No love for my station from RBN on 10m today?

RBN is a great tool but sometimes it doesn't tell the whole story

Since it's the second weekend of the month I got on the air to make SKCC WES contacts.  The SKCC Weekend Sprint is great fun because it's a slow paced, friendly, pseudo contest for SKCC members.  There's even a page that you can schedule a contact with another SKCC member if you're needing their state, grid square, another Senator, whatever.  Well, this post isn't really about the SKCC WES other than to give it a plug that it's super fun for both those new to CW and old-timers as well wanting a slow paced alternative to high pressure contests.  And no one gets mad at you for using a bug.

I like to use RBN to determine if I'm getting out on a band before I spend too much time sending my call.  I find an open frequency, send my QRL? a couple of times and then send my call.  If no one responds I take a look at the RBN report.

RBN spot search for AA4OO

Band conditions

I was working SKCC members on 20m because I've worked all the nearby states and it was not giving me great results.  Everyone seemed a bit in the noise which isn't unexpected given the current lousy band conditions.  So I opened up RBN to look for spots from AA4VV who is a spotting station within about 50miles of me.  Looking at a nearby spotting station using RBN DE spot versus DX spot shows you what they are hearing from all the bands they cover and it showed activity up on 15m. Other spotting stations were even seeing traffic on 10m today.

10 meters?  In this lousy part of the solar cycle?

So I hopped up to the CW portion using my mighty attic doublet and heard a bunch of stations sending CQ at 27 - 35 wpm.  Well, they likely were not SKCC dudes since even the SKCC bug operators usually stay below 23wpm. I found an open frequency and sent my call out a few times and no one responded.  I checked RBN and it only showed one spot for me up in Wisconsin with a lousy 5db over noise report.  No one was going to hear me that close to noise.  But obviously there was a lot of traffic on 10m so I went up to the phone portion of the band around 28350 kHz and heard dozens of operators working a 10m contest. Of course this wasn't the SKCC WES but I responded to a couple of them and what do you know, they heard me, and in most cases I didn't have to repeat my call or my state report.  Now most contesters don't take the time to give an honest signal report and I received 59 from all of them except a couple of the more laid back operators giving honest reports, but the point was I was getting out on 10m just fine.  There was a station who was only S5 to me for whom I had to repeat my call and state about half a dozen times to complete the contact.

So why didn't I get any love from RBN spotting stations when I was obviously getting out well on 10m?  I don't have an answer. Maybe many of the RBN spotters have stopped monitoring 10m.  10m wasn't flying as far as it normally would as I was making contacts with stations in MI, WI, OK, and AR.  I was hearing stations in UT but they were very weak. I only made one DX contact in Mexico, but the band was open for my station.  I was using my attic doublet which is about 68 feet long.  I've tried modeling it but I'm not too practiced with the modeling tool, but what I have modeled estimated that on 10m I may get 9-12 db of gain in some directions which I'm guessing accounts for the strength of my signal on SSB.  

The point?

RBN and other spotting tools don't necessarily always tell the whole story.  Just because you aren't getting spots doesn't mean you aren't getting out.  I had to quit shortly after making a dozen SSB contacts on 10m but next time I'll be more diligent and try to schedule some SKCC contacts on 10m when I'm hearing stations from their region, no matter what the RBN is telling me.  I'm still missing some SKCC operators on the west coast and up in Alaska.  Given the lousy state of the solar cycle I'm unlikely to get them on the lower bands so I'll keep an eye out for when 15m or 10m opens up.  

The band conditions may be very poor right now but radio is still magic.

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations

72/73

Richard, AA4OO

Make the RF jump

Constructing an RF jumper cable for BNC to PL-259

HF QRP radios and accessories typically use BNC antenna connectors.  But most HF amatuer station equipment like antenna switches and tuners are designed for PL-259 connectors.  Adapters are available to convert between the two but every additional connection adds some resistance with a bit of loss.  Plus, all those adapters add weight and create torque on fragile QRP BNC connectors.

BNC to PL-259 jumper cable

As the number of connections between radios, switches, meters and tuners increases the number of adapters you need to adapt different connector types becomes a bit crazy. I have a box of the things and I still run into configurations where I don't have the right combination.  

50 ohm jumper cables between different connector types can be purchased, but making them yourself will both save you money and will increase your Ham mojo.  Usually "crimp-on" connectors, which are a bit of a misnomer because soldering is required, can be purchased for less than $1 per connector.  While the braid is "crimped-on" the center conductor should be soldered to the center pin.

RG-58A/U (flexible, stranded center conductor) is inexpensive and suitable for jumpers.  It has more loss and less power handling than larger coax cables but given the short length of jumpers the loss is not significant at HF frequencies and is suitable up to 100w.  Note that RG-58 coax is solid conductor.  Stranded is more flexible and durable (usually noted as RG-58A/U).

Equipment needed

Besides a soldering iron you'll need the following, and some heat shrink tubing if you wish to make it look neat.

RG-58A/U, Crimper, Coax stripper, PL-259 and BNC connectors

Trying to crimp a connector with pliers will only bring you grief (trust me I know).  Additionally, trying to strip your coax with a knife rather than a dedicated tool will lead you to use vocabulary that would make your momma wash your mouth out with soap.  A decent crimper and coax cutter are not expensive and will save you a ton of time as well as make your work go much quicker.

Bring out the stripper -- No bachelor party required

Stripped coax

The coax stripper tool has two blades which are adjusted for cutting depth as well as spacing.  You will need to sacrifice a bit of coax for test cuts as you adjust the blade cutting depth.  One blade should be adjusted so that it just barely cuts through the outer sheath without cutting the braid while the second blade is adjusted to cut deeper, through both the outer sheath, braid and insulator around the center conductor without touching the conductor.

Once you've adjusted the blades no further adjustment should be required as long as you're using the same coax.  Just be patient as you get the settings correct.

The length of insulator remaining over the center conductor will be longer for the PL-259 versus the BNC.  Watch the video for how to measure.

Connectors

PL-259 and BNC crimp-on connectors

Note that both connectors come with a sleeve that will be crimped over the knurled section of the connector, clamping the shield braid against the knurled section of the connector.  

Note in the photo that the BNC center conductors are not built into the connector. Their center pins have to be carefully placed over the center conductor of the coax and soldered before inserting through the BNC connector body.  The length of the center conductor above the folded braid is important so be prepared to sacrifice one or two connectors to get the hang of it.

When you cut the coax you need to leave enough center conductor to emerge out through the center tip of the PL-259 so that solder will wick down the center.

For the BNC you will trim the center conductor shorter so that it just fits inside the center pin and comes to the correct length when the connector is placed over the cable.

Very Important... Don't forget to put the crimp tube and the heat shrink onto the coax before pulling back the braid or soldering on the connector.   I seem to only learn from my mistakes but hopefully you can avoid this annoying mistake.

It's always fun to realize you've forgotten to slide the crimp collar or heat shrink onto the coax after you've folded back the braid on the coax or better yet, soldered on the connector and have to desolder it now to get the collar behind it.

Note the hole through the center pin of the PL-259
Note the crimp collar is ALREADY on the coax (in the shadow behind my thumb)

Center conductor exiting the center pin of the PL-259 so that solder can wick down into the pin
Cut the conductor that's sticking out of the tip off after it's been soldered.

I solder the center pin and test that by pulling before crimping the braid so that I can be sure that the pin is firmly soldered to the center conductor.

Use some heat shrink over the crimped connection because it's sharp

Neaten up the connection with a bit of heat shrink tubing after you crimp the collar, and wallah! 

Demonstration

Here is a little demonstration video.  I forgot to make clips showing the actual use of the stripper (all you do is spin it around the cable) and soldering the BNC center pin, but you should get the gist of it.  I have a terrible cold today which distracted me bit and made me sound like a frog.

Summary

Take pride that you've made your very own RF jumper cables to connect your BNC equipment to standard PL connected equipment and when other envious HAMs ask where you bought those nifty jumper cables you can look at them with a quizzical gaze and ask "Why would I purchase such a thing, I'm a HAM?"

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations

72/73

Richard, AA4OO

This is not the wattage you're looking for... move along

Getting hot under the collector/base junction

Where did my power go?

My Elecraft W1 power meter has been absent from the antenna chain for a while due to a jumper cable shortage when I last reconfigured my shack.  But now the W1 meter is back in the chain and it revealed something a bit worrisome about the 1Watter transceiver...

I've had a bunch of QSOs using the 1Watter both in the shack and in the great outdoors.  The 1Watter is my first home built transceiver (albeit from a kit) and has been a great learning experience. It is called a 1Watter (or 1H2O as Diz calls it) because it nominally produces an output of 1 watt.

The Elecraft W1 power meter is a nice, inexpensive QRPp to QRO meter because it measures from 150 watts all the way down to 150mw.

The little 1Watter transceiver does indeed produce just a hair over 1 watt when it's first powered up. Tonight I tossed my call out on 7030 kHz and was promptly answered by N4DR up in Maryland.  He was running a YOUKITS TJ5A at 5w. When we started the QSO my W1 meter showed that my 1Watter was outputting between 900mw and 1w to my mighty attic antenna.  

Then by the second exchange in the QSO I noticed my output power dropping down to 700mw.  By the end of our ragchew my 1Watter output had dropped to 500mw.  

Power meter in background showing 500mw by the end of the first QSO

As I ended that first QSO I was called by another station (AF4YF) who was running a 2 watt homebrew xcvr.  And by the end of that QSO the 1Watter was producing less than 300mw.  I felt that some investigation was in order.

Heat is the enemy

The 1Watter uses a 2N5109 NPN RF transistor for a final. Transistors really are not fans of heat.  

The maximum power output available from a power transistor is closely linked to temperature, and above 25°C falls in a linear manner to zero power output as the maximum permissible temperature is reached.

My 1Watter kit included a friction fit heat sink, seen at the top of the photo below. But apparently this heat sink either saturates quickly or doesn't have sufficient surface to conduct away the heat.  My enclosure is not vented but it is alumunium and I don't feel any appreciable temperature rise above ambient so I don't think venting is in order yet.

I allowed the 1Watter to rest for 30 minutes following the QSOs, still powered but not transmitting.  That only resulted in the output power getting back into the 700mw range.  I'm considering increasing the bias to start with a higher transmit power so that it will maintain 100mw but I'm afraid of destroying the transistor.  I might also try some conductive paste but it's messy and I'm not sure it will help if it can't be pressed between two surfaces.

I'd appreciate any constructive suggestions.  I'm still a noob at this electronics stuff.

But the real moral of the story is...

Band conditions on the evening of this QSO

So as I sat here wondering why my 1 watt radio was only producing a 1/2 watt now,  I reminded myself that I was having extended QSOs using a (now) 500mw radio with other QRP operators (5w and 2w).  I was also using my attic antenna, not some multi-element beam on a tower. Band conditions on 40m were also a limiting factor tonight (see snapshot at right).

These were not simply swap 599 TU QSOs, we were exchanging information on multiple go-rounds with solid copy.

So if you're reading this blog you likely have some interest in QRP.  Hopefully this is just yet another reminder that we often don't need as much power as we think we do for communications.  I was getting discouraged this summer due to the decreasing sunspot cycle and thinking "I'm gonna need to operate QRO more and likely get a real antenna put up in my yard".  

But it's times like this with my 1Watter that keeps reminding me to lower my power and raise my expectations.

So lower your power and raise your expectations...

72 / 73

Richard, AA4OO

http://hamradioqrp.com

Get used to the common stuff

Common QSO words...

Rick -- KA8BMA, kindly shared with me some common QSO words that he uses for practice. These practice groups go from short 2 letter words/symbols up through 6 letter words. Also included here are the most commonly used abbreviations and lastly the most common 100 words used in a QSO.

Work your way through these and develop an ear for the most common words used in a CW QSO.

I've created 22 wpm audio files that you should be able to simply click and listen to, assuming your browser supports embedded audio controls.

Note that I accidentally have some <BT> prosigns thrown in there that are not listed in the text.  <BT> means "new paragraph" and operators often throw those in to separate topics or if they can't think of something to send as a space filler.  If I get a chance I'll regenerated these audio files without the hidden <BT> prosigns.

If you don't want to hear the code at 22wpm copy the text of these groups into your own CW Trainer application for practice at any speed.

Common 2 letter words and punctuation

to   of   it   in   do   so   is   we   on   or   oh   uh   at   my   if   be   as   go   Im   he   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   hr   hw   nr   om   wx   73   KN   BK   AS   =   +   *   .   ?   /   

Common 3 letter words including Q-codes

and   the   you   but   was   not   for   all   one   are   not   can   out   got   now   lot   had   how   get   see   too   did   and   Ive   our   any   rtu   tnx   rst   agn   ant   pse   pwr   QRL   QRM   QRN   QRQ   QRS   QRZ   QTH   QSB   QSY   hw?   

Common 4 letter words -- No, not the ones your thinking

There is an abbreviation in this set "efhw" that I've never personally heard on-air.  I believe it stands for "end fed half wave antenna".  I'm including it because it was in Rick's word group but YMMV on how often you hear that word/abbr.

that   know   yeah   they   like   have   just   well   what   them   mean   dont   with   when   from   some   were   your   name   beam  efhw   g5rv   test   icom   knwd   temp   warm   cold   cool   rain   snow   hail   jt65   hour   

Common 5 letter words

think   about   thats   right   other   where   yaesu   sunny   clear   sleet   windy   psk31   

Common 6 letter words

really   dipole   windom   sloper   tentec   alinco   cloudy   

Common 2 and 3 letter words together

to   of   it   in   do   so   is   we   on   or   oh   uh   at   my   if   be   as   go   Im   he   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   hr   hw   nr   om   wx   73   KN   BK   AS   =   +   *   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   and   the   you   but   was   not   for   all   one   are   not   can   out   got   now   lot   had   how   get   see   too   did   and   Ive   our   any   rtu   tnx   rst   agn   ant   pse   pwr   QRL   QRM   QRN   QRQ   QRS   QRZ   QTH   QSB   QSY   

Common 2, 3 and 4 letter words together

to   of   it   in   do   so   is   we   on   or   oh   uh   at   my   if   be   as   go   Im   he   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   hr   hw   nr   om   wx   73   KN   BK   AS   =   +   *   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   and   the   you   but   was   not   for   all   one   are   not   can   out   got   now   lot   had   how   get   see   too   did   and   Ive   our   any   rtu   tnx   rst   agn   ant   pse   pwr   QRL   QRM   QRN   QRQ   QRS   QRZ   QTH   QSB   QSY   that   know   yeah   they   like   have   just   well   what   them   mean   dont   with   when   from   some   were   your   name   beam   efhw   g5rv   test   icom   knwd   temp   warm   cold   cool   rain   snow   hail   jt65   hour   

Common 2, 3, 4 and 5 letter words together

to   of   it   in   do   so   is   we   on   or   oh   uh   at   my   if   be   as   go   Im   he   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   hr   hw   nr   om   wx   73   KN   BK   AS   =   +   *   me   up   tu   cq   dx   es   fb   go   ge   hi   and   the   you   but   was   not   for   all   one   are   not   can   out   got   now   lot   had   how   get   see   too   did   and   Ive   our   any   rtu   tnx   rst   agn   ant   pse   pwr   QRL   QRM   QRN   QRQ   QRS   QRZ   QTH   QSB   QSY   that   know   yeah   they   like   have   just   well   what   them   mean   dont   with   when   from   some   were   your   name   beam   efhw   g5rv   test   icom   knwd   temp   warm   cold   cool   rain   snow   hail   jt65   hour   think   about   thats   right   other   where   yaesu   sunny   clear   sleet   windy   psk31   

Most common abbreviations during a QSO

r tu rtu tnx name   rst cq    agn   ant   dx   es fb ga ge   hi    hr hw nr om pse pwr wx 73

Most common Q signs during a QSO

QRG   QRL   QRM   QRN   QSB   QRO   QRP   QRQ   QRS   QRT   QRU   QRV   QRZ   QSL   QSX   QSY   QTH   QTR   

100 Most common words during a QSO

and   the   you   that   a   to   know   of   it   yeah   in   they   do   so   but   is   like   have   was   we   its   just   on   or   not   think   for   well   what   about   all   thats   oh   really   one   are   right   uh   them   at   there   my   mean   dont   no   with   if   when   can   as   his   from   had   by   some   were   out   other   where   your   up   QRL   QRM   QRN   QRQ   QRS   QRZ   QTH   QSB   qrp   QSY   r   tu   rtu   tnx   name   rst   cq   agn   ant   inv v   dipole   beam   efhw   g5rv   windom   ocf   sloper   vertical   dx   es   fb   gm   ga   ge   hi   hr   hw   nr   om   pse   pwr   wx   73   =   +   *   bk   kn   rig   QRP   age   yrs   test   icom   knwd   yaesu   tentec   elecraft   heathkit   alinco   collins   psk   swr   wx   temp   warm   hot   cold   sunny   cool   cloudy   clear   rain   snow   sleet   hail   windy   fog   jt65   hour   .   ?   /   599   589   579   479   359   489   559   hw?   cw   am   ssb   usb   lsb   psk31   psk   digital   

That's all for now.

So lower your power and raise your expectations...

72 / 73
Richard AA4OO

You can swing a dead cat but you shouldn't swing your Bug

If it ain't got that swing, that's a good thing

The bane of those who work Bug key operators is the dreaded "swing".  Swing is when the DAH to DIT length doesn't match the accepted ratio of 3 to 1... often with Bug ops the length of the DAHs stretch out to way more than the accepted ratio and the poor schmuck at the receiving end has to make sense of someone speaking CW with a thick accent.

Sometimes a bit of swing on a manual key adds some interest to the sound of the CW and when Bug ops work other Bug ops we often throw some extra-spicy whoop-swing into our FIST.  But by and large non-standard DAH to DIT timing is frowned upon because, after all, we are supposed to be communicating and communication is easiest when it is understandable.

Make 'em think you're using a Paddle

As I've been learning to send CW with my circa 1970s Standard Vibroplex Bug, I've strived to make my FIST sound as close to the accepted timing of a paddle through an electronic keyer as I can.  I'm very much still in training, as you'll hear in the video, but I thought it might be helpful to have a little show and tell.

Wow! I need practice.  After listening to my video I realized my inter-character spacing was terrible with too little spacing between characters.  So please don't run your characters together like I did...  

Practicing the bug to sound like... errr well a paddle

The phrase I'm sending at the end of the video is a quote from Albert Einstein..

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination"

That's all for now...

So lower your power and raise your expectations, and "enunciate" your DAHs

72/73

Richard, AA4OO

Head Copying CW

There's more to using Morse Code than Learning Morse Code

It's been about 18 months since I started learning Morse Code in order to use it for making CW contacts in amateur radio.  Learning the code allows you to recognize the letters, numbers and punctuation but it's akin to when you learned your "letters" when you were a child.  Knowing the alphabet is just the first step to "reading".  So it is with learning Morse Code.  

When I started making contacts using CW it was fairly formulaic. I even had my QSOs written out with regard to what I was planning to send and what I expected to hear during each exchange. 

But then my copy and sending speed increased beyond 17-19 words per minute and I could no longer type or write down what I copied fast enough to comprehend and I began to head copy.

Head Copying

Head copying is when you stop transcribing what you hear and listen to it as you would a conversation and only take notes on salient points.  This was a big step for me and it has been a difficult transition.  

Using Morse Code to communicate at speeds faster than it can be written straddles the weird place between hearing and reading.  We learn morse code by its sound but at slower speeds, say below 30wpm what we are "hearing" is letters, not words so we are having to buffer those letters in our head to spell words.  When we "listen" to someone speak we are not hearing them speak letters but complete words, when we "read" our brains are not looking at individual letters but at complete words.  When we hear Morse code at 20-25 wpm we are hearing very slowly pronounced words and it is a new skill that has to be learned.

This skill is necessary for ragchewing.  A ragchew is a long QSO between two amateur radio operators. This is generally what amateur radio operators are doing on the radio when they're not contesting, ...

How to practice for a ragchew

So after you learn the code, how do you learn to use it in a conversation?  

I struggled with copying ragchew QSOs at 20+ words per minute for most the spring and early summer of 2016.  Just listening to QSOs alone wasn't cutting it for me.  During my lunch time at work I began regularly using my CW training application on my phone to send the top 500 words at 25wpm and it has been a big help to me.  

I had to learn the skill of not just recognizing letters but holding what I was hearing in my brain long enough to turn it into a word and just as importantly not to get hung up on a word that I couldn't immediately recognize but let it go and pay attention to the next.  To me, this has been a bigger learning curve than recognizing the alphabet and numbers at speed.

In addition to learning to buffer the letters until they form a word I must also keep the slowly accumulating set of words in my head until it forms a sentence or makes sense as to what is being communicated.  

THIS IS COMMUNICATION with Morse Code and it is different than anything else we are familiar with so treat it as learning a new skill.

Now if all you are trying to do with CW is contests, you don't need this skill.  You just need to be able to copy a call and whatever designators are sent after it for the contest rules (state abbreviation or a contest number or grid square) and get it copied into your logging program.  But if you want to communicate at speeds above 20wpm you will need this new skill.

Next steps

After you've practiced with machine sent top 100 or top 500 words you'll still need time copying actual QSOs because more often than not, most operators you will communicate with have lousy spacing and run their words together or use so many abbreviations that you'll have to learn to hear the abbreviations as new words.  When I work an operator who runs things together I'll first try to really exaggerate my word spacing during my exchange to give them a hint and if that doesn't work I ask them put more space between their words.  Some will comply, but some folks just don't seem to know how to leave space so I'll catch what I can, politely respond to what I could understand and then move on.

So if you're getting discouraged when you reach a wall of comprehension, try the steps above and with time I think you'll find your comprehension during a ragchew improving and it will take you to a new place in the hobby.

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations... and put extra space between your words!

73
Richard AA4OO

Update 11/7/2016:

KA8BMA pointed me to a nice reference created by W0XI for the top 100 "Ham Words" used in QSOs... check it out most common ham words

First Field Day as a CW operator

Field Day 2016 with the Knightlites QRP club

I had the privilege to be part of the Knightlites WQ4RP 2016 Field Day event.  They are a great bunch of folks dedicated to QRP radio.  They operated CW and SSB on 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, 6m, 2m and 440.

After listening to CW for nearly 19 hours straight; my brain is turning even normal sounds into morse code...  I may have had a psychotic break.  

Gary, N3GO, operating 80m straight through the night without leaving the oh-so-comfortable lawn chair

My 80m/15m station

This is my first year operating CW and my first full, field day event.  I've dabbled in field day (FD) in the past but did not work it as part of a club.

For this FD I was responsible for supplying the equipment to get a station on the air for 80m and 15m.  The WQ4RP club operates QRP only using battery power, so anything associated with transmitting was to be battery powered including the computer.  My Elecraft KX3 was powered by a 12 year old 50ah UPS battery and the laptop was powered using an inverter with a large deep cycle battery.  Following 20 hours of operation the UPS battery had only dropped to 12.2v  The Elecraft KX3 is frugal with power even after hundreds of contacts.

My antenna was the one we'd previously installed at Excalibur during the spring.  Paul brought it down for us to use at the FD site.  We cut the 40m part of the fan dipole to work for 15m. Tall trees on either side of the tent provided the antenna supports and the tent was positioned to be close to the feed point of the ladder line.

80m - 15m Fan dipole with home brew ladder line

Honda generators powered the lights in the evening and fans/AC during the heat of the day. Honda generators are quiet in both the audio and radio spectrums.  Three Knightlite stations used Honda generators to power equipment not related to transceivers.

Power was supplied to all stations by Honda i-series generators

Operating CW during Field Day

Unfortunately for FD operations I'm the opposite end of a CW contester.  Since starting my CW/Morse Code journey last year I've just worked at getting my ragchew (conversations in CW) skills improved.  I practice listening to the most common 500 words and listening to e-books sent as Morse Code.  I'm not good at copying calls, when they are sent at 25wpm.  Compounding my new(ish) operator struggle is that FD uses an abbreviated exchange, so it was tough going for me when operations kicked off at 2PM local time Saturday and the exchanges began flying by...

A Field Day CW exchange

Calling Station sends an abbreviated CQ, sometimes the CQ and the ending FD were omitted:

CQ FD N4HOG N4HOG FD

Answering Station sends call by itself, repeating as necessary:

WQ4RP (repeat call after a brief pause if no response)

Calling Station sends my call back to me then his station class and section:

 WQ4RP 1E NC

Answering Station sends station class and section:

3A NC

Calling Station sends thank you and that's it, you're done:

TU

Since we were operating QRP we often had to repeat our call and our class and sections.  I don't have much experience at copying calls at speeds above 20wpm.  The 15m band was weak and most signals were no better than S2 or S3. I was trying to copy calls sent at speeds higher than my norm with QSB (fading) and I was getting frustrated.  Paul came and sat beside me to coach and provide some encouragement.  He is a patient tutor.

I was advised to operate "search and pounce" rather than sending CQ myself because I needed to hear a caller complete a QSO once or twice to copy their call and their response but even then copying the section was often harder for me than the call.  Many of the sections are 3 letter designations that I was unfamiliar with (i.e. California has 10 sections abbreviations).  Between QSOs Paul would explain where each of the sections were located. I should have studied up on this stuff prior to FD.

I'd hear the station class (a number and a letter) and then while my brain was chewing on that I'd miss the section.  So I was sending a lot of AGN? to get the stations to repeat their response. Sometimes I'd finish a contact and realize I'd mistyped part of the response so I would wait and listen for the caller to go through another contact to hear what they sent to copy it correctly for the log. I wasn't really racking up the contacts.

This type of operating is very challenging for me.  While I can understand why contesters enjoy honing these skills, for me, it was stressful and wore me down mentally.  I took breaks at least every hour and asked other, more seasoned operators to take the helm (errr. key) while my brain cooled down.

80m magic

When dusk arrived 15m contacts were few and far between and I switched to 80m.  Gone were the weak signals and speed demons on 15m.  The 80m band was surprisingly QRN free and stations sending FD calls were stacked like firewood throughout the CW portion of the band.  Our QRP station was also heard better by the callers with fewer needs to repeat the call or the response.  I had more enjoyable time working 80m.  Paul still sat with me and offered advice which I greatly appreciated.

Gary N3GO, loves the 80m band and he is the Knightlites anchor man for running 80m through the night.  Gary sat down at 10PM to begin his shift on 80m and he didn't get out of that chair until 5AM.  I was dozing on and off (more off than on) in the tent and doing my best to head copy what he was working.  Seven straight non-stop hours of CW later Gary needed a break and I spelled him for a while.  After a bit of rest he was back for more and operated until the band gave out in the morning.

N3GO is the anchor man for 80m through the night shift

WQ4RP Knightlites

The Knightlites operate using the club call WQ4RP.  Here are some of the participants from the 2016 FD.

Left to right: AA4OO, WA4GIR, WF4I, (visiting ham in red ????), KD4PBJ, KC4PHJ, AA4XX, AB4PP
Thanks to W4MPS for taking the photo

Photos

"JP" AB4PP -- 20m Band captain

 Kurt N4KJK - assisted with 15m CW

6m / 2m / 440 stack - Thanks Alex!

Alex KC4PHJ -- Band captain for 6m / 2m / 440

Joe WA4GIR - 40m band captain

40m Station

40m Loop

Derek WF4I - working 40m at dawn

Sunday daybreak and the 80m station is still cranking

Lots of weed eater support lines tied off at the base of this tree

Summary

My first FD as a CW operator was challenging but fun,  The WQ4RP club has some patient and talented operators, many of whom have rarely missed operating a FD since becoming hams.  I enjoyed getting to learn from them.

Next year I will make the effort to practice copying FD exchanges prior to the event so that I'm not so overwhelmed.  It also turned out I'd made a poor choice for logging software.  The RumNLog software for my Mac laptop didn't have a preset for the FD contest.  I had to use a general contest setting and now will have to programmatically manipulate the resulting ADIF output to have the necessary fields for submission.

The Elecraft KX3 is unsurprisingly a good QRP field day radio.  It's small size, low power consumption and phenomenal internal auto tuner made it a pleasure to work with.  It has a knob, button or display element for everything you could want.  For instance, the dedicated knob for changing internal keyer speed was very useful to fit each station we worked during an exchange.  I also used the secondary frequency display area to check on the power supply voltage throughout the event.  The KX3 truly does have the kitchen sink.

Update 7-11-2016

Paul sent me the Knightlites field day results. Lists below.  I'm interested to see how our group fared .

Call Used: WQ4RP     GOTA Station Call: (none)     ARRL/RAC Section: NC     Class: 3A

Participants: 10     Club/Group Name: KnightLites QRP Society

Power Source(s): Battery

Power Multiplier: 5X

Bonus Points:
  100% Emergency power                            300
  W1AW Field Day Message                          100
  Submitted via the Web                            50
Total Bonus Points                                450

Score Summary:
                  CW  Digital  Phone  Total
   Total QSOs    539      0      58
 Total Points   1078      0      58   1136   Claimed Score = 5,680

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations

72/73

Richard, AA4OO