You may have noticed an increase in QRS CW on 40 and 80m lately?
The CQQRS team holds a CQ QRS Slow CW practice uncontrolled QSO net for radio amateurs and short wave listeners on 40m then 80m every Tuesday evening.
The aim of the get together is to encourage new CW operators to have a go with slow Morse in a safe environment, with the support of both other new operators and experienced ones alike. We’ve been running the Group every single Tuesday since July 2021, and it’s been astounding how many people (both new and experienced ops) we've attracted; we’re getting around 4 to 5 dozen stations plus listeners across Australia, New Zealand and other places every Tuesday now!
We’ve also had many first-time QSOs with people taking the first steps into CW, and by the same token, there’s many old-hands who’ve re-discovered the joy of ambling along with CW rag chews or basic exchanges, without stress.
The details about the net and the weekly schedule can be found here: Net Details
Rather than having a central control station, we spread out across segments of the 40m and 80m amateur bands and call CQQRS or respond to others' calls. So you'll be able hear many QSOs in parallel, different speeds and different sending techniques. Some QSOs are brief - callsign and signal reports only, especially among people who are taking their first CW steps; others are nice long relaxing rag chews - great for listeners to practice hand- or head-copying.
One of our team of 220+ Ian VK7TA has suggested the following:
"Maybe one reason for the Tuesday net being so popular is that it caters for different operators. Unlike a conventional 'net' we don't all sit on one frequency waiting our turn. If one wants to try and exchange call-signs and RST only at 5 wpm then that is fine - in fact I wish we had more. If one wants a long gossip at maybe 15 wpm then that fits in too. If one takes a break for dinner (as I always do) then one can duck out at any convenient time. Another key to success is 'critical mass': you know that if you get on 40m on Tuesday evening then a QSO is (almost) guaranteed. This is an incentive to be there. Once again, congratulations on the success of the Tuesday net, I certainly enjoy it and I am sure that everyone else does too..."
See Net Details for more details.
We also put out a weekly newsletter to encourage the team - there's a link to an example in the Newsletter section of this website. We’d be very pleased to add you to the distribution if you’re happy to give it a try (you can unsubscribe at any time…. but most people actually enjoy the read or skim each week)…. if nothing else, it’s a reminder that the get-together is on. Best of all - it won't cost you a brass razoo! Please send me an email if you'd like to receive the free RagChew newsletter.
See RagChew Newsletter for more info.
Associated with the Group, we also have a CQ QRS WhatsApp Group - using the WhatsApp phone messaging system (which also works on your computer once set-up), the team members stay in touch during the Group with advice on who’s calling CQ or chatting on what frequency. Outside of the Group, WhatsApp is also used when people want a QRS practice rag chew or to advise of other QRS opportunities. The system is encrypted, and based on cellular phone numbers. Please email me if you'd like to join.
See CQQRS WhatsApp Groups for more.
In case you're interested, the thinking behind the net is summarised here: CQQRS Net Doctrine
We really hope you’ll join our CQ QRS RagChew newsletter and WhatsApp groups… and of course join in on more Tuesday evenings when you can. The frequencies and times are in the Net Details section of this website.
Cheers, and have fun!
Mark Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning NSW
On behalf of the CQQRS team.