I liked the Gordon West, WB6NOA, tapes.  You can get them on an audio CD now and listen to them.  I  thought it was pretty easy, but it does take some time and dedication.  Good luck.

Jim

Have you compared it to CW Get?  If so, which do you think is better?

73
Elvis

I fully concur that a full size vertical is optimal; however, with the StepIR you also have to run a control line to change the actual size of the antenna.  This is accomplished very easily and well worth it.  If you are limited and can’t run the control line then another alternative that I used in the past is the Butternut HF9V.  I have had a lot of success with this antenna.  This was before they came out with the StepIR or before I had my towers erected.  The StepIR is the best but the Butternut is very good.  Also, the Butternut will cover 80 meters.

Good luck es 73
Jim, AD6WL

>>"..all contacts must be point to point, i.e. radio to radio."<<

Except for Satellite contacts.

The problem has to do with wide signals and harmonics more than it does power out.  Some hams run audio processing and simply have their mic gain set too high.  An example of this is RTTY; if running FSK one can get about 500hz next to another station running 1.5KW without any problems.  However, when running AFSK and 100 watts, if the audio setting of the transmit station are incorrect then they can cause interference up and down the band.  

I believe the solution is elmering new digital ops not calling them A-holes.  The solution is usually simple:  Turn off all audio processing.  Adjust your power output level to about 30 watts or less, then turn you mic gain down to the minimum level to achieve your power out.  Then make sure your sound card output is set to the minimum level to achieve the desired output of 30watts or less.

If you desire to reach out further I would recommend a directional antenna to concentrate you transmit and receive signal in one direction.

You can check out this article, it may give you some help:

http://www.eham.net/articles/13355

73, Jim
AD6WL

Beside being a lot of fun it is a good way to work on 160meter DXCC or in my case 160m WAS.

CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW 0000Z, Jan 28 to 2359Z, Jan 29

CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB 0000Z, Feb 25 to 2359Z, Feb 26

73, Jim
AD6WL

CW is the simplest and one of the most efficient modes of communications there is. Very simple circuits can be built that can be used to communicate around the world. Look at these little QRP radios that fit in an Altoids, or Tuna can: no computer (except the brain) needed.

When I was recently making contacts for the special event station Route 66 On The Air, I had a hard time getting thru to a station that I needed for the sweep. It was on 40meters and the band was noisy. He was operating phone and I couldn’t make it thru. I switched to CW and he was able to copy me. He answered back on phone, but the contact was made. And CW again proved that it was a far superior mode.

Also, this past weekend during the California QSO party I was operating an SO2R station. Station 1 was for phone only and I had to use an Acom 2000a amp w/ 1KW output to keep a freq and reach out. Station 2 was CW only and I only had to run 100watts. Even though the CW portion of the band was crowded I had no problem finding clear a spot because of the efficiency of band space that CW provides. I was able to squeeze in between other stations and work the contest. Because of the effectiveness of CW 100watts was plenty of power.

The point is that CW is the most efficient, simplest, effective mode of communication there is. That is why we should continue to promote and keep this skill alive. In my opinion we should maintain the CW exam for the Extra class license.

73 Jim
AD6WL

I have used WriteLog since 2001 and am very happy with it.  It is not free but I think it is worth the money.

www.writelog.com

From my reading and talking with other contesters N1MM would be the best free software for contests.

73, Jim
AD6WL

It's this weekend folks.  If you're an experience CW op, just getting started or a bit rusty please get on the air and make some contacts.  

“We want to encourage and nurture new CW operators”
“The focus is on sending slowly and clearly and sending the exchange in order.”

For more information goto:

http://www.fists.org/getfeetwet.html

73, Jim
AD6WL

Hi lon, thanks for the info.  A friend of mine has one I must say it is one nice little GPS for car use.  I have a chance to get one at no cost using my hotel points so I will probably get it.  I have a basic GPS that I use for APRS but I thought it would be nice if the Quest could do it also because of the high quality display.

73, Jim

This link explains it very well.

http://www.radiohound.com/gpsetup.htm

Hello, I am thinking about purchasing a Garmin Quest for the car.  I was wondering if anyone has used this GPS for APRS?  If so let me know your setup and how it works.

Thanks, Jim

Here is a link to a video of the show:

http://home.qth.com/

I have found hamcall to be the most up-to-date.


http://hamcall.net/auctions