diff --git a/internal/audio/recorder.go b/internal/audio/recorder.go
index 42648a4..ff92dd7 100644
--- a/internal/audio/recorder.go
+++ b/internal/audio/recorder.go
@@ -335,12 +335,20 @@ func (r *Recorder) mixTick() {
 			r.bufA = append(r.bufA[:0], r.bufA[n:]...)
 			r.bufB = append(r.bufB[:0], r.bufB[n:]...)
 		}
-		// Drift guard: if the clocks diverge, drop the excess so the two
-		// sources stay roughly aligned (≤1 s skew).
-		if d := len(r.bufA) - len(r.bufB); d > sampleRate {
-			r.bufA = append(r.bufA[:0], r.bufA[d:]...)
-		} else if d < -sampleRate {
-			r.bufB = append(r.bufB[:0], r.bufB[-d:]...)
+		// Drift guard: two sound cards run on their own clocks, so drop the
+		// excess to keep them within a second of each other.
+		//
+		// ONLY while both are actually running. A starved source is not drift: it
+		// made this guard throw away the radio audio a second at a time during
+		// the grace period, so the opening of every recording was lost even
+		// though it had been captured. Waiting costs nothing now — whatever is
+		// buffered is written whole the moment the silent source is written off.
+		if len(r.bufA) > 0 && len(r.bufB) > 0 {
+			if d := len(r.bufA) - len(r.bufB); d > sampleRate {
+				r.bufA = append(r.bufA[:0], r.bufA[d:]...)
+			} else if d < -sampleRate {
+				r.bufB = append(r.bufB[:0], r.bufB[-d:]...)
+			}
 		}
 	} else if len(r.bufA) > 0 {
 		mixed = make([]int16, len(r.bufA))
diff --git a/internal/audio/recorder_deadsource_test.go b/internal/audio/recorder_deadsource_test.go
index f9585dd..d1acc0d 100644
--- a/internal/audio/recorder_deadsource_test.go
+++ b/internal/audio/recorder_deadsource_test.go
@@ -88,3 +88,36 @@ func TestMixerWritesOffASourceThatNeverSpoke(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("sample = %d, want 700", r.acc[0])
 	}
 }
+
+// Nothing captured during the grace period is thrown away.
+//
+// The drift guard exists for two sound cards running on their own clocks. A
+// STARVED source is not drift, and treating it as such discarded the radio
+// audio a second at a time while the mixer was still waiting for the mic — so
+// the opening of every CW recording was lost although it had been captured.
+func TestGracePeriodKeepsWhatWasCaptured(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &Recorder{twoSrc: true, gainA: 1, gainB: 1, running: true, active: true, prerollSamples: sampleRate}
+	r.startedAt = time.Now()
+
+	// Three seconds of radio audio arrive while the mic says nothing at all.
+	r.bufA = make([]int16, 3*sampleRate)
+	for i := range r.bufA {
+		r.bufA[i] = 500
+	}
+	r.lastA = time.Now()
+	r.mixTick() // still inside the grace period: nothing is written yet…
+
+	if len(r.acc) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("wrote %d samples before the mic was written off", len(r.acc))
+	}
+	if len(r.bufA) != 3*sampleRate {
+		t.Fatalf("buffered audio was trimmed to %d samples — it must be kept, not dropped", len(r.bufA))
+	}
+
+	// …and once the mic is written off, everything captured comes through.
+	r.startedAt = time.Now().Add(-5 * time.Second)
+	r.mixTick()
+	if len(r.acc) != 3*sampleRate {
+		t.Errorf("recorded %d samples, want the full %d captured during the wait", len(r.acc), 3*sampleRate)
+	}
+}