Last updated: June 20, 2003

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TNX FER VISITING

V R 2 G W

An Amateur Radio Station in Hong Kong


( Behind me is my home brew portable 14MHz V-dipole for expedition use. )

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Callsign VR2GW
Name Dominic Ho
QTH SIU SAI WAN
CHAI WAN
HONG KONG
SAR, PRC

E 114.15'
N 22.15'
Grid Square OL72DG
Zone ITU 44
CQ 24
AS-006
Local Time UTC + 8 hr
QSL Info. G.P.O. Box 7191
HONG KONG
ICQ 23787374







Long Distance Communication (DXing)

Chasing DX is one of those activities that Amateur Radio Operators spend a lot of their valuable leisure time. There are many reasons making it so exciting.

For beginners like me, it is a driving force that keep up self-training in different areas of radio communication. Having DX is not like picking up one's cellular phone and get somebody to talk to. Beside those rigs you can easily buy, most DXers have to use their wisdom and knowledge to set up their antenna systems according to the characteristics of their stations' terrain. No matter how expensive the rigs are, they are just rubbish without a good antenna. As in Hong Kong, most hams are not lucky enough to have their own roof or backyard to set their towers or to mount their antenna (VHF should not be a problem, HF is a totally different story). I am going to share several primitive ways to set up efficient antennas in high rise apartment buildings later in my page.

After setting up the necessary things, DX signals are received. Behind the background noise, Morse or voice messages are heard. The Morse is fast and stations are talking like machine gun. Everybody is trying to make more QSO before the propagation deteriorates. In such fast and crowded traffic, how can they copy those CW at some 20 to 30 wpm? (Much faster than the 12 wpm which we need for the license) Why are those "Mexico", "Florida" and "London" different from the phonetics we learned for the RAE? Why are those stations at 59 seem cannot hear my calling at all? The answers are "More training, More Practice"! Either your skills or your antenna needs to be improved. They perform numerous tests or experiments to look for the deficiencies and refine them one by one. That is why hams are always willing to give signal reports and share their knowledge. Empirical data from experimental results are vital for verifying new techniques, while opinions from different perspectives are essential for enhancing one's knowledge.

Skills, experience and knowledge will gradually accumulate. QSO become nicer and easier. Then, they start to excel themselves by participating in contests, getting awards (eg. DXCC, IOTA), exploring different / new mode of communication, QRP(low power) DX, etc. By spending countless hours before their rigs, sharpening their gears, achieving higher skill level, hams are hunting for every special and rare station. I cannot tell the real pleasure comes from the actual communications or from the self achievements during the course of making the QSO possible. But, who care? Hams are enjoying their hobbies with their own ways at their own paces!







Propagation and Band Openings

Majority of the DX's is made possible by the ionospheric and tropospheric propagation. These are affected by uncontrollable factors like solar radiation, sunspots, temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity and etc... These factors keep varying considerably according to season and time of day. As the propagation changes, the possibility of having DX with different parts of the world at a particular location are seriously affected. These are further complicated by the different characteristics of frequency bands. Hams use "Band Openings" to describe the propagation conditions that DX are possible at their locations for any frequency band or bands. We use to wandering around at different frequency bands or check with fellow stations on the air. By the efforts of hams community and government organizations in different countries, there are now different ways to get real time situation about the propagation information for reference.

The NCDXF, in cooperation with the IARU, maintains a network of beacon stations which operate sequentially on five bands. These beacons located in different parts of the world. It seems that one of these is going to be set up in Hong Kong too! The 10 dB power steps are precise and are useful for "S" meter calibration and for judging band conditions. In principle, one can simply listen on the beacon frequencies and copy the CW callsigns of the various beacons to figure out where the band is open.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) broadcasts time and frequency through the radio stations WWV, WWVB (located in Fort Collins, Colorado) and WWVH (Kauai, Hawaii). NIST time and frequency services are convenient, accurate, and easy to use. The signal reports of WWV provides good indications of propagation condition.

DX Summit is an internet web site where DXers post their latest DX spots on a real time basis. It is built up and operated by members of OH2AQ Radio Club. The web page gives you real time information about what DX are happening in different parts of the world, announcements of DXers and WWV signal reports from hams all over the world. If you feel keep downloading DX Summit information every 5 or 10 minutes too troublesome, you can get its information by IRC. Just connect to the Othernet IRC network and join the #CQDX channel.








The Orgin of "73"

The traditional expression "73" goes right back to the beginning of the landline telegraph days. It is found in some of the earliest editions of the numerical codes, each with a different definition, but each with the same idea in mind - it indicated that the end, or signature, was coming up. But there are no data to prove that any of these were used.

The first authentic use of 73 is in the publication The National telegraphic Review and Operators' Guide, first published in April 1857. At that time, 73 meant "My love to you"! Succeeding issues of this publication continued to use this definition of the term. Curiously enough, some of the other numerals used then had the same definition as they have now, but within a short time, the use of 73 began to change.

In the National Telegraph Convention, the numeral was changed from the Valentine-type sentiment to a vague sign of fraternalism. Here, 73 was a greeting, a friendly "word" between operators and it was so used on all wires.

In 1859, the Western Union Company set up the standard "92 Code". A list of numerals from one to 92 was compiled to indicate a series of prepared phrases for use by the operators on the wires. Here, in the 92 Code, 73 changes from a fraternal sign to a very flowery "accept my compliments", which was in keeping with the florid language of that era.

Over the years from 1859 to 1900, the many manuals of telegraphy show variations of this meaning. Dodge's The Telegraph Instructor shows it merely as "compliments". The Twentieth Century Manual of Railway and Commercial Telegraphy defines it two ways, one listing as "my compliments to you"; but in the glossary of abbreviations it is merely "compliments". Theodore A. Edison's Telegraphy Self-Taught shows a return to "accept my compliments". By 1908, however, a later edition of the Dodge Manual gives us today's definition of "best regards" with a backward look at the older meaning in another part of the work where it also lists it as "compliments".

"Best regards" has remained ever since as the "put-it-down-in-black-and-white" meaning of 73 but it has acquired overtones of much warmer meaning. Today, amateurs use it more in the manner that James Reid had intended that it be used - a "friendly word between operators".

Louise Ramsey Moreau, W3WRE

The ARRL Operating Manual, 6th Ed., The ARRL Newington, 1997, pp. 17-25








Tips for Learning Morse

1. Do not waste your time in taking slow speed training below 12 wpm, this not only wastes your time but also builds up the bad habit of "Translating". Please refer to Farnsworth Speed and Koch Method.
2. Do not recite or study any code chart including "dot-dash", symbol and any kinds of visual clue for the codes. Do not even study the "Di Dah" table, it can only be referred to from time to time. Do not remember codes by correlating them to any sound alike words or counting the short/long composition of a code. All these will only build up / reinforce the "Translating" habit.
3. Do not "Translate". Once you get the habit of translating, you have to painfully struggle to throw it away before you can pass your exam. By "Translating", it means when one hears a code, he has to go through conscious thinking processes before he can write down the code. Such thinking processes include searching a mapping table in one's mind, correlating the sound and counting the dot-dash of the code etc... The Morse we are learning should be a reflex which does not require any kind of conscious thinking. After you hear the code, you can then write it down right away. You can find lots of Morse learners (especially unsuccessful ones) introducing or describing their different kinds of charts which help them to remember the code. But you seldom hear a good telegrapher mention similar things. It is because they do not translate. It is not possible to "Translate" in high speed Morse.

If you do not comprehend, please refer to this example. When somebody spell you a word "AT" and ask you to write it down, you will write "A" when you hear "A" and write "T" when you hear "T". No one will think about the sharp roof of a village house, and then add a dash inside so as to write an "A". If somebody really do so, he will still be thinking about the second alphabet when people start to spell the next word.
4. As Morse is a trained reflex, the most effective way of learning is "practise, practise, practise". It would be better if we can arrange a daily schedule for practise. If time is limited, a 15 minutes section each day is always better than a two hour section once a week. The best and only effective way to learn Morse is "More practise"!
5. Practise listening or copying first and try sending only after one has achieved accurate copying at the right timing and speed. If you copy, write it down and file them for monitoring purposes. You can use a computer software or electronic device to generate good codes for copying. One should avoid copying QSOs on air unless it is specially designed for training purposes, it is because those QSOs may have included personal styles or even wrong timings and beginners find it hard to differentiate goods from bads. Sending practise can also be setup with similar ways, but do not expect any decoder to decode 100% of the codes you sent. Normally, when a decoder can accurately decode 85%, you are ready to take your exam. Finding an OM to listen to your code and give you advices from time to time is, of course, very important.
6. The keys for learning Morse are "Method" and "Persistence", your cleverness or proficiency in English does not really make any difference. Good "Method" may vary with your style, situation, habits and time limitations. Below are some web pages which content very useful information for beginners and telegrapher of different levels. It will definitely be rewarding to spend some time studying them.


This article is extracted from the "FAQ" pages that I wrote for two of the local HAM societies' web pages when I was their FAQ editor. Those pages are not maintained anymore and most links are dead. So, I repost it here.

 

Morse Links

 

 




My Workshop (Updated April 18, 2001)

International Callbook Links

Links to other sites (Updated May 7, 2001)









HPE CUAGN
GD GL GDX 73
de VR2GW



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