01/04/2006 | WA7CS 2006 SKN was amazing! Considering the solar cycle is just about bottomed out, the bands were jam packed from 160 to 10. 20-meters was so busy, I had a tough time squeezing in to catch a CQ, or to pound out one of my own.

Johnsons trusty Speed-X generated the CW. (My folks paid $8.00 for this key and presented it to me as a Christmas gift over 35 years ago. This model is still available today, but the price is now $48.95!) This year the Drake B-line twins handled the entire SKN campaign. They hummed right along without a hitch, and gathered more than one compliment from boat anchor lovers everywhere. Speaking of boat anchors I was delighted to work a Drake TR-4C, two Collins stations, two Heath HW-16s, a very rare Ameco AC-1, and an eclectic collection of other classic transmitters.

The most interesting QSO I enjoyed was my very first of the evening. W6FU answered CQ number 1 at 0006 UTC. Ken told me about his role in the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, and how his J38 straight key never let him (or U.S.) down.

As far as voting for the best fist, I have discovered that the quality of a fist is inversely proportional to the band frequency. I found the best fists on the lower end of 80-meters, and the intelligibility challenged above 14.025. Hence, I hung out on 80 and 40 as much as possible.

Every SKN fist was music to my ears!

Carl


Pasco, WA

73 -- WA7CS