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FCC Drops Morse Code Requirement
leighklotz writes to mention a story discussing what some might consider a historic event. The FCC has dropped the Morse Testing requirement for amateur radio certifications. The public announcement was made on Friday. Ham radio operators will no longer have to study Morse,
in a move patterned after other western nations. Says leighklotz: "The U.S. joins Canada and other countries in eliminating the morse code testing requirement, after being authorized to do so on July 5, 2003, when the World Radio Telecommunications Conference 2003 in Geneva adopted changes to the ITU Radio Regulations."
The requirement to do morse code was to enable HAM's to interact with official emergency crew. Since they abandoned Morse code from operations, there's no need to have this requirement anymore.
No-one forbids anyone from using Morse code. Those who master it will be able to use it as much as they want, and there's specific frequency ranges set aside for morse code communications. It's just that newcomers are not forced to learn one specific, outdated form of communication to take part in all those other forms, including Amateur TV, digital modes, PSK-31, moonbounce, meteor/rain scatter etc. Those who are interested in communication with minimal hardware requirements will continue to explore morse code.
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
Being an amateur myself (and have been so for 15+ years) I can picture the screams of horror from all of the 60+ year old operators out there. I'm in my 30s myself, and the code requirement for using the HF bands always seemed rather quaint to me.
But honestly, it's probably a last ditch attempt to get more people using the amateur bands. The stereotype of the 65 year old retired operator in a motorised chair isn't too far from the truth.
I forsee the day that usage is low enough that governments can justify clawing back more of the spectrum.
I'm not unhappy to see the requirement go. I've been a ham for
30 years, and while I have seen useful (very useful) things done
with code, I was never enamored with the idea of *having* to learn
it up front. I did, though with struggling and headaches. The
time came when my elmer gave me the code test and I passed, just
barely.
As I see it today, getting people into ham radio is the
important thing. Having to learn a particular mode before
being allowed to join just doesn't make sense. And no one
should think that having to know code was an effective barrier
for the twits, such that they stayed out. In 1976 I heard
language on 80M that was a great exercise in George Carlin's
"7 dirty words"--and most of the speakers were Extra Class
hams (highest license).
CW *is* useful though, and I've come to embrace it for
the VHF/UHF weak signal stuff I've been doing, where at
time the luxury of a voice just isn't there; things are
too weak. Also Moonbounce will require me to reall learn
CW, which I am working towards, equipment wise.
Yes, its the end of an era. But so what? Technology
roars along, changing the way we communicate, but it has
never changed the reasons for the 'why'.
If you are contemplating becoming a ham, great, please
do so. If you are a ham and bemoan the lack of CW now,
get off your duff and start a CW appreciation class!
Show new hams *why* its cool (and it is, though it took
me 20+ years to realize that), and get them hooked on it.
--STeve Andre'
wb8wsf
grid sqare EN82
I'd heard about this a while ago, and was aiming to get general before it happened (out of pride, masochism, or maybe a little bit of both.) That's more or less moot now. But when I realize that it's a move to get more new people into the hobby, I can understand and appreciate it.
I'm a member of the ARA at my college and we've been struggling to attract new members - we've got a great shack and solid equipment but only about 3-4 active members. Getting more people into the hobby is important right now; steps should be taken before it becomes a critical problem.
KB3NIF
This new rule, is an attempt to bolster the number of people who use amateur radio frequencies. If amateur radio numbers continue to decline, the frequencies available for their use will be returned to the FCC, which will sell the "space" to the highest bidder. Some of the bands are extremely under used, and there are a bunch of companies who would pay top dollar for their own use. Pulling the morse code requirement will enable some who otherwise would not be able to achieve their license. I have mixed feelings. At least the theory requirements are still in place. Unlike when the FCC dropped the "license" requirements on the citizens band (11meter)radios, which caused the band to collapse under the weight of idiots, keeping the written exam will help weed out the noobs. 73's KB0GNK, licensed since 1990
It is something that would be nice to know but realistically it has little to no use for most people.
unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep
I'll one-up you on that. I have an MS in Chemistry and I couldn't tell you the atomic weight of Tungsten, or even its Atomic number. I imagine that it is a transition metal, and if for some reason I was doing Tungsten chemistry I'd probably take the time to learn a heck of a lot more than fits in a 2cm square box.
/. didn't start out coding in java, and may not have ever taken a test, but I'm sure that quite a few have half of the normally-used classes memorized as well.
Sure, I have most of the abbreviations memorized, and weights/series memorized for the more common elements. And guess what - I didn't have to memorize them to pass a test! I'm sure that many reading
When I see kids being forced to cram atomic numbers for a chemistry exam I cringe. No wonder nobody goes into the sciences these days! Make them memorize some facts, and don't bother to worry about whether they understand why things work that way... Are we teaching them science (the process of advancing knowledge in a systematic way), or magic (reciting mysterious incantations carefully lest you end up a newt)?
I know a ham operator (extra class), and while he can key at 60WPM he tends to spend more time doing PACTOR/AMTOR these days, or using computer-assistance with the code. Actually, he has been trending away from operating at all since it seems like all the regulars are dying off (they just disappear and you don't hear about them again). It would seem that the FCC is doing the right thing in trying to transform the hobby.
Consider that 50 years ago ham radio was cutting edge. People who now build PCs and PHP applications used to build radios and operate networks/relays/repeaters. Now ham radio has the perception of being ancient technology (although I know that it doesn't have to be that way). Memorizing morse code is about as useful as requiring knowledge of x86 assembly to program a computer, or knowledge of UUCP email addresses to use gmail. That doesn't make either of those things useless - but they aren't essential either and if you want to study functional programming you won't find much use in memorizing indirect memory indexing modes.
Morse code requirements are a subject that shuts down rational discussion
emacs is better than vi!