Sunday, March 15, 2009

CW Renaissance


After several nights of sending a shaky CQ on the ‘novice’ section of the 40 meter band and only hearing static, I was beginning to wonder weather the used rig I’d picked up at the fleamarket was actually emanating something resembling RF. Maybe I hooked up the mobile antenna affixed to my apartment balcony railing incorrectly, and the guy in the apartment below was watching a shower of sparks rain down. Finally, late in the evening of June 8, 1988, after sending CQ three times on my trusty old straight key, I heard a relatively faint signal with the familiar rhythm of my call sign. Fumbling for the pencil, sweat beginning to form on my brow, my toes curling…that first QSO was finally underway! It wasn’t rare DX, but that first contact with KA8WMX in Ohio was just as thrilling as nabbing a new country now. Over the next two years I made only a handful of contacts because, quite frankly CW still scared the bejebbers out of me! While I was semi-confident in my ability to send, I was always apprehensive about copying. Truth is, I looked at CW as a necessary evil to progress as an amateur operator, kind of like castor oil to improve your health!

Back then in order to be able to upgrade to the advanced ticket in Canada, which would give phone privileges on HF, you had to have, I believe, a minimum of 100 CW contacts in your logbook within a one-year span. I felt that was a truly unobtainable goal for me. Luckily the licencing structure changed in late 1990 and I was “grandfathered” to the advanced level. So at that point, I picked up the microphone and rarely looked back.

It wasn’t until a few years ago, after unearthing my old Healthkit electronic keyer that I built when I was 14 back in 1975, that my interest in the ‘original mode’ was rekindled. I’d built that keyer long before I got my ticket, and it was a very rewarding when the thing actually worked! That experience also gave me a love for the smell of solder. (I’ve since learned inhaling burning solder is about as health as smoking an old lead window frame!) After blowing out close to 30 years of dust bunnies, it still worked! I’m not sure why I close to learn CW on a straight key prior to getting my licence, but I now felt sending on paddles would ultimately be easier. I had to essentially relearn the whole process. I downloaded a free program called Morse Cat (great program, and it's fun to watch the kitty tap the straight key!). I also tried to catch as many of the W1AW broadcasts as possible to brush up before daring my first CW QSO in many years.

Well that first contact did come and with that old Healthkit keyer to boot! Shortly afterward, I upgraded to a nice set if paddles from MFJ. I don’t make a huge pile of contacts on CW, but every once in a while, when I’m feeling nostalgic for simpler times, or just feel like a challenge, I’ll give it a shot. I’ve also dabbed in a few of the CW contests, most recently the RSGB Commonwealth contest held this past Saturday. I admit, I do ‘cheat’ a bit by having a CW program running on the computer to aid with copying, but I do send manually and try to copy with a pencil as much as possible. However, in contest situations, the wpm rate of some of the stations would make a machine gun sound melodic...so it’s pretty much an essential tool! One thing I know for sure, I need to invest in a good CW filter for my FT-897. It’s inevitable, whenever I’m trying to copy one station, another strong one fires up nearby and attenuates a good chunk of the band. Ah, CW exhilarating and frustrating at the same time (like parenthood!).

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