While CW or code is no longer required to obtain a Ham License it is still the most efficient way to communicate over long distances with reduced power. Sort of the "Fly Fishing" of Ham Radio.
This last weekend was the CQWW, CQ World Wide contest sponsored by CQ Magazine in which stations all over the world try to contact as many other hams as possible in the 48 hours of the contest. Thousand of stations are on the air and using CW or code for this contest. All the high frequency ham bands are used from 1.8-30. MHz. For comparison the AM Broadcast band is below 1.6 MHZ and the FM band centers around 100 MHz. Generally the lower the frequency the harder it is to reach the other side of the globe but the more competitive the contest. I was very lucky to work stations in Europe and Africa along with Asia on the 3.5 MHz band.
