The
SKCC for the Intellectually Challenged
Introduction
Why am I writing this? Well, in the
four plus years that I have belonged to the SKCC, I have picked up
quite a few nuggets of information and techniques that have greatly
enhanced my enjoyment of the SKCC and CW in general.
Like a lot of new ham operators, I was
glad the FCC did away with the code requirement. That was a hurtle I
didn't think I could jump and kept me away from getting my license
for many years.
Little did I know that after getting my
license, I would be spending 99% of my time on CW.
The SKCC web site has a wealth of
information Everything you need to know is there, but it can be
overwhelming trying to sort it all out. What I hope to do here, is to
give a simplified view of the SKCC and how to use all the tools
available to enhance the experience.
The SKCC
The SKCC is a group of CW operators who enjoy using mechanical
keys to make CW contacts. The goal of the group is to encourage
members to make contacts with other members to achieve personal goals
and promote the use of CW.
Your skill level is not important, but it does enhance everyone’s
enjoyment.
The members and officers are pretty laid back but are very active
in their club duties. They are very responsive to any request or
issue.
They have a user group here:
SKCC
User Group
Software and Online tools
Software, I believe, is the key (pun intended) to the SKCC
success. What software does best is routine repetitive tedious tasks
repeatedly without complaint, something us humans hate to do.
One thing I am not going to do is explain how to use these
programs. The old term applies RTFM! If you don't know what that
means, Google it. The authors of these programs have spent a lot of
time writing the help files. Please read them. Most are searchable
and there is always Google or Bing, if you are of that camp. There
are also user groups that you can search.
Warning to Windows user: Some of these programs write data into
the directory that the software is installed. The windows directories
“Program Files” and “Programs Files (x86)” may not allow you
to write to these directories. Therefore, you may have to install
these programs elsewhere. Mine are at C:\.
SKCC Sked Page
Where to meet people. It is not a spotter page per se, but more of
a chat board. Great place to hang out. My SKCC QSOs really took off
once I started visiting the sked page. It was a little intimidating
at first. I wasn't sure what to do and it took a while to get
comfortable. But finally, I relaxed and have made some good friends
there.
One approach is to logon but stay “Away”. That way you can see
who is there and send them a PM (private message) to request a QSO.
New numbers are in great demand, so if you are visible on the sked
page, you might get overwhelmed with request and panic, not that I
did that..HIHI.
The Sked page is here:
SKCC
Sked Page. There is a help file here:
SKCC
Sked Page Help
SKCCLogger by AC2C
Don't let looks deceive you. This is a very powerful logger,
especially for SKCC QSOs. The only thing it doesn't do, is to upload
logs directly to either LoTW or eQSL.cc. But that is easy to
overcome.
Its ability to analyze your logs and detect your goals and
generate reports that can be used to earn your goals is outstanding.
I have used it exclusively for almost all my SKCC logging needs. It
can be also be used for sprints.
The program can be downloaded here
SKCCLoggerDownload
Ron also has a user group here:
SKCCLoggerUser Group
Note: download location for the SKCCLogger has changed.
skcc_skimmer by K7MJG
This is a windows console based SKCC member RBN (reverse beacon
network) program. No fancy GUI just the info you really need to know.
I use this for my regular QSOs and for WES. You can have
multiple copies running with different configuration files. This is a
real-time update program. That means it periodically updates the
members you have sent a “de THEIRCALL”.
For this program, the three things that you should supply to the
configuration file are: your call, the location of your log file in
adf (example: mylog.adi) format and your grid square. You may also
adjust the SPOTTER_RADIUS parameter. I have mine set to 200 miles
radius. This gives me about 6 RBN stations that are near to me.
Another interesting feature of this program is if you call CQ,
skimmer will report where your call is being heard, regardless of
your radius limit. This helps to see if your signal is getting out.
It is also a good indication as to how long it takes for the skimmers
to decode your call. One thing you might also get from this is how
good your sending is. RBNs are software tools connected to radios
that listen to CW on the bands. If your sending is not good, then
your call will never be decoded. So, practice your sending or you
might never be heard.
You can download the program here.
SKCC_Skimmerdownload
VOAProp by G4ILO
GUI for propagation prediction software. Based on Voice Of America
propagation prediction software.
This software helps you determine which band may work for a
particular station. Though it is not perfect, it will give you a good
idea of what bands are good for the time of day.
You can download the program here.
VOAPropGUI
SprintLogger by
K2RFP
Note: this program is no longer available.Not a must but I like it for WES and SKS. It can also be used for
cwfun events. The reason I like it is because for sprints, I start
with a new log and then start skimmer with it pointing to the K2RFP
log file. I also run skimmer without reading the sked page see below.
SKED = {
'ENABLED': False, # usually is set to True
'CHECK_SECONDS': 60,
}
This tells me if the calling station is already in my log. Save a
lot of time. After the sprint, I import this log into my main
SKCCLogger file.
You can download the program here. SprintLogger
by K2RFP
HF Propagation Map by NG0E
This
web page shows real-time radio propagation from stations operating on 11 bands between 1.8 and 54 MHz in the amateur radio service. The display shows worldwide activity from the last 15 minutes and is automatically updated about every minute. JavaScript must be enabled to use see the real-time graphics.
Maximum usable frequency (MUF) is the highest frequency that supports communication between two points. On this map, MUF can be considered the maximum used frequency, since the display is based on real-time data.
Data for the map is gathered from several online sources: WSPRnet, Reverse Beacon Network (CW, FT4, FT8), and DX Cluster. Some of these sources provide signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) information.
SNR can be used to determine if a particular path supports certain modes like Morse code (CW) or single sideband (SSB).
The map indicates SNR levels with three different per-band shades: SSB (SNR > 10), CW (SNR > -1), or digital modes (which can decode down to an SNR of about -28). Quoted directly from the web page about.
Awards
There are many awards that you can achieve with the club. I am
only going to talk about what I believe are the top five awards. One
thing to note. There is no cross-log checking for awards. I believe
this was intentionally done because some people don't like to summit
logs or don't like to be bugged by people to submit their logs. Since
there is no monetary value associated with SKCC awards, it was felt
the honor system was good enough. (IMHO)
Centurion
The easiest, but the most critical. Why? Because a lot of members
never reach this first goal. They may have joined the club for
reasons other than awards. Myself, I was looking for help learning
CW. I never really paid attention to goals, was not interested.
It was a follow ham that I used to talk to on 2 meters that got me
interested in chasing some of these awards, Matt AA1JD. He would talk
about the SKCC and some of the events and so I decided to try and get
some of these awards. Once I got into it and started figuring out
some of the tools available, I was in all the way. Matt was first on
my list for Centurion.
Some things you might want to think about. If you are calling an
unspecified CQ and are using an electronic keyer, please also have a
mechanical key hooked up. Why? If a SKCC member responds to your CQ,
he would like to exchange numbers. That means you will have to do the
exchange with a mechanical key. If you do not have one connected, you
can't do the exchange. Also, if you are looking for SKCC members
please call CQ SKCC. It really helps other members who may want to
exchange numbers, but are not sure that you will do that. Also, it
wouldn't hurt to give your number for any exchange, providing you are
using a mechanical key, e.g. “MY SKCC NR <YOUR_NUMBER>. The
other operator may not know about the SKCC and he might ask you about
it. Never hurts to advertise.
Tribune(s)
These awards are a little confusing and daunting, at least to me
they were. However, once I understood what each level meant, it was a
piece of cake. Well, maybe not that easy. Mark, K7MJG, has a very
easy to understand chart that explains all levels from Centurion to
Senator.
The basic Tribune award requires you to make 50 unique number
exchanges with Centurions, Tribunes or Senators since the date of
your Centurion award. However, if you want to achieve a Senator
award, you need another 350 unique number exchanges with Centurions,
Tribunes or Senators. This is quite a lot so breaking it into 8 - 50
QSO blocks seems like a good idea. At least you have manageable goals
and other members can see your progress with the SKCC_skimmer
program.
You can view Marks chart here.
Award
Chart
Senator
THIS IS NOT THE END! You are almost there! The hard part is over.
Getting that last number for Tx8 was a tough one for sure. Enjoy this
part. Getting your Senator will be a walk in the park compared to
reaching Tx8. Remember you start over with contacts. So, any T or S
station you QSOed with to get your Tx8, can now be QSOed with again
to get your S.
But don't let it end here. All too often hams reach the Senator
level and just go away. Why? IDK. I guess they were looking for a
challenge and are now on to other things. Who knows. The more members
who are active, the easier it is for others to reach their goals. We
do have some members who are Sx5 so keep at it.
WAS
There are four primary WAS awards WAS, WAS-C, WAS-T and WAS-S.
Please see the explanation of each of these awards on the SKCC web
page.
Since this is a relatively new and small club and reaching Senator
is not easy, not all states have Senators yet. In fact I was the
first Senator in Vermont and only got that in Jan of 2016, so not
quite two years ago. North Dakota, for example, doesn't have any
Senators. But the good news is portable operation is permitted so a
Senator from one state can travel to a state that doesn't have a
Senator and exchange numbers for people to get their WAS-S award.
PFX
Prefix award where the SKCC number of the prefix is added to the
prefix score. The interesting thing about this award is if the SKCC
number of a station you work is greater than the number of a previous
prefix you work, you get to add the difference between the two
numbers to your score.
Activities
There are several monthly activities and one yearly activity.
These activities are a great way to get more new numbers for awards.
I usually get quite a few numbers that I need for awards
participating in these activities. None of the sprints permit WARC
bands. I am not going to go into a lot of detail here. The web site
has all the info you need to operate these activities.
SKS
Two-hour sprint. Always held at the same time every month. Much
like other sprints.
SKS-E
This is a special sprint that is more EU friendly. But NA
participation is allowed. Also has some accommodations for QRS
operators.
WES
My favorite, the Week End Sprint. This is a 36-hour event, of
which you are only supposed to work 24 hours. I like the “work a
few then take a break” aspects of this sprint.
K3Y Anniversary event (not a contest)
This is a month-long event held every January. This is the only
event where all Ham bands, including WARC bands are permitted. The
goal is to fill in as many K3Y/X band slots as possible. One thing to
note here: Try to get as many DX K3Y as soon as possible. It turns
out there may not be DX K3Ys for the whole month so get them while
you can. I missed out on SA last year because very few SA stations
were on late in the month. Those that were, were on late (after 00:00
UTC) and only on 20 meters. Which from my QTH in VT, made it
impossible to get a contact.
SKN
Monthly SKN is truly the reason the SKCC exists. However, over the
years it has become less important since all the other activities
seem to generate quite a bit of CW on the air.
First night of
every month. Not much is said on the
web site about it. I assume it uses the same rules as the ARRL SKN.
No logs or QSO counts are submitted.
Brags
A monthly - month long “event”. Contacts with other members
not included in other events and not yet QSOs with that month.
I try to work at least 3 brags a day. Doesn't always happen, but I
manage usually get between 50 and 100 brags a month.
Final Comments
The SKCC is not for everyone, but it seems to fit my personality.
I always felt that there should be some objective to obtain or some
skill to be mastered. The SKCC seems to provide me with both.
As of December 31, 2017, there are over 18,000 members. Granted
not all members are active, but enough are active that you can always
find a member on the air almost any time and almost any band.
There are many other clubs that emphasize other aspects of CW.
Each are very good at what they try to accomplish.
I hope these few pages will be of use to others and come join the
fun of CW.
