My XYL and I spent the weekend with our daughter and her family near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I spent most of my time enjoying the company of my grandson but I did manage to get on the air for a bit this afternoon.
I set up my KX3 and AlexLoop antenna out in the backyard at the picnic table. Since the Straight Key Century Club’s Weekend Sprintathon (WES) contest was going on, I hooked up my little MS2 straight key to make a few contacts.
This was my first time using the AlexLoop with my KX3 and it worked well. Operating “search and pounce” during a contest was tricky with the AlexLoop but not impossible. I just tuned the KX3 about 500Hz off of the station I wanted to work, tuned the loop and then moved back to the station’s frequency.
I worked a half-dozen SKCC stations from Maine to Florida and as far west as Missouri. The last QSO was with W3CEI. His signal was so strong I had to turn the KX3’s preamp off and kick in the attenuator. As it turns out, Larry was only a half mile away or so from me. That was my big DX contact of the day!
It was a short outing but it was a beautiful day to be out playing radio under a shady tree.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 