NCVEC Files No-Code Petition

AT last- what a great idea to drop the code.
    Most hams don't use it and even at 5 words per minute it keeps many good hams away (my daughter and wife included). New hams see no reason to spent a few weeks studying something they may never use. Code can always be learned later if desired.  

 

Great letter by the guys who must deal with this controversial subject every day. It's overwhelming within the VEC community to drop CW testing. Any volunteers out there that would like to replace the VEC's with their own expert ability to test the millions who would like to join, or upgade their Ham licence? I am one of those Hams that works with the latest technology professionaly, and my desire to learn Morse Code is nil. If this rule change is adopted by the FCC, I will be very active on HF, and I'm sure many others will be contributing also. Does this hurt Ham radio? I don't think so. IMHO

 

Allow me to go off topic momentarily........can anyone explain to me how so many 'banned' people still get their comments put in the thread? Not that it matters a whole lot, just curious. OK, Im going back to the radio now, enough of this computer mental masturbation. That is if REAL threats to the HF spectrum havent already made it worthless.  

 

For Laughs... (Whatever decision is made will probably be heavily influenced upon by external factors anyway)



Note: More ways to REDUCE the numbers on HF or for any regulated service...



1. Require a drug test,

2. fingerprints,

3. background check,

4. credit check,

5. ban on anyone who has broken a traffic law or committed any act illegal acts including misdemeanors and minor traffic violations,

6. And what about those falsely advertising goods & services!



And for CW Operators being better qualified or "elite" because of a paper/audible test...



Do you think the DMV's driving tests which require actual driving with an "Expert"(Tester) along with a written/computerized test and knowledge of driving operations, creates only courteous, safe, and professional quality drivers? It may help, but 90% of all drivers in the USA nowadays must be unlicensed! BEEP! BEEP! ("Get outta my way, I'm late and more important than you!")



However, if CW is removed from the tests, lets hope its section is replaced with something else that may help maintain the technical integrity and operating skills and courtesy many hams seem to find "a lack of" in the amateur service. Unfortunately, "negativity" and the "bad-side" has become an American pastime and has become socially stimulating nationally. Check out the media and news! Lets reflect on that new ham that was polite and courteous or that K9 team that recognized the capabilities of the Amateur Service during an ARES drill, or the CB-er that has become a top ARRL contester!



For a moment, think of the future of the hobby and not your personal vendetta when commenting on the future...



If you want to vent personally, we can always start a thread stating what you like or don't about the hobby and what activities you want to do before either the ham radio hobby is lost or you depart from the hobby.

 

"Revenge is mine saith the Lord."


                       Fred/W5YI, Chairman
                      NCVEC Rules Committee

        Every dog has its day, so guess it is code day.

                     Of, for and by the people,
                         we stand united.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (wa6usa @ July 31 2003,22:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">my desire to learn Morse Code is nil.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
See thats just being lazy as I said before....

 

Here's the real problem:

The amateur exams are a joke. The "technical" difficulty is nothing more than memorization. I myself finished the Extra exam in FIVE MINUTES without use of a calculator and without doing any math on paper. I got two wrong, and already knew which ones they were: polar coordinates in calculation of complex impedances. I had ten days to study, and on day 9 I saw that the syllabus only listed two exam questions on that topic, so I skipped it. To this day, I don't know how to figure complex impedances using polar coordinates.

Whereas ARRL sometimes seems to want it to be overly difficult to become licensed, W5YI often seems to want the damn thing to be a post card license...just sign here affirming that you have read Part 97.

The average ham is a lousy operator, and I wish most of them would turn their radios off during emergencies. Hams are TOO LAZY to help out NTS, and they seem to join ARES to make themselves feel important and to wear a jacket with lots of patches. ARES is great for those of us who dropped out of Boy Scouts just shy of Eagle. We can overcompensate for the rest of our days.

What is needed in the testing is a real emphasis on proper operating procedures, HOW TO HANDLE TRAFFIC, the organization of ARES, RACES, NTS, formal and tactical message protocols, etc.

I propose having TWO classes of licenses: Novice and Advanced. Novice is for those who are too lazy to learn good operating practices. They can memorize all the technical stuff they will never use, because they will spend $75 for a "dipole kit" 'cuz they are afraid to solder. They can have SSB only in, say, 100 kHz segments of the main bands, with power output limited to 100 W PEP.

To earn the Advanced, there would be another technical exam PLUS a VERY EXTENSIVE exam on operating procedures, with an emphasis on emergency communications, traffic, etc. Make it a 100 question test. Upon passage of those two additional exams, the Advanced ticket would open the door to all modes, all bands, and maximum legal power.

Make the ham tickets lifetime, BUT require a minimum number of hours doing public service/emergency communications to keep the license. Something like 40 hours per year.

Though I NEVER thought I would say it, elimination of the CW requirement has finally become appropriate. That having been said, as I read the W5YI petition, all I could think of was "whine, whine, whine." It could be distilled into one sentence: "It's too much work."

WAH! WAH! WAH!

A ham license should be an ACCOMPLISHMENT, of which one should be PROUD, because that is the way to instill a sense of importance, respect and duty.

These comments are MY OWN only, and do not reflect the views of any organization I represent.

- KEVIN HUNT WA7VTD
Assistant SM, Oregon Section
AEC, Clackamas County ARES
ARL Volunteer Counsel

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (aa7bq @ July 30 2003,09:26)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The attached Petition for Rulemaking (dated July 29, 2003) has been filed by the National Conference of VECs with the Secretary, FCC, Washington DC.  It requests an immediate end of Morse code testing.

73/Fred/W5YI, Chairman
NCVEC Rules Committee


Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of   )
)
Amendment of Part 97 of the Commission's ) RM-
Amateur Service Rules to Eliminate )
Morse code testing )
)

To:  The Commission


PETITION FOR RULE MAKING

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) is
the umbrella organization comprised of the fourteen organizations
charged since 1984, under Section 97.519(a) of the rules of the Federal
Communications Commission, 47 CFR 97.519(a) to develop and administer
all Amateur Radio operator license testing and to electronically file
all successful license applications with the FCC.  In total, the VECs
and their more than 30,000 VE teams have collectively administered
nearly two million examinations during the past twenty years and have
notified the FCC to issue approximately a million new and upgraded
Amateur Radio licenses.

Once a year, the various Volunteer Examiner Coordinator organizations
meet at their annual conference to discuss the various issues that
impact Amateur Radio operator testing.  At their July 25, 2003, meeting
held with the FCC in Gettysburg, PA, the VECs overwhelmingly agreed
that Morse code testing should be immediately ended since it was now
possible to do so.  It was also noted that countries have already begun
discontinuing Morse examinations.  As a result the VECs voted to file
this Petition asking that the FCC take expedited action to allow them
to discontinue administering Element 1, the 5 words-per-minute
telegraphy examination as soon as possible.

Pursuant to Section 1.405 of the Commission's procedural rules (47
C.F.R. 1.405), the NCVEC hereby respectfully requests that the
Commission issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making at an early date
looking toward amendment of the rules governing the Amateur Radio
Service, 47 C.F.R. 97.1 et seq., as set forth herein and in the
attached Appendix.

The rule changes requested herein would terminate the telegraphy
examination requirement and permit existing Technician Class operators
to access HF spectrum as provided in 47 C.F.R.  97.301(e) without the
necessity of passing a Morse code examination.  This request to
eliminate the Morse code (Element 1) examination does not necessarily
have the support of the ARRL Board since they have yet to develop a
position on the matter.  In support of its petition, NCVEC states as
follows:

I.  Introduction and Background

Since the turn of the century, the Morse code, invented by American
Samuel Morse and first used in 1844, has been the foundation of early
distress and safety communications.  Although Morse code (or CW, as it
is commonly called)  was the primary mode of communications from the
late 19th Century through the early 20th Century, it has all but become
obsolete in practically all other contemporary communication systems.
Due to the emergence of satellite and digital communications, manual
telegraphy is no longer used or required in any radio service other
than in the Amateur Service.

Radiotelegraphy in the maritime service has been phased out in favor of
modern technology.  The last vestige of manual telegraphy began being
phased out in the maritime service in 1988 when the International
Maritime Organization adopted the Global Maritime Distress and Safety
System (GMDSS).

In the 1990's, countries around the world began closing down their
distress 500 kHz calling frequency watch which had been in use since
1912.  The final 500 kHz message sent by the U.S.  Coast Guard took
place from station NMN (Chesapeake Virginia) on April 1, 1995, and they
no longer monitor the frequency.

Even though the commercial world eliminated Morse code as a
communications medium many years ago, it has continued on the Amateur
bands because manual Morse proficiency was an international Amateur
Service requirement when operating on spectrum under 30 MHz.



II.  Telegraphy requirement in the Amateur Service

There are many communications modes and emissions available to the
radio amateur and manual CW is just another one that certainly deserves
no special priority.  The amateur radio operator examination process
does not require a practical demonstration in the ability to use any
other mode - even though more than a thousand modes and emissions are
available to the Amateur Service.

The international law previously required unspecified proficiency in
the International Morse code when the operation takes place in the
medium or high frequency bands.  Because of technological advances,
this regulation has become inconsistent with the goals of the Amateur
Service since it provides a barrier to otherwise qualified individuals
who wish to experiment and communicate below 30 MHz.  There can be no
doubt that the Morse code proficiency requirements have constituted an
unnecessary and artificial impediment to fuller use of the Amateur
Radio Service for many potential and existing amateurs.

It appears that the reason that many (no-code) Technician amateurs are
not upgrading to license classes that require telegraphy suggests that
the Morse code requirement may be a significant barrier.

III.  Morse code testing is a burden to the applicant

It should be noted that while today's personal computers can easily
send and receive telegraphy, the international Morse code "sent by hand
and received by ear" requirement continued as a worldwide fundamental
requirement for an amateur operator license until the recent actions by
the International Telecommunications Union.

The taking of the telegraphy examination is an unnecessary burden upon
the applicant.  Experience has shown that it is more often than not a
very stressful experience for the examinee.  With the elimination of
the international requirement for skill in manual telegraphy, there is
no longer any reasonable justification for requiring an applicant to
demonstrate this antiquated skill.

It is one that must be acquired through rote memorization of the
character meanings of some 43 combinations of audible dots and dashes:
26 letters of the alphabet, numerals 0 through 9, four punctuation
marks and three characters unique to CW.   This must be followed by
numerous practice sessions until the necessary skill is achieved.  Most
applicants, once they pass the code exam, never use the mode on the
amateur airwaves.  And many, perhaps most, could not pass it again if
required to do so.

While it continues to serve some amateur operators well, as it did in
the early days of radio, it is now but one of many modes available to
amateur operators.  The lack of interest in CW has turned many
prospective amateur operators away from the Amateur Service.  IV.
Morse proficiency is not an indication of a quality operator

Some amateurs believe that the effort and sacrifice needed to learn
Morse code indicates a more dedicated and, therefore, a better
candidate for Amateur Radio.  No evidence exists, however, that
supports a relationship between manual telegraphy proficiency and the
quality, desirability or motivation of the operator.

What the Morse code licensing requirement does do, however, is to
greatly reduce the number of applicants operating in the medium and
high frequencies.  Many people question why an individual with vast
knowledge in the electronics field should be excluded from operating on
HF spectrum due to a personal disinterest in the Morse code.

Continuing the use of Morse code proficiency as a means with which to
gauge "quality" or to limit the number of amateur radio operators
accessing public spectrum is certainly at odds with the FCC's mandate
to promote the wider use of radio and its commitment to the use of
emerging technologies.

V.  Morse proficiency should not be required to operate in the voice mode

It appears that most amateurs want to communicate in the voice mode.
It makes no sense from a regulatory perspective to require radio
amateurs to be Morse proficient when the greater majority of radio
amateurs do not desire to use that mode and there is no regulatory
reason for them to do so.

The future of Amateur Radio encompasses many modes undreamed of just a
few years ago.  Although manual telegraphy is a noble part of the
Amateur Radio's past, it is no longer the prime emission mode.

In short, the Commission should ensure that the amateur examination
elements are appropriate for the types of operation that will be
performed by the licensee.

VI.  An unnecessary burden upon the VEC system

The administration of a CW examination imposes an unnecessary burden
upon the VE teams who must prepare and administer the CW examinations.
It requires extensive preparation and special equipment to prepare and
administer properly.  It is often disruptive and unsettling to those
other examinees who are taking one of the written examinations within
the same room.

Under  97.507(d), the VEs must prepare and record a series of messages
sufficient to preclude any one message from becoming known to the
examinees.   Each message must contain every one of the 43 telegraphy
characters at least once during period of at least 5 minutes.  At the
prescribed speed of 5 words per minute, and at the prescribed 5
characters per word, the message is little more than 25 words in
length.  In practice, it is a difficult task to compose a realistic
message under these limitations.  It is also an unnecessary burden upon
the coordinating VECs since most of them also prepare telegraphy
examinations for their VE teams.

VII.  An unnecessary burden upon the amateur service community

The amateur service community suffers from the loss to its ranks of a
large number of potentially excellent operators who are turned away
because of the CW requirement.  Either because of lack of the requisite
aptitude for sending and receiving CW or because of an unwillingness to
spend the time acquiring a skill for which they find of no value to
them, they forego becoming amateur operators.

VIII.  An unnecessary burden upon the FCC

Now that the international (treaty) Morse code requirement is optional,
the FCC can expect to receive numerous requests for waivers of the
Morse code examination due to applicant hearing and other medical
conditions in order to be compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).

When there were multiple code tests, the FCC cited the international
(treaty) requirement, as the reason that the five word-per-minute code
test could not be waived.  This case no longer applies and the FCC will
have to develop procedures to guide both themselves and the VECs/VEs in
handling requests for code exam waivers that are certain to come.

Dealing with requests for a waiver of the code exam could create an
unnecessary burden on the FCC and VECs/VEs and consume an excessive
amount of time and resources.  It seems illogical to require all
amateur examinees to pass a requirement that could be waived by the
actions of a physician.  History has shown that physician-initiated
waiver requests have been very controversial in the Amateur Service.

IX.  World Administrative Radio Conference 2003

The only changes made to the international Amateur Service regulations
over the last 75 years concern the frequency above which amateurs may
operate without Morse testing.  At their Washington, DC conference in
1927, the ITU (then called the International Telegraph Union) allocated
frequency bands to the various radio services and established operating
guidelines and operator qualifications.  It was deemed important that
Amateurs prove an ability to transmit and receive communications in
Morse signals since, at the time, radiotelegraphy was the primary means
of long range communication.

Since then, the administrations comprising International
Telecommunication Union have reviewed and voted to relax the Amateur
Service's mandatory Morse proficiency requirement at every
international conference capable of doing so.

In 1947 (Atlantic City), the ITU agreed that Morse proficiency should
only be required when the operation took place on frequencies below
1000 MHz (1 GHz.)  At WARC-59, the 1959 World Administrative Radio
Conference, this level dropped to 144 MHz.  A further reduction was
made at WARC-79 to 30 MHz.  Consequently, up until recently, Article
S25.5 3 read:  25.5    3.    1) Any person seeking a license to
operate the apparatus of an amateur station shall prove that he is able
to send correctly by hand and to receive correctly by ear, texts in
Morse code signals. The administrations concerned may, however, waive
this requirement in the case of stations making use exclusively of
frequencies above 30 MHz.

At WRC-2003, the international Radio Regulation Article S25.5  3 was
revised to make the Morse code testing requirement a matter for each
licensing administration to decide for itself.  Effective July 5, 2003,
Article S25.5 3 reads:  25.5     3.    1) Administrations shall
determine whether or not a person seeking a license to operate an
amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to send and receive texts
in Morse code signals.

X.  Summary of NCVEC proposal to end Morse testing

The attached appendix contains a list of the rules that must be amended
if Morse code examinations are to be discontinued.  These amendments
propose merely to end the manual telegraphy examination and to permit
Technician Class operators the same frequency privileges as those
enjoyed by Technician Class operators who have passed a code exam.

Therefore, the foregoing considered, NCVEC, the National Conference of
Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, respectfully requests that the
Commission issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making at any early date,
proposing the rule changes set forth herein, and in the appendix
attached hereto.

Respectfully submitted,

NCVEC, National Conference of VECs
P.O. Box 565101, Dallas, Texas 75356


By:___
Frederick O. Maia, W5YI, Chairman,
NCVEC Rules Committee

July 29, 2003

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




-----------
APPENDIX
PROPOSED RULES

Proposed changes to Part 97 of Chapter I of Title 47 of the Code of
Federal Regulations to delete references to the Morse code exam
element.  Part 97, is amended as follows:

PART 97 -- AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE

1.  Section 97.301 is amended by revising paragraph (e) to read as
follows.  The frequency tables in Section 97.301(a), (b), ©, (d) and
(e) remain unchanged.

97.301 Authorized frequency bands.

The following transmitting frequency bands are available to an amateur
station located within 50 km of the Earth's surface, within the
specified ITU Region, and outside any area where the amateur service is
regulated by any authority other than the FCC.  
(d) ******
(e) For a station having a control operator who has been granted an
operator license of Novice Class, Technician Class or Technician Plus
Class:


Wavelength  ITU Region 1  ITU Region 2  ITU Region 3    Sharing
                                                     requirements,
     see  97.303
   

HF        MHz          MHz           MHz              paragraph:  

80 m      3.675-3.725  3.675-3.725   3.675-3.725     (a)
40 m      7.050-7.075  7.10-7.15     7.050-7.075     (a)
15 m      21.10-21.20  21.10-21.20   21.10-21.20
10 m      28.1-28.5    28.1-28.5     28.1-28.5

VHF       MHz          MHz           MHz
1.25 m    - -          222-225       - -             (a)

UHF       MHz          MHz           MHz
23 cm     1270-1295    1270-1295     1270-1295 (h)(i)


2.  Section 97.307 is amended by deleting paragraph (f)(9) and revising
paragraph (f)(10) to read as follows.  Previous  97.307(f)(10) is
renumbered to (f)(9).   Paragraphs (f)(11) to (f)(13) are renumbered to
(f)(10) to (f)(12).

 97.307 Emission standards.

(f) The following standards and limitations apply to transmissions on
the frequencies specified in 97.305© of this part.  (10)    A
station having a control operator holding a Novice Class, Technician
Class or Technician Plus operator license may only transmit a CW
emission using the international Morse code or phone emissions J3E and
R3E.



3.  Section 97.313 is amended by revising paragraph ©(2) to read as follows:

97.313 Transmitter power standards.

(b) ******
© No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 200 W PEP on:
(1) ******
(2) The 28.1-28.5 MHz segment when the control operator is a Novice Class operator, a
Technician Class operator or a Technician Plus Class; or
(3) ******


4.  Section 97.501 is amended by revising paragraph (a) and (b) to read as follows.

97.501 Qualifying for an amateur operator license.

Each applicant must pass an examination for a new amateur operator license grant and for each change in
operator class.  Each applicant for the class of operator license grant specified below must pass, or
otherwise receive examination credit for, the following examination elements:
(a) Amateur Extra Class operator: Elements 2, 3, and 4;
(b) General Class operator: Elements 2, and 3;
© ******


5.  Section 97.503 is amended by deleting paragraph (a).

97.503 Element standards.

(b) ******


6.  Section 97.505 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) to read as follows.  
Paragraphs (a)(5), (a)(7), and (a)(9) are deleted.

97.505 Element credit.

(a) The administering VEs must give credit as specified below to an examinee holding any of the
following license grants or license documents:
(1) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for renewal) FCC-granted
Advanced Class operator license grant: Elements 2 and 3.
(2) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for renewal) FCC-granted General
Class operator license grant: Elements 2 and 3.
(3) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for renewal) FCC-granted
Technician Plus Class operator license grant: Element 2
(4) ******
(6) ******
(8) ******
(b) ******



7.  Section 97.507 is amended by revising paragraph (a), (a)(2), and © to read as follows.  Paragraph (d)
is deleted.

97.507 Preparing an examination.

(a) Each written question set administered to an examinee must be prepared by a VE holding an
Amateur Extra Class operator license.  A written question set may also be prepared for the following
elements by a VE holding an operator license of the class indicated:
(1) ******
(2) Element 2: Advanced, General, or Technician (including Technician Plus) Class
operators.
(b) *******
© Each written question set administered to an examinee for an amateur operator license must be
prepared, or obtained from a supplier, by the administering VEs according to instructions from the
coordinating VEC.


8.  Section 97.509 is amended by revising paragraph (f) to read as follows.  Paragraph (g) is deleted.

97.509 Administering VE requirements.

(e) ******
(f) No examination that has been compromised shall be administered to any examinee.  The same
question set may not be re-administered to the same examinee.
(h) ******

-------------------------------------------
(1)
The following organizations have entered into an agreement with the FCC
to coordinate Amateur Radio examinations: Anchorage Amateur Radio Club,
Anchorage, AK; American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Newington, CT;
CAVEC, Inc., Huntsville, AL; Golden Empire Amateur Radio Society,
Chico, CA; Greater L.A. Amateur Radio Group, North Hills, CA; Jefferson
Amateur Radio Club, New Orleans, LA; Laurel Amateur Radio Club, Inc.;
Laurel, MD; The Milwaukee Radio Amateurs' Club, Inc., Milwaukee, WI;
MO-KAN VEC Coordinator, Richmond, KS; Sandarc-VEC, La Mesa, CA;
Sunnyvale VEC Amateur Radio Club, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA; W4VEC, High
Point, NC; W5YI-VEC, Dallas, TX; Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society
VEC, Inc., Knoxville, TN.  

The United Kingdom's Regulatory Authority
published a "Gazette Notice" on July 25, 2003, discontinuing all Morse
code testing in their Amateur Service effective July 26, 2003.  The
effect was that all "Class B" (no code) radio amateurs in Great Britain
who previously were restricted to operation above 30 MHz obtained
"Class A" access to all Amateur bands.  This can be confirmed at the
Radio Society of Great Britain's website at:  <http://www.rsgb.org>
and/or the UK "Regulatory Authority" (their telecom regulator) website
at: <http://www.radio.gov.uk>.  In addition, effective July 15, 2003,
radio amateurs in Switzerland were given immediate "provisional"
authority to operate on the HF amateur bands by the Swiss Federal
Office of Communications (OFCOM) while they await formal rulemaking.
Citing the recent WRC-03 decision, OFCOM said the temporary permission
to use the HF bands would suffice until the regulation could be
changed.  Many other countries are rumored to be in the process of
discontinuing Morse code testing.
See 47 C.F.R.  503(a.)[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The attached Petition for Rulemaking (dated July 29, 2003) has been filed by the National Conference of VECs with the Secretary, FCC, Washington DC. It requests an immediate end of Morse code testing.

I do not support this proposed rule in any way.

 

KE4IPW: When you learn how to post on a web board I might even listen to your comments.

Go back to the top of your post, hit EDIT and remove the original post by the webmaster from your comment. Adding another 23KB to the post for your one-line comment is insane.

 

Got to agree with you there w7com... What a waste of bandwidth and server space..............

 

QUOTE: W2DUG

I can't imagine how passing the test could be more gratifying than having your first CW QSO at any speed, and you don't need to take a test for that one...it IS the test!


QUOTE: NJ1K
You can't imagine it because you haven't done it!!!!!

Do it and you might understand!!!!!!!!

QUOTE W2DUG
Wait a minute...you're telling me that you got more satisfaction from passing the test than having CW QSOs?

I thought the whole point of learning the code was to use it on the air, not just for the sake of passing a test! Isn't that what all you old timers have been telling us all along?

If you want to use it, you have to learn it with or without a test. If you learn it, you are benefitting from it. The test isn't the benefit, USING IT is the benefit. If the test is required, then you take it. If it's not, you don't, but either way the code has been learned and can be applied.

Maybe you didn't get my point, NJ1K. I guess as a beginner and a no-coder, I should expect to get trashed even if I DO make a point in favor of code. That must be the modern-day elmering program in action.

NJ1K
I wanted to be a ham op ever since I was 7 or 8 years old... Friends and relatives always told me I was was not smart enough to learn code.... Even my own family said that.... In my teens I got into CB but still always wanted to be a ham... Everyone on CB told me the same thing, that I was not smart enough to learn code... Finally one day I decided I was going to get my ham ticket and nothing was going to stop me.... I studied code and the license manuals... 5 wpm was rather easy but really nothing to get excited about... The thing is, I couldn't get to 13 wpm without on the air experience and 20wpm seemed insurmountable... But all the time I spent on the air with CW paid off because my speed snuck right up on me and I was at 20 wpm in less than a year... Then came the 20 wpm test and even I was surprised when I passed it... So in short, making CW qso's is pretty cool, but knowing how much work it took to get that extra ticket hanging on my wall is to me the most satisfying... Oh yeah, and all those people who always said I was not smart enough to learn code?? Well, they are STILL on the chicken band and when family comes to visit, I make sure to point out my degrees AND licenses on the wall....

Now, if you just go out and do it, then you will be able to understand what it's like to pass a code test AND make qso's with CW.... Although I have to tell ya, there's not a lot of thrill in passing a 5 wpm code test... When ya pass the 13 and then the 20, that's something to get excited about.....

 

Well I didnt read all the letters of the " the GOOD,
the BAD and the UGLY."But on the basis of being a
BURDON or UNNECESSARY BURDON, why not just end
all tests. But the FCC will see through all this B.S.

I think Cliff Stoll in his excelent book"Silicon Snake Oil."
sums up my feelilngs on the matter and here are some
excerpts:

FROM CLIFF STOLLS BOOK "SILICON SNAKE OIL"(HIS C/S IS K7TA)


DADS showing me how to solder-we've just fixed an old Philco radio that
picks up shortwave stations. Through the static and whistles, you can
hear Radio Moscow, Voice of America, and the BBC. Sandwiched
between them, ham-radio stations beeping in Morse code.
Nifty: the wotld's right behind my tuning dial, brought to life
by a dozen vacuum tubes glowing in the dark.


1 "Learn Morse code and you can get on the air," my dad, who was
truly a nice guy, tells me. He grew up in the Depression; knowing a
skill meant having a job.
I study my dots and dashes, and eventually those beeps on the
radio start making sense. Meanwhile, I'm learning enough electron-
ics to draw the schematic of a Colpitts crystal oscillator, the one with
the tapped capacitors between grid, cathode, and ground. Built it,
too--using vacuum tubes and transformers salvaged from an old
RCA television. With ten watts, that home-brew transmitter drew
less power than a lightbulb.
After an interminable six-week wait, my radio license arrives in
the mail. ute on a Saturday night, I'm wearing black headphones
and nervously tuning across the 80-meter ham band. Through static
and whistles, I hear a Canadian ham testing his rig. I tap out a call
and-hot damn-he answers me. We exchange signal reports, a few
comments on the weather, and then a galumphingly powerful station
blots him out. The whole exchange couldn't have lasted more than
five minutes.
Yowsa-talking through a telegraph key at five words a minute,
I've reached a ham a hundred miles away. Nothing more than air
between us.
Over the next years, those vacuum tubes resonated around the
globe. I came to appreciate the terse messages telegraphed with
rhythms like iambic poetry. Dad watched over my shoulder as I'd
zero-beat a DX station from Kanazawa, Japan; he'd smile as I'd
scribble out call signs from around the wotld.
Today, well, why bother with amateur radio? You can call Tai-
wan from your telephone. Attach a modem to your PC and exchange
e-mail with a student in Afghanistan. Or aim a satellite dish at the
Galaxy-5 transponder and tune in Cable News Network. But then,
-
"you'll never feel the tingle of a chirping Morse-code signal warbling in across Lake Erie."

Not exactly the same thrill when I first hooked onto the
Arpanet. After plowing through the Internet packet protocol, I
kludged together a program that sent my first packets across the
continent. They reached a file server, and back came my reply.
Nifty, yes, but I'd only followed niles-anyone who reads the
Internet packet protocol gets the same result. As the Arpanet evolved
into the Internet, those thrills disappeared, leaving a useful tool in
their absence. And that useful tool, so widely promoted, feels like it's
evolving into a glorified citizens band radio.
Words have consequence, whether sent in mail or posted to
global newsgroups. And publicly posted insults, alongside racist or
sexist remarks and extremist polemics, are hardly the hallmark of a
friendly community. Consideration, kindness, and chosen words go
far, whether on the air, online, or in person.

Come up on 20 cw and get in on the fun. And I will slow
down for ur 5wpm.

73 de Joe w0tut (member Collins Collectors ASSn)

 

Kudos to the NCVEC... Not only for coming to the realization that the cancer known as morse code proficiency testing must be eradicated so that the amateur radio body may survive, but also for its willingness to openly support such position.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kg4ogn @ July 30 2003,11:25)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">{I passed my 5 WPM, did you?}[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes, twice - for Noice once upon a time and again for Tech+. Then 13WPM for General. By the time I upgraded to Extra, only 5WPM was required.

Things change.

73,
Dale - N0XAS

 

you know i have posted some real goofy stuff,well cuz im goofy!!!! but i am sick and tired of being bashed becuz im a tech!!!! tech's cant solder, tech's cant make anything they just memorize the questions and pass!!! i am personaly tired of hearing this sh_t!!!!!!! i build my own antennas. i am curantly building a set of stacked quads.i would have went out and bought everything if it wasnt for a nice ham that told me it was retarded to buy a antenna when i can easiley build one.if they still made heathkit 2 meter kit i would be building my own rig to. so stop bashing and start listening,we are your future ,guide us and we will take care of you when you cant flick your little keyer anymore!!!!!! it all boils down to we are all hams,we need to stick together if you feel that being a general or a extra that has passed the code with more than the 5wpm and are better than tyhe rest and look down on the rest then i think it is you that should be the first to go. pride and ego gets you nowhere.helping others and not bitching gets you everywhere.