Author Archives: robert

At 16,000 QSOs in LotW

Posted on November 10, 2021 by robert

Not hard to do these days, given all the CWTs I’ve been participating in, as well as POTA activations. The percentage of confirmed contacts has been dropping, primarily due to the large number of state-side QSOs I’ve had.  Apparently, few … Continue reading →

Posted in Goals, LotW | Leave a comment

50 RI Parks Activated!

Posted on November 9, 2021 by robert

Lynn and I had anticipated that today would be a stellar fall day in Rhode Island, and it certainly was.  We left the house around 11 AM, and by noon (1700Z) I was on the air at the Blackstone River … Continue reading →

Posted in Activation, Goals, POTA | Leave a comment

Finally, after almost 7 years, 1500 DXCC Challenge Band Points

Posted on November 7, 2021 by robert

Prior to 2012, I had only 7 QSLs from DXCC countries (USA, AK, HI, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain).  I wasn’t a DXer, but I had volunteered for years at the W4 QSL Bureau.  I got to see QSL cards … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, Goals | Leave a comment

Wireless? Pull the other one!

Posted on November 4, 2021 by robert

A shiny-new QRP Labs 4om QCX-mini joined the collection of QRP rigs today.  My thanks to Jon, W8TY (Ohio), who did the heavy lifting for my first QSO using the mini.  I’m still amazed at the performance of a transceiver … Continue reading →

Posted in QCX-mini, QRP | Leave a comment

Increasing Solar Activity in Cycle 25 == DX fun!

Posted on November 1, 2021 by robert

Solar Cycle 25 is well underway with Sunspot Numbers at values not seen in six years! (Above the prediction for this early in the cycle 25).  I’ve been having fun on all the higher frequency bands recently, with 10/12/15 open … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycle 25, DX, Propagation, Solar Cycles | Leave a comment

Worked VK5PW on 160m this morning

Posted on October 20, 2021 by robert

I’ve only heard Australian stations a couple of times on 160m, but they have never heard me before.  This morning broke the curse, and I was able to work VK5PW on 160m via grey-line.  Now I’m hoping that he uploads … Continue reading →

Posted in 160-Meters, DX, FT8 | Leave a comment

Two more park activations: K-0789 and K-2880

Posted on October 18, 2021 by robert

Today was another beautiful brisk fall day.  Clear skies, temp in the upper 50s, fall colors about to come in.  My wife and our dog Jaclyn were restless, so it was time for a trip to a couple new parks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Activation, POTA | Leave a comment

Added Stenogyne Kanehoana POTA Award

Posted on October 15, 2021 by robert

Stenogyne Kanehoana is a rare flowering member of the mint family found only on the Island of Ohau.  This is the name of the Hunter award for working 400 unique parks in the Parks on the Air program.  Was last … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, CW, POTA | Leave a comment

Who says CW is dead?!?

Posted on October 13, 2021 by robert

The CWT at 1300Z (9 AM Eastern) on 40-meters.  Those 30 KHz are jammed with signals.  Will be many more at 1900Z. This was CWT #68 for me. There are 11 more Wednesdays left in 2021, with 3 contests each, … Continue reading →

Posted in CW, CWops, CWT | Leave a comment

POTA Time!

Posted on October 1, 2021 by robert

I last did POTA Activations in March (although I’ve kept hunting since then).  With the coming of spring, the parks started getting full of people, cars, electrical noise, etc.  Not something I wanted to be doing during a COVID resurgence.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Activation, From the OM, NPOTA, POTA | Leave a comment