Route 66 Special Event 2014

I happened to be in the shack and hear a station with a 1 x 1 call and checked on QRZ and realized He was part of the Route 66 Special event. I had heard some local Hams discussing this event last weekend but had no time to check it out at the time. Having some time this weekend I decided to check out the particulars and maybe make some contacts.
This event is sponsored by the "CITRUS BELT AMATEUR RADIO CLUB" from California and they have a nice Website for information. It is the 15th Year of the event and this Year it runs from September 6th 0000z to September 14th at 2359z on the 80m to 6m bands, even WARC bands, using CW,Digital and SSB.
They are operating 21 unique callsigns for this event-- W6A thru W6T, the last two being mobile stations. All are positioned along the old Route 66 Highway route or there about! A single contact with any of the stations makes one eligible for a nice certificate with a $4 donation. I like wallpaper so I will be sending My money!:)
Missing the first week of this event did lessen My chances of a clean sweep but My goal was to make as many contacts as I could fit in. Most of the stations were busy and had nice signals. Propagation was up and down and I only had several spotted I could not hear.As of this writing I have 5 in the log but the event is not over....
73---Tim

I ended with 8 total--even one mobile. Not too bad with limited time!

More Zero Bureau QSL cards.

Mailman delivered these this week from the Zero Bureau. Not alot of cards but still fun to receive. I have a blog post from August 25th 2012 explaining the bureau process I use if interested. The bureau is just one of the many tools a Amateur has to enhance the Hobby. Not alot to add- this blog has lately taken a back seat to other endeavours but I have no plans to abandon it for now. Please check back now and then- contest season is just around the corner so I will have write-ups on some of those radio  weekends!
 73--Tim

13 Colony Certificate arrived!

Several weeks after this special event ended and I sent the required monetary amount and information- here's what showed up thru snail mail!!A very well done certificate- each Year I participate I'm amazed at the quality of the event. Thanks to all who make this possible! Eleven states and both special event stations-- not a clean sweep but not too Shabby for a single day's participation! Wait till next Year :)
73---Tim

A Turtle and other happenings.

On a recent walk with Our Dog on the main road in front of Our House,I happened to see a turtle trying to cross the road. Traffic can be very busy so I decided to "help" the turtle cross. This ended up being not too easy since Bella- Our very curious Dog decided to help! Well We did eventually make it to the other side and I was very happy to have a break in Cars while We attempted this operation. The turtle wandered off towards the little stream running thru Our property and I felt good about saving a turtle.I felt even better when I later identified it as a Wood Turtle which according to the Minnesota DNR website is considered threatened.
Summer appears to have finally happened in northern Minnesota and along with it the many thunderstorms that accompany the hot,humid weather. Several severe storms has passed thru the area and We have been lucky with no damage. My Job with Communications has been busy with lightning damage but thats a Yearly summer event!
Our three chickens have been laying eggs again after the long Winter and after seeing many predators on several game cameras , We have kept then in the two chicken runs and not free ranging without standing guard. The birds actually seem to enjoy the company.
I have not been in the radio shack much although i have tried to participate in some 6m openings when I can. Last weekend I listened for VHF activity for the Wordwide VHF contest but heard nothing.I had also set up the radio to participate in the CQ RTTY contest but ran out of time and energy but did read several email comments about conditions being s0-so.Maybe didn't miss too much but,dang I do like those RTTY contests!!
73---Tim

13 Colonies Special Event 2014

This special event starts on July 1st and ends on July 6th and I totally forgot about it until the last day. Last year I accomplished a clean sweep and the year before only missed one station so when I realized I missed the first five days wasn't sure about a possible clean sweep. The weather up here was hot and muggy so at least time spent in the basement would be a relief and I wouldn't feel like i was neglecting any chores. I did accomplish a few outside activities between contacts on the radio. Conditions seemed good and all bands had some activity so I started on 10m and watched the spotting networks for the K2A-M stations being spotted. Turns out the most contacts for Me were on 20m but had several on 10 and 15m too.
About supper time I had most stations for a clean sweep including the WM3PEN and W3FT station which both had excellant signals in Minnesota.Fact is most of the stations were loud .After Supper i heard one of the last two needed- K2A from New York but He was running a little different than normal. He would ask for stations to call and make a list then tell everyone to stop and ask for the copied stations He called back one at a time. Ate up alot of time but- hey- He obviously felt more comfortable with this than by the numbers or running split. Unfortunately for Me- this meant a very difficult time getting thru--eventually i gave up when i saw K2B spotted on 20m too. His signal was not a strong and was mostly looking for DX! Bummer! I really needed to finish a few chores so decided to throw in the towel although I still had a few hours to try. Figured i did OK with 11 contacts plus the two extra stations but no clean sweep. I'll still send away for a certificate. This is a very fun event and I applaude all the operators who devote so much time to make it happen!!
Nice looking certificates too!!
73---Tim