My favorite songbird is the double speed sideswiper, aka 'the cootie.' A rare breed with a distinctive voice. Once uncaged, mine usually lands on 40 or 80 meters...
John K7FD > On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:11 AM, Wayne Burdick <[email protected]> wrote: > > My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of > the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands. > > On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small > raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of the > San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue, brown, > orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots. > > Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on the > ground. > > The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a > different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were > limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW. > > Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was > unique. > > Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight > keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as > they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp. > Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible intrigue. > > In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a > dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor > soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo. > > Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each > station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You > could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice > bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since > many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs > were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above. > > Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone. > > CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include > speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and > direction-specific propagation anomalies. > > Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max. > > If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild, > then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong: > It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The > diversity of species is unprecedented. > > But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings, > memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous > snack bar. What next? > > Take a walk on the wild side. > > Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work > your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah, > then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge. > > Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be > camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully, > you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ. > > Wayne > N6KR > > > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
