Peripatetic Morse (PM)
Definitions:
Peripatetic -- Pedestrian; Itinerant, Journeys hither, thither and yon.
Morse -- Morse Code; An original digital format.
In the Beginning…
My first exposure to PM was when I had just taken my Elecraft KX1 out to the field. It was in Elephant Park, west of Denver. There were no picnic tables available, So I picked up my KX1, Put my 10 foot whip in my rear pocket and hooked it to the antenna jack and the KX1 tuned the thing right up. I was on 20 meters and made a few contacts out 1,000 miles. I was out on a looping trail and it had steep sections with trees to dodge. But it worked. I didn’t realize that I could send morse code while I was hiking around the trails.
Sending…
I hold the KX1 in the left hand and key with the right hand. I don’t use iambic keying so the rough terrain didn’t affect my sending at all. My arms seem to swing back and forth as I walk but the spacing of my hands stayed the same. There is a picture of the KX1 in operation next to a 4 foot Oshkosh snow blower on Pikes Peak.

I have also have used a straight key. The one that is mounted on my Paraset is very easy to use while walking. I hold the Paraset radio in a ‘football carry’ under my left arm and key with my right hand. See the Paraset picture.

My main single lever key for my backpack radio, the PRC319, is the Whiterook. It is just a little plastic jewel box with a lever, 2 inches by 2 inches. See the Whiterook picture, My modified Whiterook is green, or you can see it in the W7L Video: http://tinyurl.com/zw8mgkn

Receiving…
The reception of Morse while walking is going to be difficult if you have not gotten up to a speed where you can copy in your head. The ability to copy 30 wpm (Copying words, not letters) is a very great asset. If you can only copy code sitting at a desk writing it down letter by letter, you will not have any fun walking down the road trying to copy it, but it may help you learn. See my story “The Secrets of High Speed Morse”, CQ Magazine, Jan. 2018, p. 26-27 or eHam Article at .https://www.eham.net/articles/41222
I use a “Cuff Log’ (Like the NFL Quarterbacks use for play calls), to record calls and names. See the cuff log picture. When my XYL is with me she does the logging.

Noise cancelling earphones are helpful to block out wind and extraneous noises.
Social Distancing …
Social distancing has always been my norm while operating with my high power (50 Watt) PRC319 because the nearby RF could stop a persons implanted Pace Maker or trip off a Defibrillator.
If you out hiking and hear hissing noises in your receiver you may have to relocate or shut down because of power lines or precipitation static. Precipitation static is what you hear right before you are struck by lightning. Operation at high altitudes should be done with a DC short across your antenna (Like a quarter wave shorted coax stub).
WA3WSJ (Ed) and I were hiking to Devils Head Fire Lookout (SOTA W0C/FR-051) one day and we had to stay 100 yards apart to prevent desensing our receivers. We started from the parking lot in a deep canyon and as we got to the east ridge we started to work stations on the east coast. Then Tac JA7QVI called me; followed by DL1VBN Ed, DJ5AV Mike, EA4CWN Alfonzo and 36 others. They didn’t count as SOTA contacts because I was not at the top yet. 90% of my contacts were made coming and going on the trail. The full story is in QRP Quarterly, Winter 2014, p.45-50. “Colorado QRP Pedestrian Mobile or Bust", by WA3WSJ.
Antenna’s…
To be Peripatetic you have to have a good antenna that allows you to move around. I don’t think a Loop would be a good choice. I use a whip, It is center loaded and 10 feet long. It attaches to my backpack frame. It has a quarter wave radial and allows me a lot of freedom when hiking around. You should put a quick disconnect ‘break away’ connection on the ground wire in case it snags. An automatic tuner is a must because you, the ground and your antenna are going to have different characteristics than a static test on a step ladder. The Elecraft Tuner T1 is excellent.
Wide trails without trees are helpful. Hiking above tree line is the best.
Equipment…
Many additional helpful equipment ideas can be found in WA3WSJ’s Pedestrian Mobile Handbook by going to:
http://w3bqc.homestead.com/files/Amateur_Radio_Pedestrian_Mobile_2nd-Edition_-_Edward_Breneiser.pdf.
It's a PDF free download book filled with good stuff about what equipment to use and how to operate a pedestrian mobile station.
Batteries…
Lithium Ion batteries are the best. They give twice the energy with half the weight. Life is too short to carry Lead Acid batteries around.
EMI/RFI…
Everything attached to your backpack rig is part of the antenna. Depending on your transmit power, Cables may need to be shielded and/or decoupled from the RF or they may fail. That includes keyers, headphones, microphones, modems, message units, etc. See the picture of the 2 RFC headphone filter. It keeps RF out of your ear.

Even battery controllers can fail from RF intrusion. Ferrite filters can help but cables must be kept short. Keyers can become erratic, Modems can freeze and battery controllers can just shut down.
If you wish to work SSB your microphone should have a separate microphone return wire. Poor microphone shielding or common grounds can cause RF feedback and noise. See picture of the microphone filter.

How Well Does It Work?
The effectiveness of Morse Code when propagation is poor is widely known. https://mtechnologies.com/pubs/qrp.htm . The effective gain for Morse vs. SSB has been calculated at +18 dB, That's 3 'S' units, a huge difference. 5 watts of Morse, by this equation, is equivalent to 240 watts of SSB. In addition if you know the call sign, time and frequency of the station you are trying to work just increases the probability of success. It all depends on propagation so generally speaking you won’t have a lot of success when the A Index is above 15.
It really works, check out the story: “210 Countries on a 10 Foot Whip”, http://www.eham.net/articles/10734 .
I always start my operation with the Reverse Beacon Network protocol. (Calling: CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ DE W0RW W0RW W0RW/pm). If you don’t use that protocol the RBN won’t post you. After my operation I always check the RBN to see which RBN’s heard me. So I get reports even if I don’t make any contacts. http://www.reversebeacon.net/srch.php

Additional Stories…
There are 46 more PM stories (12 MB) in the ‘W0RW Pedestrian Mobile Stories’ book at:
http://w3bqc.homestead.com/W0RW_pm_Stories_2011.pdf
Next time you are out at the park and all the benches are taken, give it a try.

Paul, W0RW
| KIRSHOEGOR | 2021-09-27 | |
|---|---|---|
| Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/in-a-pandemic-navajo-community-steps-up-for-its-vulnerable/ #Bannon #DrLiMengYan1 #??? #??? #?? #LiMengYan #COVID19 #YanLiMeng #???? #Ethnicity #CCP | ||
| KD6VXI | 2021-05-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| No, you where not. Pedestrian mobile, while not as fancy, would have been much more to the point. But I envy the places he's been ped mobile. And on top of pikes peak...... You can't ask for a better location I think! --Shane KD6VXI Reply to a comment by : KC0W on 2021-05-05 I had to Google what "peripatetic" means. Am I the only one who didn't know it's definition? Tom KH0/KC0W | ||
| KC0W | 2021-05-05 | |
|---|---|---|
| Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| I had to Google what "peripatetic" means. Am I the only one who didn't know it's definition? Tom KH0/KC0W | ||
| K6TOR | 2021-05-03 | |
|---|---|---|
| Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| Great Article. I just came back from camping with a group near Sequoia National Park in California. I wanted to test my new Lab599 TX500 QRP rig but too difficult to set up 43 ft EFHW wire on a mast. Not enough space or time. Your success with a whip antenna looks like the solution in the future. | ||
| W0RW | 2021-05-01 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| Thanks Bill... Check out the surfer, Even the surf board has a drag wire. Being on the wet salty sand is like having a 6dB gain antenna. Paul w0rw Reply to a comment by : W0WCA on 2021-04-30 Good writeup Paul! Good job you! | ||
| W0WCA | 2021-04-30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Peripatetic Morse (PM) | ||
| Good writeup Paul! Good job you! | ||