So I turned the radio on this morning for the first time since last September. My wire dipoles are in a bit of a tangle from a winter of strong blowing winds but the SWR readings are still low so I ventured onto the bands. I heard a fair bit of activity on 40 but I prefer the WARC bands so I moved to 17M. The SWR was too high so I moved to 30M. With the exception of someone already in a ragchew QSO I dialed around and found nothing. I had my FT-817 set to 1W as usual and called CQ a time or two. Then I heard a weak response from Roger, W4RFT. I have him in my log on 20M but not 30. It was a very brief QSO where we exchanged 559s and then it dropped off. Roger shows as being 1100+ miles away in Florida so I was very happy that my first QSO in months was over 1000 Miles Per Watt. I really love this hobby.
I can't wait to work on replacing these 2 fan dipoles (2 bands each) with the same but made from ladder line (see previous post). I already ordered it from
MacFarlane Electronics near Kingston, ON. To save on the shipping (which is almost half as much as the wire due to the weight) I will be picking it up at the
Iroquois Amateur Radio Club's annual
Flea Market on the 7th of April in Iroquois, Ontario.
With snow still on the ground and below freezing temperatures I have no rush to start any antenna work just yet anyway. I can wait a few weeks for the wire and I will never pass up the opportunity to stroll through a flea market...ham radio or otherwise.
Cheers for now,
Scott ve3vvf/qrp
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