Greetings from Arkansas

Started by mdmc, September 20, 2013, 02:02:08 AM

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mdmc

I hope this is the appropriate section for introductions.

Greetings from Arkansas
It is kind of difficult for me to make an introduction sometimes. I never know just how much to sayand when to shut up.

I read as much in this group as I could manage in a week. I learned that it is best for me to understand as much as possible about a group before I join. I'm sure most of you know how much useless chatter is out there.

I am impressed with this group and the way Gil has aranged it. For a fairly new group, this one has come a long ways fast.

My name is Mike. My interest in ham radio and electronics in general started nearly 50 years ago. Drastic life changes inturrepted but I never lost interest. The direction the world is headed gave me a sense of urgency, so I finally got serious about it. I think ham radio should high on the list for any type of prepper.

I got my first two tickets over a year ago. I didn't get on the air immediatly but did get to work buying equipment and building a room for the radio equipment and some other sensitive equipment. I live on a mountain more or less, made out of chert. Chert is almost flint, so getting proper grounding is proving to be difficult. Not impossible just challenging. Lightening is a major problem here also.

I am hoping to make my first QSO via CW, with the friend that got me interested, so many years ago. He has been silent for many years now but I think my nudging is getting him interested again. I haven't seen him in 45 years but we have exchange emails recently.

My main interest is morse code, but I plan on exploring as many other areas as possible.

I am still relearning code, but this time I am trying for 20 wpm to begin with. I have read that for some, it is harder to increase speed if you learned at a much slower rate. That would probably include me. Anyway, the code is coming along pretty well.

We lived on a sailboat for about 6 years with a marine ssb radio so getting on a microphone is not too intimidating for me. However the first QSO whether it is with my friend or not will be intimidating. Most of the abreveations and shortcuts used with cw are a bit confusing. Not the Q codes so much, just the conversations in general seem to use a whole new language.

I have little interest in contesting. Just don't see the appeal. On the other hand, QRP has a great appeal for me. I can see the usefull skills one must develope for QRP. I will probably build a kit(s) for that. I pretty familiar with kits. My first was a dual channel Heathkit Oscilloscope. I wish I still had it.

There will probably be many questions after learning how much I don't know.

Well, I have used up enough of your time so I will end it here. Thanks for your time. 

gil

Hello Mike,

Welcome aboard, looks like you'll fit right in  :) Anyone using a Morse key is all right in my book  8)

I too started to learn the code slowly (7wpm) and that was a mistake. A year later I am only up to 15, starting to see words in my head at 20-25, but progress is slow. You might want to check CWOps, they have free classes. I took level one, now taking level two (they have a third). http://cwops.org/cwacademy.html Seems like those classes are already filled up for this year though.. If you have an iOS device, check out "Ham Morse." It's a great app, and only $5.

I too like electronics, one of my first hobbies from when I was 14yo. QRP seems a natural and practical solution to emergency radio, especially using CW. The small size and low current draw of QRP rigs makes them ideal for that purpose. Too many people forget that at one point, if all goes to hell, they might have to carry the stuff on foot  :o Not that the heavy stuff isn't useful, but a tiny HF station that fits in a cargo-pants pocket is a must have.

My first QSO as a Ham was indeed in CW, using a radio I built (K1) across the Atlantic  8) (self patting on the back!) I came to use Morse code from a need, and because of the cool factor of course, but being a practical man, I had no other choice; not to mention that after spending $530 on the K1, I had better learn Morse! And get my license! It was clear to me from the start that CW was the most efficient. You seem to have come to the same conclusion.

Looking forward to your posts, and who knows, a QSO some time on the air..

Gil.

KK0G

Welcome Mike, glad to have you aboard. Keep working on your code, you'll get there and it's definitely worth it. A bit of advice if I may; once you learn the code well enough, get on the air. I know you said you wanted to learn it at 20WPM which is a great idea, forge ahead, but let's face it, all the different methods of learning from software to ARRL practice, etc can start to get pretty boring compared to real live QSO's. Give me a holler sometime, I'd be more than happy to set up a sked. Good luck.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" - Benjamin Franklin

KK0G

cockpitbob

Welcome Mike!  Ditto to what Gil and Chris said.
I started learning the code 2 years ago.  I don't think you ever stop. 

There's one thing I regret in how I learned it.  I memorized dots and dashs visually and basically translated the dots and dashes I heard using a look-up table in my head.  By far the best way is to learn the sound patterns the way you learn a foreign language, without even being concious of specific dots and dashes.  Ideally this would mean if I asked you what a "y" was you wouldn't know the dots and dashes but you could  make the beep sounds verbally or with a key.  Even though I now know all the sound patterns by ear and am comfortable at 15wpm I'm still slowed by visually translating some letters in my head.  It's taking a while to un-do the damage I did early in my learning. 

Joe

Welcome aboard Mike!! Grounding in Chert is a pain, I don't know if you have a well or not. But you could install a ground ring on the well pipe which would give you a good deep earth ground.

I am still in the process of re-learning code myself. And am having a tuff time getting it down again. KKOG is right, I find myself getting board and frustrated using some of the methods. But setting up the rig and listening in is helping, I haven't made contact yet and it is intimidating. But once I can get my error rate down on my practice paddle I will be hitting everyone up for a sked (arthritis in the hands sucks!)

73

Joe

cockpitbob

Don't worry about your error rate or getting on the air "before I'm ready".  Just send out a CQ at whatever speed you are comfortable with.  5wpm is not too slow.  Most people will ignore you, but the one's that come back love to QSO with code newbs.  I remember one of my first.  I was embarrassed and almost sweatting and making mistakes over and over.  The guy on the other end was totally patiend and encouraged me.  In a similar situation the guy didn't come back after the second "back to you".  I figured he got fed-up, but the next day I got an email at my {callsign}@arrl.net address where he explained the power went out.

In short, there's lots of people who have no problem chatting with fumble-fingers  :)

gil

I'll second what everyone says here and add a bit of advise: Also practice without pen and paper, just trying to see words in your head.. At least 20-25wpm. Too slow is harder for head copy.. You will eventually want to do head-copy only, so why not practice early. Even if you don't seem to get it, your brain will start building connections..

Today for the first time, I got a whole four-word sentence pop in my head, and I had no idea what any of the letters were..  :o

Gil.

KC9TNH

Pile-on welcome aboard. We'd surely be interested to see what you come up with for your best (real-life intrudes) grounding situation.

Also, get on the air with CW with someone. It all helps. KK0G's idea for our sked was we were going to try to go up 1wpm each week till someone cried uncle. So far - between QRM, t-storms, and band conditions - the one problem we haven't had is getting the gist of each other's transmissions, in a converstational situation. A sked can be as formalized or loose as you want.  (Real-life grabs us all, sometimes you just can't be there or get wrapped up in a good book.)  Also, when one has to pass formalized information where there must be no-kidding 100% copy, you can always slow down. Finally, if you get on one of the SKCC frequencies, e.g., 7114, there are often veteran telegraphers who sit & monitor that for someone asking for a low-speed chat. (Go ahead and join/register online - you don't have to play contests but they'll appreciate your number in return during the contact.)

I've also got some arthritis, so own both paddles & straight-keys.  (Not just arthritis I guess because since being retired & not playing with the Guv's mouse so much it's getting better.)

Anyway, welcome - and just get on the air.

mdmc

Thanks for everyone's input and advice.
Gil, I discovered cwops a month or so ago and decided to enroll even though I wouldn't be up until March or April. Regardless of how proficient I am by then, there is always something new to be learned no matter how much you know.

I also bought most my equipment before I knew much of anything. The key is a Vibroplex  Iambic-D. I suppose the presentation model, would have given more guilt incentive, but I was already stretching my budget to the breaking point. I try to buy good quality tools and  equipment without being extravagant. I agonized for months about which key to buy. Knowing only what I had read, made the choice difficult. I bought at a time that I had some money to work with, knowing the opportunity would probably not ever happen again. 

I started on code with K4FON software at 15wpm but found after a little while I was able to actually  hear quite a bit of 20wpm so I kicked it up there and have been slowly working away with it. I quickly found that I can not write fast enough at 20wpm so it is all done in my head. As best I can anyways. The characters are slowly turning into one sound and the look-up table of dits and dahs is disappearing. It has actually become fun now on the productive days. Some days are just aggravating. The K4FON software is great by the way. You can even put any text you desire into a file and use it for practice.  Anyone not familiar with it, the FREE software can be found all over the 'net. There is other software that some people seem to like also.

There is so much grounding information on the 'net and books too, it really gets confusing. Much of it conflicts with each other. Most of what I will be using is from Jerry Emanuelson and his website http://www.futurescience.com/emp/emp-protection.html . I know some of you are familiar with him because I have seen him referenced here on this group.  One part of my grounding system is going to be an Ufer ground   http://www.ashireporter.org/HomeInspection/Articles/New-Life-for-the-Ufer-Ground/1676 .I will also use the more conventional copper plated rod and heavy copper wire and copper strap.

Unfortunately I will have to use a jack hammer (or demolition hammer as they call it now) for almost anything deeper than 2 or 3 inches. I am getting way to old for a 70lb jack hammer. Probably have to use my tractor some, to move it around. I will find a way.

It's a bummer to have to include a jack hammer as part of your ham gear. Fortunately I already have a generator to run it with.

Yes I have a water well. The casing is pretty rough  and I haven't figured how to get a good connection to the casing. I am not familiar with a 'ground ring' but I will try to research it. That was one idea I had considered because the well house is pretty close to where the main ground rod will be . Thanks Joe, for that idea.

I would like to encourage any of you that have been considering or even wished you could communicate with Morse code, to go ahead and jump in just do it. If I can learn it, a monkey could probably be taught to use it.  There are good days and bad days, but soon you start seeing that you have made some actual progress without realizing it. I can tell, even though I am not through yet, that it just takes some time, practice and patients.

It's nice to know that I am not unique with my cw training problems. Thanks again for all of your input and encouragement.

Mike




WA4STO

Quote from: mdmc on September 21, 2013, 03:30:41 AM

I started on code with K4FON software at 15wpm


I suspect you meant G4FON.

But it was pretty much a matter of Kismet that you used my old mentor's/Elmer's callsign from 1973.

K4FON was Jim Triplett of Fort Valley Virginia in the little HAM(sorry)let of Saint David's Church. If you're still in MD, it's quite possible that you know of Fort Valley as it's not very far from you, just out past Front Royal.  Oh wait, you're in Arkansas now.

Jim's daughter Peggy and I used to play tennis at college and she introduced me to my first wife there.

Just for grins, I looked K4FON up on QRZ and lo-n-behold, his son (at least I assume it's his son) holds his Dad's callsign now and is down
in Florida.

Thanks for the jaunt down memory lane, Mike and welcome to the forum!

Luck Hurder, WA4STO

mdmc

Yep, you're right. I'm not used to the Brit's call sign letters. I'm pretty sure he is a Brit. Probably too many years of television with "k" call signs burned into my brain. At least all of them I was around as a kid.

Strange about your friends call sign.  ;D

After all these years, I still remembered my friends call sign. Most of the rythem of the sound when he was calling CQ also.



raybiker73

Welcome to the party! QRP CW is fun. Don't wait until you hit 20WPM to give it a go, though - if I waited for 20WPM, I'd still be waiting for quite a while.  :-\