On Jan 5, 10:27 am, "Michael J. Coslo" wrote:
On Jan 4, 7:15 pm, Jeffrey D Angus wrote:

What's next? Secret handshakes and weird rituals?

I read the bylaws and they do seem to be a pretty exclusive group.

I'm not a member, but I don't see any secret handshakes or weird
rituals.

What I do see are requirements that prospective members prove
themselves by actually getting on the air and working existing members,
using CW, at a given speed or better.

What I see as the flaw in their system is that they state that they
want to create a renaissance in CW. Okay, that's a worthy goal. I do
question how they are going about it.

But setting the bar at 25 wpm is not going to produce that goal.

Why not?

And
reading through their web pages, it is not difficult to derive a
conclusion that they are working at a atmosphere of exclusivity.
Exclusivity and renaissance are pretty much at odds. Plus there is the
strange part in the FAQ about one's sponsors possibly making a
applicant take a test. That's just inconsistent and odd, and smacks of
sub-groups, and people who are more equal than others.

I see it very differently.

CWOps isn't the only game in town. FISTS has been around a long time,
for example. SKCC has attracted thousands of members in just a few
years. Second Class Operator's club is another example. All have pretty
minimal entry requirements. That's not a bad thing.

ISTM that the idea for CWOps is to have a club focused on those with a
somewhat-higher level of skill in Morse Code, who actually use the mode
on the air regularly. The requirement for QSOs with members looks to me
as a way of insuring a personal connection between members.

So I think there's room for a club like CWOps, too. It will be
interesting to see how membership grows.

I'm happy to be member number 891 in the Second Class
Operator's Club.

Which reminds me - I gotta sign up for that one.

---

One thing I remember clearly from my early days in amateur radio is
actually seeing and hearing real live Radio Amateurs using Morse Code
at a high level of skill.

I think it was Field Day 1969 when I encountered a grizzled OT working
CW on the low end of 40, working them faster than I could keep track of
through the fierce QRM of the crowded band. Even though FD had only
been going for a couple of hours he'd made more QSOs than many
stations would make all FD.

"Which one are you copying?" I asked

"All three" said the OT, logging another one. "Now get me another
beer"

I went to get it, and decided right then that someday I'd have that
level of skills.

73 de Jim, N2EY