That’s a good point, you don’t need to be able to copy free text to make a SOTA contact.
As for the activator slowing down, it is best practice in that situation for the activator to match the speed of the calling station. This is why a radio with a speed control on the front panel is far preferable to one that requires menu travels to reach the speed control. The kx2 and kx3 have speed controls right there on the front panel. The ft817/8 requires you to enter the second level menu (though there is a quick key combo if the first level menu is on the KYR line - a long press goes to the cw speed line of the second menu). That still requires stopping sending while you adjust the speed. For my 817 I have added a Pico Keyer which has a speed control on its front panel. When using the external keyer, the 817 is in straight key mode. Pico keyer also has 3 memories, the first one is accessed by one short press of the button on the front panel.
Even though many SOTA ops are capable of operating at 20-25wpm it is always good to hear them operating at lower speeds when called at lower speeds, and also making some CQs at lower speeds to encourage callers to give it a try. This is basic good operating manners and I highly recommend it. Don’t plough on at 22wpm if you are called at 15 wpm, you are not only showing off but also making the contact impossible to complete in a reasonable time.
Hi Andrew,
Using SW-3B or HB-1B we need too long procedure to change speed.
That is why I have set not too fast speed in both of them (21wpm I guess) and in case or QRS request I just do longer “spaces” between sending letters.
It helps.
One of the most used things I bought for SOTA was an N0XAS memory keyer. The 817 doesn’t have CW memories so I bought an external one. The best thing is it has a speed control on it. If someone is just a bit slower than me I can extend the spacing between characters as most people can receive characters much faster than they think they can if you add in more “thinking” time. For people who are slower, I send repeated dots and turn the speed down so they get the psychological boost of hearing someone who was going faster slowing down just for them.
Even easier than SOTA chasing on CW is SOTA activating on CW. And easier still is participating in the CQWW CW contest in November! Therefore I recommend these too as part of one’s CW training (as opposed to completing your CW training in order to join in with these things!)
I did. I had just about learned the alphabet and was up to 10wpm. And I did my debut CW activation like that. It was both addictive and motivating, and my progress accelerated quickly and sharply after that.
Yes I can understand that. But the buzz you get when you get through is better than the first time you shoot up heroin.
OK seriously. There’s an amazing buzz but it can be stressful. But I will echo the words of SOTA’s much missed friend and one time leading chaser, Roy G4SSH, who finally convinced me to go on the air. “Andy, just go and call on CW, people wont care if your sending is ropey or if you make silly mistakes, they wont care if you ask them to QRS or repeat. They just want the points.” He was right. Oh was he right. Being able to have CW QSOs on an activation completely re-energised amateur radio for me. I’m still not very good now, but 12 years on I get a buzz from a good CW activation.
There will be chasers who will do their best to help you have a QSO with them. There will be some who try to make up for their less than impressive manliness by trying to work you at 35+ wpm and showing off their machine gun sending. Ignore the people who make it hard and work the people who are trying to make it easier for you.
Nike mode Andy “Just do it.” You can read my fist time calling CW from GM/NS-020.
Despite using the Morse Runner app for practice from time to time I still find it hard to discriminate between two or more callsigns sent simultaneously especially if they have similar pitch and speed.
I usually wait a few seconds until they try again hoping one is lower or higher pitch or slower or a bit in front or behind the others. If I get a fragment, I’ll send e.g. G6P? or ?JZ which usually does the trick. Otherwise, we go round in a circle a few times until I get one callsign, meanwhile hoping nobody thinks I’m an idiot or gets bored and goes elsewhere.
Some clever chasers break the cycle by sending their callsign just after the crowd.
Best practice for pileups is to listen to CW in a contest, or listen to a dxer coping with a pileup, see how many calls you can get out of the din.
Then use Morserunner which simulates a CQ CW contest with minimal exchanges, it can be configured for only one or a few callers, or many. And you can add QRN, Lids (who slide across your frequency sending rubbish) and other stuff. Very clever software. And of course, you choose your speed.
To increase speed, first find out what speed you can work at with ease. Then increase the speed by a small amount. Eg 10 - 12 wpm. Later increase to 13. etc. You will reach 15 or 16 before too long. It won’t happen in a 5 minute session but it will happen with 15 x 5 minute sessions.
In my experience most chasers are in this category. I still get moments on a summit where my brain freezes and I have to ask for a few repeats of a call sign, even if they’re sending at a speed which is comfortable for me. Most will happily do so until you’ve correctly copied everything.
Morse Runner really is brilliant software! I owe my ability to copy callsigns at 35+ WPM to Morse Runner. Pileup Runner is also worth playing with - very fun. I encourage all new CW ops to use Morse Runner.
FYI for anyone running an Apple silicon (non-Intel) Mac computer - Morse Runner works perfectly with some free software called PlayOnMac. I suspect it would also run on Linux using WINE.
When I was preparing for the CW exam, I sent texts from the newspaper backwards into a recording device… letter to letter (smartphone?) By reading the text backwards, you concentrate on the individual letters.
You can always send faster than you’re able to receive.
I then listened to my transmitted text again and wrote it down. If you read the text then again backwards, you can determine the errors.
Trust me - it’s so much easier than “stay at home” / “putting in the hours” / “practise practise practise” CW training. It’s fun, YOU set the speed, YOU set the operating style, and any chaser that doesn’t cooperate doesn’t get worked. And BECAUSE it’s so much fun, you’ll want to do it more and more, it becomes your preferred CW training method and you improve - rapidly!
Pile-ups are only really tough when you’re a chaser and part of that pile-up. It’s relatively easy as the activator - the DX. You might only pick out one letter. So you ask for it (eg “F?”). You will then get stations without the F in their call still calling and trying their luck. Ignore them, keep asking for the partial, and only proceed with a QSO once you have the full call your were trying to pull out. Stay in charge and you’ll have lots of fun.
Yes, the pile ups can be daunting but you do have a bit of control. Calling on 80m would likely not end up in a bun fight! Can’t comment about 60m as I’ve never activated there. 17-15-12m ought to be good and potential for DX too. I’ve always liked 20m but at times it can be quite busy.
Thats an excellent idea Armin. I’ve never heard of that method.
When I learned morse (1966 in our Kreigsmarine ) we simply used 5 letter coded groups which of course were easily available, Foreign language tapes and plain English. Your suggestion is quite simple and available everywhere!!
