We're Making Progress!
I have started making progress on at least one of my New Year's resolutions, and so far I must say I'm making great progress! Unfortunately, it's just trying to find the time with my busy schedule.
As of right now, I can send A, B, C, D, E, I, K, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, and X, all at or around 10 wpm. Not bad, not bad at all! I have come across times where I will get N (-.) and A (.-) switched around. I do know, however, that K (-.-) is the inverse of R (.-.), and I guess N would be the inverse of A. If you can think like this, then Morse will be a breeze for you.
Another thing that has helped me is learning dits and dahs. I know, you're going to sound stupid saying it, but it is worth it and it will help you! If you memorize the characters by sound (bee-beep) versus dit-dah (di-daht), it will be much harder for your to process a message.
How do I (you, the reader) get started, then?
A few posts back, I mentioned the website LCWO.net. It costs nothing to join and will teach you Morse via the Koch method. The key (no pun, hihi) is to practice as much as you can in a set time frame. You're not practicing for time's sake, you're practicing for accuracy's sake. For me, I take at least 30 minutes out of my day to practice a lesson or two. I practice each lesson 3 or 4 times for repetition and muscle memory.
To practice sending, consider making a practice oscillator. You can use anything - a 555 chip works best for the heart of any practice oscillator. If you're not the DIY kind of person, MFJ sells an oscillator with an added bonus straight key! I have used one of these at Scout camp and I must say that they are good to work with.
The key that I'm using is a 3D-printed key that I found on Thingiverse. You can find it here. This works well, but what if I'm out and about? To solve that, I "remixed" a key to suit my needs. The knob is shaped like the old army keys but it is small enough to carry with you in your POTA, SOTA, or QRP bag. That link is here. If necessary, I'm sure one could even use this as their base station key if so desired.
When you think you're ready for an on-air QSO, send out a quick CQ call. Either one of two things will happen: You'll get an answer or you'll show up on the Reverse Beacon Network. The RBN is a great tool to show you where you're more than likely to get contacts. With my MFJ Cub, I was heard over 800 miles from my QTH, which is pretty impressive just for 1-ish watt of power. In comparison, my TS-660 could be heard as far away as Costa Rica and the Canary Islands!
My perception of CW has changed drastically since I first became a ham. I always thought that getting an SSB contact across the world was impressive, but sending a signal comprised of dots and dashes that can reach anywhere is even more impressive - just the fact of "talking" in a different "language" is wild enough. The pure fact that some of these CW radios that are on the air right now are homebrewed is even more bewildering!
In conclusion, I think I'll be using CW later on in my ham radio career once I'm proficient at it. I'm sure I'll be able to complete my resolution by the end of the year at this rate. But now, as Monty Python puts it, it's time for something completely different...
WSPR
I'm sure you've used FT8 at some time in your life. Well, WSPR is no different! WSPR stands for Weak Signal Propagation Reporter and was developed by Joe Taylor, K1JT, the same fellow who developed FT8 and WSJT-X. Not sure where your signals could go? Try your hand at WSPR!
WSPR is comprised of a 50-bit messaging system. It includes your callsign, maidenhead locator, and the power output of your rig in dBm. For example, my WSPR stream would look like this: <KE0SBX EN20 40>. WSJT-X features a built-in version of WSPR and you can transmit worldwide at any part of the day. The farthest I was heard was in Austria, almost 5000 miles away! I ran WSPR on 15, 12, and 10 meters, all with success.
WSPR tells us many things. It tells us possible paths where our signals could go, who can hear us, and how propagation is.
If you have an SSB rig, go ahead and give WSPR a try. Trust me, you'll be surprised with the results. Spots are posted to wsprnet.org and are updated constantly. Just type in your callsign in the search and watch how many people spot you. It truly is a great mode to use and it gives us hams a tool to use for propagation.
That's all for now, hope to hear you on the air! 73s!
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