Good short explanation on what many people don't realize, CW is a mode, morse code is a language(one that's taking me a while to learn, lol).

You missed at least one valid reason: clubs doing a CW learning or practicing net. Two years ago when I first started learning, my local club had a once a week net. Sadly it petered out because there weren’t too much of us in the beginning mode, but also because the logistics of moding a cable for the baofeng, to take the tones via audio jack, wasn’t turn key; though, at least one of the guys did it. If your user community is used to repeaters and not so fond of zoom etc., I think it could still be a very useful thing.

Interestingly, the Baofeng is more complicated technology than the moutain topper but costs only abt 10% of it. Would be great to have a 30 USD CW handheld TRX for beginners.

One of the clubs in our area had a member that would conduct mores code classes on 2 meters FM simplex. He would send while everyone else would copy. Somewhere in my books and Magazines, I have an article I believe from QST to build a code oscillator to plug into a hand held for mores code transmission.

Josh, thanks so much for this great explanation. As a brand new ham looking to learn Morse, i already had a BTECH UV-5x3, but had no idea which HF radio was best for the purpose of practicing. Many experienced hams seem to "poo-poo" Morse on an HT (especially if there is any connection to Baofeng), but before you explained this, i did not hear a reason "why not" that really made sense. Just so happens, i found an article in the 15th edition of ARRL's "Hints & Kinks" entitled, "CW With Your H-T" for the purpose of practicing CW on 2-meter FM. The author and a friend homebrewed a couple of keyer/oscillators to send modulated CW. They announced what they were doing on the local repeater, and asked others to listen in. Their experiment was so successful, they wound up helping others built their "gadgets". Transmission was done on FM simplex; they did have to make volume and tone adjustments. Power usage seemed to be low as well since one of them ran .5 W with a Yagi on top of a 50' tower and the other had a "rooftop beam". Of course, this was during Radio Shack's heyday - the radio pictured was a Realistic, and all parts came from Radio Shack. There is a nice, clear schematic with detailed instructions...right now, i'm looking for a friendly elmer to help a really green newbie...😆😉 P.S. thanks for the tip on Weak Signal!

Thanks for another great video! I've always thought it was interesting that the topic of efficient use of bandwidth comes up when we're talking about sending Morse over FM, but not so much when we're talking about just voice over AM or FM. When we're talking about voice it's assumed that we use it because it's enjoyable and a great way to communicate, unrelated to bandwidth. So yeah, Morse might be super effecient (or not), but that doesn't have to be the primary reason we're using it. it's Just a really great way to communicate.

Great video I got my ticket back in the day when you had to learn morse code to get it, I’m glad that’s not the case today as I think it kept a lot of prospective hams from getting their license. I’m relearning code again it is a fun way to reach out and make contacts.

Well, there are two advantages of Morse code. Foremost that's not an English language, this to say first, it is a way to express alphabets, Latin alphabet, but also Cyrillic, Japanese or even Chinese by a series of dits and Dahs. It is not language dependent, so in effect it is an alphabet carrier mode. What you can write, you can send. And it is also not only the only language mode, that we literally share with the machines, means this language gets spoken by your average printer for error or paper messages, your microwave, your motherboard when booting up and many many more appliances. Actually to send out Morse code is very easy for a machine, because you just need a buzzer, nothing has to mimic the human mouth and orifice and all that by speakers and recordings and playbacks. You just need to switch a buzzer on and off, that's why every halfway smart programmed thing in our world speaks Morse to us and if we can't understand that, we are like the 5yo that still doesn't read or write and tries to find his way through the street signs to his home. We are blind in our environment. So, this was clearly wrong, Morse is not English. Fuck, no, modern Morsecode was invented by Clemens Friedrich Gerke, who did the Hamburger Code very early, which got converted to the international code we are using today with very minor changes. And that was a German engineer from my city. And when it comes to the propagation, there is an other major error. It is true, that the smaller bandwidth will gain about 27 dB (factor 300-500) against a weaker mode like FM in readability, but you might have noticed, that you can hear roger beeps long, long before you can understand spoken language on a channel/frequency. The reason is, that not only the energy gets better distributed by CW against AM, but also the legibility of an on/off beep goes far over the difference on a noisy background between a C, F, V, CH, S, H, just to point out the worst parts of our sounds. Also to understand D, T, B in a noisy background is almost impossible. So instead you get very clear and well readable signals, that you can understand and read even under the worst kind of noise that is on the band. If you scream at someone, you hardly will get over a city street understandable, if you are using a whistle, you can be heard and understood around 500 meters. This is somewhere between 5 and 10 dB, depending on the language used and the voice of the speaker, means this signal is around ten times better. I had some very noisy connections to the US on the CB band (yes, I also show up there sometimes) and those guys were just noise on FM. So I fired up my rig and keyed with my Morserino a signal into that noise and I got an answer soon. Not from the US, but from Spain, which wasn't at that time audible at all. A clear and well readable signal going over FM and we had a fun chat, while even the guys in the US stopped buggering us, because our signal was throwing them out of our transmission and they could not even do something against our legit 4W signal with their 1000W whale-boosters over there. That's what Morse does for you. If I say, this will boost the readability about 10 dB, it will most likely be even more, but I stay conservative here, because this is the internet and someone will know it better otherwise. CB is a perfect noisy and trashy environment, where Morse really shines. Sadly the only guys you get there able to read that, are HAMs that will answer, we had two pure CB operators in Hamburg, able to do Morse, but one of them already converted to be a HAM. Of course you can do that on normal frequencies, too. On SSB this will always punch through, for example during emergency radio training I am often using CW in the middle of SSB, because many HAMs can read that and I will get the message through, when we are stuck for more than a few minutes, unable to get through the noise of bad conds. CW will get through. Always. And because you don't need a computer, this also works under all conditions. de DL7HH

There was a guy a few years back that would do cw practice on a 2m simplex frequency over fm for people to copy as practice, yes its not efficient but it's not illegal some hams may tell you it's dumb but yes you can!

Thanks for another nice video, even though I have never, ever had the thought to do this, it is good to know. I like the fact that you even considered to make a video about it. Thanks for the video and all what you do to promote amateur radio!!! KI5RTH 73

I actually assembled one of those code oscillators from the same place you got yours! Neat little project for those that are younger or don't know how to solder yet!👋

The biggest reason I can see ... it's a legal way to transmit/receive messages that I dare say that 99+% of people will not know what is being said.

At 31 I'm finally learning morse code, wish me luck. I've learnt 2/3 of the alphabet so far. It's actually kinda musical when you get a rhythm going albeit a slow rhythm.

Nice explanation Josh. but here's a tidbit for you. back in the early 1970's I wanted to work AO7 satellite. but did not have any 2m cw equipment, the satellite cross banded from 2m uplink to 10m downlink so I took an old Regency 2m FM rig, and just keyed the mic input with a key just like you showed in the video, modified a crystal in the rig to the appropriate freq, and made contacts thru the satellite with it. yes I was wide. but turning the carrier on and off it sounded like cw on the 10m band just a tad wide. so all things can be achieved depending on your goal . back then equipment was nonexistent commercially not like we have today. thanks for another great informative video and for sharing. de Ellis WA1RKS

Honestly being able to CW ando r Data on a Baofeng or any other handheld would be a good entry point for hams as its far easier to get a handheld. string a J-Pole up, and poke about (five watts for CW is a whole other beast compared to five watts FM.)

I find that in our hobby of experimentation the question "why would you do it that way?" or any derivative thereof is the closest thing to a stupid question we can ask.

Thank you. I have several of these for use with our hunting club and farming. I also do WW1 reenacting. And I was looking into wireless telegraph to use and was researching ways to use things I already have.

we used to do morse practice exercise nets over our fm repeater using a key and tone generator circuit so those who didn't have HF privileges or equipment could get that experience.. It may not be very efficient but it did serve our purpose..😎

In reality the difference in bandwidth is achieved when modulation is applied to the microphone, with no audio it's just a carrier like any other which can be interrupted to produce CW, and in theory this can not be truly distinguised from a CW transmitter. One of my first satellite transmitters (back in the OSCAR 7/8 days) was an xtal controlled FM rig for the uplink operating as CW and my HF transceiver for the downlink. No audio is absolutely required, so even the mic input needs to be shortcircuited as any trace of modulation will create an audio bandwidth considerably wider. Now, the Baofeng itself is a synth transceiver therefore when turned on the PLL needs some time to adjust, and that would generate some birdies except a very low CW speed, but it can be done. No CW reception can be made on a FM Baofeng though.

Really interesting, I didn't know any of that as a new ham. Thanks!

Very interesting, I never thought about it. Its not easy to learn but we may really need it soon. :/

“You’re kind of dumb, or just don’t understand, or are *very* new to HAM radio.” I am all three and I appreciate your lessons

I could think of one good reason. You want to practice with a buddy in town, before embarrassing yourself on HF. 😄

Thanks for clarifying this Josh, Midge W6LIK

great explanation

Part 97 calls it MCW, the on-off keying of an audio tone to modulate a carrier wave.

Great video, and good to separate the point of the audio from the modulation. However, I think you got some technical issues wrong. You are right that the answer to CW is practically no, but technically you can do it. Is it possible to transmit CW with a baofeng? Yes it is, actually. You just short out the microphone (or be very quiet), and key out the dits and dahs using PTT. This is because an unmodulated ("no sound") FM carrier is just the carrier. Which is indistinguishable from a CW signal / tone. Is it possible to receive CW with it? Well, again, kinda. You can't produce tones from the speaker, but if you can decode the flashing green RX light blinking out morse code, then yes you can receive. It assumes that the signal is strong enough to open the squelch, but it works. This is the same as if you tune your FM radio to a JT65 signal: It's strings of (relatively) long fixed frequencies, so it'll open your squelch, but be quiet (because the carrier is unmodulated). I'm also not sure what you mean when you say the battery will drain faster. 5W is 5W. It doesn't even have anything to do with the audio spectrum. The only way 5W of CW takes less power than 5W of FM is that CW doesn't transmit all the time (pauses between the dits and the dahs), but FM does. But if you click your tones as I describe above, then it's literally the same signal going out, and therefore consumes the same amount of battery.

I have a use case. I know we're talking ham here but with shared licenses.on gmrs, broadcasting a call sign in auto keyed Morse would be a really nice feature to have on a handheld.

I'm new, and I had this question. (well, minus the baofeng) My only radio is so far is a HT. I've just learned morse code, and I'd like to get a little practice sending just for fun. I'd love to do it on the air, just for the thrill of practice. I wouldn't expect anyone to respond, but being FM maybe someone would listen and give me some feedback. Maybe I'd just be sending my signal into the void. Either way, it seems like a fun way to get just a little more into things.

Now you need to discuss, How to send MCW over FM.

I'm surprised BaoFeng has not made a mountain topper.

I think a morserino transmit cw on vhf frequencies. I can see using vhf frequency transmitters using cw for practice, training and communication even though it is line of sight. It would be somewhat private since not many people know morse code in a given small area of propagation

CW stands for Continuous Wave, which means continuous sound, which is like voice, but but voice varies in tone and length. You could just say DIT or DAH, or just substitute correct beeps or tones. The problem would be to inject the tone into the microphone input. Just for kicks, how would you transmit CW on a BF radio?

hmmm, what if I plugged jacks into the mic connections, keyed the radio to transmit, and then installed a relay circuit between the antenna and the radio, that switches the transmission between the antenna and a dummy load? then I wire they CW key to operate that relay circuit , now I am transmitting actual CW, perhaps even also have a sinusoid pumped into the mic connector, so that the signal can be receaved by any other handheald, as well as any other radio that actually picks up CW and turns it into a beep. I will still be on a wide wand width, but I think this way one could actually gain some range over voice

Good stuff Hosh - What's the HT you're waving around here? Screen looks great - I'll dig around other uploads to see if you've mentioned it lately

Nice video. I have heard CW on FM repeaters and simplex. part of learning CW. and for that reason using Baofeng to TX CW has a great use. it's not the point of bandwidth. it's learning CW with a local HAM. I remember old Radio Shack walkie-talkie with CW key on them. My 49Mhz space portal one does runs on 9V . still a Legal CB band. 49Mhz. we used them at local hamfest and no one found us. LOL . go so many laughs when we told them. everyone thinking CB/MURS/FRS ? well CW on a Baofeng? What if something happened and that person can not speak? CW lets them be heard. nice video. Put some Ham Radio Crash Course stickers for sail on you cite if you want. looking for one for my laptop. willing to buy support the channel . 73's

What is the bandwidth of an unmodulated FM signal? How do you determine if a pure unmodulated carrier is generated by an AM, FM or CW transmitter? If you wired a hand key to the PTT contacts of an FM HT mic jack and tapped out CQ, what would it sound like when received by a CW receiver? Just wondering.

actually, the old walkie talkies sold by radioshack used a sound circuit to make the sound at a beep that you heard, not efficient but, it worked, so, it could be done replacing a microphone with a 555 circuit of some sort operated on FM, or AM for learning morse code... not efficient but for those technicians not yet able to operate on HF, and unable to afford 2 meter all mode radios, this would be an option..not sure how to build the circuit however..

Like how this is about the Baofeng and basic HTs. Will you make a video on real CW on 2M? Your 705 should do it.

Use fldigi works great on 2m.

Ok, but can I actually plug in a couple of old school straight keys into a couple of BaoFeng UV5Rs just for the sake of practicing with my son at close range, even if just in the same house or yard, just for the sake of our learning, even though these aren’t the preferred frequencies/modes? And if so, how?

Josh did you forget that vhf ssb freq like simplex and vhf calling freq or the othe freq were digital modes and cw can is used

We need a 2 meter ‘cricket’. Or better yet, a 6 meter ‘cricket’!

What was that red cw you held up?

Where did you get your CW tx/rx?👍

Always ask the seller of any used Feng if it ever sent any CWs or Morse Codes before purchasing.

"Technically" keying up a 2m/70cm radio with no modulation is CW (A1). Assuming that there is little to no delay in keying the radio on and off, it might be possible. Also that does not provide for reception of that same signal. Not particularly practical. Still I suppose that one might use an SDR receiver and a Baofeng HT to send CW on 2 meters. But that is a lot of work for something that would be largely impractical. Good video. ;-) 73

What is the name of the "red radio" you keep showing for CW, MC? I've watched 3 videos now and you say "you need a radio like thiis" but never mention the name and no links in description. Thanks!

I just got a IC-720A. Is it a ham radio and if so how good. First radio

good video, Josh I've thought about it. keying the radio and hitting a single number key and tapping out the morse code? is it possible to do it now???

If I were getting a radio let's say for a prepping type of situation I'd be looking to transmit blink code over Morse. Think numbers station much easier to learn for someone as all you need is a chart to decode the numbers. 2 then 3 equals d let's say. Sure in normal times this may be construed as encryption but if you transmitting and anyone can hear who has a transciver of even a sdr and shyt has hit the fan do you really want people to know what your saying.

actually you can by pushing the PTT or using the flashlight

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ONE

The repeaters we have upstate ny have voice and morse code

Why do it? Because you can!

as someone who is new to HAM world , and wants to do APRS and CW( morse code) I just want a radio I can buy that covers everything.

I will tell you why. 144.0 to 144.1 mhz is reserved for cw? Well the arrl band plan says you can only send cw in that frequency range. So the real question is, can you hack a piece of electronics to make a 2 meter fm transceiver to do it? But you ask, why. Because HF requires an antenna which is far different from 2 meters. Maybe the situation is that a HF antenna is not feasible. Ok so that is why.

What is CW ?

What happened to the numbers with the code chart lol

I HAVE A BAOFENG UV-5R

Question... Have you ever tried CW over DMR?

Actually morse code was used when the North Koreans took the Pleubo by the captured sailors. They blinked torture.

I think people want to use Morse code on hts to practice in a local group to become more proficient. That is why the question comes up.

I’m curious as to why not every radio has CW mode built into the radio. The circuitry can’t be that complex.

Doing cw on a baofeng is like pushing your motorbike and calling it a freedom giving ride.

so, if you can synth, or pre-record CW, you can overlay RTTY, and potentially stil be able to voice UNDER both, and all concurrently within an FM band … on a BaoFeng. 😂👍

Training.... That's why people I know we're doing Morse code on HTs.

I dont see why sending a tone transmission on FM should not be classed as NOT CW or morse.....Ok it maybe a wasteful use of band space. But messages could be past back and to. Aviation NDB transmitters us a wide band AM signal.....they send very good CW or morse if you like 24/7 opn AM so pilots can id the transmitter is the one they want.....can be heard in the MF section of the bands around 300khz My local airport in the UK uses 349.5khz AM

go learn CW, only because we can transmit CW on *anything*. 😅 I mean, any sense … we can use audio tones, or or light, or you cannot see-or-hear, but you get a tape print-out? 💜👍 useful!

I used to tick off a lot of the anti CW folks by sending Morse over FM repeaters

Nope Baofeng wont do it. You need $350 +

CW, no. Morse Code, yes.

I have $0.02 more cents to spend. :) My mind just immediately goes to the situation of 2 or more buddies in the neighborhood who want to just practice CW with each other via simplex using their Baofengs. Seems perfectly logical to me. Now I feel all the hairy eyebrows looking my way. LOL. 73 de WW1ZRD

Muchas gracias por hacer este video, muy interesante e instructivo. 73. LU2HRL