Happy New Year

Where did 2013 go? It flew by for Me. I didn't have as much "on the air "time as past years but still feel satisfied I managed to participate as much as possible.
I did miss the recent RAC Winter contest due to snow removeal and other chores but am looking forward to the ARRL RTTY RU this coming weekend. I fit the contests in when its convienient for Me.
I've been happy with the amount of antennas and equipment I currently have and don't plan on any additions for awhile. Unfortunately that makes less to write about-which makes it more diffucult to find topics for this blog. Maybe I'll have to expand My topics from Radio only!
I hope the coming Year is a good and enjoyable one for all.Happy New Year--thanks for reading!
73--Tim

ARRL 10m Contest 2013 and 2 new ones!

Friday night turned out to be a bust. I didn't even stick around to have contacts with any locals. There was zero DX for Me in the far north but Saturday and Sunday was a different story. I took care of some chores Saturday morning and then had My first QSO logged with OQ4T from Belguim at 15:23 UTC. It was an endless stream of DX on and off till early evening. I would have a nice score if I had stayed constantly on the air but snow removeal chores and other obligations kept Me in and out of the shack. A typical interrupted S & P operation for Me- but a very fun one at that.
I did notice some strange propagation both days- not surpriseingly My Ground mounted vertical did real well with Dx and My Yagi at 20 ft was the clear winner for domestic contacts. I'm not familiar with using a Yagi for HF contesting ( its great!) and maybe this is not unusual but many signals were way stronger broadside. Must be propagation causing this!
I also was able to add two new DXCC's--Corsica and South Africa to bring My total confirmed to 105. ZS4A from south Africa was a neat contact- found Him tuning up so the Beacon networks hadn't spotted him yet. I had zero competion for the contact which was good- He was very lite on the S meter.
I didn't achieve as many QSO's as I wanted but it was the funnest 10m I've participated in. 156 Qs for around 17,000 points!
73---Tim

Nutmeg

Our beloved Cat "Nutmeg" has passed on to kitty Heaven as of December 10th. She was almost 20 years old and had picked Us as Her family by showing up on Our doorstep and never leaving. We eventually decided She needed Us and became a permanent part of the Family. She joined Our other two Cats We had at the time but was always very stand-offish. She considered herself above all the antics I guess. She will be greatly missed but She brought Us lots of smiles during Her twenty Years with Us!
Good-bye Nutmeg! :(
73 all---Tim

Too Much Snow!!!

Weather forcasts first predicted 8-12" of snow over several days but eventually the area received up to 40" farther north from here. We have about 24-30" of wet heavy snow and now the temperatures dropping fast so it will be very hard snow soon. I had many problems with My snowblower so it seems like all i've done in the last four days is snow removeal or fixing the snowblower. I hope to have time next weekend for the 10m contest but will probably depend on the weather!!
73---Tim

Turkey Day and TQSL

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope the holiday finds all in good health. We just finished traveling so decided to celebrate at Home. Nice and relaxing and with the fresh snow walking and enjoying the outdoors has been extra nice. The added bonus of not having to drive with slippery roads made it even better!
  I downloaded the latest version of LOTW TQSL v2.0 and it seems to be another nice improvement over previous versions. Now both the program and certificates are contained in one program. I haven't tried it yet to upload a log but I'm sure it will work just fine.
  73--Tim

An unexpected find!

Its been a very busy Month with no time for contesting or Radio. The bands have been superb from what I've been hearing. I plan to operate during the upcoming ARRL 10m contest so I hope they stay active.
We just returned from a trip to Disney world and imagine My surprise seeing this Yaesu Ft101 at "Animal Kingdom". Slightly used but being put to good use as a prop for listening to clues for a scavenger style hunt for adventurous Vacationers!
Thats all for now!
73---Tim

Missed it !

I can't believe I missed the CQ WW contest but I did. From what I've been reading and hearing the conditions were phenomanal. Maybe best conditions for a world wide contest in years. Several months ago it looked like this weekend would be entirely open but as the weeks went by I noticed the calendar starting to fill up. I still hoped for some small blocks of time thru the weekend but unless I didn't want any sleep..... well just didn't fit in.
I did have alot of quality family time and enjoyed watching some High School sports and We even made it to the local halloween spooktacular pictured above. A very neat Pumpkin display fully lighted after dark. Picture was of course right before darkness. All in all a fun weekend but sure missed some golden QSO opportunities.....maybe next time!!
73---Tim

#103 Iceland

I contacted TF2R from Iceland on both 15m and 20m RTTY during the recent CQ WW RTTY contest.He uploaded his log to LOTW and confirmed Our QSO's. I've had other contacts with stations in Iceland but they didn't send their logs to LOTW. I always have a diffucult time because Iceland stations usually cause huge pile ups. This time the pile up wasn't too bad and 15m was easy but 20m took some time. I kept throwing out My call but TF2R always came back to someone else. Finally after abandoning the pile up and returning on the way back down I was successful. This last RTTY contest was very productive and fun. Looking forward to the end of the month and the CQ WW SSB contest!
73---Tim

DXCC Certificate Arrived!

This took awhile to achieve but I finally made it ! I have 103 confirmed and about 110 contacted so more and more Hams are using LOTW which certainly makes confirming contacts painless. I will still enjoy adding more DXCC's and maybe need to set more goals such as 5 band WAS,etc. ....or maybe not :)
73---Tim

Discontinued!!

Its always a sad day when a beloved radio is officially discontinued! I remember My horror when My -at the time- dream radio the Kenwood Ts-850 was discontinued. That happened before I had even purchased one. I eventually bought a used one years later and loved it but eventually sold it and bought My present radio a Yaesu Ft-950.
Just so happens in watching My blog i noticed recently more activity on my "Updating Software on the Ft-950 "page so out of curiosity I did a web search to see if My radio was at the latest and greatest. One of the many sites in the search was "Universal Radio" so out of curiosity , checking on the price of a new Ft-950, I clicked on the link and there on the left was the hated words--"discontinued" and replace by the New FT DX 1200!! WHAT!! That can't be! Too soon. I've only owned this radio for about three years.
Sad too say it does appear to be discontinued although repairs will go on until parts availibility become a problem. A truly nice radio I firmly believe still had some "life". Obviously Yaesu has there reasons.My radio still works good except for a bad CAT port so no changout planned for awhile!Probably also means no more software updates!
73 for now!
Tim

#102,N1MM update & TQSL

I noticed ES9C from Estonia confirmed in LOTW for #102 for Me. This contact was from the recent CQ WW RTTY contest and even though I've already applied for My DXCC its still nice to add the new contacts.
I just updated N1MM to version 13.9.1 and setup for the upcoming CQ WW SSB contest and seems to work just fine. When I did My recent TQSL certificate for My log to upload to LOTW, I noticed one very nice feature-- after log was converted it uploaded automatically to LOTW.Neat! Heres a link to the announcement and explanation of new features- http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-announces-new-version-of-lotw-software
73--Tim

CQ WW RTTY contest 2013

This contest runs 48 hours and is one of My favorites. Being a low power ,little gun station, all contests which give Me points for any contact is a good thing. I was hoping to beat my score from last year, but just couldn't devote enough time. Conditions were very good and I was very pleased to have some good DX contacts from 40m thru 10m. Never tried 80m- way past My bedtime!
Friday I operated for several hours just to test the station and get My feet wet. Ended the night with My goal of 50 or more QSO's in the log and although 40m was in great shape, it was time to pull the plug.
Saturday I was up early and out the door to meet some "Ham radio" friends for breakfast and head over to a local swapfest.I didn't buy any gear but had a great time chatting. Then it was time to head home and take care of some chores and fit time in for contesting. The bands again were in good shape and doing My usual S & P operation I started on 10m and thru the day worked My way down to finishing again on 40m. Being a low power,small station, I use several tricks to beat pile ups. The first is--avoid the pile ups. Thats usually good for Sunday contacts as desperation sets in and the big guns start noticing even the small stateside guys!
My setup is a Yaesu FT-950 and a butternut Ground mounted vertical for 40m thru 15m and a 10m Yagi at 20'. Not a spectacular setup but it performs well. I had already tested My logging program and homemade interface, but during the contest decided to massage the "macros" in N1MM a bit. I added "Mycall" once more to the call string and changed the "BTU" exchange inserting "MYcall" instead. Last Year I was penalized for broke QSO's and it really affected My score so I made these simple changes in hopes of having a better correct call completion percentage. It did on occasion seem to increase My exchange alot but felt it also made a difference on marginal contacts. Some Hams send such a shortened string I'm amazed its ever completed. A few contacts I felt didn't need the full exchange I did shorten by the "esc" command. I've also been reading about the new "2tone" program having better Rx characteristics so I might have to download it and give it a try. MMTTY works very well but never hurts to increase the arsenal!
I fell short of beating My score from last year but added four new DXCC's and two uploaded their logs to give Me 101 DXCC's confirmed!! Certificate on the way!
QSOs: 228
Score : 80,472
about 50 less contacts but still an OK score for Me
73---Tim

DXCC !!!

I added several New Countries during the recent CQ WW RTTY contest and two of them already are in My LOTW account. Top Flag is Romania and middle flag is Kazakhstan. Bottom one is from clipperton Island which also up loaded their logs. I contacted them in December 2012 on several bands. I already applied for My DXCC mixed certificate! I will write up My contest report when i have time.till then---
73--Tim

More Zero Bureau QSLs

I received these QSL's from the Zero Bureau with the explanation for sending only three QSL's-- they were at the Bureau for a long time with no new additions, so He sent them now. During contest season I expect to have many more cards but I've been too busy to be on air much lately.
The Zero Bureau sends a current supply info sheet so I know I need to send more money for stamps and envelopes.I will do just that so the flow of QSL's will continue.
VHF contest this weekend but I doubt I'll find the time to participate. Weather has finally moderated to more normal Autumn temperatures so outside chores are much more pleasant!
73---Tim

Game Camera Pictures

several nice game camera pictures. I find lots of activity both at night and during the day around Our property. Neat to have this technology available for less than $100 .
  I also found My operator error in not being able to add pictures or text at the same post. I needed to change to "compose" mode and not leave it as "HTML". Always something!!
73---Tim

N8I QSL card explained

I've been having a difficult time adding typed words to My blog posts. Probably operator error and I hope to figure it out soon but until then pictures and words aren't happening!
The previous post shows My QSL cards from the N8I CXpediton ( a play on DXpedtion-means a "close" expedition versus a far or "DX" one!) First i have heard of that explanation but its very apt for this close by contact.They spent time on Isle Royal, an island in Lake Superior which is within 100 miles of My QTH. Very cool since most of the operators I know from local Ham Radio events. Conditions were not too great but I managed to work them SSB on 75m and 40m. Well worth a QSL and a job well done by the group!
73---Tim

N8I QSL recieved!

Logging Updates

I noticed the ARRL has a New version of Log Book of the World so I downloaded and installed version 1.14.3. Seems to work OK and I didn't lose My TQSL certificate which is good since its still active. Easy instructions on the ARRL website and was a breeze to install.
 Also noticed N1MM Logger has updates and since it always seems prudent to keep up to date I installed version 13.8.02. Again I experienced no problems and the program starts and runs OK.
 I received an email from Jerry, WA0H who has a logging program He would like Me to try. Haven't had a chance to look and investigate but will when I find the time and give My impressions.
All for now
73---Tim

Only Two Left to confirm!

French Guiana confirmed thru LOTW for #98. This was a SSB 15m contact with FY5KE and I think this was during the ARRL International DX contest in March. Only two confirmations to go- one should be Clipperton Island expedition which I contacted on several bands and uses LOTW.
  We are having a Garage sale next weekend so I've been very busy and not in the Ham Shack much.This September I hope to be operating much more!
73---Tim

Game Camera pictures

Several pictures from game cameras from My property.Captured our chickens scratching for food, nice Doe and Fawn and a nighttime infared flash picture showing a Racoon. I've owned a Moutrie,WGI and Primos and like all three.some were easier to set up and use than others ( Primos). I've not had good luck using them in extreme Winter below zero days. I now bring them in during the winter. All three were in the under $100 pricing so maybe a more expensive would survive temperature extremes better. Even with some the reliability issues i can still recommend using these cameras.Amazing what is prowling around your property !
73---Tim

Goodbye Penny!

Our Easter Egger Hen- Penny. Bobcat attack when She was out enjoying a beautiful evening. She did live a good long life for a chicken and will be missed. Only three birds left!
    On a lighter note--managed several QSO's with N8I- Isle Royal expedition on 75m and 40m. Conditions weren't spectacular so I was happy for two bands.
  73---Tim

13 Colony Certificate arrived!

This picture is a little blurry-sorry. Nice certificate and K2A QSL card arrived in the mail Yesterday. Certificate has the 13 colony Sweep and WM3PEN stamps in addition to the border with the flags of the thirteen colonies. This Years certificate is very nice and looking at last Years I can see alot of time and thought goes into the designs. It was fun to chase this award and i think next Year I'll probably try again.
  Next weekend is a special event from Isle Royal on Lake superior. Its being organized by many local Hams i know so I will be trying to contact them.They will be operating HF and VHF. Should be fun.
73--Tim

No contests for You!!

A little funny title but does sum up My last weekends' inactivity. I had planned to participate in either or both RTTY and VHF contests but ended up being very busy with projects and Family time. Saturday night actually happened by the shack and heard the start of some good 6m propagation. Tough decision but I opted for excercise with My family. Call Me crazy :))
  I don't think conditions were very good for HF or VHF but I know the Weather was sure great for outside activities. We were just on the back side of extremely hot weather--and Saturday dropped to reasonable temperatures in the low 70's. I actually was able to mow grass,blaze some trails in the woods which had become very overgrown and continue work on the patio project. Plus the typical family activities of barbeque,exercise ( all of Us trying to get in shape ) and even a Movie night.--Wow.Great Summer weekend.  Guess contesting will have to wait till September.
   73--Tim

South Cook Islands

I had several QSO's with E51E on the South Cook Island of Aitutaki to give Me DXCC #97. Thanks to Norman- 5B4AIF for being a LOTW user. Our QSO on December 29, 2012 on 15m SSB was the credited QSO. Norman is from Cyprus-a DXCC I also need. Maybe down the log...
73---Tim

PS-Remember the CQ VHF contest this weekend starting at 1800 UTC Saturday and also the NA RTTY QSO party starting at the same time. Both should be fun and the VHF contest is only 6 and 2M, bands most of Us have. Good luck- hope to hear you on the bands!!

13 Colonies special event 2013

This is the Certificate for contacting even one of the 13 Colony stations or the WM3PEN station. The website is at http://www.13colonies.info/ and it has all the QSL and certificate info required.One contact or a sweep makes You eligible for this certificate.
 
I participated in this event last Year and had a blast so I decided to try My luck again this Year.The band conditions I thought we're poor compared to last year. Occasionally towards the end of the weekend the bands went long which gave us states away from the East Coast an advantage. Luckily I was chasing several stations during these times and was able to break some big pile ups.
  Last year I only managed 12 colonies and missed the WM3PEN station. This year I made a 13 colony sweep and snagged the WM3PEN station at 23:24 UTC Sunday. This event was supposed to be over at 0400 UTC on the 7th but was extended to 0100 UTC on the 8th!. I would have had the Colony sweep but not the WM3PEN contact.
  The operators were all first rate and I only had one QSO which had great diffuculty with My call. Sure hope He copied it correctly. I know how it is when certain letters are stuck on the brain!! All in all it was very fun and will probably participte next year. I will be sending for the certificate because not only is it well done but the whole event deserves My support!
  73---Tim

Happy July 4th

Enjoy this special holiday and remember as always why We celebrate this day. People around the World are in a constant battle for the Liberties We sometimes take for granted. Honor Our service Men and Women both past and present who protect Our great Nation.
  Keeping with the intent of this blog to not be covering topics other than radio-- remember the 13 Colonies Special event going on as this is written. I'll have a short write up later on My participation.
73s and God bless---Tim

Poor HF conditions

The above pictures say it all--A index of 22 and K index at 6. Poor,poor conditions from 160m thru 10m.
Several HF nets on Saturday morning were almost impossible to participate in. This doesn't happen too often and I'm glad it wasn't during one of the many contests I participate in.
 73--Tim

Summer Busy Time

So far I've not had much time to operate, other than Fied Day and several occasional contacts. Speaking of Field Day, I was able to spend some time giving out contacts as a 1D station. I made less than 50 contacts but it was fun  anyway and had several interesting QSO's. One surprised Me by giving a 29A class-29A??. I questioned this and they confirmed it.Wow! Later I saw a video on YouTube  showing the operation of W3AO thru the years. Interesting-some years they had many more than 29 transmitters-incredible!! YouTube is a great resource to see what other Hams and clubs are doing around the World.Many of these are Hams I've worked so its extra cool.
 I've also attempted to participate in the local area 144.240 SSb net on wednesday nights at 8:00 CST but Summer conditions have made it tough. Too many leaves maybe? Oh well maybe this Winter I'll have better luck.
 I also finally did some QSL paperwork by filling out requests I received in March from the Bureau and sending them out to the ARRL outgoing bureau. I'm part of the "slow" people complain about when using the bureau-LOL
  Thats about it for now- its raining outside-again-- jeez,enough already. Although it could be worse- temperatures here have been moderate although the bugs are really bad. Summer!
  73--Tim

June VHF contest and other happenings

I did a very part time effort during the 2013 ARRL June VHF contest and managed to miss the small openings-oh well. Saturday was only some locals on 2 and 6m and no contacts on 432 which surprised Me. My 6m antenna selection is limited to antennas not cut for 6m-- a vertical,10m yagi and a G5RV. The G5RV ended up being the antenna of choice- it tunes well and reception is better although I didn't have any real openings while I was listening. I think I did miss some propagation Sunday morning but I was at Church. My score was very low with only several 6m distance contacts but while I was on was fun.
  A less fun time the week before was attending a funeral for Russ -KC9MEO. We have known each other thru Ham Radio, chatting during local nets and 2m FM and SSB. He also was on HF and I heard Him making contacts ,vying for the same DX as Me--fun!He could fix anything mechanical and electrical and will be missed by all . 73s Russ!

thats all for now-- Summer has finally arrived in the Northland and projects are sprouting outside- LOL
73---Tim

Mauritania confirmed for #96

Today 5T0SP confirmed in LOTW Our QSO on 40m SSB during December of 2012. I actually worked them on three bands and was very excited to have this confirmation for #96 DXCC. What a great Hobby!
73---Tim

PS- I also just received My FCC license renewal- now I'm good until 2023! I applied online ,was approved the next day and several days later the postman delivered new license! Who says the Government is slow?!?! Thanks Uncle Sam-- Maybe My previous patriotic post helped :))

virus removed!

My AVG anti-virus program removed 25 instances of this Malware on My PC. I have no idea how it happened to find its way here since I don't do much browsing and I'm very careful with emails. Now its been quarantined and I haven't observed and more problems.
 Been a busy weekend so no time for radio pursuits. I hope to participate in next weekends VHF contest.
73----Tim

Happy Memorial Day!!

Uncle Sam saluting in front of the chicken coop! Everyone have a safe and fun Memorial Day. Please remember Our brave Men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.
73---Tim

10,000 views!!

My Blog has finally reached 10,000 views ! I find it hard to believe. When I first started writing this blog in 2009 My goals were simple--improve My writing skills and give My family a window into My ham radio hobby! I also  wanted to convey simple information to anyone who happened to stop by about everything "ham" radio related. I had no illusions about My lack of technical writing ability and besides-I wanted to keep it simple.
  My most popular post has been setting up My Yaesu Ft-950 Audio, with Ft-950 Software upgrading not far behind. I hope My information has been useful and I've always tried to keep it accurate but have never promised perfection. Lately my subjects have been less technical because I'm finding between Family , work around the house, My job,age and health issues don't allow Me as much time to experiment and write about the results. Maybe in time that will change.
 Thanks for reading!
73---Tim

Goodbye Stripes

This week one of Our Hen's-- "Stripes" started having breathing issues and We assumed She had a cold or worse so We gave Her some anti-biotic in Her water. Unfortunately She didn't recover and passed away last night. She was with Us from a little chick to a full grown hen. Her personality was unique and at times very cranky but still she will be missed. Five years old- now we only have four birds left.One less egg layer- bummer!

73--Tim

Swapfest 2013

Our local Swapfest was today and even though I didn't really need any equipment I went to have eyeball QSO's with many Hams I chat with during the Year . I even managed to meet several Hams I've only talked to over the airwaves plus many I only seem to ever see face to face at doings like this. A decent sized crowd although not as many "young" Hams as I'd like to see. Lots of good old equipment brings back memories! I bought some connectors and a cup of coffee- so no huge purchase but fun had by all!
  73---Tim
PS--I also want to acknowledge finally meeting K0SIX ( Vince)  with one of many eyeball QSO's
  He brought His Daughter who is also a Ham and I finally also met Wes- KA9JLN who I've talked with ona local net but never met! What a wonderful Hobby!!.

April Showers ?!?!?

Some smaller amounts plus 9" + 18" + about another 8" = a very dissappointing April!! Way too much snow removal!!  Soon it will be May........
  73---Tim
Update-- official totals--50.2" making this the snowiest month of any on record in Duluth.About 129" for the season makes this the Third highest overall total ever! Wow!

Azores is #95 !

A casual quick contact with Jose, CU2CE from the Azores on 17m SSB resulted in another confirmation for DXCC # 95. I see this was on December 30 2012 so it was just cruising the bands-no contest contact.His QRZ account doesn't show him as a LOTW user but He did use  this time. Just proves  you never can tell . I hold out hope for more confirmations of any of the over 110 DXCC contacts I've made. 73---Tim

#94 DXCC

I contacted VP2V/KE2VB during the recent ARRL International SSB DX contest for #94 confirmed! He was operating from the British Virgin Islands and happens to be a Log book of the World user. I've been real happy with the frequent LOTW confirmations from the contesting community and also the occasional DXpedition! I expect several more confirmations soon but will probably fall short of 100 until next contest season. Thats Ok - more DX chasing to look forward too!
73---Tim

Zero Bureau Cards

This week I received QSL cards from the Zero Bureau. It is a nice surprise. I had contacted the Zero Bureau last Summer and started the process of using the Bureau both for incoming cards and contacted the ARRL outgoing bureau for sending cards. I received this shipment of about 20 QSL's and I was surprised to see most were from the year 2009, with 2010 and a few from 2011. Wow-four years! I've always heard its a slow endevour and now here's the proof! I'm not complaining because to receive these cards thru snail mail separately would be very expensive and most Hams probably wouldn't even bother.
  Most of these cards also are marked for a return QSL card so I'll be sending QSL cards to the outgoing bureau soon. I've also been trying to keep track of paper QSL's sent and received by marking the QSO in Ham Radio Delux logging program.Not keeping track would be very confusing in short order. I don't forsee a huge amount of cards passing thru My shack but its great to finally see this movement!
  73---Tim

Goodbye Landline

At one time We had two telephone lines into Our house -one for voice calls and the other for Internet dial up. The picture above shows the punch down block with a two line configuration. Even though We haven't had two lines for several years, I had never taken the time to clean up the installation.We've had a DSL connection with phone service for several years and always kept the phone service part because of the many "deals" offered by the provider.Well those deals have finally expired and it was time to let the landline service go.Little lump in the throat moment-- had that number for about 20 years but We all have Cell phones and  can't justify the added expense.Also planning on cutting back on other entertainment services like Satellite Tv,Netflix,etc. Entertainment costs are just crazy! I was hoping our DSL connection speed would increase after removing all the Telephones and having just a straight wired connection to the DSL modem, but so far no increase. Must be maxed out to Us. Contract says up to 7meg-we're at 4meg which is pretty good for Our location!

   73----Tim

Snow and DXCC#93

We had another snow storm dump about 7" this weekend. I spent most of Saturday with snow removeal. It takes some time to clear around the chicken coop,side walk,driveway and clear a big enough area for our dog Bella to take care of business. I just came in from dealing with another 6" today. Luckily Our friend Steve stopped by and plowed!
  During this past weekend I did find some time to make several contacts on 17m SSB to the Cayman and Canary Islands which was fun.Conditions were very good on Saturday but Sunday after Church the propagation charts showed a very different story with a high "A & K" index.Several contesters commented on the poor band conditions!

I also just checked Logbook of the World and I've added Belguim for DXCC # 93! Ya-hoo- thanks to OQ5M ! We worked during the recent ARRL DX SSB contest on 15m voice. Closer and closer to 100!!
 73---Tim

Paraguay & Switzerland

Paraguay (ZP9MCE) I logged from the recent Dx contest and Switzerland (HB9CVQ) from a very pleasant although short QSO on Sunday for #91 and #92 towards DXCC.I'm still expecting a few more confirmations from the ARRL International Dx contest from several weekends ago. I still hope to contact a few more DXpeditions before Summer so the magical "100" is close. I think i've worked 108 DXCC's so far so the number confirmed thru LOTW is close. I've noticed alot more LOTW users every Year. I can not imagine how time consuming and expensive it was to exchange QSL cards and have them verified before LOTW simplified the process and verification. It truly is becoming a small World!
73--Tim

Chasing TX5K- Clipperton Island DXpediton

Another fun Dxpedition to chase! I've always enjoyed trying for contacts with these operations from the comfort of My basement with the snow swirling around outside and imaging what the other end is enduring to bring about a successful operation. I'm very impressed and in awe of their willingness to do these. Thanks to all who make it possible!
  The Website is very good and the online Log is excellant. You can find them at www.cordell.org
I don't remember when I first heard about this Dxpedition but when I did I was hoping to contact them on as many bands and modes as possible. I remember the last time an expedition was  there in 2006 and the frustration I felt not hearing even a whisper on my dipole. This time I'm ready with more antennas so I was hopeful and realized the big obstacle this time would be My work schedule.
 TX5K was QRV as of 0615 UTC on March 2nd which coincided with the start of the ARRL DX contest. I did hear some reports from fellow Hams about jumping from the contest to grab a TX5K QSO. In hindsight it appears they were the smart ones. I didn't start the chase till March 5th- Tuesday night and the conditions weren't good. I had no luck that evening and no chance for another try until the next night. Wednesday night 10m was the only band I could hear them on with a good signal- S5 or better and managed a confirmation on My contact- or so I thought. I didn't have the TX5K online log running during this contact so I wasn't able to see if My call was logged. After looking several times on breaks at work the next day and not seeing it- I assumed I was not logged correctly! Now it became a little more intense since I was hearing them on certain bands but not having any luck breaking the pile ups. I even tried RTTY on 30m but no luck :((  I also was watching some of the email reflectors and seeing completed QSO's on 160m but early morning.Several were even SSB and not CW! I contemplated an early wake up call but really hoped for the higher bands to pull thru after work. Eventually I was able to pull out a very nice contact on 15m and was watching the online log to see My call scroll across! Yes ,at least a contact! Then Friday night I also noticed I was now logged for My 10m contact. Not sure what happened to cause the delay but now I had two bands. I was hoping for one more chance on Saturday but the expedition was really winding down so I threw in the towel. I'm very pleased with two contacts-- another soon to be confirmed DXCC !! I did read on their blog about some Generator troubles and the need to NOT always run an amplifier so this might have been some of My trouble not hearing them as loud at times.
 I did compare antennas and I'm very pleased with My HF6V ground mounted vertical and also My 10m Yagi . My dipole and G5RV could hardly pull out a whisper of activity. My inverted "L" was able to hear them but it was very noisy. The difference in verticals was amazing to Me- this Butternut HF6V is a great antenna! Course a little QRO power would help too :)) but My 100w was still enough!
 73--Tim

 
 

Three New Ones!

I had never worked Bolivia before this contest but managed to work CP1FF who is a LOTW user for DXCC# 88

Next new DXCC is Peru . I worked OA4SS who also during the contest remarked about the large number of Minnesota stations!

and finally I worked OM1ADX of the Slovek Republic for DXCC # 90 confirmed.   I'm getting close to the magical 100. This last contest was not only fun but productive. I'm currently chasing TX5K for another new one.
73 --Tim

ARRL DX Contest 2013

A solar flare preceded the start of this contest and conditions Friday night were just terrible. A "K" index of 4 is very poor and the bands reacted because of it.Sunpots were down around 88 and even the "A" index was high.  I spent very little time fighting conditions Friday evening and had a few contacts before calling it quits for the night.
  Saturday was a fair improvement in the morning and I bounced between 10m and 15m before settling on 10m for a very good S & P operation. Ten meters actually for Me was very good from 1700 UTC and I stayed with it till the band closed before sunset. The lower bands weren't very good at this location for the rest of the contest when I was on. I managed some hard fought  contacts on 20m and 40m but none on 75m or 160m which was disappointing because I heard HK1NA on 160m at about S9 but they just CQed in My face! 100w just wasn't enough I guess. I truthfully didn't stay up late enough Saturday for any decent chance at contacts on the lower frequencies but that is typical for Me-- hard to stay awake!
  After Church Sunday morning and Lunch I was back operating but it was again not great conditions and lots of stations I had already worked.It wasn't till later I heard from several other contesters about the short but good opening to Europe on 10m while I was away! Oh well-priorities!! I had some interesting contacts such as OA4SS who commented on the number of Minnesota stations. If He only realized some of them were playing Dx at V4,VP5H and KP2 land!! All of which I had contacts with-- I guess for them zero calls are easily heard!
  I worked KP2M and 8P5A on 40,20,15 and 10m for the highest multiple band contacts. I worked 88 countries (DXCC's) and had 193 contacts for a score of 50,952. Not too shabby for a ground mounted vertical and a 10m monobander at 20 feet using only 100w!  My rotor was stuck South for My 10m Yagi till early Saturday after the sun came out and it thawed.   My CAT port on My Ft-950 is still not working so I had to be careful and switch it manually in the N1MM logging program so it would log the correct band. Its so much easier when its atomatic!
  I hope to add several more new DXCC including French Guiana who I worked on 15m. Several others are the same countries but different calls who maybe will be LOTW users. One can only hope!
73---Tim

 

Preparing for DX contest

The ARRL International SSB DX contest is this weekend and I've been doing a little preparation.I downloaded the latest N1MM contest logger version 13.02.03 and the associated WL_CTY_DAT country list and also the Master_DTA for DX countries. A prelimanary look and all appears OK. Also loaded the new contest into My logger.
 I've also been testing My antennas because My Butternut HF6V was still out of service and I would really like a backup for 15m. My inverted L might cover OK but doesn't appear like any other antenna will-not the Dipole which has never liked 15m for some odd reason but maybe,just maybe My short G5RV might. Then during further testing My HF6V magically started working but I'm not holding My breath- temperature sensitive maybe??
  No matter what i'll give it a try this weekend.My big limiting factor will be as usual-BIC ( but in chair :) time which can tough.
 Hope to hear you on the bands-- Friday Night 6pm CST till sunday 6pm.
73--Tim

CQ 160m contest 2013

This contest starts a little early for Me as I've just barely arrived home from work when it starts. I did check the bands right away and made a few contacts but the 160m band was very noisy at My location. I took My time getting back to the shack hoping it would be better conditions but both nights until My time to quit for the night the conditions only marginally improved.
   I noticed another issue the first night which had Me frustrated-- N1MM kept asking for certain contacts for the correct section. It didn't dawn on Me until the next day I had set up N1MM for an ARRL 160m contest, not the CQ version! I emailed the MWA reflector and later received a detailed answer to correct this mistake but by then I had already started to re-enter all contacts in preperation for Saturday night. Luckily or not , I didn't have a huge log. I kept being pulled away from the shack both nights by other duties and fun activities. Very typical contest for Me!
  This contest did afford Me a great chance to check how well My dipole and inverted L antenna played against each other. I truthfully have to say it was very even. I did My usual S & P operation and would use the dipole tuning one direction and then later switch to the "L" for the return direction! Several times neither antenna would cut thru!Many times one or the other was able to catch the attention of the CQing contestant. A very satisfying experiment during contest conditions.Glad I have both antennas as an option.
  I also had several extra cool contacts with several Hams I talk to occasionally. One heard Me and jumped ahead and started Cqing to get Me to stop.Had a real nice QSO with him and later a station with an unfamiliar call introduced Himself as a VHF net control operator I talk to on sunday nights when He's running the NLRS net. He was operating some else's station during the contest.Cool.
  It was a little disappointing to not  better My last several years score with this contest but I had no DX contacts and very few Canadians. Not much west coast either. Maybe if I could keep at it till later at night I would catch some other areas  but just get too sleepy--
 less than 60 total contacts but once the kinks were worked out , as most contests--it was Fun!!
73---Tim

 

Lack of Activity

We have finally added to snow totals with one big storm and several small ones. It actually feels like a normal winter now. Forecast shows more snow later this week. This much accumulation does make it difficult to walk Our dog on the trails thru the woods . It also keeps Me from investigating the issue with My ground mounted vertical. I think from previous testing I have an open somewhere on the coax from the shack to the base of the antenna. The depth of the snow makes it almost impossible to continue until it melts. Appears to be a Spring project and My G5RV will also be looked at closer then. During a previous contest I had to resort to My back up antennas-G5RV being one of them and it kept changing tuning. It changed alot so maybe a broke wire or bad connection but no matter it needs TLC.
  I'm glad Google finally fixed the "add Picture" portion of this blog. Works great now!
 Not much Ham Radio activity- too much out of town work and overtime. Guess its better to do it now than summer! :) Its also not as much fun chasing DX when main DX antenna not available!
  73---Tim

HF6V trouble, #87 & MNQSO party 2013

This is the trail that leads to My ground mounted Butternut vertical antenna. We presently have about one foot of snow on the ground so I'm still able to use this trail to walk My dog and it passes by My antenna. I noticed recently the SWR on all bands was greater than 25 so it appears to be open somewhere.

This is the base after excavating- You can see the coil to ground and the coax where it hooks up. I wish it was a better picture . I inspected this area but could find no visible problem so I connected  a  jumper across the terminals and checked with an ohmmeter from inside. It showed open so the problem is from the inside to the base of the antenna but with the snow and ice fixing this will probably be a spring project. Oh well i have a G5RV as a backup to cover 40m and several other antennas for the other bands.                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                  

Log book of the World recently showed another DXCC to make it 87 confirmed. RV1CC from European Russia was My latest. Slow but moving towards that 100 goal!

The Minnesota QSO Party contest was Saturday and I had planned for a full day contesting.My vertical antenna i use for 40m-15m was now not available but i assumed my G5RV would be Ok for 40m and My "inverted L" for 15m with My trusty old dipole for 160,80 and 20m. If 10m was open I have the Yagi.

Unfortunately the G5RV has a weird problem- soon after tuning it goes way out of tolerance. I had contacts who mentioned My nice signal,then next transmission, i noticed SWR way high again.Retune, and the same thing. My Inverted L was also giving Me fits. Only antenna working well was My dipole and it hates 40 and 15m! I eventually had enough frustration and gave up on the contest until almost the end when several mobiles I know need My contact on 160m. so all wasn't lost--still fun for a time. I have some antenna maintenance this spring!!

73---Tim