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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Case for CW

Why CW? 
So why did radiotelegraphy, or “CW” remain in widespread use for so many years after the development of voice
communications? Why is it still utilized today for some applications? Why do so many radio amateurs place so
much emphasis on what often seems to the uninitiated “just another mode of communications.” The answers are
many! 

2 comments:

  1. In my humble opinion, in the future CW will only be practice by hobbyist. There is and will be no serious application for CW since GMDSS was introduced to replace morse code telegraphy in 1999. People HAVE TO understand that as years gone by, fewer and fewer ppl will be able to copy CW, in fact the coast guards or rescue proffesionals does not monitor CW for distress anymore. If you notice the regulatory bodies in advanced countries (even singapore) realize the above fact.

    Although it is true that CW is the last mode that will still be operating in the case of major catastrophe (such as a nuclear war) , it's very likely that sattelite communications will be down, therefore even GMDSS might not work. During that time, very few people will be able to understand CW because the requirements for 12WPM CW caused many unable to obtained the ham license.

    That is why advanced countries relaxed or totally removed the CW from their exams, causing renewed interest in HAM . As more people joined the ham community, ppl will learn CW voluntarily and these are the ppl who will be able to help relay urgent messages when all communication modes are down.

    Having high speed CW examination will only kill CW

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  2. I agreed with you. Since many people who passed cw exam only want band privileges. Learning cw voluntarily is better. If you look to the US amateur band plan, you will see that technition class can transmit on lower HF band. But on cw mode only. If they want to try on that band, they must first learn cw. voluntarily.

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