DXCC Award - 100 Countries Confirmed on CW

-

I was able to get my 100th country confirmed on LotW last month, qualifying me for the DXCC / CW Mode Certificate.  My first CW contact was confirmed with K4KCG from the Kentucky Contest Group back in June 2021 when I first learning CW and relying completely on CW macros.  I focused on completing the WAS Triple play award in January 2022 before focusing on DXCC.

I continued to improve my CW skills, practiced my sending, but it wasn't until April 2022 that I joined the Straight Key Century Club SKCC and made the personal commitment  to completely avoid electronic keyers and macros when possible.  The majority of my contacts from that point on were made with either a traditional straight key, or a sideswiper, which is like a paddle but is a fully manual version of the straight key with horizontal action.  

Along the way I got the pleasure of working many countries during contests - the ARRL International DX contest is a good way to pick up many new countries over a weekend.   During the last contest,  I worked 81 DX entities, but most of those countries had already been confirmed from previous QSOs.   

After I installed the hex beam last fall the number of confirmed countries grew steadily.  I relied on the DXpeditions in the South Pacific to get me past 100, often paying the small confirmation fee as a way to support the expedition.   The final DX stations confirmed included H44WA Solomon Islands, ZD7Z Saint Helena, TX5S Clipperton Island, TO8FH Mayotte Island, T2C Tavalu, TX6D French Polynesia, and E51D North Cook Islands.   

My final LotW confirmation came on February 2nd, 2024 from EI9LB Ireland. Since then I've received confirmations for another 18 countries, putting my total at 118 confirmations!

The good thing about HAM Radio is there's always another challenge, something new to learn, and new bunny trail to explore.  I believe the hobby will continue to challenge and reward me.  I just purchased a Drake TR-4Cw rig.  With some TLC and much learning I hope to get this 20 tube boat anchor on the air soon!

73,  Chris de WX7V



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remote CW with RKI 1.05 and Sparkfun FT231X breakout board

-
Image
I've created a workable solution for sending CW via a "straight key" to my remote Flexradio 6600 at the lake using RemoteKeyerInterface (RKI) and a simple Serial/USB circuit.   RKI is only available for Windows. RKI enables you to use paddles or a straight key to send CW through a remote Flex‑6000 transceiver.  After several iterations I've settled on a design using the Sparkfun FT-231x breakout board and RKI v1.05 that was originally posted by Gary KT7AZ on the RKI  groups.io forum .   However, to send CW reliably via a straight key - there were two main problems I had to solve. First,  I had to resolve the network latency and buffer bloat in my shack's network by setting up a router with Smart Queue Management.   The Ubiquity EdgeRouter  was recommended by a friend of mine (Larry N1FG) and has been working great.  I'm using the 4 port Edgerouter X which was only $50 at microcenter (open box special).  No more audio stutterin...
Read more

BENS BEST BENT WIRE

-
Image
Update 11/19/23 - Tribute for Bill Crane, SK 10/26/23: https://youtu.be/Znyqq9f93r0?si=bxPV0zVmGN7oWo_u ++ Update August 22, 2022.   I was able to find Bill Crane W9ZN on the air by looking for his spots on RBN .   Took me a while to see the pattern on when and where he's be on frequency, but not only did we make the QSO, we exchanged cards as well!  This is one of my favorite QSL cards that I've collected so far.  Thank You Bill!     73 Chris de WX7V ==================================== Last month I asked a members of the Straight Key Century Club  what was their favorite way to warm up before sending morse code.  I got a lot of input - from, "Just jump right in" to sending the Alphabet and the Numbers 0-9.   My favorite answer is to practice sending Bens Best Bent Wire, with the letters and numbers run together so that the code produced sounds similar to a march.  Apparently this was taught by the RAF,  merchan...
Read more

FTdx3000 - configuring external panadapter using SDRPlay RSP1A

-
Image
 The panadapter on the FTdx3000 is fine but not great.   I'm using SDRuno with the SDRPlay RSP1A  which is a significant upgrade!   Cost was minimal since I already had a RSP1a stored in a  drawer waiting for a problem to solve.   Hardware configuration is straight forward.  On the back of the FTdx3000, connect the IF OUT (RCA connector) to antenna input on the RSP1a.  I needed a cable with RCA to SMA adapter.  Plug in USB connections from the RSP1a to the computer, and another from the FTdx3000 radio to your computer. Download and install OmniRig from dxatlas.  Omnirig provides CAT control for the Yaesu radio - allowing you to automatically tune into any frequency by clicking signal in panadapter waterfall.   Find the SiliconLabs Enhanced Comm port (use Ports in Device Manager)- you need to use the same com port and speed settings in the omnirig and sdruno configurations. Start sdruno, click on settings - the...
Read more