"Carl R. Stevenson" wrote in message ...
"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...
Carl R. Stevenson wrote:

I agree that the ARRL is "between a rock and a hard place" with respect
to
the split in their existing membership.

Very much so, I'd agree.

However, outside of their membership
(in the 75% of US hams who are NOT members of the ARRL), I believe
that the demographic is heavily tilted towards the no code test side ...

What makes you think this? I'm not trying to be a wise guy, but I agree
with you about the polls being self directing. Therefore are you
operating on gut feeling, what your friends tell you, or what?

I'm going on what I hear from members, from clubs, from e-mails I
get from folks, etc.



So you're clearly hearing just what you want to hear.If you'd tunein
the low end of the 40 meter band some night you'd hear the real
evidence.


I'm ALSO going on the demographic of all those
nocode techs who could get on HF were it not for a stupid Morse
requirement ... do you REALLY think they are "hot to learn Morse"???
I don't ...



They make it clear they're not "hot to get on HF" either. If they
were
they'd be doing juste as Bert, Dee and Mike have done, and work toward
meeting the requirements instead of ranting and bitching about a
mundane *verey* minimal Morse code test.


thus,
I believe that the ARRL stands to pick up more members than they stand
to lose if they take a position that it's time for Morse testing to go.

It remains to be seen. Those for who the Morse test is too much trouble
may not be bothered to join the ARRL either.


At $34 per year there'll never be any large percentage of the
minimally interested joining the ARRL, whatever the code test is or
isn't.



ARRL membership provides a lot of benefits through QST, the website,
and all of the good things they DO do for amateur radio.


Very little if any of which is of any interestinterest to the HT
jocks.


However, selling
those benefits is difficult when the prospective buyer is someone who knows
his/her membership dues are going to an organization that's dedicated by
current policy to keep them off of HF


None of which is in the least applicible to those who have no
interest in joining in the first place.

]

.... it doesn't take Einstein or a
Gallup
poll to figure that one out ...



It just takes a huge leap to a conclusion.