Signals wild...signals caged

[wayne burdick]

My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.

On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue, brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.

Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on the ground.

The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.

Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was unique.

Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp. Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible intrigue.

In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.

Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.

Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.

CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and direction-specific propagation anomalies.

Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.

If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild, then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong: It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The diversity of species is unprecedented.

But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings, memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous snack bar. What next?

Take a walk on the wild side.

Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah, then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.

Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully, you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.

Wayne
N6KR










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[Doug Turnbull]

Wayne,
     Nicely put and so true.    However as I remember the Novice bands were
a zoo, General class operators avoided us.    A CQ could go on for several
minutes but it was a fun playpen.    Wow staying up to 2 AM could yield a
QSO in Oklahoma all the way from Virginia on 40M.    That was a QSO you
could brag about.   My surplus TCS rig would not go onto 15M so real DX was
pretty much out for the first two months of my Novice ticket, then the
General Class exam was passed and what a difference.     They were good days
but the chirp is well left in the past.    

          Yes we need to return to the true path of CW, FT8 is a drug and
makes many of us lazy, mea maxima culpa.   Thank you Wayne.

                                 73 Doug EI2CN

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On
Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Thursday 28 January 2021 18:11
To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged

My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.

On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.

Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
the ground.

The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.

Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
unique.

Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
intrigue.

In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.

Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.

Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.

CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
direction-specific propagation anomalies.

Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.

If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
diversity of species is unprecedented.

But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
snack bar. What next?

Take a walk on the wild side.

Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.

Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.

Wayne
N6KR










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[Macy monkeys]

My favorite songbird is the double speed sideswiper, aka 'the cootie.' A rare breed with a distinctive voice. Once uncaged, mine usually lands on 40 or 80 meters...

John K7FD

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:11 AM, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.
>
> On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue, brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.
>
> Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on the ground.
>
> The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.
>
> Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was unique.
>
> Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp. Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible intrigue.
>
> In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.
>
> Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.
>
> Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.
>
> CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and direction-specific propagation anomalies.
>
> Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.
>
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild, then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong: It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings, memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah, then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully, you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

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[Jerry]

Wayne,

Me thinks you studied the liberal arts at one time before you took
electronics engineering seriously.

You have skillfully jumped, but tied together all your paragraphs in your
little story . Well Done!

I ask now; Is there a great American Novelist inside you yearning to be set
free, but hinder by the knowledge of the fact that there is a K4 project
that must be finished?

With sincere best regards,

Jerry, W1IE




-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On
Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2021 13:11 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged

My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.

On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.

Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
the ground.

The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.

Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
unique.

Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
intrigue.

In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.

Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.

Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.

CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
direction-specific propagation anomalies.

Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.

If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
diversity of species is unprecedented.

But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
snack bar. What next?

Take a walk on the wild side.

Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.

Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.

Wayne
N6KR










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[David Herring]

I had a rock bound DX-60 transmitter (with one whole crystal!)  as a part of my first station as a novice. One day I was on and there were 3 or 4 other novices real close in to “my” one and only frequency and so it was hard to make sense of all that, especially for a beginner like me then. But there was one guy who had a “doh-wee” sound to his cw — every dit and dah had a “doh-wee” characteristic to it.  

Obviously not an example of a good signal, but that oddity was what enabled me to pull him out. I worked him as a result. At 5 WPM it must have taken half an hour, but we got it done.

:-)


73,
David - N5DCH

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 11:25 AM, Doug Turnbull <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Wayne,
>     Nicely put and so true.    However as I remember the Novice bands were
> a zoo, General class operators avoided us.    A CQ could go on for several
> minutes but it was a fun playpen.    Wow staying up to 2 AM could yield a
> QSO in Oklahoma all the way from Virginia on 40M.    That was a QSO you
> could brag about.   My surplus TCS rig would not go onto 15M so real DX was
> pretty much out for the first two months of my Novice ticket, then the
> General Class exam was passed and what a difference.     They were good days
> but the chirp is well left in the past.    
>
>          Yes we need to return to the true path of CW, FT8 is a drug and
> makes many of us lazy, mea maxima culpa.   Thank you Wayne.
>
>                                 73 Doug EI2CN
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]> <[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>> On
> Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
> Sent: Thursday 28 January 2021 18:11
> To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>>
> Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged
>
> My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
> the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.
>
> On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
> raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
> the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
> brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.
>
> Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
> the ground.
>
> The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
> different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
> limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.
>
> Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
> unique.
>
> Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
> keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
> they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
> Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
> intrigue.
>
> In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
> dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
> soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.
>
> Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
> station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
> could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
> bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
> many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
> were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.
>
> Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.
>
> CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
> speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
> direction-specific propagation anomalies.
>
> Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.
>
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
> then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
> It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
> diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
> memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
> snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
> your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
> then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
> camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
> you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message
> delivered to [hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm <http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net <http://www.qsl.net/>
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html <http://www.qsl.net/donate.html>
> Message delivered to [hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>

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[Macy monkeys]

While we are all narrowly focused on the K4 my guess is Wayne takes a somewhat broader view of the world. Indeed, a man of many talents.

John K7FD

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:43 AM, <[hidden email]> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Wayne,
>
> Me thinks you studied the liberal arts at one time before you took
> electronics engineering seriously.
>
> You have skillfully jumped, but tied together all your paragraphs in your
> little story . Well Done!
>
> I ask now; Is there a great American Novelist inside you yearning to be set
> free, but hinder by the knowledge of the fact that there is a K4 project
> that must be finished?
>
> With sincere best regards,
>
> Jerry, W1IE
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On
> Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
> Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2021 13:11 PM
> To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged
>
> My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
> the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.
>
> On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
> raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
> the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
> brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.
>
> Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
> the ground.
>
> The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
> different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
> limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.
>
> Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
> unique.
>
> Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
> keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
> they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
> Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
> intrigue.
>
> In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
> dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
> soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.
>
> Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
> station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
> could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
> bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
> many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
> were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.
>
> Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.
>
> CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
> speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
> direction-specific propagation anomalies.
>
> Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.
>
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
> then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
> It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
> diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
> memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
> snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
> your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
> then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
> camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
> you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message
> delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

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[wayne burdick]

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:43 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>
> Wayne,
>
> Me thinks you studied the liberal arts at one time before you took
> electronics engineering seriously.
>
> You have skillfully jumped, but tied together all your paragraphs in your
> little story . Well Done!
>
> I ask now; Is there a great American Novelist inside you yearning to be set
> free, but hinder by the knowledge of the fact that there is a K4 project
> that must be finished?

Short answer: I wish :)  Long answer requires libations, etc., and is best taken off-list.

Wayne
N6KR

>
> With sincere best regards,
>
> Jerry, W1IE
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On
> Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
> Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2021 13:11 PM
> To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged
>
> My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
> the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.
>
> On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
> raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
> the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
> brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.
>
> Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
> the ground.
>
> The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
> different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
> limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.
>
> Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
> unique.
>
> Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
> keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
> they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
> Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
> intrigue.
>
> In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
> dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
> soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.
>
> Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
> station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
> could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
> bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
> many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
> were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.
>
> Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.
>
> CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
> speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
> direction-specific propagation anomalies.
>
> Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.
>
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
> then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
> It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
> diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
> memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
> snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
> your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
> then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
> camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
> you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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> delivered to [hidden email]
>

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[Tony Estep]

On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 12:14 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

> ....each CW signal arriving from a distant land was unique.
>
==============================
Yep, I remember the thrills of hearing my first DX signals, many eons ago.
And there's still a certain adrenaline pop associated with hearing your
call come back, weak and with a hollow echo, emanating from an obscure
island and nearly covered by a howling pileup. I only need a small
remaining number of entities, but if I can't work them on CW I'll do
without.

good DX,
Tony KT0NY
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[wayne burdick]

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:52 AM, Macy monkeys <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> While we are all narrowly focused on the K4 ...

Yes. Though we all must invent ways to stay sane in this time of lock-down and lock-up.

I try to kick a hornet's nest every other Thursday around noon.

Wayne
N6KR



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[Rich NE1EE-2]

A delightfully sophisticated bit of thought-provoking entertainment. Thanks for that ;-)

~R~
72/73 de Rich NE1EE
The Dusty Key
On the banks of the Piscataqua

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[Mike Cizek W0VTT]

Well written and fun to read!

The chirpy signals are pretty much gone but the key clicks seem to be
getting worse.  Even some of the newer high-dollar radios are pretty bad.


--
73,
Mike Cizek W0VTT

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2021 12:11
To: Elecraft Reflector
Subject: [Elecraft] Signals wild...signals caged

My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of
the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.

On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small
raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of
the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue,
brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.

Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on
the ground.

The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a
different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were
limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.

Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was
unique.

Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight
keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as
they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp.
Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible
intrigue.

In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a
dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor
soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.

Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each
station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You
could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice
bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since
many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs
were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.

Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.

CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include
speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and
direction-specific propagation anomalies.

Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.

If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild,
then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong:
It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The
diversity of species is unprecedented.

But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings,
memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous
snack bar. What next?

Take a walk on the wild side.

Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work
your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah,
then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.

Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be
camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully,
you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.

Wayne
N6KR










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[k6dgw]

In the 50's and early 60's, CW signals had some character ... a mild
chirp maybe, a little 120 cycle hum, and since keyers were rare and many
hams were using bugs, all sorts of different riffs from the rhythm
section.  In a net or roundtable [we did that on CW then], you knew who
was currently sending just by their signal.  Other than some today with
horrendous clicks, our signals are sterile and perfect.  Zero beating
used to be an art, now just press the SPOT button.  I miss the
personality of those old signals.

The Windows API call to the MIDI interface includes a pointer to a table
of codes, well over 100 of them, that define the particular "instrument"
that will be played.  Select "Church organ" and by golly, the note
sounds just like a pipe organ in a big empty room.  Since the K4
processor(s) are said to have nearly unlimited firmware expansion space,
how about a small table with entries like: "2021 Perfect," "1955 new
General with VFO chirp," "Not quite big enough caps full-wave hum,"
"Heath VF-1 Chow Pee Chow Pee", "Slow drifter," etc.  When you sit down
for a few QSO's, you select which you'd like to be.  Perhaps Wayne can
put that on the "To-Do after the K4 ships" list. 😉

Incidentally, the 50's ham bands, although a little drifty/chirpy/hummy,
were nearly perfect compared to the marine CW bands.  Commercial
Coastal, Navy, and Coast Guard stations were stable and clean, ships ...
not so much.  Ships had DC power mains and used motor-generator sets to
get the high voltages required by the transmitters.  It was common to
use A2 emissions [MCW] particularly on the Holy Frequency and the MF
frequencies around it. The TX chirped and drifted, the M-G set put a
whine on the carrier which exhibited a slow chirp, the MCW chirped, none
necessarily in the same direction.  Some of the carrier chirps would go
all the way through your RX passband, you had to copy from either the
front end or back end of the dits and dahs.  The entire ensemble sounded
almost musical ... if you consider an elementary school band to be musical.

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 1/28/2021 10:25 AM, Doug Turnbull wrote:

> Wayne,
>       Nicely put and so true.    However as I remember the Novice bands were
> a zoo, General class operators avoided us.    A CQ could go on for several
> minutes but it was a fun playpen.    Wow staying up to 2 AM could yield a
> QSO in Oklahoma all the way from Virginia on 40M.    That was a QSO you
> could brag about.   My surplus TCS rig would not go onto 15M so real DX was
> pretty much out for the first two months of my Novice ticket, then the
> General Class exam was passed and what a difference.     They were good days
> but the chirp is well left in the past.
>
>            Yes we need to return to the true path of CW, FT8 is a drug and
> makes many of us lazy, mea maxima culpa.   Thank you Wayne.
>
>                                   73 Doug EI2CN
>

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[Bill Frantz]

If you want to relive the "good old days", get on the air on
Straight Key Night. It's a much better way to spend New Years
Eve than drinking.

People bring out all kinds of old equipment and put it on the
air. I have an entry in my log for a QSO with AE6C with the
note, "SKN: running conar 1 tube to kpa500 + collins rx". And he
sent me a old QSL to match, with a much younger photo of
himself. The Conar was not not worth the 578 I gave him for
tone, but charity is a virtue.

I was running my K3 with a J-38 straight key. Maybe I should
have used my RockMite.

73 Bill AE6JV

On 1/28/21 at 1:11 PM, [hidden email] (Wayne Burdick) wrote:

>In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always
>ended with a dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332.
>I'll never forget that poor soul's chaotic whoop, best
>described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz        | Truth and love must prevail  | Periwinkle
[phone]      | over lies and hate.          | 150
Rivermead Rd #235
www.pwpconsult.com |               - Vaclav Havel |
Peterborough, NH 03458

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[Josh Fiden]

6m EME gives me the same thrill as my novice days. I think because I’m still amazed that it works.

73,
Josh W6XU

Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 28, 2021, at 11:15 AM, Tony Estep <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I remember the thrills of hearing my first DX signals, many eons ago.

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[Dennis Moore]

Your missive is more timely than you could imagine.

I can call CQ on FT8 or SSB, not on CW. Sure, my K3 will send a perfect
CQ via macro, indistinguishable from any other K3 sending a programmed
CQ except the callsign. Problem is when someone comes back to me, if the
decoder isn't working perfectly then I can't understand what's being
said. That's definitely on me, and I acknowledge that.

I'm at 177 DX entities on CW, all through the K3 and either in contests
or Dxpeditions. In both cases I know who I'm calling, I know when they
come back with my call and signal report, and I know which KPod or N1MM
buttons to push to complete the exchange. Conversation? Not if my life
depended on it.

I'm over 120 countries on FT8/FT4 since Jan 1st and the pickings are
getting slim. One JA or PY station is just like the other after a few
thousand. With few Dxpeditions on the horizon and CW contests really not
my cup of tea, yesterday I reached for the CW materials and plugged the
key back in. It's time to do this on my own.

Whoever runs across me calling CQ on CW will have heard a rare bird indeed.

73, Dennis NJ6G

On 1/28/2021 10:11, Wayne Burdick wrote:
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild, then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong: It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings, memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah, then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully, you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
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[David Koch]

The next CW Academy class (Free) begins in April.  Check out CWA at: 
<https://cwops.org/cw-academy/cw-academy-options/>

73,

Dave, W8OV  (CWA Advisor, Beginner & Basic levels)


On 2021-01-28 4:57 PM, Dennis Moore wrote:

> Your missive is more timely than you could imagine.
>
> I can call CQ on FT8 or SSB, not on CW. Sure, my K3 will send a
> perfect CQ via macro, indistinguishable from any other K3 sending a
> programmed CQ except the callsign. Problem is when someone comes back
> to me, if the decoder isn't working perfectly then I can't understand
> what's being said. That's definitely on me, and I acknowledge that.
>
> I'm at 177 DX entities on CW, all through the K3 and either in
> contests or Dxpeditions. In both cases I know who I'm calling, I know
> when they come back with my call and signal report, and I know which
> KPod or N1MM buttons to push to complete the exchange. Conversation?
> Not if my life depended on it.
>
> I'm over 120 countries on FT8/FT4 since Jan 1st and the pickings are
> getting slim. One JA or PY station is just like the other after a few
> thousand. With few Dxpeditions on the horizon and CW contests really
> not my cup of tea, yesterday I reached for the CW materials and
> plugged the key back in. It's time to do this on my own.
>
> Whoever runs across me calling CQ on CW will have heard a rare bird
> indeed.
>
> 73, Dennis NJ6G
> <snip>

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[Gwen Patton]

The suggestion of CW Academy from  Dave, W8OV, is an excellent one. I took
everything up to Level 3 (might take that someday), and have not regretted
the time and effort at all. I'm retaining my code knowledge, and while I'm
still pretty slow at receiving, my sending is serviceable. I lurk a lot and
listen more than I send. I'm waiting for things to warm up, and hopefully
become a little less restrictive, so I can take my QRP rigs back to the
parks around here and do some operating. Maybe even activate a POTA park
that's near my home!

I wouldn't be able to do that if it wasn't for CW Academy. I've also heard
good things about the Long Island CW Club.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73,
Gwen, NG3P


On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 7:07 PM Dave W8OV <[hidden email]> wrote:

> The next CW Academy class (Free) begins in April.  Check out CWA at:
> <https://cwops.org/cw-academy/cw-academy-options/>
>
> 73,
>
> Dave, W8OV  (CWA Advisor, Beginner & Basic levels)
>
>
> On 2021-01-28 4:57 PM, Dennis Moore wrote:
> > Your missive is more timely than you could imagine.
> >
> > I can call CQ on FT8 or SSB, not on CW. Sure, my K3 will send a
> > perfect CQ via macro, indistinguishable from any other K3 sending a
> > programmed CQ except the callsign. Problem is when someone comes back
> > to me, if the decoder isn't working perfectly then I can't understand
> > what's being said. That's definitely on me, and I acknowledge that.
> >
> > I'm at 177 DX entities on CW, all through the K3 and either in
> > contests or Dxpeditions. In both cases I know who I'm calling, I know
> > when they come back with my call and signal report, and I know which
> > KPod or N1MM buttons to push to complete the exchange. Conversation?
> > Not if my life depended on it.
> >
> > I'm over 120 countries on FT8/FT4 since Jan 1st and the pickings are
> > getting slim. One JA or PY station is just like the other after a few
> > thousand. With few Dxpeditions on the horizon and CW contests really
> > not my cup of tea, yesterday I reached for the CW materials and
> > plugged the key back in. It's time to do this on my own.
> >
> > Whoever runs across me calling CQ on CW will have heard a rare bird
> > indeed.
> >
> > 73, Dennis NJ6G
> > <snip>
>
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[David Olean]

Thanks for a great description Wayne.

Funny you should mention this. I was working in my ham shack/shop this
past Monday, with my brother doing some spray painting and afterwards,
he sat down and looked for 40 meter contacts on CW. It was Monday night
novice rig night apparently.  After dinner and a bit of TV with the
missus, I went out to turn things off in the shack. My brother had left
and kept all the lights and rigs turned on.  I sat down on 40 and
watched the computer screen to see what came over the transom on FT-8.
There was a QRP station in Cuba calling CQ. I set my power to 5 watts
and called and called with no luck. Actually, I just sat there watching,
and the computer did most of the work. After that episode, I decided I
needed to do something a bit more interesting, so thought I should check
out 160 meter CW before I shut the K3 off.

I worked a few European stations with typical signal reports for a
lackluster evening on 160.  I then saw RBN spots from Europe suddenly
rise, so I tried a few CQs. I was answered by a rather weak but Q5
station from Russia. I answered him, but he did not return. A few more
calls and he finally came back and gave me a very weak report. I had
never heard this station before. I looked up his address after the QSO
and was amazed to find that his location was just north of the border of
eastern Mongolia. (Grid OO62!) He was about on the same longitude as
Beijing, China!  Talk about a walk on the wild side! About 15 minutes
later R8WF called me again and he was very loud and sent me a new report
of 589! It was just after his Sunrise and the peak was awesome to say
the least!  I am sure he was just as excited as I was to bag such an
interesting QSO.  The direct path from me to R8WF is 360 degrees, or
straight across the North Pole.  I am so glad that I had the opportunity
to be there when the stars and planets had aligned so well. Such magic
moments are treasured.

Dave K1WHS

On 1/28/2021 1:11 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> My son is an avid birdwatcher. As his understudy, I've learned the names of the birds that hang out in our yard and gather at local wetlands.
>
> On a recent walk we saw one of our favorites, an American kestrel, a small raptor that terrorizes lizards and mice in the foothills on both sides of the San Francisco Bay. The bird's coloration is a surprising mix of blue, brown, orange, yellow, and white, adorned with an array of black dots.
>
> Finding a kestrel in the wild is like stumbling upon a rare gem, lying on the ground.
>
> The bird reminded me that when I was a kid, I often hunted for gems of a different sort: DX. I was a novice, and in the early 1970s, novices were limited to working DX Of The First Kind. CW.
>
> Like brightly colored birds, each CW signal arriving from a distant land was unique.
>
> Several factors were involved. In those days most ops used bugs or straight keys, so each operator had an identifiable fist. Rigs were not as stable as they are now, yielding timbres with a motley mix of buzz, drift, and chirp. Add fading and noise to the mix, and you had no shortage of audible intrigue.
>
> In fact -- trust me on this one -- RST reports haven't always ended with a dependable "9." I once gave out an RST of 332. I'll never forget that poor soul's chaotic whoop, best described as a singular blend of yodel and kazoo.
>
> Over time I became something of a CW pathologist, keenly aware of each station's affliction, including my own. These variations were useful. You could tell who you'd already worked. If you were a regular on the novice bands, you'd even get to know fellow travelers by their frequencies, since many, like me, were "rock-bound" -- slaves to a handful of crystals. VFOs were starting to make an appearance in novice gear...but see "chirp," above.
>
> Now, in 2021, the chirp is gone.
>
> CW signals still have many distinguishing traits, though. These include speed, keying weight, the operator's affectations and favored prosigns, and direction-specific propagation anomalies.
>
> Here's where we stretch the central metaphor to just about max.
>
> If randomly occurring CW signals on our bands are creatures of the wild, then...are FT8 stations the occupants of an urban zoo? Don't get me wrong: It's a pleasant place, with free tram rides, open 24 hours a day. The diversity of species is unprecedented.
>
> But imagine, on a given day, that you've sampled the zoo's exotic offerings, memorized the brochure, bought the t-shirt, and partaken of the sumptuous snack bar. What next?
>
> Take a walk on the wild side.
>
> Yank the cord and jump off the tram at an unmarked stop. Hop the fence. Work your way down the unpaved trail from the upper mesa to the open savannah, then sit on the ten-foot wall and dangle your feet over the edge.
>
> Welcome to the ecosystem of beings who are free to roam. They may be camouflaged, blending into the background. And if you listen carefully, you'll hear a hundred variations on their timeless song...CQ.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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[wayne burdick]

Great hearing all these stories about CW (and rare bird sightings). Thanks, all.

Wayne


----
elecraft.com

> On Jan 29, 2021, at 8:54 AM, David Olean <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
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[James Walker]

Thanks David and Wayne. I'm older now but your stories remind me how much I've enjoyed amateur radio over all these years.. I'm gonna go home today and fire up the rigs. I grew  in the early 60’s working from a dirt floor in a dug out basement of a suburban home working with very inexpensive and temperamental rigs. Making any contact was a cause for celebration. Maybe it's gotten too easy working with the newest rig technology. I guess that explains my continuing love for QRP.

James Walker
WA4ILO
Macon, GA

> On Jan 29, 2021, at 12:01 PM, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Great hearing all these stories about CW (and rare bird sightings). Thanks, all.
>
> Wayne
>
>
> ----
> elecraft.com
>
>> On Jan 29, 2021, at 8:54 AM, David Olean <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
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