A couple years ago, I started making Hike & Talk video sessions covering in-depth topics that are challenging to answer via email or even long-format blog posts.
When I receive a question from a reader and think to myself, “I’d rather answer that in-person than write a reply,” I make a note to do a Hike & Talk session.
These sessions are not scripted, outlined, or formatted in any way shape or form. When I make a Hike and Talk video, I imagine that I’m chatting away with you informally as you join me on a hike or walk.
All this to say that these long-format videos aren’t for everyone, so if it doesn’t sound like your cuppa’ tea, it’s okay to skip it! I promise, I won’t be offended.
Conquering the CW Doldrums
On January 11, 2023, I was driving back from Raleigh and decided that a quick POTA break was in order. That morning, I read an email from a reader and it was on my mind as I drove to Tuttle Educational State Forest. It was a long email, but here are the relevant bits:
Hi Thomas […]I’ve been studying CW on my own for about four months now. I know you advise joining a group like the Long Island CW Club to learn CW but my work schedule simply doesn’t allow for this. I travel frequently and have team members across the globe so my schedule is a mess. I have so little free time.
[…]I’ve been using various CW apps, CW recordings like W1AW and your videos to practice CW. I can’t stress how much your videos have encouraged me along the way because you make this all seem so achievable. I download your videos from Patreon and listen to them when driving, flying, during layovers, and in the evenings in my hotel room. Many times I just listen to your video audio as I would a podcast.
I am not at a point where I can understand all of the contacts you receive, but I do get maybe 1 out of 3. It’s a real thrill to know I decoded a callsign on my own. I see a day when I will do CW activations.
[…]I’m writing though because I feel like I’ve reached a barrier. I know all of my characters and numbers and I continue to do regular CW practice, but I feel like I’m not learning. Like my brain has stopped soaking up the code. It’s discouraging. Do you have any advice for getting through this?
I’ve received similar emails and comments in the past which is proof that you’re not alone if you can relate to this reader.
I’ve certainly been there, too!
Hike & Talk
In this video I will talk about the CW Doldrums, how I related to them, and how I work through them myself.
I include (against my better judgement!) a very long side story about my path to learning French. It relates, but perhaps not how you might think.
Instead of editing my videos, I always try to include chapter markings in the YouTube timeline so you can skip over any sections that aren’t of interest to you.
You’re going to need a few cups of coffee or tea for this one. You’ve been warned!
Thank you for joining me on this Hike & Talk session!
If you’re experiencing or have experienced the CW Doldrums yourself, let us know how you work through them in the comments section.
The important part is to know that you’re not alone and that, in fact, the Doldrums are truly a healthy sign that you’re learning CW and your brain is doing it’s thing!
As always, a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me on the trail!
Friday, January 6, 2023, was a beautiful day and my route took me within 10 minutes of South Mountains State Park (K-2753).
Of course, I had to activate it!
In truth, I had only a short window to do the activation, but I knew it would be seriously fun.
I’d packed my Penntek TR-45L and Chelegance MC-750 for the trip and was looking forward to pairing the two.
My TR-45L actually has the built-in Z-Match manual antenna tuner, but I wanted to, once again, configure the MC-750 as a resonant antenna (much like I did in my previous activation).
I also had my new VK3IL pressure paddle along for the ride and wanted to see how nicely it might work with the TR-45L.
If I’m being honest, it was a bit strange not to use a wire antenna at this particular park because South Mountains has some very large old-growth trees that are ideal for hanging antennas.
I try to start each year by doing a POTA or SOTA activation on New Year’s Day.
POTA actually issues a certificate for completing an activation on New Year’s Day so there are typically loads of activators and hunters working the bands. It’s an ideal time to play radio.
This year, we had a number of family activities on New Year’s Day, but I made a little time to fit in an activation during the late afternoon at my most accessible spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway: the Southern Highland Folk Art Center.
As with my last activation, I suspected I would be operating in the dark, so I brought my LED lantern along for the ride.
Although not intentional, this New Year activation had a lot of new-to-me stuff involved!
New VK3IL Pressure Paddle
The prior evening–on New Year’s Eve–while my wife and daughters were watching a classic movie movie marathon, I used the time to heat up the soldering iron and work through a few kits and projects that had been sitting on my desk.
Michael (G0POT) sent me the Pressure Paddle circuit board and heat shrink via Andy (G7UHN) several months prior. [Thank you so much, fellas!]
To my knowledge, the VK3IL Pressure Paddle isn’t available in complete kit package, but it’s quite easy to source everything yourself.
On his website, David provides the Gerber files you’ll need in order to purchase the circuit boards from your favorite manufacturer (I’m a huge fan of OshPark here in the States).
Next, you simply need to order the components. Here’s the list assuming you’re using DigiKey:
Quantity of 2: 732-7579-1-ND (CAP CER 10000PF 10V C0G/NP0 0805)
Quantity of 2: 1738-SEN0294-ND (RP-C18.3-ST THIN FILM PRESSURE S)
Quanity of 1: Three conductor wire with a (typically) 3.5mm plug (note that I had one of these in my junk drawer)
Keep in mind: the components are surface-mount. If you’re not used to working with SMD components (ahem…that would be me) I suggest buying a few spares of each in case you lose or damage one or more during the build.
It also helps to cover the finished board in heat shrink not only to protect the board and make it easier to grip, but most importantly (if you’re me) hide your electrically-sound yet unsightly surface mount soldering job.
The build might have taken me 20 minutes.
New FT-817ND Narrow CW Filter
Some time ago, I purchased a second FT-817ND with the idea of doing full-duplex satellite work. I later realized I could be taking the second FT-817ND out to the field more often if I simply had another narrow CW filter installed, so I built one.
This New Year’s Day activation was actually the first time I’d taken this particular FT-817ND and its new narrow filter out to the field!
New Armoloq TPA-817 Pack Frame
Earlier this year, I also decided that I wanted to outfit my 2nd Yaesu FT-817ND with an Armoloq TPA-817 pack frame. The idea was to experiment with building a rapid-deployment field kit around it.
The one thing about doing POTA activations in the winter is being aware of just how short the days are. It seems like, lately, I’ve had a number of activations that have spilled over well beyond sunset.
With POTA, running out of sunlight really isn’t a big deal. As long as I have a headlamp (I always do) and/or a lantern, I can continue operating as long as the park is still open to guests.
With SOTA, running out of sunlight can develop into a serious situation, especially if you’ve bushwhacked to a summit in unfamiliar territory. Even with a headlamp, it can be difficult finding your way back to an established trail. I’ve never scheduled a SOTA activation that pushed sunset unless I’m comfortable with the path to the summit.
If I’m being honest, I think a part of me actually enjoys doing POTA activations after sunset. It feels a lot like camping.
On Sunday, December 4, 2022, I was on the road once again and could not help but squeeze in a POTA activation at Lake James State Park.
It was late afternoon and I knew I’d be pushing sunset, but I had my little LED lantern just in case I ran out of sunlight (hint: I did!) and I was ready to play some radio: both CW and SSB!
Lake James State Park (K-2739)
It was a grey, chilly day and there were no other cars in the parking lot at the Catawba River Access. I had the whole park to myself until closing time at 7:00PM.
I chose a picnic table by the lake, putting some distance between me and the visitor’s center which has been known to spew radio interference (QRM) in the past.
I brought along my Elecraft KX3 for this activation.
The KX3 is one of my top field portable radios, but I rarely take it to the field these days for a couple reasons:
It’s my main shack radio and is hooked up to my KXPA100 amplifier 100% of the time (although I rarely run enough power that the amplifier engages). I do much of my park/summit hunting from home with the KX3.
Since I purchased my KX2 in 2016, I tend to take it to the field instead since it’s *that* much more portable. It’s like a smaller version of the KX3 with nearly the performance and only lacking 160 and 6 meters.
But I do love my KX3. It’s a benchmark radio–and one of the best field transceivers on the market. You will see a few field reports with it each year since I try to give all of my radios a regular dose of fresh air!
Setting up
After recording the intro to my activation video (which I tried to do before the sun actually set), I decided to film the antenna deployment as well.
I debated which antenna to use at the site. I decided upon the super easy-to-deploy 28.5′ “no transformer” random wire antenna by Tufteln (see link in the Gear section below). I first demoed this super simple antenna on Mount Mitchell during a SOTA activation. It’s basically two lengths of 28.5 foot 26 AWG wire connected to a BNC connector on a small 3D printed mount which provides strain relief.
We need to do a little time-travel in this short field report…
In 2022, I accumulated so many activation videos that I have a small backlog and some that got lost in the shuffle. The following activation report is one that I meant to post in November, but it got lost in the shuffle.
So let’s time-travel…
On October 20, 2022, I pulled into Tuttle Educational State Forest to enjoy quick a POTA activation with my Penntek TR-45L.
I remember now that I wanted to hold off publishing this video until John (WA3RNC) at Penntek had time to ship the bulk of the radios from his first production run of fifty units. Demand has been very high for this sweet rig and for good reason: it performs brilliantly, is fun to use, sports amazing audio, and (with its Apolloesque design) strikes the right nostalgia chord for many of us.
Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861)
I had a very short window to do this activation–a maximum of 45 minutes or so. You see, I still had a good 1.5 hour drive back to the QTH and needed to pop by the post office to pick up parcels before they closed at 17:00 local.
I had planned to pair the TR-45L with my PackTenna random wire antenna and use the 45L’s Z-Match tuner, but I discovered I’d packed the PackTenna 20M EFHW instead.
We addicts often justify purchases knowing that, in the world of amateur radio, we can always sell gear we’ve purchased without losing too much money each time.
At least, in theory!
In November, last year, I was in touch with a friend who I recently purchased my second KX1 from; turns out, he had an Elecraft K2 he was willing to part with, as well. This is a radio he built (thus, the workmanship is top-shelf) and had updated over the years to be fully loaded the way I would want it myself: all firmware upgrades, all important upgrades for CW and SSB operation, and an internal ATU.
His was also a 10 watt (QRP) version of the K2; Elecraft owners call these “K2/10s.”
My first K2/10 next to the TEN-TEC Argonaut VI I was Beta testing at the time.
I owned a K2/10 between about 2008 and 2016. I sold the K2/10 to purchase another radio. The week after selling my K2/10, a local ham offered me an insane deal on a used K2/100 (a version with a 100W amp) from a club estate sale. No one in our local club wanted it and he really wanted to unload it. I purchased it and for a good three years it was my only 100 watt radio.
My K2/100
Then, in 2019, I sold the K2/100 for $800 and purchased an Elecraft KXPA100 amplifier with ATU for $800 to pair with my KX2 and KX3.
Using my KXPA100 during Field Day in 2020.
I’ve never regretted that decision because I do love the KXPA100 amplifier, although I seldom use it (so much so, I’ve even considered selling it). To date, it is the only device I own that outputs 100 watts.
I did miss the K2. It’s a fantastic radio to take outdoors and has superb receiver chops for the most demanding, RF-dense conditions.
When my buddy offered up his K2, I couldn’t resist. I made myself a goal, though: I had to sell enough stuff to fund the purchase. My friend was good with this. Even though I could have paid him immediately, I asked if he could wait for payment and shipping until I had gathered the funds from sales. I needed that dangling carrot because, frankly, I dislike selling things; I’d rather give away or donate stuff, but I did need to raise funds for this purchase. Continue reading Breaking in my new-to-me Elecraft K2 and CW Morse SP4 paddles during a POTA activation→
Many thanks to André (PY2KGB / VE2ZDX) who shares a link to his web-browser-based CW practice tool. André notes:
I’m writing to share a tool I wrote to help myself with learning CW. I recently found out that people have been enjoying this tool so I’m sharing it with you and if you think it’s something worth sharing feel free to do so.
It was made mobile first and if you can’t hear the sound, disable the silent mode. It outputs the sound the same way WebSDRs do so it has that little issue with the sound that SDRs do, but it is browser related.
Thank you, André! I love how simple this tool is to use and the fact that no app is needed. Again, thank you for sharing this with the community at large!
In my last published field report, you might recall that I successfully activated a park using 500 milliwatts or ½ of a watt. I was so surprised by the results of using this QRPp power level I immediately made plans to push the power level even lower during my next activation.
Let’s face it, I was drunk with a lack of power!
QRPp
After my last field report, there were quite a few questions about the term QRPp and what it means. To be honest, I’m not sure if there’s an “official” definition, but here’s what is widely accepted as QRP power categories:
QRP: 5 watts to 1 watt (for some contest 10 watts = SSB QRP)
QRPp: Less than 1 watt to 100 mw
QRPpp: Less than 100mw
I don’t own a field radio that allows me to lower the output power to QRPpp levels. In fact, few of my radios actually allow me to lower power below one watt.
My Elecraft radios, however, do allow me to lower power output to as low as 0.1 watts or 100 milliwatts.
The plan
On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, my travel schedule shifted and it opened up the entire afternoon to play radio.
A rarity indeed!
It was very rainy and foggy that day and I didn’t have my ENO rain fly with me, so I decided to visit a park with a good picnic shelter to keep me, an my gear, nice and dry.
Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (K-6839)
I had four park options with covered picnic shelters within a 45 minute drive. I decided that I would try to activate Fort Dobbs State Historic (since it had been a couple months since I’d visited) and Lake Norman State Park would be my back-up plan.
Fort Dobbs is a small park, so I called in advanced and asked for permission to do the activation and also asked if their picnic shelter was reserved.
The rangers there know me, so the phone call was pretty quick–no need to explain POTA nor my motivations. They told me that on rainy/foggy December days they have so few guests that I was welcome to use the picnic shelter or even the entire park if I wished (perhaps an ideal time to erect a Rhombic antenna–okay, just kidding!).
The Dobbs park rangers an volunteers are the best!
Setting up
On the way to the site, I decided that I would deploy my MM0OPX end-fed half-wave I’d cut for 40 meters.
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Table Rock Fish Hatchery isn’t open on Saturdays, but that really isn’t a problem because the picnic area where I set up shop is open 24/7.
