Ask Dave 14: The Anatomy of a CW QSO

I've been a CW op for 57 years. You did an excellent job explaining the anatomy of a CW qso. Very logical & easy to follow. Hope this generates even more enthusiasm into our very old but lovable mode. My compliments to you.

This is an older video now, but I have watched it a number of times to help in putting together a template for my CW QSOs. I appreciate it Dave. Great Channel.

I have been a HAM for a little over a year. I recently completed CW Academy Level 1 and have been discovering, the "language" of a CW QSO can be... a bit different due to it's prolific use of abbreviations, prosigns and slang terminology. Today, I came across this video discussing the "Anatomy of a CW QSO" and I found it very thought provoking and helpful. Dave, as always, I am thankful that you share your knowledge and hope to catch you on the airwaves. 73, KG5WXW, Dutch

Wow, this is the best explainer I've ever seen for CW QSOs. First time I think I got it. Hoping to get doing CW in the next year.

Thanks Dave, Excellent video. This video provides the best explanation I've seen of how a CW conversation develops.

I only have 3 CW QSOs under my belt at the time I write this. Your video really helped David. Thanks!

Thank you for providing such a clear and simple to follow overview of the anatomy of a qso. I'm learnng cw, so this was most helpful. Thank you.

Fantastic video. keep up the great work Dave. One of the best amateur radio channels on youtube! !

Thank you Dave for the detailed CW QSO review. I can already quite well receive groups of random letters and numbers, and now I am learning to receive Q-codes and abbreviations as a whole, as one melody. My colleagues said that CW, like any language, is spoken in words and phrases and not in letters)

Thanks, Dave for this video. This was VERY instrumental in me getting on the air with CW. I realized after watching it that I could, in fact, carry on a QSO with someone, even though I was new at it. Fortunately, I've progressed to the point where I can now carry on somewhat of a conversation - other than just the basics - with other hams on CW, even though I've only been doing it for a couple of years.

Thank you so much for the nice introduction on CW QSO.

Greatly appreciate this particular video, Dave. Something about CW excites me a great deal. Maybe it's the linguistics I learned in college and later the languages I learned overseas. CW is great stuff. I've got to get busy though. I still have a bunch of letters to get through and then an awful lot of practice. But this was truly helpful. 73s de kc1diw

Thanks, Dave! I’m a 30-yr ham that is learned enough CW to get my general. My early CW QSOs were memorable, but I did most of my early operating mobile, so phone took over, then the digital modes. Like many, I would come and go from the hobby every few years. I’m back, and this time I am head over heels with CW. I feel like a kid with a new train set. Thanks for helping me with QSO structure. I have made five since getting my necessary refresher practice, and you should be thankful you were not the first one, hi.

Excellent lesson. I was active in 1975-1984. Took a break for flying, skiing, ect until 2022! Getting back in with both feet now.

Great video Dave! TKS for the excellent instructions about cw contacts.

So Dave was raised in the Griffith Park Observatory (Los Angeles) Area, too? Me too! I knew the LA area like the back of my hand; knew where all the streets went, where all the good drive-in restaurants and cinemas were, et cetera. LA is not anything like what I knew in the 1950s -1960s, and I try to avoid driving through it whenever I visit relatives in SoCal. Thank you for all the great videos you do, Dave! Good video and audio quality! 73, Michael - wb6csh

That's a great video for the cw starter. Thanks for sharing your great ideas and I'm fan of your channel. 73 ..

Great info. I was awarded my general license KO4WTM just this past Valentine's Day 2022 and have been learning CW. I learned it lo, these many years ago as a youngster for my signaling merit badge as a boy scout. Still have a smattering of it back in the cerebral cobwebs but I'm happy to delve back into it now. Your videos have helped a good bit. Many thanks!

Thanks Dave! This was so well presented and exactly what I needed.

what a lovely video - i really want to get on CW being on low power and also wanting to contact those further afield think that CW is the way to go for me ! your video is really inspiring, so thank you so much !