I received MacPherson?s ?Battle Cry of Freedom? from Amazon and started reading... Great book! Thanks again for the suggestion.

Gil.

The simplicity of the circuit is elegant. That's what I like about it.. Or maybe it's because I don't understand anything more complicated  ::) Those transmitters look great too, like out of a Jules Verne story!

Gil.

Thanks Bob,

The antenna has been great. It's unbelievable what you can do with a bunch of stuff from Home Depot and end-up with a good antenna that's only 6 feet tall and works on 40m! I even tried it on 80m with an extra capacitor in parallel and it works, though efficiency is pretty dismal. The downside of course is the lethal voltage and narrow bandwidth. However, since 95% of my QSOs are in Morse, I don't need to retune that often. One advantage of the loop is that it cuts down on noise considerably. It's the only antenna I can use with my Rock-Mite 40 without receiving AM broadcast stations on top of the CW. It filters out everything outside the band. Though I don't plan on transporting it, it can be taken apart in two pieces. Cost was somewhat less than $200. It's pretty easy to make..

Gil.

Mine stays on now at all times.. Makes a huge difference.

Gil.

QuoteSo what is it in that type of gear that causes that kind of modulation?

I am no expert, but I would assume the frequency drifts significantly because of environmental interractions. The power supply voltage also isn't regulated by a zener diode or anything else. Someone more knowledgeable might have another explanation...

Gil.

QuoteBut mercy, what a tone...

Well, it all depends on your perception. Certainly, it doesn't make it easier to copy, but I love it. When I hear one, I know the operator went through the effort of building or restoring a 1930 or thereabout piece of history.

Gil.

It might be a Hartley or TNT transmitter..



I am building one..

Gil.

QuoteInteresting experiment. When executing this test, were you holding the HT or was it sitting isolated from your body?

Holding it, the rat tail dangling over the back of my hand..

Gil.

I added a 19' rat tail to my Yaesu FT-270R.
One word: WAOH!
BIG improvement..
Half bars to full bars S9+.

Gil.

QuoteWe should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.

Yep, there are a lot of things I wish I had started at that age... Tells you much about what parenting is about. I did learn a lot back then though, and was blessed with a great childhood.. Now if only I could remember most of it  ::)

Gil.

Welcome aboard John!

QuoteI agree.  When I can do 20wpm and just hear words, I know I will have arrived.

Some days it seems like I'm going backwards..! Down to 10wpm... Other days, I can copy 15wpm for a short time...
Not yet copying in my head, but for short common words. More practice I guess...

Gil.

These were dropped over France by the Allies to the resistance. They were supposed to be used by the French as a mean to obtain better weapons taken from (dead) German soldiers. It is a one-shot .45ACP pistol.

Gil.

Welcome aboard Brad!

Gil.

Very well said Ray,

The amazing thing is that we have made contact every day regardless of power level. If I hear you, I get through, whether I use 500mW or 12W. I was recently talking with a guy on 40m who was using 1KW. He could hear me fine.. So, why send more money to the power company? Not to mention the more expensive gear, tuner, antenna, power supply, etc. I can do with $100 what some do with $5000. With the same result. Of course, when it comes to contesting or DXing, 1KW will stomp the small guy (me). You all know what I think of contesting though, and I couldn't care less about "busting a pileup." Those words are not part of MY hobby.

The 500mW 20m rig by the way is the "DC20B" from qrpkits.com.

I say it all the time, there is nothing better and simpler than CW.

QuoteWe have NEVER asked the other station to switch TO voice because CW was not getting through.

That would be the day! It is very obvious for anyone who has done any amount of CW. It just goes through, period.

We all hope that if we have to face an emergency it will be in the comfort of our own homes, reclining in front of our favorite radio and computer, sipping a hot chocolate.. Maybe, maybe not.. Maybe we'll be on the road, on foot, traveling at night across fields, drinking filtered water from puddles, hungry, with bleeding feet, no food and the constant threat of being robbed.. How in these conditions do you forward a message to your family in a better-off state? How do you find out which cities or roads are safe and which ones are not? Will you be lugging arounf your 30lbs Icom? The first mile maybe, if you're strong.. A Rock-Mite fits in a box of Altoid mints! It only needs a handful of AA batteries to operate.

QRP radios are not toys; they work. It's like firearms. A QRP radio is not ike a .44 Magnum. It's like a .22. It might take a few more rounds to do the job, but your target ends-up just as dead! And a .22 is lighter to carry with a lot more ammo.. I'm not promoting .22s mind you.. So, let's not go on a tangent here.. You get the analogy..

The reason people don't want to learn Morse code is the same reason why they don't exercise: It's not easy. Sometimes you just have to kick yourself in the behind and get to it. So my best advise is: Put your heavy boots on and don't hold off!

Gil.

Quotedo I need to ground my set-up, similar to the way Gil has grounded his cookie tin?

Well, it's not grounded. The lid is electriclly connected to the box. I did that because the box is painted, and I wasn't sure there was a good electrical contact between the two.

Gil.