2005 ARRL Straight Key Night
01/17/2005 |
N4SSD
Hello Ham Pals & Happy New Year!
Well ARRL's Straight Key Night (SKN) is over for 2005, but I sure had a great (challenging) time. First of all band conditions on Friday night were not conducive to QRP and I couldn't seem to get any answers to my CQs on the Heathkit HW-8 running 2 watts. So...I hooked up my Heathkit HW-101 and got those tubes cooking at about 100 watts and had some success! Sadly, before the night was over the HW-101 got sick and started warbling and drifting all over the place. I had to shut it down. Thank goodness, I had my trusty Yaesu FT-1000 to fall back on. HI HI
Ron, WA4RCW said that I was his "most interesting qso" because he worked me on all three rigs before the night was over. Plus my dog Lilly was in the shack with me and she said to tell him "hello." I think he enjoyed hearing from my CW dog.
The Yaesu FT-1000 didn't know how to react to having a straight key hooked up to it...(I generally use iambic paddles with it) but once I turned the automatic keyer feature off on the Yaesu, she did just fine. HI HI Later on Saturday, when band conditions were much better, I did indeed get some contacts on my little Heathkit QRP rig, the HW-8, running 2 watts of power. QRP SKN fun!
My vote for "Best Fist" goes to WA4RCW, Ron, in Nashville and "most interesting QSO" goes to Dennis, ND4U, who said he was using a Vibroplex Straight Key and about the only time he used it was once a year on SKN. I thought that was a hoot! I guess sending CW with a straight key could be considered hard work compared to paddles. I guess thats why they call it "pounding brass?"
I enjoyed using my Kent Straight Key that my wife gave me for Christmas. It did a fine job and I found it to be easier to work CW with than on my old straight key. Like many others, however, I confess that I need more practice on a straight key. HI HI
All in all, it was lots of good fun. I enjoyed hearing lots of old rigs on the air during SKN. I need to get some work done on the Heathkit HW-101 or I may trade it in for a Drake or some other type of old time rig before next year. Just for nostalgias sake, I would like to have a stable tube rig on the air for SKN 2006. Is that an oxymoron "stable tube rig?" HI HI
Happy New Year to all! SKN 2005 was a blast!
God bless and 73...
Fred--Murfreesboro, TN -- N4SSD
Well ARRL's Straight Key Night (SKN) is over for 2005, but I sure had a great (challenging) time. First of all band conditions on Friday night were not conducive to QRP and I couldn't seem to get any answers to my CQs on the Heathkit HW-8 running 2 watts. So...I hooked up my Heathkit HW-101 and got those tubes cooking at about 100 watts and had some success! Sadly, before the night was over the HW-101 got sick and started warbling and drifting all over the place. I had to shut it down. Thank goodness, I had my trusty Yaesu FT-1000 to fall back on. HI HI
Ron, WA4RCW said that I was his "most interesting qso" because he worked me on all three rigs before the night was over. Plus my dog Lilly was in the shack with me and she said to tell him "hello." I think he enjoyed hearing from my CW dog.
The Yaesu FT-1000 didn't know how to react to having a straight key hooked up to it...(I generally use iambic paddles with it) but once I turned the automatic keyer feature off on the Yaesu, she did just fine. HI HI Later on Saturday, when band conditions were much better, I did indeed get some contacts on my little Heathkit QRP rig, the HW-8, running 2 watts of power. QRP SKN fun!
My vote for "Best Fist" goes to WA4RCW, Ron, in Nashville and "most interesting QSO" goes to Dennis, ND4U, who said he was using a Vibroplex Straight Key and about the only time he used it was once a year on SKN. I thought that was a hoot! I guess sending CW with a straight key could be considered hard work compared to paddles. I guess thats why they call it "pounding brass?"
I enjoyed using my Kent Straight Key that my wife gave me for Christmas. It did a fine job and I found it to be easier to work CW with than on my old straight key. Like many others, however, I confess that I need more practice on a straight key. HI HI
All in all, it was lots of good fun. I enjoyed hearing lots of old rigs on the air during SKN. I need to get some work done on the Heathkit HW-101 or I may trade it in for a Drake or some other type of old time rig before next year. Just for nostalgias sake, I would like to have a stable tube rig on the air for SKN 2006. Is that an oxymoron "stable tube rig?" HI HI
Happy New Year to all! SKN 2005 was a blast!
God bless and 73...
Fred--Murfreesboro, TN -- N4SSD
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