The sun was shining bright today. So bright that the caravan was like an oven. My Chinese paddle could not withstand the heat.
Paddle melted by the sun
Ameland on the air. Campsite QRV
Today I finally managed to put up my mini end fed antenna for 40, 20 and 10 meters. First QSO still to be made. Waiting for the bands to get back alive after a weekend full of Aurora.
Ameland on the air
This is my current antenna setup. An end fed half wave. Feedpoint at about 3,6 meter sloping up to 5 meters in the open field. Happy ham.
Cloudlog Aurora
Peter 2M0SQL has released Cloudlog Aurora being the misssing link between several desktop applications and Cloudlog. Because of that there is no need anymore for Log2.
Log2 will be removed from this site.
Travel case for Rigexpert Stick 230
Something that really was bothering me was the fact that the Rigexpert Stick 230 was not protected while traveling to a POTA spot. I came across this protective case for an electric toothbrush at Alie Express. The Rigexpert Stick fits nicely in the hard shell case. There is even room for some small connectors or cable.
CQWW SSB 2022 And the winner is…..!!
This old man did it. Well for The Netherlands that is. And as only QRP operator on 40 meter from The Netherlands. That’s the way to become #1 for your country in the CQWW contest.. Let’s play the national anthem for this. And additional #19 in Europe… Great achievement….. 😉
Perfect POTA Pole
Perfect POTA Pole
Did I really find the Perfect POTA Pole? I already have this 7 meter long fishing pole which I tend to use when going out for POTA or WWFF activations. Collapsed for transport this pole is 114 cm. At the same company where I bought this one they also have a 6 meter travel pole with a transport length of 56 cm. I really like the decreased transport length since I will be using this pole when travelling either by bike or foot. It can easily be attached to my backpack. Check the pole out here.
The tip of the pole
Did I mention the orange tip? Not yet so it seems. The orange tip on top of the pole has a sliding tube where you easily can attach your antenna wire and securing it just by sliding it back to the top. Might come in very handy.
Guying the pole
And you know what’s best? My guying set (see my previous post) fits like a glove to this one as well. Happy HAM.
Guying ring for POTA use
I tend to use a 7 meter fishing pole from Decathlon as antenna mast when being out in the field for POTA or WWFF. Until today I was using a parasol herring as base pin for the mast. Today I finished this project consisting of a guying ring with a 32 mm hole in the middle and three additional holes for guy lines. This ring slides over the second part of the pole and thus resting on the first part. Guying it of to three places with lines and pegs and you are good to go. The item is made of a piece of cutting board bought at the Action for € 0.69. The guy lines and pegs were bought at Gamma.
Altogether this is lighter solution for travelling.
Some additional photo’s:
PAFF-0073 Ameland, March 11 2023
My third activation. This time walking 1 kilometer to end up in the forest area of Ameland. PAFF-0073. A strong wind wiped over the island when I found a reasonably sheltered spot in the woods next to a lake.
Determined with the help of Google Maps and Easy QTH locator (iPhone app) that I had ended up in the designated area. After I set up the antenna and set up the set found a frequency. Ian, G7HFS/M was kind enough to relinquish 7,144 to me. After a few calls, Kurt, ON4CB came back for me. Then it was eerily silent. While explaining to an unsuspecting passerby what I was doing I changed frequency and ended up at 14.244. There neatly asked if the frequency was in use. I received no response to that. After a number of calls, a station 9++ came in to tell me ( instructed me) to stop transmitting because he had been on or around that frequency for 9 hours. When asked for his callsign I was only told to stop transmitting. So much for the gentleman in amateur land. Because no one had come back in the meantime and I also had something better to do, I broke things up again and went home. I enjoyed being in nature.
Lessons learned. Do not activate in a contest weekend…….
Log2 Interface between various HAM programs and Cloudlog and/or E-qsl
I decided to go public with this program that i built for personal use. It’s basically an UDP listener. Once packets are received they will be directed to Cloudlog and/or E-qsl. No support will be given on the program. Go to the Log2 download page.