Sunday, June 5, 2022
It’s been an interesting weekend radio-wise. I decided to go upstairs to Studio C earlier than usual (which means before 8-8:30 p.m.). I tuned across the higher bands — 10, 15 and 20 — and found a lot of activity on them.
Now remember, I’m running my Drake TR-7, and I’ve never made many voice contacts with this radio; I picked up a used D-104 on eBay and wired it up and have been using that while unsure of what it sounds like.
I ran across two special event stations Saturday — the first was IY8X, a special event station honoring Marconi. The second station had one hell of a pile-up on it — GB70E, celebrating the Queen’s jubilee from Windsor Castle. It took me a couple of calls to snag GB70E, given the huge pile-up, but I ended up using operating technique rather than power to make that contact. It’s hard to NOT key up immediately with your callsign in a pile-up, but I waited several seconds and threw my call in at the end,, and got thru. My call is fairly unique, so if the DX says “the Kilo Yankee” or “4 Zulu” go ahead, then I’m in like Flint.
These were the first special events I’ve worked in probably 20 years. I used to grab that page from QST and pursue them early on in my ham days, but haven’t done that in years. It was quite by accident I ran across the two I did, and frankly, I wanted to work the jubilee special event if I could snag it.
FROM THE EVERYBODY’S A CRITIC FILE I received an eBay message from another self-appointed Vibroplex expert who told me that the World War II Deluxe key I had was not a Deluxe key, it was simply a standard key with the red finger and thumbpieces. This guy bitched about the fact it didn’t have two weights (only one); blah blah blah. After all that whining, his next messages was “how much would you take for it?” Of course, Mr. Expert simply chose to ignore the fact I have a Buy It Now price on the listing. He also chose to ignore that I’ll consider offers. Sorry chum, no sale.
BACK TO THE GRINDSTONE. I have to get more keys cleaned up and listed, I have too many to stop selling them at this point. I plan to keep my McElroy keys, many of them anyway. I ran across a Vibroplex Double Lever key while packing up some keys, its in good shape, and probably a keeper — or at least until the price of bugs is back on the upswing!
The Double Lever key is a bitch to operate because its possible to close the contacts on both levers, screwing up your sending big time. I’m sure a good landline telegrapher could have made it work, but I’m not in that crowd.
THOUGHTS OF DX . . . With the upper bands opening back up this summer, I’m thinking of putting my Icom IC-756PROII or Yaesu FTDX-3000 back on the bench so I can work some digital modes. I’m hearing a lot of SSTV on 20 now, as well as all the new (and old modes) out there.
The radio lineup now in Studio C is my Tempo 2020 station, my Drake TR-7 station and a Kenwood TS-530S. I’m ready to sell the Kenwood, as well as the TS-520S and VFOs I own, though not sure what else I would like to have. I actually own a FLEX 3000 in a box somewhere if I can find it! I would love to run that for a while too. I’m sure its in my old shack, which means I best keep digging … and cleaning that room out, my wife wants her “she shed.”