## hpr3922 :: Silent Key

 Hacker Public Radio – Silent Key HPR3922
Hello this is Trey, and I am recording this in the shadow of the loss
of a good friend and mentor who helped guide me in my career and in
hobbies like electronics, aviation, and amateur radio. The amateur radio
area is what I will be discussing today.
Many terms within amateur radio find their origins from the days of
telegraph, when operators would use Morse code to send messages across
great distances using wires strung from pole to pole. The telegraph
“key” (or code key) was basically a momentary contact switch which would
close an electrical connection when pressed. Pressing the key down for a
short period of time would send a short pulse down the line, which is
referred to as a “dit” (Sometimes the term “dot” is used). This may be
written using the period “.” symbol. Holding the key down for a bit
longer would send a longer pulse down the line, called a “dash”
(Sometimes the term “dah” is used) and it may be written using the
hyphen “-” symbol.
Telegraph operators became a close knit community, even though they
were geographically separated. Often one operator could identify another
operator by subtleties in the style or personality of how they sent
their messages. This was known as the operator’s “fist” and today we
would describe it as a “behavioral biometric”. As the community of
telegraph operators moved around or were replaced, new “fists” would be
identified, as new personalities of code sending were tapped out on the
telegraph keys.
When an operator passed away, it was a loss to the community, and a
loss of someone who might have been befriended remotely by other
operators. The term of respect created for this situation was “Silent
Key” sent as the abbreviation “SK” ( … -.- ). It meant that the
particular operator would never send code again. His telegraph key would
be silent.
This tradition has been carried on among amateur radio operators or
“Hams”. This is also a close knit community of people. While some still
use Morse code to communicate (Referred to as “CW” for continuous wave),
there are many other forms in use, including voice and digital modes.
But regardless of how we communicated with them, when we lose one of our
own, we still say they are SK. Silent key. No longer able to
transmit.
Organizations like the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and QRZ.com
try to update their records when a Ham passes away. There are also
databases like silentkeyhq.com which keep records and memories of
deceased operators.
So, it is with great sadness that I have been updating the records
for my close friend and mentor KV4YD. Thank you for your friendship and
support, and for sharing your wisdom over the years. You will be
missed.
https://www.silentkeyhq.com/main.php?p=bin/NSKALookup.php&call=KF8F&uid=1111688122977783
(Note: There is intentionally 5 seconds of recorded silence at the
end of this recording as a moment of silence to remember our silent
keys)
KV4YD 73 VA E E
