As part of my CW practice I have been listening to CW on the bands (mainly 40 metres). What has struck me is the speed of some of the CW being sent. Much of it I would estimate is in excess of 25WPM. I remember the first time around when I used CW on the bands it was relatively easy to get a QSO at around 12 WPM or so, today the average speeds seem much quicker! Personally I will happy if I can get to a reliable speed of around 20WPM. I wonder how much of this morse is keyboard/machine sent.Personally I don't really see the point of machine morse. The reason CW appeals to me is mainly its simplicity- no PC required. If I was using the PC I would rather send PSK or RTTY or another data mode.
I don't often hear fast morse, except in a contest when you can understand the reason for it. There are so many of us in the same position that perhaps what's needed is a slow CW calling frequency where people can look for slow contacts. I've always been afraid to call CQ on CW in case people reply to me too fast and I don't want the embarrassment of having to keep telling them to QRS.
ReplyDeleteHi Julian,
ReplyDeleteA slow morse calling frequency sounds like a great idea!
In the US, on 40 meters, there's 7055 (SKCC) and usually around 10-15 wpm, and I use 7114 on Fridays. Check the website for SKCC (straight key CW Club).
ReplyDeleteStraight keys have the advantage of keeping most op's on a level playing field.