My quest to learn CW (2)

   This is my second blogpost about my quest to learn CW. Not that I'm against the use of a computer decoder but because I just want to decode morse with my own brain. So I continue the quest and will try to update my blog with the progress I make every month.

In my previous blogpost about the subject I wrote I was not able to learn from LCWO.net. I continued to use morsemania on my phone and did an every day 1-15 minute practice with morsemachine on 28 wpm. The problem is that I got a bit bored with morsemachine only, I wanted to take it a step further. So I went back to the Learn CW Online website and changed settings. The original settings were way too fast for me and despite LCWO gives the advice to not learn below 15 wpm effective I now learn with a speed of 28 wpm and 8 wpm effective speed. 28 wpm because you only learn the sound of each letter above a speed of 27 wpm. 8 wpm effective speed because above this speed it is way too fast for me, I also need to find the letter on my keyboard. The plan is now to finish all 40 lessons and then increase the effective speed by one and do all 40 lesson again etc. etc. Yes, this takes time....but I was already counting on that. In between I will try to do the word/numbers training and hopefully in the future the text and callsign training.

Find my progress here: https://lcwo.net/profile/PE4BAS

#60m Clipperton Island worked

Worked the first ATNO for 2024 on 60m this morning. I already did read a posting on facebook that their signal was incredible on that band. So this morning just before I left for the job I just tried and within a few minutes I was in the log. I also worked them on 17m this evening. 

Although the JTDX software doesn't know where TX5S is located, most of us know. Just look it up in QRZ.com and you got all the info.

An interesting read is the wiki page of Clipperton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island

TX5S is not the first DXpedition on Clipperton, most of the DXpeditions also in the past include scientific research on the island. TX5S is already mentioned on the wiki page.

VCXO-AXE 30m WSPR transmissions with MLA last 24 hours

Not really planned but had to retract the tower. The forecast showed large wind gusts here on the coast and I didn't trust it at all. So I tried the experimental halo which is actually for 20m and up. It didn't work at all. My last escape was setting up the MLA in the shack and at least be on 30m WSPR for the night and the day till my battery would die.

Things to keep in mind, for myself in the future:

• The antenna switch needs power otherwise all inputs are switched to earth. 
• The gymboss timer doesn't have to be on 2 minutes, the transmitter does have its own WSPR cycle.

I really didn't know what to expect. It has been a long time ago that I experimented with this transmitter. It still does its job. Actually it has been a long time ago I experimented with WSPR anyway. I noticed things are changed. The VK7JJ WSPR Rocks site is expanded and PE1ITR's WSPR challenge site is gone! There are probably more interesting sites featuring WSPR analysis, can anyone give me some tips?

942 spots! Isn't that incredible? And 132 uniques. ODX K9AN over 6830km. 

I mean, this is with 1W in a tiny magnetic loop inside my shack! Isn't this amazing?

I will think about another 24h run with my inverted-V in one of the next days.