"Bert Craig" wrote in
et:


"Alun" wrote in message
...
What is annoying is that a skill test is foisted on those who don't
have the desire to use the skill.

Alan, I'm gonna let you in on a secret...although I know that you're
already aware of it. Preparing for and passing the 5-wpm Elemnt 1 test
does NOT leave one ready to use the skill OTA. It only gives one a
taste so that one may make an educated choice as to whether or not they
wish to persue CW any further.


5 wpm is certainly too slow to prove much, but it only still exists at
that level as a residual requirement to meet the old s25.5, which has
since been changed so that no code test is required atall. If the FCC
truly thought that a CW test was necessary, the speed would be higher.

The majority of newbies I've worked sent at approx. 8 to 10-wpm.
(That's right, just below the plateau.) We seem to gravitate to one
another. Ok, the Novice/Tech"+" sub-bands help bring us together. My
point is that those who actually get OTA are putting in more effort
than needed just to pass Element 1. Those who pass Element 1 and wish
to go no further with CW have made a truly educated dicision because
they now have a little "practical" experience with the mode under their
belt on which to base their decision...and are not just simply talking
from their @$$!

Learning the theory of modes you don't want
to use is not too onerous, but having to pass a typing test to use
phone would be just as annoying and stupid as having to pass a code
test to use phone, for example. Besides, having to know about other
modes is reasonable, but actually learning to use them is another
matter.

As I mentioned in another post, the mode is really not the issue...the
having to really learn it is. Do away with the published Q&A pools and
watch the whining escalate.


Well, I think that the real issue is that it's a different kind of test.

Also, if
I hear CW on my frequency I may be able to read it with some
difficulty, but if I hear RTTY or PSK31 there is no chance.

You may have just touched on a selling point for CW.

73 de Bert
WA2SI




Whilst that is true, the point I was making is actually that since I can't
read RTTY or PSK by ear, and they are legal modes, it doesn't help all
that much that I can read CW (albeit not terribly well, since I never use
it).

73 de Alun, N3KIP