[Elecraft] To CW or not to CW ...

[Fred Jensen]

Hmmm ... it's pretty easy get people riled up on one side or the other 
these days, just mention the terms "evolution" or "same-sex marriage." 
Apparently for hams, the equivalent term is "Drop the CW Requirement."

HF for me equals CW.  I left half of my hearing on a mountain top in NW 
NVN and nearly all the rest outside the MARS station at Bien Hoa AB one 
night a couple of years later thanks to a well aimed mortar round.  SSB 
is extremely difficult and DX contests are impossible.  CW was very easy 
for me, which, thanks to the 2nd Telegraph I also got when I took the 
Extra, it got me a job as a relief operator in a coastal marine station 
for my senior year in HS at 16.  Then, one of the reasons for the 
Amateur Service was to build a pool of trained communicators (and CW was 
a primary mode then) should the government or military need them.  I 
think things have changed.

I know people who have diligently tried to learn the code for 
conversational use, and have failed.  Unlike Wayne, I have been trying 
to learn to play the piano and guitar for many years.  You will all be 
very happy to know that I will NOT be one of those hams joining in with 
the rest of the group strumming after the meeting.  Nor will I sing (you 
can send your thanks for that via PayPal!)  CW is easy and natural for 
me and hard and unnatural for some ... music is easy for many and 
impossible for me.

Western Civilization was severely threatened in the mid-50's when the 
then Technicians were granted voice privileges on 6m, but it seems to 
have just squeaked through.  Much of the discussion has centered on how 
the "hardness" of the exams have changed over time.  I really don't 
think the hardness or easiness of the exams are relevant to the FCC's 
NPRM.  What I would like to hear is a compelling and rational argument 
for why someone should be denied an Extra Class license because he or 
she cannot send and receive Morse code at 5 WPM.  Just one argument will 
do, and since I kinda think W. Civ. will survive this one too, its 
forecast demise isn't such an argument.

I am very certain that Wayne and Eric deserve the FISTS award for 
increasing the number of potential CW contacts out there, however.  They 
made QRP a household word (OK, it's not a word, but play along here). 
The Elecraft "K-rigs" tickled many hams' interest in low power 
operation, and QRP is almost universally a CW adventure.  Thanks guys, I 
can find a CW rag chew QSO most any time I want one now.

OK, I screwed up my courage and came out of the closet ... CW is my 
mode, but I have yet to hear good reasons why it should have to be every 
Extra class amateur's mode.  And, I hope FISTS don't throw me out.

73,

Fred K6DGW (ex KN6DGW)
Auburn CA CM98lw
"If life was fair, the Morse code would be called the "Vail code."