W2LJ QRP .... Do More With Less

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The KISS principle - always a winner.

Posted: 04 Oct 2016 01:17 PM PDT
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WARNING! The following post contains OPINION. It is not meant to slight
anyone, or to infer that the author knows better than anyone else. The Good
Lord knows, THAT'S not true. LOL!

I was wafting through Facebook, and I saw a post on the ARRL NPOTA page
about a "busted" activation that only yielded 5 QSOs - a minimum of 10 is
needed for a valid activation. Mind you, not 10 QSLs - 10 QSOs.

I looked at the pictures he posted and everything looked pretty good. I am
thinking that it was just a case of lousy band conditions. He definitely
deserved an "A" for effort. BUT, (there's ALWAYS a "but", isn't there?)
his setup, while looking marvelous, appeared a bit too elaborate for my
taste.

And that, I think, is where a lot of NPOTA activators and I part company.
I've seen many photos of setups that approach Field Day scenarios.
Like ....... did anyone notice the cover of the latest DX Engineering
catalog? There was an NPOTA setup there that looked better than our SPARC
Field Day.

It seems many NPOTA activators are there for marathon sessions - hours upon
hours, handing out hundreds of QSOs. That's good for all the chasers and I
applaud them; but I like the simpler approach.

The KISS principle, or "Keep It Simple, Stupid" has worked well for many
portable ops, such as SOTA, the QRP Sprints, etc. Break out the rig, hook
up a battery, throw a wire up in a tree (or to a portable mast where using
trees is a no-no), or perhaps a doublet, or a vertical or magloop and go to
town. The emphasis being on the word "portable".

It seems to have worked very well for the SOTAteers (Steve WG0AT comes to
mind) all these years, and for NPOTA activators such as Joe N2CX and Eric
WD8RIF, Ed WA3WSJ and "yours truly" among others. And if dropping those
names wasn't enough, if you follow the adventures of the "Premier" portable
op, Jim W1PID, then you know the words I speak are true.

Keep It Simple = less to forget, less to break, less to not work, less to
lose, more time to actually operate (who wants to spend all their valuable
time setting up and tearing down an elaborate setup?) and hopefully, more
success!

Simple doesn't handicap the superb ops - for a reminder, here's a re-post
of KX9X's Pigeon Key video:


72 de Larry W2LJQRP - When you care to send the very least!

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Emergencies

Posted: 04 Oct 2016 06:39 AM PDT
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This coming Saturday is the annual Simulated Emergency Test. Amateur Radio
operators who volunteer with Public Service and Emergency Management
agencies throughout the United States will be getting on the air, sending
an receiving drill messages. This is done in preparation for "If this had
been an actual emergency" - re, the verbiage of the National Emergency
Broadcasting messages.

Here in Middlesex County, New Jersey, our simulated emergency is another
hurricane scenario.

How appropriate. because in the following couple of days,this may become a
very real possibility:


Meet Hurricane Matthew. He's a nasty bugger. Today, he's dropping 40
inches (100 cm) of rain (yes, you read that right) on portions of Haiti and
Cuba. This hellion may make landfall somewhere over the Carolinas early
Sunday morning, if he doesn't turn out to sea.

If he hugs the coast, New Jersey will be in for a lot of rain, coastal
flooding and a wicked storm surge sometime Sunday into Monday. Not exactly
the way you want to start off your week.

Our barrier islands and low laying coastal towns are already making plans
for evacuations and other hurricane preparedness activities. We've been
very lucky in New Jersey as we haven't been hit hard since Hurricane Sandy
in 2012.

Let's hope we dodge another bullet with Matthew. If not, and Amateur Radio
ops are needed by our towns or counties - we're ready.

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