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Posted: 7/13/2017 11:40:11 PM EDT
[#1]
CW (or I guess I should say morse code) is not necessary with today's satellite communication systems.
Edit: I guess I should read the question more closely.  I think it mostly went away in the late 1990's, but it's not totally dead yet.
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Posted: 7/14/2017 2:46:20 AM EDT
[#2]
It's my understanding (as of about 10-15 years ago) that at least for special forces, CW is being re-emphasized.
It'll serve when other modes simply won't. |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 7:29:24 AM EDT
[#3]
CW was dropped from 18E phase training in the 1990s.
Comms these days is like sending email. |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 7:57:24 AM EDT
[#4]
Talked to a man who works for us. Seems the monitoring of the entire comms band can be saved, decoded, and even reviewed at a later date by sneeky super computers.. But he also said that some emphasis was put into keeping cw as a mode for comms. Funny thing he said, the people learning have no chance compared to some of the salty dogs from the past.. Would have to loose all the satelites and grid for this to happen. If the grid goes down that would mean most of the radios wouldn't work either.. Digital/internet is very robust right now.. If we were having to rely on cw we are already in waist deep of trouble.. Imagine if you could search a keyword in google and that would relay a message thru the Interweb.. Chew on that one..
Prosise |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 9:37:25 AM EDT
[#5]
When I took my Ham licensing course this Winter, our instructor informed us that when the USCG announced that they would no longer be monitoring CW, FCC decided to drop the CW requirement for Ham licensing.
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:44:00 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's my understanding (as of about 10-15 years ago) that at least for special forces, CW is being re-emphasized. Link It'll serve when other modes simply won't. NO voice communications were possible. The radio guy tapped his messages out in CW (there's a button just for that on their radios) and with headphones, could receive any voice messages. They were stuck like that for several hours. |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:49:24 AM EDT
[#7]
the people learning have no chance compared to some of the salty dogs from the past.. Interesting fact: Each operator has a distinctly recognizable "fist," a way of sending Morse code that is unique to him. For this reason, the seasoned operators with the Imperial Japanese fleet were left at home, sending fake messages, when the fleet sailed to attack Pearl Harbor. They did this to fool the American intercept operators into thinking the fleet was at anchor in Japan! eta There was one old ham who strapped a CW key to his knee, and operated CW Mobile! He was one of the 40+ wpm hams who didn't hear individual characters: he listened for entire words! |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 11:03:17 AM EDT
[#8]
Salty dog, Navy radio man (and active ham) having a nice QSO. He still uses a straight key.
 Morse code conversation |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 11:26:09 AM EDT
[#9]
Interesting fact: Each operator has a distinctly recognizable "fist," a way of sending Morse code that is unique to him. For this reason, the seasoned operators with the Imperial Japanese fleet were left at home, sending fake messages, when the fleet sailed to attack Pearl Harbor. They did this to fool the American intercept operators into thinking the fleet was at anchor in Japan! |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 12:25:48 PM EDT
[#10]
Johnny Cash was a top notch, morse intercept operator, in the Air Force. A few years ago, I had a nice QSO with his Air Force roommate, Bill Harrell.
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Posted: 7/14/2017 7:06:52 PM EDT
[#11]
The army still had Morse code intercept operators as a mos in the 90's, with a decent enlistment bonus. My dad talked me out of it though. He was Air Force intercept, like Johnny Cash.
The best cw op I've ever been around is a former coast guard op that shows up to our field day. It's fun to watch and listen to him. |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 8:37:32 PM EDT
[#12]
Yeah just hook your computer up to the radio and type. Hard to beat IRC over RF
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:38:56 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah just hook your computer up to the radio and type. Hard to beat IRC over RF |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:44:59 PM EDT
[#14]
My AFSC still gets it depending on your duty station.
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:57:21 PM EDT
[#15]
CW is still in use. Commercial shipping still uses it.
that said, you can encode and decode it via computer now, so not sure how many people still learn it in the military. I know there are still people around who are very good with it, but not sure it's still taught. |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 10:58:26 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I grew up as a linux kid in the mid/late 90s. I about shit myself when I went in and saw our blue force trackers ran a USGI'd redhat distro, and our sipr comms were a USGI'd mIRC. 
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Posted: 7/14/2017 11:22:55 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There has been fights all along the way of people trying to replace mIRC with some other IRC client because of who develops mIRC, but it never works. What is funny is I have had some youngins that told be the "m" stood for military |
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Posted: 7/14/2017 11:26:10 PM EDT
[#18]
I learned Morse Code in a military school, about 30 years ago. Back them it was considered very important.
When I was learning code, a buddy of mine was an avid CW operator. He would chit chat with his friends on HF at around 45 WPM and eat his sandwich at the same time. Of course he could not do this with a straight key. He used a home made single paddle key. He could also monitor a CW conversation at the same speed and talk to me at the same time. Back them I had a hard time believing it can be done by a human being. Now I can transmit almost as fast but my receiving skills are not there yet. 
BTW, knowing Morse Code is a good thing if you are a pilot. Some navigation aid instruments use code to identify transmitter name abbreviation (location). Many count dots and dashes and use a cheat sheet to translate it. Maybe it changed lately as I have not flown in a long time. |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 12:08:46 AM EDT
[#19]
In the Marine Corps sometime after 2003 the 2621 MOS Manual Morse Intercept Operator became Special Communications Signals Collection Operator and Morse was no longer taught.
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Posted: 7/15/2017 1:24:59 AM EDT
[#20]
In 1980, the USMC field radio operator course did not include cw. There was virtually no need for it below the Division level.
It was still taught in a stand alone course in the late 80's, but there simply wasn't a real need for it. Everything was either voice, or teletype. The majority of our tactical nets were VHF FM voice in the 30-76 MHz range. A few specialized nets were HF ssb voice in the 2-30 MHz range & 20 watts. And fixed wing air to ground nets were UHF AM voice in the 200-300 MHz range. The vast majority of our comm took place at ranges of less than 10 miles on VHF. Some of the HF stuff was 20-40 miles, but most was less (naval gunfire spotting). Long distance, 100+ miles, was done with portable satcom, or large 1KW+ radio vans & teletype. |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 10:33:22 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There was a case in the first invasion of Kuwait that a British SF unit was sent deep into enemy territory. They made a dugout and had roofed it over... when an enemy helicopter landed so close to them, they could have reached out with a rifle and touched the rear wheel! NO voice communications were possible. The radio guy tapped his messages out in CW (there's a button just for that on their radios) and with headphones, could receive any voice messages. They were stuck like that for several hours. This is the radio they used. 
PS, fuck photfucket... |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 10:34:08 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Salty dog, Navy radio man (and active ham) having a nice QSO. He still uses a straight key.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Ed0TSp0gs |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 10:43:46 AM EDT
[#23]
I thought this was gonna be a Cola Warrior thread.
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Posted: 7/15/2017 12:52:00 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I thought this was gonna be a Cola Warrior thread. |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 4:57:43 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Salty dog, Navy radio man (and active ham) having a nice QSO. He still uses a straight key. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Ed0TSp0gsI prefer my recliner, though.
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Posted: 7/15/2017 5:07:35 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Johnny Cash was a top notch, morse intercept operator, in the Air Force. A few years ago, I had a nice QSO with his Air Force roommate, Bill Harrell. |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 5:18:56 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
eta There was one old ham who strapped a CW key to his knee, and operated CW Mobile! He was one of the 40+ wpm hams who didn't hear individual characters: he listened for entire words! |
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Posted: 7/15/2017 6:58:04 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Not only that, he intercepted comms for the 1st jet flight of the Soviet Air Force - and could translate Russian as well. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Johnny Cash was a top notch, morse intercept operator, in the Air Force. A few years ago, I had a nice QSO with his Air Force roommate, Bill Harrell. |
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Posted: 7/16/2017 1:35:18 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There has been fights all along the way of people trying to replace mIRC with some other IRC client because of who develops mIRC, but it never works. What is funny is I have had some youngins that told be the "m" stood for military 
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Posted: 7/16/2017 1:38:44 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote History
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Posted: 7/21/2017 8:26:43 PM EDT
[#31]
They got rid of 98H's (Morse Interceptor) in the late 90's on active duty and 10 years ago in the Guard/Reserve.
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Posted: 7/22/2017 3:45:46 PM EDT
[#32]
It's scary to learn what capabilities modern electronic warfare mobile units have. A group of those vehicles can effectively block communications in a wide area. They can even intercept satellite communications and block them quickly. This includes GPS signals as well as communications on HF band (any mode).
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Posted: 7/22/2017 4:24:10 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's scary to learn what capabilities modern electronic warfare mobile units have. A group of those vehicles can effectively block communications in a wide area. They can even intercept satellite communications and block them quickly. This includes GPS signals as well as communications on HF band (any mode).
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Posted: 7/22/2017 7:41:51 PM EDT
[#34]
I went to 25C Radio Operator/Maintainer Course in 2003 and no Morse was taught then they did not require it any longer. They had a few extremely old radios I don't remember the model but they didn't train us on them saying that the last Guard Units got rid of whatever model it was. It was not a SINCGARS but another big unit "boat anchor". I then proceeded to training area later in cycle and set my comm shelter on fire due to moisture in the unit and electricity....good times! I do miss Fort Gordon.
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Posted: 7/23/2017 9:38:39 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's scary to learn what capabilities modern electronic warfare mobile units have. A group of those vehicles can effectively block communications in a wide area. They can even intercept satellite communications and block them quickly. This includes GPS signals as well as communications on HF band (any mode). |
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Posted: 7/23/2017 5:36:35 PM EDT
[#36]
When I was in Iraq in 06 and working S6 shop(communications) we worked with a Navy Electronic Warfare Officer and our jammer device for IEDs. Was my first introduction to a oscilloscope and seeing the frequency waves. It wasn't until after my deployment that I got licensed but the equipment I had at hand was awesome and wish I could have now! But those Electronic Warfare guys were awesome.
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Posted: 7/27/2017 8:48:38 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When I was in Iraq in 06 and working S6 shop(communications) we worked with a Navy Electronic Warfare Officer and our jammer device for IEDs. Was my first introduction to a oscilloscope and seeing the frequency waves. It wasn't until after my deployment that I got licensed but the equipment I had at hand was awesome and wish I could have now! But those Electronic Warfare guys were awesome. |
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Posted: 7/27/2017 9:16:32 AM EDT
[#38]
Army SF used the AN/PRC-74 and 104 until the 90s. We were issued leg keys and the Digital Message Device Group and different antenna sets including the i-Ring.
CW and IMC went away with the advent of smaller SATCOM and packet comm radios. A shame, really, considering the coverage many folks had during World War II and Vietnam using low-power portable equipment. |
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Posted: 7/27/2017 10:35:33 AM EDT
[#39]
My dad was great with a straight key. In his late teens (1930s) he began working as a telegrapher. He was ambidextrous and could send with one hand and write with the other.
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Posted: 7/27/2017 5:14:01 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Warlock? |
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Posted: 7/27/2017 6:03:22 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yep Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Warlock? |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 4:13:14 PM EDT
[#42]
Do foreign militaries, China, Russia, etc. currently teach and use code?
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Posted: 7/29/2017 8:44:06 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Do foreign militaries, China, Russia, etc. currently teach and use code? Russian EF units are considered the military elite. A technical university degree is required for all electronic warfare personnel. It's very advanced these days. They can basically disable all communications in a wide area or a specific local area. This includes all satellite comms too. The capabilities are real scary. This is why there will be no winners if two superpowers collide. |
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