QRP DX is MIND BLOWING....

So I just got home from work, it's later than normal, and in the mail box is the Elecraft stand kit for my K1 that Dave Bixler W0CH sent me! These things are hard to find, Elecraft hasn't had them in about  a year.  Thank you so much Dave!!  The check is in the mail, the stand fits perfectly. 

K1 with Stand from Dave W0CH 

So after I got the stand attached I fired up the radio and tuned to 30m, and on 10113 at 22:47Z on 04/04/18,  I heard Milan S57V calling CQ, all alone, from Slovenia.  I sent him about five times and on the sixth try he called me back and gave me a 339.  He was 599 here with some pretty strong but fast QSB.  This shows to be a distance of about 4825 miles or 7720 km from my QTH.  As usual the K1 was running 4w into the attic dipole.   QSL card is on the way Milan! 

Then a little later, I moved over to 40m, and tuned in 7055, looking for a new state. George KB5AE was there for me.  He is SKCC 9274S and he is in Oklahoma.  A new state for 2018! George has been a ham since 1976, and really likes working CW.  His current station is a TS-570 to a MFJ Loop Antenna up a mere 15 feet.  George is a retired trucker and is in his 80's.  Great fist George! Thanks for hearing my 4w of QRP power!  I got a 569 and gave him a 599 at 00:31Z on 04/05/18. 

Anyway, I thought I'd post this here so I can put it in my log when my laptop gets back, with any luck, tomorrow. 

Best 73 de KB9BVN

Blogging my logging...

If you remember, I broke my laptop.   It is being fixed as I type and with any luck I will have it back on Friday.  So I am logging my K1 contacts here so I can catch them all up when I get the computer back.  It's been raining like no tomorrow here...Monday was 2 inches of snow, today it was 3 inches of rain, and tonight we get a tornado or two...more snow tomorrow maybe...gotta love springtime in the Midwest. 

This is the K1 log from today.  I did manage to work one new state for 2018 today, between thunderstorms. 

21:52Z - 04/03/2018 - Karl out in Montrose PA, we have worked each other before and he had a great signal today.  I gave him a 599 and he sent me a 559 from my K1 at 4w to the attic dipole.  We were on 7056 Khz in the 40m band.  Karl is SKCC 17635T and is always a pleasure to work.  Off at 22:02Z

22:20Z - 04/03/2018 - James KB1KKW from out in Massachusetts. James is a new state for me this year and that now makes 21 with 29 to go.  Band conditions were rough, he gave ,e a 599 with QSB and QRN I gave him the same.  We were on 7054 Khz in the 40m band and he is not a SKCC member, so we did not trade numbers. He lives in Chicopee MA which is in Hampden County. 

22:27Z - 04/03/2018 - Roy K8NQQ from down in Wilmington NC. Roy is an SKCC member and we traded numbers.  He is SKCC 912.  I gave him a 589 and he gave me a 559. Great to put Roy in the log on 7055 Khz!

22:32Z - 04/03/2018 Phil K4JVK from down in GA.  Phil is SKCC 5562 and he gave me a 589 and I sent him the same.  QSB and QRN was getting a little worse at this point.  This was on 7055 Khx in the 40m band.  Phil was running a Kenwood TS 570D to a low dipole up about 12 feet!  Thanks for the contact Phil. 

22:43Z - 04/03/2018 Last but not least was Tom AI0F from out in Missouri.  Tom is a SKCC member and his number is 201S.  He's a Senator in SKCC which means, as you know, he's worked billions of SKCC members.  He's an Extra from Adair County.  I gave Tom a 589 and he sent me a 559.  Thanks for the QSO Tom!

That about wraps it up for tonight...more thunderstorms moving in, possible tornadoes too.  I am so ready for summertime.  Not a bad log for 4 watts. 

Best 73 de KB9BVN

K1 SN 1205 Rides Again!

Today is Good Friday, and I had taken a PTO day so my wife and I could get everything ready for the Easter weekend.  When you have 10 grandchildren you have to make sure everything in the goodie basket area is well taken care of.   The mailman showed up at about 4PM today and left a box on my front steps...luckily my wife saw it and brought it into the shack almost immediately.  I opened it up and my friend Aron NN1F,  had already shipped me the K1.  MY K1.  The K1 I built back in 2002, good old serial number 1205 fresh from the 2002 Dayton Hamfest.  I sold it to Aron about 10 or 12 years ago and now it has returned home.  Feast your eyes on this little beauty!

K1 SN 1205 built by KB9BVN during June of 2002 - Back home! 

This is the original four band model and everything is working great.  This was the second transceiver kit I built, the first being my Norcal 40A back in 1998.  In this picture it is tuned to 7034.5 and I just had my first QSO. 

I heard Alan W4AMV calling CQ from North Carolina, he was running 50w to a wire in the trees down in Raleigh.  Alan is a General class ham, and according to QRZ he's quite the boat anchor rebuilder and quite a home brewer.  His QRZ page has several 50/100w HF amps he has build, power supplies, and a 3 band HF rig ta boot.  

According to my watt meter I was pushing just a hair under 5w out to the attic dipole, which I swear is aimed dead at North Carolina.  Alan was a solid 599 here and I got a tasty 459 with a bit of QSB on the side for good measure.  We QSO'd about 15 minutes and it was great.  So glad to have this relic from my past back in my hands and on the air again.  Thank you for the QSO Alan!

UPDATE:  

22:10Z 03/30/18 on 10113 Khz, I had a two way QSO with Bruno F5NTV in Cassy-Lanton France. (4192 Miles) I got a 549 and he was 599 here in Central Indiana.  I was 4 watts into the attic dipole. I almost stopped breathing.  The K1 has MOJO galore even after 16 years. 

23:06Z 03/30/18  I worked Len KC9AWL down in Palm Coast Florida.  We were also on 30m, which seems to be the only band open right now.  He gave me a 569 and I had him at 589 with some QSB here.  Freq was 10121 Khz in the 30m band.

01:12Z 03/31/18 - Worked Tim N8ENJ down near Tampa FL. Tim was using FLDGI to copy my fist and he said it was rough sledding from time to time.  QSB and my fist make it hard to copy.  Tim was using a IC 7000 and a trapped dipole for QSOs tonight.

01:28Z 03/31/18 - Worked Ted NA7C out in Sandy, Utah on the K1 at 4 Watts!  A new state on the K1 and this was on 7055 Khz.  40m is OPEN kids.  Ted is SKCC 8182T and has a great fist.  The band was a little noisy but it is very active right now.

01:56Z 03/31/18 - Worked Lee K5LY on 7041 Khz way down near Dallas Texas, a NEW state for 2018.  Lee is 71 and is a retired law enforcement officer for the state of Texas.  He was running a K3, got his license in 1976, and loves working CW.  Lee even teaches CW classes down there.  Conditions were great for about 20 mins, then QRN and QSB squeaked in and we signed off.

18:14Z 03/31/18 - Worked Ernie VE3OU up in Ontario Canada.  40m was open for a bit and we were running on 7025.5 Khz according to my K1 dial .  Ernie gave me a 569 and he was 599 here with some QSB.  QSO went on for about 20 minutes before the QSB got too bad.  Ernie has been a ham since 1956, he was only 16 when he got his license.  Great QSO Ernie!  Thanks.

20:18Z 03/31/18 - Worked Marc VE2WE up in Quebec, he was running SKCC contacts on 10119 Khz, 30m is open again.  Marc gave me a 549, he was 579 here. His SKCC number is 17443C.  Marc was using a cool Camelback Straight Key from KC5ILR.

KC5ILR Camelback Straight key

20:24Z 03/31/18 - This time up was Hank K1PUG out in CT also on 10119 Khz ..a new state for 2018!  Hank was also running SKCC numbers and he is SKCC 12486S, he's a Senator in SKCC which means he's got about a gazillion SKCC contacts under his belt.  Always a pleasure to work Hank.

Best 73 de KB9BVN

New Mexico OO Sent me a Notice!

Well readers, as you may remember, I had a nice QSO with Dave KD0DK out in Iowa the other day. Apparently someone was listening and that was James K3IAN out in New Mexico.  James is an ARRL Official Observer and I got the card below from him in my mailbox today. 

In 30 years of being on the air, I have never gotten any kind of report from an ARRL Official Observer.  I was stunned and the first thing I did was call my QRP buddy Ivin W9ILF and rubbed it in.  Hehehe...Ivin would do the same for me. 

I was amazed that he heard my 5w out in New Mexico on 40m last Saturday, and I even got a 449 ta boot. 

Thanks again to Dave KD0DK for the QSO and thanks a million to James K3IAN for noticing and taking time to write to me.  You guys all have a very Happy Easter!

Best 73 de KB9BVN

The Agony...the Pain...the Joy

What an incredible day.  Tonight is the SKCC Sprint, or the SKS as it is known. It typically runs from 00:00Z to 02:00z and this evening I was able to join in, although briefly...and that's where the agony comes in.  

My beloved HP Elitebook laptop, that contains my logging, all my VE software, and other ham radio stuff decided to go TOES UP.  The dreaded "power jack busted away from the system board" monster reared its ugly head.  This thing is way out of warranty and most likely it will now be relegated to the spare parts department.  I need to order a case for the hard disk so I can at least use it via USB to get my stuff outta there.  I will see if I can solder anything back on the power jack when I dig out the hard disk, but I have been here before and that, is very unlikely to happen. 

The best thing that happened today is I got in touch with Aron NN1F via email.  I bought a Elecraft K1 kit in 2001 at Four Days in May.  I bought it from Wayne and Eric at the Dayton Hamvention, they were selling them as fast as they could unload them.  I took it home and built it and used it for two or three years and then sold to raise funds for my beloved K2.  I sold it to Aron, like 15 years ago.  Amateur radio is funny in how you make friends with folks all over the place. Sometime back in the day I found myself doing a job in New Hampshire and I got to meet Aron and his wife Kim for dinner one night in Manchester New Hampshire.  Aron is a Flying Pig QRP Club member and has a great fist if you ever get to meet him on the air.  Happy Happy Joy Joy...Aron sold me back my K1 today.  I can't wait to get it.  Thanks Aron!! 

The SKS was to start at 00:00Z tonight but I worked Kevin WA1LFD - SKCC 17831T from Hollis, NH.  We traded numbers and and I got a 569 and he was a 589 with some QSB on the side.  Great fist and an easy to copy straight key operator for sure.  Hollis was founded in the mid 1700's and has been thriving ever since.  Thanks for the QSO Kev! 

Next up was Judy AA5UZ from way down in Saint Tammany Parish Louisiana.  This is located on the north shore of beautiful Lake Pontchartrain.  Judy gave me a 579 and I returned the same to her.  She is SKCC 12268 and has a great fist for copying.  Her town of Pearl River has the motto of "Home of the Honey Island Swamp".  Thanks for the QSO Judy and the NEW state for 2018! 

Last but not least, Chuck K9IA way down in Florida heard me well enough to trade 559's with me and send our SKCC numbers.  Chuck is SKCC 10206T and he lives in The Villages and they dislike antennas there, so he uses a great stealth flagpole antenna and no one is the wiser.  Chuck has been a ham for over 60 years and loves to work CW.  Thanks for the QSO Chuck..AND the NEW state for 2018. 

Best 73 de KB9BVN

Wet, snowy, weekend means more CW!

It's Palm Sunday,  we got 9 inches of wet heavy snow yesterday but now it's 42F and the stuff is melting off almost as fast as it came down.  For that I am very happy.  We went to Mass this morning and it was packed, the DOT guys have done a great job getting the main roads snow free and dry.  So if you could make it out of your neighborhood, you could go places.  

On Palm Sunday in 1965,  we experienced one of the worst tornado outbreaks in the history of the state. 

Double Tornado - Indiana 1965
Destroyed the Midway Trailer Park

From Wikipedia: "The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak on April 11–12, 1965, in the Midwest U.S. states of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, with 47 tornadoes (32 significant, 17 violent, 21 killers). It was the second-biggest outbreak on record at the time. In the Midwest, 271 people were killed and 1,500 injured (1,200 in Indiana). It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history, with 137 people killed. The outbreak also made that week in April 1965 the second-most-active week in history, with 51 significant and 21 violent tornadoes."

Thankfully we only had a Snow-nado yesterday and no sign of any tornado activity today. 

So after church, and after lunch, and after doing some things on the honey-do list I fired up the K2 and threw out a few CQ's on 7118, as usual.  The band seemed very quiet and from the reverse beacon I could see that I was being heard but a slow and steady QSB was present. 

After five or six tries I was answered by Mark NV9J from up in Chippewa County Wisconsin.  A new state for the 2018 WAS effort!  Mark was running a vintage Yaesu FT-102 into a flagpole vertical at his home in Lake Hallie.  Mark got his ticket when he was 14 years old in 1976 and has been on the air ever since.  Great fist to copy, if you ever hear him and the FT 102 out there, give them a call! 

Yeasu FT-102

Lake Hallie is in the NW portion of Wisconsin, and is home to about 6500 people. (From Wikipedia) The lake, from which the village derives its name, is an oxbow lake near the Chippewa River between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. Here, in 1843, the McCann brothers joined with Jeremiah C. Thomas to build the Blue Mill, which used the lake as a holding pond for logs.[6] Later, after several changes of ownership and many improvements, this mill was acquired by the Badger State Lumber Company and became known as Badger Mills. Its operations were discontinued in the 1890s due to a shortage of logs.

.Beautiful Lake Hallie Wisconsin

Thanks Mark!  You're my 15th state for 2018 WAS efforts. 

Best 73 de KB9BVN