[Fists] CW Activity

[Fred Adsit]

I enjoyed your comments, Al. Usually do..  I've been  off the air almost two 
years, and out of NTS traffic handling for 4 years. Last weekend, I got the 
Windom ant. installed, got one of the rigs on the air, and in a few days, 
I've worked a Lot of FISTS members, got into the Sprint for an hour today 
and even enjoyed that (I am Not a contester), handled NTS traffic on CW and 
SSB up thru the Eastern Area Net level, NCS'd several CW traffic nets, and 
got rid of nasty keying errors which I still blame a little bit, but only a 
little, on the rig's built-in keyer mode.

I have confined my serious operating this first week to weekdays. That 
limits who I hear on the air to retirees, the disabled and the unemployed. 
Given that, to me, the bands still seem rather busy considering this week 
has been a near-total dud propagation-wise. Things should really pick up 
when we get past this null in the sunspot cycle. But if I can talk to 
England, or to Albuquerque, on a really bad day, I am happy. The Windom is 
the best wire antenna I have ever had in the air, as it turns out. I think 
my new QTH is part of the answer also.. a first floor mini-shack, huge 
property with no big trees on it, a rather soggy area, and out in the sticks 
where noise and other annoyances are minimal.

Do we need more certificates or events? I say no. The existing ones have 
been nicely fine-tuned, and today, the existence of a PA contest along with 
the Sprint made for a problem. Most weekends, the crowding is even worse. I 
racked up some points today in my renewed quest for a CC number. But I must 
say, the contacts made mean little to me. The ones I remember are the ones 
that last and lead to ragchews, lead to making new friends, lead to the 
feeling that this hobby can still be used for a lot of good. I am upset by 
the FCC NPRM, and I am writing a Comment that will take em to the cleaners. 
It will not sway them one iota, and the CW testing requirement, even for 
Extra, will disappear eventually. I feel that if there is no test, there 
will be a lack of interest. FISTS is remiss in not coming up with an 
organizational Comment. Time spent on organized events has done little to 
foster more or better operators. That time would be better spent on taking a 
stand. We once did that, but it all got lost somewhere along the line. Now, 
it is too late.

I HAVE found it gratifying to slow down (I seriously did not think I could 
do so) and chat with slow operators. They seemed to enjoy the QSOs this 
week, and I find them memorable. I get my fill of higher speeds in the NTS 
world. No room for error there, and lots of disciplined snappy operating. 
So, I can vary my operating habits, and IMO, the CW presence is still 
impressive. New ops are not being attracted. Reduced entry requirements have 
not fostered a bigger or better ham radio. We are paying for that, and it 
will get worse.

I look forward to having a QSO with every ham who will answer my calls. I 
won't repeat myself, but I won't be brief if it is appropriate to open up 
new subjects. It's all about communication, adventure, and the rare skills 
only we hams have acquired. The Internet has stolen a lot of attention. It 
will continue to do so. The web is a great resource for us hams, but I 
prefer to keep my operating simple, and confined to pure Radio. I don't 
consider that behaving like a modern-day dinosaur. I don't have the answers 
that will satisfy everyone or save this activity. I Do think we need to grow 
in our skill, and spend only a part of our time in FISTS activities.

73 - Fred NY2V
FISTS 1293

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ATanner283 at aol.com>
To: <fists at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2005 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Fists] CW Activity


> Hi Stan and all......It does seem to be true that the bands have seen 
> pretty
> sparse action lately. I would also point out that the bands are not 
> really
> "crowded" in the phone portion, or the digital areas either. The cycle is 
> on
> it's way down, and will go further yet for a spell. There is still plenty 
> of
> DX to be had on the low bands however, and 20/03 meters open during the 
> day at
> times. 15 and 10 are, well, 15 and 10. I would also say that these 
> conditions
> have  put the skids on a lot of QRP stuff, as I don't hear those guys
> around much either lately. I have better luck down band from the FISTS
> frequencies, as there seems to be more activity there. It is my perception 
> (mine  only)
> that FISTS has lost some momentum over the past couple of years. But then, 
> I
> think ham radio in general has too. I would much rather get on the air and 
> use
> 20/30 wpm than to sit and tap tap code at 8/10 wpm on the FISTS freq's. 
> So, I
> procrastinate and don't get on much at all. Unfortunately, it seems that
> most  FISTS QSO's have become a numbers swap. Quite a difference from the 
> first
> few  years, when there were FISTS nets and lots of B.S. exchanges on the
> frequencies.  Then we went to an era of complaining about each other. Too 
> fast, too
> slow, too  much QRM, etc etc, and now are down to "where did everybody go"
> mode. More  awards??? Don't know....I guess the membership will have to 
> speak up.
> Are you  going to administer the "paper" or do we need to find
> "volunteers"??/ Hope  something works, but not sure what at this 
> point........Al/W8FAX/2192