In article .net, "Dwight
Stewart" writes:


"Larry Roll K3LT" wrote:

The FCC's language seems to be geared mainly to pander
to those commentors who favored the reduction/elimination
of code testing, and for good reason. (snip)


The only pandering I see in the quoted paragraph is that to the future
needed expertise of this country.

Dwight:

Unfortunately, neither you nor the rest of the NCTA has been able to
show just exactly what the connection is between technical expertise
and the requirement for learning and being tested in a practical and
useful communications skill such as Morse/CW in the AMATEUR
Radio Service.

The FCC, if they can get the code testing requirement lifted,
faces a smaller administrative burden in running the ARS
licensing system, an important consideration since the ARS is
an economically irrelevant communications service. (snip)

Where exactly is this "smaller administrative burden" supposed to occur?
Since the cost of entering code-related data while processing an overall
license is almost infinitesimal, I just don't see a significant financial
windfall for the FCC here. But what I do see here (in your overall mesage)
is an effort to undermine the real reasons for the elimination of the code
test requirement by suggesting the FCC is only doing it for financial gain
instead. Of course, there is not a shred of evidence to support your claim,
but the exact same thing could be said for all popular conspiracy claims.

Sooo, you're saying that eliminating the code testing requirement, and
the associated licensing data, would not lead to a quantifiable reduction
in the administrative workload related to licensing in the ARS? Sorry,
Dwight, but you're just plain wrong about that.

(snip) Nothing less than I would expect from people who
don't understand or appreciate the nature of the ARS, and
view it as an administrative burden which deflects valuable
resources away from much more economically pertinent
issues. As I've said many times before, follow the money,
and you learn the truth.

I think the FCC understands and appreciates the nature of the ARS just
fine. If you honestly can't see that, then perhaps you don't understand or
appreciate the nature of the FCC when it comes to its regulation of the ARS.

I think that the FCC responds to political pressure. This is what brought
about Restructuring and the elimination of code testing, save for the 5 WPM
requirement which was tied to the ITU Treaty. I believe that if they (the FCC)
truly understood the nature of the ARS, and the value of the Morse/CW
mode within the ARS, that wouldn't have happened. However, the Bush Sr.
Administration allowed JY1 to meddle with the U.S. amateur radio
licensing requirements as the result of a plea by a "handicapped" ham in
PA, and you know the rest.

73 de Larry, K3LT

"Larry Roll K3LT" wrote:

Unfortunately, neither you nor the rest of the NCTA
has been able to show just exactly what the connection
is between technical expertise and the requirement for
learning and being tested in a practical and useful
communications skill such as Morse/CW in the
AMATEUR Radio Service. (snip)


The FCC has already done so in the paragraph I quoted. Basically, they
said to encourage technically inclined persons to learn and to prepare
themselves in the areas where the United States needs expertise, less
emphasis should be placed on Morse code proficiency. The key to this is
"where the United States needs expertise." Morse code just doesn't fit in
that picture. They base this on the fact that "no communication system has
been designed in many years that depends on hand-keyed telegraphy or the
ability to receive messages in Morse code by ear," while pointing to more
modern technology instead. If you missed the paragraph quoted, I'll repeat
it again...

"We are persuaded that because the amateur service is
fundamentally a technical service, the emphasis on Morse
code proficiency as a licensing requirement does not
comport with the basis and purpose of the service. We
note, moreover, that the design of modern communications
systems, including personal communication services, satellite,
fiber optic, and high definition television systems, are based
on digital communication technologies. We also note that
no communication system has been designed in many years
that depends on hand-keyed telegraphy or the ability to
receive messages in Morse code by ear. In contrast,
modern communication systems are designed to be
automated systems. Given the changes that have occurred
in communications in the last fifty years, we believe that
reducing the emphasis on telegraphy proficiency as a
licensing requirement will allow the amateur service to, as
it has in the past, attract technically inclined persons,
particularly the youth of our country, and encourage them
to learn and to prepare themselves in the areas where the
United States needs expertise." - FCC WT Docket No.
98-143 RM-9148 RM-9150 RM-9196


(snip) I think that the FCC responds to political pressure. (snip)


And I think they're instead responding to the realities of the modern
world.


(snip) I believe that if they (the FCC) truly understood the nature
of the ARS, and the value of the Morse/CW mode within the
ARS, that wouldn't have happened. (snip)


The "value of the Morse/CW mode" remains even without a test requirement.
With that intact, only the basis and purpose of the ARS remains to be
considered. And the FCC addressed that in the quote above and in the
remainder of the docket I took that quote from (emergency communicaitons and
so on).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/