"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Bert Craig" wrote:

(snip) The fact is that Morse code IS
the second most popular mode in use
in the ARS today. IMHO, that in itself
is sufficient justification. (snip)


And, in my humble opinion, it is not sufficient justification - no more
than the fact that vacuum tubes or circular analog tuning dials were once
popular justifies a requirement that they continue to be used. Clearly,
unless there is a valid reason otherwise, anyone should be free to use
those
if he or she wants, but there should be no government regulation mandating
that. The same with Morse code.

Nobody's forcing anybody to use it, just learn it...and only for HF privies.

Remember, we're talking about the 5-wpm
test, NOT 13 0r 20.


If a person has no interest in code, the speed certainly isn't going to
change that.

At 5-wpm, it's more a demonstration of discipline than proficiency. That is
where the true crux lies.

(snip) Yes, I would very much "like to
continue mandating a skill test for a mode
that is all but gone from the world of
radio communications EXCEPT WITHIN
AMATEUR USE." Thats because it's a
skill test for upgrading within, not entry
into, the ARS (snip)


The Amateur Radio Service does not exist in a vacuum, Bert. The FCC
recently said "the emphasis on Morse code proficiency as a licensing
requirement does not comport with the basis and purpose of the service."
They came to that conclusion after looking at modern communications
systems
outside Amateur Radio and the changes that have occurred in communications
over the last fifty years. They noted 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." And they said reducing the
emphasis on telegraphy proficiency as a licensing requirement would "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."

They've already reduced the emphasis by creating the no-code Technician
ticket and further by reducing the required code speed for the General and
Extra tickets.

You mean the second most popular mode
in use today doesn't rate as a valid test
requirement determinator. (snip)


If you're going to argue that to justify a test requirement for the
second
most popular mode, why not argue the same for the third, forth, or even
fifth, most popular modes?

Unique skill, Dwight...decoded by the human brain. Speach for phone and
reading ability for digital are skills brought into the fray from day one.

By the way, where did you get the idea that CW was the second most
popular
mode? I agree that SSB is probably the most popular. But, given the sheer
numbers of Technicians today and the fact that not all others use CW on a
regular basis, certainly far more people use FM than CW today.

My apologies, I should have been more clear. I actually meant Phone vs.
Morse code. I used SSB because I almost never use FM, only for ARES work.
Additionally, I'm pretty much always on HF.

Note that the newsgroups "rec.radio.cb" and "rec.radio.shortwave" were
removed from this reply (off-topic in those newsgroup).

Good call, Dwight. Embarassingly enough, I hadn't even noticed.

Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

73 de Bert
WA2SI