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FCC Ponders Removing Morse Code Reqs for Amateur Radio Licenses
Nalez writes "This story on the ARRL website outlines six petitions currently in front of the FCC to drop the Morse code requirement for the amateur radio license exams. Currently the ability to do Morse code at 5 words per minute is required to operate on the high frequency bands (below 30Mhz), which are the bands that propagate best around the world." While this may or may not attract more people to ham radio, it will make it easier for the novice to use packet radio devices.
dah dah dah dit dit dit dit dah dit dah dah dah
I've been tunneling all my morse code over SSH...
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
I think there is no MC requirement already for this type of license, right?
Roving Web-Teleoperated Robot
i'm a ham and never bother turning on my rig anymore. I get much more satisfaction out of computers and the internet.
I know the old-timers don't want to hear this, but it's really about time that this outdated modulation and transmission scheme no longer be required. They old-timers won't admit it to others, but they know that their hobby isn't growing because of the code requirements.
Kids these days--the very people you want to get excited about ham radio--have absolutely no interest in pounding the brass, fumbling over the differences between A and N and trying to copy what others have to say via Morse. Remember, they're growing up in a HDTV, 500-channel, broadband Internet world. It's absolutely no surprise that they think sending letters with dits and dahs is draconian. It is.
Let's give the customary 2-meter and 6-meter privileges to new tickets and push the cutting-edge technologies like PSK31 on the newbies. Show them that ham radio can truly be exciting and modern. But it really is about time the code went the way of the dinosaur. Don't outlaw it--just make it optional.
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
We knew that sooner or later this requirement would be removed. Those of us who love CW (Morse Code) still use it, and others will continue to do so, if only because it is simple, it works, and it overcomes real language barriers.
Still, even though we may love it, it is an anachronism, and the requirement will be dropped, like it or not.
73
W4TI
Soli Deo Gloria
Ham radio isnt to be used for commercial and/or encrypted communication.
There is no way for a person to have a secure private conversation over long distances without going over some sort of provider.
802.11b don't count cause it has limited range.
That sucks.
-Johan
whats morse code?
isint that what they used to stop the aliens in Independance Day?
Didn't they see independence day? Morse code needs to stay universal
We know that even in the distant future, one's survival may depend on embedding a morse coded message in the warp signature or scanning frequency!
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Only because I passed the test but don't know morse code so can only apply for a licence to transmit over 30Mhz, which is effectively 50MHz+ since there's no bands in the uk between 30-50 for radio ham uses.
Ahem...anyhow, you could argue that being a ham operator is like joining the Army: you're making yourself and your abilities available to your country/neighbours/fellow humans if necessary. Morse code is intelligible when packet radio and voice are not. Multiple, redundant channels of communication are Good Things, especially when disaster strikes...why allow one of those channels to wither and die?
Carousel is a lie!
If I knew morse code, I would like to have a cell phone that understood morse code. I'm sure entering SMS messages would be a lot faster that pressing 1 three times for "c" and so on. The phone would need just a single button!
There's already packet for 2-Meter ... so changing the Morse requirement would only allow it on different frequencies.
As an Amateur Extra class holder, I can see both sides of this ... if you drop the requirement, then more people would be able to get the General or AE license.
However, if there is a roadblock (not a very high one), that would limit the number of poor operators on HF frequencies that would travel around the world.
If BPL does come to fruition, it really won't matter on HF anymore.
BTW, what type of communication would prevail if aliens invade?
Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
If they drop the morse code requirement, how will we stop the aliens when they destroy all our communication satellites???
But in all seriousness, part of the Ham Radio culture is being slightly above everyone else with your mad communication skillz, and Morse code should remain part of that. If they drop that, then all Ham Radio-ites are are guys with way to much money to spend on radios.
And in all seriousness, the requirement is 5 words a minute. It's not like they're asking for your college dissertation in morse code.
Three questions for all you hams:
- Why was morse code originally required for amatuer radio operators?
- How often is morse code used today?
- What advantages does morse code have, vs other forms of radio communication?
DashDash Dash dot dot dotdot Dash dot Dash Dash Dash dot DashDashdot dot dot dot dot Dash Dash dot Dash Dash dot dot dot Dash dot dot dot Dash dot dotdotdot Dash dot dot Dash Dash Dash dotDashDash dotdot Dash dot dot dot dotdot Dash dot Dash dot dot dot Dash dot dot Dash Dash Dash dot Dash Dash dot dot dot dot Dash Dash dot dotDash dot Dash dot dotDash dot dot Dash Dashdot Dash dot Dash Dash Dash dot Dash Dash
As the inventor and patent holder for Morse (TM) every ham operator must pay a $299 licence fee to.. etc..
Darl McBride
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
I'm all for dropping the CW req. but I understand why it's there... It's low-tech, and can be received a lot further than any other type of transmission... very little of the actual signal needs to make it thru in order to get the message. High-tech relys on more equipment, and therefore, usually has a higher risk of malfunction, and more difficult repair. Pretty easy to make a cw switch... any two pieces of electrically conductive materials would work in a pinch.
-- Liberalism is a mental disorder.
The Morse code is almost common knowledge, imho. It's a good basic skill and can be somewhat usefull if you can count on a substancial amount of people being able to morse. It's not to far fetched having people be able to morse at 5 wpm in order to get a HAM licence.
And why would one want to lower the entry level for HAM? If someone really wants to do HAM, learning to morse won't be a barrier, but the requiements keeps the twits away from HAM and that probably maintains a good 'quality of service'. For the lack of a better word. It's just like Fido Net: People where required to give their real name and address and therefore noise and junk was/is *very* low on Fidonet.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
The submitter says this will make it easier for those who want to do packet radio. You don't need morse to do standard AX.25 packet. It's on the 2m and 70 cm band and a few others that Techs have privledges on. I think what he means to say is use other packet modes like PSK31. PSK31 is a nice mode and can get through noisy band conditions that SSB would be unusable. The government themselves have not been using CW for a while (GW was in office, and was the receiver of the last cw message on a government service. Actually I should say the recipient....he did not decode the message...he had staff for that. CW will live as long as those who love it stay alive, but it will go away.
Gorkman
While this may or may not attract more people to ham radio, it will make it easier for the novice to use packet radio devices.
Did you mean Novice class licensees, or new licensees?
Assuming the latter: A technician-class license (no code, 30 MHz and up operation only) has no code requirement and packet radio use is common.
What this will make easier is for people who don't have any use for code (like myself, I have to admit) to transmit on the worldwide HF frequencies with packet.
Of course, if they do drop the code requirement, I am not sure I will operate on HF, because the equipment is kinda spendy, antennas are kinda big (I live in an apartment), and all the fun stuff that I like to do is on VHF/UHF. (I like satellite & other space stuff like EME.)
"Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
...then - think about it - soon we'll never hear the nostalgic, reassuring aural tapestry of Morse Code ever again...
...oh, apart from those thousands of mobile phones bleeping out "SMS" daily to owners who have no idea what it means...
I have a General-class HAM license. There is no reason anymore to require morse code. But with the internet and cell phones and satelite phones, there is no reason to need a HAM license either.
Now, I'm fairly new at this, so excuse my ignorance... ... counter-cultural for a geek community?
I know commercial traffic is forbidden, this is understandable. But encrypted messages are forbidden? Does this not seem a little
... the FCC is considering a move from using . and - as morse code notation, to using . and /
///...///
/Styx
Here is an article at eham.net with one hams viewpoint and lots of comments. his bottom line - don't sweat the dropping of code requirement.
K9JRW
It's just a link to goatse, a couple of bad jokes (in soviet russia, morse code you!), and one of those huge ass GNAA posts. Who had the time to sit down and read one of those GNAA posts, let alone translate it into morse code, I have no idea. But thanks to the clever work of Samuel Morse, I'm making the worst joke of my /. career and burning my karma away.
-----
jonathan barket
At a 1947 meeting in Atlantic City, the ITU agreed that Morse proficiency should only be required when amateur operation took place on frequencies below 1000 MHz (1 GHz). At WARC-59, the 1959 World Administrative Radio Conference dropped this level to 144 MHz. A further reduction was made at WARC-79 to its present 30 MHz level. it seems logical to drop it further if not entirely.
It is also an unwritten observation that few blacks (and many whites) pass the Morse test. It is racist, just as the Math section of the SAT is.
The purpose of the requirement appears to be rather redundant considering the removal of monitoring stations for morse code alerts around America & Europe:
news.bbc.co.uk (1997).Look - everyone wants to try to bend over backwards to help people feel welcome these days. Instead of changing the rules they should look for alternatives. Maybe create their own spectrum for those who want to participate but don't know morse code. The rules of golf have been around a long time. However recently to make people feel accepted or to try to capture a larger audience those rules have been changed. Cases in point: Casey using a golf cart and Annika Sorenstam playing a PGA event without having earned a proper PGA Tour card. In both these cases the end result was disappointing even though it was done with the best of intentions.
We have to respect the rules and understand the subtle details of the hobbies we choose (be it morse code or where to drop an out-of-bounds shot). What's next - do we change chess because people can't remember that the knight has to move in that crazy 'L' shape? Yeah, that's it - we'll protest the Internation Chess Federation for that - it's not fair to those who don't want to or can't learn how to use the piece correctly!
Sorry for the rant, but at some point you have to stand up and say no!
--AB
I recently got a grandfathered upgrade to a General license, because I got my Technician license way back when it included a 5 WPM send/receive morse code test and the General written test. I'm studying for the Extra license, now that it doesn't require another morse code test.
I have nothing against morse code, I just think that it shouldn't have a special status in licensing examinations.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
An int'l radio body recently dropped the code requirement. This is a good thing, even though I learned code to get a general license when about 13 years old. It was easy for me to learn, but really isn't necessary if the potential licensee wants to experiment with radio -- there are many ways to do that without code: packet radio, rtty, tv, ham satellite, vhf/uhf/shf/ehf.
shee-it. cw gots rhythm, honky.
Sacred cows make the best burgers.
As a kid, I was actually pretty interested in the idea of ham-radio. I loved the idea of communicating worldwide with people. (I suppose that's when the Internet came along, I took to it like a duck to water...) But, honestly, I couldn't get the morse code requirement. The way my brain works, it's hard for me to, well, memorize stuff. Calling it up on command would be even sillier. So I never got into it. Here's the thing though. We have typewriters. We have computers. You can still *use* morse code without *knowing* morse code - simply hook up a computer on your line, type your message, and have the computer encode all of the message to Morse. If one wants to recieve, that can be translated by computer also. Morse is a great transmission type - and great for redundancy in emergencies - but it's hard to learn and use. Instead, why not keep the positives of morse code, while taking away it's negative - it's hard-to-learn status? -- Funksaw
CM (Carrier Modulation: turning the signal on and off manually) is the most basic mode of radio communication.
When you're sinking at sea and the boiler explosion has thrown your microphone and keyboard over the side, you'll still be able to call for help, give your position, and ask for clean drawers by plugging and unplugging the antenna lead.
If the FCC wants to create a new class of licenses for selfish, aloof operators who "just don't want to get involved", well, that's what the Radiotelephone licenses are for.
I've been thinking about getting a license for a few weeks now. Some of my friends have radios, and as the NY blackout is still in mind and hurricane season in South Florida upon us, it seems it could even be useful (and marginally justifiable as opposed to yet another dumb computer hobby of mine).
I don't know what to make of it really. As far as the Internet is concerned I am usually in favor of removing barriers to entry for all. This means that I fully support cheap PCs, free and open software, public broadband, and most initiatives that put more people on the Internet. This has its disadvantages, of course. Notably, there is a lot of spam, clueless Usenet users, etc., that would not be present if it was still the demesne of a bunch of academics. Has the value of the Internet been raised as more people join? I think so. I think that the human benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
Does the same thing apply to ham radio? I'm not certain. Unlike the Internet there's (AFAIK) limited bandwidth. In other words, my ability to connect is not seriously affected by the swarm of others. This refers to both shared bandwidth connections like cable to the legions of M$ machines sending me "Details Later" bounce messages.
It seems that what the morse code requirement provided was a non-monetary barrier to entry. In other words, if you are serious about the license you will have to study, learn the rules, then take the test. This *might* help prevent purely corporate interests from buying a license then trying in some way to exploit the community of radio operators.
In my case the Morse code requirement will not at all be a deterrent.
But why is it racist? I don't see any reason why blacks, hispanics, or anyone else would have any more problems communicating by dots and dashes than a white person.
Now the SAT I can understand how someone could word the questions in a way, or give examples that whites can more easily relate to - which would make it a racist test.
But morse code is pretty straightforward - basically memorization of the roman alphebet in code, and the ability to use that code it communicate. It may be that blacks and hispanics do poorly on it, but does that fact alone make it a racist test?
It's not like they can program or anything....
(yeah, I'm a ham too. bad joke)
Well, the historical reasons for morse are many, but the reason for the 5WPM requirement (and it used to much harder -- the top classes required 20WPM) was treaty.
Long distance HF bands aren't useful, unless everyone agrees what those bands are -- no use having the US hams on 40M, if the UK is using that same band for broadcast. So, the amatuer bands were set by treaty. This treaty also had a morse requirement. However, this year, the World Radiocommuncation Conference, held every so often to review things like this, dropped the code requirements for the HF bands.
I agree that Morse as a requirement has passed it's time. It is a bandwidth efficent and noise resistant mode -- but there are better now, such as PSK31. I've copied 90% of a PSK31 transmission that was so weak I could barely see it on a waterfall display -- never mind actually hearing it.
Note that eliminating the Morse code requirement wouldn't eliminate Morse code from the bands. There are segements of the ham bands that are CW only. Those who work with low power (QRP) are very fond of CW morse.
Ceci n'est pas une sig.
This is a rather alarming trend in most parts of society today.
Instead of continuing to require a level of competency, just lower the bar to include more people. Eventually there will be no expectations to meet at all.
As related to amateur bands, this will be another step in reducing it to the level of the citizens bands..
Great. Just what we need. A bunch of incompetent's clogging the airwaves..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I'm somewhat torn on this entire idea. First, I do agree with many people who believe that it's definitely quite old and not really neccesary at this point, however, I also agree with those who are saying that it COULD be useful. It is universal to some degree, and it doesn't require a huge degree of electronics to use. In any case, how much longer do you think radio stations and whatnot will even be AROUND? I've already seen some internet-based radio parts... it's probably only a matter of time. They're going to evolve or die, I believe. As to which, no idea.
The last real ham radio types are the AM'ers that rebuild all their gear from the 40's and 50's. Every other faction of the hobby sucks IHO. I was active for 20 years and sold all my gear last year. Radio is obsolete to me now. 1MB DSL and a barton 2500+ @ 2350Mhz is about 10 times as enjoyable. Computers and the net have totally replaced ham radio except during emergencys. I keep my ticket ( advanced class BTW ) but I'll never get on again the way I was. Boring and too many fights.
As a former ham radio geek, I too had to learn CW, at least 5wpm - back then, it was a requirement to be able to use much above 30mHz. I survived the test, and forgot nearly everything about CW after that, workig on packet radio, satellite and 6m ssb dxing.
:) So, while the FCC is finally hoping to abolish CW for more technologically-advanced communications, the old curmudgeons can still use their dinosaur-mode skillset.
My partner also learned CW, and loves it, eventually getting her Extra-class license. As we now live in an apartment, antennas are not allowed, so we both gave up on ham radio. However, she hasn't given up on CW.
She's found a new program - IRCQ - that uses CW over the Net. Yikes!
So, I guess that CW won't die, despite the FCC's wishes. I personally won't mourn iys passing, but I do see how it can be useful in a very tight situation. Maybe I'll even give ITCQ a try some day,
73 de N9JZW
Lemon curry?
There's already a no-code service. It's called CB.
It's so user friendly it only has one button, and we push that before it leaves the factory!!
A few of my friends participate in this hobby, meaning that I've found out just enough about it to be curious. And one thing I'm curious about is, why do they require the licenses at all?
Better yet, why does demonstrating additional proficiency give you access to more frequencies? Why exactly would you need to know more to successfully use one frequency, than another?
I made a PHP/MySQL library that prevents SQL injection & makes coding easier!
If you can't make the effort to learn a relativly easy and useful skill, stick to tech or maybe CB.
the high frequency bands (below 30Mhz)
Is it just me, or did nearly everyone snicker at this (or think it was a typo)?
Hobbits and hobbits alone.
The recent World Radio Conference in Geneva removed the requirement for a morse test pass when operating below 30MHz. This is because commercial morse operations ceased some years ago and the need for amateur morse transmissions to be readable by commercial operators has thus gone.
About 6 or 7 countries including Switzerland, the UK, Norway, Germany, Belgium and Holland have already changed their regulations to reflect the new reality, the US has not because of the way that the FCC docket and petition system works.
As to comments about this wrecking amateur radio, well I don't think so because there have been no-code licences in various countries for many years. Since 1964 in the UK for instance. It hasn't led to the end of the world as we know it.
Lots of people (well, all right, a vociferous minority) are agin' it because they had to take the test and why the hell shouldn't everyone else for ever. But pragmatism will eventually make them accept what is going on.
As for the hobby dying, well show a teenager someone talking to Australia using a radio the size of a small suitcase, an antenna the length of the garden and a morse key and they will usually say that they can do that with their mobile phone.
The world has moved on, little new technology has appeared in amateur radio due to the need for technical skills that you just can't have in all amateur's shacks at home (unless you buy ready built commercial kit) and you see that it is going to shrink unless something injects new interest.
I suppose that the communications we have now make AR look dated, but then that only works until the power is out and the only people with charged backup batteries are radio amateurs.
Maybe that will save the hobby, but sadly many of those that help out with emergency comms have, shall we say, a rather military mindset and like wearing camouflage gear and strutting about trying to be important.
Like many potentially extinct species one has to consider exactly how much of a loss their passing will be, it might not be noticed much.....
I learnt morse code about 3-4 months ago, it was easy, i did it because not only is it super-geek, it's also something that can actually save your life, what's the harm in knowing something which takes a day to master?
Comment: Yes I realise the username 'fuckfuck101' makes me sound intelligent, no you cannot buy it from me.
Getting rid of mc just shows me that seti will more than likely never fullfil its goal of finding intelligent life outside this planet through radio waves (and/or other part of the spectrum). We have just shown that as we advance our knowledge we get rid of old forms of communications for far superior forms.
So its concievable that within 100 years that we will not be using any current communication median, or at a minimum that we encrypt it to almost sound like static (military is/has moving to this).
just my 2 cents,
epic
"Im drowning here, and you're describing the water!"
Dropping the morse requirement reminds me of when AOL joined the internet and usenet.
Was eliminating that form of a "cluelessness filter" end up being a good thing for the communities?
A bit of trivia: Bruce Perens of Open Source fame founded No-Code International, "a norganization dedicated to the abolition of the Morse code testing requirement as a prerequisite for any class of Amateur Radio license." I didn't see NCI mentioned anywhere in the article, but they're pretty much responsible for the last overhaul of Morse requirements.
A good article summarizing his No-Code work is Bruce's own article,"No-Code: The End-Game".
Boy, am I tired of this damn lie for the morse code old farts. English in morse code is still English. Hindu in morse code is still Hindu. and so on. You don't overcome language barriers with morse code, you just errect another barrier. Two peope who know morse code but otherwise have a language barrier between them still have a language barrier.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Now, PSK31, is fantastic. I have reliably worked stations that I can barely hear on the radio using PSK31. Using 5W output.
The Native American codetalkers in WWII seemed to do perfectly fine, you moron.
Maybe I'm just bitter because I had to pass the 20 WPM code test to get my Extra license, but it makes me a little sad to think that the FCC may ditch Morse. It's always struck me as something that distinguished hams from everyone else (although maybe it shouldn't have). And 5 WPM isn't that difficult: it's one character every two seconds, roughly, and anyone should be able to pick it up in a weekend or two. Maybe I'm just a romantic.
Still, it's probably an impediment to some, and it seems wise to try to keep the number of hams up. If Morse is an obstacle that can be removed without destroying the character of the service, I guess I support it.
Then again, I live in Manhattan and haven't been on the air in years.
After being rudely awakened by a telemarketer (when *dies* that "do not call" list take effect?), my partner has corrected me. The program is CWIRC, not IRCQ/ Sorry if this caused any trouble.
Lemon curry?
Since Extra Class gets some exclusive CW portions, then they should have a CW requirment. And no lame ass 5 WPM either. That's barely at the speed just learning a character is at. The speed should back up to 13 - 15 wpm to show you can keep up with the big dogs in the exclusive sub bands.
This is a huge mistake. In a few years when the aliens on Independance Day and destroy all our major cities, we're going to need Morse Code to coordinate the counterattack the exact instance when Jeff Goldblum can hack do his l33t h4x0r1ng of the aliens shield technology!
I used to always want to get an amateur radio license but never wanted to both learning morse code so on one hand i think this could be a good way to get people into amateur radio..
On the other hand being able to do 5 words per minute in morse couldn't be that hard and in times of crisis, the ability of amateur radio enthusiasts to be able to decipher morse code has come in handy, so perhaps the requirement should be kept in place..
There's another, far more important reason amateur radio doesn't grow; its obsession with itself.
Imagine if all telephone conversations went something like this:
Joe: Hello? Anyone out there? Anyone at all? I'm willing to talk to absolutely anyone!
Bob: Hi there Joe! I can kinda hear you... I'm in Toejam, WV, and I've got a model AB123 rotary telephone with Bakelite trim that I added myself, and the weather's nice!
Joe: Oh, wow, hi Bob, one of those AB123s, eh? Those are nice old phones, I've got a brand new Verizon cell phone, and the weather's pretty nice here too.
Bob: Well, great, nice talkin' to you!
Joe: You too.
Joe: Anyone out there? Hello? Anyone?
[repeat nearly identical conversation several hundred times, win award for doing so]
-- Daniel, N2SXX (tech plus)
The year was 1968. It was a warm, summer night and I was walking down MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village with my cousin Michael and our friend Larry. The Village was electric back then with poster stores, head shops, music stores and other places for teenage boys to get lost and kill time. Many had their doors open to the summer breeze and heavy foot traffic. As we walked past one record store, I sensed something unusual about the music I heard.
"Oh dear Miss Morse,
I love you.
Yes I do,
really do."
And then, the refrain, sung the way you'd expect a secret, hidden musical message to be sung.
"dit dit daaaah dit.
dit dit dah.
dah dit dah dit
dah dit daaaaah"
Oh my God! Someone had said the word... that four letter word guaranteed to get you suspended in school and punished at home.
Holy sh... well, you couldn't say that back then either. The song was (Oh Dear) Miss Morse by Pearls Before Swine. It was the kind of thing you could hear on MacDougal Street... not on the radio. Ham radio had never before, and would never again, let me be so cool.
This is a dying art even in the traditional world of the High Seas. Largely because of advances in Satellite communication the IMO (the maritime branch of the UN) did away with the requirement for Morse code equipment on ships (last year I think). But all large ships still have to have a signaling lamp.
p ag/03-03.pdf
The USCG( Coast Guard), realizing the limited practicality of Morse code, reduced the speed which ship's officers need to be able to receive it. From a 6wpm test to a 4wpm test. Most foreign officers don't need to take a Morse code test at all.
The IMO also did away with the requirement to have a radio officer onboard. Now you can only find Sparky on specialized ships (like military contracted).
The USCG's new requirments:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/marpers/
The USCG's Mariner web page
http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/
A College in New York City where you can still get a traditional Maritime Education
www.sunymaritime.edu/
There are actually much better technologies for doing anything Morse code claims to do now. PSK31, for example, is a far better digital modulation system than Morse. Even Morse could survive if it was desired, but why keep a very knowledgable ham (perhaps one that has even passed the Expert class written exam) off the bands just because they can't learn an ancient 19th century audio encoding technique? There is plenty of computer technology that would allow a ham to both send and receive code much better than someone doing it by hand and ear. You need some technology to receive a radio signal anyway, why arbitrarly draw that line short of letting a ham put a morse-to-speach converted in a set of headphones? (Which, of course, is perfectly legal for all use, just not for qualifying for a license in the first place. In fact I know many hams who learned code to get their license and never used it again afterwards, and, although they have renewed their licenses since then, could not use morse code now if they had to.)
Most importantly, a frequent argument the old farts like to make is the "importance" of Morse code in emergency situations. But keeping people out of the hobby and having less stations able to monitor and respond in emergency situations because people who can not learn morse code have been kept out does not make sense. In this sense the morse code license requirement actually keeps many hams (like myself) from having HF equipment that they could provide aid with when a disaster hits.
And yes, although some people have no problem with it, there is a significant barrier for Morse code for many. It's not just learning what the patterns are and what letters they match up to, it's being able to hear them and do that translation in real time while signals continue to come in. Easy for some, hard or imposiable for others, even though they have tried all of the tricks many times.
Forcing new hams to learn Morse code would be like a teacher forcing new computer students to learn the Hollerith code for punch cards, saying "I had to learn it so you have to learn it". The information shouldn't be lost, but new programmers no longer need to be able to look at rectangular holes in a punch card and read the information on sight. The same should be the case for Morse code.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
This would be like using "unix" without learning vi or ed. Never! :)
SOS
dit dit dit dah dah dah dit dit dit
Now there are no Ruskies, no german tanks rolling around, no ships to save since no longer international rescue stations uses morse (everyone has a satellite phone apparently).
IMHO, it will live, as a hobbyist's tool. Once I turn the DSP on and reduce the filter frequency to 25kHz I can hear any weak signal through the interference. I have a Yaesu FT-847 and you can put nice mechanical filters in it and have even tighter filters. Since default morse code signal fits into a 3 kHz deviation it is an efficient way of communication.
It is just like steam locomotives. The diesels have taken them out of the lines but they still run.
Da da di di dit, di di dit da dat. M1FCJ/P signing off.
And obviously, there are still plenty of ways for espionage to get through that encoded message. "Have Uncle Tunuse send more olives" can be a request for more olives or a pre-arranged signal, you don't really stop organized planned espionage from using the ham bands by outlawing encryped messages, you just reduce the privacy rights of your own citizens. And you also do a little to keep business from encroaching on the ham bands, since if messages were encrypted it would be difficult to determine if the message was business or hobby.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I'm curious on this btw. Can you name an emergency in the last 50 years where morse code was the only method of communication in or out of the disaster area?
20 WPM was never treaty. The treaty didn't even require 5 WPM, just a "working knowledge" of morse code. At one point not all that long ago (in my lifetime) we had no higher ham radio class than General. The 20 WPM requirement was actually created by strong lobbying efforts on the part of the ARRL, and actually took away band space (including voice band space!) from licensed operators who were previously licensed to operate on those frequencies. And a good part of the ARRL income came from selling code trainging tapes, and they sold a lot more after they had that band space taken away and reseverved for their elite class code operators (even those who learned the code for the test and never used it again).
The International Treaty wasn't really much of an issue anyway. Japan recognized the importance of electronics and involving the next generation long ago. They basically ignored the International treaty. And they were right in doing so. But even though the World Radio conference has admitted that Morse code is outdated, we still have old farts here that just want to haze new hams with "If I had to learn it, then you should have to learn it".
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
A similar rule change has been made before, and MANY MANY hams felt that it had a negative effect. Around 1989, I believe, the morse code requirement for the technication class license was removed. After that, there was a flood of bad, inconsiderate, and disrespectful new hams. Many of them were CBers who didn't want to take the time and effort to learn the code. It let in the riff raff, more Anonymous Cowards and first posters if you will.
The are several good reasons why the cw requirement should still kept after all these years. Apologies to Bruce Perens.
Think of morse code as a candle. Sure, we have lightbulbs, flashlights, glow sticks, and the sun. But, if something bad happens - the lights go out, the flashlights batteries are dead, your out of glowsticks, and its the dead of night, wouldn't it be nice to have a candle. It might be boring, plain, ugly, smelly, near useless in the modern world - but when the s*** hits the fan, you'll be glad you have it.
It is a good filter. Most people have to really give an effort to learn the code. Not all but some. I studied for a couple of weeks to pass my 5wpm test. I studied a few days for the 13wpm test. Some people claim it takes them years to learn it. Maybe, i don't know. The point is, if you want to just talk to you buddy down the street, you can get a cb for $40 at radio shack and not even think twice about a license. Think of the bad operators as spam. If you had a chance to have a really good spam filter or not, would you take it. Don't get me wrong, not all no coders are bad guys and they should have a chance to use ham radio - and they do. They can get a no code tech license and use frequencies above 30mhz. What this would change is give them frequecies priviledges below 30mhz. These frequences are special because of physics and the ozone in that they can propogate thousands of miles instead of the couple hundred of the uhf (50mhz) freqencies and above.
History. Morse code and ham radio have been together since the beginning. Its almost disrespectful in my mind to push the code to the wayside. Like putting an old dog down just because he isn't good for fetching the papers anymore.
Anyway, im fairly confident that cw will be around for a long time after its required. If i had to bet, I would say that the requirement will be dropped. I'd say at least 50 years (hopefully i'll make it to my 80th birthday)
As an aside, several people have mentioned that the written tests themselves are an appropriate filter. I disagree. All the questions that appear on every test are known in advance. I could teach my 10 year old daughter the answer to the questions without her having a clue what the questions actually mean.
This has nothing to do with the no-code tech license. At the moment you must pass a 5wpm morse test to gain access to the HF (international) bands or to go beyond tech and get your general or extra class ticket. If you want to work below 6m then you will certainly encounter lots of morse communication and will need to know it anyway.
If someone wants to be a ham and only do packet, 2m and 70cm, then they don't need access to the HF bands and I don't understand the complaining about the test.
Liken this to requiring people to understand the international standard highway signs (stop, yield, do not pass, etc...) before giving them the privelege of traveling on international roadways. Instead of saving lives by preventing wrecks, this is a courtesy that we still extend even though several other countries let hams that can't understand morse loose on the HF bands.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
Will this save ham radio? I don't know. It very well might have if the requirement was dropped thirty years ago when it should have been. Now with everything from Cell phones to the Internet to 3 cent a minute long distance rates, there is certainly less interest in putting up a hugh antenna to try to get through to someone hundreds of miles away and hope they are operating the same time you are.
I had another ham friend call me (on the telephone) just last Thursday, and the first thing he said was that when the code requirement was dropped I had better get an HF radio, because I had been complaining about the code requirement for years. And I had. But the world moved on. When I first complained to him about the lack of a valid reason for the morse code requirement was even before I talked about wanting a high speed paper tape reader to replace the ASR-33 tape reader I was using on my PDP-11. I never got a high speed paper tape reader. But if I could get one now I would have no use for it. In keeping the HF bands the way they have been for decades, ham radio may have done itself a lot of harm. When the code requirement is dropped we may well find that not many want the HF bands any more. If they are revived it will be because of new technology like PSK31, no thanks to those that dragged the 19th century Morse code into the 21st century just to haze new operators with.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
If one still had to either work for one of a handful of high-tech defense contractors or a major university comp sci/engineering department to get connected to the internet, would YOU be posting on /.? Would there even BE a /. for us to post on?
I suspect the answer to both is no.
Yeah, I know, when *you* first got on the internet, you had to get up at 4:30 AM to carry your bits to the internet in a leaky bucket, through the 10-foot-deep snow, uphill both ways, barefoot, and you liked it.
0 1 - just my two bits
What channel+net do CWIRCers hang out on?
Maybe to all the old asshats who think that a proficiency requirement should continue to be present on the Technician class license should consider a test in using PSK31 rather than CW. The throughput and the reliability are higher owing to it being a digital modulation, and the bandwidth is extremely narrow. It's way more fun to use than CW even for the people who really love CW.
And on another note, I bet a lot of the codgers pushing for keeping CW would fail such a test.
Well, you have a pretty inefficient spam filter then!
By keeping the CW requirement you have kept many like myself out of the hobby, and because of this we just don't care about your concerns.
Problems with broadband powerline interference in your frequencies, so what. I think the interference is justified as powerline broadband gives more people the ability to communicate than Amateur Radio. Build it all, the hobby has snubbed me because I don't have an ear for morse code, why should I realisticly care about it.
Emergencies, well the thing Amateurs have during an emergency is the desire for public service. They aren't the only ones you know! So an operator with CW can pass third party messages through the worst interference, well so can someone with a sat phone, except the interference is not an issue.
The community's excuses about not wanting to muddy the the HF spectrum are assinine, oooo, so you can send a message around the world, hey I can do that too, except I can send more information with no errors on the Internet.
I think the Amateur bands would be better auctioned for the public's benefit than remain in the hands of a few people who feel change is a bad thing.
If you send code 20 years from now and no one is listening anymore is it worth anything?
And if the tests are so easy, then the only reason you have a call sign is your ability to pound on a paddle in time, and man that is one hell of an intellectual accomplishment.
Take it all away and dissolve it if code stays, I'd rather see the public with more bandwidth for wifi in the Ghz spectrum and use the lower frequencies for a nationwide emergency network between fire/ambulance/police , it certainly would be a more efficent use of spectrum.
I went to a monthly ham breakfast meeting just this morning to meet some new people and ask questions. I don't have my license yet, but already have my exam scheduled. I wanted to ask questions about radios, APRS and local packet. They were eager to answer questions and offer suggestions. The cranky responses I've gotten so far are from online forums like eham.net.
Decent info is a close as google, my Ham folder under bookmarks proves that.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
At 5 wpm, the code test isn't that hard to cram for. I learned enough to pass the test, and I'll never use it again. Not that I'm opposed to CW, but I'm just more interested in voice operations.
That said, I support having the 5 wpm test to get a General license or above. If nothing else, it reflects a committment to radio communications.
N4JCK
President, Charlotte Amateur Radio Club
North Carolina ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator
"Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things."
Make it easy to get into the hobby and the ham bands will turn into a bunch of foul-mouthed redneck CB-ers.
Make it difficult and the only ones on the air will be wrinkled-up 86-year-old electricians named "Elmer"... and as soon as they die off, the FCC will sell the bands to the highest bidder.
The integration of amateur radio and computers is a very positive thing (digital modes such as PSK31)... but there's something to be said for keeping "alternative" means of communication alive (CW code) for emergencies and non-infrastructure-dependent and non-computerized communication. Do all hams need to know code? I don't think so, but there needs to be an incentive for hams to pass the code test, thus insuring it remains in the mix.
Perhaps the FCC can balance these two goals and still keep the hobby alive.
I got my 5wpm and general test on July 27th. Now send and recieve at 10-12 wpm with straight key. I am 17 and have learning disabilities that made code hard but I could do it. Grow uyp and learn code
Torvalds is god
2. Morse code isn't used as much today as it has been in the past. But it is still popular. Unfortunately, the only radio service still using it is the amateur service, afaik.
Morse code still has use in certain military applications especially with light signals. Even though the Navy, Marines and even the Coast Guard have ceased formal morse code operations over radio years ago, naval aviators are still required to be proficient with morse code unless they dropped that requirement very recently.
New AOL Shortwave!!!
It makes it racist because admitting that some group is less skilled at something is racist.
Is there any limit on how lazy you americans can become? Anybody can learn 5WPM code with just a little effort. Go ahead sit on the couch and eat mcdonalds whole day and don't learn anything. Us CW fans don't want to see you fat butts on HF bands anyways.
Standards and practices are one thing; federal regulations are quite another. Yes, chess should remain as it is: to play properly, one must remember how the pieces move. However, if you and I choose to sit in Starbucks and tinker with a chess set, skipping our pieces randomly across the board, we don't worry about being fined by the FCC.
Now, true, chess is a game, rather than a communications tool; and our "tinkering" doesn't affect others, whereas a broadcast can be picked up by anyone. But we're not talking about someone's right to trample across the airwaves yelling, "LiMp BiZkiT RuLeZZ!!!" One operator's inability to use Morse Code won't significantly detract from someone else's ability to use the airwaves.
There's another element, as well: consistency. In 1999, the United States Coast Guard stopped monitoring the Morse maritime distress frequency, and the International Maritime Organization dropped a requirement that ships over 300 tons have telegraph capabilities." (Source.) If the government is taking steps to recognize the obsolescence of Morse Code, shouldn't FCC requirements for radio licenses be first on the trash list? It seems foolish, to me, to require that people learn a code which is so out-of-date that our own government has stopped listening for it.
Personally, I'd go the other way. I think Morse Code's advantages in a potential catastrophe warrant its being kept alive. Suggesting that students learn Morse Code in school migh sound foolish, at first...but it's more practical than the redundant (and required) "cursive" script, isn't it? And with the quality of public education in this country, oughn't we give due consideration to almost any suggestion, before laughing it off the table?
But in the meantime, if our government doesn't even bother monitoring Morse Code, the only reason I see for requiring it for FCC licenses is to maintain the "elite" nature of ham radio. And while I agree that there are benefits in erecting chickenwire to keep out the riffraff, I certainly don't think that's an appropriate job for federal legislation.
My two cents.
cribPlease don't read my journal
know code
know code
know code
know code.
Chant with me
KNow code.
1) some people will still use it, specially at 40M, where bandwith is non-existant
2) here in NL, technicians are also allowed on HF since a couple of weeks, so removing a barrier for some people
3) There are still possibilities for morse code:
10 years ago, at work, i made a daemon (on QNX) who passes the syslog to the internal speaker of a pc, that had no monitor or terminal attached to it.
Real fun, though my college's could not appriciate it, having it on a couple of dozen machines, but they still talk about it....
73, PE1CXJ
I'm not going to dispute amateur radio license still requring morse code, only pointing out one reason why it should still be learned by radio operators.
The spark gap transmitter is the most simple means of transmiting radio information over a distance of many many miles, thousands of miles with the right antenna. Let's say a plane crashes, such a device can easily be scraped together with the spare parts and bits of metal very very easily. Such an emergency plan would be most useful if the operator knew morse code and could relay last known position, but still be useful to tap out the code every one knows.. SOS and let search and rescue zero in on the signal.
Though I will freely admit that this would only be useful in cases where aid is needed out of range of modern mobile phones and if your existing radio was bust, but never the less it's a last resort technique that works.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Could one of the hams (is that the term?) on slashdot answer this basic question:
Legally, am I required to have a Ham radio license to use those handheld ham radios at Radio Shack? After reading a couple of articles on Slashdot about the usefulness of a ham radio in areas where cellphone networks are nowhere to be found, I've been considering getting one for the car.
Alternately, how "hard" is it to get a license? I almost wish I had taken the test when it was offered in my highschool electronics class... I thought it was a little too geeky at the time. Guess I've grown up/grown geeky. =)
There are just some things that are good for you to know, and IMHO, amateur radio won't really be the same if the CW (Morse) requirement is dropped.
*nix geeks need to know vi, Windows admins need to know batch files and xcopy, and I think any mid- to high-level amateur needs to know Morse.
Morse really isn't a code, it's a language, and those who learn it well hear not dots and dashes, not di's and dah's, not even letters, but words and phrases.
Only a few hobbies require licensing, amateur radio is one of them. Being a private pilot is another... should we allow beginning pilots to jump directly into jet airplanes, because propeller-powered aircraft are so 1900's?
Is it a barrier to entry into the hobby? Certainly. But note that it's required for a license only for those frequencies that can communicate internationally (e.g., the High Frequency portion of the spectrum, up to 30MHz).
Obtaining a license and operating an amateur radio station is a privilege, not a right. One earns that privilege by demonstrating knowledge of the "radio arts", which includes not just technical expertise, but rules and regulations, good radio engineering practice, and operational ability.
Da-da-di-di-dit Di-di-di-da-dah.
If anyone thinks the ability to understand Morse code means anything today, do a quick experiment.
1) Try teaching somebody to understand Morse code at 5 WPM, then 12, then 20.
2) Try teaching somebody to understand Morse code starting at 20 WPM, or better yet 30 WPM.
The first is difficult - learning "dot dot dot dash" is a "V" at 5 WPM does NOT translate to faster speeds.
The second is actually fairly easy. You don't hear the individual tones, you hear didididah and it doesn't take long for people to learn to spell out words (spoken and heard) with the new synonyms.
The problem? The people who learn to understand Morse at 30 WPM can speak it, but they can't key it... especially with the dead cat and two pieces of piano wire that the Old Farts(TM) use as an example of the type of equipment a ham should be able to use in an emergency. Worse, they can't understand or key it at 5 WPM either since that's s
o
s
l
o
w
that it would be as meaningless as human speech would be to you if it was slowed down by a factor of 6 or more.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
You know, it is really hard to move a ball three or four hundred feet by swinging a relatively thin bat at it after it's pitched to you at high speed. I'd rather put it in my car and just drop it off as far away as I want it to go.
And it's too tough to get a larger ball into a net between goal posts by kicking it without using your hands. It's really much more efficient to put it on a cart and just plop it down where you want it to go.
And it's really silly to try to dunk a large heavy ball into a basket that's up really high from the floor. It's so much easier to just bring my wastebasket to my seat and throw a much lighter wad of paper into it. I never miss that way.
Have any of you ever thought that Morse code is just as much *fun* to many of us as a *sport*, as is baseball, soccer, and basketball to many others?
I can certainly see that ham radio is eventually going to drop the code requirement. But they really ought to keep it as an option -- perhaps as a replacement for some other requirement. That might make it easier for some youngster to get involved in ham radio without necessarily knowing college level math or electronics.
And for those of you who have ever tried to communicate on 20 meter phone with a 100 watt transceiver and a random wire antenna, you know that almost everyone else that you hear has a three element Yagi up 45 feet and a 1,000 watt linear amplifier. You simply cannot compete with that. But with Morse code, you can compete and have fun with just a few watts and a short random length wire out the window.
I've had my extra class license for decades -- it's so old that I actually had to pass a 20 wpm code test sending and receiving in front of a real FCC examiner at an FCC field office. I see the need to expand our ranks, and believe that dropping code as a *requirement* is probably best for amateur radio in the long run. But I would hope that Morse code is still kept as an option, and that it might be used to provide an *alternative* to some portion of the written test, even if the FCC allows volunteer examiners the option of not testing for Morse code proficiency.
Why? Because Morse code is fun, that's why!
I've had a license for almost 20 years. I use to use it almost everyday, to keep in touch with family and friends. Around town in the late 80's we had phone patches setup to make short phone calls. Cell phones replaced that, the internet and email replaced keeping in touch with family and friends. I've kept my license up "just in case", but hardly use it anymore. I think the FCC is going to be selling off some more band space (they already sold parts of the 220mhz band) to make some money. There are a lot of businesses who would love some of the prime bandwith that for the most part is going unused. Unless there is a way to generate massive interest in the HF bands, I think amateur radio is on the critical list...
Better be careful hanging on to your partner. Apparently, /. thinks anyone who knows CW is an ignorant old fart. And once we old farts lose ham radio for our CW fix, where will we turn?
CWIRQ!
In 1979, the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue called for development of a global search and rescue plan. This group also passed a resolution calling for development by IMO of a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
US ships were allowed to fit GMDSS in lieu of Morse telegraphy equipment by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
As a result, the Coast Guard has stopped monitoring the airwaves for Morse code distress signals. So, Morse Code's primary reason for being is gone. So should the dits and dahs.
If you REALLY want a lot more, check out: http://www.maredunet.com/nl/other/gmdss.htm
She says it's irc.freenode.net.
Lemon curry?
And yes, as far as low-power, high s/n signaling goes, CW is very nice. The thing is, I could whip up from scratch a microcontroler-based decoder that displays on an LCD in about 30 minutes of work and $10 in parts ($6 of which go to the LCD itself). There is no need for human transcoding anymore; simple hardware does a more reliable job cheaper and faster.
[I think MG meant to write low S/N signaling.]
I really have to challenge this assertion. Not to the cost, but to the accuracy.
In the real world, Morse is not sent with letter perfect 3:1 dash-dot ratios thru frequency-synthesized transmitters.
It's sent from Jose, who just learned Morse code from a book, and is using a 40 year old Heath DX-40 with a hand ground crystal in a loose case to make it resonate on the "ham bands", which is the only place his signal can be heard.
It's sent from Alberto, whose village in Italy has just been wiped out by an earthquake. Alberto is making his dots and dashes by holding two ends of a wire together.
Leonid in Stalingrad sends his messages using a "bug", and since he is quite old, his signal has quite a 'swing" to it. Hams around the world recognize his "swing", computers around the world are simply confused.
It's sent by Anna in Prague. Slowly, hesitantly, as she translates the letters into dots and dashes... she speeds up, she slows down, she halts for a few moments.
I'll trust MG that his $10 in parts will decode perfect Morse correctly. But I challenge MG to establish a communications node (without notice) anywhere within 100 miles of his location, that can communicate messages anywhere else in the world. Amateur Radio can do that today.
Try doing 13 with aphasia. And after the receive, getting up in front of the group and sending the same speed with an old-fashioned straight key and shaking hand. Hardest test I ever took.
If I had to, other people should have to too.
Dad-gummit.
John F. Kennedy was assasinated on Nov. 22, 1962
It is not a good filter.
Only about 4 weeks ago. A group having a contact on 14.187. Another station starts up on 14.185 then promply complains about the interference from a nearby frequency. The people on 14.187 also had interference from the new station on 14.185. Then someone else starts up on 14.191 was overdriving the audio into his radio. His transmission on 14.191 was nearly 9kHz wide and causing a lot of interference. Not bad for a ssb signal. These were american radio amateurs.
Existing conversation on 7.060, non english stations. Some australian amateurs started talking on this frequency. The overseas stations were stong enough they the australian amateurs could not even hear each other yet they stayed on the same frequency. This was also 3 - 4 weeks ago.
These are on the hf bands where you need the higher licences. I am not sure about the american licences for these 2 bands but in australia you need the highest amateur licence. The morse did not seem to do a good job of keeping those kind of people of the hf bands.
80m can even be worse. I have heard stuff there that would have been right at home on 27MHz cb. Another band where morse is needed to access.
First let me say I respect your opinion.
Im sorry you feel you must belong to the group before you could empathize with their situation. I have a few ham friends who are no coders. They enjoy the hobby greatly and contribute to the community. Its a shame that you *CHOOSE* not to.
I don't understand why you say the requirement has kept you from the hobby. You can receive an entry level license without learning code. As for not having an ear for the code - thats just an excuse. Unless you have a medical condition related to auditory procession, there is no reason in the world why you couldn't pick up cw at 5wpm. Heck, I taught my 8 yo stepson 10 letters in one evening. Its like programming in basic, so simple a child could do it. If I recall, you only need answer 7 out of 10 questions correctly to pass. I started out as a no code tech. On my first try at the morse code test I wasn't even planning on taking the test until I arrived at the testing location. Some other hams talked me into trying the test even though I had just learned a few letters. I got 6/10 correct with only knowing about 8 letters.
Ham radio serves two main purposes to the public at large. First, many advances in antenna, receiver, and transmitter design have be made by hams in their experimentation. Its part of our charter - to expand the art and science of radio. In fact, there are a serveral hams currently experimenting with 802.11 related technology trying to extend its pratical range through antenna design an the like. Its like radio theory R&D for the public good for FREE.
Second, it time of emergence such as natural disaster, and power outages, and what not, hams serve the community by providing reliable communication services for free, and help save many lives and large amounts of property each year. This is also part of the charter.
You choose not to support our concerns and best intrests. Thats fine, your entitled to it. But just remember, you reap what you sow. I pray you never find yourself or a member of your family in need of dire medical services when the phones are out and there is no such thing as a ham radio any more. Hope you satellite phone is charge up, and quickly found, and the satellites are still up there and functioning. In war, communication channles are among the first attacked. Ever heard of an electromagnetic pulse? Many hams I know still have vacuum tube based equipment. If knowlegde serves, tubes are unaffected by EMPs.
I like that fact you have to want to be a ham to become one. It takes a little hard work. Good. If you didnt have to have any knowledge or proficencies, then it would just be CB. Do you own a CB since you say ham radio is too hard? If anyone could transmit, the hobby would be reduced to nothing more then a wireless internet chatroom.
As for my license, im proud of having my callsign. For myself, and for many other hams, the pride in my license is that I received my general class ticket with a 13wpm code test - not without. That is I passed the test before they dropped the requirements to 5wpm. I did something that many claim is too hard or impossible for them. I can do something something that less than about 0.1% of the population of the US can do. Is it an intellectual acomplishment? No. Ham radio doesn't need more intellectuals. We need more people who want to be there and make a positive contribution. If 5wpm is to high a barrier for you - good - you don't want to be here bad enough.
> History. Morse code and ham radio have been together since the beginning. Its almost disrespectful in my mind to push the code to the wayside. Like putting an old dog down just because he isn't good for fetching the papers anymore.
No, better to let the old boy lie around arthritic and tumorous and howling in pain because his life's been extended well beyond what his wild brethren would ever experience.
Spark gap transmitters have been illegal since about 1925.
Besides, your analogy is incorrect. Most, if not all, airplanes are equipped with black boxes. Even if you survive such a crash, it won't be necessary to scrape together a CW transmitter.
The Morse Code requirement is obsolete now, but I would fight the FCC tooth-and-nail if they proposed the elimination of CW as a transmission mode altogether. It is still used quite heavily and no mode should be completely outlawed in amateur radio. Defeats the purpose.
Those who want to use Morse Code should be allowed to do so, but to make it a legal requirement is as silly as being required to pass a speech test to use phone or a typing test to use other digital modes.
73, KK7OT (Ham operator since 1970)
Microsoft's VP of Customer Service is Helen Waite. If you are having problems with their products go to Helen Waite.
It was November 22, 1963. Get facts straight before running pie-hole!
I was going to type "Morse code. You never need it until you do." in Morse code, but Slashdot complained:
"Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Please use fewer 'junk' characters."
So I guess it's junk then. Get rid of it. Morse code be gone!
At one time I was the thrid or 4th youngest person to ever pass the written test but I can't copy morse at a rate fast enough for the adanced licenses. The result of the stupid requirement is that I never did much with radio and I didn't do any research at all even though I grew up in a house where I had all the tools including good scopes and spectrum analizers and I had access to the best test gear that exists. However the "old boys club" rules about morse keep me from using any of the frequency that was allocated for research. Once the no-code frequencies came it, it just was a 2 meter CB system and you couldn't do any cool stuff like APRS until it had become mainstream. Now if the numebrs of members don't increase quickly soon, all the frequency will get allocated to other things. That will be bad for research but how many hams do that? The EE's I knew that were all the Extras are no longer with us and I don't know too many General class people who could still pass the CW test.
Spark gap transmitters have been illegal since about 1925.
Great... if i'm stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere they can come and ticket me. By all means!
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Totally eliminating the code requirement will do little harm, as long as the FCC maintains CW-only allocations on the HF bands. We all know licensed hams are getting rarer and rarer every day, and though I went through the process of learning the code, I know many other kids of my age wouldn't bother. Most of the code-junkies that are fighting this change spend their time on the CW only allocations as it is; well away from the phone, data, and image modes that the new operators will be using.
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
First let me say that I almost agree with you. Almost. I know you are an 20wmp extra so your feelings are not based on being unable to use the code. And let me tell you that I hardly ever use the code myself so you know exactly where I am coming from.
If there were no way to get a license without the code, I would say abolish the requirement. But, I think there are times when it is useful. I think there might be times when it could save lives. I would probably even go along with making it a requirement for the amature extra class only. But, in my opinion, it still has its merits and should be kept alive by some sort of FCC mandate. Take ADA as an example. I think the DoD made a huge mistake there. The ADA mandate helped to keep up interest and commercial investments it ADA related tools and technology. I spent six years of my life programming in ADA, and would rather be shot in the head then do it again. But, when im flying in a 737, i'm glad its ADA code and not C onboard.
Thats all I can muster. I know the requirement will go away eventually and have accepted it. It will probably fall away soon. It just saddens me. An era has passed.
And finally, let me say I appreciate everything you have done for open source community.
Daniel
Why the hell do people get modded up so much for ASKING QUESTIONS? I could ask questions all day long about amateur radio, can I have a +5 Insightful on all of them please?
unfortunatly you have rendered this morse untranslatable due to the lack of spaces between letters.
Please repost in a readable format.
A blog about stuff.
You make an interesting point about ADA. It would be much more useful to have a language with features for building reliable software in common use. One of the reasons that ADA didn't make it was that the government was attempting to ram it down people's throats when it had some very obvious problems, and people resented that. It's not unlike Morse testing in that way.
Compare Morse to PSK31. Nobody requires that you know it, it came from an individual rather than a big-ticket engineering project, and the lack of a standard has facilitated a lot of individual experimentation in that space. Doesn't that sort of say that giving people the tools and letting them find their own path works.
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
Look, I did not intend to be offensive, I won't take anything away from anyone who has a callsign.
The stuff I'd be interested in would be long distance digital communication, no not morse code but automated digital communication.
In any case as far as morse code goes, yep tried different varients of instruction(standard and farnsworth), practiced for hours, it is just not something I can pick up, it all sounds the same to me.
Now the last statement about the test was sarchastic, no 8 year old could pass the higher level tests, at least none that I know of. I was just taking the statement that if the tests are so easy then the hardest part is the code.
The test from 12 or so years ago for the higher level (I think it was the amateur extra) were not simple tests at first glance, but not too much of a problem for myself, I happen to like math and electronics, I just can't do code, at that point I said to hell with it, let it die...and at the rate it's going now it won't be too long if the code stays.
BTW, yes I did own a cb, and I did build a linear for it both transistor and tube based, seriously though, please tell me the difference between the traffic on cb, 2m and 70cm, it all sounds the same to me on my scanner.
I personally believe the elitest attitude exhibited by most HAM operators has killed the hobby.
Please vacuum tubes, um how old are the fellows operating them? I think you would be hard pressed to find a new ham who could adjust those two knobs on the front of a vacuum tube linear.
Do you also realize that if your electronics were feeling an EMP chances are you would have a heavy dose of radiation.
BTW if a life threatining emergency should arise I would pull out my ham gear from the closet and get busy, do you honestly think the FCC would care I transmitted on the sacred ham bands if life and limb were threatened?
HAM is percieved as an elitest hobby by many nonHAMS, the world would not end if there were no HAM radio, many people devote themselves to public service on a daily basis and not just when an emergency occurs. We need those people more than HAMs.
Here's the deal, want to keep your private club all by yourself, do something to advance the state of communications, do something that can't be done with an existing commercial service, then you get to keep your club, if not I believe my side will win as many of us have recognized the obsolesense of the technology used by these amateur operators.
BTW unless there is a secret HAM semiconductor fab, you'd be hard pressed to make me believe HAM radio has contributed anything in the last 10 years.
As far as 802.11b goes, hmmm, well doesn't that already exist, were all those guys a defcon HAMs when they did their shootout, I thought not, as any HAM worth his salt knows what they did does violate FCC rules and most HAMs are far to anal retentive to do such a thing, doesn't 802.11b specify the operating frequency as well?????
Please, no #&$@()* swearing!
Hurrican Andrew?
Well, maybe they didn't use ONLY morse, but...
Other countries are already moving in this direction, so it sounds like it's just a matter of time before morse code is removed entirely or reduced even more.
More details here and here and here.
For the sake of completeness, I'm KD5YRD, just Technician class. I've passed the General and Extra tests, but failed the Morse code test when I tried it (yesterday!) ... so I'll need to work on it bit more (perhaps in two weeks I'll try again.) The written tests are quite simple, especially since you have access to all possible test questions, but the morse code part can be a lot harder for many people, even though 5 wpm is extremely slow.
In any event, don't get the idea that you need to know morse code to do ham radio, even today. You absolutely do not -- the Technician class license does not require it, and gets you access to many (most?) of the `fun' things that ham radio has to offer. But you may want to learn it eventually -- you'll hear a lot of it even mixed in with voice communications.
Untrained and unlearned, non CW users have been using freqs below 30mhz for years! It's called CB radio! 26.965-27.405 mhz.
You too can get brain cancer with your 32 pill maul while jabbering on CH. 6. Make sure to check it on your Bird watt meter though.
On this thread, a lot of people have been drawing parallels between AOL's arrival and what the Internet has become. There is a lot of support for keeping the Morse code requirement to keep the AOLers of this world off of HAM radio.
That analogy falls apart when you consider that there is only one Internet, but there are a number of different radio bands. There is HAM radio for the in-the-know. For the not, there is CB, or "Children's^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Citizen's Band" radio. In other words, the smart kids have their playground and the dumb kids have theirs.
Must everything be always rounded down to the lowest common AOL-like denominator? There's CB radio for those who don't want to learn Morse code. Leave the requirement in place.