Yes, you can work DX with an attic wire antenna bent to fit and only 25 watts CW output. I have never had good antennas and only ran up to 100 watts in the past but worked a fair amount of DX. Now I run a very much compromise antenna system, lower power and have still worked a bit of DX. Of course, good band conditions are a must. Also, the operator and station setup on the other end play a big part. I have worked into the south Pacific, Africa, Asia and throughout Europe since downsizing the QTH. Often it is a struggle and the copy at the other end is not that great, but when a station down under actually copies me well enough to have a short conversation, I keep coming back for more.
Let’s face it, I will never be a good head copy CW operator. Yes, I hear certain words and abbreviations as a language, but not enough to carry on a real conversation. In fact, I form far more words in my head than understand as a language. So, I resort to the pencil and paper. At that point a real meaningful rag chew becomes work. Therefore, I am close to giving up. Either work only stations requiring a short bit of information* exchange or learn how to crochet.
* I mean a little more than the normal CW exchange of RST, name and QTH. Topics with familiar words such as equipment used is doable and welcome.
I am beginning to think that SKCC activity is just a 24/7 contest. All too often when I make a general CQ call (not CQ SXCC – I think I only did this once during WES) and get an answer from another SKCC member, they just want to exchange numbers. If a CQ SKCC call is answered there is no hope that more than RST, state, name and SKCC number will be exchanged. (I am not referencing CQ calls during a scheduled SKCC contest.) It looks like an SKCC contact is only a little more than monitoring the Reverse Beacon.
The other day I worked a station using a transmitter from back in the early 1960’s. The sound of the note was a sure sign that it was old. Today we hear the great tone of modern gear, so the T in RST is an automatic 9. As a result, we have difficulty reporting on a note that is not so pure.
To me the sound of old gear is a magnet, I just must call the station.
First: I was an early user of LOTW, FT8 and FT4 and still am a user.
Function = LOTW gives contact confirmation. Form = Paper QSL cards gives contact confirmation with a personality
Function = FT8 and FT4 result in a contact Form = Conversation modes result in a contact with a personality and exchange of thought
I am not much of a podcast listener, but it is nice to listen while on my walks. I heard one podcast the other day whose guest was saying how ham radio brings people from around the country and world together while at the same time saying how exciting FT8 is. I could not reconcile the two statements.
While at Dayton 2022 I tried out the Begali Intrepid bug key. Very nice! I did not jump at the chance to buy it there, but days later I went ahead and made the purchase. It came in yesterday (2022-06-13). It is even better than it was at Hamvention. What a key!!
After a ten year hiatus we made the trip to Dayton. We spent two full days at Hamvention 2022. We had to pass on Sunday’s activities to return home. It was a fantastic show! It is great to be around like mined individuals that understand what Ham Radio is with no explanation required.
As the singer-songwriter Bob Dylan wrote a long time ago, “The Times They Are A-Changin'”. This certainly applies to Ham Radio. We went from substantial effort to accomplish getting a station up and running to snapping one’s fingers and it is all before us. I am not saying which is better and in fact somewhere in the middle sounds about right to me. Fantastic radios, great antennas and even quality coax with the connectors already attached are only a credit card away. As for a license, the test questions are even available for the download. The ARRL during my tenure in the hobby went from Incentive licensing (their way of raising the quality of the operators) to just numbers matter. Okay I am old, so I am just not keeping up with the times. For example, I operate FT8 and FT4, but I just prefer operating a mode that requires a little more participation and skill by the operator. Therefore, I spend most of my operating time on CW. See I am old because I operate Morse Code.
The SKCC WES is fun for a non-contester. Every so often I spend a short time operating the WES and the two hour Sprints. It is a good time to give my TR-25 a workout. Below is a picture of the little radio in action from Studio HO during the March 2022 WES.
Stations can work whomever they please. However, it is common courtesy that if you want to restrict your replies to a certain entity, state etc. say so. This morning a station from Central America was operating and working from what I could tell JA’s. He was not showing any signs of restricting his calling (CQ; QRZ) so every so often I called. Keep in mind that when you run 25 watts with an attic antenna (especially under a wet roof) any contact is revered especially one in a not so common entity. At one point he sent DS? only to ignore my call. Only then did he restrict his calling to JA’s only. I have worked many DX stations in the middle of a JA string so I believe calling him when I did was not out of line. As I said, he can work anyone he wishes, but a little courtesy would not hurt.
