Are we communicating anymore?

Something that John K3WWP has been touching on in his diary entries lately and it got me thinking as well. Bob W3BBO and I also touch on this during our weekly BS sessions.

Whither the rag chew?

If my memory is accurate, back in 1979, when I was a Novice, just about all my QSOs were rag chews, band conditions permitting. You'd meet someone new, or a friend, on the air and there were certain things you relayed. You always gave a brief description of your equipment and antenna, of course. From there you might get into a discussion about the weather or whatever. But they were conversations! And especially with DX contacts you might get a photo of something or other along with your QSL card to see how the fellow at the other end of the QSO lived.

My first award/certificate was for being a certified member of the RCC or Rag Chewer's Club. It was available through the ARRL and again, if I remember correctly, you earned it by submitting a QSL from a QSO that lasted 1/2 hour or longer. There were plenty of those, they were a dime a dozen.

I look at my log book these days, and I have plenty of Sprint QSOs, POTA QSOs, and a smattering of other contest QSOs like CQ WW DX  and ARRL DX - but not many rag chews.

Why is that? It's a paradox. We're communicating more, but at the same time we're communicating less. I listen to the POTA guys who check into Marv K2VHW's "Middlesex County Chat Group Net" every night and they'll tell the tale how they made XXX number of QSOs that day. A nice achievement to be sure, but are they (myself included) communicating anything? Usually it's something like "W2LJ TU UR 559 BK", and of course, my reply is not much more - so let's move on to the next contact, please.

In the days of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social media, we Hams pride ourselves as having been "the first social media", but it seems we aren't so social, anymore. Now granted, since I hardly ever pick up a microphone, it's probably a very different story on the phone side of things, but on the CW side, rag chews seem to be going the way of the Dodo.

So I am going to make a pledge. In my meager on-the-air time, I am going to try and have at least one or two rag chews per week. I doubt that will change anything, but as Confucius once said, "Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one step".

See you on the air!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Good news and bad news

 First the good news ....... there is no bad news!

I spent a bit of time in the shack after dinner last night, and I hooked up the Vibroplex to the computer via that adapter from Ham Radio Solutions. The first thing I found out was that, as it has been such a long time since I last used it, the contacts became so dirty from oxidization as to prevent ANY dits or dahs from being created.

So out came the alcohol and a Q-Tip and an old business card that I found in our desk. Applying the alcohol and wiping it dry with the Q-Tip removed a lot of tarnish. Burnishing the contacts gently with the business card removed even more. The result was that dits and dahs are now being produced, but I have to go to my own Morse Code page connected with this blog to review the procedures for proper adjustment. Even out of whack, I was able to send some CW that the computer was actually able to decipher. My bug fist was not as bad and I had thought it would be! It's more like just plain ol' bad, instead of being horrible or atrocious. I do not think that I will be sending anyone screaming into the night with their ears bleeding, but it's going to take lots more practice before I'm confident enough to take it to the airwaves for some SKCC activity. It would appear that learning to use a bug is like riding a bicycle. You never forget how to do it, but if you've been away from it for a while, you can get pretty rusty.

After playing around with that for  bit, I turned on the KX3 and called "CQ FP" for the Flying Pigs QRP Club "Worked All Pigs" event.  I spotted myself on QRPSPOTS and I turned on RBN to see where my 5 Watts was taking me.

Not bad, as I was even heard down in the Cayman Islands! I was answered by a station most closer to home, however. Gene AA2YO (FP# 4650) from West Deptford, NJ answered my call and we had a nice 20 minute ragchew.  Central NJ to South NJ isn't a really big DX hop, but thanks to Gene, I have my first Flying Pig in the log for this newly revived event. It's a nice alternative to working POTA stations (as much as I love doing that!) with their brief "TU 599 NJ" exchanges. Sometimes you just feel the need for some Morse Code. (Sorry, Maverick!)

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Got a lot accomplished

Just about everything that I wanted to get done this weekend, I did.

The highlight was getting on the radio on Monday.  There wasn't much activity, but I did hear Eritrea rather loudly on 30 Meters.  I dove into the pileup, but gave up rather quickly. My heart just wasn't into working DX. Instead, I went down to 40 Meters and had two "Bob" QSOs. The first one with Bob KC8MFF, in West Virginia.  We chewed the fat for about a half an hour.

As I was signing with him, I heard a very familiar call, calling me.  It was Bob W3BBO in Erie, PA on his recently built QCX transceiver.  Powered by 4 Watts, Bob was a very pleasantly readable 569 in NJ, and I got a 579 in return.  Bob told me that my signal was the best he's heard from me in a long time.  This was the first time we've QSO'ed since I raised the W3EDP another 10-15 feet, so it was either that, or band conditions were just very good. Maybe a combination of both.

I also got the PWS (personal weather station) up and running in a temporary spot.  As mentioned, the station is being held aloft by 20 feet of aluminum Army surplus masting, which is anchored in a 5 gallon paint bucket full of concrete.  It was tricky getting the whole affair level, so that the anemometer (wind meter) would function properly.  It's a hack job for now, but the masting is plumb. This spring, I'll get some brick, blocks or pavers and I will make a level base for the bucket to sit on. Once that's done, I'd feel more comfortable about adding a couple more mast sections to get the sensor up to the 30 foot level.

If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the blog, you'll see a WeatherUnderground box which is displaying real time weather conditions at the W2LJ QTH.

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

Warm!

February 19th and it was warm!  It felt more like a Spring day than the middle of Winter; as it reached a high of 68F (20C).So what does a relatively young man's fancy turn to when it warms up like this? Why, Amateur Radio of course!  In particular, portable QRP operating.  Too nice to stay cooped up inside, right?

I decided on a very impromptu activation of Washington Rock State Park, which is designated as KFF-1635 in WWFF (World Wide Flora and Fauna nomenclature). Probably not my brightest idea as it's the ARRL DX Contest weekend; but I decided to head out, anyway.  Before heading to the park, I had to stop by Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up some fishing swivels (with clasps).

I use these to attach the "bullet" of my Joplin ARC Antenna Launcher to the fishing line. This allows me to quickly detach the projectile and attach in it's place the Mason's twine that I use as support rope during these activations.  A package of a hundred (a lifetime supply) cost all of about $5.

I got to the park and it appeared that everyone else from Central NJ had the same idea that I did! There was a small crowd at the park. It's very popular, because as I've mentioned before, Washington Rock is located on the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains and provides an unobstructed view of the NJ Shore and the Piedmont.  On a clear day, like today, it is even possible to see Manhattan and Staten Island with the help of binoculars or a telescope.  This is why General Washington used this spot during the Revolution.  By going up there at night, he was able to clearly see the campfires of all the British troop encampments.

But I digress.I found the last empty picnic table and claimed it by placing my equipment on top. Then I got to the business of hoisting the antenna.  Again, the Joplin ARC Launcher made this an easy task. I become a better shot each time out and once again, the "bullet" cleared the tree and went exactly where I wanted it to go.  The PAR END FEDZ 40/20/10 went up easily and within minutes, I was on the air.  Actually, I arrived at the park at about 1850 UTC and was calling CQ by 1900 UTC,

I really like the PAR END FEDZ 40/20/10, as it deploys easily and with the KX3's autotuner, it also loads up and seems to get out really well on 30 Meters and 17 Meters in addition to the three bands it was designed to operate on.

I started out on 40 Meters with no takers, despite spotting myself on DX Summit as well as the WWFF/POTA Facebook page.  That was a disappointment, as I was hoping for a decent amount of local activity.  At that time of the day, DX from Europe (and thus any contest QRM) is minimal, so I was hoping to work folks along the East coast and up into Canada. After about 20 minutes or so of no answers, I went up to 20 Meters.

Calling CQ POTA in the midst of the ARRL DX Contest was probably pure folly, but I did get answers. I worked S52A, EA8KW, S50Q, C6ARU, FY5KE and CO2JD at various points.  They were probably wondering what the heck "KFF1635" was. I think they probably just wanted the "599 NJ", but that's neither here or there.  They were QSOs made from the park; and they count whether they were looking specifically for me or not.

17 Meters yielded contacts with KG5CIK, WR2E and WB2MKX, both of whom were in New Jersey.

30 Meters was good for two contacts. One was with KA9CFD and the other was a half hour or so rag chew with N1KW, Bob in IL.  Bob was also enjoying the warm weather in Illinois and was in his back yard, using his K2 at 10 Watts straight off a solar panel - no battery.  I really enjoyed the QSO with Bob and it's made me anxious to try out the solar panel that I bought from Harbor Freight last October.  I purchased a voltage controller from Bangood, and once I wire it up, I should be able to get a good and steady 12 Volts on a decently bright day - more than enough to power the KX3.

After the rag chew with Bob, I realized I had been at the park for close to two hours, so I decided to pack up and head home while there was still plenty of light.  I did have a few people come up to me, asking me what I was doing. I was able to give Amateur Radio, QRP and portable operating a couple of good plugs.

With that, I'll close this post with a very short and hastily made video that I took just prior to tear down.  I apologize for the quality - Steve WG0AT has nothing to worry from me as far as video expertise goes. But maybe, just maybe, if I keep this up, I can get better at that, too.  Lord knows, I've come a long way from my first attempt at portable QRP ops!


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

This stuff still works!

I doubt anyone gets like me, but ............

Last week was pretty dismal as far as lunchtime QSOs go. Looking back in HamLog, the only QSO that I had all week was the one with Special Event Station K2CAM last Wednesday.  Add to that, the fact that the bands were not the greatest over the weekend (at least for me) and even at the home station, the pickings were slim.  I get to wondering if perhaps it's just me ..... did I break something?  Did my antennas all choose to fail at the same time?

Silly, right?  Yeah, I know.

Then comes a day like I had today.  I went out at lunch time, and threw the 40 Meter Hamstick on the Jeep to see if I could hear any NPOTA stations. I saw one listed on the Cluster for 40 Meters, but I wasn't hearing anything. So I switched on over to 20 Meters and heard WD7I at MN25 on the frequency the VFO just happened to be on.  Dave was calling CQ without a lot of takers, so even though I have MN25 confirmed, I worked him so that he could reach the minimum goal of 10 QSOs.  Afterward, I spotted him on DX Summit and lets just say I don't think he had any trouble reaching the minimum and beyond!

After working Dave, I went down to the QRP Watering Hole of 14.060 MHz and "QRL?'ed" a couple of times. Not hearing anything, I cast out a CQ to be answered by Marty W4LYH, operating QRP Portable out of New Market, VA.  Marty was visiting relatives, and decided to bring the QRP gear along. Much to my benefit, we had a rag chew just shy of a half hour.  Had the Rag Chewer's Club still existed, another few minutes would have qualified both of us for a certificate.

Marty was only running 5 Watts to a half wave end fed; but he had a VERY solid 579 signal. The times when QSB kicked in, Marty was at worst a 559. So the next time some "expert" tells you that QRP signals are always weak, go tell him/her to go take a flying leap.

After I signed with Marty (I had to make it back inside the office!) I got a quick call from Terry WA0ITP.  Terry is a good friend, a QRPer of reknown, and a main stay of the 4SQRP Group. How could I not at least say "Hi!" to Terry?  Lo and behold, that's about all it was - a quick Hi and Good-Bye and then it was take everything apart and hustle back inside.

All in all, a very delightful lunch time QRP session ........ for a change! My faith in my equipment is restored ...... for now. LOL!

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

Easy listening

I had a wonderful experience today during my lunch time QSO.  Not hearing any NPOTA or SOTA station on 20 Meters, I decided to go on up to 17 Meters.  There was not much activity there, so I decided to call CQ around 18.086 MHz.

I was answered by Benny K5KV - who I can only describe as "The Master Bug Fist".

His fist was as smooth as melted chocolate on a hot fudge sundae on a Saturday in August. At first I thought he was using a keyer and paddles. But when he came back to me and said, "I switched to a slower bug for you ......", I was like "Oh .... wow!" (I was loafing around 20 WPM.)

It's not often you hear a bug fist as smooth as Benny's. Most bug fists (mine included) have a swing to them, as it's really, really hard to get that dit to dah changeover and the timing ratio down. Like many people, I tend to accentuate the dahs, as they are totally manually generated. As a result, my bug fist is not as smooth as I would like it to be.

Benny's is as close to perfection as you can get.  In fact, Benny's fist is so smooth as to be musical. He had the spacing and rhythm down pat. His is a fist you could listen to all day .... where the words just appear on a piece of paper that's inside your brain. The definition of armchair copy.

I wish that I had a recording device with me so that I could share the experience with all of you. It was THAT good.

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

Delightful lunchtime QSO

The bands seemed to be in decent shape this lunchtime, with low background noise levels.  According to SOTA Watch, there were a few activations that I wasn't able to hear, and Ed WA3WSJ was out and about, but he was on 20 Meters. A pathway on 20 Meters from NJ to PA is a very rare occurrence.

While twiddling the dial, I heard Bob K9OSC calling CQ in the 20 Meter QRP neighborhood.  Bob lives in Fridley, MN and had an excellent signal in NJ.  QSB varied his RST between 599 and 559, but even so, with the low background noise, Bob was "Q5" copy the whole time.

Bob was using his K3 to a homebrewed rotary dipole.  His aerial enabled us to have a very enjoyable 20 minute 2X QRP QSO. If you get the chance, look up K9OSC on QRZ.com.  I think you'll be blown away like I was.  A very good operator, a very good station, a very good rag chew.

Thanks, Bob and I sure hope I hook up with you again!

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

Spacing - the most important thing.

I don't know about you guys, but for me, "written" Morse is almost impossible for me to decode. Someone posted this to one of the Amateur Radio groups that I belong to in Facebook:

It took me a while to figure out that this said "Merry Christmas". At first, I thought it was starting with a "g" - to me the spacing was off. So. of course, I had to comment - which I shouldn't have done. I always get in trouble when I comment.  I posted, "Same to you, but your spacing is off.". Which probably went over like a lead balloon.

So the person came back a little later with:

Which to my eye was a whole lot better. Morse is hard enough for me to "read", but when it gets jumbled up, it makes it even harder.  But then someone posted this:

"It was great the first time also. A good CW operator can copy no matter what the spacing of the characters. Thanks for sending."

Really? Wow - then I am definitely not as good a CW operator as I had thought myself to be.  To me, spacing is everything. If the Morse is "run on", whether it's typed or pounded, then I can't read it and I can't copy it aurally, either. I wonder .... am I alone in that?

So here's a question, a hypothesis for you, if you will. Feel free to comment, The gentleman who posted that comment may have a very valid point. Have we (I) gotten spoiled by keyers and paddles? Do we (I) expect more "perfect" code than we used to get in the days when straight keys and bugs dominated the landscape?  Have our ears (at least maybe my ears) gotten to the point where they're spoiled by perfectly produced electronic dits and dahs?

Maybe back in the days when almost everyone was mechanically sending Morse Code, it was easier to decode a fist that was less than perfect - because less than perfect was the norm. Spacing as well as the length of dits and dahs was all over the place and ears were used to copying Morse sent "all over the place" - especially on the Novice bands  In fact, this is how we came up with the concept of someone's "fist". Do you think this is a reasonable theory? That a really good CW operator should be able to copy a variety of fists, even lousy (sorry!) ones?

I think I can do that, at least I used to think I could do that, but I have to admit - when the spacing is terrible, and sometimes it is, I am at an utter and complete loss. If I hear Morse that soundsmorelikethis,allditsanddahsrunningonwithoutanyspaces - then it's as hard for me to copy as it was for you to read that last little bit. And to be honest with you, if it's that bad, than I simply would rather not even try. I hope that's not perceived as uppity or condescending - it's probably more of a lack of ability on my part. I marvel at the stories of the "pros" who could copy Morse at 40 WPM while making coffee, eating breakfast, walking the dog and chatting with the mailman.  I'm lucky if I don't get distracted by a mosquito or an itch or the urge to sneeze - all of which can totally mess me up. I wish I was that good - sadly, I am not. Maybe I'm just getting old, and my powers of concentration are not what they used to be.

Anyway, skipping to a different topic, I had two nice short little "ragchew" type conversations during lunch today.  One was with Mike WB0AGU near Kansas City, MO and the other was with David N4IVE in NC. The QSO with David was 2X QRP. He was using an OHR homebuilt kit radio to a full sized 20 Meter loop antenna. His 3 Watts was coming in like gangbusters. I told David that I used to have the OHR 20/40 and thought it to be an excellent radio. OHR offers good stuff.

Then David asked where my OHR went. Truth be told, it was sold to provide financing for other radio purchases. Another point of wondering ..... I wonder how many of us (if any of us) are lucky enough to have every radio ever purchased?  I think the norm is to buy, sell and buy up - at least that's been my experience. How about you?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!