Well, I kind of appreciate it when N2EI sends his call twice, as it gives me time to find the right keys on the keyboard. 73, Scott K9MA A call like M0B seems to be easy. A call like G3P or M1E alway
On 2/18/2020 01:42, donovanf@starpower.net wrote: Its much easier if you train yourself to always begin your reply transmission reply immediately after the caller stops transmitting. Then you enter t
Living in the city, surrounded by overhead power lines, etc., I'm certainly an alligator on 160, as well as 80. I rarely call CQ on those bands in DX contests, but do when it's productive. I'm sure
My only issue with the KPA1500 is that its very fussy about SWR: it wont put out full power at more than about 1.3:1. However, the ATU will usually get it low enough. Im told the Expert 2K will do 1.
The SWR issue isnt really a show stopper, as the ATU, once trained can generally keep the SWR low enough. In normal CW content operation, including lots of CQing, the fans are barely audible with a R
Perhaps theres something wrong with my KPA1500. (Yes, I did RTFM.) At any SWR above 1.5:1, according to the meter on the amp, it will usually fault due to either high current or excessive drive power
My experience agrees with Daves. The early ATU firmware didnt always get a good match, but its much better now. Some report, however, running full power into 3:1. I dont understand that, unless they
I agree: Cut numbers in serial numbers should be banned! I had the same problem in the Russian DX contest this weekend, especially on 80 and 160. 73, Scott K9MA On 3/22/2020 12:09, Mike Smith VE9AA w
Maybe we could append something shorter than "TEST" do indicate we're calling CQ? Those who speed the "TEST" up to 50+ wpm are sort of doing that. You don't even have to copy it; that little burp at
I did the W8JI mod to my FT-1000D years ago. It helped, but the clicks are still pretty bad. Thats why I bought the K3. Modern ICOM rigs are pretty. A active contester about a mile from me has one, t
Rise and fall times dont tell the whole story. It also depends on the SHAPE of the rise and fall. The cleanest modern radios use their DSPs to produce nearly optimally shaped rise and fall. (Theres m
Yes, it is absolutely necessary to distinguish between rise time and TX delay. Fast rise time will always cause clicks. Too short TX delay may cause clicks due to hot switching of relays. And, as Pet
On a related note, if I've done the math right, at 50 wpm, a dit lasts 24 ms, not including the following space. I can see how 10 ms rise and fall might sound a bit mushy at that speed. 4 ms would p
Years ago, I operated the ARRL DX contest from ZL. This was after the CEPT agreement, but New Zealand had not yet signed on. I got a ZL license, and was supposed to sign K9MA/ZL3. Things were rathe
The FT-1000D and FT-1000D have good receivers, but have terrible key clicks. The W8JI mod helps, but they are still pretty bad. 73, Scott K9MA -- Scott Ellington -- via iPad _________________________
How about the guest operator who shows up before the contest for a single-op operation, while the host spends the weekend fixing things the go wrong? With remote operation, the guest op doesn't even
This raises an interesting question: If there is no SSB RBN, and everyone is just clicking on spots, where do the new spots come from? The ONE operator who isnt clicking on spots? Might unassisted op
Thanks, Frank, for the excellent explanation. 73, Scott K9MA Sunspot activity has increased dramatically over the last two months. Most days this month have had multiple and more active sunspots resu
CQWW can certainly be a bit frustrating from the US/VE, especially when propagation to EU is poor. From many other parts of the world, it's usually great. A couple times now, I've done the SSB contes
I really like WPX. It's just too bad the CW one is in the northern summer, when the weather is nice and the propagation isn't. 73, Scott K9MA 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at <ht