This week I took delivery of a new Apple Mac Mini (M4 16/256) to be used in my “Radio Shack” with an Icom IC-7300 Mk2, SDR Play nRSP-ST and various other apps and peripherals. The Mac Mini is small, minimalist, sleek and insanely fast. Amateur radio and computers go hand in hand.
Compare this amazing Mac with a Morse Code key my grandfather used during World War 2 for the Australian Army in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. It was manufactured in 1942. It’s one of few family keepsakes I have. It means a lot to me.
I decided to sit the key with the Mac. Interestingly, both devices communicate with the world via High Frequency or Short Wave. But what’s even more interesting is that the key and keyboard/Mac do essentially the same thing – send data to a radio.
Here’s the twist. The Morse Code key was used in the defence of the Australia against the Japanese and, to a lesser extent, the Germans. Today, the US designed Mac connects to an incredible radio made in Japan and connected to a Diamond antenna via Kansai Tsushin Densen cables, both from Japan. It then traverses the world, with Japanese and German amateur radio operators being amongst the most frequent and engaging enthusiasts I communicate with. The whole thing just amazes me. I love it.
PS: If you want to have a play with Morse Code, check out this page. And Morse Code is alive and well in amateur radio with incredible new devices for keying.
25 June 2026