Leo wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 11:53:27 -0500, Mike Coslo wrote:

I have been hanging out there receiving transmissions and setting up
the equipment. RX works pretty reliably (on my hamfest PK-232). My
old analog Heath TX tends to drift too much for reliable RTTY TX at
the moment (and maybe forever - still working on it...).

It'd be fine for CW, tho...;-)

The closest thing I can find to a logical argument is that Morse CW will
allow an amateur to communicate with an other amateur in another country
who may not share his or her language. This *may* be of some use in an
emergency. Will it? Odds aren't all that hot. But here we have one of
those opinion things again. I think it is worth the effort, while many
others do not. And the odds favor them. Then again, I'm first aid, CPR
and defib trained, and will probably (hopefully) never need to use those
skills. But if I need them.....

With the way thing are going, I'm not sure if I would want to rely on
CW for emergency comms - the infrastructure isn't as solid as it was
years ago, and will deteriorate further quickly as CW contnues to be
dropped as a requirement.

Most HF emergency communications by hams is done on SSB - because it's
easy to use. But under poor conditions it is sometimes backed up by
Morse.

As far as communicating with non-English speaking people, I hadn't
considered that... Does it work? Is there enough commonality to get
a message through? (my Morse so far has been primarily Englosh (not a
spelling error ) - example "wx hr is cldy / ovrcst, ant is a
dipole" -type stuff. A lot of English-based stuff - is that sort of
an accepted International language?

Most DX hams I've worked pick up enough English to have a basic
conversation in Morse. Accents and such aren't an issue. Sure, the
same is true with TOR modes, but again they are not so common among
the DX.

Remember though, there is a difference between the adz and Morse CW.
hehe, the thought makes me chuckle. I look at it more like the way the
(Coast Guard?) has a sailed vessl for training on. There are many
important things that can be learned, even though those recruits are
using really ancient technology.

Good point.

And remember, amateurs have to provide all their own resources.

BTW - grinding mirrors? Now there's something that requires a lot of
patience! Wow!

It is a tremendous amount of fun for me. I'm kind of an obsessive
compulsive person, and I can take out my tendencies on a mirror.
Grinding and polishing and testing are so darn much fun, and it's one
field where all the fussing pays off in the end.

More patience that I have, that's for sure. (or skill...nah, can't be
a skill thing..)

What I think leads to the decline in use is that it uses a very
expensive processor - a human. We've tried to take humans ot of the loop
for years now, or at least skilled ones. It is a lot easier to train a
person to hit a button and make a copy than it is to teach them
something like Morse code.

And this manifests itself in other areas than the CW arena. So many
people are using microprocessor-controlled, dial & talk radios these
days that a big piece of technical ability has been lost there too.

Which brings up a major factor in anything done by amateurs: is a
thing being done for its own sake, or is it a means to an end?

In most applications, radio is simply a means to an end. Does someone
watching TV really care if the program gets to their set by means of
direct broadcast, satellite relay, coax cable, fiber optics, or some
other technology? In most cases, the answer is no - all the viewer
cares about is getting the program.

Same for things like telephone service. Once upon a time terrestrial
microwave was the cutting edge technology - then there were satellites
- now it's optical fiber, which isn't even "electrical" at all.
Indeed, communications satellites are already essentially obsolete for
communication between fixed points in most parts of developed
countries. Fiber offers much more bandwidth at much less cost.

Hams do radio for its own sake - which makes all the difference.

Last week, I had some guy tell me to get my rig fixed because it was
off frequency by about 20Hz. 20Hz - on my old analog Heath? With
that set, I was doing good to be within 100.... The gentleman didn't
know if his set had RIT, and was reluctant to QSY 20 Hz to 'correct my
problem' - really! Jeez.

And what mode was being used when you were told you were 20 Hz off?
Bet it wasn't CW!

And that I think is why the ARS can still get away with using Morse CW.
Our "wetware" does a superb job of translating the recieved signals, and
since this is a hobby/service/avocation, we aren't being paid, so we can
continue to economically use Morse/CW. In fact, the economics are the
reverse of what everyone elses are. They want to buy a piece of
equipment to replace an expensive human, and we already have - indeed
are stuck with the human - ourselves, and would have to spend extra
money for the needed equipment to work other emergency modes.

In fact, if the human is eliminated, what's the point?

CW is by far the most economical mode of operation, from an equipment
standpoint - no argument there.

Not just economy but simplicity. How many homebrewers are we going to
have if they have to build rigs accurate to less than 20 Hz as first
projects?

Progress frequently has significant
costs associated, though - look at the millions that the owners of
general aviation aircraft will have to spend to replace all of the
current 121.5 / 223 MHz analog ELTs with the new digital 406.025 MHz
ones! (or, you could gamble and risk not being found for a long, long
time if you land off-airport somewhere.....)

But don't the ELTs have to be replaced every so often anyway?

Costs, as usual, passed down directly to the end user of the service.
Of course!

73 de Jim, N2EY