July / August 2026

What a summer it has been for the Penn Wireless Association. I want to open this newsletter by saying, plainly and sincerely: I am proud of this club. Field Day 2026 was the best demonstration I have seen of what W3SK is capable of when we all pull in the same direction — from the operators who kept the chairs filled through the overnight hours, to the members who hauled gear, raised antennas, and welcomed visitors to our site at Tyler State Park.

Field Day is not just a contest. It is our annual proof that this club can put stations on the air anywhere, under any conditions, and do it with skill and good humor. This year we proved it in a big way, and every single member who took part owns a piece of that result.

The second half of 2026 is just as exciting. Our Special Event Station series continues, celebrating the remarkable history of Lower Bucks County, and on August 1 we launch our first-ever Hams in the Park. We also have a brand-new home for our General Meetings starting July 20. Read on for the details — and thank you, again, for making this club what it is.

Operating Class 5A from Tyler State Park on June 27–28, W3SK turned in a claimed score of 5,511 points — 1,059 valid QSOs across CW, digital, and phone, contacts in 77 ARRL/RAC sections, and 1,685 bonus points from 15 claimed bonuses. Our entry has been submitted and confirmed with ARRL.

Our 2026 Special Event Station series puts W3SK on the air to commemorate the people and places that shaped Lower Bucks County. We opened the series in March with W3P, honoring William Penn, and the response from operators around the country was tremendous. Three more activations remain in 2026 — and each is a chance to work the pileup from the other side.

W3M is up first, in August, commemorating the Myers family — whose courage when they moved into Levittown in 1957 made national history in the fight for civil rights. If you have never operated a special event station, this is the perfect way to try it: friendly pileups, a great story to tell, and plenty of experienced members to sit beside you.

Operators are needed for all three remaining events — SSB, CW, and digital. Sign up for your operating slots in the Members Area at pennwireless.org.

This is it — the inaugural Hams in the Park, and you have the chance to be there for the very first one. On Saturday, August 1, the Penn Wireless Association is launching what we intend to make a great club tradition, and we want the founding turnout to be one people talk about for years.

The setting could not be better: the Hickory Nut Picnic Grove at Tyler State Park, one of the finest parks in Bucks County and the same grounds where we just posted our best Field Day in club memory. Hundreds of invitations have gone out to licensed amateurs across the region, so expect to see plenty of new faces alongside your fellow PWA members.

Bring yourself first and foremost — but this is also a perfect excuse to break out the portable gear. Throw a wire in a tree, set up that POTA kit you have been meaning to exercise, or just pull up a chair and talk radio all afternoon. Family members are absolutely welcome. Got gear to sell? Any member who wants to bring items to sell is more than welcome to set up a table — think of it as a mini tailgate built right into the event. One ham’s surplus is another ham’s treasure.

I violated rule number one: keep your mouth shut when people are talking about something you know very little about. Well, during a recent discussion of the club’s Beginning CW class, I mentioned how, even though I was starting from scratch, I was enjoying the process of learning Morse code and how many great tools are available in this age of the internet and cell phone. Then it happened: “Hey Ted, how about you write up an article about your experiences for the club newsletter.” Well, that was when I violated rule number two — I said “yes.” You may ask, here’s a guy that has not even made a CW contact, what does he know? Truthfully, if you are a motivated self-starter, you will do just fine by doing a Google search for “How to learn Morse Code.” I hope to save you some time and add a few helpful insights.

My first suggestion is to view this video: “Step-By-Step Guide to Learning CW Morse Code” by “The Ham Radio Duo,” Michael N4FFF es Becky N4BKY (youtu.be/z8m7VT7RCE0). In addition to my experience during the PWA Beginning CW class, this video provided me with several good suggestions to get me on track.

One of the first things we learn as students is that if we are motivated, we will learn much faster and enjoy it more. So, why learn Morse code? Beyond the technical advantages of this nearly two-century-old innovation, the very act of learning something that is truly a challenge has significant benefits, especially for our brain:

During our PWA class, Ken (K3FKW) mentioned an interesting article titled “How CW Can Protect You From Dementia” by Dennis Lazar (W4DNN), published in the March 2020 issue of CQ magazine. It cites a 2018 study showing that learning to operate CW leverages the effect of “Dual Task Training” and neuroplasticity to slow and even reverse cognitive decline in older adults. As one tidbit I found put it: Morse code is “the ultimate low-tech, high-reliability superpower that allows you to communicate globally using nothing but sound, light, or touch.” It’s cool and it’s good for your brain.

I had motivation, and the PWA Beginning CW class provided the opportunity. So, I made the commitment and started practicing. After a few weeks I learned most of the alphabet, but I just couldn’t copy more than a letter or two in words — I had fallen into the morass of parsing the dits and dahs. Much of the advice out there says start learning to copy at 20 wpm. The reality for me was I should have started higher. So, I bit the bullet and started relearning everything at 35 wpm. This is where I am now, and it’s working. The goal is “Instant Character Recognition” (ICR) — instantly recognizing each character — and then repetition to make it automatic.

What’s next? My journey will continue indefinitely. My current objective is to get my ICR to where I can copy a few lines of text at 15 to 20 wpm and make some initial QSOs this summer. I try to get in at least 10 to 15 minutes per day, usually first thing in the morning — having a regular routine is essential. It’s not fast, but by the end of the week I have usually achieved a new milestone, and that gives me the encouragement to continue. I hope this article encourages you to give Morse code a try. I bet you will be surprised by the enjoyment you get from it.

73, KU3TEK