Text 401, 109 rader
Skriven 2005-05-18 17:11:34 av Sean Dennis (1:18/200)
Ärende: Morse Code wins again!
==============================
Hello, All.

From arrl.org:

(NB: I have the file they mention at: http://outpostbbs.net/tvm.mwv)

=== Cut ===
CW Ops Whip Whippersnapper Text Messengers on National Television

NEWINGTON, CT, May 16, 2005--It might have been Friday the Thirteenth, but it
was a lucky day for Morse code--and particularly for veteran CW contest ops
Chip Margelli, K7JA, and Ken Miller, K6CTW. During a May 13 appearance on NBC's
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the pair was able to pass a message using good
old fashioned Morse code more rapidly than a pair of teenaged text messengers
equipped with modern cell phones. The victory, which replicated a similar
challenge that took place recently in Australia, has provided immense
encouragement to Amateur Radio's community of CW operators, who've been
ballyhooing the achievement all over the Internet. The text messaging team
consisted of world text-messaging champ Ben Cook of Utah and his friend Jason.
Miller said afterward in a reflector posting that the CW team won fairly
handily.

"Ben was just getting ready to start entering the last two words when I was
done," he said on the Elecraft reflector in response to various questions he's
received following the TV appearance. "I already knew that 28-30 WPM would
easily keep us in front of even the current world [text messaging] record
holder, and also it is the fastest speed that I can make nice readable copy on
paper with a `stick' [pencil]." Miller said it was decided he'd be on the
receiving end because he wasn't distracted by the noise in the studio.

Margelli recalls that he was sending at 29 WPM. "I believe the goods were
suitably delivered," he told ARRL. "CW and old guys rule!"

Ken Miller, K6CTW (right), raises his hand to indicate "game over," as Jason
looks on in astonishment.

What the viewing public didn't know was that Margelli and Miller had, in
Miller's words, "smoked 'em every time" during three pre-program rehearsals.
Even so, during the real thing, when Miller raised his hand to signal he'd
copied the CW message successfully, Jason's jaw dropped. None of the players
had any idea of the text they'd be sending, Miller noted. The message? "I just
saved a bunch of money on my car insurance."

As with many Tonight Show bits, this one involved a member of the audience, a
young woman named Jennifer who predicted--incorrectly as it turned out, that
text messaging definitely would top 170-year-old Morse code. She walked away
with a gift of restaurant tickets anyway.

Margelli says the CW team used Yaesu FT-817 transceivers--one of his own and
another owned by Dan Dankert, N6PEQ. Backup units--not needed--were provided by
HRO; Margelli's wife Janet, KL7MF, manages an HRO store. They ended up using
432.200 MHz as an operating frequency in order to avoid RFI from the plethora
of TV equipment in the studio and to avoid interfering with NBC's gear. They
ran the little transceivers at their lowest power level and with the antennas
disconnected--although they were mounted on the back of each unit--no problem
given the close proximity involved. Margelli sent with a Bencher paddle.

Hamming it up, Margelli pretends to blow the smoke from his speedy fingers
after his and Miller's win over the SMSers.

To add a little atmosphere to the affair, NBC producers attired Margelli and
Miller to look like 19th-century-era Western Union or railroad Morse
telegraphers. The costumes came complete with green visors, white shirts,
sleeve garters, vests and bow ties. The teenaged SMSers wore T-shirts and
jeans.

Cook told Leno that he'd managed to send a 160-letter message to his friend
using his cell phone's short message system (SMS)--the formal term for text
messaging--in 57 seconds.

A member of the Morse Telegraph Club and a QRP enthusiast, Miller said he'd
been using CW for 38 years. Margelli told Leno he'd been using Morse "for 43
years in ham radio," a phrase Leno echoed. That was the only plug Amateur Radio
got during the appearance on the show's "Dinner for 4" segment. Miller says
that during rehearsal, the pair had come up with a few lines to promote ham
radio and telegraphy, but they were cut during the final dress rehearsal in the
interest of making the segment fit its allotted time slot.

A video clip of the CW vs text messaging competition is available on various
Internet sites.

During the Australian competition in April, a Morse team consisting of
93-year-old former post office telegrapher Gordon Hill--the sender--and
82-year-old Jack Gibson--the receiver--topped 13-year-old SMSer Brittany
Devlin. In that event, Hill spelled out the message in full, while Devlin used
text-messaging shorthand. In that competition, held at the Powerhouse Museum in
Sydney, Hill took 90 seconds to send the message, 18 seconds faster than
Devlin's message took to reach her friend's cell phone.

Miller encouraged all who enjoyed the CW-vs-text messaging segment on NBC to
contact The Tonight Show to let the producers know about it--with an eye toward
having the network schedule a more elaborate segment "next time."

"Thanks for the kind comments from all," Miller concluded, advising "let's keep
on having fun!--It is a hobby after all."

Commented Margelli to ARRL: "I completely agree with my fantastic teammate, Ken
Miller. It was a lot of fun, just like ham radio, and the show also delivered
an important, if subtle, message about the benefits of the `basic'
communication infrastructure that Amateur Radio provides."
=== Cut ===

Later,
Sean

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