01/02/2008 | KC9ECI AND K2A/9 As I said last year, SKN is the best event that the ARRL sponsors. Like the first year I participated (not that long ago), and each year since, I had a blast! It's nice to turn on the rig and hear the tune that only CW plays, but when you get the drift, buzz, chirp and other assorted sounds of SKN, then you have a symphony.

My first QSO was about half an hour long and was with Tom, KT8Y on 80M. From there, I moved to 40M and put the K2A/9 special event callsign on the air to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Straight Key Century Club - a/k/a SKCC, the fastest growing group of straight key, morse code operators in the world! I was only able to work a few stations before other obligations called me out of the shack, but what a rush!

I was able to get on the air again in the morning and work K2A/4 being run by Frank, KB4T, and I finished SKN the same way I did last year, by working Gordon, N6WK who was on the air as K2A/6.

I divided my 'key time' between a Bulgarian surplus key that I picked up almost 2 years ago, and my Llaves Telegraphicas Artesanas SKCC edition Marconi key.

For more information on the month long SKCC K2A celebration, visit http://skccgroup.com/ -- KC9ECI