cq_qrs_newsletter

2026 28 CQ QRS RagChew

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Contents

CQ QRS RagChew

This week’s masthead shows three keys nicely refurbished by John VK2RU, our reports spreadsheet pilot and creator of our weekly CW Practice audio segments.

Dah-di-dah-di-dah

GQQRS Convenor Well all must be well with the world… our new editor Lance VK7TO didn’t seem to run away screaming after compiling last week’s RagChew newsletter.

I reckon Lance did a great job, and in much less time than I used to take; I think there’s a lesson there! And what’s more, he still seems to be talking to me… a great sign 🙂 So back to this week’s CQQRS Slow CW Practice QSO net.

Looks like most of the 37 team members who sent in a report had some fun this week. I really enjoy reading the reports, and I know others do as well – so thank you one and alll for taking the time to pen some words after the net – fantastic!

For me, 40m became unusable here at around 0940Z with strong Auroral buzz – annoying but at the same time, fascinating to view on a waterfall display – I was. watching the KiwiSDR of Paul VK5PH at Ironstone Range near Adelaide.

The noise came up in WA a while later – interesting to compare the look of the noise at the same time on the two displays.

In SA the aurora produced a chequer-board effect with little blobs of noise with gaps along the frequency axis – occupying a few KHz for a short period, then changing from moment-to-moment.

At the same time in WA, the blobs of noise appeared wider in frequency, changing less often, but the tops of the blobs (fe the end of each piece of noise – because the waterfall display descends with the latest at the top) had what looked like a fluffy edge!

Unfortunately I didn’t make a screen shot – not enough arms and legs to decode CW and do that at the same time; next time perhaps?

So let’s see what Lance has come up with this week: in this week’s RagChew we hear from Sergio LU7YS on the other side of the antarctic in Patagonia. Sergio discusses some terrific 80m grey-line propagation that’s happening at the moment around 1000z-1200z.

So – I hope some of our other team can have a go at hooking up with out member Sergio; if so, please let us know! cgarsnet@gmail.com Ross MONNK has had his head down – and not to keep his glasses dry…

Because he’s discovered something fascinating at his home town. And Paul VK3KLE (Mister Replace all the capacitors before even thinking about powering up) entertains us with a visit to some of his classic test equipment.

We also hear from one of our new members who’s discovered the joy of sending at 75% of his comfortable receive speed – nice eh Rob?

We also have some great There’s No Such Thing questions for you to think about and hopefully respond / answer for us this week cqarsnet@gmail.com.

And Jordan VK3ACU has come up with another cracker visit to the philosophy department in our Venus and Mars in the Ham Shack series. Thank you everyone – another terrific read ahead for us all. Alors, bon appétit. Dit-ait Mark Bosma VK2KI/ VK6QI COQORS Convenor

If you’d like to find out a bit about our net, or would like to pass information to others about our Tuesday get-togethers, here’s the link to our website. bit.ly/CQQRSWebsite So here we go – on behalf of the CQQRS Editorial team, please enjoy the newsletter.

Lance Mark Bosma Patrick VK7TO VK2KI / VK6QI VK2IOW Margate TAS Beautiful South Bowning Milthorpe NSW Editor NSW Assistant Editor cqqrsrag.chew.editor@gm CQQRS Convenor ail.com cqqrsnet@gmail.com John Nigel Richard VK2RU G4RWI VK6HRG on a track somewhere our other grey nomad Padbury WA Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Jordan Ross VK3ACU MONNK

With thanks to Nigel G4RWI’s clever software, and John VK2RU’s clever spreadsheet work, here’s the 48 stations heard by 37 members of our team on Tuesday:

John’s spreadsheet above shows the known stations heard or worked on last Tuesday’s CQQRS Net (reported via our webform bit.ly/CQQRSNET ); the commen in the team members’ reports follow.

The comments were compiled for us by the clever software built by Nigel G4RWI and the layout was perfected by Patrick VK2IOW. Thanks again to Nigel, Patrick and John for the work, and to every team member vrthn ciikhmittad 4 rannrt —

[20m] Condx were looking OK on the NOAA dashboard, but the VI signals were a little weaker than usual. I was testing my antenna with my NanoVNA and noticed the resonating frequency being higher than usual.

May be time to visit my bushes up there again and look after the wires before next time. A big thank you to Manny, Stan and David for sending me your nice beeps around the globe again. Have a great w

[40m] I have finally put the beast in a box. Apart from the sidetone which sounds like a pack a day smoker ….It got 3 w to the other side of OZ, so pretty pleased with that. LONG LIVE CW es 73.

[40m] Great night, Lots of good contacts. I shall be portable next week also lots of POTA scheduled for next week hope to catch you on the bands 🙂

[40m] So chuffed to have worked VK6NC on 40m tonight. Lin was a solid 599 signal into the North Side of Brisbane and made it easy for me to come out of my shell. Thanks Lin, you’re in the log!

While I’m here, I like to give a shout-out to Mark, VK2KI and John, VK2RU/4. Mark for his efforts as editor and producing a first rate newsletter, and for pairing me with John VK2RU/4.

Since the beginning of May, John has given up one hour plus, three nights a week for me as my code buddy and has been instrumental in improving my receive capability and giving me the confidence to have a go. Without John, I’d probably still be listening in.

Thanks John your encouragement, pointers and “that little push I needed” has helped [ey

[40m] I was admittedly lazy tonight, been battling the man-flu and just did not feel the mood to pack th car, find a spot, unpack the car, set-up portable, operate, pack the car, drive home, unpack the c: – I was not inspired, so just operated from home.

To my surprise early in the evening I was getting some good reception on 40m with a QSO with James VK3JFR, Jordan VK3ACU, an attempted QSO with VK6NC (Club Station) in WA.

I think it was Mike on the key but I may have also confused it from eaves dropping on the prior QSO with VK6TX who was very faint. Anyway I called, thought possibly VK6NC was replying, but then heard other stations on the frequency.

Thought it prudent to sit silent and wait, and then it all faded out.

[40m] It sure does get noisy after 1800 local

[80m] There was not so much activity this week, on 80m.

[40m] The CW portion of 40m was eventually wiped out by radar, rendering it unusable.

[80m] Very nice to catch Mark on 80m again, though QSB made sigs bit difficult at times.

[40m] The 40m band became quite active for a short time then faded out to not much activity at all. WSPRnet suggested that at 2232HRS WST signals were received from ZL3, VK7, VK3, VK4 into VK6 but this was not apparent at my station in Ballajura.

I managed to get 1 > QSB and then total signal loss occurred.

[80m] 80m signals were not strong but good enough to copy 4 station call signs and follow their QSOs for a short time. Noted, Wayne VK6NW was experiencing QRN and comments that the band was not the best. His area had 11 deg C with a clear day.

This is all good decoding practice for me so please keep those QSOs rolling. WSPRnet @22:50hrs WST indicated the 80m band had opened from VK6 to the whole East coast of Oz and NZ.

It must have been getting too late for our CW operators as not much was heard on the band at this time, hihi. Definitely time for me to hit the sack so until next week, 73.

[20m] No sign of Mike DL3YZ by the direct route, however excellent RSN 581 on Ireland NW SDR. Could barely detect myself on the SDR yet Mike reported RSN 211, at least identifiable.

Regardless of solar flares, the MO documented in recent RagChew article is well capable of doalivarina high niialitv. and mich hattar cnooad NY OCH. ‘

[40m] Looked like solar flares had taken their toll on 40 m. A few very weak signals were visible, but since masochism doesn’t feature in my CV, decided to work on other pursuits.

[20m] , At 0630 the only station I heard on the band was FSIN. Surprisingly he then heard me. I heard Sava and JP6HSZ, an then JP6 disappeared. I had a quick QSO with VK4PN until he too disappeared into the QSB mid QSO.

From Mark VK2KI at Beautiful South Bowning NSW

[15m] Dinner time when Edi DO2EMR was scheduled to be on – so I missed having a listen on 15m this week.

[20m] Late home from a nice day-trip to Canberra, so I completely missed Mike this week. wars

Ro Even though the net had well and truly started when Elizabeth and I got home, we needed a cuppa tea… so that became the priority… a nice cup of tea in our sun-room. also known as my shack…

With the gentle rhythms of Lance VK7TO and Drew VK3XU on 40m in the background; I think there might be another Venus & Mars theme there!

We then listened in to James squared – James VK3JFR at Ararat chatting to other James VK7JZ in Hobart Two cups of tea later, Lance answered my CQ on 7025KHZ with a beaut S7 signal The band started to crack open across the big sands quite early, and I thought we could be in for some early fun….

But it kinda hovered! Signals were coming through weakly, to the extent that when Lin VK6NT operating the big 4 element Yagi at the VK6NC Club station called me – he was barely audible – just the occasional letter – and only the KiwiSDR at Ironstone Range helped identify who was there.

So I apologised to Lin via WhatsApp – no banana this time. After returning from listening to Jordan VK3ACU at Nic VK7WW on 160M, I heard Car! VKSCT at New Haven calling CQ on 7025KHZ and said g’day to him.

Then shortly after at around 0940Z the distinct buzz of an aurora started to roll in; a check on the Ironstone Range KiwiSDR showed that it was around S4 in SA as well.

As the evening went on, the buzz became louder and louder and pretty well obliterated the band for me. I asked Ms E to do an aurora check – cloudy!

[80m] I was surprised with all the buzzing going on on 40m, there was no sign of auroral activity on 80m. Great to have Wayne back home in Bridgetown after six weeks at Kununurra. Discussed the WX mainly – not unexpectedly after his time in the tropics.

had an early start on Wednesday so the last contact with Sava VK4PN up in Brisbane was fairly quick before heading off.

| SAIN I Even though the net had well and truly started when Elizabeth and I got home, we needed a cuppa tea… so that became the priority… a nice cup of tea in our sun-room… also known as my shack….

With the gentle rhythms of Lance VK7TO and Drew VK3XU on 40m in the background; I think there might be another Venus & Mars theme there! We then listened in to James squared – James VK3JFR at Ararat chatting to t’other James VK7JZ in Hobart.

Two cups of tea later, Lance answered my CQ on 7025KHZ with a beaut S7 signal. The band started to crack open across the big sands quite early, and I thought we coulc be in for some early fun…. but it kinda hovered!

Signals were coming through weakly, to the extent that when Lin VK6NT operating the big 4 element Yagi at the VK6NC Club station called me – he was barely audible – just the occasional letter – and only the

[40m] 40m was showing promise with the band starting to open early with marginal signals from the East. May have had a bit of one-way propagation going on – Lin operating VK6NC at Whiteman Park was hearing my signal from SNSW, but I was struggling to hear him.

However, conditions didn’t seem to improve much as the D-layer dissolved and the ALF dropped…. then the auroral buzz started appearing in the West, some hours after the East.

[80m] Luckily the 40m auroral buzz didn’t show up on 80m in the West either this time.

From Donald VK6JDM at 20 km west of Esperan

[40m] I did not manage to get on air this week. I have, however, some news of VK6FN, Max Faulkner. I have been in touch with his brother-in. law who tells me Max is in Bunbury Hospital medical ward following a fall. It appears he is improving slowly.

[20m] Very poor conditions on 20m, at least at this QTH.

[40m] I It was too late when we arrived home from a I reunion/dinner, I did try and only heard VKSLA and VK4PN.

From Chris Wilson VK2NAP at Marrickville NSW

[40m] Don’t you love it when things just come together? A free evening AND a working antenna….and transmission line that’s no longer shorted and waterlogged…..anda matching box that wasn’t going to catch fire…not that I run that much power, but the fairy lights The Minister for Finance, Entertainment and Shoes, AKA The Keeper, AKA Tho ¥YVI had moa nit iiniwiniild dnithle ae an aldiic |

[40m] Don’t you love it when things just come together? A free evening AND a working antenna….and transmission line that’s no longer shorted and waterlogged…..and a matching box that wasn’t going to catch fire…not that I run that much power, but the fairy lights The Minister for Finance, Entertainment and Shoes, AKA The Keeper, AKA The XYL had me put up would double as an aldus lamp when I cranked the drive on the old Yaesu Plastic Fantastic (FT747G) towards a dollar.

Tuesday night was strictly 2 bob (20W) from the little Xiegu X108G, fresh off the bench from surgery to fix its slow cut over from TX to RX.

Not quite right, but close enough for Rock’n’Roll Being my first time back in months, and with a slug of brandy in my coffee, the evening kicked off with a QSO with my very first CW contact when I returned to the hobby back in 2020, Graeme VK5GG and he was smashing it at me, quite a wake up, but I was surprised how much I copied.

Too fast to write down, but quick enough I was picking words and caught enough to make sense. Next call was with Linden operating the club call VK6NC at a leisurely pace.

He was smashing me with a 599++ but unfortunately 20W into my top loaded 12m tall end-fed half-wave was just cutting a 439.

The Over the Horizon Radar that blanketed the bottor 40KHZ of the band for most of the evening wouldn’t have made Linden’s job any easier Drinking buddy George, VK2AOE joined in for some antenna experimenting flipping between horizontal and verticals, 20 and 40m and power v S points, as well as measuring the 600HZ spread on the TX v RX on George’s FT-101E.

A tweak of the pot near the clarifier should work for him. It fixed my 101B. Might drag the old boat anchor out next week. After that I could hear lots of fast stuff in the noise, but with the high noise floor I have i was tough work.

Managed a second DX QSO (| count VK6 as DX) with John K1JD. No the easiest of calls, but we got there in the end I could hear the Indonesian club station YHONN’s net call on 7025, around 429 but couldn’t raise a reply.

Checked 20m but no RBN responses other than my local VK2RF I checked up on the old novice section of the band 7100-7125, heard a couple of stations down in the mush, but nothing I could discem, I also checked 80m on the Manly Warringah KiwiSDR and saw nought so decided to call it a night And thus is the current state of the hobby 73 DE VK2 Not Allowed Phone

From Sava VK4PN at Mt Ommaney Brisbane [15] Had a listen on 15 m on two occasions between 09:00 UTC and 10:30 UTC, nothing heard in QRS DX slot nor in the rest of the 15 m CW band but at 09:00 UTC there was quite a bit of activity in FT8 slot with some EU stations coming through.

After 10:00 UTC when DO2EMR was calling FT8 showed nil activity from anywhere so the MUF must have dropped under 21 MHz.

UTC when DOZEMR was calling FT8 showed nil activity from 7G anywhere so the MUF must have dropped under 21 MHz [20] Similar to 15m poor conditions, heard ZL3TK and VK3DRQ calling DL3YZ but I couldn’t detect anything in Brisbane.

Made few CQ calls close to Mike’s frequency to see if I was picked up by RBN anywhere in EU but nil reports from anywhere.

Lan VK7TA came back to one of my calls with a great signal (599 both ways) but by the second over I was down to $3 and by the third over lan vanished! [80] After my customary break between 09:00 and 10:00 UTC (evening walk ) I managed few QSOs on 80m.

First contact was with Jordan VK3ACU, we had a decent exchange and rag chewed for a while. His 10 W was doing excellent job thanks to his doublet antenna. Solid 599 into Brisbane.

Two more QSOs were both first time for me VKSLA and VK3DA who probably are not members of the QRS group. I hope both Andy and Paul join us occasionally. Last QSO was with Mark VK2KI who came back to my CQ very close to 13:00 UTC.

We hook up frequently for a quick chat but this time I had a specific question for Mark as I read in the NZCW net’s fortnightly summary that VK2KI received CW Operators award for promoting CW operations and running the QRS net!

Mark confirmed he did get the reward but that was in 2025. As I am a new member of the QRS Net this information may have been reported prior to me joining. In any case it is worth bringing it up and if it has not been reported it is about time.

Let’s hope we find out more about it in the Rag Chew. [160] As usual I spent a bit of time on 160M between 10:00 and 11:00 UTC around 1850 KHz. Just one contact with VK2WF at 1820 KHz who was bright red at Ironside SDR and 10 dB over nine at my QTH.

He was running serious QRO as my trace at Ironside was pale green just visible. For those who are interested in 160 m QSO with VK4 check Ironside around the above frequency in the first and third quarter hour between 10:00 and 11:00 UTC.

[40m] I got on early to try and work the DX stations on 20 m, but despite listening really hard, I could only catch the occasional disturbance in the aether, with no workable signals anywhere across the band, which was most unusual at that time of day.

Moving down to 40 m though, what a difference. The waterfal was ablaze with signals. There were several stations calling CQ, one of whom was David, 3DBD. Having worked him the day before, left him to

Great chat about the CQQRS community, and the plethora of accomplished ops who turn up on Tuesday evenings and call CQ at speeds far below their usual operating rate, easy bait for beginners and slower operators alike.

An hour or so later, after a tea break 40 m was a lot quieter. I planned to drop down to 80 m, but was delayed by a brief hello with Mark, 2KI. After signing off, I dropped down to … nothing.

No signals on 80 mor 16 m at all, and despite calling for a while on both bands wasn’t heard up by any RBN nodes. Back to 40 m then where I hooked up with Mait, 5AO.

We discussed my planned hike into the Tas wilderness (subsequently cancelled/postponed due to very poor WX forecast), and binaural receiving.

I had mentioned that whilst working Mark, I tuned my SDR to a QSO between him and Wayne, 6NW, and panned each QSO to a different ear. It was very tough, significantly aided by Mark’s QRSS, but managed to copy some of the second QSO.

It was an interesting experiment which I will probably try again …. if I’m having a VGCD (Very Good Copy Day).

From Richard VK6HRC. Six on the VK6RLM rptr and AliStar/Echolink hub this morning.

Mark in beautiful rather chilly 3 deg and foggy South Bowning was a little late joining the fun last evening. Missed the DX segment worked two on 40 m heard six before the Auroral buzz took over at 0940 Z. On 80 m worked two where conditions were much better.

Wayne back home in chilly Bridgetown after his stint in Kunnanurra worked four on 40 m and moved to 80 m when the buzz took over. Worked Paul VK3KLE and a ragchew with Mark VK2KI to round the evening off.

David was held up for a while, in the midst of sorting out his new caravan and finding a new home for the older one. On 40 m worked Adrian VK2WS and Wayne VK6ENW on 80 and heard four more.

David will be in VK2 land in about five weeks for the Mundi Mundi music festival on red dirt plains 35 Km North of Broken Hill. Looking forward to their reports from there.

‘Adam was happy to work Lin VK6NT out at the Norhern corridor radio club using the club call VK6NC and got a decent 559 report from Lin. More from Adam in the Ragchew news letter to follow. No show for me last night, got side tracked !

Looking at WhatsApp this morning saw that it was very busy with messages last night.

The Post Morsum callback happens the every week between 2200Z – 2300Z on Wednesday morning (Tuesday UTC). You can join via AllStar node 42482, or Echolink on VK2KI-L or VK8MT– I

Reporting

After next Tuesday’s Group, please remember to send me a list of who you worked and / or who you heard using our web form here:

Even if you didn’t hear anyone, we’d still like to know that you had a go. And to make your report more interesting, please consider sending a photo: cqarsnet@gmail.com So, please help attract new and old team members to have a go by submitting your report each week.

Submissions close 1300 (Eastern Australian Summer time)_on Thursdays.

30 m Patagonia to Oceania

The path of possibility by Sergio, LU7YS

Over the last few years I have been systematically observing and operating the 80m band from Patagonia, and I would like to share some conclusions that may be of interest to the CQQRS group.

What initially started as an experiment with my Inverted-L antenna has now become a well-documented and repeatable propagation pattern.

For several winters now, I have consistently observed a very reliable grey-line window between Patagonia and Oceania on 80m CW.

Based on years of RBN observations, operating experience and confirmed QSOs, the period from late May through August appears to be the best time of the year for this path.

The most productive window is generally between 1000 and 1200 UTC, with signals often peaking around 1100-1130 UTC. During this period, RBN reports from New Zealand are frequently in the 20 to 0 dB range, and on exceptional mornings even higher.

Australian skimmers regularly report signals as well, confirming that the path extends well beyond ZL. Recent observations from the past few days include: + VK3RASA reporting LU7YS at up to +42 dB. + ZL2KS repeatedly reporting signals between +20 and +25 dB.

+ ZL8X reporting up to +25 dB. * Consistent reports from the US West Coast (W6YX, ND7K, WA7LNW). More importantly, this is not just RBN data.

Over the years I have completed and confirmed numerous QSOs on 80m with stations in: + Australia (VK) + New Zealand (ZL) + Japan (JA) + North America (W/VE)

Telegraph History in Plain Sight

The benefits of looking down by Ross, MONNK

Recently I’ve been conducting a photo survey of the old manhole covers in my home town. Yes, you might find that a bit strange, but I do have a diverse range of interests outside the radio hobby (I spend far too much time in the local graveyard, but that’s another story).

Anyway, I was having an afternoon off from my researches and determinedly not looking at manhole covers, when this one stopped me in my tracks:

You might find the writing on that a bit hard to discern but each half has the words “Post Office” at the top (which became “British Telecom”, then plain old “BT”, and now looks as if it will be absorbed by EE). Let’s not get distracted by trivia though.

Look at the writing along the bottom edge. Here it is zoomed in so you can read it more clearly:

Yes, “TELEGRAPHS”! Unbelievable. Telegraph services started to operate in the UK around the 1850S. These were firstly run by private companies. It wasn’t until 1870 that the Post Office took over all telegraph services in the country.

In Budleigh Salterton, you would have handed over your message at the Post Office in the High Street. I know not what would have happened to it after that, I’m afraid.

The existence of Post Office Telegraph manhole covers suggests that telegraph wires ran out of town. Which, in turn, suggests that there was a telegraph operator in the Post Office building itself.

In 1977 the Post Office decided to abolish the inland telegram service. It went on for another five years though, British Telecom finally ending it at midnight on 30 September 1982, citing high operational losses and the rise of the telephone.

Gone, you would’ve thought, without trace. But no – the pavements of Budleigh Salterton and our skills at the key are tangible reminders that memories of those days still echo down the years. Ross MONNK – Bundleigh Salterton, UK

If you have an article or two that you think might be of interest to our readers, please let me know so we can share more thoughts and ideas; for guidance on writing for RagChew, see Articles below. Please email material to Mark VK2KI: cqqrsnet@gmail.com

On My Workbench

Nixie Tube Meter Maintenance

This week I have done further maintenance on a vintage nixi tube bench meter by Phillips . Ihave owned it for a few decades now.

Previously I’d replaced many caps but not all of them and having recently acquired some axial military grade tantalum caps I decided to dive deep into the old boards . The new parts being on boards not shown below.

After soldering in about 20 off caps I bought CCT board cleaner and iso alcohol spray and emptied the spray cans. The inside once finished was very good and recalibration was needed again due to removal of years of crude .

With remaining cleaner I did the Kenwood ts 820 rig.it was used on last night’s net on 40m. The external vfo has 100KE tunning range , moded for CW segment coverage only. After cleaning all boards and connectors I recovered a good deal of rx sensitivity.

Minor alignment needed doing too. RF boards really do work better when very clean as do waffers switches. The Marconi sign gen was also resurrected this week with a ps board rebuild.

On large cap was leaky resulting in the step attenuator having low voltage and no longer working at all. Id previously removed and cleaned that attenuator. It’s nice when a project finally comes tocether.

Best regards

What’s going on on your workbench? If you have an article or two that you think might be of interest to our readers, please let us know; email to cqqrsnet@gmail.com For guidance on writing for RagChew, see Articles below.

QRZ?

Our net is a fun get-together that people enjoy returning to each week. It’s really nice to know who’s on the other end of the QSO. So, please share some thoughts about yourself to cqqrsnet@gmail.com for a future RagChew.

CW Practice

This year we’re using Aesop’s Fables. These are short moral stories, often using talking animals, that illustrate simple truths about human behaviour and character.

Aesop’s Fables originated in ancient Greece, traditionally attributed to the storytelle Aesop who is thought to have lived around the 6th century BCE.

The fables are generally smaller files of two to three hundred words that have been recorded at 15 wpm and run for about 15 minutes.

If 15 wpm is a bit quick for you, load it onto your phone and set the playback speed at 0.75 X or even 0.5 X- whatever works for you. 0.75 X will play the MP8 at a bit under 12 wpm. Itis suggested that you read the text file before listening to the audio file.

That will make it easier to follow the audio file and prepare you for any unusual words. Any punctuation that is not usually used with CW has been removed. This week’s fable is ‘The Eagle and the Arrow’, and the MP3 and TXT files are attached here:

If you prefer a different speed or tone, you can create your own MP3 files by converting the text file with the Ebook2CW app — https://fkurz.net/ham/ebook2cw.html.

You can either play the MP3 files in any media player, or load the text file into the Ditto CW: Morse Player app — https://dittocw.andro.io/.

Both options work well, however Ditto CW gives you complete control over all Morse settings, while a normal media player only allows changes to playback speed, and does that in steps (e.g. +1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x).

Other News

Sending and Copying Speed

Thanks to Mark for the advice on Sending slower, so the other Station sends at that speed. I just did a 45 minute practice session with a friend, and found with my slower Sending speed made less errors.

With the other station Sending slower my Copying him was easier. So it was an improvement both ways. The practice continues and the confidence grows, tnx. I’ve included a pic of myself as requested , not that flattering, but there it is.

At least everyone can put a face to the Callsign.

Congratulations

Let me be among the first to say congratulations on a superb first RagChew newsletter under your direction. Thanks to you and to the contributions of so many, edition 27/2026 was a pleasure to read.

Once again, thank you so much for stepping up to the keys, and I hope that production of RagChew brings you as much satisfaction as it did for me. Mark VK2KI – Beautiful South Bowning, NSW

Aresponse to Chris VK3QB‘s excellent article encouraging the use of abbreviations and prosigns. I completely agree with what he says, but have two caveats: 1.

Not being a voice operator before learning Morse, I really struggled with abbreviations and prosigns to start with. In fact, I felt strongly that they were a deliberate elitist barrier to entry into this mode of operating.

I’m now a hypocrite as I’m a great advocate of the correct expression of Prosigns, and the sound of some abbreviations is music to my ears (for example, “HI HI” and “78 73 e e”).

To be clear, I think we should recognise that there are other challenges to CW, not just the sending and copying of dits and dahs. 2. Brevity was a boon to the professional operators of old. But they were masters of Accuracy.

The problem with Brevity is that one blunder (Sender) or brain fart (Copier) renders the message unintelligible. Plain English, on the other hand, has plenty of Redundancy built in. This can be very useful for beginners (or buffoons like me).

I have often said that “Morse is a guessing game”, and the Redundancy of Plain English makes it very much easier to fi! in the blanks.

I’m not for one moment advocating abandoning our beloved abbreviations and prosigns – that would be “throwing baby out with the bathwater”. I’m just saying that experienced operators may find them more useful than tyros. What’s the rush, anyway?

Relax into the medium; enjoy “Morse Time”. Ross MONNK – Bundleigh Salterton, UK

Planting time

It’s mid winter and cold. I have been outside on various days to do winter pruning and to plant up my rose garden in pots hand made by Harry Klemke, a known horticulturist in the 1950’s.my grandfather.

Have you ever thought about a zoom meeting once a week or fortnight, this way the learners could ask about different ways of giving help to those learning?

Michael VK4CCW – Kawungan, QLD Readers will be pleased to hear that after some back and forth with our editor emeritus, Michael is going to take the bull by the horns and drive this initiative.

So, if a regular CQQRS video conference sounds like something you’ll be interested in, watch this space!

Morse Training Net

Our team member Nic VK7WW runs an on-air Slow Morse training net every Wednesday at 7pm EDST on 3580 for 30 mins. He uses the callsign of the Northern Tasmania Amateur Radio Club VK7TAZ on that net.

Many of our team learned Morse code with the support of Nic, and the weekly training session comes highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn the Code, or simply brush up.

Everyone’s welcome – 3580KHZ at 7pm Eastern time every Wednesday; you’ll hear lots of the CQQRS team on that net. Jordan VK3ACU has ralso ecorded the complete set of lessons which you can now find here:

Https://www. youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHsQmZz6fBXO7swAfbT mutrbbEL17fUQL Contact Nic VK7WW for more info nicholaschantler@hotmail.com including how to join the NTARC DISCORD group to follow the action, or just come along and join in on Wednesdays.

There’s No Such Thing…

‘!— I think the first lesson in Teachering 101 is to always tell students “There’s no such…” (I’m sure you know the rest) and “…the only dumb questions are the ones not asked”.

John VK2RU reckons that there’s lots of questions out there among bot our new and our experienced operators – about CW, amateur radio operating and about theory.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp lam new to Morse but am a member of CQQRS. I have joined Ragchew and Alerts but am unsure what I did wrong when joining Announcement. I When I look at ‘groups you’re in’ all I see are Ragchew, CQ QRS – alerts and RF Exchange.

Announcements is above but not the group. Not sure how to fix my problem!! Andy VK3XKA – Lysterfield, Victoria Over to you team, does anyone want to writeup how we use WhatsApp?

What groups we have, and what they’re for, how to subscribe and set a custom name and callsign label? Morse Trainers lan, VK1HF, posed a question on WhatsApp asking what people’s favourite morse trainer is.

There have already been some responses; if you’d like to share your thoughts, let us know via email and we’ll print it in next week’s edition.

Sa od od lam new to Morse but am a member of CQQRS. I have joined Ragchew and Alerts but am unsure what I did wrong when joining Announcement. I When I look at ‘groups you’re in’ all I see are Ragchew, CQ QRS – alerts and RF Exchange.

Announcements is above but not the group. Not sure how to fix my problem!! Andy VK3XKA – Lysterfield, Victoria Over to you team, does anyone want to writeup how we use WhatsApp?

What groups we have, and what they’re for, how to subscribe and set a custom name anc callsign label?

Morse Trainers

[Do you have a question or two or a discussion starter worth sharing? cqqrsnet@gmail.com if so.]

Prosign/Character/Signal of the Month

[Put it on a sticky note near your key as a reminder for Tuesday…. and tell us how you went!]

I Hear Tell…

• VKS3ACU has been entertaining his local wildlife! Click the image below to watch the video.

[If you have some intel about other team members… or even yourself… that’s worth sharing, please let us know cqqrsnet@gmail.com |

Di-dah-di-dah-dit

So back to the CQQRS Slow CW QSO practice net.

Next Tuesday’s Net

Our CQQRS Group will be on as always on Tuesday from around 0600Z until about 12002; see https://bit.ly/CQQRSWebsite and navigate to the Net Details page for details.

Doesn’t matter whether you’re brand new and want to try just exchanging callsigns and RST reports, or you’re ready for a good old rag chew. We’ll have fun.

There’s usually people around until after 1200Z – so keep calling in the segment of the band designated in the table below until you catch someone.

Please let us know via our Reports form bit.ly/CQQRSNET who you work or hear on Tuesday’s Group. The report form closes at 1pm (Eastern Australian time) on Thursday. And how about helping to make the reports even more interesting by sending a photo?

If you have a photo that you’d be happy to include, please email it to: cqqrsnet@gmail.com And of course, we’re always on the lookout for more photos for the newsletter, so if you have something that might be of interest aside from the reports, please send it through as well.

Email to cqgrsnet@gmail.com please. Oh and by the way, I recommend that you don’t keep the Reports Form website open between submission of reports from one week to the next.

If you’re unlucky, there’s an undocumented feature in the software that could cause your current week’s report to be combined with your previous report – it’s happened to your editor several times – much to the chagrin of our Reports editor 🙂

Post Morsum

Richard VK6HRC will run our phone Post Morsum on Wednesday mornings on the South West AllStar net (via repeaters and hotspots all over WA) from 0600 WA time, then from 0700 WA time on 80m (3605 LSB).

See https://bit.ly/CQQRSWebsite and navigate to the Net Details page for details of how you can connect via Echolink from anywhere in the world.

Articles

Could you write a short article or articles for RagChew? You bet! Writing not your strong point? Don’t worry, I’m very happy to help as much or as little as needed.

Oh, and one more thing (actually two) – copyright material: * please use your own images – don’t use images copied from the internet unless you have the producer’s permission, or they’re marked ‘Creative Commons’ or similar; ¢ if you include other peoples’ written material, unless you have permission, you may only include small snippets (unless it’s marked ‘Creative Commons’ or similar), and you’ll need to site the source and author.

For more guidance on writing for the RagChew newsletter (including how you might even try using one of the new Artificial Intelligence tools), head to our website bit.ly/CQQRSWebsite then click the menu on the top right and then click RagChew Newsletter.

Material

A reminder; if you send me any information by email, our report form or WhatsApp – unless you specifically state that material is not to be published, I’ll assume that you’re happy to see your thoughts in the RagChew newsletter.

Thank you so much to our team of 32 contributors: DL3YZ, LU7YS, MONNK, VK2AOE, VK2AUX, VK2DLF, VK2GAS, VK2IOW, VK2KI, VK2NAP, VK2RU, VK3ACU, VK3DRQ, VK3KLE, VK4CCW, VK4IM, VK4PN, VK5AO, VKSET, VKSKFG VK6HRC, VK6KD, VK6KHZ, VK6NQL, VK6NW, VK6QI, VK6TX, VK6XC, VK7JZ, VK7TA, VK7TO and ZL3TK

And a special thank you to our editorial team, Nigel G4RWI (head of software development), Patrick VK2IOW (reports coordinator), John VK2RU (spreadsheet manager, Richard VK6HRC (post morsition), Jordan VK3ACU (head gagster) and Ross MONNK (seconded from the Philosophy Department).

Great work all! GU CW on Tuesday, Lance VK7TO Margate TAS Editor cqqrs.ragchew.editor@gmail.com

About the CQ QRS Net

For the current schedule and more information about the CQQRS net, please go the the Net Details page on our website:

The opinions expressed in the RagChew newsletter are those of the individual contributors. The opinions do not necessarily reflect that of the editors or of the CQQRS Group members.

Any material and images received from members by the editor or published on the CQQRS WhatsApp groups may be published in this newsletter unless specifically requested otherwise.

The RagChew newsletter is considered to be exempt from the Australian Government’s ban on social media for under 16 year olds because it is a service that has the primary purpose of enabling users to share information about products or services, engage in professional networking or professional development services or of supporting the education of users per the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner FAQ webpage “Which platforms have been excluded from the age restrictions” dated 10DEC25.

The values, doctrine and guidelines for the Group and for the newsletter are published on the Principles page of the group’s website https://bit.ly/CQQRSWebsite

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