If you’ve read this blog at all, you know I’m a big proponent of CW. For me, it’s just a lot of fun. I ragchew, work DX, and participate in contests using CW.

One thing I have not done yet with CW is to operate in a net. So, I’m making it a goal to regularly participate in one or more CW nets. Now, the next question is how to find them.

According to the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet, there are five state QSO Parties next weekend:

This week, I received two more QSL cards to add to my collection of “cards from stations whose calls spell words:”

• N2BE
• K7UP

John K7UP writes, “Dan–While I was in Australia as VK5SZ, I worked and received a card from OK1ASS!” Now, that’s a station I have to work as well.

A week or so ago, I posted a notice about a sale on Weller soldering stations to our club mailing list. A short discussion followed on different soldering irons.

Dave, WB4SBE replied:

I would only like to add a caution to those considering some of the more simple soldering pencils out there. I found (the hard way) that they don’t necessarily offer good isolation from the power line. For the really cheap ones, depending on which way you have the soldering pencil plug inserted in the socket, you may have the tip connected to the hot side of the AC line, or if there is some insulation there, it may be pretty flimsy thin paper stuff that will wear quickly and present a hazard.

As the Michigan Section Affiliated Club Coordinator, I now get involved in many different things. This weekend, I was invited to a meeting with the Michigan Section top brass. I learned a bunch of new things:

After yesterday’s club meeting, a bunch of us were standing around, talking about different things. The topic somehow turned to physically small antennas and their efficiency. One guy remarked that not only were they not very efficient, but the voltages could get quite high. To which another replied, “Yeah, you don’t want to put your lips on it.”

I think that’s great advice. Whether it be an antenna, power supply, transceiver–just about anything related to ham radio–you probably don’t want to put your lips on it.

I had lunch with a friend, Dennis KT8X, yesterday, and he told me a funny story. Dennis is a big contester, and he was telling me that he’ll often use a name other than Dennis when operating a contest. When I asked why, he said that throws off the contestants that use a name database.

“Name database?,” I asked. “Yeah,” he said, “some guys use a database of calls and names to automatically fill in the name field of a contest log so that they don’t have to actually copy the name. So, since contests don’t require that you use your own name, I’ll sometimes use something different. If they don’t actually copy what I’m sending, they’ll lose the score for that particular QSO.”

On Saturday, I worked the CW version of the North American QSO Party. I hadn’t worked a contest for a while so I thought I’d give it a go. It was amusing enough, but I don’t really have a good setup for contesting. I gave up after about an hour and a half, having made 44 contacts with 23 multipliers for a score of 1,012.

Ham Radio Operators Become Lifeline for Tsunami-Stricken Indian Islands

Hams lend a helping hand

Click on the story titles above to see how hams are aiding tsunami victims in India. It seems to me that the Indian government would do well to speed up their approval process.

Most clubs collect membership dues at this time of year. When I was our club’s treasurer, I was often disappointed that so many members did not renew. There are many legitimate reasons for not renewing a membership. A member may move away, for example, or they may have lost interest in amateur radio.

Often, however, a member may not renew simply because he or she isn’t aware that the dues are due. Putting a notice in the club newsletter or sending an e-mail to the club mailling lists are a couple of ways to reach members, but a single notice or e-mail won’t do the job.

This year, the newly-appointed ARROW Membership Chairman Jeff Zupan, W8SGZ, has done a great job “re-upping” the membership. Jeff started early, passing out renewal notices at the November meeting. He mailed renewal notices to those who were not at the meeting, and has reminded members at every club function since then that they need to pay their dues. He also sent notices to those who were members in 2003, but had not renewed in 2004.