Morse Code on Tonight Show - Friday, May 13

Unless, of course, the Cell Phone displays "No Service" which happens often here in Colorado. My radio never says that.

 

Hey Dennis,

I just saw the Leno show out here on the West coast and I gotta admit, that I laughed out loud when I read your post.

Don't know if ya noticed or not, but they weren't doing portable emergeny operations, they were seeing which mode could pass a message faster.

You mentioned the fact about tuning up the "receiver and transmitter" I wonder if ya meant tuning the antenna ?

I'm not sure if you don't like CW or if ya just can't copy it, but, perhaps if you would take the time to learn it, ya might realise that it's a lot more enjoyable than having a cell phone stuck to your ear.

73 Bernie / KF4FHS

 

Okay okay, I missed the show. I gathered some of what happened, but more importantly, what was the message they sent?

 

"I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance." Not quite "What hath God wrought," but adequate to the task.

Way to go, Chip and Ken!

 

Hey Bernie!

The 'Freak Show' on Leno does not prove that CW is superior to ANY mode of communication! In fact, if we are talking superior, as far as getting a message through, then most digital modes beat CW so badly that it doesn't even come in a distant second place.

Dennis

BTW - I don't even own a cell phone - I do however own two all-band HF-UHF rigs, 3 HTs, and a homebrew Az/El rotator setup for my 144, 400, 1,2G and 2.4G, Satellite antennas

 

Does anyone know what gear the Morse team was using? It looked quite compact and exactly what I need, but I did not get the show recorded and could not see the equipment with any detail. Was it a home-brew or a partial home-brew based around MFJ's Jim Handy?

73,
Dave/al2i

 

Before we get too self-congratulatory, it is salient to note that hams were used as a humor piece. I may have thought it was neat, but my wife thought that ham=goofy from the sketch. She said it was the same sort of humor as 'stupid pet tricks'. Unfortunately I suspect that is how most viewers saw it. So what we GAINED from this, as hams is....?

73,
Chip N1IR

 

The "dorky outfits" were supposed to represent the attire worn in the office by old tyme landline telegraphers. This was billed as a demonstration of Morse Code vs. text messaging, not necessarily having anything to do with amateur radio, although they gave some good publicity for amateur radio by letting the audience know how and why they acquired their proficiency in cw.

Of course, the old-style office attire was not precisely authentic for the situation. They communicated in International Morse. The telegraphers who actually wore similar attire communicated in American Morse, using the old click-clack sounders. I have heard it claimed that landline telegraphers proficient in American Morse could surpass the speed of International Morse telegraphers due to the nature of the two codes, but I doubt there are any operators today proficient enough in American Morse to match the speed of last night's demonstration.

Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have conjured up an image of the Titanic's radio room rather than an old fashioned telegraph office. At least the guys didn't look like ham radio operators you would see in those photos on the "Hamsexy" site.

BTW didn't Chip Margelli, K7JA once work for Yaesu? If it's the same person, I was acquainted with him back in the early 80's when I ran the service dep't of a commercial two-way radio firm and we also performed warranty work for Yaesu. I talked with him many times on the phone, and we met in person several times at Dayton. But on the show he didn't look anything like what I remember... But then he would undoubtedly say the same thing about me

 

Dennis, don't be a weenie. You hear of slow speed CW? Your assignment is to look/find out how many DB below the noise floor the most effecient forms of digital communications works and then the slow speed CW number for the same thing and compare. You can find the info on the Internet.

The demo last night was just a little fun exercise. It doesn't mean the FCC will see it and throw out all the petitions to allow you to get on HF and shoot skip without earning it. Including mine.

Oh for goodness sake. Lighten up, dood. I love NCTs! I have a half dozen of my own (albeit chained up in the back yard). They're furry and cute and cuddly if you keep the flea collars up to date. ROFL! I do have to keep them away from the cage of retired Advanced Class amateurs. Those guys are really beasts. Feed them raw meat and the occassional "Extra Lite" and they still try to get at the NCT's.

 

Duh! We got that part. As a PSA for Amateur Radio, it would have been more flattering with simple street clothes. I was like a couple others here and cringed when I saw them. But hey, it was all in fun. My guess is that the outfits came from NBC wardrobe.

Bingo! Ditto!

Hope the two guys see these messages and hear that we think they did a GREAT job kicking the "cool doods" butts. I really chuckled when the guys sending blew on his fingers as if to cool them off right after they won. I enjoyed copying along with them. Sounds like I wasn't the only one. Anyway, great job guys!

 

okay i also missed the jay leno show i was in bed sleeping most nite the tv is on the jay leno show sure missed this one guess the ham did great hi  

 

For those of us who missed that part of the show, is there anywhere to download the clip??

 

If it were truly on a level playing field, the cellphone operators would have to lug around the cellphone towers. I missed the show, but hope that the point was made that hams do not need the usual infrastructure to keep on communicating, while the cellphone dork will be out of luck come a failure (or attack) in the system.

KD5PSH

 

Missed it, any ideas when it will air again? Or a clip :0 .