Greetings Ed!   
      
    EV>> As I have been reading this Thread the thought has come to my mind   
    EV>> of how many participate in CW Contests?   
      
    RW>> I've done that with a DX group. They were Extras, I was a   
    RW>> Novice, then a Technician and  finally a General.   
      
    EV> I was asked to keep the Log beside a High Speed CW OT OP the first   
    EV> Field Day I participated in after I got back home from the Navy.   
      
   c1960?   
      
    EV> The Op would ask me, "did You get that?" and I say "sure".   
      
    EV> That went on for a few contacts and when I told him when I was in   
    EV> Navy Radioman School my CW RCVing Speed got up to 26WPM, after I told   
    EV> him that he never ask me anything again except if the station he was   
    EV> calling was a Dupe contact. They gave me a Flip-Top Telephone Index   
    EV> for a Dupe Log, to write the Call Signs down of the Stations we   
    EV> already worked on that frequency, and usually I'd let him know if the   
    EV> Station had already been worked before he'd have the chance to ask   
    EV> me.   
      
   CW conversations are fun. But I never got that excited about them.   
      
    EV> Back when I listened to the W1AW Code Practice audio a few months   
    EV> ago, I found out how rusty I was at copying High Speed CW.   
      
   Heh! Sometimes I have a hard time copying the IDer on a repeater and have   
   to listen to it a couple of times to get it. Now that's rusty!   
      
    EV>> I'd think that would be a fair way to find out if CW is a lost art   
    EV>> or not, don't You think?   
      
    RW>> It might help to clean up some of the man-made noisy interfence   
    RW>> on the phone bands.   
      
    EV> I'd say have everyone go back to using AM then.    hi   
      
   Unnnn, that would only add to the noise...   
      
       Have a day!   
      
            R\%/itt - K5RXT   
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: HAM Radio, aka Amateur Radio. 804? Over! (1:387/22)