I got this short review from my friend, Mike, K8XF. Mike is a former ships radio electronics officer, a great CW operator, and has a collection of dozens of straight keys, paddles, and bugs. Recently, he purchased a CT-73MX from Yury, UR5CDX, and I asked him to do a short review.  As you’ll see, he highly recommends this key.

I enjoy using well built paddles that wont move around your desk. If you do as well, consider the CT-73MX from Yury, UR5CDX. This Ukrainian paddle has a square base and is chrome plated. I chose this model because it is heavier than the brass model. The plating is excellent, and this paddle can be adjusted for sending easily.

This paddle is not as expensive ($178) as a Begali and is built very well. For an additional charge, you can have your call inscribed on a small plate placed on top of the base in front of the paddle. I did not do that.

Yury makes several other models, so be sure to visit his website. His QTH is in the center of Ukraine and so far has not been hit by Russian drones. Yury ships all orders via Poland due to the war. Via Poland, it took over three weeks to receive this paddle.

A couple of days ago, it occurred to me that I hadn’t backed up my computer log or uploaded to Logbook of the World (LOTW) for a while. The backup went well, but when I tried to upload my latest contacts to LOTW, I got an error message. It puzzled me for a bit, but then I remembered that the ARRL had been hacked about a month ago, and that LOTW probably was still down.

I tried just now to log in to LOTW via the ARRL website. There was no notice on the LOTW home page, but when I clicked on the login link, nothing happens, and the attempt just times out. I think it would be a courtesy to note that LOTW is still down and that you can’t log in just yet, but it’s not that big a deal.

Lots of dahs

I recently worked Miloš, OM0MM. If you’re a CW operator, you know that’s a lot of dahs (14, to be exact). I actually had to listen to it a couple of times before I copied the call correctly.

Being a Slovak-American, whenever I work an OM station, I like to send them an email. I asked Milos if this was a vanity call sign. He replied:

Ahoj Dan,

Thank you for nice QSO and for an email.  Sorry for my bad English.

About my call, yes I requested for this call sign and I lucikly get it My father (OM0EE) recommended it to me because I am only a CW operator, and I liked the idea of “all dashes.”

So you have a Slovak roots? Very nice to hear that. You are the first Slovak ham in USA I have met.

Miloš
OM0MM

Of course, Miloš’ English is a lot better than my Slovak, so no worries there. In making this off-air contact, I feel that I’m doing my part to “enhance international goodwill” as describe in Part §97.1(e).

Pro tip

While it is sad that more Americans don’t know more than one language, it would be difficult for U.S. hams to master all the languages out there. Having said that, when I want to gauge how well a ham that I’ve contacted is comfortable with English, I look at their QRZ.Com page. If it’s written in English, then I reach out to them in English, as I did with Miloš.

I have also tried doing a Google translate to send an email, but my results have been mixed. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m sending a Google translation (I always note that I used Google to translate the message) or what, but I get fewer replies with a translated email.

Bandscope observations

If you who read my blog regularly, you know I’m a big fan of bandscopes. Here are a couple of relevant observations:

1. I almost missed a DX contact because the DX station called about 250 Hz below my frequency. Because I had my bandpass set to 300 Hz (+/-150 Hz), I couldn’t hear him at all. I did seem him on the bandscope, though, and after I adjusted my receive incremental tuning (RIT), I worked him just fine.
2. Not having a radio with a bandscope can lead you to be more pessimistic about ham radio than you should be. I worked a fellow who lamented how quiet the band was and how no one operated CW anymore. I found this baffling, as the band looked pretty active to me. It turns out that the guy was using a radio without a bandscope and when he tuned around, he couldn’t hear anything. I, on the other hand, could see the activity.

A pirate on 2m?

I am the main net control station for our club’s Monday night 2-meter net. (The net convenes every Monday night at 8 pm Eastern time on the 146.96- repeater. Join us if you can hit the repeater.)

Last week, a fellow checked in the call sign K1TKE. Since I have a computer in the shack, I like to call up the QRZ.Com page for people I haven’t worked before. There was no page for K1TKE.

Now, I know that there are some licensed amateurs that don’t have a QRZ page for one reason or another, so when it was K1TKE’s turn, I gave him a call. I got no response, so I’m guessing that this guy was unlicensed. That’s the first time this has happened to me.

VU2!

After all these years, I finally worked a VU station, logging VU2GSM on March 10 on 30-meter CW. I know this isn’t the biggest accomplishment in my ham radio career, but nonetheless it’s pretty cool to me.

I must say that Kanti had great ears. He wasn’t all that strong here, so I imagine that I was equally weak there. Even so, he got my call correctly the first time.