In reply to G8ADD:
as if they are afraid that if they don`t keep cranking the wheels of CW will grind to a halt
I don’t think that’s the reason at all Brian. I think it is genuine recommendation of the most efficient and effective mode for HF SOTA. The is no fear that it will grind to a halt, it works too well for that to be a possibility.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
From a recent database snapshot:
HF QSOs:
SSB and FM: 630837
SSB only: 630049
CW only: 1120572
Not HF QSOs:
SSB and FM: 695358
SSB only: 163442
CW only: 2442
HF = 1.8,3.5,7,10,14,18,21,24,28 MHz bands
Not HF everything but the above HF bands.
As you would expect not many FM QSOs on HF, not many CW QSOs on not HF.
Interestingly, the number of SSB and FM QSOs is about the same for both band groupings. The massive difference is in CW QSOs on HF. Not surprising, few listen for CW on VHF bands unless it’s a sked/contest. On HF CW is mode most likely to get you contacts with QRP portable gear.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to M1EYP:
In reply to G8ADD:
as if they are afraid that if they don`t keep cranking the wheels of
CW will grind to a haltI don
t think thats the reason at all Brian. I think it is genuine
recommendation of the most efficient and effective mode for HF SOTA.
The is no fear that it will grind to a halt, it works too well for
that to be a possibility.
Not expressed here perhaps, Tom, but you will find plenty of Americans on the Zed and eHam bemoaning the end of Morse testing and expressing fears for the future of CW - after all, we dropped the Morse test long before they did and have had more time to adjust, although I am sure I have seen such sentiments expressed in Radcom! For my part I will willingly agree that it is the most efficient mode, but of course taste comes into it, too, and as the ad said, “It`s good to talk!”
Brian G8ADD
PS I see Andy`s figures move CW to 64% on HF!
If you were to apply statistical significance / trend tests on the data, all it would show is that CW is alive and well, Phone is alive and well, HF is alive and well, VHF is alive and well, HF SSB is alive and well etc etc etc.
Taste? That’s a strange remark. You don’t do CW, so your preference for phone is not based on taste, or a belief that there is something more sociable and personable about the spoken word. It is based on what is available to you. There is a notorious character who comes up periodically on a local repeater round here, who insists that talking is far superior because it conveys much more about emotion, sentiment, humour etc through the rhythm of the speech and the intonation of the voice. I have argued that all this is similarly conveyed by good CW ops as well, but he struggles to understand that point. Of course, he himself does not do CW.
Anyway, I came into this on a Class B licence and still have my Class B prefix, it’s the only callsign I have ever held. I noticed all this extra SOTA I couldn’t chase because it was on CW - so I learned CW. I found the best way to learn CW was by being very cheeky and doing CW SOTA activations, right on 7.032MHz, at 10wpm!
Same goes for datamodes as well. You can ignore it and not join in, or you can do something about it, get an interface and some freeware, and get going on PSK31 (etc).
You could go back to QRZ and eHam and offer Andy’s figures, as evidence that their fears are unfounded. A quick snapshot of today’s spots shows a very even split between CW and SSB on HF, with 65 SSB spots, and 63 for CW (in compact view).
Another trend you could track is the raw number of HF SSB activations in each year of SOTA since its inception. This would show significant year-on-year growth, so people who find CW distasteful just need to put it from their minds and focus on the ever increasing opportunities to chase HF SSB SOTA activations.
Roy G4SSH clearly cannot do SSB. But you never find him complaining about all the SSB activations, and furthermore, he still manages to be the world’s leading chaser!
Tom M1EYP
In reply to G8ADD:
on the Zed and eHam
Ah, the DailyMail of amateur forums. You will find plenty of people on those forums who believe the world is flat. That doesn’t make the world flat or them correct.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
That doesn’t make the
world flat
Blow. I was relying on that for my cycle ride tomorrow.
In reply to G3CWI:
You have muscles and hardly any fat. It doesn’t matter if the world is flat or not to people like you!
Andy
MM0FMF