Friday, April 07, 2006
From 4/6
Was running really late this morning so no 9am talk net. Instead rag chewed with "the normal suspects" on the W6WLS/W6MOW machines, switching to WR6ABD as I got into Silicon Valley.
Noon on Thursdays is self-designated "QRP in the Park" day. I grabbed a sandwich and headed to Washington Park in Sunnyvale.
I used the water-bottle method to string an end-fed 1/2 wave antenna into the trees. The lawn guy came over and wondered what it was. I told him that it was wire for a ham radio antenna and I would take it down when I was done. He wanted to know if "I was talking to aliens" I assured him that it was more like Reno and Sacramento. He thought that was pretty cool and went back to mowing.
My normal first test is to check into the noontime net on 40m, but I just couldn't hear net control. Could hear lots of other people, just not net control...
So I tuned on down the band and heard AE6VR calling CQ from Los Angeles Harbor. I replied. It sounded like I was about 3 or 2 by 3. It was pretty rough copy for Jimmy, but we did make the contact work. He was running 100W into a hamstick mobile. That got him a 5x8 in Sunnyvale. My 2.5W almost didn't get the job done...
The end-fed antenna is very easy to put up, but I have a sneaking feeling that the folded dipole actually worked a lot better...
The evening was taken up by the County ARES' Emergency Communications class. The last one. I got my certificate. That and $4.25 will get me a cup of coffee. Actually the training was good to get everybody "on the same page." The exercise went MUCH better than the SET did last year.
++++++
From 4/5
Noon was fun. I hooked up the paddles, key, keyer and fired up the rig in the shack at work. Sent out two CQs and back came Kern, W7BXD in Klamath Falls, OR.
I only copied about 70% but it was my first non-scheduled CW QSO, and also my first one from the shack at work. COOL!
Somehow 60 whole watts seemed sorta wasteful... ;-)
Wednesday evening Greg, KI6CK was on so we had a nice, relaxed CW QSO on 10m
Was running really late this morning so no 9am talk net. Instead rag chewed with "the normal suspects" on the W6WLS/W6MOW machines, switching to WR6ABD as I got into Silicon Valley.
Noon on Thursdays is self-designated "QRP in the Park" day. I grabbed a sandwich and headed to Washington Park in Sunnyvale.
I used the water-bottle method to string an end-fed 1/2 wave antenna into the trees. The lawn guy came over and wondered what it was. I told him that it was wire for a ham radio antenna and I would take it down when I was done. He wanted to know if "I was talking to aliens" I assured him that it was more like Reno and Sacramento. He thought that was pretty cool and went back to mowing.
My normal first test is to check into the noontime net on 40m, but I just couldn't hear net control. Could hear lots of other people, just not net control...
So I tuned on down the band and heard AE6VR calling CQ from Los Angeles Harbor. I replied. It sounded like I was about 3 or 2 by 3. It was pretty rough copy for Jimmy, but we did make the contact work. He was running 100W into a hamstick mobile. That got him a 5x8 in Sunnyvale. My 2.5W almost didn't get the job done...
The end-fed antenna is very easy to put up, but I have a sneaking feeling that the folded dipole actually worked a lot better...
The evening was taken up by the County ARES' Emergency Communications class. The last one. I got my certificate. That and $4.25 will get me a cup of coffee. Actually the training was good to get everybody "on the same page." The exercise went MUCH better than the SET did last year.
++++++
From 4/5
Noon was fun. I hooked up the paddles, key, keyer and fired up the rig in the shack at work. Sent out two CQs and back came Kern, W7BXD in Klamath Falls, OR.
I only copied about 70% but it was my first non-scheduled CW QSO, and also my first one from the shack at work. COOL!
Somehow 60 whole watts seemed sorta wasteful... ;-)
Wednesday evening Greg, KI6CK was on so we had a nice, relaxed CW QSO on 10m
