In light of the likelyhood that all US Amateur Radio testing may soon become
code-free, this 16-year-old article from WA6ITF has new applicability.

GEARVAKf Research Basis of No-Code Tape
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Turlock, California-- April 32, 1989 - In a surprise announcement that has
completely rocked the foundation of the educational community, the Wet-Link C.B.
Radio Network has prematurely introduced a new "No-Code CW Training Tape
Cassette' which was developed using lack of research material supplied by the
world famous Gorbinsky Learning and Forgetting Center of Ohio.

This GEARVAKf-sponsored facility is the hub of the GEARVAKf-funded research
into "things."

In a 1955 report authored two decades before the center was opened,
it'sformer Director of Research Into Things, Dr. R. U. Kidding, PhD. (phud),
posed the question: "Why is the sky blue and what does this have to do with
learning morse code?"

Using grant monies provided by the GEARVAKf Grant Monies Institute to
Research Things, Dr. Kidding attempted to contact the late Samuel F.B. Morse to
ascertain the answer. By 1966, Dr. Kidding had discovered that Morse had been
dead for several decades and therefore was not a plausable source for garnering
his information.

While Dr. Kidding never did learn why the sky is blue, his 1979 paper titled
"To Code or Not to Code--Is That a Question?" went unnoticed by the
communications community for almost two decades, mainly because it as written in
a VIC-20 computer, printed in 23-letter columns, and looked like a grocery list.
The paper was resurrected about four days ago by the production staff at
Wet-Link C.B. Radio as an excuse to put out a useless tape cassette to teach
people No-Code at 0 WPM. Hosted by Niles East, the cassette is designed to
instruct the listener and impart enough knowledge so that he or she can pass the
Morse Code portion of the FCC No-Code ham radio exam.

Since nobody in their right or left mind would buy such trash, the only way
to get one is at the WESTLINK REPORT/220 NOTES booth at the 1989 Amateur
RadioVention in Dayton, Ohio. The tapes are almost for free, but not quite.
GEARVAKf members are advised to show their lack of ID cards while non-members
need not.

-- WA6ITF