Posted on 02/23/2007 6:45:07 PM PST by vintage patriot
Morse code is in need of some serious SOS.
The language of dots and dashes, first used during the infancy of electronic communication in the mid-1800s, is going the way of Latin.
Beginning today, amateur or "ham" radio operators in the United States won't be tested in Morse code – also known as Continuous Wave – in order to be licensed by the federal government.
In an effort to advance the hobby, the Federal Communications Commission in December agreed to eliminate the five-words-per-minute Morse code requirement for people seeking their upper-level class licenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Yup, I remember those.
They were gone before I was ever able to figure out what the heck they were all about. Did I miss much?
Not much, although tubes are still used in high power RF transmitters because of their ability to barf out large quantities of power with impunity. Audio amps, especially guitar amps, still use tubes because of their desirable tonal qualities.
I don't know what I tested at on graduating from Radioman A school in the Navy, but once I left school, I never caught a ditty for the rest of my enlistment. And that was over forty years ago. It wasn't a wasted experience, just... underutilized.
Yes. Computers have keys and radios have microphones.
But mastering and using Morse is an all together different thing. And a lot more challenging.
If you think HAM radio operators are in it just for the 'communication' then you don't know any.
They'll regret this after the first EMP attack.
About 90% of my air time is spent working cw. There have been many times while on 40 meter ssb, mode of operation had to be switched to CW due to declining band conditions.
Yep. When I was learning Morse, I used to love to sit and listen on 40 cause even when conditions were 'poor' you could figure out what the 'ops' where saying.
I was even getting to the point of figuring out what was being communicated before they even finished.
Fun.
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(Just checking if I still knew it after 40+ years) Hank
I don't think the hobby is being 'advanced' at all.
I think the ARRL thinks the hobby will be 'advanced' with no code requirement. Meaning more members and buyers of radios?
Yes, they probaby want the spectrum, but countries that have eliminated the Morse requirement have noted an increase in CW activity.
I know since december that has been the case in the US. I believe SKN, Straight key night, was 300-400% more active....
How am I going to play dungeons and dragons with my overseas friends?
We'll need our CW skills if BPL takes off.
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"I don't think the hobby is being 'advanced' at all. "
I agree.
"Yes, they probaby want the spectrum, but countries that have eliminated the Morse requirement have noted an increase in CW activity."
I haven't listened in a while, but the last time I did there seemed to be a bit more Morse activity then I remember.
Even so, the government has been trying to grab the frequencies for quite a while, and removing the code requirement and reducing the difficulty of the tests to attract more HAMS I think is going to have the opposite effect.
The test requirements are moving away from the 'technical' aspect and focusing more on the 'communications' part.
Seems to me that the 'reserve of qualified technicians and operators', which was the original intent of the creation of the Amateur Bands, is fading away pretty fast.
What's the average age of the current license holder? 55? 65? It's way up there that's for sure. And it's been climbing every year. The experience of the Japanese is the elimination of the Morse requirement and reducing the requirements brings in hundreds of thousands of new amateurs.
Here in Florida we have a very active, effective and experienced crew of hams on the hurricane net who give of their own time and resources on a regular basis in times of emergency.
Maybe more production and more sales will bring the prices down.
It's worked everywhere else. There doesn't seem to be any real competition among the manufacturers right now....compare it to the competition/pricing in marine vhf units.
You talkin' to me? ;-)
LOL.
No problem. It's amazing tho the same things you stated before I have heard repeatedly so being a little sensitive to your comments probably just showed my age! :)
I got my start on CB and felt something was lacking. That's when I went to my first 'HAM FEST' and discovered there WAS something more.
"50 years ago when I asked him why not just "talk",,,
"That takes some of the fun out of it."...
Today he would be a FReeper...;0)"
No doubt!
:0)
Why not 6SN7?
:)
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