Most of the parts on my bug are "straight." Unfortunately, I can no
longer send readable CW with it (dits are easy to start, a bit hard to
stop, and my dahs are really long waiting for the electronics to make
them for me), but I do have a hand crafted "real" straight key made from
solid brass parts that weighs about 8 lbs, and I'll probably turn on the
radio some on Sat night.
(a different) Fred
K6DGW
Auburn CA CM98lw
Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
You are quite right, Fred, New Year's Eve is "Straight Key Night". It used
to run just a few hours New Year's Eve for North American Hams but was
lengthened by popular demand. Now it runs from 0000 to 2400 UTC 1 January
each year. And participation keeps growing, with last year resulting in the
greatest number of logs. It's not about how many contacts, but voting on the
most interesting QSO and best fist.
It was originally intended for straight keys back before keyers were common
as a reminder to ops that their bug wasn't the only way to send CW <G>. But
the evolution to include bugs has been recognized in this year's
announcement: "You will hear as many vintage radios on the air during SKN as
you will variety of keys. And you will hear signals generated using
old-fashioned bugs, a variation of the straight key. SKN is the time amateur
radio recalls the past, transporting it to the present."
(Ref: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/skn.html)
For quite a while there has been a monthly operating activity called 'Bug
Night'. I don't think it's still going on.
So even though you will hear some bugs, it is still "Straight Key Night"!
Ron AC7AC
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