NAQCC CW Sprint Tonight!

I should participate, there's supposed to be prizes.

The kids will be going to bed....

I've got the gear ready to go....

hmmmmmmmmmmm.

One thing bothers me.

Logging. I lost my e-log due to a computer mishap (may be recoverable, idk yet), and it's keeping me behind at LOTW. I don't have a lot of QSOs to add over there, but I do have a few.

I have another logging program installed on my laptop right now, it uses some N1MM software.

Need to QRV...

info about the sprint/contest/prize:

http://w2lj.blogspot.com/2017/04/special-naqcc-sprint-tomorrow-night.html

Tomorrow night, April 11th ( The morning of April 12th for those of you not bothered by UTC conversions), will be the 150th NAQCC Monthly Sprint.  That's 12 and a half years of monthly NAQCC Sprints now - since the club was formed.  In honor of this momentous occasion, the leadership of the NAQCC has planned something special.

Info about NAQCC:

http://naqcc.info/index.html

Will anyone be interested in trying to pick me out of the noise on 80m on 3579?

I'll fire up the NoGA Twin Tube 80, otherwise, I'll be QRV at the full QRP gallon (5w) using a Kenwood TS-140s.

My # 7276

Some Notes about Phalaenopsis Orchids.

I like orchids, I love them, and the more I learn about them, the more I want to know about them. I'm not even prejudiced when it comes to what orchids I like. Right now, in my back yard, I'm creating a little bit of an orchid area. I'm slowly converting an old playhouse into an orchid greenhouse. This project is long running. I've been working on this conversion for over a year now. Let me tell you about the plants that live there.
Right now, I have three four Phalaenopsis orchids. This will be about the first two I got.
This one I gave to my wife for her birthday 2015, the blooms were a light green. It set a spike in 2016, but didn't bloom, so I cut the spike to allow the plant a year to rest and grow nice big healthy leaves. Of course, I then tried to kill it by setting it out in the sun too long one day, and one of the leaves got sunburned and fell off! There was also some damage done to another one of the leaves by a kid, so I cut that section off.


An earlier spike was killed while just barely budded out due to kid injury. Fortunately, it set a second spike. We didn't have green flowers in time for my wife's birthday, but there's a bloom now!

 I can't wait to see how the flowers on the rest of the spike turn out.

 In this picture, you can see more of the overall green tones of the flowers. That's one of the reasons why I chose to buy this orchid for my wife, the "Kelly green" factor :-)






Then there's the $2 big box store clearance special. I paid two bucks for this baby, and it was in horrid shape. The mix it was planted in was horrible, the leaves were really floppy and puckered, and the roots were rotted except for one. Truly a project plant! I decided to give raising it a shot though, so I changed mix, trimmed off the decayed roots gave it a good soak, and held on tight. It didn't take long to set new roots, and a new leaf. I was really surprised to see it even set off a couple of spikes in the winter. When spring arrived the spikes budded out and made flowers.


Totally worth the $2 and time I put into it.

 This is from April 2016. It's been a long row to hoe with this plant, but as it grows, I like the simple flowers it produces more and more.

Phalaenopsis in profile

These last couple of pictures are from this year! The blooms look wonderful.

It just keeps on giving too! This spike is starting to show some great flowers, even though the leaves got sunburned like the last one, the blooms look very good to me.

The two that started this round of orchid collecting for me, in bloom at the same time!

I have two more I need to get some good pictures of. One is a mini phal I got for our wedding anniversary, and the other came from my parents on their visit last August.

"Every Day in Every Way"

I'm getting better and better.
These words come from a French pharmacist turned psychologist, Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie. According to him, by repeating this statement every day, you subconsciously influence behavior and produce positive change. I believe there is some power in believing in the positive, especially for the Christian. I'd go as far as to say this is Biblical, and commanded. It doesn't come from the rote repetition of words, but from how we practice sanctification. Sanctification is where our repentance turns to positivity, when the meaning behind our action turns from "in order to..." to "because of". We read this in the Bible:
2 Peter 1:3-11

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to^[a] his own glory and excellence,^{[b] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,^[c] and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[d] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[e] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Peter 1:3 Or by

1. 2 Peter 1:3 Or virtue

1. 2 Peter 1:5 Or excellence; twice in this verse

1. 2 Peter 1:8 Greek these things; also verses 9, 10, 12

1. 2 Peter 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

   
   

Our lives cannot be stagnant. Jesus Christ has given us the power we need to overcome the world. We must make effort every day, and in every way to get better and better. When we gather around the table, we're renewing the pledge to make our knowledge effective, and effective knowledge makes more Christians, and makes us better and better.

Brief Note for the New Year....

My next post will be about Bromeliads, I promise. I have 7 articles in a draft state, in various stages of completion. One I could schedule for release on a certain day (I might do that), but I think it still needs some work (it's a poem).

Some random Brandon thoughts:

Everyone talks about how horrible 2016 was, but 2016 for somebody somewhere started on January 1 2017. If you faced hardship last year, I promise you, someone this year needs your encouragement.

The old Indian saying about two wolves fighting inside you has some truth. I'm trying to feed the right wolf, but it's hard sometimes.

If you're a Christian, when someone tells you about their past, be ready to tell them about your future.

You can't live life without risking the possibility that something you choose today will make the life you live now impossible. I hope that won't stop you from making the right choice.


Radio things to note:
1. Antennas, I've got some lines over treebranches, but haven't deployed a new antenna yet. I need new support line. When I'm done, I'll have two new antlers deployed. An as yet undecided Ant for 80m (center fed with window line 100' minimum dipole, or end fed half wave?), and the 30-17 meter antenna I've been working on for a while.
2. Gathering parts for radios out of your junque box can be challenging when you seem to always be short a few capacitors. Anyone got a few NP0s laying around, say 1500pF?
3. I got a Baofeng GT-3 mark ii for Christmas, and the joy in operating it astounds me! First, it's easy to program with a cable. Second, my eyes are reopened to the world of local communications. You get to "meet" the other guys in your area that are chasing the same HF DX you are. One of these (or another baofeng like it) should be considered a gift to students who successfully complete a course. For a little bit of effort (programming in the right frequencies) a whole lot of joy could be opened to new hams.
4. Made my first QSO on Jan 1! N3HCN, Dave in MD, on 20m. Band was noisy. Had a short QSO then the kids started getting antsy. Also checked into the first Eagle Net on the NI4CE Repeater system at 8:30 using my new HT.

Winter Build Project

The following message was received tonight via undisclosed methods:

CBLA Field Agent Radio

This communique will serve as Official Notice that the Color-Burst Liberation Army has adopted the KD1JV MAS-80 CW transceiver for use by our Field Agents.  In the spirit of those who've gone before us, the CB/MAS-3579 is the solid-state equivalent of the vaunted PARASET field radio used by Allied agents in Europe during WWII.  Like the PARASET, the MAS uses a crystal-controlled transmitter and a regenerative receiver.  Just like the agents who operated the PARASET, CBLA Field Agents will be required to assemble their own radios.

Construction details can be found here:

<http://kd1jv.qrpradio.com/MAS/MAS.htm>

			http://kd1jv.qrpradio.com/MAS/MAS.htm A Rig for the MAS Contest by KD1JV Actual size is 3.5" wide and 2.5" deep. The M.A.S., (Minimal Art Session) is a contest started by Dr. Harmut "Hal&...
			View on kd1jv.qrpradio.com	Preview by Yahoo

The CB/MAS-3579 is powered by 13.8 Volts and transmitter output power is 2 Watts however simple modifications can raise that to 3 Watts.

Carry on,

Generalisimo Stephen Smith
CBLA #1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Transmittal

Seeing as how the glowbug I'm currently using is a tad off frequency, I believe this would be a great second attempt. Beats trying to refreq my rockmite! I'm mostly sure I've got enough parts to get by...
If not, I'll find a TV set somewhere and apply some "Victory Against Ignorance".
Other thing to do this winter:

Get a better Antenna up for 80m!

Craziest idea I've pondered to do this: a vertical loop for 80m where the bottom is 10' off the ground.
I've got the speakerwire, do I have the real estate?

Thank You, Ma'am!

Peddling as hard as I could, beating my fastest time home consumed my thoughts. My feet and lungs synchronized and as speed built, the force of my breathing intensified. 1, 2, 3, 4, in, out, in, out, right, left, right, left; everything happening at once.
Focused, I took in data from around me, seeing everything I could see while going. My wheels, flowing with the pavement, moved my arms and legs up and down, smoothing the path, absorbing the blows of terrain and transitions.
Determined, I needed to prove I could get home in under a certain time, and since this was Friday, I could go all out and recover my sore legs over the weekend.
I am my fastest, and then, I hear a car approaching and slowing down, prepare for evasive action! But then, a woman's voice called to me:
"You lost a shoe!"
The flow of traffic took her away quickly as I stopped and took off my backpack. The open cargo compartment mocked my best efforts at riding. The missing shoe lay on a transition from a cross street back to the bike path, a place where there's a puddle when it rains. I'm glad it hadn't started raining yet that day.
The lady was gone before I could say thank you.

So Lady on New Jersey Avenue in a Pontiac (I think):

Thank you very much!

This is a true story that happened Friday, September 30, 2016 at approximately 4:55 PM. I rode home in 19 minutes even with backtracking and stopping to get the shoe. I have changed the way I zip my backpack to minimize losing cargo in the future.

Barred Owl, Permitted...

random picture:

"Barred Owl Permitted to Build"
   Not even nature's creatures can escape the long reaching grasp of home owners' associations. Billy the Barred Owl applied for a permit that allows him to build a Cornell Ornithological Laboratory designed nesting box after receiving a notice that his attempts to nest in a natural tree cavity were against his CC&R.
"I'm a wild creature, I'm use to doing what I please," said Billy. "I've nested here for years, but because the best hole faces the neighbors this year, I have to pay somebody to have an approved nest box installed."
Billy's struggle began when his previous nesting tree suffered damage during Hurricane Hermine.
"Hermine, yeah, that storm! Lots of rain, a little wind, I guess the ground got soft, and crash! Over goes my house!" Billy recalled that the storm displaced a family of squirrels he was close to " Yeah, I eat squirrels, but this was a nice family, wouldn't touch them, ya know, we'd get together and watch football, cookout, they went deeper in the woods, I hope they're ok."
Billy's frustration continued when he moved into the Choice Domain* neighborhood, a planned community with many old growth trees.
"Lots of nice ready to use holes in these trees," said Billy when he recalled first moving here. "Plenty to eat running around too, but soon as I found a nice place to nest, I got slapped with a letter. I mean, I understand the rules and all, but hey, it's not like I'm a ham radio operator trying to put up an antenna!"


...

*not a real neighborhood.