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RagChew

Edition 25/2024

Excellent

Reports

e To Plan or Not to Plan
e The

lonosphere

Everyone’s

Cleaning

Launch

Reminder for 25Jun24

of PingPong

their WT

8AMP

Keys!

CW
CQ QRS

Net

Looks like we had a good turn-out of stations on Tuesday night again... and
most reported having a terrific night of QRS fun.

Thank you to those who

submitted the reports you'll see below - | really enjoy reading your
comments

and | know others do as well - so thank you all for being there

and for your comments.
This week Elizabeth and | were on holiday at a nice resort on the Murray
River West of Albury at a spot called Yarrawonga

on Lake Mulwala

(the

locals pronounce the first a as a hard sound (ie mul-whale-a) - we’ve been
here three times before and always enjoy the place.

However,

as | note

below in my report, we travelled here by public transport carrying
backpacks - so no radio gear.... just Elizabeth’s nice MacBook computer so
| could put this newsletter together.

Last Tuesday’s
Here’s this week’s

Net
list of the 40 stations

heard:

RSS

CQQRS

Team

Qso2

Qso3

VK1HF

VK2ASB

VK2EBN

VK3XU

VK3CGB

VKSIP

VK6KHZ
VK6JDM

VK6IS
VK6HRC

VK6PVK

VK6AAV

VK6RR

VK7TA

VK3ACU

VK5A0

VK2EBN
VK2DLF

VK2GAS

ZLIAJY

VK2RH

VK2DLF

VK3DRQ

ZL2GD

VK2RH 40m cont

VK2ASB
ZLIAJY
VK2GAS

VK2RH 80m

VKS5CZ

Member

qso1

qsos

Qso6

Qso7

Qso8

VK2DLF

VK2GAS

VK2TM

VK2RS

VK3ACU

VK6KHZ

VK/MONNK

ZL1PB

ZL2GD

VKSKFG

VK5CZ

VK6IS

VK7KD

ZL4BDG

VKSFD

VK2AOE

ZL4BDG

ZL2GD

VK5SAO

ZLIAJY
VK6NT

VK2DLF
VK3RU

VK3ACU
ZL3TK

VK2A0E
VKSKFG

VK3DRQ
VKSFD

VK5AO
ZL3TK

VK4DRK
VK5CZ

ZL4BDG

VK7KPC

VK2ASB

VK6NT

VK2ASB

VK3DRQ

VK3ACU

VK2DLF

VK2GAS

ZL3TK

{insert CQ or Listening if no QSOs)

DL3YZ 40m
DL3YZ

40m cont

qso4

G4RWI 40m

VK6/MONNK 4om
VK6/MONNK gom
VK1HF 40m

Heard on air.

VK1KVS 40m
VK1PWE 40m
VK1TE/m 4om
VK1TE/m som
VK1WA 40m

VK1ZDJ 40m
VK2A0E 40m
VK2ASB 40m
VK2ASB som
VK2BHO

Heard on Air.
VK2RH
VK3ADX

VK2CL/m

VK2COS
VK2DLF 40m
VK2EBN 40m
VK2EMU 80m
VK2GAS 40m
VK2GAZ 40m
VK2GAZ g0m
VK2IK 40m
VK2IK 80m

VK2IOW 4om
VK2IOW som
VK2KI 40m
VK2KI 80m

VK2KJJ 40m
VK2NAP
VK2NV
VK2NNW 4om
VK2NNW z0m

VK2RH 40m
VK2RH 40m cont

VK2RU 40m

VK2TER 40m
VK2WF
VK2WP 40m

VK3ACU 40m
VK3ACU som
VK3ADX 40m
VK3ADX som

ZL2GD
Heard on Air.

VK3AE 40m

VK3BAP 40m
VK3BAP

40m cont

VK2AOE
VK4DRK

VK3BTV 40m
VK3BTV 80m

VK3BU
VK3BWN 4om
VK3BWN som
VK3BYD 40m
VK3BYD som
VK3CLD/p
VK3CTM 4om
VK3CTM som

VK3DBD 40m
VK3DBD som
VK3DPH
VK3DRQ40m

VK2AOE

VK3RU

VK3FG 40m

VK3KLE 40m
VK3KLE 80m
VK3KO
VK3RU 40m

VK3DRQ

VK3TBR 40m
VK3VMM 4om
VK3WOW
VK4ALE 40m
VK4DRK 40m

Sc
ZL3TK

VK4JM 40m

VK4MFX
VK1CT

VK2GAS

VK2DLF

VK1HF

VK2ASB

VK2EBN

ZL3TK

VK5A0

VKSCZ

VK6NT

VK6KHZ

VK1HF

VK3ACU

ZL2GD

VK/MONNK

VK6HRCs0m
VK6IR

VK6JDM

VK/MONNK

VK6IS 40m

VK6KHZ

VK3KLE

VK3ASB

VK4DAR

VK6/MONNK)

VK6NT

VK6HRC

VK6ENT

VK5CZ

VK2ASB

VK3TBK

VKSFD

VK2EP

VK5CQ

VK3ADZ

VK3DRQ

VK7TA

VKS5AO 40m

VK2ASB

ZL3TK

VK2ASB

VK6KD

VK6ENT
ZL2GD

VK2ASB

VKSAW 80m

VKSAYL
VK5CT 80m
VK5CZ 40m
VK5CZ 30m
VKS5ET 40m
VKSET 40m
VKSET 80m

VKSFA
VK5FD 40m
VK5FD 80m

VK3ACU

VK3DRQ

VK4DRK

VK2ASB

VK6NT

VK/MONN

VKSHAA 80m
VKSIS 40m
VKSKFG 4om

VKSKFG som
VK5LA 40m
VK5PH 40m

Heard on Air.

VK5PL 40m

VKSQA
VK6AAV 4om

VK6BEK 40m
VK6BEK g0m
VK6CK
VK6DEV 40m
VK6DV

Heard on Air.

VK3ADX

VK6FN 40m
VK6FN 80m

VK6GAL 40m
VK6HD 40m

VK6HRC40m
VK6HRC 40m cont

VK6IS som

VK6JDM 40m
VK6JDM som
VK6JK
VK6KD/p 40m
VK6KD/p 30m
VK6KHZ 40m
VK6KHZ som
VK6KQ
VK6LD

Heard on air.

VK6MK 40m
VK6MK 80m

VK6MU 40m
VK6NC
VK6NT 40m
VK6NT 80m

Heard on Air.

VK6NW 40m

VK6PZT 40m
VK6PZT 80m
VK6QI 40m
VK6QI 40m cont

VK6JDM

VK6NT

VKSPH
VK2DSF

VK/MONNK
ZLA4B??

VK6KHZ
VK6AAV

VK4DX

VK2ASB

VK3ACU

VK7KPC40m
VK7KPC 80m

ZLATE

VK3ACU

ZL4BDG

VK3ACU

ZL2BDG

VK2DLF

VK7TA 40m

VK2ASB

VKSPH

VK6RR

ZL4BDG

VK3ACU

VK6QI 80m
VK6RC 40m
VK6RR 4om
VK6RR 40m cont

VK6TY
VK6XC 40m
VK6XC 80m

VK6XU
VK6VZ 40m
VK6WE 40m
VK6WE 80m

VK6YV

VK7TA

40m cont

VK7WW
VK7WW

4om

4om cont

VK7WW

VK7ZA

som

ZLIAJY

Heard on Air.

ZLIANY

ZLIHJ 40m

ZL1PB 40m

Heard on air.

ZL1PX 40m
ZL2GD 40m

VK1HF

VK3ACU

ZLIAJY

VK2GAS

VK3AUC

VK1HF

ZL4BDG | VK2GAS

ZL2GD 40m cont

VK2DLF

ZLIAJY

VK2DLF

ZL4BDG

VK7KPS

ZLATE

VK5A0

ZL2GD som

VK1CT

VK2ASB

ZL3TK 40m

VK4DRK

VK5AO

VKSKFG

VK6NT

VK1CT

VK2ASB |

VK2DLF | VK2EBN

ZL3TK 40m cont

VK2GAS

VK2RH

VK2TM

VK3ADX

VK5SFB

VKSIP

VK6HRC

ZL3TK 40m cont

ZL4BDG

VK2DLF

VK3ACU

ZL2GD

ZL3TK

VK6IS

40m cont

ZL3TK 80m

ZL4BDG 40m
ZLATE 40m

VK2GAS
VK7KPC

Reports
After next Tuesday’s net, please send me a

list of who you worked and / or

who you heard using our new web form here:
bit. ly/COQORSNET

Getting reports from stations and
listeners is important to me - even if
you listened and didn’t hear anyone
or weren't able to copy anything the fact that you had a go needs to
get recorded so we know that the
net is working and attracting new
and old team

members to have a

go.
Thanks again to Nigel G4RWI

for building the Google Form, the Python

software back-end that does the processing, the new link and the QR code.
And a special thanks to Armin VK2GAS for letting me know well before the
net on Tuesday that the Form wasn’t working - phew!

New

Team

Welcome

Members

this week to Peter VK6AIF

at Noranda

and

lan VK4IAN

Brisbane.

lan heard about our net on the VK6 news broadcast on Sunday morning,
and has learning the Morse Code on his radar;

so hopefully we'll start

getting receive reports from Peter, and before long we’ll hear him on air
having some QRS fun himself;
(we have a

we’ve had many First CW QSOs on our net

little award for them) so hopefully Peter will be there soon too.

lan joined in on our net last week - working Greg VK5KFG
Great to have you in our team
Masthead

lan.

Image

Sunset over Lake Mulwala at Yarrawonga

Cheers,
mb
Mark Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning

NSW

NSW.

at Willunga.

mark.bosma@icloud.com
non impediti ratione cogitationis

Reports

& Comments

The spreadsheets above show the known stations on last Tuesday’s net.
Comments

from the reports I’ve received are below:

From Ben ZL4BDG

at Upper Hutt

[40m]
« Some weird propagation early on in wellington
« ZL3TK gave me a 311 via email!

First couple of QSOs with a

straight key,
then on to a paddle to save people the pain :)
[Glad you could make it on again Ben.]

From Grant ZL2GD

at Oxford, North Canterbury

[40m]
¢ a bit noisy tomight and local signals were well down

From Ross VK/MONNK

at Exeter UK via the VK6SR

on usual.

Remote

in Perth

WA
[40m]
¢ | was sitting at home

in the UK but working the VK6SR

remote radio

in Perth
WA and using the callsign VK/MONNK
« This caused some understandable confusion - four out of my five
contacts
got my callsign wrong
¢ But | was delighted to work these guys
¢ Nice and slow; nice and clear; very few mistakes
[80m]
¢ Had my first ever QSO on 80m with Donald
¢ Thanks,

in Esperance

Donald

¢ Also worked

Rich VK6HRC

¢ | heard him with some

light QSB,

so | don't think he heard much

but he was experiencing

bad QSB

of what | sent

¢ This has been my biggest session on amateur radio by far - what a
morning!
[| was really pleased to hear you on using the Southern Electronics Group
Remote near Perth Ross;

welcome to a world of back-to-back QRS QSOs

and rag-chews should you choose... and should your CW capacity allow.
The team will quickly get used to your odd VK/MO0 callsign as Nigel G4RWI
found after a couple of week on air here.
Now you'll need to twist Mike DL3YZ’s arm to join in on transmit too! And
thank you to Ron

VK6KHZ for sowing the seed of an idea for you both to

Join in.
Meanwhile, here’s a couple of images of Ross’ normal means of on-air
operation. ]

Ross’ normal mode of operation - using a mag
mount on the car roof a a counterpoise for the
coil and mil whip antenna.

From

lan VK5CZ

at Clare

[40m]
¢ Sorry | had to apply some tough love to one of my mates for
running his CW together confusing those he was trying to QSO with me included
e Apart from that good night
e Regards lan VK5CZ

From

Roy VKO6RR at Geraldton WA

[40m]
¢ Good to hear quite a lot on 40m,

seemed

to be occasional deep

QSB

From

Brendan

VK3BAP

at Truganina

[40m]
¢ It's been a while since | had the chance to listen to the QRS Net
e | had a bit of free time for a listen on 40M

but things were too busy

at my

end for a QSO
¢ Great to still hear so much

activity on the band on a weeknight

e My keys have been getting rusty from lack of use so I'll need to get
them
back on the air soon
¢ Speaking of rusty keys, I've pulled apart my WT 8 Amp

No 2 to give

it good
clean and polish so | hope to have it back on the air soon.

|'ll send some

before- and

after- photos once It's reassembled

which will give the

purists time to sharpen their
pitchforks!
[Great to hear you made it back on
Brendan;

| was beginning to worry

that you didn’t love us any more!

good haul of signals in your net this
week too - well done, depite the
local distractions.

Looks like you

weren't the only one disassembling
WT8 Amp No2 keys.... see later.

look forward to your report and
images for a future edition.]

From Donald

VK6JDM

at Esperance WA

[80m]
¢ Trying a new configuration of CW generation in the 80 metre radio
« It needs refining as it has a backwave

but it now puts out about 80

watts
on CW
«| am

revising the 40 metre Tx beast but when finished it will put out

1O00W
on CW
¢« My 40 metre Rx is the first serious radio | built and is still a very
nice
radio to use, it has Collins filters including a narrow CW filter which is
great for rejecting most of the noise either side of the received
station
¢ So in the near future | will join the net on 40
¢ | lost Richard VK6HRC

in the noise after a good start

« MONNK

using a VK6 remote was a good copy

¢ VK6FN

said he would

pop up but | did not hear him - probably due

to his
antenna

being too close to the ground, or it could be hurt pride as |

have
told him | am putting up a taller antenna than his one
* VK6KRC

must have been there but was buried in the noise as so

often happens with the elusive Bob
¢ | did not hear VK6OI so | will have to pay him a visit when

| am in

Kalgoorlie next
* We can't have people saying they will join the net and then not
fronting up
can we?
¢ Shut the station down

at 1030 UTC as the brain refused to decode

any more CW
[Terrific report - thank you Donald.
Yes | heard what you called the “backwave” on your transmission;
level carrier.

low-

| think I'd heard something similar before, but that may have

been a carrier on your opposite sideband on key-down.

| have a feeling

you're using your home brew SSB transmitter keyed with audio - perhaps if
you are using a balanced modulator,

what | heard sounded like the balance

Just wasn’t guite right - and carrier was sneaking through?
Isn’t that wonderful - the RX you built being a joy to use.

And with the

serious noise on 40m and 80m, and the congestion our net is causing on
40m

(wonderful eh?), your narrow CW filter will be doing wonders.

Max had a note from his mother....

but as for Bob KRC and the elusive

Louts... ]

From Jordan VK3ACU

at Meredith

[40m]

Running 20 Watts tonight
made a few contacts but got
called away early

Looking forward to next week
thanks everyone for coming

[Thanks for squeezing in a hand-full
of QSOs mate.

| see you snuck

across the border into Tassy last
week before anyone noticed.

Did

you find out why the VK7s have
such good signals into Australia?

From Stan ZL3TK at Waitarere Beach
[40m]
e Had fewer but longer QSOs this week
e All four 'Today in History’ messages were sent, and each resulted in
constructive discussion
e Learner operators were observed wisely using generous amounts of
Farnsworth

(can there ever be too much?)

hearing some who maybe
developed

Unfortunately we're

have always sent faster but have also

bad habits, and those who have come

up through the

ranks and now send faster but need to retake control of their spacing
and character formation
¢ Three stations were practically unreadable on 18 June because of
bad
sending, setting a very poor example
¢ Dashes are NOT meant to be the same

length as dots

e In the same way shyness needed to be cast aside to use PSE QRS
without
embarrassment,

so bad senders should be asked to insert proper

Spacing, etc, else no one learns and everyone will just continue to
suffer slack sending
e Such requests usually need to be issued numerous times
e It's a disappointing trait, but after a few minutes of improved
sending,
most slack operators will revert-to-type before the QSO

has finished

e Make several recordings and listen critically to yourself, then ask,
‘how
do | really sound?’

¢ It's a disappointing trait, but after
a few minutes of improved sending,
most slack operators will revert-totype before the QSO

has finished

e Make several recordings and
listen critically to yourself, then ask,
‘how do | really sound?’
[80m]
e Switched to 80 m a couple of

times but nothing at all was
heard or seen on the scope
[Any thoughts from others about
whether or not such feedback Is a
good thing?]

a
Sa,
5 a

From

Derek VK4DRK

at Wyreema

[40m]
¢ | had a QSO with Stan, who sent me a today in history

From Stephen

VK2RH

at Newtown,

NSW

[40m]
e Lots of strong signals to be heard on 40m
¢ Had a chat with Arthur VK2ASB
VK2GAS

and tried to have one with Armin

but we were defeated by QRM

e In between

household chores, | also enjoyed listening around the

band to as
many QRS QSOs as | could find
e It's great to see so much

activity that | can copy

[80m]
« 80m

seemed

almost deserted from my QTH tonight

e My CQs went unanswered

- or | could not hear any responses

[Hi Stephen,

terrific that you’re

enjoying the upswing in activity that
our net is providing;

me too!

I’m

keen to encourage more use of 80m
- for the first 2-% years the net was
on 80m only - which many of our
team can’t yet use - but we had
good fun nonetheless.

I’ve now

issued a deep winter update to our
schedule (see the end of this
newsletter) to encourage an earlier
cross-over between 40 and 80m - so
/ hope you'll start hearing more
activity on 80m

From

Richard / Rich for the QRS net! VKGHRC

as well. ]

at Padbury

[40m]
¢ Not much

activity locally early on worked

Ron VK6KHZ

and

monitored the
Eastern states on an SDR in VK5 until conditions improved

¢ Fairly bunched

up at one stage making for hard copy

[80m]
¢ Good to catch up with Donald and Ross,

the VK/ MONNK

caught

me out for a while ! Think | got it right eventually
[Yup - there’s a plot by our international friends to cause confusion with
the VK/xxxx callsigns on CW;

Nigel G4RWI/ started the campaign

when he

was here - and he kept everyone on their toes for a while - most ops in VK
and ZL are expecting a digit after the letters VK.... and so when they hear
dah-di-di-dah-dit, a circuit breaker pops... and the brain misses the rest of
the callsign.

Took me several goes to decode Nigel’s callsign - so you're

not alone mate.

I’m sure Ross will get used to the responses: QRZ? AGN?

or just plain ? |

From me VK2KI

via the Tecsun

KiwiSDR at Araluen NSW

[40m]

Elizabeth and | were holidaying at a nice resort on Lake Mulwala
at Yarrawonga

NSW for the week.

And what’s more, Tuesday

was Elizabeth’s birthday, so we were out having a quiet dinner....
and not playing Morse Code this time.
o Well not much
KiwiSDR when
VK3DRQ
o

anyway!

| did sneak a quick listen to the Tecsun

Ms E went to the bathroom... and heard Manny

at Blackburn and Grant ZL2GD

at Oxford calling.

| had toyed with the idea (actually, Elizabeth’s idea) of bringing
some sort of portable CW gear along this time (I have a tiny lightweight truSDX transceiver that has never worked

properly

despite being brand new... so repairs would be needed).
However,

| didn’t bring the gear because:

=» the net was on E’s birthday, and a nice dinner was on the
cards, and
= on most of our recent holidays, we’ve been experimenting
with low-carbon travel - using public transport.

Ya can’t fit a

week’s worth of clothes, computer... and a transceiver in a
back-pack.
o So this time, we took a coach to Albury, another to Benalla, and
yet another to Yarrawonga.

And we've now decided that next

week, we'll continue on to Lorne Victoria.... by coach to Albury,
train to Melbourne, train to Geelong and coach to Lorne.

What

fun!

e We weren't the only people
who said “no car” when

asked

for our vehicle registration on
check-in!
e This couple dropped

in fora

game of golf on their way from
Sydney to Ballarat.
e One day...

e Also from me VK6QI
o

vis the VK6QS

KiwiSDR at Brookton.

[80m]

o A bit later in the evening

| snuck another peek at the VK6QS

KiwiSDR - and | was pleased to hear Donald VK6JRC chatting to
Lin VKONT.

| thought it would be fun to try
“Chromecasting” the SDR
display from my phone to the
TV in the room... but the web
browser | was using didn’t
Support it - probably should
have used Google Chrome |
SUppoOse.

Probably wasn’t a good Idea
anyway!

From lan VK7TA

at Latrobe

[40m]
e Just a short session for me this week

From Arthur

VK2ASB

at Wentworth

Falls

[40m]
¢ Once again 40M was abuzz with activity
¢ For most of the time | stayed on one frequency but occasionally |
tuned
around
¢ The waterfall showed

plenty of activity

e All very satisfying
[80m]
e As usual | went over to 80m

late In the evening and as usual, there

were
few signals
e It was noisy but not excessively so (for 80m) and the QSO was
pleasant with
good copy both ends
¢ 80m

is a good band, we should use it more

¢ Certainly it can be noisy but the signals are usually good with little
QSB

and not as crowded

as 40m

can be

From David VK6KD

at Carawine Gorge, East of Marble Bar

[40m]
e Lots of strong signals heard from around Oz
[80m]
¢ Very little heard on 80m
¢ | tried calling on 3.555MHz a number of times during the evening
but nothing was making a hop in my direction

Antenna:

home

made

helically (loosly) wound

5 foot
whip. A

faulty VHF ant was stripped down to
wind wire to the external surface
then heat shrink applied.
minimum

length was required for

the SG237 to tune down to 3.5MHz.

Tuner:

SG237

Auto-tuner

tune from 80m

mounted

under the roof-rack.

SG237

will auto

up to 6m on the same antenna.

[Thanks for the antenna description David - you’ve demonstrated that it
works like a beauty!

Interesting that you’re hearing so much on 40m... yet

a few weeks ago, Stuart VK6MK was struggling to hear anything!
Bar - hottest place in Australia!

Marble

[look forward to following your travels and

hearing about all the fine weather David. ]

From Peter VK6IS

at Wundowie

[40m]
¢ plenty of stations there tonight, between

all of that static

[80m]
e still need some

more WA OPs here

From Greg VK5KFG

at Willunga

[40m]
e Stan's "today in history" challenge was fun
e There are things about Francis Drake that | never knew!

From

David

VK3RU

at Burwood

[40m]

| only worked

Manny VK3DRQ

on 40 tonite.
e

Poor Manny suffered through

my (shall we say) QLF and this
IS my excuse
See

ae eg

Other
Other things

News

I’ve received from

our 185-odd

readers.

Post

Morsum

From

Richard VK6HRC

A good turn up on Wednesday

morning’s Post Morsum

on the AllStar

network.
e

ZL3TK

e VK6KHZ

Stan

Ron

e VK6FN

Max

e VK6PAW

Glyn

e VK6QI

Mark

e VK6HRC

Richard

e and our shortwave

listeners.

In spite of the variable conditions last night Stan managed

to pass on a few

" This day in History " messages and received the replies. Stan also
reported that he did not have that many contacts but the ones he had
were lengthy and enjoyable.
Ron had some trouble with QRM

and QRN

a lot of stations were not separated

last night, as confirmed

by much

by Stan

making for trying conditions.

Glyn joined the net briefly on his way to work to say hello and signed off.
Next cab off the rank was young

Max just recovering from a

debilitating migraine hence his absence from the net last night, hope all
good for next week.
Mark called in from Yarrawonga

on the Murray River to make sure we were

behaving ourselves and sent the WhatsApp

group a beautiful photo of the

sunrise at the same time, thanks Mark.
Another busy and enjoyable net by all accounts.
on to next week , thanks Mark.
73
Richard
[Thank you Richard - outstanding work once again.]

Feedback

Thank you to those who took the time to provide feedback about the net
and our RagChew

newsletter.

Please keep them coming;

I'll continue to

compile the thoughts for a future RagChew.

To
from

Plan
Stan

or Not to Plan
ZL3TK

Few will agree out of guilt,

but... failing to plan is planning to fail.

There are already a number of CW training nets in VK on 80 m, but most
are only once-a-week and are essentially unidirectional.
brief Post Morsum

Further to the

discussion on the 12th in which it was mentioned that

‘meat and potatoes' once a week is demonstrably insufficient to bring
about any real growth.

The matter has to be taken seriously and Morse

has to become one’s second

language.

My proposal

is for a traffic net conducted

including Farnsworth,

Mon Wed

at no more than 10 wom

Fri Sat and Sun on 7.0674 MHz, to fulfill the

need for seven day activity in which the ad hoc Group can participate. Not
Tuesday for obvious reasons, and not Thursday when the SAS Net is on
same time and frequency.

Although

| love Telegram forms, none will be

used, only a written record as shown at

https://gsl.net/zl3tk/traffic_05-

2024.htm
The word ‘Net’ is used here in accordance with its definition,
will be run formally by a net control station (NCS).

ie the session

The goal of the net is to

provide an opportunity for all to develop the confidence and competence
to perform the NCS role - it will not be a closed shop.

Because this is such

a big commitment for a single NCS, a rota of NC stations needs to be
established within a few weeks,
The expectation

but someone

has to lead the way.

is that exactly like the NZ Net, most participants will never

step up the ladder any further than to check-in with a QRU.

Disappointing,

but it doesn't really matter because such a regular net establishes a
routine and requires some

personal discipline to attend, a technique which

has proven to work rather well.

It has worked

so well in fact that NZ net

now runs 7-days a week (as a trial), but so far has resulted in only the
same

boring QRU, QRU, QRU on Sat and Sun from a much

notional 'enthusiasts' - which is why the word

smaller group of

'Traffic' was dropped from its

title long-ago.
What say?
73

Stan

[What do you think folks? A doable thing to extend the huge success of
our CQQRS practice QSO net, or too much for your busy life? Email your
thoughts to Stan z/3tk.radio@gmail.com and to me cqgrsnet@qgmail.com |

From

Nigel G4RWI

After yet another successful

run of his Python CQQRS

Log Generation

Software
Is this getting boring for you?

Would you like me to introduce a few bugs?

[Heh heh... thank you Nigel - it’s great!]

From

Martin VK6ZMS

via WAHAMS:

This is a very simple easy-to-understand discussion about the ionoshpere:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNpl_LIAsPA

8Amp

Mk 2 Gets a Clean

The WT 8 Amp

gets its first clean

and lube in probably 80 years.
| just hope | can get it back together

again!

Ross
MONNK

This Day in History
from Stan ZL3TK
Out of the four messages sent on this week’s net, two near perfect replicas
were returned.

Through

use of the simple repeat-request protocol, 100 %

perfect returns should be possible.
NW

QTC

TODAY

ZL3TK

IN HISTORY

SOVIET COSMONAUT

IN SPACE TODAY
VOSTOK

18JUN24

VALENTINA TERESHKOVA

1963 COMPLETING

63 ORBITS

BECAME

FIRST WOMAN

IN 71 HOURS ABOARD

Sent to: VK4DRK

HENRY

FORD AND

COMPANY TODAY

ELEVEN

1903

INVESTORS

IN DEARBORN

FOUNDED

MICHIGAN

THE FORD

WITH

MOTOR

256 THOUSAND

EMPLOYEES AT PEAK IN 1970.
Sent TO:

VK5A0O

CALIFORNIA WAS

FRANCIS
AND

CLAIMED

DRAKE TODAY

MEMBER

FOR ENGLAND

BY NAVAL TACTICIAN

IN 1579 LATER BECOMING

MAYOR

OF PLYMOUTH

OF PARLIAMENT.

Sent to: VK5KFG

MUMTAZ

MAHAL

DIED IN CHILDBIRTH TODAY

20 YEAR CONSTRUCTION
EMPEROR

SHAH JAHAN

1631

OF HER TOMB THE TA] MAHAL

RESULTING

IN THE

BY HUSBAND

Sent to: VKONT

From

Ross

MONNK:

Hi Mark.
It's good to know that you could hear me (and recognise my callsign!).
Mike DL3YZ and | have spent the last few days getting his radio connected
to remotehams.

It took a bit of figuring out but we are full license holders

and that's what we do. So now I| can use his FT-991 in Stuttgart if it's

raining and | can't get out portable (I'm a fair weather operator).

Macros and typing on the keyboard
were used for troubleshooting some
set-up problems but now that those
are sorted | only use my straight
key with a serial-to-usb lead. In the
attached

image, the black cable

comes from my key and goes to
pins 7 and 8.

| joined the Southern
and VK6CRO

Electronics Group so that | could access their VK6SR

radios.

It's been a busy morning for me on the CQQRS
had a go on VK6CRO

net - but very enjoyable.

but there doesn't seem to be anyone to speak with up

there so | dropped down to Perth's VK6SR and have had lots of fun on 40m
and then 80m.

I'm completely kKnackered now but lunch will be on the

table in half an hour. | think | shall probably give the Post Morsum
this evening

but | have another RagChew

a miss

article in the pipeline and will

send it to you later.
[Outstanding Ross - welcome to operation in VK]
‘Today in History’

Upselling

its Benefits

By Stan ZL3TK
There

has

been

no activity resulting from the invitations to the CQ

QRS

team to initiate messages designed to relieve the tedium of 'meat the
three veg’, necessitating positive action be taken.
To advance the 'Today in History' project,

prior to each message a request

to return the message to the sender during the current QSO will be
introduced.
1.

This policy carries a number of benefits for all participants:

The recipient will have to write the message

rather than head read as if

it were formal traffic;
2.

In order to return the message verbatim, the recipient may need to

request a repeat of any missed words;
3.

To perform that repeat-request function efficiently,

one needs to be

familiar with the simple, commonly

used repeat-request protocol;

make

Since both letters and numbers

up the messages,

the parties get

good

practice in accurately sending and receiving whole sentences.

Intrinsic subconscious training will eventually enable all parties to

become

confident and agile CW operators.

Repeat requests:
send ‘QSL?’

At the end of each message the sending station will

This signals the time send ,

meaning WAIT while |

carefully read the message to check it is complete.
message

not, this is the time to request a
protocol,

If the

‘fill’ using the following commonly-used

note that the protocol is used without any of the usual flannel:

Callsigns are still needed
exceeded,

Take your time.

is complete then send QSL and proceed to return the message.

if any 10 minute (VK)

or 15 minute (ZL) period is

then pleasantries may be resumed when

happy with the result.

Any questions to

Stan

both operators are

zl3tk@qgsl.net

Morse Training
Nic VK7WW

Net

runs a Slow Morse training net every Wednesday

at 7pm

EDST

on 3580 for 30 mins. He uses the callsign of the Northern Tasmania
Amateur Radio Club VK7TAZ
Many of our team

on that net.

learned Morse code with the support of Nic, and the

weekly training session comes

highly recommended

for anyone who wants

to learn the Code, or simply brush up.

Everyone’s welcome - 3580KHz at

7pm

The NTARC also feeds the CW

Eastern time every Wednesday.

live

via the Discord phone / computer audio stream, and previous weeks’
recordings are available.
Contact Nic VK7WW

for more info nicholaschantler@hotmail.com - or just

join in on Wednesdays.

Ping-Pong
A Hilarious

Head-Copy

Exercise for the CQQRS

Net

By Claude Hastir
VKITE / VK2CL
This version created Saturday 13 April 2024

Motivation:
Returning to the hobby after a 22-year break with guidance from Rob
Brownstein

K6RB, I've rediscovered

exclusively now.

While MORSE

missing interactive CW

practice.

What
®

and RUFZXP

have helped, I'm

A 'ping-pong' style exercise on air would

fill this gap, but it's not available.
instrumental

my passion for CW, using it almost

RUNNER

Mark Bosma VK2KI has been

in supporting this idea.

is ppCW?

ppCW

is an interactive method

of practicing Morse code between

radio operators.
e

Participants engage in a 'ping-pong' style exchange of Morse code
messages.

ppCW

sessions offer hands-on experience, allowing skill refinement

and adaptation to varying conditions.
e The interactive nature fosters camaraderie and skill development.
e Whether seasoned

enthusiasts or novice operators, ppCW offers a

dynamic way to hone skills and enjoy radio communication.

Why
e
e

ppCw?
ppCW

injects excitement and motivation

Real-time communication

into Morse code practice.

in challenging conditions prepares

operators for on-air scenarios.
e

ppCW fosters camaraderie and collaboration among

It allows skill adaptation to varying conditions, enhancing

Pros of ppCW:
e Offers an enjoyable way to practice Morse code.
e Appeals to those seeking a rewarding challenge.

operators.
proficiency.

Allows customization to suit preferences and skill levels.
Accessible to operators of all levels.
Tailorable to accommodate

different competitiveness levels.

Promotes teamwork and camaraderie.
Improves Morse code proficiency and communication

Cons
e

skills.

of ppCW:

Finding a partner may be challenging.

e Sessions may be interrupted due to real-world conditions.
e Technical issues may disrupt communication.
Competitive aspects may cause stress for some.
Consistent engagement may require dedicated time and effort.

Work
ppCW

in progress
is a work in progress and all comments

and suggestions are

welcome.

How
e

to ppCW?
First, we can try to initiate as follows: QRV ppCW?

e The correspondent can simply answer Y or N.
e

If Y, the maximum

word

Length, the number of Words, and the

number of Repetitions for each word should be decided

before the

start of a ppCW session.
e The number of letters used per word can be between
maximum
e

1 and the

decided.

Puctuation and digits can constitute or be part of a 'word', and a word
doesn't have to have a particular meaning, with random

Example:

LWR 321, which means

in this case maximum

characters.

3-letter words, 2

Words sent in a row, each word sent once only.
QRS or QRK can be used to adjust the transmission speed.
QRX can be used if a pause is needed.
All the usual Q codes can also be used as necessary.
One of the correspondents can request to stop a running ppCW
anytime

A session

with a QRU.

could

as follows:

We have 2 correspondents, A & B.
A sends QRV ppCW?
B sends Y back.
A sends LNR 311, which means

3-letter word,

1 word

per sending, and that

word sent once only.
B sends RR 311 to acknowledge the pre-conditions followed by K.
A sends her first word: DOG
B sends:

DOG, followed by his own word: CAT.

A sends: CAR (Error: should be CAT), then sends her new word:
B sends:

ROW

ROW then sends the word CAT again because A got it wrong the

first time (he might have to resend the word CAT several times until she
gets it right)
A sends: CAT, which is now correct, and sends: PIG
B sends:

BIG (Incorrect), followed by: TOW

A sends: TOW

and resends:

PIG

B sends: ?, asking for a repeat.
A repeats: TOW
B sends:

and resends:

PIG

PIG followed by: RIG... and so on until one correspondent sends

QRU to end.

That's about it! There may be more to add or modify over time...
Cheers,
Claude

VKITE / VK2CL
Thanks Claude - this ts a terrific initiative.

Claude and | have tried this

several times and Richard VK6PZT (Mister “I! can’t head-copy”) and | spent
3/4 hour recently having a ball with this fun exercise.
they might like to have a go.... let’s have some fun!

For those who think
| hope to hear some

ppCwW exchanges on our net each week.
QRV PPCW?
Do you have anything you'd like to share with the group?
me know so we can share more thoughts and ideas;

If so, please let

to cqgqrsnet@gmail.com

Brain
How

Teaser
did you go?

Jules Perrin JP VK3JFP has created a terrific resource to help guide learning
for all levels of amateur radio licenses:
https://www.julesworkshop.net/Amateur%20Radio.html
With thanks to Baz VK6MU
website,

for he idea, and Jules for the good learning

here’s this week’s quiz questions from Jules’ Workshop example

test questions:

Exam

Questions:

When

modulating a carrier signal with voice, what is the frequency range

of the modulating signal?
Bleeder resistors are included in power supplies to:
e discharge filter capacitors after the supply voltage is switched off
e

prevent damage to filter during overload
reduce ripple in the output voltage
reduce the size of the filter choke

Critical frequency is defined as:
the highest frequency on which it is possible to communicate with
another station
the highest frequency at which waves sent vertically are returned to
earth
the frequency of the greatest skip distance
the highest frequency with which a station may be contacted

ground wave
An Advanced

station using CW (Morse code) is restricted to a power output

of:

(a) 10 watts pY
(bo) 30 watts pX
(c) 120 watts pY
(d) 400 watts pX

Answers

next week.

Answers

from

last week’s

Quiz:

What does the term USB LSB mean?
Answer:

Upper side band and lower side band

To convert alternating current to direct current, use is made of a:
thermister
resonant circuit
diode
carbon
Answer:

resistor

diode

A 10.7MHz first stage IF is commonly

used in VHF receivers to:

provide a high degree of adjacent channel selectivity
reduce noise generated

in the receiver

achieve the high gain required
provide an adequate degree of image rejection
Answer: provide an adequate degree of image rejection

The “Q” code signal "QSY 3575" means:
(a) Emergency traffic is being received on 3575

kHz

(ob) Please change the frequency of transmission to 3575

kHz

(b) Please change the frequency of transmission to 3575

kHz

even though

it’s outside our chosen CQQRS

band segment.

How did you go?

Di-dah-di-dah-dit
Here

So back to the Slow CW QSO
Next Tuesday’s

go.

practice net.

Net

Our CQ QRS Net will be on as always on Tuesday from around 0700z until
about 1300z;

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.
Reports
Please let me know via our Reports form bit.ly/CQQRSNET who you work or
hear on Tuesday’s net.
Post

Morsum

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 in the world, you may be able to connect your

local AllStar-enabled

repeater to the net, or you can connect via Echolink.

Let me know (cggrsnet@gmail.com)
Teamwork

By necessity, this week’s RagChew
is a bit shorter than normal - after
all I’m supposed to be on holiday!
Thank you so much to our team of
29 contributors this week especially for the interesting
reports:

DL3YZ, VK/MONNK,

VK1TE,

VK2ASB, VK2DLF, VK2EBN, VK2GAS,
VK2RH, VK3ACU,

VK3BAP, VK3DRQ,

VK3)JFP, VK4DRK,

VK5A0O, VK5CZ,

VK5FD, VK5KFG, VK6BEK, VK6HRC,
VK6IS, VK6JDM, VK6KD, VK6KHZ,
VK6RR, VK7KPC, VK7TA, ZL2GD,
ZL3TK, ZL4BDG,

ZL4TE.

Thank you

in particular to Claude VK1TE /
VK2CL for the PingPongCW
initiative.
CU CW on Tuesday,

if | can help with that.

mb
Mark

Bosma

VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning NSW
mark.bosma@icloud.com
non impediti ratione cogitationis

An Ode to CW - thanks to David VK3RU:
In days of old, when ops were bold,
And sideband was not invented,
=

Words were passed by pounding brass,

Leis

SRS

And all were quite contented.

- Unknown

About

the CQ
Here’s

the

author

QRS

Net

details.

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

Net.

Frequencies

and Times

CQ QRS NET - DEEP WINTER TIMETABLE

sarily

Australia

New Zealand

sia

CentralST

UTC +95

1630

2730

Eastern ST

UTC +10

1700

2300

1900

0100

NZST

UTC +12

Frequency
07002

-— 09002

40m

7.025 MHz

7.040 MHz

40m

7.025 MHz

7.040 MHz

80 m

3.540 MHz

~ 3.570 MHz

80m

3.540 MHz

~ 3.570 MHz

09002 - 11002

09002 - 13002z

So tune around and call anyone you hear, or find yourself a quiet spot in
the designated segment,

send “QRL?” and if the frequency is quiet, 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).

we’re on 40m and you can hear that the band is open outside Australasia,
perhaps consider calling 500Hz above each 1kHz slot - to minimise the
chance of having to copy our team through QRQ

QRM that’s often dead-on

the kHz markers.
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;

the longer we go with our

net, the more | understand just how many non-transmitting listeners we
have - and they will most likely appreciate your QRS!

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
someone

DX, if you hear

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.
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.

If you

But don’t

forget to tune around 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 - Alerts group advising of your

current frequency.
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.

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

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