Code/No Code

[N0OV]

So now that a new head of the FCC will be appointed do you think there is any chance they will set aside more pressing issues and revisit the decision to do away with CW testing to get General and Extra Amateur Radio Licenses.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, this is a post to get a rise out of folks -- believe something you can call a troll post. But look at the bright side, I didn't attach any links you have to look up.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Haven't had a good code/no-code debate in quite a while -- seems like politics and current news reports have replace this.

So lets have some fun -- testing aside, since the CW testing requirement has been abolished how many hams have actually gone out, learned this mode and are working some of the band segments where licensed CB'rs dare not tread...................

[N8YX]

From what I understand, one of his FIRST actions will be the prohibition of CW/SSB operations by U.S.-licensed amateurs via the VO- series of satellites.

[KD7PAB]

I haven't operated in years. I just started getting back into the swing of things. I was shocked to find out that the code requirement was dropped. I'm interested in upgrading to general and I intend on learning code. I think it's a very useful skill to have, even if it's not the primary mode of communication. It doesn't need to be legislated for me to want to learn it.

[N8YX]

I haven't operated in years. I just started getting back into the swing of things. I was shocked to find out that the code requirement was dropped. I'm interested in upgrading to general and I intend on learning code. I think it's a very useful skill to have, even if it's not the primary mode of communication. It doesn't need to be legislated for me to want to learn it.

Good for you. If you're a bit rusty, the G4FON CW tutor and similar programs are of great benefit. As is the SKCC and other slow-speed nets which one can find on the air.

Good luck and hope to work you via A1 some time.

[N0OV]

I haven't operated in years. I just started getting back into the swing of things. I was shocked to find out that the code requirement was dropped. I'm interested in upgrading to general and I intend on learning code. I think it's a very useful skill to have, even if it's not the primary mode of communication. It doesn't need to be legislated for me to want to learn it.

Actually go for the upgrade and learn code. It is so much easier and effective to learn a mode that you plan to use. Not forced to pick up any bad habits just to pass a test.

Go for it

[W6ONV]

While I am not long removed from being a General (tested 17 February 2007), a week later I was granted full privileges without having to pass Element 1. Since that time I have passed the Element 4 to become an Extra. Prior to taking either exam I did study for the Morse code test, but did not take it. Since becoming an Extra I have learned and use CW on a daily basis and enjoy it and also joined SKCC.

[WA6MHZ]

Should I pop some corn for this Thread?

[AB8RO]

So now that a new head of the FCC will be appointed do you think there is any chance they will set aside more pressing issues and revisit the decision to do away with CW testing to get General and Extra Amateur Radio Licenses.


No. Why would you think otherwise? Nothing has changed and the arguments for keeping the code are no more valid now than they were then.

[K1VSK]

I suspect that the morse code requirement will never be resurrected sadly but perhaps there may be hope for a real testing protocol such that obtaining a license will go from its present "cracker jacks" box difficulty to resembling actually having achieved something.

Creating a substantive written exam could be an opportunity to instill in the current generation a sense of accomplishment and pride from effort to obtain a license rather than the farce that currently exists.

This isn't to insult any of the current gen who passed the test by memorizing a limited q pool as that process has been inflicted on us by a resource-constrained FCC. Hopefully, quality will be valued more than quantity someday.

[KV1M]

Nice troll n0ov.

[WB8MKV]

How many times do we have to resurrect a dead horse ?

[N0OV]

How many times do we have to resurrect a dead horse ?

Actually was trying to turn this into a positive post remotely related to amateur radio. Something folks would have to actually think about before answering.

However if you would prefer a link

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3alleypub.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/beating_a_dead_horse.jpg&imgrefurl=http://3alleypub.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/beating-a-dead-horse/&usg=___wlRe307SWf8PcQFZu8w06SCbtI=&h=242&w=364&sz=30&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=BUZKYiZf58CPuM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddead%2Bhorse%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cli ent%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DX

http://3alleypub.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/beating_a_dead_horse.jpg

[N8YX]

How many times do we have to resurrect a dead horse ?

All of them.

[N0OV]

Now back on point.

Been surprised on how many folks have been using Pocket Morse Code / CW Reader to monitor the QSO's on the bands. Some folks I've know jumped to keyboard based reader/senders (to send cleaner code -- hands not what they use to be)

The bottom line is they are having fun. Not because they are required to, but because they want to....

[K0HB]

The following, written by a wise ham, bears repeating here.

Enjoy


73, de Hans, K0HB


---Begin Forwarded message---


I am an Extra. I was proud of it. I had
a certificate on the wall issued by the FCC to prove it. Then
in 1968 along cam incentive licensing. That was in a previous life,
because in 1968 I died and became a bigot. I thought that incentive
licensing was the final acchievement, the culmination and triumph
of my being a better radio ham than lowly generals or conditionals.


I gloated with glee when the generals were kicked out of half of each
band. I gloated that I could now operate among my own peer group
on 14, 205. I even could gloat of my linear amplifier and my
102 ft tower that made my signal something to be reckoned with. I
won the CQ WW WPX contest (for Alaska) one year. Oh, man, I was
on top.


But in 1996, folks, the fellows from the local club came to me.
Ramon, help us out. You are an Extra. We need a VE. So I said
okay, I'll go see what these lowlifes are up to and put an end to
this nonsense.


But, it didn't work out that way. I was converted. I saw the light.
I saw that these guys werent low lifers, they wanted to be HAMS.
I had to recognize that you can't really build the equivalent of
a TS-450. In the old days, CW was the state of the art, you mostly
built your gear. CW testing was appropiate. So I said to myself,
lets hold your tongue and see what these guys are up to. So the club
went on to create a whole new generation of radio hams. These guys
are good. They are polite, they say "roger" and not "10-4 good
buddy" They say "Is this freauency in use, or is anyone listening
on the repeater, instead of "breaker-breaker 19". In other words,
these guys CARED for ham radio, its traditions and its values. They
wanted to BELONG.


Okay, I said, lets go ahead and get the exams from the Anchorage VEC
and put them to the test. Sure enough, they got licensed and are
now on the air. Their calls are a giveaway, like WL7CSG, but by
golly, you couldn't tell them apart from a real ham otherwise. And
why can't you? Because they ARE real hams.


What about the code? Well, like homebuilding it has its time and
place. Nowadays a TS-450 costs the same as an old DX-100, or BC-610
or some old time monstrosity. These guys want to get on the air and
enjoy the hobby. Go moose hunting, fishing, picnicking and keeping
in touch with the crew back in town or over the next hill. Sounds
no different than me! Must be real hams. Many have expressed
interest in HF. They know the code is a requirement. And they wonder
why. They do not intend to use CW. Why take a morse test? The
FCC does not give a public speaking test before they allow you to
operate on 20 ssb. Why not? Because at the time the test was
devised CW was the principal mode, phone was an oddity for
experimenters, and the FCC tested in appropiate areas.


But somewhere along the line this principle became corrupted. It
has become a symbol of elitism, bigotism, intolerance. And the
saddest part is I am a CW man. I like being on 14,005. I like to
chase CW DX. But browbeating some one else for what I like is not
proper. No sir. Lets test what needs to be tested, and not test
what does not need to be tested. Have no fear of the no coders,
for they cannot intrude in the cw subbands unless they know the code.


Now if someone was proposing to do away with CW, or eliminate the
separation of the various incompatible modes to the detriment of
CW, then I think that by golly, I would deem that very prejudicial,
elitist, or bigoted and LOUDLY would I protest. But the Code
TEST is a different thing altogether. It bears no relationship to
what goes on in the cw bands. We did not learn the code at the FCC
office. We learned it at home or, in my case, at an old man that
was my elmer. When I took my code test for novice in 1959 I was
qualified to operate CW. If there had been no use for CW, I think
that with a bit different training I could have been competent to
operate on 20 meters a.m. phone. But I was trained on CW. That was
the core of amateur radio back then. AS a young child I ran wires
all over the neighborhood and hooked up telegraph keys and sounders
to other similarly minded kids homes. Lots of fun. But today, CW
is not what the public expects of amateur radio. Times have changed.
I have changed. I have seen the light.


And as for my EXtra class license; all of a sudden I am not ashamed
of it anymore, because a few months after my eyes were open I realized
that was not a prejudiced s.o.b. upper-class-bigoted-elitist Extra.
No sir. I was instead a VE, a teacher, a person around which people
gathered to learn from. Sure, I am human, I love the attention
and probably some praise, but my attitude about me being BETTER just
vanished. Better is relative.


The cycle of life goes on forever. Babies are born, old men die.
The torch passes on. The teenager that we are so sure just "doesn't
have it" "or it was different in my day" soon enough becomes the
daughter of my grandchild. Soon enough she is 28. I am an old man.
Soon enough I will die. And I sure do not want people to think
"thank god that old idiot died". No, I want them to say, "my teacher,
my elmer died. I learned a lot from him. And when his time comes,
and we as a hobby have evolved into maybe faster than light commo
to the stars, using some exotic technicques and modes, the PRINCIPLE
will still exist and carry on.


Do we make fun of Marconi because he implemented the coherer detector
and the spark transmitter? ( I do not say invented ). Do we make
fun because Sir Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, used a spark set? Of
course not. In fact, those guys were brave souls at the cutting edge
of technology. Think of it: the cutting edge of technology!
Things have changed folks, lets get on the bandwagon.


1. Eliminate the code test.
2. Retain cw sub bands.
3. Eliminate incentive licensing.
4. Institute just two license classes. Entry level or apprentice,
and full amateur with ALL privileges including the right to
operate CW on the cw bands (if he learns how). This is not to
create an elite crust, but to provide for an easy entry step.
5. Educate, and maybe test, our new hams in radio operating, ham
traditions and values, on the air etiquette, radio lore, and
maybe even the dreaded Order of the Wouff Hong! Or the Retisnitch.
6. Lets make each new ham someone we can be proud off, and say,
"Hey, he is coming right along!"
7. Lets take over the ARRL from within and make it a society that
alll hams can be proud to belong to. Let them represent all
hams, not just the members. Lets change the system from within.
Lets get rid of the creators of incentive licensing.


And let us remember, that upon creation of the incentive licensing
program, the Extra Class did not get ONE SINGLE kilocycle of
spectrum space, or one single KC of phone band. No sir, what they
did is took the existing generals and told them to get out of this
portion of the band while us extras enjoy the new freedom from
associating with the likes of you.


8. I am not sure yet, haven't made up my mind, but I think that
this Vanity call sigh program is aptly named. Vanity. The
FCC has always issued call signs in sequential blocks. Started
with 1AA in 1922, then W1AA in '27 and now they are up to KD4
or some such. And hams dearly love their calls. Mine is shorter
than yours because (insert your favorite excuse here). I am
starting to think that this vanity call sign is somehow...smelly.
What if the FCC made ALL ham calls 2 x 3, like WA6MNV, and then
issued the calls at random. Maybe you and I take the license test
same day, I get WA6MNV, you get KD6URL, and a week later the next
new ham gets WA6AEF. It would just be the luck of the draw,
a totally random, non-elitist call sign program, computer generated
etc. No one couls say, I am better, or have more years in
service, or have done this on that, and that is why I am AL7X
and you have the lowly call of WA6VSE or WL7CSG. This program
would entail all brand new calls for everyone. Everyone. AT
random. It would generate an instant protest, I am sure, but
once done, its a done deal and a whole bunch of squabbling will
end.


Just thinking about the above call sign deal, but you can see
where I am leading to. A society where all hams are equal, and
one that is blind to age, years as a ham, or the holder of
a level of license class that is "better" and has "a better call"
than that "low life no code over there".


If you think that is extreme, be assured that in the 1950's the
W x 3 calls, like W2FCJ started running out (as a novice he would
have been WN2FCJ). Anyway, the FCC got to W2ZZZ, and call area
by call area went to the K calls. Formerly K calls were overseas
territories, like K4 for puerto rico, K7 for alaska. The K x 2
calls like K2GM were mainland us calls, only K x 3 were territories.
But the FCC freed this block of calls, by assigning KP4, KH6, KL7
etc to territories, and they started again all over with K2AAA
until those were done with. Now, in the late 50's, the W2's
had prejudice against the K2's. Remember when Dorothy, K2MGA
worked or ran CQ magazine. Big furor. "She is a K2 not a W2!"
Already the seeds of elitism had been planted.


There IS a place for elitism. You are elite, when your fellow
hams look UP to you, and admire you, and want to be like you.
As a teacher, a fine example. But a short call, an Extra Class
license, 40 years as a ham, or blind, egotistical pride does
not automatically make a person "Elite". That should be a
status earned by each individual according to his own performance
in society. Hiram Percy Maxim W1AW was not "elite" because he
had a short call, one with the letter after number being A.
And he was not elite because he was president and founder of
ARRL, or because he wrote the Rotten QRM and other articles on
Lids and poor operating practices. No sir. He was elite
because he earned the instant respect of ALL amateurs when he
was instrumental in getting allocations for ham operators from
a government (navy) that wanted to keep it to themselves and
control it, never share, and prohibit hamming. Now THAT is what
he did, and he gave us all a wonderful gift, and in 30 years may
his work still be admired and be fruitful.


This attitude that "I passed a 13 wpm, or I passed a 20 wpm
code test, so I am better than you no code low life" has got
to stop right_now! There is, after all, an easy answer. Say
in my case, I became an extra in 1962 or 63 when the license
first became available. The test was all on a.m. phone, cw and
things like that. All gear was strictly tubes. But a new
ham in 1996 could rightfully say to me, and he would be 100%
correct in saying "So what ramon. 20 WPM, gee, that is good,
but is it relevant? I just took, and passed a test on
solid state rigs, VLSI chips, digital techniques, frequency
synthesizers, narrow band FM, SSTV television and beam antennas."


So, as far as a TEST goes, who is the better ham? Me, because
I took a 20 WPM test and a written on topics like heising
modulation, rf ammeters, and splatter on a.m. transmitters?
Or is he the better ham because his test was on the cutting edge
of the amateur radio art, even if it was no-code.


So think about this. In 1962 I took the prescribed test. It
was on techniques appropiate to THAT era. He took his test in
1996, and his test reflects THIS era, just like the test in
the year 2046 will have questions totally inconceivable to us
right now.


Maybe I am the poorer ham. After all, an old geezer with
obsolete knowledge. Now of course, I could say, but wait! I
have followed the radio art. I repair solid state 2-way
commercial radios, I am a computer nerd. I even build
plug in cards for my computers here (and some even WORK).
BUT all that is moot, because friends, we are talking about
tests, not what you know 30 odd years after the test.


So each of us is a full blown ham, and each one has proved his
worth by taking the latest version of the ham test at the
time it was given. He is a ham. So am I. He is proud of it.
I am proud of mine. But I am also happy and proud for HIM,
because instead of whining, complaining, etc., he buckled down
studied and passed this 1996 test. So he has proven his
commitment to the process of becoming a ham.


And that folks is that counts and what sets hams apart from
CB'ers who only follow the rule of instant gratification.


So when we say we must keep the code test, we have one word too
much in there. We should keep testing, yes, to prove the
commitment the individual has to ham radio. But to say that
Code, or for that matter a Triode Push Pull R.F. amplifier
with link coupling and neutralization is somehow better than
one on a DDS frequncy synthetizer is totally ridiculous. Its
comparing apples to oranges. And I pray that in the year 2046
the test will be appropiate to that age and time, and that my
great granchildren will also sweat the test, spending countless
hours studying and visiting the elmers, and finally get the
ticket one October morning, and fire up their Franistat
set, and work Rigel 6 on the first call! Now we are talking,
fellows. Lets drop the narrow view and get this hobby of
ours off its arse and moving ahead!


Ramon, AL7X. VE, CW man. Pro no-code. Anti incentive licensing.
Proud of the hobby. Lets see it move
forward. Respect all modes and facets.

[W4HAY]

Here we go again! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFoEYiM7lQ)

[N0OV]

Outstanding HAY...................

HB ---- really like that letter.

[W9PSK]

What they need to do is stop publishing the question pool.

[K0HWY]

Should I pop some corn for this Thread?

I'll bring a couple of sodas. I'm sure this one is going to be just as entertaining as the previous five hundred. :D

[K0HWY]

What they need to do is stop publishing the question pool.

You mean, make it a real test? Are you nuts? :D

I agree but Hell forbid anyone be forced to actually have to put forth effort to get a license. Those days are long gone.

[KI4SYC]

Bravo, Sir! Bravo!

I wish you were here to help me upgrade to EXTRA. You sound like an excellent Teacher with a great attitude.


The following, written by a wise ham, bears repeating here.

Enjoy


73, de Hans, K0HB


---Begin Forwarded message---


I am an Extra. I was proud of it. I had
a certificate on the wall issued by the FCC to prove it. Then
in 1968 along cam incentive licensing. That was in a previous life,
because in 1968 I died and became a bigot. I thought that incentive
licensing was the final acchievement, the culmination and triumph
of my being a better radio ham than lowly generals or conditionals.


I gloated with glee when the generals were kicked out of half of each
band. I gloated that I could now operate among my own peer group
on 14, 205. I even could gloat of my linear amplifier and my
102 ft tower that made my signal something to be reckoned with. I
won the CQ WW WPX contest (for Alaska) one year. Oh, man, I was
on top.


But in 1996, folks, the fellows from the local club came to me.
Ramon, help us out. You are an Extra. We need a VE. So I said
okay, I'll go see what these lowlifes are up to and put an end to
this nonsense.


But, it didn't work out that way. I was converted. I saw the light.
I saw that these guys werent low lifers, they wanted to be HAMS.
I had to recognize that you can't really build the equivalent of
a TS-450. In the old days, CW was the state of the art, you mostly
built your gear. CW testing was appropiate. So I said to myself,
lets hold your tongue and see what these guys are up to. So the club
went on to create a whole new generation of radio hams. These guys
are good. They are polite, they say "roger" and not "10-4 good
buddy" They say "Is this freauency in use, or is anyone listening
on the repeater, instead of "breaker-breaker 19". In other words,
these guys CARED for ham radio, its traditions and its values. They
wanted to BELONG.


Okay, I said, lets go ahead and get the exams from the Anchorage VEC
and put them to the test. Sure enough, they got licensed and are
now on the air. Their calls are a giveaway, like WL7CSG, but by
golly, you couldn't tell them apart from a real ham otherwise. And
why can't you? Because they ARE real hams.


What about the code? Well, like homebuilding it has its time and
place. Nowadays a TS-450 costs the same as an old DX-100, or BC-610
or some old time monstrosity. These guys want to get on the air and
enjoy the hobby. Go moose hunting, fishing, picnicking and keeping
in touch with the crew back in town or over the next hill. Sounds
no different than me! Must be real hams. Many have expressed
interest in HF. They know the code is a requirement. And they wonder
why. They do not intend to use CW. Why take a morse test? The
FCC does not give a public speaking test before they allow you to
operate on 20 ssb. Why not? Because at the time the test was
devised CW was the principal mode, phone was an oddity for
experimenters, and the FCC tested in appropiate areas.


But somewhere along the line this principle became corrupted. It
has become a symbol of elitism, bigotism, intolerance. And the
saddest part is I am a CW man. I like being on 14,005. I like to
chase CW DX. But browbeating some one else for what I like is not
proper. No sir. Lets test what needs to be tested, and not test
what does not need to be tested. Have no fear of the no coders,
for they cannot intrude in the cw subbands unless they know the code.


Now if someone was proposing to do away with CW, or eliminate the
separation of the various incompatible modes to the detriment of
CW, then I think that by golly, I would deem that very prejudicial,
elitist, or bigoted and LOUDLY would I protest. But the Code
TEST is a different thing altogether. It bears no relationship to
what goes on in the cw bands. We did not learn the code at the FCC
office. We learned it at home or, in my case, at an old man that
was my elmer. When I took my code test for novice in 1959 I was
qualified to operate CW. If there had been no use for CW, I think
that with a bit different training I could have been competent to
operate on 20 meters a.m. phone. But I was trained on CW. That was
the core of amateur radio back then. AS a young child I ran wires
all over the neighborhood and hooked up telegraph keys and sounders
to other similarly minded kids homes. Lots of fun. But today, CW
is not what the public expects of amateur radio. Times have changed.
I have changed. I have seen the light.


And as for my EXtra class license; all of a sudden I am not ashamed
of it anymore, because a few months after my eyes were open I realized
that was not a prejudiced s.o.b. upper-class-bigoted-elitist Extra.
No sir. I was instead a VE, a teacher, a person around which people
gathered to learn from. Sure, I am human, I love the attention
and probably some praise, but my attitude about me being BETTER just
vanished. Better is relative.


The cycle of life goes on forever. Babies are born, old men die.
The torch passes on. The teenager that we are so sure just "doesn't
have it" "or it was different in my day" soon enough becomes the
daughter of my grandchild. Soon enough she is 28. I am an old man.
Soon enough I will die. And I sure do not want people to think
"thank god that old idiot died". No, I want them to say, "my teacher,
my elmer died. I learned a lot from him. And when his time comes,
and we as a hobby have evolved into maybe faster than light commo
to the stars, using some exotic technicques and modes, the PRINCIPLE
will still exist and carry on.


Do we make fun of Marconi because he implemented the coherer detector
and the spark transmitter? ( I do not say invented ). Do we make
fun because Sir Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, used a spark set? Of
course not. In fact, those guys were brave souls at the cutting edge
of technology. Think of it: the cutting edge of technology!
Things have changed folks, lets get on the bandwagon.


1. Eliminate the code test.
2. Retain cw sub bands.
3. Eliminate incentive licensing.
4. Institute just two license classes. Entry level or apprentice,
and full amateur with ALL privileges including the right to
operate CW on the cw bands (if he learns how). This is not to
create an elite crust, but to provide for an easy entry step.
5. Educate, and maybe test, our new hams in radio operating, ham
traditions and values, on the air etiquette, radio lore, and
maybe even the dreaded Order of the Wouff Hong! Or the Retisnitch.
6. Lets make each new ham someone we can be proud off, and say,
"Hey, he is coming right along!"
7. Lets take over the ARRL from within and make it a society that
alll hams can be proud to belong to. Let them represent all
hams, not just the members. Lets change the system from within.
Lets get rid of the creators of incentive licensing.


And let us remember, that upon creation of the incentive licensing
program, the Extra Class did not get ONE SINGLE kilocycle of
spectrum space, or one single KC of phone band. No sir, what they
did is took the existing generals and told them to get out of this
portion of the band while us extras enjoy the new freedom from
associating with the likes of you.


8. I am not sure yet, haven't made up my mind, but I think that
this Vanity call sigh program is aptly named. Vanity. The
FCC has always issued call signs in sequential blocks. Started
with 1AA in 1922, then W1AA in '27 and now they are up to KD4
or some such. And hams dearly love their calls. Mine is shorter
than yours because (insert your favorite excuse here). I am
starting to think that this vanity call sign is somehow...smelly.
What if the FCC made ALL ham calls 2 x 3, like WA6MNV, and then
issued the calls at random. Maybe you and I take the license test
same day, I get WA6MNV, you get KD6URL, and a week later the next
new ham gets WA6AEF. It would just be the luck of the draw,
a totally random, non-elitist call sign program, computer generated
etc. No one couls say, I am better, or have more years in
service, or have done this on that, and that is why I am AL7X
and you have the lowly call of WA6VSE or WL7CSG. This program
would entail all brand new calls for everyone. Everyone. AT
random. It would generate an instant protest, I am sure, but
once done, its a done deal and a whole bunch of squabbling will
end.


Just thinking about the above call sign deal, but you can see
where I am leading to. A society where all hams are equal, and
one that is blind to age, years as a ham, or the holder of
a level of license class that is "better" and has "a better call"
than that "low life no code over there".


If you think that is extreme, be assured that in the 1950's the
W x 3 calls, like W2FCJ started running out (as a novice he would
have been WN2FCJ). Anyway, the FCC got to W2ZZZ, and call area
by call area went to the K calls. Formerly K calls were overseas
territories, like K4 for puerto rico, K7 for alaska. The K x 2
calls like K2GM were mainland us calls, only K x 3 were territories.
But the FCC freed this block of calls, by assigning KP4, KH6, KL7
etc to territories, and they started again all over with K2AAA
until those were done with. Now, in the late 50's, the W2's
had prejudice against the K2's. Remember when Dorothy, K2MGA
worked or ran CQ magazine. Big furor. "She is a K2 not a W2!"
Already the seeds of elitism had been planted.


There IS a place for elitism. You are elite, when your fellow
hams look UP to you, and admire you, and want to be like you.
As a teacher, a fine example. But a short call, an Extra Class
license, 40 years as a ham, or blind, egotistical pride does
not automatically make a person "Elite". That should be a
status earned by each individual according to his own performance
in society. Hiram Percy Maxim W1AW was not "elite" because he
had a short call, one with the letter after number being A.
And he was not elite because he was president and founder of
ARRL, or because he wrote the Rotten QRM and other articles on
Lids and poor operating practices. No sir. He was elite
because he earned the instant respect of ALL amateurs when he
was instrumental in getting allocations for ham operators from
a government (navy) that wanted to keep it to themselves and
control it, never share, and prohibit hamming. Now THAT is what
he did, and he gave us all a wonderful gift, and in 30 years may
his work still be admired and be fruitful.


This attitude that "I passed a 13 wpm, or I passed a 20 wpm
code test, so I am better than you no code low life" has got
to stop right_now! There is, after all, an easy answer. Say
in my case, I became an extra in 1962 or 63 when the license
first became available. The test was all on a.m. phone, cw and
things like that. All gear was strictly tubes. But a new
ham in 1996 could rightfully say to me, and he would be 100%
correct in saying "So what ramon. 20 WPM, gee, that is good,
but is it relevant? I just took, and passed a test on
solid state rigs, VLSI chips, digital techniques, frequency
synthesizers, narrow band FM, SSTV television and beam antennas."


So, as far as a TEST goes, who is the better ham? Me, because
I took a 20 WPM test and a written on topics like heising
modulation, rf ammeters, and splatter on a.m. transmitters?
Or is he the better ham because his test was on the cutting edge
of the amateur radio art, even if it was no-code.


So think about this. In 1962 I took the prescribed test. It
was on techniques appropiate to THAT era. He took his test in
1996, and his test reflects THIS era, just like the test in
the year 2046 will have questions totally inconceivable to us
right now.


Maybe I am the poorer ham. After all, an old geezer with
obsolete knowledge. Now of course, I could say, but wait! I
have followed the radio art. I repair solid state 2-way
commercial radios, I am a computer nerd. I even build
plug in cards for my computers here (and some even WORK).
BUT all that is moot, because friends, we are talking about
tests, not what you know 30 odd years after the test.


So each of us is a full blown ham, and each one has proved his
worth by taking the latest version of the ham test at the
time it was given. He is a ham. So am I. He is proud of it.
I am proud of mine. But I am also happy and proud for HIM,
because instead of whining, complaining, etc., he buckled down
studied and passed this 1996 test. So he has proven his
commitment to the process of becoming a ham.


And that folks is that counts and what sets hams apart from
CB'ers who only follow the rule of instant gratification.


So when we say we must keep the code test, we have one word too
much in there. We should keep testing, yes, to prove the
commitment the individual has to ham radio. But to say that
Code, or for that matter a Triode Push Pull R.F. amplifier
with link coupling and neutralization is somehow better than
one on a DDS frequncy synthetizer is totally ridiculous. Its
comparing apples to oranges. And I pray that in the year 2046
the test will be appropiate to that age and time, and that my
great granchildren will also sweat the test, spending countless
hours studying and visiting the elmers, and finally get the
ticket one October morning, and fire up their Franistat
set, and work Rigel 6 on the first call! Now we are talking,
fellows. Lets drop the narrow view and get this hobby of
ours off its arse and moving ahead!


Ramon, AL7X. VE, CW man. Pro no-code. Anti incentive licensing.
Proud of the hobby. Lets see it move
forward. Respect all modes and facets.

[KJ3N]

So now that a new head of the FCC will be appointed do you think there is any chance they will set aside more pressing issues and revisit the decision to do away with CW testing to get General and Extra Amateur Radio Licenses.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Stop it, man!!! You're killin' me!!!

(wipes tears from face)

Oh, that was a good one..... :D :D

[N7RJD]

Should I pop some corn for this Thread?

If you do be sure to save the cob. I'm sure we'll have somebody volunteer a storage place for it before long.

[VE7DCW]

.... I wonder if the Mayans could've predicted the end of the code/no code debate with that stupid calander of theirs....the end of the world??...big deal. Predicting the end of violating poor horsie's corpse,now thats a true feat of amazement :rolleyes:

73

[W4RLR]

The following, written by a wise ham, bears repeating here.

Enjoy


73, de Hans, K0HB


---Begin Forwarded message---


I am an Extra. I was proud of it. I had
a certificate on the wall issued by the FCC to prove it. Then
in 1968 along cam incentive licensing. That was in a previous life,
because in 1968 I died and became a bigot. I thought that incentive
licensing was the final acchievement, the culmination and triumph
of my being a better radio ham than lowly generals or conditionals. <snip>
So when we say we must keep the code test, we have one word too
much in there. We should keep testing, yes, to prove the
commitment the individual has to ham radio. But to say that
Code, or for that matter a Triode Push Pull R.F. amplifier
with link coupling and neutralization is somehow better than
one on a DDS frequncy synthetizer is totally ridiculous. Its
comparing apples to oranges. And I pray that in the year 2046
the test will be appropiate to that age and time, and that my
great granchildren will also sweat the test, spending countless
hours studying and visiting the elmers, and finally get the
ticket one October morning, and fire up their Franistat
set, and work Rigel 6 on the first call! Now we are talking,
fellows. Lets drop the narrow view and get this hobby of
ours off its arse and moving ahead!


Ramon, AL7X. VE, CW man. Pro no-code. Anti incentive licensing.
Proud of the hobby. Lets see it move
forward. Respect all modes and facets.
Hear, hear!

[W2IBC]

K0HB

great read, and it says alot about how AR is.

the "eliteist" additudes need to be done away with.

as for code/no code i dont personally care, i've made a few cw contacts on 6 a few times but cw just isnt my thing.
psk-31/digital - im a computer guy (i really am) but personally will never hook a pc up to a radio (it just how I am)
ssb/am/fm - I like ssb, i enjoy hearing the voice of the person im talking to. its just my thing.

and with AR everyone has there OWN thing they like about AR. me its voice, some its cw, some its a digital mode. but we all have 1 thing in common, we like radio.

[W2PHD]

Should I pop some corn for this Thread?

You have to try this: After popping the corn, put a bag of M&Ms (peanut centres) into the popcorn and the rest is a taste testing delight. :)

[N0OV]

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Stop it, man!!! You're killin' me!!!

(wipes tears from face)

Oh, that was a good one..... :D :D

This has been a public service "Troll Test" announcement. If this thread would have been an actual Troll Post it would have contained multiple links supporting the case to bring back code, along with multiple attempts to keep this "way past dead" topic alive and in view

But because this was a "Test Troll" we will return to the normally scheduled posts and not make any attempt to revive this puppy -- regardless of what is added

Thanks to all who participated in this test.

Thanks KJ3N -- your response was appropriate and also had be rolling.

[W5WPL]

This has been a public service "Troll Test" announcement. If this thread would have been an actual Troll Post it would have contained multiple links supporting the case to bring back code, along with multiple attempts to keep this "way past dead" topic alive and in view

But because this was a "Test Troll" we will return to the normally scheduled posts and not make any attempt to revive this puppy -- regardless of what is added

Thanks to all who participated in this test.

Thanks KJ3N -- your response was appropriate and also had be rolling.

Darn, And I wanted to say something about changing my call sign to my old CB handle. :(

[K1CJS]

The following, written by a wise ham, bears repeating here......



I'm not going to repost the entire letter here because it is quite long. If you want to read it, it is post number 15 of this thread.

It brings up some very interesting AND VERY VALID points. If you skimmed past it, it may do you well to go back and read the whole post--every word. It applies equally well to both sides of the argument although it seems only to address one.

I think it can be summed up in one sentence:

"Why can't we hams just all get along with each other?"