My quest to learn CW (18)

 I'm trying to focus on the things I can do with CW. I might not be able to decode everything but it is possible to make a simple QSO. 

Some stats from LCWO:

Yes, I still learn with LCWO but it is part of the homework from CWops this time. I finished the fundamental homework assignments and now continue with the intermediate practice instructions and homework assignments (V2.1) from the CWops site. I keep track of my own homework writing my progress in a spreadsheet.

So far I found the fundamental assignments not that difficult. But intermediate takes more. A challenge for me, I like that. I try to learn ICR with LCWO and am now at a speed of 25/15 wpm which is the limit at this moment. 

I did a visit to the radiorally in Beetsterzwaag together with my colleague PD8HW. One of the last large radio related markets here in the northern part of the Netherlands. Lots of old and new stuff to see and buy. Lots of people I know from both hamradio and the 11m scene. One of them, PF5T Frank, was also a fanatic CW ham but keeps quiet at the moment. Hopefully he finds the time to do some CW in the future. At least we had a friendly talk, it is always nice to see known people that you normally only hear via radio.

I only bought some connectors this time and a small passive receive loop for medium wave receive. Actually the food and drinks have cost me more. The fun thing was that there was a display with Begali keys. I had the opportunity to test the HST, Expedition and Adventure paddles. I really liked the Begali Expedition paddle but unfortunatly the price it far beyond my budget. Luckily I already have a fine Begali Simplex Basic key that does very well.

Goodbye old equipment...

PE4BAS shack 2006/2007

 

 Can your imagine in 2006 touchscreen was still something that was just in development. Yes, some computers had touchscreen. But it only worked with a special touch pencil. I had a dream about a touchscreen controlled radio. Something that would be common in the future. I already predicted that at that time. In 2006 I bought a touchscreen laptop which I used to CAT control my Icom IC-706. I have no video about it but found one photo on which this setup could be seen. These days almost all new radios have touchscreen control. A cellphone or a tablet is all touchscreen controlled. You don't even need to have a separate CAT control modem and audio modem anymore. New radios require just one USB cable to your computer controlling everything.

So, it is time to say goodbye to this old laptop after almost 20 years. It still works but it is so slow compared to todays computers. I made good use of it. It was brought with me on several trips on vacation. It did well in several contests using N1MM software. It did well on several digimodes. And it had an excellent WiFi receiver, much better as other laptops and computers I had. But now is the time to leave it and go on with new technology. You can't keep it all.

Look at the specs. This was really a good laptop computer 20 years ago. It had a separate DVD/CD-RW player with firewire connection. Included in the package was also a USB floppy for 3,5" floppy discs. I keep that because I still have some 3,5" floppy disks with ancient software. You never know...

Abandon all the old stuff is difficult at times.

CQWW WPX CW participation

I had great plans to participate in this contest and so practice my CW skills. But other chores came up and my time was consumed faster as I hoped for. I could only be on air on Sunday evening for about 2 hours. In the end I made 51 QSOs. I've only been active on 10, 15 and 20m. Interesting DX: (20m) ZM1A New Zealand, B1Z China, (15m) NF6A CA USA, 9M2J West Malaysia, ZD7BG St.Helena, YV4ABR Venezuela, (10m) CX2BR Uruquay, 5Z4A Kenya, ZD7BG St.Helena. Always nice to work DX in such a short timespan. I also met fellow blogger VE3VN Ron with strong signals on 15m. I had problems to copy numbers at high speed especially the long ones like D4DX keyed. I probably have a few numbers copied wrong. I doubt anyone cares...

At least I was active with CW and did it without the use of decoding software like I used in previous years. A huge step forward. I wish I was a bit faster in decoding. 20-25 Wpm is managable, but at higher speeds I got difficulties to copy.

Unfortunately I'm not able do make a nice overview map from my contacts anymore. DL4MFM's simple QSO analyzer map tool is off line because of higher costs of Google maps APIs. According to his site it will be back online this month. I've been searching for another QSO to map possebility. The only alternative is QSOmaps.com. This is not for free and too expensive for me as a hobbyist. There are other sites and software that can do this. Like the old V4 version of HRD and K2DSL QSO mapper. But these need coordinates which are not always available.

(Last update 27-May-2025)

#6m Tanzania worked

 

 

First new on band this year. Propagation was very spotty, many did not see him calling. PG1C who's about 30km west of me didn't see him at all.

Netherlands Telegraphy Club

 I applied for a membership of the Netherlands Telegraphy Club. It seems to be an active club with some activities every month. Not shure if I'm ready to participate yet, but it would be a nice goal to take part in one of the activities in the future. I got membership number 284. This club is open for everyone around the world. You can find the club homepage here: https://pi4ntc.nl/

Are we into the Gnevyshev gap?

I notice that HF propagation lately is not as good as last year. Especially on 6m (VHF) were we had great F2 propagation at the end of 2024. Till now nothing interesting was heard (seen) on 6m, even de ES propagation is not that good. Normally HF propagation is not that good in summer or is is something else?

The Gnevyshev Gap is a phenomenon observed in the solar cycle where solar activity, such as sunspot numbers and solar flux, shows a temporary dip or lull during the peak of a solar maximum. Instead of a single peak, many solar cycles exhibit a double-peaked maximum, with a drop in activity between the two peaks—this drop is the Gnevyshev Gap, named after Soviet astronomer Mikhail Gnevyshev.

In Relation to Ham Radio (Amateur Radio):

Ham radio, especially HF (High Frequency) propagation (3 to 30 MHz), is significantly affected by solar activity because:

Higher solar activity increases ionization in the ionosphere, especially the F2 layer, which enhances long-distance HF propagation.

Solar flux index (SFI) and sunspot numbers are proxies used to estimate propagation quality.

What the Gnevyshev Gap Means for Ham Radio:

During the Gnevyshev Gap, there is often a temporary degradation in propagation conditions on HF bands, especially 10m, 12m, and 15m, which are more sensitive to solar activity.

Operators may notice a decline in DX (long-distance) opportunities during this lull, even though it's still technically within the solar maximum.

The gap can last several weeks to months, depending on the cycle.

Practical Tips for Hams:

Monitor Solar Data: Watch for dips in SFI, sunspot numbers, and MUF (maximum usable frequency) during peak years of the solar cycle.

Plan Around It: If you're aiming for DXpeditions or contests, try to schedule them during the rising or falling edges of the solar max, not the Gnevyshev Gap.

VHF/UHF not affected: This gap has little to no impact on propagation above ~30 MHz (like 6m, 2m, or 70cm).

In short, the Gnevyshev Gap is a temporary downturn in solar activity at solar max, and for ham radio, it can momentarily reduce the exceptional propagation conditions expected at the peak of the cycle.

Although this gap has little impact on VHF I think certainly F2 propagation on 6m is affected. But who am I to write that, I'm not an expert in HF/VHF propagation. However I found this interesting enough to write about.

WW2 story from (near) my QTH

Today, May 5th 2025 it is 80 years ago that the Netherlands was liberated from the occupying Germans. This is a story I wanted to write for a long time. It happened around the village I live in. Radio operators from the resistance were involved. The story is well known, but it was difficult to verify all the facts. There was a lot going on at the end of the war and around this story. I shortened it as good as possible remaining only what was going on here. 

Work goes on... 

This is a story I wanted to write for a long time. It is actually a follow up from one of my blogposts in the past. That story was the first one of three about PA0DR Dirk Rustema who was active in the resistance and a radio operator at that time. Dirk was arrested in August 1943 and brought to Germany to appear in court for his illigal activities at that time. Dirk was lucky and was the only one from a group of prisoners that was convicted to get to a penitentiary. After that happened his friend and former mechanic Albert Zuidhof (code name "Anton") took over the duties in the resistance. Since there was nothing left of the former resistance group "Zwaantje" Anton had to make new contacts. Which he eventually got with someone from the village of Blaricum (coincidence, my place of birth) in the center part of the Netherlands. He obtained a new transmitter with power supply from this contact. Some believe it could be a Paraset V, but this is a transceiver and the historic books tell us it was just a transmitter. The receiver was build with parts obtained from Philips equipment-laboratory through close friend Gerrit Bakker. This receiver had a battery supply which was needed because of the regular electricity grid failure at that time. The equipment was placed in an attic of one of the outbuildings of the pudding factory Atlanta in the city of Groningen. Unfortunately it turned out that the connection between transmitter and antenna did not work, something that was discovered by a radioamateur PA0PC Jaap van der Hul (code name "Radio-Kees")  from Hilversum. He solved the problem but things went dangerous and the resistance needed to stop their work immediately.  In the mean time the southern part of the Netherlands was already liberated at the time this all happened. 

The farm, on the background
the Eemshaven harbour. Photo made from 
the decoy towards the farm 
to show the distance Piet
had to run.

New location Uithuizermeeden

After a moment of inactivity they found another place to place the transmitter. Far away from earlier locations at a farm near Uithuizermeeden, just a few kilometers from my QTH now. This time with "Anton" as radio operator and Gerrit for technical assistance and code-duty (code and decode secret codes). The first contact with the allied forces in the liberated south part of the country was made on 4 Nov. 1944. Several successful messages were transmitted. In the winter of 1944/45 "Anton" was too busy with other duties. In the mean time Gerrit learned morsecode and was already capable of transmitting messages on his own. Through the local resistance they also got weapons to defend themselves, probably not the best idea in the end.

The duck decoy, approx 1km from the farm.

The Germans strike

At the end of January 1945 things went smootly. The new location was excellent and radio transmissions went on. They thought they could still share a lot of information in the remaining days of the war. "Radio Kees" and Piet van Dijk from Hilversum came to the farm to help, both were radio operators and technically skilled. And all went well. Till the 6th of February...after they had probably betrayed or have been located by German direction finding equipment. About 30-40 German soldiers came to surround the complete farm so no one would be able to escape. Piet, Gerrit and the farmer Bene tried to shoot themselves a way out. Piet tried to flee to a nearby duck decoy but was shot there, he died at a age of 22. Unfortunately both Gerrit and Bene were seriously injured, they were captured and questioned. They were shot later that year. In the mean time "Radio Kees" was more understanding and had the chance to burn the code book and as much equipment as he could in the woodstove. He was taken prisoner and was subjected to extraordinary torture, unfortunatly he gave a lot of info to the Germans to save his own life. He survived the war but was so exhausted that he died in 1948.

Stolperstein (memory stone) in memory of the farmer that died. On the background the farm.

Documentation:

Verzet in Groningen - ISBN9062430465

https://www.tracesofwar.nl/sights/124393/Stolperstein-Dwarsweg-1.htm

https://droog-mag.nl/2020/ag/nsf-monument.html

https://www.hilversumsnieuws.nl/reader/131534/78832/verraad-viert-hoogtij-in-boek-de-prooi-wordt-jager#p=11

https://a03.veron.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bijlage_gevallen_radioamateurs_VERON_1949-VERON_a03.pdf

https://www.groningen4045.nl/portretten/bene-roelf-westerdijk-uithuizermeeden

https://oorlogsgravenstichting.nl/personen/170370/bene-roelf-westerdijk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein

(Photos made by me on 22 April 2025)

Paracette or Paraset research again

In the Netherlands we have the 80th year of freedom celebration after the second world war on the 5th of May. In honour of our freedom I have written some posts that are follow ups from posts I wrote in the past. If you like to read it, here are the links:

https://pe4bas.blogspot.com/2021/03/paraset-instruction-manual-discovery.html

https://pe4bas.blogspot.com/2021/11/paraset-instructions-new-insights.html

Paraset

The case of the "Paracette". Unknown if there was a Paraset among the 5 transmitters (receivers) that were used by the "Zwaantje" resistance group till September 1943. Known are a Soto transmitter, a Winchester transmitter, an Eton-3 transmitter, an Eton-4 transmitter and a homemade transmitter. So far I could not find anything about these. It can be that the name Paraset was not really known and instead they gave the tranceivers names so one or more of the above could be a Paraset after all.

PA3BCBs note

Unfortunately Gerard PA3BCB died last year. He was the one that rescued the WW2 Paraset instructions and gave them to me. Well you know the story, and if you don't, read the articles about it on my blog. Gerards widow brought me a note he wrote for me before he died, he was obviously busy to find out about the transmitters that had been received by the "Zwaantje" resistance group via the Sweden route. The note was about some facts he did read in the report that "Ton" van Schendel wrote after the war. This report can be found at the excellent site from Willem PH0WAW. A very nice network overview block diagram from "Zwaantje" can be found here. It contains some faults but it brought me closer to an answer.

"Ton" wrote 

I decided to read this report again and this is what I found about the "de Soto" transmitter.

It turned out that an espionage group in Delfzijl, which as it turned out later was led by "ZWAANTJE" (Dr. Oosterhuis) and which maintained an intensive traffic with England via Sweden, had received a transmitting and receiving device from England (mid-February 1943). This equipment was equipped with four crystals (a day crystal with evasive frequency and a night crystal, also with evasive frequency; the day wave was about 47 and the night wave at plus minus 85 meters)

SIS Paraset (pic from weggum.com)

Further in the report some other facts about "de Soto"

Later it turned out that the initial failure of the connection was not so much due to the low power of "DE SOTO" transmitter, but rather to the lesser ability to operate the receiver. The whole case, transmitter-receiver plus P.S.A. (power supply) was no bigger than a cigar box and could easily be carried in a briefcase. Due to the extremely complicated construction, the receiver had a fairly small tuning scale, while the range was quite large, namely from about 25 to almost 100 meters. The coordination was therefore very difficult and critical and required great skill. We have taken great pleasure in such receivers by making some belt spreading and the use of a long rod for tuning, which made it much "finer", especially when most of the receivers had to be put away as a result of the surrender order (13 May 1943).

At first I though "a cigar box"? In my opinion that is too small for a Paraset. But looking at the above photograph I'm not that sure anymore... the suitcase on the pic is very small considering the size of the handle. I don't know the size of a cigarbox at that time?  However the Paraset on the picture is believed not the exact model that was described. There were several models made, and not every model was build into a suitcase like in the picture. So what the "de Soto" transceiver looked like will remain a mystery.

In my opinion it is very likely that the other "transmitters" were in fact "transceivers". And except for the homemade transmitter(s) the transceivers with names could actually be all Parasets.