Shortwave (ham) Radio in Puna

[AlohaSteven]

Morse is no longer required for a shortwave radio operator's license, but in my humble and relatively inexperienced opinion it is a very good idea to become proficient in Morse code signaling and receiving even if such is no longer required. Under some unfavorable conditions up in the ionosphere (or somewhere else similarly mystical) voice communications can break down into a garble which sounds remarkably like feral cats mating on a hot summer night, yet Morse is often still intelligible even under such adverse conditions. In the event of a direct hit by a hurricane or somesuch civic emergency, if the neighborhood is counting upon you for getting a flow of information in and out (e.g., insulin supply running low, a tree fell on someone and they need to be airlifted out by helicopter for medical attention or die, etc), then proficiency in Morse can literally make the difference between life and death.



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"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Pres. John Adams, Scholar and Statesman


"There's a scientific reason to be concerned and there's a scientific reason to push for action. But there's no scientific reason to despair."

NASA climate analyst Gavin Schmidt

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