Tag: dx

HOW TO CALL CQ?

7. HOW TO CALL CQ?
Make sure the frequency you want to use is clear. You don’t do this by mere listening but also by effectively asking if that frequency is in use. For example, on SSB after having listened for a while, ask ‘Is this frequency in use?’, followed by your callsign. If no response, repeat this question, followed by your callsign. If again no response, the frequency is yours to call CQ.
On CW and RTTY send ‘QRL?’. Some think a ‘question mark’ is sufficient. It is not as it can be confusing. If on a given frequency there is ongoing traffic (which you don’t hear), someone else on that frequency may interpret your question mark as if you are asking for the callsign of a station on that frequency. A ‘cop’ scenario may arise (see chapter 12).
‘QRL?’ cannot be misinterpreted by anyone, it means you want to know if that frequency is clear for you to use. A question mark in this situation is meaningless and may mean several things.

On CW you get possibly one of the following answers if the frequency is in use:

* R (Received-Roger)
* Y (Yes)
* YES
* QSY

If by coincidence you landed on a ‘hot frequency’ (especially if used by a DXpedition or a rare DX station), chances exist you may get shouted at. Don’t worry, don’t react, just move to another frequency. Or figure out -by listening, not by asking- who the ‘DX’ is and work him.

Lots of problems can be avoided by following the first rule of operating (whether casual or DX): LISTEN. This golden rule used in combination with the magic word ‘QRL?’ will keep you out of trouble if you are looking for a clear frequency to call CQ.

* When calling CQ, don’t do as follows: call CQ ten times, followed by your callsign twice and then listen. Better to do this: call CQ twice and give your callsign ten times (I exaggerate, four times is sufficient!).
* The most important aspect when calling is not the word CQ, but your callsign. If conditions aren’t too good, it is important the station at the other side of the globe (yeah, cool!) hears your callsign rather than the word CQ. Too many times I’ve heard operators call CQ 15 times, give their call once, and then say ‘listening for any call now’. This is senseless.

Practice makes perfect. If you are not experienced, listen for a while to others to sharpen your teeth. You will quickly develop your own stye to make successful and pleasurable QSOs.

BE POLITE

http://www.on4ww.be/OperatingPracticeEnglish.html

4. BE POLITE
This is the shortest but undoubtedly most important chapter in this document. At all times, be polite! Your transmitted signal is being heard by a lot of folks and agencies. You’ll go a long way by being polite, in our little ham world or in the outside world.

AD7MI: Sometimes in the rush and excitement of chasing DX it is easy to forget the other stations out there. The first part of our Amateur’s Code puts it well: Considerate… never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others.

CORRECT USE OF YOUR CALLSIGN

http://www.on4ww.be/OperatingPracticeEnglish.html

3. CORRECT USE OF YOUR CALLSIGN
Use your callsign in a correct way. You have to take a serious exam in order to enjoy this hobby. Be proud of your callsign, it is unique. Only if you use it in a correct way are you making legal transmissions. Ever hear the callsign 4ZZZZ on VHF? As far as I’m aware of, we are dealing with a transmission from a station from Israel and not from Belgium. ON4ZZZZ is the correct callsign. A callsign comprises of a prefix AND a suffix. Even on the HF bands this reprehensible practice can be heard. For analogy, if your car has been stolen, will you report half of the alphanumerics of the number plate to the police, or the complete lot?

AD7MI: always call the DX station with your full call. Always.

LISTEN

From: http://www.on4ww.be/OperatingPracticeEnglish.html

2. LISTEN
As a new ham you’d like to start transmitting as soon as possible, of course. Take it easy, take your time, stay away from that microphone, morsekey or keyboard. First get comfortable with ALL the functions of your transmitters/receivers before attempting any transmissions. The transmit part needs special attention, as it is here one can make his first ‘on the air’ mistakes.

Initially learn to LISTEN. Whoever listens at first, will be much more successful in making good and enjoyable contacts. The chapter PILEUPS deals in depth with this important issue.

AD7MI: I’m guilty of this one. I need to learn to slow down, take my time and listen. Listen, listen, listen.

Best Operating Practices

I recently received a care package from the XYL containing recent issues of my favorite amateur radio magazines: WorldRadio, CQ, QST, as well as the FISTS newsletter. One of the QST column’s mentioned ON4WW’s website and his tips for good amateur radio operating practices. I’d like to highlight them – they make great sense and if everyone observed them, would make our quality radio time just that much more enjoyable.

From: http://www.on4ww.be/OperatingPracticeEnglish.html

1. HAM LANGUAGE
Know the ‘Ham Language’. Get acquainted with the correct Amateur Radio Language. Don’t say ‘Radio four’, but ‘readibility four’. Master the phonetic alphabet, CW abbreviations, the Q code and the number code (73/88) as if they were a second mother language before getting on the air.
Always use the phonetic alphabet in a correct manner: A is Alfa, and not Alabama.

AD7MI: it always throws me when someone does not use the standard phonetic alphabet. But I will admit, with some DX stations where I have a hard time understanding their pronunciation, a substitution in the phonetic alphabet makes sense. I know the basic Q codes, but do need to brush up a bit.

100 Nations Award

I read about this in an issue of World Radio from Jan 1999. I don’t know if they still offering this award, but it seems pretty cool.

100 Nations Award

In an effort to encourage personal communications among peoples around the world via Amateur Radio, Worldradio offers the Worked 100 Nations Award to those confirming two-way amateur communications with permanent stations in 100 distinct countries having a permanent, native population. The purpose of the Worldradio Worked 100 Nations Award is to demonstrate the unique opportunity Amateur Radio offers for communications between international borders to further worldwide understanding.

The W-100-N is not a radio sport award as such, but a token of achievement in communication. At the same time, it offers all Amateur Radio enthusiasts several features not found in other awards.
1. W-100-N virtually eliminates the need to work geographic areas heard only during DXpeditions. Almost all national entities have amateur stations consistently on the air.
2. W-100-N, then, will be of perennial interest. The advantage to those stations having worked a national entity long absent from the air will be minimal.
3. W-100-N is difficult to achieve, yet is within reach of all moderately well-equipped stations whose operators utilize good communication skills.

Rules
1. The Worked 100 Nations Award is available to any licensed Amateur Radio operator who can prove confirmation of two-way communications with government-authorized Amateur Radio stations in at least 100 different nations of the world.
2. No contacts with stations using reciprocal calls will count toward this award, such as N6JM/UL7.
3. All contacts must be with landbased stations. Contacts with ships, at anchor or otherwise, and aircraft cannot be considered.
4. All contacts shall be made from the same country.
5. Only contacts made on or after 01 January 1978 will count.
6. The application shall include the following:
a. Letter requesting W-100-N.
b. List of contacts in alphabetical order by prefix showing nation, station call, date, band and mode.
c. A signed statement by two other licensed radio amateurs, General class or above that they have inspected the required QSL cards.
d. A fee of $5 to cover the cost of the award.
7. All applications and requests shall be addressed to:
W-100-N Award Manager
Worldradio
2120 28th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
8. There are no special endorsements to this award; however, endorsements may be made if the achievement bears such recognition. All modes and bands may be used. Upon approval of an application for W-100-N, a certificate will be issued and the issuance of the award will be noted in a future issue of Worldradio.

Cleveland, OH to St. Louis, MO

Another long day and lots of rain. I left the hotel in Cleveland around 8:15am and found a place to park near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and put my antennas back on. I put on the 40M Hustler to see if it would make a difference with the problem I was having with the Icom AT-180 tuner. I rolled out and tested the radio with the Hustler antenna but encountered the same problem as before.

I headed over to the AES store in Cleveland. The store was well stocked – equivalent to what I’ve encountered in an HRO store, although I think AES had more magazines and books. I purchased an Icom AH-4 longwire tuner and a LDG 4:1 balun.

Back in the parking lot I disconnected all the cables on the AT-180 and then reconnected them. That seemed to have fixed the problem…. because 40M started working without issue. I had a nice QSO with Stan, W??JMV, who was operating from his attic radio room on the Jersey shore. I then checked into the ECARS net, the NCS had a nice solid signal. I then worked 20M talking to England, Serbia, Czech Republic, and Italy.

When I was about 5 miles east of St Louis a tremendous rain started coming down – I had to pull over on the side of the highway. It was the worst downpour I’ve ever seen. Tomorrow should be an easier drive.

The Last Frontier – QSO with Alaska!

I turned the rig on during lunch yesterday for a quick spin around 20M and ran into the Alaska-Pacific Emergency Preparedness [http://www.alaskapacificnet.org/] Net run by Will, AL7AC, from Sterling, AK. I heard the traffic net taking Alaska station check-ins… passing their callsigns, locations, and a brief weather report. I was excited because I was hearing Alaska! I’d never actually heard them before, so this was a first. And I wasn’t just hearing one station, I was hearing almost all of them… at least a good dozen. Then the NCS asked for guest check-ins. I grabbed the mic and figured I’d toss in my callsign, not expecting a reply. But Bill came right back to me with a nice signal report! So I thanked him, checked into the net, gave my QTH, and “no traffic”… 1st QSO with Alaska complete!

The quest for Worked All States (WAS) is almost complete… one state to go: Wyoming.

Special event 4U60UO to mark UNESCO 60th anniversary celebration

Members of the Association of Radioamateurs of Paris (ARP) will operate special event station 4U60UO to mark the conclusion of the 60-week long 60th anniversary celebration of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The station will be on the air from UNESCO Headquarters in Paris Saturday and Sunday, November 4-5. 4U60UO will operate all modes — including CW, SSB, SSTV, PSK31, satellites and hamDRM — and all bands from 1.8 MHz to 47 GHz (except for 6 meters). Chartered November 16, 1945, UNESCO marked its 60th anniversary by selecting 60 themes to highlight the 60 weeks between September 5, 2005, and November 4, 2006. A special QSL and certificate will be available from ARP.–Laurent Beugnet, F6GOX

425

Here’s my current roll up for DXCC – just need to get those QSL cards! I have 53 confirmed so far.


CALLSIGN DATE BAND MODE DXCC CNFRMD
OH0X 10/28/2006 20 SSB Aland Is.  
7X2LS 12/11/2005 20 PSK31 Algeria  
VP2EBR 12/16/2005 20 PSK31 Anguilla  
V26B 10/29/2006 15 SSB Antigua &
Barbuda		  
LW9EOC 10/15/2006 15 SSB Argentina  
P40W 10/28/2006 15 SSB Aruba  
VK4CZ 10/29/2006 20 SSB Australia  
OE1DWC 2/7/2006 40 PSK31 Austria R
CU2/OH1VR 10/28/2006 15 SSB Azores  
EA6ADM 1/17/2006 20 PSK31 Balearic Is.  
8P2K 10/28/2006 20 SSB Barbados  
EW7EW 12/21/2005 20 PSK31 Belarus R
OO6FN 11/29/2005 20 PSK31 Belgium R
V31LL 10/17/2006 17 SSB Belize  
VP9LN 8/20/2006 20 SSB Bermuda R
PJ2T 10/28/2006 80 SSB Bonaire, Curacao  
T94KC 3/23/2006 20 PSK31 Bosnia-Herzegovina R
PS7LN 12/11/2005 20 PSK31 Brazil R
VP2V/AH6HY 10/1/2006 20 SSB British Virgin
Is.		  
LZ1BJ 1/26/2006 17 PSK31 Bulgaria  
VE9DX 12/4/2005 17 PSK31 Canada R
EA8/OH2NAF 12/6/2005 20 PSK31 Canary Is. R
ZF2PP 1/9/2006 20 PSK31 Cayman Is.  
CE/VE7SV 10/17/2006 20 SSB Chile  
HK3GXI 4/30/2006 40 PSK31 Colombia R
TK5IH 2/10/2006 20 PSK31 Corsica R
TI8II 10/1/2006 15 PSK31 Costa Rica  
9A3LE 1/22/2006 20 PSK31 Croatia R
CO3JN 11/30/2005 20 PSK31 Cuba R
OK2VA 1/2/2006 17 PSK31 Czech Rep. R
OZ5ESB 8/19/2006 20 SSB Denmark  
HI3/OK2ZU 3/4/2006 20 PSK31 Dominican
Republic		 R
HC1JQ 10/29/2006 20 SSB Ecuador  
YS1PY 8/20/2006 20 SSB El Salvador R
G3PGA 1/7/2006 20 PSK31 England R
ES7FQ 1/9/2006 20 PSK31 Estonia R
RW3DQC 12/9/2005 20 PSK31 European Russia R
OH3GIF 1/26/2006 20 PSK31 Finland R
F5RRS 12/1/2005 30 PSK31 France R
FY1FV 11/27/2005 20 PSK31 French Guiana R
DL5KSS 12/4/2005 17 PSK31 Germany R
SV3FUK 1/22/2006 20 PSK31 Greece R
J3/DL3VFN 1/8/2006 20 PSK Grenada R
FG5JK 10/29/2006 15 SSB Guadeloupe  
TG9SM 1/21/2006 40 PSK31 Guatemala  
8R1EA 10/29/2006 15 SSB Guyana  
KH7U 10/29/2006 15 SSB Hawaii  
HR2/LU1DY 2/7/2006 20 PSK31 Honduras R
HA7TY 1/13/2006 20 PSK31 Hungary R
TF4M 10/29/2006 20 SSB Iceland  
EI7M 10/28/2006 20 SSB Ireland  
MD4K 10/28/2006 20 SSB Isle of Man  
IV3LBP 12/8/2005 20 PSK31 Italy R
6Y1V 10/29/2006 20 SSB Jamaica  
RK2FWA 10/29/2006 20 SSB Kaliningrad  
YL2AZ 1/9/2006 20 PSK31 Latvia R
HB0/HB9AON 10/29/2006 20 SSB Liechtenstein  
LY2ZZ 10/19/2006 20 SSB Lithuania  
LX8DL 12/13/2005 20 PSK31 Luxembourg R
Z35T 10/28/2006 20 SSB Macedonia  
CT3DL 10/7/2006 15 SSB Madeira Is.  
9H1SP 1/9/2006 17 PSK31 Malta R
FM/K9NW 10/29/2006 15 SSB Martinique  
XE2YWB 1/7/2006 15 PSK31 Mexico R
ER0ND 10/28/2006 20 SSB Moldova  
VP2MHX 10/28/2006 15 SSB Montserrat  
CN3A 10/28/2006 15 SSB Morocco  
PA1FR 1/13/2006 20 PSK31 Netherlands R
ZL6QH 10/29/2006 40 SSB New Zealand  
YN2EJ 10/28/2006 20 SSB Nicaragua  
MI3JQD 10/22/2006 20 SSB Northern Ireland  
LB9JE 1/10/2006 20 PSK31 Norway R
HP1DCP 2/7/2006 20 PSK31 Panama R
ZP5MAL 10/29/2006 20 SSB Paraguay  
OA4WW 10/29/2006 15 SSB Peru  
SP4R 1/2/2006 17 PSK31 Poland R
CT1GTI 12/11/2005 20 PSK31 Portugal R
KP4SQ 12/19/2005 40 PSK31 Puerto Rico R
XF4DL 10/28/2006 15 SSB Revillagigedo  
FS/SM7DKF 5/7/2006 20 PSK31 Saint Martin R
T77GO 2/17/2006 20 PSK31 San Marino  
HI8HCJ 5/28/2006 20 SSB Santa Domingo R
IM0GNF 2/5/2006 20 PSK31 Sardinia R
GM0KWW 1/27/2006 20 PSK31 Scotland R
6W8CK 12/7/2005 20 PSK31 Senegal R
YU6AO 7/23/2006 20 SSB Serbia &
Montenegro		  
OM5DP 10/18/2006 17 SSB Slovak Rep.  
S51HA 2/8/2006 20 PSK31 Slovenia R
EA3BDE 11/28/2005 20 PSK31 Spain R
V44KJ 2/6/2006 20 PSK31 St. Kitts &
Nevis		 R
PZ5RA 12/21/2005 17 PSK31 Suriname R
SM4FZW 1/13/2006 20 PSK31 Sweden R
HB9ODP 1/20/2006 20 PSK31 Switzerland R
9Y4NZ 10/29/2006 20 SSB Trinidad &
Tobago		  
VP5VAC 5/21/2005 6 SSB Turks &
Caicos Is.		 R
UV5QB 1/29/2006 20 PSK31 Ukraine R
CX7BF 12/18/2005 15 PSK31 Uruguay  
K8LF 11/17/2005 80 SSB USA R
YV6QD 1/10/2006 20 PSK31 Venezuela R
WP2Z 10/28/2006 20 SSB Virgin Is.  
GW5PH 1/29/2006 20 PSK31 Wales R