Morse Code, News, QRPers

From reluctance to devotion: Terry’s journey into the rewarding world of CW

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Many thanks to Terry (N7TB) who shares the following article:

My CW Journey

by Terry (N7TB)

For many U.S. hams who were licensed before 2007, we had to learn CW at 5 wpm as a Novice or Tech, 13 wpm for a General license and 20 wpm for Extra.   Many learned CW at a young age and have used CW since then.  It and ham radio are synonymous for them.  For many of them, that is the only mode they have used for years.

For me, my experience is quite different.

In 1982 I decided to get my ham license.   I bought a Kenwood TS-520S, DG-5 digital display, a 45 ft tower, and a large Cushcraft ATB-34 beam even before I had my novice license: all for $350, a bargain even then (my wife wasn’t convinced).  I still had the beam and tower until 7 years ago.  In 1982 I had all the gear to work DX using SSB and it seemed to me to be the way to do it.  So as a result, I stayed with SSB for decades.  Right after I got my license, several ham friends urged me to continue using CW and even invited me to join their weekly CW group to gain confidence and skill.  I had absolutely no interest.  Several kept at me for years!

I don’t know what causes the “spark” that happens for a person to not only want to learn, or relearn CW as I did, but to also do everything necessary to become proficient.  That happened to me when I was 69 years old.

I had tired of SSB and was getting bored with ham radio.  I was looking for a new challenge.  I decided to see if I could relearn the CW that I had largely forgotten 35 years before.  The same friends who urged me to join their group so long ago, welcomed me.  Over the first few years I joined them, my confidence and speed increased.  Unlike the first time I learned CW, they urged me to not write down anything but to listen to the sound and translate the letters in my head.   It was slower than writing it down at first, but it paid dividends later.  They all were patient and slowed down for me and increased speed as my skills improved.  I still join them every week.  They are some of my best friends.  We are spread out in WA and OR.  On Wednesday mornings we have a QRPP net where we operate 1 watt CW and most of the time we can all hear each other.  We never go over 5 watts.

Because I learned CW late in life, I have an appreciation and joy of CW that is hard to describe.  It is the greatest joy in ham radio I have ever experienced.

This week, I activated Willamette Mission State Park in Oregon with a wire in a tree and 5 watts from my KX2.  I worked 44 contacts, most East of the Mississippi.  There are few things that give me as much joy as copying and sending CW.   It represents 99.9 percent of all my ham contacts for the last 6 years.

When that day came almost 3 years ago, when I had finished a CW ragchew and was thinking about what was discussed and realized that I never said anything verbally, that my brain had effortlessly translated dit and dah sounds into language and could not tell the difference between speech and CW, I knew I had finally reached my goal of communicating in CW as effortlessly as talking.  I will never forget that moment!   I was 72 years old.  Three years of almost daily work for at least an hour on CW finally got me there.  I think it takes longer the older one is when they start.

I guess I could say that CW has become my passion.   I don’t know if I would have felt the same way if I had learned it as young man as many hams did in the day.  Because I hated CW for so many years and had such frustrations with it, to find myself loving the mode now is an amazing thing.

In a few weeks, I will get the DXCC wallpaper for over 100 CW DX contacts.  That, in itself, is almost surreal to me given my history of avoiding CW for so many years.  I actually wasn’t working toward it, it just happened because of the ease of confirming contacts through LOTW.  My logging software does it for me automatically.  Nonetheless, I will take great pride in it because of how much effort it took to become proficient in CW.  If someone had told me in 1985 that I would one day achieve DXCC in CW mode, I would have said they were crazy!

I am mentoring several people now as they learn CW.  It is exciting to see them progress.  It is fun to share in their successes and encourage them as they deal with some of the same things I dealt with.

The thing that has always amazed me and something that I have tried to communicate to those I am working with is that there comes a magical moment when the difficulty of learning CW melts away and all of a sudden you can copy 25-30+ wpm with little to no more effort.  Many of you can relate to what I am saying.  It’s like a switch is flipped and you will never not be able to effortlessly communicate in CW again.

I will always be grateful to those who helped me on those many weekly hour-long CW chats.  That was the key that opened a world that I never knew existed and one in which I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I share this story with you because I know there are others who read Thomas’s blog, striving to become proficient in CW and wonder if they will ever “get it.”  You will if you keep at it, and when that magic moment arrives for you when CW becomes effortless, you will have the satisfaction of doing something that so few hams are willing to do.  It is worth all the work you put into it!    I wish you the greatest success in achieving CW proficiency!

Very 72 and 73,

Terry, N7TB

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

QRP POTA from 10 to 20 Meters with the Chameleon Tactical Delta Loop and Icom IC-705

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I do my best to shake up each field activation I perform. Even if in some small way.

While it would be way more efficient to deploy the same radio and antenna combination at each park and summit I visit, I get a thrill out of trying different radio and antenna combinations.

I should add that I’m fully aware how fortunate I am to have a lot of radios and even more antennas to pair in various combinations. I keep reminding myself that building and buying radios and antennas is still cheaper than restoring a 1940s era Willys CJ-2A.

Recently, a reader reached out and asked my opinion about the Chameleon Tactical Delta Loop (CHA TDL) antenna. I think the TDL is a brilliant antenna system, actually, and the one I recommend the most from Chameleon because of its versatility.

Not only can it be deployed as a multi-band vertical delta loop but it has all of the parts needed to be an MPAS Lite vertical as well, save the counterpoise.

The CHA TDL comes with a 25 foot wire that connects the two 17′ whips into a loop configuration, but the clamps on the end of that wire can’t connect to the ground lug on the MPAS ground spike terminal as-is. That said, you could easily make a short connector cable or connection point that would allow the CHA TDL wire to clamp to the ground spike terminal. Else, of course, you could cut a dedicated 25′ counterpoise from pretty much any wire you might have around the shack.

You can buy the same counterpoise used with the MPAS Lite package, but it’s more affordable just to build your own since there’s no magic in the counterpoise. And, FYI, configured as the delta loop, there’s no need for a separate counterpoise; only if you configure it as a vertical.

This same reader also has an Icom IC-705 and an mAT-705 Plus antenna tuner. He was curious how well that combo might work with the CHA TDL. I knew that the combo would work well, but I thought, “why not try it?”

I realized that it has been ages since I last deployed the CHA TDL in the field.

Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace (K-6856)

Tuesday, February 28, 2023, was a gorgeous day weather-wise, although it was a bit gusty at times.

I arrived at K-6856 and decided to film the full set-up of the CHA-TDL.

For an antenna with a fairly large profile when deployed, it’s actually very compact, albeit a bit heavy (mainly due to the weight of the solid stainless ground spike and TDL hub). That said, I did take this same CHA TDL setup on an 11 mile round-trip SOTA hike once and didn’t find it too heavy.

I placed my Icom IC-705 on the table in the picnic shelter and connected the mAT-705 to it with a 2′ BNC-BCN RG-316 cable and the ATU control cable. Continue reading QRP POTA from 10 to 20 Meters with the Chameleon Tactical Delta Loop and Icom IC-705 →

Articles, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA

A story about a gluttonous dragon, a princess, a knight, and many DX contacts to the US from a volcano in Germany

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by Thomas (DM1TBE)

Intro

If you have read my previous activation reports, you may remember that the temperature was more often than not below 0° C / 32° F. I am tired of the winter. So I was very pleased when the weather forecast indicated 18° C / 64° F on a Saturday.

In one of my previous posts (How I found the best antenna for my SOTA/POTA activations) I have outlined, that I like using the 30-meter band for being reliable on short and medium distances – in my case, Central Europe. However, I wanted to try an activation with an antenna that is more appropriate for DX. The wire winder for my 30-meter antenna had plenty of space left, so I decided using a commercial 12/17-meter band wire antenna that I have discussed briefly in the report linked at the beginning of this paragraph.

The day before, I built a 20-meter end-fed with parts that I found in my basement and a tiny 1:49 transformer from K6ARK. I added a short coil, so the feed point wouldn’t be at or too close to the ground when using my 10 m / 33 ft fiberglass mast. I know it needs some polish.

The Limburg

The Limburg is a conical summit about a 30-minutes drive from my home. It can be activated for a couple of programs like SOTA (DM/BW-110), POTA (DA-0203), WWFF and COTA.

The Limburg is, or better was, a volcano; technically, a volcanic vent of the Swabian Volcano, a volcanic area of 50 km / 31 mi radius with over 350 volcano vents. Seventeen million years ago, it produced massive gas and dust explosions. Be careful when ramming your antenna groundspike into the ground ;-). So it became a steep summit, elevated around 200 m / 650 ft over its surrounding area.

Earliest traces of population around the summit date to 3000–1800 BC.

Around the year 1050 Duke Berthold I., picture below, built one of the oldest Romanesque castles on the top of the summit. It was the seat of the House of Zähringen, who were related to the House of Hohenstaufen, about whom I wrote in an activation report here earlier: DM1TBE Field Report: Shivering with 18 WPM on the ruins of the medieval Hohenstaufen Castle

Around 50 years later, his son Berthold II. built a new castle some 150 km / 90 mi away and moved the seat of the family. Shortly thereafter, the castle was destroyed (probably, nobody knows exactly). It was rebuilt and destroyed again in 1130 and rebuild again. After the year 1150 a new, larger castle was built not too far away and this castle lost its importance and, eventually, gave up. Continue reading A story about a gluttonous dragon, a princess, a knight, and many DX contacts to the US from a volcano in Germany →

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA, Videos

Huge 30 Meter Pileups: Beautiful day for a SOTA & POTA Activation at Hanging Rock State Park

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There are a few reasons I love Summits On The Air (SOTA):

  1. I love hiking.
  2. I love going truly portable with my radio gear; packing an entire minimalist station in my backpack along with first aid supplies, water, and a bite to eat, then hitting the trail.
  3. I love the views.
  4. I love the sense of accomplishment (hiking to a summit doesn’t happen every day).
  5. I also love that post-hike feeling–my body telling me, “Hey, T, thanks for doing something today!“

No kidding: If I could, I would do a SOTA activation at least twice a week. Maybe when I retire, I will.

Living in the mountains of western North Carolina, I have no shortage of summits to activate–indeed, one is within (strenuous) hiking distance of my QTH.

So why don’t I activate more summits?

It’s because they are much more difficult to fit in my active schedule.

You’ll notice that the bulk of my POTA activations take place within a one hour window of time. This includes set-up, on-the-air, and pack-up time. The brilliant thing about POTA sites is that they’re so accessible in my weekly travels. (Plus, I absolutely love POTA too!)

My average SOTA activation, on the other hand, requires at least a three hour window of time. In fact, it’s usually much closer to four or five hours.

The view from Dogback

Drive-up summits like Anderson Mountain and Dogback Mountain are the exceptions. There’s no hiking time involved, so they are pretty easy to fit into my schedule.

On Saturday, February 18, 2023, a rare thing happened: an entire day opened up for me to play radio. The only real obligation I had was to set-up and participate in a live stream with Josh (KI6NAZ) on the HRCC channel that evening.

At first, I thought about doing a five park POTA rove, hitting four parks and one game land all that eight hour window of time. It was very doable and I knew it would be fun.

But then again, park roves allow very little time for hiking–typically, they’re wham-bam style short activations.  It was also a gorgeous day weather-wise so I scrapped the idea of a POTA rove. (This time!)

Instead, I had a hankering to do a SOTA activation and hike. I took a quick look at SOTL.as and remembered how much I enjoyed my last activation of W4C/EP-001 (Moore’s Knob) at Hanging Rock State Park (K-2753). And hey! It’s both a SOTA and POTA site!

It’s been nearly two years since I’d visited Hanging Rock SP because it’s a two hour drive in a direction I rarely travel.

Hanging Rock  a beautiful park and I truly enjoyed the hike to Moore’s Knob.

As a bonus, Hanging Rock State Park is less than a 30 minute drive to Pilot Mountain State Park. I knew I’d have time in the schedule to do activate both sites! Score!

Hanging Rock State Park (K-2753)

I pulled into Hanging Rock that morning and made my way to the parking area by the lake.

Since it had been nearly two years, I consulted the hiking trail map at the trail head to confirm I was taking the correct loop (Moore’s Wall Loop). Continue reading Huge 30 Meter Pileups: Beautiful day for a SOTA & POTA Activation at Hanging Rock State Park →

News

CW Morse N0SA SP4 Mini Paddles in stock again!

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Many of you have been asking about the SP4 paddle and when it might be in stock once again.

I’m happy to not that CW Morse is working on a large production run of SP4s right now and have inventory at time of posting. I spoke with CW Morse and they noted that if you find that they’re out of stock, check back again soon as they’re finishing batches of them every few days.

Click here to check out the SP4 at CW Morse.

Note that CW Morse is a proud supporter of QRPer.com and the link above is an affiliate link that helps QRPer at no cost to you. Thank you!

Articles, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Portable, QRP, SOTA

Pilgrimage to Summits on the Air

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by Thomas (DM1TBE)

After a rainy and windy Friday, the weather was expected to improve a bit the next day. The temperature was still forecasted with around 0 °C / 32 °F, but no rain was expected. So, my friend Jochen (DG1PSI) and I thought we could operate outside. We have chosen a summit called Bernhardus. The summit is next to “Kaltes Feld” on the opposite side of the valley, where I was a some days before. With an 1.2 km / 0.75 mi trail and an ascent of 124 m / 440 ft, it is not the hardest summit around.

We had an appointment for 10 o’clock. The parking lot was still empty at the time, but the weather seemed a bit more difficult than expected. We have asked some other members of our local ham radio club if they want to join us. But surprisingly, no one wanted to get up early on a Saturday morning, hike and operate a radio in freezing temperatures.

As mentioned, the summit was near “Kaltes Feld”, on the opposite side of the valley. You can see the SOTA activation zone of “Kaltes Feld” on the left, the glider airfield in the middle and some miles in the background another SOTA summit called “Stuifen”.

The peak was easy to reach and invites enjoying the beautiful view.

On the actual summit there is a small chapel. Continue reading Pilgrimage to Summits on the Air →

Guest Posts, Hacks and Hints, How To, Morse Code, News, QRP

Bob pairs his ATS-20 with the Zachtek “Flea” CW transmitter

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Many thanks to Bob (K7ZB) who shares the following guest post:

ATS-20 configured with Zachtek “Flea” CW transmitter

The ATS-20 in HF CW Transceiver Mode

by Bob Houf (K7ZB)

I picked up an ATS-20 last summer and played with it on SWBC and the ham bands but found the telescoping whip antenna to be marginal.

The unit I purchased from Amazon turned out to be solid: no problems have surfaced after 9 months of intermittent listening. By default, I have enjoyed it primarily listening to FM in my office.

When I used my long wire antenna, the performance on shortwave greatly improved – easy copy of DX and the value of the receiver began to impress me.

Recently I came across a Swedish ham who co-developed a line of radios covering a broad range of WSPR and associated designs built to a very high standard.

Already having a WSPR setup I was intrigued by a very low power CW transmitter that Zach co-developed with KB9RLW which puts out 300mW on 40, 30 and 20 meters at a price point that is less than the ATS-20, and – most interestingly – the design of the radio allows it to work in transceive mode with the receiver by providing a T/R switch when used with the proper SMA-BNC cable arrangement.

I bought a “Flea” and configured it with my ATS-20 then used an external antenna tuner to make sure the transmitter had close to a 1:1 SWR.  The “Flea” advertises that it is robust to high SWR and looking over the schematic that is evident, but for the sake of a trial I went with the ATU. Continue reading Bob pairs his ATS-20 with the Zachtek “Flea” CW transmitter →

Announcements, News

Thank you, QST!

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Many of you have reached out this week congratulating me on the article that features my work in the April 2023 issue of QST. Thank you all for the kind words.

I’m truly honored that QST would feature my work here on QRPer.com and my YouTube channel in their pages. Steve (K5ATA) wrote a very gracious article, and frankly, I don’t know what to say other than thank you!

I’d like to thank all of you, readers, for making QRPer.com what it is today with your contributions, guest posts, field reports, hints & tips, and words of encouragement to others in the comments section. I’m honored to have even played a modest role in your radio journey, and your feedback and contributions have taught me so much, which, I feel, has made me a better field operator.

So…Thank you!

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

A Casual 17 Meter POTA Activation with the Penntek TR-45L, PackTenna Random Wire, and a Furry Friend

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On Sunday, February 19, 2023, I felt like I was moving in slow motion.

The previous day started early and I fit in a long hike, a SOTA/POTA activation, and a second park activation. Round trip driving time was about four hours, but it was worth it. I had an amazing time. Those field reports will be posted in the upcoming week.

The previous evening, I also participated in a live stream and after hours chat with Josh (KI6NAZ) on his amazing Ham Radio Crash Course channel. It was loads of fun, but I was up pretty late after a long day.

Sunday morning, I was feeling it and couldn’t decide if I wanted to do a POTA activation on the drive back to the QTH. In case I decided to, early that morning, I scheduled an activation at Table Rock Fish Hatchery with a very wide activation window. I often don’t have enough mobile phone service to self-spot at that particular site, so I decided that if I was able to make the activation, it would cover me.

I wasn’t even ten minutes into the drive home when I decided to go for the Table Rock activation, of course! I seem to never be too tired for some POTA!

I did make up my mind in advance to try to activate the park on 17 meters because 1.) there was a CW contest that weekend, and 2.) I wanted a more laid-back activation instead of a pileup. I figured 17 meters would have some activity, but not to the degree of the non-WARC bands.

Table Rock State Fish Hatchery (K-8012)

I decided to record the entire activation from set-up to pack-up so I grabbed the action camera from my radio bag in the passenger’s seat and started recording as I pulled into the site.

I had a lot of gear in the trunk/boot of my car–more than normal–because I brought along quite a few radio packs to show on the HRCC live stream for this trip.

I grabbed the Penntek TR-45L and PackTenna random wire.  I thought they would pair nicely for a casual POTA activation.

Set up

The great thing about the PackTenna random wire antenna is that the radiator is only 31′ long. It’s super easy to deploy. Continue reading A Casual 17 Meter POTA Activation with the Penntek TR-45L, PackTenna Random Wire, and a Furry Friend →

Articles, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Portable, POTA, QRP

“Return-to-Office Policy” triggered POTA activation

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“Return-to-Office Policy” triggered POTA activation

by Thomas (DM1TBE)

I wasn’t sure if I should write a report about this activation. It was “average” at best. But I thought it might be worth to share that not all activations are perfect, with stunning views in an enjoyable environment.

Intro

I am a relatively new ham and completed my first exam in mid-2019. It took me a while to get my head around all the things that the new hobby is offering. My first successful portable activation was in May 2021 on the SOTA summit Michelsberg (DM/BW-855) – here is a picture of my most recent activation some weeks ago:

This first activation was in the middle of the Corona pandemic. The good thing during the Corona time was certainly the possibility to work from home. Before Corona, I did commute roughly 65 km / 40 mi (oneway), which took me in total 2–3 hours daily. During the first two years, I was in the office two times. In the third year, I was there more often, maybe once every two months.

Two weeks ago, my employer announced a “return-to-office” policy, so the “sweet life” was coming to an end.

After the first disappointment, I thought that this may offer me the chance to work portable at new locations. The next SOTA summit is around 20 km / 12 mi away, but a POTA park begins 2 km / 1.2 mi from the office at the pin in the map below. The park is basically all the green wood in the center of the map.

That comes in very handy, as POTA, with the possibility to operate next to my car, does make it easier than hiking in suit and tie to a SOTA summit.

The Nature Park Schönbuch, POTA DA-0008, located southwest of Stuttgart, is a wooded area of 156 km² / 38,000 acres. In 1972 in became the first nature park of the federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The park is an important recreational area for the region.

Image by Cactus26 – Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 3.0

Activation

Right at the beginning of the park, when coming from my office, there is a parking place and next to it a clearing with a fireplace. I thought that this would be a perfect spot for my activities. Weather was cold and windy on my first “return to office” day, I did not expect too many people to be there.

After working and reading the article about the 2023 QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, I decided to leave the office early at around 4pm and started my activation.

The parking place at the park was pretty empty, just one old car with four lads in it and doing whatever lads are doing in the woods. I have a 16-year-old son and have given up trying to understand what boys at that age are doing.

The spot was OK, but not as perfect as I had thought. It was in a trough surrounded by large trees. In addition, it was wet, cold and windy.

Due to the wind, I have decided against the 10 meter / 33 ft pole and used the PAC-12 again.

The actual activation did not go as smoothly as my previous one. It might have been due to the time, and afternoon during the week, or the topographical conditions. With a small foldable seat and a tiny desk made of a trunk and a brick, I operated for 40 minutes.

In total, I made 16 QSOs; 10 on the 30-meter band and 6 QSOs on 20 meters.

Although I made a successful activation of the Nature Park Schoenbuch, DA-0008, I think I need to change my plans. Being in the office and therefore close to this park more often in the future, I will be more picky in terms of weather and location. The park has way more to offer than a wet and cold meadow in the middle of the woods. I will look for better weather and locations, such as the following – I just need to find those places.

Image by Martin Rathgeber – Wikimedia Commons  – CC BY 2.5

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