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FCC Proposes Abolishing Morse Code Requirement
TaxSlave writes "According to this ARRL article, the Federal Communications Commission has finally decided which path it wants to take with the Morse Code requirement for an amateur radio license. International requirements for Morse Code were done away with some time back, and several countries quickly abolished the requirement. Now, the FCC has proposed doing the same thing. Next step, months of comments, discussion, and navel-gazing."
The Commission said it believes dropping Element 1--the 5 WPM Morse examination--would "encourage individuals who are interested in communications technology, or who are able to contribute to the advancement of the radio art, to become amateur radio operators."
Was learning Morse so much of an obstacle for new members? Personally, I had to learn Morse long time ago, and it's not hard at all.
On the other hand, maybe with the development of the digital technologies, the analog radio technology potential members are just not bothering looking into it.
The FCC said it did not believe a new entry-level license class was warranted because current Novice and Tech Plus licensees already can easily upgrade to General. "We also note that, if our proposal to eliminate telegraphy testing in the amateur service is adopted," the FCC continued, "a person who is not a licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class operator license by passing two written examinations, and that a person who is a Technician Class licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class operator license by passing one written examination." The FCC said it does not believe either path to be unreasonable.
Written examinations? Nobody has to type the Morse anymore? Anyone here who got his license recently care to shed some light on this one?
But if nobody learns morse code, how are the people trapped underground going to tap out a morse code message to ask for help? What about those people in deep space who cannot communicate due to interference and need to revert to morse code? Won't somebody please think of Hollywood!
So how are we going to tell all the other countries how to bring down the alien flying saucers?
morning DJs can ONLY transmit in morse code...
It'd probably at least be funnier that way...
I had to learn Morse code (5 WPM), and so should everybody else. Meh, now where's my prunes?
Beep. Boop. Beep. You have questions. I have answers and your home address.
dot dot dash dot dot dot dot dash dot dot dot dot / dot dash dash dot dash dash dash dot dot dot dash
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
Morse code can be transmitted even in high-noise situations - as you're not trying to hear someone yelling CQ! THIS IS QC! OVER!!
Clicks, beeps, bloops, etc -- easy to hear over static.
= Grow a brain...
just as soon as Morse is found to be better than another technology (little bitty thumb keyboards), it's considered unnecessary? I sense a little more than irony here...
The difference between spam and poop is that you don't have to dig through septic tanks looking for real food. -- Me
It is here.
Also, few transmission methods can so easily slice through poor radio conditions as Morse. After all, it is one of the earliest forms of digital communications.
--Lord Nimula
That Morse Code requirement always sounded like tit for tat to me.
bash$
Morse code will go the way of the dinosaur perhaps as it should have long ago, yet not without many noting its departure with a particular reverence for the past. Morse, however, is still a viable means of communication. For example, it is certainly faster than SMS. At any rate, perhaps the FCC should instead focus upon more pressing matters: cleaning out the clutter in the increasingly crowded radio spectrum and speeding along the many pending standards that would make communication on the whole an easier matter.
Blasphemy I say... ... oops, I mean:
(Dots and dashes spelling: b l a s p h e m y fullstop)
I wish I could have posted it but I got this message from Slashdot when I submitted the post:
Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Your comment looks too much like ascii art.
Well Fuck you slashdot and your anti-morse code agenda!
dashdashdash dotdotdotdot dashdot dashdashdash dot dotdotdot!!!!!!11!!1one
I think it might get more people into the hobby to get rid of the requirement. It's not hard to learn Morse code, but it does present a *seemingly* daunting task to anyone who gets an interest in amateur radio. Not mention you can automate both the transmission and reception of it.
This could really help out ham radio far more than the no-code beginner's license could. Personally, I still have my basic Tech license. It's not because I'm lazy or incompetent, but I really have no intention of ever using code.
The way I see it, morse code is more of an impediment to ambition than a sign that someone isn't intelligent enough to learn it. For instance, my no-code Tech license does just about everything I want to. I can already do lots of voice and data comm stuff that I find interesting. I could have "upgraded" to a license with a code requirement, but it really doesn't get me anything I'm looking for.
To me this isn't a sign that ham radio is "dying" like some people would have you believe, but a sign that it is adapting to the times. The more people there are interested in radio, the better the chance is that someone will come up with something interesting and break a few decades of stagnancy.
"There is a reason we adopt new communication technology, because generally we can completely replace the old w/o ever missing it."
The problem with that is that emergency situations have the uncanny ability to find your weak points.
I just got my technician's license (this used to be the old novice license that required morse code). It does not now require morse code, but the morse code test must be passed for other licenses.
I would like to get my General and or/Extra Licenses to be able to use more FM bandwidth but they require the morse code tests.
My feelings are that the three licenses should not require morse code but that some frequencies still be held exclusively for CW (morse code) for those having passed the morse code element test. This would in effect make passing the morse code element the highest licence (able to use ALL amateur frequencies - CW and Voice ) and not making it mandatory for General and Extra which is now the case.
This would attract many more amateurs who mostly don't need or care about morse code and still offer an incentive for morse code usage which in my opinion is valuable due to its very low bandwidth and power requirements which sometimes allow CW transmissions to work when other modes are having problems.
"What is the point of amateur radio when the Internet has connected most of the globe?"
Indeed. But there are many remote places that the Internet has not reached and may never reach. Also, amateur radio has far better mobile operating abilities (i.e., when your cell phone is not in range of a tower, you can still use ham radio to make contact). The Internet (and, incidentally, cell phones) also tends to become unavailable when natural disaster (such as hurricanes or tsunamis) strike.
Ham radio is becoming overshadowed by the Internet, but Ham still has a few tricks up it's sleeve. It will still be relevant -- if not as popular -- for decades to come.
DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'
That's an easy one. Radio doesn't require any infrastructure or fees. Also, much of the world, and a good amount of the US, do not have Internet. You could've asked "Why bother, since we have telephones and cellular phones?". The answer would be the same.
If an unfortunate router goes out, parts of the internet go away. If you have a widespread failure (for example, a natural disaster or crippling attack), then you can't trust the infrastructure; it probably doesn't work at all. During the Sept. 11 attacks, and for a while after, telephone and cellular network were unusable. The HAM radio people are what kept communications alive. This was a similar case during that power blackout that covered most of the NorthEast.
It's also a lot of fun to do just as a hobby.
What's the point of broadcast TV or radio, since we have cable? Why bother with regular telephone service, we have VoIP and the internet?
I will add to another comment.. commercialization. Ham radio is not allowed to be used for business, so it will always stay a hobby, and that's one of the reasons I like doing amateur radio.
-KC0NBY
This stupid code requirement has kept me from ham radio for 30 years. Had a FCC 1st class at 16. Went to military comm school, after a extra month in class learned to type (5 letter code groups perfect) but could not learn morse. (dyslexia)
Drop it TODAY!
In GOD we trust, all others we monitor.
Here you have a teenager versus an experienced vetran, who had formerly done this professionally. Also, the coder had ideal equipment, a good key and the whole 9 yards. A cellphone isn't the ideal pad for text messaging.
So I say ok, if it's all based on what's faster let's take me a good secretary the keyboard with anyone on the other end versus the coders. They can push past 200wpm when they really get going. Want to try and do that in Morse?
I don't know about in the US, but here in Australia, the amateur radio operators become the communications infrastructure during a civil emergency, such at times when telephone cables or electricity lines don't work, or when two bodies without a common communications infrastructure need to work together. This sort of thing.
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
2) what is the point of the Internet, since most of the globe was already connected by telephones?
3) how are you going to talk to the rest of the globe (or even the guys across the city) when the power is out? Or a hurricane has taken out all of the cell phone towers?
4) And don't forget that ham radio is also about experimentation and tinkering. It's not just about ragchewing (talking) with people on the other side of the world.
Why should ham radio go away just because there's other alternatives? I can send my dad emails ... but that doesn't mean that the telephone is obsolete or useless.
Ultimately, ham radio has two main `points': 1) it's fun, and 2) it's seen as a way to serve the community by providing emergency communication in times of need. Do you really need more than that?
Back in 1967, when I was 17, I used to hang out in Greenwich Village on Friday and Saturday nights. There were many stores, including many music stores. One night, while I was walking down Bleeker Street, I heard music coming from one storefront and it went like this... "Oh dear Miss Morse. I love you. Yes I do, really do. Dit dit dah dit. Dit dit dah. Dah dit dah dit. Dah dit dah." They really sang the dits and dahs. The group was Pearls Before Swine and the song was "Miss Morse." Without my knowledge of Morse Code, I would have never known the four letter invective Pearls Before Swine was belting down this crowded block. And now you know the rest of the story. Please don't take away my Morse. de WA1U
Ham communication was used quite a bit on the 9/11 attacks in the US. The PSTN and Internet in New York were slammed and largely unworkable because one of the major hubs had been destroyed (the Internet isn't as redundant as we'd like, despite it's technical ability to be so).
Ham communication is quite robust because it's essentially a mesh network, every node connected to all other nodes. Since the signal propagates in all directions, and on some bands nearly all over the world, anyone tuned in on it can hear it, with no physical connection. A single transmission can reach many listeners, who can then contact others through any number of means.
Amateur radio has basically become a service organization, providing emergency communications when the crap hits the fan. In our area, our Ham radio club provides communications for both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, and acts as a backup communications system for the normal communications channels if they are overloaded or unavailable.
I feel that the Morse requirement definitely hinders the ability of amateur radio to serve in this capacity. A good example of this happened to us a couple of years ago when we were providing communications for the Red Cross during a Forest Fire in the local area which required evacuations. The Red Cross has a policy that their workers have to have available communications at all times to ensure they can contact emergency help when needed. In the area where the forest fire was, there was no cell coverage, so we were providing communications. Also due to the location, the coverage of our VHF (144Mhz) repeater was marginal at best. As a result, we had to rely on 80meters at 3.880 Mhz. The only operators who can work on the 80meter band are operators who have passed the morse test and also a written test. This eliminated about half of the operators at our disposal just because they were not of the correct license class.
Eliminating the Morse requirement would have increased this pool since most operators are able to pass the General Class test with some studying. Morse code is much more difficult, and is really not neccessary. I learned 5WPM code and got my Tech Plus License and then shortly (after another change to the rules) upgraded to Extra. Today, I operate fairly regularly on the HF bands, but I couldn't read morse code if I wanted to since it doesn't interest me and I haven't kept up with it.
But why should it be required for amature radio operation? The question isn't why use Morse Code, the question is why require that you know it for higher levels of amatuer radio licenses?
I imagine that Morse Code will be kept alive for a long time to come, and indeed there may be situations where it's still the best, but that doesn't mean HAM operators should be forced to learn it. HAM is having enough trouble as it is because of the Internet.
In my teenage years, I had a real facination with amatuer radio. The electronics/geek factor was a lot of it, but the wide range of communications was another. The ability to communicate with those all over. At the time, there was no way I could get the equipment necessary to do any HAM stuff.
Well now I have the money and the ability to do it, but I don't. Why? The Internet. I can communicate all over the world, with a speed and accuracy not imagined in the HAM world.
Well given the Internet as competiton, HAM sure as hell doesn't need any more barriers liek learning Morse Code. Yes, some people find it really easy and don't see the problem, however many people are not so proficient with lingusitic learning and have a lot of trouble with it. No reason to arbitrarily exclude them form the HAM world.
dot dot dash dot dot dot dot dash dash dot dot dot dash dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dot dash dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dot dot dash
and I am sure you all agree with me on that!
[w/ apologies to Kenny on South Park. ]
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
This is 2005, not 1995... The internet is available in much of the world now. It might not be fast, but it's there. We have multi-redundant backbone networks, and we're very slowing working towards killing broadcast TV. And speaking of Sept 11... temporary cellular installations and backup telephone networks made a huge impact on the communications. 911 never went down, and internet access was not badly interrupted.
A more profound question is the following. What is the point of amateur radio when the Internet has connected most of the globe?
Can you do it without infrastructure? Didn't think so.
For me the point is the electronics. I really enjoy building something from scratch than can communicate around the globe and only spending a couple of dollars to do it. Radio propagation is also quite amazing.
You are right though, the draw is not to be able to talk to people around the globe, the internet serves that purpose just fine. It is the hobby aspect that I enjoy.
Well, and the civic service part too. Providing communications in cases of emergency is a noble goal. As a past commander of a search and rescue team I have seen amateur radio used in this capacity as well.
What I don't understand is how some computer geeks seem to have this major hatred toward amateur radio (and vice versa, but not as much). If you don't like it, don't do it.
Finkployd
I thought we were going to just shut down ham radio altogether so we can all have powerline broadband??? what the heck is this?
-Lod
Radios can still go places the Internet can't. My hang gliding group back in Raleigh used to tune into the aviation channels at the airports we flew out of and would also broadcast GPS coordinates if they went too far. We had one guy tow up to 1000 feet, thermal to 8000+ feet and fly 150 miles to the coast. Fortunately at 8000 feet you can broadcast for a pretty decent distance and we were able to find him based on the last coordinates we'd had from him (Turns out he'd landed at the Wilmington International Airport. Oopsie...)
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
"Indeed. But there are many remote places that the Internet has not reached and may never reach."
No, there aren't. If you can see the sky, you can get the internet. Services like Iridium and Globalstar have made that possible.
Now, Iridum and Globalstar are low-bitrate (2400/9600 baud, respectively), but that's fine for email and IM. Even that limitation will some day be a thing of the past.
As a no-code tech who has always wanted to upgrade to general, this would be great news. The code requirement was always a stumbling block for me. I got the tapes and practiced but I could not get it. My license expires in 2011 and I was going to just let it expire because I carry a cell phone all the time and use the computer to chat internationally and nationally... and since hams usually just talk about the weather or their gear (thanks to strict codes about not talking about anything interesting), I still may just let it expire. But its tempting to just go for general if they remove the code requirement.
You notice that the morse story was posted right after the Patriot Act one? Well, there's a reason. The NSA can't find its friggin' Boy Scout's handbook on morse code, so can't afford to let anyone use it any more.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I get this question from non-ham friends a lot. They also like to answer a similar question, which is, "Why don't you just use a cell phone to talk to people?" My response is usually something like, why do people go fishing when you can buy fish at the grocery store?
Ham radio is a hobby. People don't do it entirely because it's a practical means of communicating (although it can be that in many situations), they do it because it's enjoyable. It presents challenges which take thought and skill to overcome. There's something about talking to someone on the other side of the world with a few watts into a homemade antenna when the band is noisy. Many people (myself included) love the technical aspects of the hobby. It can be a lot of fun to build a radio from parts, or experiment with different antenna designs. There's a lot more to ham radio than simply utilitarian communication between two people.
"Navel-gazing," huh? This topic would get a triple-X rating and pulled offline if the ESRB had anything to say about it.
You must remember that no everyone lives in NYC or Philly or Toronto or Sydney. I know of folks who can't get cable tv. I know folks where the only internet is satellite IF their location allows it. I know folks who still use rotary phones. Many places have their land lines and power lines still hanging from poles, not buried underground. Come a blizzard, ice storm, hurricane, or just plain wind, they lose one or both. There are plenty of places around here (western NC USA) where they'd have to put a cell tower on every ridge before the coverage was reliable. Amateur Radio is not limited to towers or power grids or whether or not you paid your ISP. HF bands can reach around the world. Most repeaters for VHF have battery backup. If someone you know is in a disaster area, good look trying to find them on the internet, by cell or by landline. But you can contact the Salvation Army and their teams of hams (aka SATERN) can get the information for you (called Health and Welfare) I like being able to at least listen in during an emergency, letting them know I am there if needed. I have been able to warn folks of events long before the commercial radio or TV announced it. KG4VPY
In other news, spur's no longer required equipment to get a drivers license.
Hello, Hello, the 1800s are calling and they want their communication method back.
Each winter, just after the Christmas holiday, the airwaves become cluttered with lids/morons who got a ham radio but don't have a license. Because of the license requirement, the airwaves are used by folks who have all read the same rule book. Is learning code a necessary thing? The code test (aka Element 1) is at 5 wpm. Think about that. FIVE words per MINUTE. That's not a test of skill, that's a test of patience. Will the removal open the airwaves to all the lids/morons who otherwise wouldn't take the tests? Maybe, but I doubt few of them will get past the Tech. The 2m repeaters are plentiful as are other bands. The General test isn't too difficult, if you read the book. I have my General Class license and am studying for the Extra. I have been for a while. The amount of information needed to learn from Tech to General is not too bad. But to me and my Southern Blonde Brain, the leap from General to Extra is a stretch.
okay, forgive me the flashback, I'm old, remember?
Anyway, since I went to all the trouble to learn CW and get that license, it would be reasonable to conclude that I'd be a strong advocate for retaining the code requirement.
Nope.
I have always thought that the code requirement was dumb, dumb, dumb. As a nerd boy who eventually became a professor of electrical engineering, it was blindingly obvious to me that The Code was a charming bit of history that had no business in modern radio practice. Those who would argue, "but with duct tape, batteries, a couple transistors, I could send an SOS after being shipwrecked on an atoll!" I'm sure you could, and that would have been an interesting argument until about 1975,
But how many of you Slashdotters have cell phones, or some other wireless gadget? When is the last time that any of you actually held a three-lead transistor in your suspiciously sticky hands? And even though it's true that some Righteous Code Dudes have recently out communicated some Valley Girls in a Morse Code/IM Slugfest,
A few days ago, someone showed me a computer parsing some BPSK on 20 meters in a 31 Hz wide channel (not a typo!), passing perfectly good text, with a quality that I claim could rarely if ever be achieved by a human ear.
I'll probably do some CW again soon --- but it'll be for Art's sake, and not because of a misguided notion that it is important to maintain a pool of practitioners skilled in Morse Code.
Because it isn't important. If you think it is, then let me gently suggest that you send a handwritten note across the continent you're on, by horse.
73 de Inspector Lopez
WB7NWP
I am a pilot, and my hobby has been ruined by "modern" thinking - We can't do anything anymore without being considered terrorists, the public thinks we're an irrelevant waste of time, and lately everyone wants to run our hobby into the ground or shut it down.
I see no reason why ham radio should be any different. You can suffer just like the model rocketry fans, aviation photographers, and computer hackers. The government doesn't like your hobby and wants to destroy it for it's own percieved benefit. Deal with it.
Everybody should be able to read/write that fluently from a carrier ... 1 00111101010100 !
0101001101001100010000010101001101001000010001000
Of course it has advantages, but little compares to the reach and speed of the internet. I'm not saying that HAM radio shouldn't be used anymore, I was merely commenting on the slightly exaggerated importance of it.
I'm a "lowly" no-code tech ticket holder. As my more 'estemed' HF brothern might call me, a 'tech-lite' operator.
Still, who is it these 'extra class' operators go to when their windows 98 PCs can no longer retrieve their email over their dial up AOL connections due to SAM ware infestation.
Who do they call when they decide to try DSL but can't figure out where on their PC to connect the ethernet cable.
Who do they go to when they receive some e-mail attachement and can't open it (often because their pirated copy of MS Office gorked) - or do manage to get it opened and gomer their system with the worm de jour.
Who is it they go to when they *finaly* decide to try and do something other than whine about hemeroids and the good old days on 20m SSB and connect something like a TNC to their radios, but just can't seem to figure out the lines of an RS-232 link - let alone the pins of a DB-9 (don't ever show 'em a DB-25, they'll stroke out!).
Who is it they call up when they need someone to climb their tower, install a new rotor, replace cable or other maintenance.
(I've got dozens more, but I'm trying to be reasonable here)
And yet - who is it that's not allowed to use HF simply because I refuse to learn an out-dated mode championed by these same 'Technical Leaders'.
I've passed the General written 3 times waiting for this stupid rule to be changed. FINALLY some sense!!
If you love CW, cool - keep on using it. There's NOTHING that says or will say it can't be used. And there'll be many that choose to learn it and continue to operate CW, if for nothing else, the novilty. Enjoy it. But for crying out loud - increase the difficulty of the question pool, tighten the passing score, up the number of questions, make the questions more technical, don't make the question pool public - something applicable to today. Don't rely on a CW test to be your LID filter! Checked 20m lately? It didn't work.
Using CW as a 'barrier' to HF access is about like saying you can't use email unless you can hand code a TCP/IP frame. Or you can't drive a car unless you can cast and machine your own piston rings.
Some of these guys were the gurus of the hollow state erra. But dammit - if you're going to be in a technical hobby, at least TRY and stay current to the last decade's tech! It's about time the license exams became pertinant.
You know - what's worse is what I anticipate happening when the first batch of codeless Generals hit the air. These old hams will use the same tricks of the CBers to try and discourage their new neighbors from using *their* spectrum. Insults, language, over driven amplifiers, intentional interfearance, dare I say - echo mikes...
Instead of a CW exam, every hf operator should be forced to pass an operational review - every freak'n year! Where're the OOs? Where's the log review? Where's the 'self policing' of the hobby? Oh - that's right - you've had a CW exam to take care of that.....
Yea, I posted Anonymously - if some of these HF rag-chewers ever found out who I was, they'd never call for help next time they get phished, gorked a drive, accidentaly deleted their system directory, tried to make a wireless keyboard work, had to install a VOX chip into their new rig, couldn't remember how to program their HT, wanted to update the club's web site.....
I believe that the Morse Code should not be a requirement just to to operate on the HF bands. At one time it made sense, but with today's digital encoding methods, you can have reliable low bandwidth communication on the HF band. Even the ARRL plans to file a petition with the FCC seeking the regulation of amateur subbands by bandwidth rather than by mode of emission. http://www.arrl.org/announce/bandwidth.html
And for all you old timer hams, eliminating element 1 as a requirement for General and Extra Classes does not mean that they are abolishing Morse code. It will still probably be used for decades to come, it just will not be a requirement for those who just want to do SSB or digital contacts.
76 KH2YF
Even if those lines are run underground, that won't help people in areas like southern California. The ground moving really can't be good for underground service. If they have a massive earthquake there power and telephone are out. Most cellular communication will die, unless they work like Sprint PCS (tower to tower calls). Once the backup power runs out, cellular is down too, if the towers had been working anyway.
"On the other hand, maybe with the development of the digital technologies, the analog radio technology potential members are just not bothering looking into it."
Ya think?
I do a bunch of radio-related research, and hold a Novice license. I have easily passed the technical portion of Tech Plus and General practice tests. However, I haven't the time to devote to learning Morse, and I haven't the slightest inclination to memorize a bunch of frequency bands that are readily available in tabular form. As a result, I must rely on my colleagues with more time and energy for key portions of my work. This is a pain for them, and accomplishes nothing positive for society as far as I can see.
I also can't use reasonable (digital) modulation schemes in any amateur band. Sending high-speed data would be really nice, and sending voice as digital data is way more spectrum-efficient than any allowed analog modulation method, but no...
By all means, let's get rid of the Morse requirement, and change the test to cover more meaningful material. Let's make room for reasonable digital amateur transmissions. Either that, or give the valuable and currently mostly-dead amateur bands to someone who will make more sensible use of them.
The only difference between 1995 and 2005 is that access is more pervasive. In '95 you could get internet from the same places as today. It's just faster today, nothing more. Those redundant backbone networks are nice, but they don't exist in the last mile. That's where damage is most likely to occur.
Were you anywhere near there? The telephone networks were completely unusable. Cellular was gone. As far out as 75 miles, telephone communications weren't working properly. This covered the entire tri-state area. Now they've improved things since then, but the point is that this sort of thing happens, and that telephone and cellular were found to be unreliable in an emergency. For what it's worth, 911 *did* go down in some areas. This was a result of a total collapse of the telephone system in parts of lower Manhattan, and the eventual draining of backup power. 911 has reserve capacity in the telephone system, and dedicated circuits. It does not have infinity circuits.
Internet service was just out in many areas, as in completely non-functional. When you have no telephone line and no power, you have no internet. Those on dial-up were SOL, since you couldn't make any calls across the whole region. DSL had issues because of the huge amount of interference. In areas that still had power, cable internet was generally working.
Large chunks of rescue and relief coordination was done by hams. That information is available with hardly five seconds of research. The rest was done by government workers with radios, and quite a bit of assistance by UPS (as in the shipping company).
IOW, ham radio was found to be absolutely essential during 9/11. Radio was a total and absolute necessity, as there was *no* other way to communicate.
Not sure what written means, unless it is essay questions which I doubt. So if still multiple choice, I dont see how anything has changed as far as the exam requirements Back in 2003 went from tech licen to extra class in about 3 months, and took morse code. After meeting a lot of old hams where I live, never interested in getting on the radio These guys are dinasaurs. A few are nice and I am friends with. But most resent the fact that I passed the tests so fast when it took some of these dummies ten years to do so. They constantly harp on the fact that my cw test was nowhere as difficult as theirs. And that makes them more of an expert then me. When was the last time they used cw? They cant remember. CW manually is extinct except for fools over 60. Do most of these "hams" know anything about aprs or psk31, not to mention doing cw on computer? Sadly many dont. Really sad. Amateur radio licensees use to be in the vanguard of science. Now they are like the flat world society.
Dah dah dit / dah dah dah / dah dah dah / da di dit.
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
Indeed, the same holds true in the US.
In the event of an emergency, all the fancy digital tunk systems tank, cell phones become overloaded, and folks revert to good old ham radio. The reason being, lots of hams maintain a good set of ready-to-go equipment. Plus many repeaters are emergency power capable, and even without repeaters, long distance communication can be achieved with humans repeating messages (e.g. on HF.)
Most of the major disasters end up using ham radio heavily: 9/11, the recent tsunami, the Space Shuttle explosion cleanup (not even the sheriff's radios worked in the back country of Texas), hurricanes, the list goes on. It allows people in the area to communicate, as well as communication OUTSIDE the disaster area. This latter point is sometimes the most essential component, since aid can be sent when requested. No request means no aid sometimes, or at least delayed aid.
I use my radios to talk to friends while vacationing in the middle of no where. With repeaters up on very large mountains, we can use the same repeater while being 200 miles apart. (And this us just VHF/UHF!) While hiking in the wilderness, I can generally get help if needed (no cell phones, and good luck with FRS!) In an emergency, my car can even be drafted into an emergency repeater parked up high on a peak.
With internet linking (IRLP, EchoLink) one can be driving along and talk with people from all over using an inexpensive hand held radio, or listen in on major events in other parts of the country.
In fact, as government rely more on commerical communication vendors and the Internet, I suspect ham radio is now more important than ever. Many local police and fire responders cannot talk with one another due to incompatible radios, so they end up drafting hams to bridge the two.
I don't know, but it works for me.
slashslashslash dotdotdotdot slashdot slashslashslash dot dotdotdot!!!!!!11!!1one
However, keep in mind that during a real emergency, we're allowed to transmit on any band as needed.
Speaking as someone who passed the 5wpm test, I'd say Morse code is a great art in its own way, and I have a lot of respect for it. But it's just a hurdle that covers a part of ham radio that most people will never use.
Look, the FCC isn't saying you can't do code...it's just not requiring it. Make the written tests as hard as you want if you want to raise the bar of entry. Hell, give usage tests to make sure people obey all the laws. Whatever. And people who really like Morse Code will learn it anyway.
I'd request the FCC give tests that are applicable to the current state of ham radio. I don't think that's so unreasonable.
The nice thing about ham is it's long range with little power and equipment requirements. In the event of a real emergency, it's nice to know that there are some extraordinary geeks with the ability to communicate quickly and clearly. In an emergency, things don't always work correctly. Microphones get lost or broken. Injuries result in a loss of the ability to speak. Who knows what might go wrong? Particularly due to the fact that Morse Code operators beat out the most popular method of handheld text-based communcation (short of e-mail or IM, anyway), I think this skill is highly undervalued. Personally, I like the idea of a bunch of knowledgable nerds out there, who can communicate almost as fast (or faster) with only pulses of noise than most of us could communicate with a microphone.
Actually, I smoke crack all the time.
...
Undoing moderation
Assume I was drunk when I posted this.
>I think it stinks that I can get all the theory,
>build circuits, program PCs, and fix just about
>anything, but I can't transmit below 50MHz because
>I can't seem to learn a 150 year old communications
>method.
As someone who passed the 20 wpm a decade ago and who actually does use cw more than any other mode when on the radio, I couldn't agree with you more.
Sure, there are instances where cw is really important - say, passing emergency traffic when conditions are poor - but it's absurd to suggest that such a thing happens often enough in the average ham's experience to justify hundreds of hours of study.
For half a century the code test has served primarily as an artificial barrier to licenses.
One could argue that's a worthwhile purpose in itself; adding a challenge to entering any field, however meaningless, can serve to weed out a lot of people who aren't serious about the hobby. An ear full of most CB conversation is enough to convince me that some barrier to entry is probably a good thing. (Although I'm all in favor of having more free-for-all unregulated spectrum out there which anyone can play with than we currently allow.) Our world is full of hurdles put in place solely for the purpose of turning away those who aren't serious about pursuing something. The subject specific GREs are an obvious example from academia. It's never ideal, but it sometimes can serve a worthwhile purpose.
None the less, there are some very good reasons that a code requirement is a bad idea.
First of all, it places an unequal burden on people. I had a pretty easy time with the code - a few tens of hours to get to 5wpm, and an easy couple hours a week after that on the air to get up past 20. But a lot of people have much more difficulty with it. The guy who taught me everything I know about electronics was unable to get a license until the no-code techs came out because dyslexia made learning the code impossible. He's not only an awesome person to chat with and a friend and advisor to many, but has spent countless hours volunteering for emergency communications groups. By any standard, Amateur Radio lost out by keeping him away for so long.
Even among those without learning disabilities, there are many for whom code is really hard. It's unfair to force them to jump what turns out to be an outrageously large hurdle in order to attain something for which actually knowing code isn't necessary.
Second, if we're going to force people to spend hours studying something in order to get a license, there are a lot of more useful things they could study. At least 90% of the hams I meet on phone study code, pass their tests, and then never use it again. What a waste of effort! Instead, why not beef up the technical tests (or get rid of the pre-printed "suggested" multiple choice answers that every VE uses).
Or - if you really want to do something useful - how about requiring something like first aid certification instead? If every ham who spent a hundred hours learning code and then never used it again spent their time learning CPR, just think about how many extra first responders we'd have walking around our streets!
The only remaining question is, what will become of CW when no one is forced to learn it? It's true that I might not have ever learned code if it weren't required, and it's true that I'm glad I did learn it. But there's got to be some other way to provide an incentive to keep at least a few people out there on the bands.
Perhaps you reserve some choice CW-only spectrum for those who've passed code tests. And, so long as there's a strong and active community of code lovers, we can always work to create other incentives with cw-only special event DX stations, extra cw points and freeby stations in contests, and so on. Is that enough to keep the hobby alive? I'm not sure. But if it isn't, then perhaps keeping cw alive isn't worth the cost.
Multi redundant?
0 061791,39198846,00.htm
You mean *more than two*, I hope?
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/0,200
.-- - ..-.
How about some legible Morse Code please?
At that point, it becomes very, very important and useful for public safety and disaster management to have a communications network that is largely self contained. (Read: Handheld 5W Ham sets, people hooking their base stations up to car batteries or generators, etc.)
This is precisely the reason that as soon as I get rid of some exceedingly annoying medical certifications I have to deal with in the next few weeks, I intend to get a ham license.
With that in mind, O' Slashdot, perhaps those who know this stuff cold can enlighten the forum: Is there much point, all in all, in going for the higher level licenses, or should I just stick with the low-band entry level ones?
Your lameness filter doesn't allow even a single word of morse code, you insensitive clod!
If you pay, as another posternoted.
The important thing about ametueur radio jockies is that is that the network is extremely robust, free, and everywhere. It works for long distance communciation, especially when overoptimized pay services fail. Iridium -- sorry, I have to giggle just a bit there. Ham is a (very modest) reserved spectrum for a network of people that communicate when everything else fails. There's already talk about how to handle jamming; not a solved problem, but in general, it is distributed enough to pose attackers serious issues.
The great power of terrorist attack is uncertainty, followed closely by communication. I find it heartening that as much as the US government might fuck up, at least we are left with a good emergency response channel, made of people who don't attach to the government. That's a really positive feature.
Way back on topic, but I have mixed feelings about dropping the Morse requirements. They've been loosening the rules for a while, but at some point, we're loosing the idea that one can actually assemble kit. We probably already have lost that. Morse is rather important - listening to a fuzzy transmission bounced off clouds from somewhere else in a language you don'nt know is great for learning. And learning is vital for ami radio folks.
OK, I've probably placed, and dated myself. Time to shut up.
I forget what 8 was for.
It does not bode well that neither TAS or WA have working websites :-P
If they made a movie of your life, would anybody buy a ticket?
They obviously didn't watch Independance Day. If they did, they'd know all too well that the only way we can communicate with each other without letting any invading aliens in our counter-attack plans is by using -- --- .-. ... . .-.-.-
I think that it's very nice of FCC to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making, as the FAA has apparently decided that such things are a waste of time. In fact, it doesn't even publish the rules anymore!
=============
"except for spilling, graph coloring register allocation did well"
Indeed knowing morse is practically useless in these days of extremely easy communications and the practice needed to become moderately proficient seems enermous.
But it's only relative to the application and the individual.
Consider all one needs to use morse code is
1. a medium
2. a way to modulate the medium into discrete intervals
3. either a couple of hears (sound morse) or eyes (light source morse) and probably a couple of hands to modulate the signal and write down letters
That's enormously flexible. The assumption that only because we now have very convenient technology then we should drop far more resilient instruments like morse is dangerous...expecially when one considers morse is useful only if there's many people using and operating it (exactly like phones or internet).
Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like things I can do without relying on a lot of technology I can't possibily always own.
It's dumb to see the morse code requirement go.
I remember a couple scenarios where it was critical to life safety:
First, there was a time when my buddy was captured by enemy soldiers and stuck in front of a TV camera to communicate propaganda. He was able to send a patriotic morse-encoded message to the public by batting his eyelids.
Later, when in a POW camp, I was able to bang morse on the heating pipes to communicate with my buddies and stay sane. That lasted until our captors realized that POWs don't normally get baseboard heat.
Finally, I was out on a multi-year mission when some of our colleagues ran into trouble, and suffered some kind of communications failure where they could no longer transmit by voice. They improvised and started to use some ancient signaling system. Fortunately, the captain was able to recognize it as morse and decoded the message, and we were able to rescue them.
Kids who don't learn morse now will certainly be disadvantaged in the future.
97.403 Safety of life and protection of property.
No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.
97.405 Station in distress.
(a) No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station in distress of any means at its disposal to attract attention, make known its condition and location, and obtain assistance.
(b) No provision of these rules prevents the use by a station, in the exceptional circumstances described in paragraph (a), of any means of radiocommunications at its disposal to assist a station in distress.
The problem is that in many cases, we aren't in a situation which is described as above. We're typically handling "health and welfare traffic" which are things like "we arrived safely" or "we are going to stay here for the night" (which don't qualify) as opposed to "send an ambulance right now" (which does). Having the ability to use the HF bands to pass this traffic is just as important in an emergency response situation as the specific cases where anyone can pick up a radio (licensed or not) and use it.
In addition, amateurs are cautioned that operating outside their permissions even during an emergency may jeapordize their license. The FCC (assuming they hear about it) will likely review the situation and make a determiniation whether or not the operation fell into one of the exemptions. In short, if it's life or death, I can use anything at my disposal to attract attention. If it's not I better be prepared to explain my actions and expect to possibly loose my license or be subject to fines if the FCC doesn't agree that it was justified.
Off topic I know, but I used to be involved with a bunch of Radio Amatuers whose hobbies of caving and radio collided.
So what did they do? joined their hobbies together to experiment with underground radio. A very interesting field.
"The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
Because you can? Because it's difficult and not off the shelf? Because it's cool to set up your own network with your mates without someone else doing all the tricky stuff for you? What more excuses does a geek need?
Seriously, I used to be heavy into packet radio before I went to Uni and had my first access to the internet via this medium. The reason to do packet radio now would be similar to the reasons for wanting to hack software; because geeks like to understand how things work and where possible build their own version of the commercial offering.
Other reasons would be that designing abd building a working radio is very difficult and if nothing else looks damn good on a CV and is a great thing to talk about in interviews.
Becomming a radio amateur was one of the best things that ever happened to me for my career.
"The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
In an emergency, and as long as you are a licensed ham, you may transmit on ANY amateur frequency allocated by the FCC as immediately necessary to carry priority radio traffic.
A more profound question is the following. What is the point of amateur radio when the Internet has connected most of the globe?
I bought a scanner a few months back and I've been listening to the HAMs, and I will tell you what the point of it all is: Antennas.
HAMs love antennas. They ALWAYS talk about their antennas at some point. Usually, they start off talking about the weather or something innocuous as such. Always, the conversation turns to their station and their equipment, and usually that means they talk about their antenna.
They love tuning their antennas, and making new antennas out of wire, and tuning them, or attempting to tune them. These guys LOVE their antennas. It's amazing how much they can talk about antennas.
by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
Whilst I agree radio was essential, I have to ask the following question.
Why did the telephone system lose backup power?
If I was responsible for telecommunications in a large city I'd make damn sure I was on dual redundant power supplies at all times, with battery backup and diesel generators available 24/7. Getting more diesel shipped in isn't difficult.
How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
Grumble. I passed my 5 and got my Extra two months ago, after studying the code 2 nights a week for 6 weeks.
I had a feeling the FCC would be getting rid of the requirement as soon as I had passed it.
However, I still plan on practicing when I get my HF antenna set up, and when I can afford to get an HF rig I may very well do some CW just for grins.
Within the amateur community, there is a school of thought that having a barrier to entry will keep the cildrens' banders and other scum out. To them, I have a three word response:
seventy-five meters
Which, for those of you who are not hams, is roughly the equivalent of reading at -1 - there have been a lot of right assholes on that band who have done just about every "don't" in the book - transmitted music, cursed, jammed other stations, etc. And that band is only open to Morse qualified operators, and when the troublemakers have been tracked down, they were indeed Morse rated.
(and I *was* going to sign this with my call in Morse, but the stupid lameness filter won't let me.)
www.eFax.com are spammers
On the negative side, there is: "I had to. Why shouldn't everyone else?" With some dyslexia, writing down 65 characters/minute was one of the hardest tests I've passed.
But, practically, it would be a shame not to promote a universal basic level of morse because:
1. You can build a transmitter with a handful of primitive components. It's cheap. It's good for the third world.
2. It's simple. Building a transmitter is a good way for kids to play with electronics.
3. It's efficient as all heck. I believe they figure it broadcasts 10 times as well as voice. A hundred watt transmitter can get you around the world comfortably where a 1000 watts might be desirable for voice. Good on several fronts.
4. It's efficiency is multipled because it's small bandwidth means many people can use the spectrum that one voice amateur takes up.
5. Simplicity is good for emergencies. If the tidal wave has arrived, that is a bad time to discover that the morse keyboard has a short. "Let's see now. H --- E --- L ---- P ---- !"
6. A good part of the reason for an amateur service is for emergencies. Isn't it the zen of every superhero to be able to whip up a temporal viewer out of "stone knives and bearskins" like Spock when the need arises?
It isn't required but it isn't illegal.
So continue using morse code and shut up already.
Fuck, christ almighty you'd think the world was coming to an end...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
How about a broadcaster broadcasting to completely anonymous listeners? That's a trick the Internet has yet to pull off as flawlessly. In this age where the Patriot Act looks to get re-affirmed, and your movie rentals, Tivo watching habits, books you buy or check out of the library, etc. etc. are all being scrutinized... it's nice to know that a long established technology (radio communications) still defies being able to track listeners.
If I'm wrong, I'd love a link to related information on tracking radio listeners, Ham or otherwise.
I8-D
If you can see the sky, you can get the internet. Services like Iridium and Globalstar have made that possible.
As long as the ground stations are still operating. I'm sure thy have redundancy, but a natural disaster at a ground station site could certainly cripple their capacity, if not access altogether (a huge tropical airmass like the one that stayed over the midwest and dumped feet of rain would certainly impede comms to the bird).
Do these services have the capacity to handle the tremendous load of official emergency traffic as well as health and welfare traffic? In a localized disaster area, everyone will be trying to hit the same bird.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
One of the things that the morse tests were most useful for was a weed-out factor. It's the people who were really dedicated to learning and participating in amateur radio that were willing to devote the time and effort necessary to learn the code. That preserved the HF bands for those who are serious about radio.
Aside from that, Morse Code (or CW, as it's also known) is one of the most reliable methods of communication out there. If absolutely nothing else will get through (voice, packet, etc.), Morse Code will. Heck, you don't even need a radio to use Morse Code to communicate in emergencies (see MacGyver, pilot episode, or the Titanic's last desperate attempts (NOT the movie)).
As far as I'm concerned, the primary reason for continued existance of amateur radio, is for training a pool of professional operators for times of disaster, or general need of the public. To remove a tried-and-true, absolutely reliable method of communications from that pool of training is a mistake.
While I got my extra class license after the code requirements were dropped to 5WPM, I am glad that I still had to learn the code, and would have gladly worked it up to 21WPM if it had been required. Also, the new legislation makes it an automatic upgrade from Tech to General if this movement is passed. That's rediculous, there was a testing requirement too! The knowledge of FCC rules, antenna theory, and electronics needed to get a technician class license is nothing compared to that needed for a general class license, they should not automatically upgrade techs to generals, make them study for it at least, don't just go handing out free priviledges.
I think the FCC will be making a monumental mistake if they remove the Morse Code requirement.
That's easy...because it's FUN!
ITU regs have always stated that amateur transmissions, because of their unimportance and their non-commercial nature, recourse to the public telecommunications infrastructure is not warranted. In other words, it never really was about passing messages to remote islands, etc. Realistically, the amateur service is about learning the science of radio communications, and furthering the radio art.
Yes, it's been used extensively in emergencies (one of the best examples was the VU4 team's handling of traffic after the tsunami disaster in the Andamans last December, to name only one), but that's not the reason for the amateur service's existance -- much to the dismay of many Hamsexy weatherwhackers and stormchasers! No, the amateur service exists to further the art of radio and electronics. One learns and practices good communication techniques, gains an understanding of propagation, antenna theory, interferance mitigation and related best-practices. Hopefully one also learns new (and old) means of communicating.
As to Morse, when I was licensed originally in Canada in 1979 it was 10 WPM solid 100% copy for 3 minutes, sending and receiving. You were required to operate only in CW on HF for a minimum of ONE YEAR before the Department of Communications (Now Industry Canada) would even allow you to sit for the Advanced exam--which was brutally difficult, by the way! 12 Essay questions of which you were required to answer 10 and they chose the 7 best. A score of 75% was pass. The Advanced code exam was 15 WPM sending and receiving, 100% copy for 3 minutes.
In my mind, the self-discipline these exams required led to a good group of operators who were patient, skilled and an asset to amateur radio. The current dumbing-down of the curriculum and now the elimination of the CW requirement is just another step along the "I want it all and I want it NOW" mentaility that's polluting society at large.
Amateur Radio in the United States is about to discover its own version of "Eternal September" once the CW requirement is dropped for full HF access. As it stands now, most of these Extra-Lites that I hear on the bands are a joke. I've had a so-called Extra ask me what CTCSS was for and how to set it up (a younger 20-something who'd been licensed for 2 years). I dread the tought of seeing him or those of his ilk operate on HF.
Would learning (though not using) code cure all that ails the amateur service? No, probably not, but I do think it acts as a bit of a gatekeeper, weeding out those without the self-discipline that really is needed on the bands. For me, I hated CW for most of the 26 years I've been licensed, but the more I enjoy DXing, the more I'm getting bitten by the CW bug.
Now, with this odious NPRM hanging over the head of the U.S. Amateur Radio service, more than ever I'm bound and determined to boost my code to at least the 15 WPM I needed in my 1981 Canadian Advanced exam, and preferably to the 20 that I'd have needed for my U.S. Extra-class back in the day. My goal is to pass a 20 WPM qualifying run and proficiency test in the next 18 months. That way, when the hordes of codeless wonders invades the phone portions, I can settle in comfortably at 7003 and 10103 and have a little fun!
Cheers, Peter, W2IRT
(rant mode on)
/.
Well, I don't sit around talking about my hemorrhoids while eating prunes, as some here posted. I was first licensed in 1969, and hold the same call sign since 1972. Guess what, I'm the guy up high enough in the company to decide whether or not you get to practice all that new knowledge your brand new CS degree says you have. You'd be surprised to find where all those old farts are in business. Oh yeah, I'm a well known open source contributor as well. So much for all that "only new brains can be creative" crap typical on
(rant mode off)
Hopefully, the preceding rant will attract attention and folks will read on. I'm not going to rehash how amateur radio is there in emergencies, how local hams contributed to 9/11 or the last devastating weather event, earthquake, etc. Nor am I going to debate internet versus amateur radio. These are tangents to the real discussion.
As I mentioned, I learned Morse code a long time ago. Frankly, I found that I could do 5 WPM by simply memorizing the dits and dahs and matching them to what I heard. Most of the hams I know would probably agree as to how simple 5 WPM really is, but that should not be a reason to keep the code requirement.
I think that most hams see it as a barrier to entry, not for people who want to be hams, but all those morons who rush out to buy CB radios and want to play "good buddy" with all the truckers. I can safely say that no ham will ever tell anyone who is interested in amateur radio to go away. In fact, most hams I know talk about how to attract more young people into the hobby. No real ham will stand in your way. If he or she does, I'd like to see that individual's license taken away, not support the individual.
For me, amateur radio was how I got hooked into getting an engineering degree. Even now, it is a place for me to experiment with hardware and software in communications settings. By September, I'll have an experimental software defined radio on the air and have some fun as I learn some new stuff. Do I need Morse Code for this? Of course not.
Will I use Morse Code in the future? Sure will. In fact, as more and more people forget code, I'll cherish my ability as something that differentiates me from the masses. In fact, after a long hiatus, I just recently returned to code and enjoy every minute of it.
As a ham, I think the code requirement is dated. It doesn't really stop morons from getting on the air. A scan of the 75 meter QSOs any evening should help you get over your fears that no code will allow irresponsible individuals to run rampant and spoil the hobby. I would not advocate removing the code only portions of the HF bands, which is the next logical step in this process. CW and other digital modes need the spectrum allocation to prevent potential interference from the wider bandwidth modes.
In a related step, I'd like to see 11 meters taken back into amateur radio as a band for an entry level, no test license. Other, better services exist to fill the need CB radio originally addressed and 11 meters would make a great place to get people interested in the hobby.
OK folks, flame on!
Telephone lost backup because grid power was down, and was out long enough to exhaust backup power.
;-)
Many people coordinating this kind of setup do think just like that. Redundant power is pretty much protecting you against a construction incident, or similar. Remember, here isn't exactly a competitor in power delivery that you can buy from. If the grid goes down, you still lose power.
Getting diesel in is *usually* easy enough. Unless all travel to an area is cut off.
I've had my amateur radio license for 13 years now. Went from no-code tech to extra in the space of a year.
How I managed to learn morse code is interesting. You see, I'd purchased the Gordon West series but never had a solid block of time to sit down and practice.
Then came a 4th of July camping trip. All it did was rain all week. I had my walkman, plenty of batteries, and the tapes, books, etc. as I was also studying for the General license.
By the end of that week I was proficient at 5WPM. Got some practice on HF, as I operated exclusively CW for the first 8 or so months I had my license. Fortunately I had friends who were Advanced and Extras so I could operate in those bands with them as control operator.
From there I took a new test about every two or three months. A year to the day of getting my no-code I had my extra. Hey, I even have 2x1 call. Kilo Delta One Sierra. Yeah, yeah, I got it under the vanity program. I also hold WE1RD as a club call.
So getting my extra the old fashioned way gives my bitching rights. If I did it, they should have to do it.
You can bet I'll be commenting once the NPRM comes out. And it won't be in favor of abolishing morse code. Hey, look what saved the world in the movie Indepence Day. Dah-dit-dah.
Navaids broadcast their identifier using Morse. That's how you verify you've tuned in to the right facility.
The code for each navaid is printed on the sectional chart. It's very easy enough to figure them out without really *knowning* Morse code since the identifiers are only 3 chars long and are transmitted very slowly.
The days of those navaids are numbered too. NDBs are dropping like flies already, and are not being repaired/replaced as the 30-50 year old hardware fails. Discussions for end-of-lifing VOR/VORDME/VORTAC/TACANs have already been in the works for a few years too.
didah dahdididi dahdahdah dididah dah - dah didi dahdah di didahdidahdidah
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
Yes, and it amazes me that anyone would consider removing the morse requirement.
...).
Benefits of Morse code:
1) Lowest signal to noise ratio of any communications system.
2) Lowest power requirements.
3) Lowest bandwidth requirement.
4) You could in theory make a transmitter out of any very simple electrical circuit (perhaps limited range, but
5) An operator can still twitch out a message even if they can speak or they're batteries are low.
I.e. for emergency communications this is simply the best fail safe method.
Removing the requirement is just as silly as removing the navigation by sextant requirement (cough, o' they did that one too!).
Anyhow, I'm not a HAM, but it seems to me they're just lowering the entry barrier for little benefit.
So, I have no personal stake in the requirements other than I'd like these people to be good enough to justify their access to the rather valuable section of the RF spectrum we've set aside for them. I'd like to think they might be able to put together a radio from components if needed.
Even more important, I like knowing that there is a group of people out their who can communicate over pretty much any channel, radio or not, using the simpliest possible code. There are times (albeit rare) when the only communication you have is banging on a pipe with a large wrench, or flashing a light. I highly doubt that "Radio Shack" has the components to build a decent long-range HAM setup these days, but pretty much anyone can figure out a way to transmit long and short pulses using stuff found anywhere.
You need to know Morse code. What if you get stuck in the brig of a starship in the 23rd century, and someone is trying to break you out (a la Star Trek 5: The Final Bomb)?
That's because it is one of the few things that are still better to build yourself than buy. There are very few of us out there who can build as good a radio as what Icom/Yeasu/Kenwood can sell us. Those of us who like to build things have taken more to making accessories for the radios instead of the radio itself (not counting the QRP (low power) guys who still are able to get radio kits and build their own stuff).
The reason we all talk about them is because the antenna is the most important part of the circuit from a radiation prospective, and is usually very easy and cheap to build, using simple parts found at the home center. I have a mix of commercial and homebrew antennas, and the commerical antennas work just fine, but I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't get a good deal on them -the exception being on my car... I can't see being able to build something that will stand up to that kind of abuse.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
The radio amateur bands are now getting cluttered with non-technical everyday walkie-talkie people....you know ...those found chatting about your toaster for hours on the CB bands
Im one of those that grew up with components & tech stuff for everyday purposes...the type thatd run down to radio shack for some electronic components to fix your video.
The Radio Amateur hobby was another way to learn more and to build your own stuff without getting it trough the system and we could communicate with the likes of us...in other words other people with tech-knowhow. That was a lot of fun.
When the Morse license where removed here in Denmark...a lot of new potential radio amateurs came in...and we thougt that would be great....
Unfortunately things wherent as great as weve hoped for. Most CB-Banders that have no interest in technical stuff...are just interested in more channels and more people to chat with, they have no interest in the traditional ham-radio...just using the bands. They have no interest in buliding stuff,...and they just saw the license as a new playground.
Over time...the serious radio amateur dissappears..and the bands get "Bullied" by the "CBers" who have an entirely different culture than "our own"...No polliteness...no logging...no organization...in other words...they dragged along their habits from the CB bands and litterally destroyed Ham Radio for what it was worth.
The demands for a "Morse code" license for the additional bands wherent just merely about morse...it was serving as a "Filter" to sift away those that wouldnt bother with the effort it took to learn it.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
As a kid, I wanted my ham radio license. Knew the technical stuff well enough. Thought I had Morse code down adequately (not well, but enough to pass); went to take the test, listened to a few minutes of beeps, scrawled a few words, missed too many, failed the test, and just plain lost interest.
... but fact is it was Morse code that discouraged an otherwise eager and knowledgeable teenager from joining the ranks of Amateur Radio.
... but that's the kind of thing that those actively in the hobby may choose to take up later; it's such a lame and rarely-used yet required starting point that it just turns off a majority of those who might otherwise become enthusiastic participants. It sure turned me off at an impressionable age.
Everything about the test seemed geared toward discouragement. The most obnoxious part of the test - Morse code - was first, not even letting me get far enough to succeed in part of the test (electronics was no problem) and develop a desire to finish it. The audio used was significantly different from actual radio tones - enough so that the other guy taking the test complained loudly. I learned the code visually from books, which was encouraged yet doesn't translate to another sense very well. Yes, I could have done it and my complaints can be explained away
Later the no-code license became available - but that was too late (having already been burned/discouraged), and was limited to a minimal license which is sneered at in ham radio circles.
Yes, Morse code has its use as a resilliant noise-tolerant bare-bones comm method
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Time and time again the Morse code people send messges faster than those using cell messaging or Blackberries. Sometimes desktop touch-typing can be faster.
KC0NBY KC0NBY this is KC9HXG
I whole heartily agree. Not to mention with all the homebrew projects and compilcated electronics, Ham Radio is the Linux of communication media. I'm surprised more geeks aren't involved.
KC9HXG clear
It's about time the morse code was dropped. A lot of old farts are convinced the world is ending, because they had to take a test in 1960 in front of the FCC, and want the rest of us to go through the same thing. These are the same folk who dislike www.hamsexy.com, proving hams can laugh at themselves, and that there is a young side to the hobby too. There are still the written tests, which will keep the CB'er out. Most hams on voice admit they can't remember enough morse to operate...so whats the point ? Way back when CB was cool, I went to a ham club. They were all very nice, and explained that if I learned code, I could communicate worldwide. Since it was the peak of the sunspots, I already had most of the lower 48 states without trying too hard (50 watts) on the CB. It didn't make sense to have to learn 13 words per minute (real literacy of code) to be able to use voice again, to talk mostly the same distances. Now, a technically minded person can see the wonder of radio communications, and get involved in worldwide contacts with only a battery radio and wire. No dial tones or cable hookup needed ! And, if they get really interested, are NOT told, you have to learn Mandarin (er, morse code) to get a licence. Google "Yaesu VX-2R" if you want to see what ham radio is up to. Any computer geek reading this can pass ham exams with a little study-and it makes a lot more sense than computer language.
The benefits of Morse Code are that it will work with the least amount of power, and over the longest and the noisiest channels out there. It is digital communication in its most basic form. Because Amateur Radio is used as an emergency service, it makes sense to me to ensure that operators of that service can communicate over such channels - it doesn't seem like a good idea to trust that in an emergency situation, that you'll have all the supplies you need (e.g., electricity), or that you'll be anywhere close to assistance.
Amateur Radio operators need to be able to understand Morse, even if they don't intend to use it themselves. Why? Suppose that someone is in a situation (perhaps in emergency or distress) and Morse is the only method they can use to communicate. Go on, use your imagination, I'm sure you can think of situations where this might be the case - not in the first world, but perhaps the second or third. Now imagine that Morse isn't required for obtaining a license so nobody needs to knows Morse anymore. How many people are going to understand, much less respond, to that distress signal? Exactly.
If you're going to get an Amateur Radio license, it makes sense to learn some Morse. It's important, really, it is. Saying you can't, or that you don't want to bother, is sheer laziness - go use the Childrens - er, sorry, Citizens - Band instead, if you don't want to put in the effort. There are computer programs out there you can use to learn Morse, it's not really that hard. I mean, when I got my General's license, I had to copy at 13 WPM, outside, with distractions. 5 WPM, indoors, without distractions is cake compared to that.
Matt (N1VSB)
I had to learn Morse long time ago, and it's not hard at all.
Good for you.
I don't learn such things particularly well, I did try to learn Morse, I did take the test, I did fail it, and - beeng a teenager then - just plain lost interest. I would have aced the rest of the test, and gone on to be an enthusiastic ham operator, but having to learn an archaic, slow, uninteresting, unfamiliar, (for some) nearly unlearnable, and largely unused comm protocol just shut off my interest entirely.
Imagine having to get a "amateur computer programmer" license today, having to know Z80 machine code to pass the test. May be interesting for advanced programmers, but it's just pointless and discouraging for bright-eyed newbies.
Imagine "sure we'll let you use this nifty new Pentium M notebook - but to get permission you'll have to punch the right holes in this paper tape to make a PDP-8 boot." You'd lose a lot of bright beginners right there.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Huh. They'll be removing the requirement just in time for the morse code revival: Morse on cellphones.
Who woulda thought?!
...unfortunately no one can be told what The Mat^H^H^HGoatse is...they must experience it for themselves...
Each winter, just after the Christmas holiday, the airwaves become cluttered with lids/morons who got a ham radio but don't have a license.
Where do you live? I've been a ham for about 23 years, active on HF, VHF and UHF, and I have never observed this phenomena.
However, starting each January 1st, and ending on December 31st, you can tune around the 75 meter phone band, and hear a bunch of lids/morons who got a ham radio, and shouldn't have a license! Note: all of these guys passed a code test, so don't tell me that a code requirement keeps out the riff-raff.
73, N0EYE
I'm angry, and I Meta Moderate!
Long ago, in the pre-internet days, me had a earthquake here in Argentina, and a city ended up isolated because a crack it the earth broke the telephone wires.
A radio ham took his car, his equipment and two pieces of weed to go across cracks on the soil and started driver.
He reached the isolated city (where no ham radio lived in) and he was the only means of communication and coordination for DAYs!
Why to keep morse ?
Well, in a ham event that was done in a park here, everyone has to go and stablish communication to earn points. Everyone was there, contacting Argentina (where we are, Buenos Aires), Uruguay, Chile, Brazil.
My morse code teacher, a little old man, installed an antenna consisting of a couple of wires tided up to two threes (something very obsolete to the kinds of antennas other people were using), so, he started stablishing communication and he got to Asia! Yes, from South America to Asia!!! Of course he gain the longest communication award and it was thanks to morse. Morse is so much easier to carry than voice that you can take it much farther and with poorer equipment (something that is common outside USA).
Remember Independence day ? the movie. The counter strike against the aliens was done over morse for a reason, even when is was a movie. Think about it.
Pupeno
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned in the comments so far is that it is possible for a beginner with limited funds to build transmitters and receivers that are useful for c.w. operation from scratch. This is not the case with equipment for f.m. or single sideband voice operation. Thus, although learning Morse code is a hurdle that is formidable to some, once mastered it opens up many possibilities for technical experimentation.
I've now been a ham for over forty years. In my youth ham radio was for young geeks what computers have become now. My friends and I built our transmitters from parts scavenged from old radios and televisions, and in the process learned skills that later helped us when we built our own computers.
Some say learning Morse code is easy. For them that may have been true, but not all people learn things in the same way. As a teen-ager it took me two years from the time I decided I wanted to be a ham to the time I could pass a 5 word-per-minute Novice code test. It took me a full year to pass the next hurdle, the 13 word per minute test for a General license. It was almost 15 years more before I could pass the Extra Class 20 word per minute test. So I am completely sympathetic with those who say learning Morse code is a barrier. For some that is certainly true. I say let them into ham, radio, let them see how hard it can be to make yourself heard with a 100 watt transmitter competing on crowded voice bands, and then let them meet some of the operators who regularly succeed with 5 or 10 watt homebuilt rigs using Morse. Some may then decide it's worth the effort.
I am a licensed no-code tech. I keep on meaning to upgrade, but I really don't like morse code. I'd upgrade in a minute if the code requirement were eliminated.
But I thought the written test for technician was too easy. General is a bit tougher, but I think there needs to be more modern questions, i.e. things about psk31 and mfsk16, etc. These are the modes that newcomers will most likely use on the HF bands.
Amateur Radio does need a shot in the arm. THe kids that used to get interested in Radio and become licensed and active hams how are more interested in the Internet. Even though there are still people getting their license at a young age, many of them are not active.
Speaking of being active, I am going to go get on the radio. I wonder how 6 meters is doing. See you on 52.525!
I have had my license for 22 years. I sat in on the first exam back in Oct 1982. At that time, the exams were done by the FCC and not the ARRL. For Indianapolis, the visit was every 3 months. I failed it the first time even the novice 5 wpm. When the FCC testers returned, I barely passed the 13 wpm test which allowed me to sit on the Novice/General Exam elements. The morse code test was a 10 question exam and I got 7 right. When I satr previously, I barely failed the novice 5 wpm and really flunked the 13 wpm exam. Within a year, I sat for the Advanced license exam but failed it. With College coming up and other things, I never had the chance to retake the Advanced until 1992. I was looking at sitting in for the Extra but have yet to get to it.
One guy I knew in grad school attempted and passed the Extra license examination before the 20 wpm morse code requirements was lifted. He did not want to be called "Extra Lite".
An intersting thing is up until the early 1960's, Amateur Radio was thriving especially businesses selling the equipment. Around 1963, there was something called "Incentive Licensing" where if you have given privileges, unless you upgraded, they would be lost. Novices had a couple of phone bands where afterward, if you were a Novice, you could only do CW and no phone, SSTV or any other mode. The Incentive Licensing was a dabacle where quite a few businesses and magazines catering to Amateur Radio went out of business.
Today, even though I have the Advanced Class license, I do mostly VHF/UHF/SHF stuff these days. I don't have the property to put up a good skyhook. I would like to do some 160m but it requires a long antenna.
Once again we see the absurdity of the FCC. Anyone who wants to can get a radio, it's the "law abiding" who are stuck with all the hurdles and bureaucratic handstands required to get "licenses", just like "criminals" attaching amplifiers to their CB radios.
Here's a great article on the subject:
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1662
"The Spectrum Should Be Private Property."
Bob-
The Ludwig von Mises Institute. The reasoning individuals economics
Is there much point, all in all, in going for the higher level licenses, or should I just stick with the low-band entry level ones?
That all depends on what you plan to do on the air. If you're interested in mostly local communication with other hams in the area on VHF/UHF frequencies, the Technician license will allow you to do that. The local repeaters (and non-repeater simplex channels) are also most commonly used for local emergency communications, since most emergencies are of a local nature (severe weather is the most common). As a Technician you'd have no privileges on frequencies below 50 MHz unless you passed the code test, while it's still in effect, but even then you'd have limited privileges (mostly CW) on a few bands. You could still take part in HF emergency communications as a member of a team that had other operators with higher-class licenses as long as they are the control operators.
The Technician exam isn't difficult. You can learn all you need to know to pass the exam from books and other learning aids, or by taking classes from a local club. You can even take practice tests online using the actual FCC question pool.
The General Class license would give you at least some frequency privileges on every amateur band, including the MF and HF spectrum (ten frequency bands ranging from 1.8-29.7 MHz), where worldwide communication is commonplace. You could use voice, Morse Code, image (slow-scan television), data (PSK31, radioteletype, etc) and newer modes like digital voice. But as was mentioned earlier, most of the choice DX (stations in rare foreign countries) is found in the band segments reserved for Extra Class operators only. And a lot of hams in those countries are nowhere nearly as well-off as most of us are in the US, so their stations tend to be limited in capability and many only operate CW, so there's where knowing the code comes in handy. As an Extra, you don't have to remember which frequencies you can and can't use. And if you're interested in the thrilling aspect of radio known as "contesting", an Extra Class license is desirable.
Go for the Technician license as a starting point. Then, join a club (or just meet other local hams on the air) and get a taste of other areas of the hobby you'd like to explore. The club members can probably help you learn what you need to know to upgrade. 73 es hpe CU on the air soon!
Im generally an optimist, but if you all cant see the state of the world today and realize that within our lifetimes (im 28 BTW) we will see another civil war or some type of large scale battle take place on american soil, then you are sadly misguided. When whatever fate that is going to befall this nation happens (and it will) i and all of you will be looking to the people who know how to survive, rebuild, and genarly carry on because they just know how to do "stuff". A few people out of the population who know Morse in a time of crisis will be invaluable. Everytime we loosen testing, remove protocols, and drop required knowledge from our standards, we are just proving how ignorant we are as a society. At some point everything we take for granted will be taken away or just wont work, and will be forced to fall back to older practices....which no one will remember. I was reminded of this in the simplist way, a week ago while watching the craptastic summer blockbuster "War of the Worlds" when the car mechanic is the only one who can get a functioning vehicle to leave town.
Don't ya hate it when the correct spelling of your favorite screen name is taken?
As a new ham myself...maybe a year and a half on the air now...I think it's fair to say that the morse REQUIREMENT should die.
The reason is simple. The morse technique can still be used to send packetized data, ala 300 baud modems and the like. Simple enough to keep a psk31 setup and use that instead of code. What I'm saying is that automatic code sending and recieiving is so inexpensive these days so as to make the real use of code by humans...less relevant.
Dont get me wrong, I admire those who can send and recieve code. The purpose of the amateur service is, however, to advance the hobby and science of radio telecommunications. Morse is well established and it WILL be a matter of pride among hams to learn, build, use, and compete with code. It does not serve to advance the hobby, the art and science, or the emergency services nature of ham radio to limit it to those who can master the morse code when we have such advanced radio technology.
In short, I dont need code because more advanced technology is affordable. We dont need people to experiment with code keys anymore, we need people to experiment with last mile solutions. The only way to encourage that is to change the focus of the license.
73's
I couldn't disagree with you more. What's wrong with belonging to an elite hobby? Destroy its uniqueness and you end up destroying what made it so special.
How about changing the rules for MENSA? Instead of the top 2% how about letting in the top 20%? The MENSA membership would grow and that's surely a good thing right?
There's sheer poetry in code and now few people will come to know it. Once that happens the new majority of lids, kids and space cadets occupying the phone portion of the band will demand the bandwidth occupied by cw as well.
This will totally destroy a once great hobby.
Man Holmes
it amazes me that anyone would consider removing the morse requirement.
Remember, they are not removing a ham's ability to use Morse - only the need to demonstrate proficiency in Morse in order to use unrelated modes and frequencies. The benefits you listed are all excellent reasons for using Morse, and for those reasons its use will persist for a long time to come.
Oh, there's one more you forgot:
6) It's just plain FUN!
it seems to me they're just lowering the entry barrier for little benefit
One of the arguments has long been that it is in fact a barrier that was keeping out otherwise technically qualified individuals. That may have been more true back when all classes of license required a code test, and the HF licenses (General, Advanced, Extra) required 13 or 20 wpm proficiency. However, 5wpm is easy enough for anyone to learn so it's really not a barrier any more. The Commission's proposal basically recognizes that and acknowledges the ITU's action to eliminate the Morse proficiency requirement for HF operators worldwide (but leaving it up to individual countries). For a long time we've had the "no-code" Technician license, and it's brought in thousands of new hams who are active in public service and technical advancement.
But I'm afraid that removing the Morse Code requirement entirely will be a large disservice to the amateur radio service in the long run. Most people who use CW now do so in part because they were required to learn it in order to get HF privileges. There are a lot of people out there that said that they HATED the whole Morse code learning process, but once they passed their exam and started using it on the air, it became their favorite mode. What will happen to these types of individuals when the requirement is gone? Sure, there will be people who will be self-motivated, but it's hard to tell what percentage of people were motivated to learn Morse only because of the requirement. I'm of the opinion that that the 5 WPM requirement (which is very very slow, you almost fall asleep listening to it) should be preserved for at least the Amateur Extra class.
However, it appears to some of us that this issue is not no-code vs. code, but is simply the FCC wanting to make things easier for themselves and drop the whole Morse Code requirement entirely, rather than arrive at a more reasonable compromise. It looks like it's more about laziness than about the actual merits of removing the Morse Code requirement.
73,
AE6QG
Obviously the Dept of Homeland Security thinks it is important. I just got back from a meeting with the Police & Fire Cheifs from my town. They are funding me and a couple of the other hams in our town about $5000 for equipment and towers so we can provide emergency communications. The police dept has radio equipment that can contact the surrounding towns but nothing that can reach the state capitol. They do not rely on the Internet or cell phones as they have proven (9/11) to not to be robust enough.
The same activity is going on in all the surrounding local towns as well. Us hams have worked together to purchase similar equipment so operating in one EOC is not much different than another. We are not in some backwoods area either, we are in the second most expensive county in the US. These police and fire depts are outfitted with all the latest and greatest. But they still see a need for the hams to be there for backup.
Morse is fine for a communication backbone format. But it should be done in the background. With microcontrollers selling for 25 cents each that can convert Morse to ASCII and back, learning the code isn't really important any more. ..." becomes spoken 'A'-'M'-'O'-'S' and back again.
Microprocessors aren't going to go away. They're going to continue to get more powerful, more reliable, and cheaper. There's no real need to rely on century-old technology forms to ensure reliability in amateur radio communication. Just put in a 50-cent uC that converts Morse to voice
".- - ---
I'm a ham in the US, Extra class.
The point of communicating via radio vs. Internet is because I can. There is no challenge in sending an email or IM. No skill is involved, and no luck. With ham radio, I need some skill, some luck, and some cool toys to communicate. My license allows me to build, tinker with, and use communications systems that otherwise I couldn't mess with.
It's not that computers and the Internet aren't cool, it's just that I use them day after day for work and play, and I need a break after awhile.
That's my reason. I'm sure others will talk about advancing the state of the art and emergency services. Those are good reasons, too.
Re: morse code - it's obsolete, get over it. It's fun to use, and useful at times, but no longer absolutely necessary. The skill will live on with hobbyists, the same way that other ancient skills (e.g., blacksmithing) survive because of hobbyists and artists.
If God had meant for man to see the sunrise, He would have scheduled it later in the day.
somewhere near me there is likely someone who can communicate with other people around the world under pretty much any conditions short of a massive EMP
Lots of us even have that covered. I keep an old AN/GRC-19 set around "just in case". It's a military rig from the 60s that uses EMP-hard tubes. Output power is 100 watts, which is good for about 50 miles with a 15-foot whip antenna. Of course, I'll be scrounging car batteries left and right to operate it, since it draws some hefty amps, but since 95% of the cars on the road today won't survive an EMP, I don't think they'll be in short supply.
Just junk food for thought...
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"Look! There! Evil, pure and simple from the Eighth Dimension!" --Buckaroo Banzai
"What is the point of amateur radio when the Internet has connected most of the globe?" A chimp could do that, there's no challenge to it. And Echolink isn't real ham radio either IMHO. "Merl"
Although that's reason enough for me, consider times of extreme emergency. It's awful nice to have a supply of well equipped radio geeks handy.
Blogging because I can...
Peronally, I support removing the 5WPM for basic HF privileges. I learned it years ago when I got my license, but I can see how it's becoming an antiquated requirement. I like the idea of the Tech and General being non-code, but requiring a 5WPM test if one wants to get the Extra class license. IMO, Morse shouldn't be a requiment to get into the hobby. However, I have no problem with requiring it for the the "top-of-the-line" license privileges.
Don't get me wrong. I think CW is a great way to communicate and want to get back into it. However, I just think it's past time that it be a requirement for basic HF.
"It's too bad stupidity isn't painful." - A. S. LaVey
The hams were most likely in complete compliance with FCC regulations. The fault is in your appliances that were poorly designed so as to be susceptible to external interference. Most hams are more than willing to work with interference complaints and help you install proper filters on your equipment. See the ARRL information about interference here .
This is also one of the reason that I use code in conjunction with low power so as to avoid this sort of problem. The other reason is that it's so much fun.
I am in agreement with the other poster who proposed that the code requirement be lifted except for the Extra class license. That way the majority of licensees would have HF (Shortwave) privileges without having to learn code.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
The quote "The Commission said it believes dropping Element 1--the 5 WPM Morse examination--would "encourage individuals who are interested in communications technology, or who are able to contribute to the advancement of the radio art, to become amateur radio operators."" If someone doesn't even have the drive to learn the measly 5wpm required do you really think they are going to 'advance the radio art!??" God the fcc is lame.
I live in Alaska... When the net is down, which it sometimes is as our line to Seattle drops, what else do we do?
Microsoft Sucks, F/OSS Rocks. I get mod points now right?
Could you expand on UPS's role? I'm not familar with it. Thanks.
-molo
Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
Wow...we got our tickets at almost the same time ;)
KG4FVY
Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
I don't see what all the whining is about. 5wpm isn't a big deal. So what if you never use it? I never use any of the ancient programming languages they made me learn. CW has its merits, it's fun, it's simple, it's rewarding, it doesn't require a computer (which is nice when the power is out).
On the other hand, most of the people you talk to on HF anymore already don't know the code well enough to use it, so there's no really difference. Those who still want to use it will, those who don't, won't. Getting rid of the requirement won't change that. It's the combination of that and changing to regulation by bandwidth rather than mode that might lead to the death of CW.
So quit whining about being denied HF privledges because you simply don't want to learn morse code, and quit whining that your bands will be overrun by no-code n00bz because they're already there and you don't have to talk to em if you don't want to (in fact, you _can't_ talk to em if you're using CW).
....but:
Turns out he'd landed at the Wilmington International Airport.
Holy crap! (coming from someone who knows nothing about hang gliding)
Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
I look at it in pretty much the same way as those who insist on riding horses. Yes, there are places and applications where this sort of thing is still the best fit for the job. But for the most part, we're talking about a hobby here.
I say this as one who passed the original 20 word per minute test and who can still converse comfortably at 25 WPM on the air. I don't understand what all the fuss is about.
The important question here is not whether there will ever be anyone using morse code. The question is whether the Federal Communications Commission should have any interest to perpetuate this mostly impractical mode of communication. To wit: Do examiners demand that you demonstrate a proficiency for riding horses before issuing you a motor vehicle license?
The ARRL has in the past issued certificates for those who can demonstrate the ability to copy morse code at speeds of up to 40 Words Per Minute. It can be fun to prove that you can pass such a test. Thus, there always can be achievement tests for those who seek to prove a degree of totally impractical performance. Hey, we still have horse races, rodeos, trail rides, and fox hunts. But almost nobody seriously uses a horse to commute to work.
My question for the FCC is basically, does this test have sufficient value that we should maintain it as a prerequisite for receiving a federally regulated license? Or can we finally say that, despite the few applications where it might be useful, that Morse Code performance should be relegated to a hobby interest?
Nearly fifty percent of all graduates come from the bottom half of the class!
CW (the mode used to transmit Morse Code) is not only easily propagated through the air, it's also the easiest to set up equipment-wise. One of ham radio's primary purposes is emergency communications, isn't it?
I'm sure the CW requirement does discourage people from coming into ham radio, but no more than it always has. The problem is just the human race which is evolving into different things all the time. Now the radio hobby has always existed with me side-by-side with computers, and I was interested in computers years before I became interested in the radio hobby. But I'd say since most people do not own a ham radio license, most people of this era just don't care. Perhaps it will come back as a fad. Who knows?
Don't pull the code. It will greatly harm emergency efforts in the future, and it won't make that much of a difference in the rate of new applicants.
73 DE K3DRQ
I have mixed feelings about the abolishment of morse. I have been a licensed Ham for over 40 years, but more-or-less lost interest when I discovered computers 25 years ago. Since then I have occasionally operated a station, but not in the last five. I'm starting to get the bug again. Maybe I'll drag out my old Yaesu and get back on the bands.
Morse is an artform, and one that is often useful as well. It requires regular practice and a certain gift, or talent to do well. But low speed Morse can be mastered by anyone who really wants to.
Requiring Morse for Ham operating no longer makes much sense in the real world. But it's advantages and capabilities make keeping a pool of Morse operators around a good thing. To that end, while I would like to see it eliminated as a barrier to entry for the Ham bands, I would like to see it kept as an endorsement for extra privileges and recognition.
I would like to see each class of Ham license require only a written exam to pass, and the licensee have full privileges, except for a tiny sliver of bandwidth on each band reserved for Morse operation. A simple 5 WPM morse test would add the necessary endorsement to gain access to that sub-band. There are already code segments on the bands, so this wouldn't really be much of a change.
I would even support a second code endorsement at 13 WPM purely as a vanity thing. In other words, passing the faster test is something to brag about, but doesn't really add new privileges. Maybe granting access to a couple more code sub-bands, just to give a little incentive, but the "Basic Morse" endorsement and the "Advanced Morse" endorsement would mostly amount to the same thing.
Morse's glory days are past, but that doesn't mean we should completely bury it. It's an efficient and capable tool in the communications armamentarium, and encouraging those already so inclined to maintain and develop those skills is desirable. But keeping it as a requirement for entry to the august world of Ham Radio is ludicrous.
Nat
That was just beaten into us. The identify portion involves verifying you have the correct station by listening to the morse code identifier.
Yes, it's doable for most. I did it. However, it wasn't really easy. I had to spend far more time studying more code to pick it up at 5 wpm than I did studying for all the written tests needed to get to Extra class.
People who are older, or have certain handicaps often just can't learn Morse code at all, no matter how much they try. And why make somebody study something they'll never use? psk31 has most f the benefits of CW with regards to low power and punching through interference, but requires no Morse code knowledge to use.
Personally, I'd have suggested keeping the Morse code requirement for the Extra class, but getting rid of the requirement entirely is the next best thing. Certainly, you don't need CW to work HF, but under the current system, you get no access to HF until you've passed the code test.
I'd like to see the FCC drop the requirement for general, but require something faster than 5 wpm for Extra and for Morse bands. The reason is that high-speed (30-40wpm and above) and low-speed Morse are quite different. At low speeds, you hear each individual dot and dash, whereas at high speed, each letter is a different squawk. Learning low-speed Morse does not make learning high-speed Morse much easier; you just get blocked at 20wpm when you can no longer parse the sounds quickly enough.
To ramp up with high-speed Morse code, you need Farnsworth mode, i.e. each letter is transmitted as though it were 50wpm or so, but you leave space between them to reduce the overall speed to 5wpm or whatever you can parse.
I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
Hey Dan,
It may be helpful to document a situation where CW did make a difference in an emergency situation. Say some emergency that occured in the past 10 years or so.
Senior NCO in the fight against entropy. I've seen things, man. Things no one should have to see.....
Can't post any damn morse code because the Lameness Filter thinks it's ASCII art. Guess /. needs this rule change as much as anybody.
RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
Don't most repeaters still identify themselves in Morse code? I don't think being able to send Morse is a usefull skill, since it is so easy to get a PC to do it for you. But being able to parse the Morse code you are hearing is still a usefull skill.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I must say, quite off-topicly (that's a word now, because I said so), that I visited an FCC office the other day, and the navels do look very nice. Well-kept. Not a piece of lint in the building. It's really no wonder that they do so much navel gazing. If I had one like theirs, I'd have a hard time taking my eyes off it.
What is the point of amateur radio when the Internet has connected most of the globe?
:-)
What is the point of Linux, when Windows does everything anyone would want and you don't have to compile a kernel or use a command line?
Tired of being "punished" by the Slashdot $rtbl since 2002. I'm now over at http://soylentnews.org/ .
Only if the old firemen remember the books.
I'm having a terrible time learning morse.
And I learned morse code three times. First time was when I got a pair of Radio Shack walkie-talkies when I was six. They had the code right on the radio and had a beeper. My friends and I got fairly proficient. Then, twice agian, a few years apart in Boy Scouts. At that time, I never used it beyond the specific functions I learned it for, so I forgot it after the first function and have since forgotten it again.
Some things stick really well in my long-term memory but Morse code isn't one of them. I'm the same with Palm Graffiti.
I have no doubt I could learn it again in a couple days to take a Ham test, and probably do darn well on it, but then I'd just never use it and forget it again. So I'm a different kind of example of why the test isn't such a wonderful idea.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Those redundant backbone networks are nice, but they don't exist in the last mile. That's where damage is most likely to occur.
I agree completely. And - although I don't work at an ISP and therefore don't have any network plans - I also doubt that there is much redundancy in the backbone networks.
Traceroute do not support this (every time the same hops to similar locations) and "cost cutting" is a far more important word than "reliability".
The operation headquarters for dealing with the rescue effort and the aftermath was run out of the lower Manhattan UPS facility that was very near to the WTC. UPS shut it down and allowed emergency personnel to use it as necessary. They also provided a few million dollars and a lot of transportation support.
-
When the public electrical power system is compromised, most hams will be unable to communicate, because all they have is a little handy talkie that can barely reach the repeater base stations (which are themselves offline). Sure, some repeaters have battery backups. But so does the public telephone network and the Internet. And what volume of traffic and kind of traffic do you suppose the hams will be transmitting, even if the repeater facilities are operational?
- If one is suggesting that ham radio is critical for the authorities to communicate, wouldn't it be better to rework the official emergency infrastructure so that it doesn't go to pot in the event of the kind of emergencies that it's intended to respond to? (Is it really, in fact, so vulnerable, that the officials will all be helpless, wandering around and hoping that they encounter some amateur radio hobbyist who can save the day?)
Maybe the reality is that ham radio isn't a significant part of the official emergency infrastructure, but only augments it. Primarily, for private messages. In that case, what sense does Morse Code make? I am sure we can make rugged (even EMP resistant) computer-radio systems that work reliably in poor reception conditions and so on. Why not allow anybody at all to access the citizen-use emergency frequencies using a modern encoding system such as voice or data packets, and without needing any license?On the other hand, if ham radio is just for education and entertainment, why not limit it to exclusively Morse Code transmissions? Or at least that the operators only use "experimental" home-built equipment (which used to be tubes, but nowadays might be mostly-software kits)? These hobby hands would be for licensed hobbyists and expiermenters, not for people who are walking around with what amount to low-quality party-line mobile telephones they bought at the store.
My comments above were written with the USA in mind, not third-world or wilderness countries that don't have modern communications systems everywhere. But those places have perfectly good satellite phones, anyway. Maybe the civil defense authorities everywhere should issue some kind of satellite phone, so there's always going to be one nearby (in your village, out on your ranch, or on your suburban block, and in someone's nearby vehicle) for when you really need it. And there could be regional emergency telephone centers that switch the calls, point-to-point, from the various satellite, land-line, and mobile calls. These distributed emergency centers could be made to withstand any emergency situation. Of course, the message capacity would be very limited, but not so limited as the ham radio system.
arrogant, overbearing, overstepping, corporate stooge of a Federal bureacracy that no longer seems to grasp the impact of the technologies it purports to regulate, while operating in a matter diametrically opposed to the will and best interests of the American public should be done away with instead.
But hey, that's only an opinion.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
I agree that there are always a few rotten apples. Over the 48 years I've had my license, I've observed a few of them, too. For the most part, the Hams do a pretty good job of policing their own ranks whenever possible. It's certainly to our own benefit to do so.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Get the C2 Morse Trainer from here. It's really quite amazing, and totally beats the G4FON one.
It all goes downhill from first post
I learned back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but I hear that a new technique makes learning easier. Individual characters are sent at a 25 wpm rate, but the spacing between characters is left such that the overall rate is 5 wpm or even lower. You supposedly learn the "sound" of the character and not the individual dit dahs. Might be worth a try. I'm sure that there must be freebie programs that will run on a PC that do this.
1) Lowest signal to noise ratio of any communications system.
2) Lowest power requirements.
3) Lowest bandwidth requirement.
4) You could in theory make a transmitter out of any very simple electrical circuit (perhaps limited range, but
5) An operator can still twitch out a message even if they can speak or they're batteries are low.
Well, you got 2 out of 5...
1, 2 and 3 are more accurately described as PSK31 anymore. PSK31 is narrower than CW, generally uses less power, and can be recovered from almost below the noise floor. I've seen situations where the PSK31 station drops so low that I can't hear it at all but am still getting almost perfect copy. All you need for PSK31 is a computer with a sound card and a HF radio. And no CW skills.
And you don't need to be able to speak *or hear* to use psk31.
The ones that understand basic courtesy might be able to teach you something.
They've enjoyed their hobby for 60+ years, respect that and be a little nicer about how you talk about them.
They probably also had "manners" back in the day when CW was popular.
While I agree with some of your basic sentiments, you're so rude I wouldn't listen to you if I were them either.
+++OK ATH
FYI Nate never tried to talk with them. And none of them dislikes me. Could go to their field days, stupid meetings, and join the clubs. Sorry if giving my opinion is rude to you. If you want me to really be rude, I can. But your overreaction is just the typical myopic stupid attitude that most of you deadheads have, and quite frankly you ruined ham radio which must have been nice at one time. Was that rude enough for you, lol? Have a nice weekend. 73
Take it or leave it. Your call.
I think you're missing the point - there are hams out there that don't act like those. You're not going to find them until you get involved and look for them.
Hint: Easiest way to find really smart people in Ham radio? Pick any band there are NO commercial radios available for them at any ham radio store, and figure out how to build/modify a radio to get on them. You'll find them there. Only once in a great while do they wander aimlessly onto the local 2M repeater.
+++OK ATH
Nice of you to care Nate. But what does "pick any band there are NO commercial radios available for them at any ham radio store" mean? I am not Harry Cohen watching the Lady from Shanghai, and I will not pay anybody $10k to explain it to me, but if someone besides you knows what you wrote, they are a smarter person than me Gunga Din. Hint-read what I posted. It said I had some hams as good friends. And these guys really really know radio and tech. They also pretty much have the same opinion as me about a large segment of hams. And what the hell is wrong with the 2M band? Just because you and I dont use it, does that mean something is wrong with people who do? That's what you seem to be implying to me. Man, now I am going to be polite, and just say it is better to pass over in silence that with which we can not recall without sorrow. Give it a rest, Nate 88
Really -- for most people, 5wpm code is really quite easy. It just takes a bit of practice. The former 13 and 20wpm elements took quite a bit more skill, but at 5wpm, you have plenty of time between each letter to think of what it is. There's a real plateau at about 7-8wpm, which is overcome with quite a bit of practice. That's why the initial test was set at 5wpm, which just demonstrates knowledge, not proficiency.
I'm gonna get modded down for this for sure, but the code requirement is basically just there to keep out the radio equivalent of the AOLiens. Amateur Radio, by and large, is a lot more civilized than Usenet or most Web-based forums. (Even Slashdot, with the benefit of its moderation.)
I haven't used Morse in years. (Then again, I've hardly been on the air in years. But I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts I could still pass a 5wpm Morse "test" easily. It's just not that difficult, people.
de KB4QPV
Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
And for the other hams who hate dots and dashes, the OP wrote:
dah dah dah / didididit / dah dit / dah dah dah / dit / dididit
Try changing frequencies.
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
(and that should be obvious)