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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!

I came across this great piece of history via the Google+ page of Cristian YO8TNB and had to share it here for others to enjoy. I have a soft spot for New Zealand, being so close to my country of birth, and I particularly noticed the carefully cultured accent of the announcer. On a more serious note, this video is an invaluable record of the wired and wireless technology used in 1939 and the procedures for transmitting a message from land to sea.

This is a very cool comic strip, drawn by Brian Basset – about a boy and his dog, growing up together in the 60s.

http://www.gocomics.com/redandrover/2012/12/31

It has a Morse Code theme today, so be sure to visit!  Since the image is copyrighted, I don’t want to post it here – but the link was meant for sharing with the blessing of the author and the comic syndicate.

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

Listening to some QSOs on 30 and 40 Meters tonight, I have noticed an increasingly less usage of “DE”.

VERY often, I seem to be hearing (for instance) “W2WK W2LJ” instead of “W2WK DE W2LJ”.

Was “DE” tossed out the window?  Did I not receive the memo?  I know it’s gone by the wayside in contests. Lord knows, the hour and a half it takes to send two letters will really cut down on the ol’ QSO per Hour rate.  But in casual rag chews?

Call me a curmudgeon, call me old fashioned, but I’ll stop using “DE” when I stop using my rotary phone, my 5.5″ floppy disks, my Smith Corona typewriter and stop wearing my spats.

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