Shack relocation complete
The shack move to Studio S is complete. What a great move! It should have been done a long time ago. The antenna is still the same (poor), but at least the operating position if first class.
Posts by ‘k4ds’
Main Station – Relocation
The seldom used operating position formerly called Studio HO (home office) is now called Studio S (study). Also, it has become the main and only location for the station. It affords a much larger and more comfortable space than Studio LR. But as a trade off, a flight of stairs must be traversed to find the morse keys. The web site will be updated soon. I am sure the massive number of my followers awaits with bated breath for the update (all two of you).
To join or not to join
The last time my ARRL renewal came up I decided to renew. This came after much thought. I have been a member for over 55 years and have supported the ARRL as I felt the hobby needed a voice in the power centers of the world. So, I sent in my funds for renewal. I have to admit that wanting the 275 entity sticker for my DXCC was the main driving force behind my last renewal. The fact is the ARRL does not need me anymore (if the ever did). Their future is young people, contesters and big donors (especially big donors) not us old school CW operators. Also, for a number of years QST magazine was a welcome benefit to membership. I cannot remember the last time I got anything substantial from the publication. In fact, I wrote this post on a flight from ATL to LGA and got all I could form the December 2022 issue before we reached altitude.
Note: I did not vote in the latest ARRL 2022 decision election because I had nothing in common with the candidates.
Ham Radio Videos (pro and con)
I have never been much of a social media person. The only logon I have is with YouTube. Several years ago, I posted a few radio videos, but they did not stay up very long. I have found several radio videos informative. The best posts I viewed have been from newer younger hams and have discussed interesting topics. Of course, I have some negative thoughts also. It appears as the number of YouTubers increases the amount of not so valuable content increases as well. A new radio is announced, and all are posting videos many without firsthand knowledge of the product. Equipped with only what they read from the published literature a video is posted to what appears to not be left out of the fray. Also, at times videos meant to instruct will be posted by individuals without full knowledge of the topic. I watched one recently where the publisher admitted he did not know much about CW, but non the less went on to describe a radio’s CW functions. He went as far as sending CQ and he did not know the letter Q. My concern here is that those looking to gain knowledge may be misled by inaccurate videos. Many new hams I am sure look to social media to grow their knowledge of the hobby and may be sent down the wrong path.
10 and 12 Meters have been good to me
Throughout the years I have not spent a lot of time on 10 Meters and even less on 12. In the PSK31 days I worked a fair amount of DX on 10 meters and tried AM several years ago. As conditions improve 10 and 12 meters may be places for my setup to do okay. At least the past week has netted successful DX’ish contacts. During several of those QSO’s the other station actually copied me well (imagine that).
Working DX with a weenie station
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.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
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.
SKCC – 24/7 Contest
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 T in RST
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.
Form versus function
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.