"N2EY" wrote:

(snip) So what it comes down to is that
a little serious skill-learning is required to
use Morse on the air, except for a very
few people who have learned Morse
elsewhere. I think that plain, simple fact
bothers some of the most vociferous
and abusive anti-code-test folks.


That fact, as you call it, ignores other very real facts. Few people today
(especially boys and men) have not learned code, or at least played around
with it, at some point in their lives. When we were kids, many of us sent
messages to friends using flashlights or walkie-talkies with code printed on
the side. Many other games and toys over the years have featured messages,
secret or otherwise, sent by Morse code. Others learned code in groups like
the Boy Scouts. Still others learned it in the military. In reality, most
adults today are familiar enough with code to know whether they have any
real interest in it. Clearly, those with no interest are not exactly highly
motivated to study up for a license exam. But the fact that some have no
interest in code, and would freely choose not to learn it, really seems to
bother some of the "most vociferous and abusive" pro-code folks.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/