Oregon/Washington Trip

What a great 10 days back home! I flew out of New Orleans on August 12th bound for Portland, OR and returned to Florida on August 23rd. The main purpose of the trip was to pick up the kids and bring them home from their summer up in Oregon. I love getting back to my home. The weather, people and scenery can't be beat! The weather was perfect. I also took the kids along with lots of my family to some of the best places in western Oregon and Washington.

I arrived late on Wed the 12th. My Dad picked me up from the airport. I was amazed at how much cooler the weather was than in Florida. This summer has been a hot one in NW Florida. I had to get my fleece out of my luggage to keep from freezing to death. The temp was around 58f that night! As soon as we got to my parent's place I went to bed. I was tired from traveling.

The next morning my Dad dropped me off at Ham Radio Outlet in Portland, OR. I was waiting for my father in law to pick me up. He is a recently licensed ham. He is Mike KF7EFU from Eugene, OR. I had a good time looking around the store while waiting for him to arrive. I took the oppurtunity to show the guys my PFR-3 which they liked. Once Mike showed up we walked around the store and I explained everything to him. From there we loaded up and went to Eugene where the XYL's family lives.

I spent the next few days with the kids running around the Oregon coast and Willamette Valley. I always make it a point to head over to Florence, OR to see the beaches and beautiful coast line. The huge trees, hills and sheer cliffs above the ocean are an amazing sight. Ann has been hounding us to death for a couple of years to take her to the Sea Lion Caves. I finally gave in and took her. We also went to Bob Creek. This is a spot on the beach north of Florence, OR that has some great tide pools for the kids to explore.

Ann taking a moment to pose at the Sea Lion Caves.


Neat picture of the inside of the cave.


Heceta Head Lighthouse from inside the caves.


Bob Creek




Tyler and Daddy at the tide pools.


Ann posing again.


From Oregon the kids and I went back to Washington where my family lives. We spent the next two days in Woodland, WA on the Columbia River in their RV. The RV site was very nice and it was located right on the river. I was able to get on the air twice while there. While the conditions were tough the following pictures will show you how much fun it was to get on the air.

Tyler and Daddy making contacts on the Columbia River.




Sunset on the Columbia River




During the two days that we were in Woodland my Dad and I took the kids to the Johnston Observatory at Mount St. Helens. More info is located here http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/PointsInterest/johnston_ridge.html . What a truly amazing place! We also took Ann & Tyler to the Portland Zoo. The kids had a great time and Tyler had a chance to see his favorite animal of them all. The elephant.

Mt St. Helens from the Johnston Observatory






Elephants at the Portland Zoo.


Tyler on the train at the zoo.


From Woodland we went up to Forks, WA. Forks sits way up on the NW side of the Olympic Penninsula. If you like rain, rivers, trees and everything green then this is the place for you. It is truly an amazing place. My Dad and I took the kids to Rialto Beach and The Hoh Rainforest while we were there. More information on the Olympic Penninsula can be found here http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm and here http://www.olympicpeninsula.org/ .

Driving through Aberdeen, WA.






Me and the Welcome to Forks sign.
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Main St. Forks, WA


Ann & Tyler in front of the truck used in the movie "Twilight"


Pictures of Rialto Beach.








Ann posing on a HUGE piece of driftwood.


Ann showing off her driftwood house.


Tyler enjoying the driftwood.




W6EOD at Rialto Beach.


Sunset at Rialto.






My Dad and Tyler the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center sign.


Hoh River




Tyler trying to climb a 200' spruce tree.


Phone booth at the Hoh Rainforest visitor center. Remember that this place gets 100+ inches of rain every year!


Pictures of us on the Hall of Mosses trail.










This trip was definitely about being with family and having a good time. I did enjoy the small amount of time I spent on my PFR-3. I managed a few contacts into Texas and the midwest. One thing that really supprised me about making contacts up in the NW is how much quieter the bands are than back home in Florida. I know that the Pacific NW doesn't have nearly the amount of hams as 4 land, but I never expected there to be that little activity.

Awesome trip back to my home state. It was also a great opportunity to spend the time with my family that I don't get very often. Hope you enjoy the read and hope to work you soon. 72!

Steve

Flight of The Bumblebees 2009

I participated in the Adventure Radio Society's (http://adventure-radio.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page) Flight of The Bumblebees 2009 today. I registered for the event three or four weeks ago and was given Bumblebee # 72. I thought that was a great number considering how I use 72 vs 73 whenever I am QRP.

I left out of the house at 1115 CST headed for the Blackwater. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go this time. I tried to go to Karick Lake (http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/blackwater_river_more_info.html#karicklake) but when I got there it seemed like all of NW Florida was there already. I bagged that idea and headed for my spot on the river. I arrived 1215 CST, 15 minutes after the start and wasn't happy with myself for being late. My plan was was to be setup and ready to rock at the start of the event.

Upon arrival I setup my 20m ground plane and hooked it up to my PFR-3. Everything checked out ok. There were plenty of BB's hanging around 14.060mhz but making contacts was easier said than done. QSB was ever present. A few of the stations would be 599+ ,then gone all in the span of 10 seconds. Oh well, such is life. Equipment was as follows:

Rig: PFR-3 (http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html_)
Paddles: PFR-3 Paddles
Antenna: Hombrew wire GP antenna for 20m & 120ft center fed doublet
Batteries: (7) Energizer Lithium Ion AA's (internal to the PFR-3)
Head Phones: KOSS earbuds


Periodically during the event I noticed I was sweating profusely. I remedied that by running full speed into the river. I would dive in and suddenly, I wasn't hot anymore. Gosh I love the Blackwater River! On a side note, the last time we were at the river we (the family & I) saw a snake in the water. I kept thinking to myself each time I jumped in today that a snake was going to get me. It doesn't help that I wear glasses and didn't have them on when I would jump in. Everything looked like a snake! Turns out that without my glasses on, every stick in the water looks like the most ferocious snake you ever saw in your life!

I made 9 contacts, eight of which were fellow Bumblebees. I proudly list the following bees in the log:

W4ZV #223
W2KJ #4
NK9G #84
WD9F #29
KX0R #155
K9ESE #118
VE3OBU #177
N6GA #36

The following station was my token QSO who was not operating /BB:

N3XRV

I switched antennas at 1500CST. I went from my GP to a wire center fed (twin lead) antenna. I was happy because my BLT in the PFR-3 made a good match on 20m. That wasn’t the case on 40m. I tried but never got the null that I was looking for. I will continue my search for the perfect length of wire for my PFR-3. If I crack the code I will post my results here. After my antenna switch, I got back on 20m and didn’t hear one single Bumblebee. What a bummer. As if on cue, Mother Nature sent a good size, Deep South Thunderhead my way. I raced to get everything put away. I had just loaded up the last of the gear when the rain started. Talk about good timing!

This was my first Flight of The Bumblebees and it will not be my last. I had a great time in spite of the tough conditions, miserable heat and the ever present QSB. Nice scenery, cool river water and ice cold beer have a way of making the bad into good. 72 for now and hope to work you soon!

Steve

CW Paddles

I have accumulated a few paddles over the last year and wanted to share a little bit about each of them. It can be hit or miss when you are searching the internet for good reviews, pictures or specs on them. My intent is to provide a picture and a short review on the piece of gear.

Below listed is a picture of the paddles (and one key) that I'll be talking about. I will follow up with a post on the individual paddle. Hope you enjoy.



72 for now and hope to work you soon.

Steve

Field Day Report

I had a great time at Field Day this year. I participated with two clubs this year and it was a blast.

I made my way up to Opp, AL on Saturday Night (Sat June 27th) to join in with the South Alabama Radio Club (http://www.wc4m.net/). I planned on operating all night on either 40 or 80m. Once I arrived Bob W5RE got me all setup at the radio and gave me a quick class on its functions, keyer memories etc. I also made a cheat sheat that showed our exchange. WC4M 3A AL. From there it was on. I worked up and down 40m from 2300 CST till 0345 and 0545 to 0730 on Sunday morning. I had a long day before I got up there. Reba and I had gone to a murder mystery dinner. It was great but I would not include it in Field Day prep again!

There were plenty of contacts to be made and I had little trouble working the stations I heard. I operated from 7.026 and up as I only have a General class license. It was wall to wall CW! Having good filters in your rig is a big plus. The filter I was using was 500hz and it was not tight enough to handle all of the people making contacts. As the night wore on I had more trouble getting the exchanges. I noticed that I was not the only one on the band that was having the same troubles. I was tired! I felt like I was copying CW drunk. That's when I knew it was time to crawl in the truck and get some sleep.

Once I woke up I got a drink of water and jumped back on. By 0730 I was done and needed to wrap it up. I needed to get home and also wanted to stop by my home club NOARC (www.w4aaz.org) and visit with the guys. I had a quick bite to eat and snapped a couple of pictures before I went. In total I made 83 contacts. My contact rate was not as good as It should have been, but I was nearly out of gas before I even started. Oh well, maybe next year.









After leaving Opp I made my way back to the NOARC club. I enjoyed the ride back because there were not many people on the road and it was a nice morning. I also took the time to listen to my new AC/DC album, Black Ice. I'm just a little bit of a fan of AC/DC!!!

I arrived at the Dorcas Fire Station ready to visit with people, but Bob N4CU escorted me straight to the radio. I jumped on 20m CW and made 35 contacts in an hour. While I didn't spend a lot of time operating, it was great. Everyone was in good spirits and enjoying themselves. Here is a link to the photos of the clubs pictures of Field Day 2009. http://www.w4aaz.org/main/page_photo_album.html

In summary Field Day went really well this year. I had a great time, got to visit with good people and eat some awesome food. I'm looking forward to next year wherever I end up going.

Steve

Technical Difficulties

I am unable to get my photos off of the digital camera. I have 3 great reports awaiting photos. More to follow once I get this camera issue resolved.

Steve

Family Fun on The Blackwater River

I finally had a chance to get out with the family and get some QRP/p operations today. I took a day of leave to hang out around the house and enjoy the day with my crew.

We started off the morning by sleeping in. The kids even joined in on this! Then we got up and went to our favorite restraunt for breakfast, Waffle House. After a good meal we made our way over to the grocery store to pick up some water and lettuce. Our plan was to make BLT's for our trip to the river today. Once we got home we went through the house and cleaned. I hate coming home from vacation or a family outing to a dirty house.

We loaded up the chairs, umbrellas, buckets, shovels and a ton of other stuff. Once everybody was ready we took off. I had to make a quick pit stop at Mickey's Pit Stop just north of Baker, Fl to get some trot line string, fishing hooks & bobbers and worms. The plan was to try some cane pole fishing while we were there today. After our detour we made our way up to "our spot". We call it our spot because it's a great location that I found one night while coon huntin. We have yet to have company at this location. The down side is that is is not the most accesible. While its not terrible, the road in is muddy with over hanging tree limbs. Even without rain the road is still a sloppy mess because its smack dab in the middle of the river bottom.

Once we arrived at our spot we started our setup and I took a quick oppurtunity to take a picture of Reba's truck. She hates when I we I get it muddied up!



My goal was to spend as much time as I could in and out of the water with the kids today and not on the radio. I wanted to make a few contacts if possible but not lose site of the fact that I was there to play in the water with the kids. We tried fishing but it was a bust. I don't think that Tyler came out of the water once (which may explain why we didn't catch any fish)!



Ann played hard the entire time. As she gets older she has become more aware of the camera, but I did manage to get a smile out of her.



As the afternoon wore on and the heat kicked it up a notch (97f & 42% humidity) everybody started to slow down. This was my chance to hook up my PFR-3 to the antenna (center fed 44' wire w/twin lead). As I was doing this I noticed that Ann had climbed in to the truck and was taking a nap. I couldn't resist taking a picture.



By the time I got on the air it was terrible hot. I managed one QSO and it was a tough one at that! Thanks to Barry WD4MSM in South Bend, IN for hanging in there with me! Here are some pathetic pictures of me operating. Forwarning, I dressed for the weather & river!









In the end I had a couple of "almost" QSO's with K3JK & N9EVP but my 5w signal was just not enough to get through to them. They both heard me and K3JK even sent a "barely cpy u". Oh well, I'll get them next time. What a great day to spend at the river with my family, and even get some QRP/p time in. Hope you enjoy, best of luck and 72!

Steve