Here’s my column from the upcoming issue of The KeyNote, the newsletter of the Americas chapter of FISTS.
Editor’s Notepad: Why CW?
If you’re like me, you take a lot of ribbing about being a CW operator. I don’t let that bother me, though. Instead, I encourage the no-code guys to at least think about learning the code, and am prepared with a list of reasons why they should do so:
- It’s FUN! When I list the reasons that I operate Morse Code, this is usually the last reason on the list. It’s really the most important reason, though. If it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t work CW, and I wouldn’t expect any- one else to do it either.
- You’ll gain the adulation of your fellow hams. Many, if not most of the guys who give you a hard time about being a CW op are really jealous of your abilities. They’re giving you a hard time because they really look up to you. Enjoy that and be gracious. Instead of giving them the business in return, offer to help them learn the code and enjoy working CW just like you do.
- CW is more efficient than SSB. Without a doubt, CW is more efficient than phone. The bandwidth needed for a CW contact is on the order of a couple hundred Hz versus a couple of kHz for a SSB contact. Be careful when using this argument, though. Digital modes, such as PSK 31 actually require less bandwidth than CW.
- CW is more effective than SSB. It’s generally agreed that CW has about a 12 dB, or 2 S-unit, advantage over phone. That means that you can make CW contacts when it would be impossible to make SSB contacts.
- You get more points in some contests. I don’t understand contesters who don’t operate CW. Many contests award more points for a CW contact than they do for a phone contact. Doesn’t it make sense, then, for contesters to know and operate Morse Code?
- You’ll work more DX. I think it’s easier to work DX on CW than it is on phone. The pileups are generally smaller—although I’m not so sure that this was the case for the recent K1N DXpedition—and it’s easier to get through.
These are my reasons for working CW. What are yours? E-mail me at c[email protected] and let me know. I’ll run
some of your replies in upcoming issues of The Keynote.
Dave, N8SBE says
I ended up with K1N on 10, 15, and 20 meter SSB, but wasted hours trying to break the CW pileups, even on 12 meters, which a lot of folks don’t have antennas for. I never got through.
kd7ynt says
DX NEWS
the special call “II2FIST” will be active from 2017, July, to the end of the year, cw only, to celebrate the FISTS Club Anniversary – 30 years (1987 – 2017) – https://fists.co.uk/
QSL direct or via Buro (via IZ2FME).
Best 73’s de II2FIST
IZ2FME MiK – FISTS #18103