I have gotten a couple QSL cards in the mail.  Both QSO's were before the WAS challenge I began with KB9BVN so I am not counting them for this WAS event, however they are noteworthy and a great example of part of the hobby that is very special.

It is amazing what comes in the mail when your active with HF.  I say you never know who you might meet or what might happen.  WA9PWP was calling CQ and I answered.  Neither of us knowing the other was using the exact same radio.  These kits are not available any longer and though they are out there I can't remember the last time I had heard one on the air.  This very well could be the last time I will ever have a random two way QSO with another SW+ 40 so it is worth mentioning.

Tonight I barely squeaked in a QSO.  The bands are not very good again and I was barely heard at 0046z. It is N3PBF, Frank in PA.  Frank sent me a 339 RST so I knew it would be a difficult exchange.  I sent 559, QTH, Name.  He replied he didn't get the name.  Then he sent no copy.   I already have PA in the log so the state count holds but at least I got to continue the QSO a day streak into March!  We are supposed to have severe thunder storms coming so I have now unhooked the antennas for the night to protect the SW+ 40.  Maybe in the morning I will catch someone else and add to the state count.

Operating the SW+40 pretty much exclusively has been a great reminder of how much I enjoyed building this radio.  Though it is not a high performance rig it works pretty well and I appreciate every QSO.  My temptation is to want to add something more to this since it is so much fun.  This is where I always go astray.  I tend to want to spend money to invest something more into the joy of this activity.  There isn't anything that would make things better.  I hope I will just have fun with this and the money I want to invest is better spent on stamps, envelopes, and maybe more QSL cards.

Tonight the bands are terrible.  I got home late from orchestra rehearsal and wanted to try to make a SKED with Jay AJ4AY in AL.  On the way home I had to stop at Steak N Shake for a Frisco melt.  It might be my last one for awhile because lent is upon us and according to Zulu time we are into Fat Tuesday!  I am thinking of eliminating meat from my diet during the time of lent.  That will be super hard to do.  When I sat down at the radio at 9:30 EST I couldn't hear Jay at all.  We will try again tomorrow.  He said he was told the band was dead and it sure seems so.  Oh, there are stations in QSO and some are super strong into my receiver but not many are on the air and all seemed to be deep in conversation.  I messed around a little away from the shack to get ready for bed and then decided to take one last chance.  I am glad I did because I heard AD5VC in Baton Rouge, LA and he was working SKCC for numbers.  Not rag chewing, so I got my chance to call him and I got a 559 RST.  He got a 589.  At the end he wished me a happy Mardi Gras and I told him I will be having king cake in the morning and wished him a good Fat Tuesday.  I need to start sending QSL cards. 

This morning I listened for a few minutes to see how things sounded on 40 meters.  Pretty rotten.  I didn't have a lot of time to listen so I flipped the power and headed off to work.  On the way in I stopped to pick up donuts my friend Jill got this morning for me.  It is Mardi Gras!  I also picked up a coffee and came to work.  The donuts are from a local place in plainfield called Al's Donuts.  Possibly the best donuts I have ever had.  When I got into work the king cake was already there.  It will be a sugar high all day.  Happy Fat Tuesday.  oo to my flying pig QRP friends.

Today's QSO came within the first minute of 0000z.  KM5PS was calling on 7.045.  John lives in Harrison, AR and running his Elecraft K3 at 40 watts to a yagi up 80 feet.  What a station.  AR is not always the easiest state to get and KB9BVN does not yet have it.  I will need to get my states listed soon so I know what I still need.  My main focus has been to log a QSO every day with 1.5 watts.  Since Brian started our friendly WAS competition it has increase the fun to see where my signal will land.
John sent 549 as my RST and his was a good 599.  John said he worked on his station this weekend.  He found problems while working the ARRL DX contest.  It sounded like a loose connection.  Then as we ended the QSO he turned his power way down.  WOW what a difference.  He was just barely above the noise.  I am positive that is how I sound to many stations and makes me appreciate those that dig me out and get me in the log.

Today I got on the air around 1:00pm. The NC QSO Party is going on.  That is great because there are enough stations to get a QSO but not so many that it's hard to distinguish one station from another.  Well.... unless your are using a S20R as a receiver.  I tried copying a single station, lining up the SW+ with the dummy load and then calling.  I wasn't having much lunch there so I finally put in the headphones to the SW+ and easily got N3CZ, 599/BUN on 7.033.

 I then figured with the daily QSO secured I would work on the S20R some more.  I tuned around and heard some QSO's up higher than the NC operators.  I singled out a weak but copyable station.  Lined up the SW+ and used my straight key.  He came right back with a 559 report.  WA4VCT, Tom in Blountville, TN.  I sent Tom 569 and he seemed to copy me but then others were tuning up and QSO's started also covering Tom.  Signals move around on the S20R so I constantly have my hand on the fine tune to keep them in my receiver the best I can.  I couldn't copy much so I had to end it.  When I looked Tom up I see he is a QRPer and MFJ fan.  I sent Tom a picture of my set up and explained why I am using what I am.

    

Tonight the QSO came from N1MX in MA.  I used the S20R and SW+.  I was able to use a dummy load to match my SW+ to the receive frequency of the Hallicrafters.  I received a 469 RST.  There is a lot of weather moving through tonight at causing a lot of QRN.  I would have been happy to get a QSO with using just the Small Wonder Lab transceiver.  Apparently the alignment of the TX/RX worked.  I think Mike is a Hallicrafters fan as well from looking at his QRZ page.  Tonight he was using his Icom 756.
I sent Mike an email with a picture of my set up and I asked how close my TX was to his RX.  I used the reverse beacon net to see my frequency.  It showed 7.029.

It was another last minute QSO to log one for today.  My work schedule will not allow me to get home before 0000z tonight.  It was with N4UP/M.  He was calling LC Clarendon SC and it was just a quick RST exchange.  That was fine with me.  I was against the time I needed to leave anyway but happy to be able to keep the 1.5 watt SW+ a day QSO going.
Last night I played cello with a friend after work so I didn't get home until about 9:30.  I tried using the Hallicrafters receiver with the SW+ as a transmitter.  There were not that many stations calling and as time went along less and less stations were heard.
I read about the proper way to use a separate TX/RX station from K3WWP's web site.  The correct way from my understanding is to put a dummy load into the antenna jack of the transmitter.  Tune the frequency you want to operate on with the receiver and then key down and adjust the frequency of the transmitter until you hear it in the receiver.  Then switch the dummy load out and antenna in.  Your all set.  I need a switch between the dummy load and antenna so I can do this quicker.  By the time I set the receiver of a calling station.  Tune my transmitter to match and then unscrew the dummy load and screw in the antenna the station is already working the guy with a transceiver.   It got me several times last night.  I didn't even get a chance to call a station.
I still find using the old Hallicrafter S20R interesting as a receiver but it will take practice and I will keep working with it while also chasing my QSO a day and WAS challenge.

Tonight's QSO is with W2KEZ in Port Monmouth, NJ.  He was running a Elecraft K1 at 5 watts.  I was pretty excited to hear his QRP radio and we exchanged both 579 RST.  Craig said his radio was the 2 band version.  That just pulls at my heart strings.  I would love to build a K1 but I really have no need for another radio.
My second QSO tonight is kick'n it old school.  I have been hearing NRR calls up in the novice portion of the band.  I really want to participate in this novice radio event going on but they consider novice any radio 1980 or before.  I don't have a transceiver of that vintage.  However, I do have a receiver that fits.  My beloved Hallicrafters S20R!  So it took me awhile to get the SW+ lined up with my listening frequency and with someone calling CQ but it finally happened.  WA5TCZ in LA heard my answer to his CQ and we chatted a few minutes.  He gave me his NRR and SKCC numbers.  I said I didn't have a NRR number but gave my SKCC and he said he was just having fun and liked the novice band.  He asked again how much power I was running and said I was stronger at 579.  Hmmmm... I'm feeling like a dedicated transmitter will be in the works for the S20R.  So LA is in the log for my WAS marathon against KB9BVN and did it with a receiver old enough to be his HW-8's grandfather.  If I keep going with getting to radio basics I'll be tapping two wires together before long.

QRP WAS Challenge

Small Wonder Labs SW+40

Well,  here I am blogging for the first time ever.  What brought me to this activity?  Well, I have accepted a QRP challenge from my good friend Brian KB9BVN to achieve WAS with very simple radios.  Brian is documenting this challenge via a blog and I thought I better do the same to have some ability to share my side of the story.  Brian is getting a Heathkit HW-8 at the Brownsburg hamfest tomorrow.  With that excitement he thought it would be fun to see who could get WAS with our simple radios first.  I will be using my trusty Small Wonder Labs SW+40 and he will use his new to him HW-8.

I have had my SW+40 for probably 10 years.  It was my first kit and it came to me by Brian's recommendation.  He supplied some external parts like jacks, switches, and other odds and ends.  I built the kit and have transplanted it into a different case since and tried to improve it over the years.  It has been thrown into desk drawers and forgotten for years at a time but I have a renewed interest in what I can do with a radio like this.  What can I learn from operating it daily?

I started in January this year with my MFJ 9040 and learned there are a lot of interesting people on 40 meters CW.  Tune slowly.  Listen carefully!  I have been successful at 5 watts, no gaps in the CW portion of the band, 500hz filtering.  The 9040 is larger and at 5 watts kind of power hungry.  I want to see if I can be as successful with even less.  I'm now at 1.5 watts, about 10kh gap in the digital band, and 600hz bandwith filter, and no AGC.  The one luxury I do have is a freqmite frequency counter.  It is much more accurate to know where I am in the band.  I'm 7 days in and I have made a QSO every day so far.

So, I am sure we will talk a lot about features and ability of our radios.  It will be very interesting how it works out and if we can stick with our radios of choice.