Subscribe Past Issues Translate View this email in your browser CQ QRS Edition e Another World Doctor Donald’s e New Technical Term e The Joy of Home Diagnosis - Watery Flutter Brewing Post Morsum e Today e 26/2024 Record? e e RagChew In History II Feedback e What Has Ross Started? e Ultimatic Mode e Running Before e Viva I Can walk La Differance e Landing e Reminder for the 2Jul24 CQ QRS Zone Frequencies Net Well wasn't last Tuesday’s net just the greatest? Looks like we had around 44 or our team members on air, plus at least another 20 potential members who joined in the fun! operating QRS CW - amazing! A huge thank you again to those who came 64 people all happily up, either to take a few steps on their CW development journey, or to help others do so - outstanding team! And thank you also to those who sent me their reports about the net - | reckon your reports are the glue that knits our team together and makes this the most successful net in Australasia. Last Tuesday’s Net Here’s this week’s list of the 44 of our stations plus 20 visitors heard on v RSS Tuesday’s net. eon beam Member agso1 | aso2 | aso3 | aso4 | asos | asos | aso7 | asos VK/MONNK_ |Worked 40m) WK6KHZ VKSOA VK6ENW VK1HF Worked 40m| VK3ADX ZL2IR ZL3TK | VK1HF Heard 40m VK6IS VKSFD | VK7TA | ZL4BDG VK2AOE Heard on the net. VK2DLF Worked 40m) VK3DRQ VK2DLF Heard40m | VK3TBR VK2GAS Worked 40m| WVK2RU ZL3TK VK2GBR Heard on the net. VK2JCC Reported in. VK2KI Heard 40m VK5FD VK3ADX ZL3TK VK2KI Heard40m | ZL2GD VK3KLE VK7KPC | VK5AO | VK3DRQ VK2KI Heard 80m | VK3ACU VKSET VK6JDM | VK6FN | VKICT VK2RU Worked 40m| VK2GAS VK1HF VK3ACU VK6FN | ZL1HJ VK2RU Heard 40m VK2WE Reported in. VK3ACU Worked 40m) =VK1HF VK3ACU Worked 80m| VWK5ET VK5AO VK3EST | VK3TBR VK1HF | VK2GAS | VK3ACU |} Heard on the net. VK3DRQ Worked 40m| VK6RR VK2DLF VK3RU VK3DRQ Heard40m | VK4EK AND VK5KFG VK3DRQ Tried 40m VK4EK VK3RU Heard on the net. VK3TBR Worked 40m| ZL2GD VK3TBR Heard 40m | VK5AO VK4DRK Worked 40m| VK6FN VK4EK Worked 40m) VK5SKFG VK5A0 Worked 40m) VK3ACU VKSET Heard 40m | VK3ACU VK7KPC VKSET Heard 40m | VKSLA ZL1TMG | VK5ET Worked 80m! VK6JDM VK3ACU VK5ET Heard 80m | VK6JDM VK6FN VKSFD Worked 40m) VK3ADX VK1HF VKSKFG Worked 40m| VWKAEK VKSKFG Heard 40m | VK5AO VKS5KFG Worked 80m} VK3ADX VKSKFG Heard 80m | VK4ZW VK5LA Heard on the net. VKSAO VK2GAS ZL2GD ZL2GD VK2DLF | VK2GBR | VK3TBR| ZL2GD | VK3DRQ| VK3PF? | VK3ACU VK2DLF VKSOA Heard on the net. Worked 40m| WVK6KHZ VK6KW VK6FN Worked 40m] VK4DRK VK3ACU VK6IS VK6HRC VK6BEK | VK6FN Worked 80m) VK6JDM VK6HRC Worked 40m| VK6KHZ VK6HRC Heard 40m | VK6NW VK3KLE VK6HRC Heard 40m | VK3ACU VK2DLF VK6HRC Worked 80m) VK6JDM VK6FN VK6HRC Heard 80m | VK6PZT VK6IS Worked 40m| VK6KHZ VK6IS Heard 40m | VK3ADX Worked 80m] VK6FN Worked 80m| VK6FN VK6JDM Heard 80m VK6IS VK6KD Worked 40m| VK1KT VK6KD Heard40m | VK6KD Tried 40m | VK6KD Heard 80m VK6FN VK6KD Tried 80m VK6FN VK6KHZ Worked 40m| VK/MONNK| VKENW Worked 40m| VK/MONNK VK4DRK | VK6FN | VK5AO ZL3TK VK6BEK VK6IS VK7TA ZL3TK | ZL4BDG | VK7KPC | VK6FN | VK5AO VK3ADX VK6JDM ZL1PB VK5ETK | VK6HRC VK6FN VK3ACU | VKSAOZ| VK3EST VK3DRQ VK6B Screenshot | VK6FN | VK4DRK| VKE6IS VK2EK | VK6IS VK2KF | VK6IS | VK1AAR | | VK6UI VK3RU ZL3TK New VK6PZT Worked 40m) VK6FN VK3KLE VK6QI Heard 40m | VK6NW |VK6/MONNK] VK6QI Heard 40m | VK3ACU ZL4BDG_ | VK4DRK| VK6QI Heard 80m | VK6JDM VK6FN VK6RR Worked 40m) VK3DRQ VK6RR Heard 40m | VK2AOE VK6WE Worked 40m| VK6KHZ VK7KPC Worked 40m) VK3ACU VK7KPC Heard 40m | ZL2GD VK4DRK VK7KPC Heard 80m | WK1CT VKSKFG_ VK7TA Worked 40m) VK1HF ZL1PB VK7TA Heard40m | ZL2GD VK7WW Heard 40m | VK2GA VK7WW Heard 40m | WVK5SKFG VK7WW Heard80m | ZL2DG ZLIHJ Heard on the net. VK6KHZ | VKGHRC} VK6IS | ZL2GD | VK3KLE | VK6BEK VK6FN | VK6WE | VK6UI | VKSAO | VK3DRQ VK6PZT | VK3ACU| VK3BLE | VK4DRK}| VK6FN VKSET VK6IS VK6UI | VK6KHZ | ZL2GD ZL3TK | ZL2GD | VK6KHZ | VK3ATX VK2DLF ZL2GD | VK5AO | W4FOA | VK3KLE | VK6PZT | VK4EK ZLiPB Heard on the net. ZL2GD Worked 40m); ZL1PB VK3KLE | VK4DRK| ZL3TK | VK3TBR |} VKS5SAO ZL2GD Heard 40m ZL1HJ VK3ACU | VK3ACU] ZL3TK | ZL2GD Heard 40m | VK4DRK VK6FN VK7TA | VK3KLE | VK3ACU | ZL4BDG VK2DLF | VK5AO ZL3TK Worked 40m) VK1HF VK2GAS_ | VK3ACU | VK3ADX | VK3EST | ZL2GD ZL3TK Heard 40m | VK2RU VK2SS ZL3TK Tried 40m VK6FN ZL4BDG Worked 40m| VK1HF VK3ACU ZL4BDG Heard 40m | VK2KLT VK7TA Team Members VK3DRQ| VK3KLE | VK4DRK} ZL1PB | VK6FN | VK4DRK| ZL1HJ | ZL4BDG ZL2GD Welcome this week to Colin VK2JCC also known as Professor Portable (which hopefully we'll find out more about in due course) from Pennant Hills, David VK6PYN Colin is teaching process. from Chittering and Bob VK6KI from Geraldton. himself Morse Code; I’m sure our net will help that He was out portable on Tuesday and just caught the sound of Jordan VK3ACU signing off. David is also new to the Code and is looking forward to listening-in (so I’m looking forward to reading your reports mate), and before long, having his first CW contacts. Hopefully David will join our growing list of first QSO certificate recipients who’ve had their first CW QSOs on our net. the people before them, will go on to become basic callsign & RST exchanges, And like a regular, initially enjoying and before long, longer rag chews. Scoot down to the end of this newsletter for recommendations for early QSOs and the link to tips for new operators. Bob was heard by David VK6KD welcome Bob. on 80m on the net about a month ago - | reckon there’ll be some confusion with my VK2 call.... not the least of which will come from me when operating the VK6SR Terrific to have another 80m Remote! operator from Geraldton amongst our team and | look forward to hearing you on Bob. Reports After next Tuesday’s net, please send me a list of who you worked who you heard using our new web form here: bit.ly/COQRSNET 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 / or 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. This week Elizabeth pointed out that | could just use one product of Nigel’s processing to generate the list of reported stations - rather than importing, reformatting, colouring etc - so the new format shown are her doing - and saved me hours of work. in the tables above Merci beaucoup Mademoiselle Masthead Image This week, Elizabeth and | continued our public transport only holiday, and moved on from Yarrawonga in Northern Victoria to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road, South West of Melbourne. And again, | was RX only using my phone to access KiwiSDRs for the net - but | had fun. It wasn’t Elizabeth’s Birthday this time, so | didn’t need to sneak my phone into the restaurant to listen as | did last week. Sometimes I’m typing this on the train between home to Beautiful South Bowning it’s nice just to listen-in to the fun. Melbourne and Albury on our way NSW. several days late - but we’ll get there. | expect the newsletter to be In the mean time I’m enjoying using Elizabeth’s MacBook computer - connecting to the MailChimp server when we're within cellular phone range. CU CW Tuesday! 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 reports. The spreadsheets above show the known stations on last Tuesday’s net. Comments distilled from the reports I’ve received are below: Comments: e From Ross VK/MONNK at Perth WA [40m] ¢ | only had an hour to spare so | spent most of it calling CQ ¢ | was using the VK6SR remote access FT-991A in Perth WA * | initially had the VK6DV KiwiSDR providing a waterfall but that timed out after only 15 minutes, after which | was blind ¢ | had three excellent contacts in the hour of operating so I'm very pleased [Yup - it’s a lot easier to jump on the Remote using RemoteHams packing up and going portable eh mate? comparison. that It almost seems too easy in Rob has the Southern Electronics Group’s KiwiSDR on test at his home as well for monitoring - albeit it gets pretty excited when you're transmitting. | also use the VK6QS KiwiSDR out near Brookton - which has a big horizontal loop antenna which works really well.] e From Tim VK3TBR at Horsham [40m] e« Was great to catch up with Grant again and first contact with Armin VK2GAS which was a buzz ¢ Heavy rain at my gth made it difficult to hear [We were really lucky that your rain didn’t make it a bit further North or South e Tim.] From Grant ZL2GD at Oxford, North Canterbury [40m] * Signals all over the place tonight, band conditions very unstable * Local ZL signals almost unreadable [80m] ¢ Called CQ but nothing heard [Bad luck mate - you were being heard in VK - and there’s a push toward 80m again, with ZLs working right across to WA later in the wee-hours - if you're still awake. ] e From Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith [40m] e Nice to be back and have a good go at QRS night again « Stan sent me a message to send back tonight, It's been a while since I've had a good crack at QRS night | was feeling quite rusty at the start, Stan’s message really helped me get my hand back in! | put on some headphones as it was a very tricky copy but | managed to copy most of his message ¢ By the time | got to Maitland my 7th contact and just over 2 hours non stop on the air | needed a rest - starting to make mistakes! Thank you everyone for coming up and catch you all again next week if not before [Great work mate. | always use headphones for CW - for my brain, the Close coupling seems to help enormously with copy; | recommend everyone give headphones a try when the going gets tough.] e From Nic VK7WW at 15 kms N of Launceston (near Legana) [80m] e From Roy VK6RR e ZL2DG much stronger on 80m! (8:45pm local) at Geraldton [40m] e Great to hear everyone busy chatting away! [Ya got that right Roy - a joy to behold!] e From Bob VK4EK at Muirlea Ipswich QLD [40m] ¢ Greg VK4KFG e From lan VK1HF said it was raining cats and dogs in Adelaide at Canberra [40m] ¢ Great night - | WAS TX from Home QTH but RX from WebSDR - thanks to all for baring with me e Really enjoyed working this way [80m] ¢« called out heaps on 80 but no bites [Bad luck with 8Om mate - keep trying. How’s your noise level on 80m from home now? Ready to give a VK5TM kit phasing noise canceller (or the Cheap AliExpress copy) a try?] e From Donald VK6JDM at near Esperance WA [80m] ¢ Worked 80 metres for an hour and a bit after which the CW part of the brain went soft e | answered Max VK6FN calling CQ and we discussed his slow progress In putting up a taller tower e Then five minutes later he answered my CQ - turns out he thought we had QSO on 40 metres and we should now have one on 80 metres e | suspect that short tower syndrome We will have to see if his memory may involve short memory. improves when he finally gets his taller towers up. ¢ Managed a brief QSO with VK5ETK despite Max VK6FN coming in over the top of his signal (probably another manifestation of the short tower syndrome) ¢« Richard VK6HRC was initially good signal but QSB then struck vi VA 1199 x 899 [Donald ts a (sort-of) retired GP - and it’s really interesting to read his diagnosis from what he hears on air - luckily as an expert in rural health he’s not constrained to six-minute consultations... which at my speed, would be about half an over. And for our international readers, welcome to the great VK/ZL tradition of taking the piss out of your best mates..... and given half an opportunity, the effect is magnified across the Tasman Sea.] e From Manny VK3DRQ at Blackburn [40m] « At some stages could heard Europeans, which made me think the conditions are not in our favour and after 2100 | tune all along the band and nothing copyable was heard [80m] Did not tune into 80m [Bad luck Manny. Thank you for your report - | still owe you that info about phasing noise cancellers, e which will certainly help!] From John VKS5ET at Hope Valley [40m] ¢ LOT of noise, QSB & low signals from other stations [80m] ¢ LESS noise, QSB here than 40 mts [Now there’s a turn up for the books John! A couple of years ago before that digital speaker, you couldn’t hear a thing on 80m through the noise now it’s better than 40m!] e From Stan ZL3TK at Waitarere Beach [40m] ¢ Extraordinary watery flutter on 40 m, no one in the Group was totally immune ¢ Short skip worst affected; intra-ZL very weak and difficult to work whereas VK6 almost unaffected * Been like it for over two weeks now « Some strong signals heard from Stateside without any flutter, also one French station ¢ Only one 'Today in History’ passed: QTC TODAY IN HISTORYNORTH KOREA ATTACKED ACROSS THE 38TH TRIGGERING SOUTH PARALLEL TODAY UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO PASS A RESOLUTION KOREA. DE ZL3TK TO HELP KN * Despite the adverse conditions this one was returned perfectly by a very keen VK3ACU 1950 100 % ¢ The perfect result * Jordan's performance and dedication to personal upskilling made up for the three others who ignored the invitation From lan VK7TA at Latrobe [40m] ¢ Phil, zi1pb, was running 6W From Me VK2KI at Lorne VIC via the Tecsun KiwiSDR [40m] ¢ Elizabeth and | continued our public transport-only journey, and on Tuesday we were at Lorne, South West of Melbourne on the Great Ocean between Geelong and Warrnambool Road Victoria ¢« | used my phone to listen-in to the net via the Tecsun KiwiSDR at Araluen ¢ First up | heard Allen VK5FD at Blakeview chatting to Merv VK3ADX at Ballarat, who went on to work lan VK1LHF at Dwnman Prospect ¢« Stan ZL3KT at Wairarare Beach was chatting to Armin VK2GAS at Norwest, then lan. e In-turn, lan chatted to Allen; sounds all very fair and collegiate - everyone worked everyone! « Next up | heard Stan completing a 7his Day in History exchange with Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith, and lan working t’other lan VK7TA at Latrobe; meanwhile | heard Phil ZL1PB at Tauranga chatting to Grant ZL2GD at Oxford ¢ Grant went on to work Paul VK3KLE at Stawell, and it was interesting to note a distinct auroral warble on Grant’s signal ¢ Listening in parallel on the VK6QS KiwiSDR, signals were stronger and there was no warble present ¢ Later | heard Jordan chatting to Peter VK7KPC member and our new team Colin VK2JCC at Pennant Hills also popped up on WhatsApp advising that he had been listening e Adrian VK2WF at Tallong popped up on our WhatsApp CQQRS group and advised that there was an FW7 station at the Wallis and Futuna Islands coming through well on 160m CW - which caused a scramble of QSYs and re- tunes ¢ Later | listened to Grant chatting to Maity VK5AO at Banksia Park before hearing Manny VK3DRQ weak into the Tecsun calling CQ from Blackburn; Manny was quite KiwiSDR, and like Grant earlier, had a warble on his signal - yet on the VK6QS KiwiSDR, Manny was strong and clear. [80m] * | slipped down to 80m a bit earlier this week, and listened to Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith chatting to John VK5ET at Hope Valley ¢ | also listened to the interestingsounding home-brewed transmission from Donald VK6JDM at Dalyup near Esperance, who was comparing VK6FN e Also from Me VK6QI antenna sizes with Max at Manjimup at Lorne VIC via the VK6SR and VK6QS KiwiSDRs [40m] « | tried to connect to the VK6QS KiwiSDR at Jelcobine near Brookton but all four channels were full, so instead | used the Southern Electronics Group KiwiSDR on test at Bedfordale ¢ Ross VK6/MONNK was on the VK6SR Remote from near Exeter in the UK and was having a nice chat with Wayne VK6NW ¢ When Ross wasn’t transmitting Padbury chatting to Ron VK6KHZ at at Yangebup ¢ | also heard Peter VK6IS at Wundowie ¢ Once the VK6QS at Bridgetown | could also hear Richard VK6HRC calling KiwiSDR let me in, | listened to Grant ZL2GD and Paul VK3KLE coming through strongly into WA (without any sign of the auroral warble noted on the Tecsun ¢ | then listened to Wayne ¢ Jordan VK3ACU KiwiSDR at Araluen NSW) chatting to Shaun VK6BEK at Quinns Rocks at Meredith and Ben ZL4BDG at Upper Hutt were coming through strongly, as was Derek VK4DRK when he worked Max VK6FN near Toowoomba at Manjimup ¢ | also heard Derek working Grant ZL2GD in Oxford - both signals coming through nicely to WA ¢ A while later | heard Ron VK6KHZ calling CQ and Daniel VK6WE at Cottesloe responding; however, Ron wasn’t able to copy Daniel ¢ Then another station that | think was VK6UI called Ron; his name was Dan as well, but it sounded like he was having some keying trouble, so hopefully we'll find out in future weeks (VK6UI doesn’t have and email address published, so if anyone knows him, please ask him to get in touch so we can let him know about our net) ¢ | listened to Grant chatting to Maity VK5AO at Banksia Park and also the strong signal from Manny VK3DRQ at Blackburn, with no sign of the auroral warble noted in VK2 before moving down to 80m [80m] ¢ | was pleased to hear a few on 80m on Tuesday; Donald VK6JDM at Dalyup was chatting to Max VK6FN was calling CQ; at Manjimup while Richard VK6PZT no sign of that new two-letter call from the sound of things e | also heard the QSO of Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith and John VK5ET at Hope Valley coming through stronger to VK6 and I’d heard them in VK2 ¢ Great to hear a bit more activity on 80m e From again. David VK6KD at James Price Point - Broome WA [40m] ¢ Not much QRM 50 km Nth of Broome [80m] ¢ More activity on 40m Tue night e From Derek VK4DRK at Wyreema [40m] ¢ The band seemed ¢ WA was coming ok, for a while, then we had QSB in strong, and so was NZ e It was 2 new contacts back to back for Tues nights for me e Thanks everyone e From Peter VK6IS at Wundowie [40m] e most folks didn't listen to my other key on the Icom at 50w ! e - keep listening out for it [80m] e still not much activity on 80m was heard. e From Richard VK6PZT at Bunbury WA [40m] ¢ lots of noise on 40m e From Ben ZL4BDG - quiet on 80 at Upper Hutt [40m] ¢ Nice QSO with VK3ACU - Thanks! | need to operate later as 8pm NZ time AU signals are very weak in NZ e After 9pm they are much stronger, but still quite a bit of fading at the moment Other Other things Post News I’ve received from our 190-plus readers. Morsum by Richard VK6HRC Hello Mark. Great to catch up with all on the linked repeaters and AllStar net this morning. On the net: e VK6KHZ Ron e ZL3TK = Stan e VK6FN Max e VK6QI Mark e VK6HRC Richard e Bob VK6KRC e and ( checked in and listening ) the stealth SWLs © Ron had good evening on 40 mx and no joy on 80mx. Stan managed to complete another ‘This day in History’ but no other takers! Max had a good session on 40 mx and 80 mx with a big signal from a chilly Manjimup. Mark checked in from Lorne in VK3 land and after the CW reports informed us on the latest information about a recent Victorian public transport incentive - unbelievably reasonable fares to encourage the use of a great public transport system - how things have changed in Victoria. There was also some discussion about band conditions being quite variable but everyone reported having a good evening. Thank you 73 Richard [Thanks for running the net and keeping those cats herded once again Richard. ] Today in History Upsells 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 and three veg’, necessitating positive action be taken. New Protocol 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. 4. make Since both letters and numbers up the messages, the parties get good practice in accurately sending and receiving whole sentences. 5. Intrinsic subconscious training will eventually enable all parties to become confident and agile CW operators. Repeat Requests. At the end of each message the sending station will send ‘QSL?’. signals the time send , This meaning WAIT while | carefully read the message to check it is complete. Take your time. If the message iscomplete then send QSL and proceed to return the message. If not, this is the time to request a’‘fill’ using the following commonly-used protocol, note that the protocol is used without any of the usual flannel: Example sentence to demonstrate how to handle repeat requests in a one-on-one situation: THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE lant tans Senne! = WA Word after ‘A OTHER OTHER SIDE WB Word before WB OTHER THE OTHER AA All after AA OTHER OTHER SIDE OF THE.FENCE AB All before AB ON THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON BN Between ALWAYS OTHER ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER In the quest for efficiency, brevity is paramount. There are no pleasantries, punctuation or BK used between Callsigns are still needed exceeded, overs, just simple request and reply 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 bothoperators are zl3tk@qsl.net [Thanks Stan - | repeated this article at the request of one our our readers (or should that be our reader?) - and because... as you so succinctly pointed out (woo hoo... two readers!), | left the table out of the first one!] Slow Morse Facebook Page Georg VK2DLF tells me that from now on your our RagChew appear on the Slow Morse Facebook Page. newsletter will Thanks Georg - well done! Feedback by me VK2KI / VK6QI In last week’s RagChew, Stan ZL3TK raised the question about whether or not our team should comment members chatting to someone on the net. about poor keying heard when Stan’s comment was that this was the only way an operator might be made aware that all’s not well with their transmission. Sometimes operators may have forgotten to critically listen to their own CW - and to actively try to achieve perfect timing. I’ve received feedback after Stan’s article to the effect that our net was all about encouraging people to have a go, to learn and to have some fun, knowing that no one was going to make judgements about their level of sending and receiving ability. Most on the net were having fun and that we should not risk driving people away... it’s hard enough to get up the guts to go on air as itis! Apparently, flies are easier to catch with honey than vinegar. An interesting conundrum eh? | sit on the fence and feel that both sets of views are valid. | have on occasions contacted operators to offer support and hopefully useful feedback; but should | have to fall one way or the other - I'd fall on the side of the latter comments received. Our net has always attracted new operators who were taking their first steps, knowing they won’t be judged. Similarly, old timers who haven't been on the brass for years must also feel confident to have a go and in time, work back up to where they’ve been in the past. | feel that’s why our net has been so successful - and why we continue to have so many on having a go on Tuesdays. What has Ross from Brendan Started? VK3BAP Below are some before- and after- shots of my WT 8Amp I'm well aware that some destroyed Tango on! readers would No2 key. be horrified to see all that patina but as you can see, it was in pretty shabby form before | polished it up. | used 600 then 1200 grit sandpaper to remove the dullness and bring back the shine. There were still some deep scratches in some of the surfaces that were a combination of manufacture and wear and tear. | whipped over the thumbscrews where the leads connect with the sandpaper as well. They look better in the photo than they probably are. use steel wool or something Ideally, one would like that but | hate working with steel wool and dealing with the splinters and the mess. a relatively quick and superficial job. As cleans and polishes go, it was | did a final polish with Autosol metal polish. It's not a perfect mirror finish and there are still plenty of imperfections on the surface but I'm happy with the way it looks now. I'm happy with the results so that's all that matters to me. It's mounted on a scrap piece of hardwood flooring with some stain and oll to give it a bit of colour. | noticed Ross MONNK has pulled his WT 8Amp apart for a service too. It's great to see so many of these old keys getting regular use after all these years. | really love the feel of mine. It's not a large key but it feels heavy and solid when sending. | normally prefer a very tight action on my straight keys but with my 8Ampo | like to open it up to better hear and feel it. rubber feet on the wooden base to stop movement | have but they're a little squishy and | plan to replace them with something with less give so it's more stable. I'm also interested to know if anyone in the group Is using a Clipsal straight Key. I'd be even more interested if they had one to sell because It would be a great companion to this key. Cheers, Brendan. VK3BAP [Great job Brendan - thank you for sharing. / Uitimatic Mode by Ross MONNK Currently I'm learning how to use a straight key, and thoroughly enjoying it. But | started my CW life with a paddle. | have a tidy mind and so, before learning to send, | evaluated the various paddle modes available. The modes were: e lambic A e lambic e Ultimatic B By the way, an ‘lamb’ is a unit of rhythm in poetry, consisting of one short syllable that Is not stressed followed by one !ong one that Is stressed, for example in the word ‘describe’; think ‘di-dah’. lambic B ts by far the most popular, but | found both the lambic modes really difficult to understand and therefore difficult to learn. On the other hand, Ultimatic mode made complete sense to me. Ultimatic is a ‘squeeze mode’. Like the lambic modes, But, not being an lambic mode, it handles some of the characters in a different way. This video has a very good explanation of how Ultimatic mode works, as well as its pros and cons... and compares it to lambic A and B. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn4j2nfdKNE I've got used to ploughing a lonely furrow in life so | went with Ultimatic. I'm now reasonably accurate at sending at 25 wom a QRQ guy (and nor do | really want to be either). reason for going with Ultimatic. but | doubt I'll ever be Speed was never my My reason was its comprehensible logic - it appealed to my sense of order and tidiness. My question to readers of RagChew Ultimatic mode out there?. is: are there any other users of [Thanks Ross - the thinks you learn from RagChew! users out there? cqqrsnet@gmail.com So any other Ultimatic / From Jordan VK3ACU This is my home brew 80M CW TX and 80M The vfo is not shared at the moment Direct conversion receiver. but | plan on combining the two or perhaps building a stand-alone transceiver. The TX uses a 74HC240 dual octal inverting buffer/line driver and a crystal for 3.579 give or take a little, with a 20pf trimmer. The final is a IRF520 power MOSFET. | can get about 20 watts out depending on the input voltage to the TX. | know above 55V the magic smoke comes out The direct conversion RX works best and seems most sensitive at 9V. I'm also working on a little break-in circuit that has a relay with a delay to switch RX- TX. Next week I'll tell you about an even simpler way of getting on air! Jordan VK3ACU [Brilliant - the true spirit of CW Jordan. ] Running before I can walk also from Ross MONNK The propagation forecast showed a strong but narrow window on 40m between Western Australia and the USA during the ARRL Field Day on 23 June. With some support and encouragement from Mike DL3YZ, | thought I'd give it a try from the remote access FT-991A VK6SR in Perth. Mistake! The result was a frustrating hour of listening to faint US callsigns sent at high speed. On the few occasions when | managed to pick out the callsign from the noise and QSB and respond to their CQ, my 100 watts across Australia and the Pacific was clearly not heard at the other end. Probably, there were a lot of powerful stations in the US responding and blotting out my weak signal. The VK6DV webSDR was knob-twiddling blind. kicked me off after 20 minutes so | And the FT-991A narrow filter seemed to me to be excessively narrow. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And | was able to eavesdrop on the Field Day. But that's an hour of my life I'll never get back. Hey, ho. [Heh heh - good tale Ross. The VK6SR Remote has in the past worked well into the USO - so | suspect the antenna woes are behind part of the trouble.... but also having operated in the US for a couple of years, the QRM level from other State-Side stations and from the South Is unbelievable; The VK6SR during the ARRL Field Day... good luck mate! KiwiSDR Is on test from the same doesn’t time out. The VK6QS KiwiSDR site as the Remote, near Brookton and is connected to a large horizontal loop which works really well... but it also has a one hour time out. By the way, on the RemoteHams system, you can select a wide or narrow filter on CW (left hand menu), and within each you can vary the bandwidth with one of the slide controls. On Narrow - with the bandwidth reduced, the receiver is harsh and rings noticeably.... opening it up to 500Hz sounds better.... and makes tuning around a bit easier... wide and set to 2400HZ is the best way of tuning around of course. ] 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. via the Discord phone / computer audio stream, and previous weeks’ recordings are available. live Contact Nic VK7WW for more info nicholaschantler@hotmail.com - or just join in on Wednesdays. This Week’s Topic of Interest Viva CW Operation La Différance in Europe by Ross Waddams MONNK | can't speak from a great deal of experience but, whilst listening to you all on Tuesday, it struck me that there's a couple of noticeable differences between the bands in Europe and those in Australia. Firstly, you guys have the bands to yourselves. | tuned in the webSDRs (one in Perth and another in Sydney) early but there was no activity apart from a couple of guys chatting on SSB. 0700 UTC and there you all were. In Europe, you are always sharing the band with a handful of other operators, wpm. At the weekends, The CW activity got going dead-on most of whom are sending at 25 contests are popular and then you can see twenty or more traces on the waterfall display, all QRQ - time to leave and come back when it's quieter. There are no contests on 30m, but it does attract the hardcore CW operators. Secondly, | was impressed by how steady your signals are. Here in Europe we seem to suffer terribly from QSB - almost all contacts suffer from fading to some extent. It can be frustrating to miss half of the other guy's transmission and so have to ask for a repeat. And it's not uncommon for a QSO to end because the other guy just slowly disappears into the noise. It was a pleasure to listen-in to your CW efforts. If | saw a trace on the waterfall, | knew it would be slow morse and it was all of good quality. have a great weekly meet-up. other times. The problem You must be finding contacts at Repetition is the key to improving one's Morse and once a week just isn't enough. In Europe, you have to listen in to many conversations to find an operator that's sending at QRS speeds (I'd guess the ratio as 15:1). The solution is to call CQ and hope that someone finds you (thank goodness for waterfall displays!). | don't want to sound as if CW in Europe is terrible. | don't do much radio but, on the few occasions when (midweek mornings in the summer), contacts at 15 wom Far from it. | get out portable | can always pick up one or two within an hour. Here are snapshots of the 20m and 40m bands now at 0745 to show you the sort of activity that's normal. local UK time The thing you have to accept is that there's a lot of operators out there for whom English is not their first language so "name/QTH/RST" manage, is all they can especially if they are QRS and learning. So, keep up the good work. You're doing a great job, guys! Ross MONNK Thanks for another interesting article Ross - very much appreciated. Articles by team members please let me know if you have some ideas. aare always very welcome; Email to cqgrsnet@gmail.com tf Qa) on, -~o | 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: What does “frequency deviation” mean in regard to an FM signal? What type of modulation system changes the amplitude of an RF wave for the purpose of conveying information? e frequency modulation e phase modulation e amplitude-rectification modulation e amplitude modulation The three electrodes of the Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) are: e source, emitter and base e anode, cathode and grid e anode, cathode and gate e source, drain and gate VK3NNN Which wishes to make a test with a new transmitter on 28.45 MHz. procedure is correct? (a) Say the word "Test" three times and then leave the carrier running 10 minutes (b) Monitor the frequency, send the word "TEST" in Morse code, and send a series of "CQ" (c) Monitor the frequency, and announce the callsign every 10 minutes and state that the transmission (d) Announce "VK3NNN is a test testing" three times and then let the transmitter run for 15 minutes Answers next week. Answers from When last week’s Quiz: modulating a carrier signal with voice, what is the frequency range of the modulating signal? Answer: Approx 20Hz to 20KHz. Bleeder resistors are included in power supplies to: e discharge filter capacitors after the supply voltage is switched off prevent damage to filter during overload reduce ripple in the output voltage reduce the size of the filter choke Answer: discharge filter capacitors after the supply voltage is switched off Critical frequency is defined as: e the highest frequency on which it is possible to communicate with another station e the highest frequency at which waves sent vertically are returned to earth e the frequency of the greatest skip distance e the highest frequency with which a station may be contacted by ground wave Answer: the highest frequency at which waves sent vertically are returned to earth 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 Answer: (c) 120 watts pY How did you go? Di-dah-di-dah-dit Here So back to the Slow CW QSO Next Tuesday’s we 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. Landing Frequencies During the net, if you’ve been tuning around for a while and want to take a break, leave your receiver on 7032kHz or 3555kHz. callsign as well; Why not send your you never know who might be listening in... may be one of our new operators, who likes the sound of your CW, and might be spurred to give you a call! 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) if | can help with that. Teamwork Thank you so much to our team of 33 contributors this week: VK/MONNK, VK1HF, VK2DLF, VK2GAS, VK2RU, VK3ACU, VK3BAP, VK3DRQ, VK3JFP, VK3TBR, VK4DRK, VK4EK, VK5A0O, VK5ET, VK5FD, VK5KFG, VK6BEK, VK6FN, VK6HRC, VK6IS, VK6JDM, VK6KD, VK6KHZ, VK6WE, team. VK7KPC, VK7TA, VK7WW, VKENW, VK6PZT, VKORR, ZL2GD, ZL3TK, ZL4BDG; thank you And a special thanks again to those who have written articles for our reading pleasure. €U CW on Tuesday, 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, 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 Coordinated Universal Time Australia NewZealand = o700z ~ 13002 Westen ST UTC+3 1500 ~ 2100 Central ST UTC +95 1630 ~ 2230 abe ST UTC+10 1700 ~ 2300 NZST UTC +12 1900 ~ 0100 Time Band Frequency 07007 - 09002 40m 7.025 MHz ~ 7.040 MHz _ 09002-11002 m -~ 09002 - 1300z 7.025 MHz 80m ie ~ 7.040 MHz 3.540 MHz ~ 3.570 MHz m 3.540 MHz ~ 3.570 MHz 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 we’re on 40m (or send slower to their comfort level). If 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, can hammer the key. not show how fast you 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: httos://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 do not necessarily comments RagChew newsletter are those of the individual contributors. reflect that of the editor or of the CQ about the RagChew QRS Group members. Newsletter. Copyright (C) 2024 CQ QRS. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? 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