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CQ QRS
What happened
e

Reminder

Donald

Static crashes

RagChew

last Tuesday, and a reminder for the next net.

for 7Nov23

Completes

CQ QRS

the Mod

synch

with CW

Finding the clarifier in the dark

Chirping

Don’t ask Claude to open

Do static crashes

out of the passband
his window!

propagate?

Boy oh boy - what a night we had on Tuesday’s 80m
Practice net.

| counted

CQ QRS Slow CW

17 stations on or listening... plus who knows how

many others that we don’t know about - the known

unknowns!

Those of us

operating from over East had a real earbashing with static crashes galore a crescendo of noise, that made copying CW characters very very difficult.
However, the slight lack of Eastern-Staters braving the conditions was
made-up for by Sandgropers and Croweaters - well done team.
So, without further ado....

here’s this week’s

list of stations

heard:

310ct23 CO ORS Net
Total active stations this week:

Total 0505,
Instructions:

(Exitine, Users
So Gown to the line with pour Calisien on the left (Column A). Use thee slider om) tive rent mend edee of thee soreen
to scroll down
fF yoea con ‘t see the

fines, expend the soresckheet Gownwends

By Clacicanes

Mowe ecross[to 0500 (Column C], click om tive cll amd sebect
the
Slack text
- Sled.

Repeat the QO entry eget

Geen

pect
- heard

out mot worked,

om tite Bothorn of tie var dow and dees

ng, Gownnareinds,

opllsien of the first
050 you hed or heard
Shee text -jimcomplete
O50

not Oiled].

other stetion’s moran

Mowing, to The meet cell tote right in your mow for the second CSO etc.
you Reser SOMmOrE
pest

Celline, OO, find them om the

fist im Column A and thenjester
0G mm Column

pou Dner of work Somedne mot im the left mend column or Grocedown
>

We'll

Chr to

then

wodete the porescsneet (tive soreschheet

Stawrt

shujend3.fermeilcom

Maric

mmrik nose Picloucom

list, comtect Stuart of Marit end atvisemeed to oe copy, peated]

hes foddden formulas thet need to be copy,|pestedi)

sewe the soreadsheet wien Gane.

the sorescsneet is too chmfuning, send the list of your contacts
sind Meend stations to Stuart or Mark to update the soresdsheet
[to male it easy, you could te
Mew

Users:
Comtect Stuart on Merit

[choi om email

address sinowe] end ask for pour

nAUSE& ict of CaMiciens RTS Om wore, mind well Rd thee CSOe.

calisen jor meme if unlicensed]
to be ecded

RSS

O209

| O2010 | O5011 | O8012 | O80

VEITE/m
VEZBHO
VQBHO
VI2GAZ
VIIK
VIZKI/p
VIRNV
VIRWED
VIGADR
VIGBTV
VIGDED
ViIBKO
WESC

VEZEID

VELTE/m |

VEEME

VESET

|WELTE/m)

WREME

WERTZ

KEIS

VKBAAW

VWEREME

VWEGFN

VEBBEK

WRHEIS

VKEFN

kS/0M

WKEIS | WKEPZT
VESFD

VESFD
VESIP
VESEKFG:
VEBATE

VKECK

WREMEK | WREBEK | VEZELD | VKGAAY | VKGIDM

WEEBEK | VEGMEK | VRGKD
WEEME

VEGFN
VE2KIp

VWREIDM | VEGAAW | VWKEKO

Reports

& Comments

So here’s this week’s

From

Peter

VK7KPC

reports.

at Evandale:

Here’s the Pye No 62 Wireless Set and the key | was using tonight - and my
messy desk.

3 W. Think it is a bit chirpy. Tnx fer qso.

[Hi Peter.

Yes, the chirp was in and out of my passband on every letter...

even on 3kHz - HI!

S9+#++4

static crashes here - so | had trouble picking an

S meter reading - but looks like you peaked at S8 between crashes.
mate

Thanks

- well done!]

The Pye WS 62 is 1946-ish vintage. Apparently, there is a fix for the chirp.

Just have to find it. Cheers.
[Heh heh. Good fun. Probably would have been better had / not had so
much noise from the crashes... so | could track you with the clarifier so that
the whole letter being sent was inside my RX passband - HI.
well-done Peter.

mb]

From

at Clare:

lan VK5CZ

Thanks - 6 QSOs tonight. 5GG

Cheers and

6MK 5ET 1TE 6IS 6PZT. Cu yals next week.

vk5cz.

[Thanks for being there again mate, and for the photo.

Were there the

terrible static crashes around your way on the night as well?
From

Shaun

VK6BEK

at Quinns

Cheers, mb]

Rocks:

Hi Mark,

Had to finish up early but managed

to work Peter VK6IS and Max VK6FN.

Heard a couple of calls working Stuart VK6MK

but they were way down

the noise here. My signal was down this week from reports received.
Regards
Shaun - VK6BEK
[Thanks Shaun.
From

Stuart

Any idea why your signal was down?

VK6MK

Antenna changes?]

at Australind:

I'd finished work on Tuesday evening so | could give CQ QRS a go once
again.

Tonight’s log.

5 net contacts plus a quick look at 10m
in so a quick QSO

week, then in Broome

until Christmas so will set up my portable antenna

and see how we go in a couple of weeks.
your freq;

mid net.

mid-session

with Denmark coming

I'll be missing next

Couldn’t hear you at all Mark on

you were QRP portable so good on you for getting out there.

be keen to see the report and how well you did on your 5 Watts.

Cheers,

Stuart

VK5CZ

VK6EN

Tan

Australia

3556

80m

hala)

Australia

3554.96

e107aa

Max

Aietreen

3555

80m

1’ll

[Thanks for your report Stuart.
Armidale.

Terrific that you worked Kevin

VK6KQ at

Kevin has joined the net before when operating portable -

hopefully he’ll come up again more often from home.
Good luck in Broome - will you be camping up there? This will be very
interesting to test the propagation North to South, as well as NW to SE over
the four weeks or so.

Hopefully, I'll be able to try the Southern Electronics

Group’s VK6CRO Remote at Carnarvon during that time as well perhaps?]
From

Donald

VK6JDM

near Esperance:

Dear Mark,
Well | finally made a successful QSO

in CW at 10:50 UTC with Max of

Manjimup down the extreme south west of WA - He is VK6FN.

| was using 5

watts. | had heard him earlier calling CQ but he did not hear me. However
later he responded to my CQ.
| had some contact but not very successfully with VK6MK earlier who |
gather is in Perth metro and so may not have heard me easily.
Condition as my QTH
lot of QSB

and

20 km west of Esperance were quiet noise floor but a

no east coast stations were

heard.

| heard

one VK5.

Thanks for the enthusiasm which you infect the rest of us with which seems
to have got the net really working well.
| feel comfortable trying to conquer CW

in the environment you have

created. | will not be able to pop up again for a month
with student exams for the next few weeks.

due to commitments

However | will certainly be back

in a month.
In the meantime

| must refresh my understanding of CW abbreviations etc.

73 and thanks for getting the net going.
Donald

Howarth

[Hi Donald.

Outstanding. Some people have to put up an antenna, some

have to solve noise problems, some need to find their Morse key, some
need to find the 80m and CW buttons on their transceivers, some just need
to find the time;

not too many actually completely re-design their

transmitters to get on our net!

Thank you and congratulations!

Yes | heard you chatting to Stuart VK6MK at Australind using the web-based
VK6QS KiwiSDR receiver at Brookton - at that stage | wasn't using my
notebook computer (I found that the battery was very short of capacity and
reserved it for later) so couldn't try the VK6SR Remote at Bedfordale to give
you a hoy. Later | heard you working Max - you were both coming through
to my portable setup at Bermagui on the NSW far south coast) and the
Tecsun SDR at Araluen - roughly between Bermagui and Canberra).
However, | missed out working both of you.... my 5}000mW

just couldn't

stretch that far at that time (around 1100z).

So well done mate - how about a photo of your CW mod some time?

And

by the way, you'll find a link to a summary of basic abbreviations down the
end of this newsletter - just before the WhatsApp feed.
! look forward to your return when I'm back home.

Cheers, mb]

Donald's
Dear

reply:

Mark,

Surprised you heard me on the east coast as | was using just 5 watts. | was
restricting power in case my signal is not clean. Tomorrow
have an SSB QSO with Bob VK6KRC

| am going to

and Trevor VK6YD during which | will

send them some CW and ask their opinion on the purity of my signal. They
are both certified grumpy old men and therefore will give me a very critical
appraisal of my signal.
You really have started something with your slow CW
the 80metre

net. The CW end of

band lights up on Tuesday nights now. | think there are mobs

of hams who have been too embarrassed to display their poor fist and lack
of speed. They are coming out of the cold and bashing their unused
As | previously said | will be buried in exam

activities for the next month

well as trying to pull together next year's teaching
to the net in a month.

| have downloaded

were put out on the PARG website.

keys.

program.

So | will return

your excellent hints for CW that

It is very useful. | had completely

forgotten the odd bits involved in CW QSO's such as replies of 'R' for roger,
dit dit to end off etc.
73,
Donald

Howarth

[Thanks Donald - don’t worry...

when | work you, I'll let you know if the

transmission is anything but T9;
Milton and Max - HI!

guess that puts me in the class of Bob,

The three amigos often chat on the Southwest AllStar

network of a morning (1 have an AllStar node with a 70cm hotspot at home
permanently connected to that network and often listen in or chat with said
GOM).

Glad you found the hints (the Google Sites site has disappeared -

see the end of the newsletter for the new link) and found them useful.
Cheers, mb]
From

Nic VK7WW

at Legana:

Hi Mark,
The Gods of Static were having a Great Cackle last night. | didn’t come on,
but took a listen between

10 and 10:30ish pm local time.

QSO with VK5ET; then VK1TE/M

with VK5CZ;

| heard VK5FD

and you VK2KI with VK1TE/M.

ALL would have been Q5 except for the QRN.
And... confirmation of our QSO

in August (Shame about the typo...

Befdorale!)
73 Nic VK7 WW

MILLIWATTS PER KILOMETER AWARD
~~ Certificate # 63 ~~

CW OPERATORS’ QRP CLUB Ine.
VK QRP CLUB

-VK7TWW
#

Operator - Nick

Chantler

With: Mark Bosma- VK6QI

On the 80 Meter Band

Location: Befdordale, Perth (Remote station)
Power
>

1000 mW

0.342 mW

(km

Distance 2924 km
& 2.92 km

‘mw

Z QO Date: Ist August 2023

fag Jehan

For CW Operas ’QRP Chub Ir.

73's, Doug Jackson
VEIDI # 913
Contest Manager

[Thanks for the report Nic - yes - the static crashes were a real challenge
here too on Tuesday.
From

What a terrific certificate - km /mW - great idea!]

Richard VKG6HRC

at Padbury:

Hi Mark
Nine in the log from last night - conditions much

better than last week.

Got into the shack ahead of time but the early birds caught me off guard
and were already pounding
Stations Logged:
VK6MK

559

VK6OFN

559

VK6IS

559

VK6BEK

559

VK6KD

559

VK6AAV

549

VK5CZ

549

VK6PZT

549

VK6QI

599

brass!

Thank you for your hard work, last week's

Ragchew

gets five stars from me

with your portable set up and whale watching combined

and of course the

reports from the regulars.
Have a great day
Richard VK6HRC
ps

When

you came up on the remote | could hear a weak signal after your

CQ VK2KI/p maybe?
[Hi Richard.

Thanks for your report - boy you were busy on Tuesday - an

early start and a late finish.

And yes, the weak signal you heard was me -

testing the East-West path between my 5 Watts at Bermagui and the
VK6SR Remote’s 100 Watts at Bedfordale.
/ really appreciate the time taken by you to log the different QSOs Richard.
It would probably be more fun and better practice for you to listen to
complete conversations, but having people like you and Claude listing all
the conversations ts terrific for the newsletter - so thank you.
Similarly, if there are others listening in and not transmitting, I'd really
appreciate a list of stations heard each week - please email to
mark. bosma@icloud.com or click the link at the end of the RagChew].
From

Peter

VK6IS

at Wundowie:

Hi Mark, another quiet night - contacts with vk6bek, vk6mk, vk5cz, vk2ki/p.
| did start early as usual, then had a tea break - maybe

I'll finish at 2300

AEDST for the next few months?
73, Peter
[Thanks Peter;

you could also take an iPad to the dinner table to monitor

the SDRs like | have done.... but | don’t recommend it - HI!]
From

Mike

VK6AAV

at Forrestfield:

G'Day Mark
Last night | worked a couple of stations VK6MK Stuart and VK6FN
stations came

romping

in at 599 plus. Also heard VK5CZ

Max. Both

but not able to

work him. | was interrupted several times by trick and treat callers being
Halloween

night. Have finally sent you the photos of my station and the

offending vertical antenna.
to my

Hope you received it this time. One correction

last email, it should read, discarded

coil. Apologies.

Have slapped

11m tuning coil and not 80 m

my wrist with wet lettuce leaf. Will listen out

for you next Tuesday and hopefully better conditions will prevail.
Regards
Mike

Molnar

VK6AAV

?
[Thanks Mike.

Yes / picked up the error last itme.

Thanks for the photos - most important to get lots of photos in the
newsletter - not only adds interest, but | think they really helo our team
members get to know each other better - something that’s a bit hard to do
with CW.
Your modified Station Master antenna

works a treat for low-angle

propagation - you’re one of the signals | hear over East as the band opens
up.

Pretty good for a 5 or 6m

vertical.

Is the horizontal antenna a higher band dipole, or ts it part of the 80m
antenna?

| think the original Station Master was a half-wave on 11m that

was end fed via a tapped parallel resonant tank circuit - and didn’t have or
need a ground - | bought one myself from Dick Smith in the late 80s and retuned it to 10m for FM use years ago - worked well from Malaysia to the
Australian 10m FM repeaters.
no ground needed?
From

I’m guessing your 80m coil does the same -

Cheers, mb.]

Keiran VK3BTV

in North

Ringwood:

Nogo Mark
| didn't hear anything till 9:30om when

a few barely audible signals were

heard. | heard you fade in and out a couple of times with your /p suffix - but
conditions here were nowhere

near good enough for a QSO.

Cheers
Keiran
[Bad luck mate.

Yes, the static crashes were horrible, that’s for sure.

Better luck next week].

From

Richard VK6PZT

Not so good

at Dalyellup:

last night - only got on air after 7pm.

One contact only with lan Vk5CZ
sent

RST 579

rcvd

RST 559

in Clare

Then struggled with your portable signal
sent

RST 229

rcvd

RST 429

Got distracted by the ISS passing over at 1930 with a SSTV broadcast.
Richard
[Thanks for your report Richard - just two DX QSOs - tsk!]

From

Claude VKI1TE at Pearce and

Mobile at Mount Taylor:

Hi Mark,

Last night | started listening on VK6QS for a few minutes.
0913Z VK6BEK CQ
0915Z VK6FN

de VK6MX

2017Z VK6IS CQ
0919Z VK6IS de VK6MK
0924Z VK6FN

de VK6BEK

Then | decided to get on air from the ute on Mt Taylor.

At 1030Z after a

short period of CQ, you were the first one to answer.

It was an interesting

exchange indeed. Your signal was overall strong enough but the statics and
QSB made it difficult to copy everything. | also wonder where the static
from my side came from. Could it be from the antenna
faulty connection?

opposite directions and see what happens.
random

playing up ora

| should try to cross-reference with two stations of
| received you with a lot of

statics and scratching noises plus SSB. You were close to perfect

during short periods.
| started operating with an FT-991A and | am not sure if there was a
noticeable difference of transmission quality when
857D.

| switched to the FT-

Both units operated on 100W output. The antenna

is a

little tarheel2

and the SWR on 80m was 1:1 with 100W output.
Initially, the engine of the car was not running and | later turned it on,
thinking that there might be too much
lead to a dirty transmission.

Where

load on the batteries, which could

| was, at the first 1/4 bottom of Mount

Taylor, away from power lines and civilisation, apart from natural statics,
my equipment would

be the next to blame.

powers next time in case 100W

| will try different transmission

is too much for that antenna to cope with. |

want to get to the bottom of it ASAP for sure.
At 1105Z | answered VK5CZ,

lan calling with a good 599 - 579.

1132Z VK2KI/P calling, that | answered
| scanned around for a

Then at

579 - 589, and still statics and QSB.

little while but all | could hear was very low signals

from VK6 region. After some unsuccessful CQ, QRT at 1155Z
To finish with some

more listening on Tecsun SDR

1218z VK2KI/P de VK6KD

David

1235 VK2KI/P CQ
1245 VK6QI CQ
Then

bedtime!

The paddles | used last night were an iambic Gailbraith GK-11
in Christchurch,

paddle made

NZ, which is screwed on the door of the UTE; | use it as if it

were a single lever paddle. The other one | used with the FT-991A was a
single lever KENT paddle and it is, so far, my favourite, but it is too large to
be practically fitted in the car. | am still looking to replace the GK-11 witha
single lever small enough to fit in the side of the door. The FT-991A was
used on the fly and I'll see if I'll fit it in the UTE for good later on.

en
‘

a
=

=
eee
a

or
—
—
—

One of the difficult things to deal with while driving is accommodating

the

bumps on the road while sending and it is when you realise that the
Canberra tarmac roads are nearly as bumpy as most dirt roads!
TU

and

next time,

;-)

73 k

VK1TE

[Hi Claude - thanks for your beaut report - both monitoring and logging, and
then transmitting - well done, and thank you for heading out to give it a try.

You were much much stronger than I've been getting you at home - |
guess our take-of angles aren't high enough for NVIS over the previous 80odd km path, but it was good over 200km of Near-Vertical Incidence
Skywave on Tuesday night.
The problem certainly wasn't just at your end - the static crashes were just
amazing and frequent - it seemed to me that every time you or anyone |
worked sent a character, there would be a crash, and I’d miss the letter really interesting that you found the same.
off the front-end pre-amp,

Eventually | found that turning

or turning on the front-end attenuator on my

receiver helped - if nothing else the AGC recovered more quickly with the
reduced crash level.

| checked the BOM rain radar, and | couldn’t see any

obvious sources - there was a little bit of activity in the Brindabellas, but
not heavy enough to go with thunder storms;

there was a bit of heavier

activity up in the tropics, but again, not significant considering how
frequent the crashes were.

There was an aroural buzz later in the evening

evident on the SDRs and between the crashes - | don’t think they were
related.

See below for more about static crash propagation.

Thank you for the interesting photos of your mobile set-up;

| remember

back in the early 70s when I did the AOCP CW test, a very exuberant expat
American in Perth (VK6IZ) told of amateurs in the US who used CW when
mobile - at that time the idea seemed remarkable...

and now our little team

has our very own mobile CW op - how good ts that?]
From

David VK6KD

at Ballajura:

Hi Mark

When

working you on Tue night, | felt it was a challenge where | was

wondering
When

if | was just guessing your call sign details and RST report.

the noise level rose, | wondered

if the code | was hearing was just in

my head, like a siren from an ambulance which had disappeared from ear
shot some time earlier.

| was surprised to hear your call from VK2 with only

5W Tx power.
Above the QRM

| was switching between

my ICOM

718 receiver with

minimal filtration and my software defined receiver playing with good
filters.

Problem

here is | lose information when

switching between the two

and changing filters.

Clearly a process | need to setup for, prior to

establishing contact.

| then logged into two different SDR in WA to receive

better and attempt more contacts however the 80m
dead from activity.

Basic contact report:
31/10/2023
3.560MHz
5.36pm
vk6is Peter
5.52pm sign off
3.560MHz
Time?
Mark

3.553MHz
8.44pm

(Tx 5W

bit

Just glad to make a couple of contacts and get some

practice in.

vk2ki

band sounded a

NSW

contact)

vk6qi transmitting
9.09pm

100w from remote in WA

sign off

Regards
David
VK6KD
[Thanks David.

Great to work you with my milliWatts;

late on Tuesday and thank you for your report.

thanks for being on

Now there’s an interesting

thing to think about - with head copying, how much ts decoded /etters and
words, and how much Is intuition?

With weak signals, QRN,

often just a sense of what’s being sent is enough.

QRM,

And of course,

QSB etc,
when

hand-copying CW, using intuition rather than writing exactly what’ s heard
is where most of us come unstuck.... if the word turns out differently to
what’s guessed, recovery can take several letters or even words... as those
of us who repeatedly failed the six-monthly AOCP Morse test can atttest!
Perhaps a topic for a future This Week’s Topic of Interest? Anyone have
any thoughts or interesting experiences to share?]
From John VKS5ET at Hope
Quiet night again down

Valley:

here Mark. Only two VK6 stations all night - VK6IS

and VK6MK - both while having their QSO with lan, 5CZ.
well as Allen VK5FD.

| worked

lan as

That's ALL folks - catch you next week.

73's John , VK5ET
[Hey John - boy | wish I could say it was quiet over East.... but I’m talking
about the static crashes, not stations - HI!
mate.

Cheers, mb]

From

VK6QI

at Bedfordale

via the

and

the

VK6QS

SDR

VK6CRO

Hope things are better next time

at Brookton,

Remote

the VK6SR

Remote

at Carnarvon:

So | was at Bermagui on the far South coast of NSW again this week (see
below) - last week | found that the notebook computer that | use at home
connected to the mains had not much
left my static inverter at home
to test the propagation.

battery capacity anymore...

and I'd

- so | limited my VK6 operations until later -

However,

my trusty iPad worked OK on the VK6SR

KiwiSDR so | was able to listen in between calls and contacts from my
portable station.
First up | heard Max VK6FN

at Manjimup and Stuart VK6MK at Australind

making an early start to the net.
Canberra-based

| could see that Claude VK1TE (our

monitor) at Pearce was also listening on the SDR.

A while

later, | noticed Max and Shaun VK6BEK at Quinns Rocks having a chat while
just up the band, Stuart was chatting to Peter VK6IS at Wundowie.
after that | saw that Stuart had hooked
VK6JDM,

up with our new chum,

Shortly

Donald

East of Esperance (see Donald’s email above) while Peter went on

to work David VK6KD

at Ballajura.

| then busied myself working stations from here in VK2, but did notice
another auroral buzz on the WA and NSW SDRs (the repetitive blobs of
noise, repeating in both time and received frequency) toward the midnight
hours here).

Finally, | unpacked

my notebook computer, and after a long

while fiddling with the computer and my Morse key Serial-to-USB interface,
managed

to get the VK6SR

Remote at Bedfordale working.

For interest of

those who followed our previous period of apparent one-way propagation a
month

or two back, signals seemed

comparable

both ways this time

considering the power difference (albeit that the repetitive static crashes in
VK2

made the signal strength hard to determine).

| was called by David

VK6KD,

and we both enjoyed a more comfortable QSO than we'd had from

VK2 (see below).
Also From

me, VK2KI

and ZS6BKW

portable at Bermagui

doublet and

monitoring

NSW,

the Tecsun

using

FT-817

SDR at Araluen

NSW:
Second week on our camping
NSW.

break at Bermagui, on the far South Coast of

I set up my portable gear in the same spot as last Tuesday - a whale-

watching

lookout above the Blue Pool.

watched

a huge (about 15-17m

Just before setting up, | had

long) 40-ton female humpback whale

ambling along very slowly only 150 m off the rocks below where | was
parked.

She was doing continuous rolls along the long axis as she swam

lifting one 3m flipper at a time out of the water and smacking

it down on

the other side as she rolled.

Meanwhile,

- doing a series of breaches.

| watched the pair for about five minutes, and

in that time they’d only progressed

her calf was ambling along in front

perhaps 100 m - not in a hurry, that’s

for sure.
Back to setting up my portable station for the net.

The weather was

blowing a bit of a gale again this week, and | couldn’t quite get the antenna
to 9m
11m

in the centre - 8m

had to do (the 300 Ohm

ribbon feedline is around

long, so it’s easy to work out the centre height).
With a bit of imagination, you may be able to see the centre insulator
above and to the right of the Norfolk Pine tree, and the feedline running to the car.

| returned to the car at 0845z and set up the rest of the gear remembering

this time to unpack the headlamp

the FT-817 ready and Tecsun Araluen

before | needed

NSW SDR and the VK6QS

it.

| had

Brookton

SDRs both loaded and running on my iPad by the time 09002 rolled around.
Immediately the forecast for the rest of the evening was obvious;

huge

static crashes bending the S-meter display... and not just occasional - a
cacophony of crashes, again and again.

Turning on the IPO (so-called

Injection Point Optimisation.... Yaesu’s name

rather ostentatious name for

turning off the front-end pre-amp) or turning on the front-end attenuator
helped - but the crashes seemed

to be at about one crash per QRS letter -

so a challenge was expected.
My CQs were answered

by Peter VK7KPC

just about impossible at both ends.

at Evandale - but the QRN

was

| then heard VK5IP calling CQ from

Kadina - but he also couldn’t hear my QRP calls.

I’d heard him calling on a

previous net, but | haven’t had any success finding his email address to let
him know what it’s all about.

If anyone does work (or knows him already),

please see if you can get his email address, so he can join our little team.
By 0945z,

propagation conditions had improved a bit and this time, and

Peter and | managed

to have a QSO.

Peter was using a WWII

Set No 62 that he was part-way through

restoring.

Pye Wireless

Last week | called this a PRC-64 - | was about 50 years out!

It is in fact a Pye No 62 Wireless Set.

20231024 205242 VETEPC PRCB4

ELECTRICAL AND MECHAHICAL

ENGINEERING

TELECOMMUMNICA

REGULATIONS

F aS

WIRELESS SET No. 62
DATA

TIONS

SUMMARY

PURPOSE
General purpose, low-power, tropicalized, transceiwer,
providing
RF. and C.W., facilities,
Primarily intended for vehicle station
but also man- or animal-pack.
DESCRIPTION
Set housed in steel
Receiver:

normal

case,

with

S-valve

internal

superhet,

one

12¥

RLF.

rotary
mixer

transformer

and

separace

local oscillator, two LPs., detectar A.V.C.,
pentode output and
beat oscillator for C.W
Sender:
Uses local oseilatar plus beat oscillator plus mixer,
buffer and P.A.
Modulation, two-stage microphone amplifier.
Send-receive switch.
ing by pressel key.

PHYSICAL

DATA

Weight: 29 |b.
Height : 84 in.
Length : 17) in.

Width: 134 in,
FREQUENCY
Coverage > 1.6—10 Mc/s in two ranges, 1.6—4 Mc/s and 4—10
(8-10 Mc/s to be used only in emergency.)
Internal : L.F., 460 lee/s.

Mc/s

PERFORMANCE
Sensitivity: 3uV for 10m and signal/noise of 20db.
Range: 14 miles on A/T, 20 miles on CW. (14 ft. red.)
Issue

J, 27

Jul.

1945

Page

Distribution

Class 870,

Code

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ELECTRICAL AMD MECHANICAL

POWER

ENGINEERING

REQUIREMENTS

AND

CONSUMPTION

Set is immersion-proof for 5 minutes; will float.

: Listening watch, 3.04.

Receive,
Send
R/T, 3.74,
4.64

SPECIAL

Send C.'W,, 5.04,
VALVES

Type
!

VIA

Wic

WiD
WIE
V2A
WIA

VIB
VWiA
YEA

V6A

ARP

| RLF, amplifier, sidetone rectifier

Mixer

Local oscillator

ABP 42)
ARP 12
ARS
CW

CY 65
ARTH 2
ARP 35

VT 310

Station includes crystal calibrator.

Function
;

ARP 12

;
|

in liew of Remote control units L.

ARP 42
|

FACILITIES

Remote aerial up to 50 ft., using Aerial coupling unit J. Remote
central by units L up to 4 mile, using D.3, and | mile, using assault
cable, Junctions, remote control, No. 1 and No. 2 canbe used

Circuit ref.

REGULATIONS

REMARKS

Battery, secy. port, 12V.
Consumption

No. 4

Ist. LF.
:
‘2nd. b.FL
Det. A.V.C., 1st. microphone amplifier
|
|
1

Receiver

ourput

sidetone

dnd, microphone amplifier
Sender mixer, beat oscillator
Buffer

| Power amplifier
i

END

Page

Issue 1, 27 Jul 1945

Peter had only just got the set going, and it was producing about 3 Watts
output;

however,

transmission

not only were the static crashes causing trouble, the

had considerable chirp - on key down, the frequency would

drop by (I’m guessing) 500 Hz or so - so each dash would drop outside of
my receiver’s passband when
the QRN);

using the narrow CW filter (required for all

turning off the filter helped.

| then used my handy-dandy

headlight to find the Clarifier button on the FT-817 so | could follow Peter
around as his crystal oscillator warmed

up.

Great fun - and we got there in

the end - RSTs exchanged.
By about 1015z, the band was opening to WA, and | heard Max VK6FN
Manjimup calling CQ;

however,

he couldn’t hear my mighty 817’s 5 Watts,

so he went on to work Mike VK6AAV who | could also hear here in NSW.

More of my CQs, which were answered
Mount Taylor, in the Canberra

by Claude VK1TE/m

Nature Reserve.

parked at

Even though Claude was

strong, | was still struggling with the static crashes - it seemed
time he’d send a letter - CRASH!
the QSO.

However,

like every

- so we had lots of repeats to get through

had Mother Nature been kinder, his FT-991A and Little

Tarheel vertical antenna would
Vertical Incidence Skywave)

have done well over the 200km

path.

(Near

Terrific that Claude made the effort to

head out in his vehicle to join the net, rather than his usual SDR monitoring
role;

see his report above.

After working Claude, | heard Mike VK6AAV at Forrestfield and Max rolling
nicely into NSW.

A while later after more CQ calls, using the Araluen SDR |

heard Max calling me on a different frequency;

he was RST 589 into my

portable gear, but again | couldn’t raise Mr Faulkner with my 5000mW.

instead, | listened to John VK5ET at Hope Valley chatting to Allen VK5FD

Blakeview, then Claude working

lan VK5CZ at Clare.

| also noticed the

auroral buzz on both the Araluen and Brookton SDRs, just to add to the
QRN!
Next Richard VK6PZT and | tried to make contact - no luck at first, but 15
minutes later we tried again and exchanged

reports.

In between, Claude

and | had a more comfortable QSO - the static crashes had reduced a bit,
and copy was Q5 both ways.

After exchanging

listened to Peter VK6IS at Wundowie

working

reports with Richard, |
lan VK5CZ, who then went on

to work Richard. - while Peter and | exchanged

RSTs further up the band.

The night was rounded-out with an exchange with David VK6KD

Ballajura.
So despite the horrible static crashes, the night had worked out pretty well
for my portable QRP station;

the antenna came down

away easily and by about 1230am,

| headed

and was packed

back to our camper van for the

night.

Other
Other things
From

Max VK6EFN

I’ve received

News
from

our 100-odd

readers.

at Manjimup:
They call us The Elderly
We were born in the 30-40-50’s.
We grew up in the 40-50-60's.
We studied in the 50-60-70's.
We were dating in the 50-60-70's.

We got married and discovered the world in the 50-60-70's.
We venture into the 70-80’s.
We stabilize in the 80-90’s.
We got wiser in the 2000s.
And we are going firmly through and beyond
Turns out we've lived through

2023.

EIGHT different decades...

TWO

different centuries...

TWO

different millennia...

have gone from the telephone with an operator for long-distance calls
to video calls to anywhere

in the world.

We have gone from slides to YouTube, from vinyl records to online music,

from handwritten

letters to email and Whats App.

From live matches on the radio to black and white TV, colour TV, and then
to 3D HD TV.
We went to the Video store and now we watch
We got to know the first computers,

Netflix.

punch cards, floppy disks and now we

have gigabytes and megabytes on our smartphones.
We wore shorts throughout our childhood and then long trousers, Oxfords,
flares, shell suits & blue jeans.
We dodged

infantile paralysis, meningitis, polio, tuberculosis, swine flu, and
now COVID-19.

We rode skates, tricycles, bicycles, mopeds,

and petrol or diesel cars and

now we drive hybrids or electric.
Yes, we've been through a lot but what a great life we've had!
They could describe us as “exennials”;

people who were born in that world

of the forties, and fifties, who had an analog childhood and a digital
adulthood.
We've kind of “Seen-It-All”!
Our generation

has literally lived through and witnessed

more than any

other in every dimension of life.
It is our generation that has literally adapted to “CHANGE”.
A big round of applause to all the members

of a very special generation,

which will be UNIQUE.
A precious and very true message that | received from a friend...
TIME DOES

NOT STOP.

Life is a task that we bring ourselves to do at home.
When

you look ... it's already six in the afternoon;
when you look ... it's already Friday;
when one looks ... the month
When

when
When
When

is over.

one looks ... the year is over;

one looks ... 60, 70 & 80 years have passed!

you look ... we no longer know where our friends are.

you look ... some lost the love of our life ... and now, it's too late to
go back.
SO...
Do not stop doing something you like due to lack of time.

Do not stop having someone

by your side. Your children will soon not be

yours and you will have to do something with that remaining time, where
the only thing that we are going to miss will be the space that can only be
enjoyed with the usual friends if you’re lucky enough to have them.
The time which, unfortunately, never returns...
* The day is today! *
* WE ARE NO LONGER AT AN AGE TO POSTPONE
[Thanks for your thoughts Max.

ANYTHING.

Ya only get one shot at it - so live life

before it’s too late | guess].
From

Lance

VK7ZA

Good

morning

Mark,

at Margate:

Thanks for the newsletters.
Tuesday evenings,

Despite not being able to participate on many

| do appreciate receiving the newsletters.

We were away in Dover, even further south than usual, for our show long
weekend,

and took the opportunity to operate with a very low nose floor

with my 5 W Mountain Topper.

| only had time for a single quick QSO with

VK6EA on 20m

else started calling over the top of our QSO,

before someone

so we exchanged

73s and | QSYed to a clear frequency.

All too soon

however the call for dinner came, and with it, time to pack up the portable
station.

The temperature

had plummeted

with the setting sun, so | wasn't

altogether upset by the prospect of relocating inside to a warm

house and a

hearty meal on the table.
This did cause me to ponder how often | have called over the top of an
existing QSO, with my nose floor precluded

me from hearing them. A good

reminder to always interpret others' actions generously.
Anyway,

| look forward to next week's installment. Will you please add me

to the WhatsApp

group?

Kind regards,
Lance,

VK7ZA

[Thanks Lance.

Yes interesting question about calling when you can’t hear

through the noise - ops normal for most of us on 80m I’m afraid.

And on

our net, | hear it from time to time, an East and a West conversation going
on on the same frequency - adds to the CW training challenge,

which can’t

be a bad thing | suppose.
I’ve wondered whether to suggest Eastern Staters use different calling
frequencies to Sandgropers on our nets (a bit like the quadrantal level
recommendations for Visual Flight Rules aviation) - but dismissed the idea
as too complicated.

When 80m Is open East to West, | sometimes use the

two SDRs to listen check that the frequency I’m calling CQ on Is clear on
the other side - but that’s because! can- Hl;

I’m not going to suggest that

others try this overly complicated arrangement.
Thanks for joining the dozen or so others on our WhatsApp CQ QRS group you should have been getting the messages from the team on Tuesday].
From

Claude

VKI1TE

at Pearce:

I've tried to read this link in the newsletter:
https://sites.google.com/a/parg.org.au/www-parg-org-au/training-andpractice-sessions/cq-qrs---slow-cw-qso-practice-net.

But | get this message

instead:

Sites
Site not found
[Thanks Claude.

Looks like the existing Google Sites location has been

turned off;

try this link instead:

info Thanks

for the advice - I'll correct the link in the notes below as well.

Please let me

httos://www.parg.org.au/slow-cw-

know if it works ok or not].

This Week’s

Topic of Interest

Do static crashes

propagate?

So Tuesday’s horrendous static crashes made

me wonder about whether or

not the QRN

is propagated via the ionosphere?

Why not you ask?

Lightning discharges cause very strong wide-band
electromagnetic

bursts of

pulses - that our receivers hear as bursts of noise.

So do

those EM pulses also get propagated via the ionosphere?

Case

Some

months ago, our net participants in WA were annoyed

by enormous amounts of static crashes - many were driven under the
blankets for the night,

When

| checked the BOM’s doppler rain radar,

there wasn’t a drop of rain in sight, but there was a heavy rain system
in the Northwest of WA.

Either the discharges were happening

to-cloud or within the cumulonimbus

cloud-

build-ups, but there was no rain

(so-called dry lightning), or the Southwest stations were hearing the
Northwest storms, with the electromagnetic

pulses propagated via the

ionosphere.
e

Case

On Tuesday, the static crashes were pinning the S-meter and

causing my AGC to go into melt-down;

yet again, there was no

indication of heavy rain in the Southeast area on the BOM

doppler rain

radar in the area, but there were storms in North Queensland.
we hearing the EM pulses from North Queensland

Were

via the ionosphere,

or was there dry lightning around somewhere that didn’t show up on
the radar?
e

Case

in Point.

(I don’t know

what that means,

but it sounds

ok - HI!).

If the EM pulse signals were so strong here, and they did propagate
from

Queensland,

how

come

the stations

listening

in WA

couldn’t

hear

them via ionospheric propagation when the band was open

later in the

evening?

above the

If it was dry lightning (let’s say up at 10 to 20km

ground) and what we were hearing wasn’t arriving via the ionosphere,
again, why weren’t the enormous

pulses refracted via the ionosphere

to WA?
Any thoughts, ideas, experiences that might add to our knowledge of this
phenomenon?
ideas;

Please let me Know so we can share more thoughts and

email to me mark.bosma@icloud.com

Tuesday’s

CQ QRS

Net

Reminder.

So back to the Slow CW QSO

practice net.

always on Tuesday from around 0900z;

Our CQ QRS Net will be on as

see below for details.

I’m hoping

to keep attracting more Easterners willing to stay up late to catch the fun
as the band opens from the East to the West;

but that’s not to say

newcomers from everywhere aren’t welcome...

please mention the net to

others you chat to and even send them a copy of the RagChew.
already have nearly 110 subscribers to the RagChew,
the team, listening in or having a go on air would

but more people on

be great.

So, thank you so much to our outstanding team of 16 contributors this
week:

Peter VK7KPC,

lan VK5CZ,

VK6JDM,

Nic VK7WW,

VK3BTV,

Richard VK6PZT,

VK6FN

and Lance VK7ZA.

Shaun VK6BEK,

Richard VK6HRC,
Claude VK1TE,

Stuart VK6MK,

Donald

Peter VK6IS, Mike VK6AAV,
David VK6KD, John VK5ET,

Keiran
Max

Thank you team - once again, a superb effort -

it’s the thoughts of the team

plus the photos that makes our RagChew

interesting to our subscribers.
So for everyone,

please let me Know by email to:

mark.bosma@icloud.com

who you work or hear this coming week on Tuesday’s net.

As always, | can

only attempt poorly to listen-in and log QSOs while having QSOs
| really want your comments

each week to make our RagChew

myself - so
newsletter

interesting.
And again for those who | work on Tuesday night, please accept my
apologies in advance for the pauses,

repeated dah-di-di-di-dahs etc while |

attempt to pick up and log callsigns that | hear in parallel, send WhatsApp
notes, do one-way propagation tests, etc.
And there’s also our CQ QRS group on WhatsApp - a terrific way to
exchange alerts and comments
stations at other times.

during the net and also to spot QRS

The feed from last week is below;

I'd like you to

join in on the WhatsApp

group if possible.

(stujen55@gmail.com)
add you to the group.

or me know your mobile phone number, and we'll

Please let Stuart VK6MK

Cheers,

mb
Mark Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning NSW
mark.bosma@icloud.com
non impediti ratione cogitationis
“Without antennas, amateur radio just wouldn't be the same” - author:

dah-dah dit!

PVERSGa

About

the CQ
Here’s

the

QRS

Net

details.

The team will be on again for our usual Tuesday arvo / evening

Practice

QSO

This

Net.

CQ QRS will start at 0900z until about 1100-1400z+.

translates to 1700 - 2000-2230+
and

2000

2400+

Eastern

WA time, 1930 - 2330+

Summer

time.

SA Summer time

(I think!).

So tune around and call anyone you hear, or find yourself a quiet spot in
the 3540kHz to 3570kHz segment and start calling CQ QRS at about 75% of
the speed you're comfortable receiving at;

hopefully responders will match

(or send slower to their comfort level).
When you hear someone
slower.

new, please match their sending speed - or

The person you’re replying to may not be as deft on the decoding as you it may be their first ever CW QSO - remember your first?

Lather of sweat,

key that refuses to send that you tell it, brain that refuses to decode those
complex

letters that were right there half an hour ago, etc!

is sending too fast to comfortably copy:

And if someone

“PSE RPT PSE QRS” or

“AGN?

will make

PSE QRS”

life easier for everyone.... and might just encourage other

listeners to have a go themselves.

The other thing to remember - most

operators are writing down what they hear... so when you put it back to
them, expect a delay while they read your words of wisdom,

before

replying.
The aim is to give everyone a go at contacting others - no-one owns their
calling frequency on this net.

So, unlike working

DX, if you hear someone

signing of - jump in and call - doesn’t matter who was first on the frequency
- we’re all good

mates on this net.... and besides, at the speed we’re

sending, after a QSO
frequency first!

most of us will have forgotten who was on the

If you really want to move off frequency (eg because of a

spurious switch mode

power supply signal that’s just drifted into the

conversation), you could try sending an abridged callsign of the person
you're after, followed by “UP 5” or “DN 5” then K;

then call that person on

the designated frequency and keep your fingers crossed, they may have
understood you and followed... or not.
There's usually people around until after 1330z - so keep calling until you
catch someone.

| should be on as usual from home

in NSW and via the

Remote at Bedfordale WA, and I'll also be watching the proceedings using
the VK6QS

and Tecsun SDRs in WA and NSW

respectively.

And as always, for newbies and oldies - operating suggestions, some
prosigns and common

abbreviations are available from the operating hints

link, which you'll find part way down the page here:
https://www.parg.org.au/slow-cw-info .

CQ QRS

Traffic from the CQ QRS

Here’s what went on on the CQ QRS WhatsApp

Feed
Group.

message group this week:

[9:10 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK6FN and VK6MK chatting on 3555. VK2KI/p calling CQ on
3558.
[9:31 am, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming: VK6IS on 3.560
[9:38 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK6MK being called by VK6JDM on 3558.
[9:38 am, 31/10/2023] Max Faulkner: Hi Shaun... sigs improved

up to 559 last over tks fer for

contact. Fn
[9:39 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK6JDM and VK6MK on 3558. 61S and 6KD on 3560.
[9:40 am, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming:
[9:40 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

| can’t hearJDM

Donald was calling you Stuart. Keep trying.

[9:40 am, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming:

Got him then he may have drifted off freq slightly

[9:56 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK7KPC and VK2KI/p on 3551.
[10:11

am,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

VK2KI/p

[10:17 am, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming:
[10:18 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

calling CQ

on 3558.

I’m listen on that freq but getting nothing

Reading you here mate - but s9++ static doesn't help!

[10:18 am, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming:
[10:19 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: Yes - that was to you Stuart.
[10:24 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VKGFN working VKGAAV on 3562.
[10:37 am, 31/10/2023] lan - VK5CZ: CQ QRS 3.556. Sri late rag chew 40m vk5gg.
[10:38 am, 31/10/2023] Max Faulkner: Sorry Mike.. thought | had your name wrong.... de fn

[10:53

am,

31/10/2023]

coming

into NSW.

Mark

Bosma:

VK2KI/p

[11:03 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

working

VK1TE/m

on 3550.

VK6JDM

calling CQ

on 3554

5CZ calling CQ on 3556.

[11:11 am, 31/10/2023] lan - VK5CZ: CQ QRS 3.553
[11:19 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

Lost you Max - still there on 3556?

[11:38 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

5CZ and 6IS on 3553. 2KI/p calling CQ on 3556.

[11:39 am, 31/10/2023] lan - VK5CZ:

61S Phil ?

[11:39 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma:

Peter.

[11:39 am, 31/10/2023] lan - VK5CZ:
[11:40 am,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

VK1TE/m

calling CQ

on 3550.

[11:41 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK2KI/p calling CQ on 3557.
[11:43

am,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

cant quite here

u 2ki

[11:44 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: Q5 here Richard except for static crashes. I'll tr again 3557.
[11:50 am,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

sri mark

[11:50 am,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

why the poor signal

[11:50 am,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

?????

[11:51

31/10/2023]

Mark

No worries

am,

Bosma:

im only getting

Richard.

about

10 %

I'm portable and

with only 5 W.

Horrible

static here and auroral buzz too!
[11:51

am,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

rrr

[11:52 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: Can you hear lan on 3553?
[11:53

am,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

VK1TE/m

calling CQ

on 3550.

[11:55 am, 31/10/2023] Mark Bosma: VK2KI/p calling CQ on 3557.
[12:02

pm,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

VK6PZT

and VK5CZ

chatting

on 3553. VK2KI/p

pm,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

VK6IS

and VK2KI/p

chatting

on 3557.

calling CQ

3557.
[12:08

[12:16 pm, 31/10/2023] lan - VK5CZ:

My bed time. Thanks 6 qso tnite. 5GG 6MK 5ET 1TE 6IS 6PZT.

Cu yals next week. vk5cz..
[12:16

pm,

31/10/2023]

Richard Ayre:

[12:17 pm, 31/10/2023] Peter Scales: Cheers
[12:28

pm,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

Thanks

[12:29

pm,

31/10/2023]

Mark

Bosma:

David

- well done

from VK2KI/p

[12:36 pm, 31/10/2023] David Potts: Hi Mark. | have L8
so perhaps

getting

better out.

high from home QTH

I'm now

on the yarloop

copying

5Watts

on 3553.

noise floor so i just heard you.
receiver.

Tonight's

QRM

| was tx 50W

& N seems

really

Regards, David vk6kd

[1:53 pm, 31/10/2023] Stuart Cumming: Thanks Kevin. Thought | was a

little too

Late to get Anyone. You were 559 then 10 over towards the end. Great sending. Thanks for putting
up with

strength

key trials and

Send

tribulations

comments

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