Last Surviving Crew Member of Kon-Tiki Expedition SK

Knut Magne Haugland the last surviving crew member of Kon-Tiki Expedition became a Silent Key December 25. Knut was also a member of the Norwegian Resistance during WWII and was one of the original Heroes of Telemark. ARRL has this article on their web today:

Last Surviving Crew Member of Kon-Tiki Expedition Passes Away

May You rest in peace.

Hospitalized

I was planning to do some cassual qrp operating during the Christmas but the plans were spoiled by the fact that I has been hospitalized since December 21th. Last Sunday I started to feel fever warm and the left side of my face, my upper left arm and the left side of my torso turned red and swollen. I went to see the doctor on Monday and he put me to bed in the hospitals intensive care unit where I spent the next two nights and days. I feel much better now and is home on leave for the weekend. I will return to the hospital tomorrow morning.

National Field Day 2006

Today I received a package by mail from the Norwegian Radio Relay League that I did not expect. The large box contained a cup with the following inscription:

NRRL
NFD 2006
LA1TPA
Vinner kl. 2

I vaguely remember that I won the QRP section of NRRLs National Field Day (NFD) in 2006. I guess I was the only QRP station that bother to deliver a log...

Night operation

Tonight when I looked at the NØHR.com Propfire Extension in Firefox I noticed that the Solar flux had reached 82! I wanted to check out the conditions so so I decided to visit the shack of my local radio club for some night operation.

I listened for a while on both 40m and 80m but could not hear a lot of stations. Before heading home I managed to work a french station on 80m and that is a new band country to me! He struggled a bit with my 5w QRP signal but eventually he was able to copy my callsign and my report.

Practical wireless

Last week I received the January 2010 issue of practical wireless. When I opened it I found that something went wrong in the printing process and some of the pages were unreadable.

Friday I e-mailed the editor Rob G3XFD/EI5IW and he kindly sent me a new copy and warned me that it could take some time due to the holiday season. Guess what! The new magazine dropped down in my letterbox today! Thanks Rob!

And by the way, the young man on the front page is Jimmy Read M3EYP on one of his sota activations. I met Jimmy and his father Tom M1EYP in October 2008 when I visited UK with Aage LA1ENA and Kjell LA1KHA.

Norwegian QRP net on 60m

The last two days I have checked in to the Norwegian QRP net on 60m at 11:00 utc. The net is controlled by Per-Olav LB1AF and the purpose of the net is to learn more about propagation on 5MHz.

Today I checked in as LA1TPA/P from Holtankollen, a local summit with SOTA reference LA/TM-049. I used my Yaesu FT-817ND, a 88ft doublet, the Elecraft T1 ATU and a switchable 4:1/1:1 balun from Elecraft.

QRG: 5.335 - 5.340 MHz

Hot Iron

The winter issue of Hot Iron, the journal of the Constructors Club dropped down in my letterbox today. Tim Walford G3PCJ of Walford Electronics releases 4 issues a year of this excellent newsletter.

You can join the construction club by sending £7 (£9 for overseas members) by PayPal to Tim with your name and address.

The 1B prefix

Yesterday I worked 1B1AB on 17m without recognizing his country prefix. When I later checked the call sign I found that the 1B prefix is used by the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", a country not recognized by UN or any other countries except Turkey. The 1B prefix is not recognized by ITU and does not count towards the DXCC award.

It seems to me that Soyer is only using the call sign given to him by his telecommunications authorities and that they are the ones to blame.

When I checked my eQSL account today I found a waiting QSL from Soyer with the Authenticity Guaranteed by eQSL. The country information shows Cyprus.

I'm pretty mixed up here and I'm not sure whether I should confirm the QSL or not.

MFJ-1788x

Paul PC4T asked me for some info about the MFJ-1788x magnetic loop antenna and I have decided to share my opinions so far.

As some of you might know I live in a row house with no possibility for outside antennas. After reading some reviews I started to check prizes from different suppliers and found that I could save some money by importing the antenna directly from MFJ Enterprises in USA.

I do most of my operations away from home but I have had QSOs with MW, I, GM, LY, S5, OH, 9A, HG, LA and EA with the mag-loop and 5w SSB so far. All QSOs were on 20m except the EA station whom I worked on 17m. My main problem is the very high local QRM that I experience at home, most of the time it reaches S7 - S9!

The loop is located 3 - 4m above the ground in a spare upstairs bedroom I use as my shack. The antenna is mounted in a vertical configuration, currently without a rotator. As this is my only HF antenna at home I haven't had any possibilities to compare it to others but the signal reports I receive doesn't seem to bad for a QRP station with an indoor antenna.

Julian G4ILO has written an excellent review of the antenna that you can find here.

Worked 3V3S

Today I worked 3V3S on 17m with QRP SSB and a W3DZZ antenna. That brings my DXCC score to 68, all of them with 5w SSB! I really enjoyed this one as I used to be a scout myself!

http://www.3v3s.tk/

NRRL Phone Contest 2009

This weekend I was working the NRRL Phone Contest (NRRL Telefonitest) for Norwegian amateurs. The contest is spanning 3 two hour periods, one on Saturday from 13.00 to 15.00 UTC and two on Sunday from 07.00 to 09.00 UTC and from 13.00 to 15.00 UTC. You can work the same stations in all periods and on both 40m and 80m. The conditions on 80m were good this weekend and I know many of the contesters managed to get very high scores. I was of cause in the Single Operator QRP category and worked 126 QSOs which gave me 21672 points.

International QRP Collection

The book International QRP Collection - a compendium of QRP articles from around the world arrived today! Rev. George Dobbs G3RJV and Steve Telenius-Lowe 9M6DXX has collected a great number of articles, projects and reviews from different QRP sources. My first impression is good and I'm looking forward to read it.

You will find the book in the RSGBshop

I/LA1TPA/QRP

My wife and I have just returned from a short trip to northern Italy. We visited Verona, Venezia and Bergamo. In Verona we went to the 'Museo della Radio', the Radio Museum. It is a collection of over 700 radios, mostly receivers.


In Bergamo I managed a short 2-way qrp qso with my friend Aage LA1ENA on 20m ssb with a short wire out the hotel window!

My first 5MHz activation

The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority announced the new Regulations for Radio Amateurs Friday. The new regulations gave us access to 60m, 4m, and extensions on 12m and 40m.

Today I decided to try out 60m from a local summit in the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program. I worked 9 stations in G, GW and GM with my Yaesu FT-817ND, Elecraft T1 ATU and an inverted V style 88ft doublet.

Another SAC QSL

Today another QSL-card from the Scandinavian Activity Contest dropped down in my letter box. It was from 5B4AIF in Cyprus, a new DXCC for me!

QSLs from the Scandinavian Activity Contest

My preferred method of sending QSLs is via the bureau. When I really need a card for a new country or a new band-country I tend to send my card directly including one or two IRCs and an addressed envelope.

After the SAC contest in September I sent a few by mail and the answers have already started to drop down in my mailbox. I have received cards from 4X0A (Israel) and EA6AZ (Balearic Islands). 4X0A is the contest call of Jan 4X1VF and the backside of the card is correctly labeled 4X0A.

I worked EA6AZ on 20m and 15m and 4X0A on 15m. That gave me 3 new band-countries. Thanks to both Jan and Tano!

International QRP Day Plaque

Last week I received a package from George Dobbs G3RJV containing a plaque for winning GQRPs 2009 International QRP Day. To bad that only Bob 2E0ATZ, Peter G3JFS, Valery RW3AI and myself attended the event.

I'm hoping for more competition next year!

Licenced for four years

Today I have been licenced for four years so I decided to take a closer look at my electronic log data. I used a software called ADIF Filter by Marek SP7DQR to make the statistics.

• 54.2% of my QSOs are made in 2009 while only 5.1% in 2006
• 42.1% of my QSOs are on 20m and 31.0% on 40m
• 62.5% of my QSOs are made while operating /Portable
• My QSL return rate is 27.5%
• I have worked 67 DXCCs, all with 5W SSB

Visiting Julian G4ILO

When I was in England last month with Aage LA1ENA, Kjell LA1KHA and Halvard LA1DNA we were invited to Julian and his wife Olga.

We had a very nice evening with delicious food and the very good Jennings Beer. Julian showed us his homebrew Wonder loop and his HB-1A Chinese CW rig.

Thanks to both of you!

Ham radio podcasts

A few years ago I bought a Creative MP-3 player planning to listen to audio books. While searching the net for free audio books I came across some ham radio related podcasts. Some of them I enjoyed a lot and some of them I stopped downloading after a few episodes.

My current favorites are:

• SolderSmoke by Bill Meara
• ICQ Podcast by Martin and Colin Butler
• This Week in Amateur Radio International

You can learn more about podcasting at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

Scandinavian Activity Contest 2007

As a QRPer I'm not a huge fan of contests but I do participate in some of them mainly to fill up my log and if possible to work a new DXCC. One of the contests I enjoy most is the Scandinavian Activity Contest. Here the other day I received an award showing that I got the 3rd place in Scandinavia - SSB, Single OP, Multiband - QRP. In 2007! And I received the 2008 award over a month ago!

Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are taking turns hosting the contest. The Swedes were hosting in 2008 and managed to send me the award after 11 months while the Norwegians used over two years to do the same thing for the contest held in 2007. I'm not complaining because I know these things are done by people who are doing this on their own spare time.

And by the way: Me getting the 3rd place in 2007 probably means that there where 3 participants from Scandinavia in the QRP class...

http://www.sactest.net/

International reply coupons - again...

After working the Scandinavian Activity Contest this weekend I wanted to send some of the QSL cards by mail. I was all out of IRCs and visited my local post office to buy more. When asking the lady behind the counter for the new IRCs she told me that they didn't have any. I informed her that according to wikipedia the old IRCs should not be sold after 31 August this year.

I have now tried to order by e-mail from the Norwegian Postal Service (Posten Norge).

Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB 2009

This weekend I worked 50 stations in the Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB. I used the Elecraft K3 transceiver at 5w and a Extended Double Zepp antenna. Thanks to Hans-Petter LA6GOA for providing the QTH and for the excellent dinner!

I joined the SOAB-QRP class and have uploaded my cabrillo log to www.sactest.net.

14MHz: 33 QSOs
7MHz: 9 QSOs
21MHz: 8 QSOs
DXCCs: I, YU, RA, LZ, US, OE, YO, HA, EA6, 4O, SP, DL, UA9, PA, TA, G, LY, 5B, SV, HB, JA, 9A, EA, 4X

Two new sunspots

The Propfire add-on to the Firefox browser is now showing Solar Flux at 75 and Smoothed Sunspot Number at 26. This is good news for the upcoming Scandinavian Activity Contest - SSB. According to solarcycle24.com this is the first time in about 3 months that 2 sunspots have appeared at the same time.

http://solarcycle24.com/
http://www.n0hr.com/Propfire.htm
http://www.sactest.net/

Scandinavian Activity Contest 2009

I plan to work the Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB September 26, 12.00 UTC - September 27, 1200 UTC. As usual I will be working SOAB (Single Operator - All Bands) QRP.

Please check out the brand new contest site at http://www.sactest.net/

Puxing PX-777

The Puxing PX-777 VHF Handheld radio arrived from Hong Kong today after exactly 14 days. The quality looks OK and I had no problems programming it when using the quick start guide (PDF) provided by Argent Data Systems.

I have to get used to open repeaters by DTMF or CTSS as the radio does not have a 1750Hz tone.

The GQRP club Mini-Convention

Aage LA1ENA, Kjell LA1KHA, Halvard LA1DNA and myself Mads LA1TPA will attend the GQRP convention 24th October. We will arrive UK Tuesday and stay in Keswick in the Lake District until Saturday before heading back to Ripponden for the convention. We will stay at Premier Inn Huddersfield West.

Hope to see you!

Please check out the new Poll to the right!

http://gqrp.com/rishworth.htm

NRAU Activity Contest (NAC) on 50MHz

Tonight I worked my first 50MHz contest ever. In fact I haven't worked much 50MHz at all so this was a new experience to me. I worked 2 LAs, 3 SMs and 2 OZs from 7 different grid squares.

LA4LN informed me that I was giving out wrong locator. I was giving JO49ug but the correct grid should be JO49uf. I don't know if this will disqualify me or what. I have written the contest manager to ask him before I send my log.

I used my FT-817ND at 5w SSB and a 88 feet doublet antenna.

Thanks to Aage LA1ENA for the spot on the DX Cluster!

Puxing PX-777 VHF Handheld

I have just ordered a Puxing PX-777 VHF Handheld on Ebay. I plan to use it for APRS with the OpenTracker+ that I built some time ago and my Garmin GPSmap 60. The radio gets good reviews on the Internet although the English version of the manual seems to be rather poor. The guys at Argent Data Systems has prepared a quick start guide (PDF) for the radio.

The package contains:

• PX-777 (VHF 136-174Mhz)
• PTT Earpiece
• 7.2v 1200mah Li-ion Battery Pack
• Antenna
• Belt Clip
• English Manual
• Desktop Charger

Price: 68USD including postage to Norway!

Scandinavian Activity Contest 2008

This morning my certificate from the Scandinavian Activity Contest 2008 arrived. I managed to get 1st place in Scandinavia in the SSB single Op QRP class.

I'm not sure I will be able to work the contest this year as I'm scheduled to work that weekend.

Winner of the QRP day event

I received an e-mail here the other day from Peter G3XJS letting me know I was the winner of this years QRP Day event. The event is sponsored by the GQRP club. Peter confirmed that it was not to many other participants and I hope for more QRP stations on the air June 17 next year.

Carrying Case for my Elecraft K3

A week ago I ordered a carrying case for my Elecraft K3. Last night I received an e-mail from Rose with a preview photo of my finished case! That's what I call excellent customer service!

You can check out the products at http://tinyurl.com/7lm3m5

First QSO on the Brendon TCVR!

Tonight I had my first QSO on the Brendon DSB radio! I was talking to LA6GOA/M on 3.670MHz and received 59+ without the linear! The distance was not very far, just a couple of hundred metres. This is pure QRP fun! I have a minor problem that I need to sort out: The audio disappears from time to time on both TX and RX. I will have a look at this later.

MKARS40

I have decided to wait for the 40m version before I order. I guess is the 40m version will be very popular amongst SOTA activators.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/radiokits/mkars80page.html

MKARS80 - 80m SSB kit

I was looking for a new kit to build when I finish the Brendon and found the MKARS80. I've joined the MKARS80 Yahoo group and hoping someone comes up with a mod for 40m so I can use it on my SOTA activations.

The kit is provided by G6ALU.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/radiokits/mkars80page.html

IOTA Contest

During the RSGB IOTA contest this weekend I worked some stations from a SOTA summit on Hinnøya, EU-033. The propagation was not very good and I soon decided to abandon the contest and work some regular sota chasers instead.

More about the trip on my SOTA blog:
http://la1tpa.blogspot.com/2009/07/latr-016-storhornet.html

Islands On The Air Contest 2009

I plan to do some casual operating in the IOTA Contest from EU-033 this weekend. As usual I will work QRP and this time also portable from a SOTA summit.

Contest rules: http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2009/riota.shtml

GQRP Convention

In October Aage LA1ENA, Kjell LA1KHA and myself will attend the GQRP Convention in UK. We will arrive Liverpool on October 20 and drive to the Lake District where we plan to activate some SOTA summits. The convention is on October 24. The trip back home to Norway is scheduled to Sunday 25 October.

http://www.gqrp.org/rishworth.htm

IARU HF World Championship - 2009

The IARU HF World Championship was arranged this weekend and I attended from our cabin in the western part of Telemark County. I mounted the 14AVQ on a fence post and laid out 2 quarter wave counterpoises for each of the bands. I discovered that the low W3DZZ (5 - 8m above ground) could beat the vertical on almost any distance on any band! Next time I will try to mount the vertical closer to ground and with 16 0.1 wavelength radials according to the manual.

I attended in the category: SINGLE-OP ALL QRP SSB

International Reply Coupon Update

I got an e-mail from the Norwegian Postal Service (Posten Norge) saying that the new IRCs are available for the local post offices to order. They can also be purchased directly from Posten Norge.

International reply coupon

Yesterday I visited my local post office to buy a pile of International Reply Coupons. I asked if they had started to sell the new Nairobi Model but they didn't know of any new IRCs. At the end I bought just a few to make sure I'm not getting stuck with a lot of old invalid coupons.

According to several sources the Nairobi Model IRCs should have been available from 1 July 2009 and be valid until 31 December 2013

I've sent an e-mail to the Norwegian Postal Service and asked about this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reply_coupon

Hy-Gain 14AVQ

Today I've got my self a used Hy-Gain 14AVQ vertical antenna. It's a four band trapped vertical for 10m, 15m, 20m and 40m. I'm not sure if a trap vertical is the best choice for QRP operations but it was so cheap I decided to try it.

I plan to test it from our cabin in the upcoming IARU HF World Championship. Will be back with a report from the contest.

http://www.hy-gain.com/man/pdf/AV-14AVQ.pdf

The GQRP club Mini-Convention

Today SPRAT issue 139 arrived with the invitation to The GQRP Mini Convention at Rishworth School, Ripponden. I will attend this year as I did last year. The convention is held Saturday 24th October 2009. Here are some of my photos from the convention in 2008:

From left to right: Kjell LA1KHA, George Dobbs G3RJV, Mads LA1TPA

From left to right: Aage LA1ENA, Kjell LA1KHA

From left to right: Johnny Apell SM7UCZ, Kjell LA1KHA

Paraset replica built by Johnny Apell SM7UCZ

Traders and visitors in the large hall at Rishworth School

A Simple Telephony Transmitter Tester

Yesterday I built the Simple Telephony Transmitter Tester by Steve Hartley G0FUW found in Hot Iron issue 64. I built it on a perfboard with copper islands. The circuit is a simple audio oscillator often used for morse code practice. I intend to use the tester to align the Brendon transceiver that I've built.

The problem is that I can't get it to oscillate! I might have blown the BC212 transistor as I didn't bother to get my ESD protection mat and wrist strap from the basement. Luckily I ordered more than one BC212 so I will replace it and check if that was the problem.

Hot Iron is the newsletter of Tim Walfords Construction Club. You will find the website of Walford Electronics at http://walfordelectronics.co.uk/

NRAU Activity Contest (NAC) on 28MHz

Last night I stopped by at the club station to check if the 10m band was open. I worked a couple of stations before M0HLT asked me if the NRAU Activity Contest was about to start. I told him that I didn't think so and that NAC is only arranged every second thursday of the month.

After finishing the qso I checked with the NRRLs webiste and found out that I was wrong. NAC is arranged the first thursday of the month. I tried to look up Andys e-mail on the web to correct the misleading info but couldn't find it. I'm terribly sorry Andy!

I joined the contest and worked 12 stations in the one hour SSB part. All with an Kenwood TS-570D turned down to 5w and a vertical CB antenna.

I could see from the DX cluster that an OHØ-station was active but the skip was to long to work him. To bad as I need Aland for my DXCC.

DXCCs: OH, DL, G, F, S5

PY worked with 5 watt

Tonight I managed to break the pile-up and work PY5QW with just 5 watt SSB and a W3DZZ antenna. This is my first PY-station - in fact this is my first South American station ever. Vigand gave me a 44 report and we were able to chat for a couple of minutes. He was truly 57 with me.

My QRP DXCC list now counts 64 countries: http://home.broadpark.no/~mnygaa/dxcc.html

Brendon TCVR completed!

Yesterday I finished building the Brendon TCVR. Now I only need to find a suitable Dynamic Mic to test the radio. I have already tested the receiver and it works very well. The first station I heard was LA9XV.

I have ordered parts to build a simple audio oscillator to align the radio before going on the air. I'm also waiting for the linear amplifier kit to arrive but will test the radio at 1,5W before adding the amplifier.

I found the building instructions easy to follow and I especially liked the test procedures after each building step. This way the builder can be confident that the previous sections are working before a new section is added.

88 feet doublet

On portable operations I use a 2 x 13.4 mtrs doublet that Ken GM0AXY described on the sota reflector. I'm very impressed with it on 20m - 10m, it's working OK on 40m and it's working on 80m. I have read that you can improve NVIS performance by laying a wire on the ground beneath the antenna but I've not tried this myself yet.

Here the other day I discovered an article about the antenna by Casey NA7U.
http://www.tomochka.com/na7u/doublet/w4rnlbackup.html

Building the Brendon phone transceiver

This morning I started building the Brendon phone transceiver. I've already mounted the front panel with all the controls and started to add parts to the main PCB. The instructions are easy to follow.

I have also ordered a linear amplifier kit from Tim Walford to upgrade the rig.

Later I might try to modify it to work on 40m with a 7.159MHz crystal from the G-QRP club shop. I'm aware that the tuning range will be very narrow with this mod.

QRP Day log

I have now e-mailed my QRP day log to Peter G3XJS, the communications manager of G-QRP club. Not too many QRP stations were heard on SSB and I don't know how many QRP stations I worked during the event.

June 17 - International QRP Day

I'm planning a SOTA activation on June 17, the International QRP Day. As some of you might know I always operate at QRP levels on my SOTA activations. To celebrate the International QRP Day I hope for a lot of 2-way QRP QSOs on this activation.

I normally start calling cq on 7.125MHz before QSYing to 14.285MHz.

I'm a G-QRP and QRP-ARCI member and a 2-way QRP QSO will count towards the Worked G-QRP club and Worked All ARCI awards.

FTBasicMMO

I have for some time now wished to synchronise the memories on my 3 Yaesu Radios, the FT-817ND, the FT-857D and the VX-6. Yesterday I purchased a program called FTBasicMMO written by Bob G4HFQ. At first I had some problems getting it to work so I sent Bob an e-mail asking for help. He replied quickly and it turned out I had chosen the wrong type of radio (FT-857 not FT-857D US model). After correcting the setting in the software it all works like a dream.

I have now programmed all the repeaters and simplex frequencies that I use for mobile operating into my FT-857D and will soon do the same thing with my FT-817ND. When it comes to the VX-6 I will use VX-6 Commander written by Jim KC8UNJ.

http://www.g4hfq.co.uk/ftbasic.html
http://www.kc8unj.com/vx6.html

And BTW: My FT-857D is always turned down to 5w ;-)

New DXCC

Tonight I stopped by at the Club Station again the check if 10m was still open. I worked 3 stations including Iceland which is a new DXCC for me! I'm off to the post office tomorrow morning to buy more IRCs.

My QRP DXCC list now counts 63 countries: http://home.broadpark.no/~mnygaa/dxcc.html

5/8 CB antenna

Yesterday we temporarily replaced the faulty 80-10m Moonraker vertical we used to have on LA1G Club Station with an old 5/8 CB antenna. I have been testing it for some time today with good results. I worked 7 stations in an hour including DL, GW, F, LA and a 2-way QRP contact with a G-station. All stations were worked with 5 watts SSB.

Nordic Portable Contest - results

The results from the Nordic Portable Contest May 17th 2009 are ready:

http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/res/r09smpv.htm

LA1KHA/P got the 4th place in Single Operator - Mixed (Winner in Norway). La1TPA/P was number 18 in Single Operator - SSB (Winner in Norway). We were the only two Norwegian stations in the contest...

The contest is hosted by the Swedish Radio organisation Sveriges Sändareamatörer, SSA

The Brendon Phone TCVR

This morning I finally decided to order one of Tim Walfords kits, The Brendon Phone TCVR. This is a double sideband (DSB) 80m transciever producing 1.5W. I'm looking forward to build it and also to test it on the air! You can have a look at the kits available at http://walfordelectronics.co.uk/.

NAC 10 update

This was really not a Big Hit! On the summit I erected my Extended Double Zepp antenna and did a test qso with an Italian station. He gave me a 57 report and that's a good report considering I was running 5 watts.

Very soon the wind was getting very heavy and I decided to pack my portable station away and move inside the car. I only worked two local stations even though I could hear several stations calling CQ. I did not bother to work the FM period.

Rig: Yaesu FT-857D turned down to 5w
Ant: ATAS-100 mobile antenna

NAC 10

Tonight I will be active in the NRAU Activity Contest on 10m from a local hilltop called Vealøs. This is also a SOTA summit but my activation will not qualify for SOTA as I plan to drive there by car.

I will work the SSB (28,500 ± 50 khz) and FM (29,600 ± 80 khz) periods using my Yaesu FT-817ND at 5W.

Periods:
CW: 17.00 - 18.00 UTC
SSB: 18.00 - 19.00 UTC
FM: 19.00 - 20.00 UTC
MGM/Digital: 20.00 - 21.00 UTC

Contest rules in Norwegian

Shack in a box

Today I finished making a pine box with shelves for my QRP station. On top I placed the Diamond GSV-3000 power supply. Bellow that I put the control box for the MFJ-1788x mag loop and the Kent twin paddle. At the bottom I made room for the Elecraft K3/10 QRP transciever.

Magnetic Loop problems solved

When opening the plastic cover on the MFJ-1788x mag loop antenna I found that one of the micro switches that indicates that the capacitor is turned all the way up/down was not working. Somehow I got it fixed and the antenna is now working. I haven't had much time to play with it yet but at least I'm hearing stations! Will be back with a more thorough report later

QRPSPOTS

The Four State QRP Group is hosting a web service called qrpspots.com. This is a web cluster for QRP spots.


WAØITP writes:

Thank you for using and checking it often. It is ideal for home or portable use, self spotting is encouraged, as are Sprints, Nets, and other announcements. This is your QRP bulletin board on the web.

Thank you for using Four States' QRP spotting page.

More 10m contacts

Last night I also worked one F station and one MJ station on 10m. The QSOs were made from the shack of our local radio club where I am a board member and QSL manager. I used a Kenwood TS-570D turned down to 5 watts and a W3DZZ trapped dipole antenna.

10m contacts

Today I made 7 10m QSOs during my activation of SOTA LA/TM-018 Hørsfjell. The equipment I used was a Yaesu FT-817ND at 5 watts, Elecraft T1 ATU and a 20m Extended Double Zepp antenna (2*13,4m) inverted V style supported by a 6m telescopic pole. I also did some listening on 12m but could not hear any other stations.

DXCCs: OM, DL, HB9, S5, 9A, YU

Nordic Portable Contest

May 17th is the Norwegian Constitution Day (hence the flag...) but I managed to work a few stations in the Nordic Portable Contest. LA1KHA/P was also QRV and I hope he was able to work a lot more stations than I did.


This contest favours QRP stations by giving a multiplier based on output power:

• Mult. 01: More than 64 W
• Mult. 02: 16 - 64 W
• Mult. 03: 4 - 16 W
• Mult. 04: 1 - 4 W
• Mult. 05: Less than 1 W

I experienced a lot of QSB and lost a lot of QSOs due to this. I'm hoping for better conditions in August in the autumn part of the contest!


http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/smp.htm

Parts from Hong Kong

Today I received two packets from Hong Kong by mail. One was containing a no-name FNB-80Li clone (battery) and the other one was containing an Yaesu CD-15A table charger. Both were for my Yaesu VX-6 handheld transceiver. This is the first time ever that I've bought anything from E bay.

The fancy thing I was not aware of is that you don't actually need the radio to charge the battery with this charger. This way you can charge one battery while you are using the other one!

It took 10 days from ordering to delivery from two different companies. Both items were well bellow the Nok 200 limit that make them tax free.

QRP spots on DX Summit

DX Summit is a web based DX cluster and has the possibility to filter on QRP spots only. Watching this might help you when looking for 2-way QRP QSOs. DX Summit is operated by Radio Arcala, OH8X.

DX Summit - Last QRP DX spots