What It's Going to take...

After reading all the arguments for and against dropping the CW requirement and getting myself all worked up over the issue, this "editorial" put a big smile on my face. Communication is communication, and simply put, that's what Ham Radio is all about. During a QSO, whether I am using CW or SSB, I am doing what I enjoy. If the operator on the other end is friendly and enjoying the QSO as much as I am, mission accomplished! One of the reasons I got into this hobby is that I think CW is a cool way to communicate and I am sure I will always feel that way. But if others feel it's "old-fashioned" or "inefficient", they are entitled to their opinion. I'm flexible. I'll turn on the mic and have fun with these folks anyway!

 

I don't know where you guys run into all of this negativity on the air. I have never had anyone turn me away from entering a conversation, or who was not polite to me on the air.

 

2 points here

1 . you take the test given on the day you show up for testing, The FCC decides what test will be required, you have no choice in it. so tell the rest of the rude and inconsiderate bigots that you took the test they gave.. no other choice

2. CW is a mode, a good mode but none the less a mode. like rtty and ssb. Lets make the code a Pride thing, "real hams use CW" sort of a thing. and IF you don't do cw you give up 1/2 of the bands available to you, so get cw and get all the spectrum.

this approach is much better than name calling and Naner Naner stuff..

tom N6AJR

 

I didn`t realize that the amateur radio service was
was a personal hobby.--"my hobby"??

I also find it interesting that if a guy is licensed 4 or
5 years,--one is considered experienced,--then why
the need for "mentoring"?
                             73, K1MVP

 

There will be some adjustments in our thinking.

I hope that we will begin to assume once again that most licensees will go on to upgrade to General and beyond, as we used to. I think we've become very accustomed to the idea that a large percentage of our newbies would stop at Technician and never advance. Now, if we can demonstrate that there is value to HF operation, it should not be too difficult to convince them to do a little more work and upgrade to General. We will still get a lot of Techs who are only interested in doing SKYWARN, but maybe we will get a few more who want to get on 20 meters, too.

Maybe we'll start thinking about the fun things we can do on HF again, that we've had to go away from a little bit, because we were uncomfortable talking about HF with no-coders.

The upshot of this shift in thinking will be in what we suggest to newbies for their 'beginner' radios. I, personally, will be pushing the all-band, all-mode rigs even harder now. First, because I think I've done a poor job in the past of selling prospective Techs on 6 meters, and second, because now, I expect that most Techs will eventually upgrade to HF priveleges. Perhaps as a result, we'll see a rise in SSB activity on the VHF bands? I can only dream...

I will also be pushing digital modes very hard. SSB is dandy, but PSK31 won't rot your neighbor's TV set, at least not at 40 or 50 watts. And it takes a lot less skill than QRP CW, which the newbies can't do anyway. I hope that if the new folks were not willing to learn how to do CW, they will be less reluctant to learn how to type and hopefully, spell.

If SSB becomes the dominant mode in ham radio, we'll see changes in our gear. I suspect the base transceiver will rise from 100 to 400 watts - resulting in better communications for those who can use the power without getting into RFI trouble, which will unfortunately be rampant. I wish the fleas of 1,000 camels infest the armpits of the first ham vendors to sell an HF rig without a key jack! (Mobile rigs don't count - there have already been some of those).

 

maybe I should re-phrase "Still make General and Extra Class exams more detailed " to, "they should make the exam more difficult to learn" Thank you, George, I will look for you on the airways when I pass my General exam. 73

 

New Amateur Radio applicants who find CW difficult should study to learn the language like most of the rest of us, or find another hobby. You stated "No Religion, No Politics and No Telegraphy conversations .... .......However...you can bet that with the No-Coders on the loose, there will be a lot of "Four-Letter" words along with much profanity, vulgarity, dirty jokes and downright "Filth" just like the CB sewer, where most of the No-Coders came from. By the way, whats wrong with Politics and Religion? Now you wish to add CW to your list of forbidin subjects. What ever happened to Free Speech? But thats the way it goes with those who want everything handed to them on a silver platter ...No study, No work, No free speech and No Brains. You had it right the first time ...it's the Dumming Down of Amateur Radio. Now you expect those of us who worked hard for our license to just join the Crowd and forget it all. One great big happy family ...Right? ....WRONG.... don't include me in your no-code club. It would be better for the FCC to shut down Amateur Radio Completely than to turn it over to the Foul Mouthed CBers who are too ...yes " Dumb" to learn the code ...yet they love dirty words and vulgarity.. Shame on you for promoting this terrible movement. It will be the total distruction of Amateur Radio.

 

KI6ADA

I would certainly like to have an on the air qso with you.

It is interesting how many hams I talk to on the air will mention my posts on QRZ or eHam. I think that there are a lot of hams who read the forums but never post, for whatever reasons.

I probably should have used the phrase "more comprehensive" but anyway you say it, it still means the same thing. On the other hand NCI was using the word 'difficult' when they were pushing test expansion.
(how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin?)

Through the years the difficulty (or scope) of the test has changed repeatedly. I can not imagine what it was like to take the written test when it consisted of very subjective essay questions which you asked to explain when the FCC examiner questioned anything which appeared in your essay answers.

I never took the "difficult" 20WPM code test for the Extra. I did 13WPM for the General a long time ago, but am comfortable at 17 -20WPM when I am ragchewing on the air and OK at 25 - 30WPM when operating a CW contest, mainly because you pretty much know what is coming.

Hurry up and get your General. We can make a sked.

73
George
K3UD

 

W5HTW: During the 50s and 60s, and largely in the 70s, no one cared what class of licensed you held.  You were a ham.  But with the code free tech in 1991, the class segregation really leaped to the forefront.

And during that period, NCI didn't have a web site, UseNet hadn't been invented, and QRZ.Com wasn't around either. Amazing what happens when you invent platforms for global hate mongering....

73, Jim KH2D

 

Good grief! There are some wrong-headed "facts" in this post.

CW is the ONLY mode that I can use some of the time because auroral flutter or bad bands render the voice modes unusable or below the background static. Nothing "improved" in radio technology from the '70s to today that made voice any more reliable. Receivers were capable of working right down to the background noise floor then as now. One difference: nice tight receiver filters that give CW its advantage are becoming a rarer and more expensive option.

We really need to stick some of the no-code, appliance-operating communications "experts" up here at latitude 70N when the bands are bad and let them eat static for a few days. Maybe they would finally understand if their child's life depended on getting a health and welfare message out through some auroral flutter.

We would have a new, hard-core pro-coder.

 

What? What "program"?

 

I think when you really break all of this hoopla down, it's all about the resistance to change. Nobody likes change - let's admit it - especially when the perception is that the change is just for change's sake.

When the first talk of a no-code requirement appeared several years ago I was steadfastly against it. But, I started thinking about WHY I was against it - and in the end it was mostly because of my attitude that if I had to go through it, then everybody else does too. Clearly, purely an emotional response.

I am an active VE and I can't tell you the number of hams and perspective hams who've pulled their hair out over the inability to attain even the 5 WPM morse code proficiency level. I can tell you that in many cases it isn't for lack of trying. I'll have to admit that learning the code came extremely easy for me but I think I'm the exception rather than the rule as far as that goes. I just hate to see folks who've really worked hard to learn the code but for some reason are unable to master it which, in turn, prevents them from moving onward in the hobby. The inability to learn the code, for whatever reason, doesn't make someone a bad operator nor do I believe that it enables the "dumbing down" of the hobby.

We're always going to have a few bad apples in the amateur radio community but I don't think that dropping the morse requirement is going to be opening any floodgates for "undesirables" (whatever that means). Our hobby has been pretty good about self-policing and I don't see that changing so all of the worry doesn't seem very well founded to me.

So, I've gone from being completely against the proposal to supporting it with one change - I'd like to see the retention of the morse requirement for the Extra class license and elimination of the morse requirement for all others. I think this would best address the needs of the hobby and still rewards those who are able to attain some level of morse code proficiency.

 

I have talked to several 5-watt rigs on mobile antennas on the other side of the planet, but that is with nice, tight receiver filters and a willingness to work weak signals. If you want to be heard, get on the extra-portion of 20 meters down below 14.025 and send with a sure, steady, 10-20wpm fist. DX Results are virtually assured.

PS: If you are working a skilled operator with good receiver filter characteristics, you can enjoy up to an 18dB system advantage with CW as opposed to SSB. Your 100W station will be equal to a 6,300W SSB station, and you can leave the lids in the static. Go full QRO with a 1kW linear, and you will open the band when it is supposedly "dead". I do it almost weekly.

73,
Dave/al2i

 

Charlie--

Great thread-starter post OM!

73,
Dave/al2i

 

I, for one, don't see a real problem here. It will all work out just fine. I passed my 20 wpm and use code almost exclusively on HF. But, I have no problem with those who can't or won't learn CW. I have had the joy of shareing my views on the joys of cw and even have elmered some new hams in CW. I will continue to do so.

I think the latest NPRM from the FCC hit the nail on the head on ALL accounts. My congrats to the FCC for a job well done.

This is not the death of amateur radio, but a new beginning. I feel that if emotion could be eliminated from the conversation on this topic of eliminated code, and it were considered from a strictly logical point of view, one would be hard pressed to make sound arguements for keeping the code.

I have only been a ham for 14 years and was against eliminating code for about half that time, but even 14 years ago, it was obvious this day was comming. The only hurtle to eliminating CW was international agreements.

Well... here we are. I plan to continue to be involved in club sponcered classes for new hams. I plan to continue to preach the virtues of CW and elmer anyone who wants to learn CW also elmer all new hams in our area on good ham skills no matter what mode and or band they prefer to use.

Just my opinion... so let the flames begin

Minton