Finally! 7.030 Mhz, 561 miles yesterday, 10 watts to dipole with the KX2. Think I have to go back to the straight key though. Too many yips on the paddle, just torture I suspect for my contact. CW was not that difficult 50 years ago, what happened?
I am a sleepy ham, I always go to bed around 10PM. Who wants to stay up late trading stories about the surgeries we've had? I do keep a YouKits HB1B and a hamstick next to my bed, and often listen to conversations on CW between 10 and 11, though. But if I get sleepy, I can turn it off without having to apologize for going QRT.
My pal Tom, KC8JW, who lives on the other side of Columbus has a second rig bedside too. We've had a few CW QSO's with him in that op position... Well, one night well into our post 10PM QSO, he was asleep when it came bk for him to send...
I’ve had my license for less than a year and only started learning CW in the spring, with my first QSO on 6/14/19. I crank my 7300 down to 5 watts and call CQ ( or answer one). If no luck, I QRO to 20 W (6 dB) and then 100 W if still no soap. I’ve made contacts more often than not with QRP and decent to very good signal reports. I usually try 80 and 40 around 10:00Z and 20 and 17 around. 18:00z. So far, I’ve made contacts in CA and ID and NL (1200 miles) and I’m encouraged to try more. This may be a period of poor propagation but patience is rewarded and it’s always a treat to see how far and well you can reach with 5 Watts. Nothing like being about to QRT/QRO/QSY when you hear your call sign come back. Still looking for a QRP contact on 17 and haven’t tried above that. Glad you had some success.
Thanks for your comments! I have not given up and still take great pleasure in QRP contacts. In fact it is almost as fun reading about other hams' successes as doing it. Turns out it is not so easy giving up something this fun and challenging. I should have known that but I would have missed all of the interesting views and experiences that were shared here by others that fully understand the frustration mixed with the occasional rewards for patience. Reminds me a lot of the great times I had fishing with my dad. Never regretted going even if we did not catch anything. Tom
I operated QRP using 5 watts, Hamsticks, and FT8 twice today. In the morning I was on 40m and this afternoon I used 15m. Total QSOs was 25 including some DX.
