Tag: pota

The Happenstance Rove

Happenstance: a chance circumstance. That is how it started out. I recently sold one of my radios and for giggles I thought I would check out QTH.com to see if there was anything I just had to have (Danger Will Robinson). I stumbled across a nice IC-7100 and thought I could install it in my truck to make quick POTA activations a little easier. The ad looked good and the call sign sounded familiar. I checked the seller out on QRZ.com. I do this with every ham radio transaction to reduce the opprtunity of being scammed. Low and behold! the seller John KX6F, is an old army buddy of mine. We served together in the 101st Airborne Division in C/158 TF 160. That was 40 years ago and I hadn’t seen him in at least 15 years. John is a good guy and was a major influence to me becoming a ham. I served with him from about 1980-1983 when I was transferred to Germany. Life and stuff took over and I was finally able to get licensed in 1995.

I sent John an email asking if I could pick up the radio in person and take him out to lunch. He told me that he suffered a severe stroke a couple of years ago and that dining in would be a better option. No problem. On Monday 04/22, I asked when would be a good time to come. He said Tuesday would be good. I had one night to plan a trip. He lives about 5 hours away from me so I thought I would turn this into a rove. I decided on two nights of camping and 5 parks in 5 states. The XYL had a hip replaced so I hadn’t been out in a while, it was time to stretch my legs. Here is a map showing the stops.

Blue is day one, red is day 2 and green is day 3 and the trip home.

#1 Clarskville TN. First stop was John’s. We had pizza for lunch and reminisced about old times. John looked good and was as jovial as ever. I was glad I made the trip. He and his wife were very gracious. After about an hour and half, I could tell it was time to go. The radio is in great shape and I am sure I will enjoy it.

KK4Z with KX6F

My new radio at the QTH

From John’s house I drove to Lake Barkley State Park (US-1284 and #2 on the map). I spent the night there in a very nice campsite. Right at dusk, a Barred Owl flew into my campsite. He was less than 20 feet away from me at eye level. Once we made eye contact, he flew off to another perch – silent as a ghost. All the states on this trip were new activation states for me so I made sure I had enough contacts for a valid activation. I was prepared to do either CW or FT8 but due to band conditions, it looked like FT8 was going to be the weapon of choice. I made 20 contacts and managed to work Australia, Canada and France.


Wednesday morning I broke camp and headed toward Ft Massac State Park (US-0993 and #3 on the map) just over the line from Kentucky. It was a nice park inside of the town of Metropolis. I found a spot with clean restrooms nearby and enough room for my truck and camper. There were a lot people using the park to exercise. I used FT8 to make 20 contacts on 30 and 10 meters and the only DX was Canada.

From Ft Massac State Park my next destination was Big Oak Tree State Park (US-1749 and #4 on the map) in MO about 1 1/2 hours away. Along the way near the town of Omstead, IL, I spotted a Bald Eagle having lunch with Vultures at the roadkill cafe. The park is located in rural MO. and surrounded by farms. There was no cell service here but the park and the views were great. I set up near the picnic area. Ten meters was hopping. DX stations included: Hawaii, Belize, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Sardinia, and Spain. I was running 25 watts. I made 20 contacts before packing it up and moving to my next park.

Stop #5 and my second overnight was Mississippi River State Park (US-1102). This was a very nice park and I managed to reserve a campsite on the water. It also had zero cell service, even my cell phone went SOS. My money band was 10 meters again making DX contacts with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, and New Zealand. Ten meters acted like 20 meters, and 20 meters acted like 40 meters. I ended up with 33 contacts total.

Thursday morning had me heading toward home with Georgia on my mind (I even heard the song on the radio). I made a stop at Trace State Park (US-2554 and stop #6) just outside of Tupelo, MS. I stayed long enough to make 20 contacts and one DX into Canada.

I got home about 1600 hrs eastern Thursday afternoon. I worked 5 parks in 5 states: Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi, in 2 days. I crossed 4 major rivers: Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi (twice). I added 5 new states to my POTA activations. It was a good trip considering I only had about 2 hours to plan it. I learned some new things about my equipment and I have plans to make things better for next time.

My first rove proved to be a lot of fun. Usually I drive to a park, spend a couple of days and then drive home. I am hoping to try another rove before the year is out. See the YouTube video below. Until then — 73 de Scott

West Georgia Amateur Radio Society Spring Fling

Saturday, the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society (WGARS) took to the field for the Spring Support Your Parks Weekend sponsored by Parks on the Air (POTA). WGARS is a pretty active club and one of the best I have belonged to. Besides local events like fox hunts and balloon launches (APRS), we take to the roads 4 times a year to a park. In the spring and fall we make the POTA Support Your Parks Weekend usually on a Saturday. For the winter and summer, we participate in Field Day and Winter Field Day.

Weather was cold, with fog. Temps were in the 50’s and not the mid 70’s predicted by the weather service. I was in shorts and a tee shirt. Luckily, I had a goretex windbreaker in the truck. Others had blankets wrapped around them.

These events are casual events for us. We normally do 3 things while out. We eat, we socialize, and we throw in a little radio along the way. This was no different. We had a picnic table full of food with hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on site by our President John WD8LQT.

Due to a lot of recent solar activity band conditions were interesting. John WD8LQT was runnning CW/SSB and I was running FT8 to reduce interference between the 2 stations. When I switched to 10 meters, I was working into Europe and South America and when I switched to 20 meters, I couldn’t get out of the Continental United States (CONUS). We each made a handful of contacts and spent a lot of time enjoying each others company.

For radios, John was runnning his Xeigu G90 at 15 watts into a EFHW antenna. I was running my IC-705 at 5 watts into my 28.5′ Random Wire antenna. Towards the end my radio developed a glitch and refused to transmit. I was using my iPad via WiFi to make the FT8 contacts and I think that connection caused a setting to change. When I got home and warm, it took me about 3 minutes to figure it out. I still had a pretty good day. Here is a QSO map from my station.

The goal of these event for our club is not how many contacts we make, but how much fun we have and a large part of that is enjoying each others company. Field Day is only a couple of months away — can’t wait.

Below is a short video. It is a little jittery as I had navigate around people and chairs etc. If you’re prone to vertigo, you may wish to skip this one.

Another case of the doldurms

I’m in the doldurms again – radio doldurms. This time it is due to my wife having a hip replaced. It happened quickly. She saw the doctor one day and a week later she had a new hip. Over the years, recovery times have decreased but there still is a recovery time. Each day she gets a little more steady on her feet. The caveat is, I still have to do a lot of things around the house. Yes, she is worth it.

I haven’t been on the radio much. I mostly turn it on to do some head sending for my CWI class and sometimes I listen to a QSO. I try to make my codebuddy skeds as long as everything else in the house is copasetic. I try to do some of the CWI exercises at night when things quiet down. I am still doing the things, at a slower pace.

I have goals I want to attain. While in the doldrums, I have switched from my bug to a singlepaddle/sideswiper. I also use paddles and I found it difficult switching from the bug to the paddles. The bug requires a heavier hand, especially on the dit side. You have to hit it a little harder to get the pendulum vibrating. A sideswiper has a similar feel to a paddle. One thing to note, is I cannot set the contacts on a sideswiper as close as I can on paddles. It tends to mush the dits and dahs together. I am currently using a KN4YB SL-85 sideswiper. It has a shorting bar so you can use it as a single lever paddle or a sideswiper.

One negative about using a single lever as a sideswiper is it bothers my arthritis. I have it in my fingertips and it can get painful after a while. I may switch to a cootie key that bends and softens the contact. I have spent most of my CW time with paddles using a keyer. I thought in retirement I would give a straight key a go. I have been practicing and I am using my code buddies as crash dummies. They report that I am doing a pretty good job. One of the reasons I am trying a straight key, is I have 4 nice county parks in my county that are not POTA regulation. My nearest POTA parks are about 45 minutes away. So I joined SKCC and when life gets a little more normal around here, I want to start working on SKCC from home and portable.

Another goal I have is to become more conversational in CW. I have close to 2,000 CW contacts in POTA but they are just exchanges. It’s the reason I am taking a CWI Class. I want to have pass-the-time-of-day QSOs on CW. Right now my code buddies and I are around the 20-25 minute mark for a QSO. We are operating around 17 wpm. POTA exchanges I can do at 22+ wpm.

The good thing about CWI is the end of the class is not the endgame. What CWI does is give you the tools to practice and teaches you how to use them. They teach you how to diagnose any problems you have and what tools to use to fix them. Even though I am a little behind right now, when my life returns to more normal, I will be able to continue my studies.

Finally, I wish to get my code speed up to 25-30 wpm. I am one of two CW ops in my club and usually do CW during the Field Days. I am okay at around 25 wpm or so when searching and pouncing however, I would like to be able to run and hold a frequency. Once life returns… I have plans to participate in some of the CW activities such as CWTest, and I may try for a CWOps number. That may be a ways a way.

That’s the long and the short of it. I hope to see y’all out there once QRV becomes more of a reality. 73 – Scott

Cootie Box

Sometimes you got to go both ways. I recently decided I wanted to do more straight key stuff and I setteled on a sideswiper as my weapon of choice. However, I am still much more proficient with a set of paddles. Often when I go to the field for activities such as Field Day (both) or POTA/SOTA I use paddles. Now that I’m gearing up for the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC), I want to have the opprtunity to make SKCC contacts also. I do own one sideswiper key from KN5YB, Tom makes nice keys and I like the one I got from him very much. I did realize that the feel between a sideswiper and paddles is very close and since I have some nice paddles, why not make them work like straight keys.

To make a paddle into a sideswiper all that is needed is to short the Dit and Dah contacts together. This can be done with a jumper or my cootie cable https://kk4z.com/2024/01/26/cootie-cable/. While these work, I wanted something a little easier to switch back and forth so I came up with the Cootie Box. Inside is the cootie that makes the magic.

The circuit is very simple.

It only takes a few parts.

These can be found on Amazon:
Project Box
3.5mm Stereo Jacks
20 ga Wire
Note: 20 ga was far too big. 24 or 26 ga. would be better
SPST Switch
I also used solder and some heat shrink I had on hand.

I connect 5 wires on one of the jacks 2 for the Dit and 2 for the Dah contacts. One of each goes to the other jack and one of each goes to the switch. The fifth wire is the common. Since I had wire that was too big, after I cut away the insulation on the Dit and Dah contact wire, I separated the strands into two groups. I then cut the insulation off of the wires that goes to the switch and attached them to the contact wires.

I soldered the two wires together and then trimmed them before I attached the other tail to the jack. I used heat shrink to insulate the connections

Before you go any further, feed the one jack you finished soldering through the project box and thread one nut with all five wires and fasten the jack to the project box. Then thread the nut to the other jack with the three wire that go to the opposite jack. Do not thread the switch wires through the second nut. Pass the wires through the hole in the project box and solder them to the opposite jack making sure you have the Dit and Dah contacts wired correctly or they will be reversed (trust me on this one).

With the switch wired and soldered it should look like this.

Wire and solder the oppsite jack, put together, label the switch and Viola! Cootie Box.

It does not matter which end of the Cootie box is plugged into what – completely reversable. One thing I like about the box over the cable is I feel the box is more durable.

Here is a short video of the Cootie Box in action:

Carlos Goes Under the Knife

Carlos is my Elecraft K3…”cause he’s so smooth”. I’ve had Carlos since June, 2023. He came to me as a basic 10 watt K3. He had the 144 MHz K144XV, the KXV3 interface option and 2, 5-pole filters. I got the radio in a trade. Owning a K3 always lingered in the back of my mind, so I took the trade. That started my journey.

Carlos has gone through several iterations since I got him. First I swapped out the 2, 5-pole filters for 5, 8-pole filters (2.8 KHz, 2.1 KHz, 1.0 KHz, 400 Hz, and 250 Hz). Second, I added the KAT3 autotuner. I wanted the internal tuner so I would have less stuff to fool with when using antennas like my random wire. My next upgrade was to add the KSYN3A synthesizer and KIO3B interface. This brought my radio up to a K3S. Finally, I added the KPA3 – 100 watt internal amplifier. I wanted the amp for a couple of reasons. I enjoy Winter Field Day and ARRL Field Day with my club, the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society. I am currently one of 2 CW ops in the club so I usually run CW to help with multipliers. The QSK, the filters, and the ability to run near other radios makes it a no brainer. Also, when I operate portable while camping, I like to run a little more power than QRP; usually in the 20-35 watt range. That is more than enough power for CW. I did all the mods myself and found them pretty straight forward. Elecraft did an excellent job kitting and making the instructions. The couple times I had an issue and they were mine, Elecraft did an excellent job helping me work through it. I did have to send it in last year because of a goof I made, but while it was in the shop, they completely went over the radio and brought it up to spec.

Carlos does scratch a couple of itches. To me, it is like owning a vintage car. It has a nostalgic look and feel about it. The radio was produced from 2008 until about 2015 when the K3S came out. Mine is a later edition with the serial number 8640. The radio is a generation or more older than the current flock of radios. Like a vintage car, I may have more money into it than I should have, but if only accounting for the enjoyment factor, it is money well spent.

I was first licensed in 1995 and my first radio was an old TenTec Omni D. The K3 has a similar look and feel as the old TenTec allowing me to reminisce about all the fun I had as a Tech+ making my first HF contacts using CW. During that time I worked second shift. When I came home from work at night I was able to slip on a pair of headphones and make contacts wihtout disturbing the family until I was sleepy enough to go to bed. My first DX contacts happened then. The K3 gives me the form factor of the older radios with the performance of the newer radios. One other difference is the ergonomics of the K3, which is best in class.

I was considering acquiring an older radio for fun and the K3 fell into my lap. It has become one of my favorite radios. I use it portable for things like POTA and Field Day. Because of its QSK, it is my favorite CW radio. When not in the field, it resides on my desk as a part of the home team. I have a set of paddles and a sideswiper hooked up to it. Hopefully I will get some time today to have some CW fun. 73 — Scott

Bit by the Bug

Over the past couple of days I have been trying my new keys. One is a bug and the other is a single lever/sideswiper. I kind of switch back and forth between then as well as use my paddles. I am the zippyest with my paddles so far. So here are some of my first impressions.

Single Lever/Sideswiper. It’s okay. Coming from years of paddle use, it seems it takes more effort to run a sideswiper. Between my paddles/keys, it is the slowest. I can run around 17 wpm. I also seem to be more error prone. In single lever mode, again it’s okay. I have trouble in my head switching from sideswiper to single lever. I could probably train out of it. I think the bottom line is, if I continue to use the key, it will be as a single lever.

Next up is the bug or semi-automatic key. A bit of history. Even though I wasn’t licensed until 1995. I built a Heathkit HW-8 in the early 80’s and was interested in amateur radio since the 60’s. Back then there weren’t electronic keyers or paddles. I was very enamored the Vibroplex key. I thought they were so cool. When I finally got licensed I started out with paddles. The philosophy I followed was start with the key/paddle type you intend to use from the beginning. I have been a paddle guy since 1995 until now. With my venture into SKCC, I needed a key. I was always a little intimadated by bugs. They were complex, had to be set-up and required additional skill to run one. I held off until now. 

I was in for a pleasant surprise, I got one of Tom’s KN4YB’s bugs and after watching a YouTube video by him to help me set it up. I was off and running. 

The conversion from paddle to bug was pretty easy. I was worried about my dah spacing after hearing some not-so-good bug operators, but what I discovered was my years of paddle use kind of ingrained my dit/dah spacing in my head.

After some practice and adjustment I tried the bug on my code-buddy. I did forewarn him I was using a bug for the first time. I set the bug for about 17 wpm. With my current setup,by moving the weights, I can go from 17 to about 21 wpm. By altering the setup, the bug has a range from 13 wpm up to about 40 wpm. I started the QSO, and afterwards, I called him on the phone for a critique. He said he wrote down my side of the QSO and only missed one letter. It was an “S” for an “I” in the word rain. That was also an SKCC contact (my first) and I passed my SKCC number to him. Besides being able to run the bug at the same speeds as my paddles; I am comfortable with the bug at 20 wpm, it also seems easier to transition from bug to paddles and back.

It appears I am bitten by the bug. My IC-7610 and my K3(s) have both a straight key and a paddle input so I can leave both hooked up at the same time ready to go. I am in a CW Innovations class and one of my goals is to get my copy speed above 25-27 wpm. Those speeds are very doable with the bug and the paddle. Because of the size and design of my bug (model DL-151RA) It is easily field portable. I am going to get a small padded case for it and take it to a park.

A new key, a new venue, and a new adventure awaits. Retirement is grand. I am having a blast. Stay safe, play nice and 73 — Scott

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Yesterday, I decided to list my Yaesu FTDX10 on QTH.com. Surprising to me, it sold in a couple of hours. I got my asking price and the guy I sold it to has been helpful and communicative. The radio ships out Monday morning. 

I am going to take the money and get the KPA3A 100 watt amp kit for my K3(s). It is currently a 10 watt radio. I put the 3 in parenthesis becuase my radio is a converted K3 to the S. I plan to use the radio in the shack and for field days. I mainly do CW these days and the QSK on the K3(s) is sublime.

Speaking of CW, I recently received 2 keys from KN4YB. He is a one man shop that makes Bugs and keys. I was intrigued by his designs and bought a couple to try out.

The first one is a bug, model DL-151RA. It is unique in that it is a dual lever. It has one paddle for the dits and one paddle for the dahs. By moving the dit weights, you can adjust the dit speed from about 13 wpm up to 40 wpm. Mine is set around 16.

As you can see, the bug is rather compact. I have it sitting on a silicone pad on my desk and it does not move.

The other paddle I got is a Single Lever Paddle/Sideswiper. The difference between a single lever and a sideswiper (also called a Cootie Key), is a single lever paddle is used with an electronic keyer where the keyer generates the dits and dahs automatically. Note: I use the term paddle to designate a key that uses an electronic keyer and a key to designate a straight key. A sideswiper is more like a straight key where the dits and dahs are generated by hand movement. This model, the SL85 has a shorting bar which allows you to set it up as either a single lever or a sideswiper.

It is also a compact key. The workmanship is excellent and the prices are reasonable.

I started my journey into mechanical keys as the civilty on POTA seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Not as bad as SSB but not like it used to be. I decided to give the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) a try. They only allow straight keys, sideswipers, and bugs, keys where the dits and dah are formed by hand or mechanically. My fascination for CW goes back to the 60’s. I thought bugs were very cool and wanted a Vibroplex. I wasn’t licensed until the mid 90’s and then chose an electronic keyer. My first set of paddles were Benchers. This is my first experience with straight keys.

I spent time with both keys to see which one I was most comfortable with. I went with keys that had a side-to-side motion as that was my experience. I was curious to see how well I could transition from paddles to straight keys. The answer is, not to bad. I think my years of using paddles has helped me with dit and dah ratios. The ratio is already ingrained in my head. Right now, between the two keys, I am doing better with the bug, which surprised me. However, I think over time and practice, I can gain some level of mastery over both.

What about my paddles? They are not going away. I can still send faster with the paddles and will probably use them for Field Days and some contests. It will take me a while to be proficient with keys. Setting up the bug is an art all by itself. So I am off to a new adventure. My code buddies will now have a new challenge as I try to improve my key skills. 73 — Scott

Culling the Herd

I feel I have too many radios. It’s better than having too few, but I have more than I need. The radios I have are not getting enough use even in a round robin. In the past, when I let radios sit too long something happens. Usually it’s corrosion somewhere and once discovered, a simple cleaning is in order. But I have had cheaper radios go dead on me. I like to use my radios enough to keep them healthy. I didn’t plan on all these radios; they were acquired through deals and trades I didn’t expect. But the bottom line is at least one has to go.

The radio I chose is my Yaesu FTDX10, Sheldon. I’ve owned the FTDX10 for about a year and a half. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with it. It is a good performing radio and I enjoy using it for casual CW like hunting POTA and for the past year or so and has been my back-up radio in the shack. I used it every other month switching between it and my IC-7610. While it’s a nice radio, Most of my gear is Icom centric and I feel that the ergonomics are better on the Icoms. Obliously, I like the radio enough to have kept it for a year and a half but, something has to go and I chose it. The radio was used mostly for CW and was run at 50 watts or below in a non-smoking environment.

I will probably replace it at the QTH with my K3(s)/10. This radio was a surprise trade and I have upgraded it from a K3 to a K3S. This is a radio that deserves more use than it has been getting. I was using it as a field radio, but it really belongs in the shack.

The FTDX10 is for sale, I will post an ad on QTH.com. It comes with the microphone, power cable, 300 Hz crystal filter, Portable Zero Rails, an SPE linear Amplifier Cable, and manual. I am asking $900. I prefer a local pickup/delivery. If shipped buyer pays shipping either USPS or FedEx. You can email me a sroyle@live.com. Low ball offers will be ignored.

Thanks to all who visit this website and associated YouTube Channel.

Winter Field Day 2024

This Winter Field Day (WFD) I operated with the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society. I am one of two CW ops so I got to play CW. We operated under W4F. I typically operate away from the main group so I won’t QRM them. This gives me the latitude to switch bands at will. My purpose is to get multipilers. You get a multpier from working each band. I managed 5 bands. Six meters never came up and I had no takers on 160 meters. Friday night and Saturday morning, prior to WFD, I made a few POTA contacts, had two CW QSO’s and managed to get France on 10 meters. So the antenna was working. 

About the club, in general, we are not hard core contesters. We like to do these events for three reasons, we like to socialize, eat, and play on the radio, often in that order. Saturday, John WD8LQT made chili. Along with the chili, we had hotdogs, coleslaw, and various condimets and snacks. My wife Mary K4SEZ, made Graham Cracker Cookies, a club favorite.

I went QRV at 1400 hrs. eastern on saturday. CW during WFD can be a challenge. There are some really good ops that can zip along at 25-30 wpm. I am not one of them. I can usually get the exchnge if I listen to them call a few times. I can send between 16-22 wpm. Sometimes I felt like I was standing still at 22 wpm with these ops at high speed. A lot of times CW ops are operating portable and QRP or low power. I made many contacts with the S-meter not budging off of zero. We also had a lot of QSB and some QRN. You could see the QSB come and go on the waterfall. It was a bit of a challenge, but I felt WFD helped me realize how my CW Innovations class has already helped me. I was able to copy the QRQ stations better than I have in the past. I eneded up making 45+ contacts mainly by search and pounce. I didn’t think I would do well running a frequency — yet. I went QRT about 2200 hrs. eastern Saturday night. I had to leave early Sunday morning so my wife could get to church on time.

Equipment: My antenna was my Chameleon EmComm II ver.1. I ran a 60′ wire in an inverted L withe a 20′ vertical section using my push-up pole and tying off the other end to a pine tree. I had a 50′ counterpoise underneath the antenna. The antenna played well. I have no complaints, it did what it was supposed to do. I think it will be my WFD/FD antenna if I have the space to set it up. The radio was 2nd Peter, my IC-7300. I was running between 35-50 watts. The radio purred along and never missed a beat. I love my 7300’s. I always say that if I could only have one radio, the IC-7300 would be it. For paddles, I used my Begali Expedition. It’s a nice heavy paddle that doesn’t move and is silky smooth. Logging was handled by ACLog WFD edition on my Lenovo Thinkpad.

Everything worked as advertised, so no real changes need to be made to the radios and related gear. We did talk about getting a MESH network between me and the base camp so we can network my computer with theirs. All in all, it was a good time. I got to see folks I don’t see very often, ate good food and ran some CW on the radio. The QSO map is my contacts only. The club is still operating as I write this. 73 – de Scott

Cootie Cable

Part of my amateur radio adventures for 2024 is to become a better CW operator. What I mean by that is I want to do more than than POTA/SOTA/Contest exchanges. When I first started out 28 years ago, that’s what I did, called CQ and had a conversation. In addition to becoming more conversational, I wanted to try my hand at straight or mechanical keys. I recently ordered a sideswiper and a bug but they won’t be here fro another 2-3 weeks. I also thought about the money I had invested in paddles.

This thought process took me down to thinking about how to convert iambic paddles into side swipers. All it takes is shorting the dit and dah paddles together and setting your radio to a straight key. I wanted to make this easy. I wanted to be able to use all of my paddles on all of my radios as an iambic paddle or a sideswiper. Since this is my first journey into straight or mechanical keys, I wanted to be able to easily convert back and forth.

I made a short cable that goes between the paddles and the radio. It’s a simple operation. Starting out with plug nomenclature.

The tip is the dits and the ring is the dahs. The sleeve is the common. I had male and femlae 1/8″ stereo cables in my parts bin so I took my multimeter and coded the wires to the plugs. Basically you tie the common to the common and all the dit and dah wires together.

Twist them together, solder the joints, a little heat shrink and viola! Cootie cable. It weighs 0.5 ounces and will work with all of my radios. Now I can swith from Iambic to sideswiper in under a half a minute and use all of my paddles. See the included video that shows how it works. 73 – Scott