Silent Keys – A TARC Memorial
SK. End of transmission. But never end of memory.
What Does “Silent Key” Mean?
If you’re new to the hobby, you may have run across the letters SK in a club newsletter or on the air and wondered what they stand for. It’s one of those bits of ham shorthand that isn’t obvious until someone explains it — so here’s the explanation.
SK carries two meanings:
- On CW, SK is a prosign — a Morse code procedural signal, sent as one continuous character — used to close a final transmission and end a contact.
- In everyday ham usage, a “Silent Key” is an amateur operator who has passed away. It’s how we respectfully acknowledge that a ham we’ve worked on the air, shared a club table with, worked alongside at the hamfests and antenna raisings, or known as a friend will be missed.
There’s a quiet elegance in the double meaning: the same two letters that sign off a last transmission also mark the close of a radio life. Many operators credit a Silent Key in their bios as the Elmer who first got them on the air, or the mentor who shaped their operating habits.
In Memory
This page is dedicated to the members of the Tyler Amateur Radio Club and the East Texas hams who operated alongside us — those whose keys have gone silent, but whose contributions to our club and community won’t be forgotten.
When one of our own becomes a Silent Key, their transmitter falls quiet for the last time. What doesn’t fall quiet is what they leave behind: the nets they held together, the new hams they licensed and coached, the storm reports, the field days, the parade and fundraiser traffic, and the friendships made on 146.960.
TARC Memorial Roll
| Callsign | Name | Year | Remembrances |
|---|---|---|---|
| to be added | |||
| to be added |
(If a name is missing or a detail needs correcting, let us know — we want this roll to be complete and accurate.)
Help Us Remember Them
Know a former member or East Texas ham who should appear on this page? Have a photo, a story, or a favorite memory to share? Reach out to the club at info@k5tyr.com, mention it at a monthly meeting, or flag down any club officer. We’ll make sure their call isn’t forgotten.
73 old friends.