Lisa Rodriguez

yeah the full ITU Q code list is massive and most of it is maritime or commercial stuff from like a hundred years ago, ham radio only really uses a subset of them regularly. the ones youll hear constantly are QTH (your location), QSL (confirming receipt, or the card you send), QRM (interference from other stations), QRN (static/natural noise), QSB (signal fading), QRP (low power operation), QRZ (whos calling), QSY (change frequency), QRX (standby or wait), and maybe QRO for high power. theres a few more that come up in specific contexts like QNI for nets and stuff but honestly if you know those ten or so youre covered for most everyday operating.
73 and 88 are not Q codes, theyre just traditional numeric abbreviations that came from old telegraph codes, 73 means best regards basically and 88 is love and kisses which is why you mainly hear it between certain operators, not something you just throw at strangers on a net or whatever. some old timers get a bit funny about 88 being used casually. 72 is one some QRP guys use instead of 73 but thats more of a subculture thing.

the power math is pretty straightforward if you know your duty cycle. the 7300 at 100w is pulling maybe 20-22 amps on transmit, but if you're doing a net and not just keying down constantly you might average out closer to 8-10 amps over an hour depending on how much you're actually TX vs RX. so 200ah should be fine for a 6-7 hour op if you're not going full bore the whole time. add the laptop and TNC and call it maybe 12-13 amps average. you'll be fine. i'd still bring the generator though because the last thing you want is to be babysitting voltage levels when you're supposed to be running traffic.
on the RF noise from generators — inverter generators are night and day compared to the old conventional ones. we've been using a Honda EU2200i for two years now and it's basically dead quiet on the bands. pricey but worth it if you're doing this more than once a year. some guys run a ferrite choke on the power lead from the genny just as extra insurance and that seems to help if you get any residual noise.

so ive been at this for about 4 months now. started at 5wpm with the Koch method and honestly that part wasnt too bad, i was making decent progress every week and felt pretty good about it. but somewhere around 8-10wpm things just kind of stalled out and i feel like im not getting any better no matter how much i practice.
my routine right now is about 20-30 minutes a day on the computer, mostly using the LCWO website which has been great but im starting to wonder if i need to mix things up. i can copy most characters pretty reliably when they come one at a time but as soon as im trying to copy whole words at speed my brain just falls apart. like i can hear the dit dah pattern and i KNOW what the letter is but by the time ive thought about it the next letter is already gone and then im behind and everything goes sideways from there.
my goal is 20wpm eventually, mostly because i want to start doing some CW contesting and maybe chase some DX. anybody been through this same plateau and figure out a way through it? feel like im missing something obvious

I use 2" wide copper strap from a sheet metal shop and it's definitely helped with RF in the shack. That said, properly placed 1:1 chokes at the transceiver output and outside the shack wall made a bigger difference than the grounding upgrades.

so this has been driving me absolutely nuts for the past month. I picked up an IC-7300 off a local ham who said it had 'minor issues' — yeah right — and the main problem is the output power just tanks randomly. like ill be running 100w into a dummy load, everything looks fine, then it'll just drop to like 8-10w for no reason and sometimes it comes back on its own after a few minutes and sometimes it doesn't.
already pulled the finals and replaced both RD70HVF1 transistors, reseated everything, checked the bias and set it properly per the service manual. problem is still there. SWR isnt the issue, ive got it on a dummy load when testing so thats ruled out. ALC looks normal on the scope when its behaving but i havent caught it misbehaving while probing yet because of course.
im starting to wonder if its thermal — like maybe a dry joint somewhere on the PA board that opens up when it heats up. or maybe the driver stage. has anyone seen this specific failure mode on a 7300 or know what to look for next. the previous owner definitely ran this thing hard based on the fan grill discoloration.

yeah the interference problem is real but it's honestly more manageable than the forums make it look. i ran SO2R for the first time seriously during ARRL DX CW last year with a pair of Elecraft K3s and some cheap bandpass filters from 4O3A and it wasnt perfect but it was workable. the key thing nobody tells you up front is that you dont have to go full 2BSIQ right out of the gate, that stuff takes actual practice with the SO2R More software or whatever you're using. just start by using the second radio passively, like when your run goes dead you flip over and S&P for a few minutes, bag a few mults you'd have missed, then come back. even doing it that way my score went up noticeably. the rate math works out pretty fast once you stop losing 20-30 minutes per band change just staring at a waterfall wondering where everyone went.
the filter situation depends a lot on your antenna setup too. if your two antennas have decent physical separation and youre not trying to run 40 and 80 at the same time with dipoles 30 feet apart you might be surprised how okay it is with just the bandpass filters. worth trying before you convince yourself it cant work.

so ive been licensed for about 3 years now and mostly just did local stuff and some contests here and there, but lately ive been getting really into DX and i think i want to actually go for DXCC. i've worked maybe 80-something entities confirmed so far through LoTW which feels like a decent start but i honestly have no idea if im doing this the most efficient way.
my main question is — do i need to worry about mixed vs phone vs digital separately from the start or should i just focus on getting the basic 100 confirmed first and then worry about the endorsements later? also is WAS worth chasing at the same time or is that a distraction? some of the elmer types at my club say to focus on one thing but im finding that a lot of the stateside contacts are actually helping me get comfortable with pileups for the rarer stuff anyway.
also what do you all think about eQSL vs LoTW for this stuff — my understanding is ARRL only accepts LoTW or physical cards for DXCC credits but want to make sure im not wasting time logging on both platforms if it doesnt matter for the award

My VE session is next Saturday and I'm getting nervous even though I'm consistently scoring 80-85% on practice tests. Need 74% to pass (26/35 questions for Tech, 37/50 for Extra) so I should be fine mathematically, but still anxious about the real thing.
For those who've been there:
Any last-minute review tips? What to expect at the actual test session? Common mistakes to avoid on exam day? Also heard you can take multiple exams in the same session to save on fees - worth attempting General too if I'm feeling confident?

I use both - Log4OM for daily FT8/digital logging with excellent VOACAP propagation integration, N1MM+ specifically for contests. Most users combine tools (Log4OM daily + N1MM contests) rather than trying to use one for everything.