[CW] So what is it about CW?

[Mike Hyder -N4NT-]

It's that the folks you talk with on CW all know how to read 'n write.

Mike N4NT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken, KA0W" <ars_ka0w@yahoo.com>
To: <cw@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2002 12:06 AM
Subject: Re: [CW] So what is it about CW?



Wes,
it is the use of the brain. One has to think a little when on CW. You can do
phone babble while sleeping and not even remember it the next morning.
73,
Ken, KA0W


 Wes Cosand <wz7i@arrl.net> wrote:The other evening on 40 meters I heard a
strong, clear CQ from a fellow I
had worked once before who had seemed interesting so I gave him a call. I
punched in the 250 Hz filter and the QSK button, and repositioned the
headphones a little more comfortably.

It had been a tough day at work but almost instantly all the other concerns
dropped away. Soon after the name, QTH, and signal report, it rapidly
moved past a mere contact and became a real conversation. There was a
sense of privacy that I have found on some of the digital modes but never
on SSB. And unlike the digital modes, QSK allowed a more conversational
intercourse.

We talked about how hard it was to lose a job after 31 years with the same
company, what it was like uproot your wife and move to a strange town to go
to school, how hard it was to learn to study again and to compete with
young people just out of high school. We talked about preparing to fly to
a new city for a job interview and how, after we have done everything we
can, sometimes we have to leave the future in God's hands

I can't recall ever having this kind of QSO on sideband. It seemed like I
was having a private conversation with a longtime friend over a cup of
coffee. What is it about CW that gives this feeling of intimacy that we
don't find elsewhere?

My wire antenna up in the trees doesn't buy any bragging rights on the air,
and my fist won't win any A-1 operator awards. But the other night, I
wouldn't have traded that conversation for 350 confirmed countries or first
in the CQ CW contest.

But enough of this drivel! I am going to limber up my new GHD key and see
if I can find another new friend on 40 tonight.

Wes, WZ7I