Welcome to FISTS CW Club
FISTS supports the use, preservation and education of Morse code. The club is devoted exclusively to CW operators, CW operating and people who are passionate about Morse code.
We have three straightforward goals:- Further the use of CW (Morse Code)
- Engender friendships among members
- Encourage newcomers to use CW (Morse Code)
FISTS UK is the Headquarters of the FISTS Club (International Morse Preservation Society).
Interested in becoming a member?
Find out more about our history.
Latest News:
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15 May 12: During May, as part of the Brighton Festival (UK), the arts group "Invisible Flock" have floated a data buoy in Brighton Marina that participants on their walk can communicate with via text message. The buoy translates the messages into Morse code and blinks them out through the night. For more information, please see their website.
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14 May 12: FISTS news is now also posted to the new
Google+
page.
- 11 May 12: It's a pleasure to welcome our latest members: Ian VK3TB 14141, Ranger N0CVB 15727, Dave W2DAB 15728, Dennis KC7HOF 15729, Tom KB1UG 15730, John KK4BOB 15731, Bob W2TAC 15732, Ben KF4HEV 15733, Wayne WB0PEO 15734, Charles AK4AQ 15735, Bob W2RJD 15736, Pete W3DKV 15737, Rez K1REZ 15738, McLeod W5JMJ 15739, Tony W1ZMB 15740, Steve K2DEP 15741, Juilo KK4EQP 15742, William KK4IAJ 15743, Bodie KB3WLB 15744, Pete HB9DSU 15866, Chris M0HMR 15867, David G4YVM 15868, John G3WWM 15869, Scott 2E0OZI 15871 and John EI7KG 15872.
- 10 May 12: Congratulations to the following FISTS Awards winners: Steve NU7T 4676, Nightmare Alpha Numeric. Tom KF0K 8513, USA Worked All States. John VE1BA 13160, 1 X QRP. Darren G0OTT 14062, Millionaire. For more information about FISTS Awards, available to FISTS members worldwide, please see the Awards web page.
- 09 May 12: The FISTS North America Spring Sprint takes place this coming Saturday, 12th May 2012, 1700-2100 UTC. Members worldwide are invited to participate.
- 07 May 12: Photos of an Elecraft KX3 during construction taken by Steve WG0AT have been published by John AE5X. The KX3 is Elecraft's new high performance, multi-mode, 160m - 6m QRP transceiver.
- 05 May 12: RSGB QSL Bureau users: make sure that your current callsign and any additional callsigns are registered with the RSGB or else your QSL envelopes may be returned to you.
- 04 May 12: Chelmsford Museum (UK)'s exhibition Marconi and The Sea is from 14 April to 8 July 2012. One of Chelmsford's prime industrial landmarks, Marconi's New Street... View full item
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03 May 12: We are offering engraved brandy glasses and whisky tumblers in celebration of FISTS 25th Anniversary this year at £6.99 (GBP). Delivery to the UK is: brandy glass £5.50 (GBP), whisky tumbler £6.50 (GBP) or a set of both £9.30 (GBP). For an additional £1.00 (GBP) per item, you can have your callsign engraved.
For more details, please see the FISTS 25th Anniversary Glassware web page. - 02 May 12: In celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Gibraltar hams will be operating with the special prefix ZQ2 as from 5th May till 15th June, 2012. John ZB2EO / G4JTC.
- 02 May 12: The April edition of "morsEAsia" from FISTS East Asia is available.
- 02 May 12: The letter Q (e.g. MQ0CDL) in UK callsigns starts on Saturday 5th May for holders of a Notice of Variation (N.O.V.). The Q prefix is available for 5 weeks and celebrates the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. You can apply online for an N.O.V. here. For more information, please see the RSGB announcement. This will be very helpful for FISTS members working towards the Prefix Awards; you can count the same FISTS member more than once towards the Prefix Awards under their standard and special callsigns, e.g. M0CDL and MQ0CDL count as two separate prefixes.
- 29 Apr 12: We're delighted to welcome our latest members: Hidy JG1NXC 15110, Tad JK1SWR 15111, Mike G3WTA 15856, Timo OH8XAT 15857, Alan G3RMZ 15858, Rick M6BPO 15859, Philippe F6HRJ 15861, Clive G8UKN 15862, Kelvin GW7KKN 15863, Viv G0OXW 15864, Lars LB2TB 15865 and Appledore & District Amateur Radio Club GX2FKO 15870.
- 28 Apr 12: The FISTS Down Under May 2012 newsletter is now available.
- 28 Apr 12: The Marconi Archive website has an extensive collection of Marconi-related documents, photos and film clips available. These are taken from the Marconi Collection... View full item
- 27 Apr 12: Jim G4YLB has uploaded rare 1991 video footage of George G3ZQS and Bill G2AKK talking about Morse code, the FISTS CW Club which they founded and Samuel Morse. Following this are excerpts from three days during which the FISTS CW Club and Darwen Amateur Radio Club (DARC) put the callsign M0RSE on the air to celebrate Samuel Morse's 200th birthday. The video is available here. The FISTS CW Club that George and Bill founded is now celebrating 25 years of promoting Morse code, 1987-2012.
- 26 Apr 12: The latest version (2.4.1) of the FISTS Log Converter Windows program allows contacts to be excluded from EUCW QRS Activity Week submissions by including FISTSACTIVITIES EXCLUDE in the log book's COMMENT or NOTES fields.
- 23 Apr 12: The next Ladder sessions are on Sunday 13th May. Email April entries by 5th May please.
- 21 Apr 12: The EUCW QRS Activity Week, 23-27th April, replaces the QRS Party that was previously organised by FISTS. It remains first and foremost a social event. Notable changes from previous years are that participants are no longer asked to exchange club names and member numbers during QSOs (at a minimum just RST, name and QTH), and the recommended frequencies are different. Note that the FISTS Log Converter program for Windows supports creating log submissions for the QRS Activity Week.
- 19 Apr 12: The next Ladder sessions are on Sunday 22nd April 14:00-1600 UTC and 18:00-20:00 UTC.
Interested in becoming a member?
FISTS HQ welcomes new members who have a passion for Morse Code.
Benefits of membership include:- Our popular Quarterly A5 News Booklet
- Free use of the FISTS QSL Bureau
- Access to our members-only area
- Help and support from like minded people
FISTS History
The FISTS Club, (International Morse Preservation Society) was founded in 1987 by the late Geo Longden G3ZQS of Darwen, Lancashire England, after recognising a need for a club in which veteran operators would help newcomers and less-experienced operators learn and improve CW proficiency. During the first year, membership reached 300, most of whom were in Great Britain and Europe. The original Introduction to FISTS by Geo holds as true today as it did when he wrote it. Geo also explains how he chose the name FISTS.
The North American Chapter was formed in 1990 to assist 11 members in the USA receive the newsletter and as a banking convenience. Nancy Kott WZ8C of Hadley, Michigan was named US representative, a position she still holds but she now handles the affairs of over 7,000 members in the Americas.
The Down Under Chapter (New Zealand / Australia) was formed in 1998 to provide a similar service to Australasian members, with Ralph Sutton ZL2AOH as the VK/ZL representative. From a VK/ZL membership of four, there are now over 100 members "Down Under", principally in New Zealand. The New Zealand membership is the largest in any country outside England, Wales and North America.
The East Asia Chapter was formed in 2004 by a few Taiwanese and Japanese members to provide East Asian members with various services in their native languages.
Worldwide, FISTS members number over 10,000 members, growing each month.
Why not join us?Acknowledgements: Thank you to Dennis K6DF, Bill NT9K and Billy AB4RH for permission to use photographs from their key collections.