Moose Jaw Amateur Radio Club

CW - Continuous Wave

CW, or Continuous Wave, is the granddaddy of all radio transmission. It is a signal that is *not* modulated, meaning that it doesn't carry information. Instead, the transmission is the information by turning the signal on and off in certain time ratios. The quick dits and longer dahs form these patterns. No matter how fast this code is sent, the time ratio is always the same. Dahs are always 3 times longer than dits. These dits and dahs or dots and dashes became codified into patterns called International Morse Code.

Despite CW no longer being an Amateur exam requirement and being over 100 years old, CW remains a popular mode of operating due to its efficiency. It uses very little bandwidth (~100Hz) compared to a voice signal on SSB (2500Hz)! Compared to modern, likewise efficient, digital modes, CW requires no computer or extra equipment other than a key and the radio rig. This makes it a popular mode for SOTA (Summits On The Air) or POTA (Parks On The Air) where light gear is essential because it may be carried for a long distance or up a mountain.

CW has it's own shorthand language in addition to Q-Codes. Like the original 'emojis,' CW abbreviations communicate meaning quickly. Here are a few commonly used in QSOs, as well as a CW QSO template.

Learning Resources

Fundamental advice to learn CW the right way from the start:

DO NOT COUNT THE DITS AND DAHS!

Learn the shape of each character as a unified sound, preferably at 12-20WPM with lots of space between characters to give the ear and brain time to process.

We live at a great time for learning because there are a plethora of resources available for your Morse Code Quest. Here are just a few:

Long Island CW Club
- Revoltionary and Outstanding Long Island CW Morse Practice Page!
- Overview Video on how to use it
Morse Code Ninja - truly massive amounts resources!
CWops - another great organization for learning CW
Ditto CW - The absolute best CW phone app for learning! It has built in lists of letters, numbers, abbreviations, callsigns with the ability to set the WPM and the space between words independently.

With a little practice, you too can have a lot of fun operating in Ham Radio's most historic mode!

This video shows how a complete beginner can operate using CW as well as a nice overview of the QSO in the context of a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation: