winter edition 2008

International Morse Preservation Society Founded in 1987 by the late Geo Longden, G3ZQS Recommended calling QRGs: 1.818, 3.558, 7028, 10.118, 14.058, 21.058,28.058 WINTER EDITION 2008 Club Goals Further the use of CW Encourage newcomers to use Morse Code Engender Friendships among members And remember “Accuracy Transcends Speed , Courtesy at all Times” EDITOR: M0BMN Paul Webb, 40 Links Road, Penn, W‐TON, WV4 5RF E‐Mail :‐ [email protected] FISTS UK WEB SITE URL:‐ HTTP://WWW.FISTS.CO.UK “When You’ve Worked A FISTS, You’ve Worked A Friend.” FISTS Who’s Who? Many members that I meet at rallies often comment on they have no idea of who does what and so don't know who to contact for their questions. I Hope this helps. Editor: Paul Webb M0BMN E‐mail [email protected] Contact Details:‐ 40 Links Road, Penn, Wolverhampton WV4 5RF Tel : 01902 338973 If you have any comments on the content or distribution of Keynotes then I’m your man! Also if you need info about Rallies that we are attending or if you have any articles for publication. Treasurer and Membership Secretary John Griffin M0CDL E‐mail [email protected] 35 Cottage Street, Kingswinford DY6 7QE If you have questions about subs due or membership applications the please contact John for help. Activity Manager: Robert Walker M0BPT Email [email protected] 125, Devereux Road, West Bromwich., B70 6RQ. Any comments and feedback about any of the Activities that FISTS run or infor‐
mation for inclusion in the contests and activities section of the newsletter can be sent to Rob. QSL Manager: Chuck Spence M0AVW E‐mail [email protected] Contact Details:‐ 32 Woodford Walk Harewood Park, Thornaby., TS17 0LT QSL cards and questions about the FISTS QSL Buro should be addressed to Chuck who looks after the Sub managers for different calls Page 1 News Group / Forum Manager M0BLT Mark Waldon E‐mail [email protected] Mark looks after the Yahoo group FISTS and can help with any problems you may have with accessing the forum or issues arising from it. Club Sales Officer: Anne Webb Email [email protected] 40 Links Road, Penn , Wolverhampton, WV4 5RF If you’re looking for club badges, QSL cards ,car stickers etc Anne’s your Man, err Woman Hi. There are other people that help with the running of FISTS. We have a number of QSL Sub managers that are working hard in the back‐
ground to keep fists alive and well. G3's
G4's.
Mr
Jim
Steel
M0ZAK
Mr Grant Merrils - G0UQF
6 CENTRAL AVENUE
2 East Street
Shepsted
Darfield
LE12 9HP
Barnsley
S73 9RE
G1,G2,G5,G6,G7,G8
G0's
& Specials.GB,GX etc.
Mr Selwyn Auty
Mr Rob Walker - M0BPT
3 Rochford Cres
Boston
125 Devereux Road
West
Bromwich
PE21 9AE
B70
6RQ
Wales & SWL
M0's, M5's, M3's 2E0's etc
Mr
Glenn
Waring
M0AYI
Mrs Mandy Spence
32 Woodford Walk
7
Tynedale
Terrace.
Thornaby
Annfield Plain
Stanley
Cleveland
Durham
TS17 0LT
DH9 7TZ
EU &DX members. If you wish to receive any qsl cards from stations you have worked, could you please send postage in either UK£, US$, or Euro to M0AVW. 73. Chuck. Page 2 Subscription Information A number of members have contacted me to ask the amount to pay for their annual subs, and what by what methods they can make payment. All subscriptions will be from April to April, but if your subs fall due be‐
fore April 2009 your in luck. Pay by the due date but your subs will be covered upto April 2010! Payments can be made the good old way of cash or cheque; (made pay‐
able to FISTS) and sent to The membership sec , M0CDL (address on pre‐
vious page) Or if you’re feeling all modern we can take PayPal payments to [email protected] but whatever way you pay please include your fists membership number with the payment. Any overpayments will be considered a donation and are always very gratefully received ! Page 3 Its Winter again! Doesn't Time fly by quick. Its scary really when you think about it. It certainly does not feel a year since I wrote the last Christmas Keynote. This last year as seen a few changes in my life and I’m sure you have all had a few changes in yours, like me some good and some bad, but its time to look at the brighter side of life and put the worries on one side for a few weeks and enjoy yourself the best you can. I Have been surprised how cold it has been since we spoke last , a few of us have had snow already so I would not be shocked if we had a real winter this year, the last few have been mild and a good number of plants in the garden which are one season plants have managed to make it though the winters and come back the following year as good as new which saves a few quid I’m glad to say! Anne and myself took the opportunity at the end of Nov to have a tidy up and clearout of old dead plants and general garden rubbish and found that our old garden shed seems to have a leak from the roof and to be honest the base seems to have some rot too so we are thinking of changing that early in the new year. Mind you Anne is thinking of having a few Chickens and we could use the space for a coop and run for them, Ill tell you if we do that next time. On the radio front I Checked the Windom’s centre support pole that I put up a couple of years back and glad to say that alls well, still need to change the coax for it but not now, its to cold. I recall a couple of years ago I had a solid wooden pole supporting the centre of the Windom and no guy wires at all, one Christmas morning I found that it had bro‐
ken at the base and was on top of the next door neighbours garage. It took a couple of hours to get it down and strap it back into place which impressed Anne!! Don’t let it happen to you, check the guys and sup‐
ports for your antennas before its to late. Page 4 Thanks to all the people that wished me well with the new job, its going well. Its not what I expected mind, I am a ICT support technician at a local school but I seem to spend a lot of time teaching ICT in the class‐
room. Its not just me, other support staff seem to be more involved in teaching than I would have thought but I enjoy it so I'm not complain‐
ing. In fact I think that I may be changing my position at the school again soon but I will let you know more when I do. Anyway, have a good Christmas, enjoy yourselves and I will look for‐
ward to speaking to you again in the new year. 73 Paul M0BMN Donington Radio Rally 2008 Like the last few years we attended the Donington Radio Rally at Leices‐
ter and we had a table there for the 2 days of the show. Unlike previous years there were no major race events taking place and so the venue was nice and quiet compared to what we normally get and we able to hear what people where saying to us. Over the 2 days we had around 50‐60 members visit us and a good number of new and old members join who were glad to see that FISTS is alive and well. A number of members said that they would put together articles for Keynote but I’m still waiting (Hint hint Mary!) so if you came over and told me you would send me a story for keynote get to work and I will put it into the next edition. The show is always the main one for us, and again like previous years it was a great success, Over the two days the stand was manned by John M0CDL, Rob M0BPT and myself Paul M0BMN. We all had a great time and enjoyed talking to all the members that turned up to say hello. Our stand was by far the busiest club stand at the show and this was com‐
mented on by many of the other clubs that attended. Page 5 Here is Mary. A very active member and one that visits the stand every year. Here is John and Stan (Plus Dog) M0BDD , Stan runs a stand for RAFARS and has always had a FISTS sign in book there too. Stan has done this for many years and as been a great supporter of FISTS. Page 6 Here is John just after signing up the last new members of the show their details will be posted on Johns Membership details page. One thing that was nice to see happen mid afternoon on Saturday, a young lad walked by the stand and had a long look at my K3 on display there, he couldn't resist it and had to have a little play, now I work in a school and the thought of most of the youngest there getting their hands on my K3 would be more than I could stand but this lad was a credit to his upbringing. He was polite and could express himself ver‐
bally which makes a pleasant change, he told me that the K3 was his dream rig and that he has been badgering his family for one for months, neither of his parents are “hams” and he already has his 2E0 callsign. His CW wasn't bad either which was nice to see in a young lad. After a chat he went on his way. About 15 mins later he was back with his mother to show her what a K3 was, I don't think she was so excited by it as he was but she at least bought him to the rally and was happy to let him explore. So Timothy, if your reading this we have given you free membership to help encourage you to use the key and it would be a please to work you on the bands. Page 7 You may think you know I’m sure We all enjoy our Amateur Radio hobby For all different types of reasons, But did you realize that Over the years we have seen many well know people involved in the world of the Radio Amateur, Such People as the king of Jordan King Hussein JY1, SK, the king of Spain Juan Carlos EA0JC, and also the King of Thailand Bhu‐
miphol Adulayadej HS1A Check your log books, who knows you may have worked them ? But there have been many famous people involved as radio Amateurs from the well know Cosmonauts such as Yuri Gagarin UA1LO SK the first man in space, the prime minister of India Rajiv Ghandi VU2RG SK, to actors, singers, and TV personalities, Are you aware that Actor Marlin Brando holds the calls FO5GJ and KE6PZH And that singer Sir Cliff Richard Harry Webb is said to hold the call W2JOF The list is endless, even TV personality Chris Tarrant of who wants to be a millionaire is G0KRH, Looking through some of my old radio books and magazines I came across a interesting story about the late Johnny Cash the Country style of singer, Some of my books and the internet makes reference to an interview with him on the 91.9 MHZ, the interview on the 3‐meter band radio station WUMB, Boston Radio of the USA, During the interview Johnny Cash was asked? how he started his Ca‐
reer, from this a very interesting story was to unfold. Page 8 Cash was born on a small cotton farm in North East Arkansas, his family were said to be very poor, so he and his family worked most of the day in the fields together, During the interview Johnny was heard to say after a hard day in the fields the only enjoyment was for them all to listen to the family radio, Its said that one of Johnny’s favourites, was the singer Gene Autry, I seem to remember him for he had a great singing voice, But then also did Johnny Cash, But unlike Gene Autry, Johnny did not have a guitar, due his family be‐
ing poor, and so they could not afford to buy one for Johnny, And it is said that his ambition! in life was to sing on the radio He enlisted into the USA air force in the 1950’s, during his service apti‐
tude tests were to show that he had a great capability for the Morse code,, I am sure that Johnny would say that this was possibly due to his musical mind/ ability, As time progressed He went on to be posted to many of the usual air force places, and proudly graduating first in his CW Class, Because of this and his ability, the Air Force were to select him for a high speed intercept operator, he did so well that he became one of the top also in this class. Impressed with his ability they sent him to learn the Russian language and the Russian code, Graduating first in his class, he was then posted to Germany, after a few years he was promoted and became chief of the station, this was to please him, as he finally had enough money to buy that guitar he so very badly wanted, Its wonderful to learn that Johnny Cash had this Morse Code ability, the rest is history Page 9 But what of the radio Amateurs that are not so well know? Some famous in their own right , lets take G2NO Reg Adams as an ex‐
ample Reg Adams had and ran a shop in Old Mill street Wolverhampton West Midlands, The shop was called Eves radio limited, I suspect that he chose Eves as the Shop name, so it could be known as Adams & Eves In the autumn of 1936 this shop was said to be a regular meeting place for many of the local Radio Amateurs In that very same year Reg Adams was to join forces with Theodore Rosevelt McElroy, yes the world speed Champion who held the Radio licence W1JYN he said it should have been GIN as that was his favourite tipple Yes, this was the very same McElroy that held the world speed record for receiving Morse at 77 WPM Working together Adams and McElroy would assure a fast efficient de‐
livery of almost every American Radio product . Plus keys & bugs into England, In 1937 an advertisement in the British magazine: “Short Wave:” It shows a cannon with McElroy shooting many American radio products to Eves in England. I am sure that some of are more senior radio Amateur’s may in fact re‐
member this Amateur Radio equipment shop? The business was a great success for Adams, due to not only to the sale of such radios as Hallicrafters & Collins, but the Famous McElroy bugs obtainable in England and only from Eves, This association with McElroy was the beginning of a long relationship during which Adams would come to consider McElroy one of his closest friends. Page 10 Reg Adams married his wife Hazel in 1942, she would say of Reg and Ted McElroy that they were as different as chalk and cheese. Reg was a real gentlemen, slim and unassuming But Ted was Loud, a lar‐
ger than life Character in everyway, in fact Reg was known to have said when they made McElroy they throw the mold away. So through Eve’s radio shop Adams opened up a lucrative market for American radio equipment, He was determined to give the British radio amateur every assistance to acquire not only Collins And the Hallicrafters. But the well known hammarlund line of equipment. Things were to go well for Reg and very soon he was to join up with the owners of Webb’s Radio of London EJ Pickard G6VA and HW Stewart G2CY, this move of some 125 miles to London for Reg was to make Webb’s radio the leading radio suppliers of great Britain. But this is not the story of Reg Adams that I would like to draw your attention to, This young radio amateur was to leave Webb’s of London and make his own wartime contribution. In 1942 due to his radio expertise he was requested by Britain’s war‐
time sabotage organization the special operations executive to join them, The SOE secretly trained and equipped these specially selected agents it was of course the kind of top‐secret operations that could not be discussed freely Once trained they would be placed in Enemy territory to stimulate the Resistance, McElroy believes that his very good friend Reg Ad‐
ams was parachuted into Poland many times, Adams work was not only very important but extremely dangerous as well, even his wife Hazel was unaware of his missions, but also believes that Reg was dropped by parachute on at least two occa‐
sions into Poland Page 11 It is said that due to much of the type of work that Adams was to undertake his exploits evolved into legend, Communication equipment was installed by SIS in Rosendale Road West Dulwich, It was operated under cover of a radio shop run by British agent named Reg Adams, this shop was later bombed out by large sticks of high explosives, possibly by a German agent Reg Adams Was Parachuted into Poland many times, its said that he transmitted intelligence Via McElroy high speed apparatus keys & Bugs, and was decorated by the polish Government in Exile. The facts and the legends made Adams one of Britain’s greatest war time hero’s in the eyes of the world speed Morse Champion Ted McElroy. So next time you get on the key, or radio you might think you know who your talking to, But Do you Really ? By Ray Bullock G0EML, Fists 3774 Thanks Ray, always a interesting read from you. Lets have some more! Paul A Quick Note From Anne (Club Sales) I often get cheques in the post for keyrings, QSL Cards etc , which is fine but please remember to tell me what the payment is for! A few times of late i have received a cheque with no note telling me what it is payment for . (Maybe its just money for my next K3 fund Hi ..Paul) Page 12 A Book Review by Lionel G5LP Micro‐DXpeditioning” by Roger Western, G3SXW Roger is well‐known for his exploits, travelling with radio to exotic spots all over the globe, and is an established author. Now, at the low point on the sunspot cycle and much reduced propagation, he has developed a whole new method of having fun on DXpeditions: quickie day‐trips or overnight stays in unusual spots around Europe. This book recounts tales of his travels to over twenty countries dur‐
ing the past couple of years: “Day‐trip to Poland? Lunch in Andorra? QRV Sardinia for two hours?”. As he explains, the advent of low‐cost airlines has opened up these opportunities. It is clear from his narrative that he and pals have enormous fun on these trips and they usually manage to get on the air for a short while too. Every trip is unique and all of them offer fascination with seeing new places and meeting new friends The book starts with helpful tips on how to uncover really great travel deals and how to pack an HF station + antenna into a 10kg carry‐on bag. It also tunes us into the new game of ‘DXFC’ (as in Feet, stepped foot in DXCC entities). It goes on to describe eighteen quickie trips which give much insight into some unusual corners of Europe: for example Vatican, San Marino, Ceuta, Malta, Madeira. It finishes with a wide array of Travel Tips, to help make such journeys all the more successful. Included is a list of DXCC entities which are covered by CEPT and an index of call‐signs makes cross‐referencing easy. This entertaining 104‐page book contains many visuals to support the text and is self‐published by Roger. Cost: £10, $20, €13. I cer‐
tainly recommend it as a great read AND as a useful information re‐
source. More information from: [email protected] Thanks Lionel..Paul Page 13 A Letter from Derek, G0PPI. (about Autumn Keynote)
I've just finished reading through the Keynote that fell through my letter box this week. First of all I'd like to say what a great job you and the crew do and thanks for doing it. I would also like to make a couple of comments. In Keynote on page 9 line 16 a comment is made of making a Balun out of a few meters of coax. I believe I would not be splitting hairs if I said that this is not a Balun but a choke. I raise this point because down here in Dover I have heard quite a lot of amateurs, new and old, on local repeaters making in‐
credible claims about Baluns. It's obvious they don't know what one is or how they work. I would have been happier seeing the article refer to the coiled up coax as a choke simply to help newcomers tell the difference between a Balun (usually made with a toroidal core but not always) which allows an Unbalanced line (coax) to be at‐
tached to a Balanced line (Ladder line) thus permitting a transforma‐
tion from 50 ohms up to several hundred ohms. A choke is a means of inhibiting the unwanted reflected RF from radiating on the coax. The second point that I would like to make is in response to David (VK3DBD/G3SCD) article about planning problems. It may help some amateurs who can't put aerials up in the air. For many years I have worked different bands with a wire only 6 feet above the ground. I make no claim of DX potential but I have worked all of Europe on 80 meters with good signal reports and I have worked 9K2HN (Kuwait) on 30 meters. I run about 5 meters of coax out to the garden fence. I have about 30 radials in the ground and a long wire running along the top of the fence. This is a very good NVIS aerial on 80 meters which is my favourite band. I would recom‐
mend this for anyone who can't have a dipole hanging from the chimney or a mast. I have cut the wire short enough so that my rig will run straight into it without an ATU. Yes I cut it back until the SWR came down to it's lowest point in the CW section of 80 me‐
ters. I use an ATU to match it on other bands. Top band is possible by adding more wire. Page 14 You may ask why I do this. Well it's because I can't put wire up in the air and this is a lot better than being QRT. Regards Derek, G0PPI # 1639, UFT 772 From The Membership Sec’ Season’s Greetings, I’m sorry if you missed me at the Leicester rally, Paul and I had two very busy days! So if you came over to the Fists stand and we didn’t spend much time with you please forgive us! The test your Morse computer was not the same one Paul nor‐
mally uses and it would not “hear” the oscillator, so a quick walk around the rally produced a small P.C. microphone, it worked, but not as good as we’d hoped. We had many enquires about mem‐
bership and we had over twenty new members join over the two days, We also had a few old members rejoin which is great! One was Dennis Simms G4FQZ, Dennis can’t remember his old mem‐
bership number so I’ve issued 14040 temporally, this is where I need your help, as you know your membership number is issued to you for life, and can I ask a favour? Would you look in your old Log Books to see if you have worked Dennis in the past, and made a note of his member’s number, and let me know what it is so I can reissue it to Dennis please, thanks in anticipation, Please don’t forget the new renewal day is the 1st of April 2009, I have been in talks with the bank to see if we can alter their Direct Debit form to fit in to the Keynote, and it seems they will only accept their form as is! It may be best to set up your own Direct Debit and Standing Orders from your Bank. Page 15 If you decide to go down this route please make out your form to FISTS please include your Call Sign and Membership number Very Im‐
portant! Our Bank information is Lloyds TSB, Sort Code 30‐14‐51 the account number 00948847 if you Bank on line you can set up a Direct Debit or Standing Order from your account easily, On to the New Members, A cordial welcome to all the new members, 14033 LA2NJA Jon 14035 M0EGL Conor 14037 E73XL Daki 14039 DL5KK Klem 14041 G3FYQ/G1FYQ Pontefract ars 14043 ZS6BQS Pierre 14045 PA.SWL7 Mr. Christiani 14047 G4OYC John 14049 M6ROB Rob 14051 G3YUX Roy 14053 G0CLP Chris 14055 G3PQB Sid 14057 M0ZKA Francis 14059 G4FCI Andy 14061 M0AWX Gerry 14063 G3XPU Clive 14065 G3VCQ Colin 14067 ????? Andrew 14069 G3ITL Ernest 14071 IK4HAQ Mario 14073 G4LMX Steve
Page 16 14034 G4FWG Malcolm 14036 M0NDE Nigel 14038 G4GEA John 14040 G4FQZ Dennis 14042 G0FEA Keith 14044 G0RTQ David 14046 G4PNF Peter 14048 G4VDH Bill 14050 G0MLY Chris 14052 G0FJS Pete 14054 M0GIE Phil 14056 G8NYD Michael 14058 G3MGQ Don 14060 G3SET David 14062 G0OTT Darren 14064 M1LCL Alfons 14066 M3VCQ Sharon 14068 GW4OKT Keith 14070 G4XKD Ken 14072 GM4EFR Jim 14074 UA1ASB Leo So, as you can see a lot of new members! I have had no notifications of any Silent Key at this Time; No doubt you have been reading the ongoing saga about the mast in the Garden Fence articles, I have to admit it was me; it’s one of those things that you know you are go‐
ing to remember for the rest of your life! It certainly was a sight to see when it was finally up! It stood resplendent at about 45 feet high then on top was a dual band 2m/70cms aerial bringing the total height to about 50 feet, just below the VHF aerial was a large shelf bracket with a small pulley to winch up the centre of a Radio Works Carolina Win‐
dom, this was the 160s, total length 133 feet, the one end was at‐
tached to the house the other end was attached to a smaller mast at the bottom of my garden, the main mast had brilliant white guy ropes the ends of which were attached to small brackets fixed on to my con‐
crete fence posts, one comment that sticks in the mind was “it only needs some sails and a flag” what fun! The cost of tea £1.50, Sand‐
wiches £3. The look of horror on the XYL’s face when she came home from work? Priceless! Needless to say it didn’t stay up to long! I don’t think I heard the last of this adventure for about five years! Today my aerial farming days are over, these days I have a long wire from the house to the smaller mast at the bottom of the garden, the far end is fed to a SGC Matching unit. This unit is in a shed and a coaxial cable feeds from this shed to my shack, Total length of wire is 150 foot, in a inverted L, I’ll close now ,but I’ll take the opportunity to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year, Vy 73/88, John M0CDL, Memb’Sec’. P.S Please don’t forget your vote for the Fist of the year award! Page 17 For those within FISTs who enjoy a challenge. Welcome to the final round up of what’s been happening on the FISTS activity scene. The final results of the Activity ladder and WARC Challenge will not be pub‐
lished until January 2009. But I can still bring you up to date with the current stand‐
ings. Let us start with the round up of one of the favourites in the FISTS Activity calen‐
dar, namely Straight Key Week. ***************** SKW 2008 can be hailed as a success story for 2008! Since taking over the office of Activity coordinator; this year has been the best so far for log entries, and, by far the amount of members who came on and supported the event was well in excess of my expectations. The amount of non‐members too who have appeared in many logs is very heartwarming. SKW this year has conjured up a lot of interest amongst non‐members and members alike! Long may it continue! *************** Before we get on with the all important results table. Let’s look at reports and comments from participants, who by all accounts en‐
joyed their SKW 2008 Activity! Peter.G3JFS from Plymouth, who kindly made operational FISTS Club Station GXØIPX. Number 0001. Fred. G3VVP also in Plymouth, made operational another FISTS Club Station MX5IPX. Number 7778. These calls were worth 5 points. Also you may have heard me with GX3ZQS FISTS 0002. Special thanks to Fred and Peter for their kind offer of manning the calls for the week. *************** From Peter. G3JFS SKW 2008 Report. For the SKW this year I operated as GX0IPX to give members the
chance to work #0001 and to give the club some publicity. These Page 18 objectives were achieved, I think, as after a busy week of brasspound‐
ing, the log had a total of 222 contacts with stations in 39 different countries and 6 Continents. 143 of these were with 69 different mem‐
bers in 10 countries – VK3, VE1, G, OH, PA, I1, GI, GM, W, and GW. As was to be expected 80m was the best band for member contacts and the log shows a fair spread in old and new Fists numbers. It was a little sad to hear of stations that did listen but were afraid to transmit because they didn't think their Morse was good enough. Can I suggest that anyone in this situation should try to find a local station – ideally one you can talk to on say 2m – to help them build up confidence. Congratulations are due to the novice operators who did pluck up courage to make contacts, sometimes in very bad conditions. Conditions have not improved and the higher bands were often dead. 80 m suffered a lot with noise/qrm from a wide band digital signal cen‐
tred on 3556.5 which made it difficult to work below 3558. Static was another problem in the evenings and especially so on Wednesday when I was receiving with 12‐18dB of rx input attenuation and still get‐
ting S9+ static crashes. I put out lots of CQ calls on the other bands but got very few answers from anyone, member or non‐member, except Erkki, OH7QR who seemed to be 'camped out' on 14058 waiting to pounce on any mem‐
bers who appeared on frequency. He got the highest number of points from me ‐ closely followed by Peter, G4LHI. Transatlantic propagation was really poor and although I did work a few members in the US and Canada the contacts were very difficult. Having given up hope of work‐
ing a down‐under member I was pleased to find David VK3FGE at 0719z on 7 MHz on Day7 – in fact I worked him twice as he called me 30 minutes later for some info. Like the last time I operated as GX0IPX I had many complimentary re‐
marks such as: 'I am so pleased to work your club station' 'It is great to hear #0001 active again' 'I respect your organization for supporting Morse' 'Thanks for your patience with my slow Morse' Page 19 'I must find a straight key for next year' 'I have enjoyed all the activity' I think a lot of people enjoyed the week. 73 Peter G3JFS #8985 **************** Many thanks to Peter for his concise report and excellent effort in SKW. Both for activating FISTS 0001 and his excellent work rate. ************ Our next report from an entrant who needs no introduction Peter. G4LHI. Hello Robert, I attach my claim & report on a very interesting and extremely active SK Week, it was so nice to find so many members active, new members, I worked five, and old members, that I had not worked for a considerable time. I just have one comment regarding the rules, if I was fortunate enough to have a “pileup” I obeyed the rule and passed over the baton on my fifth QSO to the other station. I was sorry to say this rule was not always com‐
plied with by some stations. Apart from that it was a very enjoyable week. I must take this opportunity to thank the “National Club Stations” for their extremely good effort, especially Peter, GX0IPX who I managed to work on each day. Rob, GX3ZQS, twice and unfortunately Fred, MX5IPX, just the once, but I’m sure they were all active but I was not about at the right time? Thanks a lot guys I managed 143 QSO’s for a total of 301 points. Of these four were NA, in‐
cluding Stan, K4UK. My EU stations were Erkki, OH7QR, Piet, PA3AFF, and Jan, OK1NR. Very pleased to find Eric, G3VRU, on the band, but unfortunately was only able to work him once, but guess the one and a quarter hour chat should qualify for more than two points hi!. Sorry I missed you the rest of the week Eric. I must say a big thank you to all who took part in the SK Week this year,
both members and non members, I got 15 one pointers, and who Page 20 knows perhaps some of these may be joining us as members next time?. So many thanks to all for a very enjoyable week. I did advertise the Ladder on Sunday during the week, but not many takers, guess the SK Week tired you all out hi!, don’t forget also the WARC Band Challenge is an ongoing event all year! That’s all folks, so keep bashing the brass and see you all in the next event. 73/88 de Peter G4LHI # 2219 *************** An excellent report and summary Peter. It was an active SKW! *************** And from Mike. G4NCU. Hi Rob, Once again, the SKW has come and gone, but what fun. It was great to see so many members active this year, quite a few new members and, indeed, some members of long standing in the club that I had not worked before; so it seems the SKW was a great success and long may it continue. I was very pleased to catch you a couple of times with the HQ station. The SKW gives me a chance to brush up old skills on a straight key which is hard work but, somehow, more rewarding than using my paddles at 30 wpm. Hi Hi. Regards, 73 Mike G4NCU. ************* A real pleasure to hook up with you Mike. Conditions were, shall we say marginal, at times but very good to meet up with members who I'd not met with before, and of course renew old acquaintances that I’d not worked for some time. ************* From Piet. PA3AFF Hello Robert, Here is my log for straight key week 2008. My intention was to make each
day at least one QSO with another Fists member. At the end of the week I
reached a total of 35 QSO's. My intention came true! Page 21 Thanks for all the good activity from Fists club stations. Sorry, I missed GX3ZQS on Sunday evening. From Wednesday onwards I had continuous terrible QRM on 80m, very broadband signals from 3552 up to 3558 kHz. That was the reason I had to give a 489 report to the very active station G4LHI. My score in SKW 2008: 75 points. Some statistics from my side: ‐ Average QSO duration was 9 min (max. 16 minutes. Min. 3 minutes) ‐ 80% of my QSO's were with an UK station ‐ 80% of my QSO's were with Fists members ‐ 23% of my given reports were 599 ‐ 31% of my rcvd reports were 599 One can conclude that the type of exchange during SKW is far away from the traditional 5NN contest reports! ‐ On 80m all my SKW QSO's were in the range from 3554‐3561, with a very sharp peak around 3558. On Sunday evening 2138Z GX3ZQS and GX0IPX were both in QSO and their frequencies were within 1 kHz apart. Maybe in future a range from 3550 till 3560 can be specified to avoid everyone to select 3558 as working frequency. ‐ 91% of my QSO's I made were on 80m. Guess the skip from PA to UK is difficult on other bands. I'm interested to get a general overview of the activity on the specific bands used. Maybe also for inter‐UK contacts 80m is the favourite band. I enjoyed the SKW. I’m looking forward to the next event. My station: TS130V running 15W into Zepp ant, 6m up. Hand Key: J47, WW2 US Army. 73 de PA3AFF. Fists #445. ************** The statistics from Piet are very interesting. He asks for a general over‐
view of the activity on specific bands used during SKW.... Over to the par‐
ticipants. Perhaps you'll send a statistical overview on bands used during SKW? Which I'll publish in a forthcoming Brasspounder for people to pe‐
ruse! I can be reached via the usual channels. *************** Page 22 Fred. G3VVP. Operating MX5IPX during SKW. Sent this wonderful article for inclusion. An event like SKW can mean different things to different people. To the more competitive members it could mean a challenge to be met and con‐
quered, preferably by winning. To the non‐competitive it could mean a chance to renew old friendships over the air or maybe make a few new ones. To the nervous or inexperienced it might be an opportunity to build confidence by having short QSO's to a known format and not getting lost in long rag‐chews. This is a tale of what it meant to me. On the evening of Day 4, Wednesday 10th, a very strong noise appeared across the Fists working area on 80 metres blocking out almost all signals. Deprived of my CW fix, the next day I went on air in the morning. Unusu‐
ally I choose to try 40 metres, hook in the analyzer, tweak the balanced atu for R=50, X=0 and SWR 1.0 on the read out and fire up the rig. 50 watts of unmodulated RF zip up the extra wide ladder line and fly off the doublet, not a single watt measured coming back down. Despite the then thread on the Reflector about non‐specific CQ's I call CQ Fists SKW de MX5IPX. On the second call a reply from GM3SWK somewhere in Scot‐
land. I send a greeting, thanks for the call, the recommended exchange and pass it back to him. His reply puts my S meter bar graph way up into the red above S9 and the AGC clamps the Rx gain down so hard there is no noise, even between words. After the conditions we have experienced recently this is a contact to dream about. From the beginning it is obvious that he is not part of SKW so I sit back in my chair and listen to Alex in Por‐
tree on the ISLE of SKYE chatting away about his time working at the RN Hospital in Plymouth. Unfortunately, after two lengthy over’s each, his station Manageress requires his services so we have to cut it short and sign off. Flushed with the success of this QSO another CQ Fists SKW was launched netting an instant reply from PA0FAW in the Netherlands. His S7 signal was only about half an S point up on the noise but perfectly readable so once again I pass it across and relax into my chair. About halfway through his over it dawns why his call is familiar, he often Page 23 posts to Fists Reflector. Panic, I need details for the log and he is well into the exchange, what has he sent so far? Grabbing my pen I scribble 5nn 5nn Fred Fred Arnie, (just about caught up now,) Arn, edge of the page drop down a line, hem 9858 9858 day 5 SKW. Great, got it! Now I can relax and reply, "R R tnx arnie qsl all info‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐etc. Just as he replies again I look down at the pad in case more notes are needed. A loud CLANG as the proverbial penny drops, Arnie is not his name, it's a misread of his QTH Arnhem, and he did not personalize my report, his name is Fred just like mine. My next over contains a rather red‐faced apology then we sign. So, what did SKW mean to me? How about SOME KIND of WALLY!!! So 'be of good heart ye Newbies' even seasoned Old‐timers (or should that be Alzheimer's) can mess up on air with half the world listening. What a great hobby!!!! 73 all, cusn, keep pounding, Fred G3VVP (aka MX5IPX at the time) ************* An excellent article Fred, again, prompting comments from me. ************** From John. G0RDO. Hello Rob. Enclosed my entry for SKW 2008. First time I've put in an entry for SKW and it was good fun! I found it most interesting to find out what keys were being used by others in the event... 73. John. G0RDO. *************** Hello John. Glad you found time to join the fun. I always notice that people dig out their trusty vintage/ex military keys for the event. G3JFS with his 1947 Raymart speed key and G4NCU who uses (I be‐
lieve a ex military WW2 Tank key) *************** From Derek. M0DRK. Page 24 make it with GX3ZQS but thanks for trying. Condx were very bad much of the time. 73. Derek. Such a shame you couldn't make it! I'd managed to receive your ex‐
change of information when you disappeared into oblivion. Let’s hope next time, we'll be more successful. As a matter of interest; IK2RMZ heard me in QSO with Erkki. OH7QR. Sadly the station manager called him for lunch and the opportunity was missed! (Hi) ************ And from Stan K4UK Rob: Attached is my log for the Straight Key Week. Used the same home‐
made key that Hector, NP4FW sent me last year. It is the one he built using a hinge. I think I had sent you a picture of it. Keep pounding the brass. 73, Stan ‐ K4UK As ever Stan, Pleasure to have you participate. If anyone has not seen the home‐made key that Stan uses, made by Hector. NP4FW out of a gate‐hinge. Here it is. From Ray. G4MSN. Robert Please find attached my first ever log for the SKW. All QSO's were on 80m using my TS530SP running 5W QRP or 40‐50W QRO to an end‐fed. Page 25 It was good to hear so much activity and be able to work so many mem‐
bers. 73. Ray G4MSN Leeds Pleasure to have you on board Ray. Always good to hear that members are enjoying the activity, and more importantly, meeting members on air! ************* From Errki. OH7QR. The SKW was very pleasant experience. It was great to hear so much activity on the bands. I was lucky to catch eight new Fists numbers. I also met some old friends I hadn't heard for a long time. 14 MHz was the best QRG in my QTH. I managed some QSO's on 7 and 3.5 MHz too. The QRM station on 80M is also quite strong here. (S8 to S9). Thanks to you for your great work with our logs. 73. Erkki. OH7QR Thanks for your kind words Erkki. Nice to hear that you've found it to be a pleasant experience! ************** And from Tony. G3ZRJ. Hi Robert Please find attached my entry for SKW 2008, I regret that I was unable to devote as much time to SKW as I did last year. I was pleased to give out some points. Vy 73 Tony G3ZRJ FISTS 7727 Glad you could find time to get on Tony, nice to meet you with GX3ZQS. *********** From Jimmy, G3HBN. Who comments; Here is my contribution to SKW 08. I’d forgotten what fun it was! All contacts above were made using either a J37 WWII key or a COLLINS Brass Hand key of ancient production. It was very good to hear so much activity on 80 but I felt it was a shame the other Bands weren’t in much of a useable condition for inter G working. This is the first log I have submitted for some time because of moving house. Page 26 Jimmy Bolton G3HBN 1199 Pleased to have you back on board Jimmy. Condx were "Marginal" but we look forward to an improvement in due course.... ************ I've heard from Bryan. GØGSY. Who tells me that he enjoyed SKW. Bryan works unusual shift patterns and I'm in great admiration of him when I find out he loses sleep to come on air and enter into the activity! He comments "I enjoyed working the members, quite a good turn out this year! Condx a bit poor. On the last day, not much activity on HF" ************ And Jack. G3HEL Fists 1663 in Plympton. Who I managed to work twice with GX3ZQS. Wrote to say; "I must comment on the conditions on 80m. What with QSB and QRN of which I have an endemic level 8/9db. QRN that is, it was pretty grim. (5 TV's next door, all switch mode) But I can't complain though! They let me put one leg of my dipole on their washing line pole! Hi!" ************ That concludes the reports of the activity for SKW 2008. All that's left for me to do is show the results table for this year............ Before I do. I'll pick up on a few points raised and comments; SKW 2008 has been a great success! With 22 logs received, and so many members appearing in logs! Thanks must go to the hard work and effort of Fred. G3VVP (MX5IPX) Peter. G3JFS (GXØIPX) who both found time to publicise the event through their channels. As you may have heard, the activity was mentioned in Radcom, and I believe on the GB2RS News bulletin. (This would account for the significant amount of NM's in en‐
trant logs.... A member emailed to comment on the amount of activity during the week... His comments "What is it about SKW that gets people on the air?" how does one answer that. But I think Mike. G4NCU sums it up in his comments with his report... "The SKW gives me a chance to brush up old skills on a straight key which is hard work but, somehow, more re‐
warding than using my paddles at 30 wpm" Page 27 Looking back at the writings of members in their reports. Jimmy. G3HBN "I'd forgotten what fun it was" Erkki. OH7QR "SKW was a pleas‐
ant experience. It was great to hear so much activity on the bands!" Ray. G4MSN echoes Erkki's words... John. G0RDO "First time I've put in an entry for SKW and it was good fun! I found it most interesting to find out what keys were being used by others in the event..." The comments from Peter. G3JFS (GX0IPX) especially the one that said "I must get me a straight key for next year" One downside for me? The words of Peter G3JFS, who heard that sta‐
tions listened in on the activity, but were too bashful to become active because of concerns with their CW Speed and ability! To them I say "That is the whole ethos of our society! To welcome all to the ranks of CW whether they are complete novice/many years of experience, or seasoned professionals" Activities like SKW and the FISTS/EUCW QRS Party are here to allay your fears and join the novice/experienced‐
seasoned professionals on air! Without any concern that you're out of your league" Next year I hope you'll come on and join us! And an upside! Peter reports that congratulations are in order for the novice operators who did come alive to make contacts in sometimes bad conditions! Indeed they are! Congratulations for taking the plunge! ************* This leads me on to G3VVP’s excellent article. Fred says it all, "Newbie’s" have nothing to worry about, we all make mistakes and bog ups! I'm sure that every member of our society, many with over half a century of experience would admit to making many foul ups on air! No‐
one will think any less of you! Wry smiles from your QSO partner as he listens to you compose yourself and carry on. We've all been there. G3JFS makes a very valid point about finding a friend from your local club who will go on 2m with you to gain confidence. Our motto as a so‐
ciety reads; "Accuracy transcends speed, courtesy at all times" I hope that many of us will never lose sight of this motto when we're on air! So, don't be bashful, come on air and join in, ok, you'll be a little con‐
cerned, but the person at the other end will know you're Page28 feeling that way and do his utmost to put you at ease! The thing to re‐
member is, "We all had to learn and start somewhere" ************ SKW I hope, heralds a turning point where we as a society can put CW "En Vogue" yet again to the amateur community after the requirement has ceased to be needed by the majority of administrations.... I'm sure that you'll all mark the dates for SKW 2009 in your diaries. And bear in mind the other activities we provide during the year to promote our cho‐
sen mode of operation. As a matter of interest. I received a log from a non‐member, OK1ARO. Mila in Prague. Who enjoyed the week’s activity. Let’s hope next year he'll be with us sporting his own FISTS number! All that's left for me to do is publish the results! Thanks to all who sup‐
ported the event. There wouldn't be a "Straight Key Week" without you! ************* 1*
GX0IPX(G3JFS)
373
12
G8XGQ
71
2*
G4LHI
301
13
K4UK
59
3*
G4NCU
207
14
G4MSN
57
4
G3HEL
147
15
MX5IPX (G3VVP)
57
5
G0GSY
139
16
G3ZRJ
54
6
OH7QR
128
17
G3HBN
53
7
G3HAL
110
18
G0MRH
50
8
M0DRK
109
19
G4LMW
48
9
IK2RMZ
106
20
GX3ZQS (M0BPT)
44
10
PA3AFF
75
21
2E0TEK
28
11
G0RDO
74
22**
OK1ARO
28
*
Indicates
**
Indicates
Award
Winner
Non
Member
Page 29 Another year. Another SKW comes to a close; I hope that you'll all join us next year in what I hope is becoming a date to remember in your activities planned for 2009 and beyond! The ladder and WARC Band activities have been going along nicely. Erkki. OH7QR and Bob G6GUN have been activating various grids over the months. Erkki sent me a reference map with grids already acti‐
vated by him during to 2008 to date; Page 30 I was visiting my cousin near Oulu and couldn't come on the band. Besides, there was much QRM caused by RTTY‐Contesters. Why do they violate the IARU HF Band Plan? We should protest against this behaviour. On the Warc Band Challenge I had better luck. I was happy to meet Stan / K4UK on 18MHz. We both got a new square. (FM07 / KP42). On 28th I activated KP23 on my trip to Oulu and was able to give a multiplier to Peter, Martin and Bob. Total number of by me activated locators (this year) is now thirteen. The winter is approaching and I think that this was my last mobile activity. But there are still many locators left. Who knows . . . I attach also an im‐
age of the map of Finland where I have marked the squares I have activated this year. ************ You may have noticed that Erkki mentions the band abuse by other amateurs… Martin IK2RMZ felt strongly enough to compose a corre‐
spondence to the organisers… Read on; *********** To whom it may concern, Once more, the CQWW RTTY contest yielded massive sub band abuse. The IARU band plans are gentlemen's agreements which should not be sacrificed for a few points more in a contest. You de‐
mand fair play or "sportsmanlike" behavior from the participants and you name small sins like arranged spotting in the rules. How‐
ever, you don't mention IARU band plans at all. Could you please consider an update of your rules? Please name acceptable frequencies in the rules and impose sanctions on un‐
sportsmanlike behavior. The overwhelming majority of all hams con‐
sider sub band abuse as unsportsmanlike. 73 de IK2RMZ. Martin, Varese, Italy. Page 31 Martin had written to me with his ladder log and went on to say; I had been on the air in order to chase Finnish counties because OH7QR was on tour again. It was really annoying that RTTY contest stations came down even below 14050. It had discouraged him enough to not try the ladder! It is so annoy‐
ing when the band plans are ignored! Sadly, the organisers seem to hide behind the statement that they are a "Gentleman’s agree‐
ment" And therefore do not enforce sanctions on participants, such as removing their entry and naming and shaming the individ‐
ual(s) concerned.... This difference of opinion has been rumbling on for years! *************** I've heard from Colin Turner; G3VVT. President of FOC with news of an interesting event planned for 2009. I hope you'll make a note of this in your diary. Invitation to CW and QRP Clubs I am writing to all fellow CW operators whether QRP or QRO to in‐
form them of a Straight key or Bug Key Activity Day they may be interested in joining. FOC has recently decided to have a change in its ethos and be more outward looking and engage more with fellow CW operators. To that end the club has decided on the following event early in January 2009. Quoting from our regular Newsheet publication ‘After talking to a few members at the FOC Birdlip Annual Dinner about the ‘Camelback’ Begali key offered as a raffle prize and ask‐
ing if there was any interest in the traditional pump key on the FOC Reflector, I have received numerous positive replies from three Continents regarding a Straight Key Weekend early in 2009. Page 32 The 3rd of January has been suggested as fairly free with no major con‐
tests on the bands and you are duly invited to operate on the 80m, 40, and 30m bands with your straight key, bug key or any other mechanical keying device, (I leave it up to you!). The timing will follow the BWQP event and start at 0000z and finish at 2359z although I suggest the fol‐
lowing preferred operating times 0700z – 0900z, 1100z –1300z, 1400z ‐
1700z, and 2000z ‐ 2300z to cater for DX contacts. Please send your logs by email or post to me before the start of the Marathon and I will Endeavour to insert your comments in Focus along with the picture of the key you were using if you have one. Please tell me of the best fist heard for both bug and pump key. To promote our new ethos of CW club interaction and I am going to in‐
form ‘FISTS’ and ‘GQRP’ of our activities so it might be good idea to get some practice in before then! ‐ G3VTT President FOC 2008/2009’ Please inform your members by whatever means and we look forward to seeing you all on the day. For those who are not aware. More information can be found here http://www.firstclasscw.org.uk/ *********** Also some news from Paul Schreier HB9DST of the Helvetia Telegraphy Club. (HB9HTC) ITU to Dedicate Morse Experiment Site in Switzerland as First Ever Tele‐
communications Heritage Site On Tuesday, 26 September 2008 ‐‐ for the first time in its history ‐‐ the International Telecommunications Union will recognize a site for its in‐
estimable contribution to our telecommunications heritage. This honour will be granted to the township of Salvan, in Valais, Switzer‐
land, close to the town of Martigny and only a few kilometers from the French border and near Mount Blanc. It was here in 1895 where Gug‐
lielmo Marconi carried some of his first experiments in wireless telegra‐
phy, including the first wireless transmissions beyond 1.5 km. The Salvan Marconi Foundation, in association with the ITU, had the great pleasure of inviting the public to a series of lectures and to the of‐
ficial ceremony and reception that marked this worldwide first. Among those in attendance were: Page 33 Yves Fournier, President of the Marconi Foundation Giuseppe Deodata, Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Claude Roch, State Counselor of the Canton of Vaud Princess Elettra Marconi Giovanelli H. Touré, General Secretary ITU Pascal Couchepin, President of the Swiss Confederation Daniel Kägi, HB9IQY, President of USKA (Union of Swiss Shortwave Amateurs) In addition, elected members of the general secretariat of the ITU and representatives of the scientific, cultural and political world will also attend the event. Part of the ceremonies was the dedication of a plaque that the ITU placed on the site to commemorate the first wireless transmissions be‐
yond 1.5 km carried out by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895. Thank you Paul for this fine piece of news. Paul is the Swiss EUCW com‐
munications Manager. More information can be found at the Marconi Foundation (Switzerland). Their web site is at; www.fondation‐marconi.ch The Activity Ladder and WARC Challenge have been progressing, al‐
though conditions have been awkward for members, at times, the only band that yielded interesting contact was 30m. With 17m producing reasonable results, although intermit‐
tently. Regular WARC and Ladder entrant. Mar‐
tin IK2RMZ/DL1GBZ has been busy with his “Italian Castles on the air” activity. If you’d like to arrange a sked with Martin and qualify for a special QSL Card. I’m sure Martin will be pleased to hear from you. Martin can be contacted by email. His AD can be found via www.qrz.com/ik2rmz Page 34 Here’s a selection of band reports from WARC and ladder entrants over the last three months; From Stan. K4UK. Rob: Finally worked Martin, IK2RMZ on 17 Meters on August 31 at 1334 UTC. Most interesting QSO's this month were: One hour QSO with Sam, VE3WH ‐ # 13907 on Aug 4 ‐ 30 Meters. QSO with very new member Oscar, EA1DR ‐ # 14004 on Aug 12 ‐ 30 Meters. QSO with Cody, HK3 / KC2LSD ‐ # 11793 on Aug 14 ‐ 30 Meters. QSO with Fraser, F / G4BJM ‐ # 44 on Aug 19 ‐ 30 Meters. 47 Minute QSO with Adrian, F5VLY ‐ # 9864 on Aug 22 ‐ 30 Meters. 42 Minute QSO with Dave, G4ZPI ‐ # 12516 on Aug 30 ‐ 30 Meters. Those QSO's lasting more than 30 min‐
utes qualify for the FISTS Rag Chewer's Award. In addition to VE3WH, F5VLY and G4ZPI ‐ I had "Rag Chews" with: Dick, K8GTQ ‐ # 12481; Jeff, KC2JDU ‐ # 10119; Ed, W1GUE ‐ # 7927. Jack, KK0I ‐ # 12743; Vic, W9RGB ‐ # 11629; Bill, KC9KOJ ‐ # 13101. Jim, K4AHO ‐ # 13566. And for the first time I worked Peter, G4LHI the maximum of four times this month. It was a most interesting month and I made the most QSO I've ever had in the WARC Band Challenge in any previous month. Maybe the bands are coming back ‐ at least 30 Meters has been GREAT. 73, Stan ‐ K4UK *********** From Peter. G4LHI. Hello Robert, I attach my claim for the August 2008 WARC Band Chal‐
lenge & my report on the months activity. The first week of the month was very poor, apart from seven good old regulars & one Fists Club, K8EY, Hadley, MI, many thanks Tim. No new grids until the 6th. Then the bands gradually opened up a little better & the multies very slowly increased to my total of 21 for the month. I do hope this may be a sign of better conditions over the pond. I was very lucky to find nine new Fists Members, four in new grids. QSL cards are on the way via our Fists Buro, many thanks to Stan in NA & Chuck in the UK. Erkki, OH7QR & Bob, G6GUN, were on their travels again this month & I was very fortunate to get five new grids from them, hope others may have taken advantage of these guys’ kind efforts, many thanks to you both. Page 35 My furthest Grid across the States so far was Gary, W0CGR, DN70, Fort Collins, Colorado, (4108m). Furthest DX, (10448m, already had his Grid, QF33) was David, VK3FGE, missing his mate David VK3DBD, still on holiday in the UK. Many thanks guys. A brief summary of my August WARC log for your BP Robert. 164 QSO’s for 239 points and 21 multies. My 21 multies for August are:‐ K8GTQ, Dick, EN83: EI0CZ, Bren, IO52: WB4MED, John, EL96: K8JPM, Bob, EN90: GM/G6GUN/M, Bob, IO97: (tnx Bob) OH7QR/M, Erkki, KP52: KP53: KP51: and KP41: (tnx Erkki) VA3ZBB, Rod, FN25: SM5JAB, Micke, JO78: KB1NHV, Art, FN34: IN3NJB, Bob, JN56: LZ1AF, Dim, KN12: K2MJ, Karl, FN03: NP3CW, Julio, FK68: VE2PID, Pierre, FN45: K1JD, John, FN41: KB4JR, Bernie, EL97: W0CGR, Gary, DN70: Very many thanks to all the new grid members above & also to all members & non members that have made this month very interest‐
ing & enjoyable once again. *********** Before I get on to the results tables for the past few months. Let me say welcome to new Ladder and WARC Entrant; Graham G3ZOD. Graham works with QRP and an indoor aerial, nevertheless battles on with marginal conditions and still achieves results from his modest station at G3ZOD. Hi Rob. Here’s my first ever WARC Challenge submission. I’m QRP (5 watts) 30m has been great fun. I’ve had no problem working stations around Europe with QRP and an indoor antenna, and the folk on there are very relaxed about inter‐European QSO's. Got a “G3?” out of a USA station, not a QSO but satisfying. On 17m best DX was W9OA so pretty pleased with that too HI Is there anybody on 12m? Actually, there was a single day I heard a few weak CW signals on 12m (and 10m) but otherwise I think I’m go‐
ing to have to wait further into the sunspot cycle to get some QSO's on 12m. Page 36 I’ve also rediscovered pencils: in the middle of a QSO trying to jot some details down and my pen stops working. Grab another one and that one doesn’t work. Grab a third one AND THAT DOESN’T WORK! Grab a pencil and all is well – lesson learned! 73 de Graham (Gra) G3ZOD Fists #8385 Loc IO83WJ Welcome aboard Gra. Pencils.. Yes. I also use them! Much to the amazement of the other family members! I'm considered to be some kind of "Relic" for using such an outdated writing instrument. But, being caught out, much the same as you, in the past; and being able to erase any mistakes because I'm very "Cutting Edge" As I have a rubber eraser atop mine! (Hi). Glad to hear you've been having fun on the WARC's. 12m... It's very marginal, but as you've quite rightly said, further into the cycle should yield some reward, although I have heard some weak EU stations on there intermittently. ************ Graham went on to say about his ladder experiences. ************ I decided to have a go at the Ladder, but I was advised that I needed to go on 80m to have a fighting chance of meeting up with other members. Now, 80m is a tough one using indoor antennas and 5 watts, so ended up trying to string up as much wire as possible around the rooms upstairs (very tolerant XYL!) to have a chance of being heard. Couldn’t get the thing to tune at all and struggled until about 20 minutes after the start 14:00 session. Managed two QSO’s with non‐members but nothing else. Oh well ... it was a start. Now at least the next session would be a bit more relaxed but I couldn’t remember what the time was. Went on your web site and THAT was when I realised the Ladder is on Sundays and it was a SAT‐
URDAY!!! Argh! At least I got on the air promptly for the ladder on the following day HI. I could only manage the first session on the Sunday but had fun and very pleased that my first ever Ladder contact was with Peter G4LHI. *********** Page 37 Here are the long awaited results tables. Firstly the WARC Activity. And then the Ladder. Things are going along nicely. As ever, with just two months to go; things can change in change within both activities! As ever; it’s been a pleasure hearing from you over the past few months with observations, band reports etc. There wouldn’t be a BP without you. DON’T FORGET TO CAST YOUR VOTE FOR FIST OF THE YEAR 2008! YOU HAVE UNTIL THEC 31st OF DECEMBER TO DO THIS! A VOTING FORM IS IN THE AUTUMN EDITION OF KEYNOTE! IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO DEFACE YOUR COPY, SEND YOUR VOTE TO ME VIA EMAIL OR SNAIL MAIL! DON’T WASTE YOUR VOTE! WARC Challenge CALL
G4LHI
IK2RMZ
K4UK
G6GUN
OH7QR
W4YE
MØDRK
KA3NZR
G8XGQ
W4FCR ©
DL1GBZ/
DP6M
2E0TEK
K4ORD
G0XAH
PA3AFF
G3ZOD
AUG
239
223
220
56
38
60
21
20
19
30
0
30
3
0
6
0
SEP
212
80
143
17
33
61
15
4
12
14
27
0
4
0
0
0
OCT
181
169
80
20
91
66
24
0
16
2
25
0
0
0
0
28
TOTAL
MULTI G‐Total
1966
122 239852
1709
107 182863
962
125 120250
592
49
29008
678
27
18306
417
37
15429
303
23
6969
122
28
3416
182
15
2730
96
27
2592
208
10
2080
95
12
1140
40
8
320
33
4
132
25
5
125
28
2
56
Page 38 PWR
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRO
MIX
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRO
QRP
QRO
QRO
QRP
Ladder Activity CALL
G6GUN
G4LHI
IK2RMZ
OH7QR
M0DRK
G8XGQ
M0JRQ
2E0TEK
G0MRH
G3ZOD
DL1GBZ
AU
G
35
34
25
9
13
13
0
4
0
0
0
SE
P
32
36
15
12
11
7
0
0
0
0
0
OC
T
38
33
2
23
25
19
0
0
0
4
1
TOTALS
360
335
183
156
146
123
45
37
9
4
1
It’s that time of year again where we “Eat, drink, and be merry” So it’s time for me to wish you all a happy festive season. I look forward to meeting you on air in 2009. ************* Following is the 2009 Events calendar. I hope you’ll keep it to hand and join in the events planned for the coming year. You’ll notice a new activity planned for March 09. This is a fun event where our “Senior” members are going to be in demand. I never get tired of mentioning that the activities planned are an agree‐
able place to meet new members and a good way of gaining points to‐
wards the award that you’re working towards. I hope to hear from you in 2009. Till then I wish you all a happy, healthy peaceful and prosperous 2009. Keep well….Keep bashing the brass! 73. Robert & Bonnie Page 39 FISTS EU EVENTS
CALENDAR 2009
PLEASE REMEMBER, OUR EVENTS ARE MEANT TO BE AS FRIENDLY
AS THEY ARE
COMPETETIVE. KEEP TO THE SPEED OF YOUR QSO PARTNER.
ESPECIALLY IF HE
IS SLOWER THAT YOU! WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE NERVOUS
NEWCOMERS ON AIR.
Page 40 FISTS EU EVENTS CALENDAR 2009
PLEASE REMEMBER, OUR EVENTS ARE MEANT TO BE AS FRIENDLY AS THEY ARE
COMPETETIVE. KEEP TO THE SPEED OF YOUR QSO PARTNER. ESPECIALLY IF HE
IS SLOWER THAT YOU! WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE NERVOUS NEWCOMERS ON AIR.
G3ZQS
WARC Band Challenge
DATES
00.01 1st January to 23.59 31st December. UTC
BAND
30M, 17M &12M
SCORING
1 point non members, 2 points fists members,
3 points Fists club Stations.
FISTS nr, or NM, and IARU. locator square,
(Four character format) which can be used as a multiplier for
the total number of contacts made during the year
#5576 (or) NM IARU Loc IO82. FOR THE LOCATOR
SQUARE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A MULTIPLIER, A CLUB
MEMBER MUST HAVE BEEN WORKED WITHIN THE
SQUARE. i.e. G9XYZ scores 2,400 points and gains 12 different locator squares on a combination of all three WARC Bands.
= 2,400 x 12 = 28,800. REPEAT STATIONS: CAN ONLY BE
WORKED A MAXIMUM OF FOUR TIMES PER MONTH.
Outright winner: The “G3ZQS” Award with your call, year,
etc, Engraved. 1st Runner up: certificate 2nd Runner up: Certificate. A certificate will also be awarded to the highest points
scored by a QRP entrant. ( Max 5w output at the transmitter)
endorsed accordingly. Therefore all entrants must declare their
power output. A certificate will also be awarded to the highest
scoring “Receiving station” log.
To include; date/call/name/locator/qrg/time/Fists nr or nm/
points scored
M0BPT rob IO82 30m 11.48 #5576 or nm 2pts or 1pt
EXCHANGE
EXAMPLE
AWARDS
LOGS
EXAMPLE
SEND TO
GENERAL
Land mail: R.D.Walker 125, Devereux Road West Bromwich,
West Midlands B70 6RQ England. or email Monthly returns by
the14th of the next month By email in excel/csv/tabbed word
format if possible please.
The purpose of the challenge is to promote activity on the
WARC Bands IT IS NOT A CONTEST!. CALL “CQ” on or
around the following frequencies; 30m-10.118/10.128 MHz:
17m-18.085 MHz: 12m-24.918 MHz PLEASE NOTE, These
activities are meant to be fun and friendly as well as competitive. Any contact not showing the required return information
will be excluded from the total scores.
Page 41 LADDER ACTIVITY 2009
DATES
January 2009 to December 2009. To be run on the 2nd and
4th Sunday of every month.
TIMES
TWO, TWO HOUR SESSIONS OPERATING BETWEEN
THE HOURS OF 1400-1600 AND 1800-2000. ALL TIMES
UTC! NOTE: You can only submit ANY TWO of your twohour sessions out of a possible four!
All licensed amateur bands except the WARC bands.
FREQUENCIES
SCORING
5 points FISTS club station, 3 points for a Fists affiliated Club
Station, 2 points for a Fist member, 1 point for a non-member.
A station can only count once on each Sunday.
LOGS
DATE/CALL/NAME/QTH/QRG/RST/TIME/FIST No or
NM/POINTS SCORED.
DATES
Jan 11th/25th - Feb8th /22th - March 8th/22nd - April
12th/26th - May 10th/24th - June 14th/28th– July 12th/26th
Aug 9th/23rd - Sept 13th/27th - Oct 11th/25th– Nov 8th/22nd
- Dec 13th/27th
PLEASE vacate or pass on the FIST calling frequency after 5
continuous QSO’s or QSY off the calling frequency. PLEASE
NOTE, These activities are meant to be fun and friendly as
well as competitive. Any contact not showing the required
return information will be excluded from the total scores.
All entries can be received by post or E-mail to; R.D.Walker,
125, Devereux Road, West Bromwich. B70 6RQ. logs are to
be received by the 5th of the next month in Excel, CSV,
tabbed word formats or hard copy. e-mail: m0bpt(at)
blueyonder.co.uk
GENERAL
SEND TO
The ladder is a popular activity amongst members. Join in on a Sunday afternoon and meet
members!
Page 42 EXCHANGE YOUR AGE WEEK 2009
DATES
0001 UTC on 1st March to 2359 UTC on 7th March 09. UTC
FRQUENCIES
All licensed amateur bands except the WARC bands.
RULES
Here's a fun event where our senior members are going to be in
demand! Simple rules; usual exchange between members/nonmembers. BUT Exchange your age with your QSO partner(s) and
at the end of the event; total the ages exchanged and add them to
your final points score!
5 points for a FISTS club station, 3 points for a FISTS Affiliated
Club Station, 2 points for a Fist Member. 1 point for a Non Member.
To include DATE/CALL/NAME/QTH/QRG/TIME/FIST No or
NM/ POINTS. (AGE)
PLEASE vacate or pass on the FIST calling frequency after 5 continuous QSO’s or QSY off the calling frequency. All logs are to be
received by the 22nd March 09. Any type of key or keyer may be
used, but no keyboard sending or pre-programmed messages from
computers or keyers allowed. A station can only be worked once
per day during the event..
All entries can be received by post to: R.D.Walker, 125, Devereux
Road, West Bromwich. B70 6RQ. Or email m0bpt(at)
blueyonder.co.uk in Excel/csv/tabbed word document format if
possible please. By midnight UTC on the 31st March 2009
SCORING
LOGS
GENERAL
SEND TO
This is the first “Exchange your age” activity. Which I hope will appeal to
the experienced and newcomer alike! That’s if you’re not too bashful when
it comes to the “Exchange your age” Part! (Hi)
Page 43 EUCW/FISTS QRS PARTY 2009
GENERAL
DATES/
TIMES
MODE
POWER
CALL
FREQUENCIE
S
KEYS/
SPEEDS
CONTACTS
LOGS
FEEDBACK
FISTS CWClub invites all radio amateurs to take part in
the annual EUCW/FISTS QRS Party over five days, Monday-Friday, in April each year. This is not a contest . Just
enjoy plenty of slow Morse activity for a period of five
days. The dates selected are intended to avoid weekend
contest activity. Work any station, including members of
EUCW clubs (see below), but send only in QRS. Standard
QSO’s with non-participating stations can be included in
logs.
Monday 27th April 2009, 0001 UTC, to Friday 1st May
2009, 2359 UTC.
CW only
A - More than 10w input or 5w output power B - QRP
(10w input or 5w output, or less) C - Short wave listeners.
CQ QRS. Stations may be worked once per day, per band.
Recommended areas of activity, +/- 10 kHz of the FISTS
calling frequencies, including WARC bands (see below),
but contacts can be made on any frequency. Non-QRP stations should avoid calling CQ on the popular QRP frequencies (see below).
Use any type of key or keyer. No keyboard sending or preprogrammed messages from computers or keyers, but preprogrammed CQ calls or CQ loops are permitted. Maximum speed 14 words per minute (70cpm). The speed of a
QSO should be at the speed of the slower station.
Normal friendly QSO's, no special requirements. QSO's
with any station count. Work any station in any country,
including stations not taking part in the QRS Party but try
to persuade them to work QRS.
Logs should show Date, Time, Call sign, Name, QTH and
EUCW Club/Number (if appropriate) of the stations
worked/heard, and may include up to three votes for "Most
Readable Morse Heard" (one vote per station).
This is not a contest, but logs and feedback will be welcomed in the following classes: A - More than 10w input
or 5w output power B - QRP (10w input or 5w output, or
less) C - Short wave listeners.
Page 44 EUCW/FISTS QRS PARTY 2009 Continued
AWARDS
SEND LOGS TO:
GENERAL INFORMATION
A) A certificate will be awarded to the three participants working/hearing the most stations in each class.
B) Certificates of Merit will be awarded to the three
operators receiving most votes for the "Most Readable
Morse Heard", provided the operators nominated have
also submitted a log. If the operators receiving the
most votes have not submitted a log the certificates of
merit will be awarded to the qualifying operators with
the next highest number of votes. In the event of a tie
in first, second or third places, multiple certificates will
be awarded, marked "Shared Award".
C) A “NEWCOMERS AWARD” Will be issued to a
person who uses the QRS PARTY WEEK for their 1 st
“On Air” QSO. This must be verified by an EUCW
Member.
FISTS/EUCW QRS Party Organizer: Robert Walker
M0BPT, 125,Devereux Road, West Bromwich, B70
6RQ. England. EMAIL m0bpt(at)blueyonder.co.uk To
be received by surface mail or e-mail not later than
31st May 2009.
FISTS calling frequencies : Recommended area of activity +/- 10 kHz 2m 144.058 MHz 6m Use any authorized CW frequency 10m 28.058 MHz 12m 24.918
MHz 15m 21.058 MHz 17m 18.085 MHz 20m 14.058
MHz 30m 10.118/10.128 MHz 40m 7.028 MHz 80m
3.558 MHz 160m 1.808 MHz QRP CW Calling Frequencies to be avoided by non-QRP stations. 1843;
3560; 7030; 10116; 14060; 18096; 21060; 24906;
28060 kHz.
This is one of the favourite events in the FISTS EU calendar and is gaining in support
every year! Here’s where you meet other EUCW members in our annual QRS event.
This is where the nervous newcomer can come on air and join in with an event that’s
tailored for the experienced and not so experienced CW enthusiasts alike!
Page 45 STRAIGHT KEY WEEK 2009
DATE
FREQUENCY
SCORING
EXCHANGE
LOGS
GENERAL
SEND LOGS
TO:
0001 UTC on 6th September to 2359 on 12th September 2009.
UTC
All licensed amateur bands except the WARC bands
5 points FISTS club stations, 3 points for a FISTS affiliated Club
Station, 2 points for a Fist Member, 1 point for a Non Member.
RST/NAME/QTH/FIST No or NM/DAY No. Sunday is Day 1
Monday is Day 2 and so on To Saturday as Day 7. All entrants
must have used a straight Key for all their QSO’s but the worked
station does not have to use a straight key.
To include DATE/CALL/NAME/QTH/QRG/RST/TIME/FIST No
or NM/DAY No/POINTS. All entries to be received by the 26th
September 2009.
A station can only be worked once per day! PLEASE vacate or
pass on the FIST calling frequency after 5 continuous QSO’s or
QSY off the calling frequency. PLEASE NOTE, These contests
are meant to be fun and friendly as well as competitive. Any contact not showing the required return information will be excluded
from the total scores.
All entries can be received by post to; R.D.Walker, 125, Devereux
Road, West Bromwich. B70 6RQ. or by EMAIL m0bpt(at)
blueyonder.co.uk in Excel/csv/tabbed word format if possible
please
Always awaited expectantly by members. SKW always gives enjoyment to all who put away their paddles and keyers for seven days and go back to straight keying! More effort, but more rewarding for all who enter! And a lot more fun! See you on the band!..... ENJOY THE EVENTS DURING 2009!
Last Word Another year has come and gone and the cost of living keeps on rising, I'm glad to say that we can still keep the current cost of membership the same for another year despite just about everything going up. I hope that the postage costs don't rise again as this is always a major expense .May I wish you all a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the new year from all the people that work for FISTS. I hope to work a few new friends in the new year and also keep in touch with old ones. All the best…... Paul & Anne Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 If you run any radio rally and would like FISTS to attend please send details to Paul M0BMN 40 Links Road Penn Wolverhampton WV4 5RF Or email [email protected] We always like to attend rallies but do remember that rallies take time to prepare for and to unpack after , sometime family matters/distance and costs can mean that its unpractical for us to attend and that we already have a few rallies pre‐booked that may take prefer‐
ence to others. (Such as Donington 2009) Any ideas or comments about FISTS or articles for Key‐
note are always welcome to the same address. Page 49 Page 50