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wrote in message oups.com... Matt wrote: "Dee Flint" wrote in message ... Having no interest in the mode is not a valid reason for dropping it from testing. There are rational reasons for dropping it (just as there are equally rational reasons for keeping it) but having no interest in the mode is not one of them. That same argument could be applied to every test question and test element since there is sure to be at least one person who has no interest in that question and/or element for every item on the test. I've never operated satellite and never intend to and have no interest in ever doing so. Yet I had to answer questions on it. Do I think it should be taken out of the test? No, because it is something allowed by my privileges. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE As I understand it, the reason for the requirement to display proficiency in CW stemmed from times in the ancient past where CW was the primary (if not the only) option for communicating, and there was also the requirement that we be proficient so that we could understand emergency traffic and pass it on / respond to it. Those were a couple of reasons - but there are others. The CW emergency freqs (i.e. 500 KHz) are no longer used or monitored by the vast majority (is not all) of the emergency groups (i.e. Coastguard) and CW is not really used by many people or organisations outside of the amateur community. That's true - but hams were not allowed on those frequencies anyway. There is really no valid reason for the retention of CW as a mandatory requirement for HF access Many people agree - but others disagree. What constitutes a valid reason depends entirely on personal opinion. For example, Morse code is widely used in the amateur radio service. On HF it is secondary only to SSB in popularity, and not by much of a margin. That popularity alone, IMHO, is a valid reason to keep at least a basic Morse Code test. - many countries around the world have removed it How many? Most of the countries have retained the test so far, including Japan, which has had a QRP nocodetest HF ham license for decades. and surprisingly enough, now that it is no longer a requirement, there is apparently a resurgence of interest in the mode (here in VK for one). If you want to keep on using it, feel free, but please don't force others to learn a mode that is no longet essential, and indeed only barely relevant. Then delete most of the written test too, because most of it is arguably less relevant. Here in VK we removed the CW requirement for HF access just over a year ago and while the bands are only slightly more active, there hasn't been the flood of moronic operators that were being forecasted. So there really hasn't been much change. P.S. if I use some of the digital data modes, I can send and receive 100% copy when CW cannot even be heard - go digital modes. How popular are those digital modes? 73 de Jim, N2EY And many of the people who tout these digital modes as the "holy grail" forget that CW is a digital mode and that each mode has advantages and disadvantages. Depending on conditions, one mode will fail while another will succeed. For example, PSK fails when there are disturbances causing phase shifts, RTTY fails under conditions of high static. CW comes through in both cases. On the other hand, PSK is a winner on bandwidth usage, minimal power consumption, and under weak but otherwise clear band conditions. Every mode is important in its own way. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
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"Dee Flint" wrote in message
... And many of the people who tout these digital modes as the "holy grail" forget that CW is a digital mode and that each mode has advantages and disadvantages. Depending on conditions, one mode will fail while another will succeed. For example, PSK fails when there are disturbances causing phase shifts, RTTY fails under conditions of high static. CW comes through in both cases. On the other hand, PSK is a winner on bandwidth usage, minimal power consumption, and under weak but otherwise clear band conditions. Every mode is important in its own way. OK, talking in an precise fashion, yes, CW is a digital mode. I think that the most important thing to take from your posting is your last comment - indeed, CW is important, but not more than any other mode of comms. Remove it as an unecessary barrier to HF access (personally it will not effect me - I live in VK where we made this decision a couple of years agoand all is well with the HF bands. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE Matt |
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