CW Academy - Lesson 1

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Last night, 9/11, was our initial meeting for Level 1 CW Academy class. All five students and the instructor showed up so that was the good sign. There was some concern earlier in the day about the possible need to evacuate for our instructor, K2SX Dennis, as he is a resident of Pawleys Island, SC. Fortunately for him, and us, at the time of class he was only experiencing 30 to 40 mph wind gusts and the authorities had not felt the need to evacuate his area. Because the class was held on Skype we were able to hear some of the gusts in the background as we completed our lesson.

I am trying to recall if I told you in another post that I was attending CW Academy and where my fellow students hailed from so pardon me if I have. My class consists of Gerald from Canada, Craig and Tim from opposite ends of North Carolina, Joel from northern Indiana, and myself. We started out with a new round of introductions as Gerald had not been on our earlier meet and greet call to test out Skype last month. After introductions Dennis asked us to try and flip the camera around and show what our gear was that we would be using to participate in the course.

There were two or three Elecraft KX3's, which of course made me drool, and each of those students were using the KXPD3 paddles that are on option with that rig. There was also an Icom IC-706 paired with Bencher BY-2 paddles, a Yaesu FT-857D (running off a deep marine cycle battery), and my FT-991A with Bencher BY-1 paddles. You do not need anything nearly as elaborate as any of these rigs to participate in the class. If you have a key, keyer, computer for Skype, and something that will put out a sidetone then you are set.

The course follows the Morse Trainer on scphillips.com. Morse Trainer is a program that was developed specifically for the CW Academy courses. You can find it here. The typical course involves meeting twice per week covering two lessons during that time. The meeting nights are determined by the instructor after polling the students to find the two nights during the week that work for everyone. My class is on Mondays and Thursdays and runs approximately one hour, beginning at 1930 EDT or 2330 UTC.

The first class centered on the letters T E A and N. Dennis started by sending the letters in random order and asked us to raise our hands when we were able to copy. He likes to call on the last person to raise their hand or the last person who is unable to copy. After a few minutes of this he asked us to send the four letters in random order as well and our fellow students had to copy. We moved on to sending short snippets of two to three words using the letters for the lesson. This pretty much ended the session.

I think the biggest struggle for many of us was copying some of the sending of the others. Spacing seemed to be the most prominent problem we were having during sending which caused us problems copying at different points throughout the lesson.

I hope to write a little review of every session as long as it does not interfere with my studying for the next lesson. If all goes well I will see you in a few days.

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USS Indianapolis

Perhaps my most rewarding experience in amateur radio so far occurred the first weekend in June of this year. The annual Museum Ships on the Air event took place June 3rd and 4th and a few friends and I decided to accept an invitation to operate from the mock station located inside the Indiana War Memorial.

As some of you may know, the USS Indianapolis was hit by a Japanese torpedo at 0014 on 30 July 1945. At 0026 the ship was fully submerged and on the way to the bottom of the Phillipine sea. The ship's crew, 1,196 men either went down with the ship or were left floating in shark infested water. It is estimated that 900+ were floating in the water, hoping for rescue. Because this was a top secret mission with no escort the ship was not missed and the men were not discovered for four days, and then by accident. When discovered, the survivors of the shark infested water numbered 316. This top secret mission, which cost an extraordinary amount in human life, let alone the cost of the ship, was to deliver key components of the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima one week later. The USS Indianapolis accomplished her mission.

So, it was with great honor to operate as WW2IND for the Ships on the Air event. I spent about 3 hours on the air running SSB making 71 contacts from all over the US. My vantage point was behind this fine rig, the Icom IC-756 Pro III and we pushed the 40m signal out through a dipole mounted at 110 feet. Power was supplied with an Ameritron AL-80B pushing 450 watts.

The other amateurs that operated split the time on CW working 20m. Both of these guys are extremely proficient CW operators and you may remember them from my post about the very low power WAS contest they decided to have. You can get an update on their progress by clicking on their blogs to the right. On the left is Brian, KB9BVN, and on the right at the controls is Ivin, W9ILF. Both of these guys are great elmers and really love for people to learn morse code.

I decided to write this post for two reasons. One, the USS Indianapolis wreckage was discovered this week after 72 years. And, two, to bring this yearly event to your attention and encourage you to get involved next year and volunteer to operate. I want to leave you with a couple of pictures inside the mock radio room. I decided to watch the movie, "USS Indianapolis" last night and I was shocked to see that it looked so close to the actual. If you get a chance, check the movie out and definitely watch for the next Museum Ships on the Air event.

73

Are You a Fanboy? (Or Fangirl)

We, as humans, all have different interests. We find those things that bring us pleasure and we pursue those things. We believe in those things and we tend to be happy to promote and share with others. Sometimes we become very passionate about the things we enjoy. Our hobbies help us to find peace and relaxation away from the everyday work load and daily stresses of living. My chosen hobbies involve amateur radio, motorcycling, firearms, and chasing my daughter around while she plays fastpitch softball.

Whatever your chosen hobbies are they, most times, involve tools or products that you use to participate in your interest. Radios, tuners, amps, motorcycles, riding gear, guns, calibers, etc. I could go on and on with the choices available to me in any one of my hobbies. When we become truly passionate about something we are sometimes referred to as fanboys. I have become pretty much exclusive Yaesu for the main gear and LDG for tuners. But, I also know many hams who just like good equipment and have multiple rigs in the shack from all the big producers.

I am curious who you are a fanboy, or fangirl, for. Icom? Elecraft? Kenwood? Yaesu? Begali?  Those are the big ones. Have some "off the beaten path" manufacturer you are a fanboy of? Throw it in the comments and let us all know about your favorite gear, who makes it, and why you give it the thumbs up.

Equipment History

I thought I would tell you about the gear I have owned and the gear I currently have my eye on. Like many people who get interested in ham radio I bought a cheap China made HT (handy talkie) made by Baofeng. These radios are popular because they offer the opportunity to listen in, and transmit, on the cheap. I purchased the UV82 prior to ever receiving my ticket and monitored the local repeaters for about a month until I tested. Baofeng gets bad mojo from hams who consider them cheaply made and they have also been tested and found to have spurious emissions, a no-no in amateur radio.

After a couple months I used some Christmas money and at the end of 2015 I purchased my first mobile unit, a Yaesu FT-1900R. This little 2m rig packs a might punch through my 5/8 wave Larsen BM-150 NMO mount antenna. I still run this radio in my car and talk daily to the morning and evening rush hour crowds on the 146.700. It is really fun and consider many of these guys close friends now. It is almost like a bunch of old guys sitting at the local Hardee's in the morning drinking coffee. HaHa.

My first HF rig was purchased in September of 2016, four months after gaining HF privileges by passing my General exam. I was interested in voice and getting on JT65 so my purchase was the excellent entry level HF rig Icom 718. I also picked up the LDG IT-100 automatic tuner and a Signalink USB Sound Card Interface to run digital modes. The 718 proved to be exactly what a new ham like me needed. The simplicity of setup and operation was amazing. I had a great time running this rig starting out for a month or so on JT65 and finally making voice contacts. Did I mention I logged contacts in North and South America from a homebrew 20m dipole strung up on my bedroom walls? I love this hobby!

Icom IC-718

Being the gadget geek that I am I soon wanted to upgrade to a different rig. My choice? You guessed it if you picked the Yaesu FT-857D that you see in the header of this blog. Out went the 718 and the IT-100 and in came the 857D and LDG Z100 Autotuner. I kept the Signalink and continue to run both voice and JT65.

My current shack as of 3/9/2017

I also recently purchased a Buddipole Deluxe package so that I can operate portable. I will eventually take the 857D out of the shack and make a portable solar powered setup. When I do, I will replace the 857D in the shack with either the Yaesu FT-991A or the Icom 7300. Right now I am leaning towards the 7300 for superior receiver. So, what plans are beyond that? None at the time but remember, I am a gadget geek.

Next time we meet up I will be discussing my favorite operating modes and my latest attempt at learning something new in the ham world. Keep the adventures coming!!