Catching Up

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Michael

The last post suggested something was up on the operating/radio front.  I had another item show up at my door that confirms this:

IMG_3110Here it is spread out on my kitchen counter:

IMG_3111Here’s the beginning of the process:

IMG_3112And here’s the end result:

IMG_3113I used this combination – IC7410 and BigIR in the ARRL SSB contest this weekend for 170 Qs and 129 multipliers; a modest number but not bad for a limited space setup. And mainly, I had a lot of fun.  Coming soon: QRO.

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Some changes

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Michael

So this showed up on my doorstep the other day:

IMG_5085I guess I’ll have to think about getting back on the air now.

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Low Activity and Low Spirits

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Michael

So far in 2015 I have had one, yes, one QSO, with 3Z90IARU in Poland. The whole K1N experience was so disheartening and depressing I find myself turning on the radio, looking around for a few seconds, and turning it off again. Days go by that I don’t turn it on at all.
K1N seems to have brought out all the venality, stupidity, and malice that the bands could hold. Malicious interference was the rule. Calling out of turn was the rule. Calling on the DX frequency when the op was split was the standard M.O for hundreds of stations 24 hours a day. I gave up on this op, and very nearly on ham radio, after only a few days.
Does anyone know if the much ballyhooed QRM detector had any results at all? Would you blame me if I suspected no, no effect at all? The capacity of some hams for pure spite and malice seems to be boundless.
I will probably not be operating much until my stomach and blood pressure recover from this experience.

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LSDXA January Meeting

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Michael

Crowded this month

IMG_2663.JPG

Haven’t seen this many hams in one place since Ham Com.

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So this happened today:

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Michael

LOTW-TPA#1320 in the book.

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All is Vanity

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Michael

The once wonderful vanityhq.com, which had many wonders and marvels for ham operators, shut down a while back.

Now the domain has transferred to a Japanese registrar, and the page is mostly empty.

A moment of silence for its passing, please.

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Code of (bad) Conduct

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Michael

I listened with growing amazement yesterday (9/30) while waiting to see if I could get a chance to work 8R1AE as he repeatedly pleaded for JA only, and a California ham kept calling over his QSOs, calling after again JA only was requested, and generally making a pest of himself until Peter finally worked him just to get him to SHUT UP.

So, Bruce, do you really think you’re in his log? I would bet you’re not. I would have done the same thing – worked you just to get you to go away and then thrown the QSO in the trash.

 

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Getting close

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Michael

I am getting very close to collecting some more wallpaper for the shack: 149 of 150 for Triple Play, 98 of 100 for VUCC, 49/50 for SSB WAS, 47 48 of 50 for RTTY WAS, 141 142 of 150 for a DXCC endorsement.

I seriously need Mississippi on phone/LOTW for Triple Play. Hoping to find someone for a sked before too much longer.

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The Paper Chase (continued).

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Michael

Thanks to the W1AW portable operations, I am at 147 confirmed WAS contacts for Triple Play, missing only Indiana in digital mode and Maine and Mississippi in phone mode. I collected the CW WAS a few days back.

For a new experience, I tuned 50.276 MHz and worked JT65 on six meters for the 1st time.  The band was open, and in two sessions about a week apart, I added 10 new grids confirmed in LOTW to get me to 91 in the VUCC.  I like JT65 for grid chasing, it’s really like shooting grids in a barrel – just watch for one you need and go for it.

Next time I post, I may have 4 new certificates on the wall.

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Chasing paper

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Michael

I am in serious contention for the ARRL Triple Play Award these days, with 129/150 137/150 slots confirmed. As of today, I need 9 4 2 CW, 7 6 5 phone, and 5 3 2 digital QSOs on LOTW for Triple Play., and I have one CW and one digital pending upload by the other station.

I am taking advantage of the ARRL Centennial QSO Party to get as many of the missing states as possible. In fact, the pending uploads are for W1AW/4 in Kentucky, which could happen at any time, now that his week is over.

I’m also working a lot of RTTY lately using my little Acer netbook and MMTTY.  I picked up some new countries in January in the ARRL RTTY DX contest, and most days hear a good amount of activity on 12 and 10 meters, sometimes with some decent DX to boot.

For now, I will be keeping on keeping on, chasing that wallpaper.

CW: need CO, IA, LA, NJ, NM, ND, SD, WY (KY coming soon!)

Phone: Need AR, IA, LA, ME, MS, MO, NJ

Digital: Need AK, IN, MS, NM (KY coming soon!)

(Updated 4/13/14)

(5/5/14 Update – NJ and ND confirmed in CW, NJ in phone, MS in digital)

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