Jamaica - No more Morse code for radio operators, technicians

That wasn't my experience, and I thought it was fun. Morse has always been fun.

 

Morse certainly is fun, and the efforts spent to learn it was felt to be well-invested.

My point was when skill-based privileges actually require some dedication and effort to acquire,
you appreciate them much more than if they just are handed to you.

In Europe, there has been a constant whining about the Morse requirement as long as I can remember
(early 70's) that eventually culminated in coordinated efforts by the "anti-coders" to eliminate the treaty Morse requirement.

We that appreciate Morse were quite baffled by the amount of lobbying efforts that went into this,
only to result in a regime where currently about 80-90 % of the no-code instant radio amateurs drop out within the first one or two years.

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM

 

NO WONDER THEY ARE DROPPING THE CODE....... WHO IN THE WORLD COULD OPERATE A STRAIGHT KEY AS SHOWN .... PRETTY EMARRASSING EVEN SHOWING THAT

 

I'm a "no-code" licensee. That being said, I'm proficient at about 22 WPM only because it was my choice to learn code. Learning code at my pace gave me a greater appreciation of the hobby and the medium of communication it provides. I agree with the decision to remove code as a license requirement because it invites rather than deter future licensees. Just my thoughts.

 

if you would check the field results more people on cw than other modes

 

I've told this before but I'll repeat it as it's right in line with this thread. When I was licensed, Morse Code proficiency was still required and I'll be the first to tell you, I wasn't really sure I was capable of learning it. While attending community college, working a part time job with almost full time hours and being involved somewhat heavily in music performance (all the usual excuses for not having time to learn it), I MADE time to learn it. While attending school for electronic product servicing, I talked with an electrical engineering instructor during break one evening. He was a ham and told me about the club station they had at the college. After telling him I had long been interested in getting licensed but wasn't sure if I could learn Morse Code he said, "See me tomorrow. I'm going to help you learn it in less than two months." Using the cassette tapes he supplied, I devoted a half hour each day and within a month, I was up to 5 WPM at almost 100% copy. Several things are worth noting here. First, I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box and yet, I still managed to acquire the skill, albeit at a rate that would bore grandma. Secondly, I wouldn't have learned it at all if someone would have came along and said, "OK, you don't have to do that. It's just an option." I mean after all, who wants to put forth effort if it's not needed? But it wasn't an option. I wanted to be a ham and the ONLY way that was going to happen involved me accepting the challenge and and rising to the occasion. I could have sat around and waited for them to drop the requirement but as far as I know, there wasn't any talk of that happening at that time. Last and not least, I was forced to learn it (or not get the license). If I had not been forced, I seriously doubt I would have ever tried. The cool part of this story is that I started out dreading the thought of having to learn that damn code but in the end, found that I actually enjoyed it. And I still enjoy it to this day. I never became a speed demon. You'll hear me pecking along with my old J-38 at about 12-15 wpm. It may not be fast be you can rest darn sure it will be clean. Anyway, just wanted to share that.

 

I'm not sure where you got those figures but I have insisted for a long time that this is the case here in the states as well. I would go a step further and speculate that less than half of them actually purchase and use a transceiver. But it's all about numbers these days. On paper, those numbers look really impressive but reality owns us.

 

This is a good conversation.....no flames involved as I believe we've all thousands of CW contacts in the log book.

You've both hit on something we tend to forget. CW is the original digital mode, and these days we can send and receive it using a computer with the right hookups and knowing a few macros. In fact I worked an entire contest on my FT-3000 using just the keypad to send from memory and the built-in decoder to sanity check call signs. There is no longer a requirement for us to send and receive manually, yet it is still required to earn a General and Extra ticket. In a lot of ways, CW is just like any other digital mode. Since we are all supposed to be for "the advancement of the radio art", why wouldn't we adopt the new technology? Nobody is saying we cannot still do it the old fashion way....it's a lot of fun so why not....but we must acknowledge that there is another way to get the job done without learning the code.

I've got a car that has a manual transmission. I love to drive a stick, but most people on the road today have no idea how to drive a manual transmission. Does it make them less competent because they never had to learn to drive a manual transmission like I did? In yesteryear, we called a manual transmission a "standard" transmission, but we don't call it that anymore because it is anything but standard. Is the automatic transmission a good thing or a bad thing?

 

These figures came out of a follow-up of the results of "week-end" training courses run by the greater Stockholm area clubs about 10 years ago.

It turned out that in the ballpark of 15 out of the total around 200 that had passed the tests during a 5 year period generated some measurable activity
two years after the actual exam, an attrition rate of over 90%.

This is not a new phenomenon however, when amateur radio in Sweden grew at its most during the 70's and 80's,
statistics from the regulator (you had to pay an annual licence fee then) showed that about 1/3 of the 800 that got their licence each year dropped out at the first renewal fee, and an additional 1/4 at the second invoice.
Soon the numbers stabilised at a number of unexpired licences of 13000, which remained quite constant up to the issuing of free life-time licences in 2004.

Making a linear approximation over the 20 year period of maximum growth, the number of unexpired licences increased by about 8000 in this period,
which means that the attrition rate was around 75%. A large majority of the "drop-outs" were no-coders.
Those that had gotten their licences either before or during conscription military service as Morse radio operators usually kept their calls.

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM

 

Long live CW!

(Said the man who wasn't required to learn it when I got re-licensed but has been using it more and more as my primary mode as I've gotten more and more active)

 

After worked 6 years for a caribean airline......I know....they won't..... I recommend you to have plan "B"....maybe new jamaican ham radio amateurs will read smoke signs.... so don't forget your matches......

Cheers my friend!!

73's
George, YV5WZ / PY3ZZZ

 

Lick mi head! Anedda Babylonian folla-fashion a tings inna fareign land. 'memba, what sweet nannygoat run 'im belly, soon see. Rhaatid!

Yuh dunno. Pass the QSO on the left hand side...

 

I see you're a RTTY fan too. Unless the lower-case is broken on your keyboard.

 

Never operated RTTY . Caps lock was on and I was lazy. Almost as lazy as the person who couldn't find a picture of properly adjusted straight key being operated correctly. Come on man ! Am I the only one who is offended by that picture?

 

No one taps a handkey that way. The photo is inappropriate.