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Well, another year is coming to a close. Several friends and relatives have been lost but life goes on and we hopefully have a new generation coming along. I hope you have enjoyed my scrawlings during the year, and I hope it has served to help somebody. This will be the last before Christmas of course so I will wish you all a Christmas filled with love, peace and much DX, wherever you may find it!
“The Night Before Christmas”, Ham Radio-style
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the town,
The snowstorm was raging, the phone lines were down;
The wind it did howl, the tree limbs did crack,
I hope that St. Nick isn’t forced to turn back.
The wife making cookies, the kids making noise,
While away in the shack, by my rig I was poised.
The finals were glowing, the mike gain was set,
I was chasing DX to see what I could get.
The bands were all empty, the frequencies clear,
Except one lone station that sounded quite near.
He was calling CQ and my interest did pique,
When he ended transmission with the words,
“Old St. Nick”.
I answered back quickly, I used great dispatch,
If this were St. Nicholas, good God, what a catch!
We exchanged information, it was really quite graphic,
Then he came back and said,
“I’ve emergency traffic!”
His reindeer were tired, his elves in a grump,
If he didn’t land soon, then his sleigh he would dump.
I thought very carefully, I thought very hard,
Then I gave him directions to my snow covered yard.
As he flew past my window, his hair like a mane,
He reined in his chargers and called them by name:
“Whoa, Anode! Whoa, Cathode! Whoa, Zener! Whoa, Diode!
Stop, Heater! Stop, Grid leak! Stop, Bias! Stop, Triode!
You’re flying too low! you’re flying too fast!
Look out, you dumb reindeer, his antenna mast!”
So into the backyard the reindeer did drop,
St. Nick, the elves, and the sleigh went kerplop!
Then at the back door, I heard this loud knocking,
“Open up in there, or I won’t fill your stocking!”
As I turned off the light and was leaving the shack,
Into the house Saint Nicholas came from the back–
His two-meter rig held to his hip with a strap,
“Hams do it in the shack” on the front of his cap.
The sack that he carried made his aged brow furrow,
And he handed me a card that read,
“QSL Via Bureau”.
His clothes were all sooty, from his shoes to his vest;
I felt like a novice taking his test.
His fingers were calloused and from what I could tell,
This came from a straight key that I’ll bet he used well.
I offered him coffee, I offered him smokes,
I tried easing the tension by telling ham jokes.
Then he nodded his head and raised up his thumb,
He smiled like an Elmer, did I ever feel dumb.
He grabbed up his sack and went straight for the tree,
And placed in it a large present for me.
When he finished his work, he stood up, took a bow,
Then out the back door to his team he did plow.
But I heard him exclaim as he flew o’er the land,
“Beware the FCC, friend, we were both out of band!”
Merry Christmas from my house to yours!
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Now listen to a Utube version, BOTH of them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_9REVC4dtc
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Here is how it was made, just as nice – watch till the very end:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LF-x7KXQQQ
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Perhaps I will do one on piano for next year with my singer and a guitarist before I pop my clogs.
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Morse Classes.
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I have decided a new tactic this week for the beginner’s class. I am doing something I have not supported before but since progress is slow anyway, it can’t hurt to try. I shall concentrate on the first five letter of the alphabet only and numbers 1 to 5 plus the four punctuation marks. I shall then progress through the alphabet like this and by the time we get to Z the Morse equivalents should be firmly esconced in each person.
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Repeating the same thing from last week: In order to progress, the Big P word is all important. Without that NO progress will be made. The tutor can tell if the student has done any Practice so stick with it and you will progress.
If you are considering learning Morse ( CW ) PLEASE join the beginner’s class. You will find it very difficult to make any progress without doing so. I have heard it said that ” I have listened to Morse, but nothing seems to sink in”. Of course it won’t. It is much like saying I listened to a good pianist on the radio but nothing sinks in!
It does not happen by miracle or hypnotism. It is the hard work that YOU as a student in YOUR time and nothing more that will produce results. You do need a tutor to report to each week in order for him to judge your progress and correct any errors you may incur along the way.
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There is still time for new beginners to join my class on Friday evenings. No need to worry even if you haven’t started yet. Please call in on GB3NB at 7.30 p.m. and I will be pleased to see you. Providing you do the necessary practice you can soon catch up.
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KEY OF THE WEEK
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This week I am not featuring just one key nor a few more. In fact I shall choose one from a collection but then go and check out this collection. Some people collect keys. I have nine, which actually surprised me. However, I don’t think there is another amateur on the planet that can come close to this guy. Take a few minutes after the Christmas lunch and peruse this site. You will be amazed! I just wonder what monetary value this collection has.
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https://www.qrz.com/db/KM4AHP
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However, I have hand picked a very unusual key, the GHD Full Auto Bug Key GN209FA.
I have never seen one of this type of bug key in my 70+ years of CW life. However, this collection sports one and a very peculiar looking bug it is too. I am no lover of Bug keys even though I had and used an Eddystone Bug for a year or two in the late 1950s. I would not suggest that one is used on the air either these days, except on special event days. The keying is not perfect, for obvious reasons, plus most bug users sport a poor dot/dash ratio which does not sound very nice. You can watch one being adjusted and used and make up your own mind.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUojTpfHw9c
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Peter brought his 9A5N here for me to try. I had several practice sessions with it, but having used a single lever paddle for so long I would have to sit at the desk for lots of hours before I became confident enough to use it in anger. However, I appreciate the experience of trying the 9A5N paddle from Peter but I shall stick with my single lever paddles. It just goes to prove that you should try before you buy.
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The NARC CW Monday Night Net.
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This now takes place on 3543 at 8 p.m. on Monday evenings. We have a Net controller each week and the idea is to encourage you to conversational Morse. If you can read and send at 23wpm, do come and join us. 23wpm is the speed at present and we may be increasing that as time goes by. The overs are short but protocol is adherred to and just a few comments from each attendee is all that is needed. Give it a try!
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Les G0DFC joins in each week again but is suffering from pain in his keying hand. If Les does not mind the few errors he makes due to his pain, surely there are a few more quite capable of joining the net to try your hand at conversational Morse. I think there are a number of locals who, although capable, use Morse to crack a pile-up with the use of macros and very rarely use a paddle in long QSOs.
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There is no need to be shy. Learning conversational Morse is a skill in itself. Anybody can work a DX pile-up by using macros or sending their call and 599 TU. Try holding a conversation for about an hour and see how you get on. If you aspire to CWOPS or FOC it’s the only way you will get in to those clubs, by showing and proving your proficiency with a paddle.
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Not only that, but it really is very satisfying to be able to hold a conversation for that long at around 25wpm with minimal mistakes. PLUS of course you can then monitor the CW end of the bands and hear just conversations and not just dits and dahs.
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CW OPS
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Propagation was rough this week and the 3 a.m. session also followed the Club dinner. I am not used to eating a three course meal these days, much less in the evening so I suffered slightly with that and had a very broken night of sleep. It was a very enjoyable evenig however, despite the fact I had to miss my first CW OPS session of the year. I shall drop down in the leader board severely after Christmas day when I shall miss four more!
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The four sessions are still going well and we have managed to get decent scores each time. This is a great way of making friends with other amateurs. You may not think that the case, but it is surprising how you do get well known in those sessions and further QSOs follow on. You also receive a very nice Newsletter after you join.
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General CW Operating.
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For those of a nervous disposition, try joining FISTS. FISTS caters for the more casual, laid back operator who does not feel comfortable at more than 23 wpm. They also have a LADDERS competition on 40m which is good practice. Actually for what you pay for membership it really is a great deal with a quarterly magazine too called Keynote. It contains lots of interesting articles.
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That’s it, open the cage, play the music.
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If you have any input, please email me.
73 de Roger, G3LDI GB2CW Coordinator. roger@g3ldi.co.uk May the Morse be with you.
Author Roger Cooke
