Digital QSL Card from W6BSD on October 29, 2023

Thank you, Ken (W6BSD), for the beautiful digital QSL card.  Hope to work you again in the future.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Yupiteru MVT-7100

Many moons ago, I had the pleasure of owning a 1990's vintage Yupiteru MVT-7100 scanner.  It was a really great little handheld radio.  It had wide band reception and 1000 memories (10 banks) that could be scanned at 30 channels per second.   The sensitivity was excellent (better than 1 µV on most ranges).  The superheterodyne receiver was capable of continuous tuning from 0.53-1650 MHz (tunes down to 0.1 kHz) and supported AM, FM, W-FM, CW, and SSB modulation.  Amazing!  

Yupiteru MVT-7100 multiband receiver

It covered all the ham bands including: 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m (WARC), 20m, 17m (WARC), 15m, 12m (WARC), 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 33cm, 23cm, 10m, and 4m.  It also covered the 11m (CB) band.

Tuning steps were configurable: 0.05 / 0.1 / 1 / 5 / 6.25 / 9 / 10 / 12.5 / 20 / 25 / 50 / 100 kHz.

As was the case with all the other handheld scanners of this vintage, the radio could only be programmed manually (not via computer).  This could be tedious with 1000 memories.  However, programming was part of the fun and charm of the radio.

The antenna was connected via a robust BNC connector.  On an aside, I still prefer the BNC connector to the modern SMA connector.  The BNC connectors are stronger and more durable.  I have seen several SMA's fail while BNCs continue to work without failure with decades of hard use.  I am not convinced the more fragile and shorter life SMA connectors have been good for handheld radio gear.  What are your thoughts?

The Yupiteru was a versatile and fun radio to play with.  It is considered by many as one of the best general coverage handheld scanners ever made.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Arizona QSO Party 2023

The Arizona QSO Party 2023 is being held 1500z Oct 14 to 0500z Oct 15, 2023 (UTC).  I plan on hunting Greenlee County which is the last AZ County that I need to complete contacts with all counties in the state.  If you happen to know the frequency a Greenlee County ham is calling, please let me know.

Join the party.   Make some contacts.   Have ham radio fun!

For more information to go: AZQP - Arizona QSO Party

Arizona State Flag

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Completed 30m ARRL DXCC Award

A big thank you to Vasily (YL3AKH) in Latvia for being my 100th DXCC contact confirmed on LoTW on 30 meters.  Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Riga.  Latvians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian.  Around 3000 BC, the proto-Baltic ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

I am delighted to have earned the ARRL 30 meters DXCC award. It took many years to earn this award.  All contacts were made with 100 watts or less and using simple wire antennas.

Flag of Latvia

As I write this, I have now completed DXCC on 10 Meters, 15 Meters, 17 Meters, 20 Meters, and 30 Meters. I am working on achieving DXCC on several bands.

• 12 Meters - I now have an antenna and progressing (69 qualifying contacts confirmed on LoTW).
• 40 Meters - Making good progress (93 qualifying contacts confirmed on LoTW)
• 80 Meters - Slow progress (40 qualifying contact confirmed on LoTW)
• 160 Meters - No antenna.

I am also pursuing the DXCC Challenge Award which requires confirming at least 1,000 DXCC band-points on any Amateur bands, 160 through 6 meters (except 60 meters). I presently have 769 contacts confirmed on LoTW toward the DXCC Challenge Award.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

2023 California QSO Party Time!

California State Flag

The 2023 California QSO Party will be held:

1600 UTC October 7, 2023 to 2200 UTC October 8, 2023

Radio sport means competition, fun, and hamming it up on the radio.

I am a County hunter, and I will be looking to make contacts with the following California Counties to complete my full set of LoTW confirmed contacts:

• Alpine County
• Glenn County
• Mariposa County
• Sierra County

If you are operating from one of these Counties, please do let me know so we can set up a schedule.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Surprising History and Physics of the AC Transformer

This is a fascinating and information video, Surprising History & Physics of the AC Transformer by the wonderful Kathy Loves Physics & History youtube channel.

  

DX and 73, NJ2X

August 13, 2023 World's Largest Teapot Special Event Certificate (W2T)

I received a really fun electronic certificate for working W2T on August 13, 2023 for the World's Largest Teapot Special Event Chester, West Virginia.

The World's Largest Teapot Special Event Certificate

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Maine QSO Party 2024

It is time for the Maine QSO Party 2024!  Check out www.ws1sm.com/MEQP.html for all the details.

Contest Period: 1200 UTC Saturday, September 23 to 1200 UTC Sunday, September 24, 2023.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

2000 US Counties Confirmed on QRZ.com

A big THANK YOU to Jay (K4JND) in Webster County, Kentucky for confirming my 2000th United States unique County contact on QRZ.com.

2000 is a major milestone toward completing contacts with all 3007 US Counties (66%).  I have noticed that hunting counties has become more difficult as I approach the goal line.  My Q-rate with new counties has dropped off noticeably since I reached 1900 Counties on May 27, 2023.  Fortunately, the fun is in the hunt and not in the destination.  The more challenging each new US County contact becomes, the more I enjoy it.

  

I have noticed an increase in county contacts that do not use LoTW.  I use LoTW as my primary logbook and contact confirmations.  It is a bit of a disappointment to make contact with a rare-DX US County and then discover that the radio amateur does not use LoTW.  It does help knowing that many hams eventually find their way to LoTW after having operating without it for awhile.  If you are not using LoTW, I highly recommend it.  LoTW adds a new dimension to the hobby and makes it much easier to go after challenging awards.

Interestingly, I have managed to confirm contacts with all the counties of a given state, with four states (8%). It seems to me this can be explained by the unequal distribution of radio amateurs. There will be more people (and hams operating) in counties with metropolitan areas and less in more rural areas.  For example, Greenlee Arizona is my final missing AZ County (named after Mason Greenlee, early prospector).  Greenlee County, AZ shows 39 licensed amateur radio operators on the QRZ.com county search.  Do you live in or operate in Greenlee County, AZ?  If yes, please contact me so we can set up a sked.

Are you a US County hunter?  If yes, how do you find and confirm those rare-DX US Counties?  Please leave a comment below.

Are you a US County hunter in need of Santa Cruz County, California?  If yes, be sure to let me know if you would like to set up a sked.

Onward to 2100!

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Digital QSL Card HP1CDW April 7, 2022

Thank you, Henry (HP1CDW) for the contact with Panama and the beautiful digital QSL card.  Hope to work you again in the future.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Eight Applications of Diodes in Circuits

Started my day with an excellent 20-minute overview of diodes.  The Electronic Wizard introduces 3 types of diodes with 8 applications. In the video, he builds each application and demonstrates how the diode affects the circuit using an oscilloscope.  This video is highly recommended.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Digital QSL card from W2CP for a contact on May 23, 2022

A big thank you to Frederick, W2CP, in Union, New Jersey for the May 23, 2022 contact and the nice digital QSL card.  I do miss the beautiful NYC skyline view from good old New Jersey.  Hope to work you again in the future.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X

Digital QSL card from Ersoy (3C3CA) for a February 12, 2023 contact

Thank you to Ersoy, 3C3CA, in Equatorial Guinea-Malabo for the contact and nice digital QSL card.  I hope to work you again in the future.

Good DX and 73, NJ2X