My Elecraft K1 with a J38 military key and the Morse Express Chirstmas key You should be hearing a Morse code message when this page comes up. If not, you can click Here to hear the .wav version that I was actually sending on my equipment or click Here for the simulated .mp3 version that's a bit slower...
Here's what the code you're hearing is actually saying (the speed is about 20 wpm): CQ CQ CQ de WBØJNR WBØJNR K
This "CQ CQ" business is a general call we send out inviting anyone to answer back to chat with us. In this example, I'm actually saying something like, "This is WBØJNR, please call back and chat with me!" Also, if you turn up your computer's volume you'll actually hear the little metalic clicks my keyer paddle was making while I recorded this message on the wav version. At first I didn't have the technology to run the keyer's tone output directly into my computer. Now I just like the nostalgia of hearing the orignal "raw" sound as I attempted the recording in 1998. In 2006 I added the "synthetic" mp3 version so you can hear perfect code! For some Morse code "Music," try sending this character sequence: BEST BENT WIRE /5 If you put a little "rhythm" into your sending the sound is, indeed, rather musical!!
For some Morse code "Music," try sending this character sequence: BEST BENT WIRE /5 If you put a little "rhythm" into your sending the sound is, indeed, rather musical!!
Braggin' Rights:
Who holds the Coast Guard's record for receiving Morse code? - ME! Coast Guard 40 wpm certificate. Armed Forces Day 25 wpm certificate. ARRL 20 wpm certificate. Ex - WN6CDA, at age 14, 1970 Ex - KH6JDO, Wahiawa, Oahu 1976 Amateur Extra Class license since June 1982 General Radiotelephone license since August 1990 Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit since 1995 WN6CDA circa 1971 (I learned the code at age 14 by memorizing it out of a dictionary!) WBØJNR circa 2012 40 years later wearing an ORARI (Indonesia) radio club shirt! Click on this hand key to hear real Morse code! (227k .wav file) Coast Guard Speed Key Certificate Front Coast Guard Speed Key Certificate Back
Ex - WN6CDA, at age 14, 1970 Ex - KH6JDO, Wahiawa, Oahu 1976 Amateur Extra Class license since June 1982 General Radiotelephone license since August 1990 Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit since 1995
Coast Guard Speed Key Certificate Front Coast Guard Speed Key Certificate Back
Sadness:
The ARRL ran this front page headline on its website in January, 2007: "It's Official! Morse Code Requirement Ends Friday, February 23 (Jan 24, 2007 [REVISED Jan 26, 2007 14:15 ET]) -- Circle Friday, February 23, on your calendar. That's when the current 5 WPM Morse code requirement will officially disappear from the Amateur Radio Service Part 97 rules in accordance with the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235. Beginning on that date, applicants for a General or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license no longer will have to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. They'll just have to pass the applicable written examination. Publication of the new rules in the January 24 Federal Register started a 30-day countdown for the new rules to become effective. Deletion of the Morse requirement -- still a matter of controversy within the amateur community -- is a landmark in Amateur Radio history."
"It's Official! Morse Code Requirement Ends Friday, February 23 (Jan 24, 2007 [REVISED Jan 26, 2007 14:15 ET]) -- Circle Friday, February 23, on your calendar. That's when the current 5 WPM Morse code requirement will officially disappear from the Amateur Radio Service Part 97 rules in accordance with the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235. Beginning on that date, applicants for a General or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license no longer will have to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. They'll just have to pass the applicable written examination. Publication of the new rules in the January 24 Federal Register started a 30-day countdown for the new rules to become effective. Deletion of the Morse requirement -- still a matter of controversy within the amateur community -- is a landmark in Amateur Radio history."
The ARRL had this to say on page 9 of the February '07 edition of QST:
"Late in the day on Friday, December 15, 2006 the FCC took a step that had been long desired by some and long dreaded by other, but long expected by everyone who cared either way. An FCC news release issued that same evening announced the Commission's decision to eliminate the Morse code examination requirement for the General and Amateur Extra Class licenses." ARRL Chief Executive Office David Sumner, K1ZZ, wrote; "The best reason for developing Morse proficiency is that it makes Amateur Radio more rewarding and more fun. If one's sole motivation for learning Morse is to get past a 5-wpm exam, it's unlikely to be either rewarding or fun - or ever to result in real fluency. If on the other hand the driving force is a real desire to use CW on the air - a desire that those of us who love CW can supply - then that's a horse of a very differnt hue."
In the early 80s I saw it coming:
This letter was one of my earlier attempts at convincing the FCC to keep Morse code as an amateur radio requirement... (Okay, it was 1983, I was young, full of myself, and typewriters didn't have grammar and spell checkers!) PR Docket Number 83-28 Aurora, Colorado 80015 21 March 1983 The Secretary Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 Response to Proposed Rulemaking Docket Number 83-28: No consideration should be given to a "codeless amateur radio license. While Morse code is beneficial in providing an efficient, inexpensive form of communications throughout the radio spectrum, it remains an excellent method of expanding the mental processes of the person involved. In the United States the effects of lessening entry requirements have been all too evident in other fields. As a nation we remain extremely deficient in foreign language skills compared to world citizenry. While not a language in itself, Morse code, with the use of "Q" signals and other internationally recognized shorthand, can be used a vital link in bridging linguistic barriers on any frequency, while simultaneously enhancing the mental capacity of the operator who has taken time to learn the code. It is very similar to the calculus you learn in college, while not used on a daily basis after graduation, it has helped us all expand our thought processing capabilities. Therefore, will all of the vigor at our disposal, we should continue to uphold the high standards set for entry into the Amateur Radio Service. We've seen the damage done with the advent of citizens band radio - if an intelligent, disciplined person has the fortitude to meet the requirements for entry into the Amateur Radio Service, he can then make valuable contributions through his participation. If the amateur population declines in number due to our refusal to compromise standards, so be it. It is with a hard working, intelligent amateur population that contributions are made to the world community, not with the average American of this decade who attempts mediocrity by tearing down obstacles to his leisure. [signed] Roger J. Wendell WBØJNR Enclosure: 5 Copies
In the United States the effects of lessening entry requirements have been all too evident in other fields. As a nation we remain extremely deficient in foreign language skills compared to world citizenry. While not a language in itself, Morse code, with the use of "Q" signals and other internationally recognized shorthand, can be used a vital link in bridging linguistic barriers on any frequency, while simultaneously enhancing the mental capacity of the operator who has taken time to learn the code. It is very similar to the calculus you learn in college, while not used on a daily basis after graduation, it has helped us all expand our thought processing capabilities.
Therefore, will all of the vigor at our disposal, we should continue to uphold the high standards set for entry into the Amateur Radio Service. We've seen the damage done with the advent of citizens band radio - if an intelligent, disciplined person has the fortitude to meet the requirements for entry into the Amateur Radio Service, he can then make valuable contributions through his participation. If the amateur population declines in number due to our refusal to compromise standards, so be it. It is with a hard working, intelligent amateur population that contributions are made to the world community, not with the average American of this decade who attempts mediocrity by tearing down obstacles to his leisure.
Links:
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