Fun with the Sun.....

 

As ham radio operators no matter what mode you operate one major contributing factor regarding success or failure is the Sun. Propagation reports can be found on the internet, some with cool pictures and others with just lines of data. Things such as solar flares, coronal mass ejection (CME), solar wind and the list goes on. Being able to look at propagation data and interpret it is beneficial. An understanding can help us realize that not all solar flares, CME and high solar wind can mean poor conditions. I found a great site that goes through many areas that make up a propagation report. At some points yes it can get into too much detail but overall I found it to be very informative.
Understanding propagation can be very interesting and also can help you understand the data that is shown.
Here is the LINK to a site that gives great information about propagation.

Here are some propagation sites: 

Solar Ham 

Current ham radio conditions 

 

IARU contest results

 

My contest contacts

 This weekend was the IARU contest and you can participate in CW, SSB or both. As for me, it was CW only....surprise surprise. The solar weather can affect how radio operations in both a good way and a bad way. This weekend it was a bad way but that is ok as I tell myself the solar weather does not discriminate it treats all operators the same way. The advanced solar forecast prepared contesters for a rough ride but to add to it the Bz index, something we don't hear much about in Solar weather circles was deep in the negative direction. When you have poor solar weather and add in a -Bz index it just makes things worse. What it sounds like to a CW contester is one moment a signal is very decent and then gone and in most cases gone for some time. 

This is a challenge for contesters as when you hear a call sign, come back to them and get a report you generally have no luxury for repeats. If the anomaly happens mid-contact well you most likely cannot log the contact. I find during these conditions you have more stations contacting you more than once on the same band (called a DUPE). Because of the changing condition, you may think the station heard your exchange but they did not and may be asking you for a repeat and you can't hear them asking. So due to the poor conditions, they are not able to log your contact that you think was a solid contact. Whenever I have a station call me that has called me before and is in the log (DUPE) I  always work them again as you are not penalized for it. But there are a few that send "QSO BEFORE" and will not log the contact. 

Anyway, I digress....this year I was able to log more contacts (56) during very poor conditions compared to last year and better yet I almost doubled my score. Last year's score was 69,484 compared to 130,130 this year.  This contest starts on Saturday at 9 am local time and ends on Sunday at 9 am local time. I was up early on Sunday (5:15) to keep adding to the log. I am a morning person and up each day at 6 am so I was not too far off from my normal time.

The final results

 

Are you trying to pickup your CW speed....here is some info.

 

Giving it all you've got but you seem to be held at a CW speed between 10-13wpm....what's happening? First off there is nothing wrong and this is normal even better if you're ready to jump to the next step in learning CW. Here is the thing as you improve and your CW speed picks up the time it takes to recognize each letter speeds up as well.  When you are in the the 10-13wpm bracket your time to acknowledge the letter collides with the next letter coming at you. This is what hampers you from getting to the next CW milestone.

So what to do.....it's now time to move to the next level of CW and that is instant character recognition or ICR as it is called. Did you know most of you at this very point in time can have code sent to you at 38wpm and you can decode it!! WHAT you say.... have I been drinking, most of you if I sent  "CQ" at 38wpm you would know what I was sending. How about "73" again most of you would understand at 38wpm what I was sending to you. When both CQ and 73 were sent at that speed you knew it because you were practising ICR. At that speed, you were not hearing C and then Q and putting it together but you knew the sound of CQ or 73. This is what ICR is all about. Knowing the sound of each letter (later you can dive into words and phrase sounds) It's important to not just skip to common CW QSO phrases and words, I say this because to instantly know the letters and number is important for copying call signs, QTH's and names. 

How does one start up the ICR ladder of code, well it's very fast and easy and I  mean fast. You need to speed things up so you're only able to hear a sound and not dots and dashes. Just like CQ at 38wpm, you hear the sound, not each letter or the dots and dashes that represent each letter. At first, your brain is going to wonder what you are up to as it is used to only working at 10-13wpm and the method used to convert dots and dashes to letters or numbers. Now it's a rhythm your brain is being exposed to. 

I started by using a program where I could control the letters I wanted to know the rhythm of and start with easy ones to start tuning the grey matter. Look at a program such as MorseCode World that allows you to practice letters of your choice at the speed of your choice. At the website click on CW generator. Once there enter the letters/numbers you want to learn. Now click on Morse controls button and set your speed. The letters I  started with were E, T, C, I, K, M, and O. I entered each letter 8  times and then on the next line 8 of the next letter. See below:
 

E E E E E E E E
T T T T T T T T
C C C C C C C  
 

Set the speed at 18-20wpm and hear the rhythm of the letters and not dots and dashes. I enter about 3-5 letter groups and give it a go for a few days. Now don't write down what you hear but just go over it in your mind what letter it is. Then change it up by mixing these letters up and try again, don't look at the page of letters and don't write it down.  Just listen to the sound and in your head say the letter.
Your brain will start to pick up the new challenge you are giving it and yes when you hit H,5, S or B and 6 your brain will reply "Say what" BUT your brain is very powerful and soon will pick up these letters and even when you send H, S B, 6, V and 4. 

As with anything you learn, it is a journey and just remember to always enjoy it and never forget how far you have come along. Enjoy your next adventure of ICR.

Canada Day contest 2024

I did a part-time effort in the Canada Day contest on the weekend. I  wanted to take it easy as I just had minor surgery and sitting in one spot for long periods hurts. The contest was from Sunday at 00:00 or 9 pm local time until 00:00 Monday. I was on and off during the day Monday and noticed the number of contesters was on the low side. I attribute this to Monday only being a holiday in Canada and most others were working. In the Canada Day contest you have the option of CW and SSB or a combination of both. As you may have guessed I was CW-only and unassisted. 

The solar forecast was predicting a Kp index maxing at 4 but the good news was the maxed at Kp2. I still found deep QSB (fading) on all bands (for me 10m-40m). I did manage to beat last year's score and total contacts. As always I found this contest more relaxed CW speed-wise, I was calling CQ in around 30wpm but dropped it to 26-28wpm. I found at times I would be calling CQ RAC for 5 or minutes without an answer. Because of this I had some web pages up on my other monitor and was doing some reading. Funny when an answer to my CQ did come back to me it would startle me out of my reading trance. 

This years score

I found the new equipment placement helped me out. With the Icom 7610  closer so no leaning forward for VFO changes. Also having the Begali  Simplex on the pull-out table beside me was great. I had no getting my hand around the radio to get at the paddle. I am now in the process of teaching myself finger placement for the F keys. What I mean by finger placement is to have certain fingers for certain F keys and it is preformed with out looking at the keyboard. I can already touch type without looking and in contests believe me if you can learn this it is a huge benefit.

My contacts during the contest