RadioBanter - View Single Post - Element 1, Code vs. No-code, and Dad

October 25th 03, 08:29 PM

In article ,
(Bert Craig) writes:

(snip of excellent description of the 5 wpm code test)

Here's another way for those unfamiliar with Morse to look at it:

Imagine a test where the person being tested has to listen to a series of words
spoken at a slow rate (one word every 2.4 seconds) and write down the the first
letter of the word spoken. The same word is used for each occurrence of a
particular letter. So a person being tested would hear something like
"Table....History...Imagination....Salamander..... ...Imagination...Salaman
der......Nexus...Oval...Table
........History.....America......Raster.....Domini on......(etc.)

and when the letters were written down, a simple message would be spelled out.
Person being tested could go back and make corrections, too.

That's all the Morse test is - except that instead of words, there are series
of short and long tones.

Funny thing happened the other day. My father asked me what all the
hubbub was about re. the code. (Apparently, I had left my QST in the
car and he decided to peruse away.) I explained that some folks
consider Morse code antiquated and feel that there are better, more
modern, modes in use today. I went on to include that some also feel
that it's unfair to make newcomers "jump through hoops" to become
ARO's, thus constituting a "barrier" to some, otherwise qualified,
potential hams.

So Dad pondered for a moment and furled his 77 yr. old eyebrows and
said. "They're right, Morse code IS antiquated." My jaw dropped, "say
it ain't so!" (E tu Brute?!) He then asked me about the licensing
structure and I explained the three-tier system presently in place.
"You've gotta keep the code test in place though." Ok, now I'm a tad
confused. "Why, if it's antiquated?" I asked.

"Values, my boy…values. Just ask yourself if this is what you want to
teach your own children? Should they apply this logic to other aspects
of their lives as they grow up?

You can bet they'll try!

How about an aspiring Engineer, why
should s/he be forced to learn history? How about an aspiring history
teacher, why should s/he learn physics?

(irony mode=ON)

And this can be applied at any age level. Consider how, in this age of
give-away calculators, young children are forced by law to learn addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division tables. Why? When arithmetic had to be
done by hand, perhaps there was a case for it, but now we have methods that are
faster, easier, less error-prone, etc. If a kid wants to learn how to do long
division, fine, but why must arithmetic methods that go back to the ancient
Greeks be required of all children? Because "we've always done it that way"? Or
"I had to do it, so you do, too"? Heck, professionals don't rely on manual
calculations for anything important.

(irony mode=OFF)

There's a bunch of different
analogies than can be applied, some good and some not so good, but
there's one common thread…values. Knowledge is NEVER wasted and
"requiring" one to attain a "reasonable" level of knowledge to enjoy
increased privileges…whether it be in the ARS, the workplace, or life
in general is fundamental to nurturing a sense of values. Let that
decay and the result will be obvious…like the recent Regents exam
fiasco. Don't lower the bar across the board; help raise the
individual's standards. It appears to me that there already exists a
no-code exam and 5-wpm seems quite reasonable…so what's all the hubbub
about?"

BINGO.

If someone doesn't like the term "values" then the words "attitude" or
"standards" can be used.

Then I remembered why I chose my callsign.

Thanks for the reminder. Use that callsign with pride.

73 de Jim, N2EY