Hey Forrest, I am in the same boat as you. I do okay with the POTA exchange but I struggle with the less structured rag chew format. It's all a journey I guess and I would put "free form rag chewing" much closer to the end than the beginning. I see quite a few hams give up on CW before they even start because they tune into a rag chew and get frustrated that they can't copy anything! Well, you have to walk before you can run! I always suggest POTA hunting (and later activating) as a good way to get comfortable with sending and receiving. I have had great success with daily practice using Morse Runner and I can copy call signs up to 40 WPM. For the next stage I will be focusing on increasing my CW vocabulary. My two main tools will be Kurt Zoglmann's excellent YT videos and the LICW Morse Practice Page by KN4YRM. Maybe by the time we are old geezers you and I will be having some nice rag chews north of 35 WPM. But we'll have to get moving as I am almost a geezer now! Ha ha! 73 buddy DE VE3IGS - Lyndon
Rag chews is where you actually learn CW. It’s also more fun to learn about people. Where they are, what they are doing. I talked to a guy once on a sail boat in the Pacific. That’s pretty cool. Lots of people know this guy because he’s pretty active.
Frustrating that propagation has been smeared with bacteria for sure :) especially with such high sunspot/SFI numbers. And oh yeah!!-I’ve had that happen where the CW ops don’t put their email on the QRZ page. It’s definitely a characteristic :) but it’s kind of like “damn”
I remember my first few weeks of hunting POTA I kept telling my wife the strongest desire of my soul was to debrief with the person on the other end of the QSO (Haha!). Most the time I wanted to apologize or explain my key got stuck. Good thing now is I am pretty good friends with a lot of people I hunt or that hunt me so we do often send texts or emails :) - But I've also learned everyone gets it and you don't ever need to apologize for a rough go. But in other cases, like the aforementioned one, it is so nice when they have a way to get in contact!
I think every CW op has had the same feeling. I know I do. There is a huge difference between a known short exchange like POTA or SOTA and a ragchew. Slower speeds are helpful until you are more comfortable. LICW has some great classes to help you become proficient with conversational CW. Hope to catch you on the air sometime. 73, Patrick KF4LMZ
We would love to do a ragchew anytime that conditions allow! Becky and I both try to get a conversational qso in whenever we can. When it doesn't work out on the air, sometimes we do them together locally. We do ragchew way slower than POTA. For us the most comfortable speed right now is 15 words per minute even though we can do pota much faster. We both practice instant character recognition and words on a regular basis. We are nowhere near great but getting better all the time. Although we love to do pota, the interest in conversational CW is what got us into ham radio to begin with. 73 Mike N4FFF es Becky N4BKY
We will definitely get a rag chew in together here soon. That will be a special day! :) - I couldn't agree more. I think rag chews are the ultimate CW experience and it's a true test of your CW proficiency as you do not know what is coming next. As I've ventured into CW it's become apparent I want to experience ALL of it. But I will always be a POTA guy at heart. I really value the friendliness of POTA compared to DXing, Contesting, Field Day, etc. I like exchanging names, saying good morning and the friends you contact on a frequent basis. But my favorite part of POTA, and you and Becky demonstrate this so well, is experiencing field operations and the challenges associated with it at some incredibly beautiful areas. I've spent more time outdoors the last 4 months because of POTA than the last 5 years! I swear! 73 de KI7QCF
It's crazy how much harder ragchewing is over POTA/SOTA. I go to the beginner LICW classses and have done quite a few POTA & SOTA cw activations. When I practice instant character recognition and callsigns I feel like I'm the bomb, but as soon as I practice words or groups of letters I start to question if I even know CW haha! 73 de M7OPK
100%. I was in the CW Academy intermediate class May-June and that really stood out to me. I would go activate a park 22 WPM get 50 QSOs then head to class and they'd have us copy short stories at 17WPM and I felt like I didn't know CW haha!
I like a good ragchew occasionally. There are a few hunters that will ragchew with me during activations. Its a lot of fun however I often don't have paper and my head copy is still a work in progress, but I can usually get the point of what they are saying. I often answer CQs I hear especially in the morning on 40m. I'm always down for a good ol' ragchew just holler.
You and I will be rag chewing here soon. No doubt about it. I'm going to spend some time familiarizing myself with rag chews over the next few days/weeks and my first ever rag chew I may just call CQ like 17wpm and see what happens.
I’ve had a few rag chews from my home qth. I made a couple templates that help me not have to think too much about what to say and slow down to 15-17wpm. Just get on and call CQ and see what happens. If you get too lost you can always blame it on QSB. Hi hi gl es 73
Ragchew = Communication. That's what we're supposed to be experts in. How exciting! And how terrifying! High speed CW ragchew is hardcore old skewl (especially straight key,) and for those of us just beginning to "crack the code," few moments are more stress inducing than when we gotta actually listen and respond to words in the wild. Call signs are still tough to copy and now you want me to describe my station? Give WX reports? Ahhh!!! 😬😵 Challenge Accepted, OM!!!
Haha! Yep! Couldn't agree more. And High speed cw rag chew with the straight key would be the ultimate. I still need to learn how to use a straight key at SLOW speeds, haha. Thanks for watching :)
If you ever want to ragchew, give me a shout. Aaron Bowman W4ARB had never rachewed before, so he and I scheduled one, and went maybe 16-18wpm. I had him look at the LICW QSO protocol first so he kinda knew what to expect. The video from both ends is on our respective channels (I think mine is called NOT a POTA activation or something to that effect with a red slash through the thumbnail. Doing a scheduled QSO at reasonable speeds with someone you're comfortable with takes a lot of the pressure off.
I'm pretty sure I saw that first rag chew video with Aaron! I'll have to check out yours too. That's awesome he got his first with you! I really appreciate that, Evan! The LICW QSO protocol is something I'm going to look up right away. The POTA script is what changed the game for me and gave me the courage to get on the air. If I can get my hands on some sort of protocol and at least have a game plan my confidence would increase significantly. Especially because I feel I could copy fairly decent in that 16-18wpm, like you said.
It’s kinda like hitting on a girl when you first get together. Try not to let the other op go straight for 3rd base. 1st and 2nd base qsos only for bit. Then smack their ass and send them a 73. Rubber stamp qs are what pota and contesting are. Next time I hear you I might throw in my power level and antenna.
Appreciate that man. KH1 whip to whip rag chew? Now that'd be epic. Fun fact yesterday I was QRP activating with the whip and sent to you a few times but you couldn't hear me. I switched out rigs for fun (went to the MTR4b and threw an inverted V EFHW up in a tree) and that's when you hunted me. Thanks for sticking with me but I was absolutely stoked to get the P2P with you QRP.
Forrest! I had a CW rag-chew the other evening. It was a blast and probably my first rag-chew in decades - since when I was a teenager - it was with Harry in Austria. It was the last call of my activation that evening. lately, I've been thinking about doing this: I've been wanting to set up a rig by my comfy chair in my office just for the purpose of having extended CW QSOs - My QSO with Harry makes me want to do it more now! Here's the QSO. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun and relaxed: th-cam.com/video/S6VqqD8D2pw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Egef5xkYGcppYsjq&t=5408
I just watched this. I am so jealous at the DX rag chew with someone in Austria. That's truly incredible. Thanks so much for sharing. You are a great op and a phenomenal fist. I think the big thing for me is familiarizing myself with some of the common exchanges (much like POTA sequences). How to explain my rig, antenna, etc. and what to look for. I also know for a rag chew I probably want to drop from 22 WPM to around 17 or so. You're going to hear from me a lot the next few days! I'm at 45/50 with you for the operator to operator. You'll be my first! 73 de KI7QCF
@@Utahforrest 50 - That's fantastic, Forrest! Looking forward to it! Set your ultimate goal at 500 QSOs. That will give you 25 certificates for your POTA awards wallpaper! 🙂
I know you get tons of comments with all the activations you are doing. A while back when I first commented on one of your first POTA videos, I had said I was in a cw class and shared your story and that video to the class. That class was teaching instant character recognition so that a person could rag chew. That was their focus for being able to rag chew or whatever you want to do. CW Innovations. Great class and group of people if you want to look them up. It’s a commitment though.
@@bentrotor4917 I definitely remember that comment. I really appreciate that. Please do reach out (my email is on my QRZ page). I'm thinking my first ever rag chew I'll either call CQ or respond to a CQ call when the moment is right. I've been close a few times already to just engaging with someone. I think similar to my first POTA hunting moment I just sent it! 73 de KI7QCF
I'd also be happy to have a rag chew. Definitively not great at it here. look at the licw club. They have a ragchew format to follow. Thanks and I enjoy your videos, om. Im gonna call you right in the middle of your next activation at 12wpm (running 1kw) and send you my life's story. Hahaha :) 73 de N4AAJ
Bahahaha. Please do. I want to know your life story and I hope you don't finish until you take me into the next UTC day and fail my activation. 😂 I may email you today if that's ok I want to snag the ragchew format. If I can have a sequence/script like I had when I first hunted POTA my confidence will probably double. (That and the 12wpm thing!) 😅
Hey Forrest, I am in the same boat as you. I do okay with the POTA exchange but I struggle with the less structured rag chew format. It's all a journey I guess and I would put "free form rag chewing" much closer to the end than the beginning. I see quite a few hams give up on CW before they even start because they tune into a rag chew and get frustrated that they can't copy anything! Well, you have to walk before you can run! I always suggest POTA hunting (and later activating) as a good way to get comfortable with sending and receiving. I have had great success with daily practice using Morse Runner and I can copy call signs up to 40 WPM. For the next stage I will be focusing on increasing my CW vocabulary. My two main tools will be Kurt Zoglmann's excellent YT videos and the LICW Morse Practice Page by KN4YRM. Maybe by the time we are old geezers you and I will be having some nice rag chews north of 35 WPM. But we'll have to get moving as I am almost a geezer now! Ha ha! 73 buddy DE VE3IGS - Lyndon
Rag chews is where you actually learn CW. It’s also more fun to learn about people. Where they are, what they are doing. I talked to a guy once on a sail boat in the Pacific. That’s pretty cool. Lots of people know this guy because he’s pretty active.
Oh man. That would be amazing. Especially because I love sailing haha. Couldn't agree more. I'm excited for my first rag chew!
Frustrating that propagation has been smeared with bacteria for sure :) especially with such high sunspot/SFI numbers. And oh yeah!!-I’ve had that happen where the CW ops don’t put their email on the QRZ page. It’s definitely a characteristic :) but it’s kind of like “damn”
I remember my first few weeks of hunting POTA I kept telling my wife the strongest desire of my soul was to debrief with the person on the other end of the QSO (Haha!). Most the time I wanted to apologize or explain my key got stuck. Good thing now is I am pretty good friends with a lot of people I hunt or that hunt me so we do often send texts or emails :) - But I've also learned everyone gets it and you don't ever need to apologize for a rough go. But in other cases, like the aforementioned one, it is so nice when they have a way to get in contact!
I think every CW op has had the same feeling. I know I do. There is a huge difference between a known short exchange like POTA or SOTA and a ragchew. Slower speeds are helpful until you are more comfortable. LICW has some great classes to help you become proficient with conversational CW. Hope to catch you on the air sometime. 73, Patrick KF4LMZ
Great advice! I've seen a few others recommend LICW I'm going to check it out!
We would love to do a ragchew anytime that conditions allow!
Becky and I both try to get a conversational qso in whenever we can. When it doesn't work out on the air, sometimes we do them together locally.
We do ragchew way slower than POTA. For us the most comfortable speed right now is 15 words per minute even though we can do pota much faster.
We both practice instant character recognition and words on a regular basis. We are nowhere near great but getting better all the time.
Although we love to do pota, the interest in conversational CW is what got us into ham radio to begin with.
73 Mike N4FFF es Becky N4BKY
We will definitely get a rag chew in together here soon. That will be a special day! :) - I couldn't agree more. I think rag chews are the ultimate CW experience and it's a true test of your CW proficiency as you do not know what is coming next. As I've ventured into CW it's become apparent I want to experience ALL of it. But I will always be a POTA guy at heart. I really value the friendliness of POTA compared to DXing, Contesting, Field Day, etc. I like exchanging names, saying good morning and the friends you contact on a frequent basis. But my favorite part of POTA, and you and Becky demonstrate this so well, is experiencing field operations and the challenges associated with it at some incredibly beautiful areas. I've spent more time outdoors the last 4 months because of POTA than the last 5 years! I swear!
73 de KI7QCF
It's crazy how much harder ragchewing is over POTA/SOTA. I go to the beginner LICW classses and have done quite a few POTA & SOTA cw activations. When I practice instant character recognition and callsigns I feel like I'm the bomb, but as soon as I practice words or groups of letters I start to question if I even know CW haha! 73 de M7OPK
100%. I was in the CW Academy intermediate class May-June and that really stood out to me. I would go activate a park 22 WPM get 50 QSOs then head to class and they'd have us copy short stories at 17WPM and I felt like I didn't know CW haha!
I like a good ragchew occasionally. There are a few hunters that will ragchew with me during activations. Its a lot of fun however I often don't have paper and my head copy is still a work in progress, but I can usually get the point of what they are saying. I often answer CQs I hear especially in the morning on 40m. I'm always down for a good ol' ragchew just holler.
You and I will be rag chewing here soon. No doubt about it. I'm going to spend some time familiarizing myself with rag chews over the next few days/weeks and my first ever rag chew I may just call CQ like 17wpm and see what happens.
I’ve had a few rag chews from my home qth. I made a couple templates that help me not have to think too much about what to say and slow down to 15-17wpm. Just get on and call CQ and see what happens. If you get too lost you can always blame it on QSB. Hi hi gl es 73
Ragchew = Communication.
That's what we're supposed to be experts in. How exciting! And how terrifying! High speed CW ragchew is hardcore old skewl (especially straight key,) and for those of us just beginning to "crack the code," few moments are more stress inducing than when we gotta actually listen and respond to words in the wild. Call signs are still tough to copy and now you want me to describe my station? Give WX reports? Ahhh!!! 😬😵
Challenge Accepted, OM!!!
Haha! Yep! Couldn't agree more. And High speed cw rag chew with the straight key would be the ultimate. I still need to learn how to use a straight key at SLOW speeds, haha. Thanks for watching :)
If you ever want to ragchew, give me a shout. Aaron Bowman W4ARB had never rachewed before, so he and I scheduled one, and went maybe 16-18wpm. I had him look at the LICW QSO protocol first so he kinda knew what to expect. The video from both ends is on our respective channels (I think mine is called NOT a POTA activation or something to that effect with a red slash through the thumbnail. Doing a scheduled QSO at reasonable speeds with someone you're comfortable with takes a lot of the pressure off.
I'm pretty sure I saw that first rag chew video with Aaron! I'll have to check out yours too. That's awesome he got his first with you! I really appreciate that, Evan! The LICW QSO protocol is something I'm going to look up right away. The POTA script is what changed the game for me and gave me the courage to get on the air. If I can get my hands on some sort of protocol and at least have a game plan my confidence would increase significantly. Especially because I feel I could copy fairly decent in that 16-18wpm, like you said.
@@Utahforrest I can send you the LICW QSO protocol if you can't find it. I'm about to go into a cave, otherwise I'd send it to you right now 😂
I want to do POTA activations (CW) but I'm scared. You're way ahead of me :-)
If you activate I'll rag chew! haha! deal?
@@Utahforrest Let's do it!
Try Morse Runner. That is what I used to make the jump from POTA hunter to activator. Good luck!
@@Lyndon_K I checked it out, thanks for the suggestion! I'll try and find a way to make it work on my MacBook.
The bands have E. Coli 😂
The main purpose of this video was the E Coli jokes so I'm glad you got it and commented on that specifically lol! 🤣
It’s kinda like hitting on a girl when you first get together. Try not to let the other op go straight for 3rd base. 1st and 2nd base qsos only for bit. Then smack their ass and send them a 73. Rubber stamp qs are what pota and contesting are. Next time I hear you I might throw in my power level and antenna.
🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣 this is why we're friends
I think you just gave me some more content for my qrz page!
@@k9kj 🤣
@@k9kj I've never laughed harder than when I read your QRZ page 🤣
I’m down for a ragchew if conditions cooperate!
Appreciate that man. KH1 whip to whip rag chew? Now that'd be epic. Fun fact yesterday I was QRP activating with the whip and sent to you a few times but you couldn't hear me. I switched out rigs for fun (went to the MTR4b and threw an inverted V EFHW up in a tree) and that's when you hunted me. Thanks for sticking with me but I was absolutely stoked to get the P2P with you QRP.
Forrest! I had a CW rag-chew the other evening. It was a blast and probably my first rag-chew in decades - since when I was a teenager - it was with Harry in Austria. It was the last call of my activation that evening. lately, I've been thinking about doing this: I've been wanting to set up a rig by my comfy chair in my office just for the purpose of having extended CW QSOs - My QSO with Harry makes me want to do it more now! Here's the QSO. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun and relaxed: th-cam.com/video/S6VqqD8D2pw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Egef5xkYGcppYsjq&t=5408
Quit rag-chewing and get back out to Chalco Hills! LOL. I need 4 more from Chalco for my "repeat offender" award! 73 de N6VHF
@@NsixVHF haha! I’ll be out there! 😁
I just watched this. I am so jealous at the DX rag chew with someone in Austria. That's truly incredible. Thanks so much for sharing. You are a great op and a phenomenal fist. I think the big thing for me is familiarizing myself with some of the common exchanges (much like POTA sequences). How to explain my rig, antenna, etc. and what to look for. I also know for a rag chew I probably want to drop from 22 WPM to around 17 or so. You're going to hear from me a lot the next few days! I'm at 45/50 with you for the operator to operator. You'll be my first! 73 de KI7QCF
@@Utahforrest 50 - That's fantastic, Forrest! Looking forward to it! Set your ultimate goal at 500 QSOs. That will give you 25 certificates for your POTA awards wallpaper! 🙂
I know you get tons of comments with all the activations you are doing. A while back when I first commented on one of your first POTA videos, I had said I was in a cw class and shared your story and that video to the class. That class was teaching instant character recognition so that a person could rag chew. That was their focus for being able to rag chew or whatever you want to do. CW Innovations. Great class and group of people if you want to look them up. It’s a commitment though.
Also if you ever want I’ll rag chew at whatever speed you want until you lose me.
@@bentrotor4917 I definitely remember that comment. I really appreciate that. Please do reach out (my email is on my QRZ page). I'm thinking my first ever rag chew I'll either call CQ or respond to a CQ call when the moment is right. I've been close a few times already to just engaging with someone. I think similar to my first POTA hunting moment I just sent it! 73 de KI7QCF
See you in class 🎉
Yes sir see you there!!!
I'd also be happy to have a rag chew. Definitively not great at it here. look at the licw club. They have a ragchew format to follow. Thanks and I enjoy your videos, om. Im gonna call you right in the middle of your next activation at 12wpm (running 1kw) and send you my life's story. Hahaha :) 73 de N4AAJ
Bahahaha. Please do. I want to know your life story and I hope you don't finish until you take me into the next UTC day and fail my activation. 😂 I may email you today if that's ok I want to snag the ragchew format. If I can have a sequence/script like I had when I first hunted POTA my confidence will probably double. (That and the 12wpm thing!) 😅
@@Utahforrest yes sir! Send it.