AmateurRadio.com

The weather today in Central NJ was a very sunny 72F (22C) when I headed out the door from work at lunchtime.  I wanted to accomplish two things.  I wanted to try the 18 MHz wire that I cut for the PAR ENDFEDZ, and I also wanted to set up the Jackite pole again using my drive on mast holder.

I went to the same park that I went to last week; but I went to the other side.  This was away from the tree-filled picnic area and towards the soccer fields and some other baseball fields.  I set up right in the parking area:

Set up went very fast, and since the 17 Meter wire is much shorter than the regularly supplied 10/20/40 MKII radiator, I needed to use a piece of coax that I normally carry for when I use the Buddistick.  I called CQ and was answered by Mike K8NS who lives in Florida, in the Daytona Beach area.

Mike was 589 here, and he gave me a 569 in return. Copy was solid in both directions. Mike was using an Icom IC-725 to a vertical antenna.  My PAR ENDFEDZ was more or less a vertical, although it did slope somewhat.

It was just turning 90F (32C) for the day at Mike’s QTH; but he informed me that there was a nice off shore breeze that was keeping things bearable.  I couldn’t stay too long as I had to get back to work; but it was a rewarding effort.  I made a QSO, the wire worked well and the drive on mast support continued to work like a charm.  A very productive lunchtime, indeed.

What’s that about the blog post title, you ask?  Well, off to the right of me, about 75 yards or so was a very big, open field.  There were some older gentlemen there flying RC model planes.  I was watching them while I was operating; and I guess they were watching me.  One of them came over, of course, to ask what I was doing and I started explaining about Amateur Radio (you would think model RC pilots would know something about radio).  He asked me if I was actually working anyone, so I took the earbud jack out of the KX3, so he could hear me as I worked Mike K8NS.

“Morse Code ….wow! People still use that?”

“Yes”, I replied. “It’s still very popular”.

“Isn’t that nice.  It’s good to know there are folks out there using older technology than what I use.”

I started explaining about SDR, microprocessors, SMD technology and all that; but I was getting a glassy-eyed stare (and you could almost hear the crickets chirping), so I ended up just letting it go at that.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Two things pointed out to me by Bob W3BBO, who directed me to the “ARRL Contest Update” e-mail, which I had just kind of glossed over without reading properly:

I spent the evening conversing with Ed, KN9V on 40 Meters. Ed sent me an e-mail a few weeks back, asking him if I would meet him on the air for some real live CW practice. We tried earlier this week, but the propagation gods were against us. Tonight we had a much better go.

Ed feels that he’s a little rusty, but it was evident that he’s really doing fine. We were about 559 both ways, and we were able to enjoy a QSO for just about an hour. A little QSB and QRM made it interesting, but it was a very nice QSO.

I hope to meet Ed on the air again soon.

If you feel your Morse Code needs a little work and that you need a CW buddy, then send me an e-mail at [email protected].

Time permitting, I’d love to make a sked with you and work with you on the air. Now that the KPA3 amp is installed in my K3, I can turn on the afterburners so that you wouldn’t have to strain to hear me. Although, if you’re so inclined as to want to attempt a 2X QRP QSO, you wouldn’t get any arguments from me!  I am comfortable sending anywhere between 5 to about 23 WPM, and I can go on any band from 160 to 6 Meters.

I am available most weeknights, and would be glad to hear from you.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

to the not so sublime.

I had a very nice QSO with Eric AC8LJ tonight on 40 Meters. Eric was running QRP from Charleston, WV – a newly built K1 at 5 Watts to a dipole up about 45 feet.  His signal was superb and by the way, he is friends with fellow blogger and good friend John N8ZYA who also hails from Charleston.

The best thing about the QSO with Eric was his fist – it was fantastic. His sending was top notch and made for an easy QSO.  The QSB was getting to us as the band changed; and I am so sorry that it was.  I hated for the QSO to end.

But end it did, and after it did, as I was entering the QSO information into my log, I was listening to another station call CQ just a few Hz up the band.  He had a superb signal also, but I hesitated to call him.

As Joan Rivers was famous for saying …….. “Can we talk?”

I didn’t answer the station a few Hz up, because just from his CQ, I could tell that it would have been painful. Look, I’m just another “Joe Ham” like the rest of you guys; I’m not a “CW Snob”, but I have learned a few things in my 35 years of being on the air.  Can I share a couple of things?

First off – don’t send “CQ” endlessly.  Right now as I type this K1ON is sending a CQ on 60 Meters.  His sending is just a skosh above my comfort zone; but it is superb.  Three CQs followed by “de” and then his call sign twice.  He is repeating this series once and then listening before starting again.

CQ CQ CQ de K1ON K1ON
CQ CQ CQ de K1ON K1ON

Now THAT’S the hallmark of a Ham who knows what he’s doing.

You don’t need to call CQ ten or twenty times before sending your call!  It’s not serving any useful purpose and in fact, it’s maddening.  And please use “de” in between CQ and your call sign.  I don’t remember any big announcement saying that we were going to drop it.  Besides, if you can call CQ umpteen times, do you really think you’re saving a lot of time by dropping the “de”?

Secondly, the Real Estate folk are famous for saying “Location, location, location”.  I think the CW folk need their own mantra. Can I suggest one?  How about “Spacing, spacing, spacing”?

Send at a speed that is comfortable for you.  And don’t rush it!  Let it flow, like a lazy river or fine wine.

Seriously, do you want to get on the air and have me torture your ears with

CQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQCQdeW2LJW2LJW2LJW2LJ over and over and over?

Or even worse,

W3EDPDEW2LJTUURRSTIS599QTHISSOUTHPLAINFIELD,NJNAMEISLARRYHWCPY?BTU (as I gasp for air at the end!)

I don’t think so.

Take your time and take a breath!  Nobody likes to read run on sentences and no one wants to have to decode run on, gibberish CW.  If you find yourself calling CQ endlessly, and you know your antenna working because RBN has spotters showing you at 100dB, it just might be your sending.

Listen to yourself, critically – you’ll be doing yourself a favor.

Hey, I know myself that there are times when my arthritis kicks in big time and I sound like I have dyslexia of the fingers.  That’s when I have to face facts and slow my own sending speed down by 5 WPM or so.  It’s not the end of the world.

Sending good CW is a good thing; but it takes practice. Don’t get discouraged. Take your time to do it right and I promise, the speed will increase as time goes on.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Link sent to me courtesy of my good friend, Marv K2VHW:

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I received two e-mails, that I’d like to share – the first is from Andreas, IZ3NYT:

“Hi dr om,

I built a new beacon on 30 meters, I would like your participation, I hope you have fun. receive the signal if I’d like your QSL card.
the frequency is 10139,2 khz cw wpm 8, power 100mw.

The layout and the pictures you can see on my site http://iz3nyt.altervista.org/.

73 de Andrea IZ3NYT”

Keep a listen out for Andreas’ beacon – this would be an excellent way to know if the band is open to Europe

The second e-mail was from Blaine KØONE, pointing me towards a new Website : MorseFusion.com.  They are touting themselves as a new way to learn Morse Code:

“You begin by listening to a novel (over 20 available) spelled out in English (not in code). Then you select which letters, numbers, and punctuation marks you want to gradually start hearing in code. Proper character speed and word rate are maintained during all stages of training.”

and

“Throughout the learning process you focus your attention entirely on listening to a novel, NOT on learning Morse code. Learning takes place gradually and in the background.”

Interesting concept – but not cheap. A subscription of $19.95 per month is involved.  But, if all other methods of learning the Morse Code have failed for you, this might be something you could look into.

I have to admit, the list of novels that have is intriguing. Classics such as “Pride and Prejudice”, “Moby Dick”,  “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (had to read that in High School) and books that are a bit more fun, such as “War of the Worlds” and “Tom Swift and his Wireless Message”.

The Tom Swift and Hardy Boys books were staples of my youth.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!