Hams..Get Your Straight Keys Out

Doug Reid

Doug Reid

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Display name:
Doug Reid
Remember SKN..straight key night, actually all day ( Zulu time ) January 1....This cold wx is the best time of the year to get back on the bands to show off your cw skills..all just for fun..no pressure.

I run old gear..Heathkit SB303, SB401 twins, HW-7, HW-8, vibroplex bugs..circa 1960's.
My new gear was made in the 1970's ...Ten Tec Argonaut, Omni, Corsair.

Get the old tube gear out and knock off the cobwebs...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year de WD4LNW..
 
Sorry, no code here. Strictly voice or PSK. But I really do need to put my station back on the air, maybe sometime in early 2023. I have the Yaesu FT-450D that belonged to my dad sitting right here next to me, but I've yet to string up an antenna and get things going again.

Hope you CW folks have a good time!

73,
AJ4CM
 
AJRCM...
I always dreaded learning cw until I began actually learning it. Hope you give it a try sometime. It is fun to work all the old timers with one tube transmitters that go " whoop whoop". Also, when watching old war movies, they sometimes send real cw messages. Take care..
 
eman1200 said:
I literally have no idea what's going on here. other than Merry XMas.
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As expected...Merry Christmas ! :)

A lot of us old ham radio ops get out our old morse keys on January 1 for fun..it is called Straight Key Night.

CW means continuous wave transmission...dit dah dit dah dit dah...
 
IC-720, a little esoteric
Henry 2K-4, a beast, no QRP here
Hy Gain TH6

Vy 73s

de n0kkj
 
Doug Reid said:
AJRCM...
I always dreaded learning cw until I began actually learning it. Hope you give it a try sometime. It is fun to work all the old timers with one tube transmitters that go " whoop whoop". Also, when watching old war movies, they sometimes send real cw messages. Take care..
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Maybe someday. The code requirement was gone before I took my exams so I've never bothered.

I had some fun on a ham forum a few years ago. A few old curmudgeons were going on and on complaining about no-code hams, so I joined in with complaints about hunt-and-peck hams on the keyboard modes who sent about 10 typos per minute. I recommended replacing the old code test with a typing test and requiring error-free typing at a minimum of 25wpm to get a General class license.

My suggestion wasn't well received ( :dunno: ) but the no-code grousing did simmer down. ;)

I used to be rather active, serving as a VE and with the local ARES group. I never got into contesting, though I did participate casually in a few just for grins. I liked working special event stations (Route 66, 13 colonies, lighthouses, etc.) and folks doing DXpeditions. Otherwise just rag chewing and collecting interesting QSL cards.
 
eman1200 said:
I literally have no idea what's going on here. other than Merry XMas.
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"Straight keys" are like the old-time telegraph keys. The user taps down on it to close a contact and send a signal, making a dit with a quick tap and a dah with a slightly longer tap.
upload_2022-12-24_13-37-17.png

It takes skill to use one well and to send clear, steady code.

When the contact is closed, the transmitter emits a continuous wave ("CW"), and it emits nothing when the contact is open. Since no modulation of the wave is needed other than off/on, each dit or dah is sent at full power. This feature, as well as the ability to hear dits and dahs even when swamped with static, makes CW communication very power efficient and useful when atmospheric conditions make analog voice communication impossible.

More common today are devices with varying amounts of automation, such as electronic keyers that have a paddle that can be moved left or right to send dits or dahs, and even computer driven encoders.

Newer digital modes offer some of these same advantages, but of course require more complex equipment. The gear needed to do traditional Morse-code CW communication is very minimal.
 
Half Fast said:
"Straight keys" are like the old-time telegraph keys. The user taps down on it to close a contact and send a signal, making a dit with a quick tap and a dah with a slightly longer tap.
View attachment 113367

It takes skill to use one well and to send clear, steady code.

When the contact is closed, the transmitter emits a continuous wave ("CW"), and it emits nothing when the contact is open. Since no modulation of the wave is needed other than off/on, each dit or dah is sent at full power. This feature, as well as the ability to hear dits and dahs even when swamped with static, makes CW communication very power efficient and useful when atmospheric conditions make analog voice communication impossible.

More common today are devices with varying amounts of automation, such as electronic keyers that have a paddle that can be moved left or right to send dits or dahs, and even computer driven encoders.

Newer digital modes offer some of these same advantages, but of course require more complex equipment. The gear needed to do traditional Morse-code CW communication is very minimal.
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so a Morse coderator. got it!
 
ditdahdit, dahdahdah, dahdahdit, dit, ditdahdit.
 
I haven't used a straight key in years... I can, but some might think it strange to hear my call coming from a straight key.

73 es merry xmas de N0XAS BK
 
Have a TS-480SAT still packed in the moving box from 3 years ago. I need to get it out and set it up. Also have a couple Boafeng portables that I like a lot and are easy to use. They don’t reach out very far, but worked great as a highly capable walkie-talkie while 4x4ing and hiking out in the desert with others.

I still listen to the portables occasionally, but now I’m more likely to power up the handheld VHF listening to the local air bands.

Also, no codes, just voice.
 
aterry1067 said:
Also have a couple Boafeng portables that I like a lot and are easy to use.
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I've wondered whether those were any good, given how inexpensive they are.

I have a Yaesu FT-60 handheld that I like. I've also used it as a mobile, carrying it into the car and plugging it into an external antenna and the cig lighter. With an external mic plugged in, it works just fine like that for the local repeaters.
 
I don't have a straight key but I do have:

iu


I was never any good at code though I muddled into a General Class license. I'd be quite an embarrassment on any CW bands these days. My station hasn't been set up in years. Something else I need to do but it's waaaaay down the list ...
 
Half Fast said:
I had some fun on a ham forum a few years ago. A few old curmudgeons were going on and on complaining about no-code hams, so I joined in with complaints about hunt-and-peck hams on the keyboard modes who sent about 10 typos per minute. I recommended replacing the old code test with a typing test and requiring error-free typing at a minimum of 25wpm to get a General class license.
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I have an Advanced Class ticket, so I passed a 13 WPM code test. I have never made a single CW contact.

But I practiced with a computer code training program. So I took a laptop into the test to copy the code. :)

Raised a couple of eyebrows, but it was allowed.

My HF antennas got disconnected when the roof was redone. I need some young people to come over, string a new wire antenna and hook it and my Cushcraft R-5 up.

HF setup is a Yaesu FT-1000D.
 
Daleandee said:
I was never any good at code though I muddled into a General Class license. I'd be quite an embarrassment on any CW bands these days. My station hasn't been set up in years. Something else I need to do but it's waaaaay down the list ...
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learned code while my Dad worked on his general license. Once he was up and running I used his call KA3AAU to make a boatload of contacts never thinking he would know. Then I found out about QSL cards. Shortly after I tested through and finished with my advanced.

I gave up the radios when he passed, it just wasn’t the same. Maybe someday I’ll set up my station and once again enjoy the hobby.

N3DLM
 
Half Fast said:
I've wondered whether those were any good, given how inexpensive they are.

I have a Yaesu FT-60 handheld that I like. I've also used it as a mobile, carrying it into the car and plugging it into an external antenna and the cig lighter. With an external mic plugged in, it works just fine like that for the local repeaters.
Click to expand...


I have the little UV-82, and while it certainly doesn't have the build quality of your Yaesu, it is about 8 years old and still works great. Granted, it hasn't had a very rough life, spending most of its time sitting on a charger in the living room, occasionally in the cupholder of the FJ, or sometimes clipped to a shoulder strap of a backpack. But overall, I've been happy with it. I honestly didn't expect it to last this long (I am sure I have just jinxed myself and it will now die with the next power up). When I first got it, I used to talk to a buddy about 30 miles out LOS with an external antenna in the FJ, but I never tried to hit a repeater with it to get out any further.

The same friend had another nice set up with one of the cheap Chinese portables designed to be mounted under the dash like a CB. He had it mounted in an ammo can along with a 12 vt battery, small solar charger, cig-lighter charge port, and telescoping antenna. It worked great, like a poor-man's field radio. I got the materials to build one, to include a TYT 9000 radio to throw into the BO/SHTF bag, but due to procrastination everything is still packed in its original packaging.

While I'm reminiscing, the same friend had a kick-a$$ Icom base station set up in his truck with 8 ft whip, and we would often sit in his driveway and talk to some guy down in Argentina. LOL. He had more money in his radio equipment than his truck.

Back to the Baofeng, they are cheap enough that I suggest to anyone interested to pick up a couple. If they quit working it's no big loss, and you can loan them out to people that may be interested, or other people in your traveling party.
 
External antennas are verboten in our neighborhood. It occurred to me the other day that I could wall off part of a spare room in the basement of a house we’re remodeling to rent out… I could stick a remote shack in there and put a tower mounted antenna behind the house. In return for the tenants footing the cost of utilities for that I could cover their Internet connection.

I just don’t have the time for it now. Maybe after I retire. I think my last QSO was at least 6-8 years ago.
 
-- . .-. .-. -.-- ....... -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ...
KC3EKD
 
When I lived/worked in Bolivia back in the 90s, they still used code to send/receive weather reports between all the small rural airports. The key moved side to side but I had an opportunity to learn it at one particular airport to the point the tower manager let me send the Sunday noon report from his desk. Never could "read" it but it was neat to see how it worked.
 
Fun days in high school way back when: CB was just getting popular, on 11 meters of course. I just happened to have a Heathkit DX-100 which could output 100+ watts AM on 11 meters. Also had a Mosley tri-band beam on a pole in the back yard. Started playing with it and quickly realized my transmissions on ground wave were blanking out CB users in Memphis, a hundred miles away. Got them all stirred up wondering WTH kind of rig I had.

Edit: Had Vibroplex mechanical bug but the CB folks wouldn't understand it :D
 
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Half Fast said:
No, it covers ham antennas, but it applies to local and state laws, not rules of homeowner associations.
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Ah, you’re right of course. It’s been several years since I even gave it any thought. Either way it’s immaterial where we are. The only reason I agreed to this house was that the covenants expired a few years afterward. Then the HOA board managed to BS enough people to extend them for another 60 years. I gave up.
 
Last set up I had was in a neighborhood with covenants (I'll never do that again) that stipulated no exterior antennas (seems there was allowance for a small TV antenna or a dish) so I had a long dipole stretched around my attic. It worked pretty well and I made some excellent overseas contacts but sometimes the juice just wasn't worth the squeeze ...
 
Daleandee said:
Last set up I had was in a neighborhood with covenants (I'll never do that again) that stipulated no exterior antennas (seems there was allowance for a small TV antenna or a dish) so I had a long dipole stretched around my attic. It worked pretty well and I made some excellent overseas contacts but sometimes the juice just wasn't worth the squeeze ...
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Mine worked great. I worked Russia over the pole QRP one night with an attic dipole fed with twin lead. The steel roof kinda spoiled it though.
 
I’m an extra and learned code over the years. I’m usually too busy on the 1st to jump in
 
Initial Fix said:
I’m an extra and learned code over the years. I’m usually too busy on the 1st to jump in
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I got my Extra when you actually had to do 20WPM. The most useful thing about that it got me a free pass on the radiotelegraph operators license.
 
flyingron said:
I got my Extra when you actually had to do 20WPM. The most useful thing about that it got me a free pass on the radiotelegraph operators license.
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It’s funny… I had to do 13 for my General, but only 5 for Extra. I think I peaked at around 18 when I was current and active, but I could head copy while talking to one of my kids. It was weird to carry on a conversation while still copying CW. That was quite a few years ago, now I’m so out of practice I have trouble copying much more than 13 WPM.

I spent to much time developing and testing hardware and firmware, though, I can send about 30 or better with a paddle and a decent keyer. Not very useful though.
 
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