I realize during weekends contesting rules the roost. However, I have noticed that during weekdays the activity has taken on an appearance that I wish I was not seeing. I can tune around a very quiet band thinking the propagation forecast is incorrect until sprint contest time. Suddenly wall to wall strong signals. When the contest time is up the band is dead again.
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.
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.
I am not a contest op nor will I ever be one. I tried my hand at working a few stations in the 2022 ARRL DX contest. Not properly reading the exchange required and then not paying attention to the other stations when they asked for the required info, created confusion. (Since I am running 25 watts into an attic antenna, when I hear a question mark during a contest, I assume they are asking for a repeat.) What got my attention was when one station dropped down from 30 WPM to ask for my state when I realized something was not right. I was ready to pull the plug as I felt no one could hear me, but when I started sending the correct information my success rate improved.
I guess in the future during big contest weekends I should head to the WARC Bands.
I am not a contester, but from time to time I make a few contacts during the monthly SKCC’s SKS. I am finding it a good time to put my TR-25 on line. I have to streamline the setup so when using my “field radio” on the operating table it is not a sight. I used my original straight key from 1958. Please see the photo below.
Throughout the years I have never had very good HF antennas. If fact my antennas have gone from not so good to poor. As a result, most of my DX contacts have been short to very short. I guess it would be nice to have good antennas and run power to garner enough attention that a DX station would be inclined to spend a few minutes exchanging words beyond a signal report, QTH and maybe a name.
I appreciate every contact I make, but a few DX contacts stand out. Several such QSO’s came to mind the other day when I received a response to my CQ on the low end of 20 meters (CW). It was from a station in the southern Caribbean. After getting over the shock from getting an answer to my CQ let alone from a DX station, I decided to try and extend the contact a bit and send more than just a report and my state. It worked and we had a nice exchange. Greg, Thank you.