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August 4th 03, 05:09 PM
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Alun Palmer wrote in message . ..
(N2EY) wrote in : In article , Alun Palmer writes: The continued existence of a CW test does actually threaten the future of the hobby, i.e. it is a 'deal killer' for recruitment. WHOA, hold on a second, there! Folks, here's a claim that the code test must go because it allegedly holds back growth in the ARS. Unfortunately, a lot of damage has already been done, as it has been allowed to persist long past it's 'sell by' date. Sounds like you're hedging your bets, Alun. Not atall. Since about 1995 there has been a paradigm shift caused by this medium we're using right now (the Internet). If code testing had been abolished significantly before that it would have boosted our numbers far more than it ever can now. All I'm really saying is that that opportunity is lost. Still, you're saying that increasing growth was and is a reason to get rid of Element 1. As for the internet, I say it is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle. The plain simple fact is that the survival of amateur radio is dependent on meeting needs/desires that cannot be met by the internet, cell phones, email, cheap long distance 'phones, etc. Those needs and desires are everchanging, btw. Not so long ago it was common for a ham's family members to get licenses for "honeydew" purposes. Some of those family members developed more interest, some didn't. Today, cell phones and FRS/MURS meet most of the "honeydew" needs so that recruiting tool is gone. Sure, 5 wpm is easy (higher speeds were not, but that's moot now). However, the CW test manages to be too slow to impart any genuinely useful level of CW ability, whilst at the same time putting off prospective hams. In other words, it's more counter-productive than useful. Sure. there is a lot of CW use by hams on HF, but there are precious few prospective hams who want to use it. How do you know they don't want to use it? At the past several Field Days, the CW ops generated the most interest. As a sideshow it generates interest. Think of it as being like a demonstration of some obscure craft in a living museum. Sure, people find it interesting watching a blacksmith shoe a horse (and that's not a dead art either), but it doesn't mean they are going to learn to do it. I disagree. Look at the interest in participation sports like running and cycling. Or in crafts. Or in learning to play musical instruments. Of course a lot depends on the presentation. If all anyone ever sees is somebody pounding out 5 wpm on a straight key, combined with horror stories of how "difficult" it supposedly is, they are less likely to be interested than if they see a fast effortless operation between skilled ops and an attitude of "almost anybody can learn to do this with some practice". There was a time in my life when, if somebody had told me that I could run a regulation marathon, I'd have told them they were nuts. Yet a few years later I had run two of them. The difference was seeing it done by others I could identify with, developing an interest, learning what was necessary, and then doing it. Put in all the written questions you like on CW, though, as that won't cause the same kind of problem. I think it's true that those who want to keep a code test would likely have wanted to keep spark if they had been around back then. Different thing entirely. Spark for hams wasn't outlawed in the USA until 1927 - long after hams had stopped using it. By choice. If they really could stop the wheel of progress, the hobby likely would die with their generation, but luckily that won't happen. Do you want code USE by hams to continue or not, Alun? Honestly? I don't care if it does or not. Your answer avoids the question. For the record I think it will continue. It does have some advantages (but then, so do a lot of other modes). Keeping out all those who aren't interested in CW may keep a few 'breakers' out, but it keeps out most people, period. That may suit a few people here, but it isn't the way forward. Ultimately, keeping the code test would do far more to destroy the hobby than letting in a few CBers (and I do mean a few, as most of them are not smart enough to pass the written tests). If we keep a code test, the hobby will fail for lack of interest. Luckily, I don't expect that to happen. OK, let's look at some facts: - Growth in the ARS in the USA from 1980 to 1990 (when there were no waivers and all hams had to pass at least 5 wpm) was almost exactly the same as from 1990 to 2000 (when both waivers and codetestless licenses were available) - Overall, the ARS in the USA has kept on growing for the past 35 years. In fact, since the end of WW1, the only periods of non-growth were WW2 and most of the 1960s. And now a challenge to all this stuff about disincentives. Soon the code test will probably be gone. There will probably be a surge of new licenses and upgrades, then back to growth rates near to what they were before. If we don't see more long-term growth without code tests, will you admit you were wrong and help get code tests reinstated? You know I won't (a wise man only asks questions to which he knows the answers, and you're no fool). If I know the answer, what's the point of asking the question? I have always disagreed with a skill test in Morse being a condition for HF phone. I have never heard an argument for that that makes logical sense. Here's one: 'phone takes up much more spectrum. And if we say there should not be a skill test in one mode in order to be allowed to use another, it's equally valid to say there should not be a test on theory in order to use manufactured, no-tune radios either. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
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