[Amps] Ham Tests, was Price per Watt Conversation

[Jim Brown]

I've primarily worked CW since I was first licensed in 1955, and am a 
founding member of CWOPS. That said, I agree with Bill and disagree with 
Mark. Why? Because this is 2017, not 1912. Then was then, and now is 
now. I'm going on 76 years old, but I still try to live in the present, 
not the past, and prepare for the future. I'm active on CW, RTTY, JT65, 
JT9, FSK441 and FM on VHF and UHF bands. I also work SSB, mostly to 
support club competition. W6WRT is also active on JT65.

While all would agree that CW can provide solid copy between trained 
operators at far lower signal levels than SSB, there are far fewer 
trained operators today than in 1955 when I started out. And no matter 
how strong or weak the signal, if the op on the other end can't copy CW, 
no communications will take place.

73, Jim K9YC

On Thu,4/27/2017 4:46 PM, Mark Bitterlich wrote:
> "I'm sure if the Titanic radio op had voice capability he would have
> used it first. Of course in the Titanic case it wouldn't have mattered
> since the only ship listening was too far away. "  Bill W6WRT
>
> The above is a typical "Bill W6WRT" response.  Biased, made to believe 
> he is always correct, and belittling of the person who disagreed with 
> him.  Worse it does disservice to the hero's of the day who used Morse 
> Code to save over half of the crew of this famous ship.
>
> Actually numerous ships and shore stations heard the Titanic.  Not 
> just "the only ship listening" as W6WRT would have you believe, which 
> is just so much misinformation.
>
> "Come at once. We have struck a berg. It's a CQD, old man," the 
> Titanic called to another ship, the Carpathia.
> "We have struck an iceberg and sinking by the head," she told a German 
> ship, the Frankfurt.
>
> "In response her sister ship, the Olympic called back: "Am lighting up 
> all boilers as fast as we can."
>
> "there was "never a tremor" in the Morse tapped out by Jack Phillips."
>
> "I will never live to forget the work of Phillips during the last 
> awful 15 minutes," said Bride.
>
> "I suddenly felt a great reverence to see him standing there sticking 
> to his work while everybody else was raging about."
>
>
>
>
>
> To repeat:  "Bill Turner" <dezrat at outlook.com> said:  "Relying on CW 
> will get people killed."
>
>
>
> No, I don't think so Bill.  History has shown overwise.  But you can 
> ignore history if you'd like.
>