Gilmore NWM Radio Club – CW Corner News No 8
By David M0WDD
Welcome to CW Corner News No 8 from the friendly Gilmore NWM Radio Club. In this issue – GRC and NWM merge – latest on NWM CW nets and 2M Activity Hour – a CW POTA experience – Suggestion to combine future club nets – read on to find out more.
So in this CW Corner News No 8:
- GRC and NWM merged, by Chris M0KCJ
- Latest on NWM CW nets
- Expanding the WAKE UP CW Activity Hour
- A CW POTA experience by David M0WDD
- Inter club co-operations for future nets?
1. GRC and NWM combined, by Chris M0KCJ
CW ( Morse ) A way of life? Not really, but a great extension of the Ham Radio Hobby, that needs constant practise to keep all the cogs in mesh. This is not easy these days with the busy lives we all lead, but can be extremely rewarding when you start making CW contacts in far away places.
North West Morse has now joined forces with Gilmore Radio Club On a more permanent basis. It made sense to unite properly, as both clubs are strong and friendly, and to merge factions was the obvious thing to do.
David’s (M0WDD) role will be to strengthen the already busy CW training nets as Training Coordinator, whilst Jamie (M1JSC) will continue his pursuit of QRP, as the specialist in this area.
Both David and Jamie, remain vital to the continuing success of Gilmore and North West Morse Radio Club.
Anyone wishing to pursue Morse can approach any one of us for help in getting started, or revitalising an old skill. Morse, a way of life ? You bet it is.
Chris CW Manager
M0KCJ
2. Latest on NWM CW nets
NWM CW nets have evolved into two types – formal nets and informal QSOs. Here is more on each.
The regular formal nets. These currently run every Sunday evening on a different band each week, chaired by Chris M0KCJ. Callers can enjoy a regular net format and experience differing challenging conditions. Bands used follow the weekly pattern 10m, 6m, 80m and 6m, repeating every four weeks. The net format is – check-ins, news and comments, then finals, so every caller can contribute.
The “Wake Up CW” Activity Hours. These currently run every Sunday afternoon on 2M chaired by David M0WDD. Callers can enjoy short or longer QSOs without the need for a traditional net format. Watch out for more “Wake Up CW” Activities soon.
Both types, these nets attract regular local club callers from GRC, from SRS, and from non-club guests. Out of area ops occasionally call in too, depending on conditions.
How do we keep in touch with our net callers?
We keep in touch through email alerts, Facebook posts, and more recently a WhatsApp group.
Email alerts: With callers’ and potential callers’ permissions, we have built up a confidential email list. Participants then receive a weekly email alert in advance of our Sunday nets.
Facebook alerts: weekly FB posts go to various CW groups and to the GRC group, again in advance of our Sunday nets.
WhatsApp group: GRC/NWM CW regulars recently started a WhatsApp group for 70cm, 2m and HF CW interests – this is very effective for “real time” alerts, calls for CW tests and general CW chats. Members currently include ops from GRC/NWM, SRS and a guest.
3. Expanding the WAKE UP CW Activity Hour
CW on ???
Interest in this activity, like the regular NWM nets, has been excellent with regular callers from members of GRC, members of SRS, non-club members, and occasional out of area callers.
In particular, interest from Facebook users has been exceptionally good, with 20-25 likes and positive comments every week – many from out of area, and some from overseas.
With this in mind, David M0WDD is consulting with our regular net callers about launching a trial “Wake UP to CW on 40M” Activity. This is not instead of, but as well as, regular club nets, with the format of QSOs rather than formal nets.
4. My three CW POTA activation so far, by David M0WDD
My very first CW POTA (Parks on The Air) activation from Heaton Park in early July was successful but a gusty wind and lack of a good working surface taught me the importance of using an outdoor chair and table in future. I got my activation with 12 contacts, eventually. (10 needed for successful activation).
My second POTA activation attempt from St Mary’s Park, Prestwich, in late July was unsuccessful due to heavy rain – I certainly learned to pay more attention to the weather forecast.
Back on 10th August, I made my third POTA activation attempt, again from St Mary’s park in Prestwich. This time things were better.
The weather was glorious, and the park, unlike last time, was very busy. I setup in a quiet part in a far corner (or so I thought), with my portable chair and small picnic table in place on the grass, and setup the un-extended 7m fibreglass pole about 20m away with a guyed base.
My minimal POTA station on the table was FT818 and battery in a small laptop case (in case of rain), and Kent paddle and 49:1 unun alongside, and some paper jammed under the case for logging. I connected the unun to 20m of long thin wire over to the pole. So this EFHW would be resonant on 40m and 20m. Got the pole to full height and I was good to go. What could possible go wrong?
Just then two older ladies out for a walk came over and asked me what I was doing “with the fishing line” – so I explained, much to their delight. Maybe they’re interested in CW I thought. Shortly after this, another lady walked over and asked me to keep a look out for her lost dog – of course I would. Maybe I look like a park official I wondered.
Then just as I started calling CQ POTA, a silly kid on a small motorbike appeared on a path near me and suddenly veered off and made to whizz by between the antenna pole and me, before I could shout anything. “Well I hope he can see the antenna wire,” I thought. He did – he ducked just in time and was gone. Catastrophe avoided.
So settled down to POTA contacts. I only managed two (local UK) on 40m as band was noisy and my antenna slope had a large dip, but never mind. So moved to 20m where conditions were much better and the contacts started to arrive. Some ops were working over my humble 5w at times, but I did seek the frequency gaps and kept calling CQ POTA. Eventually I built up to nine contacts after a good hour and a half calling. The best contact was with an Italian op north of Milan who was also /P.
The tenth contact just would not come for ages. But eventually got one – from Eastern Europe – but never mind, in the log. Then just before I packed up, two more contacts came in, so that was great – now 12. Back home I discovered I had one wrong callsign, so down to 11, but activation was successful.
Overall, it was a great fun afternoon and I also got an August suntan. I look forward to my next POTA activation attempt. That dog never did appear.
5. Inter club co-operations for future nets?
We have welcomed GRC/NWM members, SRS members, and some guests to our nets, particularly on the “Wake Up 2M” Activity Hour, as GRC/NWM specifically aims to be an open friendly club where all are welcome.
Might it now be time to consider working more closely with SRS to ensure members from both clubs can enjoy participation in both sets of club nets, whilst each club retain their individual club identity? And may I respectfully suggest that it be good to see each club’s nets running at different days/times rather than some at the same day and time? This is just a suggestion – we could then all benefit from an even wider range of net participation possibilities.
Until next time, best wishes from David M0WDD, GRC/NWM, September 2023