From the Wall Street Journal:


Chuck Adams, K7QO, the gentleman in the article is well-known among Ham Radio QRP (low-powered radio) enthusiasts. For a long time, he was the moderator of the QRP-L email reflector. I have ‘worked’ (talked-to) him on the air several times, mostly during Fox Hunts, an activity where QRP operators try to find a certain station (the Fox) and quickly exchange information.

Chuck has been an advocate of CW (Morse code) and known for his ability to copy Morse at high speeds. He is way faster than me and I’m faster than most. I’m a little out of practice right now, but it is one of those things – like riding a bike – that you never lose.

The article also had some audio samples – extracts from a Zane Grey book – that were fun (for me) to listen to and hear the text. There were some garbled parts. I don’t know if it was a poor download at my end, or a bad copy on the web site, but 95% was there and you probably wouldn’t notice them, but I did.

It’s a remarkably frank statement of the state of the demise of Morse Code without any finger-pointing or criticising anyone for it’s elimination. Like many other old technologies, Morse has gotten to the point where it is only preserved by those who enjoy and appreciate it. Kind of like sail boats in a Jet plane age.