In article , Len Over 21 wrote:

AMATEUR radio long ago CEASED to be a "pool of experienced morse
operators" for any national need. The nation does NOT need morse
operators, haven't for a long time.

That's an intresting point. 9/11 showed the need still exists for
experienced radio operators who can communicate under pressure.
Morde code is no longer necessary, but a clear voice, understanding
a phonetic alphabet, etc is.

Having a pool of responsable well trained and practiced radio operators
is still needed. They get that training on VHF/UHF repeaters, not operating
morse on HF or contests, etc.

Skills leared from contests are helpful, such as being able to dig a specific
signal out of the QRM and noise, etc, but the majority of operators don't
need it.

Just face the reality of the matter. Morsemen got their little CW
playground and should be happy. Professional communicators they
ain't, even if they want, desperately, to be oh, so very pro.

That's about it. If they want to keep morse active, they should encourage it,
not discourage it. How many hams are on the air that say that they learned
morse code for the license and haven't used it since?

I never thought I'd say that about myself, but unfortuntely it is true.
I've tried to get my speed back up to something reasonable and expect
that it would take an hour a day for at least a month.

Peopl who work 9-5 5 days a week may actualy be able to do it. I don't
(more like noon (or eariler) to 3am).

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, C.T.O. GW&T Ltd., Jerusalem Israel

IL Voice: 972-544-608-069 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838