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2026 23 CQ QRS RagChew

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Contents

CQ QRS RagChew

Newest CQQRS Team Member? Nope – a telegraph operator from the past, as depicted on a plaque outside the Post Offie in Chiltern Victoria.

Dah-di-dah-di-dah

Reports from Tuesday’s CQQRS Slow CW Practice QSO net indicate quite varied conditions – once again some struggled to hear or chat to anyone, others had a ball.

I love the trend toward the lower bands now that daylight saving has ended in VK & ZL – 80m and 160M can be lots of fun, and more and more of our family members are finding their way down there.

Sava VK4PN has even advised in the Reports below that he’ll be maintaining an odd quarter-hour watch on 1855KHZ on other nights between 1000Z and 1100Z when he’s at home.

If you hear Sava, please post an alert on our CQQRS WhatsApp Alerts so others can listen (perhaps via on of the terrific KiwiSDRs?) or give him a call as well.

So this week our Pub-Packing travels have taken us by coach and train to Victoria – Chiltern, Wallan and Ballarat so far. As the rain pours down, Ms Elizabeth and I are sitting in the Ballarat Library as we speak.

Perfect weather for compiling the RagChew newsletter.

My backpacking radio kit – tr(u)SDX transceiver, coupler, four heavy 18650 batteries and 5 Volt charger, key, antenna etc – just didn’t make the backpack-packing cut this time.

The gear squashes down to a toiletry bag and one Kathmandu water-proof pack, and weighs-in at 2.1kg. In some ways, I’m pleased that I hadn’t rushed-in to build the QRP-Labs QMX transceiver that I’d bought (er, six months ago!) for our back-packing adventures.

My procrastination has meant I can now appreciate why I should build the kit in the 9 Volt configuration, rather than the 12 Volt arrangement – hopefully, I’ll be able to get away with just two 18650 (3.7V) batteries… and save a whopping 1009!

And as an aside, you may also note my new positive attitude to procrastination… having just finished Alain de Botton’s Procrastination – How to do it Well book on this trip!

So for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to enjoy listening-in via the many KiwiSDR receivers around the place. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be reporting; I’m keen to show that even for people who can’t get on air, being an SWL on the net can be just as much fun and valuable for skill building and maintenance.

Once again a huge thank you to all of our contributors this week. Ross MONNK deserves special acclaim once again though – even stuck in the rain on this week’s camping trip – he still managed to crack out a couple of articles….

Including one that shares the bliss of the English summer weather just so well. Take care all, and best wishes to both Richard VK6HRC and Donald VK6JDM who were both in the wars this week.

I look forward to hearing them and lots of our other family members on Tuesday’s net next week. I reckon I’ll even have a listen on 160M.

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.

WVlarK bosma VK2KI / VK6QI Patrick John Beautiful South Bowning VK2IOW VK2RU NSW Milthorpe NSW on a track somewhere cqqrsnet@gmail.com non impsditi ratione cogitationis Nigel Richard Lance G4RWI VK6HRC VK7TO our other grey nomad Padbury WA Margate TAS

Nith thanks to Nigel G4RWI’s clever software, and John VK2RU’s clever spreadsheet work, here’s the 41 stations heard by 31 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 comment: 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 who submitted a report –

[20m] Hello from Stuttgart 🙂 This time I was on the key in time, but my signal on Ironstone was about one S level lower than usual. I was happy to hear Ron – VK6KHZ and Manny – VK3DRQ, even if they could only copy me on the SDR.

I need to look after my antenna and maybe I should really think about working from the hut of the local radio club again a great week 73 Mike

[40m] The 40m homebrew beast is still in pieces on the test bench. It has a box it will live in, but a “simple” active audio filter has turned into a struggle of epic proportions and resulted in the death of numerous op amps and slabs of veroboard.

I finally have a filter I will live with and with a few more tweaks (God willing) it will be in a box and ready to roll! I ‘ious online SDRs. So happy it worked and well! th 5 or so ORP watts – 73 de VK2AOE

From Adam VK4IM at North Lakes, Brisbane

[40m] Most signals I heard tonight were quite stable with little or no QSB. VK6NC was a big signal, and no wonder, he was easily 10 over 599. Rob VK3ECH persevered with my lousy signal and we managed to exchange reports

. a signal and we managed to exchange reports before someone came up underneath him and it became hard to decipher anything… Dits and dahs became one mess of code. A more experienced OP might have made sense of it, but alas, not this black duck.

[15m] Edi wasn’t showing on the Live Status Monitor. A station responded to my calls to Edi but it wasn’t him, possibly a VK but QNP.

Ley) Heard nothing exotic except a very strong VK3DBD and a very weak VK3DRQ. In the greater scheme of things, wouldn’t a Spanish operator be considered exotic, even without his traditional E-for-exotic call sign?

[40m] Very poor conditions short haul trans-Tasman, OM Manny VK3DRQ the weakest I’d ever heard him yet a lot of DX strong enough to work had they not already been in QSOs.

[80m] Again this week, low noise but almost no signals. Unable to have a meaningful QSO with Mike VK6TX, his signals were just too weak.

From Donald VK6JDM at 20 km west of Esperance

[80m] On 80 metres sent CQ on and off for an hour, then managed brief QSO with Ketut who was RSN 322 before he was drowned by another signal.

‘2K I at this week from Ballarat VIC while pub-packing.

[20m] Late again – walking around Ballarat in the rain, finding dinner makings etc. By the time we’d done that, the DXperiment was well and truly over. Oh well… let’s hope everyone had some fun.

[40m] Finally got to crank up the VKSPH KiwiSDR at Ironstone Range at around 09002; looked like there was some good activity going on…

A number of WA stations were romping in Max VK6FN was having a chat to Mike VK6TX/4 – clear across the country from Manjimup to Hervey Bay, and Ben VK6XC at Forrestfield was chatting to lan VK5CZ in Riesling country at the beautiful Clare Valley.

I then had a listen to Lance VK7TO chatting to Lin VK6NT operating the Northem Corridor Radio Club station VK6NC at Whiteman Park with that massive 4 element 40m Yagi – no wonder Lin was $9+20dB into the SDR near Adelaide.

I enjoyed just rolling along listening to these two gents chatting at a nicely smooth QRS merlot-like pace. Next up I listened in to Max VK6FN chatting to Maitland at Banksia Park near Adelaide while keeping the CQQRS WhatsApp Alerts group warm with notes about who was chatting to whom and where.

When they finished chatting, George VK2AQE came up and said g’day to Maity. George’s signal sounded like it was, emanating from one of his many small home-brewed radios.

He told Maitland that he was running 5 Watts, and that the unit was ready to be put in a box, but I missed which bit of kit he was using. Hopefully George will have time to send a report and photo, so we can see what his latest creation is.

George and Maity ended their nice rag-chew with a pair of ‘shave and a haircuts’, which is always fun to hear. Just caught the tail end of the QSO between Rob VK3ECH at Echuca and Adam VKAIM at North Lakes when Jordan popped up on WhatsApp with a picture of his Heathkit HW-8 transceiver that he was using on 80…

[80m] Jordan VK3ACU at Meredith posted on the CQQRS WhatsApp Alerts that he was on 3555KHZ with his Heathkit HW-8. Providing Jordan didn’t knock the VFO too many times, Ketut VK3BWN was able to come up and said g’day from East Keilor.

Next up I heard Donald VK6JDM calling CQ, and with a workable signal into the VKSPH Ironstone Range KiwiSDR, Ketut VK3BWN managed an exchange, before going on to chat to Rob VK3ECH up at Echuca.

I also listened in to Greg VKSKFG at Willunga near McLaren Vale which is a wine area, chatting to Sava VK4PN at Mount Ommaney which isn’t. Well in summary, I had a hoot as an SWL this week.

Signals were pouring into Paul VKSPH’s excellent multiple KiwiSDR system Ironstone Range, just East of Adelaide. And what’s more, this week I was just listening on the SDR, rather than trying to listen to multiple receivers and my home station while having the occasional QSO…

So it was pretty relaxing to just eavesdrop on the goings-on. Also from your editor Mark VK6QI at Ballarat VIC via the VK6SEG KiwiSDR near

[80m] Jordan was a comfortable S2 into WA with his nearly 2 Watt Heathkit HW-8 while chatting to Ketut. Other signals from around and about were good into WA this week.

[40m] Lots of activity earlier in the evening on 40m but the band appeared to close then open again. Quite a few stations out and about. T80m!1

Propagation from WA to SA on 80m appeared to be open as I could hear my CQ calls on the Ironstone SDR however I couldn’t hear much at my home QTH. 20m appeared to be getting into the Tasmanian SDR however unsuccessful obtaining a VK7 QSO.

I spent some time working out how to mute the SDR volume when I was transmitting so I would not hear an echo of my transmission when sending. The echo can be very off-putting.

I will have to make a headphone selector switch as suggested by Mark VK2KI so I can listen to 3 devices but only 1 at a time. 73s until ayo SOON

[40m] Conditions seemed poor with not many stations heard. I heard a carrier parked on 7025 at Spm local, and still there at 6-30pm. I wonder if anyone else heard this, or maybe it originates locally?

[80m] I listened on 80m around 8-20pm local. There was a SSB net on 3543, and I thought I could just make out some CW which was too low to copy. I put out a call but could not copy any answers. I was using an eighth wave vertical which was not performing well.

[40m] There were several signals showing on the waterfall when I tuned in and I hoped to make more contacts. I soon called Max and settled in to a longer than usual QSO reporting the storm over the weekend. After I were gone!

[40m] It was very nice to hear so nicely OM Lin from WA. His signal was Extremely strong, RSN 695 + 60 dB. j

[80m] It was very nice to have worked Lin VK6NC and VK3BWN since I hadn’t them both for a long time. I didn’t hear much activity in either band.

[80m] 80m band good condx reminds me of a time during the last solar minimum where 40m was not great but I was able to have a great 100KM SSB contact from South Bali to North Bali with my late father.

[80m] QRM from OS SSB stations completely blotted out my contact with lan on 40 but was very pleased to catch up with Sava later on 80.

[80m] Very late back home again so did not get on air until 11:15 UTC. Went straight to 80 m and logged onto VKSARG Kiwi SDR. My signal into SA was pretty strong so I was hoping for few QSOs. Managed just two with Greg VKSKFG and Ketut VK3BWN.

Had to go back a jong wey into my paper log to ooo ee ln gg

Find the names it has been so long since I worked either of them. QSO with Greg was very chatty as signals were strong and stable both ways.

Ketut’s signal into Brisbane, on this occasion, was pretty marginal (at my end in particular) so we struggled for a while. No chance for a good rag chew just basic exchange.

Since I couldn’t see any faint traces on VKSARG which could be from WA, I logged on to Mt Barker SDR (VK6BL). My trace was clearly visible but it was the only trace so no 80 m activity in WA it seems.

Anyway I kept calling CQ until the end of the QRS net at13:00 UTC. After the net finished I moved to the FT8 segment and VK6ABC was romping in so propagation to WA was definitely on [160] Checked several times for any activity on 160 m ,CW or FT8, but heard nothing.

Just for the record and for those who would like to try a 160 m QSO any time I am at home early or at least before 10:00 UTC I will be calling at 1855 kHz every odd quarter hour between 10:00 and 11:00 UTC.

A couple of weeks ago on my first return to the QRS net I heard VKSPJ and an FK4 station finishing an FT8 QSO both coming through strongly. By the time I tuned up and moved to the frequency they were gone.

160 m band can be quite lively during winter months so have a go if you have a suitable antenna.

Post Mortem 3rd June 2026

Bae Se SSSR eS er SS 2S Sr ee 8 See I See er ee Ne

From Richard VK6HRC. Six on the VK6RLM rpir and AllStar/Echolink hub this morning.

VKKD David ZL3TK Stan VK6QI Mark VK6FN Max VK6HRC

David had a fun evening worked two on 40 m, one on 80 m. Tried a number of other stations but conditions not good enough to get them in the log.

Stan reported that it was very quiet hearing a weak signal from Manny VK3DRQ but an exception was a big signal from David VK3DBD on 40 m. Stan also let us.

Know that he has updated the QRS directory on his web page, a very usefull spreed sheet of call signs and names. Mark called in from a damp Ballarat to let us know that he monitored the QRS activity mostly on the Ironstone Kiwi sdr in VK5 and a spot check on the Northam Kiwi sdr now and then.

He heard eleven on 40 m, nine on 80 m and in that mix was Jordan VK3ACU on his Heathkit HW-8 and George VK2AQE on a homebrew rig.

Max worked five on 40 m and thought he should be getting a better signal from Mike VK6TX but was informed that Mike now resides in VK4 !

I was not on as I nearly ended going out with the household waste, took a tumble as I was wheeling the bin out and landed on my knee ! A hospital visit and many X-Rays later nothing broken strapped up and sent home, confined to Barracks for the next two weeks.

Thank you to all on last night and this morning 73

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.

V-Band Part 3

– Using Your Own Key

It’s Easier Than You Might Think! by Ross MONNK

V-Band Part 3 – Using Your Own Key

Any physical skill is more effective and enjoyable when you use the correct tools fc the job, and Morse is no exception. I’ll use my own VBand set-up as an example, but there are other ways of doing it which I’ll touch upon as we go.

Kevers

• ad ait ie There are (unsurprisingly) three wires coming out of my paddle. These go into a Keyer. The output of a Keyer is two wires whose signal mimics the open/closed circuit of a straight key (which is why my VBand key mode is set to “Straight Key”).

My normal Keyer is a classic old-school K1EL K-16 which is available from Kanga (UK) and K1EL Systems (USA). https:/Avww.kanga-products.co.uk/k1el-keyer-ics https:/Avww.k1elsystems.com/K16ext.html But I’ve also used an old-style Morserino…

Splitter Cable This cheap audio cable means I can jump from my paddle to my straight key without having to do any plugging and unplugging.

Adapter (aka “Interface”) The Adapter converts the open/closed signals from your straight key or paddle keyer into commands that your VBand computer/PC can understand.

Some adapters mimic the square bracket keys or the two CTRL keys (thus they’re called “keyboard emulators”). My method (see my bodged mouse below) mimics mouse clicks, which is why I’ve ticked “Use Mouse Buttons’ in the VBand settings. The result is the same.

Perhaps the simplest way to acquire a suitable Adapter is to buy one of VBand’s own adapters via the Store tab on the website. In fact, they pretty well warn against doing anything else (but they would do that, wouldn’t they?).

And these official adapters will accept the TRS jack directly from your paddle without any keyer device in-between, so there’s a cost and complexity saving there.

Unfortunately, the official adapters are still rather expensive after shipping, customs and local taxes are taken into account, so I’ve looked at alternatives, all of which have worked perfectly.

The cheapest and simplest was the conversion of a spare computer mouse. I soldered the two wires from my Splitter Cable across the contacts of the left mouse button {you could do the same with the two wires from your straight key, of course, or you could solder the three wires from your paddle to the left and right mouse button contacts).

On key-down, the Morse key will short these contacts, just the same as if the mouse button had been clicked. I’ve had both this modified mouse and my regular mouse plugged into my computer (Windows 10, and now Linux) for years now and they’ve worked perfectly together throughout.

Top Tip: before sending Morse, put your regular mouse cursor in a safe place on the screen or else strange and annoying things may happen when you key-down (because your key now does a mouse click).

I’ve also made my own adapter from plans obtained from the internet.

There’s a little more soldering required, and you do need some coding skills with Arduino, so it’s not for everyone. Some of these DIY devices are keyboard emulators (rather than mouse emulators) and will allow you to connect your paddle directly, without a keyer.

Some use the MIDI music protocol. It can be very interesting if you’re into that sort of thing. And then there are the ready-made so-called “Vail adapters”. And the VBand clones Fee ea eV rma ee ws eae Ts wa ee

| know nothing about either of them but I’ve spoken with a chap who does. He say the-box, in which case, the first time you use it, you’ll need to change the mode by “…holding the button in as you power it up” . Caveat emptor though.

These Adapters all connect to your computer over a standard USB cable.

Next Time

In the next episode we’ll confront the first of two Elephants in the Room. How exciting!

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

Diving In

From Martin VK6MJ I removed the Airzone antique radio from its box. The date printed on the speaker frame is 1945.

My newly built isolated, dim bulb current limited variable voltage power supply is seen. I can slowly bring up the voltage on the old radio with the variac. The bulb will light up if a short occurs which protects the radio.

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 Mark VK2KI know; email to cqqrsnet@gmail.com For guidance on writing for RagChew, see Articles below.

QRZ?

Happy Camping

As I’m writing this I’m sat in my car looking the few metres across to my tent and the rainwater streaming down its sides. Yes, the English heatwave is certainly over, and it’s all my fault because I’ve come away camping.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and this one’s that I can settle down to answer the question that is often asked of me – “You’re an experienced portable guy, so why don’t you take your radio gear with you on your camping trips?”.

Well, there’s a lesser and a greater answer to that. The lesser first. I think you’ll understand when I say that I don’t find radio a restful or relaxing experience.

Portable is not just my preferred operating style, it’s my only style (out of necessity rather than inclination) so I’m pretty comfortable with the gear to take for DX into the QRS Net.

But one does have to consider complicated stuff like timings, time zones, and propagation. Most of all though, the actual operating itself isn’t easy – crumbs, we are speaking to each other on the far side of the world after alll Stress.

But the main reason for not doing radio whilst camping is simply that the purpose of a holiday is (for me) to have a break from the ordinary.

I’m retired (yippee!) so my life settles into a pleasantly stable routine, which includes Morse code on Vband, writing articles for RagChew, and taking part in the QRS Net.

I could do all those things whilst away from home, but then it wouldn’t be much of a special time. You, of course, might have different views on the ideal holiday.

I know some people ride on rollercoasters, go scuba diving, and jump out of perfectly serviceable aeroplanes. Good luck to ‘em, I say. And now it’s time to dash over to the tent, get the kettle on, and open that packet of biscuits. Cheers.

As I’m writing this I’m sat in my car looking the few metres across to my tent and the rainwater streaming down its sides. Yes, the English heatwave is certainly over, and it’s all my fault because I’ve come away camping.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and this one’s that I can settle down to answer the question that is often asked of me – “You’re an experienced portable guy, so why don’t you take your radio gear with you on your camping trips?”.

Well, there’s a lesser and a greater answer to that. The lesser first. I think you’ll understand when I say that I don’t find radio a restful or relaxing experience.

Portable is not just my preferred operating style, it’s my only style (out of necessity rather than inclination) so I’m pretty comfortable with the gear to take for DX into the QRS Net.

But one does have to consider complicated stuff like timings, time zones, and propagation. Most of all though, the actual operating itself isn’t easy – crumbs, we are speaking to each other on the far side of the world after alll Stress.

But the main reason for not doing radio whilst camping is simply that the purpose of a holiday is (for me) to have a break from the ordinary.

I’m retired (yippee!) so my life settles into a pleasantly stable routine, which includes Morse code on Vband, writing articles for RagChew, and taking part in the QRS Net.

I could do all those things whilst away from home, but then it wouldn’t be much of a special time.

You, of course, might have different views on the ideal holiday. I know some people ride on rollercoasters, go scuba diving, and jump out of perfectly serviceable aeroplanes. Good luck to ‘em, I say.

And now it’s time to dash over to the tent, get the kettle on, and open that packet of biscuits. Cheers.

QRZ? Who’s on the other end?

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 storyteller 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 Fox and the Crow’, 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

Emails to the Editor

Dear Mark

On the topic of RSN/RST. I see a parallel with something the world authority on firewood Lars Mytting said. Lars wrote the Norwegian best seller, Norwegian Wood, which has been translated into many languages.

He tells how some of the most minor points associated with firewood can be the source of serious, sometimes friendship damaging arguments. The most vicious debate has been over whether you should stack firewood bark side up or bark side down.

For the record we always stack ours bark side down. I doubt I would be able to talk to someone who did it the other way!

In case a person who misguidedly stacks bark up says otherwise I am sending a photo to prove I am strictly a bark down person.

RandomGram and Team Oceania

From Stan ZL3TK Progress down under maybe slow but it is advancing, as in ‘Advance Australia Fair’ for those who are ardent nationalists. Participants in RandomGram events will attest to the enjoyment and confidence gained.

Now that the Team has operated in two events, it’s time to show some results.

While Randomgram aligns perfectly with the goals of ‘Morse with a Purpose’, it also conforms most of the time with the guiding principle of CQQRS, usually out of necessity.

Not to be deterred by average conditions, two stations, one either side of the Tasman, conspired to operate at a moderate 23 wpm. Very gratifying that both sides made not only successful exchanges, but required no

Repeats. Randomgram has been running since 10 May 2023, three years. Those up for a challenge would agree Drew’s innovation is one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.

Personal points earned depend on everyone worked sending in their logs, a requirement which is being respected well. Many thanks go to Drew AF2Z for managing RandomGram, a highlight of the month for many worldwide! 73 de Stan ZL3TK

Chiltern Post Office

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.

From Rob VK6LD Hi All, I found this on my internet travels and thought it might be interesting to some. The Spring 1951 edition of the World Radio Callbook – which listed world-wide amateur calls – pretty amazing for the days before computers became ubiquitous.

Click the top image to see some of the adverts which are interesting to read now – just 74 years later. The bottom one is the link to the International Callbook list. Regards,

PUOT OF LICSHISe IUFr VVerseds om Martin VK6ZMS via WAHAMS

Another handy guide from the WIA. Click on the image to download. Regards Martin VK6ZMS

From Rick VK6XT via the Southern Electronics Group Yes antenna gold! Found this issue of 73 magazine from the good old days Rick Hill VK6XT

Wire Via

If you’ve read something that you think might be of interest to our readers, please email to Mark VK2KI: cqgrsnet@gmail.com

There’s No Such Thing…

Pho WEEN 2 YMC UlIViios 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. So here we go…

Question:

Answer:

PLIOWCr. Over to our readers for more guesses, or even to the self-appointed POG themselves perhaps? cqarsnet@gmail.com

[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!]

Di-dah-di-dah-dit

So back to the CQQRS Slow CW QSO practice 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.

Reports & Photos

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 🙂

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.

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.

Areminder; 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 27 contributors: DL3YZ, MONNK, VK2AOE, VK2IOW, VK2RU, VK3ACU, VK3BWN, VK3DRQ, VK3ECH, VK4IM, VK4PN, VK5A0O, VK5CZ, VK5KFG, VK6HRC, VK6JDM, VK6KD, VK6KHZ, VK6LD, VK6MJ, VK6NW, VK6TX, VK6XC, VK6XT, VK6ZMS, VK7TA and ZL3TK.

And a special thank you to our editorial team, Nigel G4RWI (Mister “why don’t you just get your computer to do that?”), Patrick VK2IOW (report herder), John VK2RU (spreadsheet tweaker), Richard VK6HRC (wheelie bin pilot), Lance VK7TO (director of archiving), Jordan VK3ACU (Mars) and Ross MONNK (from the Philosophy Department).

Great work all! GU CW on Tuesday, mb Mark Bosma VK2KI / VK6QI Beautiful South Bowning NSW cqqrsnet@gmail.com non impediti ratione cogitationis

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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