W2LJ's Blog - QRP - Do More With Less.

I just had to go down to the basement to hook up the PFR3A to the antenna again, just to listen to 40 Meters for a while. I am so happy that it is working now .... you have no idea!It's going to take a bit of getting used...

Read more

While I was tooling around with the PFR3A, I kept the K2 on and did some dial twiddling. In the process, on 17 Meters, I managed to work David MIØSRR. David lives in Northern Ireland, near Belfast. I've worked Northern Ireland before; but not with QRP, so...

Read more

A few weeks ago, I received the replacement 50 MHz clock oscillator chip from Dan Tayloe N7VE, for my PFR3A. I soldered U11 in; and was disappointed with still no receive signals on 40 Meters. All the voltages were now more or less correct - due to the...

Read more

Yesterday was another one of those great meteorological days. It poured - "cats and dogs" poured ..... Biblical "Noah's Ark" poured! It started raining early in the morning and didn't finish until sometime after Midnight. And the wind was awful.I had to take my son Joey...

Read more

It was posted on the QRP e-mail reflectors that a bunch of QRPers were headed up to Cape Cod to activate the Marconi site at Wellfleet as Special Event Station W1M, tonight and tomorrow. Tonight was supposed to be dedicated to operations on 160 Meters and 80 Meters.The...

Read more

Call it envy, call it wonder, call it what you will. I was listening to the local VHF repeater on the way home and was listening to a few guys discuss their latest plans to purchase new HF gear. And these guys weren't buying to replace boat anchors....

Read more

and good weather are an exciting combination. Please read Jim W1PID's latest QRP adventure.The past few days have been gorgeous here in NJ, too. Highs have been in the 50s and the snow from just a week ago is now just a memory, pretty much. There are...

Read more

Last weekend there was a foot of snow on the ground. Tomorrow and Sunday it will get up into the mid 50s,From Winter to Spring in a week - how about that?And if that's all I can think to write about; I must be tired!Some random and disconnected thoughts...

Read more

To describe this past week as "Hell Week" at work would be an understatement. I had a feeling it was going to be bad - but in the end, I really had no idea. This was pretty much how it went all week:"Do this important job" - Job...

Read more

These images have been released by NASA, taken with the Terra satellite. For more information, you can read about it here. To think that my itty 5 Watts has spanned these distances is truly mind boggling! Also, without getting preachy, these pictures serve as good reminder as to...

Read more

I soldered in the new oscillator clock chip that Dan Tayloe sent me; and unfortunately, not much difference. And yes, I did re-read the correspondence I had with KD1JV to make sure I put it in the right way! The voltages are correct now; but still no receive...

Read more

For the words in my previous post, I mean.Did it snow last night! To the point that I woke up to a scene that was totally white! AccuWeather.com was correct; and like a fool, I doubted them. Woe is me! :) I had to shovel...

Read more

Hopefully, this storm is turning out to be more hype than substance, at least in Central NJ. The snow accumulation has been about an inch - maybe. The main roads are clear and the secondary roads are slushy. The snow is wet and heavy and I'm glad...

Read more

One of the things that intrigues me the most (and frustrates me the most) about Amateur Radio is the mystical qualities of propagation. Over the weekend in the DX Contest, I worked a good chunk of the world with 5 Watts. Latvia, Turkmenistan, Croatia, Kaliningrad, all of these were...

Read more

Today, I did something on the way home from work, that I don't do everyday. I turned on the VHF/UHF radio and listened some to the local 2 Meter repeater. And I heard two words that made my blood run cold - "Nor'Easter" and "snow". There were...

Read more

I know I previously mentioned that I made about 50 QSOs in the sparse time that was available for me to operate in the DX Contest this past weekend. But here's an overview of the countries that I worked, each marked with a red pin:You can click on the map...

Read more

There was not much time to play around in the DX Contest today. My daughter had that cheerleading competition, which effectively took the entire day. I was able to get on for about a half hour before leaving for Mass this morning. 15 Meters was open and...

Read more

Now that I have the two antennas plugged into the K2 together, it is much easier to do an A/B comparison. Now, instead of flicking a coax switch, I just push a button and can hear the differences instantaneously. And what I heard tonight surprised me.On 40 Meters...

Read more

40 Meters was not nearly as fruitful tonight as the higher bands were during the daylight hours. I was hearing mostly Europeans and very loud stateside stations. I worked a few Germans and Poles and that was about it. Nothing too exotic on 40 Meters tonight. I...

Read more

In the ARRL DX Contest ! Both 10 and 15 Meters are open and I am just going around randomly working stations that I can pick out among the madness. Boy, there sure seems to be a lot of guys who have trekked down to the Caribbean, particularly...

Read more

Jim W1PID is about one of the nicest guys you could meet, anywhere. Whenever I hear him on the air; he has a great signal and a friendly greeting. He is a boon to the QRP community. All that and he has great adventures, too!Operating on Hermit...

Read more

I received a response from Dan Tayloe N7VE regarding the U11 50 MHz Reference Oscillator that needs to be replaced on my PFR3A. He has a spare and is going to pop it into the mail for me. Dan is the one who pre-mounts the SMT parts on...

Read more

If it's Tuesday night; and it's Winter; then it has to be 80 Meter QRP Foxhunt night! And tonight was nice - to start out with. The band was quiet, hardly any QRN at all. Very nice conditions for hunting Foxes. And hunt them I did;...

Read more

The "Buzz" on the QRP e-mail reflectors has been the suggestion that QRPers move their base of operations up in the 40 Meter band as a way of avoiding the increasing amounts of QRM around both 7.040 MHz and 7.030 MHz.After a posting from Prof. Arnie Coro CO2KK, it seems...

Read more

Today is "President's Day" in the USA; a national holiday to honor and celebrate all those who have held the office of President of the United States over our 200+ year history. I know, as far as age goes, we're still "babes in the woods" compared to a lot...

Read more