I am saying, it really doesn't matter, it is too late, possibly if the exams
were made twice as difficult so the intellectuals felt challenged and the
code was dropped--perhaps it would appeal to more... however, I think there
is little chance of any changes which will save it, ancient old men keep
reciting the same mantras, are in denial that the methods they think will
work, WON'T and keep trying to find answers reading tea leaves...

.... truth is, there is not a large enough group of people in their teens and
twentys to breath life into it... and I don't see anyway of getting them
in... other than what I have already suggested... we need some of the
brightest minds comming from college right now--I teach a course at a Jr.
college... I have found the WILL NOT bother with the code... they would have
no problem passing an exam ten times as tough... I have seen this in
action...

A lot of people worry about their kids cell phone use and would like to
limit it... I say put a code exam on the damn thing... problem would be
cured overnight!

Well, they would probably just switch to IRC and instant messaging--if they
are not already there--so put a damn code exam on those too!!! grin

Warmest regards,
John

"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
...

"John Smith" wrote in message
...
Dee:

You suggest that to them... they will take it as personal slur on their
intelligence... if they don't have the top licence--they don't want
any--it
is akin to getting an "A" in the class--you would never get the
under-achievers to even bother--they'll just fire up IRC or P2P phone and
chat to Australia all night long... or, whip out the cell phone their
company internship is furnishing... grin

Warmest regards,
John



Hello, John

Are you suggesting just giving away the license? Heck, I learned grade
1.5
Braille in under two weeks (and I can see). I decided I wanted to as a
friend is blind and he provided me a Braille slate (that was many decades
ago). It was not a big deal; in fact my friend then got on my case asking
if I could learn Braille in two weeks, what was the big deal with the
code.
The reality was that I was lazy. One week later, I was copying 18 words
per
minute. A few years later, I put 40 words per minute, perfect copy, on
paper. It is all a matter of what you want.

As to the cell phone, heck - I can talk to someone anywhere anytime using
a
land-line telephone. Or my HT (yes, even Australia, thanks to the 10
meter
repeater). Of course, amateur radio is not designed to replace the
telephone.

I just had some good information from someone via the Internet on fixing a
big Hammond X-66 from the 60s. I've repaired a lot of 'em, but this one
had
me bugged. The guy is in Mexico. The telephone would be of no use as I
had
to locate someone who knew something about it.

When folks start arguing against amateur radio, they usually bring up a
subject that amateur radio is not ideally designed for. Heck, do you want
to build a house using only a saw? Perhaps only a hammer? No, you choose
the tools you need at the time you need them. In the case of getting help
with the Hammond (gawd, I hated the thought of pouring paint thinner down
into the scanner - but it worked!), how are you going to locate someone
knowledgeable in the subject? Organ repair? No, the organ service guy in
this area has referred a few folks with old Hammonds to me. I've always
been able to fix 'em even if he can't. But this time I was stuck.
Calling
the organ repair guy would have yielded no help as I have more knowledge
than he. I did call organ repair service in Chicago as that is all that
is
left of the original Hammond company (it was sold to Ford and then Suzuki)
as the new owners didn't want to handle the old stuff. They didn't know,
so
the telephone was no longer of any use.

Despite the failure of the telephone, I would not suggest that the
telephone
has no use.

Amateur radio has far to many facets to try and pinpoint exactly what it
is.
As far as someone not wanting the code, fine. It will go away, but when
is
unknown. Had I waited for a codeless tech license, I would have delayed
30
some years waiting for a ticket that didn't require cw.


73 from Rochester, NY
Jim AA2QA