Twenty-five years have passed since the fatal demise of CW was mentioned (at least in my little world).  Some said not to worry about CW, that the sooner is was gone the better.  I wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper.  One of the underlings sat on the letter for a few weeks and then sent it back.  That was when I decided Lane County Oregon needed a CW Journal.

Leo, KB7LOC (SK) and I decided to put a few things together in time for the Rickreal, Oregon February Ham Fest and called it QNCW, the CW Journal.   It was a lousy failure.

Internet, as we know it today, did not yet exist.  I’d discovered a way to log into the telephone BBSs used by the staff at colleges and universities throughout Oregon.  It would have served me well, but using it for my own personal gain would have caused a firestorm.

Somehow editors and publishers heard of this tiny venture.  Letters arrived from the UK, Germany, Norway, Canada, and Australia assuring me that CW was alive and well.   A ham from the Republic of South Africa sent me a story and photos of his experience in the early 1960s, and asked me to publish it in six parts.  In his letter he explained the reasoning behind his request.

The international governing body that oversees who owns the existing land masses around the world informed the Republic of South Africa that they needed to populate Marion Island for one year if they wanted to keep it as their own.  The ham in question was 19 when he was selected as the radio operator.   During this year he’d hoped to conduct a QSO with his father, but every time he sent out his Marion Island call sign there was a fierce pileup and he was never able to contact his father.

The purpose of this story was to call out those amateur radio operators with whom he’d chatted during that year, but had failed to acknowledge with a QSL card.

Publishing QNCW was a hoot, but I was also a member of Oregon Army MARS and held the office of Publicity Coordinator.  That required time.  Then there was the Gulf War.  Those of us in Oregon passed nearly 10,000 messages between troops and their families.  Oh, and I had a job and a wife, too.

It was the forty or fifty dollars I had to pitch in each quarter to cover the postage and printing that took its toll.  After a decade I brought it to a close.

Now, after another decade, I’ve recognized the need for a place to collect and archive the accomplishments of the QRP world. Therefore, I’ve decided to introduce QNCW, the QRP CW Journal with its own place in the Internet, living at http://qncw.me. There are no strings attached. It’s free. It offers you, the ham, the club, new or seasoned, a highly visible BLOG, an interactive place for displaying your QRP accomplishments. But I need your help, your stories, your experiences, your enthusiasm, to keep this thing afloat. Email your QRP CW related stories, articles, your.opinions, and photos to: n7net@live.com. Please put QNCW in the subject line and in UPPERCASE so that I don’t overlook it.

Many 73 de Scott/n7net