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Category Archives: DX

CW Clubs

I was saddened to see an original charter CW Ops member drop out this week. It becomes easier to understand when one looks at the focus of Club Activities through the year. It seems the Ops group has morphed into a contest club for the most part and that simply does not appeal to a lot of folks. Having added pressures to promote activity that you are not fond of is adding pressure to a hobby that normally should be reserved for a working environment, not a pastime environment. I sometimes feel we hobbyists project working world drive into our hobby life and then wonder why we burn out.

Lately though, CW Ops has begun a QTX rag chewing activity award. Inasmuch as my practice buddy and I get on each day for an hour, we have divided our hour into three twenty minute QSO’s on different bands and plan to enter that award with a QSO we would have been doing anyway. I suppose that it a breach of some semblance of rule making but until someone tells me to stop Ill submit my hours of activity.

Most of the remaining CW enthusiasts from my era began life in a solitary way, finding our skills by ourselves, learning solo, making friends on the air rather than via the internet and until the coming of phone trees, DX repeaters and DX Clusters ruined everything (for me at least), radio was a singularly solo sport and achievement came at the cost of time and sacrifice with sweat. Clubs rarely organized around a Morse Code event or for that matter ever recognized Morse Operators very much. It was all Repeaters, VHF, UHF, Field Days or other activities which lend themselves to groups. Perhaps that is a fundamental difference between general Ham Activity and those of us that became CW aficionados earlier in life. Perhaps I am recalling wrongly. Maybe I am sentimental and full of BS. Given that the aforementioned is true, I will still miss my friend, but I know where to find him. Another beacon from Asia with an excellent fist and a bit of warm conversation for anyone that comes along. I will be spending more time around the low end of 40 meters this winter on the off chance I can once again renew an acquaintance. And that is the way of Morse and Radio. It is best accomplished live and on the air.

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on December 6, 2011 in DX, Morse, Radio, Stuff

This N That

13 Nov

It has been a while since I commented on the food/diet situation. The short version is I took a diet holiday. In June while visiting my Daughter’s family in Colorado I reached my modern low weight of 195. To celebrate I have been up and down throughout the summer from 195 up to as much as 214. Now Ive got my head screwed on again so am back to mostly Primal. BP again coming down from its heights of 118/66 to back under 112/65. Lessons learned: Salt in any quantity or drinking alcohol (in my case its mostly wine) kicks up the old BP 10 to 20 points systolic.Dystolic seems to fair better as it pretty much stays constant. In any event staying carb free (under 20 grams per day) is now very easy and almost automatic. The next challenge will be to contain volume of foods eaten. Volume matters it turns out. When you are older it really matters. So getting the just right combination of what to eat, how much to eat coupled with exercise (moderate) and admitting age related metabolism slowing is real turns out to be a delicate balance to maintain. Onward and downward. 160 pounds is my goal. Now that Ive learned how to do it I simply need TO do it. My exercise regimen is a constant throughout this whole 1.5 years experiment. 1.5 miles of walking every morning (almost that is) before beginning the day. It turns out that my walking is done mostly before dawn. Just a short 30 minutes repast.

While I blog I usually listen to the radio. This mornings fare is 24.9 MHz. Loads of very large signals and I am tempted to do more than listen. However, it is almost always duck soup to make contacts on the higher bands and after the novelty of having sunspots wears off I mostly listen unless there is some sort of DX station that Ive never worked coming in. Then I may just add to the bedlam. I may have mentioned that I sent off some envelopes to the buro; something that I have not done in some time. It seems that most of the DX stations these days have all acquiesced to working as if done by machine. Wham, Bam, thank you whomever. More is better no? Not complaining; just an old persons lament. I seem to have missed the golden era of DXing by being in service for almost 10 years way back when. Cheer up everything appears to be cyclical. Maybe it may get more personal or perhaps it just that hope springs eternal.

My son is enjoying his weather studies so far. He wants to become a storm chaser with the Met Group and Ham Club at A&M. To this end, and knowing he never reads my blog, I suppose I will investigate one of those el cheapo handhelds for Xmas this year. If anyone has a suggestion about them I’m all ears. I don’t want to invest an awful lot of greenbacks in case his interest is simply a passing fancy.

In any event, get on the air! Enjoy your weekend and have fun with the family.

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on November 13, 2011 in DX, Family, Radio, Stuff

Time for a facelift

01 Nov

Time for a freshening up I think. I am not sure I really like this new theme but what the hay, lets let it hang a few days and see if it grows on me. The old format got kind of stale.

What isn’t getting stale are the bands these days. Wow, what a great set of openings. I was plunking around last night and most of yesterday while doing my surfing thang on the internet and couldn’t resist trying to contact a few fellows. I must be graduating into the realm of the “Deserving” cuz some were worked and some were only heard. Tops in rarity yesterday was (for me) a 5t0JL on 18 MHz late in the day. I was sitting on 18 MHz and checking my tuner settings and happened to see a pip at the low end of the band….there I found a strong 5t0JL making his presence known to anyone wishing a Q so I popped my call in and came away with a nice 579. Rather a fortutious find if I do say so myself. Yes, I am quite pleased with this one!

Earlier on 10 Meters I worked some DX throughout the day from all manner of climes. DL60SSC, I2AZ,RK6YY,EW8),RK3ER,OE4VIE to name a few and a pretty good sampling if I do say so myself.Not a bad day for sure. As you may be aware, I am a casual DXer so mostly answer folks calling and hardly ever use a cluster. Sometimes if a guy is calling split for an awfully long time without identifying Ill cluster him up to see just who it is going on for twenty or thirty minutes sans ID.:)

After writing my ditty on DX awards chasing off DXers that simply want to chat, I am of course, guilty of reprehensible behavior. At least I am fessing up. I even sent envelopes to the bureau this week (both bureaus W5, W7). I think on casual glance I have 250 ish countries confirmed and the cards sitting in a plastic file box but have never bothered to send them into ARRL for an award. I am either very casual or have no wall space to hang framed certificates. In this case I think both are true statements. My shack walls are littered with tall, narrow windows. What wall space there is is covered by ancient old clocks- these mostly of the Marine Radio Room variety, although I do have one that clangs away and awakens me occasionally from my computer screen induced catharsis. Between computer screens, radio playing softly in the background with a Ham Band tuned in and the clock chirping away I am managing to stay fully entertained. Almost like a monkey with a drilled coconut and a marble inside!

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on November 1, 2011 in DX, Radio

Just like a poor carpenter…..

28 Oct

I am not blaming my tools but hope for improvement springs eternal. 🙂 Okay so dont let my better half know but I found an old key. I could not resist. Ive always wanted a W8FYO and could never find an original. I still have not but a close approximation found its way home. This one is a Hamco FYO circa 1976 ‘ish. It is a lot “tighter” than any Bencher I have played with and the base is heavy-very heavy like 2.X pounds heavy. I just broke it in on TX7M, HR9/AI5P, HC2SL and was gonna plug away at 3D2T but the pile was too large for my puny dipole launched 100 watts. Or perhaps I just didn’t have the patience. Anyway here is the new addition. I will use it exclusivly next week for practice and see how she plays on a longer (1 hour) QSO.

Hamco FYO Iambic

Have a wonderful weekend and if you are playing in the CQ WW SSB DX contest this weekend please enjoy yourselves. I have family commitments so the test is a no go for me. I may get an opportunity to cherry pick a couple but that will be the extent of my activity this weekend. Luck to all!

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on October 28, 2011 in DX, Morse, Radio

For want of a chat……

27 Oct

A blog post here on “CW Clubs” received a comment from John, 9V1VV earlier today that brought into focus an aspect of DXCC that has lingered longer in the recesses of my mind than I care to admit. Specifically, how much DX is chased from the scene due to spotting networks, pile ups or just the administrative burden of huge piles of cards to keep track of and dispense? Of course, these are my words not John’s but I believe the sentiment is there. I have often wondered about the DX that avoids open band hours that support propagation to EU or America based on the aforementioned pressures. Surely there exist a group of stations that wish to chat sans the burden of all of that foo for all? I wont get into a tussle about this and must admit that just bringing up the subject is dicey on a Ham Radio blog. However, in all good endeavors there must be a balance and some mechanism should prevail to encourage the open unpressurized exchange of a conversational QSO’s.

The CW Ops group are promoting a CW Rag Chewers (sort of ) activity to provide just such a forum. Already my CW practice chum and I are organizing our daily schedule around this activity to help support it. One can find a CW Ops member listening or operating on the bands at all manner of times and frequencies, generally on the “eights” and may offer a local watering hole for those interested in a convo. Its called the QTX Activity Award and details can be found on the CW Ops web page here. Awards are for CW Ops members but this Award Program can offer a venue in which a great group of CW proficient amateurs can be accessed without the normal hazards of operating if you are one of the coveted DX stations! This activity alone should draw members to the “eights” frequencies:1.818, 3.528, 7.028, 10.118, 14.028, 18.078, 21.028, 24.908, and 28.028.

If you haven’t been to the CW Ops page you may want to take a spin through the website here. They are doing some wonderful things to preserve this aspect of our hobby. The newsletters give a peek into the flavor of the group. Well worth the reading time IMHO.

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on October 27, 2011 in DX, Radio, Stuff

The Gift

24 Oct

Sometimes Mother Nature conjures up a surprise or two for old duffers like me. Today it was fog. Yes, real dense heavy fog just like the fog we used to experience when we lived in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Fog so thick it can be cut with a knife. I usually go walking before dawn so that when I wear cans during my walk and listen to my mp3 player I can see the headlamps approaching from any direction and not have to worry about hearing oncoming traffic. Today I got my cans and head wet from foggy condensation. Fog like this is a rare event where I live as there is no swampy or nearby large bodies of water. The ground must be saturated by a recent rain and the temperature must be just right before it forms properly. I can recall just a single other fog event like this in the past 22 years. Today’s fog was a sort of gift in that it reminded me so much of California and the good times we had with our Ham Radio friends there. It also conjured up some memories of running across the Golden Gate Bridge when I was on an exercise gig. I found myself remembering the early morning runs across the bridge and experiencing the Bridge Fog Horns warning shipping traffic of bridge abutments and other invisible dangers to shipping. There is no sound quite like those large and loud fog horns on the Golden Gate Bridge on a gray early morning. There is a radio station in SF with a call sign of KFOG and they play a bumper sound bite of those Golden Gate horns but it doesn’t come close to hearing the real thing. Perhaps the magic in the hearing requires walking or running across the bridge with the attendant mist or condensation being part and parcel to the whole thing in order get the desired effect. Anyway, when I arrived home and after my morning chores I switched on 10 Meters and again reveled in the nice band openings. After a while I leaned back in the old office chair and closed my eyes with the band playing softly on the background and wondered about what it was like looking out across the Bay, way back in the twenties and thirties, watching a China Clipper take off from its base at Treasure Island on the Hawaii leg of that long journey. There is an awful lot of history in that brief glimpse, and an awful lot of radio history as well. Each Clipper carried a Radio Officer and a lot of those fellows were Hams.

Ive completed the Don Wallace book now. It has been two days since I stopped reading and I still cannot get it out of mind and cannot comprehend all of that history. We tend to skim over the happenings of the past. Instead of comprehending the trials and lessons learned, history and our mind conspire to compress time into glimpses and small chunks. Methinks we do a disservice to the past this way: or maybe I am getting old and surrounding oneself with historical stories and brick-a-brack is a way to feel more comfortable in an ever more frenetic world. For whatever reason historical things seem to be a source of some solace for me.

Ten was nice again this AM. Stations either worked or heard in a short time included: DL5FCZ, HA3FTA, UY0ZG, UT7UJ and some others I didn’t take the time to note. As I complete this short entry I notice that the fog remains. It wraps me up in a blanket of great memories and I cannot think of a more pleasant way to begin a day.

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG

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Posted by w5pg on October 24, 2011 in DX, Maritime, Radio, Stuff

Saturday 22 October 2011

22 Oct

I cannot get over the bands today. According to Millstone Radiosonde ( Millstone ) the FOF2 is around eleven Mhz. 2.5 X FOF2 is (10.8X2.5) making MUF near 27 Mhz. Listening on 10 meters shows it too is open. Yesterday we chose to split up CW practice by segmenting our hour into three 20 minute segments and begin on 18 Mhz followed by 21 Mhz and then 24 Mhz. 20 minutes on each band. Curiously enough, the path from Boston to Dallas was solid S-9 on 18 Mhz, poor on 21 Mhz and again very useful on 24 Mhz but none were as good as 18 Mhz. Some of this can be attributed to my antenna lobes, some to time of day and MUF etc and some to unknown causes like poor matches and bad patterns at one end or the other. We made a path that worked well enough to be Q5 regardless of signal strength for each of the 20 minute segment. Again this AM where I left off yesterday, 24 Mhz, was again wide open to all parts of EU. Stations worked or heard were UA6DX, RZ3DX, LZ2BZA and DL2DX. All on 24 Mhz.

I never seem to get enough of the surprises that propagation affords me. It really does not matter what band it is, just having an adventure of never knowing whom was on that band and if the band had a strange or unexpected opening. Constant entertainment. I just love it. Of course having some sunspots to work with enhances the whole experience as higher bands are a lot easier for us little pistols to garner some rare tidbit of DX. This is to me, always a hoot.

I have continued to consume W6AM’s book by Jan Perkins. I am reminded often how much of the early days of radio I know little about. When I discovered the joy of this “one man’s history” I also found a used copy of DeSoto’s 200 Meters and Down. That should arrive in a week or two. By then Ill be done with the Wallace book. Reading this account gives me a whole new appreciation for how it was done before I was born. Reading accounts of years of activity with DX totals equaling seventy or eighty DX confirmations compared to being able to work DXCC in a weekend nowadays is quite a thrill. The boys that operated prior to WWII had a real chore to work DX for sure. Their wives must have been Saints!

Thanks for reading my Blog. Best, Chas W5PG.

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Posted by w5pg on October 22, 2011 in DX, Radio