It's been wide open on FT8 since late this afternoon until after supper. Worked France, Hungary,Italy,Switzerland,Portugal (twice), Slovenia, Colombia. I tried really hard for Guernsey but although he heard me and I heard him initially, we couldn't make the final exchange. That's a fairly rare one so it was disappointing to not get him!

The 15m band is open for FT8 contacts right now. Mostly western US (California) and a few weak South America stations

Special event station at WWV Fort Collins, Colorado celebrating 100 years on the air. The station is on FT8 now. Just worked them on the 30m band. Report was -04db and +04db

Another Winter Field Day has wrapped up and the emphasis is clearly on the word winter! Saturday was very cold but sunny and fairly calm. However, by Sunday morning, it was very snowy and extremely windy, as a storm blew in to our area. However, our goal was achieved, to establish and operate stations in extreme winter weather conditions. An additional success was in public relations. A visit to our site by the Mayor of East Gwillimbury (where site is located) and visits from the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Newmarket were a great exposure for the club. President Chris, V.P. Steve, Public Relations Director Eric, ARES Director Mike and other members conversed with the officials and I believe we made a good impression about what we have done and can do in the future for York Region. As for WFD results, I will post them when everything is finalized. I think we may be down a little on QSO's but I need to "crunch the numbers" to confirm.

Planning for WFD 2019 is progressing very well. The new location has been arranged. The budget process has been completed and the money allocated to finance the event. This year, plans are to operate class "3O GTA" (3 transmitters/outside location/Greater Toronto Area). Stations proposed are 80m, 40, 20m Modes: PH, CW, DIGITAL. There will be 2 digital stations available to use this year and modes and bands will be adjusted as required during the event based on conditions and activity. Refreshments and Food: Coffee, tea, hot chocolate will be available for visitors along with light refreshments such as Tim Bits and/or muffins. Also available to participants is hot home made soup and a Saturday dinner, a pasta dish with sausage and rolls (or caesar salad - to be determined). For the soup and dinner items, we are requesting participants to fund by DONATION, and $5 or $6 is suggested but any amount is welcome! Fast Deployment and get on the air: Just like you might do in a real emergency, we are planning to start setup on Saturday morning and be on the air by 2 pm. I will post updates on here as required. 73 Steve