K3WWP's Polls # 51-60

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#60 - What are your plans for the sunspot minimum?
Date: 6/15/04-7/14/04 --- Votes: 197

Plans	Nr	Pct
Do more non-ham activities	10	5%
Improve my rigs	18	9%
Improve my antennas	48	24%
Do more homebrewing	28	14%
Work for domestic awards instead of DX (USA-CA vs. DXCC, etc.)	18	9%
Enter more state QSO parties	13	7%
Get caught up on QSLing	7	4%
Do more low band DX work	37	19%
Upgrade my license	13	7%
Other (please email and tell me what)	5	3%

Another poll where I had no idea how the final results would turn out. Other votes included: Nothing different, operate portable while birdwatching & SWL/BCB DX, study 10M propagation during a minimum, and more VHF/UHF DX. Thanks to those who responded explaining their other votes. Personally I plan to do more non-ham activities like fishing, walking, maybe getting caught up on my stamp collecting, etc. I also plan to try to better my DX totals on 80M and perhaps get the last 9 states for my 160M WAS.
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#59 - If you have a computer in your shack, how do you use it?
Date: 5/15/04-6/14/04 --- Votes: 428

How	Nr	Pct
Logging	81	19%
Contesting	48	11%
PSK, RTTY, etc.	57	13%
QSL Routes	51	12%
DX Spotting	49	11%
To send Morse (besides contests)	7	2%
Surf ham websites	96	22%
Other - email and tell me	22	5%
I don't have one in the shack	17	4%

I found this poll very interesting as it was one where I had no idea how the final results would turn out. Many polls are predictable, but not this one. Only one person bothered to email and explain his 'other' vote. That was a vote for code practice.
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#58 - What is your license class?
Date: 4/15/04-5/14/04 --- Votes: 194

Class	Nr	Pct
Extra	109	56%
Advanced	15	8%
General	36	19%
Tech Plus	2	1%
Tech	15	8%
Novice	1	1%
I hold a foreign license	13	7%
I'm not licensed	3	2%

As expected, most hams are Extras these days, and the second greatest number are Generals. Not a lot of other conclusions to be drawn from this poll, but it was interesting, I thought.
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#57 - What brand is your MAIN rig?
Date: 3/15/04-4/14/04 --- Votes: 270

Brand	Nr	Pct
Elecraft	38	14%
ICOM	73	27%
Kenwood	55	20%
MFJ	2	1%
Yaesu	56	21%
SGC	3	1%
TenTec	25	9%
Homebrew	9	3%
Other QRO rig	6	2%
Other QRP rig	3	1%

And the winner in the 'Battle of the Brands' is [drum roll] ICOM. It looks like Elecraft with their wonderful little rigs is catching up on the traditional big three however. At least among the QRP set who are the main source of my visitors and hence those who take these polls.
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#56 - What do you do to help preserve Morse code in ham radio?
Date: 2/15/04-3/14/04 --- Votes: 293

What	Nr	Pct
Operate as much Morse on the bands as I can.	84	29%
Teach Morse classes.	12	4%
Talk up Morse at ham club meetings, on Internet, email, etc.	40	14%
Make my pro-Morse views known to ARRL representatives.	31	11%
File comments on Morse proposals with FCC.	20	7%
Try to encourage young hams to use Morse.	49	17%
Give free Morse equipment to hams.	11	4%
Try to work newcomers to Morse in Novice segments.	36	12%
Nothing.	9	3%
Other (please email me and let me know what).	1	0%

I'm certainly pleased that so many of you are joining me in fighting to preserve Morse code. Thank you on behalf of everyone who loves this wonderful means of communication. The 1 Other vote was for being a FISTS Code Buddy. Shame on those 9 folks who are doing nothing.
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#55 - About how many CW QSO's did you have in 2003?
Date: 1/15/04-2/14/04 --- Votes: 141

Number	Nr	Pct
Less than 200	52	37%
200-399	28	20%
400-599	12	9%
600-799	8	6%
800-999	4	3%
1,000-1,499	11	8%
1,500-1,999	4	3%
2,000-3,999	8	6%
4,000-9,999	10	7%
10,000 or more	4	3%

I'm a little surprised how many people had fewer than 200 CW QSO's last year. That's less than 1 QSO per day. I guess that's because not everyone shares my love of CW. I averaged about 6 per day and that was a down year for me because of other obligations.
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#54 - What speed do you use most often for CW?
Date: 12/15/03-1/14/04 --- Votes: 229

Speed	Nr	Pct
10 WPM or less	23	10%
11-15 WPM	37	16%
16-20 WPM	64	28%
21-25 WPM	58	25%
26-30 WPM	25	11%
31-35 WPM	14	6%
36-40 WPM	3	1%
41-45 WPM	1	0%
More than 45 WPM	1	0%
I'm not licensed	3	1%

This poll came out just exactly as I expected with most hams operating CW in the 16-25 WPM range and falling off evenly at both lower and higher speeds. That seems to be just what I observe on the ham bands as I tune around the CW segments.
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#53 - Check all the reasons you like to operate CW?
Date: 11/15/03-12/14/03 --- Votes: 1243

Reason	Nr	Pct
It's very efficient	192	15%
It's nostalgic	142	11%
It's relaxing	156	13%
It requires using the brain	174	14%
I used it outside ham radio and liked it	20	2%
It uses simple inexpensive equipment	189	15%
Its variable speed	79	6%
Virtually all CW operators are well behaved	171	14%
No special reason, I just enjoy it	112	9%
Other (email and tell me)	8	1%

Wow, what a popular poll. I'm proud of this one for several reasons. I don't think anyone else ever had a poll like it. It's unique to K3WWP's Ham Radio Activities. Also I'm proud that you thought it was so interesting you almost tripled the number of votes that my second most popular poll got. Then I'm glad I thought of just about all the reasons folks like to use CW. Only 8 folks voted for 'Other' and none of those did email me to give me any other reasons. Of course it also shows that CW is indeed still a very popular operating mode despite what the current crop of CW-haters are saying about this wonderful mode. I'm also glad that so many of you like CW because it does make the operator use his/her brain unlike the mindless conversation that goes on in the SSB segment of the bands. Finally it is indeed true that most everyone who uses CW is a lady or a gentleman. Very seldom, perhaps only in the heat of a pileup chasing a rare DX station, do we hear anything objectionable on CW.
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#52 - How easy, or difficult was the written portion of your ham exam?
Date: 10/15/03-11/14/03 --- Votes: 262

How	Nr	Pct
Very easy	65	25%
Easy	51	19%
Fairly easy	56	21%
A little difficult	62	24%
Difficult	26	10%
Very difficult	1	0%
I've never become a ham	1	0%

It looks like the written portions of ham exams need to be made a little harder according to this poll. The results should not be so skewed toward the very easy end of the scale. The distribution of the answers to poll # 50 is more like what poll theory says should be expected from such a question with most answers lying in the middle of the range and tapering toward both ends. I guess the actual questions and answers being provided before the exam does make current written tests much easier than when I took my tests back in the 1960's.
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#51 - How many different calls have you held in your ham career?
Date: 9/15/03-10/14/03 --- Votes: 179

How many	Nr	Pct
1	53	30%
2	57	32%
3	37	21%
4	13	7%
5	9	5%
6	7	4%
7	0	0%
8	1	1%
9 or more	2	1%
I was never a licensed ham	0	0%

This poll was more of a fun type poll and didn't really have a statement to make. I just kind of sandwiched it in-between my two polls about amateur radio exams. Personally I've only really held one call - starting out as KN3WWP in 1963 and upgrading to K3WWP later that same year. I did get the call WA3IXO for my apartment in Pittsburgh while I was working there, but only kept it for one 5-year license period and only made about 150 QSO's with it. I never went in for the vanity call business and never will.
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