Canada does away with morse code

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oldradioguy
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Canada does away with morse code

Post by oldradioguy »

Dude.....I don't want your f*****n Dell!
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nmfire10
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Post by nmfire10 »

I figured that would happen sooner or later somewhere.
"I'll eat you like a plate of bacon and eggs in the morning. "
- Some loser on rr.com

eBay at it's finest:
Me: "What exactly is a 900Mhz UHF CB?"
Them: "A very nice CB at 900Mhz speed!"

:-?
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eebie38
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Post by eebie38 »

thank god! :roll:
10-95
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Post by 10-95 »

Not a shock. All the guys who use code on HF will keep using it and the new guys who hated it will never use it anyway. Oh well, I guess it will just bring in some newbies who were scared off by the code.

Frank
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k4wtf
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Post by k4wtf »

I've got kind-of mixed emotions about this one. I had to learn the code when I got my ticket but, promptly forgot about code for over 10 years and simply played with 2m - 10Ghz stuff. I didn't even own any HF equipment until after I finally got around to getting my General in 2001.

I suddenly got the bug to actually USE HF and actually enjoyed CW. It took quite a bit of work on my part and patience on the part of other operators but, by the time the 2002 ARRL 160M contest rolled around, I had worked up the nerve to actually enter a CW contest.



I had built an Elecraft K2 ( http://www.elecraft.com ) in late 2001 and strung a HUGE 160m loop (525ft of wire!) so, I decided what bigger challenge could I have than being a very GREEN CW operator and running QRP on a rig that I had built myself.

Well folks, I placed 9th overall World-Wide, 4th in the ARRL Central Region, and 3rd in the ARRL Ohio Section. I was absolutely floored! There is something to be said for good antennas and great radios.

Anyway, getting to the point... If it weren't for the code requirement, I doubt that I would have ever experienced the fun of the contest and the thrill of actually placing decent in it.

I'm sure that we'll see more operators on HF and I'm happy that a more diverse group of people will get to enjoy HF. I just hope that some of them at take the time to learn and use CW. It's actually relaxing once you get into it...

--
John
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Tom in D.C.
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Code or no code...?

Post by Tom in D.C. »

I have to wonder how a person who has no code copying ability is going to identify amateur repeaters, most of which still use CW to tell you who/where they are.

Oh, I forgot, you just go by what frequency it is. Yeah, right!

Anybody can learn 5WPM and pass a test; it's just not that difficult, unless someone tells you it is and you're dumb enough to believe them.
Tom in D.C.
In 1920, the U.S. Post Office Department ruled
that children may not be sent by parcel post.
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kcbooboo
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Post by kcbooboo »

My repeater has one of those controllers that speaks, but after running it for a year that way, I got tired of it and turned ALL the voice messages off. Now it only IDs every 8 (or so) minutes in Morse code, set to whatever speed the manufacturer designed into it. It's amazing how many newcomers will constantly keep keying the repeater just to get a few more dots and dashes written down on paper, so they can look up in a book and figure out the callsign.

I will admit that CW is what kept me from upgrading for over 30 years, but back in 1969 I did have a real FCC First Class Radiotelephone license, something that isn't worth the paper it's not printed on anymore. When the restructuring came along, I was first in line to bump up to General and then Extra Class. I do feel that at least the 5 WPM requirement should still be maintained, as it does separate the wanna-be's from the test-answer-memorizers. And it really isn't that hard.

I'm also a volunteer examiner, and was proctoring one exam session during the summer. The person was taking the technician test as well as the Morse Code test. No problem with the written tech test. When it came time to do the Morse Code test, he took his piece of paper and proceeded to literally copy the dots and dashes down on it, rather than actually translate them into letters and numbers. So his first sheet of paper consisted of -.-. --.- -.. -..- rather than CQ DX. He copied the entire 5 minute CW qso this way. Afterwards, he wrote each letter and number vertically on the page along with the Morse Code pattern for it. He then spent the better part of an hour translating the strings of dots and dashes to their letter or number equivalent. Finally he had to answer the 7 out of 10 questions on the test, or get 25 letters (one minute at 5 wpm) straight copy correct. He only got 6 questions right but had over 50 letters in a row correct, so he still got credit for the exam. Took him more than two hours total for what should have taken 15 minutes. But the rules don't specify that you must copy, and immediately translate, Morse Code as english characters, so this person took the long-way around. I think if he ever got into a QSO with someone, he'd never be able to keep up with it, as he wasn't translating the message in real time, and his lookup technique was not at all optimized for the kind of use it got. But in this case, all he had to memorize was the dot and dash patterns in alphabetical order so he could write them down at test time and do the lookup at his leisure. It may not seem proper or correct, but nothing in the rules precludes doing it that way.

My two cent's worth.
Bob M.
Alan
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Post by Alan »

.--
....
---

-.-.
.-
.-.
.
....


(Just kidding)
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Tom in D.C.
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code...

Post by Tom in D.C. »

...which certainly proveh the point (G).
Tom in D.C.
In 1920, the U.S. Post Office Department ruled
that children may not be sent by parcel post.
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k4wtf
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Post by k4wtf »

Awe Tom... He just has a sloppy fist and sent an extra dit. ;)

--
John
Susan157
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Some People Are Missing The Point."Susan157"

Post by Susan157 »

:wink:

There Are Two Stories To Look At.

1: We Have The True Amateur Radio Operator.
This Ham Person Will Fight To Pull Out A Call
From A High Noise Floor And Do Almost Anything
To Make That Qso.Well They Are The Best.

2: We Now Have The New Generation Of Radio
Operators Not Hams.
We Have EchoLink,Eqso,Irlp and Many Other
Computer Programs For The Radio Operators.
The World Of Hf Operators Is Getting Smaller
Because Of New Tech Advances.
For The Majority Of The World "Morse Code"
Is Dieing.

We Still Have Manufactures That Want To Make
Money Selling Radio Equipment.So The Push Was
On To Scrap " Morse Code" Well The World Listenned
And The Major Players Have Started To Do Just That.

3:Well The Best Thing About The New Tech Equipment
Is That The Real True Heros Of Amateur Radio Who
No Longer Can Run A Station Are Sitting By Their
Computers Doing What They Loved For Many Many Years.
" Talking To Other Hams"( Less The Ham Shack.)

P.S. New Is Not Always Evil

" ENJOY IT"
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Heterodyne
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Post by Heterodyne »

Ehh, it just reeks of the progressive 'dumbing down' of the whole amateur radio process.

The problem is this: Amateur radio, in general, is very top-heavy. The majority of hams are getting on in years, and with things like the internet and other things (not to mention the nerdy stigma that ham radio has had assigned to it), fewer and fewer younger people are getting into it.

That, coupled with the fact you actually have to STUDY to get your ticket, proves daunting to today's younger generation. So, in order to combat this, and to ensure that as the older hams eventually die newer members are there to continue being on the airwaves and pay RAC's yearly dues, they are making it easier and easier to become a ham.

No one sits in their basement and builds transmitters anymore. You just go down to your local ham store, toss down a few hundred bucks and you've got yourself a radio. Coming from a family of railway telegraph operators, its moves like this that further push a fine heritage built on Morse Code farther and farther into the past.

Moves like this threaten to make the ham bands turn into another FRS. I'm by no means an elitist, but I am all for preservation of something important. Keep the Morse. In fact, make it harder to get your license.

Bryan, VE3HBD
Susan157
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Well They Will Not Keep Morse So The Test Will Not Be Harder

Post by Susan157 »

:wink:

The Tests Will Not Be Harder.
Nand
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Post by Nand »

From The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 46
November 21, 2003

Australia is the latest country to announce it's dropping Morse code
testing as a licensing requirement. The Australian Communications
Authority (ACA) <http://www.aca.gov.au/> says it will eliminate the Morse
testing requirement starting January 1.

"This decision was made considering public comments at the meetings and
initial analysis of submissions to the discussion paper," the ACA said,
adding that it would make interim changes to its rules to allow immediate
access to privileges previously available only to those satisfying the
Morse proficiency requirements. The change will give holders of
Intermediate and Limited Amateur licenses access to the same frequency
bands as Unrestricted Amateur licensees, and holders of the Novice Limited
Amateur license access to the same frequency bands as Novice licensees.

The Wireless Association of Australia <http://www.wia.org.au> says
dropping the Morse requirement will mean no changes in existing licenses
or call signs. WIA President Ernie Hocking, VK1LK, urged hams in Australia
who don't yet enjoy HF privileges not to get on the air ahead of schedule.
There's more information on the ACA Web site <http://www.aca.gov.au/>
(Click on "Review of Amateur Service Regulation.")

Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands,
Austria, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Singapore and Papua-New Guinea have
already dropped their Amateur Radio Morse testing requirements or have
announced an intention to do so.

Radio Amateurs of Canada asked Industry Canada to drop the Morse
requirement at the 21st Industry Canada-Radio Amateurs of Canada Amateur
Radio Advisory Board meeting October 23 in Ottawa. US amateurs have
commented on 14 petitions calling for outright deletion of the Morse
requirement or changes in existing requirements. The FCC is not expected
to act on the matter until 2004 at the earliest.
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ExKa|iBuR
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Post by ExKa|iBuR »

Well, although personally it doesn't matter to me if they drop it or not, as I already have my license with the code...the one thing I CAN'T STAND is all the purists that *insist* you must know CW to use the HF bands. I actually heard one fellow on the radio telling some new ham that you're not a ham without the code and that VHF/UHF is just another CB band.

Well, guess what? I have the license for HF bands, I have a pretty decent antenna, heck I even have the radio. What's stopping me from using it? Well, personally I get really annoyed easily when all I hear is static and stuff like that. I'm perfectly happy with VHF/UHF. Does that make me a glorified CB hack? Maybe it does. But fact is, I'm happy with what I have and with what I use.

People that insist you "must" use HF and CW are poisining the hobby for anybody new. I think if IC or the FCC want to think about dropping the code requirement, they should make the theory tests harder.

Let's face it. Any idiot can pick up a radio and figure out how to use it. The tests as it stands these days are outdated. Nobody needs to know how to be able to fix a tube rig. Sure, tube stuff is great! I love my Drake 2C transmitter/receiver. The new tests should include all the newer technology. DSP, Packet, digtal voice, etc... It should also concentrate more on practical applications, like emergency power, jury-rigged antennas, etc...

-Mike
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k4wtf
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Post by k4wtf »

If you take a look at the Amateur Extra written (and maybe even the General now), you'll find some questions dealing with the newer modes. Not as many as I'd like to see but, they are actually there.

I think that the tests are too "dumbed down" now though. While I agree that it isn't necessary to know how to fix a tube rig, the theory is still a good thing to know and for "historical" reasons, I think that a few questions should cover some "older" technologies.

I'm not against getting more people on HF, providing that they have a clue how to operate. Nothing bothers me more on HF than some idiot deciding to camp right beside an ongoing QSO and splatter all over it.

I try to run only the "necessary" power to communicate, as a good amateur. Sometimes, this is 5W or less, some time it's 1-KW. It all depends on conditions. I've been running 200w and be in "round-table" QSO with a group for an hour or so on 3.875 when some idiot decides he's going to start calling CQ on 3.877 at 1-KW. How can this idiot not hear us? So, we swing up to 3.877 and inform him that he's interfering with an ongoing QSO, only to be told "you don't own the frequency."

Well, no... We don't own the frequency but we were operating in an ongoing QSO *before* he decided to start calling CQ damned near right on top of us. How hard is it to "listen up and listen down" before you decide that "your" frequency is clear and you're not going to interfere with someone adjacent to you?

In the case of 3.875, it's not too bad. We can all run 1-KW+ if we "need" it and turn the RF gain down to get rid of the adjacent interference. Before someone says, "you can always move" let me say, SOME OF US CAN MOVE but there are some regular participants who are actually rock-bound.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap-box now. No problem with the no-coders. Just please, don't let any more "NO-CLUE-ers" into the party!

--
John
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