CW Ragchewing 101

There are a lot of great advisors and instructors who teach Morse Code and CW. I think Mark Tyler, K5GQ, is one of the greatest CW teachers there has ever been! If you ever get the opportunity to take Mark’s class, don’t pass it up! You will become a much better CW operator and the joy you will get from your CW will be compounded beyond your wildest dreams.

Terry Jackson spent eight to ten hours a day head copying Morse code at 50 words-per-minute... and got paid to do it! His job as a Naval Communications Officer was to intercept coded messages being sent from Russian ships during the Cold War. Today, Terry teaches Amateur Radio operators how to send and receive high speed Morse code, or QRQ as it's called by Morse code operators. But what is QRQ? The idea of high speed is relative to each of us. High speed operating can mean 70 words-per-minute to one person, and be 30 words-per-minute to another. No matter what your definition of high speed QRQ operating is, going fast is a lot of fun and can be done by virtually anyone. We invite you to enjoy this very interesting conversation with Terry Jackson, WB0JRH.

Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, is a well known CW operator that is not only active on the air, but has been active with numerous organizations and Amateur Radio events over the years. He is the author of a popular series of Amateur Radio license exam study guides and other Amateur Radio and Morse code related books. Dan teaches a popular one-day license exam preparation course, made ten-of-thousands of QSOs, and is a regular speaker at the annual Dayton Hamvention. Join us as we listen to Dan discuss a wide range of Amateur Radio and CW topics.

We first heard about the Long Island CW Club back in the fall of 2018. After talking with the club’s founders, Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE and Rich Collins, K2UPS, we featured the club in Episode #23 in January 2019. The club (actually it’s a community of CW operators) is so unique and different in their approach to teaching Morse code and CW we thought we’d check in a year or so later to see what they’ve been up to. In this follow-up episode, we welcome back Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE and two of the club’s former students, Jim Crites, W6JIM and Stan Ferris, K7SBF, who are now teaching Morse code and CW to new club students. The club has grown tremendously in the past year and now offers some of the most unique and interesting CW courses not offered anywhere else. Join us as Howard, Jim, and Stan update us on all that’s been happening with the Long Island CW Club!

CW traffic nets have been around for a long time. They operate every day, 365 days a year by dedicated amateur radio volunteers. In spite of today’s digital technologies, CW traffic nets continue to be a highly survivable, efficient, and reliable part of the National Traffic System. CW operators using simple equipment and compromise antennas restore communications to areas devastated during disasters and in other times of great need. Listen as Carl Davis, W8WZ, explains the National Traffic System, how it works with other networks, and why you need to participate as a traffic handler. This is an interesting and fascinating discussion. Carl shares his unique insight, experience, and information on CW traffic nets you won’t want to miss!

There is a long tradition of amateur radio operators experimenting and building gear. Recently I built my own cootie key using an old saw blade and some discarded metal parts I had tossed in a junk box. It fell apart the first time I used it on the air. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun making it and the whole experience gave me a greater appreciation for the folks who design and build keys and paddles for the rest of us. Steve Roberts, W1SFR, is a key maker in Vermont who produces a unique torsion bar key/paddle. His keys are a delight to the eye and a joy to use. Join us as Steve talks about where the idea came from, making keys, how they are unique, and thoughts about customer service.

Kurt Zoglmann, AD0WE, created Morse Code Ninja, a very comprehensive Morse code/CW training program using learning theory and techniques not used in other programs until now. There are more than 979 Youtube videos and over 2000 hours of Morse code teaching content available in Kurt’s course. There is something for everyone in this course. If you are brand new to learning the code this is an excellent place to start. The course will take you from 0 to 15 words-per-minute at your own pace. If you already know the code and are proficient at some level, this is a great program to develop your Morse code/CW skills even further. It will help you increase your speed, get better at head copying, or improve your rag chewing abilities. You could even use it to supplement another program you may be participating in. Morse Code Ninja is free and available to anyone with an interest in Morse code and CW.

Episode #27 was about the great coastal maritime radio stations that communicated with all the ships around the world at sea. In this episode we hear what it was like to be the ship’s radio officer who depended on and communicated with those coastal maritime radio stations. For decades, ships cruised the great seas using Morse code and a key to stay safe and move cargo from one port to another. Denis O’Brien, N2JJF, served as the ship’s radio officer in the Merchant Marines for fourteen years. Listen as Denis shares his experience of his time at sea, a ship in distress, and the storm he wasn’t sure the ship would survive!

There was a time when the airways bristled with Morse Code. There were commercial radio stations all around the world whose business was sending and receiving Morse Code messages to ships at sea. Coast station KPH, located at Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco, is one of those stations. Richard Dillman was there in 1997 when KPH sent it’s last message and closed it’s doors. It was the end of the line for the men and women who had spent their careers sending Morse Code to ships at sea. There was nowhere else for them to go… Two years later, Richard Dillman with a group of volunteers returned to KPH and put it back on the air. Listen as Richard tells us about the future of Maritime Morse Code Coastal Station KPH!

CW ragchewing… the idea makes some CW operators weak in the knees. The good news is it’s a lot easier than most CW operators think it is. Gary Stone, N5PHT, would like you to go beyond the basic QSO and start having more CW conversations. Gary has 170,000 QSOs, 150,000 of those are CW QSOs, and at least 4,000 of those CW QSOs have been ragchews. A CW ragchew is just a conversation or, as Gary likes to say, you’re just sharing a little more of yourself. After exchanging the basic QSO information, instead of saying 73 ask a simple question, “What do you do?”, “Are you retired?” Put your feet up and spend a little time talking. Learning to ragchew adds a whole new level of enjoyment to operating CW!