When I call CQ, I generally set my CW speed between 21 and 25 wpm. If I don’t get a bite at that speed, I start cranking it down. Often, at a slower speed, I’ll finally get a reply. I’m always surprised at this, as I will gladly slow down for anyone answering my CQ. So, if you hear me calling, no matter what speed I’m sending at, please give me a call at what ever speed you’re comfortable with. I want to talk to you more than I want to have a high-speed QSO.
On a related note, I’ll often find someone calling CQ very close to my frequency, but at a slower speed. This happened to me just the other night. I cranked down my speed and replied to them, and we had a nice QSO. I wish they had just called me in the first place.
Late-morning 80m propagation
We’re often taught that 80m is not an appropriate band to use during the day. There are even two questions in the General Class question pool that cover this:
QUESTION: Which ionospheric layer is the most absorbent of long skip signals during daylight hours on frequencies below 10 MHz? (G3C11)
ANSWER: The D layer
QUESTION: Why is long-distance communication on the 40-meter, 60-meter, 80-meter, and 160-meter bands more difficult during the day? (G3C05)
ANSWER: The D layer absorbs signals at these frequencies during daylight hour
Well, a couple of days ago, I wandered down to the shack late in the morning, and turned on the radio. The radio was set to 80m, as I had been operating that band the night before. Lo and behold, W9KY was calling CQ on the exact frequency. I answered him, and we had a nice QSO.
It wasn’t much DX—QRZ.Com says W9KY is 217 miles away—but I was surprised that we were able to have such a nice QSO during the late morning hours. I guess that from now on, I’ll have a look around 80m should my radio come up on that band after turning it on, no matter what time of day it is.
¡Adelante!
This belongs in the “you learn something new every day” file. The other night I was listening to phone QSOs on 40m, and for some reason, there seemed to be a lot of Spanish-languages conversations going on. Since I know a little Spanish, I decided to listen in on one of them.
At the end of their transmissions, the operators would say, “¡Adelante!” In my mind, that always meant something like, “Come on. Let’s go!” or something similar. One of the definitions on Merriam Webster’s Spanish Central website is, “come in!” So, I guess this makes sense.
¡Adelante OMs!