40M4LLDD Delivered

Adam dropped the big 40m beam off this morning.  I had been playing in the Minnesota QSO Party and chasing some NPOTA activators, so I’d missed his call.  Holy crap, this boom is huge. Getting seriously excited!  Still waiting on a couple more RF and control parts.  Final order for structural parts will go out tonight.

“Failed” NPOTA

tl;dr: We activated two NPOTA units and the ARRL assessed them as invalid. I agree, but have determined to attempt a valid activation! When the ARRL announced the National Parks On The Air, my buddy Jean (KG7NJQ) and I started plotting and scheming a local activation.  I immediately noticed the two urban locations in Seattle, within …

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K5P, Super Quick LoTW!

Just sync’ed DXKeeper with LoTW and was pleasantly surprised to see that K5P had already uploaded! Call Band Mode Station Call Result K5P 15M SSB K7ADD new confirmation for Palmyra & Jarvis Islands: 15M K5P 12M SSB K7ADD new confirmation for Palmyra & Jarvis Islands: 12M K5P 20M SSB K7ADD new confirmation for Palmyra & …

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Wrong Controller

Prior to the shack-relocation and remodel, I was using a 2-element SteppIR at ~30 feet and a ZS6BKW at ~55 feet.  With the move inside, I’ve compromised and I’m only using the ZS6BKW (relocated – now broadside E/W @ ~70 feet with the help of W7ECK).  This is about as simple as it gets.  One rig, …

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WPX Awards

I have a friendly competition with a couple of other hams around # of worked DXCC entities, contest scores, and occasionally, who’ll break through a pileup first. I enjoy the slight gamification of amateur radio.  It’s slightly more than “fake radio points” but not by much. I spend time on the IRC channel affiliated with …

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