I've been working on my speed by learning entire words in Morse code.  In the process I have found that certain words have a pleasant, even catchy, rhythm to them.

My favorite so far is 'people'
dit dah dah dit - dit - dah dah dah - dit dah dah dit - dit dah dit dit - dit.

This pleasant rhythm really makes the word stand out such that I find it extremely easy to recognize it.

I was just curious if there were other rhythmic words that other Morse code fans could point out. 

73 - Richard

Re:  "Hi Richard. Log4om is made, tested and compiled on a virtual machine using Windows XP. My ham station runs on Windows 7 64 bit.  You can stay on XP as long as you want, if it's good enough for you."

Daniele,

I really want to get rid of XP.  Windows 7 is so much more secure.  Old ham software that does not follow best practices has been holding up my transition (ACLog, for example).  Log4om does indeed run fine on XP.  But, more importantly, it will also run fine on Windows 7.  That is where I want to go.  Thankfully, logging software is no longer a problem.  Thanks for a fine product!  Very nice.

Thanks - Richard - K4KRW

If you do form a club, have a well thought out constitution defining things like officer roles and responsibilities, process for removal or replacement.  Membership requirements. ....  For example:  It is really bad when a club has a member (or especially an officer) behaving in a way that reflects negatively on the club and you have no mechanism to remedy the situation.

I have been working on increasing my code speed.  Something I have found helpful was learning frequently used words as a whole.  I think I used the G4FON software to create my sound files.  Maybe pick 10 or 20 words.  Repeat them 2 or 3 times each initially and gradually migrate to random words.  When you have them down, move to another set.  I created mine at 20 WPM.

I'm wondering if this would help you bypass the quick code associations because you would be listening for entire words instead of letters.  Then once you have the words down you may find you are able to focus on individual characters.  In the process of learning the words, you would be training yourself to not do so much processing in the gaps between characters where currently your associating occurs.

I'd be interested on anyone else's thoughts on this approach.

My experience has been as others have stated.  Operating is what helps me progress the most.

73,

Richard - K4KRW

I still have one PC that runs XP.  It has plenty of resources (speed, memory, hard drive space, ...).  I never reboot unless I have to.  And it runs very fast and gives me no trouble. 

On the other hand, old PC's with too little resources just won't run XP well.  Service pack 3 for XP was the final nail in the coffin.  The speed difference between SP2 and SP3 on an under resourced PC is simply astounding.

I agree with W8JX.  It is time to move on to something newer.  If you can't go above 1GB of memory, that is a problem.  We have field devices at work that have the same limitation.  They run terribly slow.  Again, service pack 3 really made things worse. 

This doesn't mean you shouldn't run service pack 3.  You should.  You can't even get new Windows updates if you don't run it.

I will add two other things to look into.

1.  I still believe in defragmenting your hard drive.  Also, if you have had your swap file set to auto size, it is almost certainly very fragmented.  Defrag your hard drive.  Eliminate the swap file.  Then remake it a fixed size.  Make it the maximum size XP recommends.  It will never get fragmented again.

2. Do you have browser plugins.  We had someone at work that was always complaining about speed.  Our PCs at work are blazingly fast.  I never could understand why they were having problems when no-one else was.  I took time to look at the PC.  They had about 15 browser plugins/addons running.  Checking weather, news who knows.  I removed them all.  They could not believe how much faster their 'PC' ran.  It wasn't the PC, it was the browser.  The difference was truly night and day.

You can find info about both of these topics with a Google search.  I don't want to write a book here.

Finally, used PC hardware is pretty cheap.  I'd try to find something that would let you have at least 3GB of memory.  I think the real problem is your hardware.  It is just too old.

Also, realize that Windows 7 is much more secure than XP.  I really wish I didn't run XP at all.  I do still have some ham software that wants XP.  But, I am working to get out of that situation.  I finally found logging software that I like that is made to run on Win7 (log4om).  So, I am getting closer to my goal.

73,
Richard - K4KRW

K8RA by chance?  The P4 weighs about 5 lbs.

http://www.k8ra.com/index_018.htm

Ken,

I have ordered replacement parts for my BY-1 directly from Bencher. 

I'm pretty sure I called them on the phone.
I had the parts quickly and was very happy with their service.

Also, Did you email them or use their 'Contact Us' page to post a question?
Maybe posting there would get a faster reply. 

(If a spam filter decided it didn't like your email, they may have never gotten it)

73,
Richard - K4KRW

I recommend you not buy a radio that you haven't actually tried yourself.  This is especially true with a D-Star rig.

I would not buy a D-Star radio without:

1. Making sure you have some local D-Star repeaters.

2. Learning enough about D-Star to know what you are getting into.

3. Trying the radio model you will be buying against a D-Star repeater (including programming D-Star settings for some repeaters).

4. Trying the radio model you will be buying against a standard repeater.

The 'user friendliness' of the D-Star radios really varies from model to model. 

You don't want to buy a radio that does amazing things (that you never use) and may not work as well for the things you do every day.

D-Star is a different animal.  I have a D-Star HT.  I do like it, but it is not for everyone.  It takes a little getting used to.  You can do interesting things like talk to someone in Sydney Australia via your local D-Star repeater (if it is connected to the D-Star network via the internet).  You can participate in roundtable discussions happening in multiple cities at once. 

You will have to connect the radio to a computer to easily program all of the D-Star settings.  It is hard to do from the radio's interface. 

If you have a group of local D-Star enthusiasts, they will aid in your understanding of D-Star tremendously.  It is not intuitive at all.

It is hard to argue with the Yaesu 8800.

I have an Alinco DR-635T.  I have found it very easy to use.  It does cross band repeat and cross band repeat is very easy to configure.  I have had my radio for 6 years and it has worked well.

73,
Richard - K4KRW

Are you referring to the TQSL (Trusted QSL) library?

tqsllib2.dll

I have not.  If you don't mind (just curious).  Are you trying to enhance their logic or are you trying to move it to another platform (64 bit, for example)?

Thanks,

Richard - K4KRW

I'll second the Sierra.  But, it is not unusual to get just a watt or so of output on 10 meters.

Of course, even 1 watt on 10 meters can do amazing things when the band is open.

The Sierra is a fabulous kit and a really nice QRP rig. 

It sounds like they won't be sold much longer.  So, if you have ever thought about getting one, now is the time.

73,

Richard - K4KRW

I am not a lawyer.  But, I personally feel the use of an image like that should fall under 'fair use'.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. "

I would think that image met the spirit of the above paragraph.

In addition:

Use is not of a commercial nature (no one is going to subscribe to or even visit eham.net or your article just because there is an image of Homer Simpson with your article)

Re: 'the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole'.  Clearly, 1 image is a microscopic portion of the Simpsons empire or even 1 Simpsons episode.

Re: 'the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.'  Clearly, you are not devaluing the Simpsons by showing the image.  (I think you are actually increasing the value, if anything)

Copyright has gotten a bit out of control.  Some entities have gone ballistic over any use of their product even when it arguably it might even enhance their brand.

Here is a perfect example:
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/home-video-prince/story?id=3777651#.Tw7aUXrNl8E

Sadly, control has become everything (even when it is to detriment of the creator of the work).  And while I do understand entities being cautious in this litigious age, I think it is sad that they have to.  Sometimes, to me, it just feels like we are just holding up our hands and backing away even when we aren't really required to by law or even social morals.

73,

Richard
K4KRW

Zero beating is just ensuring that you are operating on the same frequency as the station you are receiving.  If you don't do this, the other station may not hear you when you reply.  For example, if the frequencies don't match and he has his filters set narrow your signal may get filtered out.

This is one of the things I like most about the FT-897D.  It is extremely easy to zero beat another station.  There is an LED on the front panel marked 'CW-T'.  Just tune the VFO knob until the LED blinks in time with the received signal.  That is it.  You are zero beat.  Works phenomenally well.

As mentioned by AA4PB, with most rigs if you are zero beat the frequency of the received CW tone matches the frequency of the sidetone when you transmit.  So, you should be able to listen to their signal and then key your transmitter and the two tones should be the same.  With some rigs, that is how you zero beat.  Believe me, that little flashing LED is a much easier and much more convenient way to to this.  I really don't understand why all manufacturers don't adopt this practice.

In fact, I liked the feature so much, I even found a way to add it to a QRP rig I have.

http://www.wb3aal.com/Pages/K6XX/K6XXCWIndicatorKit.htm

Steve,

There is a 160 meter band module for the Wilderness Radio Sierra.  I just finished building a Sierra for myself.  I have not built the 160 meter band module, so I cannot tell you how well it works.  But, the radio is very nice on 40 meters.  I'm getting ready to start my second band module right now (20 meters).

73,

Richard - K4KRW

Kevin,

Different antenna designs have different impedance at the point where the feed line attaches to the antenna.  A dipole's impedance is very close to the impedance of the feed line (if you are using 50 ohm coax).  So, the 1 to 1 balun would be the appropriate choice.  You want the impedance of the feed line and the antenna to match as closely as possible to minimize signal loss (especially when using coax).

Other antenna designs (for example, loops and off center fed dipoles) have an impedance that is not a good match to a 50 ohm feed line.  Here is where a balun that also transforms the impedance may be appropriate.

So, if the impedance of the antenna was 200 ohms, the 4 to 1 balun would transform it to 50 ohms. There are other ratios available as well (6 to 1, 9 to 1).  Use what best matches your situation.  In your case, the 1 to 1 does the job. 

73,
Richard - K4KRW

The Shelby Amateur Radio Club runs a very nice hamfest.  They always have good attendance.  It is a great place to run into ham friends.

Shelby always has a great flea market.  Is there a lot of junk?  Sure.  But, I also see a lot of very interesting parts and equipment.  And me and many others leave the hamfest with some great purchases.

Shelby usually has good attendance by major manufacturers and dealers. 

I also enjoy the forums.  I've attended a QRP forum that I enjoyed very much.  The last two or three years they have had a great D-Star forum. 

So, I won't miss Shelby unless I have another commitment I just cannot get out of.

Regarding prices: Do people ask too much for what they are selling?  Again, sure.  Well, just don't pay it.  Asking and getting are two different things.  If they don't want to take the equipment back home, the price will come down. 

On the other hand, some seem to feel that nothing is a good deal unless it is absurdly underpriced.  I remember trying to sell a very nice Oak Hills Research 100A (qrp rig) with an OHR frequency counter for a friend and having someone get all bent out of shape because I wouldn't part with them for $50  (I'm sure he thought I was asking too much for them). 

73,

Richard - K4KRW