From: "Chuck Adams" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: Rock Hunting --- Winter of '02 (or '03) Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 12:05 PM Gang, While growing up in Wink, TX, one of the first things that you learn at an early age is to take up one or more hobbies. One of those was rock hunting and at one time I had over a ton of banded agate for cutting into slabs with a diamond saw. And I got to put Wink on the map last week when I won a tournament in CA and put down the home town. :-) But that is another story for another place and time. Well, once again it is about that time of the year when the weather cools down a great deal in most of the USofA and the northern hemisphere so we quit going to the golf course and to the beach (there are plenty of beaches in AZ ---- you just have a problem finding the shore line and water) and stay inside where it is warm unless you get the telescope out (yet another hobby). So, starting in October every Wednesday night (Tue and Thur are usually the Fox Hunt nights) how about a Rock Hunt? All you guys with Rock-Mites on 40 meters and the other bands get on the air and try to catch other R-Ms. This is not a contest but a social gathering to work other rock users and try to set some type of goal to work states, countries, or what ever. Start as soon as you get off work and chow down and stay as late as possible so that those of us on the left coast can maybe, just maybe, get RI and ME..... :-) And if you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep immediately --- how about turning on the rig and calling CQ if the freq is clear. Some of us just might be up too. Since the announcement of the Rock-Mite I have had a nagging feeling that some social issues are about to arise. Several have already announced 20 and 40 minute QSOs using their Rock- Mite on 40 meters and other bands. Please keep in mind that there will probably be over 1,000 Rock-Mites on 40 meters alone!! What this means is that 7.038-7.040MHz is a party line for those of us that have a Rock-Mite and would like to get on the air. If some one ties up the "line" for lengthy periods then a great number of QSOs will be lost each night that propagation is good. I'm not trying to start a thread here and I don't want some of the usual nay-sayers posting about this topic and you know who you are..... Just keep in mind that the range of frequencies above will and have become crowded compared to the rest of the band. Those that have $55 should consider getting the SW-40+ instead of a Rock-Mite for this same reason..... IMHO. A VFO is a wonderful thing to have. And I won't even get into the issue of the higher power guys and girls that have regular schedules with friends and relatives on or near 7.040MHz...... It is open season on the frequencies. And those of you with K1s, K2s, and other rigs remember the little people, please. How about 7.030MHz as in Europe for a watering hole? Not trying to move you but suggest a small change in frequency on the dial which a bunch of us can't afford right now..... So for the Rock Hunt how about just an exchange (recommended and not required) of RST, Name, QTH, Power, and Antenna. What this will do after the winter season is give each individual some data points to determine how QRPp power levels and their antenna is working. Those of us that grew up back in the crystal days when we were a novice can remember those days that were so frustrating trying to get on and not finding the crystal frequency clear --- especially for those of us dumb enough to pick multiples of 5KHz boundaries and find that a foreign BC station running 50KW or more on frequency on those cold winter nights.... I'm not saying that Wednesday is a preferential night for looking for Rock-Mites and operators we will call Rock-Hounds (after the fox hunt terminology). Maybe N0RC can start a list of Rock-Hounds on his R-M web page so that we can keep a list next to the rig and listen for those special calls in the wee hours of the night. Please do not repeat this posting to the QRP-L list. We have enough of repeats as it is. Thanks in Advance. And all I'm trying here is a suggestion that the current popular QRPp rig is the Rock-Mite and that there will be a lot of rigs in a small range this winter. Kinda like a micro-fox-hunt in progress all winter long..... Hopefully you aren't going to build the Rock-Mite, power it up and put it on the antenna and then put it on the shelf or in a drawer. That is a waste of resources. Get on the air and push away from the keyboard. Life is too short and I'm sure on your death bed you aren't going to say " I wish I'd spent more time on the computer". FYI and Film at 11, Chuck Adams, K7QO CP-60 k7qo@earthlink.net http://www.qsl.net/k7qo Moving to Arizona? --- Bring your own water, please.