Interesting, and apparently very good news for CWs.
Not to rain on your parade, but I am not sure the data supports the
stated conclusion ... While it suggests there are more CW operators out
there, it is far from conclusive. This data only proves participation
in CW contests has increased, as measured by the number of logs
submitted, and by the increasing number of contacts.
Thus, the total number of CW operators could have diminished, with more
of those remaining participating each year in the contest. Moreover, a
greater number of contacts each year could be attributed to other
factors, such as the use of CW skimmer and other software applications,
and other tools, such as memory keyers and techniques decreasing the
time it takes to complete a contact.
But ... it IS a good indication. I am one of three guys from our
Friday lunch bunch (or maybe 20-23 guys total) who are learning code
right now. Hopefully we exemplify the newer ham licensee who wants to
learn code for the fun of it, not because we have to.
Maybe the number of CW operators HAS been increasing, on the theory that
kids don't take to the piano if you force them to take piano lessons,
but will take up the instrument for life if they start voluntarily.
Parenthetically, I suspect the reason more operators do CW then SSB in
dual type contests, is because a CW contact generally counts for more
points than and SSB contacts. It is that way, for example, in the
Michigan QSO Party, which counts two points for a CW contacts, and one
point for an SSB contact. I don't want to participate in the contest as
a rookie or first-year contestant, until I know the code, because
unless one does CW, he has no chance of winning.
========================== K8JHR ================================
On 5/24/2010 1:47 AM, Jim Brown K9YC wrote:
Anyone who thinks CW is dying ought to turn on their radio during
a contest. Some easily available statistics:
Contest Logs QSOs by Leader
ARRL SS CW 09 1553 1597
ARRL SS CW 08 1420 1529
ARRL 160M 09 1366 2046
ARRL 160M 08 1280 1753
ARRL DX CW 09 3131 5928
ARRL DX CW 08 2686 4797
Note that these numbers all show increased participation year to
year. In ARRL SS and ARRL 160M, you can work a station only once,
so that means at least 1597 stations were on the air in SS09, and
2046 in ARRL 160 09 (and thats a single band contest that many
hams cant work at all)! In ARRL DX, you can work each station on
multiple bands.
In most contests that run both CW and SSB simultaneously, theres
more activity on CW than SSB.
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