VE9QRP

 This past Saturday, my wife and I camped overnight in Fundy national park's Lake Tracey campsite, a 5km hike from the Bennett Lake parking lot. It was the perfect length of hike because we were bringing along our 8 month old puppy and our things like tents and sleeping pads weren't exactly hiking-weight. There was nevertheless just enough space to bring along the IC-705 and a 10m carbon fibre pole to put up a 30m EFHW antenna in an inverted vee and call a few CQs. The first station was ON6MG, and in the next 1.5h I added three more from the USA. Great fun. Without cell phone service, I couldn't spot myself, and 30m wasn't exactly on fire. I think if, in the future, I'm concerned about getting the 10 POTA contacts for an official activation, I should always include 20m among the bands I work and ensure I'm self-spotted. But as I see it, the POTA program means you can call 'CQ POTA' and it energizes folks on the other end, even if your signal is weak, som...

The Maritime QRS Roundtable is a weekly sked on 80m for CW at around 10 wpm. We chat for an hour on Wednesdays starting at 20:30 Atlantic Time. While we often meet at 3.566 MHz, sometimes we arrange another, more convenient, frequency. Join in by sending your call in any break in the conversation or just listen in to practice on-air copying.  Rather than using CW net Q-codes, we coordinate using the simple Discord chat app, which is available on all digital platforms. We encourage beginners of any speed to join on Discord: we’ll find a QSO that’s right for your speed! For access to the Discord server, email Jim VE1KM at ve1km@jcampbell.ca or Bruce VE9QR at ve9qrp@gmail.com using the subject ‘QRS Roundtable’.