Husaria CW Husaria CW

🇬🇧 CQ WPX CW 2022 -- lessons learned
On the last weekend of May I participated in the CQ WPX CW Contest, one of the biggest contests in the calendar.
I had different plans for Saturday, but it turned out that I have a free weekend and can spend some time in the
contest. I did not have any plan for this particular contest, it was my first WPX, but I made some observations
to make my next attempt better.


🖼️ Map of my QSOs from http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/. I think I made 10 new DXCCs!

I started a bit late, about 9 LT, 7 hours after the contest started. I discovered that although I can hear some
stations my SWR goes into infinity. Luckily, It was just a loose antenna connection, so tightening the SO-239
barrel solved the problem.


After making some QSOs on 40 meters I switched to 20 meters and… my receiver was deaf and the waterfall showed
only stripes. I don’t know what is causing these problems, sometimes they are there, sometimes not. Some time
later they were gone and I could start making QSOs on 20 meters.


🖼️ Stripes on 20 meters. This blocks my reception on the 20 meters and they are sometimes in the late morning or early evening.

It turned out that spending some money on a narrow CW filter for my FTDX3000 was a very good idea. I could
definitely tell the difference between a 350 Hz filter (600 Hz crystal + DSP) and 300 Hz one. Narrowing
bandwidth down to 50 Hz gives some ringing, but that’s another story.


Some time ago I learned the trick from a fellow and very experienced ham. One part of that trick is to set AF
gain high, like 70 percent or even higher, and adjusting volume with RF. Other part is described in the
FTDX3000 manual on page 46, I believe you can also find it in manuals for other radios. It definitely
helped when working weaker stations. I still can not work with AGC turned off as aforementioned ham suggested…
And if your RS/SQL knob sets squelch on HF… you’re doing it wrong. Really wrong.


🖼️ Some boring stats. My real location is JO81OC (http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/)

I’m using a somewhat compromise antenna, G7FEK for 80, 40 and 30 meters. My ATU does a good job and I can tune it
to every HF band except 160 meters. I am aware that I lose some power with that, but I am really proud I could
work DX on 15 and 10 meters. Yes, the stations on the other side of the antenna were Big Guns, but that’s what
Big Guns are for.


🖼️ Enough of radio. Sunday walk in a park. We’ve met Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, I can’t remember the names of the other ducks.

Was my start a success? Well, I spent as much time as I could, almost as much as I wanted, and I did my best. My
claimed score is far from the top ten SP from last year. But, I made some new DXCCs, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia,
Argentina and Kazakhstan. Western Coast US was a big surprise for me, too. I tried many times to work station
from Pakistan, but no luck this time. I heard Nepal, and Chad, but they could not hear me.


🖼️ Countries worked in the contest (http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/)

Few advices for contesting greenhorns:


🖼️ Dokąd nocą tupta jeż? Możesz wiedzieć, jeśli chcesz! (Sorry, I’m not going to translate this nursery rhyme, you’ll have to watch it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHa222Q0T2I)

Plans for improvements? Well, I have to replace my power supply -- I am afraid to work with more than 50 Watts
and I think it is the cause of specific noise I can hear both on speaker and phones. However, I can not hear it
on the FTDX USB soundcard. It would be also nice to have a vertical antenna on the roof for higher bands.
Receive only antenna, like Loop on Ground, could be useful too, but it’s forbidden in TB-WIRES overlay I
chose.


🖼️ More boring stats (this time from N1MM)

On Saturday I worked 80-something thousand points. Next day I made 100 thousand and went for a walk with my
Daughter. Early evening I

🇵🇱 Co jest nie tak z polskimi zawodami?
Nie jestem wytrawnym kontesterem. Uczestniczę w zawodach od czasu do czasu: albo z przypadku, albo gdy coś ujmie
mnie w regulaminie, czy też idei przedstawionej w regulaminie zawodów.


🖼️ Globus w Parku im. Henryka Sienkiewicza we Włocławku

Jak pisałem w poprzednim poście, niektórzy moi koledzy nie lubią polskich zawodów i nie biorą w nich udziału.
Osobiście nie mam aż tak ostrej opinii o zawodach krajowych, ale z niektórymi uwagami muszę się zgodzić. Poniżej
przedstawię co mi osobiście nie podoba się w polskich zawodach.


Ten post nie posiada pełnej wersji telegraficznej. Przedstawienie mojej analizy w postaci CW mijałoby się chyba z
celem.

This year's long May weekend we spent at my in-laws house.

May in Poland starts with International Workers' Day, National Day, then we have Flags Day, which is a normal
day, then we have the Constitution of 3 May National Holiday. It should not be a surprise that Poles take a day
off on the second day of May for “long weekend”. This year me and my wife took a whole week to spend some time
with her relatives.


🖼️ My May shack. Decided to take some dust off my M0NKA clone.

Deploying an antenna from the room where I slept was easy -- last time I had an end-fed unun on a window frame
and wire going out and attached to a fence. This time I wanted to do the same thing, but with EFHW for 40 meters
and up and a dipole for 80 meters.


🖼️ Unun hung on a window frame. Works.

The problem was I took too little wire to make anything usable with it, so I ended up soldering all the wires I
had together to make an end-fed antenna for 80 meters. Another issue was that there was not enough space for
such a long antenna, so I had to bend it. I did ir before, but with more obtuse angles, this time it was almost
a straight angle.


🖼️ My end-fed, bent in the middle. Brownish thing is a cord attached to the fence.

I did not have any plans for the long weekend, except two points: some sightseeing with my daughter and her two
cousins and… Constitution of 3 May Contest.


🖼️ “Constitution of 3 May 1791”, oil painting on canvas by the Polish artist Jan Matejko (1891)

About 30 minutes before the contest was about to start, the 80 meters band was totally silent. I heard absolutely
nothing. I saw some spots from Europe on RBN, but heard nothing. I was really afraid that the contest was over
for me before it started, but, no. In the first two minutes I worked SP3ZHP and then SP1AEN, and believe me,
SP1AEN had plenty of callers. With my 10 Watts and antenna at the height of my nose I focused on searching and
pouncing.


There were just about 60 CW participants in the contest, so it was possible to work almost everyone.

It is not a miracle, but I think I developed a strategy for small contests when using a low-power rig. First,
work with everyone using RBN for help. After you worked everyone tune to the frequency occupied by any
station a while ago, but now clear, and call CQ there. Make sure you have enough “space” between adjacent
stations. Pay attention to the band map and if there is a new station quit CQ and pounce it. I worked about 10
stations as a runner out of 47 total contacts.


🖼️ PA got warm, the whole case was warm… I have to find some kind of heat sink!

Some of my friends do not like Polish contests and its rules, and Constitution Day Contest is a great example
why. There were two categories for stations from Warsaw, but there is no category for single-op CW only. And,
there is no category for QRP stations. The other reason is that Polish hams tend to work QRO in small, national,
contests.


🖼️ Categories in the aforementioned contest.

Will I win? No… But I have strong belief that I worked with almost every CW participant and gained almost all
points.


Wednesday was my CWT day. I skipped 1300 UTC, and at 1900 UTC made 39 contacts. This time I worked QRP 5W and in
search and pounce mode almost exclusively. This was possible only thanks to the Reverse Beacon Network. I also
started on Thursday morning with 21 contacts in the log. I could not “clear out the bandmap” and decided to call
CQ a few times in both sessions. Yes, I caught some fish on my 5W hook!


🖼️ Bonus: I managed to connect my M0NKA clone to N1MM -- this is how.

🇬🇧 EuCW QRS Activity Week
Few days before EuCW QRS Activity started I got an email about it. Although I am trying to build my speed at the
moment I decided to give myself a try and participate in it.

To quote the EuCW webpage this is not a contest, it is an invitation to slow down CW speeds and to enjoy plenty
of slow Morse activity for a period of five days. The goal is not competitiveness but to lower the threshold for
newcomers to give CW a try. The right spirit is to take part in this as a service to potential newcomers. This
won't get You closer to any Hall of Fame, this will help others while your patience might be stretched a little.

🖼️ The QRS Week is sponsored and organized by AGCW-DL
After reading the rules I understood that I must be a member of any of the CW clubs associated with EuCW. Well, I
am not a member of any EuCW clubs, so I contacted Martin IK2RMZ / DL1GBZ asking him if I can participate. Just a
few hours later I got an email from Martin saying that my participation is most welcome. Great! As I am also
building my CW Resume I am wondering whether my callsign will be listed in results.

The rules state that no keyboard sending or pre-programmed messages are allowed, but pre-programmed CQ calls or
CQ loops are permitted. Good news, again!

On day one I set my keying speed to 15 WPM and started sending CQ QRS DE SQ6JNX SQ6JNX K and made five contacts.
Unfortunately, I missed the rule that 14 WPM is the actual speed limit. The rules also state that QSOs should be
at least 5 minutes long and, in fact, this is just the time you need to exchange callsigns, RSTs, names and QTHs
and then wrap it with a warm greeting for another station. One of my Monday’s QSOs was over 25 minutes, but
others were just over the required 5 minutes. I think that’s OK. I have to watch my speed, though.

On Tuesday I participated in AGCW-DL QRS NET on 3556 kHz. I made 1 QSO, with net host Lothar DL1DXL, but after 45
minutes of waiting the net closed and I was not invited to the party… Pity. Good thing is I also reminded myself
of some German words I learned back in primary school. At the end of the day I had 8 new QRS CW QSOs in the log.

Wednesday for me is CQ CWT day, so I was happy to make some contacts in QRS. As always, all CW frequencies were
crowded, but I have found my luck on 30 meters band. Made 6 contacts.

On Thursday I was about to skip QRS Week, but some time after 2000 LT I decided to turn the radio on. Quick look
around on 80 meters resulted in four contacts.

On Friday, the final day, I made four more contacts. One of the stations, which is known to send at really fast
speeds called CQ at 12 WPM and we made a very QRS QSO.

Week ended with 27 contacts in 12 European countries. No DX, but that was not the case.
My final thoughts? I have very positive feelings about this activity. I know that some of my contacts were able
just to decode my callsign plus maybe a word or two from what I sent them, but that’s OK. I’ve been in that
place just about a year ago and I am still far from where I want to be. Other contacts were pushing me into
higher speeds, so I did some exchanges in QRQ, 20 WPM to be precise.

One note for straight key users. I really enjoy listening to your code, but please, if your comfort speed is 10
WPM do not try sending 15 WPM. Your code is very unreadable and even decoding your callsign is hard.

Hear you all next year!

🇬🇧 My hardest contest ever
On Easter Monday I wanted to participate in “For the Easter Egg Contest”, in Polish “O Pisankę Wielkanocną”.
Unfortunately, the whole 80 meter band was a hiss. I switched to 30 and 40 meters hoping to make some contacts.


🖼️ A modified version of certificate for last year DARC Ostercontest.

One hour before the Polish contest was about to start, N1MM bandmap exploded with German callsigns on the 40
meters band. Is that a contest? I did a quick QSY and yes, it was a contest.


I opened a contest calendar from Bruce, WA7BNM and found that I am listening to the DARC Easter Contest. I have
read all the rules and set up N1MM for the contest. Unfortunately, N1MM was not showing any suggestions for DOK
numbers for exchange... No big deal.


🖼️ Map of German Districts, first letter of DOK number (https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/wag-contest/en/service/districtsdoks/)

Just about ten minutes after the contest started I was ready. My ears were not warmed up enough for contest
speeds, so I typed down the callsign of the running station and at the next exchange made sure that I typed it
down correctly. I was just about to give my callsign to the running station, but I have noticed that the running
station has changed. What?


I typed the callsign again and waited some more. Yes, the runner changed again after a while. And again. Is that
a sprint? I opened the rules again and found a sentence: “The station calling CQ must QSY after the QSO, leaving
the frequency to the station which answered his or her call”. Yes, this is a sprint. My first sprint ever!


🖼️ Twitter, @petulantmonkey

Sprints are different. Most of the contest tricks don’t apply. For example, RBN bandmap will not show accurate
callsigns. You can use it to find “channels”, frequencies, where stations are exchanging information, but that’s
all. Regular N1MM macros do not work well either, as you want to call CQ just after you worked running station.
I have never thought about it.


And it is a challenge, a real exam for the operator. I also think that high power does not give as much advantage
to the station as in regular contests as you have to leave the frequency after making up to two contacts. And
you turn the dial all the time. Your old habits may be wrong, too! If you hear station you worked before you
don't necessarily have to QSY. It may be worth listening to who is he working with and stay.


🖼️ My claimed score is 5340 points. How much will be deduced?

I worked 60 stations in less than 2 hours gaining 5340 point. It was hard, yet possible, to get a response for CQ
as I am not a German station. Hope not to be the worst station outside DL!


To wrap it up, I think that sprints are more challenging, thus more enjoyable contests. As I mentioned before, I
think that sprints are also more fair for low power stations.


I wish we have more sprints in Poland!


You should know that English is not my primary language. Please excuse mistakes and poor language.
However, if you spot any mistakes please let me know.

🇬🇧 Profiles: Bert Bossink PA1BBO
🖼️ Photo of Bert in his shack. Certainly, he's wearing his wooden shoes.

I live in Hellendoorn, a small village in the eastern part of The Netherlands. I'm 47 years old. I became
interested in radio when I was very young. I had a lot of fun with a crystal radio. A miracle to me that it
worked without battery. I got my license when I was 17 years old. It was a license for VHF and up at that time.
No Morse included. I had a lot of fun working on 2 m, and experimenting with antennas. But as I got older, work
came, family came and the ham radio hobby got out of my sight.


🖼️ Hellendoorn, Bert's QTH. Can you spot his antennas?

In 2007 I got interested in HAM radio again, and at that time my license was upgraded to a full license, so I
could also operate on HF. I got interested in CW, and did a course with a straight key. Made some QSOs but never
got really over my key fright. As I was m not a phone guy, again the hobby got in the background. Till 2020 when
I started to work in the digital modes on HF. But during the year I got interested in CW again, and tried some
self-study. That didn't work. I came across the CWops CW Academy, and decided to sign up for the Beginners
Class.


And so I started in January 2021 in CW Academy. What a great way to learn CW. It's not only about learning CW,
but also about making friends. Of course, it is hard work, but also making a lot of fun. I'm really happy that I
came across CW Academy. Thanks to everybody who puts a lot of effort in it, also behind the scenes.


One thing to mention here is the "Buzz's Super-Secret No merit/No demerit Homework" of AC6AC. If you want to know
what it is? You have to sign up for a class with Buzz, because it is secret :-)


Since May 2021 my log consists for almost 100 percent of CW QSOs. My main interest is contesting.

My rigs are a Kenwood TS-520, which I sometimes operate, and a TS-440. Since October 2021 I have an ICOM IC-7300,
which I mostly use. Since I have not much room for antennas I'm using a G5RV Jr. Sometimes I put up a wire or
G7FEK temporarily to be able to work on 80 m. In the future I have plans to do POTA.


I work as an IT architect for the IT systems of the railways. Some other hobbies are beer-brewing, BBQ,
3d printing and repairing old mopeds.


I hope to work you on the air!


Personal note from Mike SQ6JNX: I met Bert in CW Academy run by CWOps in March 2021, we were students in
the same class. I share most, if not all the feelings about the Academy. We worked each other several times on
CW since then, and I consider Bert not only great OP, but also a soulmate. Keep pounding the brass, Bert!



This post was first published in March 2022 issue of "Solid
Copy", a newsletter published by CWOps. Photo of Hellendoorn was taken by
Gouwenaar and was downloaded from
Dutch Wikipedia.