WTWW QSO Radio

Shortwave Radio station WTWW in Lebanon, Tennessee is testing a 100,000 watt transmitter on the shortwave bands. Although I missed the original transmission on 9990 MHz and 5085 MHz., I've been listening to podcasts from the website which is here:  WTWW QSO Radio.

The program is called QSO Radio for a good reason.

The program highlights the Amateur Radio Hobby by featuring live "on the air" QSO's with ham operators and Ted Randall does an excellent job with the station.

I've added a link to the site on the right side of my blog. If you're a ham radio operator, you will love this station. I've been listening to the podcasts ever since I discovered it on the QRZ.com news site.

Please take the time to view the website and sign up for future e-mails. I will be looking forward to hearing a lot more of this station!

Nice Cards from Hungary

Back on January 21st, I worked these two Hungarian stations. I especially like the one on top (HA5SE). Although happy to have them both, the one from Budapest is a "custom" card and appreciate the time he put into it. I like trains; so this is right up my alley.

Here's another especially nice card from WI0S. Beautiful key.....love it!

It appears the bands have taken a nose dive again. I'm still making contacts every day, on both 20 meters and 40 meters, but nothing across the pond.

A Great Description of Morse Code

 I've recently added  The Telegrapher  by AB9NZ to my list of favorite "radio blogs" on this site. Tom has one of the best descriptions of the "classic" Morse Code exchange I've read in a long time.

With his permission, I'd like to share it.

In a December 2011 entry called "599 TU- Every Man a Marconi" he says:

"I can't think of another hobby where eternal signals are created, where one can witness the speed of light, and where a fella can feel the sheer joy of actually dabbling in the supernatural. To me, a quick handshake from some remote outpost, traveling through thousands of miles of aether, is a pleasure and privilige that just shouldn't be denied". 

Congratulations Tom...very well said and I totally agree. I've always thought radio as a form of magic, and especially so, when operated from the field. Hence my  preference for portable operations and "shaking hands" with other portable QRP operators.

The last few weeks, I've also given a lot of thought to the "focus"of my radio blog. As much as I love this hobby, I like reading about "other" things occasionally. Hams are some of the most interesting people I've ever had the privilege to meet. I'll be throwing in some of those interests from time to time.

Such is the life in Charleston, West Virginia.

Bike Riding in the Valley

I'm glad that I spent most of yesterday riding the bike, enjoying the sunshine with temperatures in the mid 60's (f). I had almost forgotten the feeling of a strong pulse rate, the wind in my face, sweat, and fresh air in my lungs. The picture above is a "neat" pedestrian ramp to a bridge. It's fun to ride on a bike.

I rode about 20 miles by just walking out the front door and peddling wherever the road led me. Charleston is fairly "bike friendly" and there's always interesting sights along the way. I do a lot of riding "in the city" mostly because I can walk right out my front door and ride along the river.

The river runs right through the center of the valley and there are several bridges where I can cross and return home without without having to backtrack my route. There's also plenty of stops along the way to rest, grab a snack, or just relax.

If the weather gets any warmer (this is the beginning of February now) I'm going to have to cut the grass again. The weather is supposed to be in the 60's the rest of the week.

Here's something I thought was amusing. It's actually a "kite" attached to a long pole. It allow grass to grow by scaring off small birds which normally eat the seedlings.

France With 3 Watts

I've enjoyed the Straight Key K3Y Century Club event this year. I have a total of 10 contacts now. Although they have not been in 10 different call districts, I've worked this French station (F6HKA)  twice for the K3Y Anniversary event. On January 5th, I worked Bert on 15 meters, with my indoor dipole. This afternoon I worked him again on 20 meters, with the indoor Isotron antenna.

I've worked Bert (F6HKA) a total of five different times now, so when I heard a good strong signal from him this afternoon, I immediately reduced my power to 3 watts.  Surprising to me, I caught him "first time" as he finished up a contact with another American station.

Bert always remembers me when he hears my QRP signal and made a comment about this being the "second band" we've worked during the K3Y event. He also found it amazing when I told him that I was using only three watts of power.

Although I haven't been "chasing" the K3Y stations, whenever I have some extra time, I tune around the SKCC frequencies to see if anyone is on the air. I've worked a Michigan station (K3Y/8) several times. I have to commend Bob (K8MXC) for a tremendous job with the Straight Key Century Club. He makes a fantastic effort to be on the air with the club call sign.

On the DX side, I've also worked the K3Y/KP4 station in Puerto Rico.

Politics on Radio Sites

QRZ.com is one of the most visited Ham Radio sites in the world. I use it every day I'm on the air to view FCC license information. It enables me to learn about the lives, and often diverse hobbies, of my fellow radio enthusiasts. It's a GREAT website.

A few days ago, I made a post about QRZ.com being in danger of being dismantled because of new "internet piracy" laws, but I removed it because the threat, at least for now, has been diluted due to public outrage. When Wikipedia shut down in protest, I was actually depressed.

I would prefer to not have "political discussions” on a radio blog because one thing I've learned, in this short life on earth, is there are two issues which are the most divisive things on the face of the planet; namely politics and religion.  But speaking of such, (out of necessity) has anyone noticed the "political advertisements" on QRZ.com?

I'm seeing daily PAC advertisements from "Restore our Future Inc". Not only is it promoting (who else) Mick Romney, it's also bashing Newt Gingrich.

I hate seeing this on their site. I hope they take steps to quickly eliminate this before it migrates to the ARRL site, or Buckmaster, or personal web blogs?

This forces me to look for alternatives.

Anastasia Island

I enjoyed working W0RW/PM/4 this morning from Anastasia Island in Florida. Paul is one of those operators that really loves the outdoors, and is a master of the art of "pedestrial mobile".

I saw him posted on "QRP Spots" and heard him VERY well here in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia. He gave me a 599 signal report and said it was a lot "warmer" in sunny Florida than the mountains of WV today. This morning in Charleston, it was a crisp 32 degrees.

I've worked Paul a few other times from his home location in Colorado. Always a favorite station in the QRP circles, everyone tries to work him when he's on the air.

Some people say the Anastasia Lighthouse is "haunted". Although I don't believe in this kind of stuff, it makes interesting conversation and especially good campfire stories. You should take a few minutes to "google" it. (and W0RW).

I love to "surf the web" and learn about the places and people I've contacted on the air. I'm sure glad to see the Wikipedia site back up and running. I can't imagine a world without it since I use a lot of "graphics" from there. (the above picture of the lighthouse).

It's a wonderful thing when amateur writers and photographers allow their work to placed in the public domain and be shared with others in the world. It makes the world a better place for all.....