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If you had to use CW to save someone's life, would that person die?
"George Orwell" wrote in message ... Al Klein said: Eliminating a requirement is dumbing things down. But no one would expect you to be able to understand that. Well, let me ask, from the point of view of a potential noob to the hobby. What use is the code requirements? I can't really see in today's era, the need for them? I've been surfing around looking at ham and talking to an old friend that had a license and it look interesting to me. But, given that many professional people like myself are stretched for time, what good does all the licensing and code requirements do for you besides build up boundries to doing something new and fun? If you will read Part 97 (the rules that govern amateur radio), the government doesn't care about you doing something new and fun. The section on basis and purpose makes it quite clear that their objectives are quite different. They want people knowledgeable in ham radio and who are interested in expanding that knowledge. I'm in a pretty technical field, and I study to keep up in that field everyday, the last thing I want to do, is have to spend my weekends studying to talk on a radio. If less stringent requirements were there, I could easily afford the tools of the trade, and would like to just jump in and start working with a ham setup. I'm particularly interested in exploring the amateur radio/computer connections. I have no problem informally looking up information and learning on my own (heck, that's what I'm doing in the USENET group to begin with)...but, I just don't have the time for archaic rules, regulations and codes that as far as I can see...really serve no real purpose but, to keep out busy people that might like to participate. Until and unless you have actually participated in amateur radio in a wide variety of aspects, it is difficult to asses which rules, regulations, knowledge, etc are archaic and which should remain as requirements. Notice that the majority of people advocating ditching requirements are those who have not yet passed those requirements, regardless of their age. Note that the majority of people advocating keeping the requirements have passed them and have experience in amateur radio again regardless of their age. As far as "busy people" go, again refer to the basis and purpose as given in the rules. The government is not concerned about your choice of how you use your time. It has no bearing on what their goals are. Can you give me valid reasons as to what useful purpose in today's age they serve? Every piece of knowledge has its uses. The difficult part is winnowing through it and decide what should be tested and what should not. Here's why I think code should still be tested: 1. It is still one of the basic building blocks of ham radio. For example, one of the "hot" digital modes is PSK31. The developer drew upon personal experience and incorporated features derived from that mode to make a robust digital mode. 2. Because it is not "book learning", too many people will avoid it since it is different than the type of learning they are accustomed to. They will falsely think it is hard when in reality it is different. Requiring them to learn it gets them over that resistance hump. 3. Each and every mode has its strong points and weak points. Each of us that participate in ham radio should attempt to gain personal experience in those modes so that we know by that personal experience what those strengths and weaknesses are. If you are interested, I could construct various scenarios where mode X is the best mode. However, unless you specifically want to know, I won't clutter up the newsgroup at this time with discussions that have been repeated many times by many people already. Dee, N8UZE |
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