[K6BW] Straight Key Night

[Bill Smith]

STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT IS JANUARY 1, 2007 (UTC)

ARRL once again will sponsor Straight Key Night (SKN)
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/skn.html> starting at 0000 UTC
January 1 (New Year's Eve in US time zones) and continuing for the next 24
hours.

SKN is *not* a contest. It's an opportunity for CW enthusiasts -- veterans
or novices -- to dust off their straight keys and enjoy socializing and "rag
chewing" on the air. Some 350 participants posted entries for SKN 2006. SKN
2007 entries via e-mail <straightkey at arrl.org> or to SKN, ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111 must be received by January 31, 2007.

"Best Fist" and "Most Interesting QSO" votes will appear in April 2007 QST.
"Soapbox" posts <http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/> also are welcome.

During the same time period, AMSAT invites radio amateurs worldwide to
participate in Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2007. The AMSAT event is
dedicated to the memory of Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR, an enthusiastic and
longtime SKN participant on both OSCAR and HF.

No rules, no scoring and no logs, AMSAT says. Just operate CW through any
OSCAR between 0000 and 2400 UTC on 1 January 2007 using a straight key.

SKN on OSCAR 2007 participants also may nominate a "Best Fist" from among
stations worked. Nominations go to Ray Soifer, W2RS <w2rs at amsat.org>. A list
of nominees will appear in AMSAT News Service and in The AMSAT Journal.