Comment on the "end" of CW³ (Morse Code) in Amateur Radio

back to ham radio

Skill in manual telegraphy is no longer an amateur or professional licensing requirement in the United States or most other countries.  Being a long established tradition in the art of Radio, this has been an emotional, if necessary development.  These two quotes sum up my own view much more nicely than any words I've come up with myself:

"CW has great aesthetic appeal much like sailing, glider flying, balloon flying or shooting traditional archery.  These obsolete modes have an appeal because they depend strongly on the skill of the operator."¹

and

"In some respects [Morse is obsolete].  But, so is the horse as a means of everyday transportation.  That does not stop millions of people from riding horses for fun and millions more from having fun watching them compete.  Horses also still find useful employment in specialized roles, such as police crowd control in New York City and herding cattle..."²

To these I would add:  playing the piano.

¹Nickolaus E. Leggett, N3NL, quoted by Paul Shuch, N6TX, The AMSAT Journal July/August 2007, page 13.
²Ray Soifer, W2RS, ibid, page 30.
³Continuous Wave


created 2007 October 9, cbd