When in a condo, rent-a-rig

I have a ft-857D and a buddipole. But I only get out once or twice a month.

I have gained access to 2 stations that use the w5mq software. I have the software loaded on my home desktop, my asus eee and the work computer. One is in New Mexico that lets me work the US very well. I have just gained access to a station in Pennsylvania. Hopefully this will let me start making contacts in europe.

The great thing about this is that I can operate anywhere I have an internet connection. I'm operating primarily psk31. Since the software shows a waterfall, I can see how busy the band is. I stick mostly to 20M and 30M. Since psk31 only requires typing and not sound, I don't annoy my officemates with it.

One of the big advantages of psk31 is that you don't have to battle accents, just propagation. But like cw, you don't require a big signal to get a big punch. 50W goes a very long way with a good antenna. I wonder how long to get my WAS if I 20 or 30 minutes a day on psk31.

Off to bed. The flea market is in 5 1/2 hours.