"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...
There have been lot of different rumours floating about, but it now looks
definite that the UK will scrap the code test on Friday. This will be the
second country after Switzerland, which already did it.

Actually the UK are making CW mandatory. All new amateurs from Dec 2003 will
have to enter the hobby as foundation class, which requires a morse assessment
which satisfies the pre WRC03 morse requirement (which never state a speed in
wpm). The morse assessment requires the candidate to send a CW passage at any
speed and to ask the assessor to slow down theoretically to 12 words per hour if
necessary. It's also an "open book exam" i.e. they have access to a morse code
table -.-. = C etc.

So far from abolishing the morse requirement - all new UK amateurs from Dec 2003
will have to sit the morse assessment at the lowest entry level. This does not
apply to all former above 30Mhz (class B, CEPT class 2) who will get HF tomorrow
(26th July 2003) without doing the morse assessment.

Why Dec 2003? well that is the next date for the Radio Amateurs Exam (scheduled
twice a year - May and Dec) which allows you to go straight to Full (extra
class) by sitting just one exam. After this "last" exam date (Dec 2004) all UK
amateurs will have to sit three exams (and the morse assessment) to go
Foundation Class then Intermediate (was Novice) then Full. Also after Dec 2004
the RAE will be no longer scheduled just twice a year but go "on-demand" and
will be administrated by the Radio Society of Great Britain not the "City and
Guilds" (a body responsible for NVQs across the UK) as before.

This guarantees that CW is never "forgotten" at least in the UK. As to be
expected from the UK authorities a very diplomatic outcome.

It is expected that CEPT will merge Class 1 and 2 in September, up until then
the issue of reciprocal licences is a pretty grey area. So those amateurs with
HF access in the uk from passing a 5wpm or not even taking a morse test will be
refused to operate HF in countries which still have the 12wpm test requirement.


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