"Steve Robeson K4YZ" wrote in message
...

While the legal "requirement" for Morse Code proficiency has gone
away,
there still exists a valid reason to keep Morse Code as a basic
communication
skill around. The day of the "universal translator" ala-Star Trek has yet
to
arrive, and Morse Code can still help bridge that gap.

Some amateurs may not realize what Steve is talking about... With morse
code, you can get through a basic QSO with amateurs who speak a digfferent
language better than one might normally expect!

Quoting EI7IS's blog---: http://www.hamblog.com/blog_ei7is.php

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One argument that was not very well plugged by the "Keep the CW Requirement"
lobby and is still a good reason for learning The Code (compulsory or not)
is the fact that Morse is the "Lingua Franca of Radio". Apparently in use
since the Middle Ages, Lingua Franca was a trade language used by various
language communities around the Mediterranean, to communicate with others
whose language they did not speak. It was a simple language which allowed
traders of different cultures/languages to communicate their prices and
quantities to each other and served it's purpose up until the 19th century.

What many don't realise about CW is that it is fairly much "language
independent" and an English speaking radio amateur can communicate with a
Japanese operator without ever being aware of any language barriers! This is
because CW uses prosigns and abbreviations (such as the Q-Code) which mean
the same thing world wide regardless of language. Now, what other mode
allows you to do that? (Ok, SSTV gives it a good stab, but apart from that
CW is pretty unique).
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Charles, N5PVL