Archive for the 'CW' Category


Call CQ Properly and Get More Replies

Mike, K8XF, is an on-the-air friend of mine and one heck of an operator. Here’s something that was recently published in Issue #3 of the Fists CW Club newsletter:
Calling CQ
Mike Zbrozek, K8XF
Fists #6773, Radio Electronics Officer 1980-1996
I have noticed in the past two years the art of calling CQ has changed. Too many ops seem [...]

Look Ma, No Key!

Julius, N2WN, posted a link to this video of F8BBL working CW without a key on the Elecraft mailling list. He has pretty good technique, I think. Maybe in the next video, he’ll use three fingers in iambic mode. :)
Put on a PL-259 in Six Minutes!
While I was on YouTube, I also found a couple [...]

FCC Denies Petitions to Bring Back Morse Code Testing

From the 2/29/08 ARRL Letter:
In a “Memorandum Opinion and Order” (MOO) released February 28, the FCC denied two petitions calling for General or Amateur Extra license applicants to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. In December 2006, the FCC released a “Report and Order” (R&O) in the “Morse code proceeding,” WT Docket 05-235, that eliminated Morse [...]

Odd CW Keys

Lloyd K3ESE sent this link the page Strange CW Keys by OH6DC via the QRP-L mailing list. I like the QLF pedal and the QRQ paddles myself.

Paddles, Paddles, and More Paddles

On the Elecraft mailing list, a discussion was started by a fellow who asked for information on “reasonablyy-priced” iambic paddles. A lively discussion ensued, and many different models were discussed. Some of the paddles discussed were not so reasonably priced, but it was fun to talk about them nonetheless.
Roger, WA7BOC, compiled the following list:

Kent TP-1. [...]

Slow Code…Sometimes It Is Important

This from Brian KB9BVN via the qrp-l.org mailing list:
This afternoon I have been sitting at my desk doing book work for a couple of classes I am taking, so I fired up the K2 and turned it to my favorite 40m frequency and heard nothing…so I left it there while I was working. About a [...]

This Weekend in Ham Radio at KB6NU

30m was open to the west coast this weekend, and I managed to work several stations out west. One of them was K6XG. We discovered that we had several things in common—he worked for Hewlett-Packard, back when they were in the test equipment business, and I covered HP for Test&Measurement World back then; we both [...]

An Interesting QSO

I just had an interesting QSO, and I was paid a very nice compliment in the process. I called CQ and got a reply from Howard K7JNX. We were operating somewhere between 25 and 30 wpm.
Howard complimented me on my fist, mentioning that he was using MixW software to copy. I must have a pretty [...]

Sending Pictures by CW?

Rob, KC8RCO, sent me an article from the July 2007 issue of Popular Communications in which Bill, N3AVY, proposes to send pictures via CW. CW is the original digital mode after all, isn’t it?
It is an amusing idea. I would suggest, though, that he start with a small image, such as the small ARRL [...]

Bug Advice

On the qrp-l.org mailing list, Doug K4DSP offered the following advice for using a bug:

Get a decent bug. A piece of junk will sound like a piece of junk and you’ll get frustrated very quickly. You can still buy new bugs from Vibroplex for less than $200. You only buy quality once.
Whether you buy a [...]