Greetings from Ontario's West Coast!
VE3CV is my new callsign, received August 18, 2010.
Also hold my previous callsign VE3FRX
I retired early after 25 years of environmental research and consulting, including 10 years teaching (Contaminated Soil Remediation) in the Civil Engineering Dept. of the University of Calgary (Ph.D., Environmental Microbiology). We left the boom town craziness of Calgary, AB in May 2007 to 1.7 acres about 10km south of the marina village of Bayfield, ON. See: http://www.villageofbayfield.com/
We have a view of Lake Huron about 5km to the west. QTH is on highest point in the township at 281m and local noise floor is usually zero! My XYL, Linda and I love it here in the middle of nowhere! Started a retirement business as "Dr Fix-it" doing small appliance repair and general home maintenance projects along "Ontario's West Coast". Volunteering as a member of the Rotary Club of Goderich also keeps me busy. See our Club webpage at: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=1050.
Got my license with CW in Ottawa in 1989 as VE3RCI, then grandfathered to advanced in 1990 (I know.I know). While in Calgary I was VE6RCI then VE6GJ and was very active in the Calgary ARA and the club contest station VE6AO. I worked on rebuilding the contest station after a flood in 2005 and got to do fun things like tower climbing! I really miss the great group of Calgary hams in the CARA DX Club and look to work VE6AO in every contest. Here is VE6GJ working on a Bencher Skyhawk stack on a 100ft tower at VE6AO (2006)
In November 2008 I finally finished building my dream ham shack and electronics test bench in the steel workshop on my acreage. It is a 16 x 16ft room that is well insulated and nice and cozy for winter Contests and DXing.
ANTENNA FARM
Antenna Farm: DX Engineering 5 band Hexxbeam on 40ft tower; a 80m doublet for 40-80-160m, a full wave 80m delta loop for 40/80, a 2m/70cm groundplane also on roof top mast at 52ft, and a Cushcraft R7 vertical. Antenna feed-thru panel is shown with my wireless adaptor under the plastic cover on the left - provides my internet connection from the wireless network in the house. For the winter DX season I put up two 550ft Beverages pointing to Japan and Europe/MidEast. These really increased my 160m DX totals - 112 and counting. Currently use 11- 130ft radials for 160m with my doublet shorted to use as a top loaded vertical. Next year I'll try different directions or maybe some bidriectional Beverages. Love antenna projects!
Some of the hexbeam installation action (June 11, 2010)
XYL Linda pulled it up (yellow rope) while I climbed the tower and kept the wires from getting snagged.
Now we just need some sunspots so I can play with the new Hexbeam!
Pictures below show the view from the top of the tower to the West (Lake Huron in distance), North (room for a beverage or two!), East (note the 550kV power grid - can be noisey in the fog and light rain) , and South (house behind the trees).
Here are some winter pics of the temporary Beverage and the 80m delta loop and hexxbeam in frost
Another reason I retired to Ontario's West Coast - The sunsets over Lake Huron can be incredible!
STATION INFO:
Use a Yaesu FT-1000MP with Rigblaster pro as main rig and my first rig and trusty old TS140S for my second shack in an upstairs bedroom of the 1890 farm house. Use a 90 ft random wire antenna there.
I like CW, SSB, PSK31, and RTTY, DXing, Contesting and ragchewing. Use Logger32 as my main log and N1MM for Contests.
Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) Member No. 5245
If you're in ON, OH, MI, or NY I hope to meet you on the ONTARS net on 3.755 MHz, which is on every day from 7AM to 6PM. See: http://www.ontars.net/
Hope to work you this winter. Think sunspots! Though right now I'm concentrating on 80 and 160m and having lots of fun and success in contesting. Must be the elevated QTH.
Old Callsigns: VE3RCI (Ottawa, 89-91); VE6RCI (Calgary, 92-'04); VE6GJ (Calgary, '04- April '07); VE3FRX (May 15, 2007-Aug 17, 2010)
Member RAC, ARRL and Contest Club Ontario (CCO). See: http://www.va3cco.com/
I QSL 100% via LOTW, eQSL and buro or direct, if requested.
DXCC #57,913 with endorsements for 150, 200, and 250 via LoTW.
Current LOTW abd Paper QSL Account Status - Awarded DX Entity Confirmations (May 2013)
Total/Current
Mixed 290/289
CW 268/267
Phone 230/229
Digital 138/129
160M 108/107
80M 130/129
40M 140/139
30M 124/124
20M 217/216
17M 170/170
15M 211/210
12M 138/138
10M 162/161
Challenge 1383
Contest Certificate Results (think horn blowing in backround.)
1991 CQ160CW - winner MS LP QC Section as VE2OJ (Ops VE2FLD, VE3NJ, VE3RCI)
2006 ARRL Nov. SS Unlimited Phone - 1st AB Section LP as VE6GJ
2007 CQ160CW - MOLP (Assisted) 1st AB Section LP as VE6GJ (16,388);
2008 CQ160CW - SOQRP 1st North America, Canada, Ontario; 4th World (74,094);
2008 CQ WPX RTTY - SOLP(80) 1st Canada (162,864) (were there any other entires in this class? Hi Hi)
2008 Ontario QSO Party - 1st Huron County SOLP (14,742 - only entry)
2008 RAC Winter Contest - SOSB(80) - 1st Ontario (29,232)
2009 CQ160CW - 2nd Ontario SOQRP; #6 World, #4 NA; #2 Canada (101,931)
2009 CQWW RTTY WPX - SOSBLP(80) - 1st North America, 9th World (222,250)
2009 Ontario QSO Party - SOLP - 1st Huron County (16,432 - only entry)
2009 CQWWSSB - SOLP(80) - 1st Ontario, 2nd Canada, 2nd North Amercia, 11th World (26,961)
2009 RAC Winter Contest - SOSB(160) - 1st Ontario (11,752)
2010 Ontario QSO Party - SOLP -1st Huron County (17,712 - only entry)
2010 CQWW RTTY DX - SOSBLP(80) 1st North America (40,500)
2010 RAC Winter Contest - SOSBLP(160) - 1st Ontario, 2nd Canada, 16th North America (17,748)
2010 CQWWSSB SOLP(A) - 1st Ontario (380,952)
2011 Ontario QSO Party - SOLP - 1st Huron County (5,336 - only entry)
2011 CQ160CW - SOLP(A) - 1st Canada, 1st Ontario, 5th North America (113,967)
2011 CQWWSSB - SOLP(80) - 1st Canada, 2nd North America, 6th World (27,900).only Canadian entry ;>(
2012 Ontario QSO Party - SOLP - 1st Huron County (25,098 - new record, only entry)
See you on the bands! Be radio Active!
73 es gud DX
Jeff, VE3CV
