Is CW going to survive? - CW Forum at eHam.net

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Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by KE2KB on May 26, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
With the end of code requirements for Amateur licensing, one might expect that, eventually CW will just "go away". I for one hope not. I have enjoyed using CW, and still believe it is a useful tool to have available. What do you think? FW

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by KE7WAV on May 26, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Well-- I am a "new" General class licensee and I learned code and use it all the time. (So I am a 'know' code General) I hope CW is around for a long time; it is my favorite mode. My straight key stays busy on 40m. I may only be pounding the brass a 5-8wpm but I'll get to 20 with a little more practice. Code is just a great lure to hobby, I hope more new hams find it as exciting as I do. Hope to CU on the air! KE7WAV..

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by KE2KB on May 26, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Because you're bored, or because you have been pounding brass for too long<g> I like to go until I fall asleep, then hear and even see the code in my sleep. FW

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by WB2WIK on May 26, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Code will likely live as long as amateur radio, however long that is. There's been no code test f, or a couple of years now, and code has not declined in popularity for amateur use even by 1%. You can tell that by looking at on-line activity logs, DXpedition logs, contest logs and results, and many other indicators. Also, there's lots of QRM at the "CW" end of the bands, and on bands like 30m where only CW and digital are allowed. I may be imagining things, but it seems to me there's more QRM on CW today than there ever was, and I've been using it for 44 years (and one month) now. WB2WIK/6

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by AD7WN on May 26, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Of course CW will survive. Sure, the FCC screwed up and dropped the code requirment from all classes of ham licenses. But they were simply caving in from pressure from activist groups instead of doing their jobs. I think the number of hams who use morse has declined slightly over the last couple of years. The reason for this seems obvious. Now that a new ham can get a ticket without knowing code, he is more likely to learn code after getting licensed if he is going to learn it at all. But listening to the ham bands, there is still a lot of CW being worked. Those who come to hate the CB-style nonsense being widely practiced on 75 and 20 SSB learn that there is a much better world in the CW bands. Even if they have to learn the code to improve their lot, they will migrate to the CW sub-bands. 73 de John/AD7WN

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by EA5BLP on May 27, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I think that cw should be declared historical heritage ot telecommunications. In the same way than the old arquitechture or the music are also heritage of our culture. From this point of view, cw is in the origen of the actual binary codes and the big nets of information. As a radioamateurs, and from an historical perspective, i think we must preserve and save the code. Exactly in the same way the states must preserve it´s cultural richness. If we are capable of transmiting this idea and the potential of cw as the only binary lenguage that still our brain can decode, it will survive for long years. In any case, cw is still a very good way of transmission when there are hard conditions of noise-signal ratio on the bands or when basic low power operation techniques are used. But above of all, I think, there is a very important historical ingredient on the code wich must survive as a legacy for the future of the communication.

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by KJ4FUU on May 27, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
If I wasn't confident CW would continue, I wouldn't be trying to learn it right now. I'm an extra, but currently can only copy at 5wpm. I'm using the G4FON training software to learn at the 20wpm character speed (although I'm only doing 10wpm, but I figure that's enough to not try the patience of the more experienced operators). Since I plan to do QRP almost exclusively, I won't be having many DX QSOs unless I do CW. My goal is to be able to QSO at 10wpm by the fall. I have my radio and a general coverage receiver by my bed, so I can practice copying a little before going to sleep. I think that CW operating is sort of an exclusive club, although not difficult to get into. -- Tom

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by VA7CPC on May 27, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I think it will survive until something better comes along -- and it may survive after that, for sentimental reasons. It's the best mode we have for weak-signal work, without needing computer de-coding. So it still has a place in the world _based on its merits_. Charles

RE: Is CW going to survive?	Reply
by N2EY on May 27, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
It used to be that hams learned Morse Code for two reasons: 1) to pass the license tests 2) to use it on the air The first reason is gone but the second reason is alive as ever. Maybe even more so, for a bunch of reasons. Some folks criticize amateurs' use of Morse Code, pointing out that almost nobody else uses it anymore. But that's part of the attraction: a unique thing that requires skill to do. This month's QST has the results of the ARRL 160 meter contest. 1281 logs submitted (an all-time high). More than a few stations had over 1000 QSOs; the highest QSO total I saw was 1832. This on a band many rigs don't cover, where the antennas are huge. The ARRL 160 meter contest is CW-only. 73 de Jim, N2EY

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