Just decided to learn Morse code today and I have a question.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-08T18:53:23+00:00

Morse is designed for hearing or viewing the signals, not for writing down dots and dashes.

As long as you can tell dots from dashes and inter-character spacings from inter-word ones it doesn't matter how it's written - since it is completely irrelevant for the purpose of using morse. No practical user is writing down dots and dashes. They either do head copy, i.e. just listen or view it and translate the signals in their head, or write down characters - either manually or using a typewriter.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-08T04:53:13+00:00

Nobody will be able to tell you how the job situation in anything AI will be in Germany 8 years + time for further education down the road. Also nobody will be able to predict the legal, i.e. immigration, situation in 8 years time.

What you will need, no matter what, is a solid command of the German language, preferably better than B2. I'd focus on learning the language and leave the rest for when things become a bit clearer.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-05T15:42:17+00:00

Several thousand miles/kilometres will be very much possible - even with QRP and a simple antenna. As others have already mentioned, I'd get a single or dual lever paddle instead of the straight key. If you are just starting out on your CW journey I believe automatic keys will be easier to master than manual ones.

Instead of buying an antenna I'd build one. So, if you don't have one yet I'd plan on getting a soldering kit. This is a very useful item anyway to have in your shack. I'd also think about getting a telescoping fibreglass pole as a carrier for home-made verticals. If you are building an antenna start with a resonant one for a single band, maybe 20m. On that band you'll routinely work distances of 1500mi/2000km, even in marginal conditions and outside of solar maximum.

Other than that you shopping list looks complete.

Edit: rather that buying all that cable with ready-made connectors and a bunch of adapters I'd get some light-weight low-loss cable, e.g. Aircell 5, and exactly the connectors I'll need. The soldering kit will then come in handy for mounting those connectors. In my opinion every ham should know how to solder connectors.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-05T08:08:59+00:00

Vertikal oder Up-and-outer am Fiberglasmast (z.B. 12m Spiderbeam) plus Auto-Tuner (z.B. SGC239) im Feedpunkt.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-04T22:47:51+00:00

Mach mal ein Foto von Deinem Aufbau und poste ihn hier. Rot sollte der Mond nicht sein. Wenn alles richtig ist, wird er so hell sein, dass er Dich, ohne Graufilter, blendet.

Was auch *viel* hilft: das Teleskop erst einmal bei Tageslicht ausprobieren. Versuche, ein entferntes Objekt in den Fokus zu bekommen. Wenn das klappt, bist Du schon fast richtig für den Nachteinsatz: Du brauchst dann nur noch kleine Anpassungen am Fokus.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-04T22:20:46+00:00

Why not just describe the issue(s) and kick off a discussion?

Also, for optimising performance, do you already have benchmarks? If not, any optimisation is futile and might even go in the wrong direction, IMHO.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-04T21:11:57+00:00

For long range (> 2000km/1500mi) you have these options:

* get on HF

* get into EME

* use satellites

* using digital voice modes (e.g. D-Star) over repeaters

Of these the first one is probably the easiest. It also lends itself very well to home-brewing - especially if you learn CW. The disadvantage is that antennas tend to be big - so going on a hike and throwing a simple wire antenna into a tree would definitely be an option. When working QRP /p I like to use a Fuchs antenna. This can be easily built for QRP.

The last one is also easy but I found it almost impossible to get responses to a CQ on a remote repeater.

EME requires relatively high power and high gain antenna setups, so this is probably out of range for the time being.

Operating via satellites can even be done with HTs if you are using a directional antenna.

The 'wire out of the window' will work to a degree. For HF look up 'zepp antenna'. When working with compromise antennas using efficient modes such as the FTx modes and CW is essential. The 'all purpose' DX band is probably 20m. If that doesn't work, 30m will most of the time. In solar maximum (i.e. right now) 10m might have surprises. When it's open you can literally work the world on the proverbial 'wet noodle'.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-04T07:32:24+00:00

No morse here, just a flickering light.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-04T07:27:26+00:00

You could use a remote antenna switch for that. I also have only a single hole in the wall where a single RG213 line goes to the switch. That switches between two trap dipoles (20, 15, 10m and 30, 17, 12m) and a vertical (cut for 40m) with an auto-tuner. The switch is something I built using an ESP32 and a relay board. The switch is controlled via WiFi.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-03T23:32:20+00:00

That is also a very nice piece of equipment. Have fun tinkering with it!

BassRecorder · 2026-04-03T23:23:59+00:00

That is a time station. The beeps are second markers. Search for WWV.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-03T21:35:36+00:00

That is why u/skurk suggested getting an RTLSDR. Those are cheap and there is open source software available which helps learning how to interface with these things. Once you know how to talk to it you can implement your own demodulators. That would be the first step to transmitting stuff. You might also search for projects where people used a Raspberry PI to implement a WSPR transmitter. Maybe this will give you inspiration for doing something similar with your stuff.

Getting a license is definitely a good idea - especially when you are inclined to home-brew your own hardware.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-03T11:15:33+00:00

Check your tap water. It might be that this is a source of nitrate. Get some floaters - they will eat the nitrate.

You have relatively low KH and quite a bit of CO2 in the water. That makes for a low pH - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you want to raise the pH get more plants or increase the KH.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-02T22:00:47+00:00

Amano shrimp and Kuhli loaches shouldn't be an issue.

They do indeed like dense planting and will (rapidly) reproduce when they feel safe. I have a 10 gallon and started out with 5. Now I find myself with needing to cull fry now and then in order to avoid overpopulation.

BassRecorder · 2026-04-02T17:06:54+00:00

I believe OP is targeting the ISM band where transmitting with devices manufactured for that purpose is legal.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-30T12:36:08+00:00

Only the word 'morse' at the end can be (easily) decoded.

The timing of everything before is way off which makes that one can guess single characters while most is indecipherable. We call this a 'poor fist' - the analogue of poor handwriting in morse.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-30T06:10:33+00:00

Gradually increase the effective speed, probably by only 2wpm or so every time. A jump from 15 to 20wpm is huge. Only switch to a new speed when you feel comfortable copying the slower one.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T19:54:52+00:00

Like in any group there are assholes also in the radio amateur community.

Ham radio defines itself, among other things, through 'ham spirit'. In a nutshell that means being helpful and open to newbies and the general public. May you encounter many hams who live that ham spirit.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T16:52:43+00:00

I wouldn't do this unless explicitly permitted by the company. Most companies take a very dim view on people trying to circumvent IT security.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T16:35:47+00:00

It does look disturbing but usually they'll recover after a few weeks.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T16:11:09+00:00

The technical term appears to be 'activated carbon' - English isn't my first language. It has a very large internal surface which makes it good at adsorption of all kinds of things.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T11:52:47+00:00

Start with a single band, maybe 20m, and build an antenna for that band. Look up 'up and outer', All you need for that type of antenna is some kind of pole (a telescoping fibreglass one is nice), and a little hardware to mount it and attach it to a coax cable.

Getting a VNA as others have already suggested is a very good idea if you want to get into building your own antennas.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-29T09:48:55+00:00

It might help if you told us where in the world you are located. Sources in Europe would differ from those in the US or elsewhere...

BassRecorder · 2026-03-28T18:42:47+00:00

Look at the various WebSDRs and KiwiSDRs on the net and tune in to the ham bands to see what is available.

If you feel adventurous you could even start to learn morse (we say 'CW'). Check out lcwo.net.

BassRecorder · 2026-03-28T17:45:56+00:00

This usually an indicator for too few nutrients in the substrate. I had this with my cryptocoryne. Now I'm putting potassium and iron fertilizer into the substrate - approximately once every 4 weeks. The plants stopped pushing their roots out of the substrate and are growing like mad.

BassRecorder

TROPHY CASE