Two Young DXers Headed to Willis Island

A follow up to our story a few weeks ago about the upcoming Willis Island DXpedition looking for a pair of young DX'ers to join the party. Now comes word that two young hams have been selected.

The lucky young hams who are about to embark on the ham radio trip of a lifetime are Josh Fischer, W4WJF from North Carolina. He will join the group for the first part of its operation.

 

Name: William Joshua Fisher, 21
Profession: Electrical Computer Engineering Student
Licensed since: 1999 (ex. KG4EGC)
Preferences: Contesting, SSB, CW
Other callsign: none
Former DXpeditions: none
Contest-Op @: AA4ZZ, NC4CQ

Fischer will later be replaced by Rhy Louw, ZS6DXB, from the Republic of South Africa. Louw will also be on hand to close out the Willis Island operation.

Name: Rhynhardt Louw, 25
Profession: Sales consultant
Licensed since: 1999
Preferences: SSB, RTTY
Other callsign: none
Former DXpeditions: 3DA0WW, 3DA0EI
Contest-Op @: none

The Willis Island DXpedition is one of the most anticipated in years. If all goes as expected, the operation is slated to be on the air from October 9^th to the 27^th.

(Willis Island Team Announcement)

Mastering the art of CW

I posted a story a couple of days ago of a ham who was rescued after breaking his leg in the Cascade mountain range. He had a K1 transceiver with him and used it to call for help. By the time rescuers reached him on horseback his tent was snow covered. His skill at radio telegraphy and the skill of the operator 600 miles away is a testament to the value of good old CW. During the Vietnam War, POW Jeremiah Denton, later a U.S. senator from Alabama, blinked "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" in Morse code when his captors put him on television.

I'm rusty at CW but for the first two years of operation (1980 - 1982) I used mostly CW. The first year was with an old Apache and Comanche Heath transmitter and receiver. Had to stay away from the band edges as those old radios were a bit off in frequency. But it was fun to work CW and always wished that I had kept up those skills. I do some listening everyday on the low end of 40 meters to bring up my speed, copying in my head.

There's a free publication available in PDF format called "The Art Skill of Radio Telegraphy" 3rd edition, by William G. Pierpont, N0HFF. "It's for those who are interested in telegraphy, for those who would like to learn it, for those who love it, and for those who want to improve their skills in it."

The art and skill of telegraphy is unique. The psychologists who have seriously studied those who have developed this skill have been fascinated and challenged to try to understand it. Isn't the very idea of being able to communicate your thoughts to another by means of intermittent tones something intriguing in itself? - N0HFF

The Art And Skill Of Radio Telegraphy

Morse Code at 140 WPM

There are many other helpful programs and websites for learning or brushing up on your CW skills - use Google for more information.

Animated Knots by Grog

Having spent the better part of the summer contemplating new antennas for the upcoming winter season I realized I was lacking a certain skill - knots!

Here's a really great website with animated knots to teach you how to do just about any type of knot needed for putting up wire antennas. This site has been extremely helpful these past few weeks as I've installed a PAR HF EndFedz antenna. You'd think rope and knots aren't important until you try to put up multiple wire antennas with pulleys and other hardware.

Great site - http://www.animatedknots.com/

I'll have a post about the PAR EndFedz in the next few days, complete with pictures of the masts and mounting hardware. The PAR antennas are great performers and extremely easy to set up and tune.

http://www.parelectronics.com/

K1, CW, Rescue in the Cascades

Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon, broke his leg while hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the Cascade Mountains. His call for assistance was heard 600 miles away by Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana.

On Sunday, September 21, Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana, was just tuning around on 40 meters, giving his rig a test just before a scheduled QSO with his brother Rich, K7URU, in Spokane, when he heard a faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT): Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and was using a portable radio and Morse code to send out a call for help. Williams said he was able to understand the injured man's code even when his signal became very weak.

"He called me. He must have heard me testing out the radio. When I finished, I signed off with my call, and then I heard, 'N7ODM, this is W7AU/7,' so I answered," Williams told the ARRL. "I told him to go ahead, I had solid copy. He told me that he was a hiker that had fallen and broken his leg. He identified himself as Russ, provided information as to his GPS coordinates, the shelter, food and water on hand, as well as his detailed physical condition. He told me exactly who I needed to contact for assistance."

According to Williams, Ruby had slipped on a wet rock and broken his leg while out hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the high Cascades in Western Washington, 600 miles away from Williams. "Russ really had his act together," Williams said. "Before he even called for help, he set up his tent. It was raining when he fell, so he climbed into his tent and got into some warm clothes and had a snack of sunflower seeds and dried apricots. After that, he strung up a wire antenna, fired up his Elecraft K1 and called me." Williams said that Ruby told him he had a "couple of weeks worth of battery power" for the radio.

Ruby asked Williams to notify the Snohomish County Search and Rescue in Washington State. "I didn't have their number, so I called my local 911 dispatcher. All they had was the info for King County in Washington, so I called them and they gave me the number for Snohomish. When I got a hold of Snohomish County Search and Rescue, they asked me to obtain additional info from Russ, such as the color of his tent and if he was in a clear or wooded area, and remain in contact with him as long as possible," Williams said.

"Russ and I were able to maintain contact until about 8 PM on Sunday, during which time I was able to pass additional traffic between Russ and Search and Rescue, but then his signal got so weak where I couldn't copy it anymore. Before he faded, we had agreed to try and make contact in the morning. I tried, starting around 6:30, but he never heard me. I finally heard him calling me around 9 on 7.051 MHz. We kept in contact until he was evacuated from the site by Search and Rescue at about 10:35 AM," Williams told the ARRL.

On Sunday, rescue crews reached Ruby, who had set up camp on Buck Creek Pass, at about 6000 feet just west of the Chelan County line. He was taken to safety Monday on horseback. Williams said that bad weather Sunday prevented a helicopter rescue: "It was snowing all night; Russ told me that when he woke up Monday morning, his tent was all covered in snow."

"I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams said. "It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great. It was quite an experience. I'm just glad that he was a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It made the difference for him. What I did was not anything special. I'd like to think that any ham in Montana would've done the same thing."

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/09/23/10348/

A New Cycle 24 Sunspot Emerges

From the Southgate ARC site:

For the first time in months, a significant sunspot is emerging on the sun.

It is a fast-growing active region with two dark cores, each larger than Earth. The magnetic polarity of the sunspot identifies it as a member of new Sunspot Cycle 24.

Because the year 2008 has brought so many blank suns, some observers have wondered if we are ever going to climb out of the ongoing deep solar minimum.

Today's new sunspot is an encouraging sign that the 11-year solar cycle is indeed progressing, albeit slowly.

So there you have it, an encouraging display by the sun. We've all been waiting for some spots and maybe this trend will continue.

I hope you all have your antenna projects started or finished before the winter sets in.

Solarcycle24.com

A Radio I Wish I Still Had

I had a radio many years ago, grade 7 if I remember. It was a crystal radio in the shape of a Mercury Space Capsule. It was about two inches long with a tuning probe at the top and two wires coming out of the bottom - one a crystal earphone and the other had a clip on it to connect to a convenient antenna. During the hot summer nights in Tecumseh near Windsor I would listen to CBC Windsor and the great AM station WJR (760AM) on the other side of the river in Detroit. At night WJR was all talk radio and CBC would broadcast adventure stories. WJR began as WCX in 1922 and was located in the Fisher Building in downtown Detroit. It began its callsign with "WJR Detroit, from the Golden Tower of the Fisher Building." Many nights were spent tuning that little radio trying to dig out some real distant DX. It needed no batteries or other power source. I wish I'd held on to that little radio.

Crystal Radios: Stay Tuned Crystal Sets

Algonquin Park, Fall 2008

This is not a ham radio related post. Not this time. I've just returned from 5 days in Algonquin Park, without HF gear. I did nothing ham radio related. I needed a hiatus from my radios. I did take my 2 meter handheld for the drive up from Ottawa but repeaters are quiet up that way. It was a weekday so it was even more quiet.

I stayed in the Lake of Two Rivers campground near Killarney Lodge. This is the park's oldest campground. It is kept immaculate for campers. I tow an Antigua hybrid with all the amenities of home. The schedule was getting up late, turning up the furnace to warm the trailer and a good breakfast of porridge and juice with tea. The lunch schedule was usually way after 12 noon and supper was later, after sitting around a good roaring campfire with wine, cheese and crackers. After the dinner dishes were stowed away it was movie time and then bed.

You know I didn't really miss my station much and the dining table in the camper was clear of the clutter of wires, rigs and tuners. It was a good holiday but way too short and Algonquin really is a beautiful place to camp.


I was camping with some university friends - we go way back, to 1972. We've held on to our friendship for a lot of years. We try to meet at least once a year at campgrounds or at my place near Metcalfe.

I think that next year ham radio will definitely be part of my camping. Algonquin was just too beautiful this year to spend any time on the radio.