CANADA REPORTS AGREEMENT TO DROP MORSE

THE GOOD NEWS :
ALL AMATEUR RADIO TESTS HAVE BEEN DROPPED
THE BAD NEWS:
IQ TEST TO REPLACE

 

...and that's a BAD thing?

 

I don't think anyone --on this topic-- cares about your operating style nor protocol Dave, but being a 'good op' on HF should extend also to the keyboard, don't you think.

The fact you are having this discussion on the unlicensed internet speaks volumes. We are not on HF CW.

I wager Jeffrey WILL be able to talk to you on HF--without code--sometime in the future. Whether he wishes to is his concern.

73,
Chip N1IR

 

If there are physician-backed requests, then from what I know of your background, you are not in a position to challenge those claims, Dave.

A request is not an excuse. You appear to see them all as excuses?

Are you implying that such an option is abused? What evidence is there for such abuse?

73,
Chip N1IR

 

now that that makes you an outstanding person, what is it that you do for your fellow man ?

 

For those who are so passionate about CW, of which I am definitely not one, it should be pointed out that removal of code requirement does not mean the CW is going away.

Those who enjoy operating CW will always be able to do so.

Chuck, AA1MN

 

Haven't we run this into the ground alreay?

 

I for one appreciate your comments. The only thing I have is against Canada is that Canadian Bacon thing.I found out it was just ham.
What a scam! Just Kidding! But seriously, I am sure the code will be dropped based soley on the fact that I have passed it.
I studied for 1 month a few minutes a day and could copy 13 wpm. So how hard can it be if I passed.
Remember the quote "I refuse to belong to any club that would have me as a member" Groucho I believe.

I perceive the same attitudes here as in other forums, as in all Canadians are alike,all CB'er are alike,all code freaks are alike and so on.
If everyone would just think like me and agree with my wisdom, what a wonderful world this would be.

 

"Amateur radio will surely be great here in the USA when we have a bunch of 2 meter repeater op's on HF."

We should be so lucky! As far as I can tell, 2 meter traffic is off about 90% from what is was in the mid 1980s.
"Ham radio without CW is CB"
Guess what? BOTH ham radio and CB are very tiny subsets of the geek culture that 99% of the population could not care less about. Go tell all your neighbors you bought a CB radio. The response will vary between "who cares" and "those still exist??". Tell them you bought a ham radio and it will be the EXACT SAME. Tell them you can talk around the world on your radio and they will call their cousin in New Zealand on their Nextel and ask HOW MUCH did you spend on that thing...........

 

You're on to something N3HGB.

When I was studying for my tech+ years ago one of the others in the class said he wanted to get his HF privileges so he could contact his relative in the UK without running up a phone bill.

I looked at this guy like he had three heads and suggested he save himself the time and trouble and send him emails.

Chuck, AA1MN

 

Thats pretty funny

 

Sad fact is all about the money .How many hf rigs would be sold if the cw was droped in the usa?Its going to happen sooner or latter.Look how many ham are no coders.I hear more ssb the cw on the air

 

Hey Tom--

You mighthave work'em all out!

CW has value; The question is: is it necessary for HF privileges?

73, Chip N1IR

 

Incompetency and lack of thoughtful planning in amateur radio practice is already in place, and is even reinforced by technologic "advances." Removing the basic Morse code from licensure requirements will simply increase the odds of the kind of event I witnessed recently.

This past Saturday Indiana State RACES held a drill. Each county was requested to check in on specified frequencies, testing as many of the ways listed as possible from the list given. This list included phone
frequencies in the 75, 60, 40, 2, and 70cm bands, as well as 80 meter PSK-31, echolink into a 220 node, Internet email, and commercial telephone contact details.

My county's EOC was up and running, but was able to handle only the VHF and UHF portions of the list due to the wisdom of our local county commissioners, who have determined that a G5RV would be "unsightly" hanging
40 feet above the back parking lot between the 200 foot communications tower and a security light pole. Consequently, the RACES radio officer for the county assigned each HF contact frequency to an individual ham participating from his/her home.

Since there were only a few of us free from work at 1400z that day, I drew two assignments: 60 meters and 40 meters. The 60 meter check-in went off without a hitch, and I learned that my half-wave dipole covered the state nicely when mounted 17 feet off the ground.

A problem surfaced when I attempted the 40 meter contact. I noted as I listened before checking in that State EOC apparently had the 40 meter station running with the squelch set a bit high, since he responded only to the loudest stations. No problem, I thought, as I planned to run QRO into a 272 foot horizontal loop antenna 22 feet off the ground, which covers a 500-mile radius quite well. Unfortunately, I found that the loop didn't work as I expected (later learning that the previous evening's wind storm had broken one side loose from the feedline). As a result, tuning the loop was difficult, and my SSB signal did not break state EOC's squelch.

No problem, I thought again, again wrongly. Reaching over to the old chrome bug, I sent my call. No response. I then sent W9SEM W9SEM de N9CJT N9CJT K
and got no response. Several stations heard me, as evidenced by their telling the NCS that a CW station was calling him. He called me and I responded, but he still didn't hear me. He then apparently sought help from
someone else at the EOC, because when he finally keyed up again a few minutes later to ask me to call again, I heard a voice in the background say, "The DSP is off now." That time, when I sent "W9SEM de N9CJT
Bartholomew Co. with 19 sta. on 2m K" he got it.

Yes, CW can get through when band conditions are marginal, but not if marginal conditions are created by technologic advances such as squelch and DSP (which in its more advanced form blocks all CW pulses). Apparently the operator at State EOC likes "easy listening" and had equipement at the EOC which provided it. It would appear from the experience of this drill that such preferences are not conducive to emergency communications, a fact which I hope the State EOC will note and incorporate into its operator training.

If CW is removed from ARS licensure testing, the chances of CW getting through will be further reduced by an increasing number of licensees who don't have to rely upon thoughtlessness to choose operating practices which use "advanced technology" to exclude low power and CW signals. They will simply have never thought of CW at all, so the "logic" of planning to receive such signals during emergencies will never occur to them. This kind of ignorant thinking is typical for government work. However, it's not something I'm willing to support. The Amateur Radio Service can do a lot better than that. The question is, will it?

 

Based upon your own testimonial, Joel, it is apparant that CW isn't the most effective means of communications that many claim it to be.

Secondly, before pointing out others faults it one might question why you, yourself, continued attempting to contact someone by methods that obviously weren't getting through to that person ... unless, of course, banging your head against a brick wall is a past time you enjoy.

Just observations on my part.

Chuck, AA1MN[/b]