"N2EY" wrote:

Would you accept "it's obvious" as an
answer to "why a code test"?


I didn't offer "it's obvious" as an answer. Instead, I wrote...

"Considering the power levels, the number
of frequencies and bands, the overall safety
considerations, the desirability of proper
operation when using the various operating
modes, and the importance of the rules
associated with all that, the necessity of the
written exams is clearly obvious."


I disagree. Would you have skill testing for modes
that few hams use, like EME or TV, on an equal
par with those that are widely used, like voice and
Morse?


Those modes are already on equal par with voice (written with no skills
test). What you haven't explained is why that shouldn't be the case with
Morse.


IOW, you know that if the same criteria of "is it
necessary?" were applied to most of the written
questions, the answer would be the same as you
get for the code test.


Nonsense. But you're darn fool, or think I'm one, if you expect me to get
into a point-by-point discussion with you about the several hundred
questions in the question pool to prove otherwise. Enough said.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

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