I became active again in the summer of 02 and, having a viable sideband
station for perhaps the first time in my ham career, I  worked exclusively
phone until this past fall.  I finally got around to trying CW again in
November ans, since then, I have worked  twice as much CW as phone.  I got a
keyboard keyer, am up to 40 wpm and am having probably the most fun with ham
radio in 37 years.  Many folks have found the fear of CW to be much worse
than the doing.  Lou.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buddy Brannan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: hf and code


> I'm almost exclusively code and love it! The thing is, sometimes I go
> for months and months (sometimes a year!) without any hf, because I
> hadn't got an antenna up. *LOL* But wow is it ever fun. And for me,
> code is very therapeutic and relaxing in a way that not many other
> things are. I know, some people probably think that this is probably
> one of the strangest things they've ever heard of, but it's
> true...and has been for ages. (I mean, besides being completely
> silent with headphones, which means I can operate and not bother
> anyone if I like.)
>
> I've said several times that I love code in spite of my best efforts
> to hate it. Some people may think that that's an odd statement, too.
> When I got my license in 1987, i was 14. I thought the code would be
> hard to learn, but it wasn't. When I got my novice, I said, "Oh! I
> can do 10 meter phone!" But once I got more antennas, I found myself
> on 15-meter cw! When I got my general, I said, "Oh! I can do 20 meter
> phone!" And guess where I was only five hours later? 20 meter cw! I
> couldn't believe it! Why was I so drawn to cw? All I could think of
> was operating phone, but all I found myself operating, mostly, was
> cw! It was fun, it was exciting, it required a skill that not
> everyone had, I didn't feel like a fool shouting "Lima victor!" into
> a microphone trying to get through a dx pileup full of rude jerks.
> What's not to like? Indeed, what's not to absolutely adore?! I can do
> cw for hours and hours. I can do phone for. ... Uh. Not hours and
> hours, for the most part, unless I manage to find an interesting net
> or more interesting ragchew. Certainly not a contest (of any sort,
> any mode, except field day maybe).
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV : Executive In Training! Watkins Manager #361534
> Shop our catalog of timeless Watkins products at www.tastyshop.net
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