On the surface, it seems like CW usage should be in a decline because 1) CW is no longer required to get a license in most countries and 2) digital modes like FT8 are clearly superior at very low signal-to-noise ratios.
But the bands tell the opposite story, as crowded as they often are. I think the primary reason to use CW these days is because it's fun, it feels like you're really doing something and not just delegating the whole task to the computer, and CW is definitely far better than SSB for DX at low, possibly QRP, power.
I don't think it's at risk of being overstatement. CW bands are more crowded than ever before, because there are more CW ops than ever before.
This is, I think, because it's easier to learn than ever, ham radio equipment is more capable for a cheaper (adjusted) price, and ham radio has grown tremendously worldwide due to all barriers being lowered a bit.
CW is very popular, especially given all the other options that are easier.
That it's a smaller percentage of hams that know CW than before is another way of saying ham radio has expanded well beyond CW and the population has grown. But if you have a finite resource (bandwidth) and it's in significantly more demand than ever before, it's a hard argument to suggest that it's not 'very' active.
In the 2024 field day contest that lasts 24 hours, 490,813 Morse code contacts were made between participants. Just turning on my radio now I heard more than 10 conversations in Morse happening and that was just on one of the 10 popular frequency bands.
renehsz|5 months ago
But the bands tell the opposite story, as crowded as they often are. I think the primary reason to use CW these days is because it's fun, it feels like you're really doing something and not just delegating the whole task to the computer, and CW is definitely far better than SSB for DX at low, possibly QRP, power.
spogbiper|5 months ago
tarxvf|5 months ago
This is, I think, because it's easier to learn than ever, ham radio equipment is more capable for a cheaper (adjusted) price, and ham radio has grown tremendously worldwide due to all barriers being lowered a bit.
CW is very popular, especially given all the other options that are easier.
That it's a smaller percentage of hams that know CW than before is another way of saying ham radio has expanded well beyond CW and the population has grown. But if you have a finite resource (bandwidth) and it's in significantly more demand than ever before, it's a hard argument to suggest that it's not 'very' active.
boxerbomb|5 months ago