Brian Burke wrote on Thurs, Mar 3 2005 7:06 pm concerning the Avenging
Angle's further adventures in "waste of time":

K4YZ wrote:
robert casey wrote:
N2EY wrote:

What if their minds *have* changed? Perhaps they have looked at
the arguments
provided by pro-code-test folks, and at the results of the
reduction/elimination
of code testing in the USA and other countries, and have
concluded that
Element 1 is no big deal. Maybe they've even concluded that it
*does*
serve a useful, regulatory purpose!

The FCC noted that there's been no noticeable increase in
violations in HF since they let 5wpm'ers loose on it back
in 2000. Trouble spots like 14.313 predate that by many
years. So 13 or 20wpm doesn't serve a regulatory purpose, and
the FCC isn't in the business of handing out "gold star"
awards.

No, they're not.

Nor merit badges. The Amateur Radio Service is not the Boy Scouts.
The FCC is not BSA Headquarters.

Guess who used to remark that Boy Scout leaders are pedophiles?
:-)

Can't have any pedophiles in ham radio, no sir! All hams must be
white males of deeply-rooted conservative everything rigidly
preserving the traditions, standards, and practices of the 1930s.

But they ARE in the business of making sure that thier rules
meet
the test of the enabling regulations.

They should start with the "rule" requiring a Morse Code Exam at 5WPM
refer to another "rule" defining Morse Code and how to derive a 5WPM
rate. Then then need to explain how a 13-15WPM character rate can be
legal for a 5WPM exam. Or not.

I rather think that the FCC (that all-powerful adjunct secondary to
the real leader of American ham radio, ARRL) cares much about
a bunch of amateurs fooling around in a hobby activity. It's been
nearly two years since the first of those 18 petitions arrived at
the
FCC and the conservative-traditionalists mounted much cross-fire
to those nasty radicals wanting dirty, rotten change (hack, ptui)
from divine, blessed, noble olde-tyme regulations. Code MUST
stay! It is "right!" :-)

[both guys at the FCC prolly threw up their hands and pigeon-
holed all 18 while they concentrated on other things in their
apprenticeship duties there]

Part 97.1 establishes the Basis and Purpose of the Amateur
Radio
Service. The B&P continues to establish an expectation of self
training and communications skills that prepare the licensee to meet
the needs of the B & P.

The Basis and Purpose does not specify your favorite mode as the one,
true path to rightiousness.

Avengining Angle is a PCTA extra! He always Right, never wrong.

So...Until Part 97 is altered per process otherwise, Morse Code
is
still required for access to HF allocations.

5WPM. Not the 13-15WPM exam currently administered by the ARRL and
W5YI VECs.

Irrelevant to the PCTA extras. Code test IS THE LAW!

[no one, repeat no one, is allowed to change the law!]


And as Jim noted, so far, the overwhelming opinion of those who
have cared to express an opinion is "Morse Code skills are
needed"...Even if Lennie says they aren't...

Then Jim and his commenting cronies march to the beat of a different
drummer.

The Avenging Angle marches to an even stranger drummer...
he thinks I'm here and commenting, saying things even when
I'm not. Weird. He wired. Wired up differntly than others, always
in overload conditions, no fusing. Tsk. [I been off for several
days]

Jimmy Who and cronies have had their craniums dutifully
washed years ago, thinking that morsemanship is a vital,
needed skill to "operate" any radio on HF or below. They had
to take a morse test so EVERYONE has to take a morse
test forever and ever to be allowed in a hobby activity.

The ARRL's scientific survey of 1998 said that there was no
clear concensus. Since then the ITU has eliminated the requirement
for
a Morse Code Exam for HF access.

ARRL's only "science" is that of trying (vainly) to get more
members and to keep the Hq staff on the payroll by selling
lots of ham publications. Their publishing business is still
working well but the membership numbers are rather
stagnant at old numbers.

The ITU-R overhauled and revised nearly ALL of S25 at
WRC-03. One revision allowed individual administrations
the option of keeping their code tests or eliminating them.
The mandatory requirement of a code test for privileges
below 30 MHz was removed, but the OPTION remains.
There's no "necessity" of any logical or legislative kind
to keep the code test in U.S. regulations except in the
fantasies of olde-tyme conservative traditionalist hammes
who psychologically need the rank/status/titles of high-
rate code-tested extra to show they are "better" than
others. They need federal subsidies for the righteousness,
all at the expense of newcomers who aren't coming in
under their shining glory of ham greatness.