Re: [Elecraft] Looking for shortened Ham-Stick antenna article
Leigh, Thanks for the update - sounds like Lakeview has updated their product line since I last bought a HamStick. At lunch today I tried a brief Ham Radio Experiment, and answered my own question: took my 40M HamStick base and put a shorty whip from an old 2m antenna on it -- 9 inches of whip gave a minimum 2:1 SWR on 30 meters - well within the range of the ATU in my K1. It seemed to hear well, but I haven't tried to transmit on it yet, so I don't know if this is actually a workable solution, but it looks promising. We're having nice spring-like weather in the Northeast these past few days, so I may get to try some more tomorrow. 73, Mike N2HTT Mike, The Lakeview company makes both short and long Hamsticks (their brand). I have found I can put the short ones for 40, 30, and 20 on top of my Subaru Outback and drive around town, but the long ones are only good when parked. Leigh / WA5ZNU ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] [Auto-Reply] Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!
My apologies to the Elecraft group. I have NOW blocked my out of office auto-replies to NOT respond to Internet addresses. It was NOT my intent for this to end up in your mailboxes! Sorry73, de K5AVJ ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Ron AC7AC Said: -- This is a list of the prosigns I'm familiar with: BK - Invite receiving station to transmit CQ - Calling any amateur radio station SOS Distress Hold on a second (AS) there Ron :-) My understanding is that BK, CQ and SOS are not to be sent with no space but as individual letters complete with the proper space around them. Isn't merging the BK or CQ together is just sloppy sending? BTW, nice call but now that I know the new @ pattern, I'll see you as @7@ :-) And with using es to mean and. It would make more sense to me to use the french word et It is even less letters. I never knew es was the american morse version of . Hmmm. Oh well, live et learn. Sorry, that should be live es learn! - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Need Help with contacts
I cannot make any contacts with the KX1. I have a gap vert. Challenger and an inverted VEE up 30 feet 103 feet long. Now Yesterday I was at a museum and took the KX1 with me and hooked up to a hustler vert. mounted on top of bldg and had no problem making contacts around 7030. In 2005 only made one contact on cw with a station in Mich here at home. I live in Glen Burnie, MD south of Baltimore and north of Annapolis. I thought if I could make a sked with someone on reflector I would at least know if I was getting out. Thought today I might try my luck by putting the KX1 in the van and with a mobile antenna see if I could make any contacts. Same luck with the K1 with the Gap and VEE. Paul Gates, KD3JF Elecraft Kits: K1 #0231 KX1 #1186 XG1: Signal Generator ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Kieth wrote: Hold on a second (AS) there Ron :-) My understanding is that BK, CQ and SOS are not to be sent with no space but as individual letters complete with the proper space around them. There's the **biggest** mistake in Morse telegraphy! SOS is ALWAYS to be sent with NO space between the characters: . . . - - - . . . I don't know how the general knowledge came to be that it is sent as separate characters. That completely destroys the distinctive sound of the signal and is completely incorrect. It's interesting that even US military emergency radio sets like the WWII Gibson Girl hand-crank units (SCR-578, AN/CRT-3) and emergency keyers like the AN/ARA-26 (designed to automatically key an HF unit with a Morse distress signal and aircraft ID) perpetuate the S O S mistake by putting a space between letters on the code keying wheel. I blame it on the movies! As for BK, that is two letters, but like many other ham Morse customs, it really has *NO* place or value in Morse communication. The prosign K is much more to the point! Mike / KK5F ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Looking for shortened Ham-Stick antenna article
I remember seeing an article/recipe for loading a Ham-Stick style monoband antenna using a shortened whip and the next lower band antenna, for example using a 30m base with a 12 whip for 20 meters. Anyone ever seen anything like this? I am interested in mounting a monoband vertical on my Honda CRV, but I don't want to keep removing it, so I want keep the antenna short. Thanks, Mike N2HTT K1 s/n 0566 KX1 s/n 099 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Re: Weller
Leigh, I found the advice from Jerry below very useful and the solution to my WTCPT problem. Jeff -Original Message- From: Jeremiah McCarthy Sent: 1/11/2006 11:33:11 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Weller Jeff: I use the same 700 degree tips and they last for YEARS!!!...I am an Elecraft builder who has built more than 50 units plus all the side goodies... It sounds like the tip is getting too hot...The magnetic plunger up inside the heater barrel might be frozen...It should move up and down freely...It should spring back if you insert a small screw driver up inside the barrel and push the plunger in after the tip has been removed...If it is frozen, the handle can be dis-assembled and the plunger can be freed up...It MUST move freely...You should be able to hear the plunger clicking back and forth after the iron is up to temperature...If you need parts, you might try contacting Gregory Beat, the Weller guru who posted to the reflector a couple of days ago... I use rosin core Kester 44, .020 diameter, but any solder with an RMA flux rating will work...I had some minor problems with deposits when I used multicore solder...I surmise that one of the fluxes burned and coated the tip...I do not use multicore anymore...If you are using the wrong solder, that might be a problem... I personally do not like the pot scrubbers as tip cleaners...We tried those at Grumman years ago and the company felt that they shortened tip life because of the abrasive action that gradually shaves away the coating...Further, the Weller spec sheet that I have here warns against using abrasive tip cleaners...I stick with the wet sponge...I find that, while the pot scrubber does clean the tip, it leaves tiny beads of molten solder all around the tip that tend to suddenly wick down into the joint and overload it...This is a problem if one is doing fine SM soldering...The wet sponge wipes the tip clean and does not leave beads of molten solder behind on the tip...If you want, I can try to attach the spec sheet to an e-mail...Depending on your e-mail provider, it does not always work...73 Jerry, wa2dkg ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
-Original Message- From: Mike Morrow [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Elecraft Discussion List elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 07:49:34 -0600 (GMT-06:00) Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse) As for BK, that is two letters, but like many other ham Morse customs, it really has *NO* place or value in Morse communication. The prosign K is much more to the point! I disagree! The prosign K is meant for use at the end of a transmission, after the formal exchange of callsigns: CQ CQ CQ CQ DE N2EY N2EY N2EY K ES PSE QSL KK5F DE N2EY K meaning go ahead any station But BK is used in rapid-fire exchanges *without* the formal callsign exchange: .FB MOJO OM BT IS UR RIG A K2 or K1? BK BK RIG HR K2 K2 SN 2084 2084 BK BK R R DOING FB. Of course with the fine QSK of Elecraft rigs, even the BK can become superfluous. But if the other op doesn't have QSK, BK is useful to indicate that you're turning it over for a quick reply. -- There was a time when ARRL sponsored a copying bee, in which a message of unknown length and content was sent. This grew into the Code Proficiency program. One feature of the Copying Bee was the inclusion of intentional misspellings, to see if the receiving op would copy as sent or as expected. Caused more than a few to miss the perfect copy certificate. 73 (old Phillips Code abbreviation) ES (old Morse ) ZUT (old Z code abbreviation - unofficial) DE (prosign - sent as two letters) N2EY ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Test
Sorry about this. The policemen are at it again. Geoff, GM4ESD ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion
I looked up the W1AW schedule so I'll know when to find them again. It's much better, in my opinion, than tapes or computer- generated stuff, because it's 'real', over the air. The computer stuff and tapes always seemed to me to be too sterile, too perfect. Perhaps too boring and too dull. Stephanie and others - Let me recommend Ray Goff's Koch Method Morse Trainer. http://www.g4fon.net/ Not only is it a great way to become proficient in the alphabet and prosigns, Ray has gone on to add simulations of bad fists, bad noise, bad speed, bad fading ... I've found it very useful. There are mechanisms for copying sample QSOs as well as common words (and a supportive mailing list). The W1AW code practice sessions are great, too. But you can run Ray's program whenever you have 5-15 minutes to spare! 73 de chris K6DBG ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion
Good suggestions, but how about just turning on the rig and reading the mail for a while for some experience of real fists? If you're just listening, no one cares if you miss characters as you build proficiency... Ron AC7AC -Original Message- I looked up the W1AW schedule so I'll know when to find them again. It's much better, in my opinion, than tapes or computer- generated stuff, because it's 'real', over the air. The computer stuff and tapes always seemed to me to be too sterile, too perfect. Perhaps too boring and too dull. Stephanie and others - Let me recommend Ray Goff's Koch Method Morse Trainer. http://www.g4fon.net/ Not only is it a great way to become proficient in the alphabet and prosigns, Ray has gone on to add simulations of bad fists, bad noise, bad speed, bad fading ... I've found it very useful. There are mechanisms for copying sample QSOs as well as common words (and a supportive mailing list). The W1AW code practice sessions are great, too. But you can run Ray's program whenever you have 5-15 minutes to spare! 73 de chris K6DBG ___ ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: RE: [Elecraft] Looking for shortened Ham-Stick antenna article
Aron, Close, but not exactly what I was looking for I have a few HamSticks, and a couple of HamStick clones (made by Valor, I think) and they do indeed work pretty well. Typically the stick part with the coil wrapped around it is about 3 1/2 feet long, and the whips run about 4 feet, making a vertical about 7 feet long when assembled. The mount on my CRV is on the spare carrier on the hatch door -- with a 7 foot vertical mounted there, the top of the antenna is at about 11 feet - too high to drive around with without worrying about it. I remember seeing in a magazine article one tip about using the stick for one band lower than you want, with a shortened whip of about a foot. For instance, using a 30M stick with a 1 foot whip on 20 meters. I also remember seeing an article about modifying these antennas by unwrapping some of the coiled wire from the end of the stick, and using it with no whip at all. It was the articles and/or any experiences that anyone may have with this approach that I was looking for. I will do some experimentation, but if I could find the article first, or someone has already tried this, I could direct my experiments a bit. Thanks for your quick reply, 73 Mike N2HTT - Original Message - From: Aron Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, January 12, 2006 10:24 am Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Looking for shortened Ham-Stick antenna article Morning Mike: I have used the mini hamsticks on my Volvo station wagon with some success.The 20 meter antenna works great but it took some doing to tune the 40 meter one. I have made quite a few contacts using these antennas. Not sure if this is what your talking about, but you can get these antennas at HRO. Good Luck Aron NN1F Bedford, NH FP#122 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
-Original Message- From: Ron D'Eau Claire [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Elecraft Discussion List' elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:37:44 -0800 Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse) One might ask what is CQ an abbreviation of? Some say it's a phonetic seek you but I've never heard a single plausible explanation of it as anything other than a prosign. It's a two-letter abbreviation like QRZ. It originated in landwire Morse, where it meant general call, all stations copy or calling all stations. Useful for sending bulletins, synchronizing clocks, etc. In wireless use it came to mean I'm looking for a QSO or calling *any* station. Such an abbreviation was not needed in landwire Morse because in that sort of operation there was no question of contact - if you were plugged into a wire, you heard everything on that wire, and if not, you heard nothing. CQD was developed by the Marconi Company to mean urgent/distress message, any stations respond essentially the same as SOS So what's the bottom line? To me it's that CW or Morse is a language and, like most languages it goes through a process of evolution and change according to popular usage. And those changes will probably bring anguish to the purists who remember the old ways just as changes in spoken and written languages of all sorts have done. I agree to a point. But we amateurs are the last widespread users of Morse Code - the keepers of the flame, as it were. I think it's up to us to preserve its unique character. And why not keep the old ways alive, if they work? Most of the old ways are the way they are for good reason. Abbreviations like 73 survived because of both their usefulness and how they sound in Morse. ES is shorter than AND, more distinctive, and just rolls off the bug with ease. There's also a genuine satisfaction from doing a thing well, as it was intended to be done, even if it's not absolutely necessary. 73 de Jim, N2EY ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Q: When QRP is great? A: Every time! I have K2 but work with 5W or 500mW. 170 countries 5W and 70 with 20...500mW. The difference is the same to HiPower boys whatever sunspot number. It just need your equipment been correct and some additional operator skill. For PROSIGN CONFUSION: I think letters in abbreviations BK and CL are separate. -- BennyOH9NB ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Jim, N2EY wrote: (CQ is) a two-letter abbreviation like QRZ. -- But neither of them are abbreviations (i.e. shortened words). CQ has no credible meaning as an abbreviation that I've ever seen. QRZ is one of the common Q codes that are sent as three distinct letters. The Q-codes are a set of signals all their own, neither abbreviations or prosigns. In commercial use, CQ was employed from the earliest days of public message handling. It is true that Marconi's stations were not public but private, talking only to other Marconi stations except in time of emergency. After other radio services came about in competition with Marconi, CQ was used as a general call to ANY other station who wished to contact them. In that case it was for the purpose of announcing their availability to ships who wanted to send messages. As you know, the coastal stations open for traffic would sent out a constant CQ call using their wheel (For others, the wheel was a mechanical disk with notches around the edge that rotated at a fixed speed. Contacts followed the notches to key the transmitter and send CW automatically). Interspersed with the CQ was a listing of the frequencies on which they were listening for anyone who wanted to call them. I agree about 'keeping the flame alive' and the ease of signals like ES for and. I am also very much aware of how hard the French struggle to keep the French language pure. I suspect they, among all the western nations at least, are the most dedicated to maintaining the purity of their language. Yet, common usage keeps creeping in with newly-adopted words and syntax. In our case with Morse or CW, ES became popular because it was easy and useful. We don't hear parenthesis or asterisks on the CW bands much because they aren't as useful in our casual QSO's. I applaud efforts to preserve CW, but, like any language, what is the pure form? I submit that same pressure for change in vocabulary and usage that any language experiences is constant and relentless. It is slowly changing the CW language as we know it. If that keeps More popular and in use, is that such a bad thing? Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Nigel, G8IFF/KC8NHF wrote: If CQ is a prosign, i.e. a single character without embedded space, please explain how I should pronounce it such using 'phone modes. - Dah-di-dah-di-dah-dah-di-dah? Seriously, once you go to non-CW modes, all bets are off. Obviously CQ was adopted by phone operators from its long use as a general call to any (or all) stations on CW and the letters used to identify it as a prosign were used on 'phone. Again, in language we adapt, adopt and modify to meet the needs of the day. The phone CQ is an excellent example. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
Some examples of morse as a living language. In the mid 70's, when I first started, QSOs were ended with Shave and a hair cut to which the other replied 2 bits. Of course it was all done by sending dits to the rhythm. I went QRT for several years. When I came back in the mid 80's the exchanged was shortened to just the 2 bits part, hence the adding of the little dit dit to the end of a QSO. It used to be one would say oops by sending 8 dits in a row. Now, I routinely hear a couple of short odd spaced dits instead. I suppose it works but it is more risky. I also hear people (myself included) who have become wordy with Q signals. We send the QTH here is Gary, IN rather than QTH Gary, IN. I worked a guy a few weeks ago who really opened up my eyes to this. He sent something like GE OM TNX. RST 55N 55N. QTH Pittsburgh, PA. OP Gary. HW? Wow, he gave a lot in a short space and even though he was at 15 wpm it didn't take long at all. I liked it and am trying to model it although I still tend to fall back to TNX FER CALL OM. UR RST IS 55N QTH HERE IS ... Way OT: I copied a guy on 40 SSB a couple of days ago complaining about his Icom rig. He called it a RAY-diddey-oh. Oh boy, did I hate that. I felt like interrupting with hey good buddy, ya got yer ears on?. Ah the joys of CW. - Keith - -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: Ron D'Eau Claire [EMAIL PROTECTED] To me it's that CW or Morse is a language and, like most languages it goes through a process of evolution and change according to popular usage. I agree to a point. But we amateurs are the last widespread users of Morse Code - the keepers of the flame, as it were. I think it's up to us to preserve its unique character. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
When I was learning CW I made the mistake of telling my kindergarten class about this novice custom, and the entire school bus began chanting dit-diddle-it-dit until I got off. Despite this early trauma, I managed to get my license. Bill W9ZN, the CW powerhouse of Chicago, will happily do the whole dit-diddle-it-dit with you, and send EISH5 and BENS BEST BENT WIRE/5 too. Leigh/WA5ZNU On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 10:27 am, Darwin, Keith wrote: Some examples of morse as a living language. In the mid 70's, when I first started, QSOs were ended with Shave and a hair cut to which the other replied 2 bits. Of course it was all done by sending dits to the rhythm. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
Darwin, Keith wrote: Some examples of morse as a living language. In the mid 70's, when I first started, QSOs were ended with Shave and a hair cut to which the other replied 2 bits. Of course it was all done by sending dits to the rhythm. I went QRT for several years. When I came back in the mid 80's the exchanged was shortened to just the 2 bits part, hence the adding of the little dit dit to the end of a QSO. Not exactly. Dit dit was used by commercial/military operators to indicate that the contact on a particular frequency was finished. After sending the *last* transmission before going QRT or moving to another frequency to pass traffic, an operator would send dit dit. The other would respond, indicating that he understood and was also finished. The shave and a haircut business started in the 1950's, and generally indicated that the user was a lid. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006, Darwin, Keith wrote: Way OT: I copied a guy on 40 SSB a couple of days ago complaining about his Icom rig. He called it a RAY-diddey-oh. Oh boy, did I hate that. I felt like interrupting with hey good buddy, ya got yer ears on?. Ah the joys of CW. In some areas it would be pronounced Rah-Did-e-oh...expecially when we're waiting for the man to come down the chimbly in Dezember. Thom www.baltimorehon.com ... where we prove you talk funny. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006, Vic K2VCO wrote: The shave and a haircut business started in the 1950's, and generally indicated that the user was a lid. How things changenow it's a contest or something like that. Thom www.baltimorehon.com/Home of the Baltimore Lexicon www.tlchost.net/hosting/ Web Hosting as low as 3.49/month ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Is CW a Language?
In the prosign thread, it has been suggested that Morse Code (which, if the world were even remotely fair, would be the Vail Code) is a language. Fortuitously, I was about to have lunch with an old friend who retired as a Professor of Linguistics, so I asked him over my patty melt, Does Morse code class as a language? He said, Hmmm, that's something I've never thought about. Probably not. I would put Morse code in the class of phonetic alphabets, where the sounds equate to symbols in a symbolic alphabet that can be combined to form elements (i.e. 'words') in any language that employs that symbolic alphabet. Interesting question, though. I'll have to think about that. Never expect a short answer from a retired professor. Above about 20 WPM or so, CW does become sort of a 'language' for me ... I hear words, not letters, but the real 'language' is still English of course. The fantastic QSK on my K2 (far better than any other QSK rig I have used) only enhances the effect. As a teenager, several of my buddies and I learned American Morse and would get on 80 meters in the evening and use it in a round table ... it was really meant for telegraph sounders (clicks and clacks) rather than radio (dots and dashes) and was a little awkward on the radio, however we all had a burning desire to just fake out other stations. I like to think I've matured some in my choice of amusements since then. Andrea has a slightly different opinion on the subject of male maturity, especially mine. I defer to the historians on the origin(s) of CQ, but it reminds me of the old (likely apochraphyl) story of the ham on AM who lived next to a church and had a problem with RFI to the electric organ. Calling CQ DX one Sunday morning, he noticed the parishoners madly streaming out of the church. Later that day, he asked the minister what had happened, andh the minister replied, They thought they heard the voice of God saying 'Seek You The Exit,' and they left in panic. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA CM98lw K2/100 #4398 KX1 #897 (and a growing inventory of other Elecraft stuff) ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] prosigns and the like
I hate to add to the qrn on this topic, but my understanding (a phrase I use to avoid the dogmatism I would otherwise employ) is that a prosign is merely a means for indicating two (or more) letters *** which, when run together *** mean something. Thus, someone earlier suggested that KN, meaning an invitation to transmit, was a prosign. This clearly is not so. KN with a space between - does mean go ahead, but please no interruptions from those not already in the qso. Whereas KN with no space is the international morse character for a left parenthesis - KK being the right. My feeling on the matter is that procedural signals such as BK, CL, CQ, DE, KN, VE that are not prosigns should indeed have a space between the letters. Whereas one can get away without the space in BK or CQ (don't try it with DE or VE), that doesn't prevent me from considering it sloppy sending and an indication of incomplete knowledge of the nature of the game. best wishes, dave belsley, w1euy (dogmatic as always) ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
On Jan 12, 2006, at 1:26 PM, Darwin, Keith wrote: It used to be one would say oops by sending 8 dits in a row. Now, I routinely hear a couple of short odd spaced dits instead. I suppose it works but it is more risky. This phenomenon is actually a very interesting and natural evolution to cw's conversational style. When sending at relatively slow speeds, particularly -- but not only -- with a straight key, the 8- dits error sign made a good contrast and served psychologically to clean the slate for a fresh start. When sending with a keyer, however, at higher speeds (say 25 wpm or above -- and certainly above 30 wpm), the string of dits no longer provides the kind of contrast that makes the mind say, whoa, let's do that again, and instead often just sounds like unintended noise. Indeed it a couple of well spaced dots that do provide this contrast, and hence serve better to the purpose. I think this notion grew naturally and independently to a large number of operators, and I suspect it is going to stay. As Keith says, it is more risky, but this risk can all but be removed if the sender takes the pains not to make the dots oddly spaced but rather, say, three dits spaced evenly with the between-word spacing. best wishes, dave belsley, w1euy ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] CW - Living language (RE: Prosign confusion)
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006, w2agn wrote: Thom R LaCosta wrote: On Thu, 12 Jan 2006, Vic K2VCO wrote: The shave and a haircut business started in the 1950's, and generally indicated that the user was a lid. How things changenow it's a contest or something like that. Not changed that much. Still lids. N N M A Thom www.baltimorehon.com/Home of the Baltimore Lexicon www.tlchost.net/hosting/ Web Hosting as low as 3.49/month ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Is CW a Language?
I would put Morse code in the class of phonetic alphabets, where the sounds equate to symbols in a symbolic alphabet that can be combined to form elements (i.e. 'words') in any language that employs that symbolic alphabet. Above about 20 WPM or so, CW does become sort of a 'language' for me ... I hear words, not letters, but the real 'language' is still English of course. I agree with the professor. I would equate the phenomena of recognizing entire words when receiving at high speed to the recognition of printed words by their shape when reading. None of us stops to sound out every word we read phonetically, yet that's how they (or most of them) are really constructed. We see the word in its entirety and instantly know what it is and what it means. This doesn't make printed text into a language distinct from English (or Spanish or French or whatever), it is just a characteristic of a person who is fluent with the language. Just as printed English has its own idioms -- like indenting paragraphs, starting a chapter with a large capital letter, marking footnotes with superscripted numbers, etc. -- CW has also developed idioms that are unique to it. fb, om, 73, etc. evolved not so much because they represent commonly used words and phrases, but because brevity is an asset when communicating in Morse Code. The idioms don't always translate well into other modes of conveying the language. While we do say some of them (73's, XYL, and QSO come to mind), we don't say most of them (es, BT, fb, etc.). I would argue that saying most of these sounds about as dumb as someone saying lol when you tell a joke. Just laugh out loud, it's more natural. Almost none of the print idioms translate into conversation. We don't raise our hand to indicate a footnote as we talk. We don't move our head slightly to the right when starting a new paragraph. The point is that prosigns, abbreviations, q-signals, and other components of CW don't make it a unique language. They just add expressiveness, just as punctuation marks do in print. All that to say that CW isn't a language. It's an alphabet. :-) Craig NZ0R K1 #1966 K2/100 #4941 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Is CW a Language?
-Original Message- Linguistics, so I asked him over my patty melt, Does Morse code class as a language? He said, Hmmm, that's something I've never thought about. Probably not. I would put Morse code in the class of phonetic alphabets, Very good point which I was about to make myself, although you made it much better. I hear German, French, Dutch, various slavic languages, mixed Swedish/Norwegian/Danish and so on sent in morse code in addition to English. Some of this is totally incomprehensible although I can copy the letters. Possibly the prosigns, Q-codes etc qualify as a very rudimentary sort of pidgin language. And as some have indicated in this thread, this pidgin is slowly changing and evolving like any other natural language. The letters themselves clearly are nothing but an alphabet, complete with special signs for non-English letters. As an example, for local QSOs I regularly have to use ---. , .--.- , and .-.- in order to map Scandinavian language(s) to the morse code alphabet. 73 Sverre LA3ZA http://www.qslnet.de/la3za/ ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Folks, I think we are all getting mixed mesages here - when to use a letter space, and when not to is the question. I checked the table in my 1994 ARRL Handbook for CW abbreviations and prosigns (the new handbooks have eliminated this info for some reason!). Earlier handbooks just listed the dots and dashes as though they were extra morse characters. And I know that other groups of radiotelegraphy have special symbols that have meaning to those within that group. The 'prosigns' listed in 1994 are: QRL?, CQ, AR, K, KN, BK, R, AS, SK, and CL - but the only ones indicated to be sent without a space (as one character) are AR, KN, AS, and SK - all others are indicated as being sent as 2 or more letters (indicated with a bar). The same page also has a long list of abbreviations which are obviously sent as separate letters - ES for 'and or ' is in that list of abbreviations (the 'R' and 'CL' also appear in the abbreviations list) So for my part, this is how I learned them and how I use them (I hope no-one is confused by such use) - the prosigns that are indicated with a bar to me are just another morse character (like the new character for @ which can be visualized as 'AC' with a bar over it). 73, Don W3FPR -Original Message- Stephanie, VA3UXB wrote: I don't think I ever got the hang of the prosigns... I got the AR. To me, BT is a dash (-) but I don't know if that's correct or not. I sometimes get the ',' and '?' confused. The / character I know well, because I always hear it on our local repeater ident, and it it's in my beacon's ident (va3grr/b). But how can you tell an ES from the letter H? The other ones, the AR, BT, the / character, all have 'unique' sounds when you hear them, right? Isn't ES the same as 'h'? Or am I completely lost? Excellent point, Stephanie! All prosigns are sent as a single character and indicated, for the sake of simplicity, as letters that, if sent without the normal space, will produce the prosign. All prosigns are chosen so they won't have the problems you mention. This is a list of the prosigns I'm familiar with: AR - End of message AS - Stand by BK - Invite receiving station to transmit BT - Pause; Break For Text KA - Beginning of message KN - end of transmission CL - Going off the air (clear) CQ - Calling any amateur radio station K -- Go, invite any station to transmit KN - Go only, invite a specific station to transmit R -- All received OK SK - End of contact (sent before call) VE - Understood (VE) AV - Warning SOS Distress Although it can't be shown here in ASCII, a prosign is identified by a line or bar above the letters. You'll hear most of these on the Ham bands although some, like VE or AV and especially SOS will be very rarely heard. In addition to prosigns we have actual Morse characters for the arcane characters on our keyboards. These are NOT prosigns but simply combinations of dots and dashes like any letter of the English alphabet or number. (My apologies for getting careless with terminology and calling the ampersand a prosign. That's not right. Hang on. I'll get back to that). I say English because, of course, there are many other languages that have corresponding Morse codes such as the 70-odd characters used for Japanese or the various odd characters used to represent diacritical marks and special letter combinations in other European languages including Hebrew. I won't even get into Arabic and Cyrillic. In many countries, Hams have to learn and be proficient in two or three Morse Codes to get a license! Here in the USA, commercial operators recognized a group of characters for the various symbols found on a common keyboard. These were codified by the ITU for use in commercial communications by Morse. We Hams use some of them almost daily, such as the period, question mark, comma and solidus (slash). A few more are: + (plus sign) di-dah-di-dit-dah = (equal sign) dah-di-di-dit-dah (We Hams use that for a dash a lot but as dash is really) - (dash) dah-di-di-di-di-dah (quotation mark) di-dah-di-di-dah-dit ' (single quote) di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dit _ (underscore) di-di-dah-dah-di-dah $ (dollar sign) di-di-di-dah-di-di-dah There are more. There's probably one for the Euro by now G. Now THOSE you won't fine in common use on the Ham bands, at least not in any QSO I've heard! That is except for our pause when we often use the = sign. As Kevin Rock, KD5ONS, mentioned that some characters we use commonly came from the old American Morse that used variations on spacing and element lengths that don't occur in Continental or International Morse code. Dit, di-di-dit is one of those. Sent as E S it is the ampersand. Another very common one that is fading from use because of the popularity of keyers is the American Morse zero - the long dash. I'm sure
RE: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
-Original Message- The 'prosigns' listed in 1994 are: QRL?, CQ, AR, K, KN, BK, R, AS, SK, and CL - but the only ones indicated to be sent without a space (as one character) are AR, KN, AS, and SK - all others are indicated as being sent as 2 or more letters (indicated with a bar). Folks, My error above - the phrase inside the parenthesis should have been indicated withOUT a bar Sorry for any confusion - and thanks to the folks who understood without this correction. 73, Don W3FPR ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] QRZ? is not CQ
QRP from a bare K2 isn't so easy when there are people who are just plain rude. I called a G station on 160m on a clear frequency (widest filter) and received a QRZ? back. Someone, callsign witheld, pinned the last LED on my K2 with no preamp, speeding nearly twice the G speed and blocked me out before my key was down. If I had to send QRZ I wouldn't answer someone else. A pileup ensued and I gave up. Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 #4962 -- ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRZ? is not CQ
Ian, I am sorry to hear that you were subjected to such inconsiderate behavior, but ... You are correct that QRZ? is not CQ, but unfortunately, they are commonly used by some DX op I have heard just as though they were interchangable - and many more (DX and non-DX) seem to get on that bandwagon during a contest, especially when they want to hold (or overtake) a frequency. So, yes, I would concur that it is rude, but it just seems to me that it is getting more and more incorrect usage. Unfortunately, there are always the few that want to be hogs no matter what the circumstances. 73, Don W3FPR -Original Message- QRP from a bare K2 isn't so easy when there are people who are just plain rude. I called a G station on 160m on a clear frequency (widest filter) and received a QRZ? back. Someone, callsign witheld, pinned the last LED on my K2 with no preamp, speeding nearly twice the G speed and blocked me out before my key was down. If I had to send QRZ I wouldn't answer someone else. A pileup ensued and I gave up. Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 #4962 -- ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Drinks are on me!
I caught this on the DX-Chat reflector - notice the last line. 72 de Larry W2LJ Beginning of post Ok, I'll get in on the game. I need: BS7 E3 ZL9 Lotsa luck to me.. Hi Looking forward to seeing everyone in the pile-ups. 73, Mike, W5UC QRP is like a margarita with no Tequila ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Polar Bear Sprint/Hunt Jan. 14
Hello, The Jan. 2006 Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Sprint / Hunt is going to be held on Jan. 14th, 2006. Yep I know the NA Contest is going on the same time but it looks like any Polar Bears that are going to be on 40 meters will hang out around 7.110 MHz. Anyway, if you are interested in the Polar Bear activity, please check out the web page www.n3epa.org for more details about the PB Sprint / Hunt. There will be certificates for each state that bag the most PB's. Now there are 2 club calls with PB numbers. As for myself, this will be my second outing on the Appalachian Trail this year. I was going over my log and to my surprise I have already passed my 500 QSO from the AT and I am closing in on my 600 Q now. I also need 9 more states to worked all the states from the AT. Below are my stats. 564 QSO from the Appalachian Trail 41 States worked from the AT 14 Countries worked from the AT I will be looking for anyone operating on the AT from the States of MA and ME so I can complete my AT to AT QSO with all 14 States that the AT run through. I will also be looking for the following States to complete my WAS from the AT. MS, ND, SD, MT, NM, AZ, OR, AK HI. I will be looking for any DX stations also to get closer to my DXCC from the AT. The last three times out I have worked DX station in Europe on 30 and 40 meters. I will be using my K2 this time out. 72 and Thanks, Ron Polityka WB3AAL Polar Bear #1 www.wb3aal.com www.n3epa.org/ K1 - SN 01011 K2 - SN 01392 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRZ? is not CQ
When many stations are calling me then QRZ? as in Who is calling me? seems a reasonable thing to send instead of initiating a new CQ. Traditionally (my tradition...not anyone elses) I use CQ to originate a call for anyone. If no one comes back I CQ again. If I get 2 or more stations calling me I will call one and at the end of the contact, especially in contest or short DX-style QSO's ask QRZ? as in Who ELSE is calling me?. Things truly get rude when the DX station says QRZ AB2?? and every W8, K9, WA2 etc start to call. Tom K2TA - Original Message - From: Don Wilhelm [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Ian Stirling [EMAIL PROTECTED]; elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 6:57 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] QRZ? is not CQ Ian, I am sorry to hear that you were subjected to such inconsiderate behavior, but ... You are correct that QRZ? is not CQ, but unfortunately, they are commonly used by some DX op I have heard just as though they were interchangable - and many more (DX and non-DX) seem to get on that bandwagon during a contest, especially when they want to hold (or overtake) a frequency. So, yes, I would concur that it is rude, but it just seems to me that it is getting more and more incorrect usage. Unfortunately, there are always the few that want to be hogs no matter what the circumstances. 73, Don W3FPR -Original Message- QRP from a bare K2 isn't so easy when there are people who are just plain rude. I called a G station on 160m on a clear frequency (widest filter) and received a QRZ? back. Someone, callsign witheld, pinned the last LED on my K2 with no preamp, speeding nearly twice the G speed and blocked me out before my key was down. If I had to send QRZ I wouldn't answer someone else. A pileup ensued and I gave up. Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 #4962 -- ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
In a message dated 1/12/06 1:18:43 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Jim, N2EY wrote: (CQ is) a two-letter abbreviation like QRZ. -- But neither of them are abbreviations (i.e. shortened words). An abbreviation isn't always a shortened word - how did we get lb as an abbreviation for pound? In commercial use, CQ was employed from the earliest days of public message handling. It is true that Marconi's stations were not public but private, talking only to other Marconi stations except in time of emergency. After other radio services came about in competition with Marconi, CQ was used as a general call to ANY other station who wished to contact them. In that case it was for the purpose of announcing their availability to ships who wanted to send messages. Of course - but did it start with Marconi, or was it adapted from landwire use? As you know, the coastal stations open for traffic would sent out a constant CQ call using their wheel (For others, the wheel was a mechanical disk with notches around the edge that rotated at a fixed speed. Contacts followed the notches to key the transmitter and send CW automatically). Interspersed with the CQ was a listing of the frequencies on which they were listening for anyone who wanted to call them. Exactly! I agree about 'keeping the flame alive' and the ease of signals like ES for and. I am also very much aware of how hard the French struggle to keep the French language pure. I suspect they, among all the western nations at least, are the most dedicated to maintaining the purity of their language. Yet, common usage keeps creeping in with newly-adopted words and syntax. In our case with Morse or CW, ES became popular because it was easy and useful. We don't hear parenthesis or asterisks on the CW bands much because they aren't as useful in our casual QSO's. ES for and goes back a long way, though. I found references to it in QSTs of the 1950s, and it was used as if everyone would know what it meant. (I saw it in the bug-practice sentence SHE IS 55 ES SHE IS HIS SISTER. Try sending *that* ten times, fast, with no mistakes!) I applaud efforts to preserve CW, but, like any language, what is the pure form? Ultimately, it's what the keepers of the flame say it is...;-) I submit that same pressure for change in vocabulary and usage that any language experiences is constant and relentless. It is slowly changing the CW language as we know it. If that keeps More popular and in use, is that such a bad thing? Only if the new is better than the old. To judge whether a new form is better requires knowledge and understanding of the old way. Too often, ignorance of the past results in a repeat of the mistakes of the past. Remember the story about the railroad signal towers? 73 es ZUT de Jim, N2EY ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] Prosign confusion (was: Anticipating Morse)
Hi, the lb for pound comes from Spanish(and its close Latin)libra meaning pound. 73 de Bob K3YT ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
L. B. Cebik reports favorably on vertical dipoles at Cebik.com. When elevated sufficiently; since they are a complete antenna, not requiring a radial set; they radiate quite well at DX angles. See www.cebik.com -Stuart K5KVH ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Stuart, K5KVH wrote: L. B. Cebik reports favorably on vertical dipoles at Cebik.com. When elevated sufficiently; since they are a complete antenna, not requiring a radial set; they radiate quite well at DX angles. - You are missing the fact that just because an antenna doesn't need a ground (that is, it is NOT a Marconi antenna) that the ground doesn't have a dramatic effect on the radiation pattern. Vertical antennas still suffer from far-field ground loss that horizontal antennas do not and do not get the reflection gain that horizontal antennas enjoy. The difference is typically 6 dB lower gain for the vertical under the BEST of conditions over normal earth, providing the horizontal is 1/3 wave high, and up to about 1/2 wave or so. That's as basic to antenna performance as the fact that a 1/2 wave radiator is self-resonant. Now, if you can raise the vertical up a half wavelength or so, it does help, but it never gets as good as a horizontal. That is, if the lower end of a 40-meter vertical is 60 to 100 feet high and the top is 66 feet higher you start seeing some low angle radiation that beats a horizontal at 1/4 to 1/2 wavelength high. But few Hams are in a position to mount a 66 foot vertical with the base 60 to 100 feet up! Even with such an extreme vertical, it's gain is still 4 or 5 dB below a horizontal at 1/3 to 1/2 wave high. You are absolutely right: Cebik has some excellent material on the WEB and he deals with this very issue at: http://www.cebik.com/fdim/fdim4.html Note the difference in the lower angle radiation from a ground-mounted vertical with various ground losses from a perfect ground to poor. That perfect ground is why verticals work so very well at sea or at the sea shore. Salt water isn't perfect, but it's a whole lot better than dirt, even wet, marshy dirt. The only issue I take with that data is that it shows a horizontal as having the same gain. His scale is wrong, both according to his other pages concerning horizontal antennas and to other references such as Moxon or modeling software such as EZNEC. All of those source say the dipole will be roughly 6 to 7 dB better if it's upwards of 1/2 wave above the earth. Verticals work. They work very well. It helps tremendously to have a full-size (i.e. half wave) vertical since there are no losses that often appear in a Marconi (1/4) wave vertical, although with care a 1/4 wave can be very efficient as well. The great work done by Gary Servick, W2FMI, showing that a 6-foot tall top-loaded 40 meter vertical can be very effective is a good example. His work was published in QST (one article in the April 1978 issue) and in other ARRL publicatins such as Vertical Antenna Classics published by the ARRL. No matter what you do, the polarization of a vertical is still vertical, and they don't get the reflection gain that a horizontal does from the earth. Of course, as Cebik points out, you can often phase several verticals to produce a very effective directional antenna in a lot less space than you'd need for a similar horizontal antenna on the lower bands. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] PSK31
Greetings, I am looking into getting started on PSK31 using the K2. I have the KPA-100 as well. I have read the WA7SPY app note and several items on the reflector. I have a basic question. Where can you get a connector to interface to the K2 microphone connector? No one seems to address that issue. Also, can you use the K2 Remote Control software to control the PTT for PSK31 or is there a PSK31 package out there that controls the K2? TNX 73, Jim ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] suffix /qrp
If a station signs Callsign/qrp do they want me to log them that way? This would be an issue if I use LOTW or E-Qsl Just been on my mind!! :) 73 - Clint - WS1V .. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] RE: Weller WTCPT tip longevity
Weller Soldering Tip Care and Use (Adobe Acrobat) can be found on their web site, as well as other helpful documents on soldering: http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/electronic_applications/index.htm The PTF tip is a 1/32 (0.031) conical flat tip -- VERY SMALL tip surface area and useful for some surface mount work. Always remember to match you tip to the surfaces being soldered (YES, it means that you sometimes have to change a tip -- just like changing a drill bit). For the PTF, I try to avoid 800 degree tips due to the tip size. 700 is better and some users may prefer 600 degree - depending upon the work (heat sensitive components, etc) Electronix Express web page has very good graphics to show the tip and its plating http://www.elexp.com/t_solder.htm === I find older TCP-1 irons where the SW-60 magnetic switch has seized and a wack on the bench does not always solve the problem. :-) When a TCP series is used in production workbenches (24x7x7), the SW-60 switch cycles about 124,800 times each year (assuming one cycle per minute on average) I don't know of many light switches that survive that many cycles ! This is one of the areas I check when refurbishing units from unknown operations Weller added a 3 amp fuse in the 24 VAC line in models after about 1970 (WTCP-L; WTCPK; WTCPN; WTCPS) of the TCP series. This was a useful change to prevent shorted SW-60 (runaway heaters) and heaters that fail as dead short. I add this fuse, if not present, to almost every pre-WTCPT station that I refurbish. In fact many dead base units just have a blown 3 amp fuse inside !! When they got to the WTCPT model 15 years ago, they switched the fuse to the 120 VAC primary winding of the transformer. Greg w9gb - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 6:54 PM Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:37:40 + From: Nigel A. Gunn G8IFF/KC8NHF [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Weller WTCPT tip longevity The tip will last until the iron coating wears through and the copper slug physically erodes. I would suspect that the switch contacts in the handle of your iron have broken or welded closed. If viewed in the dark, an always on TCP will get red hot. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I use a PTF7 solder tip on my WTCPT and recently found that after about 5 minutes of use, the tip suddenly starts to develop a thick char at the end and makes the solder turn dark. I replaced the tip with a newer one (5 hours of use) and the same thing happens to that one. I will next try a brand new tip to see if the same thing happens. Either the problem is with the tip or it is with the heater/barrel nut assembly contaminating the tip. Has anyone experienced the same thing? How long should a typical solder tip last? Has anyone found a tip cleaning or storage method that helps prolong tip life? Thanks. Jeff Fedison in Niskayuna, NY ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] K2/100 AM (MW) Broadcast Intermods on 80m - Partial Conclusions
Regarding the thread I started a couple of weeks ago... I found some strong intermod products from AM (medium wave) broadcast stations on and around 80m when using a large inverted L and low-pass L-network antenna tuner. The strongest was the combination of 2 x 1310 kHz + 580 kHz, two local 50 kW (I think) stations in Ottawa, which was about S9 on 3770 kHz using my K2/100 and not there at all on a Drake TR-7. The intermod was affected by the preamp and attenuator settings only to the same degree as normal signals. After some investigation I have found that this intermodulation is occurring in the basic K2, apparently either in the T-R switch or the final (10 watt) amplifier transistors. The KPA100 80m pi-network actually was acting as an antenna tuner at 1310 kHz which made the intermod slightly worse when connected through the PA than when in QRP configuration. VE3TG's (QRP-only) K2 was also tested on the same antenna and gave nearly identical intermod levels compared to mine (going by S-meter readings). So it seems highly unlikely to be a build problem. The total input voltage at the K2/100 antenna input from the various local broadcasters was measured on an oscilloscope at about 1.5V peak-to-peak. I didn't find an obvious spot to add a high pass filter to the K2, so I will probably consider building a 100W-rated filter to add externally between the rig and the antenna. In most cases a high-pass antenna tuner is likely to be sufficient, I think. It would be interesting if someone with the right skills and equipment was able to make some 3rd order intercept point measurements on a K2 for out-of-band signals to see if the expected intermod levels agree with my observations. 73, Steve VE3SMA __ Find your next car at http://autos.yahoo.ca ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
