13 March 2025

This was an odd evening on the air. After dinner I set up my 30m dipole to get ready and noticed a high level of noise. I could distinctly hear the hum of a nearby generator that resulted in an S7-S9 noise level. This was the first time dealing with QRM like this during my time here. It was no bueno.

However, I perservered and fiddled with my radio controls to find the Digital Noise Reduction. That seemed to help some, and cranking the filter down also made the noise largely tolerable. As things progressed it seemed to me that I could hear others but they could not hear me. Something was up. So I paused for a minute to check the solar activity. Sure enough, there was a Minor Storm occuring.

I attempted to power through the conditions but things did not improve. I did manage to pull in a few stations all the way from Spain, Italy, Brazil, Cuba, and Florida. Hopefully the solar conditions improve before tomorrow’s 15m SSB event. 73, Allen

PS: check out this Hermit Crab pile-up I stumbled upon this week, what can only be described as a crustacean conference huddled next to a building. Dozens of hermit crabs in deep shell-ibration, clearly discussing important matters. Based on what I overheard (or maybe imagined), here’s a peek at their agenda:
• Opening remarks by the Chairman of the Shell
• Panel discussion: “Is bigger really better? Upsizing your mobile home responsibly”
• Breakout session: “Avoiding shore birds and other shell-shocking predators”
• Networking hour: swapping shells and salty stories
• Workshop: “How to deal with those humans who just clam up when they see us”
• Closing keynote: “Finding your purpose, no matter the shell life has given you” (followed by a group exoskeleton stretch)