CW Club

PA3CLQ's Leuke Linken Nr. 480

The December "Rag Chew" is on the web homepage and ready for downloading and reading.

Thirty-nine pages of adventures of SKCCers as they travel putting on rare states and provinces, head into various hamfests, build fantastic bugs(you have to see these to believe them), bios of some our club members and a way to add 6m to your tribander with using the existing coax are all features to be found in this issue.
As always, "thank you" to those who submit articles, stories and projects.

Keep those great articles coming and there is always an invitation to everyone to submit an article.

http://www.skccgroup.com/member_services/newsletter/

73, Ted K8AQM SKCCGroup

Dear Friends

Telecom Agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has allowed me to interpret my radio station PA3CLQ also with PH6SKCC in the period

02-01-2018 until 29-01-2018. (dd-mm-yyyy)

https://www.agentschaptelecom.nl/

I hope to meet you for the 9th time as "K3Y DX Operations from Netherlands" with PH6SKCC SKCC # 5031C on January 02 through 29th
As "K3Y DX operations from the Netherlands" with PI4OTC SKCC # 5315 on January 30 and 31

Also QRV with

PA3CLQ SKCC #2765

PI4RAG SKCC #5624

Look for day and time on

https://sked.skccgroup.com/

For an sked ask me via my email adress pa3clq@casema.nl

Eventual take a look at QRZ.com

Editor

JT65 and me.

According to the ARRL, the digital mode JT65 can send 13 characters in 46.8 seconds. FINALLY!!!

Something on the air even slower than my CW!!!
Avoid the stores, and enjoy a nice Slack Friday, friends.
Jay, wd0egc.

[slowspeedwire] New Tgh Ofs at "AY" Rural Retreat, Va

The exact construction date of the old depot has not been firmly established, but it was probably built in the 1870s.

The station agent there for decades was Lacey Akers, and his grandson, Frank Akers, is now Director of the depot restoration and new town museum.

Frank Akers' grandfather and my own grandfather (a conductor) both went to work on that Division of the N&W around 1910. Without doubt, they knew one another.

So when I went down and helped Frank with installing the telegraph, it was like the grandsons picking up where the two grandfathers had left off 70 years before. And I myself worked on that Division as a brakeman between 1964 and 1979, although Station Agent Lacey Akers was long gone by the time I hired.By all means, take a look at this PDF (see attachment).

It is amazing what they have done with the old depot.

And it sits right on the town square.

Attached are photos of the not-too-well-known 15-A, the predecessor to widely known 15-B.

The identifying feature of the 15-A is the"split lever" and an adjusting screw on top of the lever (just rearward of the armature) which raises and lowers the armature with respect to the coils.

Does anyone have one of these in the collection?

73 SW & (abram burnett)

Oops that is now unfortunate, clearly had problems with gravity in the past?

Editor.

The Model 15-A Sounder

Hi Abe,

Yes, photo attached.

I've had it for a number of years but until you identified it as a 15-A I had no idea what it was.

Mine has been significantly "modified" by some previous owner.

It has been re-based and the coils have been rewound or replaced as they are just low impedance, about 20 ohms, not what you would find in a main line sounder.

73, Chris Hausler

Morse & CTC Machine: D&H, 1947

SW at Nineveh Junction was the junction of the D&H Pennsylvania Division, from Wilkes-Barre to Nineveh, with the Susquehanna Division between Albany/Mechanicville and Binghamton.

SW was not only an interlocking station, but also a telegraph relay office.
My first visit to a dispatchers' office, in 1958 at the age of 16, was the D&H Susquehanna Division at Oneonta, NY. Pete Collins was the Chief.

I later worked with him and his two sons, Dick and Phil, both dispatchers, when I came to the D&H.
Pete's sidewire man, I don't recall his name, spent more than two hours with me as he had the time, explaining the telegraph circuits in the office. He told me that he had spent many years as the relay operator at SW. I don't recall whether that job only handed railroad messages or if it included Western Union traffic.

He did say that it was a hot job with several message wires, but a different operator for train orders.

I don't know if both jobs worked all three tricks.
When the D&H dispatchers were consolidated at Albany ca. 1959, Pete took the Oneonta Agent's job instead of moving.

His retirement party in 1971 was very well attended, including the Track Supervisor (me)..

Pete was highly regarded as the Rules Expert on the D&H, even after he retired.

He gave me my first D&H Employes' Time Table, which I still use for an historic reference, even just today.

He explained to me how it fits with the Book of Rules so it all made sense to me.
By the time I started work on the D&H in 1966, SW Cabin was just one of many controlled points handled by the south end dispatcher at Albany.
More than you wanted to know, I guess, but great memories.

Gordon Davids SlowSpeedWire & MorseKob Group

Hello Everyone:
On Friday, November 18, a group of volunteers from the Saginaw (Michigan) Valley Amateur Radio Club and Morse Telegraph Club transmitted Christmas Telegrams (“santagrams”) from the annual “Holidays in the Heart of the City” event.
Here is a link to a very brief video showing the messages being transmitted in “book format” via telegraph to North Pole, Alaska via Fairbanks:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk98UesWgPY&feature=youtu.be

The telegraph traffic was retransmitted on 7115 kHz, but conditions weren’t very favorable.
Please note that American Morse Code is in use, which was standard for commercial telegraphy in North America.

The bug will certainly look familiar to SKCC members, however.
73, James Wades SKCCGroup
In the URL below you can see the box with a key and hear from PLL No.497

under Identifying keys and a relay sounder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-St7jTk5ciw

Editor

QST Magazine: December 2017

Hello, all.

There are scores of "apps" available for both iPhone and Android style phones on their respective "app stores" which involve the use of CW.

Some are simple training programs for which most are accumulated to using, with rote memorization of the sound tied to the character and making the match. Others are more "game oriented" where, say, objects move and can be eliminated from play by properly selecting the correct CW sound to character combination, for example.

I suggest everyone have a look at just how many different options are available in each the Apple App Store and Google Play store by doing some simple keyword searches like "CW", "morse", "code", etc.

As with any type of program, costs vary as do the evaluations of the effectiveiveness and quality of each program, do be sure to evaluate any reviews.

Further reviews can usually be found of the more popular apps by doing internet searches for same.

Generally speaking, most of the apps are of little to no cost if you are willing to tolerate viewing advertisements from sponsors during use of the program.

I hope all have a very wonderful holiday season.
Very 73 de Jeff / KB3ZUK SKCCGroup

Recently Microsoft added an anti-malware application to Windows 10.

I already had Malwarebytes running on my computer.

With 2 anti-malware programs running and doing scans on my computer it slowed down significantly on start up and seemed generally slower all the time.
I could find no way to disable the Windows 10 anti-malware app (and it's free) so I uninstalled Malwarebytes.

My relatively new (April 2017) and really fast computer (PowerSpec - Intel I&-7700K CPU @ 42.0GHz and 16 GB of RAM) was back up to speed.
Yesterday I received notice that I was being charged for an automatic update to Malwarebytes.

I didn’t remember agreeing to automatic updates.

I went to the Malwarebytes website to cancel the update.

Hours later Malwarebyes informed me they couldn’t do that and that I had to go to a 3rd party, cleverbridge AG, the company that handles their customer payments.

Malwarebytes did provide an account number at cleverbridge AG.
I contacted cleverbridge AG on line and the next day they confirmed the fee cancelation.
I find these internet transaction problems time consuming, difficult to resolve, scary, stressful and sometimes expensive.

I’m hoping this heads up helps.

My point was Windows 10 Defender now includes antimalware. Look in Task Manager (right-click on the Task Bar) then click on "More details".

If you click at the top of the Memory column is will sort to highest usage order.

Towards the top you will see "Antimalware Service Executable" running.

Mine right now says 77 MB.

If you don't see "Antimalware Service Executable" then I'd guess your computer hasn't updated Windows 10 in a while though I don't know how you can manage that these days.
So if you see "Antimalware Service Executable" running in Task Manager then you may not be scanner with 3 party antimalware but you are with Windows 10's antimalware software.

I've heard the only way to stop this is to eliminate Windows Defender completely and install a third part anti-virus program and an antimalware program.
73, Art, W2NRA
The latest QSL card designs for the January K3Y event have been uploaded.

You can see them here:
http://www.skccgroup.com/k3y/k3y-qsl-vote.php

We can always use more card designs.

If you have any ideas for cards please submit them by Dec. 14th.

SKCC membership will vote for the winning design that will be used on our 2018 K3Y card.

Twelve other designs will be featured in the 2018 SKCC print calendar.

All the details and design guidelines can be found at the above link.
73, Drew - AF2Z K3Y Planning Group of SKCCGroup
My january callsign PH6SKCC will also be added to the winning design.

Editor

Hello Friends

New Cootie

A new cootie in the shack.

Made with the stainless steel rod inside a windshield wiper.

73, Med CN8YR

Med,

You now are ready to signal the aircraft it can land. (See photo).

Nice!

73, David Ring

Hi David,

Yes I am, but it looks like the plane is taking off under Humphrey's eye.

73, Med CN8YR

Yes, it is taking off.

I never did see the call sign of the aircraft.

Maybe CTAAA or CNAAA or FAAAA five letters for Morse equipped aircraft.

Maybe Morocco used French call letters then? FN?

You can still say that the sun didn't set on the French dependencies.

73, David N1EA

Hello Med and the group,
Well done cher ami Med, a windshield wiper turned into a "side wiper"...
Now you need to find replacement parts for your Rolls-Royce windshield wipers.

Martin - G4ZXN might be of assistance...
Keep up the good work cher ami Med, BCNU.
Yann, F5LAW

Ha ha!!! Yann We are finding trouble finding wipers ourselves, but yes a great looking Cootie Med, can’t beat the KIS approach
Twaaannnngggg!!!

Its my Sons 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom 2 that he is restoring, bit of a money pit investment.

The controls are for “mixture” weak/strong, “Ignition” late/early and “governor” Fast/slow, thankfully all things now automatic in our modern cars.

Martin g4zxn
A picture is worth a thousand words so a video may be worth even more;

here's how a real expert makes his sideswiper sing.
An introduction to the Sideswiper -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfLrgYHIpjo

CW With a Sideswiper Improving Timing and Spacing -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPIcn2ZSfvk

73, Ed - ad7gr
You will find it much easier to roll hand on your wrist, never use finger motions as you will tire quickly.

Traditionally, the motion is roll towards yourself then alternate, away, towards,betc.

The modified posture I recommend is to start with the same motiion you'd use with a bug or paddlle tgen start altering.

Hold your fingers and thumb in the form if an open "C", use the sides of your fingers only.!
73, David N1EA

BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Lucie Green on the sun.

Interesting but just an outline of the subject, you can download the program here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096hcck

I've been listening to the SRN - Sun Rise Net now and then in the past, via webSDR.

This is a nice and friendly net, a nice way to start the day.
http://qsl.net/srn/

16 chickens (oops, check ins) on Thanksgiving Day is a good score, great NCS job!
Keep up the good work Allen and I'll try to listen on Thursdays.
You can browse through each index below.

Select the most appropriate webSDR, depending on skip and target area.

You can even record and listen later.

K2SDR webSDR used to work fine for US nets but there are lots of new ones now.
http://www.websdr.org/

http://www.sdr.hu/

Happy listening my friend.
Have fun with family

Yann F5LAW

New homebuild mcHF(vs06) SDR TRX, 10W-

The rig was build from scratch using the two boards from M0NKA and ordered (SMD) components from Mouser, Conrad and other companies.

Display and case came from China.

Using the newest firmware from UHSDR.

I had several drawbacks building this rig.

But finally succeeded. pff...
2x15m Doublet, h/b Flex cootie.