenna restricted condo owners of America, I cannot operate as often as I’d like. The hassle of putting up and taking down temporary antennas wastes time, isn’t always practical and generally spoils the fun for us.
Great that we have some holidays and time off as it allows a bit more opportunity to get on the air. The MI QRP group hosted a 4th of July Sprint and although the hour was late (7-11PM EDT) since I did not have to go to work Monday, I took advantage of the chance to work a few of my fellow QRP ops.
Rain and lightning welcomed my efforts to set up an antenna. So I forsook my normal setup and settled for a twinlead 44 foot doublet hung from my 20 foot Jackite pole which was bungee cord strapped to a ladder in the back yard of our condo. The antenna ran north south so much less than ideal, but at least I could get on the air.
Freshly Built NEScaf saved my bacon!
The day was saved by my freshly built NEScaf filter. As one of the lucky ones, I recently received the latest edition of this great kit provided by the NE QRP bunch. It enabled me to listen to cw despite the high QRN and background hash from neighbor’s TV’s, computers and air conditioners. What a joy it is to actually hear stations through the noise. This is a must have accessory for the condo based QRP op! I am still learning to use it well, but am mega-impressed with the capabilities it offers. With this audio filter, I could null out the QRN and peak the CW signals making for much more relaxed and enjoyable copy. The extra audio boost helps my little Sierra audio too. Keep watching for the next round of kits!
My favorite QRP group is the Polar Bear QRP gang! We have a good time and enjoy outdoors activities and trying to connect with one another at least once a month with some kind of activity. To escape some of the heat, I got an early start on the day. I wanted to try out a new mini-bac antenna configuration and knew it would take some time to get it up into the trees. BOY WAS THAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT! It was 110 ft doublet with a 40 ft feedline that was setup as a ladder line. Not an easy one to get up single-handed. Thanks to some tall trees, was able to get it up about 40-45 feet in the pine trees. It loaded great on 40m, but was disappointing on 20m so I ended up setting up my W3EDP in an L from my 20 ft Jackite pole to a nearby cedar tree at about 35 feet. The sun chased me into the treeline where I settled in to chase bears.
Abandoned mini-back doublet feedline hangs in foreground
My xyl Connie took a picture that shows the mini-back feedline hanging in the breeze after I shifted positions and setup the W3EDP in the shade. Grrrrr!
Osprey perched right above my head...cell phone picture
Was able to work a couple of the Polar Bears, Mike W3MC in MD and Guy N7UN up in the mountains on a trail(?) in NJ. I heard VA2SG but he was at ESP level briefly then faded away. I did hear a few others working him though. WA8REI was working Guy but I could not hear him at all and ended up tail ending their QSO to connect with N7UN.
Got to work a few others through the QSB and poor signal strength on 20m including Pastor Les, K4NK in SC, KE5SBZ, Ed in TX, N1FJ in MA, and Phil W3HZZ in Atlanta so it was a nice way to spend a few hours outdoors in the heat.
Connie brought me a picnic lunch and we enjoyed the osprey and bald eagle show as they fished Lake Fredrica.
Had to drink extra coffee to copy speedy W3MC's signal
This is the life... outdoors and ham radio...making QSO's...PTL!
Many work responsibilities have kept me off the air more than I’d like lately.
But we did manage to break away for a few days with family in Tennessee over Memorial Day. It was great to have an opportunity to get together with Chuck, AF4O the Hillybilly Bear and fellow Polar Bear QRP group member. We had an opportunity to work a bit of QRP portable in the Chickasaw State Forest in West Tennessee. It is a very natural and beautiful location and Chuck took me to his special spot in a very old and interesting cemetary set deep in the very tall hickory tree forest. Wow! I believe the latest date on the grave markers was 1927 and there were many from the early and mid 1800′s. It is a lovely and isolated spot.
K4UPG running a 30m EFHW sloper from the edge of the forest cemetary
Chuck said to bring along a screen shelter and I sure was glad I did! This was also a great spot for deer flies, hornets and other interesting biting bugs!
He had a nice setup and was running a random wire on 20m which he launched by throwing an antique glass insulator from an old telephone pole over a tree branch. He has a better arm than I do… think that heavy insulator would have broken my arm!
Back at the in-laws home in Jackson, I had some time to operate deck portable and was ably assisted by my niece Chloe. Conditions were horrible, but it was fun to be outside and hearing some sweet dits and dahs for a bit.
Now I am gearing up for the next outing of the Central Florida QRP group. The weather is HOT and the summer thunderstorms are back, but life and radio must go on… cu on the air!
72,
K4UPG
AF40 downs a Mountain Dew and doesn't miss a character of CW
Chloe gives me advice on copying cw through the QRN
On the road again… happy feet dance! K4UPG is loaded and ready for a good day by the lake operating the QRP To The Field event for 2010.
K4UPG ready to roll to QRP TTF site
Loaded with ALL the options!
Then came the wind knots in the antenna launching rig! I wanted to get a doublet up as high as possible. Took nearly 2 hours to get my antennas up in the air. LESSON LEARNED: It is really helpful to have another person along to help untangle all the knots that wire and string seem to make all by themselves. Getting the antenna up quickly is a key to portable ops. Grrrrr!
One of several tangled messes that delayed the antenna deployment
LESSON TWO: After a delayed start, I spent a lot of time moving my portable table to keep out of the direct sun! With temperatures in the upper 80′s it was HOT and direct sun causes my Sierra to drift a bit which makes qso’s more difficult. Need to get a sun shade setup and not waste time moving my position.
The band conditions were pretty poor and I did not hear as many stations as I had hoped. The ones I did work were tough going and seemed like others could not hear me responding to their CQ’s. I didn’t even hear a lot of Florida QSO party ops, but sounds like others that were farther away did. In 5 hrs I managed three whole qso’s with TTF stations. I did hear one Polar Bear– Martin operating as VA3OVQ but he could not hear me when I replied to his CQ.
Warning sign about 30 feet from my operating site!
It was fun to be outdoors and playing radio! I did not get eaten by our neighborhood gator either! Maybe next time out will be better contact-wise.
Great weather, great site, and despite so-so band conditions but we made over 25 contacts to be able to submit our qualification of Hontoon Island, Deland, Florida as an official island to be listed and activated as a US Island On the Air.
The main picnic area near the ferry landing
The team consisted of Wally Crew, KG4LAL, Jim Diggs, K4AHO and Kelly, K4UPG. We used the special event callsign K4T on operated on 20m cw and ssb, 30m cw and a few unsuccessful attempts at 40m & 15m cw. Jim was our secret weapon on 20m with his good cw, K-1 and a Par End Fed antenna in vertical configuration on a 33 ft MFJ telescoping mast. Without his contribution we would not have been successful! So a big thank you Jim for your good operating skills and equipment that made it happen in less than 8 hours at QRP levels.
FL481 is ready for future activations!
Thanks to the Polar Bear QRP group, QRP-L members, 4 States QRP Group, GORC, QRP Spots, US Islands organization and HF Packers that helped out by listening and attempting to connect with our effort on Hontoon Island. It was fun to work as a team!
Look out Hontoon Island the Polar Bear of Florida is coming your way! Good Friday, 2 April 2010 Polar Bear QRP member #173 (aka K4UPG) will attempt to qualify Hontoon Island as a US Island on the Air by making 25 contacts including at least 2 DXCC entities.
Hontoon Island is a beautiful place for some QRP Portable Ops
Activity will start about 1400Z after the ferry ride over to the island. Plan is to use special callsign K4T for recognition.
Look for us on 30m cw (10.106-10.116 MHz) and 20m cw 14.050-14.070 MHz and on the hour we will check 15m 21.060-21.070. If anyone shows up to assist, will also attempt ssb on 14.250-14.260 MHz island corridor. All ops will be QRP so we’ll need your help to pull us out!
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Fishing is good!
If things go well, our Central Florida QRP group may consider this as a new operating site! If you are in the area, come on and check it out with us.
Hontoon Island closes when the sun goes down!
Thanks to Florida State Parks for the fine pictures!
P.S. We did it 4.2.2010! Over 30 QSO’s update coming! I am TIRED!
A fitting end to this season of PBMME … Saturday the weather was finally decent here in Orlando and with 80F temperature and lots of sun, I certainly earned my red neck for the season! I set up my portable station near the tall pine trees in our neighborhood park on Lake Fredrica. A few curious neighbors came by to find out what the crazy guy with the wires in the tree was doing!
I am really liking the latest antenna launching combo shown in the photo below. I have been using a slingshot taped to a shelf bracket and equipped with a spincast reel, but have been considering other alternatives. The monofilament fishing line is prone to wind knots and tangles and does not always slip through the branches as well as I’d like. I found an old post by Russ Carpenter, AA7QU, a co-founder of Adventure Radio Society, which described using an archery reel and super slick braided line. Sure is nice to learn from those that have gone before! The bright yellow line is very easy to see though very thin, 3x stronger than monofilament and flies through both air and branches with ease! KEEPER! Think I will do away with the spincast reel and save it for the grandkids!
Antenna Launching options
Here's my site for the event
Great trees for antenna wire hanging!
If you look closely, you can see the 30m half wave going up to the tree on the left. Nearly vertical for 46 feet and is spooled on a Coleman Camping clothes line and used with a 3 ft counterpoise.
To the right is my 20ft Jackite pole and a W3EDP 84 ft antenna with a 17 ft parallel feed with 3/16 inch PET pipe spacers about every 2.5 ft. it tunes 80-15m with my BLT+ tuner.
The Polar Bear QRP Group is a great bunch of guys… (no yl’s or xyl’s that I’ve heard yet) and our monthly outings are something I look forward to each month. The Yahoo Group is a good source of information and laughs as we swap stories and share our adventures. If you like QRP and portable operation, this is the group to join.
After a couple days of HEAVY rain, it was good to see the sun again. Following a great breakfast and heavy discussions of antenna theory, propagation, politics and diets, we hit the field next door. The wind was very strong gusting in the mid 20′s most of the day. This made launching antennas a bit complicated, but it did help dry out the ground.
Tiny Loop goes into action
Bart AI4NF brought his new MFJ 936B Loop tuner and setup very quickly. It seems to hear very well and soon the sound of cw was in the air. 20m was pretty active and eventually a signal was even heard on 10m! What a blessing! We did learn that the antenna was coupling to the metal frame of the card table and made it difficult to tune. After putting it on the small cooler it tuned more normally, with a very sharp and obvious peak when in resonance. Later we put the cooler on top of the table and that solved most of the problem and eliminated some of the ground coupling and loss.
I got to test my clone of Nick WA5BDU’s End Fed Halfwave Matching Device. It worked great and I was able to tune sloping half wave antennas on 40 and 30 meters. This tuner is unique in that it is simply a toroid and does not use a capacitor at all! On the bench it tunes 3-12Mhz at 1:1-3 to 1 half wave antennas. Next outing I hope to test the 80m halfwave and see it theory and practice agree.
Great day to be out at the lake even if it was windy!
K4UPG on 30m lakeside in SE Orlando, FL
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
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!
