Traffic Coordinator
Dave Maynard, WA3EZN
News from the Ohio Single Sideband Net says that we had an election of the leadership of
the net. Mike Hayward KC8WH has been reelected to be the net manager. Ed KA1G was
elected to the Advisory Board for a three year term. .
I would like to take this time to thank these men and all the those who check into the
OSSBN and the local traffic nets for their support of the nets and handling traffic so
efficiently. You can check into the Ohio Single Sideband Net on 3.9725 starting at 10:30 AM,
4:15 PM and 6:45 PM daily More information and useful links can be found on the OSSBN
website www.ossbn.org.
While on the subject check into some of these Ohio HF traffic nets:
HF CW NETSNET TIMES FREQUENCY NET MANAGERS
Buckeye Early 6:45 PM 3.580 WB8YLO
Buckeye Late 10:00 PM 3.590 WB9LBI
Ohio Slow Net 6:00 PM 3.53535 KI8FV
All frequencies plus or minus QRM. The net information on this page may contain errors
concerning net times, dates and frequencies. I do apologize in advance for these errors and
would appreciate knowing about them.
The OSSBN meets three times a day 365 days a year on 3972.5 kHz. This net is always on
the top of the scoring for the annual SET exercise. The OSSBN along with the Buckeye CW
nets move traffic in and out of all corners of the state of Ohio and its members are
prominent supporters of the regional Eighth Region nets and liaison to the Eastern area net.
The four Ohio digital relay stations are all members of the OSSBN. Many of the OSSBN
members are also ARES members in their own areas.
Henry L Koenig a silent key. Known as WD8Q to many, Henry was a ham radio operator, and
immersed himself in the world of radio and electronic communications. He was a member
of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a certified volunteer examiner for ARRL, active
board member of the Intercity Amateur Radio Club, (IARC), 1986 IARC Ham of the Year,
IARC Code and Theory instructor, Buckeye Slow Net - net manager, member of FISTS-
International Morse Preservation Society, member of Ohio Single Sideband Net, member of
Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA), which requires 25 years or more as an active
ham.
He was an active and enthusiastic participant in yearly IARC Field Days and also with the
local Hamfests. Henry was licensed in August of 1980 as KA8KXE and was interested in ham
radio much longer (1958). He learned the code at Hickam AFB Hawaii in 1962 at the base
MARS station. Like riding a bicycle, never forgot it. Took less than 3 weeks to get up to 7-8
WPM in 1980. LOVE CW. His motto is: "Anyone can talk. With a little effort you can learn and
use Morse Code".
Gear owned.....not much.......Kenwood TS-520S, Ten-Tec Jupiter, Yaesu VX5, and ICOM 02-AT.
Antenna....180-foot dipole fed with 450-ohm ladder line. Earned Extra Class in 1986....talk
about nervous....20 WPM for six straight minutes.... still don't know on what terms I
passed.... never asked. Changed call later that year to WD8Q. He was very comfortable with
20 WPM. Henry has been doing Volunteer Examiner work since 1984 as a member of IARC
in Mansfield OH, and had been in 124 test sessions since. ARRL member since 1981.
After being off the air for a number of years he started listening to the Ohio Slow Net
(CW) after putting up antenna in Dec 2002.
He was a graduate of Maryland Slow Net traffic handlers’ course. A great bunch of folks.
Became Ohio Slow Net (OSN) manager in April of 2004 and stepped down the end of 2014.
He Operated in HBSN, HBN, BN, 8RN, EAN and OSSBN handling traffic.
Belong to FISTS 10010 and SKCC 15057. If you haven't really gotten involved with CW
operation. Join FISTS and get a "Code Buddy". They will work with you at any speed. After
being licensed for nearly 34 years at this writing, I can't believe how my CW receiving quality
has improved after being involved in regular nets. Also have joined SKCC.
Folks, please don't let CW die. Once you get used to it, you'll love it. It is a part of our
amateur radio history and almost the only thing left in amateur radio that is a acquired skill.
It's my 'foreign language'.
The above information on Henry was from his Facebook page and his obituary. I did a news
article on Morse code (CW) previously and received a positive response from Henry. The CW
information is supplied here in honor of Henry WD8Q request to never let CW die,
Why Morse Code?
If you can talk FM on two meters, or SSB on HF, why should you be concerned at all about
Morse Code, also known as CW. However, there are good reasons why you should learn
Morse code. Having a level of Morse proficiency that is of real use on the air, meaning
that you can copy at 12-13 wpm or more, will add immeasurably to your enjoyment of
Amateur Radio. Such rewarding HF activities as DXing, contesting and QRP operating still
rely heavily on CW. Thousands of hams enjoy CW for its own appeal as a relaxing mode
different from most other means of communication. And even on VHF and higher
frequencies, you'll find that exciting activities such as Moonbounce and weak-signal work
still require Morse skills for full participation. Every day is a good day to operate on CW, but
set some time aside on New Year’s Eve and Day to enjoy Straight Key Night (SKN). The
annual event gets under way a 000 UTC on January 1, 2020 (New Year’s Eve in US time
zones). The 24-hour event is not a contest but a day dedicated to celebrating our CW
heritage.
Many newcomers exploring ham radio were discouraged by the need to learn Morse code.
In the United States, that requirement to know Morse code to get an amateur radio license
was dropped in 1991, and completely removed in 2007.
Morse Code used to be required as an entry requirement to HF ham communications. The
entry level speed was 5 words per minute (WPM). That speed is slow enough to learn the
basics, get on the air, and increase your speed through practice. Yes, I started as a Novice
way back at 5 WPM and could copy about 13 WPM to get my General license.
I thought I'd want to get enough code speed to get on SSB voice. I did that but discovered
something I didn't expect. Sometimes, the band was so poor that I couldn't hear a single
voice station on SSB. But, when I tuned down to the Morse code CW portion of the band, lo
and behold, there were CW contacts going on. I learned that Morse code needs only about a
tenth of the power of SSB to make a contact. Or, stated another way, if you use Morse code,
it's like getting an amplifier for your transmitter for free! We all know that there are days
you'd be desperate for a contact with SSB, and it appears that you can make contacts with
Morse code!
In the early days if you lived in Ohio and wanted to test for a ham license you went to an
FCC office in Cleveland or Detroit. The test I took for my general was given in an office
setting with phone ringing and office type activity all around me. Since those early days the
FCC decided to use Volunteer Examiners to do their testing. This provided a quieter and
more relaxed atmosphere to take the test especially after the FCC dropped the code test
requirements
If you didn't have a buddy to learn code with you had to use records like the Ameco code
course like I did. You supplemented your record course by copying W1AW code
transmissions over the air. At that time, it was common to count dots and dashed and
mentally convert them to letters to write on paper. Since then it has become commonly
known that the best was to learn code was not to count dots and dashes but to learn the
sound of each individual letter. Also available today are a multitude of websites, clubs and
computer programs to use to learn the code the proper way.
Why not slower than 15 words per minute?
Because at a somewhat slower speed you can count the individual dots and dashes rather
than having your brain treat each character as a distinct, integrated sound pattern. When
you hear Morse code sent at 5 wpm for learning such a slow speed is counterproductive.
You don't learn the sounds that lead to instantaneous recognition. And, far worse, it
programs the brain to count individual dots and dashes — precisely what you don’t want it
to do! This eventually has to be unlearned and presents a formidable barrier to actually
learning useful code.
To some degree, previous government regulations are to blame: In earlier times the FCC
imposed a Morse code requirement of 5 wpm for the Novice Class amateur radio license,
causing legions of radio amateurs to get on precisely the wrong track. And to this day there
are well-intentioned individuals, clubs, and organizations that recommend starting at 5
wpm! You should start on your road to success by throwing some time-honored ham-radio
traditions out the window where they belong. These are:
• Slow (5 wpm) code -- It ought to be illegal to teach anyone code at 5 wpm. Every minute
spent toying with 5 wpm code is irrevocably wasted. In addition, as we'll see later, starting
with slow code is a virtually-guaranteed path to frustration and quitting. Morse at 5 wpm
and Morse at 15 or 20 wpm are completely different critters, and you don't want to waste
time on the wrong one.
• Charts, mnemonics, musical cues and other "memory aids" -- These things make you think
about what you're doing while trying to copy code. That is deadly to proficient copying.
• Code tapes -- In very short order, and unconsciously, you'll memorize the tape. This will lull
you into false confidence in your ability. That false confidence will be quickly shattered
when you hear transmitted text that you haven't memorized.
• Copying QSOs off the air -- You don't know the speed of code you find on the bands, and
much code on the air is pretty badly sent. All this makes it useless for training purposes.
Formal code-practice sessions, such as those on W1AW, are OK, however.
Now that you know what you’re not going to do, let's start examining just how you can best
gain code proficiency.
Traffic
Coordinator
Dave Maynard, WA3EZN
News from the Ohio Single Sideband Net says that
we had an election of the leadership of the net.
Mike Hayward KC8WH has been reelected to be the
net manager. Ed KA1G was elected to the Advisory
Board for a three year term. .
I would like to take this time to thank these men and
all the those who check into the OSSBN and the
local traffic nets for their support of the nets and
handling traffic so efficiently. You can check into the
Ohio Single Sideband Net on 3.9725 starting at
10:30 AM, 4:15 PM and 6:45 PM daily More
information and useful links can be found on the
OSSBN website www.ossbn.org.
While on the subject check into some of these Ohio
HF traffic nets:
HF CW NETSNET TIMES FREQUENCY NET MANAGERS
Buckeye Early 6:45 PM 3.580 WB8YLO
Buckeye Late 10:00 PM 3.590 WB9LBI
Ohio Slow Net 6:00 PM 3.53535 KI8FV
All frequencies plus or minus QRM. The net
information on this page may contain errors
concerning net times, dates and frequencies. I do
apologize in advance for these errors and would
appreciate knowing about them.
The OSSBN meets three times a day 365 days a year
on 3972.5 kHz. This net is always on the top of the
scoring for the annual SET exercise. The OSSBN
along with the Buckeye CW nets move traffic in and
out of all corners of the state of Ohio and its
members are prominent supporters of the regional
Eighth Region nets and liaison to the Eastern area
net. The four Ohio digital relay stations are all
members of the OSSBN. Many of the OSSBN
members are also ARES members in their own
areas.
Henry L Koenig a silent key. Known as WD8Q to
many, Henry was a ham radio operator, and
immersed himself in the world of radio and
electronic communications. He was a member of
the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a certified
volunteer examiner for ARRL, active board member
of the Intercity Amateur Radio Club, (IARC), 1986
IARC Ham of the Year,
IARC Code and Theory instructor, Buckeye Slow Net
- net manager, member of FISTS-International
Morse Preservation Society, member of Ohio Single
Sideband Net, member of Quarter Century Wireless
Association (QCWA), which requires 25 years or
more as an active ham.
He was an active and enthusiastic participant in
yearly IARC Field Days and also with the local
Hamfests. Henry was licensed in August of 1980 as
KA8KXE and was interested in ham
radio much longer (1958). He learned the code at
Hickam AFB Hawaii in 1962 at the base MARS
station. Like riding a bicycle, never forgot it. Took
less than 3 weeks to get up to 7-8 WPM in 1980.
LOVE CW. His motto is: "Anyone can talk. With a little
effort you can learn and use Morse Code".
Gear owned.....not much.......Kenwood TS-520S, Ten-
Tec Jupiter, Yaesu VX5, and ICOM 02-AT.
Antenna....180-foot dipole fed with 450-ohm ladder
line. Earned Extra Class in 1986....talk about
nervous....20 WPM for six straight minutes.... still
don't know on what terms I passed.... never asked.
Changed call later that year to WD8Q. He was very
comfortable with 20 WPM. Henry has been doing
Volunteer Examiner work since 1984 as a member
of IARC in Mansfield OH, and had been in 124 test
sessions since. ARRL member since 1981.
After being off the air for a number of years he
started listening to the Ohio Slow Net
(CW) after putting up antenna in Dec 2002.
He was a graduate of Maryland Slow Net traffic
handlers’ course. A great bunch of folks. Became
Ohio Slow Net (OSN) manager in April of 2004 and
stepped down the end of 2014. He Operated in
HBSN, HBN, BN, 8RN, EAN and OSSBN handling
traffic.
Belong to FISTS 10010 and SKCC 15057. If you
haven't really gotten involved with CW
operation. Join FISTS and get a "Code Buddy". They
will work with you at any speed. After being licensed
for nearly 34 years at this writing, I can't believe how
my CW receiving quality has improved after being
involved in regular nets. Also have joined SKCC.
Folks, please don't let CW die. Once you get used to
it, you'll love it. It is a part of our amateur radio
history and almost the only thing left in amateur
radio that is a acquired skill. It's my 'foreign
language'.
The above information on Henry was from his
Facebook page and his obituary. I did a news article
on Morse code (CW) previously and received a
positive response from Henry. The CW information
is supplied here in honor of Henry WD8Q request to
never let CW die,
Why Morse Code?
If you can talk FM on two meters, or SSB on HF, why
should you be concerned at all about Morse Code,
also known as CW. However, there are good reasons
why you should learn Morse code. Having a level of
Morse proficiency that is of real use on the air,
meaning
that you can copy at 12-13 wpm or more, will add
immeasurably to your enjoyment of Amateur Radio.
Such rewarding HF activities as DXing, contesting
and QRP operating still rely heavily on CW.
Thousands of hams enjoy CW for its own appeal as
a relaxing mode different from most other means of
communication. And even on VHF and higher
frequencies, you'll find that exciting activities such
as Moonbounce and weak-signal work
still require Morse skills for full participation. Every
day is a good day to operate on CW, but set some
time aside on New Year’s Eve and Day to enjoy
Straight Key Night (SKN). The annual event gets
under way a 000 UTC on January 1, 2020 (New Year’s
Eve in US time zones). The 24-hour event is not a
contest but a day dedicated to celebrating our CW
heritage.
Many newcomers exploring ham radio were
discouraged by the need to learn Morse code. In the
United States, that requirement to know Morse code
to get an amateur radio license was dropped in
1991, and completely removed in 2007.
Morse Code used to be required as an entry
requirement to HF ham communications. The entry
level speed was 5 words per minute (WPM). That
speed is slow enough to learn the basics, get on the
air, and increase your speed through practice. Yes, I
started as a Novice way back at 5 WPM and could
copy about 13 WPM to get my General license.
I thought I'd want to get enough code speed to get
on SSB voice. I did that but discovered something I
didn't expect. Sometimes, the band was so poor
that I couldn't hear a single voice station on SSB.
But, when I tuned down to the Morse code CW
portion of the band, lo and behold, there were CW
contacts going on. I learned that Morse code needs
only about a tenth of the power of SSB to make a
contact. Or, stated another way, if you use Morse
code, it's like getting an amplifier for your
transmitter for free! We all know that there are days
you'd be desperate for a contact with SSB, and it
appears that you can make contacts with Morse
code!
In the early days if you lived in Ohio and wanted to
test for a ham license you went to an FCC office in
Cleveland or Detroit. The test I took for my general
was given in an office setting with phone ringing
and office type activity all around me. Since those
early days the FCC decided to use Volunteer
Examiners to do their testing. This provided a
quieter and more relaxed atmosphere to take the
test especially after the FCC dropped the code test
requirements
If you didn't have a buddy to learn code with you
had to use records like the Ameco code course like I
did. You supplemented your record course by
copying W1AW code transmissions over the air. At
that time, it was common to count dots and dashed
and mentally convert them to letters to write on
paper. Since then it has become commonly known
that the best was to learn code was not to count
dots and dashes but to learn the sound of each
individual letter. Also available today are a multitude
of websites, clubs and
computer programs to use to learn the code the
proper way.
Why not slower than 15 words per minute?
Because at a somewhat slower speed you can count
the individual dots and dashes rather than having
your brain treat each character as a distinct,
integrated sound pattern. When you hear Morse
code sent at 5 wpm for learning such a slow speed
is counterproductive. You don't learn the sounds
that lead to instantaneous recognition. And, far
worse, it programs the brain to count individual dots
and dashes — precisely what you don’t want it to
do! This eventually has to be unlearned and
presents a formidable barrier to actually learning
useful code.
To some degree, previous government regulations
are to blame: In earlier times the FCC imposed a
Morse code requirement of 5 wpm for the Novice
Class amateur radio license, causing legions of radio
amateurs to get on precisely the wrong track. And to
this day there are well-intentioned individuals, clubs,
and organizations that recommend starting at 5
wpm! You should start on your road to success by
throwing some time-honored ham-radio traditions
out the window where they belong. These are:
• Slow (5 wpm) code -- It ought to be illegal to teach
anyone code at 5 wpm. Every minute spent toying
with 5 wpm code is irrevocably wasted. In addition,
as we'll see later, starting with slow code is a
virtually-guaranteed path to frustration and quitting.
Morse at 5 wpm and Morse at 15 or 20 wpm are
completely different critters, and you don't want to
waste time on the wrong one.
• Charts, mnemonics, musical cues and other
"memory aids" -- These things make you think about
what you're doing while trying to copy code. That is
deadly to proficient copying.
• Code tapes -- In very short order, and
unconsciously, you'll memorize the tape. This will
lull you into false confidence in your ability. That
false confidence will be quickly shattered when you
hear transmitted text that you haven't memorized.
• Copying QSOs off the air -- You don't know the
speed of code you find on the bands, and much
code on the air is pretty badly sent. All this makes it
useless for training purposes. Formal code-practice
sessions, such as those on W1AW, are OK, however.
Now that you know what you’re not going to do, let's
start examining just how you can best gain code
proficiency.