On Jan 9, 10:51 am, wrote:
On Jan 7, 11:17 am, "Michael J. Coslo" wrote:

On Jan 6, 12:17 pm, wrote:

I will note that the potential tests the pledge
might have to take, depending on the will of their sponsors is just
odd. There should be a competency test, or their shouldn't be.

I don't think it's odd, but that's just me. If somebody wants to know
my Morse Code skills, I can tell them. If that's not enough, I can
show them.

Maybe it's because I am in a college town, and being around
fraternities, the word "test" has more than one meaning, Fraternities
often have tests that really filter out who wants to join, and who
doesn't It's one of those red flag words.



Almost *any* nontrivial requirement is bound to be labeled a "hazing
ritual", "cronyism", "luddite" or other derogatory term by somebody.

Kind of. I think a large part of the discussion, at least for me, is
the idea that this club furthers the use of Morse code. They state it
as one of their purposes. I don't think that their tactic will work.

Only way to know is to try.

Well, yeah. but if I were to promote Morse, I'd do it to people at the
other end of the spectrum.


I'd even go so far as to state that I don't really care if they are an
exclusive club. That's no problem. There is a need for people of a
like mind to congregate. But if a club is one thing while purporting
to be another, I'm inclined to remark about it.

some snippage

Obviously a lot of people who run couldn't join unless they seriously
upped their distance. The membership would be relatively small, but
focused on a specific kind of running.

Seems to me that such a club could and would promote running,
particularly long-distance running. I don't see how that would be a
bad thing.

The new Morse Code club described is similar, IMHO.

I guess w';ll just have to disagree, Jim. let me try a different
analogy.

If I wanted to have an exclusive club, one in which I and others who I
thought had made the grade, and that I wanted to be around, without
annoying new people, I would design it to have a minimum requirement
well beyond what the base requirement was - keeping in mind that the
original test was gone. Then I would have something like prospective
members have to be nominated by people who are already club members. I
would do this in order to be sure that only the right people got in.

Is this the case here? Not necessarily, but who knows.


One thing I have observed among amateurs actually *using* Morse Code is
the friendship and comaraderie (sp?) and general welcoming. I don't
hear the put-downs and such that are claimed by others - not on the
air, anyway. Young or old, newcomer or OT, fast or slow, QRP or high
power, it doesn't make any difference.

Well, my experience has been a little different. On the air, it hasn't
been too bad, but in person, I've been told that despite what I do for
amateur radio, I am a second class Ham because I'm not a regular user
of CW. I've been told that my physical issues notwithstanding, I can
never be a first class Ham, because it is like an athlete. Not
everyone can be a professional football player, because not everyone
has the physical attributes. My hearing precludes me being a real Ham.

And believe it or not, I was once called insane because I gave the
same number of QSO points to RTTY and PSK31 QSO's for scoring a
contest. That's the exact wording. Some of these folks wanted the
double point value to be exclusively for CW Ops, and were outraged
that I offered it to any other modes. That was personally
disappointing to say the least, because I've always stood up for the
mode.

Now as far as that goes, no problem. I'm opinionated and realize that
the nail that sticks up is the one that gets the hammer. For me, it's
just data points. I appreciate the mode, and will continue to support
and promote it, because of it's historical, practical, and technical
value. But I've learned to not expect any appreciation for that.
Anyhow, it's been a good thread.

-73 de Mike N3LI -