We’re beaming (almost) live across the airwaves with microwatts of broadband energy to bring you the long-awaited show 29 of TX Factor. In this programme we increase the power to as much as ten Watts when Bob, Dave and Noel head to the Wiltshire hills with a pair of Icom IC-905 all-mode transceivers to see what can be achieved.
Bob takes the TX Factor cameras to the heart of England to the UK’s last remaining shortwave transmission station and ramps up the power to a staggering 250 kilowatts. Woofferton, near Ludlow, is the home to some venerable Marconi senders from the 1960s still beaming programmes across the globe.
Oh, and there’s a free-to-enter draw. Visit our website for full details.
txfactor.co.uk

A recent e-mail in the AWA Group from Eddy, VE3CUI, elicited some intriguing comments which you may find of interest. Highlights from the exchanges have been selected for brevity:

Eddy VE3CUI – VE3XZ/3: 

I’m here at the summer cottage, gamely calling “CQ” with my trusty old Vibroplex Vibrokeyer on what sound like dead bands on 15- and 20-meters…yet, when I check the on-line DX Beacon, my quota of entries at 100 is exhausted from across the continent, and beyond, from monitoring stations that have clearly copied me.

All of a sudden, 15-meters just explodes with CW contestors in the middle of Wednesday afternoon with morse machines all honking out endless “CQ CWT” at some 30+ WPM. I snag some very easy quickie exchanges from “VE7” and “W6” from the west coast — and then just as suddenly, the contest is over and I’m right back to “CQ…CQ…CQ” in silence again, all in vain.

How very ironic that  self-professed “…devotees” of the CW art and craft — “CW Tops-Ops” — can all devote attention to the object of their affection for but one single hour, and in the middle of the week…! Shouldn’t they otherwise be gainfully fully employed earning a living, like all of the other non-retirees…?! Otherwise, why “…kiss and run” so, if they really and truly love the mode…?!

I just do not get it, I’m afraid…

Well, as for the middle of the week timing, more people work from home now. I guess they stepped away from their work computer and spent an hours snagging some QSOs.

Good afternoon blog readers I hope you are still enjoying the summer heat and are putting it into perspective as it compares to winters freezing cold? 

I have a question, when it comes to CW contesting…how fast is to fast? I have asked myself this question during CW contests, when I decide to search and pounce most of the time the speed is in around 30-34 wpm. Now having said that there are some big guns that run at close to 40wpm. BUT they have been spotted and always will be thus for the most part then the caller already knows their call. It is just the exchange that has to be handled and if it is a contest that has a generic exchange (CQ zone, ITU zone so on) then the software fills in the exchange details.  

For a small gun like me it’s only now and then I get spotted on the cluster and I know when this happens as I get into a pileup situation. I am not some multi operator high power station with dream antennas I am just small potatoes. I feel that if I was to knock out code at 36 wpm I think my contact rate would drop? In my humble opinion ( please correct me if I am wrong) I should stay in the 30-34 wpm range to gather fish in my net? 

What say you fellow CW contesters…..in a dark place in my mind I am thinking that for me its a waste of time to practice for the 38-40 wpm goal because with my 100 watts along with a simple vertical antenna at that speed I will hear crickets when calling CQ contest? What say you…………

This year’s Field Day provided a chance to experiment with emergency communications. I used a tiny rig that fits in a 3 X 5 inch box and runs on 4 AA batteries. I set out to work 50 stations with this setup. I succeeded.

This box fits is a shirt pocket. It contains the MTR-3, earphones, adapters for power and antenna, the paddles, and an extension for the paddles. It does not contain an antenna or batteries.

For power I used 4 AA batteries in the Goal Zero Guide 12 power bank. It outputs 5 volts to a USB-A connector. I converted that to 10.3 volts with the Baofeng USB charging adapter.

I wanted to put this kit together for years. I was never able to find paddles that were small enough to fit. Then I found the N6ARA paddles. They are smaller than your little finger. They can plug directly into the key input. I used a short extension and held the paddles in my left hand and keyed with my right hand.

I put up an 88 foot doublet for the event and planned to operate 1B on the deck. Then it rained. I operated from the sun room as 1E on 40 and 20 meters. I made the 50 QSOs fairly quickly. I would guess my setup was putting out about 3 watts. The batteries would have been good for another 5 hours I think.

Then I switched to the (tr) uSDX rig running 5 watts. I wasn’t sure if it would stand up to Field Day traffic. It did wonderfully. I made another 50 QSOs with that tiny rig. I used a set of full sized paddles with three 18650 batteries for a full 12 volts.

Field Day provides a great opportunity to test emergency gear. These experiments satisfied me that pocket gear, with a modest antenna and a USB power bank will do quite well in a pinch.