Posts Tagged ‘fists’
FISTS / SKCC Joint Sprint this Saturday
December 3rd, 2014 | 
Author: 
Looks like I'll have to get some bug practice in before the weekend. This is going to be a toughie, though - a Saturday afternoon before Christmas. I definitely won't be able to put in a full four hours, but I am a member of both organizations and I do need to start working on my SKCC Tribune award. I've been treading water as a Centurion for years now.
Nancy, WZ8C/SK – It’s a sad sad day
Msg from Dennis, K6DF follows:
To All FISTS Members: Early this afternoon I received a phone call from Tim, Nancy’s husband. I am very sad to report that Nancy WZ8C, is now a silent key. Nancy passed away last night and will be missed very much by all FISTS members worldwide.
If you wish to send condolences to her family, please send them to the following address:
Tim Lange and Family
P.O. Box 47
Hadley, MI, 48440.
Please send this notice to any and all FISTS groups and members to disseminate this information as much as possible.
I sadly send 73, God’s Speed Nancy, 88’s . . . Dennis Franklin K6DF FISTS Awards Mgr /Webmaster
End MSG
Nancy was only 58 according to her obituary. Way too young to pass. She will be missed by all FISTS members.
73, Nancy de Larry W2LJ
FISTS #1469- dit dit
The opposite of the other night
It’s like going from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Tonight a real treat was in store. My CQ on 40 Meters (yes, 40 Meters was quiet tonight, yay!) was answered by K4BXN, Crit who hails from Hendersonville, NC . Crit and I have QSO’ed a few times before; and as always, listening to his fist is pure pleasure. Crit was using an old bug with his K3, and if he hadn’t mentioned it, you would have thought for sure that he was using an electronic keyer and paddles.
Perfect spacing and perfect sending – period. Music to my ears. And sending Morse like that with a bug is no mean feat. From my own experience, I know it’s so easy to develop a swing. Not that a swing is necessarily a bad thing – but it can be if you’re not careful. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of skill to be as good as K4BXN. But boy, is it a treat to listen to!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
Oh my!
Listening on 20 Meters, right now, there’s a DX station calling CQ, and all I can say is “Wow!”. He’s way loud and should be at the bottom of a pile up. Why not? Because he’s sending way too fast with no spacing whatsoever. I was finally able to make out the call; but he was getting very few takers. Once he switched over to the memory keyer (which had some spacing in there, which made it legible), I can see that he’s not only getting more takers, but that he has also been spotted on the DX cluster.
You know, if you want to be a speed demon, that’s one thing. But spacing is so important. There’s no point in sending so fast that you send gibberish. Even if there are no actual errors, no one is going to want to work you if they can’t understand you.
So any time advantage that you feel you’re gaining is probably lost by either A) repeats or B) lost opportunities due to no one wanting to work a fist like that.
You know, I’m not not an expert, by any means. But I do know bad Morse when I hear it; and that was bad. A shame really, because it could mean the difference between a lot of contacts and just a few.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
