I bought a IC-7300 back on December 2023 when passed my Extra exam but due to ‘Reasons’ it is still sitting unused in the box and after seeing a lot of the videos on the FTDx10 I’m tempted to drive down to Ham Radio Outlet in Phoenix and trade it in.
Thanks for the advice. You're probably preaching to the choir Evan. Those of us who appreciate good etiquette stopped by. The IDIOT LIDS tuning up on top of GB13COL aren't visiting this video. I agree that this year's 13COLS had a LOT of bad behavior, but odds are great that the bad actors will never watch this video.
"Send your callsign once unless asked to" is something a lot of POTA hunters need to learn. They do it so their callsign sticks out at the end of the pileup and I always work someone else if I can.
This is great, Evan! Thank you for this. I'm a new CW operator only hunting POTA right now but I really learned a lot from this video. Keep them coming! W1RCY
This is probably the best rundown/review of the 39mm on RU-vid. Out of all the watches out there, this 39mm is the most overlooked by RU-vidrs. Thank you for this, about to buy my own as a first watch purchase.
You made some excellent points and your document should help. I can say it’s easy to excited and jump on the contact. One of the toughest things is finding the end of his transmission. Those of us still trying to get faster cannot yet and we must keep trying to make contact.
Yeah, it takes a bit of time, practice, patience, and listening to learn the cadence of how the QSOs run. Every Op is different, so you have to get a feel for how they're running the frequency. Thanks for watching!
Famous obnoxious OM move (when you know they can send much faster) - Cranking the power to 1K and slowing their speed down to around 12-14 wpm simply to smother the pileup with an S9++++ signal with a "long send" in order t get the op to work them first. Gotta be one of the most annoying a-hole moves.
Thanks for this. Lots of good info in here, with examples of good/bad behavior. I'll be sharing this. I was operating as a 13 Colonies station this week and experienced pretty much all of the LIDery you talk about, aside from split which I didn't run. Most people are just fine, but just a few is all it takes to really piss off the station calling and muck up a pileup. As for sending off frequency a little, I suggest folks don't go too crazy. I had a few people sending 200 Hz off, which is about the limit of what my filter will let through. Warning: Bug gripes I'm sorry, but bug operators with excessive drawl are VERY difficult to copy. And for heaven's sake, you still need proper timing/spacing. I fought with a guy whose call I swore ended in a "B" but it was really "TS". He kept making the dah longer, but not leaving a space before the dits. I tried responding with exaggerated farnsworth as a hint, but no dice. Eventually we got it, but it was painful. Last bug gripe: please setup the bug for your speed. Not only is it hard to copy when you're sending at 15 wpm but your dits are 30 wpm, but I hear a lot of people sending just whatever number of dits, especially in numbers. So 6 sounds like DAAAAAHHHHdididididididididit.
Absolutely. Running a bug well takes a lot of practice. You should be able to get to the point where it's hard to tell you're on a bug. I love sending on my bugs, but it took a while to get to the point where I was proficient enough to work people on it.
@@EvanK2EJT Yeah, I've heard some guys who I couldn't tell until they sent an exaggerated R or something. Kudos to anyone who can do it well. I tried a single lever as a cootie a few times and was absolute rubbish :D W4ARB made it look too easy.
Welcome to the first meeting of CW LIDS Anonymous my name is Bill. I have been making CW POTA contacts whilst being functionally illiterate and I thought I could get away with it during the Thirteen Colonies event. Nope! and I should not have been trying. I realized this after the first attempt, and When I complained about the speeds being used by ops in a POTA discord. I received the same bad advice repeatedly that led me to making POTA contacts with the bare amount of ability to copy. I realized that not only was it bad advice, I knew it was from the start, and I was now the LID in the equation. YA GOTTA PUT THE WORK IN. Sending practice is much more fun than copy practice but they are two different skills you must learn. Back to carousel one¡
It's okay to hunt POTA, SOTA, etc. with limited CW knowledge. It only becomes an issue when you're in a big pileup and can't understand what's going on. POTA/SOTA is a good way to get your feet wet and on the air with minimal pain. You just need to know your limitations.
@@EvanK2EJT good I like doing it lol. But I was in over my head on the 13 and feeling to big for my britches. I got so I can send clean at 18 wpm on paddles if I know the script. But my copy is spotty at best. But enough to confirm who it is I’m calling. My call sign, the usual easy stuff on a Pota exchange. But anything off script I’m lost.
I just added "Don't send K after your callsign" to things you shouldn't do. They'll often think that's part of your call. Send ONLY your callsign, and nothing else
Touching back to this, ‘24 13 colonies event on SSB was the most obnoxious thing I’ve experienced pile-up wise. It was gentlemanly on CW from what I observed, but between several recent POTA and 13Col sideband horrors I’ve experienced, it makes me glad I have been picking up Morse.
Even CW was a trainwreck at times.....in fact, I literally just finished a DX/SES etiquette video two minutes ago. I'm going to upload it now and it'll be live tonight. Yeah, behavior has gotten out of control, and it's unfortunate. Thanks for watching!
I didn't even bother with the LIDFEST. These idiots need to learn the word "UP" and the DX code of conduct. I have been operating CW late at night or super early morning to work 13 colony stations. I stick to SOTA chasing this weekend. if I don't achieve a 13 colony clean sweep this year so be it.
Yeah, it's gotten really bad. I feel like the pileups are less disciplined this year. I'm almost wondering if there are people who don't really know CW but are trying to get a clean sweep on Phone, Dig, and CW, so they've programmed their CW memories and are just pushing buttons to work these stations. I mean, the word "UP" isn't that hard to copy....... di di Dah di Dah Dah dit. Learn it people LOL.
I was running the K2H station the other day when you called. I heard that familiar "EJT" in the pileup. 😀 Great to get you in the log. I've found 13 Colonies to be either calling CQ into a pillow or a lidfest. I ran 20m CW for two hours and had a sore throat by the end from yelling at the Lidassery. Mostly guys calling 2-3 times and sending their call any time I sent anything. One guy I think just set his radio to beacon every 30 seconds and went out to dinner.
Here you go. This one is big enough to hold the radio in the top, and the battery, all of the cables, the mic, a small tuner, and some other stuff in the bottom: www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8Z2DD1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I think your first QSO was with N1CUU, not N1CU. This person had poor spacing when he first called you, sounding most like N1CETU probably because the first U somehow lost its second dit between its first dit and the dah. This would occur if you were using a bug, and got off of the dit contact and went over to the dah contact a little too soon. This occurs following about 4:24 in the video. Next time around it sounded more like N1CUU and the last time again N1CUU. So I don't think it was N1CU, the call you quoted when you went back to him. The QRZ website gives Texas as QTH for N1CU (not very likely for 40 m under those morning band conditions), and Pennsylvania for N1CUU. The station you worked gave Pennsylvania as QTH. N1CUU's QRZ page indicates that he is a QRP CW operator and lists four QRP rigs he has. Also he indicates "I am trying to learn to send nice sounding Morse using a Vibroplex bug", so it all fits. David VE7EZM
It's a nice park and it's quiet aside form the road noise. While I was there at the beginning of summer activating 4567, a squirrel was darting around my feet scavenging for food someone had dropped. I was a little distracted in my sending but it was a good time.
I don't think I did it with GB13COL, but I was one of the lids on K2C. Then I realized he was running split, changed, and got him (it was easy!) Tried GB on split with no luck. But will keep trying.Most of the other K2 stations were not running split so I never gave it a thought with K2C. But, at least I didn't tune on frequency!
K2C wasn't running his pile well. He very rarely announced "UP". He SHOULD have done it after every QSO, but he probably did it one out of every ten or fifteen. That's why his frequency was such a mess
I ordered a CT 73 today. Getting back on the air after many years being QRT. I enjoyed your video and you answered some questions I had. Thank you! 73, de N1CT
I've had a G90 and an FT-891 for a while. My buddy is letting me borrow his FX-4CR and I'm thinking real hard about getting one to be my SOTA rig from here on out. When I don't take my MTR4B, anyway.
Does it matter if you fat finger the signal report between the paper log and whatever you’re using to create the adif? Will that prevent QSL matching on LOTW or QRZ?
I don't even log the RST (I copy it on paper just for my own information so I know how I'm being heard). POTA doesn't require it. Call, band, mode, time. That's pretty much it. Needless to say, when I upload my logs, it doesn't even have a signal report, and I've never had an issue with LoTW or QRZ.
@@EvanK2EJT Okay, that makes sense. I’d started including the RST when I transcribe my logs after getting home, and began wondering if that was contributing to my abysmal QSL rate. Maybe it’s just LOTW being offline and nobody uses QRZ log, or perhaps hunters don’t necessarily need/want confirmation outside the POTA ecosystem. I’ll just revert to transcribing callsign, band, mode, UTC and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the reply, Evan.
My kilties used to slide down, not terribly but a little. Now, for some reason, they just don't. None of them. At all. Not sure if I'm doing something different or if it's because they have deep ridges because they're broken in. I don't do special lacing, I don't do lace loops. They just don't sag anymore.
Nice activation! I have a clone mcHF radio but I have not used it for a while, since I got the little Xiegu X6100 I mostly use that when working portable. Think I need to take the mcHF out again for an activation. I love QRP but where I live it can be difficult to get 10 qso's on CW as we only have a few local CW operators. To get 10 QSO's I normally have to activate when one of the higher bands are open so that I can work DX stations. Enjoyed the video, thanks for the inspiration to go out again! Hope to work you P2P sometime in the future. 73, Rudi de ZS6DX/ZS2M/ZS1BT/V51VE
Hard to send when your hands are cold especially holding a tiny paddle in your hand. I always envy SOTA guys who are activating in freezing temps. Been there done that, HI. But it’s all part of the fun. Nice video. 73, Marc, W4MPS
Another good video. Thanks. I agree on the KX2. No radio is perfect and they all have strengths and weaknesses. All things considered the KX2 is very hard to beat in terms of size, performance and features. It’s a great radio and was way ahead of its time. In terms of compact CW only radios I’m looking forward to you getting a chance to test a KH1. 73
I always try to. If I'm on a radio like the KX2 that has easily variable key speed I'll turn it down. If I'm on something that's more difficult to change key speed, I'll add Farnsworth.
