SOTA/WOTA/AR CW net

Nice to work Rick M0RCP. I am happy to work 25+ in a contest or pile up, but a more ‘open style’ is such a difference. Should practice more :wink:
When I started the QSO with Rick on 3558 the QRN was S8+ on my side and I had to give Rick a 229. But then we QSY down to 3548 and life was so much easier (559-599). Well, I enjoyed it anyway and was running 5w into an inverted-L.
73 Lars
MM0DWF

Yes! Success at last!

Heard Rick M0RCP work G0AZS. Fine business QSO guys, was tuning down from 3.558 when I found you!

80m was lovely and quiet at 8:55 local, then all of a sudden the noise came up and stayed. At least I managed to copy most of Marc and Rick’s QSO. Would love to join in on the key, but unfortunately I have no TX antennas at my QTH.

73 Colin

In reply to M0CGH:

Conditions much better tonight. Solid QSOs with Dave G6DTN Shrewsbury, Marc G0AZS Aylesbury, David G3RDQ Andover, Jeurgen DL6TU Potsdam.

Also manged to get Rob G4RQJ Walney Island but lost him trying to QSY away from QRM before I managed to give him a 459.

73 TU ALL ES CUL

Rick.

In reply to M0CGH:

Well done Colin. You’ll have to delve into your scrap box and get soldering those odds and ends of wire together!

A few more were on this evening - heard Dave G6DTN, David G3RDQ, Marc G0AZS and Rob G4RQJ all work Rick plus maybe a few more I noted down as I tuned back and forth across 3.555. Couldn’t get my 10w through to Rick though, so I went up to 40m to have a look around and bagged YR80HCS for a new prefix (Roumania).

Earlier I had a pleasant QSO on 3.549 with Tony M3NFU - nice CW to copy, but a tad faster than the basic speed the “net” is working at. Worth contacting if his speed is acceptable. He seems to be on most evenings.

73, Gerald

In reply to M0RCP: Great to work you again earlier this evening - conditions were much better. A couple of pints of Boddington’s went down a real treat. A suggestion : is it worth QSYing down a couple of kHz after a QSO with you to work some of the other callers? I need all the practice I can get, both Rx and Tx, and I am finding my concentration is going after about 30 minutes listening. What do other novices think?.

73s de Dave, G6DTN on hf

In reply to M0DFA:

Hi Dave,

I’d say its definitely worth QSYing down a bit and putting out some CQs. Lower down the band tends to be quieter and if conditions are good you’ll have no problems working into europe or even further. Things tend to get quieter as the evening progresses particularly as eastern europe goes to bed first.

Concentrating hard for extended periods is of course difficult for everyone. I think the key is to train yourself to concentrate really hard when it matters i.e. getting the call sign, RST, name and QTH. Once you’ve got those you can relax a bit. It also helps to keep overs short.

73 ES HPE CUL

Rick

In reply to G4OIG:

I have plenty of wire, it just a case of nowhere to use it! (I live in a back to back with no garden!)

I have a link dipole in construction at the moment. I finished making the balun and when I came to screw the lid on the balun’s enclosure I managed to screw the screw into the balun windings. Doh! I need to renew the windings, it’s a job for next week before international SOTA weekend (for /p).

I’m going to my local radio club tonight, so I may be able to use their FT897 on TX, but local QRN at the club is very bad on 80m.

73 Colin

In reply to M0RCP amd M0DFA:

Rick and Dave,

Pleased to manage the 3 way this evening despite my QRP making you strain to catch the letters. Under the circumstances, I think you both coped very well with the experience. Nets on CW are never very easy and confusion can reign supreme. Hopefully catch you both again sometime soon.

73, Gerald

In reply to All:

I had been on 70cms FM earlier catching up with an old friend, so I was late on 80m CW tonight. I had a listen round & found the QSO on 3.556 which was much clearer of QRM tonight, although there was a little QSB at times. It was a little confusing at first until I realised there was actually a net in progress !

I have to say, well done to Rick & all involved as running a CW net has got to be a lot more complicated than a one to one QSO!

I was late on, but I heard G6DTN & G0AZS & managed a quick 599 both ways QSO with Rick M0RCP.

I had also had a few Beers tonight, & although it didn’t help my sending, I think it did help my settle my nerves a little & made reading what was being sent back that bit easier. I would rate the average speed of the net at around 13.5wpm, easily above the 12wpm standard required in the past.

Well done to all involved & thank you for some more excellent CW practice :slight_smile:

As I have said before, a Brilliant idea Rick :slight_smile:

73,

Mark G0VOF

In reply to G0VOF:

Hi Mark, more of a pile up than a net really, still all good experience.

Calls tonight from John GW0MYY Milford Haven, Dave G6DTN, Rick G3CWI, Gerald
G4OIG, Ken GI4FLG Bangor, Marc G0AZS and yourself of course.

Pity we had no continentals calling in tonight. Perhaps we’ll have better luck next week.

Enjoy the weekend every one. SOTANET back on Monday.

73

Rick.

In reply to M0RCP:
Good sigs. rx’ed all round tonight. Even Gerald was 589 with me :slight_smile:

I heard you working Ric and moved up a few kHz to have a QSO with Nils SM2HQW in Umea before coming back later to work you.

…and I’m sure that’s just a typo as you were sending my call back to me OK :slight_smile:

73 Marc G0AZS

In reply to G0AZS:

Fixed. 73 Rick

In reply to M0RCP: I am finding this very usefull experience, even though I find the procedural thing confusing. If anyone is interested, I could come on as G6DTN 20:00 UTC Friday evening. QRS only, please. I may even use CW from a hill sometime, HI.

Many thanks to Rick for getting this started.

73s de Dave, G6DTN

In reply to M0DFA:
I intend to be around tonight at 20:00 UTC or so.
Cuagn
Mike

In reply to M0DFA:
One day I shall join in too! I only know EISH5 TMO0 AN RK and recognise the mkr on G4FON Koch trainer so far. The dipole up at present is for 7.1MHz because the 80 m extensions don’t fit the house and garden so I’ll have to tune with my Emtech ATU if I eventually want to transmit. Fiddly… After I’ve commissioned my Practical Wireless / Spectrum communications digital modes interface, the next kit to build is a Cumbria Designs Microcode morse decoder. I’ll be intrigued to have this sat on the 817 tuned to CW SOTA net and see it spot e.g. CQ DE G6DTN. It’s hearing the rhythm - I know - that is the thing. Sometimes I do my physiotherapy exercises imagining my sore ankle as a morse key. Am I going loopy?

I joined FISTS thinking that as the club is run from West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Kingswinford there’s be a fair chance of a local tutor for some face to face Morse practice. The website is impenetrable for a new member, webmaster doesn’t reply to emails so I’ll have to try harder to get a log-in and wonder what it does do for absolute but willing beginners? Nice certificate though.

Cheers

David M6WOW

In reply to M6WOW:

Most software decoders are pants! Even the ones I’ve written! :wink:

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to M0RCP: Good to work you last night Rick. Of course with my 5W driving a short wet string antenna out the back bedroom window you could hardly hear me. As a former merchant navy radio officer from the days when morse was the preferred medium, I don’t really need to speed up my morse, but I thought it might help the others if I joined in. I am also a member of FISTS which uses the same centre of activity freq 3558. FISTS members will always give you a good, patient and courteous QSO or ragchew at whatever speed you are comfortable. I can also recommend G4FON’s excellent morse training programme which can work at all speeds and simulate QRM, QSB, QRN, and a great many variations of conditions and keying styles.

73
Ken GI4FLG

In reply to GI4FLG:
Ken, You were solid 569 down near Aylesbury… what do you wet your string with?

73 Marc G0AZS

In reply to M6WOW:
1)I started with a wire lying half on the floor and half up onto a cupboard. Tuned with a simple manual tuner and 5w. That was enough to get me started. The antenna was easy to remove and the xyl was happy. You don’t need a good, high antenna, because most is NVIS propagation anyway. The next step was a homebrew mag loop, which improved the reception a lot. If you feed your 40m dipole with coax, don’t tune it on 80m. You’ll lose too much RF!
2)Please don’t build a decoder! They are just an excuse for not learning to copy in your head! They are soooo tempting and you will use them!
3) Thumbs up for the G4FON CW trainer! Set it to 15WPM and start. Spacing no less then 12WPM, otherwise you have too much time to think… Everyday 10minutes minimum. Copy into the Koch RX software and if you get more than 80%, add a letter! In two months, you can easily copy 12-15WPM QSOs and get the essential bits out of 20+ QSOs!

In reply to M0RCP:
Sorry Rick for stealing your frequency yesterday…

73 Lars
MM0DWF

In reply to G0AZS: Tnx fer fb rprt fm Aylesbury! The Wet String antenna is a humble back bedroom special. 15 metres of wire fed through a hole bored in the top of the PVC window frame at a height of about 4 metres, extending down to the top of the back garden fence at a height of 2 metres. I tune it with a simple L-network, low-to-high impedance matching on 40M and switch the L and C into series for low-to-low impedance 80M and 30M. Pretty much the same set-up I used on my one SOTA activation to date! The BBS runs NE/SW sloping to the SW, and it is very noticeable how sensitive it to the SE. I use a 10M counterpoise running around the floor for all of the bands. Considering how inefficient the set-up must be, I am amazed at the good reports I often get with it. Added to this is that we live in a hole, or perhaps I should say my QTH is surrounded by higher ground and buildings, which makes it pretty much “RF gulch” as Rick Campbell KK7B describes his QTH. I am sure there is a big NVIS factor at play.
73
Ken GI4FLG