though there was daylight between him and the United States. “So far, so good,” he whispered to himself.
Andy confirmed that the radio’s clock was set to GMT. In Germany, it was GMT plus one hour, but in New Mexico it was GMT minus seven hours-still not yet noon. Next he programmed the radio’s alarm function to wake him at 0325 GMT-4:25 a.m. local time. Andy heard it announced that it was seventeen minutes after the hour, so he continued listening to WWV for the geophysical data report that always came on eighteen minutes after each hour. They reported a solar activity of K2/K3 (“weak to unsettled”), which was marginal for long-range propagation in the shortwave bands. Andy’s face sank into a frown.
Next, Andy erected the dipole antenna for his transceiver. He lined it up so that the antenna’s broadside would face to the northwest-the “Great Circle” direction from him to Lars in New Mexico. Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about grounding the radio, since he was using a dipole antenna.
Lars had helped Andy build and test the QRP transceiver four years earlier. It was one of a pair of kits that they ordered from Elecraft, in California. Andy justified the price to Kaylee by telling her that this radio had slightly more output power than a traditional “flea-power” rig (ham slang for a transmitter with less than one watt) but the extra bit of power would really make a difference for DX (long-distance) communications. Shortly before his departure for Afghanistan, Kaylee had decorated the exterior of the transceiver’s Tupperware box with some of her artistry: Andy’s call sign, “K5CLA,” and a humorous stylized cartoon of a flea wearing headphones, with yellow lightning bolts emanating from its hind end. Kaylee had laughingly reminded Andy to pack his “Mighty Flea” as he was preparing to deploy.
Inside the waterproof storage box, the transceiver was so small that there was enough room left over for a small spiral-bound notebook, an external power cord with both car battery clips and a cigarette lighter plug, and several small spools of wire for spare antenna or ground leads. He inserted six batteries into the battery tray and used the radio’s battery voltage monitor to verify that they were good. Andy flipped open his notepad and turned it to a page of notes from when he was explaining radio procedure to Kaylee. He paused to read it again, because Kaylee had annotated it with questions, comments, and her ever-present cartoon doodles. He missed her so much that it hurt. The page read:
Some Common Abbreviations Used in CW (Morse) Transmissions
These are sent as if they were a single character:
AR-End of message. Typically sent on your last transmission, before you send the call signs the final time.
BT-Paragraph break, or just a break in our thoughts.
Kaylee wrote: “How do you say ‘Period’? We rarely use periods (too slow and awkward to send compared to BT) unless we’re relaying literal text where they matter.”
SK-If sent after sending the call signs the final time, it means we are shutting off the radio and not accepting any more calls.
Common abbreviations, sent as words using normal characters:
ABT-About
BK-Break. This means back to you; no need to use call signs.
CPY-Copy
CU-See you (later)
DE-From. This is used between call signs.
ES-And
FB-Fine business. Basically means “That’s great” or “That’s wonderful.”
FER-For. Beneath this, Kaylee wrote: “That is goofy. Why not FOR???” Andy penned: “Laziness. It’s just quicker in Morse to send FER than FOR:
..- . . . -. (FER)
versus
..-. – - – .-. (FOR)”
HI-Laugh
HR-Here
HW-How
K-Go ahead
KN-Go ahead ONLY the station I am calling or talking to
MNI-Many
NM-Name
OM-Old man. All men are OMs in the ham world. Beside this line Kaylee drew a caricature of an old bearded man tripping on his beard.
PSE-Please
R-I heard everything you said and don’t need you to repeat anything. Kaylee wrote: “So R is the first thing we’ll reply with on each ‘Over’ (or not if we need a repeat), right? RIGHT!”
TNX-Thanks
TU-Thank you
UR-Your or You’re (depending on context)
VY-Very
YL-Young lady. All females are YLs in the ham world. Kaylee annotated this line with a caricature of an old witch wearing headphones, the cable from the headphones was dipped in a cauldron.
73-Best regards. Always used singularly. (Only CB-ers and ex-CB-ers use the plural “73s.”)
88-Hugs and kisses
?-Sent by itself, it means “I’m going to repeat what I just said.” Beneath that, Kaylee had written, in larger block letters: “KL: HI 88 PSE COME HOME SOON FER 88 UR YL 73 AR.”
Common Q-signals sent as words:
QRM-Interference from another station
QRN-Static
QRP-Low-power (less than 5-watt) transmitters
QRZ?-Who is calling me? Or at the end of the contact, sent instead of SK, it means “I’m listening for more calls and would like to receive some.”
QSB-Fading
QSO-A contact (conversation)
QSY-Change frequency
QTH-Location
NOTE: Call signs are always sent in this order: {OtherGuy’sCallSign} DE {YourCallSign}. And below that, Kaylee had drawn a cartoon of an outhouse with an enormous antenna mast on top, captioned: “QTH #1-OM QSO WITH TP”
Andy laughed and closed the notebook. He plugged in the antenna and his headphones. Andy didn’t need to plug in or even carry an old-style hand key, as the KX1 had an internal electronic keyer and a set of keyer paddles that plugged directly into its case for the ultimate in portability and operating ease. The paddles were manipulated via slight movements of the thumb and forefinger (squeezing the paddles), enabling him to send Morse much faster and smoother than he could with a traditional telegrapher’s hand key. The paddles also had the advantage of being virtually silent, versus the familiar clackety-clack of a hand key.
For convenience and to allow him to keep one hand free, he attached the radio to his thigh using a Velcro strap. Andy switched it on and set it to 10.106 MHz-the international 30-meter band QRP calling frequency.
Andy put on the headphones, gave a brief silent prayer, and then whispered, “Okay, Mighty Flea, do yo’ stuff!” Squeezing the KX1’s keyer paddles, Andy remembered to add “DL/” in front of his call sign to indicate that he was transmitting in Germany, and keyed: “CQ CQ CQ DE DL/K5CLA DL/K5CLA K”
He was surprised to hear an immediate answering call, only slightly off frequency, “DL/K5CLA DE PA3ADG PA3ADG K”
As he listened, he quickly adjusted the radio’s incremental tuning for a comfortable medium-pitched tone and wrote PA3ADG on his notepad.
Excitedly, Andy replied: “PA3ADG DE DL/K5CLA FB UR 589 589 NM IS ANDY BT”
Then he quickly added: “I AM EX US ARMY OFFICER BIKING THROUGH DK ES F TRYING TO GET TO THE
