Subscribe Past Issues Translate View this email CQQRS in your browser RagChew Newsletter from Edition ITTean ae)0m PPO ¢ Two e Mob 7/2025 bie | tthe 40m/ REL Short Planks HamClock e On CQQRS ae (>. ——- the Shack Utility Application My Workbench e QRZ? e SKCC Oceania QRS Saunter - this weekend e Morse Training Net e Can CQQRS keep you young? e CWOps Monthly Zoom Meeting e - this Monday Di-dah-di-dah-dit e About the CQ QRS Group If | said last Tuesday’s net wasn’t great fun, would you believe me? Nope! It was great! Although (where numbers were still down have all our Kiwi mates was full of signals during much a bit on last year’s participation rates gone?), our little segment of the 40m band of the evening - so many people having such a nice time! Teamwork In this week’s edition you'll read about the initiatives of a couple of our Faam tn haln Willa avian firthar an tha averallant rannart avidant hatarnaan v RSS Leal! Ly Hiciy MUU our members. OVO PUPLLIIC! Thanks guys. participation in the CQQRS VI LI CALCIICIIL CVIUTIIL VOLVWOCCUII lines, perhaps net might help you live longer - see below. Thick as two short planks - or seeing what's IaVVVIl And along the same what you want to see not really there. My sincere apologies to everyone who tried to submit their reports via the link included in Monday’s reminder email. Our conscientious team started sending members me emails at 2120 on Tuesday night - they were all getting the strange “That's odd” response. At that time of night | couldn’t work out what was going wrong. managed not. Some had to use the form, others The QR code in Thursday’s RagChew worked, but the emailed link didn’t. A quick note was flashed to Nigel G4RWI the Chief De-Confuser of our That's odd This page appears to be missing. software engineering Department; Nigel had already seen the traffic, and coincidentally found he couldn’t access his Bitly account - which made me think there was some sort of Denial of Service attack on our Bitly URL redirection service. | sent out the full URL of our Google Forms system by email and WhatsApp, which allowed some of our team to submit their reports before hitting the hay. It wasn’t until midday on Wednesday that the penny finally dropped! | just couldn’t work out how a URL re-direction failure to Google Forms could produce a MailChimp error - a closer look at the top left hand corner of the error page showed a MailChimp icon. My brain operates pretty slowly.... and this time was no exception! Our team members Monday’s reminder email.... but I'd copy/pasted the link from the RagChew were clicking on the bitly link that I’d inserted in newsletter.... and sure enough, although the link showed “bit.ly/CQQRSNET” the actual link was trying to take our intrepid users to a re-direction in my MailChimp account.... which of course couldn’t be accessed without a password. The solution was hidden in plain sight. My apologies to everyone for stuffing this up so badly - thankfully, we still got a few reports this week! Phew! Last Tuesday’s Group So back to the business at hand... here’s this week’s list of the 48 stations heard: Ec Member cQ aso1 | aso2 | aso3 | aso4 | asos | asos | aso7 | asos DL3YZ Heard40m | VK2ACU | VK3XU VK2DLF Worked 40m VK2KI VK2GAS | VK3DRQ VK7TA VK2DLF Heard 40m VK2ZEBN Heard on air VK2GAS Worked 40m VK2KI VK2GAS Heard 40m VK2SK VK2IK Worked 40m | VKSKFG | VK2GBR VK2DLF VK2IK Heard 40m VK2KI Worked 40m | VK2GAS | VK3XU VKSCZ VK2KI Heard40m | VK3ACU | VK3XU | VK2BCC | VK3BTV | VK5AO VK7TA ZL3TK VK2KI Worked 80m | VK3ACU VK5CZ | VK2EBN | VK2BBC |} VK5AO VKSIP VK6RR | VK2KI Heard 80m VK6IS VK2WP Worked 40m VK2KI VK3ACU Worked 40m | VK3XU VK3ACU Worked 40m | JOILJG VK3ACU Worked 80m VK6IS VK2KI VK3AFH Heard 40m VK2KI VK2WP VK3BTV Heard on air VK3BWN Worked 40m | VK3DRQ VK3BWN Heard 40m VK3DRQ Worked 40m | VK3KLE VK3DRQ Worked 40m | VK6KD/5 VK3DRQ, Heard 40m VK3XU VK3KEV Heard 40m ZL3TK VK2WP | VK2DLF | VKSKFG VK3XU_ | VK3BTV | VK6RR_ | VKSKFG VK2KI VK2GBR | VK6IS VK5CZ VK2DLF | VKSKFG VK2IK VK2GAS | VK2DLF ZL3TK VK3ASG | VK6JDM | VK6RR | VK3BWN| VK5A0 VK7TA VK3BTV | VK5CZ VK5CZ VKSIP VK3ACU | VK3KEV Heard 40m | VK2GBR | VK3LVT | VK2GAS | VK2WP VK2KI VK3XU VK3KLE Worked 40m | VK3DRQ VK7TA | VK3ASG | VK5SKFG VK2Kl | VK3DRQ | VK3BTV | VK3KLE Heard 40m VK4PN Heard on air VK5A0O Worked 40m | VK4PN ZL3TK VK7TA_ | VK3ACU | VK6KD/5 VK5CZ Worked 40m | VK3ACU VK2KI VK3BTV VK5KFG Worked 40m VK2IK VK2KI VK5KFG Heard 40m VKSAOK VK2DLF ware VK3XU_ | VK3DTU | twa aise le VK3DRQ | VK6HRC Worked 40m Heard 40m Heard on air VK3DRQ Worked 40m Heard 40m Worked 40m Heard 40m VK6KHZ Worked 40m Heard 40m Heard 80m Worked 40m Heard 40m VK2GBR VKSIP VK5A0 VK7KPC Worked 40m Heard 40m Worked 40m Worked 40m Heard 40m Heard 40m Heard 40m Worked 40m VK3DRQ VK5JDM | VKSKFG | VK6WE | VK6KD/5 VK3LVT VK6IS VK2DLF | VK6HRC VKSAO VKS5CZ Masthead Image And thanks this week to Richard VK6HRC for the screenshot of his Raspberry Pi running the HamClock application. | also happend across Greg VK5KFG’s shack photo which also showed the application running on his shack monitor. More from Richard in This Week’s Topic of Interest below. Reports After next Tuesday’s Group, please send me a list of who you worked and / or who you heard using our web form here: bit.ly/COQRSNET Please help attract new and old team your report each week. members to have a go by submitting Submissions close lunch time (Eastern Australian time) on Thursday. If you hear or work one of our team on a different band on Tuesday, just use the 80m please report area and use the instructions to annotate which bit applies to which band. Cheers, mb Mark Bosma VK2KI / VK6QI Beautiful South Bowning mark.bosma@icloud.com NSW non impediti ratione cogitationis Reports & Comments Here’s this week’s reports. The spreadsheets above show the known stations on last Tuesday’s Group. Comments distilled from the reports I’ve received follow: Comments: From Paul VK2IK at Moss Vale NSW [40m] e Finally put antenna time for the net. down back up in It had blown in storms last year. ¢ Good CPI es nice to get on air again after some time. TU Looks like Paul might be quite used to antennas in the wind - this from his qrz.com page from Davis Station Antarctica From Paul Klemke VK3KLE at Stawell [40m] ¢ Band started off quite noisy and within 30 min had improved with lots of Stations on air .. From David VK6KD/5 at Maitland SA on Yorke Peninsula [40m] ¢ Once again great activity on 40m from my QTH. most of the QRM. | was able to filter out Some stations’ CW speed were a bit fast for my decoding SO sometimes | missed some of the details. Good reason for me to practise more often, hihi.. [80m] ¢ By the time | moved couldn't hear much over to 80m on the band this week. From Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith [40m] ¢ Good to make quite a few contacts tonight. Excellent to hear SO many | think most had headed new operators on the air. Had my first Bug contact today with Drew on 100 year old simplex auto, Quite a challenge but good fun. off to sleep. | From Mathew V VK3AFH at Wantirna [40m] ¢ | heard Drew talking to Keiran at first, and was able to head-copy the QSO including their rag chew. | Somehow missed the end of the QSO and the next callsign though, didn't realise it was a new caller and the sending speed had subtly increased! | thought | was following along but wasn't writing anything down so | have no idea how much | actually missed there or who the second caller was :) e There was nothing for a bit then | came across Keiran again, and lan, both 599+ here also (not surprising for Keiran being less than 20km from me).. e Heard Mark again, and eventually VK6IS. Was hard to hear and only got the callsign exchange at first, but the signal from WA increased just enough and | caught the ending. Time just flew by again, its so easy to get caught up listening to all the conversations - 73 all!. [Great fun eh Matthew?!] From Peter VK7KPC at Evandale [40m] ¢ In middle of packing house, so one traffic msg to Stan was all | had time for. Antennas will have to come down soon :-( U @ From Roy VKO6RR at Geraldton [40m] e Didn't hear aS many as usual. But good to hear those that were on.. Duoconical Antenna Ironstone Range From Mike DL3YZ at Stuttgart [40m] ¢ Hello from Germany L. ~ -l : er | fms eae en ! Today | de om — ». | Mad JUSL d@ IEW TTNMULES LO LAKE a quick peek at the famous ironstone SDR. Hope to be back on the air soon :-) Have a great week 73 Mike. From Richard VK6HRC at Padbury [40m] ¢ Heard Jordan VK3ACU call at one stage and he ended up with a pile up ! [80m] * More listening than sending due to gremlins in the shack ( stray RF ) sorted now. From Stan ZL3TK at Waitarere Beach [40m] * Trans-Tasman conditions were perfect, three QTCs passed as planned, plus a welcome unexpected answer from previous week's question.. From your editor Mark VK2KI at Beautiful South Bowning NSW [40m] ¢ | really enjoyed using my old Trio TS-120S on Tuesday. managed I'd to find a CW filter via the VK Classifieds and last week and this week discovered two things. (strange - The alignment of my receiver was way off I’ve only carried it all over the world for nearly 50 years!) - adjusting the IF shift on with the narrow filter increased the signals by a couple of S-points and removed the unpleasantly harsh sounding background noise; about 20+dB (without my noise canceller), allowing a much the adjustment also reduced the S9 noise level by improved signal-to-noise ratio. ¢ | also found that the narrow filter makes adjustment of my phasingtype noise canceller much easier; the noise null is much more distinct with the narrow filter, and providing there's no static crashes around, an S1 noise floor was easily achievable on 40m the previous unusably busy 40m much * So equipped with my drifty old transceiver, | really enjoyed the | chatted to Armin VK2GAS up at Norwest and lan VK5CZ at Clare, Wal VK2WP VK2WP at Bathurst and Georg at St Marys (it was Georg's neat shack that was featured at the start of last week's RagChew).. e After dinner | had a nice chat And of course, band during our net has now become more roomy.. net. (S2 on 80m). with Greg VK5KFG at Willunga just South of McLaren Vale (that used to be such a renowned wine-making area). Greg reminded me that things were still pretty dry down his way - easy to forget that just because the drought broke here several years ago, the same doesn't apply everywhere. While chatting to Greg, Richard VK6HRC posted on our WhatsApp group, an image of the display of his new HamClock Raspberry Pi shack computer application; | had been looking at a picture of Greg's shack, and noticed that he had the same application up on his shack computer as well. Hopefully we'll hear more about the HamClock system from Richard, Greg or others using it as well? « After Greg | had a call from Peter VK6IS at Wundowie as the Absorption Limit Frequency dropped and the band started opening across into WA; then listened-in to the subsequent QSO between | Peter and David VK6KD/5 at Maitland on the Yorke Peninsular before heading down to 80m for a looksee.. [80m] « On 80m | could hear Peter VK6IS working Jordan at Meredith; Peter's signal was marginal, but Jordan was romping Jordan, who swapped between in here. | then hooked up with his hand key and the Simplex bug he'd been restoring (see https://youtu.be/Ox9DpBMLP2M?si=sMTVbi240qq-BBO9 for a look and hear). | thought these used to be called Sidewinder keyers - but | suspect I'm wrong - anyone remember? I've heard others on our net using similar keyers, and I'd found the CW a bit difficult to read - not only are they usually too fast for my small brain, but | think the short dashes and non-standard spacing between But elements can be quite hard to get used to. interesting to listen to... keep going Jordan, eventually I'll figure it out.. * Feeling pretty tired, | intended to round-out the evening with the QSO with Jordan - but as we started, the emails started arriving telling me that our team members couldn't access our Reports form. | couldn't replicate the problem at first (and one person had successfully posted his report), but then recognised that the problem was happening if the link | sent out on Monday's message went to Nigel reminder email was used. A WhatsApp G4RWI who was watching the fun from the other side of the world, and a workaround was posted by email and WhatsApp - all while Jordan was talking to me; Jordan was able to confirm on the fly that the alternative links | sent were working - phew!. ¢ So with that distraction, it was time for beddie-bys for this little black duck. Thanks all - teriffic night.. Also from your editor Mark VK6QI at Beautiful South Bowning the VK6QS and the VK6SEG lAnm! KiwiSDR near Brookton KiwiSDR NSW, via near Northam Lorweeiry e This week | listened-in to both the VK6QS Southern KiwiSDR near Brookton and the Electronics Group one at Northam; for reasons unknown, when | try to connect to the SDRs from my unbelievably fast Macbook M3 that my lovely wife bought me as a Birthday present, the pages take a long long time to load, or hang up (I suspect my anti-virus system is the problem)... so if one wouldn't load, I'd try the other.. ¢ | wasn't watching the whole time but | didn't notice any locals on air whenever | looked. Here in the East, my signals were quite weak on the nearest KiwiSDR to me - about 60km away - so perhaps that's why | didn't see much activity in the West either.. e Anyway, when | was chatting to Georg VK2DLF in St Marys in Sydney, | saw that the band was opening from East to West - anda bit earlier than recently. Georg was around S7 with his dipole, whereas my 60 Watts into my 106m double-extended long 80m Zepp up 7 metres was weaker at S6. My high-tech 300 Ohm TV ribbon feeder to my 80m double-extended Zepp on the far end of the shed. said he'd send us a photo of his antennas one of these days Aer ennaees So why is my signal 6dB down on Georg's? second-hand Georg Either my temporary run of 300 Ohm TV ribbon feeder that I've been using for about 18 months (yeah, | know!) had finally given up the ghost, or my antenna was too low and was producing too high an angle of radiation? Nope - | keep forgetting.... the two five-eighths wavelength elements in phase which should produce a nice East-West radiation pattern on 80m, are likely to produce a clover-leaf type pattern on 40m where the antenna wavelength elements. is two 1-1/4 Guess | need another DEZ antenna for 40m! ¢ Half an hour later | watched Greg VK5KFG's signal into WA, and finally | could see some Sandgropers - Peter VK6IS at Wundowie and David VK6KD portable at Maitland on the Yorke Peninsular SA.. [80m] ¢ | slipped down to 80m at around 1145z, and it was nice to see that the band was also open across Australia a bit earlier than recent times. in to Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith chatting to Peter VK6IS, before | hooked Up to Jordan myself from my home From Kevin VK3KEV | listened in VK2.. at Seymour Vic. [40m] ¢« Great conditions on 40m, witha plethora of stations to listen to, | spent some time copying Manny vk3drq and Stan zl3tk having a long discussion. The rest of the evening spent trying to improve my head copy skills, (work in progress!!). Lots of faint DX heard, mainly Japan. [80m] ¢ Switched to 80m at 9.30pm, only heard crickets. Sent some CQs out, no response.. [Bad luck Kevin. CQQQRS Don’t forget, you could always flash out an Alert on the WhatsApp group - that might bring some of the team down to 80m.] From Ketut VK3BWN at Keilor [40m] e Pretty noisy conditions but the VK2 VK3 local stations are coming in strong. VK6 was heard very faint.. From Manny VK3DRQ at Blackburn [40m] ¢ | am sad and disappointed to heard the INSULT "ham" popping up every now and then amongst the Radio Amateurs . It seems to me, that some Radio Amateurs either don't know or don't care.. « Yes, | do like ham on my toast or in my sandwich, but please, we are NOT hams; that's VERY DEROGATORY... From Wal VK2WP at Bathurst NSW [40m] ¢ Surrounded by bands of lightning storms which made for difficult conditions. Perhaps better luck next Tuesday. Post Morsum Report from Richard VK6HRC Hello Mark, Six people called in on the AllStar/ Echolink and Wednesday WA Repeater network for morning’s Post Morsum. VK6QI Mark VK5ET John VK6FN Max VK6KD/5 David VK6KRC Bob VK6HRC VK6MRB our regular SWL and others. The early opening from East to West on 40Mx was enjoyed by all. Mark had six contacts on 40Mx and one on 80Mx and did a great job of spotting on WhatsApp. John called in to let us know that he hadn’t been on for a while, but will back on when it is cool enough to get back into the shack. Max spent this Birthday evening no side tone; listening-in as his rig had a problem with Max was confident that all should be OK soon. David called in from the Yorke Peninsula in VK5 to report all went well with his setup last night and was also busy packing his awning away trying to beat the gusty wind and heat - 40 deg C expected! | had two contacts on forty but spent most of session listening around and trying to trace the stray RF creating havoc in my shack. Thanks to all for the great copy practice though. Bob called in trying to track the ever-elusive Donald VK6JDM do our best to establish some way of regular comms down. We will with our wandering Doctor! Thank you to all on the net lon Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, stay safe. 73 Richard. This Week’s Topic of Interest HamClock Shack Raspberry Utility Application Pi Shack by Richard Display VK6HRC I saw this app on a computer in the Northern Corridor Radio Club Shack Tt looked verv interesting so decided to trv it aut 7 LOE LY ERO hw BY WY BAY UL Vv w= J Ce en Sa wwe vette Ld wk WY WY LAMA YY UL wiv v=~ J LW a | J VEL VO ————— —————— VOACAP DE-DX a sas 1 0:26 e iis Feb HamClock weather, 31 Cc | | f AVS —_ [aonraet § aT a cm esc: re ECAae tere ry is a kiosk-style application that provides real time space radio propagation models, operating events and other information particularly useful to the radio amateur. introduced in an October 2017 maintained and expanded HamClock was OST article and continues to be by the developer WBOOEW. | managed to get it going just before the CQQRS net on Tuesday and it was good to see it working - showing how the band was changing as the evening progressed. Still work in progress and a lot to learn, it is running on a Raspberry PI 4 linked to my LAN. I have read that it will also run on other Pi models as well as other operating systems. It looks like it can be configured to display all sorts of useful live information such as the Reverse Beacon Network, satellite passes etc. Here’s the link to the website: https://www.clearskyinstitute.com/ham/HamClock/ For quick start on Raspberry PI or other UNIX-like operating systems see the Desktop tab on that website. The User Guide tab provides detailed operating instructions. It would be good to get some feedback from others in the group who try or are already running the app; I know Greg i Hii a lomo VK5KFG uses it as well. HamClock running in Greg VK5KFG’s shack. Cheers Richard If you have an article or two that you think might be of interest to our readers, please let me know so we can share more thoughts and ideas; email to On From Paul cqgrsnet@gqmail.com My Workbench VK3KLE at Stawell Spent a fair bit of Tuesday evening listening and copying bits and pieces in my head. Did this while recapping a Geloso 1950 G222 transmitter. Tube lineup is 6CL6, 5763 driver and 6146A tube . Modulated by a pair of 807 tubes. The new metal Poly caps arrived today. Not surprisingly they have very low esr. They hold a full charge after a Cuppa - no perceivable self discharge. Wouldn't leave one of those on the bench fully charged hihi. Physically they are quite large so they need a roomy chassis. Really the caps are suitable for a 2 cap one choke pi filter for a HT power supply. The Geloso G222 has a great modulation transformer. Unusual tap for the Pl. ean It has an 6146 screen. The G222 made in Milano Italy. Currently connected to a dummy load for bench tests. send me an email to vk3kle@gmail.com if you ever hear a very weak test call. I announce “testing tx no reply” just in case. Ive previously connected the VR tube to three seperate screens of the RF lineup. During the week | also renewed the VFO caps again as | had a fresh supply of NPO ceramic caps and some 5pF N750 temperature compensation caps. The VFO drifts down about .5 KC in the first 5 mins then gradually about another 1 KC over 30-40 mins. I'm calling that near enough. temp compensation cap would The exact be in range of 6-8pF N750 but they are very hard to obtain these days. Some VFOs are built with a butterfly cap connected to a neg temp cap and a positive one of same value. Not enough room to do this mod. Alternatively | could try a different 6CL6 tube - but it's close enough and reliable so I’m calling it done. Best Regards Paul VK3KLE 73 [Thanks Paul - what fun! The butterfly capacitor to both NTC and PTC capacitors in a VFO to allow the right balance to be found Is an interesting idea. ] And from the Not-So-Good Outcomes Department From Peter VK6IS First try at the 3D-printed paddle mentioned editions. Peter VK6IS Scales in recent weeks’ RagChew Cy Also from That's not good Paul 3:42 PM VK3SKLE I've setup the Drake R4A as a second receiver with the TS- 590SG. Interestingly | had another tweak of the Kenwood something audio, once | had good to compare with - the Drake netted-in with the Kenwood. At lower audio the two make a nice sound together on Rx. The speaker is an old Yamaha hifi from a bookshelf system. Snuck on the far right is a wall ladder line connection for my 80m 1/4 wave Sloper - well it goes higher by a shallow angle. Did some 160m CW during the week; made contact with Adrian VK2WF Tallong. | also had a reply on 1812kc but was too week to copy. Best Regards Paul VK3KLE QRZ? Who’s on the other end? In response to my requests for ideas for the RagChew week two of our team e Ketut VKS3BWN said something that had been on his mind was the question why/how others became e newsletter, this have made suggestions. interested in CW in the first place? lan VKILHF said he'd like to hear audio recordings of our team members - background, interests etc. at So lan has bounded away with microphone in hand to start running up some quick interviews for future editions, and Ketut has recorded a bit of his background QRZ? as a sampler for others. Ketut VK3BWN | guess | have always been fascinated since going to the USA for university, when | saw images of World War Il on TV. They always showed a ship or Submarine and the accompanying Sound was some kind of Morse code, just to dramatize the images. | guess that stuck with me and | had been practicing CW since getting licensed as an amateur In the USA. My shack is very simple, nothing to brag about. |am a bit embarrassed to show but here is an impromptu picture with the UuSual mess. Being in the US also helped (at least back then) - the CW airwaves were always busy and there was always someone CW CQ and rag chew in the same every evening to answer your language (as opposed to CW in Europe | was told). As a side note (and maybe even a disclaimer), | dabbled with CB (28MHz and 422MHz) around the 1985s (during middle school in Indonesia) but those were not the same as CW of course. So there Is that ham/tinkering aspect too since long ago. However, Indonesia show much of WWII here too with ANZAC history). | do not think that TV programs In history. It must be an American thing (and Sincerely Ketut QRZ? So I’m really keen to share backgrounds of some of our team members It's really good to know who's on the other end of the QSO. If you'd like to share some thoughts about yourself either written or recorded on your phone note-taker application, please let me know: cgarsnet@gmail.com Alternatively, lan VKLHF is keen to record and produce some short segments for RagChew If you'd like; details to lan. send me an email and I'll pass your - Other SKCC News Other things I’ve received from our 200-plus Oceania Saunter QRS readers. From Garry VK2GAZ: The SKCC Oceania QRS Saunter will take place this Saturday, February, All are welcome to join in - no need to be an SKCC All the details for the Oceania SKCC 15th 2025 from 00:00 UTC until 11:59 UTC a 12 hour event. website QRS Saunter (OQS) can member. be viewed on the at: https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/ogs/ Please make use of the SKCC Sked Page and the CW Club RBN Spotter. httos://sked.skccgroup.com/ httos://ron.telegraphy.de/ | look forward to contacting you during the event. Garry VK2GAZ/VK2ZP pet SKCC Straight Straight Key Century Club #5460C Manager SKCC OQS SK % CC Best regards, Key Oceania Century QRS Club Saunter Saturday, 15th February, 2025 @ 00:00 UTC 12 Oceania QRS Hours 00:00 - 11:59 UTC Saunter 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 on that net. Many of our team learned Morse code with the support of Nic, and the weekly training session comes highly recommended for anyone VA7WW ‘Nic’ VK7WW __ Tasmania, Australia who wants to learn the Code, or simply brush up. Everyone’s welcome - 3580kHz at 7pm Eastern time every Wednesday. The NTARC also feeds the CW live via the Discord phone / computer audio stream, and previous weeks’ recordings are available. Contact Nic VK7WW for more info nicholaschantler@hotmail.co m - or just join in on Wednesdays. “OTH Legana, 15km North of fanncentan; Tasmania CAUETRALA Grid Sq: QE38mp LONG 147.030414 LAT -41.353883 147 1°49"E 41 21°13”S QSO with: VK6Q|_ Fx: 3.554 Mhz Tx: H/brew BD139 PA RST: 479 Time/Date: 1Aug23 Mode: CW ~~ Pwr: iwatt 1100z Rx: 1C751A — Ant: 80m Db! Extended Zepp @15m Mark, great to work you from your remote Stn VK6SR at Bedfordale, South of Perth wid 100 Watts output to a Marconi-Tee up 12m with a 60m flat top! 73 Nic. Tnx fer RST 539 EAGATT? Te nan ha faund an tha NTADA urnhoite at htina: //ntawn nat /auniants Growing Young One of the many regular emails | receive is Noe/ News, a newsletter from an investment advisor Noel Whittaker. gems There’s often some in the newsletter, including this week, a burst on a book he’d read called Growing Marta Zaraska. He claimed book Young by that what interesting made the is its explanation @ R () W V () U | N ic. of how everyday events influence the body’s chemistry. For instance, smiling at someone N ( - a stranger or a Supermarket cashier - triggers the release of chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin in both you and the other person. These chemicals promote happiness, bonding, and well-being. HOW )SHIP, »S CAN MARTA HELP OPTIMISM, YOU AND LIVE TO 100 ZARASEA In contrast, stress triggers release of cortiso/, a stress hormone, which can lead to anxiety, increased heart rate and long-term health problems when elevated chronically. The book claims a profound impact of our interactions and emotions on physical health. Whittaker also mentioned a 2014 study by Dr Gillian Sandstrom, from the University of Essex, who found that casual encounters with acquaintances — like neighbours, baristas or gym classmates - boosts happiness and a sense of community. Her research shows that talking to strangers fosters connection and contentment, challenging the notion that such encounters are trivial or unworthy of our time. Dr Sandstrom pointed out that speaking to even one new person weekly can bring unexpected joy and meaning into your life. He tells us that the book’s case studies and conclusions are compelling. A profound message for retirees is to consider more than climate or cost of living. Key questions include: What activities foster connections? the environment support purpose? How does Equally important, what will your partner’s social life look like if you pass away first? Whittaker thinks that reading Growing Young aging well. Zaraska’s insights are grounded is like following a roadmap to in robust science but remain accessible and engaging. The book reminds us that aging doesn’t mean growing apart. The choices we make today - nurturing relationships, fostering positivity and staying engaged Voaare - can profoundly shape our future yl Jo A key takeaway Is that humans are wired for connection. Loneliness, Zaraska explains, is as harmful as smoking, while strong relationships can add years to life. For older folk in retirement, replacing workplace interactions with hobbies, volunteering or community groups can enrich life. The author also highlights how viewing retirement as an Opportunity rather than the start of decline could precipitate longer, healthier lives. Whether or not you believe the claims, I'll leave you to form your own opinion, but here’s a thought; CQQRS team? has your life improved since you joined the Do you feel more happy, engaged and young? We try to make the Tuesday evenings fun and engaging, and hopefully the RagChew newsletter, the Post Morsum and our WhatsApp groups all focus on making our mob such a great team. licensed in the early 70s, some of the CW messaging When |! was first people | knew seemed exclusive (in the verbal sense) club that kind of looked down people who weren't on the inner. to be a its nose at the | Know that what we now have is a group of people who not only enjoy the challenge of CW, but really enjoy the company of our 200-plus team members. lf there’s something we can do to build on that momentum, Know; please let me caagrsnet@gmail.com For Sale - Bencher Single Lever Paddle Jordan VK3ACU Clarke $200 Contact Jordan VK3ACU vk3acu@qmail.com i Bencher single lever paddle $200 for details. 2:93pyjy Fists Down Under - Summer From Richard VK6HRC QSO Join us every Friday night between The International Morse Preservation Society Party 0800 and 1100 UTC for the weekly FDU get together. Split into an early time slot (O800 to 1000) and a late time Slot (0900 to1100) there should be something for all suggested bands and conditions. Choose the early slot for the higher bands and see if you can work between VK and ZL or beyond. Choose the later slot for local 40 and 80m working. Contacts with FDU and non FDU members exchange ma Arr are encouraged. No need to FDU numbers, just have a short chat exchanging the basics, or Nan! t AA eIiERNEAN FA nel, far FNDC iF nAAA Rha Art AAR! FF Mier an rAARA KR RAN FA IV. VUTI LTIesSILALe LU GDR IVI QYNO LT Meeu VE, VUL UVTI LIINSS a ClialiCe LU practice a little quicker if you can! While any band is OK for FDU activity, the focus of this Party (and the associated Award) is 80-40-30- and 20m. Results of who was on (and submitted a log to Philip) will be published each week. Therefore, remember to submit a log to Philip (zululimalpsh(at)gmail.com) at your earliest convenience. Calling format is “CQ FDU de”. frequencies, Frequencies are the usual FDU but +/- to find participants is fine. Recommended FISTS calling frequencies (MHz): 1.808 3.528 7.028 10.118 14.058 18.085 21.058 24.908 For the period 3 January 2025 to 28 March 2025 an award for QSO participation will be presented, see the award details here OSO Format will be fine tuned again as the winter months approach. For more information: httpos://www.fdu.org.au/events/ Friday Kick-Back in association with the FDU Summer QSO Party Friday 0800z on 703®@kHz Hosted in WA Ns MNase st] Vt ColaOar: lale ¥ WOFEN Giitalso available across Australia, New Zealand oe Friday Kick Back —Kelaxse 7032 KHZ Peel Amateur Radio Group and 28.058 Party Party Award. PARGFEST Swap-Meet @ turday 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.secretaryi@igmail.com, The Peel Amateur Radio Group invites you to PARGFEST 2025 The Peel Amateur Radio Group will hold PARGFEST on Saturday Feb 15% 2025, We'll again be holding a huge Raitle with big prizes, a swap-meet, displays and guest speakers: Our major annual raffle has prizes which include ICOM vouchers for $2000, $700 and $ 300 plus six other major prizes. The combined prize pool is worth over $3400! Roffle tickets are on sale now and you can buy tickets from your own phone, computer or in person on the day. Tickets are selling fast - secure yours now! https://rafflelink.com.au/parg2025 We'd love to see as many of you there es we can, so come along, grab a bargain, have a chin wag, and maybe you'll win-a shiny new bit of amateur radio kit. Call in to VAGARG in PARG1 on your way or during the event. We re on tie South West AllStar network and on VRGRMH 146.850MHz with 2 91.5Hz sub-tone PARGFEST is again proudly supported by Mark Rawlings fam Even if you can’t make it to Mandurah, the line for that new bit of kit: TET Emtrin of Port Dennicon here’s an opportunity to get over PARG’s mega raffle: https://rafflelink.com.au/parg2025 CWops New Monthly Zoom Meeting from Chris VK3QB CWops brings together Amateur Radio operators who enjoy communicating by Morse Code (CW). communications, CWops CWops encourages the use of CW and it supports CW activity through promotes goodwill among fosters the education of young Amateur Radio. in Amateur planned events. Amateurs throughout the world, and it people and others in matters related to We also offer free CW training to those who want to learn this special skill that reaches back to the very beginning of ham remains vital today. radio and As a part of my ongoing efforts to promote and encourage CW of the world, I'll be trialling a monthly Zoom in our part session to discuss all things Morse Code. | intend these sessions to be inclusive, to provide encouragement and support, and promote self improvement. | hope to have guest speakers covering all manner of topics from: e the basics of a QSO e contesting - the pros and cons and why? e chasing DX e improving code e using bugs e using apps e Head copy the list goes on. Perhaps just as important, is a forum for building a sense of community, putting faces to callsigns and hopefully an environment where people can obtain support to help them overcome whatever hurdles face them in their pursuits to be active on-air. So the events will be on the 34 Monday of month at 0830Z; Zoom login details etc before each event. Good wishes! Yours I'll provide in CW 73, Chris VK3QB CW Ops # 2949 Celebrating the unique WwWw.Cwops.org art form of Morse Code Di-dah-di-dah-dit Here So back to the Slow CW QSO Next Tuesday’s Our CQQRS we go. practice net. Net Group 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. There's usually people around until after 1300z - so keep calling in the segment of the band designated in the table below until you catch someone. | should be on as usual from home NMAALALAATLA LATA awa Pll AlAA AA wasn ben RAN FARR in NSW or via the Remote at REAR RA A AA AR cent EIAAR VIISCING DEQCIOIUdIe WA, ala Ill alsU VE WALCTIINIG and Tecsun SDRs in WA and NSW LIE YPrOCEeUlnYgs respectively. USING LIE VROWS Hope to hear you there. Reports Please let me know via our Reports form bit.ly/CQQRSNET who you work or hear on Tuesday’s Group. The report form closes at lunchtime (Eastern Australian time) on Thursday. Post Morsum Richard VK6HRC will run our phone Post Morsum on the South West AllStar net (via repeaters and hotspots all over WA) from 0600 WA time, then from 0700 WA time on 80m (3605 LSB). For the 0600 (22002) net, 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, if you have an AllStar node (or you may be able to connect your local AllStarenabled repeater to the net via DTIMF codes), connect to node 42482, 51077 or 42732 - these are the hubs that tie the network of repeaters and nodes together in WA. If you don’t have access to AllStar, you can connect to the network via Echolink. On Echolink, search for one of the following Nodes: VK2KI-L *VK6-HUB* VK6ZGN-L VK6RMH-R VK6NRA-L When you connect to one of those stations on Echolink, you'll be automatically connected to the WA AllStar network, and you should hear us on soon after the hour; let me Know (cggrsnet@qmail.com) with connecting via AllStar or Echolink. if| can help If you’re in WA and can’t connect, give Richard a call on 3605kHz SSB from 0700 (23002). Teamwork Thank you so much to our team of 27 contributors: VK2GAS, VK2GAZ, VK2IK, VK2WP, VK3ACU, VK3AFH, VK3BWN, VK3KEV, VK3KLE, VK3QB, VK5AO, VK5CZ, VK6HRC, VK6KD/5, VK6KHZ, VK6RR, VK6WE, Thank you team. €U CW on Tuesday, mb Mark Bosma VK2KI / VK6QI Beautiful South Bowning NSW mark.bosma@icloud.com non impediti ratione cogitationis ©en) — =a DL3YZ, VK1HF, VK2DLF, VK3DRQ, VK6IS, VK6JDM, VK7KPC, VK7TA, VK7WW and ZL3TK. An Ode to CW - thanks to David VK3RU: In days of old, when ops were bold, And LODy PLRRR sideband was not invented, Words were passed by pounding brass, ‘8 And all were quite contented. - Unknown author After-Thoughts Why is it that If a deaf Why are you Why do people say person has to IN a movie, people pay to they ‘slept go to court, is but you're ON go up tall like a baby' it still called a television? when hearing? babies buildings and then put wake up money in every two binoculars to hours? look at things on the ground? About the CQ QRS Group Here’s the details. The team will be on again for our usual Tuesday arvo / evening Practice QSO Group. Frequencies and Times Coordinated Universal Time Australia 0700z to 1300z Western Australia Time UTC +8 Hours Central Australian Time | UTC + 10.5 Hours | 1730 to 2330 Eastern Australian Time | | 1800 to 2400 New Zealand 0700z to 0900z 0900z to 1100z 0900z to 1300z UTC + 11 Hours 1500 to 2100 Queensland Time UTC + 10 Hours 1700 to 2300 NZ Time UTC + 13 Hours 2000 to 0200 7020kHz - 7040kHz 7020kHz - 7040kHz 3540kHz - 3570kHz 3540kHz - 3570kHz Wednesday (VK/ZL) Post Morsum 22002 - 2300z WA FM AllStar Network (direct or via Echolink) Friday Friday KickBack 0800z 7932kHz - hosted in the sand by Richard VK6HRC Max VK6FN and Peter VK6IS, and elsewhere by you perhaps? QRL? 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). And if you are already having a QSO and someone sends “QRL?”, respond with “R”, “C”, “Y”, “YES” or QRL to let the caller know that the frequency is in use. If we’re on 40m and you can hear that the band is open outside Australasia, perhaps consider calling 500HzZ 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? Rhythm? If you’re proficient at CW and can race along at 20 or 30wpm - terrific, but please remember, the Group’s aim is to encourage participation and learning, 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 perfect CW; how many it sound like the longer we go with our Group, the more | understand just 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’ reward you one day by coming good up on air to say g’day and thanks - how 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 there half an hour ago, etc! letters that were right PSE QRS And if someone is sending too fast to comfortably copy - “PSE RPT PSE QRS” PSE or “AGN? 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, Whose frequency before replying. is this anyway? The aim is to give everyone a go at contacting others - no-one owns their calling frequency in this Group. 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 in this Group.... 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 7032KkHz (7028kHz secondary) or 3555kHz. enjoy the frequency. If you catch someone, there’s no need to QSY - 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. And of course, put the frequencies in a memory so outside of the Group, if you’re not tuning around, leave your receiver on one of the primary frequencies - you never know who you'll hear (7032 is used in VK and ZL for SOTA/ PARKS during the day so you'll often hear activity there). 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. 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) 2025 QRS Group Newsletter. CQ QRS. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences ere lana’ ine mailchimp members. or unsubscribe