Radio Preppers

General Category => Morse Code => Topic started by: gil on March 28, 2014, 09:56:26 AM

Title: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: gil on March 28, 2014, 09:56:26 AM
http://ke2yk.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/fcc-to-reinstate-morse-code-requirement/ (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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: cockpitbob on March 28, 2014, 10:21:51 AM
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 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/01/gmail-tap-google-april-fools-day_n_1394635.html).  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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: 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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: aa6rv on March 30, 2014, 12:46:28 PM
I wish......but I will also call BS and April Fools


20 WPM Extra AA6RV.....David
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: cockpitbob on March 30, 2014, 01:20:18 PM
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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: Archangel320420 on March 30, 2014, 06:30:20 PM
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.  :)
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: 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
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: KK0G on March 31, 2014, 09:25:09 AM
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 .
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: vwflyer on March 31, 2014, 10:04:10 AM
"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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: John Galt on March 31, 2014, 11:37:36 AM
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.   ??? ;)

Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: cockpitbob on March 31, 2014, 02:21:51 PM
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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: cockpitbob on March 31, 2014, 02:24:57 PM
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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: raybiker73 on April 05, 2014, 08:18:10 PM
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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: 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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: raybiker73 on April 05, 2014, 11:05:13 PM
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.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: gil on April 06, 2014, 12:24:06 AM
I think I posted some link to drivers somewhere around here a while ago...

Gil.
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: vwflyer on April 06, 2014, 01:02:31 AM
Well, not to hijack this thread. If it goes on we can move it to another one, right Gil? Perhaps join it to the one where you posted the driver links. My brother responded and I copied and pasted the contents of his email below. ________

Well, it was a process. If he has already tried to download drivers and it's not working, he will have to delete all of them and try them one at a time (try one and if it doesn't work, delete it before downloading another). If you have more than one, the wrong driver will conflict with the right driver and you won't know which one is actually the right one. This link is what I used to delete the drivers: http://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/1ycs7w/mac_os_x_programming_baofeng_uv5r_with_chirp/

I bought the $10 cable thinking it may be genuine since it was a little more and was Baofeng branded. It wasn't, so I had to delete the driver I first tried and use the "generic" driver. Here is the link I used to find the drivers:
http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MacOS_Tips

The one that worked for me, was the one with this label:
Generic PL-2303 cables (counterfeit and/or "Generic")
Title: Re: FCC To Reinstate Morse Code Requirement.
Post by: raybiker73 on April 06, 2014, 02:22:21 AM
I'll give this one a try, thank you!