[Elecraft] KRC2 first!

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

It (CW) is no longer in commercial use and to all intents and purposes, =
it
is practically dead in the amateur service. ...Bruce - W8FU
-------------------------------------------
If CW is "practically dead"  why do I find myself "knee deep" in CW QRM =
on
the HF bands?

 Why have I had the pleasure of helping as many as half a dozen "new" =
hams
get their feet wet in CW on the HF bands just in the past few years? For
many of these new ops, CW is their favorite mode and they all felt like =
they
weren't really "Hams" until they could claim proficiency in CW.

CW is no longer the dominant mode for Hams, but it's far from dead and
clearly attracts a lot of new devotees. To me, the continued popularity =
of
CW a great example of the diversity of skills and interests of Amateur =
Radio
operators today.=20

Our challenge as Hams is to embrace all of the modes. Even "AM Phone" is
alive on the bands today.

CW is still in commercial use among the merchant fleets of many =
countries
too. It is no longer required in the US merchant marine fleet, that is =
true.
But the USA has one of the smallest merchant marine fleets in the world! =
We
let other countries do the hauling for us <G>.=20

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289