Exploring the Digital Weed Patch

Amateur radio is hobby with many layers, like a large onion. Repeaters on one patch, HF on another, antennas another. At each point, you can burrow in deep and deeper like a worm - discovering ever more fascinating layers.

There is a patch on the onion that I will characterize as the Digital Weed Patch. Amidst that patch are many digital modes of amateur radio. Some are very useful, some are a "flash in the pan." Some are completely useless. My opinion of these various modes will certainly differ from yours in many respects.

The modes are too numerous to list here. And, the means to implement them are even more numerous.

I have a friend who, just the other day, was able to get Ham Radio Deluxe implemented on his ICOM 756 Pro. He is, also, looking to implement FLDigi. He will be successful, I am sure. He is a new ham and I am proud of his accomplishments. He may burrow even deeper into the digital modes and try WSPR. A mode that takes minutes to send a single sentence. How fun! Sure, if you like sending email at a snails pace.

Some years ago, I was well-practiced with many of these software packages and have many QSL cards to attest to my skills.

As time passed, however, I abandoned all digital modes with the exception of one. Morse Code, the original "Digital Mode" was invented in 1844 and was the basis for the successful telegraph system. This evolved into radiotelegraphy. I like to think of it as the original Meat Computer Mode.

There are many software programs that can decode Morse Code very effectively.

But, what if there were no computers! What if "The Big One" hits? No more computers. No more electricity, no more Walmart, no more gasoline. No more Windows Updates from Microsoft. A dim, dark world, to be sure. Morse code is the one digital mode that is always there. The original "meat computer," if properly trained, can send Morse Code to the cave across that canyon using a campfire or flashlight (can't get new batteries at Walmart). How many of us can say we can do that? Not "could," but "can and have?"

So, who haunts the Digital Weed Patch? It is those nerds that know how to use these digital modes when needed. The original version of this person was Samuel Morse - a truly Silent Key that invented it all.