[W2LJ] Tonight's the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt
 

W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!

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Tonight's the 40 Meter QRP Fox hunt

Posted: 10 Dec 2019 05:30 AM PST
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and I am not hopeful.

The two Foxes are Steve WX2S in NJ, who is about 18 miles from me. Unless
ground wave is possible, Steve may be too close. The other Fox is Don NK6A
all the way in California. I suppose if 40 Meters is way long, he is a
possibility - but I'm not holding my breath. I hate to be such a "Debbie
Downer" about this; but if I'm anything, I tend to be a realist.

However .......... and this is the wild card in this thing. A cold front
will be going through our area this evening. Yesterday and today have been
rainy days with temperatures in the 50s. That's supposed to change tonight,
with temperatures plummeting and the rain changing to snow. The
prognosticators are calling for anywhere between 1 - 3 inches of the white
stuff for our area. Maybe, just maybe, that front will be conducive to me
being able to hear WX2S via ground wave. Who knows?

I know that weather affects the VHF/UHF frequencies more than the HF ones,
but one never know, does one? Propagation prediction seems to be as much an
art as a science. In my most humble opinion, anyone who says they have
propagation all figured out is kidding themselves.

The snow is coming at just the right time. I leave after work tomorrow to
go pick up my daughter from college for Christmas break. The snow
accumulation will be minimal, but some drivers around here tend to go
absolutely insane as soon as they see the first flake. I generally refer to
them as the "I Brake For A Flake" crowd. Then of course, you have the road
runners who love to take snowy roads at 80 MPH. When the roads are all
white and slick, I tend to follow the advice of the turtle from the
fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" ........ slow and steady wins the race.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!