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#100 - Which of the following have you built from scratch?
Date: 11/15/07-12/14/07 --- Votes: 697
| What | | Nr | Pct |
| Amplifier |  | 49 | 7% |
| Antenna | | 191 | 27% |
| Antenna Tuner | | 101 | 14% |
| Bug | | 10 | 1% |
| Keyer | | 64 | 9% |
| Paddle | | 46 | 7% |
| Receiver | | 66 | 9% |
| Straight Key | | 45 | 6% |
| Transceiver | | 37 | 5% |
| Transmitter | | 88 | 13% |
The obvious first choice was an antenna since most everyone homebrews an antenna from wire, metal tubing, and the like. A tuner and transmitter logically follow. A bug is logical as the least built item. Mike KC2EGL was with me when this poll was either being set up or just started and I asked him what he thought would be among the least built items. He said receiver and I had to agree with him. We were both wrong there. Otherwise except for slightly higher numbers for a paddle and straight key, the rest of the items fell about where I expected them to.
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#99 - Do you hold a vanity call? For which reason(s)?
Date: 10/15/07-11/14/07 --- Votes: 177
| Question | | Nr | Pct |
| Yes, I hold a vanity call | | 86 | 49% |
| No, I don't hold a vanity call | | 91 | 51% |
| The call is related to my name | | 26 | 29% |
| The call is not related to my name | | 65 | 71% |
| Related to my QTH | | 6 | 6% |
| Not related to my QTH | | 87 | 94% |
| Number corresponds to my call area | | 66 | 69% |
| Number doesn't correspond to my call area | | 29 | 31% |
| Short call for contests | | 27 | 28% |
| Not a short call for contests | | 68 | 72% |
Since it was easy to do this time, the percentages are computed for each pair of answers rather than a percentage of the total. Also the total votes is the sum of the first two answers. Frankly the percentages puzzle me. I can figure a relationship to a name from seemingly a very large proportion of the vanity calls I work. Perhaps this choice was misunderstood. I meant W4DON for someone named Don, W3JHS for someone named John H. Shannon, W2ALT for a Walter, and the like. I thought the percentages should at least be reversed for that choice, if not even higher in favor of the yes choice. I also thought the short call for contests reason should be a little bit higher since that seems to be the reason many folks get a vanity call. I'm glad a high percentage got a call with the 'correct' number in it.
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#98 - If you use a keyer and paddle, which of the following do you use?
Date: 9/15/07-10/14/07 --- Votes: 332
| Which | | Nr | Pct |
| Double paddle | | 65 | 20% |
| Single paddle | | 36 | 11% |
| Iambic (squeeze) keying | | 57 | 17% |
| Regular keying | | 19 | 6% |
| If iambic, type A | | 28 | 8% |
| If iambic, type B | | 25 | 8% |
| If iambic, not sure if A or B | | 15 | 5% |
| I use a straight key | | 70 | 21% |
| I use a bug | | 16 | 5% |
| I don't use any of the above | | 1 | 0% |
My long-time friend Dave, VA3RJ suggested this poll. I thought it was interesting to see the various ways that folks send their CW. I'm not sure what it all means other than that all but one person voting seems to be a CW user. You can ponder the results further and let me know what you conclude from them.
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#97 - When did you first use CW on the ham bands?
Date: 8/15/07-9/14/07 --- Votes: 269
| When | | Nr | Pct |
| less than 5 years ago | | 48 | 18% |
| 5 to 10 years ago | | 13 | 5% |
| 10 to 20 years ago | | 24 | 9% |
| 20 to 30 years ago | | 50 | 19% |
| 30 to 40 years ago | | 37 | 13% |
| 40 to 50 years ago | | 45 | 17% |
| 50 to 60 years ago | | 31 | 12% |
| more than 60 years ago | | 3 | 1% |
| I don't remember | | 0 | 0% |
| I've never used CW | | 18 | 7% |
I found this to be a very rewarding poll because it showed for one thing that many folks are recently discovering the joys of operating CW. The figures show a definite drop off from 30 to 5 years ago, the a big resurgence in the past 5 years. That is great, and I hope the trend continues. It's a shame that 18 folks have never known the thrill and enjoyment of using CW though. Congrats to those who have been using CW for over 60 years. Wow. I hope I make it that far. I've still got 16 years to go though.
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#96 - What CW bandwidth do you use most often for..
Date: 7/15/07-8/14/07 --- Votes: 218
| Choice | | Nr | Pct |
| Contesting? 250 Hz or less | | 28 | 13% |
| 251-500 Hz | | 59 | 27% |
| 501-1000 Hz | | 10 | 5% |
| more than 1000 Hz | | 2 | 1% |
| Not sure | | 11 | 5% |
| Regular Operating? 250 Hz or less | | 19 | 9% |
| 251-500 Hz | | 52 | 24% |
| 501-1000 Hz | | 22 | 10% |
| more than 1000 Hz | | 10 | 5% |
| Not sure | | 5 | 2% |
This poll was suggested by Scott AE5BH. About the only conclusion to be drawn is that contesters generally use somewhat narrower bandwidths. That is to be expected with the increase in activity during contests. Personally I use 400 Hz most of the time going a bit narrower if things get really rough.
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#95 - What best describes your MAIN station rig (manufacturer, etc.)?
Date: 6/15/07-7/14/07 --- Votes: 343
| Choice | | Nr | Pct |
| ICOM | | 147 | 43% |
| Kenwood | | 48 | 14% |
| Yaesu | | 58 | 17% |
| Ten-Tec | | 26 | 8% |
| Elecraft | | 38 | 11% |
| MFJ | | 5 | 1% |
| Other small dedicated QRP rig | | 5 | 1% |
| Homebrew | | 6 | 2% |
| Boat Anchor | | 8 | 2% |
| Something else not on the list | | 2 | 1% |
I am surprised at the wide margin ICOM has over the other two major rig manufacturers. I figured all three would show up pretty evenly. The rest of the choices turned out pretty much as I expected them to. And of course, as usual, no one told me what their 'something else' choice was. I guess it is too much effort nowadays to send a simple email.
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#94 - When you operate CW, how often do you use a: (suggested by Neal, WA6OCP)
Date: 5/15/07-6/14/07 --- Votes: 617
| Choice | | Nr | Pct |
| Straight Key |
|---|
| More than half the time | | 62 | 10% |
| Less than half the time | | 68 | 11% |
| Not at all | | 73 | 12% |
| Bug |
|---|
| More than half the time | | 14 | 2% |
| Less than half the time | | 20 | 3% |
| Not at all | | 153 | 25% |
| Paddle & Keyer |
|---|
| More than half the time | | 129 | 21% |
| Less than half the time | | 32 | 5% |
| Not at all | | 38 | 6% |
I also use a keyboard,
computer, sideswiper or other device | | 28 | 4% |
Obviously from the results, a paddle and keyer is the current keying equipment of choice among the majority of hams (myself included). The once popular bug is falling out of favor. Many folks (myself included again) still like to use a straight key. Although I use the keyer most of the time, I still switch over to the straight key now and then. Especially for our NAQCC sprints, and the FISTS and ARRL straight key activities. It's great these organizations still promote straight key usage.
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#93 - To which of the following do you subscribe or read regularly?
Date: 4/15/07-5/14/07 --- Votes: 221
| Magazine | | Nr | Pct |
| CQ | | 44 | 20% |
| DX Magazine | | 4 | 2% |
| NCJ | | 13 | 6% |
| Popular Communications | | 6 | 3% |
| QEX | | 7 | 3% |
| QST | | 112 | 51% |
| WorldRadio | | 35 | 16% |
I find it interesting (gee I say that a lot, but it's true) to see what publications visitors to my site read. It would be even more interesting to compare the results to the actual circulation figures of each magazine, but I don't have the time to do that research. I'm glad that WorldRadio posted a strong 3rd place finish. I personally don't subscribe to anything but QST. However I believe the content of WorldRadio is the best of all the publications after reading a few issues. It seems to me it provides great general info for amateurs rather that simply promoting this or that viewpoint on ham radio matters.
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#92 - What is your favorite ham radio activity?
Date: 3/15/07-4/14/07 --- Votes: 168
| Activity | | Nr | Pct |
| Rag chewing | | 62 | 37% |
| Chasing DX | | 43 | 26% |
| Contests and/or sprints | | 16 | 10% |
| Building kits | | 13 | 8% |
| Designing and building gear from scratch | | 12 | 7% |
| Designing and testing antennas | | 12 | 7% |
| Traffic or other nets | | 3 | 2% |
| Paper chasing (awards) | | 3 | 2% |
| County Hunting | | 2 | 1% |
| Chatting about ham radio on the Internet | | 2 | 1% |
It's hard to believe 2 votes for chatting about ham radio rather than all the marvelous activities listed above. Perhaps it's just that those 2 are not yet hams. Let's hope so. With all the activity on the CHN, I'm surprised at the low number of votes for county hunting. I think those folks are just totally devoted to CH and never leave the CHN to do anything else. I love challenges, and I'm surprised at the low number of award seekers. Even though I don't chase the paper a lot because of the cost, I do like to meet the qualifications for the awards. Maybe that's true of others also. The rest of the choices turned out pretty much as I envisioned. Apparently the thrill of working a foreign country remains alive and well. And folks just love to simply chat with each other. That's probably a reason for the decline of ham radio, since rag chewing can now be done just as easily on the Internet. All but one of the other choices do require ham radio.
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#91 - How do you help preserve CW?
Date: 2/15/07-3/14/07 --- Votes: 307
| How | | Nr | Pct |
| Use it as often as I can | | 73 | 24% |
| Talk up CW anywhere I can | | 58 | 19% |
| Make it a point to work newcomers to CW | | 46 | 15% |
| Oppose vigorously any further loss of CW band space | | 38 | 12% |
| Teach CW to new hams | | 23 | 7% |
| Participate in FISTS and NAQCC activities | | 23 | 7% |
| Operate as many CW contests as I can and report my results | | 21 | 7% |
| Give free CW equipment (keys, etc.) to hams | | 11 | 4% |
| All of the above | | 14 | 5% |
Remember to preserve something, you have to use it. If you store an old antique car in a garage somewhere and never bother to do anything with it, one day all you'll have is a pile of rust. If you don't use CW, all you'll have someday are ham bands devoid of this wonderful mode. Many voted that they use it as much as possible, yet don't participate in activities like NAQCC/FISTS events and contests, all of which are very important ways to use CW on the air. That's kind of contradictory to my way of thinking.
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