That worked out to start at 5:00pm June 30 here on the west coast.
I had totally forgotten about the contest until I saw mention of it on Twitter two minutes before it started.
Beautiful day for a contest!
I hastily set up my patio station and decided to try out the new battery. I quickly worked the RAC stations in Alberta and The Northwest Territories as well as a few BC stations on 20m.
Band conditions we're still pretty bad, and there is a ghost in my main antenna, so I switched to the portable dipole I still had up from field day, it wasn't ideal, but it does the job.
Even my Baofeng was ready for Canada Day!
I didn't have too much success reaching out east. Between the antenna being in the worst possible configuration to hit Eastern Canada, the crappy conditions, and according to DX Watch: the lack of stations operating out east, I didn't have much of a chance to begin with. I did chase the RAC station in Quebec on and off most of the night, but with no luck.
After it got dark, I switched to 40m and worked Saskatchewan and a bunch more BC stations, and a mobile station in Alberta.
Operating portable under the stars.
Just before midnight local time, and just before I packed it in for the night, I worked Manitoba and Ontario in quick succession. It was a great way to end the night.
The next day, officially Canada Day, I got a bit of a late start. Between getting the kids ready to head of to the parade with mom and the Blue Jays / Brewers game, I didn't get to concentrate fully on the contest until after noon... But I did manage to made a couple of contacts during the commercial breaks.
I love that flag. Go Jays Go!
Once I got on the air, I was damned and determined to work the eastern provinces, but a few spins through the bands and a check of DX watch proved it was a fruitless effort.
I did work Manitoba on 15m, and two Ontario Stations and another Saskatchewan station on 20m, as well as more BC boys.
In the last hours of the contest, there were a couple of Quebec Stations, and a station in Newfoundland on the air, that I chased for a bit, but to no avail. Once again, whether it was band conditions, the antenna, or both, I don't know.
The creepy cloud that literally rained on my parade briefly.
I racked up over 20 QSO's from half the provinces and one territory and I didn't spend too much time at the mic. I had a lot more fun than I did for Field Day, and I've got to learn to relax and roll with the punches. When it comes to radio, you can't change the conditions.
While half my QSO's were from BC, when you consider the size of our province, most of them were quite respectable.
In all honesty, I didn't bother working American stations, even though they were working the contest, (with the exception if one Alaska station). It was nothing against them, I heard at least a dozen, and I hope they know we appreciate them participating, I just really liked seeing a long string of Canadian flags on my QRZ Logbook.
Silly, I know.
All in all it was great fun and BEAUTIFUL weather. You can lose when your outside on days like those.
I hope every one had fun, and a happy Canada Day.
I look forward to working the contest again next year.... If I remember.
Canada Day selfie. New Jays hat and cheap (free) sunglasses.
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