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

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by NW6V, Jun 29, 2025.

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  1. KC7HDE

    KC7HDE Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    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.
     
    K6HPX likes this.
  2. K6HPX

    K6HPX Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    A skill, a tradition, and it's enjoyable. Not to mention occupied bandwidth. Dit dit!
     
    K8PG and KA1BSZ like this.
  3. KA1BSZ

    KA1BSZ Ham Member QRZ Page

     
  4. KA1BSZ

    KA1BSZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    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.
     
  5. KA1BSZ

    KA1BSZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    love your post, -.- .--- -... ... --..
     
  6. N2EM

    N2EM Ham Member QRZ Page

    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 Yes, CW is obsolete in the real world, but so is sailing.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!
     
    KD7LYS and K8PG like this.
  7. KC3SCV

    KC3SCV Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    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
     
    KD7LYS and K8PG like this.
  8. W7ASA

    W7ASA Ham Member QRZ Page

    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
    ..._ ._
     
    WD4CHP likes this.
  9. HK4QXX

    HK4QXX Ham Member QRZ Page

    225 y estoy en el proceso de aprender cw un reto que vengo esperando desde hace muchos aƱos, solo espero superarlo para poder hacen otro medo dentro de la radioaficion
     
  10. K3CRM

    K3CRM Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    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.
     
    W7ASA, KD7LYS and K8PG like this.
  11. K3CRM

    K3CRM Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    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.
     
  12. WB2EBA

    WB2EBA Ham Member QRZ Page

    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.
     
  13. W6KGP

    W6KGP XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Well said...thank you. I keep both a straight key and a keyer next to my rig. 73, Leo
     
  14. W0CKI

    W0CKI Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    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
     
    K5SPP and YO3GFH like this.
  15. WB2JIX

    WB2JIX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Exactly! Better than talking to keep the brain sharp.
     

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