Overview
I became licensed after the Code requirement was dropped, a No-Code Tech as they called it then, after the requirement was dropped entirely I upgraded to General. During that time I listened to a lot of poeple grumbling that the end of Morse Code was here, the Code was going to die out, etc. etc. And yet, it didn’t. It flourished, and continues to flourish. People that never had to learn it, like myself, have put in the effort to learn it and most of us absolutely love it.
Morse Code is, to me, a fascinating mode to operate and has quickly become my favorite mode. It is a link back to the very beginnings of this hobby. Learning Morse Code is a challenge, and one that I am truly enjoying. There is something special about CW, something that is just outside of being able to voice it. Part of it is the history; part of it is the challenge of learning it; part of it is the reliance only on the computer in your head, not the one on your desk; part of it is indescribable. If you decide to undertake the challenge, and stick with it, I doubt that you will be disappointed.
I’ve compiled a few references in this section of my web site that I hope you will find useful. The references include common Morse Code abbreviations, prosigns and procedural signals, Q–Codes, and links to other sites to help you to learn the Code. I might even throw in a little bit of the history of Morse Code and CW.
Learning CW
I have compiled a number of references to aid you in learning Morse Code, if you find that you want to do so. You can find those by following this link.
Terms
I think that it may be beneficial to define a couple of terms related to CW. Mainly because some people use certain terms interchangeably, even though that is inaccurate.
- CW
- Continuous Wave; While some people tend to equate it with Morse Code, CW is more properly a mode of operation in which a continuous wave is modulated by turning it off and on.
- Morse Code
- Morse Code is an encoding method that is often used with CW to provide the on/off and timing. Morse Code can also be used to modulate light and physical vibrations in the same way.
- Iambic Key
- A purely mythological item that supposedly enables one to send Morse Code. What is usually meant is double paddle coupled to a keyer.
- Double Paddle
- This is what most people mean by “iambic key”. Consists of two opposing paddles that move towards each other. When plugged into a keyer, one paddle is set to send dits (dots), while the other is set to send dahs (dashes).
- Single Paddle
- Cousin to the double paddle, the single paddle, as its name implies, only has one paddle. Moving the paddle in one direction results in a dit or a dah, moving in the other direction results in a dah or a dit. Which is which depends on how the paddle is wired up and how the keyer is configured. Like its cousin the double paddle, the single paddle needs to be plugged into a keyer to function. The keyer can either be internal to the radio, or external as a separate device. Since this device is very similar to a side-swiper (see below), it can be wired up and operated as a side-swiper.
- Keyer
- The keyer provides the timing of dits and dahs for single and double paddles. This timing is iambic, a reference to iambic meter in poetry. So it is the KEYER that is iambic NOT the paddles/key.
- Straight Key
- This is the classic telegraph key that nearly everyone recognizes and associates with Morse Code transmission, and my favorite type of key to use. The key moves in an up and down motion, with the length of time it is in the down position determining whether a dit or a dah is sent. The timing is entirely determined by the operator.
- Side–Swiper or Cootie
- Probably the easiest way to think of this key is as the horizontal version of the Straight Key, its motion being side–to–side rather than up and down. Aside from that detail, it functions the same way a Straight Key does.
- Semi–Automatic Key or Bug
- Somewhat similar to the Side–Swiper or to paddles, the motion of a Bug is side–to–side, but only the length of the dah is determined by how long the operator presses the paddle against the contact. The dit length is determined by a pendulum and spring assembly, resulting in the semi–automatic designation. This is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine, now that I have obtained a bug.