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Fred_Hamming

Me, KC9QQ, working a little CW from a campsite in southern Indiana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the KC9QQ website.  I use this site to chronicle my ham radio activities as well as other stuff that may or may not be of interest to other hams.  This site also reflects my interest in Amateur Astronomy.

I have been a ham since 1971 but had not been very active until I retired in 2008.  Since then, I have upgraded my station and antennas.  I have focused on chasing DX, participating in contests and working to improve my CW speed.  The work to improve my CW speed has not been easy, but I have substantially increased my speed since I retired.  Hopefully, continued practice will enable me reach my goal of head copy at 30 wpm.

So far my favorite mode is CW.   I have dabbled with the digital modes, PSK-31 but have not gotten hooked yet.  However, I do plan to participate in a couple of PSK-31 contests this year.

I hope to work you on the bands soon.

Fred

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Constant Power Outages this Summer (Update)

Posted on by January 8, 2020

UPDATE: 

The tree trimming work being conducted by the South Central Indiana REMC has done a good job rectifying the frequent power failures we had been experiencing.  They have spent the past 6 months clearing out around the power lines in our area.  This has nearly eliminated the power failures we were having.  

Bravo to SCI REMC.

I don’t mean to rant, but the number of power outages we have experienced the past three months is driving me crazy.  Our electrical power is supplied by South Central Indiana REMC.

We have been having near weekly power failures for the past three months.  A loss of electrical power is bad enough, but these failures have also resulted in the failure of numerous pieces of electronic and non-electronic equipment; most of which has been connected to surge protectors or UPS systems.

The power utility has now started a massive tree trimming campaign.  Hopefully, clearing trees away from the lines will significantly reduce the number of outages.  So far, so good.

73,

Fred (KC9QQ)

HACKERS

Posted on by September 3, 2019

Unfortunately this website was attacked by hackers.  The site has been down for nearly two weeks while malware inserted by the hacker was removed.  I apologize that the site has been down.  A new firewall has been installed along with daily monitoring for malware.  Hopefully, this will not happen again for a long long long time!

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

W9IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) Special Event Station May 20th – 26th

Posted on by May 15, 2019

W9IMS QSL for 2018 Indy 500

The second W9IMS special event station will be on the air between May 20-26th to honor of the venerable Indianapolis 500.

Look for us on 20 meters and 40 meters and possibly 80 meters. Remember, too, that on Race Day – the final day of each operation – W9IMS generally stays on the air late, sometimes until midnight local time (0400 UTC).

Again here are a couple of hints for tracking down the station during special event weeks:

  1. Go to the W9IMS web page (www.w9ims.org), find the “2019 Operating Schedule” heading, and click on the link to the IndyCar Grand Prix or any other race. Although some W9IMS operators take to the airwaves at unscheduled times, you’ll have your best luck looking for the station during the hours and bands reserved with a name and a callsign.
  2. Check DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi) anytime for spots that identify the current frequency (or frequencies) of W9IMS, if any. And if you type “W9IMS” in the search box, you can customize it to show reports for only that station.

I’m looking forward to working many of you during the event.

Fred, KC9QQ