Morse is History

Hooah!!

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (AE6IP @ Aug. 28 2003,15:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If the only thing keeping Morse alive were a test requirement, than we would hear no Morse on the air. People would study it well enough to pass the test and then never touch it again.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
There ARE still some people running Morse? You could have fooled me. I've made a "hobby" of tuning 80 meters for CW operators during the times of the evening and morning when the phone subband is jammed wall to wall. The busiest I have found the band when there is no contest running over the last two months was 5 QSOs in some narrow band mode or other, digital or CW. The most CW operators I have heard was a whole three of them, one calling CQ and one that sounded like code practice.

CW is as dead as its practitioners make it. If there really are too few practitioners then it becomes a "Society of Creative Anachronism" thing or an empty state electronics boat anchor collector's thing. It certainly is not mainstream hamming as practiced today.

Even on 20 when the band is open and lively the number of CW QSOs in the US CW only subband is miniscule compared to its carrying capacity. (Of course, for some reason the ARQ people seem to like jamming the PSK31 people on 14.070+ while tens of kHz are empty. Go figure.)

Maybe it really is time to reassess the need for CW as an exam element. Do note that if there is ANY CW only subband at all it can be made a place that automatically requires knowledge of CW if someone wants to use it. Perhaps there needs to be a CW only subband as well as a modest "narrow band modes" subband limited to 500Hz or less modes. That would preserve the sanctity of CW for those who need it while perhaps making the subbands saner, if proportional bandwidths are allocated.

Again, I note that a CW only (no other narrow band modes allowed) subband would automatically require a "CW test" to use it. If you don't know CW, one way or another, you don't use it.

{^_^} W6MKU licensed since '59 and STILL hates CW.
Mild dyslexia does that to you.

 

Hi!
Isn't Amateur Radio a hobby? I got the bug over forty years ago and spent most of my adult life working in electronics and communications. I have all sorts of licenses and certificates to enable me to work. Ham radio was part of the drive to get a profession, but it's just a hobby that helped me learn. No one is eliminating the CW segments on the ham bands as best as I can tell. I started out with vacuum tubes and now its integrated circuits that come with novel-sized operating manuals.
Time waits for no one,
KC9EGB

 

I am not going to open the door on if I approve/disapprove the dropping of the code. What I dont like is the holier-than-thou attitudes from some hams.Like I am XX years old and can copy XX wpm. Dont forget the "if i can do it anyone can" phrase.Im glad you got your code skill down, however it is not as easy for all of us. I am 28 and have been trying for 2 and a half years now, close but just cant quite get it. It just seems to me that if the "big guns" of HF are going to look down on us who are struggling, it really takes away a lot of the drive. 73 KC0NAR P.S. I will still get Element 1 passed....sometime.

 

I agree with the antenna tuning part, but why on earth would I need keyboarding to do cw? Or ssb for that matter. However I don't think it matters what I think, you think, or most others for that matter. The government will do whatever they think is right anyway. In the mean time I'll be glad to just keep on keeping on with my 817, superantenna, and Bencher if I'm portable, or ssb from home... 73 and good luck to all

 

An excellent article Bonnie, thank you.  I think most people forget that cw is not going away.  It's still a viable mode.  I know I plan to operate with it.  One thing I heard (and hope was a bad rumour) is the ARRL taking the code practice off the airways!  Bad idea, I hope they don't.  I don't waste my time with the "cw debate" either.  I have my opinion and I think most intelligent people can figure things out, without the dull endless postings.  Too frequently I've seen a good posting hijacked as people take the topic on some far away tangent.  So I just wanted to say, good job and thanks for sharing your ideas.

73, Doug, W7MEX

 

Bonnie Crystal co-authored a CB Radio Book
Bonnie Crystal just wants to sell more books, I'm sure her next book will be for ham radio portable operations while exploring caves.
I pray that the day is near when Morse code and the debate about it will end. I thank Bonnie for her thoughtful comments on this subject.  

 

Keep pushing it babe!
You will soon have all your 10-4 good buddy locals on the ham bands with you.
Mike

 

As always some one has do dig up that OLD TIRED DEAD horse and Beat it again! Jesus Christ enough already.

 

Maybe the CW test could be replaced with a touch-typing test and the submission of a short essay that demonstrates the ability to produce evidence supported with logical argument.

Since so many hams communicate now on the QRZ message board, such a test could prove a useful filter.

 

Great writting bonnie! If this was english 1a, you would deserve an "A".

It is all to true!

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k6xr @ Aug. 28 2003,18:02)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Great writting bonnie! If this was english 1a, you would deserve an "A".

It is all to true![/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Sorry, but you get a "D" for spelling.
"Writing", "Too"

 

WA5OES
QUOTE:
Maybe the CW test could be replaced with a touch-typing test and the submission of a short essay that demonstrates the ability to produce evidence supported with logical argument.
UNQUOTE:

This is what it really means:
What does typing have to do with code, no brains.  What does logical argument have to do with electronic skills.  "This guy is a nut".
Could add this also:It is a hobby with skills, anyone can type.
"He is a double nut".

You sound like my old professor I had back in college.  Are you he as he was a nut.

 

The loss of the code test is inevitable. It is sad in some ways. I think we missed our best chance at compromise the world radio conference in that they should have said code test required to have privileges on any cw only portion of any band. Oh well, I stirred up a hornets nest at our last club meeting by suggesting that we give a certificate of distinction to our first "no-code General" and our first "No-code Extra". A dubious distinction at best, but it opened up the code-no code can of worms all over again. More comments about code another time. I do love it, but time is marching on.
Terry

 

I can't believe that thing popped up again.............