SLQS Field Day 2025 Is Almost Here!

Posted on June 19, 2025 by N0̷MII

Hey! It’s already June… how did that happen? We’ve been getting ready for Field Day, but I certainly didn’t mean to keep it a secret!

Mark KB5YZY and Tony KT0AA are leading the charge once again as co-chairs of the event. And they’re getting lots of help.

We will be setting up in Bridgeton MO once again, but this time at Bridgeway Park (link to Google Maps), which is a new one for us. The park has a very large, open, mostly flat field surrounded by many tall trees. An antenna enthusiast’s dream, right? Our May meeting was held at our Field Day site which gave us a chance to start making antenna plans. (We also enjoyed a grilled picnic dinner thanks to Bob K0FHG!)

Our June meeting just took place, and we managed to do a dry run of several antennas situated end-to-end. We’re hoping to minimize inter-station interference as much as possible. Fingers crossed on that front! We also got a taste of the kind of weather we might expect: sunny and clear with a pleasant breeze… transitioning to dark clouds and a torrential downpour! We got practice tearing down and finished just in time.

We will have stations on CW, SSB, and digital. We’ll certainly be active on HF and likely will have some VHF/UHF activity too. It seems like we have the largest number of members intending to show up and operate. Should be a great time! We will be using the 1×1 call sign N0A for the event. And we will be operating 100% QRP, which means all stations will be transmitting at an output power of five watts or less. Yes, that’s less power than that of an old-fashioned night light. And our radios will all be operating from battery power including power gathered by solar panels. Sure Field Day is fun… but it’s also a way to demonstrate the emergency preparedness aspect of our hobby to the public.

We always welcome visitors — licensed hams or not — so please feel free to pay us a visit. You can use the ARRL Field Day Locator to find our site, or any other Field Day site for that matter. Be prepared to have all your ham radio questions answered. As well as some questions you may not have even thought of yet 😉 For questions you have now, please contact us at info@slqs.net.

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12th Anniversary SOTA W0M Association Event

Posted on February 10, 2025 by N0̷MII

The club has a few SOTA “pros” in Larry N0SA and Jim KK0U. Their SOTA reports have been quite an inspiration to me to give SOTA activity a try. For the past three years KK0U has led the charge in having SLQS members fan out and activate our great state’s peaks on February 1st. That’s the date when the Missouri SOTA Association was born, twelve years ago.

Once again KK0U rallied the troops for a 2025 day to put W0M on the SOTA map. Our plan: Jim KK0U would activate Bell Mountain W0M/SF-005. I would activate Taum Sauk Mountain W0M/SF-001. Geoff KC8FDU would activate Knob Lick Mountain W0M/SF-030 (his first SOTA!) Mike AD0YM would activate Little Pilot Knob W0M/SF-023. And we knew of several SLQS members who’d be chasing us: Mark KB5YZY, Herbert AF4JF, Tony KT0AA, Gib KE0PRK, Ron KO0Z, Steve K0UY.

Screen shot of SOTA Goat app verifying the Activation Zone had been entered

This was not my first visit to Taum Sauk. It may be a modest “mountain peak,” but it’s what we have to work with in Missouri! I checked the SOTA Goat app on my phone to verify I was within the Activation Zone… and I was! Just 11 feet shy of the summit, which soars to a dizzying altitude of 1,793 feet. (My brother Jon asked me later if I suffered much from altitude sickness. What a guy!)

After my ascent from the base camp parking lot to the activation site picnic table I was tempted to break out the oxygen. A sip of coffee and a stick of string cheese would have to do. I set up my gear (Elecraft KX3, Modern Morse Nameless v0 paddles, and my three-band linked dipole for 20/30/40.

Once I was all set up for HF it was time to start sending CQ. I started on 40m and self-spotted as a SOTA, a POTA, and a WWFF (World-Wide Flora & Fauna) activator. In no time the POTA and SOTA chasers were making for a fun pileup. I worked about twenty 40m stations — including several fellow SLQS members. Next I switched to 20m and wow there were a lot of chasers calling! I tried to be efficient as possible, while alternating between working the easy strong signals and digging for the weak ones (likely fellow QRPers!).Then I heard a faint “DL…” Germany! Our ham friends in Germany — with antennas a bit more impressive than my lowly 20m dipole — were hearing me as they followed my WWFF spot. I think I managed two DL contacts that day. “TU ES 44”

Image of Jeff N0̸MII sitting at a picnic table with radio gear behind him

My hands were cold due to the breeze, so I was grateful to learn both Jim KK0U and Geoff KC8FDU were on their respective summits. We were hoping to make some S2S 2m and 70cm FM contacts . I was lucky in that my location was situated between theirs, so I was able to log them both. Unfortunately they weren’t able to hear each other. Memo for next year: we need to bring better VHF/UHF antennas!

Next up: sideband. I grabbed my microphone with plans to get an SSB S2S (summit-to-summit) contact with Geoff. While waiting for him to appear I found and worked an SSB SOTA station in British Columbia. Five watts SSB! Always fun 🙂 And there was Geoff — also in the SSB log. Excellent!

With those goals accomplished it was time to return to CW — this time on 30m. After a dozen or so I returned to 20m and kept at it. By now I was starting to make even more than my usual mistakes due to my cold and stiff fingers. I experimented with typing with one hand and warming the other in my coat pocket. But any ground gained was quickly lost when it was time to pick up the paddles and send. Ah well!

By the way, I’m very impressed with the Ham2K Portable Logger (aka “PoLo”) app. I find it to be very “smooth” while logging. I was using it in “Cadillac mode” on an iPad tablet with external Bluetooth keyboard. Regardless of platform, if you happen to have a network connection you’ve got a powerful spotting and chasing device with PoLo. With one click I was able to self-spot on POTA, SOTA, and WWFF.

After about three hours I was happy to see that I’d logged 100 CW contacts, plus three FM and two SSB QSOs in the log for the day. Got S2S/P2P contacts with KK0U, KC8FDU, and AD0YM. I’d stayed a bit longer than I’d planned and sure had a great time. Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating Missouri’s entry into the world of Summits On The Air!

One final thought: let me pass along KC8FDU’s blog entry telling how things went from his vantage point at Knob Lick.

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WFD 2025 INFO POST

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Jim KK0U
A member of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition plays the bagpipe for an indifferent penguin, 1904.

Welcome to the info page for SLQS’s WFD 2025!

WHO: St. Louis QRP Society, of course!

WHAT: Winter Field Day Rules are here.

WHERE: Stacy Park, 9750 Old Bonhomme Road, 63132

WHEN: Saturday, January 25, 2025

WHY: Type II Fun, baby!

Specifically, WFD runs from 1600Z (10:00 am local) Saturday, through 2159Z (3:59 pm local) Sunday. Our plan is to run “4O” (four transmitters, outside) as N0A, with 3 CW stations, 1 SSB/Digital station, and a VHF station. Thanks to the efforts by Mark KB5YZY we have permission to stay overnight!

Currently, Jeff N0MII is wrangling the 20m station, Jim KK0U is wrangling the 40m station and Herbert AF4JF is wrangling SSB/Digital and VHF. Mark KB5YZY is handling the 15/10m station.

Derek WB0TUA is bringing a warming tent with heater, several folks are bringing batteries, and FOOD and COFFEE is also being provided. If you’ve operated SLQS FD, you know we like to eat!

So, come on out and dress for the condtions! Bring nothing but yourself, or bring your favorite key (for the CW folks), your best jokes and join in the fun.

ONE LAST THING: Bring an insulated pad or something to sit on. Benches & chairs get cold real fast without it!

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SLQS Fall Event Planning

Posted on October 16, 2024 by N0̷MII

Don’t judge the level of activity of our club by the (lack of) frequency of posts here. All sorts of stuff is going on, so we’re in planning mode at tonight’s meeting…

Annual Holiday Dinner Tuesday, November 19th

Our November club meeting is an opportunity to mix radio talk with dinner. And it’s coming right up! Due to venue availability we will depart from our normal “third Wednesday” this year — instead we’re going to have this meeting on Tuesday, November 19th.

Winter Field Day January 25-26

We’ve been enjoying this event for the past few years. And this year we’re lucky in that Winterfest doesn’t conflict this year! The date is January 25-26 and we’re discussing several ideas. We’re hoping for warmer weather than last year (!).

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What’s New With The Club?

Posted on May 15, 2024 by N0̷MII

The club has been having lots of fun in the past several months. You’d not know that, judging by the lack of posts here on our web site! So here’s my take on things of late:

Meetings

Attendance at our meetings has been growing. This may be due in part to a “return to normal”, post-COVID. We have used Zoom to enable “attend from home,” but by and large we’ve had to bring more chairs to the center of the meeting room each month. And not just for long-time members; we’ve also been welcoming new members on a regular basis.

As a QRP club we’ve got a lot of CW operators, of all skill levels. It’s been fun to welcome guys who have just started learning CW! They’ve heard or witnessed that using Morse code is an effective and efficient way to communicate, especially using 5 watts of power (or less!). We’re not CW only of course; SSB and digital modes like FT8 are also great for QRPers. As we near the peak of this sunspot cycle we’re definitely reaping the benefits.

If you’re not a member and you’re in the St. Louis Metro area, please drop in at a meeting and say hello! Third Wednesdays (including tonight!).

Twenty men are seated around tables arranged in a square before the meeting begins
Ten minutes before meeting start and we’d run out of chairs! Had to raid the stack in the back of the room to get a seat for everyone.

POTA

Several of us have caught the POTA (“Parks On The Air”) bug, and we’re all watching for an email from someone saying “Let’s do a group POTA on <date/time> at <park>”. We bring our portable rigs and easy-up antennas and get together for the fun, taking turns doing our activations while the rest of us talk radio etc. We have even been known to catch a meal together afterwards. It’s a great excuse to get out of the house and have fun playing radio.

Come to think of it, some of us made POTA contacts with Keith KC0PP who was activating a park in Georgia this morning. Two-way QRP using SSB with 59 signal reports. Ah, the joy of a high solar flux!

Five men are standing around the tailgate of a pickup truck in a parking lot. Tall antennas extend from the back of this truck and another vehicle in the background.
One of recent “group POTA” outings had us activating Katy Trail State Park at the Defiance trail head. Other favored group spots include Route 66, Babler, and Castlewood parks, Busch Wildlife Area, etc.

SOTA

There’s a few of us who have been doing SOTA (“Summits On The Air”) activations for the past few years. I was inspired to give it a try last year as Missouri celebrated its 10 year anniversary in the program. The “summits” I activated were rather modest — I never had to break out a machete, pick through brambles, or ford creeks. But a few were nice uphill hikes with spectacular views at the top.

Other intrepid members activated peaks which required a lot more fortitude. Inspiration for the beginner like me! And we sometimes coordinated our outings to trade the all-so-nifty P2P (“peak to peak”) exchanges. SOTA is another activity that all but requires QRP operation. Great fun!

Missouri QSO Party

SLQS members have a real love for this annual event. This year was no exception. We had a few mobile teams that planned and executed routes through our great state, giving out contacts from some of our more rare counties to folks across the US and around the world. Many of us were using the 1×1 special event calls, helping folks try to earn a certificate by spelling out “SHOW ME” and “MISSOURI” using the suffix letters of our calls.

Slack

Not a ham radio activity per se… but some of us have started using Slack to keep tabs on what’s going on. Calling out the latest DXpedition or passing spots. Announcing upcoming POTA/SOTA plans. Trading thoughts and ideas about antennas, rigs, 6 meter band openings… you name it.

Field Day 2024

Heh — you knew I couldn’t let it slip by. Field Day is right around the corner. Tonight’s meeting we’ll be doing some planning, you betcha. The weather should be spectacular! At least for the meeting tonight—who knows what it’ll be like next month(!). Remember that we’ll be meeting at the Field Day site tonight and for the next few warm-weather months. Bring a radio; bring something for show-and-tell; bring questions; bring a sack lunch and something to drink. See you at the park!

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Winter Field Day 2024

Posted on January 13, 2024 by N0̷MII

Preparations for another SLQS Winter Field Day are moving right along. As I look outside at the thermometer… oh, who are we kidding? As I look at the weather app on my phone (grin) I see it’s a bracing 15º, with “Real Feel” of 1º. All I can say is that I hope the weather is warmer two weeks from today!

When does this happen? Where will we be?

Winter Field Day is a 24-hour event happening this year from 1pm Saturday January 27 to 1pm Sunday January 28. We will only be operating on Saturday.

Once again we’ll be setting up our operating position at Cochran Shelter of Babler Memorial State Park. Click that link to get a Google Maps page showing our location.

What we’ll be doing

First of all, we’ll be working to stay warm! The shelter has a fireplace and we’ll be making good use of it.

But it’s all about playing radio! We’ll have three operating positions set up, and we’ll be contacting other WFD participants across North America and around the world.

We will be using one of the special 1×1 call signs for this event. Listen for N0A — that will be one of us!

Visitors welcome!

We’re happy to have visitors, so feel free to stop by.

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Annual “Tailgate Sale” Meeting September 20

Posted on September 19, 2023 by N0̷MII

Come one, come all, to SLQS’ annual “Tailgate Meeting” on Wednesday, September 20. There’s no charge and it’s open to anyone. Bring that radio “stuff” that’s looking for a new home; also be sure to slip a few extra bucks in the wallet before you leave home. You never know what you’ll find!

Aside from the browsing of other hams’ junk treasures, there will be plenty of time to talk radio, and to play radio. There’s at least one picnic table that becomes a “micro Field day” site for the evening. Got a portable rig or antenna you care to show? Bring it and let’s get it on the air!

There will be grilled bratwurst and chips available for a nominal fee while supply lasts (and they go fast!). Please bring your own beverages.

If you’re curious about our hobby… if you are interested in learning more about electronics, learning how to build and solder kits, discovering how we can have so much fun using low power and (gasp!) Morse code… stop by and introduce yourself.

We will meet once again in Creve Coeur Lake Park, in a parking lot that is perfect for this event. Here’s a pair of URLs, both of which will take you to a Google Maps page pointing to the meeting location:

QR Code link to Google Maps location of Creve Coeur Park

QR Code Link to Google Maps

https://bit.ly/slqsTailgate

https://goo.gl/maps/svoHbHTZYH62

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Heat… oh the heat…

Posted on June 24, 2023 by N0̷MII

Two things you can count on when Field Day rolls around: rain (usually) and heat (almost always).

This year is no different. We hit 96º degrees or so, and the humidity gave us a few degree boost, with the “Feels Like” temperature reaching 99º. Deprived of hitting triple digits. Grr. Felt like 100 — so there!

We have finished a delicious FD dinner: the traditional SLQS meal of pork steaks, cole slaw and potato salad. Big plus: KK9U’s XYL baked an awesome spread of desserts: cookies of several types. But my favorite: little Rice Krispie treats shaped and decorated to look like HTs. Awesome!

Okay. This is cute. A little HT (“walkie-talkie” in hamspeak) for dessert!
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And… we’re OFF!

Posted on June 24, 2023 by N0̷MII

This year our setup went more smoothly than usual, and we are on the air! Working on 40, 20, and 15 meter CW. And we’ve got the digital station running FT8 on 10m

The club call for Field Day is N0A. Hope to work you this weekend!

Military mast plus custom N0SA gazebo mount goes up to hold our 20m dipole plus a long wire
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SLQS Puts MO on the Map in the MO QSO Party!

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Jim KK0U

Several members of the St. Louis QRP Society dusted off their radios and put MO on the air for the Missouri QSO Party, April 1-2! Folks went Field Day style, operated from parks, tents or operated from home. SLQS members posted some competitive finishes on 3830 Scores, and every score counts!

Tony KB9LLD (K0U) and John AC9XX (N0U) roughing it for breakfast at Arrow Rock State Historic Site.

As of this writing, it looks like SLQS may have won the club competition, and there are almost 300 logs submitted from all over the world. SLQS members operated 1×1 calls (K0U, N0O, W0C, W0H and W0O) to help folks earn the spelling bee certificates. (MISSOURI and SHOW ME)

Activity map of Sean KK9U’s (W0O) operation from Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Check out the Peanut Whistle for details of how he did, and links to this useful website he used!

Two other state QSO parties ran the weekend of 1-2 April, and from the comments among the contesting types, it’s pretty clear that our QSO party was the most popular, due in part to the many 1×1 callsign operators, and folks going to rare counties.

Thanks to all SLQS members who participated, whether you make 1 contact or 1,000! Tom W0MFQ, Fred N9BSO, John AA0VE, Jeff N0MII, Ron KO0Z, Mike N0SO, Dave W0CDX/W0C, Sean KK9U/W0O, Derek WB0TUA/W0H and Tony KB9LLD/K0U. It’s great fun working folks you actually know in a contest.

To find out who did what, where, and most importantly how, see the April Peanut Whistle!

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