[AMRadio] I'm finally back on CW

[Rob Atkinson]

Sadly, the CW world as almost completely abandoned vintage radio gear
for modern plastic radios.  It is very paradoxical to me, since CW is
a mode that probably lends itself to vintage equipment as much as AM.

Now there are more and more ops on CW who let a computer send and
receive for them and consider it one of may data modes.   If you use a
bug, they can't copy.

I've had QSOs on CW with my T-50 and had ops tell me they have never
worked a station running an old tube rig before, or have not heard one
on the air for decades.

I think the continued study and operation of vintage homebrew and
commercial gear on AM has helped hold the AM fraternity and culture
together,

Such a thing once existed in the RTTY world, with the old FSK, and
surplus Kleinschmidt gear, but a lot of that was devastated by the
fact that anyone with a plastic AFSK radio and PC can operate RTTY.
The Greenkeys vintage RTTY movement is an attempt to recover what was
lost and I wish them well.

I hope AM never finds itself in the same fix.

73

Rob
K5UJ