Roy...   
      
      
    RW@> What do I know...I quit using morse the day I got my General (c1978)   
    RW@> and havn't looked back since. In fact, I joined with W5YI to help stop   
    RW@> the morse code requirements for licensing. Just foolin' around with   
    RW@> marc...   
      
     I've had several other hams tell me that the only reason they learned   
   CW was to pass a certain license element, then they never touched a keyer    
   again.   
      
     Now, that CW is no longer required, people are learning Morse Code   
   because they WANT TO, not because they HAVE TO. IIRC, just after the CW   
   requirement was removed, the phones at Vibroplex were ringing off the   
   wall, for people wanting keyers. A fellow local ham has one of their   
   "classic keyers", and he loves doing CW.   
      
     I understand that one station in the northeast US, N2SEX, is one of   
   the best CW operators you'll ever work...funky callsign not withstanding   
   (hi hi).   
      
     A former ham (now a SK) told me his secret to learning CW was to "learn   
   all the dirty words first". I laughed, and admitted "Well, you can't say   
   it on the air, but if it helps, more power to you".   
      
     That was verified when I was listening into a Morse Code class done by   
   the Dallas Amateur Radio Club on Echolink via the W5FC-R repeater. The   
   first 4 letters they taught formed an expletive...to which I thought "I'll   
   be damned" (hi hi). But, when you looked at the dot and dash pattern, it   
   made perfect sense. I've heard of hams sitting around the restaurant table,   
   telling dirty jokes in CW (hi hi).   
      
     FWIW, I tried a 5 wpm CW test once, but failed. Had I filled in the   
   blanks, I probably would've passed it, but it's a moot point now.   
      
   Daryl, WX1DER   
      
   ... Ham Radio Messages/Replies Will Be Sent In Morse Code.   
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