[Elecraft] Elecraft CW Net Report for June 1st & 2nd, 2008

[Kevin Rock]

Good Evening,
   Whew forty meters was loud!  QRN to the extreme, QSB on most everyone, and a pileup of QRM for about ten minutes.  Makes running the net just a little challenging ;)  But, I just kept at it and ran for 45 minutes.  The QRM lessened and then disappeared, the QSB changed as it is wont to do, and the QRN was ameliorated by the fancy Elecraft buttons which I pushed and poked.  Copying an S3 signal when the noise is over S7 is kind of like sitting in the front row of a rock concert.  I could go on about the groupies but they are not as cute on this Reflector as they were at those concerts :)  Youth is wasted on the young!  Suffice it to say my ears are ringing right now and let it be.
   
   On to the lists =>

On 14051 kHz at 2300z:
NO8V - John - MI - K3 - 820
W6JD - Doug - CA - K3 - 23      QNI #15!!
K6DGW - Fred - CA - K3 - 642
AB9V - Mike - IN - K3 - 398   * QNI #170 *
W0RSR - Mike - CO - K2 - 5767
WB3AAL - Ron - PA - K2 - 1392
W0JFR - John - CO - K2 - 4507 
KJ7BS - Mark - AZ - K2 - 539    QNI #15!!
K1THP - Dave - CT - K3 - 686    QNI #40!!

On 7045 kHz at 0200z:
NO8V - John - MI - K3 - 820     QNI #30!!
W0JFR - John - CO - K2 - 4507
K1THP - Dave - CT - K3 - 686
N0AR - Scott - MN - K2 - 4866
WA7BOC - Roger - WA - K3 - 75
K6PJV - Dale - CA - K2 - 5345
WA1ABI - John - RI - K3 - 795
AB9V - Mike - IN - K3 - 398
W7AQK - Dave - AZ - K2 - 72
WB5BKL - Nick - TX - K3 - 231 

   Thank you very much for the repeats during the forty meter net.  I was losing characters and often whole words during portions of the net.  My ears are starting to relax now from the onslaught.  By the end of the net I was wringing wet.  I had put on some bark just beforehand to make sure Sam would be happy.  It put out heat quickly but now the wood is burning slowly and he is quiet.  He can get quite loud and since he is deaf I can hear him better with headphones on and the volume up than he can hear himself!  Once in a while my pauses during sending are me telling him to be quiet.  If he is warm and fed he just sleeps.
   It appears propagation is OK but not wonderful.  Forty meters will probably get louder as the summer storms heat up.  N0AR wrote me a note about the tornados in Minnesota.  A little early but they are on the edge of tornado alley.  The folks in Oklahoma must have learned how to live with them.  How they do that I will never know.  The ones I have experienced scared the willies out of me!  But straight line wind, like we get in the Pacific Northwest, can be very strong.  Winds up here were estimated at over 150 mph.  If I put up a tower it will be guyed thoroughly.  
   Hopefully I have all the information correct but if there are any errors please write me a note and I'll fix it.  Until next week stay well.
   73,
      Kevin.  KD5ONS  (Net Control Operator 5th Class)