"Bert Craig" wrote in
t:
"Alun" wrote in message
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"Bert Craig" wrote in
:
"Alun" wrote in message
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"Bert Craig" wrote in
et:
"Alun" wrote in message
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What is annoying is that a skill test is foisted on those who
don't have the desire to use the skill.
Alan, I'm gonna let you in on a secret...although I know that
you're already aware of it. Preparing for and passing the 5-wpm
Elemnt 1 test does NOT leave one ready to use the skill OTA. It
only gives one a taste so that one may make an educated choice as
to whether or not they wish to persue CW any further.
5 wpm is certainly too slow to prove much, but it only still exists
at that level as a residual requirement to meet the old s25.5,
which has since been changed so that no code test is required
atall. If the FCC truly thought that a CW test was necessary, the
speed would be higher.
Agreed, I was pointing out a very beneficial secondary benefit. It
"requires" one to place themselves in a position from which to make
an educated decision.
As I mentioned in another post, the mode is really not the
issue...the having to really learn it is. Do away with the
published Q&A pools and watch the whining escalate.
Well, I think that the real issue is that it's a different kind of
test.
Exactly.
Also, if
I hear CW on my frequency I may be able to read it with some
difficulty, but if I hear RTTY or PSK31 there is no chance.
You may have just touched on a selling point for CW.
73 de Bert
WA2SI
Whilst that is true, the point I was making is actually that since
I can't read RTTY or PSK by ear, and they are legal modes, it
doesn't help all that much that I can read CW (albeit not terribly
well, since I never use it).
73 de Alun, N3KIP
I understand the point you were making. If I could just ask you why
you bothered to take the code test(s)?
73 de Bert
WA2SI
To get all the _phone_ frequencies
Ah, good...for increased privileges. Obviously, noted by your class of
license, you did NOT find this to be an insurmountable hurdle. After
all, nobody forced you to either upgrade your ticket or aim for the
General or Extra right from the starting gate. You *wanted* more
*privileges* and these were a sufficient *incentive* for you to decide
to make the effort to *earn* them. That's not being forced to do
anything, Alun. Them's good old-fashioned values...and the basis for a
principle that I'd be glad to see my kids apply to ALL of their
endeavors in life.
I think you're missing the point. I took _code_ tests to get _phone_
subbands. There's no logic in that. Never was, even from the beginning.
This whole issue is not really over the Morse code test. It's about ANY
requirement that causes an applicant to really have to expend some
mental elbow grease and/or impede his/her path toward instant
gratification.
No, it's about learning code skills to use other modes.
Like I said before, pull those published Q&A pools and
make 'em learn the subject matter and actually apply the principles and
theory to pass the writtens...and witness the whine factor grow.
Preparing to pass the 5-wpm Exam cannot even be called cerebral, it's
rote memorization. The faster speeds become purely reflex oriented.
Nobody's thinkin' when they copy hi-speed Morse.
So all this blather about "jumping through hoops" and "barriers" is a
bunch of hot air.
Learning an unrelated skill is a prime example of "jumping through hoops"
(your phrase, not mine)
Folks have just figured out a way to gain a
*privilege* in a perceived easier fashion, collectively whine. It
stands a great chance too. After all, the Gov't. agency they must
cajole shares their goal, less work. So with great glee, their
proponents espouse "the FCC doesn't agree that Morse is necessary." The
"regulatory" angle is just that, an angle. If you ignore the angle, you
realise that it was never about Element 1 in the first place.
It has always been about the code test. No angles. If you think it's just
a bid to reduce the requirements in general, then you just couldn't be
more wrong.
Why must our beloved hobby/service be reduced to the lowest common
denominator?
73 de Bert
WA2SI
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