Subscribe Past Issues Translate View this email CQ QRS What happened e Another last Tuesday, in your browser RagChew and a reminder for the next net. big night on Tuesday e PARGFest e Seven talk - join us on Zoom ¢ CQ QRS e Help celebrate e Is it too big? e Reminder new team members International Morse February for 13Feb24 Code Day Quiz 11th CQ QRS Boy it sure was busy over this side of the country - and we ended up with at least 34 stations on or listening to the three hour 40m Finale. Prelude, or the 80m Thank you to everyone who participated, and | trust you enjoyed the evening. Here’s this week’s list of stations heard: v RSS 6Feb24 CQ QRS Net Total active stations this week: | Total OS0s (note that this figure won't be correct- Q505 may be counter 38 130 Black text- OSLed, Green text - heard but not worked, Blue text - incomplete G50 (not QSLed). | MY CALL + VK/G4RWI |lling q aso1 Qsoz2 VK2KI VK3TBR VK1TE/m VK3AE VK2KI VKIWA VK3ACU VK1HF/p Qso3 Qs0 4 qaso5 Qgso6 Qs07 VK3ACU | VK3TBR |VK/G4RWI| VK3XU r Listening if mo O50) VK1KVS VK3TBR VK12ZD) VK2ZAQE VK2BHO VK2BHO VK2DLF VK3ACU | VK3TBR VK2GAZ VK2IK VK2KI VK2KI 40m VK3AE | VK3KLE | VKITE/m| VK2KI 40m VK3BTV | VK2DLF | VK3RU | VK6MK/p | VK2KI 80m VK2IK VK6FN VKSFD | VK3ADX | VKSKLE | VKGPZT | VK2NAP VK2NAP VK2KI VK3KLE VK2KI VK7TA | VK6PZT VK2NV VK2TER VK2WEO VK2WF VK3ACU VK3TBR | VKIWA | VK3ADX VK3KLE | VK3AE VK2KI VK3BAP VKSCZ VK3AE VK3TBR | VK3BAP VK5PH WKS/G4RWI VK3ACU VK3BTV VK3XU | VK3ACU | VK2KI VK3BU VK3BYD VK3CLD/p VK2DLF | VK3BTV VK6PZT | VKITE/m | VK3BAP VK1TE/m | VK3AC VK3KLE | VK2DLF VK3DBD VK3KLE VK2KI | VK3ACU | VK3RU | VK3ADX VK3KO VK3RU VK3KLE | VK3XU VK3TBR VK3ACU | VKSPH | VKITE/m VK3 WOW VK3TBR | VKSPH VK3 WOW VK2DLF | VK3KLE | VK3RU | VK6MK/p | VKSACU | VK2WF | VKGFN VK6PZT | VK3XU |VK/G4RWI| |G4RWI/VKS| VK2DLF VK2kKI VK3BTV | VK3XU VK5CZ VK7KPC VK3BTV VK5A0 VK5CZ VK3BAP VKSET VK3ACU VKSFA VKS5FD VK2KI VK3ADX VK5GG VKSIP VK5KFG VK5PH VK3TBR VKSPL VK6AAV VK6ATB VK6BEK VK6FN VKG6IS VK6CK VK6DEV VK6IS VK6DV VK6FN VK6BEK | VK2KI VK6HRC VK6IS VK6KHZ | VK6WE VK6HRC VE2TA VK2ZDLF VK6GAL VK6IK VK2KI VK6PZT | VK6BEK VKGFN VK6IR VK6IS VK6HRC | VK6KHZ | VK6DEV | VK6PZT | VK6BEK |) VKGJK | VK6WE VK6JDM VK6JK VK6IS VK6KHZ VK6KD VK6KHZ | CQO VK6KQO VK6LD VK6MK/p VK2KI VK6EMU VK6NC VK6NT VK6PZT VKENW VK6PZT VK6IS VK2KI | VK3ADX | VK6NT VK6QI VKGHRC VKG6IS VKGWE VKGJK VK6PZT VK3XU | VK3BTV | VK3TBR VK6QI VK3ACU | VK2DLF | VK3BAP VKSCZ VK6PZT | VK6IS VK6PZT | VK6HRC VKENT VK6TY VK6XU VK6WE VK6YV VK7WW VK7KPC VK7TA VK2KI VK7ZA PARGFest Talk On Saturday (tomorrow) I’m giving a short talk about our CQ QRS Slow CW QSO net as part of the Peel Amateur Radio Club’s PARGFest event via a Zoom videoconference hook-up. Martin VK6MJ will be setting up a camera so that | can watch the audience.... so | can see who’s going to sleep mainly! But 1 hope to see many of our team down at Mandurah. Peel Amateur Radio Group PARGFEST Swap-Meet aturday 10° February 2024 Mandurah © Bowling Club 89 Allnutt Street, Mandurah WA. Doors Open: 0800 — Exhibitors & Sellers 0900 - 1230 Buyers Entry Fee - $5.00 per person See you there amongst the raffles and bargains Please check www.parg.org.au/whatsnew for last-minute updates. Call-in to VAGARG in PARG1 - AllStar & 146.850Mhz with 91.5Hz sub-tone For more information call Peter 0432718026 or email parg.secretani@gqmail.com However, for those of us not in the South West of WA on Saturday, you'll be able to watch and help the audience heckle by joining the video conference which starts on the dot at 0200z (1300 hrs Eastern, 1200 hrs in Queensland). you the log-in details and password New Team 1230 hrs in SA and Please email me well before-hand and I'll send mark.bosma@icloud.com Members And thanks to Georg VK2DLF the Slow CW now who posts our RagChew Facebook page, George VK2AOE newsletter on who’s published several YouTube videos about our net, Richard VK6HRC for the referral, David VK3RU for a referral and Paul VK3KLE for working seven new team Blackburn, members join us this week; Roger VK5WE David last week, we had Peter VK3WOW from from Booleroo Centre, Dylan VK3AE from Ballarat, Matt VK4MKV from Cairns (hooray, a Queenslander at last!), Terry VK6LTC from Wilson, David VK3RU from Burwood Melbourne’s Easter Suburbs. Welcome and Martin VK3FG from one and all - I’m sure you'll enjoy our leisurely CW opportunities, and the very collegiate nature of our team we now have over 130 people keen to share. Cheers, mb Mark Bosma VK2KI / VK6QI Beautiful South Bowning NSW mark.bosma@icloud.com non impediti ratione cogitationis Reports & Comments Here’s this week’s From James VK2TER reports. at Terrigal: Hi Mark, Unfortunately | won’t be able to participate in the QRS net this week, | have an existing commitment tonight. Hope to catch you again next week. Regards James (VK2TER) [Thanks James - you missed another great fun night! Cheers and thanks for letting me know mate.] From Jeff VK6JK near Gwellup: Hi Mark, Just a quick one from me before heading out. Managed a QSO with Peter, VK6IS; and heard VK6KHZ, heard me answering but don’t think he his CQ. Should have longer to play radio next week, and the 40m much band works so better for me, and with the new extended time should open up to the East and beyond too! Regards, Jeff VK6JK [Thanks Jeff. Yes | heard you call Peter - good stuff. works for you - seems pretty popular! From Jordan VK3ACU I’m pleased that 40 Thanks for the heads up mate. ] at Meredith: Hi Mark My contacts on Tuesday were as follows. VK3TBR VKIWA VK3KLE VK2Kl VK2DLF VK3BTV Not in any order (hopefully I’ve got the list right) Thanks for doing an amazing job keeping up with the WhatsApp and the newsletter as usual. Thank you everyone who came up. Until next time 73 VK3ACU... [Glad to hear that our relaxing net helped you get over your tough week Jordan. ] From Tim Hi Mark, VK3TBR at Stawell: Thanks for the email, it was a good VK5/G4RWI/p at Yorke Peninsula reminder that this was on! What a great night, | managed to work these fine gentlemen, all on 40m. VK3ACU Jordan VK5PH Paul VK1TE/m Claude G4RWI/VK5 VK2DLF Nigel George I'm out of town for the next 2 Tuesdays Cheers but just like Arnie | will be back! & best 73 Tim VK3TBR [Woo hoo! From Good stuff Tim; Nic VK7WW catch you in a few weeks. / at Legana: Hi Mark, Gave couple of calls between 21:20 and 21:30 local time on 80m visitors from WA!) tuned the band too - not a sausage! (I have High static QRN average S/.. Hope your presentation goes well. 73, Nic VK7WW [Ah ha! | see the problem local time.... the 40m Nic! We didn’t slide over to 80m Prelude is from 0800 to 1100z. 40m, you would have heard all sorts of good again next week mate. ] From Phillip VK6GDEV at Dalyellup: until 10pm Had you listened on people - HI! Bad luck - try Hi Mark, Just the 1 this week, VK6IS Not to say | wasn't trying, but after calling CQ for five minutes on two occasions only to have the QSO stolen but another station, | threw my hands up in disgust and went back to ft8. | fear the net may be a little too large for beginners now. Phillip Jubb VK6DEV - Bunbury Western Australia vk6dev@gmail.com [Hi Phillip. Thanks for the report. Accidental hijacks are going to happen! Not everyone can hear everyone (noise levels vary considerably from station to station), and of course, with lots of beginners, it’s going to happen - hence my comment in the guidelines about no-one owning a frequency... smile and QSY, or wait it out and try again when they’ve finished. Some of our readers believe that on our net we should be encouraging the correct calling and jumping in protocols; however, I’m more concerned at giving new operators a go, and letting the etiquette develop with experience. Interesting comment about the net perhaps being too large for beginners. others’ thoughts about that; Interested in more of your thoughts, and that’s the last thing I’d want to see! The net should encourage new operators, by providing more experienced types to helo them have a go. Any other thoughts from our team about what we should do to not scare away new or rusty operators?] From Keiran VK3BTV Contacts at North Ringwood: with: e VK3XU on 7039. Drew is just up the road from me in Wonga Park, but | can't remember our last QSO - he must be CW, Higher Frequencies. | had him confused with another ham | knew from the Quiz years ago! e VK3ACU on 7031. Jordan is progressing in leaps and bounds, he puts in the hard yards and now | have to catch up with him again! e VK2KI on 7031. Another guy who is creeping up to 13-15 wpm. Next week, if I'm available I'll try to come up on 40m with my 1947 PMG straight key (SK). Let's see if anyone can tell the difference from the Brown Bros UTL Keyer? :) p.s. The 40m 18m option works well for me, Mark. My 80m dipole is less than long and my 40m the same Cheers, dipole is less than 9m end to end. They're fed from balun at 4.5m above the ground. Keiran [Thanks for your report Keiran. up about my sending speed! And in particular thank you for the headsThe aim of course Is to match the sender’s speed... but in the excitement sometimes | forget. In fact, my aim Is to not go more than 8 to 10wpm.... so that new operators who are listening get some practice at decoding real QSOs... so reprimand accepted! /'// sit in the corner for a while. ] From Brendan VK3BAP at Truganina: Hi Mark, Conditions seemed great from my QTH on Tuesday night and | managed two FB QSOs with lan VK5CZ and Dylan VK3AE on 40M. | had time to hoist the Rybakov last oo night and it worked a treat on 40M but on 80M ee Extend to 53-ft total Secure to tree for 80M-6M | didn't get any QSOs so with nylon line I'm yet to get my first on that band. My QTH is very QRM'ey on 80 and ~26-ft Radiator on a Jackite pole ( '40M-6M) ) whilst | heard my CQ on the WESECK 2018 Ironstone SDR, | suspect I'm a little deaf and some more work is needed. 4:1 UNUN | did manage to hear the mirror Groundor twins VK2IK and your good self Coax to Rig eee VK2KI at around 439. Also heard last night on 40M were VK3TBR, VK1TE/M, VK3AC, VK3KLE, VK2DLF, VK5PH, VK5/G4RWI and VK3ACU. 73, Brendan VK3BAP. [Thanks Brendan - terrific report. Most of us suffer from switch mode power supply noise on 80m - S9 + 10-20dB here - but tameable by using a <£100 noise canceller (discussed in previous RagChews) or front-end attenuator with or without the front-end preamp here. at my end. well on 40m; congratulations. about it sometime? via a 4:1 BALUN; From Not ideal - and work in progress From the big list of stations heard, your antenna seems to work Peter Perhaps a little article for a future RagChew Looks like a squid-pole inverted-L or short vertical fed am /right? VK3WOW | hadn't heard of it by that name until now.] at Blackburn: Hi Mark, Thanks very much. The FaceBook posts of the RagChew SLOW newsletter was posted on the VK CW Facebook group by Georg Goerge VK2DLF. Last night | listened in for some of the session and heard the following CW calls or conversations going on. A couple were presumably not related to this group, but most were. A delightfully busy sight on the display of my Icom 7300! 0916 7031.01 VK3TBR VK5PH 0921 7035.350 VK/G4RWI VK2KI 0926 7038.94 VK3BTV VK3XU 0937 7035.34 VK5CZ G4RWI/VK5 0942 7018 VK1CT VK3XU 0950 7031 VK2DLF G4RWI/VK5 1001 7034 VK3KLE VK3RU 1007 7037 VK2KI ???MK/P 1019 7022.8 VK3EST VK3KLE 1023 7031.1 VK2Kl VK3ACU 1032 3525.1 VK2WF 1037 3550 VK7KPC Hope I'll actually get on the air next week and have a go. It was good to listen and get a feel for how the group works. It’s a really excellent initiative, | think. I’m grateful for what you've done to set this up and keep with going! With best wishes, Peter Dann VK3WOW PS: I've never been in a WhatsApp ‘group’ before, so I’m unsure of etiquette there, and also of naming conventions. Several participants come up for me associated with callsigns. I’m not sure if there’s a special setting in WhatsApp to achieve that effect with a particular group, or if | change my identifier to include my callsign, everyone | ever contact on WhatsApp will see that (in which case, some of the people | chat to will be very confused indeed). [Sensational List Peter - congratulations, and thank you for sending your first report! Thank you also t oGeorge for the Facebook initiative - l’ve had many new responses from that. And yes, | watch the net on the Tecsun KiwiSDR at Araluen NSW and the VK6QS one at Brookton; the waterfall display full of parallel QRS CW QSOs. fabulous to see On WhatsApp, if each individual user goes into their settings, and changes their name details to show Name - callsign / think that should show up by default at the receiver’s end. However, for those who haven't (or like you use WhatsApp for other things), you can go into the Group and click right up the top where the names are listed - this takes you to the CQ QRS Group information.Scroll down and select each member one at a time and click on Info, then select Edit - and you should be able to add the callsign after their first name... hoy to me direct on WhatsApp if you need to know who’s who.] From Richard VKG6HRC at Padbury: Hi Mark Another very interesting net on Tuesday, conditions were very challenging with slow QSB. Tuesday’s Net Rather quiet to start with but after tuning up and down | started to hear activity but it was not strong enough for me to decode. Later on Peter VK6IS came up with a big signal and we exchanged headed reports before he off down the band and got busy. Eventually signals improved enough for me to start getting call signs on the peaks before QSB took over. Stations heard / worked on 40mx VK6IS : worked VK6FN VK6KHZ VK6WE_ Stations heard on 80mx: VK2KI worked VK6IS VK6JK VK6PZT VK2KI VK6BEK VK6PZT VK6BEK VK2TA VK2DLF Wednesday’s Network 2200z Post Morseum on the South West AllStar As you know the network was plagued with audio gremlins on Wednesday. Fortunately signals from the repeater were good and we kept it busy for a while. Good to hear Terry VK6LTC on with enquiries about the QRS net, hopefully joining in at some time. On the net this morning : VK6QI VK6FN VK6LD VK6LTC VK6KD VK6KRC VK6HRC Thanks 73 to all Richard VK6HRC [Another terrific report Richard - thank you. Yes, real world QSB Is a challenge.. nice that most of us now use WhatsApp to say cheers and beers (vino for Max) if we lose the other station before the end. the Post Morseum net - getting bigger each week. And thanks for And yes, Terry has now Joined our team - thank you for the referral. ] From Allen VK5FD at Blakeview: Hi Mark, Listened on 80 fairly late and worked you vk2ki 599. heard vk6fn 459 qsb, vk6pzt 459 qsb. | took a break and came back to close down and heard vk6pzt 569, vk3adx 589 before i switched off. net, | must try 40m Becoming a popular as well next time. Allen VK5FD [Thanks Allen. Nice to catch up with you on Tuesday. Yes the three hour 40m Prelude has become very popular - lots of people chatting away happily on QRS; there’s a lot of people interested in the QSO Practice net who just can’t get on 80m - so 40 seems to be working for them.] From Peter VK7KPC at Evandale: Hi Mark, Didn’t end up making any contacts on Tuesday. | intended using my Drew Diamond designed 40 and 80m 5W tx with the NRD 515 rx. Tried sending on 7.028 but didn’t hear any replies. Try again next week Cheers Peter VK7KPC [Hi Peter - | recall that on WhatsApp, one of our team Spotted you on 80m during the 40m period - so your TX was working there! There might be other reports too - we'll see. Now that you're on the WhatsApp ee —_— - CQ QRS Group, a solution is to Spot yourself on WhatsApp Nt ele when you're calling on 7028, so we know to tune below 7030. We did the same for your 3537(?) crystal a month or so ago and lan VK5CZ did that last night when he was calling on 7028. Bad luck mate, but there’s always next Tuesday! Diamond By the way, Drew VK3XU was on last night on 40m - worked Keiran. | still don’t have an email for him yet - I’m hoping we can invite him to join in every week; would have been nice for you to work him on the transmitter he designed. ] From Peter VK6IS at Wundowie: Hey Mark, last night was with - vk6hrc,, vk6khz,, vk6dev,, vk6pzt,, vk6bek,, vk6jk = Jeff,, vk6we = Daniel - the last two were tricky - as an unknown callsign - which brings up this thought bubble: - PSE QRS = Slow Down - AGN - PSE = Send Callsign Again - - use WX to signify that you wish to talk about Today's Weather. - use RIG to signify that you wish to talk about Your Station - end your over with an K & when completed a contact use K dot dot.. if new folks could remember, just those two items. . 73 Peter [Thanks Peter - good thoughts.] From John VKS5ET at Hope Valley: G'day Mark, hope all going well your way. Have been busy here with one thing or another. VK3ACU Did listen to the 40 mts session on Tuesday, with a VK1 station, heard tried to call the VK3 but no reply. The band was full of CW operators in your allocated frequencies. | stayed on for a short period as i had an early start next day helping out with a cull in the hills vineyards. bird The February cull occurs before the grapes are picked so i will be off air for the next 4 Tuesday nights, but may have a quick listen. Great to see the long list of operators on the net last Tuesday. 73's , John VK5ET [Thanks for your report John - and I’m reapply pleased that you could at lest have a quick listen. Hope you can do the same while you have the early calls. ] From Richard VK6PZT at Dalyellup: Five contacts for me on Tuesday Mark 1- VK6IS Peter 7032 khz 599 599 2- VK2KI khz 549 589 Mark 7032 3- VK3ADX new contact Merv on 7026 khz 559 579 4- VK6NT - Lin 3550 khz 599 579 5- VK2KI - Mark 3555 Heard VK5FD khz 549 359 on 80m also but | missed him by Enjoyed working 40m a whisker on my NVIS-height end fed antenna on a quarter wave ground but I’m working plane vertical for 40 m to try in a couple of weeks. Richard [Wow - the quarter wave vertical will be interesting; squid pole? From loaded or 10m tall Be interesting to compare noise levels as well.] Shaun VK6BEK at Quinns Rocks: Hi Mark, Worked Max VK6FN except noise on 40m and Peter VK6IS on 80m. Could not hear anything until 9om WST. | will not be on next Tuesday. Regards Shaun - VK6BEK [Hi Shaun. Strange that you didn’t hear anything on 40m; how’s your noise on that band compared to 8Om on your DX Commander antenna? Catch you the following week mate. ] From Max VK6EFN at Manjimup: Well, another week has gone so quickly. On Tuesday | was running several hours late after being called out (again!). Managed 80m Shaun to only work two Stn’s all night: started quietly. 6bek was RST 579 and | received RST 559. Thanks Shaun. Mark 2ki on 40 M was RST479 and | received RST 579. Nice contact. Been a while since we Cheer’s Max last had a contact. & Vino de 6fn [Thanks for your report Max - glad we could hook up again at last. ps Happy Birthday for Sunday too... but | promise not to tell anyone.... except those who will try to have a CW QSO with you on Sunday!] From Daniel Hello Mark, VK6WE at Cottesloe: | had an interesting time on Tuesday's net testing a straight key against the paddle on my KX3. There were good signals and | got responses to CQ calls obligingly matching my slow sending. | tried using a keyer salvaged from an old army field radio (made the KX3 paddle. by AWA | think) swapping back and forth to This turned out to be a poor strategy as once settled to the feel of one switching to the other resulted in lots of errors while readjusting! In the end | made three contacts on 40 metres; VK6IS, VK6PZT and VK6HRC. Thanks to these stations for sifting through Regards, my errors. Daniel VK6WE. From David VK3RU at Burwood: Hi Mark, As you might have noticed my sending skill is somewhat lacking but | do copy pretty well. | joined the net having noticed a post on facebook and thought, why not. | worked Paul VK3KLE a couple of weeks ago on CW and heard him calling CQ on Tuesday evening. Drew VK3XU Also heard you and my old mate who | have worked a few times on CW. You might see my comment on the FB page re last Tuesday. | must take the time to have a read through your newsletter and will endeavour to join in on Tuesday evenings whenever possible. certainly help improve my sending skill. BTW It will my vertical is pretty narrow BW on 80 but my OCFD works well on 40. Yes please add me to your newsletter feed and happy to join the WhatsApp group too. If its no issue | might forward your email/newsletter to a friend Martin VK3FG who like me is working on his sending skill. Cheers David VK3RU [Thanks David - and I’m pleased that you've joined the team. forward to hearing you on Tuesday nights. info to Martin; he’s joined us as well. | look And thank you for sending the I’ve been trying to find an email address for Drew who’s worked a few of our team during the nets, so! can send him the RagChew; no luck so far; anyone know Drew VK3XU'’s email address?] From me VK6QI at Bedfordale via the and the VK6QS VK6CRO SDR From this side of the country | counted course our listeners. at Brookton, Remote the VK6SR Remote at Carnarvon: 18 stations on on Tuesday, plus of 40m Prelude Our brand new team member Dylan VK3AE at Ballarat kicked off the evening with a huge RST 599 signal to me at Beautiful South Bowning; good to meet you on air Dylan, and thanks to George VK2AOE for the YouTube videos that Dylan saw and tracked us down. Next up was Paul VK3KLE at Stawell with a nice RST 599 from his new Drake TR3 restoration project. Despite his restoration work still underway, the Drake sounds superb however it still needs a Fe. ES I Group to QSY up the band when | fired-up 1kHz up the band; we | Dae e nV CQ QRS | Dat bee | = ee be BC eC bee Rwtcwlcw’, \ -~ nicely via our WhatsApp c narrow filter... Paul asked me very te on air; I’m enjoying my Kenwood TS-50’s narrow CW filter (lower noise (ie better S/N ratio) and much less QRM) that | put in a few months ago - forgetting that 1kHz just ain’t enough for wider receivers! On the Tecsun SDR at Araluen NSW, | heard Claude VK1TE/m - apparently recovered from his unwellness operating from his driveway at Pearce chatting to Dylan; Claude and | then exchanged on to chat to Jordan VK3ACU shitty week and joined us for some to Tim VK3TBR at Horsham RST 579s while Paul went at Meredith who had decided to give up on his relaxation. | also heard Claude chatting while | went on to chat to our other new team member VK/G4RWI who's 10 Watts was a respectable RST 589 to me and 579 SDR into the VK6QS at Brookton. From the WhatsApp feed | could see another of our new team Peter VK3WOW to listen in. at Blackburn who'd On the Tecsun SDR | heard Drew VK3XU chatting to Keiran VK3BTV members, negotiated a change of Tuesday routine at Wonga just down the road at Ringwood Park North. In parallel | heard Tim chatting to Jordan, who went on to chat to Georg VK2DLF at St Marys, then Paul worked David VK3RU at Burwood. Just after 1000z, the band finally struggled to open toward scraped poolside. made Broome and | in an RST exchange through the QSB with Stuart VK6MK/p | then chatted to Jordan who confirmed that the CW had in fact him feel better - woo hoo! | worked lan VK7TA from Latrobe who joined us after chatting to Keiran last week; that QSO was followed by a chat to Keiran before Richard VK6PZT at Dalyellup risked the QSB to have a chat with me at around 1100z; the QSB took signals from RST 379 to 589 - lots of fun riding the waves. 80m Finale Richard and | finished see what was what. and on 40m around 1120 and First uo my complement | then slid down to 80m to Paul VK2IK up at Moss Vale | bent each- others’ S-meters before Max VK6FN at Manjimup and | had a chat; to hear. great Max up well past his bed- time to give 80m a go. After Max | chatted to Allen VK5FD at Blakeview who had just returned from the Elizabeth ARC meeting. Meanwhile on the Tecsun SDR | could hear Merv VK3ADX at Ballarat chatting to Paul at Stawell. Richard VK6PZT and | then had a go on 80m - he was RST 359, again with the QSB taking him up to a nice Q5. | then caught up with Merv before rounding out the night with a late night-cap with Chris VK2NAP at Marrickville; just too far for Near Vertical Incidence Skywave, we both struggled with the QSB, but still managed to exchange the important bits. Also From me, VK2KI Extended Zepp at Araluen NSW: at Bowning antenna from using home my TS-50 and From the West | heard 13 stations using the VK6QS the get-go | heard Richard VK6HRC at Padbury on 40m Double- and also using the Tecsun SDR at Brookton. SDR From calling CQ from the monitoring station before he hooked up with Peter VK6IS at Wundowie. Next | heard Peter chatting to Daniel VK6WE at Cottesloe, then Jeff VK6JK near Gwellup. Some time later | noticed Drew VK3XU, VK3ACU, Georg VK2DLF, Clare coming Keiran VK3BTV, Tim VK3TBR, Jordan Brendan VK3BAP at Truganina and lan VK5CZ at in nicely to the VK6QS SDR. | got too self-involved over East, and didn’t get to listen to the SDR until after 1200z when VK6PZT and Lin VK6NT at Hamersley having a chat. watching the SDR, but didn’t notice much | heard Richard After that | was in the way of activity, apart from the East-siders coming through as the ALF dropped. So not as much 40m activity in the West as we’ve been used to - | wunder if the prelude isn’t as popular in WA as over East? CQ QRS WhatsApp Traffic from the CQ QRS In addition to the CQ QRS WhatsApp members Another dilemma! Feed WhatsApp Group. group being used to Spot team and other QRS opportunities both during and outside the Tuesday net, it’s become a favourite chat area for all sorts of topics and shared projects among its 28 members. Shared by team members. And here’s some of the recent images Tuli rey Ve a dota het bet be be be ba bs be a SS BS BS BEES BS NES ee ee Se CL pe LN : a 09 % Ad 4 oo te \UTO a : ere eeC KEYE ewR oor ave) a Please let me know if you’d like to be in the WhatsApp group - I'd really like all of our net participants to join in the fun mark.bosma@icloud.com And by the way, I’m still looking for a volunteer or two to help copy/paste or Summarise the WhatsApp feed and photos to a file, for me to import into the RagChew newsletter each week. Please let me know if you’d like to help. Other Other things CQ QRS I’ve received International Morse Code News from our 125-odd Day Quiz - April readers. 27th. The CQ QRS net team will be hosting the third International Morse Code Day Quiz on April 27th, the birthday of Samuel Morse. This event will be conducted ae s 3 CQ ee ‘ ne — Quiz 4 videoconference over the Internet, starting at 0845z. International Morse Code D i The quiz will definitely not be a serious affair; Tt?) oe ee eSid by Richard VK6PZT via a Zoom once again, having fun and enjoying the get-together oa. will be the order of the day. Doesn’t matter whether you’re an expert Morsecodian ora beginner in the fine art of CW... you’ll have fun. To obtain log-in details for the Zoom event, please email to our host, Richard VK6PZT at cggrsnet@gmail.com Max’s beforehand. Birthday Shhh... don’t tell anyone, Birthday Max. Would but it’s Max VK6FN’s birthday on Sunday. Happy anyone like to help our mate celebrate by having a nice CW amble with him? Group? Let’s coordinate it via our WhatsApp CQ QRS Unfortunately I'll be on a train heading for an Australian Chamber Orchestra (my favorite) concert up at the Opera House - alors je suis désolé, mais no CW pour mois. From our new member Peter VK3WOW at Blackburn: Hi Mark, I’m a 73 year old who’s just got back into ham forty year absence. detailed posting on the VK Slow CW Rag Chew. Sounds radio (and CW) after a nearly It was quite a revelation to me to see the extremely Facebook group today about the QRS like I’m going to need to explain to my wife why Tuesday nights may no longer a good night for us to watch TV together... Can you please add me to your mailing list (| get the impression from the post that there is one) and also to the WhatsApp group? Hope to get a chance soon to listen in to some of this action, and then hopefully to join in as best | can. Have a pretty limited set-up here, unfortunately — doublet antenna inside the roof cavity of a single story house, and a ton of noise — but | should be able to make some contacts. With best wishes, Peter Dann VK3WOW [Hi Peter. Great to hear from you, and thanks to Georg started posting the RagChews on Facebook. VK2DLF who has Well from your comments on the CQ QRS WhatsApp group and your terrific report from Tuesday, it looks like a. you were successful in your negotiation about Tuesday nights, and b. your ceiling doublet is working really well! Welcome aboard mate.] From Nigel G4RWI currently touring Cape Yorke Peninsula: Hi Mark Firstly just wanted to say big thank you for admitting me to your group and the very warm welcome from you and other members. It’s very interesting to see this initiative, as CW in the northern hemisphere, is gaining a lot of popularity but the frustration is the same. The bands can be full of people rattling along at insane speeds (computer generated or not). This is a major discouragement to anyone starting out, or frankly not capable of working at these speeds. Tends to lead to people giving up before they've started! | am a volunteer at the National Radio Centre, which is at Bletchley Park (WW2 centre for code breaking) Radio Society of Great Britain nationalradiocentre.com role radio amateurs There are about 40 volunteers who explain the had during WW2 in the interception of Enigma messages that were being sent via CW. We also explain Amateur radio and demonstrate it using a pretty well equipped equipment, all donated!). radio station (over $100,000 of By the way, any visitor with a valid amateur radio licence is welcome to operate the station. Might be of interest to any of your group who visit the UK. | mention this, as the volunteers have been running QRS Morse sessions for a few years, and like you we have a WhatsApp group for coordinating things. | noted you mentioned the suggestion of splitting your group. We addressed this issue by creating a WhatsApp community. This provides an “umbrella” for all the WhatsApp groups that NRC volunteers might be interested in. It stops any one group getting swamped by messages that might be off topic for the majority. You are welcome to join this group via the link below to take a look at what’s going on. It’s not restricted to NRC volunteers. set WhatsApp | think you have to communities from the phone app, not the computer app National Radio Centre chat.whatsapp.com The challenge for all of us starting in CW, or getting back into it, is having the confidence to get on the air. Not my own thoughts, “People think they need to be proficient at CW but the maxim before going on the air, whereas the truth is, to be proficient at CW you need to get on the air” is very true On the VK/G4RWI callsign! It does make sense, as there is a hierarchy implied VK - Country you are in G - country your licence is from 4 - Class of licence (full) RWI - me Doing it the other way round in Europe would G4RWI/P am be very confusing! If | used | portable in the UK or a UK station operating in Poland? But | agree it confuses the brain when you hear VK (something you guys are expecting ) suddenly followed by DN (/). I’m going to try G4RWI/VK5 (number changing as | move) - at least people will get a moment of excitement when they think they are being heard 12,000 miles away! Anyway thanks for letting me join you guys 73 Nigel. [Hi Nigel. Thank you for the terrific email - well thought-out, interesting and useful - in particular the WhatsApp question; I’m interested to see others’ thoughts on that as well. / started our little net 2-1/2 years ago to do exactly that - encourage new operators to have a go - somewhere safe where they're not going to be hit by DX stations or people who refuse to (or can’t) QRS... we’ve had many first-time QSOs on the net, and we’ve provided an opportunity for many rusty operators to get back into it.... and most importantly, have fun. I’m astounded at how popular the net is - to have over 130 subscribers to our newsletter amazes me, as does having three dozen people come up on a Tuesday evening on CW. Thanks for the information about Bletchley Park; an Aussie amateur | know visited Bletchley Park a couple of years ago and was made very welcome. Elizabeth and | have just finished reading The Turing Guide (we read aloud to each-other to share the pleasure); very interesting - there’s some very clever people around, that’s for sure! Great to work you on Tuesday; and / hope you'll join us everywhere you go while touring]. From Merv VK3ADxX at Ballarat: Thanks Mark, your efforts are appreciated. [My pleasure Merv - and thank you for your support.] From Louis VK6OI at Kalgoorlie: Hi Mark Thank you for putting the rag chew together .. great read. Please add me to the QRS group on WhatsApp. key .. I’ve done the hard bit ... serviced the Morse bearings and things everywhere .. made up the connection to the radio ... and it goes didly didly ... I've got the key plugged in ... the Q Code in large print ... maybe ... maybe Cheers ... De...Lewie ..60i. Dah-di-dah [Holy dooley! From The wonders never cease!!] Dylan VK3AE from Ballarat: Hi Mark , Thanks for adding me to the group. | heard about theQRS net from watching a YouTube video from George VK2AOE that he recently put out; up until then | thought Fists Down Under was the only way to encourage new CW operators, so I'm looking forward to being encouraged encouraging others to continue using this wonderful and mode. Thanks again mate. Dylan [Great to work you on Tuesday Dylan - welcome. Yes, George’s YouTube videos have been terrific for our Group - thanks George. ] From Matt VK4MKV at Cairns: Hi Mark, I've just come across your contact details on the post from George VK2DLF on the VK slow CW facebook group. | did some more searching and found the WIA news post from September last year. I'm in the process of learning Morse but don't currently have a way of getting on the HF bands other than a 5 watt 40M QCX mini. Despite this I'd love to sign up to the newsletter and if possible an invite to the WhatsApp group just to start getting familiar with the scene and help with my Web SDR listening. Hopefully catch you on the air too. Cheers, Matt VK4MKV [Hi Matt. Welcome to the CQ QRS Team. | hope you'll be able to use the WhatsApp posts during the net in combination with one of the KiwiSDRs around the country to listen in.. and when conditions are right, callin. If you have a reasonable antenna, you should have luck with 5 Watts on CW when the band is open. If you end up only receiving on Tuesdays, still send me a list of who you heard for the RagChew newsletter please. Now... how do we encourage more Queenslanders to join? Are you in any of the Clubs there that might be able to point interested people in our direction perhaps? Cheers and thanks to George for posting the RagChew on the Facebook page.] From Richard VKG6HRC at Padbury: Hi Mark Just an note from me. | have a DMR node running on a Raspberry Pi Zero where | mostly monitor Talk Group 505 the calling channel. Generally I’ve not heard much but managed Peninsula this morning. to catch up with Nigel G4RWI out on the Eyre | was happy to hear he is traveling well and is still going to get on the QRS net when he can. Cheers Richard [Thanks Richard. ] > Brain Teaser How did you go? Jules Perrin JP VK3JFP has created a terrific resource to help guide learning for all levels of amateur radio licenses: httos://www.julesworkshop.net/Amateur%20Radio.html! This week’s quiz questions from Jules’ Workshop example test questions DC circuits are polarity critical. What does this mean? The ratio of the collector current Ic to the base current Ib of a transistor is called resistance gain voltage gain e power gain current gain When tuning a mobile antenna the test instrument being used to measure the amount of RF radiated is a: e Transmitting noise bridge e antenna ; impedance Saas meter e field strength meter digital frequency meter The maximum antenna Test ae Jstrtiment ee By pS permissible output power of a 14.2 MHz amateur transmission with single sideband voice emission is: (a) 400 watts (PEP) (b) 400 watts (mean) (c) 120 watts (mean) (d) 120 watts (PEP) Answers next week. Answers from last week’s Quiz: What is the opposition to electron flow called and what unit is it measured in? Answer: Resistance measured in Ohms. The input impedance of a Field Effect Transistor (FET) is e very high e very low e current dependant e voltage dependant Answer: very high The depth of modulation of a transmitter may easily be monitored by means of an oscilloscope. The following displays, from left to right, show approximate modulation percentages of: fe feo Answer: 30% ee Ge 100% 0% 100% over 100% 30% 100% over 100% Ken ad 80% 0% -10% 60% 0% 10% over 100% What is the maximum peak envelope power an Advanced may use on the band 144.0 MHz - 148.0 MHz? station operator (a) 30 watts (b) 400 watts (c) 120 watts (d) 10 watts Answer: (6) 400 Watts How did you go? Tuesday’s CQ QRS Net Reminder. Teamwork Thank you so much to our outstanding team of 24 contributors (some submitted several articles too) this week! Thanks to: VK2TER, VK6JK, VK3ACU, VK3TBR, VK7WW, VK6DEV, VK3BTV, VK3BAP, VK3WOW, VK6HRC, VK5FD, VK6KPV, VK6IS, VK5ET, VK6PZT, VK6BEK, VK6FN, VK6WE, VK3RU, G4RWI, VK3ADX, VK6OI, VK3AE thoughts of the team the 130-odd and VK4MKV. (perhaps 130-plus would So back to the Slow CW QSO Next Tuesday’s Thank you team - it’s the plus the photos that makes RagChew so interesting to be safer) subscribers. practice net. Net Our CQ QRS Net will be on as always on Tuesday from around 0800z; see below for details. Doesn’t matter whether you're brand new and want to try just exchanging callsigns and RST reports, or you're ready for a good old rag chew. We'll have fun. dah-di-di-di-dah For those who | work on Tuesday night, please accept my apologies in advance for the pauses, repeated dah-di-di-di-dahs etc during our QSO, while | attempt to pick up and log callsigns that | hear on the SDRs and sending WhatsApp Reports notes, etc. - please don’t reply to the RagChew Please let me know by email to hear on Tuesday’s net. email mark.bosma@icloud.com who you work or The reports are important - because during the net, | can only attempt poorly to listen-in and log QSOs while having QSOs myself - so | really want your comments each week to make our RagChew newsletter interesting. Also send me anything for the RagChew newsletter that you think might be of interest to our group. And by the way, when you send reports material to me, please address it to mark.bosma@icloud.com email; depending rather than replying to the RagChew newsletter on your email application, sometimes what | get is either unreadable by my iMac Apple Mail application, or attachments don’t come through; if nothing else, any attachments are right down the end of the email... and if | don’t happen to scroll all the way to the bottom, I'll miss your pearls of wisdom... and that’d be bad n’kay! Post Morsum And for those who are within earshot of an AllStar node, Richard VK6HRC will run our Post Morsum on the South West AllStar net (via repeaters and hotspots all over WA) from 0600 WA time. If you’re in WA, all you need is an FM 2m or 70cm transceiver and an AllStar node nearby. If you’re elsewhere, you may be able to connect your local AllStar-enabled to the net, or you have a listen via Echolink. mark.bosma@icloud.com ) if | can help with that. CQ QRS can WhatsApp Let me know repeater ( Group We've now got a good bunch on our CQ QRS WhatsApp now) who have fun exchanging alerts and comments also spot QRS stations on at other times. Group (28 members during the net, and If you’re not already in the Group, I'd really like you to join in on the Group if possible. Please let Stuart VK6MK stujen55@gmail.com or me mark.bosma@icloud.com know your mobile phone number, and we'll add you to the group. €Y CW on Tuesday, 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! SRS Se About the CQ Here’s New Extended 40m the QRS Net details. Prelude The team will be on again for our usual Tuesday arvo / evening Practice QSO Net. CQ QRS 1600 - 2100+ WA time, Summer time. Eastern e 1830 until about - 2330+ 1300z+. SA Summer This translates to time and 1900 - 2400+ For the first three hours (0800z to about 1100z) we’ll be on 40m from 7030kHz e will start at 0800z to 7040kHz. For the last two hours (around 3540kHz 1100z to 13002), we'll be on 80m from to 3570kHz. So tune around and call anyone you hear, or find yourself a quiet spot in the designated 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). Landing Zone If the band goes really quiet, call and listen on 7032kHz or 3555kHz. catch someone, there’s no need to QSY - enjoy the frequency. forget to tune around If you But don’t if it’s quiet - we have lots of operators with crystal locked transmitters - and they could be anywhere within the segments. For those who are locked, or can only transmit outside the segments, send a message on our WhatsApp CQ QRS group advising of your current frequency. Speed If you’re proficient at CW and can race along at 20 or 30wpm - terrific, but please remember, the net’s aim is to encourage, not show how fast you can hammer the key. Please send slowly where you can and concentrate on rhythm - listen to your side-tone, get that wrist action going and make a special effort to make it sound like perfect CW; net, the more | understand just how many the longer we go with our non-transmitting have - and they will most likely appreciate your QRS! listeners we So, if you’re an experienced operator, please try to send nicely balanced slow CW to give them a chance to practice and gain confidence.... they’ll reward you one day by coming up on air to say g’day and thanks - how good is that? And if you're new or like me, just rusty.... ignore the above... just have a go - the lather of sweat will be worth it and there’s plenty of time to get the details sorted out as you practice. Matching And also for the oldies like me, when you hear someone their sending speed - or slower. new, please match 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! PSE QRS And if someone is sending too fast to comfortably copy - “PSE RPT PSE QRS” or “AGN? PSE QRS” will make 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. Whose frequency is this anyway? 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 off - jump in and call - doesn’t matter who was first on the frequency - we really are all good mates on this net.... and besides, at the speed we’re sending, after a QSO most of us will have forgotten who was first! 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. CW Tips As always, for newbies, operating suggestions are available from the operating hints link here: https://www.parg.org.au/ files/ugd/ebe236_ 3ca5ca08bb38429db4eee524b da2f97a.pdf. There's usually people around until after 1300z - 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. mb VK2KI / VK6QI The opinions expressed The opinions Send in the RagChew do not necessarily comments newsletter are those of the individual contributors. reflect that of the editor or of the CQ about the RagChew Copyright (C) 2024 QRS Group members. Newsletter. CQ QRS. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe gf INTUIT mailchimp