"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
y.com...

"N2EY" wrote in message
...
In article , Dwight Stewart

writes:

Instead, both seem to be saying code is no longer a necessary
radio skill since so few radio operators outside ham radio use it
today.

That's another argument entirely.

Of course hams DO use Morse code quite a lot. It's a mystery why what is
done
in other radio services should count more than what hams do, when it
comes
to
figuring out the requirements for an amateur license.

This position relates to the basis and purpose of Amateur Radio (97.1a,
97.1c, and 97.1d).

Opinions vary.

Actually the fact that other services don't use it very much is a strong
argument to require hams to learn it. This is the place to preserve the
skill in case of need and to prevent this capability from becoming a lost
art. Plus of course the fact that quite a few hams do use it.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE


Well, why does it have to be a requirement that hams learn it? An analogy
to your thought above could be:

Doctors should have to be required to know how to use Shaman medicine in
case of need and to prevent this capability from becoming a lost art. (The
analogy works if one believes that alternative medicine works--and I do).
But, you see what I mean, right?

There are groups, societies if you will, that take up and preserve the CW
mode. FISTS comes to mind. There are great guys/gals, long-licensed
amateurs, who love to share the skill with others and who will teach it at
only the slightest provocation. There are EmCom "chiefs" who recognize the
capability of increased communication benefits when using CW. The list goes
on.

Get rid of CW testing. If the mode is all that it is said to be, it will
stand on its own. If it doesn't stand on its own, then adapt and adjust.

Kim W5TIT