Morse Code Basics - Introduction to the Straight Key now on YouTube

The fun in all of the digital modes is trying them. I've tried everything from GTOR to PACTOR to HELL to HF PAket all the way to MFSK144 to all the FT modes and OLIVA. Can't forget RTTY of course. CW is still a fun mode and I recommend keeping and trying to communicate with that mode. It's fun when you get the hang of it like all the other modes.

 

A skill, a tradition, and it's enjoyable. Not to mention occupied bandwidth. Dit dit!

 

When I got my novice in 1978, I had to learn the code and today, I use CW 90% of the time. True, you really have to take the time and effort in learning the code,but I found that learning the code was easier than learning high school Spanish and French. The local high school, some of the students have these CB WALKIE TALKIES with morse code bar on them and they use these to send " private messages " between each other. I got a couple of them to get their liesenses and today they are hams. But some of the members of the radio club said this was a way for the students to cheat on their exams. These students have seen my mobile station and were amazed of the places I've contacted through the use of morse code.

 

love your post, -.- .--- -... ... --..

 

Why do we cling to the ancient technology of talking (voice)? Voice is more ancient than CW! Yes, CW is obsolete in the real world, but so is sailing. And modern competitive sailing is VERY high tech. As for pushing the state of the art, check out some of the best (HF) transceivers: the CW features are very high-tech. And, although they are sold commercially, it is Hams who love CW who are designing them, pushing the state of the art! Then there's the whole world of QRP, largely a CW world. Designing an effective low power rig pushes the state of the art in a direction the professionals don't go. I'm not putting down the Hams who do digital or phone. Please don't put down the Hams who do CW!

 

You can say what you want but I'll take CW over FT8 or anything else for that matter
If you don't like it, that's fine, but don't knock what others enjoy. There's plenty of room in the amateur radio world. Go talk on repeater or an HF net. Or do FT8. Maybe you like hanging out on 7.200.CW isn't going anywhere

 

Morse is so wonderfully efficient! A transceiver that fits into a shirt pocket ( Like the MTR series ) and a dipole provide excellent communication over a very wide area. I find good conversations on the bands in Morse. Morse/CW requires only a fraction of the power required for voice, the narrow filtering easily cuts out adjacent channel interference. However, in my experience, the BEST communications 'computer' is the one between a telegrapher's ears.

73 de Ray ..._ ._

 

225 y estoy en el proceso de aprender cw un reto que vengo esperando desde hace muchos años, solo espero superarlo para poder hacen otro medo dentro de la radioaficion

 

Been using CW since I was a kid in 1972. Thought it was obsolete too. In the last few years, I have lost a significant amount of hearing due to a lifetime in power plants and ship engine rooms among other abuses. I cannot stand the sound of SSB anymore. It hurts. CW though, is still palatable to the ears. Also, VarAC is great. That's the best part of the hobby, there's something for everyone.

 

That 3D printed CWMORSE.US key is fun to use and works well. Mounted it to a piece of 3" X 6" tile. Try their side swiper and paddles too. Use them every day for a couple of years now and they still work well.

 

to me morse code has a certain nostalgia . as an artist and painter it s satisfying to know that Samuel F.B. Morse the designer of the Morse code but also was a prominent painter from the Hudson River School of the nineteenth century. Head of the New York Academy of Art. So, both a right and left brain executioner.

 

Well said...thank you. I keep both a straight key and a keyer next to my rig. 73, Leo

 

As an 84-year-old ham, I use CW as an exercise for my brain. It forces me to focus, still good for 22 WPM head copy. Plus, it's fun!! I was first licensed in1954, clearly an old fart ham. LOL

 

Exactly! Better than talking to keep the brain sharp.