Fixed Frequency QRP CW: I learn an important lesson! 

I never thought about it but it is comfortable!

Tnx Kevin. That was partly because the CW transmitter was crystal locked, so I could only call and wait for a response, not 'hunt and pounce'. A VFO and dial would make a lot of difference.

Thanks, I agree with your comments! Persistence is rewarded!

Thanks for your comments James, I agree with all points, and I've done a fair amount of SOTA in recent years, which is perfect for QRP portable operating, since as you point out, the internet brings an audience to you. My other rigs have digital VFOs so I don't usually have to work anywhere near that hard for contacts. This little rig is an experiment. 5 watts on two crystal frequencies. A bit of fun. Enjoy the hobby! 73.

Thanks William, persistence sometimes pays off.

Maybe, one day this Cycle. I'm working on a 100w portable CW only rig that will include 20m, so, who knows? The Europeans see the VK SOTAWatch spots and do call me on occasions, but they have huge problems hearing a tiny VK signal thru their band noise and QRM. VKs work US chasers in good conditions. 72 and 73 OM.

Hi Steve, thanks for carefully listening. Drew VK3XU is 8 miles away and has a big signal. Ollie VK4AXM is there, underneath Drew's signal. It is a basic DC receiver so you are hearing both sidebands, and only basic audio filtering. You are hearing 6 to 8 kHz of 40m centred around 7022. That's the 'fun' of simple homebrew rigs like this! 73 Paul VK3HN.

Tnx Howie!

Yes, only a few Morse punctuation symbols are regularly used. The forward slash dah-di-di-da-dit as in VK3HN/P. The = sign, da-di-di-di-dah is used as a separator. Prosigns such as CT dadidadidah commence a transmission, AR didadidadit, ends a transmission. SK signals the final message. Dit dit is a ham convention to 'wave goodbye'. I'm pretty raw with CW but if you ever hear a few experienced operators it is literally like a conversational language. As for head protection, I don't need it when I walk through my door. Thanks for commenting!

@@Paul_VK3HN Yes....I got to use CW at sea...for 12 short weeks....in the 90's as GMDSS took my vocation away! I used to know a lot of Q codes and abbreviations but brain box broken now....The old Sparks I met at sea told me stories about super human operators who could take code groups on the fly and draw them as isobars on a wx chart (missing the middle step having done it so many times!!) and tales of trips thru the SUEZ. One RO I was on a drilling rig with worked on a ship for the Israeli secret service. Also many typed rather than handwriting (which was all I managed) and could thus receive at super human speeds. Grand times....It pleases me to still see people bothering with CW....The simplicity of the gear ....and the distances it travels....along with the skill required makes it worthwhile! 73 Just getting back into it....waiting on my old alma mater AMC to send me the callsign!! Might catch you on the bands ....CW ....If I can still do it??

Gracias! 73 OM.

a mis oídos !

Thanks, the key is Veroboard and PCB. Veroboard has about the right springiness! Cost of CW key? $0 😉😀

@@Paul_VK3HN Being a newcomer to CW, I hadn’t realised that I had 1000 spare keys in my parts box!

@@DrHWO Thats funny, you can pay a little or a lot for a CW key, some would say, the more you pay, the better your CW will be, to a point. A really basic key like mine is usable, but can get tiring.

@@Paul_VK3HN Thanks Paul , I’m concentrating on developing the head copy skill before I move on to sending, so listening to your videos and then watching them is helpful. Very grateful. Howard

Thanks for commenting. People don't bother me much, I probably bother them more, with my loud CW blaring in a public space!

@@Paul_VK3HN My point exactly. Next time grep a headset, they are there to recover. Thanks for the video!

@@orangmakan I need to use a loudspeaker so that the CW can be heard on the video soundtrack. Thanks for commenting.

@@Paul_VK3HN That is quite understandable ...

Please do. I just wish he'd moved onto my frequency and answered a CQ, I was banging on for an hour and 15 minutes. The strong station QRMing the end of my QSO with the VK4 is VK3XU.

@@Paul_VK3HN i heard Drew on that night too. Tom was on 7025 I think. We were comparing spots v power. I was running 20W portable on the kitchen table into my end fed vertical, as I usually do, but couldn’t get a bite either. Noise levels are crap at home. I can’t remember if I was on 7023 or not. I sometimes put out calls there because of all the QRP rigs. It’s fun to QSO with a home brew dude. At least you got one bite :-)

@@Paul_VK3HN I sent Tom an SMS with a link to the video and the caption “Have a listen” :-)

@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan I listen on 40 CW a bit, what's your callsign Chris?

@@Paul_VK3HN VK2NAP as in Not A Problem