Subject: FCC Morse testing at 16 and 20 WPM
From: PAMNO (N2EY)
Date: 7/16/2004 6:07 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

In article ,
(Len Over 21) writes:

AMATEUR radio is a hobby, not a national service, not an arm of the
United States Navy or the rest of the military, and not a public safety
organization. Just a hobby involving radio.

It's not "just a hobby".

Unfortuantely for Lennie the FACTS are that Amateur Radio DOES provide a
service to the nation, that service does, incidentally, benefit the Armed
Forces, and is an ever-increasing presence in public service plans at all
levels, local to federal.

But even if it were, what's the difference? If something is "just a hobby",
does that mean there should be no standards, no training, no rules?

Only if you're a night-school trained ex radio technician on a mission to
berate anyone else who even hints at an interest in radio you deem inferior to
your own.

AMATEUR radio long ago CEASED to be a "pool of experienced morse
operators" for any national need.

When did it cease, Len?

There's a dozen of us in this forum alone who hold current licensure and
who are proficient in Morse Code.

Seems like it "ain't over yet" to me...

And here's a fun fact: The Basis and Purpose never used the phrase
"experienced
morse operators". Just "experienced operators" - no mention of modes.

That's a LennieRant issue, Jim. Even when the current context DOESN'T
include Morse Code, he'll interject it and then claim we (licensees) are the
ones obsessed with it.

The nation does NOT need morse operators, haven't for a long time.

How long?

And who said?

Was there a Presidential Executive Order? Did Congress ammend the
Constitution? Did the FCC and NTIA prohibit the use of Morse Code for thier
respective services?

Most rewards in the real world have little relationship to the work
requested.

More spin crappola.

Well, at least you're honest about your content ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

I get the feeling there's a LOT of crappola in the Anderson residence.

The influential morsemen at the League
managed to carve out a separate little morse playground for
themselves with all sorts of fatuous phrases of "national need" and
"importance of a pool of trained operators" and the FCC caved in
to their demands.

When was this? And in what alternate universe?

"Morse playground"...?!?!

There's only two slices of Morse-only spectrum, both are in the VHF range,
and were lobbied for by weak signal operators anxious to see a part of the
spectrum protected for thier work...Mostly EME and meteor scatter techniques,
but the sues are growing.

The "pool of trained operators" thing came from FCC, not ARRL.

You see it in the home too. Kid asks, "Dad can I borrow the
car?" Parent replies, "After you mow the front & back lawn and run the
edger." There is absolutely no relationship between the two activities.
The kid gets a highly desired reward for work that he/she probably doesn't
care to do but does it anyway to get the reward.

So, the League is a surrogate parent?!? I don't think so.

How many kids have you raised, Len?

Including himself?

Are all the Amateur Extras surrogate parents now? I don't think so.

You aren't.

But that's what he perceives himself as...

Dee, quit this infernal nattering about "parentage" and ham radio.

Why, Len? Because it's really quite an accurate analogy?

It makes Lennie nervous.

He shot blanks all his life, and now any discussion of kids get's him
wound up. That's why he wanted to exert some "parental control" over younger
licensees with that age limit crap.

Quit trying to sound off like you've got an influential pair.

Pair of what, Len?

What ever they are, I bet Lennie doesn't have a pair of them...Maybe a
pair of slippers or glasses...Nothing else.

You aren't
a radioactive au pair and this ain't the Children's Hour (even is some of
the other extras act like children).

The most childish performance I see here is yours, Len.

Just face the reality of the matter. Morsemen got their little CW
playground and should be happy.

What *are* you talking about, Len?

Professional communicators they
ain't, even if they want, desperately, to be oh, so very pro.

If you're an example of "professional communicator", than I'm glad to be an
amateur.

So V E R Y glad!

73

Steve, K4YZ