Straight Key Night
| Straight Key Night | |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | ARRL |
| When | January 1, 0000 to 2359 UTC |
| Type | CW operating event; not a contest |
| Keys | Straight keys or bugs preferred |
| Taking part | |
| Bands | Any amateur band; mostly HF |
| Votes | Best Fist and Most Interesting QSO |
| Entries due | January 31 |
| Send to | straightkey@arrl.org, or by mail to the ARRL |
| Participation | |
| 2024 | 161 participants reporting 1,360 contacts |
Straight Key Night (SKN) is an annual CW operating event sponsored by the ARRL on New Year's Day. For 24 hours, operators around the world put aside their electronic keyers and computer keyboards and send Morse code by hand, on a straight key or a mechanical "bug", for relaxed, conversational contacts. It is not a contest: no points are scored, and the ARRL says that everyone who takes part is a winner.[1] Instead, participants vote for the operator with the best sending, or "fist", and for the most interesting contact of the night.[1] This article follows the event's rules as posted by the ARRL for January 2026.
When and how
Straight Key Night runs from 0000 to 2359 UTC on January 1.[1] Because it is set by UTC, it begins on the evening of December 31 in the Americas: at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, for example. Any amateur band may be used, though activity has traditionally centered on the HF bands.[1]
The idea is a good old-fashioned QSO (contact) rather than a quick exchange. Operators trade names, locations, equipment and stories at whatever speed is comfortable for both. To let others know they are taking part, operators send "SKN" before the signal report.[1] Any amateur may take part, wherever they live; entries come mostly from the United States and Canada, with a few from other countries.[2]
Keys and equipment
The ARRL says the use of straight keys or bugs is preferred.[1] A straight key is the simplest kind of Morse key, a lever that closes a contact for as long as it is held down, so the operator times every dot and dash by hand. A bug, or semi-automatic key, makes strings of dots with a vibrating arm while the operator forms each dash by hand. Both give the sending a personal rhythm that is easy to recognize on the air. See Morse keys and paddles.
Many operators use the night to bring out vintage or homemade equipment, from old transmitters and receivers to bugs that are decades old.[1] The ARRL encourages participants not to worry about their equipment, and a simple transceiver and a hand key are all that is needed.[1][3]
Votes and results
After the event, each participant sends a list of the stations worked, along with two votes: one for the best fist heard during the night, which need not be a station the voter worked, and one for the most interesting contact the voter made or listened to.[1] Entries must arrive by January 31, by email to straightkey@arrl.org or by mail to ARRL headquarters in Newington, Connecticut.[1] Participants are also invited to post stories and photos on the ARRL's online Soapbox.
The votes are counted and published, with a list of participants, in the ARRL's results and in QST. Ties are common. In 2024, 161 participants reported 1,360 contacts, from the United States and Canada and from Guatemala, Panama and the Netherlands; five operators tied for Best Fist that year.[2] In 2014, 211 operators sent in entries.[4]
History
The ARRL wrote in 2010 that Straight Key Night had been held for more than 40 years.[3] Its purpose is to celebrate amateur radio's CW heritage, from the days when every signal was sent by hand.[1] The ARRL has reported that entries grew in most years, even after the United States dropped Morse code from its license exams.[1] It is the first event on the ARRL's operating calendar each year.[4] Clubs devoted to hand-sent Morse, such as the Straight Key Century Club, run their own straight-key events through the year, and January is an especially busy month for them.
See also
References
External links
- Straight Key Night, ARRL
- Straight Key Night results, ARRL contest portal