Skeeter Hunt 2020 for N4KGL

Skeeter Hunt is an annual QRP event sponsored by the New Jersey QRP Club  I operated outdoors portable from Dothan, AL. The temps were in the 90s but picking a shady spot helped. Tom WD0HBR allowed me to use the vacant lot next to his Mother's house. My rigs were the Wilderness Sierra kit on 40 meters and a Wilderness SST-20 kit on 20 meters. The antenna was the 68-foot end-fed that Myron WV0H built for me. I enjoyed spending time with Tom who helped me copy the weak sigs. Suzy enjoyed the afternoon as well. It was a pleasure running into my friend  Bobby AK4JA from Georgia on 40 meters. I had 18 contacts of which 14 were fellow skeeters. The rest were 100-watt stations. The Skeeters were not as plentiful as they could have been due to conditions, but enough for a fun afternoon. 

The Sierra and the SST-20, both are Wilderness kits I built.

Suzy relaxing in the shade

Saltwater Effect Presentation

I have taken advantage of the so-called saltwater effect for vertical antennas while operating QRP portable right on the shoreline around Northwest Florida. My presentation discusses an attempt to quantify the saltwater effect using the Weak Signal Propagation Reporter WSPR beacons. The initial data shows the advantage of operating on the saltwater shore. I used a Microsoft Access database to provide data analysis. I am looking for collaborators to continue his experiments and make them more rigorous. This talk was prepared for the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo and played on August 9th, 2020.

I have created a groups.io group for the saltwater effect. Send an email to saltwatereffecthamradio+subscribe@groups.io to subscribe. If you want to share your experience using the saltwater effect post there. I am open to collaborating on data analysis and future experiments.

Greg N4KGL

Saltwater Effect Talks on the QSO Today Ham Expo

 Learn how operating near the saltwater shore can enhance your portable operating experience!

Tom Robinson Saltwater Amplifier Talk in Track 2 on Saturday 8 August 3:15 pm CDT

Greg Lane Saltwater Effect Talk in Track 2 on Sunday 9 August 1:15 pm CD

For more great talks see https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/speakers.html

Register for the expo at

https://www.vfairs.com/solutions/virtual-exhibition-fair/