Ham radio requires a license, like driving. Our signals can travel around the world or into outer space. When I started at age twelve in 1989, we had five license classes: novice, technician, general, advanced, and extra. We now have three: technician, general, and extra. Each class gives you more frequencies you can use, and other privileges. The exams get progressively harder. Most people could get their technician class license. The general requires more knowledge, but it opens up the world of HF, the high frequency signals which travel around the world. Both of those require taking a 35-question multiple choice exam. The extra exam has 50 questions. You need to get 74% to pass.
I remember when I touched and heard a ham radio for the first time. It happened at the Franklin Institute Science Museum, which had a radio room at the time. I pleaded with my parents to get me a ham radio on the way back home. They explained that I needed to pass a test. That didn’t phase me, since I took tests all the time. I got some four track tapes for the blind called Tune IN the World, and listened to them constantly.
A few years later I got my novice. I remember the VEs, the volunteer examiners, came to my house. They gave me the test, including tactile block diagrams, and I also had to pass a 5 WPM Morse Code test. Somehow I did.
A few years later I wanted to upgrade to technician and general. I went to a radio camp run by Handiham in Malibu, California. I had a wonderful time relaxing with ham radio friends in the sun. I failed.
The next year they had another radio camp in Bemidji, Minnesota. I remember flying into Minneapolis. I had to take a terrifying plane flight in sub zero temperatures, and landed in an airport the size of a kitchen. I passed.
Sadly I got out of the hobby when I went off to college, but I didn’t let my license expire. I got back into ham radio in 2019 as part of my healing journey. I needed my hobby back. I brushed up on my technician and general theory, and got back on air.
I knew that I wanted my extra. I made a few starts. Finally last May I started in earnest. I went back to my old friend, Gordon West. He does an entertaining audio presentation. I used his tapes during childhood, and bought his CDs when getting back into the hobby so I wouldn’t sound like an idiot when I got back on air. I also purchased the No Nonsense Study Guide from Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, after working him on 40 meters. It really helped, especially when it came time to cram and take practice exams. I also used ChatGPT. I chose ChatGPT because I started studying in May of 2023. Better alternatives may exist now.
Learning from an AI really did feel like living in the future. I saw its potential and its limitations. I struggled for years to understand exactly what happens when I hit transmit on my radio, and how that results in sending out an electromagnetic wave. I got it in one night with an AI. It still makes mistakes. For example it told me that a half wave antenna for 60 meters measures 56 feet. My primitive human brain didn’t immediately know the exact number, but I knew that it got it wrong. A half wave antenna for 40 meters measures 66 ft. A quick calculation revealed the right answer of around 87.5 ft. It got a lot of stuff right though.
I finished Gordo’s audio course a little over a month ago. I started taking practice exams. I tried a few tools, and settled on the Exam Review tool from the ARRL. It lets you suppress questions with images, an exemption which blind people can request. I began using the No Nonsense Study Guides a lot at this point. My score started improving. Once I started scoring 90% I decided that the time had come to bite the bullet and take the test.
I belong to the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club. They administer testing sessions, but I didn’t feel like going out to Willow Grove. I decided to try a remote exam. They became popular during the pandemic. I heard good things about the Greater Las Angeles Amateur Radio Group, so decided to try them.
I emailed the AD4VE testing team, and asked if they could accommodate a blind applicant. I got a quick reply from Dave that they could, and he suggested using my iPhone for video and a desktop computer to share the screen to take the exam. He couldn’t attend live, but assured me that I would have a strong team
I made the appointment for the next night. I felt nervous but confident. I hadn’t taken a test in a long time. I thought about how far we’ve come. When I got my novice in 1989, we didn’t have practice exams. You had to study, then hope for the best.
I woke up on Saturday feeling OK. I didn’t have any signs of a migraine. I took a practice exam, and got 74%, the minimum passing score. That made me more nervous, but I reminded myself that I needed to get my brain going. I tried one later in the afternoon and got 90%, more like what I had hoped for. I had taken all the practice exams I could take. I had dinner and prepared myself.
I had Zoom ready on my iPhone and on my Mac. I had my photo ID, which they require for verification. I had a bottle of water. I joined on time. They greeted me.
“Someone named Art is already in there. He says he knows you.”
I didn’t know which Art he meant, as I’ve contacted a few, but should have.
“Well! You didn’t want to go to Willow Grove, but you ended up with me anyway!” I recognized the enthusiastic voice of Art, N8BLK. He belongs to both Phil-mont and Holmesburg, two local radio clubs. I felt even more at ease. The three volunteer examiners introduced themselves.
“We are going to need more light.” The sudden words froze me. I turned on the light switch, but the bulb must have burned out, and of course I didn’t notice. I started to panic, but kept it under control. I brought over a 15 Watt red salt lamp, but that didn’t really do it. I thought about apologizing and rescheduling in embarrassment, but they persevered
One of the volunteer examiners said, “Art, if you can verify that that is Austin, then we are OK with that.”
“Oh, that’s definitely Austin!” he proclaimed. He saved me. World’s greatest hobby!.
I battled with Zoom on my phone. I had VoiceOver focus issues sharing a web URL, so switched to the Mac for the exam. I shared the screen. Art asked me why I had an Emacs window open. I said that I would use it for its calculator. He laughed. They asked me to hold the phone up to the screen of the Mac. I had the monitor hooked up to my Linux machine. I apologized again for the weird situation, and started crawling under my desk to unplug the cable. I heard them calling me back. They decided not to worry about it. They did ask me to slow down my speech so they could understand it. Finally we had video on the iPhone, the shared screen with Safari on my Mac, and slower speech. Suddenly I found myself taking the exam.
I filled out the form without any issues. Each question had four radio buttons for choices. At one point I began to get thirsty. I felt scared to make any moves after everything that had happen, so asked if I could drink some water.
“You can drink all you want!” replied Art happily. I made my way through the questions and felt good about my answers.
“Of course, you can always go back and edit any of your choices.” he said, but I didn’t want to change a thing. I took a big breath and hit the Submit Exam button.
The page loaded, but before I could begin reading it, Art said, “Well, now you can annoy everyone on Holmesburg and Phil-Mont by calling yourself KA3TTT/AE!!!” He referred to the rule that if you have upgraded your license and received your Certificate of Successful Completion (CSCE), you can append /AG or /AE to your call for General or Extra until you get your license.
“I passed?” I asked. I still couldn’t quite believe it.
“You passed!” they all confirmed. I scrolled down and saw my score. I got 45 questions correct, for a score of 90%!
“Those were five that you don’t need to know.” said one of the examiners. “Now comes the fun part.” I had to fill out the form to submit to the FCC. Everything worked fine until I got to the electronic signature. VoiceOver only read the signature area as an image. Unfortunately screen reader users often have issues with electronic signatures. We tried on the Mac using the Magic Track pad, but then Art suggested trying it on my iPhone. I battled again with Zoom to share the web URL, and after several attempts I made a line in the field. The submit button undimmed. They excitedly yelled for me to hurry and submit it before we had another focus issue. I quickly hit the button. It asked me to confirm my submission. “Hurry! Hurry!” they yelled again. This had become the final test. I hit the submit button. It went through.! We cheered.
I felt so happy. They thanked me for not giving up on them. I said that I wanted to thank them for the same reason. They assured me that they would have found a way to make it work no matter what. They had more good news.
“Everyone in tonight’s session passed.”
I asked how many.
“Only seven.” That amazed me. Remote testing has really opened things up, and GLARC does great work. After more congratulations they moved me to the exit room. I heard them congratulating a new ham. They then congratulated me. Someone suggested that I become a volunteer examiner, since extras can do that. I hadn’t considered it.
“You can’t see to verify if someone is cheating, but there is plenty to do.” I asked if they knew of any blind VEs.
Art responded, “KS3X.”
“Of course.” Enoch lives in Philadelphia and checks into the net which I run.
“And there was Carl Owens, W0CPR, formerly WB0CPR, but he passed.”
“Carl passed away?”
“Yeah. He moved to Michigan to live with his brother, and passed about two years ago.”
The celebration stopped for a moment. I knew Carl during middle school and high school. He gave me stern guidance, but also loved to laugh. He made sure my license didn’t expire. One time I gave him a broken laptop, the first Keynote talking laptop for the blind. I don’t know what I had done to it, but I believe it involved battery acid. I complained about the broken machine.
“Of course you broke it. You’re a kid.” he stated. That hurt, and I held it against him for many years, until my younger sisters trashed the family computer with spyware. They infected it with a nasty virus which altered the BIOS. The machine barely ran. They cursed at it and called it slow, and told Mom that they needed a new computer instead of this broken one.
“Of course you broke it. You’re a kid.” As the words left my mouth I heard Carl’s voice echoing through time, like in a movie. I instantly forgave him. I never got to tell him as an adult. He would often end our conversations by saying, “Keep a smile.” I found his obituary.
I left the session with a strange mixture of emotions. I felt happy I passed, though still couldn’t believe it. I felt annoyed about the lighting issue. I felt sad about Carl. I felt relieved that I wouldn’t need to study anymore for the exam. Getting an extra class license feels like the Return of the King – the grand third installment of a trilogy which explains everything.
I had to work a station. Luckily we had a contest going on. I quickly found Bud, AA3B, in the extra portion of 80 meters. He spoke at Holmesburg, and I worked him many times. This time I answered sending KA3TTT/AE. I had made my first contact as an extra.
I want to thank everyone for making this possible. Gordon and Dan made excellent study guides. ChatGPT helped me understand concepts, and showed me the potential of AI in education. Everyone at GLARG went above and beyond to accommodate me. See you on the extra bands!
]]>In a typically nondescript laboratory, somewhere between the international dateline and the price of tea in China, a group of scientists were contemplating an extraordinary event. They had picked up an extraterrestrial radio signal. This was momentous, revolutionary, the crowning achievement of human endeavor. Also, it was a Tuesday, and there were fresh scones in the break room.
After numerous caffeine-fueled nights, the team had managed to decode the signal. The room was electric with anticipation as Dr. Humphrey Jones, a man of considerable intelligence and less considerable hair, prepared to reveal the decoded message to the world.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, his voice echoing off the sterile white walls, “our new extraterrestrial friends have sent us a message that reads… ‘CQ TEST’.”
Silence.
“CQ TEST?” queried Dr. Samantha Lewis, her eyebrows inching up her forehead with skepticism. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Jones confirmed, feeling an uncomfortable itch he attributed to existential disappointment.
Mystified, the scientists turned to their most powerful radio transmitter, dubbed “The Mouth of Humanity” (to which the janitor retorted, “More like the backchat of humanity”). They transmitted back, asking the question that has plagued humans for millennia, “What is the meaning of life?”
After a pause long enough to create an anthology of uncomfortable glances, the response came: “TNX FER QSO. UR RST 599. PSE QSL.”
“What on Kepler-22b does that mean?” Samantha blurted out.
“It seems,” Jones sighed, “that we have not made contact with a wise and ancient alien race. Instead, we’ve stumbled upon… alien ham radio contesters.”
The rest of the week saw the scientists fervently trying to hold meaningful conversations with the aliens, who were more interested in signal reports, confirming the contact, and generally boosting their contest scores.
“What about the mysteries of the universe?” pleaded Samantha in one transmission. “What’s out there?”
“PSE QSL VIA BURO,” the aliens promptly responded, completely uninterested in deep philosophical discussion. They wanted a QSL card from Earth - a veritable trophy given the planet’s rarity in the contesting scene.
With a final “GL IN TEST, 73 ES HPE CUAGN SN,” the aliens stopped replying. They had moved on, no doubt, to collect more QSOs from distant, exotic parts of the universe, leaving the scientists in their radio-silent wake.
As the echoes of the alien’s final “good luck” faded into the ether, the scientists could only look at each other, bemused and somewhat hungry.
“Tuesday,” Jones finally remarked, “scones in the break room.”
“And maybe,” Samantha added, “a bit of humility for dessert.”
]]>Recently, I had an idea. I asked ChatGPT 4:
I am blind. Often when I get a Lyft I get an immigrant who cannot speak English well, and does not understand the situation. I would like you to make a table of how to say “I am blind.” in all of the languages commonly used by drivers from other countries. The table should include the language, the text, and an approximate pronunciation for American English speakers.
In less than a minute it had produced the following table. In another fifteen seconds it rendered it into Markdown for my blog. Welcome to 2023
Language | Translation | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
Spanish | Soy ciego. | Soy cee-ay-go |
Mandarin Chinese | 我是盲人。 (Wǒ shì máng rén.) | Wo shi mang ren |
Hindi | मैं अंधा हूँ। (Main andha hoon.) | Main and-ha hoon |
Arabic | أنا أعمى. (Ana a’ma.) | Ana a’ma |
French | Je suis aveugle. | Je swi aveugle |
Russian | Я слепой. (Ya slepoy.) | Ya slep-oy |
Portuguese | Eu sou cego. | Eh-o soo se-go |
Bengali | আমি অন্ধ (Ami ondho) | Ami on-dho |
Punjabi | ਮੈਂ ਅੰਧਾ ਹਾਂ। (Main andha haan.) | Main and-ha haan |
Japanese | 私は盲目です。 (Watashi wa mōmoku desu.) | Wa-ta-shi wa mo-mo-ku des |
German | Ich bin blind. | Ich bin blind |
Vietnamese | Tôi mù. | Toy moo |
Turkish | Ben körüm. | Ben kor-um |
Polish | Jestem niewidomy. | Yes-tem niewi-domy |
Dutch | Ik ben blind. | Ik ben blind |
Greek | Είμαι τυφλός. (Eimai tyflos.) | Ee-mai ti-flos |
I would like to see ridesharing companies do more to train their drivers to better accommodate people with disabilities. Until then, I hope this table will help. I just hope it doesn’t end up like Monty Python’s Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook sketch!
]]>I remember after i upgraded to general, around age fourteen. I stumbled upon the Maryland Slow Net. An adult might listen for a while, research what they had heard, and maybe send an email. A kid won’t care, and will just send their call. I did exactly that. Despite the fact I had no idea what I stumbled into, and despite the fact that I live in Pennsylvania, they acted very friendly to me. They took me off frequency and kindly explained to me how a traffic net works. They began training me, and sent me some information in the mail, which my Mom had to read since I can’t see. Sadly I got out of the hobby when I went off to college.
When I got back into ham radio in 2019, I remembered the people and groups which treated me well, and the ones which didn’t. Getting on 80 meters (3.5 MHz) took some work, but I considered it well worth it. I knew I wanted to get back into traffic handling. Most traffic nets happen on 80 meters because the band offers reliable regional communication.
Two years ago, I took a class in traffic handling offered by the Pennsylvania Traffic Net. I learned exactly what I needed to know to check in and handle a radiogram, though it would take practice. Last year my brother put up a stealth end-fed antenna, which improved my performance on 80 meters. My friend Dan, W4GMN, swapped my AFCI breakers for regular ones. They did not like 80 meters, and would constantly trip. Now I could finally get on air.
Ham radio has so many wonderful facets, but a few months ago I started checking into the Pennsylvania Traffic net regularly. It meets on 3585 kHz at 07:00 PM local time. I practiced by copying the traffic sent on the net, and began an email dialog with Roger, N3GE, and Tom, KC8T. They answered all my questions, and finally I felt ready.
On may 20, I received my first message from Tom:
All messages are good practice including this one. 73.
73 means good luck and best regards. I made an error, but after another email exchange I knew what I did wrong
That night I also copied my first non-practice message. It congratulated a ham on his license upgrade. It had a wrong telephone number, so I couldn’t deliver it. I notified Roger, who sent a copy in the postal mail.
A few days later I copied another message. It welcomed a new ham to the hobby. The message came from Kate, K6HTN. It originated in Pasadena, California. From there it made its way onto the regional and state net, up to the national net, down to the eastern regional net, down to the 3 area net (area 3 includes Pennsylvania), then down to the Pennsylvania Traffic Net, where I coppied it using Morse Code.
Nervously I dialed the phone number, prepared to hand deliver this message of welcome over the human powered internet. I asked for the person by name.
“Well, I am his father.”
came the reply.
“Oh! Is he a young ham? I got my license when I was twelve!”
I had to repeat myself, probably because I felt so nervous and excited. The message asked for a reply, so he suggested texting it to him, and he would pass it onto his son. I immediately did. I haven’t heard back. I hope I didn’t freak out his father too badly. I remember getting similar messages and my Mom calling me to the phone.
On May 24 I sent message number 1 thanking Kate for my first QSP (relay). Since then I have exchanged a few messages with friends, and continue my training
As for why we still do it, I can think of a few reasons. Most importantly, it can still provide a way to send messages when all else fails. That last happened after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Additionally, it makes a great way to welcome new hams to the hobby. I can also tell I will have fun sending out radiograms to friends and random contacts. I recently heard a guy in a Philly row home who returned to the hobby after ten years. I sent him one to say hi and welcome him back. I could relate.
I like handling traffic in the Philadelphia area. Perhaps I will deliver a message to you one day.
]]>I found the antenna easy to assemble, and would consider it very blind friendly. It has a length of twin lead wire, which hangs vertically from a little loop. Another loop of wire fits between the two leads and also hangs down. The top end of the twin lead has a zip tie for suspending the wire vertically. Thebottom end of the twin lead has a BNC connector with included adapters for SMA and reverse SMA. Some time ago I saw a random video about working satellites from a former Ham Radio Outlet employee. He said that most HT failures come from a worn out SMA jack, and recommended switching to BNC connectors. Given that Kenwood has discontinued the TH-D74a I want to do everything I can to prolong its life, so made the switch immediately.
I went up to the roof deck for the first test. I had no idea how I would hang it. Nothing would give me quite enough height and keep me close enough to the antenna. I decided to try holding it up with my fingers and checked in to the Drive Time net. It worked, but I got a small RF bite on my thumb when it touched the wire.
I realized that I needed a small mast. I remembered the mast and the table clamp that came with my Buddistick. I ran down and grabbed it. The mast fit on the clamp, and the zip tie on the end of the J-pole fit into the hole on the top of the pole. It gave me just enough height, and I could throw it in my backpack. Perfect!
I put out a call on the Phil-mont repeater. As it happened someone else also needed a radio check. He sounded fine, and he said I sounded loud and clear on 5 Watts. In my apartment I need to run 10 Watts into a Diamond X50A. I wanted to see how low I could go. I went down to medium power, around 2.5 Watts. Still fine. I went down to low power, 1 Watt. To my surprise, I still sounded fine. Even more surprising, I made the repeater with a lot of static at extra low power, 100 mW. Amazing! The Ed Fong Roll-up J-pole had exceeded my expectations.
On Friday, May 20, I put it to the ultimate test. Philadelphia County ARES took part in the Eastern Pennsylvania Simulated Emergency Test. A powerful nor’easter has struck the area, rending power and communication useless. Hams have sprung into action, delivering messages between Red Cross shelters and the authorities.
Luckily this didn’t really happen, but we had a tremendous storm on Friday afternoon, which gave the exercise a taste of realism. We had test messages to deliver, but I couldn’t read the images. We used the standard ARC-213 form. I sent our emergency coordinator Cliff, KC3PGT, a note, and he transcribed the test message for me. I believe that emergency service should have accessibility as part of its design. After all, a powerful nor’easter won’t wait for a sighted person to come on air. Thanks Cliff!
That night I packed up my gear and returned to the roof deck. This familiar location would still offer the same challenges as going to a remote location. I had the test message in an email on my phone. I held it up to my ear and repeated what I heard into the radio.
THE SEPA RED CROSS SHELTER IS OPEN AND OPERATING IN PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. THERE ARE SIXTY-EIGHT RESIDENTS. SHELTER REQUIRES FIVE HUNDRED MEALS FOR NEXT FORTY EIGHT HOURS. RADIO OPERATOR IS your name, your call.
Everything performed flawlessly! The roll-up j-poll passed the test. I knew it would.
]]>The K1USN Slow Speed Test happens on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening. It provides a fun hour-long event where we make simple contacts, containing the name and state abbreviation. For example, I would send Austin PA. Last October I went up to the roof deck for the final time. I wanted to give the KXPD3 key a final chance. I sent Austin PA and it dropped the first dot of the P, turning it into a G. The other station thanked me for GA. I knew I needed a better key for next year.
Many other users of the Elecraft KX3 recommended the Begali Adventure, so I decided to make the purchase. Begali makes both a double paddle and a single paddle version. I started on a double paddle key, but ever since I switched to a single paddle key I cannot go back. Plus, I can use it both as an electronic key and as a mechanical key for doing SKCC work. I set the PF1 programmable function key on my KX3 to let me select the CW keying mode. The key took a month to arrive from Italy, but I didn’t mind. I ordered it well in advance for just this reason. I also ordered the base and a steel plate to mount it on, if I wanted to use it in the shack.
The weather had not warmed enough, so I first tried it in my shack with the base. It performed beautifully. It did not miss a dot or a dash. It has one knob to adjust the tension on both sides of the paddle, which I appreciated especially for field use. I looked forward to its initiation on the roof deck.
Today we had a lovely day with temperatures in the low 70s. I got a haircut, and made it back just in time for the Slow Speed Test, feeling good and ready. I unpacked everything, and tuned up my AX1 antenna. I had started later than I wanted, and of course the first time of the year meant untangling wires and testing things. Still, I worked two stations, one in Illinois, and one in Oklahoma. I felt good, but not great. I had worked both stations before from my shack using my Alpha Loop. I wanted something more.
I checked in to the Drive Time net on the Phil-mont machine, a fun local net. The temperature had started dropping, and I also had to think about dinner. I decided to tune around 20 meters one last time before going back downstairs. I tried a few stations, then heard YL3CW calling CQ and working stations.
I sent my call, and he heard the 3. I slowed my speed and tried a few more times, and finally he got it. KA3TTT! We exchanged signal reports and names. he gave his name as Val. I gave him a signal report of 569, and she gave me one of 449. A signal report contains the readibility, signal strength, and tone, abbreviated as RST. I gave him a perfect readibility and a pretty good signal. I had almost perfect readibility, and a signal 2 S-units less than his, which I consider respectable given that I made the contact running 5 Watts into a loaded whip. The AX1 continues to impress me. We completed the exchange and ended the contact.
After it ended I looked up where I had just worked – Latvia, 4300 miles. I had gone on my first Begali Adventure! I wonder where my next one will take me.
]]>He told us a few stories over the years. One time he landed as another plane took off. He crashed and lost a wing. Another time they had to land at a base in North Carolina during a blackout. The men at the base lined up their cars and turned on their headlights so he could see. And one of his favorite stories: while taking off from a pacific island, he could not get the plane to clear the trees. The men had loaded so many watermelons into the back of the plane that it could not take off and they had to hurry to open the bomb bay doors and heave them all out the back.
He salvaged the clock from his PBY, which my Mom restored. I also remember a wing standing in the bathroom to which he mounted an ashtray. He smoked all his adult life. I have no doubt that his plane also had a radio, and that he knew how to use it.
I’ve always loved radios, and Radio Shack made a wonderful kid’s walkie talkie. It included a buzzer to send Morse Code, and it had a helpful chart of the dots and dashes. However, I couldn’t see the chart. My mother worked with my grandfather, and created a chart on heavy poster board, which my Mom made tactile with Elmer’s Glue. I loved that chart. I would read it every night to help me go to sleep. I would look forward to practicing it whenever I would go stay over night at my grandparents’ house.
Around this time my parents took me to the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia which had a ham radio room. I touched the “big knob” as I thought of it, the VFO, and I tried sending Morse code with an iambic key. I knew right then that I wanted to become a ham. I started studying for my license, and got it a few years later, at age twelve. I got out of the hobby when I went off to college, and got back into it in 2019.
Ham radio has provided a wonderful outlet during the pandemic. I can always find some fun new thing to do. As 2020 rolled on I had a curious thought. I wondered if I could find out what kind of key my grandfather used. I figured that the Straight Key Century Club would know. I posted a message, and Chris, NW6V responded with a riveting story about his father which I would encourage you to read. You can find it if you scroll down to April 2019 on his page. The story ended with
His key was a Navy Flameproof.
I searched on eBay, and found a key up for auction. I placed a bid, waited, and to my delight I won! I asked the seller if he had any information on the key’s history. He said that he purchased another piece from the same place, and that it came from the U.S.S. Pyro, an ammunition ship which launched in 1958. The Flameproof key uses enclosed contacts, making it suitable for use in explosive environments. The key has the part number of CMI-26003A, indicating its manufacturer: the Moulded Insulation CMI Company of Philadelphia.
I got the key in a few days. The metal felt grainy, and I could feel its age. The arm had the famous navy knob, which looks like a small plastic disk, good for gripping while rocking and rolling. The key had two screws to adjust the distance and tension of the arm. It came mounted to a piece of wood. At first this seemed rustic, but I quickly would realize that I needed a better base. The wire terminated in two connectors which looked like hooks, certainly not the 3.5 mm headphone plug which my Elecraft KX3 expected. I would have to deal with that as well.
I tried tapping out some code for fun. The key had a crisp feel. Instinctively I began adjusting the key, and got a chill down my spine. I had just felt it adjusted to the position preferred by the previous operator. I reverted it and spent a few minutes sending as he would. He liked a lot more distance, probably from slapping it around on a moving boat. Finally I decided to adjust it for my lighter touch on terra firma.
Next I had to figure out how to hook it up to my radio. The KX3 has standard headphone plugs, but the key still had its original cable with two terminals. I posted again to SKCC, and Dean, KG7WGX made me a perfect replacement cable. It had the hook-like plugs on one end, and a standard 3.5 mm headphone plug on the other. In theory I could just swap it out.
In normal times before the pandemic I could bring the whole mess to my local radio club’s next meeting, and someone could do it. However, we do not live in normal times. I showed it to a friend, and she discovered solder on the existing cable. She didn’t feel comfortable proceeding, and I had no idea what to do. For a while the key and cable sat in my desk drawer. A year passed, and when I realized this I decided to just use electrical tape to join the cables. I taped each side of each cable together, then wrapped tape around the two sets of terminals, banding them together. So far it has worked perfectly.
Finally I could send CW on my radio. I began practicing, but soon realized another problem. The piece of wood made it impossible to send comfortably. Now I understood why all my keys have narrow bases. The side of the hand needs to clear the base as you push down. I posted another message to SKCC, and someone helpfully advised me to search on eBay. And of course, a ham makes custom metal bases specifically for the Flameproof. Luckily I didn’t need to bid on this one, I just bought it and had it in a few days. I used my pocketknife to unscrew the old piece of wood, and screwed in the new base. It felt perfect.
Some people do not like the smaller navy knob. I found that rotating the wrist to a 45 degree angle helped. This makes the thumb and index finger sit on top, and the middle finger rest to the side. I also have to credit NW6V with this tip. Telegraphers used to get what they called glass arm, what we would now call carpal tunnel syndrome. This happened because they would move the key with the wrist, instead of with the whole arm. After some practice I could send comfortably.
I wanted to take my newly restored key for a spin. I began tuning around the SKCC portion of 40 meters, around 7.055 MHz, and to my annoyance I found an RTTY contest in full swing. Radio teletype sounds like two fast tones, and the stations tend to run high amounts of power, and usually don’t listen to see if anyone uses the frequency.
I tuned up to what we call the novice portion of 40 meters, around 7.114 MHz. When I started out as a novice I made plenty of contacts here. As soon as I began scanning, I heard KY4ID calling CQ. I gave him an RST of 589, and he gave me a 579. In other words, my little QRP signal running 5 Watts using an indoor magnetic loop only had 1 S-unit less. Not bad at all! He gave his location as Hedgefield, SC, and his name as Mike. He ran 100 Watts into a doublet, the kind of antenna I had when growing up. We concluded the QSO, and I knew that I had a good luck key. I immediately made a new friend the first time I used it.
Since then I have made a number of QSos with it. Originally I planned to use it for special purposes. I already have a beautiful N3ZN HKII. However, I can’t stop using it. It feels nice and snappy. It reminds me of my grandfather. And I restored it myself, with some help from my fellow hams. The key has come full circle. A company in Philadelphia manufactured it, the U.S.S. Pyro carried it around the world, then years later I bought it from a seller from Maryland, and it has returned to Philadelphia. I imagine it feels happy to have a peaceful new life in the amateur service.
]]>I had upgraded to my technician and general class license. This happened around 1991, before the restructuring. Upgrading to technician meant that I could finally go on 2 meters, the popular band with all the big local repeaters. A repeater takes a weak signal from a walkie-talkie, which we call an HT, and repeats it so people can hear it over a wide area.
I got a Kenwood TH-F6A for Christmas. It looked like a big walkie-talkie, with an odd rubber button for the push to talk. It provided the best accessibility for the blind at the time, providing audio feedback through different beeps. I loved it. I remember going on a local repeater on Christmas afternoon, W3UER if memory serves. I could already talk to them through their 220 MHz link, but now I could get on 2 meters like one of the big guys.
A few months later I stumbled on the WM3PEN repeater. It sits atop a building at the University of Pennsylvania in the city. They had their weekly net going on, like a round table, and I tried checking in. I had trouble making the repeater from Swarthmore, a suburb of the city.
“Try standing on your bed.”
suggested a helpful ham. As a kid I thought nothing of it, and shamelessly jumped up on my bed. It may have helped. Either way, I remembered the frequency 146.685 MHz and the helpful people there. Some radio clubs did not treat me so kindly.
When I got back into the hobby in 2019, I found myself in a much different place. Now I lived in a condo in the city. This means no outdoor antennas. I began with the antenna which came with the radio, a coil of wire with rubber around it. We call this a Rubber Duck. I got the Diamond SRH320A, an upgraded rubber duck, and thought I’d try going on air.
To my delight I found a repeater on an old frequency I remembered, 146.685 MHz. They had a net going on, like a round table. A nice sounding man ran it. He gave his name as Charlye, K3CJ. The first week I felt too scared to check in. The second week I started to warm up. Finally I decided to give it a try. Charlye asked for checkins a number of times, and after the regulars gave their call signs I decided to make my first transmission. I felt so scared.
“Kilalphathreetangtangtango!”
“You’re a bit quick on the trigger! Can you come back with your call a little more slowly?” K3CJ had heard me. No going back now!
“This is kilo alpha three tango tango tango.”
It went from there. Charlye advised me to upgrade to a better antenna, so I did, first to a J-pole and later to a vertical. I started checking in every week. I soon discovered the Elmer Net which preceded the main net at 07:15 PM, later moved back to 07:00 PM.
A cool guy named Steve ran it, W3AZT. As he drew to the one hundredth net he announced that he would stop after a hundred to attend to his Mom. The final net soon came, and we did not have a plan. I wondered if I should offer to run it. I felt a little hesitant because I have to deal with headaches, and don’t know how I will feel on any given day. I needed a backup. As I thought this, my friend Cliff spoke up.
“This is KC3PGT, and I can run the net, but I can only commit as a backup.”
That did it. The net drew to a close.
“Well, we’re reaching the end of the net, and I don’t know what we will do next week.” said Steve.
“I’ll do it.” I responded.
I ran the net up to #137, and Cliff thankfully filled in a few times. We had a great time. Little did I know what this would prepare me for.
A few weeks ago, we received the sad news that Charlye would retire from running the net at the end of the month. He ran it since 1998, 23 years. As the only remaining full time net control, it seemed logical that I should take over the main net. I didn’t feel like doing any ham radio stuff for at least a week. My brain needed to process this. I felt good after a lot of thinking and a well run board meeting. I plan to combine the best parts of the Elmer Net and the general net. I don’t know exactly what I will do, but I hope you will join me. I will listen for you on the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club Weekly Net.
It feels surreal to run the net that I remember checking into as a kid. The cycle continues in the world’s greatest hobby. 73 (good luck and best regards) to Charlye, K3CJ. 73 to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club. And 73 to whoever told me to jump up on my bed.
]]>A bug has a pendulum to form the dots. Pressing a paddle to the right activates the pendulum. Pressing the paddle to the left acts like a straight key for forming the dashes. If this sounds kind of strange then you have the right idea. This quirky instrument intrigued me, and I resolved to try one.
I took a trip to the Ham Radio Outlet in New Castle, Delaware. I wanted to try to return some things, and maybe buy some things. I met Ron and Mario, sorry I don’t have their calls. They did the best they could to accommodate my returns. If I had known that I only had ten days then I would have handled everything differently. Of course, then I wouldn’t have gone.
I asked about the Diamond X50A which I would eventually buy. I should have bought it on the spot, but I still didn’t quite know how I would mount it. As it turned out I mounted it perfectly on my window sill using the counterpoise as a tripod.
My friend Meg looked at some cool solar panels. I chatted with Ron and Mario. Eventually she asked if I had anything else I wanted to ask. We had driven there in the rain and they really did do their best with the returns. And admittedly, part of me wanted to buy something, like a kid at a toy store. I had an inkling.
“I’ve wondered about Vibroplex bugs. Do you have any?”
“Actually, we have a used one.” said Ron.
I knew I had to buy it. I asked if they could please take it out so I could touch it, since I can’t see it. I made it clear that I intended to buy it. They got it out and opened the box, and for the first time I touched a Vibroplex Original Standard Bug.
It really does feel like something invented at the turn of the last century, like an intricate pocket watch. It has a rectangular metal base. The pendulum arm sits towards the front of the base, with the paddle coming off the front. The paddle has two parts. On the left, it has a thumb-shaped piece of plastic. On the right, it has a plastic knob used for a straight key, but turned on its side, with the flat part facing outward. The pendulum’s weight sits at the back of the base under a metal hoop. The left side has three adjustment screws. The right side has one screw and the two contact screws for connecting it to your radio. Luckily I already had the proper cable. Vibroplex sells them. Perhaps coolest of all, you can hear the pendulum make the dots.
“It’s beautiful!” said Mario.
“That was Ken’s right?” one of them asked.
I learned that this key came from the estate of Ken Hartley, N2OHD, the former manager of the store. Meg recalled seeing a sign as we came in. He died at age 72.
“It’s as good as new. Ken was one of those hams who bought a lot of things and never used them.” said Ron.
“It’s beautiful!” repeated Mario.
I bought it and took it home, but quickly realized that I needed some help. I’ve adjusted all my other keys by touch, and figured if I fiddled with the screws enough then I would figure it out. Before I knew it I had reduced it to a nonfunctional mess. I emailed the SKCC. I knew they’d help, and sure enough they did. I received several helpful replies, and even offers for telephone training. One reply described the layout perfectly, and after some more fiddling I began to understand.
The bug sends and receives high speed code. I got it down to about 23 WPM, but I wanted to reduce it further. I purchased a Round Arm Vari-speed Accessory from Vibroplex. It adds an extra weight to the arm, but requires more adjustment. The heavier weight can cause bouncy dots. After a lot of practice I finally got it sounding good sending around 15 WPM.
The SKCC just had their Weekend Sprint, a relaxed contest which they have once a month. Each sprint has a theme, and for this month club stations counted for bonus points. I wanted to activate WM3PEN, the club call for the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club. I had a headache most of the weekend, and I can’t do CW with a headache, but on Sunday night I felt well enough to drag myself on air, and to my delight I made three QSOs using my bug. I think Ken would have approved.
When a ham becomes a silent key as we euphemistically refer to it, the ham radio community distributes their equipment. I promise that his bug, now my bug, will get plenty of use.
I wanted to give a quick reference in case any other hams, blind or not, wander upon this article. As noted before, the bug has three screws on the left, and one on the right. They perform the following functions, going from front to back on the left.
The right side has the screw to set the dash tension. The weight goes on the arm and has a screw to tighten it. The closer to the end of the arm, the slower the speed. If you use the Vari-speed accessory, it screws on to the end of the regular arm, then the weight goes on that. The vari-speed has a screw which tightens it. Use the included allen wrench to unscrew it, slide it onto the main arm near the end, then position the vari-speed’s arm and tighten the screw.
Setting it requires getting a feel for the way the four settings relate. The dot gap and dash gap complement each other, as do the dot tension and dash tension. The dot gap and dot contact control the length of the dots. Many people get this wrong, resulting in so-called machine dots. Use an electronic key for reference. I first set the gap, then adjusted the contact, which also changed the tension. Easy does it… Each screw has a metal ring to lock it in place. Make sure to do this once you’ve found a good setting.
The pendulum requires a certain amount of space to get enough force to swing. If you set your spacing too narrow you won’t get a long string of dots, just a sad V. If you set it too wide it will cause extra force, then you will get bouncy dots. I’ve found that bouncy dots can also happen from setting the Vari-speed too far up the main arm.
I hope these notes help someone. I love the idea of sending high speed code mechanically. Why not!
]]>When I got back into the hobby and began my battle against RFI, I ordered a 1:1 balun from Balun Designs. The description refers to connecting the balun outside of the shack, which to me sounds closer to the antenna. In an apartment none of that means anything. When I went on my Alpha Antenna Adventure, I disconnected the balun to eliminate any extra variables, and never got around to reconnecting it. A discussion about baluns led me to email the owner, and we had a short dialog.
I wondered if I had purchased the correct balun, and I had. He also suggested connecting it as close to the transceiver as possible. Did I connect it to the wrong end this whole time? Excitedly I grabbed the shortest length of coax I had and connected it. I instantly noticed the difference.
My noise floor dropped by another S-unit. Not only that, but my SWR improved on the higher bands. Previously I could get to an acceptable reading on 15 meters, but 12 meters and 10 meters would never tune below around a 2.6:1 SWR. For non-hams, SWR means Standing Wave Ratio, the amount of reflected energy coming back at you. You want it as low as possible, below 2:1. Now with the balun connected I could get down to a 2.1:1 SWR or sometimes a little better. Good enough.
A ground plane blocks signals below the antenna. A balun decouples the feed line so it can’t act like an antenna picking up noise. If you have a magnetic loop, you can make one more adjustment. A magnetic loop has a slightly directional property. You can take advantage of this in two different ways. You can either orient it for maximum signal or for minimum noise.
Instinctively we think about tuning for the maximum signal, but if you live in the gritty city, you may want to consider doing the opposite. Tuning for minimum noise will lower your noise floor. Don’t worry, you won’t miss out on signals.
The two things mentioned in this article, along with using a ground plane, have reduced my noise floor by at least 2 S-units on all bands. I have the reception I imagined that I would have. I don’t hear a horrible electrical hum if I tune to AM. I have a better SWR on the higher bands. I don’t feel a wave of depression when a wall of HF noise hits me. I hope these suggestions will improve your station as well.
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