My #hamr Weekend Update

Greetings and salutations from the couch because I needed a day of rest to include relaxation. My day started rather early that is waking before sunrise. It is quiet time when I fire up the machines and connect to the Internet. It is a time when thoughts are collected and dreams continued. The Box score is out there, somewhere, waiting for the moment when preparation meets timing.
My installed software handshakes with their servers downloading their latest updates then DXLAB Suite is opened for the #hamr weekend. The machines seek out eQSL and LoTW while I observe the latest harvest report generated by my favorite logging program. I refill my Dashtoons' coffee cup before reading the latest in #hamr news from CQ Contest Digest, the Northern California Contest Club reflector, to DX World and DX Coffee.
Today, the Beach Boys Amateur Radio Club, gathered together at a Five Cities donut shop exchanging the latest QST. I enjoyed an apple fritter and a little less coffee while chatting with the boys. We left after a round to help QDH salvage a Mosley TA-33 tri-band antenna, a rotor, and tower.
The antenna appeared to be in good shape other than normal corrosion at the hardware.
I'm currently in the software preparing for my extra class examination scheduled for later this month. My mentor pointed out the next level in RadioSport is the lower 25 kilocycles. I have held general class privileges for three decades and passing the extra may bring me one step closer to the Box as well. Also, I want to thank Dan, KB6NU for his blog postings that cover extra class test questions.
73s from the shackadelic near the beach.

Cycle 24 Screenshot Project | 10 March 2012

Good morning from the shackadelic near the beach after reading DX World news report with my cup of DXCoffee. I'm settling into a day of ham radio while the ionosphere roils from a recent solar storm. I'd like to state for the record that I was wrong, in fact, I was really wrong about Cycle 24. The ignition system is working perfectly and there are sunspots on the solar disc.

The count did not drop rather it roared into the low triple digits. The ensuing flare riveted the planet while counter measures where implemented to deal with the proton swell. It appears space weather had its fifteen minutes in the national spotlight.

I'm sure this is the beginning of a series of fifteen minute segments until the end of the year.

On the other hand, why not interview a ham radio operator whose high frequency wireless signal depends on the ionosphere? It would be a visual and audio sensation as the microphone captures distorted signals or barren spectrum spaces where minutes before tens of tens of wireless signals filled previously occupied spectrum.

Storm or not, it looks like ham radio operators, are testing ionospheric conditions despite an A-index of sixty eight! It is not a moment to turn off your radio instead opt for sailing the wireless airwaves in search of weird propagation. This is an opportunity at discovery for ham radio.

As for me, it was a chagrin moment in the shackadelic, when Cycle 24 erupted as front page news.

Chase DX!

Award Update

Good afternoon from the shackadelic fun zone where technology meets human. I haven't concluded my weekend because there is one more day of rest and relaxation. I have Monday off after a wild technology ride across 11 days.

Downside
We went from Direct TV satellite access to removing the antenna from our roof because of HOA issues to replacing stellar feeds with Charter high definition cable to a Cisco box failure with picture only without audio.

Failure
The Direct TV installation specialist completely screwed up on the install. We called him back a second time to re-route the coax line also he drove a 4 inch coarse threaded bolt into our roof then removed it without sealing the hole. I dumped nearly 12 gallons of water after a storm from last week.

Lastly, I spent the greater portion of Saturday afternoon on the wireless phone trouble shooting with two Charter technical support specialists.

How do I rate this technology saga?

Ridiculous Meets Inertia
We have a picture to our brand new LG LED 42 inch flat screen however no audio feed. A Charter technician is scheduled for Monday afternoon. I already know what is going to happen. It's a hardware swap that is Cisco box for Cisco box. Overall, I'm bitterly disappointed after already replacing one box making this two failures in a row.

Additionally, Direct TV delivered superior picture quality to include a robust menu of channels however the installation specialist put the hurt on Direct TV's reputation.

Award Progress
On the other hand, I downloaded a batch of LoTW and eQSL digital cards after the 2012 ARRL International DX CW event and I'm a little surprised by the results.

I received 136 digital cards from eQSL, 46 LoTW credits, and one traditional QSL card from Japan. Also, I have completed 66 percent of the first 100 toward my Diamond DXCC challenge after loading the spread sheet earlier this morning.

Fast, Fun, and Furious
One can make a serious dent on most awards during a RadioSport weekend. Basically and fundamentally, I do not have time during the week to pursue anything other than sleeping, eating, working then repeat cycle.

Personally, I find RadioSport is a good fit for my 21st Century weekend schedule because the game is fast, fun, and furious.

Perhaps, one day, and I say this with a little pessimism, I can sit in the operating chair and enjoy a rag chew conversation instead of less than 140 character exchanges. However, that day is a more than a decade away, and who knows what RadioSport will look like when I'm an officially retired gray beard?

Until then...

Contest on!

Cycle 24 Screenshot Project | 4 March 2012

Good global morning to one and all while the ARRL International DX SSB event presses into the afternoon. The Five Cities buzz has 10m performing at less than optimal with nothing heard out of Europe. Fifteen meters, on the other hand, opened briefly to EU then fell to silence with north-to-south paths dominating through the afternoon. Twenty meters is virtually grid locked although EU is going into local RadioSport logs.

The big question is, "What is with Cycle 24?"

The numbers are satisfactory although it's not blowing the doors off of 10m as hoped while approaching the peak. The sunspot count reminds me of an engine with either a bad starter or one verging on replacement? I experienced a brief stretch of triple digit counts when high band spectrum spaces went bonkers followed by the current descent, perhaps, even toward zero.

What ever is going on with Cycle 24, at least it's historic, and for a new generation of ham radio operators, it is one to talk about when gathered around cafe tables for coffee.

73s from the shackadelic near the beach.