Spring is Here Today

With the lengthening days, warmer temperatures and the reality of being stuck at home due to work policies surrounding the COVID-19 "situation" has me thinking about radio a lot more often these days.  Last weekend I decided to do some outdoor operating using my random wire antenna.  The temperature was 4C so it was quite bearable and I also had a nicer view than I would have had I sat inside looking at the barn wall.  Basically I sat just outside the barn window and ran a short length of RG-174 out the window to a chair.  The other end was connected to my LDG 9:1 Unun.  I set up and in 30 minutes I had 3 nice contacts on 30M and two of them were 2xQRP which always makes me extra happy.

 I have my rig, battery, key, clock and ear buds in a small Pelican case which I lined with "Cubed Pick Foam" from the local Canadian Tire store.  This allows me to keep everything organized and works a lot better than the computer carrying case I used to use.  The battery is a 7mAh and is heavy and would crush the other things in my bag.  Now it's held snugly in place by the foam. 

I have a small collapsible camping table and it worked great for keeping things off my lap.   I enjoy being outside again and with the COVID crisis looking like it's not going to end any time in the near future it will give me a chance to operate more often that I otherwise would have time for.  I am also taking some of my spare time to brush up on my code rx speed.  I started out using the standard G4FON program I installed years ago but have been found two other resources that are extremely helpful at increasing character and word recognition which will help with head copying and get past the barrier that exists when you try and write everything down during a QSO.  One of these resources is Kurt Zoglmann's Morse Code Ninja site which is full of links to Youtube videos he's created with all sorts of words, prosigns, call signs, etc at various speeds for aural practice for word and character recognition.  He has learned Morse Code to the extreme where he has even had books converter to code and listens to them.  He's pretty hard core on code.

The second site is called Morse Camp and it is quite simply laid out and easy to use for word recognition.  It plays words for you at a predefined speed (default appears to be 30WPM) and keeps repeating them until you think you know what it is and hit the space bar.  This shows the word or letter/number combination and you indicate with a left or right arrow whether you were correct or not and it moves on.  You can select word length but as you progress it increments on its own.

I think this seclusion we are all experiencing can be a challenge for those who suffer from anxiety or depression, let alone the rest of us who are also feeling the stress of the unknown be it job security, financial security, or even toilet paper security, apparently.  They say the key is to make sure to get out of the house for a walk or a hike or some other stress relieving activity.  Radio is that for me and I plan to do it as much as I can fit it in.  I don't need to sit there for hours...30 minutes is plenty and even just 1 QSO makes me happy when operating QRP.

72/73 de Scott ve3vvf

Where does the summer go?

Because I have 2 hobbies, one usually takes a back seat when the other is in full swing.  Ham Radio is currently sitting in the back...until Monday, that is.  Bag piping in a band is a summer thing for sure and amateur radio, for me, has been a winter thing for some time now.  I used to operate from parks and camp sites in the summer before piping came along but things change.  Yesterday the Glengarry Highland Games were held.  They have been going for the past 70 years in Maxville, Ontario.  It is the home of the North American Pipe Band Championships.  It is the competition we all work towards shy of going to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow.  Going to the World's is a dream of mine and some day I'll go...if not with a band I'll go as a spectator.  That is the Shangri-La of pipe band competitions.  It's where you see all the top bands and piping icons.  It's where you put everything on the line and hope that you are lucky enough to hear your Band's name called out in the results.  That means you got top 6 in your grade.  Dare to dream.  Anyway, back to Maxville.  This year our band has been playing better.  It's our 4th year together and we have ages ranging from 12 to 55.  We are the lowest grade (5) and hoping to earn our way to the next level.  In early July we took a band trip to PEI for a week at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts to work on our medley and individual play.  A week of practicing 4 hours together every day builds confidence, ensemble and camaraderie.  At the end of that week we went to Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the Antigonish Highland Games including the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Championships.  We were fortunate enough to take first place (by the slimmest of margins) in that event for our grade.  We are definitely having our best year so far.   Yesterday's competition in Maxville was the culmination of our efforts which began last fall.  We had one of our best plays and came 1 point shy of finishing first overall for out grade.  Second place is a great accomplishment for us but it's frustrating to know how close we came to winning.

There is another Highland Games this weekend that we will be heading to this morning in Montreal.  The Montreal Highland Games is a bit more relaxed affair but just as invigorating and with the stress of yesterday over we can have more fun.  It's definitely a fun games and we spend a good bit of time in the beer tent telling stories and enjoying good company with other bands and listening to great Celtic music.  We hope for a good result today and that is our prime goal but we also plan to have a lot of fun.

Make the time

Wow I haven't posted since February!  That's what happens when you decide to move.    Packing and removing antennas and all that sort of thing really puts a dent in your operating time.  We have moved to a larger place about 20 minutes away from our old place.  This is a good thing.  The place is larger and closer to my pipe band practices.  It also means that my shack is on the second floor now instead of the basement.  I'm looking forward to that for sure.  I don't have anything set up in the shack just yet because there are so many other "house" things we have been busy at.  Minor renovations and painting seem to take a lot of my spare time lately...that and pipe band.  I do have a TV tower coming next week so that will be a start allowing me to get my VHF antenna up as well as a place to string my wire fan dipole from.  I hope I will be able to hit the VE3ORF repeater from my place with just 50W.

There's no rush on the tower work, of course, because as with most hams I'll likely leave that tower work to November when I'll need to wear gloves.  There's so much to do in a "new" house.  It's 100+ yrs old so it's not new...just new to me.  You always want to make a place your own and our place is no exception.  We have just under 2 acres and in the very center of the back yard is a monster weeping willow.  I may use it to anchor one end of my wire antenna however I'll likely need to use a pulley and counter weight system because I'll bet it will sway in the wind substantially.

I'm looking forward to getting my first contacts from the new QTH so I really should get going on it. I think the best plan is to take a week off in October and get it all sorted out.  As I've learned over the years, it's not about finding time for this hobby...it's about MAKING time for this hobby.

Antenna Analyzer Update / Syracuse Competition Result

I got a response from MFJ regarding the MFJ-207 and its "dead spot" on 20M and was basically told I could send it in for repair and that the repair shouldn't be more than about $35.  I'm okay with that.  I have only used the analyzer a handful of times in the past few years since I purchased it new but this is the first time I have tried using it on 20M.  It's too bad I didn't realize this when I first bought the unit as I could have sent it back under warranty.  C'est la vie.  $35 isn't too bad and I know they will find the fault quickly and hopefully get the unit back to me before too long.  Apparently the turn-around time at the moment is 4 weeks so it will probably be more than that.  All that being said, the antenna I was trying to measure when I detected the fault is reading about 1.5:1 on the SWR so I should be fine without it.

The Central New York Highland Games and Scottish Festival was a great time as usual.  The shopping was good, the weather was great, the crowd was appreciative and we had a good play.  There were 6 grade 5 bands competing and we tied for first place.  When this happens the "Ensemble" score is compared and because the Finger Lakes Pipe Band scored higher in Ensemble they got the first place and we took second.  Good for them as ensemble is where it's it...at least that's what I've been told.  I'm okay with second place.  It is a vast improvement over our crummy play in Maxville at the Glengarry Highland Games.  I feel a lot better knowing we can play well when we are focused.

Our band warming up.  Photo courtesy - Barbara Macdonnell

This Weekend - Syracuse

This weekend is the 74th Central New York Scottish Games & Celtic Festival.  It is not too far over the border and is a fun Highland Games to attend.  The crowd is great and very appreciative of the bands.  The vendors are not the same ones we see in Ontario so that's a nice change as well.  The down side is the poor exchange rate at the moment.  75 cents on the dollar is tough to swallow.  But there are Outlet Malls!

In Ontario, the Highland Games we attend are all very similar to each other.  Each one has its plusses and minuses but all are enjoyable for different reasons.  My better half loves to find the cool shopping spots and unique stores.  We also look for farmer's markets as most small towns have them.  Antique stores are also cool places to take in if time permits...you never know what you'll find there.  The other thing we look for is a small local bakery.  There are always local gems to be had from there.

The setting is lovely at Long Branch Park and I'm really looking forward to competing this weekend.

Cheers!

Pipe Band Season Coming to a Close

Well the summer Highland Games season is fast approaching its close.  It's a bit of a whirlwind with lots of practicing alone and as a band.  This being my second season playing there is still a whole lot to learn but it's not as overwhelming as last season.  The highlight of our competition season is the Glengarry Highland Games of which we are the host band.  It is the North American Championships and you always want to do your best in front of your home crowd.  With 53 bands and almost 200 solo pipers competing across the 5 grades it's safe to say that there were a lot of pipers in Maxville, Ontario this past weekend.  The games are much more than just the solo and band piping competitions.  There are Highland dancing competitions, the Heavy events including the caber toss and hammer throw, the tug of war which had 10 entries of military teams and so much more.  Oh, and lots of food and beer.

My personal experience at the games this year included solo piping and our grade 5 band competition.  This is my first year taking part in the solo piping event.  It's pretty straight forward actually.  You choose a tune at the start of the season and learn it well.  You play for a judge and he evaluates you on many facets of piping.  At the grade 5 level (beginner) you see old guys like me who are adult learners and you see kids under 10 in the same event.  Kids learn the bagpipes much easier than us old guys so it's not uncommon for the youngsters to take the top spots.  There is no real audience while you perform other that the pipers who are piping after you.  It's not really a spectator sport.  The most valuable part of the exercise is the judges score sheet for your performance.  The judge writes on how you performed and includes both what you did well and what needs improving.  It is very constructive so even if you feel your play was weak you also get positive reinforcement for what you did well.  Oddly, even though the score sheet tells you what you need to work on you usually already know where your difficulties lay.  Knowing what you need to do and actually being able to do it under the stress of judgement is a whole different thing.  I won't be graduating out of grade 5 solos into grade 4 any time soon but I know I have learned a lot this year with respect to playing alone in front of a judge.  The tune I played all season, Lochanside, will be retired from my solo playing repertoire and next year I will try something different. It's not that I don't like the tune...I've just played it enough to last me for a while.

Our band competition this year at Maxville did not go as well as we had hoped.  Our numbers are a little lower than we would like with just 9 pipers.  More pipers, although not a guarantee of better results, do give you a bigger more full sound.  The first part of any band competition is the march into the circle while starting to play the tune.  The play begins with 2 rolls from the drums followed by the drones of the pipes and then an E followed by the first tune in the medley.  This is routine but things can happen during this "simple" exercise.  Stress and nerves can cause all sorts of problems including a poor strike-in (to get the drones going) or the dreaded early E.  In an effort to get that good strike-in one can sometimes blow and squeeze too much which causes the early E.  It stands out to all who are listening and as soon as it happens everyone knows it.  It's not a competition killer at the grade 5 level but it certainly doesn't work in your favour.  This year it was I who had the early E and I felt terrible about it.  The important thing about an error like that at the beginning of your set is to not let it rattle you.  It is so easy to start making mistakes in the tune because you are fretting about what just happened and it can be all downhill from there.  Luckily I was able to play the tune without any errors at all which is actually an improvement over the past few Highland games this season.  Nerves sometimes get the best of me and at some point during a play there is a wrong note here or there even though I have played the tunes a hundred times.  Another problem that can happen is the momentary loss of focus.  All it takes is letting your mind wander for 2 seconds and you can lose your place.  It seems simple enough to keep your focus but it isn't as easy as it sounds.  So, despite that nasty early E I played better than normal.  We didn't place very well and it is definitely disappointing that the early E had a big part in that.  You feel like you've let your band mates down.  I know it's happened at Highland games hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the decades and I know it will likely be quickly forgotten but it doesn't make you feel any better.

We have 1, possibly two, more competitions remaining and I know they will be fun as they always are.  The sense of family that you get from a pipe band is difficult to describe but it's like having a bunch of siblings who all have the same hobby.  Pipers and drummers all working to the same goal.  Just as in any family there is drama, arguments, cheers, laughter and sometimes disappointment.....oh and a lot of waiting.  As the 2-year mark approaches since I first picked up the practice chanter I realize how far I have come.  I played tunes fairly well this year that I stumbled through last year and i learned others from scratch that I had never heard of before.  A lot has been learned but I've only nicked the edge of the iceberg of what there is to learn.  I don't aspire to be a grade 1, top level, player.  I know that won't ever happen.  Heck, I don't even know if I'll ever get out of grade 5.  The only thing I aspire to be is better than I was yesterday.  For me and probably everyone else learning to play an instrument there are good days and there are bad days but as long as I'm improving and having fun doing it I'll be happy.

Glengarry Pipe Band - Grade 5 Piping competition in Maxville, Ontario.  2015

Glengarry Pipe Band - Grade 5 Piping competition in Maxville, Ontario.  2015

Photos courtesy of Fred Cattroll

Off To A Good Start

Yesterday was the Ottawa Branch Indoor Games at a high school in Kemptville Ontario.  This is a smaller piping competition but is the first of the season in these parts and is good for seeing how we do in competition with this years "set".  There were 3 grades competing in the band portion of the competition.  Grades 5, 4 and 3 played in that order.  There were five Gr.5 bands, two Gr.4 bands and two Gr.3 bands.  The order of play always starts with the lower grade (5) first and works up from there.  We were scheduled to play 3rd out of 5 which means we do not get to see bands who play before us as we are far too busy tuning and getting our "sound" just right.


A quick aside on bagpipe sound:
For anyone who is not familiar with bagpipes and how their sound can shift with the smallest of changes in any one of a number of factors may be surprised to learn that a band going into compete, even at the lowest grade, will spend at least an hour warming up the instrument, getting it fine tuned, re-tuned, then don't play too much or it will go out of tune, then play a little bit to keep the reed just "warm" enough, then fine-tune some more right up until the last second before going into the circle.  It's very important that everyone's instrument sounds exactly the same and that can be very difficult in a lower grade band as a person's blowing is not as refined as a higher grade player's is and blowing affects the sound too.  The chanter reed is also a sensitive element as no two are alike.  This year our band members all have new reeds from a different manufacturer.  They are loud and hard but makes for a big bright sound.  We also have new chanters which also have more volume and nice sound.  It makes a big difference as not all reeds or chanters are created equally.

After playing our set and heading off to our classroom to drop off our instruments we returned to the cafeteria to watch the rest of the bands compete.  We saw the final gr. 5 band play and they sounded good.  We then watched the gr. 4 bands play followed by the gr.3s.  Following this the awards for the solo competitors from earlier in the day (the solo competitions are for another post) were handed out.  The band results were then announced and to make a long story short we placed first in our grade.  We were all very excited and pleased with our result but we also know we still have a lot of work to do to eliminate mistakes and improve our unison (playing exactly together).  It was a good start to the season but the next competition, The Kingston Scottish Festival, near Kingston Ontario, is outdoors and that is a whole different thing.  All mistakes and errors are so much more obvious when playing outside and there is no hiding.

Cheers for now