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On a recent trip home to visit family, my younger brother dropped by with a package for me. In going though some old boxes at his house, he had come across the old hand key that had belonged to our grandfather around the turn of the century. "Pompa" (as we called him) had worked as a telegrapher for the railroad and this was his personal key. A lot of memories are tied to it. That key and job led him from West Virginia to Kentucky, where he met the lady that would become my Grandmother. I remember spending many nights in my youth at their home in Asheville, NC playing with this key -- like all young kids trying to tap out "SOS" and thought I had the code down pat! Pompa would simply smile, and tell me some tale about a message he had sent with that key. Were they true? Who knows? Was it fun? You bet!
I had long forgotten about that key. To be honest, when I first got into ham radio my first key wasn't a hand key at all. It was a Heathkit box put together by my Elmer in 1970. I didn't own a hand key for about a dozen years. Looking back, I wish I had learned to use a hand key when I first got started in this hobby. There is little to compare with the melodic sound of good Morse code sent by hand. Each fist has a unique "dialect" which their friends can easily pick out of a pile-up.
In this era of digital communication, keyboarding, FM and electronic keys, once a year many excellent operators bring the past to the present and participate in the annual ARRL Straight Key Night. The object of this friendly event is to enjoy some good, old fashioned QSO fun, using straight keys. The emphasis is on rag-chewing rather than on fast contest-type exchanges. SKN 2003 begins at 7:00 p.m. EST December 31 and runs for 24 hours through 7:00 p.m. EST January 1 (0000 --2400 UTC January 1, 2003).
When participating in SKN 2003, instead of sending RST before sending the signal report send the letters SKN, to indicate your participation, and to clue in passers-by who may be listening that SKN is going strong. Afterwards, send the Contest Branch a list of stations worked, plus your vote for the best fist you heard (it doesn't have to be one you worked). Also, include your vote for the most interesting QSO you had or monitored. You can post your comments and interesting photographs from your SKN adventure to the ARRL Contest Online Soapbox at www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox You may also send in items for the Feedback section of the SKN 2003 write-up. Entries should be emailed to the Contest Branch at StraightKey@arrl.org or may be sent via regular mail to SKN, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Entries for SKN 2003 must be received by January 31, 2003. Votes for 'Best Fist' and "Most Interesting QSO" will be tabulated and included in the April 2003 issue of QST. If you have questions about SKN, please visit the Contest Branch Web Page at http://www.arrl.org/contests or contact contests@arrl.org
I guess I need to dust off my Grandfather's key and see if I can make it talk...
