"bb" wrote in news:1109208496.863217.225020
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:


wrote:
Jim, , wrote on Tues, Feb 22 2005 1:47 am
Alun L. Palmer wrote:
wrote in news:1109009984.323422.143080
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

5wpm isn't very fast, but why is it required to operate phone?

A couple of reasons:

For the same reason hams have to pass written *theory* tests to use
*manufactured* rigs with no critical tuneup adjustments.

1. The FCC decided it needed to test radio amateurs as
part of their task of regulating all U.S. civil radio.

2. The VEC Question Pool Committee decides WHAT
the questions are; FCC only specifies a total number
and the percentage correct for passing.

3. Any other reason is meaningless... ;-)

The USA VEC decided to return the Morse Code exam to 13-15WPM rate
despite FCC regulations to the contrary.



Not exactly. It's Farnsworth method with an overall speed of 5wpm. That
gives the brain longer to decode each character, and the hgiher speed of
the individual characters still doesn't force you to read the character as
a whole. It's still possible to read the individual dots and dashes.
Bearing all that in mind, I have no problem with it.

What did annoy me was that the NCVEC did eliminate the multi-choice option
in direct response to the abolition of the 13 and 20wpm tests, so the 5wpm
test is now harder than it was before, for no other reason than to make it
harder.