On Wed, 06 Sep 2006 23:43:31 GMT, Slow Code spake
thusly:

Opus- wrote in
:

I said it before and I'll say it again. 70 years ago a good mechanic
needed carpentry skills but no more. 70 years ago a good ham needed to
know code but no more. A code test for todays prospective hams is like
a carpentry test for todays prospective mechanics.


When you have to spend time building a skill, you spend more time learning
other related things as well. Hams that haven't had to study to pass a 13
wpm CW exam, probably don't know the written portion of the exam as will
as hams that did. If I hadn't had to pass 20 wpm for my Extra, I would
have taken the exam a lot sooner, but as I had to build my CW abilities, I
also spend more time learning the theory too. It made me a better ham.

Was code the ONLY way to learn the written portion? Besides, using a
bunch of beeps to spell out characters over the airwaves takes no
technical ability at all. Here in Canada, a no-code license requires
MORE technical skill than a code license. In other words, here in
Canada you need to learn MORE to pass a no-code license since learning
code is a motor skill, not a technical one.

You people don't want knowledgable hams anymore.

Learning code does not impart any type of "knowledge" any more than
learning roller skating.

CB'ers dont have to
learn CW, are they better?

Based on the CBers I used to hear on the higher sideband channels, I
heard very little of the insults I have seen here spewed by some of
the pro-coders. Therefore, I'd say that they were at least better
behaved than the aforementioned pro-coders.

Yes, there were assholes on CB, but CB didn't make them that way. By
the same token, learning code will not turn an asshole into a nice
guy. CB is just a ham radio in the embryo stage, a zygote. The only
real difference between CB and ham is the choices of bands and the
power of the transmitter, when you really look at things in the most
basic sense.