Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, 2 a.m. — I tried last night to check into my regular CW net, but the NCS was so weak and took such deep fades, I had a hard time copying who he was talking to. I couldn’t hear a peep from 3 of the 4 stations checking in, and struggled to copy the NCS, so I decided it was time to pull the plug.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve checked in under some pretty bad band conditions, but last night was about the worst.
For the past several weeks, I’ve set aside my six-pound Vibrocube standard and I’ve been alternating between Lightning Bugs — a 1930 Lightning Bug and a 1953 Lightning Bug Deluxe. The 1930 bug operates somewhat more slowly, but I suspect that’s either due to the age of the mainspring or the pivots being less than polished after 88 years, hi! The 1953 Deluxe is very clean and in great condition.
Perhaps I need to switch to a CW net closer to my QTH, at least until we get into the fall and winter months.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK SK …. dit dit …