We love "talking" to Amateur Radio Operators around the World with Morse Code.
We love "talking" to Amateur Radio Operators around the World with Morse Code.
I have been interested in radio since first hearing long distance night-time AM broadcast band stations and then shortwave broadcast when I was in 7th or 8th grade in northern Colorado. Being able to hear a radio station from the other side of the world was almost magical. This led to a Novice Amateur Radio License in High School and my first CW contact between Colorado and California in 1981. I was hooked. Forward to the mid-90's when I passed the 20 word per minute code test to earn the Amateur Extra Class license. CW has been my favorite operating mode. I have even made CW contacts on the amateur radio satellites. Today there is no code requirement to get an Amateur Radio License. I have often thought CW may be a dying art. However, any weekend with a CW contest, the bands are full of CW signals which give me hope for the future of CW.
I started collecting and restoring old straight keys and "bugs" because to me, they are almost works of art. Being able to take a 75- to 100-year-old straight key that is covered with dirt and rust and make it new again gives me a lot of satisfaction. At one point I realized it would be nice to have a heavy steel base that would work with many types of keys. Hence the K7LI Universal Key Base was born. I thought others may be interested in what we have to offer. We try to ship within 24 to 48 hours of an order, but I am still working full time running a water resources engineering firm with my partners.