Monday, April 29, 2013

N3ZN Key Arrived Today

The N3ZN SL-jr made by Tony Baleno arrived today.  The package would have survived a 2000 foot drop (exaggerated for effect) - it was so well done.  Tony does not take any short cuts.  A picture of the key is behind this blogs title.  The key spacing has been preset for a very light touch.  I have not tried any adjustments yet.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Details on My Quest for DXCC QRP

Radios used to make the contacts:
Yaesu FT897: 4
Elecraft K2: 47
Elecraft KX1: 8
Elecraft KX3: 42

Some Statistics on antennas used:
Longest Contact: Rodriguez Island 10090 miles with the K2 with ZS6BKW
Shortest Contact" Canada at 692 miles with the K2

Almost 90% of the contacts were made on 3 amateur bands: 40m, 30m and 20m

Three antennas were used at various times - The Par End Fed Z - multiband end fed dipole, the full size G5RV, and the ZS6BKW.  The latter 2 are multi-band dipoles fed with 450 ohm window lines.  The average distance for a contact on the Par antenna was 4433 miles.  The ZS6BKW outdistanced the G5RV by about 310 miles on average with the G5RV averaging 3544 miles/contact while the ZS6BKW average 3854 per contact.  The contact with Rodriguez Island skewed the average to the ZS6BKW.  Here is the complete list.

Callsign QSO Date Entity Name RIG Distance Bearing Mode Antenna Band
LX7I 19-Feb-11 Luxembourg FT897 4381 46 CW G5RV 40
OE5FBL 3-Jun-11 Austria FT897 4761 46 CW G5RV 20
FR5HA 4-Jun-11 Reunion I. FT897 9700 82 CW G5RV 20
CO4RM 8-Jun-11 Cuba FT897 872 171 CW G5RV 40
LS1D 11-Jun-11 Argentina K2 4863 166 CW G5RV 20
HK3O 11-Jun-11 Colombia K2 2067 164 CW G5RV 40
YN2MJ 11-Jun-11 Nicaragua K2 1470 188 CW G5RV 40
VE3RTU 3-Jul-11 Canada K2 693 12 CW G5RV 40
PV8ADI 8-Jul-11 Brazil K2 3584 143 CW G5RV 40
IR2C 8-Jul-11 Italy K2 4879 51 CW G5RV 20
LZ9W 9-Jul-11 Bulgaria K2 5413 46 CW G5RV 20
GR2HQ 10-Jul-11 England K2 4013 45 CW G5RV 40
KH6ZM 15-Jul-11 Hawaii K2 4547 278 CW G5RV 40
R5ZZ 24-Jul-11 European Russia KX1 5260 30 CW G5RV 20
UA9FGJ 29-Jul-11 Asiatic Russia K2 5433 358 CW G5RV 20
LY53SOP 29-Jul-11 Lithuania K2 4864 35 CW G5RV 40
GM0ADX 30-Jul-11 Scotland K2 3844 40 CW G5RV 20
DL5ZBA 13-Aug-11 Federal Rep of Germany KX1 4515 44 CW G5RV 40
MD0CCE 13-Aug-11 Isle of Man K2 3870 44 CW G5RV 20
SP3GXH 3-Nov-11 Poland K2 4806 40 CW G5RV 40
OV1CDX 4-Nov-11 Denmark KX1 4379 39 CW G5RV 40
K7RL 7-Nov-11 USA K2 2296 206 CW G5RV 20
H18A 13-Nov-11 Dominican Republic K2 1241 143 CW G5RV 40
OK1DMZ 22-Nov-11 Czech Republic K2 4781 43 CW G5RV 12
P40L 27-Nov-11 Aruba K2 1665 150 CW G5RV 20
C5A 27-Nov-11 The Gambia K2 4311 92 CW G5RV 20
EA8BVP 4-Dec-11 Canary Is. K2 3892 76 CW G5RV 15
VP9/K2XX 6-Dec-11 Bermuda K2 1006 92 CW G5RV 30
V25RV 5-Jan-12 Antigua & Barbuda K2 1709 128 CW G5RV 30
V31JP 7-Jan-12 Belize K2 1245 201 CW G5RV 30
OA1F 7-Jan-12 Peru K2 3063 172 CW G5RV 20
5B4AHL 28-Jan-12 Cyprus K2 6080 48 CW G5RV 15
PJ4LS 4-Feb-12 Bonaire K2 1737 147 SSB G5RV 20
YY5RTX 11-Feb-12 Venezuela K2 2064 147 CW G5RV 40
PA6Z 12-Feb-12 Netherlands K2 4303 44 CW G5RV 30
F5IN 23-Feb-12 France KX1 4312 51 CW G5RV 40
HA9RT 25-Feb-12 Hungary K2 5012 44 CW G5RV 40
9A7R 26-Feb-12 Croatia KX1 4914 48 CW G5RV 40
J38A 5-Mar-12 Grenada KX1 1979 135 CW G5RV 30
ZF2AH 14-Mar-12 Cayman Is. KX1 1016 177 CW G5RV 40
6Y0A 18-Mar-12 Jamaica K2 1126 165 CW G5RV 30
XF1AA 18-Mar-12 Mexico KX1 1387 245 CW G5RV 30
VP5/W5CW 21-Mar-12 Turks & Caicos Is. K2 1046 141 CW G5RV 20
FG8NY 24-Mar-12 Guadeloupe K2 1765 129 CW G5RV 30
YO6LV 27-Mar-12 Romania K2 5276 43 CW G5RV 40
V44KAI 28-Mar-12 St. Kitts & Nevis K2 1649 129 CW G5RV 40
SM51O 9-Jun-12 Sweden K2 4393 32 CW G5RV 40
KL7AA 24-Jun-12 Alaska K2 3588 328 CW G5RV 20
KP4ES 24-Jun-12 Puerto Rico K2 1446 135 CW G5RV 40
ES5RR 11-Aug-12 Estonia KX3 4780 32 CW G5RV 20
YT3M 11-Aug-12 Serbia KX3 5197 46 CW G5RV 20
S53M 11-Aug-12 Slovenia K2 4833 47 CW G5RV 20
UW5Q 11-Aug-12 Ukraine KX3 5301 38 CW G5RV 20
S02R 11-Aug-12 Western Sahara KX3 4072 79 CW G5RV 20
LA1J 16-Aug-12 Norway KX3 4224 34 CW G5RV 40
EA6NB 11-Sep-12 Balearic Is. KX3 4553 57 CW ZS6BKW 40
ZS1JX 11-Sep-12 South Africa KX3 8080 108 CW ZS6BKW 80
KP2/K5WE 24-Sep-12 US Virgin Is. KX3 1547 132 CW ZS6BKW 40
EW7LO 27-Sep-12 Belarus KX3 5067 35 CW ZS6BKW 40
FY8PE 27-Sep-12 French Guiana KX3 1784 132 CW ZS6BKW 20
OP4F 28-Sep-12 Belgium KX3 4314 45 CW ZS6BKW 15
CU4ARG 29-Sep-12 Azores KX3 3019 67 CW ZS6BKW 40
8P6DR 29-Sep-12 Barbados KX3 2012 130 CW ZS6BKW 40
ZA/OK1DX 1-Oct-12 Albania KX3 5268 49 CW PAR-3015 30
HC2SL 2-Oct-12 Ecuador KX3 2455 174 CW ZS6BKW 40
ER1DA 2-Oct-12 Moldova KX3 5392 41 CW PAR-3015 30
5N7M 2-Oct-12 Nigeria KX3 5810 82 CW ZS6BKW 80
TG9ADM 4-Oct-12 Guatemala KX3 1378 204 CW PAR-3015 30
EI3KG 5-Oct-12 Ireland K2 3745 45 CW PAR-3015 30
HP1/IZ6BRN 5-Oct-12 Panama KX3 1731 175 CW PAR-3015 30
IS0IGV 6-Oct-12 Sardinia KX3 4814 54 CW ZS6BKW 40
D3AA 11-Oct-12 Angola K2 7289 95 CW PAR-3015 30
TI2KWN 11-Oct-12 Costa Rica K2 1662 185 CW ZS6BKW 40
E71A 12-Oct-12 Bosnia Herzegovina K2 5043 48 CW PAR-3015 30
PZ1DV 12-Oct-12 Suriname K2 2660 135 CW PAR-3015 30
4X130RISHON 13-Oct-12 Israel KX3 6328 50 CW ZS6BKW 40
ZL3IO 13-Oct-12 New Zealand K2 8421 238 CW ZS6BKW 40
HB9TNW 14-Oct-12 Switzerland KX3 4554 38 CW ZS6BKW 17
4J5A 15-Oct-12 Azerbaijan K2 6360 CW PAR-3015 30
3B9SP 15-Oct-12 Rodriguez Island K2 10094 74 CW ZS6BKW 17
J79WE 17-Oct-12 Dominica  KX3 1819 130 CW PAR-3015 30
RI1ANF 17-Oct-12 Franz Josef Land KX3 6761 169 CW ZS6BKW 20
ZP5NT 24-Oct-12 Paraguay KX3 4393 155 CW PAR-3015 20
6V7S 24-Oct-12 Senegal KX3 4349 89 CW ZS6BKW 20
OH0V 27-Oct-12 Aland Islands KX3 4603 32 SSB ZS6BKW 20
OG3077F 27-Oct-12 Finland KX3 4663 27 SSB ZS6BKW 20
TF3CW 27-Oct-12 Iceland KX3 3338 31 SSB ZS6BKW 20
C6AZZ 31-Oct-12 Bahamas KX3 767 150 CW ZS6BKW 40
OM/HA6NL 5-Nov-12 Slovak Republic KX3 4971 72 CW ZS6BKW 40
D44TWO 8-Nov-12 Cape Verde  KX3 3783 94 CW ZS6BKW 40
CN8KD 13-Nov-12 Morocco KX3 4347 68 CW ZS6BKW 40
LY2KO 17-Nov-12 Latvia KX3 4864 35 CW ZS6BKW 10
9Y4/DL7VOG 18-Nov-12 Trinidad & Tobago KX3 2089 136 CW ZS6BKW 40
HR9/WQ7R 19-Nov-12 Honduras KX3 1348 105 CW ZS6BKW 40
EL2LF 20-Nov-12 Liberia KX3 4963 94 CW ZS6BKW 40
PJ2/DL9FJ 22-Nov-12 Curacao KX3 1713 148 CW ZS6BKW 40
FM/KL7WA 22-Nov-12 Martinique KX3 1868 130 CW ZS6BKW 40
PJ7I 22-Nov-12 St Maarten KX3 1601 129 CW ZS6BKW 40
FS/K9NB 22-Nov-12 St Martin KX3 1605 128 CW ZS6BKW 40
CT7/OJ0M 23-Nov-12 Portugal KX3 3995 61 CW ZS6BKW 20
J6/N7QT 2-Dec-12 St. Lucia K2 1910 131 CW ZS6BKW 40

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Update from ARS NY4G

Well it has been a while since I posted on my radio blog. Things have been busy on other fronts. I have a regular QSO with N0TR on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 0730 EST on 7090 KHz on 40m. He lives about 6 miles from me - so this must be ground wave. This way I can keep up and not lose the "fist".