Happy New Year to all of you. My temporary Florida location has been very good as far as my surgery recuperation and attitude are concerned. We are now entering a whole new year of opportunities for those of you who think you might want to get into Morse code or revisit an old but still interesting skill of sending and receiving CW. On January 1, as on every January 1, there was what is called a straight key day. CW operators all put aside their bugs, keyers, and other modern sending devices and used only the old, simple straight key. Some were handmade, and some made very unusual sounds. There was no contest here, only a lot of fun among CW hams and I really enjoyed my contacts with my QRP low power Elecraft KX1 down here in Florida. For those who insist that Morse code is dying out, they should have listened to the amateur bands on January 1.
Make a resolution this new year that you will persue this rewarding part of the hobby and make a good effort to learn, or relearn Morse code and use it to join us on the airways. You will not believe how warmly you will be welcomed and what a fulfilling and rewarding feeling you will experience.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
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About Me
- Jack Stahl
- One of the wonderful aspects of using Morse code as a communications mode is that it is very indifferent as to the operator’s age. A good fist (one who sends well) can be ten years old or one hundred. I say this is wonderful because I am happily enjoying my sixty ninth year. I am new to the hobby of amateur radio, however, since I passed my technician test in September of 2006 and was awarded the license and call sign of KD8EJY by the FCC. I then passed my General exam in November and was granted my vanity call sign request of K8ASA by the FCC Although I am new to the amateur radio hobby, I am not new to Morse code. The ASA in my call sign refers to the Army Security Agency who sent me to a special school in 1956 to become efficient in Morse code. I was sent to Ethiopia for two years to give the army the benefit of my new skill. While back in those days my knowledge of Morse code was beneficial to our national security, 51 years later it now brings me pure pleasure. There has been a hiatus of fifty years between my army discharge and my becoming a ham and I do truly regret the fact that I missed out on all those years of enjoyment with the amateur radio hobby.
1 comments:
Very Interesting!
Thank You!
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