Project TouCans Comes in Third at California QSO Party and Fourth-ish in GQRP Construction Competition!

Project TouCans has had a big couple of months!

It received a certificate of commendation in the GQRP building contest, as well as fourth place in the QRP division at the California QRP party!

Both of these things surprised me a bit. I've been inundated since junior high school with the 'QRP can't do much' schtick, and well? It just ain't true!

TouCans is strung up on a dipole stretching from our roof to a wood pole mounted on our back fence. (Mota, the 11 year-old, and I levered a construction clamp over the lip of the roof using a broom handle from the kitchen window. I did all the window leaning... It was an adventure.) I didn't even realize the QSO party was the weekend it was, and yet that little pineapple can based rig came in pretty close to third!

KO6BTY and I were also tickled pink to receive Certificates of Commendation in the GQRP construction competition! We've done a lot of work on the rig bringing it to it's completely wireless state a few months ago. We've learned about RFI and digital supply noise and Bluetooth audio transmitters as well as Raspberry Pi Pico-Ws and microPython. The whole endeavor actually inspired a microPython class at our local maker space for homeschooling kids (and anyone else who's interested at our local maker space taught by yours truly. Who'd have thought you could have so much fun with a pineapple can? OK, OK, yeah, it was me. I was the one that thought it. :)

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