VK2RH ham radio

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  • Links about learning Morse

    On Wednesday 19 March I gave a short presentation about “Learning CW in 2025” to my club, Waverley Amateur Radio Society.

    It’s essentially about techniques to master Instant Character Recognition and its partner Instant Error Recovery and a distillation of ways to use Morse Training Apps such as the Word List Trainer to learn those skills. Below are links to websites, online resources, applications, individuals and organisations with the same focus. My debt to the thinking of people like Tom Weaver W0FN and Glenn Norman W4YES is clear.

    These are sites, documents and applications I mentioned and that I think are of most value for anyone wanting to learn Morse code (as well as some I failed to mention).

    I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to learn CW or a better range of resources available to ensure success.

    I was surprised at how many people turned up in person and online. My favourite question was whether Morse is harder or easier to learn than Ancient Greek?

    Australian Simplex right-angled key by Leopold Cohen

    websites focussed on CW learning courtesy of LICW

    Morse Code Ninja Kurt AD0WE’s massive site devoted to learning Morse. He has thought long and deep about learning and teaching Morse.

    The Long Island CW Club website offers informative documents about their approach to teaching Morse. I think they represent excellent value to anyone wanting to learn or improve their Morse skills. This club with almost 7,500 members globally is able to do remarkable things with the talents of its members.

    CW Academy, part of CWops has pages of resources and video guides to using Morse learning tools etc

    CW Innovations by Glenn W4YES, a champion of Instant Character Recognition

    The CQ QRS RagChew The Slow CQ Practice net every Tuesday 1800-2400 Eastern Australian Time on 40 and 80m.

    documents

    Nancy Kott on Instant Recognition

    Nancy Kott on Go With the Flow

    The Art & Skill of Radio Telegraphy by William Pierpont

    A package of documents relevant to the research by Ludwig Koch on archive.org

    Donald Taylor of Harvard’s July 1943 paper on training Morse code operators

    LICW Curriculum This page links to documents detailing the thinking behind the LICW’s offerings

    applications

    G4FON’s Koch CW Trainer (Windows)

    Word List Trainer This is the web based application I briefly demonstrated during the talk, and the one I am most familiar with. It’s developed by Stephen Phillips.

    ICR Trainer This is another aspect of the same application suited to developing ICR skills.

    LICW Club Practice Page This application is similar to the Word List Trainer, and actively developed by the LICW Club.

    Morse Runner a very popular and realistic contest simulator. Even seasoned CW contesters warm up with this application. (Windows)

    youtube

    Morse Code Ninja Over 4,000 videos devoted to learning CW at every stage and speed

    Documentary about Morse code in Australia

  • Portsdown 4 project back on track

    I’ve been building bits and pieces of what will become a digital amateur TV capability for just on five years! I lost my momentum after building a number of components and it’s only in the last few weeks I’ve found a renewed enthusiasm to get on with it!

    One of the main prods has come from watching the weekly DATV net on VK3RTV. Anyone anywhere can watch this either live via this BATC streamer link or via Ian VK3QL’s YouTube channel. The net attracts an energetic and skilled group who easily sustain a fast paced 60 minute video conversation. It’s very smoothly presented with lots of visual variety and useful information and very few technical hiccups. The Melbourne DATV amateurs seem to have a very professional sense of time and audience interest and keep the show moving.

    My other inspiration is the weekly BATC Oscar 100 net scheduled for 8pm Thursday which is either 6am or 5am(!) on Friday morning here in eastern Australia. I’m trying to work out how I might record it off the streamer while I sleep. This international net happens over the brilliant geostationary satellite QO-100 whose footprint unfortunately doesn’t include Australia, but it does appear to have boosted interest and activity in satellite communications and DATV in Europe. If I set the alarm I can watch this BATC net via the BATC streamer .

    a block diagram to help think through the interconnections between the different components makig up the Portsdown 4 DATV transceiver.

    This is the first result of my planning the build of my Portsdown 4. I’m sure it will change over the next few weeks. It’s also to help me work out which controls and connectors might go where on the front and back of the enclosure. I actually find this thinking very enjoyable.

  • U3S + 12V = Fried U3S

    Well I have now printed a label for the power connector on the U3S enclosure saying 5V, but it’s a little too late for an assortment of components that inadvertently were subjected to not just 12V but closer to 14V! Yikes.

    From consulting the FAQ on the QRP-Labs site at https://www.qrp-labs.com/faq.html I have learnt that I’m am by no means the first to commit this blunder! In fact – as the FAQ on this topic reveals – so many have trod this well-worn path that there’s a pretty good understanding of what needs to be repaired and what probably survived the onslaught of unwanted volts.

    Net result as I understand it is:

    • the main processor, a 28 DIP ATmega328 chip is definitely fried! I do have the option to program a blank one or order one already programmed from QRP-Labs.
    • The LCD display has been zapped.
    • The relay on the main Ultimate 3S board has most likely been burnt out as well by the higher voltage.
    • It’s supposed to be unlikely that the Si5351A Synth Module has been damaged.
    • On the QLG1 GPS unit it’s probable that the 74ACT08 level converter chip has been destroyed by the high voltage because of the way the LED indicators are behaving when power is applied. Yellow is not pulsing once a second as it should…

    This is such an unrare event that QRP Labs have created a product especially for people like me – the QCU QRP labs control unit which components most likely to need replacement after applying the wrong voltage! It includes the 16 x 2 LCD module, 20MHz crystal, BS170 transistor, buttons, resistors, capacitors, hardware and all connectors (4-way sockets, 10-way sockets, 16-way plug/socket for LCD) that are used in the Ultimate 3S kit.

  • Arctic DXpedition

    Over the weekend sunspot 1112 erupted and produced a strong solar flare. Now according to space weather sites there’s a 25-35% chance of high latitude auroras on 19-20 October.

    And right now a group of four Norwegian friends are enjoying their annual DXpedition to Kongsfjord – well and truly in the high latitudes – at 70°43′N 29°21′E at the top of Norway.

    Kongsfjord, Norway – a nice place to set up your 500 metre long Beverage antenna

    Four of the main participants are Arnstein Bue, from Trondheim, Bjarne Mjelde (host), from Berlevåg, Odd-Jørgen Sagdahl, from Trondheim and Tore Johnny Bråtveit, from Trondheim. As you’ll see if you visit their pages these men are serious medium wave and short wave DXers, with impressive equipment racks and listening achievements to match.

    Arnstein Bue’s blog DX Paradise gives a sense of some of the QSL trophies. DXpedition host, Bjarne Mjelde’s blog Arctic DX has an entry logging their first day last Friday anticipating the weather awaiting them:

    “+2 Celsius, 15-20 m/s (35-45 mph) northerly winds, rain and sleet showers…”

    As I write this it’s early afternoon there and according to their website it’s warmed up to +4 Celsius!

    They also appear to operate remotely from this spot. Their antennas include a new 500 metre long Beverage aimed at the North Island of New Zealand which is clearly working very well. Two shorter Beverages (225m & 330m) and a Quad Delta Flag Array complete this dream DXing antenna farm.

    And if you visit the website you’ll see ample evidence that they clearly know how to enjoy themselves at the dining table as well. Local King crabs are accompanied by the finest New Zealand wines. Their dining notes are as tempting as their DX!

    Main course was pork sirloin marinated in garlic and chili, served with tagliatelle, basil, leeks and cherry tomatoes. With the pork we tried Kim Crawford’s Pinot Noir. Maybe a bit light for the quite tasty meat, but absolutely a super wine!

    For dessert we had local blueberries with grappa – another Kongsfjord signature dish! And now we are off to listen to more recordings and prepare for another – hopefully eventful night. The solar indexes are going down and the K-index for Tromsø is now 0, and we hope that it will remain like this!

    The main website is also the repository of a number of documents on DXing issues by Dallas Lankford. There are also data sheets for a large number of receivers (including AOR, Racal, Rohde & Schwarz, R L Drake Company, Siemens, Harris, TenTec, Icom etc) and information about antennas. Bjarne Mjelde has distilled his experience into a definitive article about the best antenna wire. The conclusion? A thumbs up for galvanised steel and aluminium. A number of his reviews are also aggregated on the site, including reviews of the IC-703 and the Perseus SDR.

    Their sites demonstrate how much a part SDR plays in modern DXing and monitoring. There are some huge SDR recordings and mp3 files available as well. Retrospective analysis of these files enables them to find rare stations as well as – presumably – traditional live listening.

    It’s been a delight checking in on their site each day to catch up with the activities of such a convivial group of friends. Truly inspiring to this reader on the other side of the globe.

  • Buddipole set up videos

    I’ve only just discovered the set of video tutorials on YouTube featuring Chris W6HFP of Buddipole. They’re clear and well shot and edited, I suspect by Steve WG0AT. And they’ve been online for over a year!

    In this one Chris explains setting up a Buddipole Versatee Vertical.