Every day is a good day to operate on CW, but set some time aside on New Year’s Eve and Day to enjoy Straight Key Night (SKN) or to do some CW on the satellites during AMSAT CW Activity Day.

The annual SKN gets under way at 0000 UTC on January 1, 2017 (New Year’s Eve in US time zones). The 24-hour event is not a contest but a day dedicated to celebrating Amateur Radio’s CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply enjoy conversational CW contacts, preferably using a straight (hand) key or a semi-automatic key (bug).

Activity traditionally centers on CW segments in the HF bands. There are no points or obligatory exchange. The only requirement is just to have fun! Send a SKN list of stations worked and your vote for “Best Fist” and “Most Interesting QSO” by January 31, 2017.

AMSAT CW Activity Day — formerly Satellite Straight Key Night — takes place on January 1, 2017 (UTC) and run for 24 hours. As with the old Straight Key Night, this is a fun event, not a contest, and there is no required exchange. All forms of CW are welcome, from straight keys, bugs, and keyers to keyboards and decoders. Working the same station on more than one satellite is permitted.

All participants are asked to post their results, including any “Soapbox” comments, to AMSAT-BB. Include the satellites you used and the number of CW contacts you make on each. Participants may post their full logs, although this is not required.