No-Code Gets Immediate Access to HF Bands

Switzerland Reportedly to Authorize Immediate Access to HF Bands by CEPT Class 2 (no-code) Amateurs on a "Provisional Basis" While Permanent Rules Changes are Being Enacted!!!
The website of the USKA (the Swiss National IARU Society) is reporting that as a result of the newly effective (July 5, 2003) changes in the ITU Radio Regulations (no more Morse test requirement), OFCOM (the Swiss equivalent to the US FCC) has issued, or is in the process of issuing, letters to all Swiss CEPT Class 2 (no-code) licensees, authorizing them immediate access to the HF bands!!!

Here is the English text from the USKA website (where German, French, and Italian versions can also be found ... follow the links from the URL above to "News" and ):

Recently we received from our Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) the following information:

Due to the decision WRC 2003 to drop morse code as part of the licence test, the OFCOM will release in the next days a letter to all CEPT 2 licencees in Switzerland containing a temporary permission to use the short wave bands. With this provisional agreement it is possible the save a lot of time until the ordinance is changed.

Immediately after reception of this letter the CEPT 2 licencees are allowed to use the short wave bands according to the Swiss prescriptions with their present call signs.

This ultra-fast procedure of our national Telecommunication Authority in favour of the waiting amateurs is doubtless a result of the excellent agreement between the committee of USKA and the responsibles of OFCOM.

Herewith we express our gratitude for the OFCOM and we are wishing good DX to the present CEPT 2 licencees on the short wave bands.

The committee of USKA

 

hello cw folks,as you can see,comon sense finally prevails cw used as a filter is not going to advance our hobby,we need real hams in the air not a bunch of old timers who wont even talk to none but their 'PALS'
even now,i not so sure there is hope ,you guys have to change for the sake of the hobby,but then again...do you really care ? 73s

 

Seriously,

If some of you would put 1/4 the effort you put forth in your incessant whining about the code into the code you would have your 5wpm with no problem. If you don't want to, stay above 50MHZ and leave everyone else alone. Honestly, some of you put more effort into your whining sessions than it would take to pass the test and actually have some competence in the code to show for it. Don't be afraid of the code, I once was like some of you but I told myself one day that it wasn't going to stop me from getting on hf. My suggestion to you- don't let it stop you either and don't just wait for it to be handed to you. You are only cheating yourself if you do.

 

Ya know, it's just a matter of time anyway before the Morse Code requirement is TOTALLY abolished.

The so-called test and requirements that are required and given by the FCC now is truely a joke so why not just get on with it and lets get rid of the code test all together.

As for me, I will probably work CW along with my OLD TIMER buddies til the end but then; after we are all dead and gone, the hobby will probably be gone as well.

It doesn't make much sense to require Code proficiency with todays technology and operating practice, It is kept alive primarily to keep the old skills alive for nostalgia and the failure of the ITU to revise its present requirements for the HF spectrum.

We will always have the renegade operators causing havoc wether or not there is a Code requirement, The Code requriement has not stopped the LID activity we hear on certain frequencies so obviously the Code requirement is not going to be the savior of ham radio.........

For now, I am going to get off this stupid computer and get back on 40 meter CW

73 all, see ya on CW !!!!!!

Gary - W5GNB

 

I hope the US never does away with CW. I am 15 and just passed my CW exam and it was a piece of cake, if I can do it you can do it. I think I am going to enjoy CW I am currently working on getting my speed up to 15 WPM then I will get on 20 and 40 CW and see how that works out. I think that the day the FCC does away with the code test 11 meters will be dead and all that 11 meter stuff will be on 20 meters. The best piece of advice I can give, take the time to learn the code! You will feel better about yourself {plus when you say you are a general it will mean something because you know code} so quite reading this and go learn the code hihi, 73
                                              Alexander KG4OGN/AG

 

The United States can stll keep code.So I hope all the CW people and those like me will write the people in Washington DC, And ask them to keep it.

 

I was a licensed 11 meter operator when the FCC moved the band from the Amateur Service to the Citizens Band Service, back then operators were respectful of each other as they are in Amateur Radio today. In the 70's the license requirement was lifted and the band was overrun with inconsistent and down right vulgar operators.

My Elmer convinced me to get my Amateur licensed and helped me learn code. I successfully passed the 13wpm code test and was once again on bands where operators were respectful of each other. However, because of other commitments I let my license lapse.

Three years ago I decided that radio was a good method for the family to keep in touch without the expense of cell phone usage and I purchased three GMRS radios and applied for a license. In the first 14 months of usage the frequencies were similar to the old licensed 11 meter band; operators respected each other's use, no one stepped on each others transmissions, etc. Within 10 months it all changed, manufactures started selling GMRS radios in Best Buy, Sears, Target, etc. Hundreds of the radios were sold and hundreds of operators, unlicensed operators were on the air, playing music, not identifying, using vulgar language and stepping on each others transmissions. CB radio all over again; why? Because of easy entry, the unenforceable license requirement, low cost equipment sold everywhere, etc. GMRS is becoming the CB band of the new century.

So I sold the GMRS radios on ebay and decided to switch back to HAM Radio since its licensing system was based on testing and aptitude of the operator. The idea of testing to obtain an amateur radio license is to prove an operators proficiency in the subject matter at hand.

The no code Tech license is an excellent way for an operator to enter the ranks of Amateur radio and test the waters. The code requirement is an excellent way to weed out those operators who do not have the persistence and discipline to study and move up in rank.

Here are a few quotes as valid today as they were 37 years ago when there were discussions of dropping requirements for amateur radio:

“Why not simply rip the top from any tube carton. Write on it in 25 words or less why you want to become a radio amateur and mail to the FCC, Washington, D.C. You will receive your license in a matter of weeks…” W2OSY, May 1966 QST Letters to the Editor.

“I, for one, being appalled at the lack of qualifications of late years, sleep a little better knowing there are fewer lids coming in. Not just lids, for that implies something ‘juvenile’ or something that one grows out of, but those who remain lids despite the best efforts of the League and FCC.” W9ALZ, May 1966 QST Letters to the Editor.

We can increase our ranks without reducing the requirements:

take a newbie under your wing... encourge them to learn morse code... talk up the importance of Amateur Radio... offer to teach a class on morse code... offer to sponsor a student club affiliated with your club at local schools, etc.

As much as things change, they don’t… we should not open up our ranks to the CB operators of the 21st century… Let’s learn from history and not make the same mistakes over and over again.

 

3--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W5GNB @ July 13 2003,183)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Thanks so much for the encouragemnet to lean code. After spending months trying to prepare myself for the General test, I have just realized that it has all been in vain.
Had I realized that after all the "OLD TIMERS" were gone, that the hobby would be gone as well, I guess I would have started a different hobby, maybe stamps...

This is so stupid that even I have begun to realize that there is WAY too much crying about CW and how the FCC should just take it away... If that be the case, let them. Let them do whatever they may want to the "Ham" Spectrum. With the attitudes of the "OLD TIMERS", guys that are really into the  HOBBY may be losing intrest, due to the attitude of the "OLD TIMERS".
NO, newer hobbiest were NOT stuck in the gray room, and given the test by the FCC, but maybe there is enough "Disciplin" in some of us that might be able to keep the "HOBBY" going.
I sure hope so, because my 10 year old and my 9 year old son's are going to be really disappointed that their studying for the tech test has just so they can use a C.B.
Why don't we accept that computers, and cell phones, and life it's self has changed, and maybe better ourselves and the hobby by accepting it?
There are those that WANT to use code, and there are those that do not...
I applaude the swiss.
I also applaude the Hams that are members of the NO-CODE groups.
BUT My son's and I will all still be learning code, and we will use it todether, no matter if the fcc takes it away from us or not.
This is OUR hobby, it doesn't belong to just the "OLD TIMERS" , the "NEWBIES", the "NO-CODERS", or anything like that.
It belongs to US ALL, and the sooner we realize that, the better off, and more united we will all be.

73
Ben Steimle
W9ZFX

 

"CW has come and almost gone. As it disappears from the radio horizon,
will the last one out please turn off the lights?"

I am not anti code. In case some of you folks out here have not noticed,
people are having fun with ham radio. You folks have fun
remembering the past. We have fun dreaming of what is yet to come.
It's just a generational thing, that's all.

Give us your hobby then go lay down. We will take it in the condition
we found it in, and will do new things with it and to it.

HAM radio is a used car. Noisy bearings will be greased or replaced until
they make no sound. Noisy mufflers will be replaced, and
the color of some new paint jobs will not please everyone. The color of
ham radio is changing.

Deal with it or go lay down. Things will never be the same, EVER. PERIOD.
The only thing that will stay the same, is that SOME people will still have
fun with radio. If you don't have fun with radio, that is your fault. May I
suggest a purgative to open your mind up and clear out your thoughts.
First, pull your head out. Then try a basket of ripe strawberries and
2 or 3 squares of EX-LAX. Than turn off your radios and go lay down!

Eddie KG4EFR

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kg4ogn @ July 13 2003,18:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I hope the US never does away with CW. I am 15 and just passed my CW exam and it was a piece of cake, if I can do it you can do it. I think I am going to enjoy CW I am currently working on getting my speed up to 15 WPM then I will get on 20 and 40 CW and see how that works out. I think that the day the FCC does away with the code test 11 meters will be dead and all that 11 meter stuff will be on 20 meters. The best piece of advice I can give, take the time to learn the code! You will feel better about yourself {plus when you say you are a general it will mean something because you know code} so quite reading this and go learn the code hihi, 73
                                              Alexander KG4OGN/AG[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
i am a general,i learned the code in 4 weeks,you missing the point,morse code its easy,changing the old timers bad attitude is hard,they dont care the hobby is desmising,why not encourage smart and intelligent people into our hobby instead?we cant live from nostalgia when we see a decline ,what good is to have our band taken away for the best biders of spectrum just becouse we dont have ham activity due to lack of interest of jounger generations pertaining learning cw?its time for change wether we like it or not change is good,we want to move foward not stay in the past,the future is here,lets take the challanges ahead oil and water do not mix,dont worry we will be ok

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (aj3x @ July 13 2003,19:24)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I was a licensed 11 meter operator when the FCC moved the band from the Amateur Service to the Citizens Band Service, back then operators were respectful of each other as they are in Amateur Radio today. In the 70's the license requirement was lifted and the band was overrun with inconsistent and down right vulgar operators.

My Elmer convinced me to get my Amateur licensed and helped me learn code. I successfully passed the 13wpm code test and was once again on bands where operators were respectful of each other. However, because of other commitments I let my license lapse.

Three years ago I decided that radio was a good method for the family to keep in touch without the expense of cell phone usage and I purchased three GMRS radios and applied for a license. In the first 14 months of usage the frequencies were similar to the old licensed 11 meter band; operators respected each other's use, no one stepped on each others transmissions, etc. Within 10 months it all changed, manufactures started selling GMRS radios in Best Buy, Sears, Target, etc. Hundreds of the radios were sold and hundreds of operators, unlicensed operators were on the air, playing music, not identifying, using vulgar language and stepping on each others transmissions. CB radio all over again; why? Because of easy entry, the unenforceable license requirement, low cost equipment sold everywhere, etc. GMRS is becoming the CB band of the new century.

So I sold the GMRS radios on ebay and decided to switch back to HAM Radio since its licensing system was based on testing and aptitude of the operator. The idea of testing to obtain an amateur radio license is to prove an operators proficiency in the subject matter at hand.

The no code Tech license is an excellent way for an operator to enter the ranks of Amateur radio and test the waters. The code requirement is an excellent way to weed out those operators who do not have the persistence and discipline to study and move up in rank.

Here are a few quotes as valid today as they were 37 years ago when there were discussions of dropping requirements for amateur radio:

“Why not simply rip the top from any tube carton. Write on it in 25 words or less why you want to become a radio amateur and mail to the FCC, Washington, D.C. You will receive your license in a matter of weeks…” W2OSY, May 1966 QST Letters to the Editor.

“I, for one, being appalled at the lack of qualifications of late years, sleep a little better knowing there are fewer lids coming in. Not just lids, for that implies something ‘juvenile’ or something that one grows out of, but those who remain lids despite the best efforts of the League and FCC.” W9ALZ, May 1966 QST Letters to the Editor.

We can increase our ranks without reducing the requirements:

take a newbie under your wing... encourge them to learn morse code... talk up the importance of Amateur Radio... offer to teach a class on morse code... offer to sponsor a student club affiliated with your club at local schools, etc.

As much as things change, they don’t… we should not open up our ranks to the CB operators of the 21st century… Let’s learn from history and not make the same mistakes over and over again.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
there we go,you cant get it,can you?is not a licence who make you good or bad,is your attitude,your values,your education which count,how many extras we can find who welcome newcomers to the hobby?be realistic and stop using "filters" to weed people you get a drvers licence,you break the law,what happens? we are a self policing comunity,cw is just a mode of comunication not a messuring of how good or smart we are,clearly the answer is not there,i belive more in educating and treating people with respect ,after all,o/ts will be gone and who will be left in the airwaves? i say open the gates to smart joung generations now,not untill we are goners,

 

I see this as a good sign. The FCC will normally follow the rest of the world. I have nothing against code as a mode of operation just as a requirment. I have studied morse code since 1994. I've use Gordon West, Super Morse, Code Quick, and a few other software based systems to study. To this date I may know 5 letters. So dropping the code will be a blessing to me. (BTW I passed my General written last July). Lets all write and ask the FCC to follow suit and drop the code.

73,
Jamie R. Dean - W4JRD

 

I started to call attention to one post that was typical of the smartass attitude of some of the new no-code people who get into "THE HOBBY" just for the "FUN"but further reading I discovered several posts in the same vain "No OT's or OF's needed, we are taking over now ".
One of the common complaints is that the OF's never talk to the newbies, and they don't try to help them avoid study, by giving them all the answers. Now let me think a moment to see if I can come up with a logical reason that would promote a feeling of not wanting to go out of our way to help.Could it have any thing to do with the lack of respect and parental up bringing, or maybe it is associated with the smartass know-it-all attitude, maybe as a child their sense of pride was injured and they never recovered, you know the "I don wanna" or "I can't ".
When I see some one holding their breath until they get their way, I tend to stop and watch, if they turn blue and keel over I will congratulate them on their success, and move on, on the other hand if they give up before passing out I simply call them a quitter, then move on.
The new generation has not established themselves for their expedient mental prowess but a little thought would reveal with out the many years of building by the OT's and OF's there would not be a "HOBBY" for them to have "FUN" with.
ENJOY!! All the calendar days are numbered.......  73,   ORV

 

Now the Do-away-with-CW-whiners will want to do away with the written tests to get an amateur radio license because they can't read, write, or do arithmetic!
Alvin Guidry, N5GA

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K6UEY @ July 13 2003,21:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I started to call attention to one post that was typical of the smartass attitude of some of the new no-code people who get into "THE HOBBY" just for the "FUN"but further reading I discovered several posts in the same vain "No OT's or OF's needed, we are taking over now ".
One of the common complaints is that the OF's never talk to the newbies, and they don't try to help them avoid study, by giving them all the answers. Now let me think a moment to see if I can come up with a logical reason that would promote a feeling of not wanting to go out of our way to help.Could it have any thing to do with the lack of respect and parental up bringing, or maybe it is associated with the smartass know-it-all attitude, maybe as a child their sense of pride was injured and they never recovered, you know the "I don wanna" or "I can't ".
When I see some one holding their breath until they get their way, I tend to stop and watch, if they turn blue and keel over I will congratulate them on their success, and move on, on the other hand if they give up before passing out I simply call them a quitter, then move on.
The new generation has not established themselves for their expedient mental prowess but a little thought would reveal with out the many years of building by the OT's and OF's there would not be a "HOBBY" for them to have "FUN" with.
ENJOY!! All the calendar days are numbered.......  73,   ORV
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Now I don't know if the "one post that was typical of the smartass attitude of some of the new no-code people who get into "THE HOBBY" just for the "FUN"but further reading I discovered several posts in the same vain "No OT's or OF's needed, we are taking over now "."
Was thrown my way or not, but let's do a little back tracking, shall we??

W5GNB writes "As for me, I will probably work CW along with my OLD TIMER buddies til the end but then; after we are all dead and gone, the hobby will probably be gone as well."

Kind of harsh don't you think? Really, is the hobby going to DIE because people don't use CW?

"One of the common complaints is that the OF's never talk to the newbies, and they don't try to help them avoid study, by giving them all the answers."

The 1st step to getting an "Old Timer" to talk to you about the hobby, and/or to help us "NO-CODE NEWBIES"
is just to take a couple of seconds and ask for HELP with something you are trying to do, Or offer help with something that YOU can do.

Never had a problem with any OT's or OF's... I got into the hobby because of an "Old Timer" W9ZFW - Fred Steimle, My Great-Uncle. He isn't much into the hobby any more, health reasons.

Now, I think there SHOULD be limitations of the Freq's you use if you feel you don't "need" code, but I also support the people that chose NOT to learn it here in the U.S.A.
That's what we have been fighting for the past 200+ years right? The Freedom to Choose.
Don't turn a "FUN" "HOBBY" into a dictatorship as I have seen it written here MANY times.
Give it a chance and SEE what may become of the "HOBBY". With the use of more computers in the shacks, there ARE going to be more Hams that decide NOT to use the code.
As I said in my Last Post:
"My son's and I will all still be learning code, and we will use it todether, no matter if the fcc takes it away from us or not.
This is OUR hobby, it doesn't belong to just the "OLD TIMERS" , the "NEWBIES", the "NO-CODERS", or anything like that.
It belongs to US ALL, and the sooner we realize that, the better off, and more united we will all be."

73
Ben Steimle
W9ZFX