[Elecraft] New Contest Transceiver [OT]

[David Ferrington, M0XDF]

I am a ham now simply because I became aware that I didn't need Morse  
- in my mind I had discounted being a ham, because I always thought  
Morse was a requirement (from the age of 16). I wasn't aware of the  
class B license (right term?) and it wasn't until I was involved in an  
International Scout camp at which we had a radio exhibit (RCF GB4FUN)  
that a fellow Scouter and Ham explained that Morse was no longer  
necessary and in fact had just been removed as a requirement  
altogether in the UK (this was Aug'03).
By Oct'03 I had my Foundation license, passed my advanced in Jun'06,  
and then started working on my Morse (I'm still working on it :).

I believe we need to find a way to publicize amateur radio more and to  
remove the mythical barrier of Morse from public perception. There are  
pleanty of modes available, some of them (data etc) do allow good DX  
QSOs in current poor conditions.
I'm not suggesting we forget CW, I'm a member of FISTS and want to  
promote Morse too.
But I do think we could encourage many more prospective members of the  
hobby if we 'softly, softly, catchy monkey'.


On the specifics of activity, I'm too new to know. Is the lack of  
activity due in part to poor conditions and the advancement of data  
modes allow contacts that could only have occurred on CW before?
Does the lack of CW activity correlate with a general decline in the  
hobby?

I'd like to see CW continue and grow, but I think what is far more  
important is that the hobby continues and grows. If that unfortunately  
means people move away from CW and migrate to other modes, then I  
guess that's how the human race advances.


73 de M0XDF / FISTS #12575, K3 #174, HexKey #375
-- 
Unix is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a  
genius to understand the simplicity. -- Dennis Ritchie



On 19 Mar 2008, at 12:22, Shaun Oliver wrote:

> I think I'd agree with that assessment also. it takes a certain  
> mindset to use morse and not everybody is built for it. having said  
> that, it doesn't mean the practise should die out.
>
> On 19/03/2008 11:17 PM, the old scribe known as Jan Erik Holm was  
> able to impart this pearl of wisdom:
>> David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote:
>>> In the UK, this same action in 2003 has resulted in more newcomers  
>>> (since Morse is no longer an obstacle) and in fact, more people  
>>> wishing to learn Morse (myself included) since on using HF, it  
>>> becomes clear just how significant CW is to making contacts,  
>>> especially DX. So, by no longer forcing people to learn Morse, we  
>>> have encouraged more to do so.
>>>
>> To tell from the activity on the CW bands I would say you are wrong.
>> Activity on the CW bands are a far cry compared to what it used to be
>> 10 years ago, not to mention 20-30 years ago.
>> Less and less people use CW on the ham bands! Sad but it´s a fact.
>> 73 Jim SM2EKM