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dg9bfj sq5hue dl1oni N5AXT ON4CJY FabZ pe2pvd iz2dax g8tmv W6VM DL6BW tentaculos iw2hth test

I am learning cw for fun right now. Once I become proficient, what can I do with it?

You can have a lot of fun with CW in ham radio. Although there are now many "digital modes" like PSK31 which are competing with CW in terms of robustness and weak signal capabilities, nothing can ever beat the simplicity and beauty of CW.
CW transmitters and receivers are as simple to build as it gets. CW is a nice way to build your own skills - CW practice has positive side effects, it increases your concentration span and improves your manual coordination.
But (for me) most important of all, it's fun. CW sounds like music to me, and I love to hear it whenever I can.

73, Fabian

In the end of 18th century, motorboats became more convenient so the usage of the power of wind for boats decreased.
Now sailing is considered as the best way to navigate for pleasure. Most popular boat races are sailing races and their skippers are wellknown all other the world.

CW is the same. It will become very popular in the next years. Currently, when I demonstrate amateur radio communications in schools, children don't care of telephony (they do better with mobile phone), digital communications (internet is better), but they are really interested by telegraphy.

So learn CW now, you'll be well prepared for years of fun.

Have fun,
Phil - F5IYJ

di1yfk, I love the sound of code too. I was once up to fifteen wpm but I was super busy and after testing out I let it slip away. Glad to have found this site where I can just use my computer to refresh and hopefully speed up.

I have always admired those who are proficient at it. Mostly those from the WWII era. I don't want to see cw disappear.

Jennifer

LOL, IMHO cw isn't really a needed comodity on the world market anymore. We had ISB radios with telemetry on the usb and voice on lsb. We had fsk/fax/blah blah. But no cw nets to pass traffic around the fleet since the mid 70's. Sat com teletype, yada yada yada but no cw. And yet, ever since I was a six year old, I have loved two related things. The smell of burning dust on hot vacuum tubes (ode de heathkit) and cw signals scratching out of an old tinny sounding speaker. Ah mother's milk. Strange thing is that I can build a very simple cw tx with very few componets. Could possibly even scratch one together with baleing wire and bubble gum ( with the odd xtal to stay legal of course). Rx is a bit harder lol, easy to hear the whole band at once than it is to hear one signal. Now that is fun and is what make cw worth learning. And you get to know the folks you talk to with cw. You can tell if they are happy or angry or lol sleepy. Every hear a tipsy operator? Slurred keying. 73's and keep at it.
Bob AA1CM

LOL, IMHO cw isn't really a needed comodity on the world market anymore. We had ISB radios with telemetry on the usb and voice on lsb. We had fsk/fax/blah blah. But no cw nets to pass traffic around the fleet since the mid 70's. Sat com teletype, yada yada yada but no cw. And yet, ever since I was a six year old, I have loved two related things. The smell of burning dust on hot vacuum tubes (ode de heathkit) and cw signals scratching out of an old tinny sounding speaker. Ah mother's milk. Strange thing is that I can build a very simple cw tx with very few componets. Could possibly even scratch one together with baleing wire and bubble gum ( with the odd xtal to stay legal of course). Rx is a bit harder lol, easy to hear the whole band at once than it is to hear one signal. Now that is fun and is what make cw worth learning. And you get to know the folks you talk to with cw. You can tell if they are happy or angry or lol sleepy. Every hear a tipsy operator? Slurred keying. 73's and keep at it.
Bob AA1CM