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Dan:
Too bad the americans had not developed HS Digital Checksum Error Corrected Voice Transmission Packet methods over spread spectrum... could have filtered the CW audio and went right on, would have pi$$ed 'em off in style! Oh well, too late for back then, but today we can! John On Sun, 07 Aug 2005 22:27:35 +0000, Dan/W4NTI wrote: Of course, but Communism is done, right??? hi hi. Russia has NOT dropped Morse. Nor has most of the ex Eastern Block countries. Years ago when I was in Germany in the US Army it was decided to fire back up on CW training. The reason was because the Ruskies were having a field day trashing our HF nets. We were on AM/SSB/RATT (RTTY), and they would get close, or right on top of them on CW. It was a total flop because hardly anyone in the US Military new Morse well enough to copy it. Point is this. The Russians and their close neighbors are smart enough to realize Morse is a worth while mode and will continue its use. Dan/W4NTI "John Smith" wrote in message news ![]() Dan: What communist counties do is almost always in the interest of the shadow gov't really running the country. That is supposed to be surprising? John On Sat, 06 Aug 2005 00:06:36 +0000, Dan/W4NTI wrote: Minor correction "John Smith". If the USA decided not to drop CW, it would NOT be alone in world. Russia and her ex Soviet Block nations have all decided to keep CW. Dan/W4NTI "John Smith" wrote in message ... Dave: Well, there is debate and argument for good and reason, and then there is not... Then there is religious devotion to a test which serves only a select few... It would be interesting if the powers that be were to decide in keeping CW--and then explain why they alone in the world community made that decision, frankly, I would be happy not to have that task... There are plentiful examples of insanity in this world... that old book which bears the title something like "The Emperor Wore No Clothes" is as meaningful today as the day it was written... John "Dave Heil" wrote in message nk.net... John Smith wrote: N2EY: Nice attempt at "spin doctoring" for the weak minded... It is like fishing, you bait your hook, toss it in the water and see what bites... John At least that's how you do it, "John". Dave K8MN On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 09:36:54 -0700, N2EY wrote: John Smith wrote: Here the NCI offers proof and spells it out, just in case these old key tappers are in danger of pulling some wool over your eyes... http://www.nocode.org/articles/filter.html As some have noted in the past, "There are liars, and there are DAMN LIARS!" Omission of relevant facts can be a form of lying. Here's the whole story: I read that bit of W5YI propaganda, and also the original articles in "200 Meters And Down" and the QSTs of the time. (have you done so?) The referenced article does not give all the relevant facts. For one thing, the article claims that "higher speed" code testing has been used to "limit the number of hams since the very beginning of ham licensing". The fact is that all US hams were licensed in the US by 1912, 24 years before the 1936 happenings cited. The code test speed after 1919 was 10 wpm, and the 1936 increase to 13 wpm - hardly a quantum leap. To get a clear picture of what was actually happening, it is important to understand what ham radio was like back in those days. After WW1, ham radio almost ceased to exist. It was brought back to life by the dedicated efforts of a few enthusiasts. Amateur radio was not even recognized by international treaty until 1927. The 1927 treaty resulted in stricter new rules and much-narrowed bands. By 1929 there were about 16,000 hams in the US. Almost all of them were on the 160, 80, 40, and 20 meter bands. A typical ham transmitter was a self-controlled power oscillator, and a typical ham receiver was a three tube regenerative. Sure, more advanced techniques existed, but few hams could afford them in thos Great Depression years. Code skill was important in almost all radio services. 10 wpm was not considered as anything like professional level - 25 or 30 wpm was more like it. (This was with semiautomatic keys for sending and manual typewriters for highspeed copy). 1929 saw two big changes to ham radio. The treaties signed in 1927 came into effect, which cut deeply into the 40 and 20 meter hambands (70% of 40 was lost, and 80% of 20). The treaties also required much cleaner signals from ham rigs. The Great Depression followed soon afterwards. But the Depression and the new regs had a surprising effect on ham radio. The number of hams took a sharp upturn in the early thirties. By 1935 there were over 46,000 hams - almost TRIPLING the number of just five years earlier! But the turnover in amateur radio was approaching 40% per year. This meant that most hams were raw newcomers, with relatively little technical knowledge or operating skills. A ham with 5 years on the air was a veteran, one with 10 years was a grizzled old timer. Problems of interference and crowding abounded. Complaints from other services threatened the existence of ham radio. The problem was that thousands of newcomers were learning just enough to pass the tests, assembling simple stations with little understanding of proper design, adjustment, or operation, and putting them on the air. Many of these newcomers lost interest quickly, particularly when the limitations of their knowledge and skills became apparent. The newly formed FCC was concerned, as was the ARRL. The action proposed by the ARRL to the FCC was in two parts: Raise the code speed SLIGHTLY, (10 to 12-1/2 wpm) and make the written test more comprehensive. The changes to the written tests are all but ignored by the NCI article. The goal was NOT to limit the total number of hams, nor to hinder or deter anyone from getting a license, but to control the flood of newcomers, and make sure that the new folks had the necessary skills and knowledge. Look at the complete picture, and the action of the FCC in 1936 makes sense. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
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