Many thanks to Tom (VA2NW) for this report on Chillycon, aka Chilicon – Vince.

Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is the home of the Ottawa Valley QRP Society. The group holds an annual weekend camp-out at the Rideau River Provincial Park (POTA CA-0365) in early fall and it’s affectionately called Chillycon (also known as Chillicon). This year’s camp-out ran from September 20th through 22nd with some folks arriving a few days earlier. It’s a low key gathering which largely consists of casual operating, socializing, sharing tips and tricks, and checking out everyone’s portable radio gear.

On Friday morning I packed up my van with radio gear, camping equipment, and enough batteries to get me through a weekend of operating and cell phone recharging. Rather than tent camping, I decided to set up a sleeping pad in my minivan. The trip from Gatineau Quebec took a little under an hour, and I arrived just after 2:00pm local time.

I brought my new toy with me, the Venus SW-6B (metal case + internal battery configuration). In just a few minutes I was on the air with the radio, an AlexLoop Hampack antenna, American Morse Equipment Mini-B paddle, and Apple EarPod wired headphones. I made several POTA contacts before it was time to start my shift as the Straight Key Century Club’s Canadian Straight Key Month special event station VC3Y/VE3. Conditions weren’t great and there wasn’t a lot of SKCC activity in the middle of a work day, so I only made one SKCC contact that day. After SKCC hour, I joined in on the weekly K1USN Slow Speed Test (SST). I contacted a few regulars, and then I returned to POTA and made another dozen or so contacts to bring the total up to 17 QSOs.

I packed up my gear and took some time to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet by reading The CW Way of Life by Chris Rutkowski in my camp chair. I highly recommend that book to anyone with an interest in Morse code. Later in the evening we swapped stories and toasted Kieran Shepherd (SK) who was an active member of the local amateur community and loved Chillycon. His callsign -VA3KS- appears in many POTA park pages.

After a good night’s rest, I kicked off Saturday morning with more straight key work. I operated as VC3Y/VE3 for another hour and bagged 3 members. It was still pretty early in the day, so I went on 40m to see if I could hear any locals in the Ottawa area. I ended up working Eric VE3DN who was at the campsite directly across from mine. That was my closest contact of the weekend. Saturday was the Polar Bear QRP Club’s monthly Polar Bear Summer Picnic Event (PBSPE), so Eric and I exchanged GRRRRs. I hopped over to 20m and worked Italy and the W7Y Special Event Station. I also worked several other POTA activators.

Since 20m was in such good shape, I decided to move up to 15m. I was not disappointed. The Scandinavian Activity Contest was in full swing. I worked Iceland twice, Sweden twice, and Finland four times; all with my SW-6B and AlexLoop. Given the good results I got tuning around, I decided to call CQ on 15m and worked a couple of stations in England. I then chased a bunch of Park-to-Park QSOs. I ended the day with 48 in the log.

That night, after a small siesta, we gathered together to share our experiences. The DX awards were also presented. There are two awards: one for CW and one for Phone. They go to the person who makes the farthest contact in each mode. This year, I won the CW DX award for one of my Finnish contacts. The award is a plaque with a straight key on it. Like the Stanley Cup, it will be passed on to the winner at the next Chillycon. Don VE3MNE won the SSB DX award for his contact with a station in Hungary. The final morning started with a group breakfast at a local eatery where I had a delicious hot chocolate. It warmed me up as the temperature Sunday morning was 12C (53F).

After eating, the sun was higher in the sky and things started warming up, including the ionosphere. I made another 15 contacts, including one with a station in France. I was going to do more straight key work but my arm was just too sore from the day before; the picnic table is at an odd height for me. I packed everything up and made my way home.

Stats: 80 QSOs, 77 unique callsigns, 22 park-to-parks, 13 DX QSOs, 8 unique countries, 26 US States, 3 Canadian Provinces, 4 bands (40m, 20m, 17m, 15m).

I had a blast at Chillycon. It was so nice seeing old friends and meeting people I’ve only communicated with over the air or via e-mail. The Venus SW-6B is definitely a keeper. After 80 QSOs, my only complaint is the lack of narrow filters. It makes a great companion to the AlexLoop. I can’t wait until next year!

72, Tom