Jim:
Enjoyed reading about your CW rebirth experiences. I have had similar ones. At
70YO now, I have been licensed since 1958. Originally, after getting my General
Ticket in 1959, I preferred CW and got pretty good at it. Family and Career got
in the way and I became inactive from 1963 until 2002 when I got back into the
hobby with a good, modern station. I renewed my quest for DX.
When they dropped the higher speed code speed in 2003 which grandfathered my
General code proficiency to the Extra Class ticket, I took and passed the
written exam. My CW proficiency was very poor at first, but I wanted to use the
new 25Kc segments I now had at the bottom the popular bands. I bought a
Morsematic keyer and awkwardely put my call sign in one memory location, and
599, TU in the other. I called it my 2 finger QSO. Over time, my CW ear got
better and my CW fist improved so that I no longer do 2 finger QSO's. My
operating speed is now around 25-30 WPM solid and I avoid SSB operations almost
entirely. CW is now my preferred mode of operation. I love this mode and am
glad circumstances forced me back into it. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
John Owens - N7TK
- Original Message -
From: Jim Abercrombie 4...@prtcnet.com
To: dx-chat@njdxa.org
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 10:24:07 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: [DX-CHAT] working DXCC on CW
Saw where Ron notarius got his 15 meter DXCC. Thought I would share my
experience on working CW DXCC. I was able to copy 20 wpm on paper in 1968 when
I took my Extra and had to pass a 20 wpm sending test with a straight key, but
gave up on CW after that. Last year I thought it was time for me to become a
real DX'er by getting my CW DXCC. I have a Vibroplex paddle and a built-in
keyer in my radio, but I can't send worth a darn with it at over 15 WPM (too
old, no dexterity). So I have 3 CW memory slots in my radio and I programmed
each one for a qso exchange, and I can set the CW speed with my radio. In my
head I can copy my call and my report to at least 45 WPM and that's all I need
to make a contact. The other day, VK9GMW copied my call, sent me my call and
5nn and he was S-0 on my radio. I wasn't sure I got him because he was ripping
the code out so fast and he was so weak, but that contact was in his log.
Making contacts this way has increased my code receiving speed, but I still
can't send with the paddle. I am posting this info to maybe encourage someone
to try CW regardless of their code ability.
N4JA (got'em all on phone and mixed)
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