[Elecraft] My First steps on CW

[Jim Brown]

On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 14:51:46 -0700 (PDT), ussv dharma wrote:

>Gosh, I wish there were cw activity out here in KH6 land...I listen every 
>day and at different times  

Don't just sit there listening, call CQ. 20, 30 and 40 are all great CW 
bands, and it's pretty easy to rig a simple antenna that will put out a 
decent signal. The club I was a member of in Chicago holds an annual QRP 
night, where everyone brings a rig and rigs their own antenna somehow. The 
last time I attended one of these sessions before I moved, I rigged a 
simple vertical by taping #22 wire to a DK7SQ fiberglass pole, and ran a 
couple of wires along the ground as a counterpoise. Most of the guys were 
on 40 and 20, and my K2 tore them up, even with only 5W, so I went to 30M. 
I made a half dozen QSOs in an hour or so, including a guy in the 
Carribean with a pileup. 

>From KH6, you should be able to work into Asia,VK/ZL, and W6/W7/VE7 with a 
rig like that with no problem at all. 

73, Jim K9YC