"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
gy.com...

"Bill Sohl" wrote in message
hlink.net...

"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
gy.com...
[snip]
The same can be said for morse...unless you want to operate at
other than a basic level. For some reason, this discussion always
seems to presume one must be code literate at speeds well above
even 5 wpm for code to be useful to anyone. If one can "hunt & peck"
via a keyboard, the same can be done for morse using a "cheat sheet"
to send and receive morse at slow speeds.


No 5wpm is useful just a tedious for the listener. Learning it to a
higher speed simply makes it easier to communicate and increases the
probability that the person will not forget his/her code over time.

However, using a "cheat sheet" won't even let you go 5wpm as it takes too
long to look up the letters.

So what? The point is that anyone could use a cheat sheet to send
and recieve morse. I never claimed it could be done at 5wpm.
In reality, there is NO minimum code speed required for
on-the-air use of the mode. The test requirement
is only that...a test requirement. If two non-code hams decide to
QSO on 2 meter simplex sometime, there is NO FCC rule
requiring any specific minimum sending speed be used.

I've operated both RTTY and packet and other
digital modes and found them totally boring but I have had experience
with
them and there simply is no specific skill required.

Even "hunt & peck" requires an ability to use the keyboard
at a very minimal level. You may not think that it is any
skill level at all, but it is.

In today's world, most people have to learn that skill at a minimmal
anyway
whether or not they wish to be radio Amateurs so do not include that as
something unique to Amateur Radio.

And the converse is true for morse. There is no
longer any international treaty requirement and the FCC has
already stated they see no rational for code testing to be
retained. Ergo... no need for specific amateur testing
of morse for HF licensning...IMHO

Cheers,
Bill K2UNK