"J. D. B." wrote in
:

Dee, you can disagree all you want. The fact is that the world is
moving on and away from CW testing. Not the mode, but the testing
requirement.
It is just outdated and not necessary. If you want to learn it and
then use it, great. The time has come to stop forcing an old mode onto
people. We can debate the merits of CW all day. In 200 years, no one
will be using it. It will die a natural death like all languages
because the world evolves. Better things come along. And like many
humans, you are resisting change because people hate change. But
change is inevitable. You cannot stop this change and it is a change
for the better even if you won't admit it. History will show the only
way to save the Amateur Radio Service and help its growth is to evolve
and change. Out with the old and in with the new. Those that won't
evolve will fade from the earth just like stone-age man. Good bye CW
testing requirement. Your departure is long, long overdue.

Dee Flint wrote:


Again I disagree. That analogy is not really valid. A better one
would be comparing it to driving an automobile with a stick shift. I
personally feel that every one who drives should be required to know
how to drive a stick. They often get better mileage than automatics as
an experienced driver can do a better job of selecting the shift point
than a mere gadget. More people might select stick shifts if only
they knew how to drive one.

Dee, N8UZE




As it happens, I do think people should have to learn on a stick shift, but
I don't support code testing. If you can't drive a stick shift, you can't
drive my car, as every car I've had has had a stick shift and so will every
car I buy in future. OTOH, every rig I've bought has come with a mic, and
none of them came with a key. Now, I know you can get some QRP rigs that
are CW only.

The point is, there is a very real chance that it may be necessary to drive
someone else's car in an emergency, or even just to help out. What happens
when you need to get someone to the emergency room and the only car
available is a stick shift? It's no good saying that statistically manual
shifts are declining in sales, as there are plenty of us who will never buy
an automatic.

OK, maybe you can say that you don't own a mic, and all the rigs in your
shack are hooked up to a key (good luck on the local repeater!). What then
is the realistic scenario where I will have to use one of your radios to
save the world? (or even to save the next door neighbour) Doesn't seem to
likely, does it?