Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:

dxAce wrote:

Yep, the folks who cannot or will not take the time to learn the code
come up with excuses just like the one you presented all the time.

No matter what you think it's going to happen. The best thing you can
do IMHO, is to help make the new no-code hams comfortable in the hobby.

If you feel that morse code is an essential part of ham radio, teach
morse code classes. Listen on the Novice/tech CW bands. Next time you
hear a bad sounding CQ at barely five wpm, don't sneer and move on,
work the guy. Do it slowly, carefully and curteously.

If you want to have new hams stay hams and to use CW, make them feel good
about it. Next time you talk to someone on a repeater who is a new ham,
offer to elmer them. You can start with CW and move up to building an
oscilator that they can use to key their HT.

That kills two birds with one stone to use an archaic and cruel sounding
metaphor. They get to learn CW over the air for a small expense and
learn the joy of building something they can use.

BTW both Japan and the Soviet Union had no code HF licenses since the
1950s, and no one ever seemed to mind.

73,

Geoff.


" BTW both Japan and the Soviet Union had no code HF licenses since the
1950s, and no one ever seemed to mind."

Really? Thats encouraging to know, seeing as there are plenty of CW JA's to
work. I guess they got interested in CW without being forced to learn it in
order to get their tickets. Hopefully the same will hold true here in the
U.S. if/when the FCC drops the code requirement altogether.

CW = my primary mode

- Matt