CW

Created Tuesday 16 July 2024
Updated Thursday 28 November 2024

CW for hams is Morse code mode. CW stands for Continuous Wave. In other words it is an un-modulated radio signal sent just as the dits and dahs of Morse code. There are many digital modes in ham radio, but Morse code is the grand-daddy of them all. It is a human-readable digital mode that can offer a unique skill challenge and personal satisfaction.

When I was first licensed, sending and receiving Morse code proficiently was a licensing requirement. I spent many hours learning it and practicing it as a Novice class amateur radio operator in 1970 and 71.

When I came back to ham radio this year, I had remembered the basics but I still need lots of practice to be completely competent. I'm pretty well back to where I was in the seventies, but I need to be better for today's ham radio world.

Recently, nearly all of my radio contacts have been with CW. In early summer, I had the good fortune to enroll in the 8-week intermediate CW skills class with CW Academy. The course challenged me and advanced my skills: particularly with the copying the code mentally without transcribing it to paper. That's a skill that I never developed in my earlier practice. In October I joined Long Island CW Club, and have been participating in their excellent instructional program. I continue in my quest to make CW a conversational language.

One of the few pieces of equipment I retained from my 1970s is this war surplus key. This style of CW key is known as a straight key. It is a simple on-off switch that is connected to the transmitter.

When I enrolled in CW Academy, they required that I learn to send with a two paddle key, and I acquired this well-used "Brass Racer" made by Vibroplex. This style of key, when connected to a modern transceiver with an integrated keyer, will send a continuous string of dits when the left contacts are closed, and a continuous series of dahs when the right contacts are closed. I appreciate the concept, as it promotes more self-consistent character sending. This style of key also requires fewer motions to send code, and it is easier on my old wrist.

Subsequently I upgraded to this Begali key, which has superior engineering and precision. I think it's pretty and cool, and it has improved my sending.