Comments (9)

By va3sie, October 15, 2012 11:18 pm

Hiking

Fariba and I drove to the Eastern Townships in Quebec for the Thanksgiving long weekend.  We intended to hike to the summit of Mont Sutton and set up a portable radio station for ‘Summits on the Air‘.  We had intended to hike on Saturday but the weather was atrocious;   Heavy rain and high winds.  So we spent Saturday at the BALNEA spa instead

On Sunday the weather was much improved so we got ourselves to the base of the mountain nice and early.  Mont Sutton was running a ‘Fall Colors Festival’ encouraging folks to ride the chair lift up the mountain to view the colors.  Worried that we would be faced with a very busy summit, we were relieved to discover that the chair lift which was operating only went about ⅓ of the way to the top.

We hopped on the chairlift (since we still had a considerable hike left to us) and started our climb.  It wasn’t very busy though there were some others coming up the trail with us at the beginning.  By the time we were into the forested area surrounding the peak, we had lost everyone and we were on our own… yay! We got a little snow and hail during the hike…  I’m glad that we had our paclite shells in our backpacks.

Colors

I was beaconing APRS on the hike up and there is a digipeater nearby so I had a nice consistent track on aprs.fi.  My track is here.    When I got to the top of the mountain we started setting up the equipment.  A large group arrived to take lunch as we were setting up (sigh) but I had already planted my packs and seat in the critical places so we had our operating position.   I got the inverted-L W3EDP antenna up and tossed the weighted end high into some nearby trees.

I updated my APRS status, tuned up the radio, found a clear frequency and started sending CQ.  I also used APRS2SOTA to send a SOTAWatch spot.  I was surprised to get an acknowledgement APRS message from the system     I settled down in my chair with the KX3 on a clipboard on my knee and started making CW QSOs.  Fariba did a great job of ‘Public Relations’, describing what I was doing with the Jackite pole, launching the weights into the trees, tuning up the radio, etc.   She even explained what the morse code was, the pileup, etc.   Left me free to get on with the radio operating – that can often be the toughest part when I am on my own.   People don’t realize that your fingers are talking and so they chat to you while you are sending or receiving morse code and I just ‘aint good enough to be able to do that and talk at the same time.

Fariba

The hail got stronger so I packed up the radio back into my backpack and waited it out.  After 10 minutes or thereabouts I got back on the air on 40m and we able to make some closer in contacts, some with other VE2 activators which was great!!   I was feeling a bit guilty about subjecting the 15 or so folks who were watching to a barrage of CW so I switched over to single sideband.  I was amazed at how easily I was able to complete SSB contacts into Europe with only 10W of output

The summit slowly got more and more crowded and I realized that taking down the antenna was going to be tricky with a lot of people around.  So I pulled the plug.  At the last minute I asked Fariba if she had her blackberry with her.  She did and I checked SOTAWatch only to discover that there was another summit on the air at the same time.  So I plugged the antenna back in, re-tossed the counterpoise wires over the side of the mountain, tuned over and heard Kevin “Forehead of Steel” Kleinfelter / K4KPK stating that he was going QRT because of rain on Stratton Bald (a mountain in North Carolina at 5360′).

I immediately yelled ‘Summit to Summit, Summit to Summit’ into the microphone.   Kevin stayed on the air for a few moments more to complete the QSO. 

When I got home I realized that this was Kevins first contact with a station in Canada and also Kevin’s first summit-to-summit QSO.   So I was glad that I checked SOTAWatch at the last minute.

Not surprising since on this same outing, Kevin also had his first QSO with his KX3.  And his first QSO.  Ever.  Kevin is a newly minted general class amateur radio license holder.  What a great way to start the hobby – a summit expedition to a 5360′ summit with his son.  Congratulations to both Kevin and his son.

Here is Kevin’s story:

http://www.kleinfelter.com/content/stratton-bald-radio-expedition

Finally here is my video of this activation (or click the ‘High Definition’ button to view in HD):

Or watch full screen in High Definition:

Comments (2)

By va3sie, September 19, 2012 10:52 pm

Chillycon is an annual event organized by the Ottawa Valley QRP Society.  Camping and QRP amateur radio at the Rideau River Provincial Park about30 minutes drive south of Ottawa.  Lots of fun.  I wasn’t able to attend this year but here’s an excellent video from Chris VA3CME which I am sure you will enjoy!

Why not join us next year?

Here’s the internet home of the Ottawa Valley QRP Society:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ov-qrp/

We meet for supper on the second Wednesday of every month at Donnas Pizza Express.

All are welcome.

Comments (0)

By va3sie, July 21, 2012 6:17 pm

I was planning to go camping in Mont-Mégantic national park but I was not able to go in the end.  I did set up my antenna on my balcony and I was able to make contact with Tom VA2EPR, Michel VE3EMB and JP VA2SG … yipee   Michel said they are having a lot of fun and the summit is beautiful.  I was very happy to have been able to complete a QSO.  It was tough going, the noise floor here was around S7 but the guys were peaking S8 and thanks to the Noise Blanker of the KX3 we were able to complete the QSO(s) with little trouble.

Comments (2)

By va3sie, July 3, 2012 12:39 am

Fariba and I were privileged to be able to rent a pair of high end road bikes (a Litespeed C3 – $3,600 MRSP, and a Litespeed M1 – $2,300 MRSP) from the Bloomfield Bicycle Company.   

The Bloomfield Bicycle Co isn’t your ordinary bike shop.  Rick & Katy have a passion for cycling and it shows!  They offer a full range of services from thier funky store in Bloomfield:  guided tours, club rides, minor mechanical miracles, rentals, beautiful bicycles and accessories and much more.  The range of bikes in the rental fleet is astonishing.  From tandems to recumbants, from mountain bikes to high end road bikes.

How great are they?  Check this article or listen to this podcast.

We had set our sights on cycling out to the County Cider Company.  Many times we stopped at Culinary Conspiracy across the street from our home to pick up home made muffins or scones and coffee to take to work.  We were often greeted and served by Darcy.  Darcy moved out to Prince Edward County this summer to work at the County Cider Company so it was a good chance to drop in and say, ‘Hello!’.

The weather on Canada Day (July 1st) couldn’t have been more perfect for cycling.  A nice hot summer day, peaking around 30°C in the mid afternoon.

Rick at the Bloomfield Bicycle Co recommended a 27km route (one way) which took us south of Bloomfield, a short climb up a hill to Picton Airport.  We had to use the lowest gear in the Shimano Ultegra shifters for that hill.  The route then crosses over some of the highest ground in Prince Edward County, beautiful roads perfect for cycling through picturesque country, not too many cars, loads of birds and trees, coming out at a lookout on a cliff overlooking Waupoos Island.  From there, we join a tarmac road which winds down a cliff to the Waupoos Marina.  The speed we were able to achieve down that hill was astonishing!

The route then tracks along the southern coastal road of North Marysburgh adjacent to farms and forested hills, we passed berry farms and just after the Waupoos Estates Winery we climbed another small hill to arrive at the County Cider Company.  We had ridden at a leisurely pace and completed that portion of the journey in 90 minutes.  We relaxed at the restaurant and enjoyed a couple of tall glasses of dry cider, some roasted garlic hummus and a pizza prepared in a wood fired oven, served to us by Darcy 8-)  … it was great to meet with Darcy and steal a few minutes out of her busy day to catch up.  It’s obvious why Darcy chose to move to Prince Edward County.  The view from the Cider Company is just lovely, it’s a different world from downtown Ottawa

County Cider Company

From there, we rode inland, North over the top of North Maysburgh to the North coastal road, which we then followed West, back towards Picton.  That road was a gentle climb up through pastoral farmlands including a steeper section of road which had been blasted through a hill.  Again, we had to select the lower gears.  The Provincial Park at Lake on the Mountain was teeming with visitors, picnicking and enjoying the view of this astonishing Lake.  This beautiful turquoise lake has no visible water source and lies 62m above the Bay of Quinte only a few hundred meters away!

After the lake, we were rewarded for all that previous uphill cycling by a glorious slope down to the Bay of Quinte.  Again, we were able to reach stupendous speed on those bicycles   Finally, we rode back into Picton where we enjoyed the on-street activities laid out for the Canada Day festivities and finally a short ride back to Bloomfield.

The ride took us 3½ hours and 53km.  It was SUPER FUN !!   Huge thanks to the Bloomfield Bicycle Co…