FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.

Started by gil, March 28, 2014, 09:56:26 AM

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gil

http://ke2yk.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/fcc-to-reinstate-morse-code-requirement/

I also read on another site that General and Extra licensees who did not pass a Morse code test will have to do so to keep their operating level..

Gil.

cockpitbob

#1
I call B.S., or better yet, April Fools  ::)
QuoteWashington, D.C. – April 1, 2014 - Today, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) approved Report and Order 14-987af which reinstates the Morse Code test
I did a little googling and the only stuff I found dated back to 2010 and 2011.  This had me going for a minute.  My son got his general when he was 11 and almost passed our club's 5wpm test before the teenager hormones kicked in and redirected his interests.  I was worried about his ticket for a minute  ;D .


BTW, 2 years ago today Google introduced a texting app using Morse.  It even allowed you to send 2 texts simultaneously using the top half of the screen as one key and the bottom half as the other.

KK0G

Dotty Dasher? ;D


CW is my mode of choice 99.99% of the time and although I'm a big promoter of the mode and could easily pass this "test", I was never an advocate of it being a requirement for earning an amateur radio license. I originally passed the 5 WPM test only because I had to in order to earn my general class, at the time I had zero interest in CW. Back in the day CW was a common if not dominate mode in use by many groups the world over, at that time it was definitely in the FCC's best interest for a ham to know Morse code. Although us hams that are CW proponents know that it's still a viable mode with all the advantages it's always had, even we have to admit that the rest of the world has essentially abandoned it and that we hams are the only group that keeps it alive.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" - Benjamin Franklin

KK0G

aa6rv

I wish......but I will also call BS and April Fools


20 WPM Extra AA6RV.....David

cockpitbob

Quote from: KK0G on March 28, 2014, 11:16:00 AM
Dotty Dasher? ;D


CW is my mode of choice 99.99% of the time and although I'm a big promoter of the mode and could easily pass this "test", I was never an advocate of it being a requirement for earning an amateur radio license. I originally passed the 5 WPM test only because I had to in order to earn my general class, at the time I had zero interest in CW. Back in the day CW was a common if not dominate mode in use by many groups the world over, at that time it was definitely in the FCC's best interest for a ham to know Morse code. Although us hams that are CW proponents know that it's still a viable mode with all the advantages it's always had, even we have to admit that the rest of the world has essentially abandoned it and that we hams are the only group that keeps it alive.
I agree.  And, as the FCC pointed out, they don't test proficiency in any of the other operating modes.  Why should this (archaic) one be the only one.

I think Morse is going to be around for a long, long time.  If you don't want to be a computer geek and operate through a keyboard, then CW is, as we here know, the best way to cover great distances.

Archangel320420

SNOPES says the FCC is bringing back the code requirement and this is all true.  April 1st, 2014 when it becomes law (we are a nation of laws ya know) the FCC hopes all will share the joy of the new law. SNOPES says this is true, so it must be true.  :)

vwflyer

My brother is studying for his general now. This would be a blow to him. I feel I have to clear this up once and for all. First thing Monday morning I'm calling up Jim Shorts ;D

KK0G

Quote from: vwflyer on March 31, 2014, 12:52:28 AM
My brother is studying for his general now. This would be a blow to him. I feel I have to clear this up once and for all. First thing Monday morning I'm calling up Jim Shorts ;D
Tell your brother to hang in there, I'm confident he can pass this "test" ;D .
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" - Benjamin Franklin

KK0G

vwflyer

"We discussed it," said Dasher, "but decided that since most Techs can't even figure out how to program their HTs, requiring them to learn Morse Code seemed like cruel and unusual punishment."

That line made it essential that I send my brother this article. He just passed his tech test and bought a couple of Baofengs. He bought the programing cable so that he could assign his memory channels with names. Just yesterday he told me that if people think that programing these radios by hand is hard they should try getting the programing cable to work with a Mac computer. He eventually got it to work though. He must be made of General class stuff after all.

John Galt

Quote from: cockpitbob on March 28, 2014, 10:21:51 AM
I call B.S., or better yet, April Fools  ::)
Quote

Yup.  The article was written when? but came out with a dateline of April 1, 2014.   April 1, 2014 ain't happened yet.   ??? ;)


cockpitbob

Also note the phone number:  (202) 555-1212    Anything with 555 in it is a nonexistant number.  Any number they use in movies and TV shows has 555 as the middle digits.

cockpitbob

BTW, did any one catch the 2 April Fools articles in the recent ARRL magazine?  One I picked up on right away.  But the one about making a short wire antenna look longer with dopler caused by mechanical vibrations had me going.  I was saying WTF the whole way through, but I wasn't sure it was a gag until I found a HIHI at the end.

raybiker73

Quote from: vwflyer on March 31, 2014, 10:04:10 AMJust yesterday he told me that if people think that programing these radios by hand is hard they should try getting the programing cable to work with a Mac computer. He eventually got it to work though. He must be made of General class stuff after all.

If he got a Baofeng cable to work on OS X, he's not General class stuff, he's Deity Class stuff. Please find out how he did it and post for us mere mortals! I gave up that fight a long time ago.

vwflyer

Well what he told me is that you can never be quit sure what manufacture of cable you are getting. It could be a Baofeng cable or it could be made by some other Chinese manufacture. For him it was a matter of trying different drivers. He tried the one for Baofeng cables first and when that didn't work he uninstalled that driver so that he could try a different one. I think he got things on speaking terms after his second or third driver. I'll write him and ask for links to those drivers if you like.

raybiker73

Quote from: vwflyer on April 05, 2014, 08:37:00 PM
Well what he told me is that you can never be quit sure what manufacture of cable you are getting. It could be a Baofeng cable or it could be made by some other Chinese manufacture. For him it was a matter of trying different drivers. He tried the one for Baofeng cables first and when that didn't work he uninstalled that driver so that he could try a different one. I think he got things on speaking terms after his second or third driver. I'll write him and ask for links to those drivers if you like.

That would be great.