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Featured key
The VK-5 key from Xeigu is an attractive and economical straight key, built from CNC-machined aluminium alloy with silver-plated copper contacts and a sandblasted finish.
Xeigu describes it as “a precision-engineered straight key designed for amateur radio operators who prefer the traditional feel of manual Morse code. Compact, lightweight, and rugged, it’s ideal for both base station setups and portable operations like POTA, SOTA, and field expeditions.”
The key measures 16 x 6 x 6 cm and weighs 388 grams.
It comes with a cable with 3.5 mm plugs. (The key has a 3.5 mm jack at the back of the base.)
Several online vendors sell these keys. The best price I’ve seen is about NZ$85 including shipping.
See video below.
Quick notes
NZART may endorse SSB on 30m. If this idea proceeds, the CW-only sub-band would be halved, from 40 kHz to 20 kHz at the bottom of the band. Digital modes would also get 20 kHz (twice the current allocation) at the top of the band. In between, there would be a new 10 kHz-wide sub-band for SSB (no mention of other voice modes), i.e. 10.120-10.130 MHz. NZART notes that SSB is currently legal on 30m, so this would be simply a change to the recommended band plan. The association is asking for responses to this proposal by 31 Aug, which is this Sunday!
CW stations were out in force for the just-completed ZL Sprints. The four-week event drew 14 ops in the CW category (won by Mike ZL2AUA) and eight ops in the CW QRP category (won by Mark ZL3AB).
Icom unveils IC-7300 Mk2. After selling over 100,000 IC7300s, Icom is bringing a number of very nice updates to this extraordinarily popular HF transceiver. The MK2 version will have HDMI and ethernet ports, as well as In/Out SMA connectors for a receive aerial. There is also more efficient design to reduce heat and power consumption on receive. But there is one rather odd “feature” that Icom is touting – in fact it’s the first thing highlighted in the launch video, although none of our NZ Net News readers will need it. Yes, it’s a CW decoder.
Enigma broadcast. The Maritime Radio Historical Society, in cooperation with the crypto experts at the Cipher History Museum will transmit an Enigma message via coast station KPH on Saturday 30 August at 2000Z. KPH listeners, intercept operators and code-breakers everywhere are invited to try their hand at receiving the transmission and decrypting the message. Certificates will be awarded for proof of successful decode, first to decode and use of original or replica hardware. Get details.
Picture: Just like NZ Net members, electric guitar players can get special coffee mugs. If the volume knob goes to “11” it must be rock ‘n’ roll. 🙂
Photo flashback
Photo: Andrew David Cutler
Radio Officer Andrew David Cutler took this photo aboard M/V Capitaine Cook III which was carrying general cargo between New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji in 1985 for Sofrana Unilines NZ Ltd.
CW prevails during holiday DXpedition
By Steve ZL2KE / E51KEE
From 4 to 18 August I operated as E51KEE on Rarotonga, South Cook Islands. According to longtime resident Jim E51JD, very few Cook Island ops use CW, therefore DXers would be glad to contact me. There were times I used SSB but about 95% of my contacts were CW.
I used a 25.6m non-resonant end-fed wire antenna with a 9:1 un-un plus counterpoise wires. The red line in the photo shows where 3/4 of the antenna went up to trees, with the remaining length angling down near the lagoon, resulting in an effective ‘Salt Water Amplifier’. My transceiver was an IC-7300.
After five days of good DX, a geomagnetic storm caused high K index with several days of poor propagation. I still managed contacts on all bands 80 to 10 although there were no spontaneous pile ups. When propagation was good some of the pile ups were HUGE; next year I will use split (“UP” frequency) more often, as I realised it helps the receiving ops more than me, that is, the ops have more of a chance to hear my signal when competing ops are not on my transmitting frequency.
CW offers pros and cons on a holiday DXpedition
With headphones, CW is silent so does not bother others (such as my XYL who actually deserves an award for never complaining about my radio activities). Also, CW is a more reliable form of communication compared to SSB. One drawback has to do with the effort involved, which usually was not a problem except one evening when I was quite tired after a day of tourist activities, then having to deal with a big pile up of European and Japanese ops. The next night when I felt exhausted I did resort to SSB.
A strange thing happened that perhaps some of my fellow CW ops can relate to. One time an op just could not get my callsign correct – he omitted the first letter, even though I sent “E51KEE” over 20 times, including QRS and including the phrase “THE FIRST LETTER OF MY CALL SIGN IS E” and “MY QTH IS RAROTONGA S COOK ISLANDS” repeated twice, to which he replied “QSL R R R 51KEE” still leaving off the E prefix. (By the way this was not during a pile up.) Thankfully he sent me an email apologising for not getting my callsign correct and admitting he actually knew Rarotonga had the E51 prefix. This problem is what I term CW OP Brain Fade. It happened to me once on this trip: An op sent me his call sign in this format: XX7ZZZ / YY5YY, at which I had difficulty with the forward slash, the ‘portable’ stroke; it was not the normal callsign and I ‘blanked out’. Eventually I did copy it correctly as a “/” but it took a few repeats.
Then there is the challenge of sending E51KEE with all those dits. I have no problem, but there are experienced CW ops that do find it difficult to get it correctly.
This year I was very pleased to hear 80-metre signals (last year it was a dead band). The first time on 80 was early morning when I did the usual by calling CQ and seeing the Reverse Beacon of my signal getting good reports into ZL, VK and 3D2. Then my phone buzzed with an email surprise. A keen Indonesian DXer wanted me to confirm that I was not an imposter. He then sent an audio file of my S6 signal at his QTH on Lombok Island, east of Bali. Unfortunately I could not copy his signal, even trying on another day. However, this inspired me to see if I could QNI to the NZ Net on 3535 kHz, which I managed to do twice.
Next year I will return to Rarotonga, with my friend E51CZZ on SSB. For Kiwis and Aussies, Rarotonga is a convenient location for a great DXpedition holiday. If you are interested in operating as an E51, feel free to contact me for details, but beware that you may get bitten by the Raro bug, meaning that you will want to book another Raro holiday as soon as you return home.
Video: Review of Xeigu VK-5 key
By David WK4DS
An early POTA op?
David ZL2WT has been travelling in Australia and sent this note: “I saw the following in a book I have just finished. Did the investigation experts at CSIRO ever consider the alien was actually a CW enthusiast enjoying a bit of early morning DX whilst on a camping trip?”
UFO sightings
During the 1960s the RAAF was receiving UFO sightings at the rate of more than one every week. In 1969 the Department of Air in Canberra sought help from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to evaluate sightings.
In the four week period between 12 Feb 69 and 11 Mar 69, there were 11 sightings to be investigated. Ten of those were determined to be meteors, aircraft, Moon halo effect, the Echo II satellite or the ‘toadstool ring effect’.
Just one report was unresolved and found no supporting evidence. At 02.50hrs (local) on the 17th of February 1969 the report was ‘Duration 25 minutes, weather clear, moonless. Observer attracted by noise then saw solid object and humanoid form walking around and heard Morse code, at Flinders Park, SA.’– Tom Gilling. Project Rainfall: The History of Pine Gap, p 290
Net tip: QNS
We continue our look at Q signals with QNS (callsigns).
It means: “The stations in the net are (callsigns)”.
Net Control sends this list near the end of the net, for the benefit of any operator who has not been on frequency for the entire net (e.g. some operators may have been off frequency passing traffic, or they may have arrived while the net was in progress).
This can be helpful if you suddenly remember you have traffic for one of the stations listed – or you just want to grab them for a post-net chat.
If you have checked in, but don’t hear your callsign on the QNS list, then please tell Net Control when they call for final check-ins.
If Net Control forgets to send the list, you can ask QNS?, meaning “Who is in the net?”
It is customary to include in the QNS list only the stations known to be on frequency. So, the list does not include stations that have already been excused from the net.
The A-Z of Q Signals
A well-run CW net is a lovely thing to experience. Communication between stations is quick and concise, and the net business is conducted with minimal time wasted.
As CW operators, we have many techniques to communicate quickly and efficiently. And if we know and use these techniques, we can often match or exceed the speed and accuracy of voice communication.
One of our most important tools is the set of Q Signals (or Q Codes), and in this series we look at the “essential” ones, in alphabetical order.
Advertising archive
Telegraph Age – Oct 1903
That’s right: keyboard-generated Morse Code in 1903. Amazing, huh?
Suggestions?
If you have suggestions on how to make the NZ Net better, or things you’d like to see covered in these newsletters, please contact ZL1NZ. Articles and photos will be gratefully received!
Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear you soon on the NZ Net!
—
Neil Sanderson ZL1NZ, Net Manager
New Zealand Net (NZ NET)
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