The NW7US Beacon

True Visionaries of the Future, in 1922

For what it is worth, there were moments of incredible vision and clarity in the magazine staff of “Radio News”. Here is an example. On the cover of the January 1922 edition, this picture predicts a time in the future when radio will become the “Street Organ of the Future.” Remember the Boom Box craze of the 1980s? And, now, as we have all our personal devices? This was truly visionary, back in 1922.

The FISTS International Morse Code Preservation Society Celebrates 25 Years In 2012

FISTS is an international group of individuals and clubs that support the use, preservation and education of Morse code. Practically speakinking, the club is devoted exclusively to the use of Morse code by way of radio, usually through the mode known as “CW”. CW operators, CW operating and people who are passionate about Morse code are welcome to be members.

FISTS is a well established and recognized Morse code (CW-mode on the radio) organization in the world of amateur radio. Founded in 1987 by Geo Longden, G3ZQS, it now has a membership in the thousands, is world-wide, and growing daily.

What FISTS wants to accomplish:

1. To further the use of CW on the amateur bands.
2. To encourage newcomers to the CW mode.
3. To engender friendship within the membership.

The International Morse Code, sometimes referred to as ‘CW’ in Amateur Radio jargon because a continuous wave is turned on and off with the long and short elements of the morse code characters, is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a given message. The short and long elements can be formed by sounds, marks, or pulses, in on off keying and are commonly known as “dots” and “dashes” or “dits” and “dahs”. The speed of Morse code is measured in words per minute (WPM) or characters per minute, while fixed-length data forms of telecommunication transmission are usually measured in baud or bps.

Why is it called ‘Morse Code’? This character encoding was devised by Samuel F. B. Morse, the creator of the electric telegraph. This ‘Morse Code’ came in two flavors, in the beginning. One was in use by the railroads of America, and is known as ‘American Morse Code’. And, there was a unified, internationally-used version (adopted by radio operators), now known as the ‘International Morse Code’. Now, when most people refer to ‘Morse Code’ or ‘CW’, they mean, ‘International Morse Code.’

The most popular current use of Morse code is by amateur radio operators, although it is no longer a requirement for amateur licensing in many countries. In the professional field, pilots and air traffic controllers are usually familiar with Morse code and require a basic understanding. Navigational aids in the field of aviation, such as VORs and NDBs, constantly transmit their identity in Morse code. Morse code is designed to be read by humans without a decoding device, making it useful for sending automated digital data in voice channels. For emergency signaling, Morse code can be sent by way of improvised sources that can be easily “keyed” on and off, making Morse code one of the most versatile methods of telecommunication in existence.

More information:
+ My CW / Morse code website - http://cw.hfradio.org/
+ The FISTS Website - http://FISTS.org