The 2022 PARG International Morse Code Day Trivia Quiz was run via a Zoom videoconference on April 27th, 2022.  Nine participants enjoyed nearly three hours of fun, with 100 random simple and hard questions through the evening.

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In the end, three emerged with an equal 9 points - VK6GAL, VK6PZT and VK6HD.  So to separate the three, a reverse question was used;  each of the three selected one letter (a, b or c), then one of the contentious questions was read out again - and the winner was the person who had selected the correct answer.  So the highest points scorers were:

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Geoff Hart-Davies VK6HD with 10 points
Gary Liljegren W4GAL / VK6GAL and Richard Ayre VK6PZT with an equal 9 points
Matthew Dhue VK6XU with 8 points

Of the eight people who were able to stay right to the end, no-one scored less than 6 out of the 13 questions asked!  Well done all!

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Thank you to everyone who contributed the questions - the quiz was made most successful because of the research you all did and the novel questions posed.

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So, next year... any thoughts?  Same again?  Something different? Please let me know your thoughts.

Background material from before the event:

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International Morse Code Day celebrates the birth of Samuel Morse, the inventor of the telegraph.  The CQ QRS Group that runs the weekly 80m on-air QSO practice sessions for all amateurs and short wave listeners (ie not just for PARG members - see On-Air Practice Sessions) will be running a special event on Wednesday April 27th to celebrate International Morse Code Day - a fun Morse Code related quiz via a Zoom videoconference.  

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We'll have a bunch of simple questions on hand and invite one person at a time to answer a posed question;  if they answer correctly in a short time (say 5 - 10 seconds), they get a point - and if not, the question goes back into the barrel for re-use later. Of course, you can opt to just be an SWL - and watch and enjoy, without having to answer if you don't want to.  Let me know beforehand or at the start if you're only watching. 

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And, I'd like to ask you to send me a bunch of Morse / amateur radio-related quiz questions and answers to be used randomly for the event.  Please make up a list of questions in dot point form, and email them to me at mark.bosma@icloud.com - we want the questions to be a surprise - don't want any brushing up or Wikipedia-checking before (or during!) the event do we now?  Please send them through to me by Wednesday morning (Aussie time Gary!)

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So the inaugural International Morse Code Day Event will be brought to you by the Peel Amateur Radio Group and will run at 1100z to 1200z on Wednesday April 27th.  For those like me who need to find their prayer-wheels (aviation term for circular slide rule used to navigate and calculate fuel etc) to work out local time, it's 1900 - 2000 WA time, 2030 - 2130 SA time, 2100 - 2200 Eastern Australian time... and dare I do this in case I get it wrong..... 0700 - 0800 Melbourne Florida time (did I get it right Gary?).

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Zoom

So Zoom is available on any computer (Windows, Mac, Linux, semaphore? etc) or mobile phone (Apple or Android) connected to the Internet - and it can also be used via a plain old telephone (or a hand-free phone in your car) via a dial-in number.  If you haven't used Zoom before and would like to be talked through it before hand, please let me know by email to mark.bosma@icloud.com 

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To connect to Zoom, click on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/966127796?pwd=QmZGYWhJRDdTMnRpWS9VTjdMTmpYZz09  When it asks for a Passcode, enter VK6ARG (which is one of the Peel Amateur Radio Group's callsigns).  

If you're dialling in from a voice-only phone, use one of the phone numbers listed below, then enter 966 127 796 when asked for a Meeting ID, and 606053 when asked for a Passcode.  The invitation is also attached at the bottom of this email.

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If you're using a computer or smart-phone and haven't used Zoom before, please set it up well before the event - the link will take you to the Zoom website and ask you to download the Zoom application (you will also be able to use a web-page version if for some reason your computer or phone won't run the application).  Should you trust the application?  Up to you... but we and thousands of others around the world have been using it for years - without problem.

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So once we're in the conference - I suggest you select Gallery View in the top right hand corner - so that you can see everyone (otherwise, the talker is displayed, and everyone else is a postage stamp).  Then please mute your microphone using the the Zoom menu (bottom of the screen, click on the microphone, and it should have a red-slash and no green level indication when you talk - and I'm happy to show people how to do that if you're unsure).  With Zoom, if everyone is muted we won't get undesirable background sounds, and then the Space Bar on your computer works as a Push-To-Talk - which will also avoid people accidentally answering if they're not the selected answerer.

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So....

Any questions please?  If not, please send me as many questions & answers as you can - none is ok, a dozen would be nice, two-dozen even nicer, four dozen wonderful!  The address for quiz questions and answers: mark.bosma@icloud.com

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Let's see how it goes, and afterwards, I'd be interested in your thoughts on what we should do for next year's event.