Learning the ropes
With a quick burst of code, I had proof that my new station actually worked. That I had something more than a fancy receiver.
I like Morse. I’m not a great example of high-speed use; the electronic keyer is far too sensitive, and the bug seems to be always just approaching the right setting. My straight key, a rescue from the Coast Guard classroom works quite well, and so my first contact was a quick exchange with a ham in Hungary. Forget the mike; a key will suffice.
Lots of adaptation for me. I’m just starting to appreciate the depth of Ham Radio Deluxe, and in order to integrate my subscription to the QRZ callbook feed, I jumped from the stable version 4 to the beta version 5. Looks similar, and my settings for the radio were preserved. Good.
I knew that th is was a contest weekend, and the addition of a feed from a DX spotting net meant lots of potential contacts. Click on the call, and the radio jumps to the right frequency. Magical, for someone who was once rockbound. The mode isn’t always set for the occasion, but that might be operator error.
Let’s resume. Rather than scanning up and down the band, you now note a rare call, click and call. Now we’re back to familiar territory. Me calling and being ignored (I jest). In the world of DX, there is a technique involving split frequencies; I don’t have it mastered, yet. My time will come; I am a rookie.
