Alun L. Palmer wrote:
Mike Coslo wrote in

stuff sinpped for trying to figure out who said what....



Yeah, for me too! 6 months of daily studying, one failed test,
and finally passing it. I think that my brain processes audio differently
than does those people with normal hearing.



I have not posted this point for a long time, as it provokes extreme
reactions from the pro code test lobby, but I can beat your 6 months.
It took me 22 years. Can you honestly wonder that I feel the way I do?

That is quite a long time. What was the reason that it took you 22
years? My reason was hearing problems, and a presumed mental processing
of sound deficit.



I don't know. My hearing is OK as far as I know.


What was the total study time?


Hard to say. I gave up completely over and over again, but I kept coming
back to it because I still wanted to get on HF.


If it wasn't a hazing process, then I'm a Dutchman

Don't take it personally! Some people learn Morse pretty easily, and
for some it is hard. Is it a hazing process if it is easy? Same goes
for the writtens. I can assure you that no group of Hams ever sat down
and said "Let's give this Coslo guy a rough time and make him learn
Morse code".




As a guy who can't "hear" people unless he can see the mouth of
the person speaking, I have just a little trouble figuring out the
problem with normal people for which the test is too hard to make it
worth getting a license.

But it is! Witness all those who are dropping off the ranks when
their license expires.

I predict the next tack of the NCI's is that not allowing the
codeless Techs HF access is why they aren't renewing their
license.


Certainly that must be true of some of them. What proportion, I
couldn't say.

That would certainly be an interesting outlook for a person. Let
us say
that a person became a ham in 1994, and has a combined intense
interest in operation below 30 MHz, and deep seated conviction against
Morse code testing, leading to refusal to take the Element 1 test.

Somehow doesn't ring true.


It was true enough of me, although I became a no-code ham in 1980 (in
the UK), more or less in defeat at having tried unsuccessfully to
learn Morse code ever since 1970, and passed a code test in 1992.

Getting a no-code licence was something I only did because I was
resigned to not getting the HF access that I wanted. It was a case of
thinking it was silly to stay off the air altogether just because I
couldn't get on HF, and it took me a long time, i.e. 10 years, to
grudgingly reach that conclusion.

Eventually passing the code test was helped by software that didn't
exist back in 1970, and the help of dear friends who took turns to
send slow CW transmissions several times a week that I knew were being
done mainly just for my benefit. Sure, others tuned in, but they
stopped sending them when I passed! I owe them a great deal.

Here's another interesting fact. I was teaching ham radio classes for
years before I passed the bleeping code!

If none of this rings true, I can assure that every word is the truth.

I believe you. And you didn't do what my hypothetical Technician
did
either. You kept with it an eventually passed



Eventually is right


As I said, all of this has been posted here before, but not recently.
My own history hasn't proved as effective as an argument as simply
pointing out that none of the arguments in favour of retaining code
testing hold as much water as a leaky bucket!

Except here is what I see as the difference. You had difficulties
with
Element one, and so did I. You want the test eliminated because you had
a hard time of it. I don't want the test removed just because of my
personal trouble with it.



Six months isn't that long though, is it?

Well, we'd have to adjust it to compare with your metric. My six months
was an intense study period after several fits and starts. I'd probably
have to adjust it to a couple years to compare with your time, as I
passed my GEneral ~ 2 years after I passed my Technician. While I was
studying for the Technician test, I also studied for Element 1.


We all have walls to climb in life. Some peoples walls are higher
than
others. I'll climb my own walls, and not try to change everyone elses
walls. YMMV.




I think that those who want to get rid of Element one testing
would be
better off to not try that argument.

That would be reminiscent of the old "Jump Frog" joke!


Except that the circumstances I describe never struck me as a joke.

I had enough problems that it was no joke to me either. But my
point
wasn't about the test specifically, it was the conclusion that people
reach regarding Morse code testing and the people coming into or
leaving the ARS.



I think it's probably true that having the no-code licence has increased
turnover, but we don't know why. Nobody has done any research on this
point.

Doubtless some have used a no-code licence as a substitute for a cellphone.
Doubtless some who had only a passing interest got a Tech licence and then
moved on, but we have to factor in that they had no exposure to HF. I'm
sure that others found that the 'consolation prize' of 50MHz and up wasn't
enough of a consolation to bother renewing.


Just so you know what the joke was about:



A scientist was conducting an experiment.

He took a frog, and sat it on the floor. Then he said:

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

The frog jumps 6 feet.

The scientist writes in his notebook *Frog with four legs jumps 6
feet*.

Then he cuts off one of the frog's legs...

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

The frog jumps 4 feet.

The scientist writes in his notebook *Frog with three legs jumps 4
feet*.

He cuts off another leg.

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

The frog jumps 2 feet.

The scientist writes in his notebook *Frog with two legs jumps 2
feet*.

Then he cuts off the third leg.

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

With a mighty struggle, the frog jumps 1 feet.

The scientist writes in his notebook *Frog with 1 leg jumps 1
foot*.

Then he cuts off the final leg.

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

The frog just sits there.

"Jump, frog, Jump!"

The frog still just sits there.


The scientist writes in his notebook *Frog with no legs is deaf.




Funny in a macabre sort of way, but hard to see the connection.

Back when I originally made the "Jump frog jump comment, it was about
people making an incorrect or bizzare conclusion from plain evidence.

Where people Might say that the No-Code technicians quit because The
had a license that didn't have Element 1 as a test requirement.

- Mike KB3EIA -