The 2024 VA QSO Party (VAQP) is over and I would say it was a great success. But there is always room for improvement, and VAQP is no exception. Here are some of my thoughts and some suggestions. VAQP Activity and Contest Notes There was a great deal of activity on day one - Saturday,... Continue Reading →
WSPR with Yaesu FTDX-3000 – Part 2: Getting Receive and Spots working
After my initial issues with WSPR on this radio (see Part1 WSPR Post), I did some online searching. I found that there is a frequency Offset setting on the FTDX-3000 for "Other SSB Modes," which I assume means Digital Modes. There are many settings, and each is briefly described in the User Manul, but there... Continue Reading →
WSPR Adventure with a Yaesu Radio (FTDX-3000) – Part 1
This series of Posts will chronicle my efforts to get WSPR working with a Yaesu FTDX-3000 using WSJT-X software. I chose this route because I already have the FT3K setup to use WSJT-X on other Digital Modes including FT8 and it seems like it should be simple to just change the software Mode to WSPR,... Continue Reading →
WSJTX Caused FTDX3000 Blinking Green RX LED
I have been using WSJTX with Yaesu FTDX3000 for many months. It had been working fine, but the recent version 2.5.4 causes an issue with the Rig when I try to change Bands. If I use the WSJTX software to change Bands, there is a relay click and the RX LED starts to blink. While... Continue Reading →
ARRL CW Sweepstakes 2022 – Finally got the Broom
I had a great time working the ARRL CW November Sweepstakes contest this year. I know that many Hams do not care for SS with the long, complicated exchange but I think it is a great challenge. After many years of trying and hoping, I finally managed to work all 84 Sections for the "Clean... Continue Reading →
Added an Audio Mixer to My Shack
I was starting to get overwhelmed by all the audio sources in my shack, then I saw some contests are starting to require recordings of both sides of contacts. How the Hell am I going to do that??? So I started looking at options and thinking about the audio routing in my shack. I have... Continue Reading →
VA QSO Party 2022 – Reflection
The 2022 Virginia QSO Party took place in early March. Now that the dust has settled, I wanted to post a summary of my planning and activity in the contest. The short summary is that 2022 was a great year to participate in VAQP. Activity levels were high and the Band conditions were mostly favorable.... Continue Reading →
An SO2R Antenna Switching Project using N1MM
I have decided to revive a project that I started over a year ago, but had put on hold. My Station is setup for SO2R operation but I do not have automated antenna switching in place. I have 3 or 4 antennas, depending upon the contest, and manually connect and disconnect them as the contest... Continue Reading →
HAPPY NEW YEAR with high hopes for 2022
Happy New Year and thanks for the interest in this blog in the past year. In 2021 I had about 17,000 visits and 26,000 views of this blog. This may not be a large number for some more serious bloggers, but it is way above anything I ever expected to see. I hope to post... Continue Reading →
Connecting an IC-7300 to the Elecraft KPA-500 Amp and KAT-500 Tuner
***** Important Update with WARC Band Warning (at end of Post) ***** I have been using the Elecraft KPA-500 and KAT-500 with two Icom rigs; the IC-7600 and the IC-7300. This article details how I have chosen to interconnect the KAT/KPA-500 with my IC-7300. There are also varying options for interconnecting the 7300 with this... Continue Reading →
Kg3v Ham Radio Blog 