On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:32:22 -0700, bob_deep wrote:
Slow Code wrote:
Dumbing it down cheapened the license, making being a radio amateur
nothing special. No wonder they leaving.
I'll bet that most of the folks "leaving" are simply not renewing being
SK. Code is in a way a dying art quite literally. Which is a shame.
We have to face it, this hobby doesn't attract a lot of new blood and the
existing stock is rapidly growing older. The advantage to me is that I
can find old ham equipment at estate sales for next to nothing but that's
not what I'm posting about.. 
I don't think things are all that "unfair" with the maximum code speed we
currently test being 5 WPM. Of course that's what I got tested at so you
can charge bias if you want. I currently don't operate CW (heck, I don't
operate at all right now) but all that spectrum space in the lower part of
the bands is starting to beckon. I've got a code practice program and I
work on my code from time to time so maybe someday...
So where do I fall in this debate? I certainly don't favor the removal of
the code requirement for all license classes. Extra's surely need to be
tested at the current 5 WPM. But the fact remains that the interest in
this hobby as shown by the decline in the number of licenses needs some
attention.
We don't need to "dumb" down the hobby to get more folks in it, but we do
need to bring the requirements into the current age. Before the advent of
the personal computer 20 years ago, it would have been very expensive to
set up an automated CW send and receive station, but now you can do it for
next to nothing. One can actually send and receive CW without ever
learning it and get transmission rates much faster than just about anybody
can copy by ear, just hook up your PC to the rig load the software and
voila, the no code licensee is sending and receiving at 25 WPM the day
after he failed the 5 WPM test.
On the other hand, you guys that struggled to get their code speed up to
20 WPM so they could get their Extra have my respect. I understand that
lowering that requirement seems like we are dumbing down the hobby, but I
hope you can understand that like AM, CW is being replaced by other modes
that you and your generation have pioneered.
My greatest fear is that the FCC will totally do away with code in it's
testing requirements, which will logically lead to a mass spectrum
reassignment to make more room for voice and we will likely loose our
valuable spectrum space in the process. But once the last license goes to
SK what's to stop the FCC from giving it all away?
May code never die, there are times it's the only option, but we have to
keep the hobby relevant or it will all go away when the hobby dies.
-= Bob =-
KC4UAI
I was under the impression that CW would get through under worse
conditions and/or with lower power requirements than other modes.
Does no one run "flea power" anymore?
I sometimes listen in on 10 meters but don't hear much there. A bit of CW
every now and then, but not much of anything, usually. Maybe I'm listening
at the wrong times? Or is it mostly vacant and just freebanders buying the
10 meter rigs?