Things around here are in turmoil, plus I have a storage upgrade to do tonight that will take until 3AM I am told...good grief. So imagine my delight when the locals and I are chatting on Slack and we find out there is a slow CW net tonight at 7PM...on 3535 every night of every week. More on that later.
So I was setting up my shack for the big upgrade tonight, I am using remote tools along with the manufacturer so I needed everything set up at home so I didn't have to stay at work all night. I noticed my poor K2 sitting there all disconnected, and being ignored, so I decided to move the HW8 off the desk and plugged the K2 in.
I immediately tuned to 7118 and started calling CQ at a whopping 5w into the attic dipole and was answered instantly by Jim KI4I from down in Bartlett TN. Now Jim is a Navy man and a long time ham radio operator. He started out as a Navy Seabee in Rhode Island and ended up in Cuba eventually where he got bit by the ham radio bug. Checkout his wonderful bio on QRZ.COM for all the details. He and I both have wives named Ann and we have lived blessed lives!
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| Jim KI4I in his Shop |
Thanks for the 579 RST Jim, Your TS440S at 100w was sounding great from the G5RV and an honest 599 even though we had just a little bit of QSB going on. I hope to work you again soon, nice ragchew and your fist was a pleasure to copy.
That QSO was at about 2130Z and I was anxiously awaiting the ICN (Indiana Code Net) on 3535 Khz at 7PM...several of our newer guys are learning CW and they wanted to try and check in tonight. W9IMH was the NCS this evening and we had about 7 or 8 QNI, and the new guys all did GREAT jobs, with great fists, many checking in to the CW net for the very first time. It just made it all a blast. Rick KB9NDF and Mac AF4PS got me on the trail to CW about 20 years ago, I passed the CW bug on to Ivin W9ILF not too long after that, and now he's given the CW bug to Mike W9ODX, Steve W9BRI, and Jermane KD9GZJ...now we have a whole bunch of new hams like Chris KD9JCJ and old hams like Wayne AC9HP interested in learning CW..it just keeps growing. CW is fun. So is being an Elmer.
When the net was over, Mike W9ODX and I QSY'd to 3526 Khz and had our first CW to CW QSO and I could not be more excited about a QSO. He's only been at CW since about spring and his fist is beautiful armchair copy. Ivin W9ILF has done a very very good job teaching him. Hats off and Mike a QSL card is in the mail buddy!
Great night to be a ham!
73 de KB9BVN
Thanks for allowing me the privledge of having my first CW QSO with you last night, it was a blast checking into the net and then connecting with you afterwards. Thanks for being a great Elmer and friend. 72 de W9ODX
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