20151121 - CW Nets for VK6

Post date: Nov 21, 2015 12:40:35 AM

Thank you for giving this publicity, CW operators would certainly be most happy to overcome what is almost a "great divide" between VK6 and the rest of Australia other than by random CQ, as there have been no Nets hitherto that bridged this gap, and this is what many of us would like to resolve.

There is a lack of things suited for VK6 in the area of CW for example the Sunday morning CW net on 40m is only usable in VK1-3 and sometimes VK4-5 and VK7 and other nets mentioned at www.vkcw.net/cwnets cater propagation- and time-wise only for central and eastern states.

In the CW survey I undertook which was published in September issue of Amateur Radio various VK6 amateurs had called for some nets and broadcasts that would be usable in VK6. This has been followed up, but few VK6 stations are checking or sending reports until now, perhaps unaware of what is now on offer, and could then be expanded with further improvements for VK6.

If you able to participate in ANY of the following, please do, we'd be very happy to hear from you with any feedback:

  • Saturday afternoon QST CW news bulletin on 14022.5 and 21022.5 at 0400 UTC (midday WST) usually from VK4QC, call backs afterwards from VK6 would be very much appreciated

  • Alternatively, repeats of the QST are Sunday morning 6am (!) on 7022.5 but Monday evening at 6pm on 7022.5 or 14022.5 may be possible for some to listen in while eating dinner!

  • Saturday afternoon CW bash after the QST on 14022.5 at 0400 UTC call-backs finish, i.e. after 0430 UTC (12.30pm WST Saturday lunch time) see www.vkcw.net/cwbash for details

  • Sunday morning CW Net after the QST on 14022.5 at 2245 UTC (6.45am WST) though that will surely be too early for most VK6 on a Sunday morning!

  • Tuesday-Fridays, especially Friday, higher speed CW traffic net 1000 UTC (6pm) around 10.119 see www.vkcw.net/net for more information but this band restricts to advanced licenses

  • A daily CW net Mon-Fri takes place on 7051.2 at 0830 UTC (4.30pm) with Tues/Thurs slow speed, main net on Friday, but this is likely too early for those VK6 who are working weekdays

Any suggestions for a VK6 CW Net that can take place at a time convenient to VK6 radio amateurs would be welcome, even a local one which can then have some liaison check-ins to other nets. We would give any such net maximum publicity if anyone is interested in arranging it, I'd be happy to give tips and send recordings of how various CW nets function over in the east.

The full schedule of the CW QST broadcasts is shown at www.vkcw.net/qst

Please let me know if you might be able to participate in any of the above and/or kindly circulate this information among VK6 CW operators.

For those who may not have noticed it, a new "CW Today" column of several pages which I edit has started appearing in Amateur Radio magazine since October, which you may find interesting.

Anyone interested in CW Message handling practice will find www.vkcw.net/qst interesting

73 de Lou, VK5EEE